Wednesday NBA: Nuggets (35-17) at Magic (38-12)

Two teams with NBA title hopes but generally regarded as the No. 3 team in their respective conference meet Wednesday in Orlando, with the Magic opening as 7.5-point favorites over the Denver Nuggets on WagerWeb.com.

Orlando certainly will have the rest advantage, having not played since beating the Nets on Sunday. Denver is in the midst of a three-week road trip and won 99-82 at Miami on Tuesday night.

After being blown out at home by the Magic 106-88 on Jan.17, the Nuggets have won eight of their past 11 and are in first place in the Northwest Division. Star Carmelo Anthony missed that first game with Orlando with a metacarpal fracture in his right hand. Hedo Turkoglu had 31 points in that one, and Dwight Howard had 20 rebounds.

And in that first game the Magic had All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson, which won’t be the case tonight. Orlando is 2-2 without Nelson since he went down with a shoulder injury (that second loss includes the game in which he was hurt) that likely will cost him the season. The bad news for Orlando is that some opposing point guards have had big nights against the Magic with Nelson out, including the Pacers’ T.J. Ford (21 points) and New Jersey’s Devin Harris (28 points).

Denver point guard Chauncey Billups terrorized the Magic when with the Pistons; he was probably the main reason Detroit ousted Orlando from the playoffs in back-to-back years. In January the Magic held Billups to 18 points on just 6 of 17 from the field. But he could have a big night against new Magic starter Anthony Johnson.

“Chauncey is an all-star-caliber point guard,” Johnson said. “He’s a guy of size and is able to post up a little bit. One thing I want to do is try to make it as uncomfortable as possible for him.”

Billups had 23 points and five assists in the win over the Heat on Tuesday. However, Denver has lost 15 consecutive games in Orlando and is 2-18 all-time there. The Magic have won seven of the last eight meetings by at least nine points.

“I don’t have that answer (why), other than they are a good team,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “I think most of the time we have played back-to-backs. And I think every organization kind of has their nightmare city.”

Howard has 16 straight double-doubles and has scored at least 30 points in two of Orlando’s last three home games.

WagerWeb.com Game Trends
* Nuggets are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. NBA Southeast.
* Nuggets are 7-15 ATS in their last 22 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Nuggets are 3-10 ATS in their last 13 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Nuggets are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games playing on 0 days rest.
* Nuggets are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a S.U. win.
* Nuggets are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
* Magic are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 vs. NBA Northwest.
* Magic are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Magic are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games.
* Home team is 11-1 ATS in the last 12 meetings.
* Favorite is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings.
* Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
* Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Orlando.
* Nuggets are 5-12 ATS in the last 17 meetings.
* Nuggets are 0-8 ATS in the last 8 meetings in Orlando.

NBA Betting at WagerWeb.com

Wednesday NCAA: Syracuse (18-6) at Connecticut (22-1)

Hard to imagine Syracuse upsetting top-ranked and red-hot Connecticut on Monday night, as the Orange enter having won just two of their past seven games, while the Huskies have won 11 in a row.

UConn has opened as an 11.5-point favorite on WagerWeb.com.

Syracuse’s lone victories in the past month have been against skidding Notre Dame and average West
Virginia, both in the Carrier Dome. Plus the Orange have allowed more than 100 points in two of the past three games, a 100-94 loss to Providence and a 102-85 loss to Villanova on Saturday. In coach Jim Boeheim’s first 32 years, his teams have allowed 100 or more points just seven times. And the Orange have lost four in a row on the road.

Still, the Orange do have a great backcourt in Jonny Flynn and Eric Devendorf. They combined combined for 43 of the squad’s 85 points against Nova. Devendorf has four straight 20-point games, the longest streak of 20-point games in his career. The Orange average 78.5 points in Big East play, second only to Marquette, and shoot a conference-best 38.3 percent on threes

“They can put points on the board, I think, faster than anybody in this league,” Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said of SU’s fast pace. “I don’t want us to get caught in that type of game. Syracuse, in a [ratty] game, is the best team in the league. … We’re not as an explosive team as Syracuse, and we’re going to try to make sure it doesn’t become that kind of game.”

Connecticut comes in off a 69-61 over Michigan. Senior forward Jeff Adrien had tallied nine points and 14 rebounds against the Wolverines to become the fifth player in Connecticut history to reach 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. Hasheem Thabeet scored 17 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and had six blocks. It was the 11th double-double of the season for Thabeet, averaging 13.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.1 blocks. Thanks to Thabeet, UConn is among the nation’s leaders in rebound margin (+9.0) and blocked shots (7.3).

