Wattiors Basketball Betting News

<< Rose, Harrington among Travelers leaders
Cromwell, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Rose birdied five holes in a row on the back nine Thursday to post a six-under 64 and join Padraig Harrington and two other players in the lead after the first round of the Travelers Championship. Char

<< Report: Blazers fire GM Pritchard
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers have reportedly fired general manager Kevin Pritchard. The Oregonian newspaper reported team owner Paul Allen made the move less than an hour before the NBA Draft was set to begi

<< Report: Celtics forward Wallace to retire
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Celtics forward Rasheed Wallace has reportedly decided to end his NBA career after 15 years in the league. Speculation was building that Wallace would retire after the Celtics lost to the Los Ang

<< Kerr in 3-way tie for lead at LPGA Championship
Pittsford, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cristie Kerr shot a four-under 68 to earn a share of the lead Thursday after the first round of the LPGA Championship, the year's second major. Playing in the afternoon, Kerr carded five birdies and one bog

NHL owners agree on penalties for blindside hits >>
LOS ANGELES (AP) -NHL owners unanimously agree that blindside hits to the head will now result in a major penalty and ejection for offenders.The vote took place Thursday at the league's board of governors meeting, held one day before the NHL draft.T

Grizzlies draft South Florida's Jones at No. 25 >>
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -The Memphis Grizzlies have taken South Florida guard Dominique Jones with the 25th pick, their second selection in the first round of the NBA Draft.The 6-foot-5, 216-pound Jones left college after his junior year. He was a first

Blazers take Williams of Memphis with 22nd pick >>
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -The Portland Trail Blazers have selected Memphis swingman Elliot Williams with the 22nd pick in the NBA draft.Williams averaged 17.9 points, 4 rebounds and 3.8 assists with the Tigers last season as a sophomore after transferrin

Washington's Pondexter headed to Hornets >>
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -University of Washington swingman Quincy Pondexter is headed to New Orleans after being taken with the No. 26 pick in the NBA draft.Pondexter was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder but will go to the Hornets in a trade that net

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.