Badgers take top-ranking into East Lansing
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/20/2007 -
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The now top-ranked Wisconsin Badgers
have made the trip to East Lansing for tonight's Big Ten Conference
clash with the Michigan State Spartans.
Five consecutive wins have enabled Wisconsin to move to 26-2 overall and
12-1 in conference, and the Badgers remain tied with the Ohio State Buckeyes atop the Big Ten standings. The most recent of the five
victories occurred on Saturday for Wisconsin, as it cruised to a 75-49
decision over Penn State. The Badgers' 26 wins are the most in the nation
and the most in one season in program history. The team has reached the top
of the national poll for the first-time ever.
Michigan State hasn't been quite as successful as its counterpart today, as
the Spartans have split their 12 Big Ten games. They are on a bit of a
roll, however, as they have won two straight by double figures,
including an 81-49 thrashing of Iowa on Saturday. Michigan State is
now 16-1 at home, an obvious reason for confidence tonight.
The Spartans hold a 65-54 series advantage over the Badgers, and
Michigan State has won two of the last three meetings.
If anyone is going to steal National Player of the Year honors away from
Texas freshman Kevin Durant, it figures to be Wisconsin standout Alando
Tucker. The outstanding forward has scored at least 20 points in seven
consecutive outings, including a 22-point effort against Penn State on
Saturday. Kammron Taylor pitched in 18 points for the Badgers, who got 11
points from Jason Bohannon off the bench. Wisconsin connected on 51.9
percent of its field goal attempts in that clash, including a stellar 12-of-23
showing from behind the arc. Tucker is averaging 20.4 ppg this season, and he
can get his own shot at any time. Taylor checks in with 13.1 ppg on 42.1
percent shooting from three-point range for the Badgers, who are limiting
opponents to 57.8 ppg on 40.3 percent shooting from the field.
Drew Neitzel is the leading scorer for Michigan State, as he is netting
18.1 ppg on 40.4 percent shooting from three-point range and 90.4 percent
accuracy from the foul line. Also, Neitzel has dished out 118 assists
against only 59 turnovers. Raymar Morgan is the only other double-digit
scorer in the lineup, as he is posting 11.1 ppg. Strong defense is clearly the
key to success for the Spartans, as they are holding foes to 56.0 ppg on
37.9 percent shooting from the field. Neitzel scored 17 points in the blowout
victory over Iowa last time out. Morgan pitched in 16 points for Michigan
State, which connected on 57.9 percent of its field goal attempts and limited
Iowa to 34.1 percent efficiency from the floor.
<< Lone Star State rivals meet in Austin
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Intrastate and Big 12 rivals will collide
in Austin this evening, as the 19th-ranked Texas Longhorns welcome the
Texas Tech Red Raiders to town.
Back-to-back wins have enabled Texas Tech to
<< Falcons soar into Sin City
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - No longer the only member of the Mountain
West Conference among the nationally-ranked, the Air Force Falcons put their
three-game win streak on the line tonight as they visit the UNLV Runnin'
Rebels
<< Toronto Argonauts (CFL)
Signed quarterbacks Mike McMahon and Tom Arth.
<< Lakers' Radmanovic out at least eight weeks
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Lakers forward Vladimir
Radmanovic will be sidelined at least eight weeks after separating his right
shoulder.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the 26-year-old Radmanovic sustaine
<< Chargers add Rivera to coaching staff
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New San Diego Chargers head coach Norv
Turner named former Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera the team's
linebackers coach.
With his contract set to expire next week, the Bears announc
Big East action pits Mountaineers at Friars >>
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In need of a quality win, the Providence
Friars host the 22nd-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers in a key Big East
showdown from the Dunkin' Donuts Center tonight.
The Friars have had a solid campai
Argonauts ink QB McMahon >>
Toronto, Ontario (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Argonauts signed former NFL
quarterback Mike McMahon on Tuesday.
In 29 career NFL games, spread over five seasons with Detroit and
Philadelphia, McMahon completed 229 of 515
Pistons visit Central Division-rival Milwaukee >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Central Division-leading Detroit Pistons try to
get back on the winning track tonight when they hit the road to visit the
Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center.
Detroit had its seven-game winning streak halted with las
Nuggets, Spurs clash in San Antonio >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs have recovered from their eight-game
road trip and return to the AT&T Center this evening to host the Denver
Nuggets.
San Antonio, which is second in the Southwest standings, went 4-4 on the swing
a
Wild try to end futility against Dallas >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Wild will try to stop their longest current
losing streak against any team in the league when they host the Dallas Stars
this evening at Xcel Energy Center for the final time this season.
Minnesota has droppe
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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