Ball State will look to improve on its 10-0 record on Wednesday night, while LeBron James will play the new-look Pistons in NBA action. Here’s your Daily Sports Roundup.
The Gridiron Spotlight
Ball State continued their assault on the win column last week, knocking off Miami-Ohio 31-16 to improve to 10-0 (7-2 against-the-spread) on the season. That mark has the Cardinals at No. 14 in the AP Poll this week, although they’re down at No. 17 in the BCS rankings. MiQuale Lewis ran for two touchdowns in their win over the RedHawks.
Central Michigan won’t be a pushover for the Cardinals on Wednesday night, though, as they won their sixth straight contest last time out, beating Northern Illinois 33-30. The Chippewas are now 8-2 (6-3 ATS) on the season and will be looking to score the upset.
The oddsmakers opened Ball State as 5.5-point road favorites for Wednesday night, but that line has since moved to 7 points. The total for the contest is pegged at 54.5 points. The OVER/UNDER is 4-5 in Ball State’s games, and 5-4 in Central Michigan’s games.
Other Notable Events
Allen Iverson and the Detroit Pistons had their three-game winning streak snapped on Sunday, as they fell 104-86 to the Phoenix Suns. Iverson scored just nine points in that contest, but he also picked up seven assists. Richard Hamilton led the way with 19 points, and he’ll be looking to help his team get back on track on Wednesday when they play host to James and his Cavaliers in a fight for top spot in the East’s Central Division.
There are nine other games on a busy NBA schedule for Wednesday, including Dallas at Houston in a battle of Texas. As well, it’ll be Washington at Atlanta, Toronto at Miami, the Clippers at Oklahoma City, Philly at Minnesota, Sacramento at New Orleans, Denver at San Antonio, Milwaukee at Utah, and Chicago at Portland on the west coast.
The Rest of the Schedule
The National Hockey League offers up three games on Wednesday: Buffalo at Boston, Vancouver at the Rangers, and Washington at Anaheim. Capitals forwards Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Ovechkin were both named as part of the league’s ‘Three Stars’ from last week, and they’ll be looking to continue their offensive assault against the Ducks on Wednesday night. Anaheim is coming off a 2-0 shutout of the rival Kings.
As well, there are a few ranked college hoops teams in action on Wednesday, with N.C. Wilmington at No. 20 Wake Forest, Niagara at No. 23 Villanova, and No. 5 Michigan State at IPFW. The Spartans knocked off Idaho 100-62 in their last outing on Sunday.
News from the Wire
The Sharks are hoping to have starting goaltender Evgeni Nabokov back this weekend; he has been out of action since November 6 with a knee injury . . . Blues forward Andy McDonald, who got off to a hot offensive start to the season, with be out of action for at least eight weeks after suffering a broken ankle . . . Rockets Tracy McGrady (knee) and Ron Artest (ankle) both suffered injuries in the team’s win over the Thunder on Monday.
A Peek at the Future
There are only six weeks left in the NFL season, and the Vegas oddsmakers currently like the chances of the Super Bowl being contested by the New York Giants and the Tennessee Titans. The defending champs are at 4/1 odds to win the title again this season, while unbeaten Tennessee is pegged at 6/1 odds. Following those two on the list are the Steelers at 15/2, with the Cowboys at 8/1, and the Chargers and Redskins at 10/1. The Patriots, who opened with 5/2 title odds, have fallen all the way down to 14/1.
