Daily Sports Roundup
Wednesday, March 10
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Blackhawks play host to the Kings, the Mavs get a visit from the Nets, and the Big 12 tournament begins in Kansas City.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA has nine games on tap for Wednesday, with Charlotte at Philadelphia, Memphis at Boston, Utah at Detroit, the Clippers at Miami, Denver at Minnesota, New Orleans at Oklahoma City, Toronto at Sacramento, New York at San Antonio, and New Jersey at Dallas. The Nets (7-56 SU, 24-37-2 ATS) grabbed a rare win on Saturday over New York, but they picked up their 56th loss of the year on Monday in Memphis (107-101). The Mavericks (44-21 SU, 28-36-1 ATS) won their 12th game in a row on Monday, beating the T-Wolves 125-112 in Minnesota. Shawn Marion had 29 points to go along with 14 boards in the victory.
As well, the Big East Tournament continues Wednesday, while the Conference USA, Mountain West, Pacific-10, and Big 12 tourneys get underway. The four Big 12 matchups at Kansas City's Sprint Center on Wednesday are Texas Tech vs. Colorado, Nebraska vs. Missouri, Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State, and Iowa State vs. Texas. The Longhorns (23-8 SU, 11-16 ATS) lost 92-77 to Baylor in their regular-season finale on Saturday, but they beat Iowa State 90-83 on the road when the two teams met on January 13. The Cyclones (15-16 SU, 15-13 ATS) beat Kansas State 85-82 in OT last game, getting 19 points from Craig Brackins.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, there are five games on the National Hockey League's schedule for Wednesday, with Dallas at Buffalo, the Rangers at New Jersey, Carolina at Washington, Vancouver at Phoenix, and Los Angeles at Chicago. The 39-22-4 Kings rolled to a 6-0 win over Columbus in their last game on Monday, with Jon Quick having to make just 11 saves. Alexander Frolov turned in a four-point effort. The 43-17-5 Blackhawks are coming off a 5-4 loss to Detroit on Sunday afternoon, with Cristobal Huet giving up four goals on 17 shots before getting pulled. Andrew Ladd had a hat trick in the loss, and Duncan Keith had two points.
Wednesday's Wagering Tips
Lines off the board
L.A. Clippers at Miami Heat – Clippers and Heat both played on Tuesday night. Baron Davis (illness) is dealing with stomach problems and played on Tuesday but did not start. Eric Gordon (leg) missed the Clips’ last game and was questionable for Tuesday but did not play.
New Orleans Hornets at Oklahoma City Thunder – Peja Stojakovic (groin) left Monday’s game and is questionable.
Memphis Grizzlies at Boston Celtics – Zach Randolph (back) missed his first game of the season on Monday and is probable.
Vancouver Canucks at Phoenix Coyotes – Robert Lang (lower body) missed the team’s last game and is doubtful.
Lines to keep an eye on
The Nets-Mavericks total has jumped from an opener of 203 to 204. The last four games in this series have gone over.
The total in the Raptors-Kings matchup moved from its opener of 211 to 212 at most shops.
Who’s hot
South Florida has won four straight games, going 3-0-1 ATS during that stretch.
Carolina has won eight of its last 10 games with six of those victories coming as underdogs.
The Nets are 3-0 ATS in their last three games!
Who’s not
New Orleans is 1-4 SU and 0-4-1 ATS in its last five games.
In three starts since the Olympic break, Martin Brodeur is 1-2 with a 3.36 GAA and .864 save percentage.
Texas Tech has dropped seven straight games, going 2-5 ATS during the losing streak.
Key stat
6-0 – Spurs record when Richard Jefferson scores 20 or more points. They are 4-1-1 ATS in that situation as well. It is surprising to see that Jefferson has only scored 20+ six times all season and three of those performances came in the first seven games. Jefferson had eight points the last time San Antonio played the Knicks.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Mavericks’ center Brendan Haywood has been sidelined with a bad back for the last two games and “might” return to action on Wednesday versus the Nets. Dallas hasn’t skipped a beat without a frontcourt, going small-ball on opponents, with its 12-game winning streak still intact. Rodrique Beaubois has started the last two games for the Mavs and has contributed 35 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists during that span.
Notable quotable
"I have great respect for the NIT, always have. It's always a good time to make sure you look at your team, see what they have. I want to make sure if there's a step back on the court to play a basketball game that they would be able to bring emotion, energy and all the things you should bring to competition."
-- Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said in regards to playing in the National Invitational Tournament after the Huskies lost to St. John’s, 73-51, in the first round of the Big East tournament.
Tips and notes
- The aging Spurs will be playing their fourth game in the span of six days on Wednesday. San Antonio returned from a two-game road trip (where the plane to Memphis was delayed) on the heels of a tough, two-point loss to Cleveland on Monday and will now have to run and gun with the Knicks up-tempo offense without the services of Tony Parker.
- Kentucky head coach John Calipari has made it clear that winning the SEC tournament means “nothing” to him or his team. He stated that all they were concerned with was their seeding in the NCAA tournament and that is almost certainly going to be No. 1 no matter what happens this week. The conference tourney is being held in Nashville and Vanderbilt is anywhere from +300 to +550 odds to win it in their home town.
- Something the Rangers have changed in strategy has resulted in lower-scoring games, but not wins. Coach John Tortorella said his team’s new approach is “doing the right thing away from the puck” and “have it more.” Perhaps a game of keep away is what New York is experimenting with. The last two Rangers games have gone under.