Hawks, Bucks tangle at the Bradley Center

Basketball Betting Lines

03/22/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what could be a possible preview of a first-round playoff matchup, the Milwaukee Bucks seek to continue their surge over the season's second half when the red-hot club hosts the Atlanta Hawks this evening at the Bradley Center.

Milwaukee returns home having ripped off 14 wins over its last 16 games and is fresh off Saturday's impressive 102-97 road decision over Northwest Division- leading Denver. John Salmons led the charge with 26 points, with Ersan Ilyasova adding 14 along with 10 rebounds off the bench.

The Bucks outscored the Nuggets, 26-21, in the fourth quarter to snap a 76-76 deadlock and held off their opponent down the stretch. Denver got as close as one point down on several occasions late, but Milwaukee was able to withstand the charge and iced the game on an Ilyasova layup that produced a four-point lead with 1:12 to go.

"We knew we were under a lot of adversity," Salmons said. "We tried to come out, play hard and give it our best shot."

Milwaukee's outstanding run has placed the club into fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a 38-30 record. If the season ended today the Bucks would face Atlanta, which presently occupies the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, in the Quarterfinal Round of next month's playoffs.

The Hawks certainly have the opportunity to better their standing, though, as they're tied with Atlantic Division front-runner Boston with a 45-24 overall mark. Atlanta enters tonight's play trailing Orlando for both first place in the Southeast Division and the East's No. 2 seed by 3 1/2 games.

Atlanta enters the Bradley Center off back-to-back overtime wins at home over Charlotte and San Antonio. In Sunday's 119-114 verdict over the Spurs, Al Horford scored six of his 22 points in the extra session and came down with a a game-high 18 rebounds to lead the Hawks to a fifth triumph in their last six outings.

"Playing Charlotte and San Antonio back-to-back, it gives us a great feel on what the playoffs are going to be like," said Horford. "Those are two playoff teams that play real well defensively. We really had to be on point [Sunday]."

The Hawks had plenty of other players contribute to yesterday's win. Marvin Williams delivered 26 points and nine rebounds, Joe Johnson compiled 20 points and 13 assists, while super-sub Jamal Crawford came up with 19 points in 35 minutes off the bench.

Atlanta also needed overtime to prevail in its previous meeting with the Bucks this season. The Hawks topped Milwaukee by a 106-102 count in Georgia on February 28, with Johnson netting nine of 24 points after regulation and Josh Smith racking up 22 points and 15 assists. Salmons had another big night for the Bucks in that contest, as the trade-deadline acquisition poured in a season-best 32 points.

The Hawks have won five of the past six overall meetings in the series, but are just 3-17 over their last 20 trips to Milwaukee. Atlanta snapped a four- game losing streak at the Bradley Center with a 113-105 triumph on April 8 of last season.

Tonight's tilt starts up a five-game homestand for the Bucks, who have won seven in a row at the Bradley Center and are a strong 23-9 as the host 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.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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