Daily Sports Roundup
Thursday, January 21
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Rangers battle the rival Flyers, Gonzaga meets Pepperdine, and the Lakers and Cavaliers have a rematch in Cleveland.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA has just two games on tap for Thursday, with the Clippers at Denver and the Lakers at Cleveland. Kobe Bryant and company are coming off a 98-92 home win over Orlando on Monday night, with Pau Gasol leading the way with 17 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles in that contest. Bryant picked up 11 points to go along with seven assists. The Cavaliers played on the road against the Lakers on Christmas Day, cruising to a 102-87 victory. Mo Williams had a team-high 28 points for Cleveland that day, while LeBron James tossed in 26 points. Bryant was good for 35 points and nine boards in that loss for the Lakers.
As well, the lone ranked team in action around college basketball on Thursday is No. 15 Gonzaga, which gets a visit from Pepperdine. The Bulldogs improved to 14-3 (8-5-1 ATS) with a 68-50 win over San Diego in their last game on Saturday. Elias Harris tossed in 20 points for Gonzaga in that contest, while Steven Gray was good for 17 points. The Waves sit at 7-12 (5-10 ATS) after knocking off San Francisco 83-68 last game; Lorne Jackson tossed in 21 points.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the National Hockey League offers up a busy slate of 13 games for Thursday night, including the Rangers at Philadelphia. New York and Philly last met back on December 30, when the Flyers rolled to a 6-0 road win. Simon Gagne had a hat trick and added an assist for Philadelphia in that contest, and Michael Leighton stopped all 22 of the Rangers' shots. Henrik Lundqvist was yanked from the net for New York that day after allowing three goals on 11 shots.
Also on the ice on Thursday: Carolina at Atlanta, Toronto at Tampa Bay, Florida at the Islanders, St. Louis at Ottawa, Washington at Pittsburgh, Detroit at Minnesota, Nashville at Phoenix, Chicago at Calgary, Dallas at Vancouver, Anaheim at San Jose, Buffalo at Los Angeles, and Columbus at Boston. The Bruins will be looking to bounce back from a 5-1 home loss to the Senators on Monday afternoon. Tim Thomas gave up three goals on nine shots in that defeat.
Today's Wagering Tips
Thursday, January 21
Lines to keep an eye on
Washington Capitols at Pittsburgh Penguins – Oddsmakers seem to be in a quandary over where to set the line for this marquee matchup. The moneyline can be found anywhere from -120 to -135 in favor of the Pens while the puckline has jumped from an opener of +213 to as high as +222.
Who’s hot
Arkansas State Red Wolves – Won three in a row and seven of last 10 while going 6-1 ATS during that stretch.
New York Islanders – Gone 7-2-1 in last 10 outings (+6.12 units) with five of those wins coming as underdogs.
Carmelo Anthony – Averaged 30.5 ppg over the last four with the Nuggets going 3-1 SU and ATS in that time frame.
Who’s not
Boston Bruins – Lost three straight home games, scoring a total of four goals during that span.
Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans – Dropped eight of last nine and are 1-6 ATS in their last seven.
Cam Ward – Has lost three consecutive starts with a 3.35 GAA and .903 percent save rate.
Key stat
14.0 – Margin of loss in Penn State’s two Big Ten home games this season. The Nittany Lions were picked to finish 7th in the Big Ten preseason poll, but are currently dead-last in the standings after starting the season 0-5 (2-3 ATS) in conference play. Penn State opened as a 9-point favorite over Indiana on Thursday.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Two of Gonzaga’s starters were banged up in the team’s 68-50 win over San Diego Saturday. Matt Bouldin (15.3 ppg) fell on his shooting hand during the game while the Zags leading scorer, Elias Harris (15.5 ppg), injured his back. Both are listed as probable for Thursday’s game versus Pepperdine, but with a large pointspread of 24.5, even limited action from these two integral pieces of the Bulldogs’ offense could be the difference between a cover and loss.
Games of the Day
Los Angeles Lakers at Cleveland Cavaliers (-3.5, 195.5)
Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets (-10, 210)
Notable Quotable
"You have a game that isn't that great and people are like, 'What's wrong with Warner?' That wears on you. You don't have the joy and the fun and satisfaction of having one of those great games because everybody expects you to. You never get to exhale."
-- Said an exasperated Kurt Warner who is a two-time league MVP but turns 39 in June and appears to be on the brink of retirement.
Tips and notes
- The Nuggets are guilty of occasionally playing to their level of competition this season. Six of Denver’s 14 losses have come against teams that are currently under the .500 mark. The Nuggets have lost to the Kings twice this year are 0-5-1 ATS in those six games. One of the other six casualties came against the Clippers, who Denver hosts Thursday as 10-point home favorites.
- The Penguins rank 26th in the league in power-play conversion percentage (16.0), but have netted six of their last 17 penalty opportunities. Pittsburgh is 21-2-0 when they score a power-play goal this season.
- South Alabama has owned North Texas in their Sun Belt series. The Jaguars reeled off six straight wins over the Mean Green from 2004-07 and hold a 13-4 overall advantage. However, the last three games between these teams have been decided by a combined six points with North Texas covering in each. The Mean Green are favored for the first time since 2006, laying 5.5 points at home.