Bucks try to get back on track in Sacramento

Basketball Betting Lines

03/19/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Winning was becoming a habit for the Milwaukee Bucks until a recent letdown in Los Angeles. Now, Scott Skiles' club hopes to get back on the winning track as they continue a three-game road trip in Sacramento.

Chris Kaman scored 20 points on Wednesday night as the Clippers surged in the fourth quarter to snap an eight-game skid with a surprising 101-93 win over the Bucks.

Brandon Jennings scored 21 and John Salmons had 20 points for the Bucks, who lost for the first time in seven games but continued to hold onto the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Andrew Bogut chipped in 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.

"It was an embarrassment, we didn't come to play," Skiles said. "Brandon tried to get us in the game, but it wasn't even as close as the score. They dominated."

Overall, the Bucks have won 12 of their last 14 games and haven't lost back- to-back affairs in over two months.

The Kings, meanwhile, are playing out the string and fell to 2-2 on a five- game homestand on Tuesday when Kobe Bryant posted a near triple-double and Pau Gasol ended with 28 points on 12-of-14 shooting, as the duo led the LA Lakers past the Kings, 106-99.

Rookie of the Year candidate Tyreke Evans had another balanced game with 25 points, 11 rebounds and nine helpers for the Kings, who are 17-17 on their home floor this season. Carl Landry deposited 15 points to go with 10 rebounds, while Jason Thompson chipped in 14 and 10 in defeat.

"We had a chance of winning if we hit more shots," Landry said. "Any time we lose we're not happy."

Sacramento did earn a hard-fought 96-95 win in Brew City back in December when Evans sank an acrobatic layup with just 0.9 seconds left. The Kings will be shooting for a sweep of the home-and-home season series against the Bucks tonight, a year after Milwaukee accomplished the same feat.

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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.

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