Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Check out advanced news and notes for later this week at JoeDuffy.net

CBB

Maryland-Illinois

SJ-R.com

Seven games and 13 days into the season, the Illini are undefeated heading into an early showdown against No. 25 Maryland (7-0) at Assembly Hall on Tuesday in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge (6 p.m., ESPN). After Illinois beat Bradley 75-71 Saturday to win the Chicago Invitational in Hoffman Estates, Weber appreciated the Illini’s ability to survive the season’s first two weeks despite injuries to junior forward Brian Randle and sophomore guard Jamar Smith plus the suspension of guard Rich McBride. Smith isn’t 100 percent, the guard said, and his ankle was tender after the game.A schedule that included Austin Peay, Savannah State and Florida A&M didn’t hurt. Joe Duffy’s sports betting selections are at www.GodsTips.com   

NBA

Bobcats-Nets

Sports Network

New Jersey returns home after going 0-4 on a four-game road trip. The Nets are 3-3 at home this season. The Bobcats are just 1-5 on the road this season. They are scheduled to visit the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday and the Washington Wizards on Friday. The Nets have won seven of eight against Charlotte. The Bobcats are 1-3 at New Jersey.

Knicks-Bulls

Chicago Sun-Times

All eyes will be on Ben Wallace after his headband controversy, which led to him being benched Saturday at New York. The Bulls beat the Knicks, 106-95, to snap a six-game losing streak. Tonight the team returns home for the first time in 17 days. Wallace, who sustained a sprained index finger Saturday, should be able to play. Stevie Vincent’s BetOnSports360.com is pioneer in forensic handicapping and part of OffshoreInsiders.com    

Timberwolves-Rockets

Houston Chronicle

Rockets forward Juwan Howard, who struggled with a bruised abdominal muscle on Saturday before leaving the game in the second quarter, went through only the shooting portion of Monday’s practice and is questionable to play tonight.

With Kirk Snyder (broken hand) and Bob Sura (knee rehab) inactive, Bonzi Wells could make an appearance on the active roster tonight, but that does not mean he would be active. He worked out Monday, but coach Jeff Van Gundy said Wells’ status has not changed. MasterLockLine.com has the top plays from the top sports service in their highest ranked sports.    

Clippers-Kings

Sacramento Bee

Practice with the players you pay, preparing for the upcoming game in a collective and cohesive fashion.Yet until Kings center Brad Miller hit the practice floor Monday, coach Eric Musselman said he had yet to practice with a full lot since training camp. This is a sign that the Kings are close to being healthy again, their 7-5 record nothing to be ashamed of and still plenty of time to see what the team can become. Just as the Kings welcomed their center back, their opponent tonight lost its center Friday when Chris Kaman sprained his left ankle. The Clippers lost to Minnesota the next day, their third consecutive loss after a 6-2 start had impressed so many. Miller said his left foot is pain-free, though there is some tightness in the area where he tore a tendon Nov. 4 and missed eight games. After he played a team-mandated 15 minutes against Portland in his first game back Saturday, Miller might be restricted to a predetermined amount of playing time tonight. Small forward Ron Artest, who is continuing to recover from the lower back pain that forced him out of Friday’s game at Seattle, said he is ready to start against the Clippers. “I’m going to play my regular game and take it from there,” Artest said. “I (will) see how the game is going, see how I’m feeling, but I should be fine.” The Clippers have plenty of motivation because of history. They’ve lost 13 consecutive games to the Kings and 16 in succession at Arco Arena. Add a four-game losing streak that halted the discussion of the Clippers as an elite team, and there is no shortage of incentive for coach Mike Dunleavy’s club. It’s not even as if they’re losing to elite clubs, falling to Minnesota, Seattle and the Los Angeles Lakers since Nov. 21. They are playing without center Chris Kaman, a true Kings-killer who has a sprained left ankle. That avoids a matchup that would have been problematic for Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Brad Miller.