Magic beat Sixers by 21

Basketball Betting Lines

03/01/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jameer Nelson scored 22 points and dished out 10 assists, and seven Orlando players scored in double-figures to help the Magic rout the 76ers, 126-105, at Wachovia Center.

Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter each added 19 points for the Magic, who have won eight of 11 overall and six straight regular season games over the Sixers, whom the team beat in the first round of last year's Eastern Conference playoffs.

Matt Barnes contributed 16 points, and Dwight Howard had 14 points. J.J. Redick recorded 11 points, and Mickael Pietrus 10 to complete the balanced attack, as Orlando shot a blistering 58.4 percent from the field and 65.2 percent from three-point range.

"Obviously we shot the ball very well, and this game came down to who made shots," said Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy. "I don't think either team put much effort in defensively quite honestly. It was pretty easy for both teams to get shots and we shot better than they did."

Jrue Holiday posted a career-high 23 points -- 15 in the first quarter -- for the Sixers, who were coming off a 1-3 road trip. Andre Iguodala added 19, while Thaddeus Young had 17 in a losing cause.

"We lost the passion to compete," said 76ers head coach Eddie Jordan. "We were dominated, but we have to learn how to compete and keep our chin up. This team hasn't learned that, and it's a lack of leadership in that room (the locker room). The coaches are trying -- believe me."

Lou Williams scored 13 points and dished out seven assists, and Samuel Dalembert had 12 points and 11 boards for Philadelphia.

Holiday matched his career-high in points in the first quarter with 15, as the Sixers took a 36-35 lead after 12 minutes. But the Magic went in front by a 68-61 margin at halftime.

Orlando then dominated Philadelphia in the third quarter, pulling away for good.

A Barnes three-pointer in the early moments had the visitors ahead by 10, 73-63, and a Lewis triple later put the Magic ahead by a score of 94-79 with just over three minutes to go.

After Marreese Speights drilled a shot for Philadelphia, Orlando scored eight straight points to end the quarter. Nelson's three capped a period where the Magic went 11-of-16 from the field, giving the team a commanding 102-81 advantage heading to the fourth.

Orlando led by as many as 28 in the final period.

Game Notes

Orlando defeated Philadelphia in six games in last season's playoff series...Holiday had six assists...Carter had seven rebounds...Howard had a season-low in rebounds with three. The last time he was held to three or fewer rebounds was when he grabbed only three boards in a loss to Phoenix on December 11, 2006...Philadelphia shot 48.8 percent from the field...The Sixers played without forward Elton Brand, who sat due to Achilles' tendinitis.

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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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