Daily Sports Roundup
Wednesday, December 9
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Kentucky takes on Connecticut, the Sixers play host to the Pistons, and the Capitals try to pick up a win against the Sabres.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
There are nine games on the NBA's schedule for Wednesday, including Detroit at Philadelphia. The Pistons are coming off a 98-94 home win over Washington on Sunday, with Rodney Stuckey scoring a team-high 25 points in the victory. Charlie Villanueva added 18 points off the bench in the contest. The 76ers fell 93-83 at home to Denver on Monday night, with Andre Iguodala leading the offense with 31 points. Allen Iverson scored 11 points in his Philly season debut.
Rounding out the NBA's schedule for Wednesday: Chicago at Atlanta, Portland at Indiana, Golden State at New Jersey, Toronto at Milwaukee, New Orleans at Minnesota, Cleveland at Houston, Sacramento at San Antonio, and Utah at the Lakers. Los Angeles is coming off a 108-88 blowout home win over rival Phoenix on Sunday night, as Kobe Bryant poured in a game-high 26 points. Ron Artest added 15 points in that victory, while Pau Gasol had 14 points in Sunday's game.
In the college ranks No. 1 Kansas hits the hardwood on Wednesday night with a home game against Radford, while No. 4 Kentucky visits No. 14 Connecticut in the night's ranked matchup. The Wildcats (8-0 SU, 2-4 ATS) are coming off a 68-66 win against North Carolina last time out, with Patrick Patterson scoring 19 points in the contest. The Huskies (6-1 SU, 1-5 ATS) beat Harvard by a score of 79-73 in their last matchup. Jerome Dyson was good for 24 points in that victory.
Other games involving ranked teams on a busy Wednesday include Duquesne at No. 6 West Virginia, Valparaiso at No. 5 Purdue, No. 20 Wisconsin at Wisconsin-Green Bay, Augustana at No. 21 Gonzaga, and No. 3 Villanova at St. Joseph's. The ranked Wildcats (8-0 SU, 6-1 ATS) got past Maryland 95-86 in their last game; Scottie Reynolds was good for 25 points in Villanova's win in that contest.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the National Hockey League offers up 10 games for Wednesday night, including Washington at Buffalo. The Capitals got star forward Alexander Ovechkin back from suspension on Monday night, and he scored a pair of goals in the team's 3-0 road win over Tampa Bay. Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves for the shutout. The Sabres were blanked in their last game on Monday night, falling 3-0 to the Devils at home. Ryan Miller stopped 34 of 37 New Jersey shots.
Also on tap on Wednesday: the Islanders at Toronto, Florida at Columbus, St. Louis at Detroit, Edmonton at Tampa Bay, the Rangers at Chicago, Minnesota at Colorado, Atlanta at Calgary, Los Angeles at San Jose, and Carolina at New Jersey. The Devils got goals from Brian Rolston, Travis Zajac, and Niclas Bergfors in their win over the Sabres on Monday night, while Martin Brodeur made 22 saves. Brodeur tied the NHL record for career shutouts (103) in the win.
Today's Helpful Tips
Wednesday, December 9
Green Bay's day
This isn't even the biggest sporting event of the week in Green Bay since the Packers hosted Baltimore on ''Monday Night Football,'' but it will be the basketball event of the year in the Dairy State.
Wisconsin comes calling on its smaller cousin, Wisconsin-Green Bay, which appears to be rebuilding itself into a mid-major power. Having never lost to the Phoenix, the Badgers remain the big men on campus, only this time it's in Green Bay for the first time since 2002. The Badgers (6-1) are coming off an upset over Duke, but the Phoenix (8-2) are off to their best start since 1995-96, the last time they made some noise in the Big Dance. Wisconsin is -5 with a total of 136.
Down goes Granger
The Portland Trail Blazers are still smarting from their latest injury loss of center Greg Oden for the season, but the Pacers suddenly find themselves in the same boat.
On Tuesday, star forward Danny Granger (24 ppg) was ruled out for 4-6 weeks with a heel injury and point guard Earl Watson was listed as questionable due to a hamstring injury. Even if he plays it will be difficult to run the floor.
Also consider that the Pacers have lost 5 in a row SU and are just 6-12 ATS on the year. The Blazers are favored by 6 with a total of 191.
Road-kill 'Canes
What do the Carolina Hurricanes have in common with possums? Both are usually found dead on the road.
How else do you describe a team that's 1-10-1-2 SU on the road this season and 1-4 as an away team against a host with a home-winning percentage of .600 or higher? The Devils (9-5 SU at home) certainly qualify.
The 'Canes also are 1-4 playing on one day's rest and are 1-11 against the Atlantic Division this season. The Devils are -200 with a total of 5.
Notable quotable
"I feel like I am home. Just seeing people I'm accustomed to seeing, seeing the reporters, seeing some of the fans when I go out to eat. Just the smell of Philadelphia when I go outside."
- 76ers point guard Allen Iverson, talking about his return to Philadelphia to play for the team that drafted him.