Vlippers Basketball Betting News

<< Dutch announce final 23-man roster
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk finalized his 23-man World Cup team Thursday, cutting Orlando Engelaar, Vurnon Anita, Jeremain Lens and Ron Vlaar from the preliminary squad. Engelaar started all

<< Hawks owner Gearon fined for LeBron comments
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Hawks owner Michael Gearon has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for comments made about LeBron James' possible free agency this summer. Gearon's comments, which appeared in the Atlanta Journal Cons

<< Rockies call up RHP Daley, demote LHP Smith
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies on Thursday recalled right- hander Matt Daley from Triple-A Colorado Springs and optioned lefty Greg Smith to the Sky Sox. Daley has made 19 relief appearances for the Rockies this season,

<< Van Persie leads Dutch over Mexico in friendly
Freiburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robin van Persie scored twice to lead the Netherlands to a 2-1 win over Mexico on Wednesday in a World Cup warm-up match between the two qualifiers. Van Persie scored both goals in the first half and the

Jankovic advances in rainy Paris >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On a Thursday dominated by rain, former top-ranked star Jelena Jankovic managed to sneak in a three-set second-round victory at the 2010 French Open. The fourth-seeded Jankovic was tested in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4

Swiss striker Streller to miss World Cup >>
Berne, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Switzerland striker Marco Streller has been ruled out of the World Cup with a hamstring injury. Streller, who made three appearances in the 2006 World Cup, was injured during training. The 28-year-old

Donald among co-leaders at Madrid Masters >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England's Luke Donald fired a seven-under 65 to tie Welshmen Jamie Donaldson and Rhys Davies for the first-round lead Thursday at the Madrid Masters. Donald caught fire at the end of his round, making an eagl

Sneijder has no plans to leave Inter Milan >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wesley Sneijder has dismissed rumors linking him with a shock return to former club Real Madrid. The Netherlands playmaker joined Inter Milan last summer after failing to hold down a starting place at the bi

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.