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Courtesy of OddsShark.com: Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Georgetown plays host to Syracuse, the Lakers take on the Celtics, and the streaking Cavs get a visit from the Nuggets.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA offers up two top matchups on Thursday night, including Denver at Cleveland. The Nuggets (35-18 SU, 24-26-3 ATS) fell 111-92 at home to San Antonio in their last game before the break, despite a 20-point performance from Nene. Carmelo Anthony added 19 points and six rebounds in that loss for Denver. The Cavaliers (43-11 SU, 27-25-2 ATS) are riding a 13-game winning streak into Thursday's matchup. Cleveland got 32 points and 13 assists from LeBron James in their last contest, a 115-106 home win over the Magic last week.
Thursday's late NBA matchup then has Boston at the Lakers. The Celtics (33-18 SU, 19-31-1 ATS) began their second-half schedule with a 95-92 win in Sacramento on Tuesday night. Paul Pierce and Rasheed Wallace each scored 17 points in that win for Boston, while Ray Allen was good for 15 points. The Lakers (42-13 SU, 25-29-1 ATS) won their fourth straight game on Tuesday, beating Golden State 104-94 despite the continued absence of Kobe Bryant. Los Angeles is not expected to have Bryant (ankle) back in the lineup on Thursday.
As well, there are five games involving ranked teams on the college basketball schedule on Thursday, with No. 17 Vanderbilt at Mississippi, No. 19 Pittsburgh at Marquette, No. 14 Wisconsin at Minnesota, No. 13 Gonzaga at Loyola Marymount, and No. 5 Syracuse at No. 10 Georgetown.
The Orange (24-2 SU, 14-7 ATS) and Hoyas (18-6 SU, 11-9 ATS) have met once already this season, with Syracuse picking up a 73-56 win over Georgetown back on January 25. Andy Rautins and Kris Joseph each poured in 15 points for the Orange in that meeting.
From GodsTips: Feb. 13 the Mountain West Game of the Year on San Diego State; Feb. 3 it was Duke blowing out GA Tech as the Revenge Game of the Year. Sunday, Jan. 31 it was South Florida outright as an underdog to Pitt winning as our Sunday Game of the Year. Jan. 26 South Carolina beating Kentucky outright was the SEC East Game of the Year. Jan. 25 it was Wofford as the Southern Conference Game of the Year. Jan. 19 Wichita State wins as the MVC Game of the Year. Jan 9 it was Missouri as the ESPN2 Game of the Year. Jan. 6 Marquette was the Big East Game of the Year. They all won.
Tonight it's the SEC ESPNU Game of the Year among three Wise Guys and two Majors. Click now to purchase
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the Olympic men's hockey tournament continues on Thursday with three more matchups on the schedule: the United States vs. Norway, Switzerland vs. Canada, and Slovakia vs. Russia. The American squad slipped past the Swiss 3-1 in their tournament-opening game on Tuesday, while the Russians beat Latvia 8-2, and the Canadians blanked Norway 8-0. Roberto Luongo posted the shutout for Canada vs. the Norwegians, but Martin Brodeur has been pegged as the team's starting goalie for Thursday. Sidney Crosby had three assists on Tuesday.
