The Celtics and Lakers are both in action on Tuesday night, while college football offers the GMAC Bowl. Here's a look at the games in your Daily Sports Roundup.
The Gridiron Spotlight
It's Ball State vs. Tulsa in the GMAC Bowl at Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Tuesday night as college football winds down its season. The Cardinals (12-1 straight-up, 9-3 against-the-spread) are coming off their first loss of the season, a 42-24 pounding by Buffalo on December 5. The Golden Hurricane (10-3 SU, 7-5 ATS) won their first eight games of the season, but have lost three of their five contests since that streak ended. Tulsa fell to East Carolina 27-24 last time out.
The oddsmakers opened Ball State as a 2.5-point favorite in this contest, but since then that line has moved to Tulsa -3 at many books. The total for the game is sitting at 75 points. On the season the Cardinals went 6-6 on the OVER/UNDER, while the Golden Hurricane are 7-4-1 against the totals this year.
Other Notable Events
With four losses in their past 10 games the Boston Celtics will be looking to pound the Bobcats in Charlotte on Tuesday night. The Celtics still hold down a big lead in the Atlantic Division, but both the Cavaliers and the Magic have been gaining ground on them in the Eastern Conference standings. The Bobcats beat the Bucks 102-92 last time out, and now have five wins in their past 10 contests.
The Western-leading Los Angeles Lakers are also in action on Tuesday night, and they'll put a six-game winning streak on the line at home against New Orleans. Rounding out the NBA's Tuesday slate: Washington at Orlando, Houston at Philadelphia, New York at Oklahoma City, Minnesota at Memphis, and Sacramento at Chicago, while the lowly Clippers will be on the road in Dallas.
The Rest of the Schedule
Coming off a rare loss, the Boston Bruins will be back in action on Tuesday night when they host the Minnesota Wild. That game leads off a busy night around the NHL, with 10 other games on the schedule: Ottawa at Buffalo, Philadelphia at Washington, New Jersey at Carolina, Florida at Toronto, Atlanta at Pittsburgh, Columbus at Detroit, Colorado at Nashville, Chicago at Phoenix, San Jose at Calgary, and finally Los Angeles at Anaheim in a matchup of the SoCal teams.
Finally, the top college basketball game on Tuesday night sees Ohio State playing Michigan State in East Lansing. As well, Connecticut will take on West Virginia, Seton Hall hosts Villanova, Alabama is at Clemson, Purdue will play a road contest against Penn State, and then Arkansas will get a visit from Texas.
News from the Wire
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger passed his concussion tests and is slated to start against the Chargers on Sunday . . . Oilers forward Ales Hemsky has a mild concussion and is listed as day-to-day . . . Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane re-injured his ankle during the Winter Classic and is day-to-day as well . . . star free-agent outfielder Manny Ramirez is still looking to cash in with a contract.
A Peek at the Future
The Celtics are in action again Wednesday, but they'll have a tougher opponent with the Rockets in town. Other big NBA matchups on Wednesday include Orlando at Atlanta, Miami at Denver, Detroit at Portland, and New Orleans at Utah . . . Wednesday's light NHL slate features just Montreal at the Rangers and Vancouver at Edmonton . . . the BCS Championship kicks off at 8:00pm ET on Thursday.