Sacramento still alive in the West

Basketball Betting Lines

02/28/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Sacramento Kings are having a disappointing season, as they have compiled a weak 24-32 record and sit in last place in the Pacific Division.

Even with their record, the Kings are just three games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth and final playoff sport in Western Conference. If the Kings do not qualify for the postseason, their string of eight straight years in the playoffs will come to an end.

The Kings return home after going 1-3 on a four-game road trip, as they welcome the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday to ARCO Arena. It is the first of two meetings between the clubs this season. Charlotte will host the Kings on March 14th at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. The teams have split four meetings. The Kings are 0-2 as the visitor against the Bobcats

On Monday, Samuel Dalembert posted 20 points and 17 rebounds, as the Philadelphia 76ers opened a six-game homestand with an 89-82 victory over the Kings at the Wachovia Center.

Kevin Martin scored 23 points in the loss to Philadelphia for the Kings, who have dropped six of their last eight games overall. Brad Miller had 21 points and 10 boards, while Ron Artest ended with 13 points for Sacramento, which is just 8-20 on the road this season.

Sacramento is 16-12 at home this season. The Kings, who have won six of their last seven contests at ARCO Arena, will visit the Lakers on Friday at the Staples Center and the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday at the Rose Garden.

Martin, who leads the Kings in scoring (20.8 ppg) has continued his impressive campaign. He is averaging 29.0 points and five rebounds in his last two outings. The 6-7 Martin has scored in double-digits in 52 of the 55 games he has played in this season.

The Kings will play split their final 26 games of the regular season evenly between ARCO Arena and the road.

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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.