Daily Sports Roundup March 25
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Trail Blazers play host to the Mavericks, while the Sweet 16 gets underway with games in Salt Lake City and Syracuse.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA serves up three games on Thursday night, with Miami at Chicago, the Clippers at Houston, and Dallas at Portland. The Mavericks (47-24 SU, 28-41-2 ATS) rolled past the Clippers for a 106-96 win in their last game on Tuesday night. Jason Kidd led the way for Dallas with 26 points and 12 assists in that home win, while Dirk Nowitzki was good for 18 points in the contest. The Trail Blazers (42-29 SU, 38-31-2 ATS) were beaten 93-87 in Phoenix in their last game on Sunday. Brandon Roy scored a team-high 23 points in that road defeat for the Trail Blazers, who are 2-0 in their two games against Dallas this season.
As well, the NCAA Tournament begins its Sweet 16 round on Thursday night, starting with No. 5 Butler vs. No. 1 Syracuse at Salt Lake City's EnergySolutions Arena. Both the Bulldogs and the Orange sit with 30-4 records on the season, but top-seeded Syracuse has been pegged as the 6-point favorite for Thursday (with the total at 138.5 points). The other matchup in Utah on Thursday has No. 6 Xavier taking on No. 2 Kansas State. The Wildcats have been listed as 4.5-point favorites in that West Region matchup, with the total for the game at 153.5 points
Meanwhile, the top seed in the East Region, Kentucky, also takes to the hardwood on Thursday as they meet No. 12 Cornell at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. The Wildcats, who have lost just two games so far this season, are listed as 8.5-point favorites in their game against the Ivy League's Big Red, with the total for the matchup set at 147 points. The other game in Syracuse on Thursday night has No. 11 Washington taking on No. 2 West Virginia. The Mountaineers are the 4-point favorites in that contest, with the total at 142 points.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the NHL has 11 games on tap for Thursday with Tampa Bay at Boston, Toronto at Atlanta, Minnesota at Philadelphia, Calgary at the Islanders, the Rangers at New Jersey, Washington at Carolina, Chicago at Columbus, Florida at Montreal, Los Angeles at St. Louis, Dallas at San Jose, and Phoenix at Nashville. The 46-23-5 Coyotes had their nine-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday night, as they fell 2-0 in Chicago. The 42-27-5 Predators also picked up a loss in their last game, as they were beaten 3-1 by Dallas on Tuesday. Nashville has not had success against Phoenix so far - they're 0-2 against them.
Thursday's Wagering Tips
Line to keep an eye on
The Heat-Bulls total opened at 190.5 and has been bet down to 189.5 at most shops. Chicago has played to three straight unders and 7-of-9 games in this series have gone under the posted total.
Weather report
The Thursday forecast for Orlando, Fla., which will be the host city of the Arnold Palmer Invitational this weekend, is looking good. Humidity is expected to be high in the morning and temperatures will get up to a high of 76 in the afternoon. Wind out of the southeast is expected to blow at a maximum of 12 mph which should not affect play.
Who’s hot
West Virginia is 10-2-1 ATS in its last 13 tournament games.
The Trail Blazers are 8-2 SU in their last 10 games.
Toronto is 7-3 SU in its last 10, winning four of those games as underdogs.
Who’s not
The Butler Bulldogs are 5-5 ATS in their last 10 outings.
Dallas is 1-5 ATS in its last six games and 8-27-1 ATS this season at home.
The Flames are 7-3 SU in their last 10, winning four of those games as underdogs.
Key stat
6-0 – Against the spread record for the Atlantic 10 conference in Sweet 16 history.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
West Virginia’s starting point guard, Darryl Bryant, will miss the remainder of the NCAA tournament after breaking his right foot in practice this week. Bryant averaged 9.3 points, 3.1 assists and 2.2 rebounds this season. He will be replaced by Joe Mazzulla who averaged almost 15 minutes of play during the regular season. Coach Bob Huggins admitted the loss of Bryant hurts his team’s “depth a little bit” but said his squad is fine. The Mountaineers went 0-2 ATS without Bryant in the lineup this season.
Games of the Day
Miami Heat at Chicago Bulls (-1, 189.5)
Dallas Mavericks at Portland Trail Blazers (-3, 192)
Notable quotable
"Any time you've got a team that is picked last in their conference by every so-called expert, and with what he's got out of our team with no all-stars, I think he's definitely the coach of the year, not being biased."
-- Bucks center Andrew Bogut said of why Scott Skiles should be the NBA’s Coach of the Year.
Tips and notes
- Brendan Haywood came off the bench in a reserve role on Tuesday for the first time since being acquired by the Mavericks. Rick Carlisle elected to start Erik Dampier and Haywood was not happy about it saying, "I just work here.” Carlisle said his two centers were a “team” and the starter could change every night. Jason Terry has already talked about chemistry problems since his return and this starter confusion can’t help matters.
- Digger Phelps said when he was a coach the tournament scheduling meant a lot, especially if you get an extra day of rest. Washington, Kansas State, Kentucky and Butler have an edge over their Thursday opponents because they got an extra day of rest after playing last Saturday opposed to Sunday like their opponents did. St. Mary’s, Tennessee, Northern Iowa and Baylor will have the additional rest in Friday’s games.
- Since being named Europe’s Ryder Cup captain, Colin Montgomerie has not earned a Top 10 finish and has missed two tournament cuts. He now ranks No. 287 in the world and went to work with his college coach in Houston prior to the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Monty is lumped into the “field” category for odds to win the tournament, but if you can find a head-to-head matchup on the betting board it might be wise to play against him.