Daily Sports Roundup
Sunday, February 28
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Michigan State takes on Purdue, the Lakers host the Nuggets, and the United States and Canada do battle for Olympic gold.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA offers up eight games on Sunday, with Phoenix at San Antonio, Milwaukee at Atlanta, Washington at New Jersey, Miami at Orlando, Toronto at Oklahoma City, the Clippers at Sacramento, New Orleans at Dallas, and Denver at the Lakers. The Nuggets (39-19 SU, 27-28-3 ATS) beat the Pistons 107-102 in their last game on Friday, and they also topped the Lakers 126-113 in Los Angeles earlier in the month. The Lakers (44-15 SU, 25-33-1 ATS) got past the 76ers at home by a score of 99-90 on Friday. Pau Gasol led the way with 23 points for Los Angeles in that contest, while Andrew Bynum poured in 20 points.
As well, there are four games involving ranked teams on the college basketball schedule for Sunday, with No. 23 Richmond at Xavier, No. 20 Temple at La Salle, No. 5 Duke at Virginia, and No. 14 Michigan State at No. 3 Purdue. The Spartans (21-7 SU, 10-17 ATS) haven't played since last Sunday, when they were beaten 74-67 by Ohio State. Durrell Summers had 16 points for Michigan State in that game. The Boilermakers (24-3 SU, 12-14-1 ATS) have won 10 straight games, beating Minnesota 59-58 in their last game on Wednesday, Purdue, however, has lost forward Robbie Hummel (knee injury) for the season.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the Olympic men's hockey tournament comes to an end on Sunday afternoon with the United States taking on Canada in the Gold Medal Game. The United States blasted Finland 6-1 in their semifinal matchup on Friday, building up a 6-0 lead by the end of the first period. Patrick Kane scored twice for the Americans in that win. Canada held off Slovakia for a 3-2 win in their semifinal game on Friday; the Canadians had a 3-0 lead in that one before the Slovaks mounted a comeback. Canada and the United States met in the preliminary round of the tournament, with Kane and company grabbing a 5-3 win in that one.
Sunday's Wagering Tips
Lines off the board
Toronto Raptors at Oklahoma City Thunder – Chris Bosh (ankle) has missed the team’s last four games and is expected to miss the next two as well.
Washington Wizards at New Jersey Nets – Andray Blatche (ankle) is questionable for the game.
Miami Heat at Orlando Magic – Dwyane Wade (calf) has missed the last four games and is questionable.
Line to keep an eye on
The Clippers-Kings total opened at 202.5 and now can be found anywhere from that number to 203.5. The last four games between these two teams have gone under.
Weather to watch
The Hawaii-Nevada basketball game was canceled on Saturday after a tsunami warning closed the school’s campus in Honolulu. The tsunami was triggered by an 8.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Chile on Saturday morning.
The Wolf Pack was instructed to hunker down in their hotel, anywhere above the fourth floor, and wait out any effects the tsunami might bring. Nevada could still catch a redeye flight Saturday night but might be stationed on the island until Sunday.
Nevada next plays New Mexico State at home on March 4.
Who’s hot
Purdue has won 10 straight games and covered in 6-of-7 versus Michigan State.
The Mavericks are 6-0 SU and 4-2 ATS in their last six games.
Who’s not
San Antonio has dropped 3-of-4 and is 3-7 ATS in the last 10 games.
Penn State is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games and 3-9 ATS at home this season.
Key stat
21.5 – Average margin of victory for the Musketeers during their 22-game home winning streak. Xavier has won 37-of-38 at home and face the No. 23-ranked Richmond Spiders on Sunday.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
The No. 3-ranked Purdue Boilermakers will host No. 14 Michigan State on Sunday but will be without the services of their second-leading scorer (15.7 ppg) and rebounder (6.9 rpg) Robbie Hummel. The 6-8 forward tore his ACL in Wednesday’s win over Minnesota and will miss the remainder of the season. Keaton Grant is expected to take Hummel’s spot in the starting lineup.
Games of the day
USA vs. Canada
Phoenix Suns at San Antonio Spurs (-4, 209.5)
Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers (-6, 208.5)
Notable quotable
"I've got a feeling they're going to go on a run right now. They're the team you don't want to play in the Big East tournament."
-- Seth Davis said of Connecticut in an SI.com article on Monday. The Huskies have won and covered in three straight and host Louisville on Sunday.
Tips and notes
- Kings coach Paul Westphal benched center Spencer Hawes Tuesday after the player publicly criticized the coach about irregular playing time. Sean May and Tyreke Evans also said they were frustrated with Westphal’s inconsistent allocation of minutes. Hawes was back in the starting lineup Friday as relationships were mended and Sacramento beat the Jazz.
- Since being trade to the Bucks, John Salmons has been on fire. Milwaukee center Andrew Bogut said Salmons brings a “scoring punch” to the team and characterized him as a “proven scorer in the NBA.” In six games with the Bucks, Salmons is averaging 18.2 ppg and the team has gone 6-0 SU and ATS.
- The old Clippers and new Clippers are beginning to gel. The team is 3-1 SU and ATS in their last four games and the welding of teammates is apparent. Drew Gooden stated he is, “beginning to get comfortable” with his new team and said “we are trying to play as a team and get some wins.” Gooden is averaging 15.0 points and 10.3 rebounds since coming to L.A. in a trade while Steve Blake is dishing out 8.6 assists per.