Sixers finish Florida swing in Orlando

Basketball Betting Lines

11/06/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers attempt to rebound from their worst performance of the young season in the conclusion of a quick two-game road swing through the state of Florida when they invade Orlando to face the Magic at Amway Arena.

Miami's Dwyane Wade had a phenomenal all-around performance with 29 points, seven rebounds, six assists, five steals and three blocks, as the Heat routed the Sixers, 106-83 on Wednesday.

Second-year man Thaddeus Young had 19 points for the Sixers, but just two of them came in the second half.

Lou Williams chipped in 16 points and Elton Brand ended with 12 points and 12 rebounds for Philadelphia, which was coming off a 125-91 home blowout of the Kings on Monday and had beaten the Heat five straight times.

Struggling Sixers swingman Andre Iguodala, who came in averaging just 12 points per game, was limited to two points on 1-of-7 shooting as Philadelphia turned over the ball a season-high 26 times in South Beach.

Meanwhile, the defending Southeast Division champion Magic have won two straight home games after dropping their initial two contests to start the season.

Dwight Howard dominated the paint Monday, scoring 22 points with 15 rebounds, as Orlando held on for a 96-93 victory over Chicago.

Going up against the shorter Drew Gooden and Tyrus Thomas inside, Howard made 9-of-15 from the floor and pulled down eight offensive rebounds.

Rashard Lewis donated 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, while guards Jameer Nelson and Keith Bogans each contributed 13 points for Orlando, which will conclude a five-game homestand by hosting Washington and Portland after Philly leaves town.

The Magic won three of four games against the Sixers last season, including both matchups in Orlando, and have won five of the past six games in the series.

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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.