Trail Blazers are listed as 5 -point favorite with a total of 212.5 at SBG Global.

Portland is coming off an 88-81 win over Sacramento on Tuesday even though they didn’t play well. “We’re taking these wins, but we know we have to get better if we’re going to make a push,” said Portland’s Brandon Roy.  Portland has won five of their last seven road games and they should win at Golden State and end that nine-game losing streak. Golden State is simply awful. They allowed 118 points per NBA betting game on their recent road trip where they went 0-5.  “We played our hearts out. We came up short again,” coach Don Nelson said. “I have to be pleased with the way that we’re playing. We just can’t seem to scratch a win out.”

One key to the outcome of this game could be the status of Golden State’s leading scorer Monta Ellis.  He has missed the last six games and is questionable on Thursday.  He had 34 points, eight assists and a career high-tying six steals in Golden State’s win over Portland in November.

Portland is trying not to overlook the Warriors on Thursday. “Golden State is a tricky team,” Marcus Camby said, “They play small ball, they shoot the ball particularly well, so we definitely have to move our feet come Thursday night.”

The Trail Blazers are 10-3 ATS in their last 13 road NBA betting games. The Trail Blazers are 0-4 ATS in the last 4 meetings at Golden State. The Warriors are 15-7 ATS in their last 22 vs. the Western Conference. The home team is 6-0 ATS in the last 6 meetings between the two teams.

The Over is 4-0 in the Trail Blazers last 4 road games. The Over is 15-7 in the Trail Blazers last 22 vs. the Western Conference. The Under is 4-1 in the Warriors last 5 home games. The Under is 9-2-1 in the last 12 meetings in Golden State.

In fact, it’s hard to remember a time when the NCAA odds tournament has been competitive among conferences than this year.

A quick rundown of the current rankings makes this basketball betting development painfully clear.  Of the top 25 spots up for grabs in the rankings 14 of those slots are being occupied by just three conferences.  The Big East, the Big 12 and the Big 10 are dominating the basketball betting competition this year.  Over half of the 25 slots (56% are currently occupied by one of these conferences.

Further of the top ten teams in the NCAA odds seven of them can be found in these three conferences.  That is not a typo: 70% of the top ten teams in the country are either in the Big East, Big 12 or Big 10.

That does not bode well for other conference when it comes time to put in their dancing shoes.  But as anyone knowledgeable fan will tell you rankings mean little when it comes to the Big Dance and everybody has to earn their own way when the Tournament begins.

Still, based on these ranking these three conferences are likely to dominate the seeding process and will have  better chance than most of sending representatives to the Final Four and beyond.

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Iowa State finished 15-16 with 4 Big 12 Wins and a three way tie for ninth place in the Big 12. Iowa State averages 72.5points per game, shooting 44.4 percent from the field and are 43rd in the nation in offensive rebounding. When one looks at the Basketball betting lines and odds, one needs to take into consideration that defensively the Cyclones allow 70.1 points per game which is 219th in the country and they are 238th in defensive rebounding.  This can present problems for them in this all important matchup with Texas who can really hit the boards offensively.

Texas is 9 -point favorite at SBG Global with a total of 145.5.

The Texas Longhorns with a 23-8 record and 6th in the Big 12 of the NCAA beat Iowa on the road in mid-January and that was a team at the top of the ranking in the nation and now they are a team who is unranked and forced into playing a first round game in their conference. This Texas team became only the fifth team in the history of the Associated Press ranking to fall completely out of the poll after soaring to the No. 1 position.

The Longhorns have been hurt by shoddy execution of their offense and occasional lapses on defense. when viewing the NCAA Basketball betting and the basketball betting lines and odds one needs to review that as a team the Longhorns average fifth in the nation with 81.7 points per game and shoot 47.2 percent from the floor and are second in the nation in offensive rebounding.  Defensively that allows visiting teams to shoot just 39.8 percent against them. Texas can be a dangerous opponent if they find their footing as they have already proved they can play with the nations’ best.

It would be a huge upset if Iowa State Cyclones win this game over Texas in the opening game of the Big 12 Tournament. At the moment take a look at the NCAA Basketball betting and basketball betting lines and odds at SBGGlobal.com and the opening line has Texas favored at -9 and the over/under for the game is 145 1/2 in a game that is played tonight at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo at 9:35 PM EST.

Jazz listed as 5.5 -point favorite with a total of 202.5 at SBG Global.

This is a key trip for the Jazz as they still have to play at Milwaukee and Oklahoma City. “We have to prove, not only to ourselves but to everyone else, that we can win on the road consistently,” said Carlos Boozer. “This is a good test for our team. When the NBA betting playoffs get here, we’ve got to win on the road. … So we’re looking forward to it.”

Utah needs to start playing well from start to finish on the road. They have rallied from big deficits but that is not the way to consistently win games.

“We’d rather not have to come back,” said Boozer. “We’d rather be ahead the whole game, of course. But we do have a lot of resiliency. We have a lot of faith and belief in what we’re able to do. If we happen to be in that situation, we know we can come back and win the NBA betting game.”   One thing to keep an eye on in this game is the status of Detroit’s leading scorer Rodney Stuckey who is questionable.

The Jazz are 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 vs. the Central. The Jazz are 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 games playing on no rest. The Jazz are 36-15-3 ATS in their last 54 games overall. The Jazz are 5-0 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Detroit.

The Pistons are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 vs. the Northwest. The Pistons are 3-8-1 ATS in their last 12 home games.

The Over is 6-1 in Utah’s last 7 overall. The Over is 7-3 in Utah’s last 10 games playing on no rest. The Over is 5-2 in the Pistons last 7 home games. The Over is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in Detroit.