The Huskies have outscored their opponents at home by an average margin of 22.1 points.

The Huskies are the first top-ranked team the Orange has faced since it defeated then-No.1 Connecticut, 86-84, in overtime on its way to the 2006 Big East Tournament title. The Orange have actually won three of the last five meetings since the Big East tournament and are 17-16 all-time in games played on the Huskies’ home floor.

WagerWeb.com Game Trends
* Orange are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 Wednesday games.
* Orange are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record.
* Orange are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Orange are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
* Orange are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. Big East.
* Orange are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Orange are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 road games.
* Orange are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
* Huskies are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 vs. Big East.
* Huskies are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a S.U. win.
* Huskies are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
* Huskies are 5-12-1 ATS in their last 18 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
* Huskies are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 home games.
* Under is 6-2 in the last 8 meetings in Connecticut.
* Under is 10-4 in the last 14 meetings.
* Favorite is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
* Orange are 2-6 ATS in the last 8 meetings in Connecticut.

NCAA Basketball Betting at WagerWeb.com

Sean Avery back in hockey but not a Ranger … yet

Loudmouth but talented Sean Avery is back on the ice, having been assigned to Hartford of the AHL by the Dallas Stars, who have long said they won’t be taking Avery back after his infamous “sloppy seconds” comment and subsequent suspension.

The New York Rangers have long been mentioned as the team that would allow Avery to return to the league, and Hartford is the Rangers’ AHL affiliate. Avery, who cleared waivers on Monday and has the rest of this season and three more years remaining on his $15.5 million contract, could eventually be recalled and pass through waivers again.

The Stars would still be committed to half his salary, and the Rangers, or any club below the Rangers in the standings, could claim Avery and pay the other half. The Stars could still try to trade him, although that market has few suitors and they would likely have to agree to eat some of his salary. Or Avery could spend the rest of the season in the minors and the Stars could buy him out.

“Dallas has given me a great opportunity to come and play here right now,” Avery said at the Wolf Pack’s practice facility Tuesday. “I’m just worrying about today and happy that I’m back playing. That’s the important thing.”

The Stars don’t have a minor-league affiliate and had to find one to take Avery. It’s no coincidence that was a Rangers’ affiliate.

“Sean and the Dallas Stars approached me looking for an American Hockey League team for him to resume playing, and I am happy to provide him with the opportunity to continue his career,” Rangers General Manager Glen Sather said. “Sean was a good player for the Rangers during his time here and has worked extremely hard off the ice over the last two months. He remains under contract to and property of the Stars, therefore, any further comment would be inappropriate.”

Avery hasn’t played since his NHL suspension in December for making a crude remark about other hockey players dating his former girlfriends. He completed treatment in a league counseling program last weekend. He spent part of two seasons with the Rangers before signing with Dallas.

“Sean’s a good hockey player. He can help anybody he plays for, there’s no question about that,” Rangers coach Tom Renney said. “This is a guy who could play and was a great teammate, and was always there for his teammates and laid it on the line every single night. How could you not admire that?”

Avery had three goals and seven assists in 23 games this year and was a plus-2 for Dallas.

NHL Betting at WagerWeb.com

How will A-Rod react this season to steroid mess?

The circus comes to Tampa in a little more than a week, and I don’t mean Ringling Bros. No, I mean Yankee spring training and all the fuss that will no doubt be surrounding Alex Rodriguez.

I’m sure you know by now that A-Rod has admitted taking performance-enhancers from 2001-2003 while with the Texas Rangers. He swears he has been clean since and has asked fans and history to judge him on his production before and after that stretch of years.

While he averaged almost 55 home runs and 139 RBIs during his first two seasons with the Rangers, Rodriguez claimed the first of his three American League MVP awards after the 2003 campaign, when he hit .298 with 47 homers and 118 RBIs.

On Tuesday, the Baseball Writers Association of America said it wouldn’t attempt to take that 2003 MVP back. In addition. Congress won’t be going after him either.

Most seem to think A-Rod did the right thing by admitting he did cheat in that interview with Peter Gammons. Guys like Jason Giambi (sort of) and Andy Pettitte both apologized and both were basically forgiven by the masses. But A-Rod is a different breed here, because everyone thought he was the savior from Barry Bonds holding the home run record.

