Daily Sports Roundup
Friday, December 4
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Ohio meets Central Michigan, the Predators play in Chicago, and the Knicks try to get a victory against the Hawks in Atlanta.
Colliding on the gridiron . . .
The lone college football matchup on Friday has Ohio taking on Central Michigan in the MAC championship game at Detroit's Ford Field. The Bobcats (9-3 SU, 7-4 ATS) got past Temple 35-17 in their last outing, with QB Theo Scott throwing three TD strikes and running for two scores in that Ohio win; Scott, though, is questionable with a sore ankle. The Chippewas (10-2 SU, 9-2 ATS) beat Northern Illinois 45-31 last week, and they're 13-point favorites for Friday's game.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA has 10 games on tap for Friday, including New York at Atlanta. The Knicks (4-15 SU, 8-11 ATS) were defeated 118-104 in Orlando in their last game on Wednesday, with Wilson Chandler tossing in a team-high 24 points in the loss. The Hawks (13-5 SU, 13-5 ATS) were all over the Raptors on Wednesday, exploding for a 146-115 home win. Nine Hawks players scored in double-digits in that matchup, with Al Horford leading the offense with his 24-point performance.
Also on the NBA hardwood on Friday: Toronto at Washington, Boston at Oklahoma City, Charlotte at New Jersey, Milwaukee at Detroit, Chicago at Cleveland, Minnesota at New Orleans, Dallas at Memphis, Indiana at Utah, and Miami at the Lakers. Los Angeles (14-3 SU, 8-9 ATS) picked up a 110-99 home win over New Orleans in their last game on Tuesday night, as Andrew Bynum poured in a team-high 21 points. Kobe Bryant was good for 18 points in the win.
As well, there are three ranked teams in action on the college hoops schedule for Friday, with Akron at No. 19 Texas A&M, No. 13 Florida at Jacksonville, and Wofford at No. 9 Michigan State. The Spartans (5-2 SU, 2-4 ATS) fell 89-82 to North Carolina in their last game on Tuesday; Raymar Morgan scored 18 points.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, there are four games around the NHL on Friday night, with Tampa Bay at New Jersey, Boston at Montreal, Anaheim at Minnesota, and Nashville at Chicago. The 15-10-2 Predators have lost two straight games heading into this matchup, falling 5-4 in overtime to Minnesota on the road on Wednesday. Steve Sullivan picked up four points in that loss. The 17-6-3 Hawks got past Columbus 4-3 on Tuesday in a shootout, with Marian Hossa contributing a couple of assists.
Today's Helpful Tips
Friday, December 4
Return of the MAC
Dan LeFevour is the MAC’s version of Tim Tebow and the senior signal-caller will try to lead Central Michigan to its third conference title in the last four years.
Ohio comes into the game “beat up a little bit” in the words of head coach Frank Solich. Quarterback Theo Scott, receiver LaVon Brazill and safety Patrick Tafua are all questionable for the game. Scott and Tafua are expected to play but Brazill, the team’s second-leading receiver, will likely be a gametime decision.
The Chippewas hold an overall 20-4-2 record against the Bobcats and have gone 3-0 ATS in the last three games of this series. One of those contests was the MAC championship game in 2006 where CMU defeated Ohio 31-10 as 3.5-point favorites.
Central Michigan is a 13-point favorite in the game with a total of 53.
Nasty Nate
The Knicks halted a five-game skid on Tuesday when they defeated the Suns as 7-point home underdogs. Mike D’Antoni’s run-and-gun offense posted 126 points in that game and is averaging 114.3 ppg over its last four outings.
Dynamic guard Nate Robinson has been in D’Antoni’s doghouse all season and the head coach benched him during the 118-104 loss to the Magic on Wednesday. Robinson’s status for the game versus Atlanta is unknown.
The Hawks put up their best offensive output since 1993 after scoring 146 points versus the Raptors on Wednesday.
The over is 6-1 during the last seven games of this series and 8-3 in the last 11 at Atlanta.
Oddsmakers have installed the Hawks as 12.5-point favorites with a total of 217.
Blackhawks down
First and second place Central Division incumbents meet in the Windy City when the Predators take on the Blackhawks.
Both teams have displayed offensive offenses in recent games. Nashville is averaging 2.6 gpg during its last three games while Chicago is netting the puck at a 1.6 clip during that span.
The under has cashed in all three meetings between these two clubs this season with none of the games seeing more than four goals. Eight of the last 10 games in this series have gone under.
The Blackhawks are favored at -210 with the total set at 5.5.
Shane-less
Big Sky conference play gets underway on Friday when the Montana Grizzlies host the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
Northern Arizona could again be without starting forward Shane Johannsen who has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. The 6-7, 230-pound junior leads the team in rebounds with 7.0 per outing and averages 10.0 points per game.
Johannsen’s inside presence was missed in the team’s last game where N. Arizona surrendered 60 points in the paint to San Diego State and was outrebounded 43-23.
The Lumberjacks have gone 5-1 ATS in their last six meetings against the Grizzlies and the road team is 6-2 ATS during the last eight games of this series.
Montana opened as an 8-point favorite.
Notable quotable
"We joke about Ford Field being our home away from home. I'm not sure it gives us a home-field advantage, but we've played there a lot of times, and it certainly helps to have that kind of familiarity with the building."
-- Chippewas head coach Butch Jones on the MAC Championship venue being less than a three-hour drive from Central Michigan University.