Jazz return home to face hapless Wizards

Basketball Betting Lines

03/15/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah Jazz hope a return to Salt Lake City against a hapless Washington team will get them back on the winning track as the postseason approaches.

The short-handed Jazz dropped the final two games of a four-game road trip, the latest of which came last night in Oklahoma City when Russell Westbrook poured in 30 points and dished out 11 assists, as the Thunder took down Utah 119-111.

Wesley Matthews finished with a career-high 29 points for the Jazz, who ended the four-game trip with a 2-2 mark and are now just a half-game ahead of the Thunder for the fifth seed in the Western Conference standings.

Deron Williams battled through a sore shoulder and wrist to record 27 points and 14 assists before fouling out. Carlos Boozer tallied 18 points and 11 boards for Utah, which lost back-to-back games for the first time since a three-game skid from December 31-January 4.

"That was about as physical a basketball team as we're going to face," Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said of the Jazz. "It's great for our guys to experience it and compete against a very veteran, physical, playoff-tested team."

The Jazz were without center Mehmet Okur (back) and forward Andrei Kirilenko (calf) on Sunday and both players are listed as questionable for tonight's game.

The Wizards, who are opening up a four-game road trip tonight, continue to falter down the stretch and dropped their season-high seventh consecutive game on Saturday against Orlando. Dwight Howard put up 28 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and even dished out five assists in that one, as the Magic overcame a sluggish start to upend Washington, 109-95.

Andray Blatche posted 32 points for the Wizards, who actually led by 15 before stumbling to yet another loss. Shaun Livingston provided 18 points and eight assists, and Al Thornton chipped in 15 points in defeat.

"Unfortunately the game's are 48 minutes and not 12," joked Wizards head coach Flip Saunders.

Blatche has been the lone bright spot for Washington, averaging 24.5 points and 9.8 rebounds in 14 games since joining the starting lineup.

The Jazz have won 18 of their last 21 home games against the Wizards.

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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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