Daily Sports Roundup
Thursday, December 3
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Spurs host the Celtics, the Bills take on the Jets in Toronto, and Oregon State meets Oregon in a big Pac-10 matchup.
Colliding on the gridiron . . .
The NFL's Thursday night game this week is a matchup of middling AFC East clubs, with the Jets (5-6 SU, 5-6 ATS) playing Buffalo (4-7 SU, 6-5 ATS) at Toronto's Rogers Centre. The Jets are coming off a 17-6 home win over Carolina in Week 12, with Thomas Jones rushing for 75 yards and a touchdown in the contest. The Bills got past Miami 31-14 last week, scoring 24 points in the fourth quarter of that victory. Oddsmakers have the Jets pegged as 3-point road favorites for Thursday, with the total at 37.
As well, there are two games on the college football schedule for Thursday, with Arkansas State at Western Kentucky, and No. 13 Oregon State at No. 7 Oregon; the Beavers (8-3 SU, 6-4 ATS) and Ducks (9-2 SU, 7-4 ATS) will be playing for both the Pac-10 championship and a berth in this year's Rose Bowl. Oregon State beat Washington State 42-10 last time out, while Oregon is coming off a 44-41 win over Arizona. Oregon is a 10-point favorite, with the total at 61 points.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA has three games on tap for Thursday, with Miami at Denver, Houston at Golden State, and Boston at San Antonio. The Spurs have improved to 9-6 SU and 8-7 ATS on the season thanks to their current five-game winning streak. San Antonio got past Philadelphia at home by a score of 97-89 in their last game on Sunday, with Tim Duncan picking up 22 points and six rebounds. Tony Parker and Matt Bonner each had 16 points, and Manu Ginobili contributed eight points.
There are two ranked teams in action on the college basketball schedule for Thursday, with No. 12 Washington at Texas Tech, and USC at No. 2 Texas. The Trojans (2-2 SU, 0-2-1 ATS) are coming off a 51-48 loss to Nebraska on Sunday, with Alex Stepheson tossing in 13 points in the defeat. The Longhorns (5-0 SU, 5-0 ATS) pounded Rice by a score of 77-59 in their last game on Sunday. Dexter Pittman had a team-high 21 points in that win, and Varez Ward scored 15 points.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, there are 11 games on the National Hockey League's busy schedule for Thursday night, including Florida at Washington. The 16-5-6 Capitals got past the Hurricanes in Carolina by a final score of 3-2 on Monday night, but star forward Alexander Ovechkin left that game early after colliding knee-on-knee with Canes defenseman Tim Gleason. Ovechkin was handed a two-game suspension by the league for the incident, and he won't be eligible to play again until Monday night.
Also on the ice on Thursday: Montreal at Buffalo, Toronto at Columbus, Vancouver at Philadelphia, the Islanders at Atlanta, Anaheim at Dallas, Edmonton at Detroit, Calgary at Phoenix, St. Louis at San Jose, Ottawa at Los Angeles, and Colorado at Pittsburgh. The Penguins improved to 19-9-0 on the season with a 5-2 win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Monday. Mike Rupp had a hat trick in that win, while Sidney Crosby potted a pair of goals.
Today's Helpful Tips
Thursday, December 3
Crying wolf
Western Kentucky made the jump to the FBS in 2009 and the team has struggled, going 0-11 in their first “big boy” games. The Hilltoppers haven’t been as bad at the books, however, going 5-6 ATS this season and covering in three straight.
The ‘Toppers will look to get their first win against an Arkansas State squad that has been awful on the road the last two years. The Red Wolves have lost six consecutive road contests and 11-of-12 dating back to last season, going 1-11 ATS during that span.
Arkansas State will again be without its starting quarterback, Corey Leonard, who tore his ACL two weeks ago. Redshirt freshman Ryan Aplin took over under center last week and threw three interceptions, but rushed for 122 yards on 16 carries.
Oddsmakers installed ASU as a 6.5-point road favorite and that has dropped to 5.5 at some shops. The total sits at 51.5.
Civil War
A trip to the Rose Bowl is on the line when Pac-10 rivals Oregon and Oregon State meet at the raucous Autzen Stadium on Thursday night.
These two Top 25 offenses will look to light up the scoreboard with the Ducks ranking No. 7 in the nation in scoring offense at 37.7 ppg while the Beavers are No. 20 with a 32.4 ppg average.
Oregon has gone over the posted total in five straight games and the over has cashed in seven straight in this series. Those seven outcomes went over the total by an average of 17.9 points.
Temperatures are projected to be in the upper 30s at kickoff with a 10 percent chance of rain.
The total opened at 61 now can be found as high as 63 at some shops. Oregon is favored by 9.5 points.
Shark-bitten
The NHL-leading Sharks have gashed through competition recently, winning five of their last six games. San Jose is averaging 4.2 gpg during that span which has equated to 5-of-6 games going over the posted total. The Sharks have scored a league-leading 101 goals this season.
St. Louis seems to be stricken with the blues when they visit the Shark Tank. The Blues have dropped four straight on the road against San Jose and have lost eight of the last 10 meetings in this series. The under has cashed in three straight games between these two clubs.
The Sharks are a heavy favorite at -215 with the total set at 5.5.
Runnin’ Rockets
Without the defensive prowess of Ron Artest, the Rockets have ignited their engines and transformed into an up-and-down the floor squad. Houston attempts more field goals per game than any other team (87.2) and ranks No. 10 in the league in scoring with 102.1 ppg average.
Golden State has always been a reckless bunch under Don Nelson. The Warriors throw up the fifth-most shots (86.4) in the NBA and average nearly 110 points per outing. Golden State has gone over the posted total in four straight.
The over is 8-2 in the last 10 games of this series and 15-5-1 during the last 21 matchups.
Texas, Our Texas
Pac-10 basketball is down this year and USC is feeling the wave going 2-2 on the season (0-2 ATS) with losses against Nebraska and Loyola Marymount.
The No. 2-ranked Longhorns are undefeated and 4-1 ATS on the season. Texas has gone 3-1 against the number this year when listed as a favorite of 15 points or more.
Texas guard Varez Ward ruptured his quadriceps prior to the Pittsburgh game and will miss the remainder of the season. The starter led the team in steals and was averaging 6.7 ppg.
Oddsmakers opened the Longhorns as 19.5-point favorites.
Notable quotable
“We have to do a great job in our run defense. We have always prided ourselves in it, but it does not become any bigger than playing against Oregon with the way they run the football. You are going to have a play an all-around defensive game, but we can’t allow them to just continue to run like they did a year ago.”
-- Oregon State head coach Mike Riley on key to winning the game against Oregon.