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76ers continue homestand vs. SunsBasketball Betting Lines02/28/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers resume a six-game homestand this evening when they welcome the Phoenix Suns to the Wachovia Center. Philadelphia opened the homestand with an 89-82 win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night. Samuel Dalembert posted 20 points and 17 rebounds to help the Sixers end a two-game skid. Andre Iguodala notched 22 points and eight boards for the 76ers, who won for just the second time in seven games. Andre Miller scored 18 points in the win, as the 76ers improved to 11-15 at home this season. They will also host Memphis, New Jersey, Seattle and the Los Angeles Lakers during the homestand. The Sixers are also 12 games off the lead in the Atlantic standings. Meanwhile, the Pacific Division-leading Suns have won five in a row and posted a 103-92 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night at Conseco Fieldhouse. Steve Nash had 25 points and 11 assists to help the Suns battle back from an 18-point deficit in the third quarter. Amare Stoudemire finished with 23 points and 18 rebounds, while Shawn Marion scored 22 points for the Suns, who improved to 3-0 on their four-game road trip. Phoenix, which is 14-0 on the road against Eastern Conference teams, will wrap up the trek tonight in Philly, and is 23-7 as the visitor this season. Wednesday's showdown between Phoenix and Philly is the second and final meeting of the season. The Suns won the first matchup, 106-94, on November 17 at US Airways Center. Phoenix has won five straight, eight of nine and 11 of the last 15 meetings in the series. It has also won two straight and three of its last four trips to the City of Brotherly Love.
<< Celtics, Knickerbockers square off in Beantown
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics try to make it two straight wins this evening when they host the division-rival New York Knicks at TD Banknorth Garden. Boston hasn't won consecutive games since ripping off five straight wins f
<< Sharks to unveil new look against Predators
<< Flames and Wild clash in Calgary
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<< Top-25 foes meet in the Lone Star State
Jazz visit Grizzlies in Memphis >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Northwest Division-leading Utah Jazz open a three-game road trip this evening when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedExForum. Utah, which owns a 9 1/2-game lead over Denver in the Northwest standin
Wizards try to turn down Heat in D.C. >>
Hornets aim to sting visiting Hawks >>
Bulls welcome Warriors to Windy City >>
Rockets in flight vs. Raptors >>
COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTINGNCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking. No. 1 always seems to fit USC. Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent. Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory. Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3. "We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team." Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time. "Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team." The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points. "I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won." Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State. "There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?" USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll. "It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter." While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls. As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule. But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference. Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com. The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road. The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second. The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia. No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday. Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee. Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina. Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson. The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996. South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20. The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24. Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com |
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