Wwatlantahawks NCAA Football Betting News

<< Rams tab rookie Bradford as Week 1 starter
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams announced on Saturday that rookie and top overall pick Sam Bradford will be the team's starting quarterback in Week 1 against Arizona. Bradford is one of three quarterbacks on th

<< Bolden solid in debut as Penn State dominates Youngstown State
University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - True freshman quarterback Rob Bolden threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns in his collegiate debut, leading Penn State to a 44-14 rout of Youngstown State in the 2010 opener for both schools. Bold

<< Falcons get to 53; CB Jackson among cuts
Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Falcons have released 21 players as part of their Saturday "cut-down-day" maneuvers. Atlanta waived or released tight end Robbie Agnone, wide receiver Troy Bergeron, safety Eric Brock, wide r

<< Wozniacki, Sharapova roll; Jankovic exits U.S. Open
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded 2009 runner-up Caroline Wozniacki and former champion Maria Sharapova were easy third-round winners, while former finalist Jelena Jankovic went by way of the upset Saturday at the U.S. Open.

20th-ranked FSU routs Samford >>
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Christian Ponder threw for 167 yards and four touchdowns in just one half of action, as 20th-ranked Florida State began the post-Bobby Bowden era with a 59-6 rout of Samford at Doak Campbell Stadium

White Sox take opener of DH with Red Sox >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Konerko had three hits and scored two runs, as the Chicago White Sox topped Boston, 3-1, in the front end of a day-night doubleheader from Fenway Park. A.J. Pierzynski went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the

Zambrano sharp again as Cubs down Mets >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Zambrano allowed two runs in seven strong innings, and the Chicago Cubs ensured themselves a series victory with a 5-3 win over the New York Mets at Wrigley Field. Zambrano (7-6) struck out eigh

Serbia, Spain advance to World Championship quarters >>
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aleksandar Rasic's free throw with one second left gave Serbia a 73-72 victory over Croatia and berth in the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Championship. The Serbs led by seven during the fou

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.

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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