Road-weary Hornets visit Nuggets

Basketball Betting Lines

03/18/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sole possession of second place in the Western Conference is on the line for the Denver Nuggets tonight as they get ready to host the reeking New Orleans Hornets.

Denver is currently deadlocked with idle Dallas for the No. 2 seed in the West, four games behind the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Most recently for the Nuggets, Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds on Tuesday, as Denver battled back to upend the Washington Wizards, 97-87, at the Pepsi Center.

The game marked the return of Nuggets head coach George Karl to the bench. Karl missed the team's four-game road trip over the past week as he continued chemotherapy and radiation treatments for neck and throat cancer. Denver was 3-1 on the trek under lead assistant Adrian Dantley.

"We know it's a tough task for him to go through," Anthony said of Karl's condition. "For him to come in and see us and uplift his spirits, it makes us feel good."

J.R. Smith added 17 points off the bench against the Wizards and Nene chipped in 16 for the Nuggets, winners in seven of their last eight overall.

Denver has been playing well despite the absence of two key contributors, starting power forward KenyonMmartin and rookie guard Ty Lawson. Martin has been sidelined since March 5 with a balky left knee and Lawson has been struggling with a bruised left shoulder. Both will remain on the sidelines tonight while big man Chris Andersen, who sprained his ankle in a loss at Houston on Monday, will be a game-time decision.

The Hornets, meanwhile, continue to falter, falling to 1-2 on a five-game road trip last night in Oakland. Anthony Tolliver registered a career-high 30 points in that one, as the Golden State Warriors rallied from down 21 late in the third quarter for a 131-121 triumph over New Orleans.

The Hornets were led by David West's 36 points and season-high 15 rebounds, while rookie Darren Collison added 20 points and 14 assists to help build a seemingly comfortable 87-66 lead with 5:36 to go in the third before dropping their fourth game in the last five.

New Orleans is a dismal 8-15 since losing All-Star point guard Chris Paul to a knee injury and is now an almost insurmountable eight games behind Portland for the final playoff spot in the West with just 13 left to be played.

Denver has topped New Orleans in two of the three contests between the two clubs this season, including a 116-110 overtime win in the Rockies on Jan. 23.

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NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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