Wizards use big second half run to top Pistons
Basketball Betting Lines
02/12/2012 - Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Wall dished out a career-high 15 assists and scored all nine of his points during a game-changing run in the second half as the Wizards earned their second road win of the season with a 98-77 thumping of the Pistons.
JaVale McGee recorded a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds and Nick Young added 22 points for Washington, which moved to 2-10 away from home this season. The Wizards had lost six of their last seven games coming in.
Greg Monroe had 27 points and six rebounds to lead the Pistons, who had their four-game winning streak snapped.
"From the beginning of the game, we didn't have that same sort of effort and intensity that we had in some of these prior games," Detroit head coach Lawrence Frank said.
After Monroe's three-point play gave the Pistons a 61-59 advantage with 3:56 to play in the third, the Wizards used a 28-4 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters to break the game open.
Wall began the surge with a three-point play -- his first basket of the game -- and netted six more points in the quarter as the Wizards took a 74-63 lead into the fourth.
Rashard Lewis capped the run with a trey as the Wizards took a commanding 87-65 lead with 7:04 to play in the fourth. Wall also dished out four assists during the stretch.
Washington led by as many as 27 in the final stanza, cruising to the easy win.
The Wizards, who came in leading the NBA with 18.7 fastbreak points per game, used their stellar transition game in the opening stanza. Wall dished out four assists and Washington recorded eight fastbreak points as the visitors took a 26-18 lead after one.
Detroit hit the glass in the second period, pulling down nine offensive rebounds -- three by Ben Wallace and two by Monroe -- as the game was tied at 45 heading into the break. Monroe had 14 points to pace the Pistons in the first half.
Game Notes
Washington last won at the Palace on January 26, 2007...The Pistons fell to 6-9 at home this season...The Wizards finished with 22 fastbreak points...McGee finished the contest with eight dunks...The Pistons had 15 offensive rebounds, but the Wizards outrebounded them 47-42...Detroit was 1- of-11 from beyond the arc.
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jordan Nolan capped his first NHL game with his first career goal, the game-winning tally in the third period as Los Angeles doubled up Dallas, 4-2, at American Airlines Center. Justin Williams, Dwight King
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hold off the Chicago Bulls, 95-91, on Sunday.
Kevin Garnett added 13 points and
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with a pair of clutch free throws with 4.6 seconds left in the game, lifting
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No. 16 Purdue, 80-71, in a Big 10 clash.
Amber Stokes and Ashley Adams chipped in
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Pittsburgh Penguins scored four unanswered goals Sunday night to beat the
Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-2.
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Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
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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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