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02/11/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets will try to halt a season-high five-game losing streak when they visit the Hoosier State to take on the Indiana Pacers.
The Nuggets have hit the skids and hit them hard, dropping four of five during their hiccup at Pepsi Center, the latest of which was a 109-101 setback to Golden State on Thursday.
Aaron Afflalo led the way for Denver in that one with 26 points, while Nene added 15 points and Ty Lawson chipped in with 11 points and 10 assists.
Al Harrington also scored 11 and rookie Kenneth Faried posted eight points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who continue to be hampered by injuries to leading scorer Danilo Gallinari as well as center Timofey Mozgov.
"If you don't have energy, maybe we'll have to go somewhere else," Karl told the Nuggets' website. "It has nothing to do with your skills right now. We need energy to play with tempo and pace and not play like we're in mud or the old guys at the rec center."
Denver lost control of the game in the third as Golden State scored at will and held the Nuggets in check during an 18-3 scoring stretch by the Warriors capped by Stephen Curry's three-pointer.
"It was horrible," Afflalo said when asked about the team's defense in the third quarter.
The Nuggets haven't dropped six consecutive games since Dec. 17-27, 2004.
The Pacers have also taken a step back recently and finished up a brief two- game road trip winless after a 98-92 loss in Memphis on Friday.
David West led all scorers in that one with a season-high 22 points and added 13 rebounds while Danny Granger scored 19 points for the Pacers, who dropped back-to-back games for the first time all season.
"The biggest difference was the willingness to win," said Pacers point guard Darren Collison. "They had a little bit more will than us. They wanted it more, and that's something we just can't have."
Denver has won three of its last four over Indiana and 11 of 14 overall in the series. The Pacers, however, have been solid at Bankers Life Fieldhouse this season, compiling a 7-2 mark.
<< Jets activate Stapleton off IR
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Winnipeg Jets have activated center Tim
Stapleton off injured reserve.
Stapleton had been sidelined since January 20 with a lower body injury. He has
appeared in 37 games this season, entering Saturda
<< Thrashers activate Stapleton off IR
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Winnipeg Jets have activated center Tim
Stapleton off injured reserve.
Stapleton had been sidelined since January 20 with a lower body injury. He has
appeared in 37 games this season, entering Saturda
<< Hantuchova to face Kirilenko for Pattaya crown
Pattaya City, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Daniela
Hantuchova and Maria Kirilenko were semifinal winners Saturday and will meet
for the title at the Pattaya Open.
The third-seeded Hantuchova eased past Taiwanes
<< Westwood vaults into Dubai lead
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lee Westwood fired a five-under
67 on Saturday to vault into the lead at 15-under par after three rounds of
the Dubai Desert Classic.
Westwood was three shots behind Rory McIlroy and Thom
Frustrated Kings visit Islanders >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It has been an offensively-frustrating road trip for the
Los Angeles Kings, one they will continue this afternoon against a New York
Islanders club that failed to post a point for the first time in six games
last time out.
Sixers try to right the ship in Cleveland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers will try to put the brakes on their
first losing streak of the season when they square off with a Cleveland team
that will be minus rookie star Kyrie Irving for a third consecutive game.
The Sixers c
Bruins host Preds in clash between struggling clubs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins are trying not to
panic during their recent skids. The two clubs look to get right this
afternoon as the Predators visit the Bruins.
Though Nashville is 14-4-1 over its past 19 gam
Love meets Linsanity at Target Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's time for New York's Jeremy Lin to experience a little
"Love" when the Knicks visit the Timberwolves on Saturday.
"Linsanity" was in full force Friday in Madison Square Garden when Lin
continued his unlikely rise from
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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