Many fellow major leaguers have supported A-Rod’s decision to fall on his sword, while fellow Yankee Derek Jeter said Tuesday he wasn’t going to address the issue until the Yankees reported for spring training in Tampa next week.

“I’m not addressing Alex’s situation until everybody’s here,” the Yankee captain said. “If you’ve got baseball questions, I’ll do that. “You know where I’m coming from, right? I don’t want to talk to you guys today and have three more people show up tomorrow. It’s better to get everyone together.”

Rodriguez and the rest of New York’s position players must report to spring training by next Tuesday. Pitchers and catchers are due in Friday.

Frankly, Jeter looks even better right now among the Yankee faithful, although no one is above suspicion any longer.

So what does this mean to the 2009 Yankees, who are the +225 World Series favorites on WagerWeb.com?

Well, they aren’t going to try to get out of that contract with Rodriguez, and he won’t be disciplined by Major League Baseball. So on the field, on the surface, nothing changes.

But it was ego that drove A-Roid to choose to take steroids, and I believe it will be that same ego that pushes him to a huge season. He wants, needs to be loved by everyone. Well, that’s not going to be the case any longer, but he can put the first major imprint on the new Yankee Stadium. So he will turn to his numbers this season and going forward – clean numbers – to regain the respect of the fans and his peers. Yes, his postseason record hints that he doesn’t succeed under pressure, but I think this focuses him that much more during the season.

MLB Betting at WagerWeb.com

Mets’ Santana likely out of WBC

As of right now, Venezuela is a decent long-shot bet on WagerWeb.com to win next month’s World Baseball Classic, but those odds (currently +1000) are likely to go up a bit now that presumed staff ace Johan Santana won’t be participating.

Santana told The New York Post that he plans to decline an invitation to pitch for his native Venezuela in the upcoming tournament at the request of the Mets, who want to be careful with his recovery.

“I’ll do what they ask me to do,” Santana said Monday after a conditioning workout at the Mets’ spring-training complex in Florida. “I just want to get ready for the season.”

Santana underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Oct. 1 to repair a torn meniscus, four days after a great outing against the Marlins during the second-to-last game of the 2008 season. He shut out Florida on three hits to allow New York to avoid elimination for a day. That start was on three days’ rest — rather than the normal four days — after throwing a career-high 125 pitches in his previous start. The left-hander’s knee had become an issue earlier in September.

Santana’s first season in the National League produced a 16-7 record, the lowest ERA (2.53) in the NL, an NL-high innings total of 234 1/3 and a third-place finish in the NL Cy Young Award voting.

He threw 18 pitches off a mound Tuesday for the first time since that surgery. Santana said he plans to follow that on Thursday with his first official bullpen session, a 25-30 pitch outing.

After Tuesday’s outing, he still held out hope of playing in the WBC.

“Right now I’m playing. But again, I haven’t talked to Omar (GM Omar Minaya) personally. I think it’s coming up this weekend. So it’s about getting together, seeing where we are and gong from there. I would love to play but I’m not going to go against any decisions that they take. I’m an employee here,” he said.

No way Minaya lets him go. Mets camp will be missing several stars because of the WBC. Among Among the Mets scheduled to play in the WBC are David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and new closer Frankie Rodriguez.

MLB Betting at WagerWeb.com

Tuesday NCAA: Florida (19-4) at Kentucky (16-7)

Despite having lost three games in a row, Kentucky can jump into a first-place tie in the SEC East by beating Florida on Tuesday night in Lexington.

The Wildcats are 4.5-point home favorites on WagerWeb.com.

Frankly, no one wants to take charge in the entire SEC, which remains without a ranked team. UK looked like it might be that team before losses to Mississippi, South Carolina and Mississippi State – not exactly the best teams in the conference. Florida, meanwhile, has played just twice since Jan. 31.

The Gators (+165 on the WagerWeb.com money line) have won seven of the past eight meetings between the two schools but lost the last meeting 75-70 last March in Lexington. The home team has covered in the past four.

As long as UF is defensively strong on two players tonight, it should win. Kentucky guard Jodie Meeks (28.4) and forward Patrick Patterson (16.1) are scoring 44.5 points per league game. The rest of the team is only adding an averaging of 27.5 points per outing. Meeks broke the Kentucky single game record by scoring 54 points against Tennessee on Jan. 13.

In last Tuesday’s 66-57 home loss to Mississippi State, Meeks and Patterson combined for 52.6 percent of the scoring, tallying 15 points each. The rest of the team hit just 9 of 32 shots. In last week’s 78-77 home defeat to South Carolina, the duo combined for 62.3 percent of the scoring.

