The free pick section has in-depth previews of the college basketball matchups in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
Courtesy of OddsShark.com: Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Trail Blazers play host to the Mavericks, while the Sweet 16 gets underway with games in Salt Lake City and Syracuse.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA serves up three games on Thursday night, with Miami at Chicago, the Clippers at Houston, and Dallas at Portland. The Mavericks (47-24 SU, 28-41-2 ATS) rolled past the Clippers for a 106-96 win in their last game on Tuesday night. Jason Kidd led the way for Dallas with 26 points and 12 assists in that home win, while Dirk Nowitzki was good for 18 points in the contest.
The Trail Blazers (42-29 SU, 38-31-2 ATS) were beaten 93-87 in Phoenix in their last game on Sunday. Brandon Roy scored a team-high 23 points in that road defeat for the Trail Blazers, who are 2-0 in their two games against Dallas this season.
As well, the NCAA Tournament begins its Sweet 16 round on Thursday night, starting with No. 5 Butler vs. No. 1 Syracuse at Salt Lake City's EnergySolutions Arena.
Both the Bulldogs and the Orange sit with 30-4 records on the season, but top-seeded Syracuse has been pegged as the 6-point favorite for Thursday (with the total at 138.5 points). The other matchup in Utah on Thursday has No. 6 Xavier taking on No. 2 Kansas State. The Wildcats have been listed as 4.5-point favorites in that West Region matchup, with the total for the game at 153.5 points. All of tonight's sports service picks for the NCAA Tournament are up.
Meanwhile, the top seed in the East Region, Kentucky, also takes to the hardwood on Thursday as they meet No. 12 Cornell at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. The Wildcats, who have lost just two games so far this season, are listed as 8.5-point favorites in their game against the Ivy League's Big Red, with the total for the matchup set at 147 points. The other game in Syracuse on Thursday night has No. 11 Washington taking on No. 2 West Virginia. The Mountaineers are the 4-point favorites in that contest, with the total at 142 points.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the NHL has 11 games on tap for Thursday with Tampa Bay at Boston, Toronto at Atlanta, Minnesota at Philadelphia, Calgary at the Islanders, the Rangers at New Jersey, Washington at Carolina, Chicago at Columbus, Florida at Montreal, Los Angeles at St. Louis, Dallas at San Jose, and Phoenix at Nashville. The 46-23-5 Coyotes had their nine-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday night, as they fell 2-0 in Chicago. The 42-27-5 Predators also picked up a loss in their last game, as they were beaten 3-1 by Dallas on Tuesday. Nashville has not had success against Phoenix so far - they're 0-2 against them.
