Daily Sports Roundup
Saturday March 13
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: College hoops tournaments begin to wrap up, while the Wizards play host to the Magic, and the Sharks meet the Panthers.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA offers up seven games on Saturday, with Detroit at Atlanta, Denver at Memphis, New York at Dallas, New Jersey at Houston, the Clippers at San Antonio, Toronto at Golden State, and Orlando at Washington. The Magic (46-20 SU, 34-29-3 ATS) rolled to their seventh straight win on Thursday night, blasting Chicago 111-82. Vince Carter had a game-high 23 points for Orlando in that win, while Matt Barnes was good for 14 points. However, the Magic are 0-2 against the Wizards so far this year, losing 104-97 on January 8 and 92-91 on February 5. Orlando was favored in both of those games, which were both UNDER results.
As well, Saturday's college basketball schedule features either semi-final or championship matchups in 16 conference tournaments. Reaching the semi-final stage on Saturday are the ACC, Atlantic 10, Southeastern, and Big Ten events, while championship games will be played in each of the Mid-Eastern, America East, Southland, Southwestern, Western Athletic, Mid-American, Big West, Mountain West, Conference USA, Pacific-10, Big 12, and Big East conferences.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, there are nine games on the NHL's schedule for Saturday, with Chicago at Philadelphia, Buffalo at Detroit, Phoenix at Carolina, Boston at Montreal, New Jersey at the Islanders, Edmonton at Toronto, St. Louis at Columbus, Ottawa at Vancouver, and Florida at San Jose. The 43-14-9 Sharks exploded for six third-period goals in an 8-5 win over Nashville in their last game on Thursday night. Joe Pavelski and Dany Heatley each scored twice for San Jose. The 27-29-10 Panthers were blanked 3-0 in Colorado in their Thursday night matchup, with Tomas Vokoun making 28 saves. Florida and San Jose have not met this season.
Saturday's Wagering Tips
Lines off the board
Los Angeles Clippers at San Antonio Spurs – Eric Gordon (leg) has missed the last three games (0-3 ATS) and is doubtful.
St. Louis Blues at Columbus Blue Jackets – Rick Nash (lower body) did not play in the team’s last game and is questionable.
New Jersey Devils at New York Islanders – The Devils played on Friday.
Line to keep an eye on
The total in the Raptors-Warriors matchup escalated from an opener of 226 to 227.5. Golden State has played to two consecutive overs and the last two meetings of this series have gone over.
Weather to watch
The rain is expected to subside but the course at the WGC-CA Championship will still be affected by wind on Saturday. The forecast calls for wind anywhere from 13-18 mph during the third round. Scores haven’t been as low as projected and the wind was definitely causing a few putts to come up short on Friday.
Who’s hot
Vermont has won 9-of-10 and are 5-0 ATS in their last five lined games.
Chicago is 7-3 SU in their last 10 games and opened as an underdog to the Coyotes.
The Magic have won 9-of-10 games and are 7-3 ATS during that stretch.
Who’s not
The Raptors are 3-7 SU and 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games.
Rhode Island is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 outings.
The Florida Panthers are 3-7 SU in their last 10 and have only covered the puckline twice in those seven losses.
Key stat
0 – Number of teams to lose the first game of their conference tournament and go on to win the national title. This statistic doesn’t bode well for Syracuse or Villanova.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
New Orleans’ forward James Posey will miss Friday’s game versus the Nuggets. Posey is a key reserve in the Hornets rotation and while he hasn’t been very productive from a statistic perspective this season (5.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and isn’t a spread-mover, he is one of the team’s top defenders.
Games of the day
Edmonton Oilers at Toronto Maple Leafs (-205, 5.5)
Ottawa Senators at Vancouver Canucks (-175, 5.5)
Notable quotable
"Right now, I'm playing for something bigger. I don't even care about the Rookie of the Year. Forget it. Whoever gets it, who cares? Both of their teams suck, so whoever gets it, it doesn't matter."
Bucks’ rookie point guard Brandon Jennings on winning the Rookie of the Year title while also referring to Tyreke Evans of the Kings and Stephen Curry of the Warriors.
Tips and notes
It’s never a good sign when a team’s best player begins to vent. Apparently, Knicks center David Lee has grown tired of playing out of position. He said, "A lot of times I'm playing a guy five inches bigger than I am and 50 pounds heavier. I'm doing my best down there at 6'9." New York was out-rebounded by 19 against San Antonio while Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess had a field day down low.
Vermont forward Evan Fjeld might have his mind elsewhere in the America East Conference championship game on Saturday. Fjeld lost his mother on Tuesday to cancer. The junior has said that he will play in the game regardless; he averages 10.7 points and 6.1 rebounds for the team.
Baron Davis is in a sour mood once again. He got benched on Tuesday in Orlando because he missed practice with a stomach problem. Davis said, "If my health caused me to miss a one-hour, walk-around practice, and that determines my position on the team, then I'm not going to be happy." He was back in a starting role on Wednesday but only went 4-of-11 from the floor. GM Mike Dunleavy was fired this week and clearly the Clips are in turmoil, having lost five in a row SU and ATS.
Monta Ellis returned for the Warriors on Thursday but that could have thrown off the team chemistry, again. "We're looking for consistency, and it's not going to be there," Stephen Curry said. "What makes it tough is that we're playing with a different shorthanded group every night, and it's tough to find chemistry." Golden State still has no big men available and has been outrebounded 17 and 19 in its last two games. Even with Ellis’s return, the Warriors still have three D-League call-ups in the rotation.