Sixers hand Bobcats 15th straight loss

Basketball Betting Lines

02/13/2012 - Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lou Williams scored 23 points and fellow reserve Thaddeus Young added 20 to help the Philadelphia 76ers down the struggling Charlotte Bobcats, 98-89, on Monday.

Kemba Walker nearly carried the Bobcats to a comeback win by scoring 14 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, but it ultimately came up short to extend Charlotte's club-record losing streak to 15.

Nikola Vucevic contributed to the Sixers' solid bench effort with eight points and 10 rebounds, while Jrue Holiday scored 19 points in the victory, Philly's second straight.

Corey Maggette had a season-high 22 points for the Bobcats, who have not won since beating Golden State on January 14.

Charlotte, still playing without its starting backcourt of D.J. Augustin (toe) and Gerald Henderson (hamstring), trailed 55-45 at halftime but used a late 11-1 run in the third quarter to cut the deficit to four.

A Matt Carroll three-pointer in the final minute pulled the hosts as close as two, 69-67, though the Sixers scored eight straight points spanning the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter.

The Bobcats continued to stay within striking distance, but never got over the hump. Near the midway point of the fourth, Walker drained three-pointers on consecutive trips to get Charlotte within 81-79, only to have Williams answer with a three-pointer at the other end.

Philadelphia still led by five entering the final minute, and an inside bucket by Vucevic and deep three-pointer by Williams sealed the win, the Sixers' first in Charlotte since January 26, 2008.

"Williams hitting that big three against the [shot] clock was the dagger," Sixers head coach Doug Collins said.

Holiday made all five of his field goal attempts in the opening frame, including a three-pointer that ignited a quarter-ending 13-5 run.

The Sixers led 28-17 entering the second and held their biggest lead, 35-20, after Williams converted a three-point play less than three minutes in.

Game Notes

The Sixers improved to 20-9. They did not earn their 20th win last season until game No. 45...Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia's All-Star representative, had nine assists, but shot just 1-for-6 for three points...Reggie Williams and Byron Mullens scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, for Charlotte, which committed 15 turnovers to Philadelphia's seven...The home team in this series had won five straight and eight of the previous nine.

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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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