Team USA thumps Angola to reach quarterfinals

Basketball Betting Lines

09/06/2010 - Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups led a 121-66 rout of Angola with 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range, as Team USA rolled into the quarterfinals of the 2010 FIBA World Championships.

Kevin Durant, Eric Gordon and Rudy Gay each scored 17 points as the Americans rolled behind 53-percent shooting and 18 three-pointers on 38 attempts.

Derrick Rose and Lamar Odom each had nine points with the latter bringing down a game-high eight rebounds.

The U.S. will face Russia on Thursday in the quarterfinals.

Joaquim Gomes put in 21 points for the Angolans, who were overwhelmed from the start and trailed 33-13 after the opening quarter.

Team USA scored 18 points off turnovers and turned in 22 fast-break points in the rout. It was 65-38 at halftime and Angola managed just 28 points in the second half.

A 10-0 spurt in the first quarter was capped by consecutive threes from Billups and Durant to forge a 22-7 lead. A three-point play by Kevin Love minutes later had the margin at 29-9.

It was more of the same in the second half, as Gordon rattled in a pair of threes in the latter stages of the third to expand the lead to 89-52.

The U.S. outscored the opposition 30-10 over the final 10 minutes.

In Monday's second round of 16 matchup, Russia pulled away in the second half to knock off New Zealand, 78-56.

Andrey Vorontsevich scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, helping Russia pull away in the second half after leading by only four at halftime. Timofey Mozgov added 16 points, while Vitaliy Fridzon had 12 points in the victory.

Kirk Penney led New Zealand with 21 points, and Thomas Abercrombie had 13 in defeat.

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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.