Daily Sports Roundup
Thursday, March 18
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Heat play host to the rival Magic down in Miami, while the Big Dance gets underway for top seeds Kansas and Kentucky.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA has just two games on tap for Thursday, with New Orleans at Denver and Orlando at Miami. The Magic and Heat last met on February 28 in Orlando, with the home side rolling to an easy 96-80 win as 11-point favorites. Rashard Lewis poured in a game-high 22 points for the Magic in that contest, while Vince Carter picked up 17 points. Dwight Howard was held to just seven points and five rebounds on the day. Dwyane Wade was good for a team-high 21 points and five assists in that game for the Heat, while Jermaine O'Neal had 16 points in the loss.
However, the hardwood focus on Thursday will be on March Madness, with the first 16 games of the first round. There are two No. 1 seeds in action on Thursday, as Kansas takes on Lehigh in the Midwest Region, and Kentucky plays East Tennessee State in the East Region. The Jayhawks (32-2 SU, 14-16-1 ATS) aren't expected to have any trouble with their Patriot League opponent at Oklahoma City's Ford Center, as they've been pegged as 26-point favorites (with a total of 146). The Wildcats (32-2 SU, 17-15 ATS) are big favorites as well, as they're giving 20 points to the Buccaneers in their meeting at New Orleans Arena.
Elsewhere in the East Region on Thursday it's No. 11 Washington vs. No. 6 Marquette (-1.5), No. 9 Wake Forest vs. No. 8 Texas (-4.5), and No. 14 Montana vs. No. 3 New Mexico (-9). Other Midwest action has No. 9 Northern Iowa vs. No. 8 UNLV (-1), No. 14 Ohio vs. No. 3 Georgetown (-13.5), and No. 11 San Diego State vs. No. 6 Tennessee (-3). As well, West Region action features No. 10 Florida vs. No. 7 BYU (-5), No. 13 Murray State vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt (-3), No. 15 North Texas vs. No. 2 Kansas State (-16), and No. 12 UTEP vs. No. 5 Butler (-2.5). Lastly, in the South Region it's No. 11 Old Dominion vs. No. 6 Notre Dame (-2), No. 15 Robert Morris vs. No. 2 Villanova (-18.5), No. 14 Sam Houston State vs. No. 3 Baylor (-11), and then finally No. 10 St. Mary's vs. No. 7 Richmond (-2).
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the NHL offers up 11 games on Thursday night, with Ottawa at Atlanta, St. Louis at the Rangers, Washington at Carolina, New Jersey at Toronto, Phoenix at Florida, Buffalo at Tampa Bay, Minnesota at Nashville, Philadelphia at Dallas, San Jose at Vancouver, Chicago at Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh at Boston. The Penguins beat the Bruins 2-1 at home when the teams last met on March 7 in the game where Boston forward Marc Savard was concussed by Pittsburgh forward Matt Cooke. Pascal Dupuis and Evgeni Malkin had the Pens' goals in that win, while Blake Wheeler scored for the Bruins in the losing cause.
Thursday's Wagering Tips
Lines off the board
Pittsburgh Penguins at Boston Bruins – Evengi Malkin (lower body) missed Wednesday’s game and is questionable. Patrice Bergeron (foot) left the team’s last game and is probable.
Chicago Blackhawks at Anaheim Ducks – Marian Hossa (upper body) is questionable. Brian Campbell (neck) is out indefinitely after breaking his collarbone.
Line to keep an eye on
The total in the Hornets-Nuggets game has moved from an opener of 214 to 215 on a few betting boards. New Orleans has played to two consecutive overs but five of the last six in this series have gone under.
Weather report
The forecast for Palm Harbor, Fla., for this week’s Transition Championship looks to be good. While the temperature will be a little cooler than normal Sunshine State conditions (high in mid-60s) the wind won’t be gusting like last weekend and the chance of precipitation is minimum.
Who’s hot
St. Mary’s is 4-1 ATS in its last five games.
Predators goalie Pekka Rinne has won three straight starts behind a 1.59 GAA and .944 save percentage.
Who’s not
Texas has lost five straight games ATS and is 2-8 ATS in its last 10.
The Sharks have dropped three straight games, losing 5.56 units on the moneyline.
Key stat
3.05 – Number of units a bettor would have won in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament last season if he/she would have laid 1.0 unit on the moneyline for each No. 12 seed. Three 12 seeds advanced last year.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
This injury is actually for a Friday game but will have significance when filling out your bracket. It seems the trendy upset of the first round is Purdue going down but not much is being made of Siena’s injured point guard. Clarence Jackson sprained his ankle in practice on Monday and was on crutches the next day. He was walking around on Wednesday at practice and seemed more optimistic to play but his status is still very questionable.
Notable quotable
"I think I'll be a little more reckless, knowing that I got like a football helmet on while I'm out there."
-- Mavericks guard Jason Terry said of his style of play with the new protective face mask he will be wearing in games beginning Wednesday. Terry also said that it could come off very quickly if he doesn’t shoot well with it on.
Tips and notes
- After a dismal 1-goal, 20-shot offensive output in Tuesday’s home loss to Montreal, the Rangers are tinkering with their lines. Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik were split up in practice on Wednesday with the first line including Gaborik, Brandon Dubinsky and Erik Cristensen. New York has gotten off 21 shots or fewer in three of the last four games.
- Rashard Lewis has scored three points in each of his last two games. The Magic shooting forward is averaging 8.0 points over his last six games and coach Stan Van Gundy is not a happy camper. "And it's not just the shooting,” he said. “[He's] not rebounding the ball. He's just not playing with much energy." Orlando can still win without Lewis producing but it did suffer a home loss to Charlotte on Monday as 9-point favorites.
- Retief Goosen has won the Transitions Championship twice in its 10-year history – last year and back in 2003. The Goose has three Top 10s in five PGA Tour starts this season and said he is feeling “confident” heading into this event. He also said, "The golf course seems to suit my mind very well. I definitely like the way it's set up.”