Raptors make a stop in Sacramento

Basketball Betting Lines

03/10/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The reeling Toronto Raptors aim to right the ship tonight as they resume a four-game western road trip against the Sacramento Kings.

The Raptors are now fighting for their playoff lives after dropping the opener of their trek in Los Angeles on Tuesday, their sixth loss in seven games overall. Kobe Bryant played hero again in that one, sinking the winning jumper from the right baseline with 1.9 seconds left, as the Lakers snapped a three- game skid of their own with a 109-107 victory over Toronto.

Bryant, who missed a potential winning three-pointer at the end of regulation in a 106-105 loss in Toronto on January 24, scored 32 points, dished out six assists and had six rebounds. He also missed the potential tying shot on Sunday in Orlando, but came through in a huge way Tuesday at Staples Center.

"They didn't come early at me and I got the shot off," Bryant said. "That's part of my responsibility, to close teams out. Our defense tonight was garbage. We have to focus on execution."

Chris Bosh hit the tying three-pointer with 9.5 seconds left in regulation and finished with 22 points for Toronto, which has lost eight straight on the road against the Lakers. Andrea Bargnani added 21 points and Jarrett Jack notched 18 points, seven boards and seven assists.

"It was no secret he was going to take the shot," Toronto coach Jay Triano said of Bryant's game-winner. "We ran two guys at him and he still made it."

The Raptors still stand sixth in the Eastern Conference playoff picture but are just 1 1/2 games ahead of ninth place Chicago.

The postseason is just a dream for Sacramento, which dropped its third straight game in Portland last night when Brandon Roy scored 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds as the Blazers beat the Kings for the fifth straight time, 88-81, at the Rose Garden.

Rookie of the Year candidate Tyreke Evans had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Kings. Carl Landry scored 17 and Beno Udrih 13, but Sacramento was held without a point for a key three-minute stretch late in the game.

"We just didn't convert or execute down the stretch and that is something we have to learn how to do, being a young team," Landry said. "We have great talent in this locker room, we just have to learn how to execute down the stretch when the game is on the line."

Toronto has won three straight and five of its last six over the Kings, including a 115-104 win north of the border on Feb. 7.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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