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Bobcats open key homestand vs. woeful WolvesBasketball Betting Lines03/24/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats are closing in on the franchise's first postseason appearance and are back in the Tar Heel state tonight for the opener of a five-game homestand versus the Minnesota Timberwolves. If only the Bobcats could play all of their games at home as evidenced by the 25-8 mark at Time Warner Cable Arena. The 25 home wins are a franchise record in a season, topping the 23 victories as the host set last season. They're 11-26 as the visitor, and will also play the Wizards, Raptors, Sixers and Bucks on the residency. Charlotte is currently seeded seventh in the Eastern Conference, just a half- game behind No. 6 Miami and three games ahead of ninth-place Chicago. The Bulls are 2 1/2 games off the eighth and final postseason slot in the conference. The Bobcats put the brakes on a two-game slide and won for the eighth time in 11 tries after beating Washington by a 95-86 score in overtime on Tuesday in the finale of a three-game road trip. Gerald Wallace had 17 points and 19 rebounds, Stephen Jackson added 16 points and seven boards, and Boris Diaw netted 17 points for the Bobcats, who outscored the Wizards, 13-4, in the extra session. "In overtime, I told them we were lucky to be in overtime," said Bobcats head coach Larry Brown. "I told them to concentrate on getting the jump ball and having good possessions." Minnesota will hobble into Charlotte riding a 13-game losing streak. It will also visit the Orlando Magic on the quick trek and has lost seven in a row away from the Twin Cities. The Timberwolves, who are 5-31 as the guest, are coming off Monday's 106-100 loss versus the Toronto Raptors at Target Center. Al Jefferson led all scorers with 22 points to go with seven rebounds, while Wayne Ellington scored 17 points in a reserve role for the Timberwolves, who have dropped 19 of the last 20 games and haven't won since beating Miami back on February 23. Jonny Flynn and Kevin Love had 14 and 13 points, respectively, in defeat. "Our half-court defense let us down in the second half," said Wolves coach Kurt Rambis. "We just couldn't find ways to get stops. Because they have talented guards and pick setters and bigs that can shoot basketball it puts a lot of stress on our defense. It spelled our fate tonight." The Timberwolves last dropped 13 in a row from November 29 - December 23 of the 2008-09 campaign, and haven't lost 14 straight games since a 16-game drought spanning from April 8 - November 12, 1994. They lost 16 consecutive contests in a season February 29 - March 29, 1993. Charlotte defeated Minnesota, 93-92, last month in Minneapolis thanks to Nazr Mohammed's dunk with 5.3 seconds left and Jackson's 33 points. The Bobcats have won five of the last six meetings with the T'Wolves, who have lost four of the five matchups as the guest.
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Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana 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. For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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