Basketball Betting
 

Basketball Betting


NFL Football
NCAA Football
NCAA Basketball
MLB Baseball
NHL Hockey
Soccer
Auto
Horse Racing
Golf
Tennis
 

NBA Basketball Betting

Raptors hope to continue dominance over Wolves

Basketball Betting Lines

03/22/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The playoff-hopeful Toronto Raptors will try to continue their mastery of the Minnesota Timberwolves Monday night in the Twin Cities.

Toronto has won 11 in a row against the Timberwolves, with its last loss in the series on January 21, 2004 north of the border. The Raptors, who currently occupy the eighth and final postseason spot in the East, are unbeaten in their past five trips to the Target Center.

The Raptors have won two of three since a five-game winning streak and recorded a 100-90 triumph at New Jersey on Saturday. Chris Bosh poured in 23 of his 36 points in the second half and Jarrett Jack had 15 points for Toronto, which leads Chicago by 2 1/2 games for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

"I was trying to stay aggressive the whole game," Bosh said. "A lot of guys on the bench encouraged me to do well and it really helped."

Toronto is 11-23 away from Canada this season.

Minnesota has lost 12 in a row and 18 of its last 19 games, including Friday's 104-96 decision against the Los Angeles Lakers in the finale of a four-game road trip.

Jonny Flynn scored 20 points and Kevin Love added 19 and 11 rebounds for Minnesota, which has dropped seven straight as the guest and hasn't won since February 23 at Miami. The Timberwolves had 19 turnovers, leading to 26 Los Angeles points.

"Points off turnovers have been our problem all season long," Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis said. "We have trouble handling pressure. It's like starting the game down 20 or 30 points. That said, our guys played really well. They did what I asked them to do. I was happy with their performance and effort."

Darko Milicic had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and is questionable for tonight because of back spasms.

The T'Wolves have lost eight straight at home and are 9-25 at the Target Center this season.

<< Spurs visit Thunder in key Western Conference matchup
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Playoff positioning in the jumbled Western Conference is at stake tonight, when the Oklahoma City Thunder open a four-game homestand versus the San Antonio Spurs at the Ford Center. Oklahoma City is sixth in the conference

<< Desperate teams collide in the Windy City as Bulls host Rockets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams on the outside looking in on a postseason berth get together this evening in the Windy City, as the Chicago Bulls play host to the Houston Rockets at the United Center. The Bulls are 2 1/2 games off the eighth an

<< Jays' forecast a mixture of sun and clouds
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Playing under a dome, one would expect the skies to be clearer for the Toronto Blue Jays. And although first-year Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has brought a vision to a franchise suffering from cataracts, it wi

<< Tiger Woods: The politician's golfer
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods stood for both interviews. But he was only barely standing up. In yet another round of tightly-controlled statements, Woods showed us Sunday night that if things had gone differently for him in his formative ye

<< 2 stabbed when hoops players brawl on NY campus
OLEAN, N.Y. (AP) -State police are investigating the stabbing of two men during a fight between members of the St. Bonaventure and Jamestown Community College basketball teams.Troopers say the fight occurred around 3 a.m. Sunday on the St. Bonaventu

Mavs hope to get back on track against reeling Hornets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Mavericks have been a model of consistency over the last decade and are likely headed to the playoffs for a 10th straight season. Tonight they'll try to keep their road skills sharp when they make a stop in the Big

Habs-Leafs double-dip >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In between naps, I was trying to watch the Leafs and the Canadiens on Saturday and, well, it had about as much zip as soggy bread. Although the Leafs and Habs' rivalry goes way back, it's just not what it u

Magic roll into south Philly >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic continue their current road trip with a stop at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center, where the Southeast Division leaders will attempt to maintain their recent dominance of the struggling 76ers in tonight

Pens make first trip to Detroit since Cup-clinching victory >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Finals is on tap tonight in Detroit, as the Red Wings welcome the reigning champion Pittsburgh Penguins for a showdown at Joe Louis Arena. This is the second meeting between the clubs t

Hawks, Bucks tangle at the Bradley Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what could be a possible preview of a first-round playoff matchup, the Milwaukee Bucks seek to continue their surge over the season's second half when the red-hot club hosts the Atlanta Hawks this evening

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.