Choosing the top player in the college basketball betting is one the toughest individual honors to choose in the NCAA odds as there are so many variables to consider.  There are players who put up monster numbers for bad teams or in week conferences that can be misleading and must be weeded out.  And then there are those players whose numbers may not be the most impressive of the lot but it’s obvious that they are among the top players in the land.

Any short list of top players must include Villanova guard Scotty Reynolds.  He just may be the best college basketball betting player in the game.  He’s averaging 18.9 ppg and 3.5 apg.  His assist number might seem low but is there any other player you want on your team for the big stage?

Freshman John Wall also has to be considered.  His numbers jump off the page (17.6 ppg, 6.2 apg) and what’s more he’s been doing for one of the top 3 teams in the country.  His teammate DeMarcus Cousins is also in the running with 15.9 ppg and 10.1 rpg.  But Wall gets the nod as he’s the heart and soul of the team.

On the big man front Texas’ Damion James has stellar numbers (17.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg) but his team hasn’t had the success it had hoped for.  You could also consider another big man Luke Harengody of Notre Dame who seems like he’s been around for a decade and only gotten better with age (24.1 ppg, 10.1 rpg), but again the Irish may not even get an invite to the Big Dance.

In recent years the Big East has established itself as the supreme champ of the college basketball betting sending more teams to the NCAA odds tourney than anyone one and having more success than any other conferences.

With three teams consistently ranked in the top ten all season long, 2010 has been just more of the same.

Heading into the Big East Tournament, which tips on March 9th, Syracuse (28-2) is not only the top team in the Big East, but the entire country.  But it’s hardly the only highly ranked team in the conference.

Currently Villanova ranks #9 in the land and West Virginia comes in at #10, followed by Pitt at #17 and Georgetown at #19.  And a lot can happen over the weekend including events that would see all of these teams move up in the rankings and even more Big East teams climb into the top 25.

All of the afore mentioned teams will get an invite to the Big Dance and with a good finish in the Big East tournament we’re likely to see Marquette, Louisville and Notre Dame also playing in the March Madness. And you can see them all first in the Big East tournament.

In the crazy sea of unpredictability that is college basketball betting fans could at least take solace in the Bracket preparations with Syracuse, Villanova, Kentucky and Kansas anchoring the one seeds.

But in a stretch of a just a handful of days in the NCAA odds action that roadmap has been turned on its head. 

Villanova might still be one of the top teams in the land but after an untimely loss it has fallen off the radar –for the time being- for a #1 seed in the tourney.  Likewise, the mighty Kentucky lead by Lottery pick John Wall, also fell victim to the upset at Tennessee and probably just off the radar for the #1 seed.

Likewise, the Kansas Jayhawks got served a slice of humble pie by the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

As such, we’ve got Syracuse, the number rated team in the NCAA odds as the only lock for a #1 seed right now.  But that’s like to change rapidly as well as the Orangeman must navigate a very difficult Big East Tournament with suffering a loss to the one of the many ranked teams.

The NBA Betting and basketball betting lines and odds may be different in this matchup with the Raptors at the Lakers as the Raptors defeated the Lakers’, 106-105 when the teams played in January 2010.  Raptors All-Star Chris Bosh returned to action Sunday after missing seven games due to a sprained left ankle coupled with a stomach virus. He had 12 points and 12 rebound in the Raptors 114-101 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday.  Bosh’s presence against the Lakers should make this game much more interesting. The overall Raptors, however, aren’t so fine and find themselves struggling to hold on to a playoff spot as they start on this four-game West Coast trip.

Lakers are listed as a 11 -point favorite with a total of 209 at SBG Global.

With a one-game lead over Miami for the sixth place in the Eastern Conference the slumping Raptors need to re-focus if they are going to reach the postseason for the first time since 2007-2008.  They have little room for error at the presence, said forward Antoine Wright, you lose a game like this, and you can go from fifth (seed) to seventh or even eighth.  One of the interesting factors that make play in the NBA Betting and the basketball betting lines and odds is the fact that the Raptors have not been able to figure out Kobe Bryant on Los Angeles as he has averaged 43.4 points in  the last five meetings at Staples Center, and scoring a career-high 81 on January 22, 2006.

At SBGGlobal.com you can choose your NBA betting odds and basketball betting lines as watch tonight’s game as the Lakers will try to reach their target of 30 home wins for the third straight NBA season.  To finalize the stats, Toronto Raptors (32-29), have lost seven straight road games in the series while the L.A. Lakers are a conference-best 19-5 at home.

Butler is listed as a 7.5 -point favorite at SBG Global with a total of 122.

Wright State took out Detroit 69-50 on Saturday to reach the title game of the Horizon League while Butler beat Milwaukee 68-59 to reach the Championship.  The Horizon League would love to send two teams to the NCAA betting Tournament but that will only happen if Wright State wins on Tuesday.  The Raiders have 20 wins but they will be playing in the NIT unless they upset the Bulldogs.

Butler was not that sharp on Saturday but they still got past Milwaukee. “We weren’t as crisp as we want to be, but they had a lot to do with that,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said. “I don’t know if there’s any real rhyme or reason to that, but our guys stayed the course.”   Butler is 1-4 in title games since 2003 and last year they were beaten by Cleveland State.  This year’s Butler team does not want a repeat of what happened in the title game a year ago and that makes Wright State’s job even tougher since the Bulldogs will not be overlooking them on Tuesday.

Wright State has done well in neutral site games this college basketball betting season as they are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games.  They also do well on Tuesday’s as they are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 Tuesday games. The Raiders are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings against Butler.

Butler has gotten so much respect that they have not been covering the spread very often lately. They are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall. They are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 neutral site games and they are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 Tuesday games.

The Under is 4-0 in the Bulldogs last 4 overall but the Over is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings between the two teams.