Banged-up Jazz play host to Bobcats

Basketball Betting Lines

02/24/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah Jazz hope to have All-Star guard Deron Williams and forward Andrei Kirilenko back in the lineup tonight as they welcome the reeling Charlotte Bobcats to Salt Lake City.

The Jazz, who are just one game behind Denver for second place in the Western Conference and the top spot in the Northwest Division, fell in their last outing against Atlanta on Monday without Williams (bruised right quad) and Kirilenko (back spasms).

Joe Johnson poured in 28 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out six assists in that one as the Hawks took a 105-100 decision over Utah to record their first victory in Salt Lake City in 17 years.

The Hawks snapped a 15-game skid in Utah, winning at the Jazz for the first time since February 13, 1993.

Paul Millsap finished with 14 points and nine boards off the bench for the Jazz, who were coming off a perfect four-game road trip. Kyle Korver and Ronnie Price each had 13 points. Carlos Boozer tallied 12 points, 10 boards, and eight assists, while C.J. Miles ended with 12 points and five rebounds in defeat.

"We made a couple mistakes trying to come down the stretch and turned the ball over a couple times and missed some free throws that could help keep you in there," Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan said. "But I thought our guys really played hard, being short-handed and that sort of thing; I thought everybody tried to step up and play hard."

Kirilenko is listed as questionable for tonight while Williams is probable.

The Bobcats, meanwhile, fell to 0-2 on a four-game road trip in Los Angles on Monday when Rasual Butler scored 20 points and the Clippers put together back- to-back wins for the first time in more than a month with a 98-94 triumph over Charlotte.

Stephen Jackson had his worst performance of the season for the Bobcats, going 1-of-16 from the field for seven points before fouling out with 2:08 remaining.

Gerald Wallace totaled 32 points and 12 rebounds for Charlotte, which lost their second in a row. Boris Diaw narrowly missed a triple-double with 20 points, nine boards and nine assists for the Bobcats, who wasted a six-point lead with 5 1/2 minutes left and fell into a tie with Milwaukee for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

"We got some bad breaks. It's tough in a close game," Bobcats coach Larry Brown said. "Jack was frustrated, and I don't blame him, but you can't let people frustrate you."

Home cooking has meant quite a bit in this series recently with the host taking the last seven meetings.

Nikkansport Basketball Betting News

<< Seventh-ranked Wildcats try right ship in bout with Bulls
Villanova, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked Villanova Wildcats will try to end their recent struggles tonight, as they entertain the South Florida Bulls in a Big East clash at The Pavilion. After ripping through the first part of the

<< Third-ranked Boilermakers visit Golden Gophers
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked Purdue Boilermakers hit the road this week, as they head to Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Big Ten action from Williams Arena. Matt Painter's Boilermakers are inchin

<< Buckeyes need a win to keep Big Ten title hopes alive
State College, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ninth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes continue their quest for the Big Ten Conference regular-season title, and they will do battle with the Penn State Nittany Lions this evening on the road. Ohio State, P

<< Owls host Flyers in pivotal A-10 matchup
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked Temple Owls have been one of the nation's most consistent teams this season, and they welcome the Dayton Flyers to Philadelphia this evening for an Atlantic 10 Conference showdown. Losses i

<< Mountain West showdown pits Aztecs against Cougars
Provo, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the regular-season title in the Mountain West Conference still up for grabs, the San Diego State Aztecs and the 13th- ranked BYU Cougars battle each other for another win tonight as the programs clash at the Ma

Seventh-ranked Wildcats try to right ship in bout with Bulls >>
Villanova, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked Villanova Wildcats will try to end their recent struggles tonight, as they entertain the South Florida Bulls in a Big East clash at The Pavilion. After ripping through the first part of the

Sixers continue road trip in Phoenix >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers hope to record their second road win against a Pacific Division foe in as many nights when they face off with the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. The Sixers downed Golden State last night when

Pistons, Clippers square off in LA >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Clippers will both be in search of a rare three-game winning streak when the two clubs square off at Staples Center Wednesday night. LA is aiming for its first three-game spurt sinc

Wizards hope to extend hot play versus Grizzlies >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sweeping changes have begun to pay off for the Washington Wizards, who'll be seeking their fourth win in five games when they host the Memphis Grizzlies this evening at the Verizon Center. The Wizards made three trades pri

Bulls aim to bounce back against Pacers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After having a four-game winning streak snapped in their most recent trip to the court, the Chicago Bulls will try to bounce back when the slumping Indiana Pacers pay a visit to the United Center this evening for a Central Di

NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams

NFL Betting

It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.

We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.

Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.

Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.

Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.

NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.

The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Wagering

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.

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.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.