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Red-hot Raptors to receive visit from BlazersBasketball Betting Lines02/24/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Even an injury to their star forward can't slow down the Raptors. Toronto, which could be without Chris Bosh for a third straight game, will try to win for the 11th time in its last 13 games this evening versus the Portland Trail Blazers at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors' current hot stretch has them fifth overall in the Eastern Conference and they have won two straight despite Bosh missing both games with a sprained left ankle. The 25-year-old, who leads the team with averages of 24.5 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, will be a game-time decision for this contest after not practicing on Tuesday. Jarrett Jack stepped up in Bosh's absence, posting 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 109-104 win over Washington. Jack added eight assists and netted the first seven points of a 14-0 fourth-quarter run that turned a nine-point deficit into a five-point lead with 1:34 remaining. "We can't let games like this slip away, especially on our home court. We have to take advantage of that," said Jack. "We made some big stops on defense, it seemed to get contagious and our offense came right back and made some big shots." Antoine Wright added a season-high 19 points and Andrea Bargnani scored 18 for Toronto, which has won nine of its last 10 at home and eclipsed the 100-point mark for a franchise-best 20th straight game. The Raptors could use Bosh tonight in their first meeting with the Trail Blazers this season. Portland won both meetings in 2009-09 despite Bosh averaging 24 points in the two matchups. That includes a 98-97 victory by Portland in Toronto on December 7, 2008, with Steve Blake hitting the game- winning three-pointer with 8.9 seconds left. Blake, though, was dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers last Tuesday along with Travis Outlaw for Marcus Camby, who left last night's 102-93 victory over the New Jersey Nets in the first quarter with a sprained right ankle. "[New Jersey's Brook] Lopez stepped on my ankle and my momentum went the other way, and just rolled it," said Camby, who was drafted second overall by the Raptors in 1996. "It's pretty sore right now. X-rays were negative so we'll just look at it as day-to-day," The loss of Camby again thins out Portland's front court, as it is already without centers Greg Oden (left knee) and Joel Przybilla (right knee) due to season-ending injuries. Brandon Roy led the way versus New Jersey with 28 points, while LaMarcus Aldridge added 27. Andre Miller was also solid with 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds as Portland opened up a five-game road trip by snapping a two-game slide. Portland, which owns a two-game edge over New Orleans for the eighth spot in the Western Conference, has won three of its last four on the road. Roy averaged 23.5 points and eight assists in the two wins over Toronto last year, while Aldridge averaged 20.5 points and 8.5 rebounds.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A strong February has enabled the Milwaukee Bucks to creep back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture, while the New Orleans Hornets' shaky play during the month has put their postseason hopes in jeopardy. The Bucks
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves were able to pick up a rare road victory last night, but making it two in a row might present a problem given the location of tonight's contest. Minnesota will try to snap a seven-game series los
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Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence 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.
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