Daily Sports Roundup
Saturday, January 30
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Duke takes on Georgetown in a battle of Top-10 teams, while the Magic host the Hawks, and the Oilers face the Flames.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
There are just six games on the NBA's schedule for Saturday, with New York at Washington, New Orleans at Memphis, Miami at Milwaukee, Portland at Dallas, Charlotte at Sacramento, and Atlanta at Orlando. The Magic knocked off the Celtics 96-94 in their last game on Thursday night, with Rashard Lewis scoring a team-high 23 points. Orlando is also 2-0 against rival Atlanta so far this season; the teams last met on the court in a 113-81 home win for Orlando on January 9.
Ranked matchups highlight the college basketball schedule for Saturday, with No. 21 Vanderbilt at No. 1 Kentucky, No. 24 Baylor at No. 6 Texas, No. 2 Kansas at No. 11 Kansas State, and No. 8 Duke at No. 9 Georgetown. The Blue Devils (17-3 SU, 13-6 ATS) rolled to a 70-56 win over Florida State in their last game, with Jon Scheyer scoring 22 points in the contest. The Hoyas (15-4 SU, 8-7 ATS) fell 73-56 to Syracuse last time out; Austin Freeman led the attack with 23 points.
Other games involving Top-10 teams on Saturday: Louisville at No. 9 West Virginia, No. 4 Syracuse at DePaul, and Northwestern at No. 5 Michigan State. The Spartans (18-3 SU, 8-12 ATS) slipped past rival Michigan 57-56 last time out, as Raymar Morgan poured in 20 points. The Wildcats (14-6 SU, 10-6 ATS) fell 65-61 to Minnesota in their last game, and they're just 3-5 in the conference.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the NHL offers up 10 games on Saturday, including the Islanders at Philadelphia, Los Angeles at Boston, Chicago at Carolina, the Rangers at Phoenix, Columbus at St. Louis, Atlanta at Nashville, and Minnesota at San Jose. As well, the six Canadian teams will play off against one another in the annual Hockey Day in Canada event; Ottawa hosts Montreal at 2pm ET, followed by Vancouver at Toronto at 7pm, and then Edmonton at Calgary in a 10pm start. The Oilers are riding a 12-game losing streak; the Flames have lost nine straight.
Today's Wagering Tips
Saturday, January 30
Lines off the board
New York Knicks at Washington Wizards – Wizards played on Friday night. Al Harrington (knee) is questionable.
Miami Heat at Milwaukee Bucks – Michael Beasley (knee) missed Friday’s game and is doubtful. Heat played on Friday.
Minnesota Wild at San Jose Sharks – Dan Boyle (upper body) is questionable. Derek Boogaard (hamstring) and Owen Nolan (hand) are questionable. Niklas Backstrom (back) is doubtful.
Oklahoma Sooners at Nebraska Cornhuskers – See injury note below.
Arkansas Razorbacks at Ole Miss Rebels – Postponed, see weather note below.
Sacramento State at Idaho State – Sac State (12-4-2 ATS) played Friday night.
Lines to keep an eye on
The St. Louis Blues opened as -150 favorites over Columbus but that number has climbed to as high as -160 at some shops.
Weather to watch
Thunderstorms litter the Mobile, Ala., forecast Friday night but the rain is expected to dissipate in time for the Senior Bowl at 3 p.m. (CT) Saturday. The playing surface at Ladd Peeples Stadium is field turf so the rain shouldn’t have too much effect on footing. The gametime forecast calls for sunny skies with a temperature of 44 degrees and wind out of the north-northwest (endzone to endzone) at 14 mph.
A winter storm that covered Northwest Arkansas Thursday night and brought snow all day Friday has postponed the Razorbacks-Rebels game that was scheduled to go off Saturday afternoon. Traveling conditions were not ideal for the Hogs to leave Fayetteville and the game has been rescheduled for Sunday at 6 p.m. (CT).
Who’s hot
Mavericks reserve Drew Gooden is averaging 10.3 points and 7.1 rebounds over his last seven games.
The Wyoming Cowboys have won five straight ATS, all as underdogs.
Who’s not
Nashville has dropped four straight and averaged 2.0 goals per game during that span.
The Washington Huskies are 2-6 SU and ATS in their last eight games against Division-I competition.
Key stat
13 – Number of consecutive games the Flyers have defeated the Islanders. New York has been outscored 46-22 during that stretch and is 0-3-0 against Philly this season. The Flyers are home favorites of -200.
Injuries that shouldn’t be overlooked
Oklahoma guards Willie Warren and Tony Crocker are both dealing with ankle injuries. Warren (17.6 ppg) has missed the last two games while Crocker (12.3 ppg) missed the last game. Both are listed as questionable for Saturday’s matchup versus Nebraska.
Games of the day
Senior Bowl – North vs. South (-4, 44.5)
Kansas at Kansas State (+3, 155.5)
Montreal Canadiens at Ottawa Senators (-175, 5.5)
Vancouver Canucks at Toronto Maple Leafs (+140, 6)
Edmonton Oilers at Calgary Flames (-215, 5.5)
Notable quotable
"I know he'd like to win the first for British tennis since what is it, 150,000 years? The poor guy who has to go through those moments over and over again."
Roger Federer said of Andy Murray and the 74-year drought British men have experienced in Grand Slam singles.
Tips and notes
Practice reports have said that most of the quarterbacks in the Senior Bowl, not just Tim Tebow, have had trouble handling snaps under center because they played in spread offenses that operate out of the shotgun. Prop odds on the first turnover of the game being a fumble are +145.
The Chicago Blackhawks finish a grueling eight-game road trip by flying cross-country from San Jose to Carolina on Friday. They are scheduled to get to Raleigh around 5 p.m. (ET) and they play the Hurricanes (+155, 5.5) Saturday evening at 7 p.m. (ET).
Andy Murray is one of only four players on the ATP tour to have a winning head-to-head record against Federer at 6-4. Federer is a -150 favorite against Murray in the Aussie Open final.