Mavs try to push win streak to 11 in Chicago

Basketball Betting Lines

03/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Dallas Mavericks will try to stretch their season-high winning streak to 11 games tonight, when they open a short road trip against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center.

The Mavs will also visit Minnesota, have won three in a row on the road and own a 20-12 mark away from Big D this season.

In last night's 108-100 victory versus Sacramento, Dirk Nowitzki netted 15 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed 12 rebounds for Southwest Division-leading Dallas, which is second in the Western Conference standings, just four games behind the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Rodrigue Beaubois scored a career-high 22 points and veteran Jason Kidd added 17 points and 12 assists.

"I really tried to be aggressive with Jet (Jason Terry) being out and we needed everyone to push themselves, so I really tried to be aggressive," said Beaubois. "I'm feeling more confident out there and my teammates have been talking to me and everyday -- I'm feeling better."

Terry underwent facial surgery Friday and is out indefinitely for the Mavs, who last ripped off 10 victories in a row during a franchise-best 17-game run from January 27-March 11, 2007. Dallas center Brendan Haywood left Friday's win with tightness in his lower back and is questionable against Chicago.

The reeling Bulls resume a four-game homestand tonight. They fell to 0-2 on the residency Thursday when Zach Randolph poured in 31 points and pulled down 18 rebounds, as Memphis dominated the fourth quarter to beat Chicago, 105-96, and extend its franchise-record road winning streak to six games.

Luol Deng had 23 points for the Bulls, who lost their third in a row overall and sit seventh in the East standings. Derrick Rose ended with 20 points. Brad Miller and Kirk Hinrich had 14 and 13 points, respectively. Hinrich is questionable for Saturday's game with a sprained right ankle.

"The loose balls and the rebounding I think were the difference," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "Our initial defense was decent and then the extra possessions really hurt us."

Dallas has won three of four and 19 of the previous 22 matchups with the Bulls, who have lost eight of the last 10 contests as the host in this series.

Niftu Basketball Betting News

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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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