Nuggets, Spurs clash in San Antonio

Basketball Betting Lines

02/20/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs have recovered from their eight-game road trip and return to the AT&T Center this evening to host the Denver Nuggets.

San Antonio, which is second in the Southwest standings, went 4-4 on the swing and has won two straight, including last Wednesday's 90-81 win over the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Tim Duncan scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Manu Ginobili added 20 points to help end Detroit's seven-game winning streak. Tony Parker netted 16 points and dished out eight assists for the Spurs, who will now work on their 16-8 home record.

Duncan had four points and five rebounds, while Parker added eight points and 10 assists in Sunday's win for the West in the 56th All-Star Game.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets had a three-game winning streak come to an with a 99-94 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on February 14 at the Target Center.

All-Star Carmelo Anthony left the game with a bruised right thigh but returned to score 28 points. Nene scored 18 points for the Nuggets, who are 12-11 away from the Pepsi Center this season.

Anthony recorded 20 points and nine boards for the West on Sunday.

Denver played Minnesota without All-Star guard Allen Iverson, who has eight out of the Nuggets last nine games with a sprained ankle. Iverson, who is questionable for tonight, skipped Sunday's All-Star Game in Las Vegas due to the injury. The Nuggets are 4-4 in the stretch without Iverson, who is probable for tonight's contest.

Tuesday's matchup between Denver and San Antonio is the second of three meetings this season. The Spurs won the first encounter, 92-83, on January 10 at the Pepsi Center.

Denver has won four of the last seven meetings, but has dropped nine of 11 and 16 of its last 19 trips to San Antonio.

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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.

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