Sixers try to bounce back vs. bumbling Bobcats
Basketball Betting Lines
01/27/2012 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers try to bounce back from a rare loss
at home this evening when they welcome the hapless Charlotte Bobcats to the
Wells Fargo Center.
Philadelphia lost for only the second time in 10 tries in front of its fans on
Wednesday, falling in overtime, 97-90, to the New Jersey Nets.
Lou Williams ended with 17 points and six assists for Philadelphia, which fell
to 8-2 at home this season. Elton Brand and Jrue Holiday had 16 and 14 points,
respectively.
Trailing by four, 88-84, with 2 1/2 minutes left in overtime, Philly ripped
off six straight points to take the lead. Holiday capped the surge with an
easy steal off an inbounds pass and slam, making it 90-88 with 1:18 to go.
But Deron Williams made a jumper and three-pointer around Jodie Meeks' missed
three-pointer to give New Jersey a 93-90 edge with 26.8 seconds left. The Nets
then sealed the win with four free throws.
"We had five fast break points tonight. That was the difference," said Sixers
coach Doug Collins. "We never could get out and run."
After winning nine of 10 games, the Sixers have now lost three of five and
have surrendered 95.4 points-per-game in doing so. Not helping any is the fact
that the team is without its two centers Spencer Hawes (Achilles) and Nik
Vucevic (quadriceps).
"We definitely need our bigs," Brand said. "We're looking forward to getting
them back, but we just couldn't get stops."
The Sixers added some depth earlier Friday by signing veteran free agent
center Francisco Elson.
"We are happy to pick up Francisco Elson, a veteran big man who can help
bolster our front court, Sixers president of basketball operations Rod Thorn
said when announcing the signing.
Charlotte, meanwhile, continues to be one of the league's worst teams at 3-16.
The Bobcats dropped their sixth straight game on Wednesday to the equally
anemic Washington Wizards, losing 92-75.
Matt Carroll scored 17 points in his first start of the year for the Bobcats,
who were without starters D.J. Augustin (toe) and Gerald Henderson (back).
The Bobcats got help from rookie Kemba Walker, who scored eight points to go
with four assists and six boards in place of Augustin; and Tyrus Thomas, who
added 13 points, nine rebounds and a career-high nine blocks for Charlotte,
which has dropped seven in a row on the road.
"As I said last night, take three or four of your best players off any team,
and you're not gonna play well," Charlotte coach Paul Silas said about his
team's recent injuries. "Our scorers, our two leading scorers are not playing,
how are we gonna score?"
The loss was the 12th in 13 tries for the Bobcats, who will be without
Augustin again tonight. Henderson will likely be a game-time decision.
Philadelphia could have an even bigger edge tonight, as the home team in this
series has won the last four and seven of the last eight contests. Charlotte
has also dropped 10 of its last 13 in the City of Brotherly Love.
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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.
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