Daily Sports Roundup
Tuesday, March 16
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Winthrop meets Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the Play-In Game, while the Lakers face Sacramento, and Miami hosts San Antonio.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA has eight games on its schedule for Tuesday, with Charlotte at Indiana, Cleveland at Detroit, Atlanta at New Jersey, Chicago at Memphis, Washington at Denver, Minnesota at Phoenix, the Lakers at Sacramento, and San Antonio at Miami. The Spurs (39-25 SU, 33-30-1 ATS) are coming off their third straight win, beating the Clippers 118-88 on Saturday with Matt Bonner scoring 21 points off the bench. The Heat (35-32 SU, 35-31-1 ATS) have also won three in a row, topping Philadelphia 104-91 on Sunday. San Antonio trounced Miami at home earlier in the season, rolling to a 108-78 win when the teams met December 31.
As well, all four college basketball postseason tournaments get underway on Tuesday. In the NIT it'll be Northeastern vs. Connecticut, N.C. State vs. South Florida, Coastal Carolina vs. UAB, Texas Tech vs. Seton Hall, William & Mary vs. North Carolina, Jackson State vs. Mississippi State, and Jacksonville vs. Arizona State. Over in the CBI on Tuesday it's Virginia Commonwealth vs. George Washington, and Indiana State vs. Saint Louis. In the CIT it's Fairfield vs. George Mason, Western Carolina vs. Marshall, and South Dakota vs. Creighton. Finally, the NCAA Tournament has its Play-In Game on Tuesday, with Winthrop taking on Arkansas-Pine Bluff for the right to get pummeled by Duke later in the week.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
There are 11 games on the National Hockey League's Tuesday schedule, including San Jose at Dallas. The 43-15-10 Sharks will be looking to bounce back from their second straight loss, falling 4-2 in Anaheim on Sunday night. Joe Thornton and Jamie McGinn had the San Jose goals in that defeat, while Evgeni Nabokov made 29 saves. The 29-26-13 Stars are 2-1 against the Sharks so far this season, but they head into Tuesday's game riding a three-game losing streak. Dallas fell 5-3 against Colorado Sunday, with Marty Turco getting pulled.
Also on the ice on Tuesday: Boston at Carolina, Buffalo at Atlanta, Washington at Florida, Phoenix at Tampa Bay, Toronto at Ottawa, Montreal at the Rangers, Colorado at St. Louis, Philadelphia at Nashville, Edmonton at Minnesota, and the Islanders at Vancouver. The 43-23-3 Canucks have won two straight games, beating Calgary 3-1 in their last game on Sunday behind 32 saves from Roberto Luongo. The 28-32-9 Islanders have also won two games in a row, beating Toronto 4-1 on Sunday. Blake Comeau had three assists for New York that day.
Tuesday's Wagering Tips
Lines off the board
Atlanta Hawks at New Jersey Nets – Joe Johnson (Achilles) is not expected to play in the game. Mike Bibby (back) traveled with the team but is questionable. Devin Harris (flu) did not practice Monday and is questionable.
San Antonio Spurs at Miami Heat – Michael Beasley (thigh) missed the team’s last two games and is questionable.
Chicago Bulls at Memphis Grizzlies – Derrick Rose (wrist) missed last game and is doubtful (see injury note and tip below). Marc Gasol (neck) is questionable.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Phoenix Suns – Kevin Love (foot) and Darko Milicic (illness) are both expected to be back on Tuesday. Grant Hill (head) left Sunday’s game with a possible concussion and is questionable.
Washington Capitals at Florida Panthers – Alexander Ovechkin (suspension) will miss the game.
Lines to keep an eye on
The total in the NCAA play-in game between Winthrop and Arkansas-Pine Bluff has plummeted from an opener of 117 to as low as 112.5 at some shops. Both teams have played to two consecutive unders.
Who’s hot
Virginia-Commonwealth is 5-2 SU and ATS in its last seven games.
Montreal is 5-0 in its last five games, winning two of those as underdogs of +150 or more.
The Bobcats have won six straight, going 5-1 ATS during that stretch.
Who’s not
San Jose has dropped two straight games and four of their last game, losing 3.83 units on the moneyline.
Seton Hall is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games.
Key stat
0-11 – Record of Arkansas-Pine Bluff to start the 2009-10 season. The Golden Lions lost those tough non-conference road games by an average of 15.4 points per game. UAPB went 17-15 on the season and won the conference tournament in front of a large home crowd just a handful of hours away in Louisiana.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
It doesn’t sound like Bulls point guard Derrick Rose will return for Tuesday night's game against the Grizzlies. When asked if Rose would be ready, coach Vinny Del Negro responded, “Probably not.” Rose missed the team’s last game because of a wrist injury and Chicago was dismantled by Miami 108-95, failing to cover as 11.5-point dogs. Rose could somehow magically appear in the lineup, but check your injuries reports before betting on this one.
Game of the day
Winthrop Eagles at Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions (+4, 113.5)
Notable quotable
"I think he has some talent, he’s an athlete. But when it comes down to a half-court set and just being able to play half-court basketball I don’t think he’s that special of a player."
-- Jerry Stackhouse said of Spurs’ forward Richard Jefferson.
Tips and notes
- We’ve already told you that 16 of the last 19 NCAA champs have come from the Big 12, ACC, Big East or SEC. Another juicy tournament betting number points out that eight of the last 12 winners won their conference tourney that season. From those four major conferences, No. 1 seeds Kansas, Kentucky and Duke all won their conference tourneys while West Virginia won the Big East.
- The Bulls have lost seven consecutive games and has allowed 10 straight opponents to post 100 or more points on them. Chicago has no healthy big men right now with Joakim Noah and Luol Deng sidelined while Taj Gibson and Brad Miller aren’t 100 percent. To compound matters, Derrick Rose won’t play on Tuesday and backup point guard Kirk Hinrich got suspended for the game. That leaves Chicago with seven healthy bodies.
- After the Stars last win on March 8, goalie Marty Turco said something wasn’t right about the team’s attitude. He said, “not having strung together any streaks of wins together all season long, our attitude -- as well as we approach things or talk about it -- it's hard [to win].” Dallas hasn’t won a game since (0-3) and face the Sharks Tuesday. Kari Lehtonen is expected to start under the net.