Americans rout Iran to remain unbeaten at Worlds

Basketball Betting Lines

09/01/2010 - Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Love scored 13 points and Kevin Durant added 12 to lead a balanced attack, as the United States remained unbeaten at the 2010 FIBA World Championship with an 88-51 rout of Iran.

Derrick Rose chipped in 11 points and Danny Granger netted 10 for the Americans, who bounced back from a narrow 70-68 victory over Brazil on Monday and improved to 4-0 to secure the top spot in Group B.

The U.S. will conclude preliminary round play on Thursday against winless Tunisia.

Hamed Haddadi of the Memphis Grizzlies led Iran with 19 points and Arsalan Kazemi of Rice University added 14.

Iran took a 5-3 lead early in the contest and was within 12-10 late in the first, but the Americans answered with seven straight points and took a 19-13 edge to the second period.

A three-pointer by Eric Gordon and a bucket by Russell Westbrook to open the second extended the U.S. lead to 11. The margin grew to 15 before the Americans settled for a 42-28 cushion at the break.

Rose scored four points in an 8-0 run to start the second half and the Iranians never threatened from there.

Canada, meanwhile, remained winless in four games after a 71-61 loss to New Zealand in Group D. Kirk Penney scored 18 points and Casey Frank added 14 for the Kiwis, who improved to 2-2 and will advance to the second round.

Jevohn Shepherd paced Canada with 15 points and Joel Anthony of the Miami Heat added 13 in defeat.

New Zealand built a 35-28 lead at halftime and opened a 13-point advantage in the third quarter before Canada trimmed the deficit to 47-41 heading to the fourth. The Canadians closed to within four early in the final period, but New Zealand slowly pulled away and led by as many as 11 in the final minute.

Canada will conclude preliminary round play on Thursday against Spain.

Also on Wednesday, Croatia pounded Tunisia, 84-64, in Group B and Spain mauled Lebanon, 91-57, behind 25 points from Marc Gasol, in Group D. In Group C, Russia topped China, 89-80, and Greece dismantled the Ivory Coast, 97-60. In Group A, Serbia thumped Australia, 94-79, behind 14 points and 10 rebounds from Nenad Krstic and Angola slipped by Germany, 92-88.

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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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