Pacers roll into Big D

Basketball Betting Lines

02/03/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The much-improved Pacers will shoot for a season-high fourth straight win Friday when they visit Big D to take on their former coach, Rick Carlisle, and the reigning NBA champion Mavericks.

Indiana opened a brief two-game road trip by earning a 109-99 win over Kevin Love and the Timberwolves on Thursday. Danny Granger nailed five three- pointers and netted 29 of his season-high 36 points in the second half of that one to lead the Pacers.

"Danny Granger just came back to life and had a stellar night," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said.

Darren Collison filled the stat sheet with 20 points, nine assists, six rebounds and two steals while Roy Hibbert added 15 points and nine rebounds for Indiana, which won its third straight game. David West finished with 12 points and eight rebounds for Indiana.

"Really excited about this win for our club. (A) road win on the second night of a back-to-back against a club playing at a high level. We were really excited to get out of here with a W," Vogel said.

Backup guard George Hill missed Wednesday's game after suffering an ankle injury against the Nets a day earlier. Hill, the team's highest-scoring bench player, is currently listed as out indefinitely.

The Mavs lost for the first time in four games Thursday when Russell Westbrook finished with 33 points, including six in the final two minutes, as the Thunder escaped American Airlines Center with a 95-86 victory over Dallas.

Jason Terry netted 25 points to lead the shorthanded Mavs, who got 12 points apiece from Shawn Marion and Brandan Wright. Dirk Nowitzki, however, shot just 2-for-15 from the field and posted eight points and eight rebounds in the loss, Dallas' second over the last eight games

"They're playing the best right now," Terry said of the Thunder. "For the time being they are the team to beat."

Nowitzki is averaging just 9.3 points on dismal 28.2 percent shooting in three games since missing four straight contests, an absence designed to rest his sore knee and improve his conditioning

Meanwhile, veteran point guard Jason Kidd (strained right calf), starting center Brendan Haywood (lower back tightness) and the versatile Lamar Odom (stomach virus) all missed the game against the Thunder. Haywood and Odom practice Thursday and should be back tonight but Kidd is expected to remain sidelined.

Carlisle, who coached in Indy from 2003-07, was ejected with 9:34 remaining in the fourth quarter against OKC after receiving his second technical foul for kicking a ball into the stands. The current Mavs mentor was subsequently fined $35,000 by the NBA early Friday morning. Owner Mark Cuban suffered a bigger hit to his pocketbook, getting tagged for $75,000 for criticizing the officiating after the contest.

Carlisle, who has already apologized to his fans and Cuban for his actions, once won 61 games with the Pacers and the franchise hasn't had a winning record since Carlisle went 44-38 with the 2004-05 team, something that looks like it will change this season.

"They've got all the ingredients of championship teams - they've got athleticism, length, skill and size," Carlisle told the Pacers' website. "They're going to be a major factor."

Dallas has won six of its last seven meetings with Indy. The Pacers have lost seven in a row and 11 of 12 trips to Dallas.

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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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