Blazers try to enhance playoff chances in clash with Kings

Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers hope to improve their playoff chances tonight by earning a sixth straight win over the lottery-bound Sacramento Kings.

The Blazers, who currently lead Memphis by four games for the eighth and final postseason spot in the Western Conference, will also be shooting for their second win over the Kings this week. Portland topped Sacramento, 88-81, in the Rose Garden on Tuesday behind Brandon Roy's 19 points.

Most recently the Blazers downed Golden State on Thursday, when Roy scored 41 points and had eight rebounds and Portland locked down the Warriors in the fourth quarter and rallied for a 110-105 victory.

Andre Miller contributed 15 points and seven assists, LaMarcus Aldridge added 14 points and eight assists, while Jerryd Bayless and Rudy Fernandez donated 12 points apiece off the bench for Portland, which has won two straight games and solidified its standing for a playoff spot in the West.

The Trail Blazers, who outscored the Warriors 27-9 in the last quarter, now sit a half-game behind San Antonio for the seventh playoff spot.

Portland snapped a nine-game losing streak on the road versus the Warriors, winning for the first time in Oakland since November 3, 2004.

"We don't want to lose here, but this is one of the toughest places for us to win," Roy said. "We knew how big this game was. We won this game, but it was tough. I'm just happy with the way we responded to their runs."

The Kings, meanwhile, rebounded from their loss to the Blazers earlier in the week by topping Toronto, 113-90, on Wednesday. Rookie star Tyreke Evans logged his first career triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and as many assists as Sacramento cruised.

Beno Udrih led all scorers with 24 points, while Donte Greene and Carl Landry chipped in 15 points apiece for the Kings, who put the brakes on a three-game losing streak.

"Coach (Paul Westphal) told me that he wanted me to get it (a triple-double)," said Evans. "He kept telling me to find people and he said I had a limited amount of time too, so I was trying to get it as fast as I could."

Roy has averaged 22.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in the Blazers' two wins over Sacramento this season.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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