Artest leads Rockets past Kings in return to Sacramento

Basketball Betting Lines

04/10/2009 - Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ron Artest scored 26 points in his first visit back to Sacramento since being traded from the Kings in the offseason, as Houston rolled through the second half in a 115-98 triumph.

Yao Ming added 20 points and nine rebounds, while Luis Scola added 15 points and eight boards for the Rockets. Von Wafer donated 13 points and Shane Battier recorded 12 points and five rebounds in the win, Houston's third in a row.

Houston moved a half-game in front of idle San Antonio for first place in the Southwest Division with the victory. The Rockets also moved a half-game in front of idle Portland and the Spurs for third place in the Western Conference.

Spencer Hawes led Sacramento with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Andres Nocioni and Francisco Garcia contributed 17 points apiece. Jason Thompson added 16 points and 10 rebounds and Beno Udrih added 12 for the Kings, who have dropped six straight.

The Kings held steady through two quarters, going toe-to-toe with the playoff- bound Rockets. Sacramento took a 33-30 edge into the second stanza and a 54-49 advantage into the locker room.

However, in the third quarter, the Kings struggled. Hawes opened the third- period scoring with a three-pointer for a 57-49 advantage, but Houston came back with a 19-6 scoring stretch. In that long shift in momentum, the Rockets reeled off nine straight points capped by an Artest jumper, Yao slam and Artest three for a 68-63 lead.

Nocioni's two free throws brought the home-standing Kings within 74-72, but Houston scored the next seven points. The Rockets outscored Sacramento, 36-20, in the period to take a double-digit advantage, 85-74, into the final 12 minutes.

The Rockets ran out to a 93-74 lead on two Scola free throws, and the rout was on. Sacramento drained treys on three straight possessions to get within 96-83, but never put a major dent in the deficit the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The Rockets also swept the Kings in a pair of games in Houston this season...Houston snapped a three-game road losing streak and improved to 20-7 without Tracy McGrady...Sacramento made just 44 percent of its shots, while Houston connected on 54 percent of its shots and 11-of-21 three- pointers...Artest played for Sacramento in the later half of the 2005-06 season and the next two campaigns. In 167 games, he averaged 18.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

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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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