Bucks topple Cavs; James rests

Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Jennings led five Milwaukee players in double figures with 25 points on 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, as the Bucks took down the Cleveland Cavaliers, minus LeBron James, 92-85, at the Bradley Center.

James was given the night off to rest and the Bucks took advantage by winning for the ninth time in 10 games.

Carlos Delfino added 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, while Luc Mbah a Moute tallied 10 points and 11 boards for the Bucks, who have won three in a row. Andrew Bogut added 15 points and nine boards.

Antawn Jamison led all scorers with 30 along with 11 rebounds, and Delonte West scored 27 for the Cavaliers, who lost for the first time in seven outings.

"I think defensively we did pretty well," Jamison said. "We definitely missed some (opportunities) on the offensive end. The way (James) is able to create easy opportunities for his teammates, it took us awhile to get things going in the right direction."

Milwaukee started the final frame up 69-61 and traded baskets with the Cavs before extending the margin to 15 at 80-65 on a Jennings three-pointer with 7:38 to go. The Cavaliers would cut the deficit to eight multiple times, with the last coming on a West hook shot with 1:23 remaining, but the Bucks kept trading baskets before allowing a Danny Green triple to end the game.

"When we had to get stops and a rebound, we did," said Bucks coach Scott Skiles. "We had a lot of guys chipping in."

The Bucks got off to an 8-2 run to start the night as Mbah a Moute scored six of the team's first eight points. Milwaukee's first quarter lead extended to 11 at 25-14, when Ersan Ilyasova drained a bucket with less than a minute left.

Cleveland came out strong in the second, mounting a 19-6 run that ended with the Cavaliers maintaining a 33-31 lead with 6:35 left. Jamison and West combined for all of the 19 points in the stretch. The Bucks took back the lead at 39-37 after a Delfino three-pointer, but Mo Williams drained a jumper with five seconds left to give Cleveland a 42-41 halftime lead.

In the third, Milwaukee jumped out to a 13-point advantage at 58-45 on a Jennings jumper, but finished the quarter leading by eight as Jamison scored eight points in the final three plus minutes to slightly trim the deficit to eight.

Game Notes

The Bucks are 15-4 in their last 19 games...Cleveland dropped to 23-7 in 2010...The Cavs converted on just 7-of-22 three-pointers.

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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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