Clippers invade Rip City to take on Blazers
Basketball Betting Lines
02/16/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Clippers invade Rip City on Thursday to take on a Portland Trail Blazers team that expects to be without All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge for a second consecutive night.
The Clips returned to Staples Center last night after a successful Grammy Road Trip and blitzed the lowly Washington Wizards, 102-84. Blake Griffin had 23 points and 15 rebounds in that one as Los Angeles beat the Wizards for a seventh straight time.
Caron Butler added 21 points and Chris Paul scored 16 with nine assists in the win, including an alley-oop pass to DeAndre Jordan for a one-handed dunk that punctuated LA's ninth victory in 12 games overall.
"We didn't play well at the start and they did," said Paul. "We need to come out with more energy and that starts with me."
The Clippers, who lead the Lakers by two games in the Pacific, are 7-6 as the road team on the season.
The Blazers, meanwhile, persevered without Aldridge, who sprained his left ankle in Portland's 124-109 home loss to Washington on Tuesday, edging Golden State, 93-91, in Oakland last night. Jamal Crawford made the game-winning free throws in the final minute of that one as Portland survived a seesaw battle.
Gerald Wallace chipped in 24 points, Nicolas Batum had 17 and Crawford finished with 14 for Portland, which snapped a two-game skid. Marcus Camby posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Trail Blazers.
"They were not going to lose this game," Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said. "Our execution was pretty good coming down the stretch."
The Clippers have lost six straight and 20 of their last 24 overall in the Pacific Northwest, including a 105-97 setback on Jan. 10. Portland, however, has lost three straight in the Rose Garden after starting the season a gaudy 11-1 on its home floor.
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Desperate to put an end to a 13-game slide, the Santa Clara Broncos have the unenviable task of entertaining 24th-ranked Gonzaga in West Coast Conference action at the Leavey Center tonight. Santa Clara, wh
<< Local rivals duke it out in Durham
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NC State Wolfpack will try to pick up a
crucial victory tonight as they make the short trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium
to battle the fifth-ranked Duke Blue Devils in an Atlantic Coast Conference
battle.
Duke
<< 20th-ranked Seminoles play host to Hokies
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked Florida State Seminoles
will try to stay in the race for the Atlantic Coast Conference's top spot as
they welcome the Virginia Tech Hokies to the Donald Tucker Center for a league
battle.
T
<< Top-25 foes square off in Big Ten brawl
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers will try
to keep up their winning ways and be the first team to steal a road victory at
the Breslin Center this season as they head to East Lansing for a Big Ten
Conference b
<< Jackson State to open season at Mississippi State
Jackson, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jackson State will kick off its 2012 football
season against Mississippi State - the Tigers' first game against a FBS
opponent in three years.
The Tigers will travel to Starksville on Sept. 1. They opened their
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The suddenly struggling Indiana Pacers will attempt to right the ship Thursday when they shoot for a 10th consecutive win over the New Jersey Nets. Early in the season the Pacers, who are kicking off a three-game homestand
Bulls and Celtics clash in the Windy City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Central Division-leading Chicago Bulls resume a six-
game homestand tonight aiming for a measure of revenge over the Boston
Celtics.
The Celtics snapped a five-game winning streak by the Bulls in Beantown,
95-91, this
Mighty Rangers host free-falling Blackhawks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers seem to be on cruise control in the
race for the top seed in the Eastern Conference, but the last few weeks have
been anything but a smooth ride for the struggling Chicago Blackhawks.
Chicago will try
Pirates beat Jones in arbitration; avoid hearing with McGehee >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates won their salary
arbitration case with first baseman Garrett Jones and avoided a hearing with
newly-acquired third baseman Casey McGehee.
Jones will earn a salary of $2.25 milli
Blues aim to bounce back against visiting Isles >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues will try to rebound from just their
third regulation loss of 2012 when they host the New York Islanders tonight at
Scottrade Center.
St. Louis has gone 13-3-2 since the start of January and one of the f
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Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
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