Daily Sports Roundup
Saturday, December 12
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Army takes on Navy on the gridiron, the Thrashers host the Habs, and the Celtics try to keep their streak alive in Chicago.
Colliding on the gridiron . . .
There's a single college football game on the schedule for Saturday afternoon, with Army (5-6 SU, 3-8 ATS) taking on Navy (8-4 SU, 4-6-2 ATS) at Lincoln Financial Field. The Black Knights are coming off a 17-13 win over North Texas, and they'll get an invite to the EagleBank Bowl if they can pick up a victory on Saturday. The Midshipmen fell to Hawaii 24-17 last time out, but they're locked in to the Texas Bowl on December 31. Navy is set as the 14-point fave for Saturday.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA offers up eight games on Saturday, with Indiana at Washington, Golden State at Detroit, Charlotte at Dallas, Portland at Milwaukee, Phoenix at Denver, the Lakers at Utah, Minnesota at Sacramento, and Boston at Chicago. The Celtics have won nine straight games heading into their matchup with the Bulls, and they sit at 18-4 overall and 10-1 on the road. Boston knocked off the Wizards 104-102 in Washington on Thursday night, with Rajon Rondo tossing in 21 points.
As well, there are two matchups between ranked teams on the college basketball schedule for Saturday, with No. 13 Ohio State vs. No. 22 Butler, and No. 15 Georgetown vs. No. 17 Washington. The Hoyas (7-0 SU, 2-1 ATS) remained unbeaten on the season with a 72-65 win over Butler on Tuesday night. Greg Monroe picked up 24 points for Georgetown in that contest. The Huskies (6-1 SU, 1-6 ATS) slipped past CSU Northridge by a final score of 88-76 last time out.
Other college hoops games involving ranked teams on Saturday: No. 4 Kentucky vs. Indiana, McNeese State vs. No. 25 Mississippi, La Salle vs. No. 1 Kansas, Texas State vs. No. 2 Texas, Marquette vs. No. 20 Wisconsin, No. 16 Texas A&M vs. New Mexico, Kansas State vs. No. 18 UNLV, Davidson vs. No. 21 Gonzaga, Coppin State vs. No. 6 West Virginia, Presbyterian vs. No. 11 North Carolina, and No. 5 Purdue vs. Alabama. The Boilers are 8-0 SU and 4-3-1 ATS.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the National Hockey League offers up a dozen games on Saturday, including Montreal at Atlanta. The 15-15-2 Canadiens were edged 3-2 by the Penguins in their last game on Thursday night. Matt D'Agostini and Roman Hamrlik had the goals for Montreal in that loss, while Carey Price stopped 38 of 41 shots. The 15-11-3 Thrashers were doubled up 4-2 in Vancouver on Thursday night, with Nik Antropov and Colby Armstrong both picking up markers in the loss.
Also on the ice on Saturday: Anaheim at Columbus, Washington at Toronto, Carolina at Ottawa, Buffalo at the Rangers, Boston at the Islanders, Philadelphia at New Jersey, Florida at Pittsburgh, San Jose at Phoenix, Detroit at Nashville, Dallas at Los Angeles, and Minnesota at Vancouver. The 17-14-0 Canucks got a hat trick from Daniel Sedin in their win over the Thrashers on Thursday, while Mason Raymond picked up his 10th of the year. Roberto Luongo made 22 saves.
Today's Helpful Tips
Saturday, December 12
Cutting the cheese
All eyes in America’s Dairyland will be on the hardcourt Saturday to watch the 92-year-old annual rivalry between Marquette and Wisconsin. The Badgers already lost a sliver of state bragging rights with an 88-84 overtime loss to Wisconsin-Green Bay on Wednesday.
Wisky allowed the Phoenix to hit 9-of-18 from downtown during the loss and is letting opponents score at a 31.8 percentage from 3-point land in eight games this season. Marquette is connecting at nearly a 40 percent clip from 3-point range this year with sharpshooter Darius Johnson-Odom banging in 55 percent (21-38) of his three balls.
The Golden Eagles emerged as victors in last season’s bout, but the Badgers covered as 5.5-point dogs. The underdog in this series has cashed in three straight years and is 8-2 ATS over the last decade.
Oddsmakers have installed Wisconsin as 5.5-point favorites with a total of 133.
Hurricane of injuries
Carolina’s 7-18-2-3 record can somewhat be attributed to a barrage of injuries the team has endured this season. The Hurricanes No. 1 goalie, Cam Ward, returned from a 13-game hiatus on Wednesday and made 27 saves on 30 shots in a 4-2 losing effort. But as soon as they come off injured reserve, they are put right back on.
Canes forwards Eric Cole and Chad LaRose will both be placed on IR for the next 2-4 weeks. The two have combined to score 14 points this season while Cole had a hat trick in a 5-3 win over Vancouver last week.
Carolina earned its first road win of the season last week and will aim for its second at Ottawa. The Senators could get a boost defensively if Alexandre Picard returns to action, as speculated, after missing a week with an upper-body injury. Ottawa is giving up an average of 3.7 gpg over its last seven outings.
The Canes have lost six of their last eight and are in a back-to-back situation on Saturday where they are 0-5 on the season. The Senators opened as a -200 favorite with a total of 5.5.
Jazz-ercise
Utah will play the Lakers for the second time in four days and could be without four members of the team. Andrei Kirilenko has missed five of the team’s last six games with a lower back strain while other reserves Kyrylo Fesenko, Kyle Korver and Ronnie Price all were absent in Thursday’s home win over the Magic.
Fesenko is battling a stomach virus that could allow him to return on Saturday while Korver has missed the entire season and Price has been absent in 15 straight.
The Jazz can only hope for a better outcome against the defending champs on their home floor where they hold a 10-3 record (9-4 ATS). Utah was held to 25 second half points (six in fourth quarter) in the 101-77 blowout at Los Angeles on Wednesday.
The under has cashed in four straight in this series while the home team is 16-7-1 ATS during the last 24 meetings.
The Lakers opened as a 2-point favorite with a total of 202.5.
Au revoir, Qvale
The Montana Grizzlies will likely be without center Brian Qvale on Saturday against Colorado State after he left campus earlier this week to tend to personal matters. The 6-11 junior has started in all eight games he’s played, is averaging 11.4 ppg and is the team’s leading rebounder (8.6 rpg) and shot-blocker (14 total).
Montana did not have Qvale in the lineup on Thursday against Loyola Marymount and won 82-73 as a 1-point favorite. Forward Derek Selvig got the start in Qvale’s absence and contributed 18 points and 10 boards.
The Grizz are 7-2 ATS in their last nine road games. Montana is a 4-point underdog to the 6-3 Rams.
Notable quotable
“He went for the money. I'm fairly disgusted with the situation, that they let it last this long. I feel there was a little lying in the thing. I feel like he'd known this the whole time. I kind of had a gut feeling he was going to stay just because he told me he was going to be here."
-- Cincinnati Bearcats all-purpose wide receiver Mardy Gilyard on his former head coach, Brian Kelly, leaving for Notre Dame.