Playoff-bound Cavs make a stop in south Philly

Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A large lead atop the Central Division and playoff berth already sewed up has allowed the Cleveland Cavaliers to give LeBron James some rest for the stretch run. The reigning NBA MVP is expected to return from his two-game respite tonight, when the Cavs head to Philadelphia's Wachovia Center to take on the struggling 76ers.

James sat out Cleveland's game at Milwaukee on Saturday as well as Monday's home matchup with San Antonio due to a mildly sprained right ankle. Although the team could have used the superstar in its 92-85 loss to the red-hot Bucks, the Cavaliers were able to come through with a 97-95 decision over the Spurs and become the league's first club to 50 wins this season.

Mo Williams helped offset James' absence with a 17-point, eight-rebound, eight-assist effort, while Antawn Jamison also scored 17 points before exiting in the third quarter with a stiff left knee.

"It got to the point where it wasn't painful, but I couldn't get into the motion I needed in order to push off the way I need to," Jamison said. "I could have played through it if it was that type of game, but [I] needed to take precautions and begin to rehab it."

The Cavaliers, already without center Shaquille O'Neal for likely the remainder of the regular season because of a fractured right thumb, have termed Jamison a game-time decision for Friday.

Cleveland may not need its full complement of players to get past a Sixers squad that suffered its seventh loss in eight games with Wednesday's 102-87 setback to Charlotte at the Wachovia Center. The defeat dropped Philadelphia to 23-41 for the 2009-10 campaign and furthered speculation that head coach Eddie Jordan could be let go at season's end.

Rodney Carney scored 14 points and both Jrue Holiday and Andre Iguodala each netted 13 for the Sixers, who trailed 62-44 at intermission and by as many as 29 points in the second half.

"I have no problem with our effort," said Jordan, the subject of a Philadelphia Inquirer report earlier in the day that stated the 76ers will likely fire the former Sacramento and Washington sideline boss after just one season. "We played hard for 48 minutes. We couldn't take away [the Bobcats'] strengths [Wednesday]. They got to the basket, got fouls and got to the free throw line."

Philadelphia will be seeking only its second win in its last nine matchups with the Cavs, who have taken the previous two meetings between the teams this season and handed the Sixers a 108-101 loss at the Wachovia Center on December 16. The victory was Cleveland's sixth in a row in the City of Brotherly Love.

The Cavaliers currently own a 4 1/2-game lead on Orlando for first place in the Eastern Conference and are 15 games ahead of Milwaukee for the top spot in the Central Division.

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

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