Hornets seeking good start in Oklahoma City

Basketball Betting Lines

02/17/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pegged as an early favorite to win the Western Conference, the New Orleans Hornets will try to put together a solid second half of the season that begins with Tuesday's matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Ford Center.

New Orleans is 4 1/2 games behind first-place San Antonio in the Southwest Division standings and entered the All-Star break having lost two straight and six of its last eight games. In an 89-77 setback versus Boston last Wednesday in the Big Easy, Chris Paul returned after missing the last four games because of a groin injury and posted 13 points and five assists in the loss.

Paul registered 14 points, 14 assists, seven rebounds and three steals in the West's 146-119 win over the East in Sunday night's All-Star Game. Teammate David West ended with six points and three boards.

West had 15 points and eight boards in a losing cause last Wednesday.

The banged-up Hornets will try to stop a three-game road losing streak tonight and are 12-11 away from home this season.

Tyson Chandler (ankle) and Morris Peterson (foot) are both questionable against the Thunder. Chandler missed the last 12 games before the break.

Oklahoma City had a miserable first half of the season and compiled a 13-40 record at the break. It has dropped two in a row and five of its last seven games, including Wednesday's 106-92 loss at Portland.

Russell Westbrook ended with 21 points and 12 boards, while Kevin Durant added 20 points and seven rebounds for the Thunder. Jeff Green tallied 17 points and Chris Wilcox added 11 in defeat.

Durant is fifth in the NBA in scoring with 25.5 points per game.

The Thunder have won two straight at home and are 10-18 as the host this season.

New Orleans is 2-0 against Oklahoma City this season and has won the last seven meetings in the series. The Hornets are 10-3 in their last 13 overall matchups with the Sonics/Thunder, but have lost six of the past nine as the guest.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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