Sixers resume lengthy homestand against struggling Pistons

Basketball Betting Lines

01/28/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers will resume a season-long seven-game homestand tonight by welcoming the struggling Detroit Pistons to Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers improved to 2-1 on the residency Friday when Lou Williams scored 17 points to lead a balanced Philadelphia attack as the 76ers easily handled Charlotte, 89-72, leading wire-to-wire and by as many as 30 points.

Jrue Holiday celebrated his own bobblehead night by adding 15 points and Jodie Meeks contributed 14 for the Atlantic division-leading Sixers, who avoided losing back-to-back games for the first time this season. Thaddeus Young also reached double figures with 10 points off the bench.

"A very good win for us tonight from the standpoint of I really like the way we came out defensively and were very aggressive," said Sixers coach Doug Collins. "We really moved the ball well in that first half."

Philadelphia held the Bobcats to just 38.6 percent shooting and were able to rest many of their key contributors.

"To not have guys play heavy minutes is a real blessing," Collins said.

Centers Spencer Hawes (strained left Achilles) and Nikola Vucevic (hyperextended left knee/strained left quadriceps) remained out of the lineup for Philly. Hawes indicated he could play tonight but the team is likely targeting his return for Monday against Dwight Howard and the Magic. The rookie Vucevic, meanwhile, remains day-to-day.

Philadelphia, which is 9-2 this season at WFC, will finish its residency with games against much tougher competition: Orlando, Chicago and Miami.

The Pistons, who are opening up a four-game road trip tonight that will also feature visits to Milwaukee, New York and New Jersey, dropped their third straight on Friday, a 107-101 overtime loss to Atlanta in Auburn Hills.

Greg Monroe paced Detroit with 22 points and 11 boards while rookie Brandon Knight contributed 20 points and a career- high eight assists as the Pistons lost for the 13th time in 15 games. Jason Maxiell added a season-high 19 points off the bench in defeat.

"We take every loss personally, not just a close loss. I think every loss is a personal loss," Knight said. "You just don't favor one over the other, but this one will hurt a little bit more."

The banged-up Pistons were without guards Ben Gordon (sore left shoulder) and Will Bynum (sprained right foot) as well as forwards Tayshaun Prince (family issue) and Charlie Villanueva (sprained right ankle). None are expected back in Philadelphia tonight as Detroit attempts to improve on its dismal 1-8 road record.

The Sixers have won two of their last three games against the Pistons, including a 96-73 rout at the Wells Fargo Center back on Jan. 6 behind Meeks' 21 points.

Collins, however, thinks the Pistons are tougher than they seem.

"Detroit is better than its record," the coach said. "They have got good guards. They're a very good defensive team. We're going to have to play well to get that game tomorrow night."

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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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