“If they sag off me or sag off some other guys, we still have to find a way to help Jodie and Patrick,” point guard Michael Porter said.

A loss tonight would be crushing for Kentucky. Frankly, it would put the nation’s all-time winningest program in serious jeopardy of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1991.

Perhaps most significantly, a loss would be Kentucky’s fourth straight in conference play, matching the second-longest slide in the team’s decorated history. Three of those losses would have come at Rupp Arena, where Kentucky was unbeaten during league play last season.

“We’ve got to understand, we’re going to get Kentucky’s best effort,” UF coach Billy Donovan said. “They’re going to play their best game of the year. That’s how we’ve got to approach it.”

Florida has been a one-man show in many games, with sophomore point guard Nick Calathes running the offense and leading the team with 18.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Thus UK will focus on him.

“To be honest, I think our backs are against the wall, too,” Calathes said. “We need this win more than them because this would put us first in the SEC.”

WagerWeb.com Game Trends
* Gators are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Tuesday games.
* Gators are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games after allowing more than 90 points in their previous game.
* Wildcats are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games following a ATS loss.
* Wildcats are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record.
* Wildcats are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a S.U. loss.
* Wildcats are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
* Wildcats are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. Southeastern.
* Wildcats are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 Tuesday games.
* Home team is 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings.
* Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Kentucky.
* Gators are 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.

NCAA Basketball Betting at WagerWeb.com

Tuesday NCAA: Michigan State (19-4) at Michigan (15-9)

After routing Minnesota and Indiana last week, it appears that Michigan State’s mini-funk is over, although they will be tested tonight at unranked Michigan in the teams’ only scheduled meeting of the season.

The Spartans are 4-point favorites on WagerWeb.com.

There are two main reasons why this could be a Wolverine upset. The first is that MSU second-leading scorer Raymar Morgan, who didn’t play at all last week and hasn’t been a factor in about a month, is not expected to play again because of his lingering illness, which is now being called mono.

“It’s probably 97 (percent Morgan’s not playing) to 3,” MSU coach Tom Izzo said. “Even as the strong Greek god he is, his conditioning (has been affected).”

Tonight’s game is MSU’s only one this week, so Izzo is hoping Morgan can be back in the lineup Feb. 17 in a potentially important matchup at Purdue.

The second reason why MSU is on upset alert is that it has struggled in Ann Arbor lately. The Spartans haven’t won at Crisler since a 64-49 triumph on Feb. 12, 2005, and U-M has been competitive against ranked teams this season, not to mention 12-2 at home this year..

Yet MSU has won 15 of the past 18 in the series and is 6-0 in true road games this season, including 5-0 in the Big Ten. In those five road Big Ten wins, the Spartans are averaging 74.8 points, led by Kalin Lucas at 20.0 ppg. And they are out-rebounding opponents by a +16.2 margin. The Spartans are also committing just 12.6 turnovers per game.

In the last 12 games, Lucas is averaging 17.9 points and shooting shooting 41.2 percent from the field, 39.5 percent from 3-point range and 86.1 percent from the foul line. He and Ohio State’s Evan Turner are probably the two leading candidates for Big Ten Player of the Year.

The Wolverines have lost six of eight games, including at No. 1 Connecticut on Saturday. Michigan freshman Stu Douglass had 20 points and went 6-for-8 from 3-point range against UConn, while leading scorer Manny Harris added 15 for the Wolverines, who led by one at halftime.

The Wolverines lead the Big Ten with 8.63 made 3-point field goals per game, including eight games where they have made 10 or more. They also lead the conference in free throw shooting.

WagerWeb.com Game Trends
* Spartans are 5-0-1 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Spartans are 5-0-1 ATS in their last 6 road games.
* Spartans are 5-0-1 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
* Spartans are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
* Spartans are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. Big Ten.
* Spartans are 10-3-1 ATS in their last 14 games following a SU win of more than 20 points.
* Spartans are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games after allowing less than 50 points in their previous game.
* Spartans are 14-6-1 ATS in their last 21 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Spartans are 1-4-2 ATS in their last 7 road games following three or more consecutive home games.
* Spartans are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 Tuesday games.
* Wolverines are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 home games.
* Wolverines are 10-4-1 ATS in their last 15 Tuesday games.
* Wolverines are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 vs. Big Ten.
* Home team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

NCAA Basketball Betting at WagerWeb.com