Cavs, Raptors meet in Toronto

Basketball Betting Lines

02/21/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers conclude a three-game road trip tonight when they travel to Toronto to battle the Raptors at Air Canada Centre.

Cleveland has split the first two games of its trek so far. The Cavaliers were downed by Utah, 99-98, last Wednesday before posting a 114-108 win over the Los Angeles Lakers the following day.

LeBron James poured in 38 points and hit the go-ahead jumper with just over three minutes left in the triumph. The All-Star went 10-of-16 from the field and feasted at the foul line with an 18-for-22 effort, as the Cavaliers won for the fourth time in five contests heading into the break.

James got little rest though as he netted 28 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists in the East's 153-132.

Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas is expected to miss his third straight game tonight because of personal reasons. Guard Damon Jones (strep throat) is questionable.

Cleveland is 11-15 on the road this season is currently 2 1/2 games behind Detroit for the lead in the Central Division. The club returns home on Thursday to host the Bulls.

The Cavs have won five of six and eight of the last 11 against the Raptors. Cleveland has also claimed victory in four of its last six in Toronto.

The Raptors won their eighth straight home game last Wednesday when they knocked off the New Jersey Nets, 120-109. Chris Bosh had 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the win, and added 11 points and seven boards in Sunday's All-Star Game.

Morris Peterson added 18 points and seven boards while T.J. Ford netted 17 and dished out eight assists for the Raptors, who lead the Nets by 4 1/2 games in the Atlantic Division.

Overall, the Raptors have won 10 of their last 12 games and will play the middle tilt of a three-game homestand tonight. Toronto will host the Pacers on Friday at the Air Canada Centre, where the club is 19-7.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.