Daily Sports Roundup
Saturday March 6
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Penguins host the Stars in a matinee, while Indiana takes on Phoenix, and the Orange look for a road win at Louisville.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA has nine games on its schedule for Saturday, with Golden State at Charlotte, Atlanta at Miami, New Jersey at New York, Dallas at Chicago, Houston at Minnesota, San Antonio at Memphis, Cleveland at Milwaukee, the Clippers at Utah, and Indiana at Phoenix. The Suns (39-25 SU, 37-26-1 ATS) were defeated 116-108 by the Jazz in their most recent game on Thursday night. Amare Stoudemire was good for 30 points in that loss for the Suns, while Steve Nash picked up 14 points and 15 assists. The Suns also lost to the Pacers when the teams battled in Indiana on January 13 - the Pacers won by a score of 122-114.
There is just one ranked matchup on the college basketball schedule for Saturday, with No. 10 West Virginia at No. 9 Villanova in a Big East battle. The Mountaineers (23-6 SU, 12-16 ATS) are coming off an easy 81-68 win over Georgetown in their last contest; Da'Sean Butler had 22 points for West Virginia in that game. The Wildcats (24-5 SU, 18-10 ATS) got past Cincinnati in a 77-73 win in their last outing. Scottie Reynolds poured in 17 points for Villanova that day. Villanova defeated West Virginia 82-75 when the teams met on February 8.
Other games involving Top-10 teams on Saturday: No. 2 Kansas at Missouri, No. 7 Purdue at Penn State, Iowa State at No. 5 Kansas State, North Carolina at No. 4 Duke, and No. 1 Syracuse at Louisville. The top-ranked Orange (28-2 SU, 18-7 ATS) have won four straight games, and they knocked off St. John's 85-66 in their last outing; Arinze Onuaku had 21 points that day. The Cardinals (19-11 SU, 9-16 ATS) were beaten 69-48 by Marquette in their last game, but they did manage to get past Syracuse by a score of 66-60 when they met on February 14.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the NHL offers up 10 games on Saturday, with Boston at the Islanders, Carolina at Florida, Toronto at Ottawa, the Rangers at Washington, Atlanta at Tampa Bay, Anaheim at Phoenix, St. Louis at Colorado, Montreal at Los Angeles, Columbus at San Jose, and Dallas at Pittsburgh. The 28-23-12 Stars will be looking to bounce back from an ugly 6-1 loss to St. Louis on Thursday; Marty Turco gave up four goals on 11 shots in that contest. The 38-22-4 Pens slipped past the Rangers for a 5-4 win in their last game on Thursday.
Saturday's Wagering Tips
Line off the board
New York Rangers at Washington Capitals – Marian Gaborik (leg) skated around in practice on Friday and is expected to play (see injury note below).
Lines to keep an eye on
The Stars-Penguins moneyline can be found anywhere from -200 in favor of Pitt all the way up to -220. The Pens have won the last four games in this series.
The Toronto-Ottawa moneyline opened at -215 in favor of the Sens but that number is posted at -200 at some shops and -220 at others. The Leafs have taken the last two in this matchup.
Who’s hot
BYU is 5-1 SU and ATS in its last six games.
The Bucks have won nine straight ATS and are 20-5 ATS in their last 25 games.
Who’s not
The Florida Panthers are 2-8 SU in their last 10 outings.
The Indiana Hoosiers have dropped 11 straight games and are 3-8 ATS during that span.
Key stat
12 – Number of consecutive wins for the BYU Cougars over the TCU Horned Frogs. Over the last 10 wins, the Cougars’ average margin of victory against TCU is 13.4 points per game and the team went 6-3-1 ATS during that stretch. BYU is favored by 10.5 on Saturday.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Marian Gaborik is expected to suit up when the Rangers meet the Capitals in Washington on Saturday. Gaborik was rumored to have a groin injury that hasn’t allowed him to play in the NHL since Feb. 12. Gaborik has registered 35 goals and 34 assists this season.
Game of the day
North Carolina Tar Heels at Duke Blue Devils (-14.5, 146.5)
Notable quotable
"I just have no thrust. Every movement my back tightens, it tries to stop me from going somewhere. Our training staff does a great job to even get me out there at all."
-- Suns point guard Steve Nash said regarding his body’s response to his variety of injuries.
Tips and notes
- The Warriors are running with an eight-man rotation, four of which are D-League call-ups. The lack of a bench is catching up with the team as Don Nelson said, “We actually have been running on empty for a while.” Without leading scorer Monta Ellis and center Andris Biedrins, the Warriors may have a tough time covering a 10.5-point spread in a back-to-back situation in Charlotte on Saturday.
- Camilo Villegas holds a share of the Honda Classic lead heading into Saturday, but bettors have to be wary of him breaking down. Over the last 16 days, Villegas has traveled more than 7,000 miles and played 245 holes of golf. He played 101 of those holes during a five-day stretch during the Accenture match play tournament. Villegas is listed as the favorite to win the Honda at +305.
- Kari Lehtonen will make his first start under the net on Saturday versus Pittsburgh since being traded to the Stars. While with Atlanta, Lehtonen went 6-2-2 against the Penguins with a .922 save percentage and a 2.53 goals-against average. He played sparingly in Thursday’s game for Dallas and allowed two goals on 16 shots. The Stars are +180 road dogs Saturday.