Bucks host Bulls in Central Division clash

Basketball Betting Lines

02/18/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls resume their second half of the NBA season tonight, when they pay a visit to the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center.

Chicago entered the All-Star break with a 23-30 record and has alternated wins and losses over the past six games. In last Thursday's 95-93 home loss versus the Miami Heat at the United Center, rookie Derrick Rose scored 18 points and dished out six assists in a losing effort.

Tyrus Thomas registered 15 points and eight boards for the Bulls, who will try to improve on their lowly 9-19 road mark this evening.

Milwaukee will shoot for a season high four straight victories Wednesday versus the Bulls in the opener of a three-game homestand. It recorded its third consecutive win with a 92-86 decision over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday at The Palace, as Richard Jefferson posted 29 points to lead the way. Jefferson is averaging 25.8 points per game in five February outings.

Ramon Sessions finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Malik Allen posted 14 points and eight boards off the bench for Milwaukee. The Bucks will also host Cleveland and Denver on the current residency and are 16-9 in Wisconsin this season.

The 2008-09 season series between Chicago and Milwaukee is tied at a game apiece, while the Bulls have won four of five and eight of the last 10 meetings.

Milwaukee has won 17 of the past 21 games as the host in this series.

The NBA trade deadline is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. (et) Thursday.

Gamblingh Basketball Betting News

<< Heat host Wolves in South Beach
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat will kick off their second half of the NBA season Wednesday night, as they open a brief two-game homestand versus the Minnesota Timberwolves at AmericanAirlines Arena. Miami entered the All-Star break with a

<< Pacers hope to snap road skid in Charlotte
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers have been getting the job done at home this season, beating the likes of Cleveland, Boston and the LA Lakers. But it's on the road where the Pacers have been experiencing problems, as they open a short two-

<< Nuggets resume road trip in Philly vs. Sixers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Northwest Division-leading Denver Nuggets will continue their rough stretch of road games tonight, when they pay a visit to the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center. The Nuggets were in the midst of their road swi

<< Cavs, Raptors square off at Air Canada Centre
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers will kick off the second half of the NBA season tonight up north, as they pay a visit to the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Central Division-leading Cavaliers entered the All-Star break w

<< Memphis continues quest for third straight perfect C-USA campaign
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On a quest for a third straight undefeated Conference USA campaign, the fifth-ranked Memphis Tigers welcome the SMU Tigers to town for a league affair from FedExForum. John Calipari's Tigers have won a remarka

Howard leads Magic into New Orleans >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard and David West both delivered huge performances to lead their respective teams to narrow wins on Tuesday. The two All-Stars will go head-to-head when the Orlando Magic head to New Orleans Arena f

Blazers to host Grizzlies in return from break >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers get back to work for the first time since the All-Star break on Wednesday, when they open a three-game homestand by welcoming the Memphis Grizzlies to the Rose Garden. The Blazers finished the fi

Lakers head up coast for clash with Warriors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Golden State Warriors hope to remain perfect on their current five-game homestand tonight, when they welcome the Western Conference's top team, the Los Angeles Lakers, to ORACLE Arena. The Warriors improved to 3-0 on t

Kings open second half of season vs. Hawks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Sacramento Kings will be hoping to get their post-All Star break schedule off to a rare winning note when they return to action against the Atlanta Hawks tonight at ARCO Arena. Sacramento lost five straight ti

Nets, Mavs square off in Dallas >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets wrap up a brief tour through the state of Texas with this evening's matchup with the Dallas Mavericks from the American Airlines Center. The Nets did not begin this two-game Lone Star State tre

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.