Brooks perfect from long distance, Rockets end Memphis' road run

Basketball Betting Lines

03/17/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Brooks led all scorers with 31 points and made all seven of his three-point attempts as the Rockets topped the Grizzlies, 107-94, ending Memphis' franchise-record seven-game road winning streak.

Brooks broke the team record for most triples in a game without a miss for the Rockets, who won their season-high fourth straight contest.

Luis Scola aided in the winning effort with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Kevin Martin netted 18.

Zach Randolph racked up 30 points and 15 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who have lost two of three.

Rudy Gay scored 14 points, while Marcus Williams and Mike Conley each dropped in 11 in the losing effort.

Memphis trimmed the Rockets lead to 82-76 on a Williams three to start the final quarter, but Houston extended its hold to double-digits on a Shane Battier triple over two minutes into the frame. The Rockets led by as many as 13 in the quarter.

"After the first quarter, we defended them well," said Rockets coach Rich Adelman. "We really moved the ball effectively in the fourth quarter."

Houston got within a point at 13-12 in the first quarter on a pair of Brooks free throws, but Memphis put together a 9-0 stretch, capped off by a Conley foul shot with under three minutes left. The Grizzlies finished the frame up 29-22.

Memphis held a 10-point edge at multiple points in the second quarter, but the Rockets fought back with a 11-4 run to end the half down only two at 55-53 on a pair of Martin foul shots.

Houston tied the contest at 55 on the first basket of the third quarter, on its way to an 11-2 flurry to extend the Rockets advantage to 64-57 with just over eight minutes left.

The Grizzlies cut the deficit to 70-68 on a Darrell Arthur jump hook with 4 1/2 minutes remaining, but the Rockets kept the lead and finished the period up 82-73 after Brooks drained his fifth consecutive triple and Scola converted on a finger roll in the final minute.

Game Notes

Houston's Jordan Hill registered a career-high nine rebounds...The Rockets improved to 13-0 this season when shooting 50 percent or better. They shot 22-of-35 from the field in the second half..Brooks has made a three in a franchise-record 39 straight games...Houston guard Kyle Lowry left the game with an apparent ankle injury.

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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.

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