Daily Sports Roundup
Thursday, February 4
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Ducks pay a visit to the Kings, Duke takes on Georgia Tech, and the Spurs and Trail Blazers meet on the hardwood.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA's Thursday doubleheader this week features Miami at Cleveland, and San Antonio at Portland. The Spurs and Trail Blazers last met back on December 23 in San Antonio, with Portland pulling out a 98-94 road victory. Jerryd Bayless led the way with 31 points for Portland in that win, while Juwan Howard picked up 12 points and 12 boards. Brandon Roy is day-to-day for the Blazers with a hamstring injury. Tim Duncan was good for 24 points and 11 rebounds in that December defeat for San Antonio, while Richard Jefferson contributed 18 points.
On the college hoops schedule there are six ranked teams in action on Thursday, with Detroit at No. 23 Butler, No. 8 Purdue at Indiana, No. 14 Tennessee at LSU, Portland at No. 17 Gonzaga, and No. 21 Georgia Tech at No. 10 Duke. The Yellow Jackets (16-5 SU, 11-4 ATS) thumped Kentucky State in their last game on Saturday, winning by a final score of 98-50. Glen Rice Jr. had 15 points for Georgia Tech in that win. The Blue Devils (17-4 SU, 13-7 ATS) were beaten 89-77 by Georgetown in their Saturday outing; Nolan Smith had 19 points that day.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
As well, there are nine games on the ice around the NHL on Thursday, with Montreal at Boston, Washington at the Rangers, Dallas at Columbus, Vancouver at Ottawa, the Islanders at Tampa Bay, San Jose at St. Louis, Colorado at Nashville, Edmonton at Minnesota, and Anaheim at Los Angeles. The Ducks and Kings last met in Los Angeles back on January 14, with the Kings cruising to a 4-0 home victory. Michal Handzus, Scott Parse, Dustin Brown, and Wayne Simmonds all scored for Los Angeles in that win, and Jon Quick made 22 saves.
Today's Wagering Tips
Thursday, February 4
Lines off the board
Miami Heat at Cleveland Cavaliers – Udonis Haslem and Jermaine O’Neal were both probable with back injuries heading into Wednesday’s game versus the Celtics, and both played.
San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers – Spurs played Kings on Wednesday night. Tony Parker (ankle) has missed the last three games and is questionable. Tim Duncan (rest) is not expected to play in any back-to-back games for the rest of the season.
Edmonton Oilers at Minnesota Wild – Edmonton played the Flyers on Wednesday. Niklas Backstrom has not played in the last four games and is now dealing with the flu and is expected to be a game-time decision. Backup goalie Josh Harding (hip) missed the last game and is questionable.
Line to keep an eye on
Ottawa opened as -105 dogs versus the Canucks (-115) at most offshore sportsbooks, but Pinnacle opened them at +101 and that number has moved to +107.
Who’s hot
The Cavaliers have won nine straight and five in a row ATS.
Portland is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games and all but one of those was played without Brandon Roy.
Who’s not
New Orleans Privateers have lost eight of 10 and dropped four straight ATS. (see note below)
Dwayne Wade is averaging 22.0 ppg over his last three and has a committed 11 turnovers against 16 assists.
Key stat
.263 – Winning percentage posted by the Columbus Blue Jackets since Nov. 19. The team’s 10-28 record during that span is one of the league’s worst and prompted the firing of head coach Ken Hitchcock Wednesday. The Jackets host the Stars on Thursday and have lost three of the last four home games versus Dallas.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Michigan State guard Kalin Lucas had to be helped off the floor Tuesday after injuring his right ankle in the 67-49 loss to Wisconsin. Lucas is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year and leads the Spartans in scoring, assists and minutes played. Coach Tom Izzo said the ankle was not broken but that Lucas was limping badly.
Games of the day
Miami Heat at Cleveland Cavaliers
San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers
Notable quotable
"It wasn't working. The team wasn't responding to the message. We don't consider the season lost. We'll play hard the rest of the season and see what happens."
Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson said in response to firing head coach Ken Hitchcock on Wednesday.
Tips and notes
North Carolina has lost four of its last five games and Roy Williams is discouraged to say the least. After a 15-point home loss to Virginia, Williams asked, “How can you go any lower?” He mentioned that defense has been the primary problem. The Tar Heels have given up an average of 78.3 ppg during their last four losses.
The University of New Orleans withdrew from the Sun Belt Conference two weeks ago in order to move the athletic programs to Division III. The basketball team has been playing like a D-III school since then, losing four straight overall and ATS including margins of defeat of 20, 20 and 17.
Phil Mickelson has won the last two Northern Trust Opens. He is the favorite to win it again with the tournament starting Thursday at +585 odds. Mike Weir has also won the Southern California-based PGA event twice (2003-04) and is getting +3250 odds.