Wolves aim to snap long skid vs. Lakers

Basketball Betting Lines

01/29/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Lakers will finish a two-day tour of the Midwest on Sunday aiming for their 16th consecutive win over the much-improved Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Wolves haven't beaten LA since March 6, 2007 but this is a much different Minnesota team and for that matter a much more pedestrian Lakers club.

With a win tonight the Timberwolves would be at .500 after 20 games for the first time since it was 22-22 on Jan. 30, 2007. Meanwhile, LA is a very uncharacteristic 1-7 away from SoCal this season after falling, 100-89, to a Bucks team without Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson in Milwaukee on Saturday.

Kobe Bryant had 27 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in that one to lead the Lakers while Pau Gasol chipped in 12 points and 15 rebounds. Andrew Goudelock scored 13 off the bench and Andrew Bynum added 15 points and nine rebounds for LA.

"I can only speak about tonight (but) Milwaukee was a much more physical team defensively," said Bryant. "They made it uncomfortable."

LA's road record is currently the worst in the Western Conference with a very difficult stretch looming. After tonight's contest the Lakers will make a short stop home to face off with Charlotte before kicking off a six-game trek in Denver.

In its most recent affair, Minnesota topped San Antonio at Target Center, 87-79, behind Kevin Love's 18 points and 16 rebounds, his 18th double-double of the season.

The Timberwolves scored the final 10 points of the game in that one to beat the Spurs for the second time in a row. Minnesota also topped San Antonio on Jan. 2 at home, snapping a 16-game losing streak in that series.

Rookie point guard Ricky Rubio scored 18 points with 10 assists while Nikola Pekovic had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

"We want to just continue to get better," Love said, looking forward to the chance to reach .500 this weekend, "and especially in the fourth quarter when it's close."

Love called Rubio, who entered the NBA with an already sparkling reputation as a playmaker, a "great" player. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich didn't need to be told that, calling the 6-foot-4 Spaniard a "heck of a passer" with a good ability to read situations on the court.

"He's like a football quarterback," Popovich said.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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