Points Joins Season From Losing

Basketball Betting Lines

"Our mental approach to the game was much, much better to start the game, especially on the defensive end," said Afflalo, who also blocked two shots.

 

Philly has won three straight in this series.

 

Crawford's troubles have coincided with Portland's although the club did snap a three-game skid and improved to 1-2 on a six-game road trip Monday in the Big Easy when LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds, helping the Blazers handle the New Orleans Hornets, 84-77.

 

Nicolas Batum added 19 points and six boards for Portland, which will finish its long trek with visits to Toronto and Detroit after tonight. Gerald Wallace tallied 14 points and seven rebounds.

 

Veteran Portland center Marcus Camby is likely to miss a third straight game tonight with a sprained left ankle.

 

"I think I'm in a different state of mind," Smith said. "I'm playing as hard as I've ever played."

 

Atlanta has won five straight games over the Blazers and Portland's last win in the Peach State came back in January of 2008.

 

"I think from an effort, energy, intensity and focus standpoint, I thought we were where we need to be," said Detroit coach Lawrence Frank. "If we can get that effort for 36 of 48 (minutes) and we focus on cleaning up our execution, we will get better."

 

Prince posted two steals for 400 in his career and needs one block for 400. Greg Monroe had only four points and grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds. The Pistons, who are last in the Central Division, have lost eight of their last nine games and fell to 1-6 as the visitor this season. They are averaging a league-low 85.0 points per game and have one of the worst records in the NBA at 3-11.

 

Love tied Hall of Famer and former Houston Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon for the NBA's longest double-double streak to start a season (1992-93) with 33 points and 11 boards in Monday's 99-86 win versus Sacramento. Luke Ridnour added a season-high 25 points and Wayne Ellington scored 15 points off the bench for the Timberwolves, who snapped a three-game home losing streak and improved to 3-5 in the Twin Cities.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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