Daily Sports Roundup
Tuesday, December 29
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Miami meets Wisconsin at the Citrus Bowl, while the Hawks take on the Stars, and the Cavaliers look for a victory in Atlanta.
Colliding on the gridiron . . .
The college football bowl schedule offers up two games on Tuesday, with UCLA vs. Temple in the EagleBank Bowl, and Miami vs. Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl. The Hurricanes (9-3 SU, 6-5 ATS) blew past South Florida 31-10 in their regular-season finale, while the Badgers (9-3 SU, 5-6 ATS) blasted Hawaii 51-10 in their most recent game. The oddsmakers have set Miami as the 4-point favorite at Orlando's Citrus Bowl, with the total for the matchup listed at 58 points.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA has seven games on tap for Tuesday, with New York at Detroit, Oklahoma City at Washington, Indiana at Chicago, New Orleans at Houston, Minnesota at San Antonio, Golden State at the Lakers, and Cleveland at Atlanta. The Cavaliers (24-8 SU, 17-15 ATS) are coming off a 108-83 win over Houston on Sunday, with LeBron James pouring in 29 points in that contest. The Hawks (21-8 SU, 21-8 ATS) beat the Pacers in Indiana by a score of 110-98 last game.
As well, many of college hoops' top teams are in action on Tuesday, including Texas (vs. Gardner-Webb), Duke (vs. Long Beach State), West Virginia (vs. Marquette), Kentucky (vs. Hartford), Purdue (at Iowa), Syracuse (at Seton Hall), and Kansas (vs. Belmont). As well, a ranked matchup has Texas Tech (10-1 SU, 5-1 ATS) at New Mexico (12-1 SU, 9-3 ATS). The Red Raiders beat Stanford 100-87 last time out, while the Lobos are coming off a 75-66 loss to Oral Roberts.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the NHL has just six games on its Tuesday slate, with Columbus at the Islanders, Pittsburgh at Buffalo, Nashville at St. Louis, Vancouver at Phoenix, Minnesota at Anaheim, and Chicago at Dallas. The 26-9-3 Blackhawks won their third straight game last time out, getting past Nashville 5-4 on Sunday night on the strength of two Patrick Kane goals. The 16-11-11 Stars fell 4-1 in Colorado in their last game Saturday, with Steve Ott scoring the only Dallas goal in that loss.
Today's Wagering Tips
Tuesday, December 29
Showdown in O-Town
The outcome of Tuesday night's Champs Sports Bowl between Miami and Wisconsin could come down to the something the size of a thumb.
In fact, something exactly the size of the thumb on Hurricanes quarterback Jacoby Harris' throwing hand, which he injured in a four-interception loss to North Carolina on Nov. 14.
Granted, Harris came back to lead the Canes to easy wins over Duke and South Florida to close the season, but he says his thumb continues to give him problems.
Coupled with the loss off top offensive lineman James Fox, Miami could have trouble running and passing against the Badgers' defense.
Wisconsin counters with a power running game that could eat some clock and keep the score close and low. Although both teams average more than 30 points per outing, they haven't fared as well against stronger defenses like both bring into the game.
Miami is a 3-point favorite with a total of 58.5.
Slow Down in Motown
New York Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni struck a cord with his struggling team a few weeks ago when he told them if they couldn't score points they could at least stop opponents from piling them up.
The Knicks haven't allowed a foe to score in triple-digits since Dec. 4 and are 7-4 SU during that span. More importantly, their last seven games have gone under the total.
Meanwhile the Pistons have struggled without injured stars Tayshaun Prince, Ben Wallace and Richard Hamilton, who are back but not quite ready for prime time. The trio combined for just 34 points in 90 total minutes in their last outing.
Detroit hasn't scored in triple-figures since Dec. 12 and was held to outputs of 64, 76 and 81 in last week's losses. The Pistons have dropped seven in a row SU and ATS.
If you like rim-to-rim NBA action, you might want to close your eyes and hold your nose for this one. But bettors may have something to gain from the ugly game.
The Pistons are favored by 5.5 with a total of 188.
Long Island Tease
If Christopher Columbus had suffered the same luck as his namesake city's hockey team, his ship would have sank long before reaching the Americas.
The Blue Jackets float lifelessly into Long Island on Tuesday night to face the New York Islanders, who haven't exactly seen smooth sailing this season either.
But nowhere near the woes of the Jackets, who have lost nine in a row SU and ATS coming into the game. They acquired Chris Clark and Milan Jurcina from the Capitals in exchange for Jason Chemira in hopes of shaking things up, but the deal was more of a mild stir.
The Isles have won two of their last three, which is a hot streak compared to the sinking Jackets, who have scored just six goals in their last eight outings.
The Islanders are -140 with a total of 5.5.
Notable quotable
"The perfect season was never an issue with us. We've said it time and time and time again. It's somebody else's issue, but not ours. That was of no concern. Football logic has to come into play, and that logic is it makes no sense to have guys out there with the potential for injuries."
Indianapolis Colts general manager Bill Polian defending coach Jim Caldwell's decision to pull several starters with a 15-10 lead in the third quarter of Sunday's game against the New York Jets. The Jets rallied for a 29-15 win to spoil the Colts' run at an undefeated regular season.