Buffalo Sabres

Football Betting Lines

06/04/2007 - Signed goaltender Philippe Gogulla to a three-year entry level contract.

Wwebmillion Football Betting News

<< Bengals' Joseph sidelined until training camp
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Johnathan Joseph suffered an apparent left foot fracture in the team's minicamp on Saturday. Joseph is expected to undergo surgery in the near future and be ready fo

<< Andersson wins Aurora Health Care Championship
Lake Geneva, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sofie Andersson of Sweden shot a two-under 70 on Sunday to come from behind and win the Aurora Health Care Championship on the Duramed Futures Tour. She finished at four-under-par 212 for her first win

<< Houston tops Dallas to end three-game losing streak
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricardo Clark and Joseph Ngwenya scored in the second half as Houston rallied for a 2-1 win over FC Dallas on Sunday to end its three-game losing streak. Houston had scored just five goals all season, but

<< Tigers release Mesa
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers released relief pitcher Jose Mesa following Sunday's victory over the Cleveland Indians. After signing with the Tigers as a free agent in the offseason, Mesa struggled with Detroit, goi

<< Astros option Lane; recall Burke
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros optioned outfielder Jason Lane to Triple-A Round Rock and recalled infielder/outfielder Chris Burke from Round Rock following Sunday's 8-6 loss to St. Louis. Lane was hitting just .165 wit

Chicago tops Columbus to snap five-game skid >>
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad Barrett's amazing 75-yard scoring run helped Chicago defeat Columbus, 3-2, on Sunday and end a five-game winless streak. Barrett picked up a loose ball about 10 yards outside his own box off a cor

A-Rod's HR in ninth lifts Yankees past Red Sox >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez's home run in the top of the ninth lifted the New York Yankees over the Boston Red Sox, 6-5, in the finale of a three-game series at Fenway Park. Rodriguez, who ended 2-for-5 with t

Report: Donovan wants out of Orlando >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - According to a report, Billy Donovan is trying to get out of his contract with the Orlando Magic and return to the University of Florida. Fox Sports, citing two sources close to the situation, reported that

Rice advances to Super Regionals; Florida State, Arkansas upset >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rice, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, and UCLA each advanced to the super regionals of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. The Rice Owls, the No.2 ranked team in the country and th

Magic: Donovan is 'conflicted,' but contact talks continue >>
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -Billy Donovan is ``conflicted'' about his decision to leave the Florida Gators to coach the Orlando Magic, and he will continue talking with the NBA team about the contract he agreed to last week, the Magic said Monday.Donova

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

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