Florida State From Blue Devils State

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

Athens, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darius Miller scored a game-high 19 points off the bench Tuesday night, and No. 1 Kentucky began its second stint as the country's top-ranked team with a 57-44 win over Georgia. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 14 points for the Wildcats (20-1, 6-0 SEC), who have won 12 straight games since a last-second loss at Indiana on December 10, which ended their initial two-week stay atop the AP poll.

 

Winston-Salem, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 23rd-ranked Florida State Seminoles are back at it tonight as they head to Lawrence Joel Coliseum for an Atlantic Coast Conference battle with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. This will be the 43rd meeting in the all-time series. The Demon Deacons hold a 23-19 edge in the advantage coming into tonight despite Florida State winning the last three encounters.

 

Wake Forest enters tonight's game 11-8 overall and 2-3 in ACC play after its 71-56 victory over the Boston College Eagles on Saturday. The Demon Deacons interior play was impressive in the contest as they blocked 10 shots, won the rebounding battle 42-37, and outscored the Eagles, 40-24, in the paint. Head coach Jeff Bzdelik's team will have to improve on the defensive end if it wants to make a run in the ACC, as it ranks last in the league with an allowed average of 69.7 ppg.

 

The Demon Deacons are led by the ACC's top scoring duo C.J. Harris and Travis McKie. Harris is ranked third in the conference in scoring with 17.3 ppg and McKie is a very close fourth with an average of 17.2 ppg. McKie is also leading the team in rebounding with an average of 6.7 rpg after his 20-point, 10-rebound performance against Boston College. Harris chipped in 15 points and five assists in the win over the Eagles. Tony Chennault is a very good third option. The sophomore point guard is netting 10.6 ppg and had six assists with just one turnover his last time out.

 

Sophomore forward Doug McDermott ranks third nationally in scoring (23.2 ppg) and leads the MVC in scoring, rebounding, three-point percentage, and double- doubles. Antoine Young is second on the team in scoring (11.9 ppg). Young is due for a scoring outburst after being held under 10 points in each of his last two outings. Gregory Echenique is a physical center that averages 9.2 points, 7.1 boards, and 1.7 blocks per game. Grant Gibbs is the second best passer in the MVC with an average of 5.7 apg.

 

Rayvonte Rice and Ben Simons will need to put forth huge efforts to pull off the upset tonight. Rice is the team's leading scorer with an average of 16.9 ppg on 44.3 percent shooting from the field. The sophomore guard was held to just nine points his last time out by Northern Iowa. Simons is second on the team in scoring (15.5 ppg), but also had a difficult time against the Panthers as he was held to just seven points. Simons had scored in double-figures in nine-straight games before the forgettable performance. Kurt Alexander was big off the bench while Rice and Simons struggled, as he went 8-of-10 from the floor to score a team-high 21 points. Kraidon Woods could make an impact in this one as well, as he recently recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds against Illinois Sate. Woods has blocked 11 shots in his last four games off the bench.

 

The Nittany Lions come into play with heavy hearts, as the university mourns the death of Penn State Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno. Patrick Chambers' squad will be wearing black arm bands in memory of Paterno and enters Wednesday's action following a loss at nationally-ranked Indiana (73-54). The setback was the fourth in the last five games for PSU, which now sits at a dismal 2-6 in league play.

 

Ohio State enjoys a 27-12 series advantage thanks to wins in each of the last 16 meetings.

 

Stillwater, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off their biggest win of the season, the second-ranked Missouri Tigers close out a two-game road trip when they take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Big 12 action at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater. Frank Haith's first season at the helm in Columbia has been hugely successful thus far, as the Tigers have won 18 of their first 19 games. The team had a showdown with another top-five foe this past weekend in Waco, and came out on top in a thrilling 89-88 decision over Baylor. The victory was the fourth straight for Missouri, which moved to 5-1 in conference play.

 

Missouri owns a sizable 75-40 lead in the all-time series with Oklahoma State. Despite the overall lead, the Tigers trail in games played in Stillwater, with the Cowboys holding a 28-21 advantage.

 

The Tigers aren't the biggest team around, with a four-guard set among the starting five, but they are comfortable in what they do. Missouri is one of the top offensive teams in the country, ranking fourth in scoring (83.4 ppg) and second in field-goal percentage (.509). Marcus Denmon and Kim English are a potent perimeter duo at 17.7 and 14.4 ppg, respectively. Both are shooting over 40 percent from behind the arc and have combined for 98 of the team's 154 three-pointers to date. Ricardo Ratliffe is the top performer in the frontcourt, as the 6-8 senior nets 14.6 ppg and leads the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg). Michael Dixon (12.2 ppg) is a tremendous asset off the bench, while Phil Pressey can both score (10.1 ppg) and get others involved (6.0 apg). Ratliffe was the difference in the one-point win over Baylor this past weekend, erupting for a career-high 27 points and eight rebounds. Denmon poured in 17 points, Phil Pressey added 16 points and seven assists, while Matt Pressey and English chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. It was an offensive slugfest with Baylor shooting 57.1 percent from the floor, while Missouri hit on a 54.5 percent clip.

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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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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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