Another Cardinals meltdown; Rox win in ninth on Iannetta's HR

Baseball Betting Lines

07/08/2010 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Iannetta smacked a lead-off homer off major league newcomer Evan MacLane in the ninth inning and the Colorado Rockies earned an 8-7 win over the Cardinals, picking up their second straight magical comeback win.

Tuesday night, Seth Smith capped an improbable nine-run rally in the ninth inning in Colorado's 12-9 triumph. That was the greatest ninth-inning comeback in baseball's modern era.

Dexter Fowler tied Wednesday's game with a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa elected to go with MacLane for the start of the ninth. MacLane, who was called up from Triple-A Memphis earlier in the day when Adam Ottavino went on the 15-day disabled list, threw just six pitches in his major league debut. Iannetta crushed a 3-2 offering over the wall in left field, giving the Rockies their 10th win in the last 11 meetings against the Cardinals.

Colorado trailed 5-0 going to the bottom of the fifth inning, but posted its third straight win in its final at-bat. On Sunday, Todd Helton lofted a sacrifice fly to left field in the bottom of the 15th inning, and the Rockies beat San Francisco, 4-3.

Wwwjobtrack Baseball Betting News

<< Lee, Astros use long ball to double up Pirates
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Lee slugged a two-run shot as Houston hit a season-high four home runs en route to a 6-3 decision over Pittsburgh in the middle test of a three game set from Minute Maid Park. Jeff Keppinger, Lance B

<< Blazers sign first-round pick Elliot Williams
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers have signed rookie guard Elliot Williams, who was chosen 22nd overall in this year's NBA Draft. The 21-year-old Williams compiled averages of 17.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.8 assist

<< Rangers edge Indians to take series
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Julio Borbon went 2-for-3 and singled in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning, as the Rangers nipped the Indians, 4-3, to take the rubber match of their three-game series. Michael Young blasted a two-run

<< Rays stay hot, complete sweep of BoSox
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Price pitched into the eighth inning and Evan Longoria homered as Tampa Bay got by Boston, 6-4, in the finale of a three-game series from Tropicana Field. Carl Crawford, Carlos Pen

<< Bautista, Jays outlast Twins
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Bautista hit an inside-the-park homer and scored the go-ahead run on Vernon Wells' double in the seventh inning, as Toronto outlasted Minnesota, 6-5, in a roller-coaster affair at Rogers Centre. Alex

Posey busts out as Giants crush Brewers >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buster Posey hit a grand slam and recorded a number of firsts in a huge performance, and Tim Lincecum was dominant on the mound as the San Francisco Giants routed the Milwaukee Brewers, 15-2, in the continu

Cubs finish sweep of D'Backs >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Dempster beat Arizona for the first time in nearly 10 years and Aramis Ramirez clubbed a three-run homer, as the Chicago Cubs completed their first three-game sweep at Chase Field with an 8-3 win ove

Johnson dominant as Marlins shut out Dodgers >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Johnson was his normal dominant self, pitching eight shutout frames as Florida took the rubber match of a three-game series from Los Angeles, 4-0, at Chavez Ravine. Johnson (9-3), who lowered his

Burnett, Yankees sweep Athletics >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Teixeira belted a three-run homer during New York's five-run fourth inning and A.J. Burnett picked up his first win in over a month as the Yankees downed the Athletics, 6-2, to complete a three- game sw

Royals complete rare road sweep in Seattle >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alberto Callaspo and Mitch Maier hit home runs in the eighth inning, as the Kansas City Royals rallied past Seattle, 7-3, to complete their first road sweep of the Mariners in 15 years. Callaspo's three-run

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.


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.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.