THE WEATHER REPORT

How winter conditions could impact select NFL, college football games

How winter conditions could impact select NFL, college football games
Winter is coming to football. Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

This weekend a blast of winter will envelop the Central and Eastern parts of the country making for some very cold football games.  Due to this I have expanded the coverage to include notable college games this weekend. With the NFL slate there are not any games that will be affected by the usual suspects of rain, wind or snow – however I am including a few games where the cold may have an impact only because the visiting team will be somewhat of a fish out of water.  Lets dive in:

Saints @ Bengals (noon Sunday) – Temperatures in Cincinnati will be in the mid to low 40s for this game. I am only mentioning it due to the fact that as a southern dome team the Saints are not accustomed to playing in these conditions.  However, the Saints seem to be such a well-oiled machine with a formidable ground game that the impact of temperatures will likely be negligible.

Falcons @ Browns (noon Sunday) - The temperature will be hovering in the upper 30s with the windchill right at 30 degrees for this game in Cleveland.  Similar to the game I mentioned above the Falcons, like the Saints, are not accustomed to these conditions. However the fact that they are playing the Browns may help offset some of the detriment of the cold temperatures.

Dolphins @ Packers (3:25 PM Sunday) – This is the ultimate fish out of water game.  The tundra of Lambeau will be living up to its name with game time temperatures in the mid to low 30s with a small chance of snow.  Due to these conditions and the Dolphin’s talent level I believe the cold will have a real impact here.  To Aaron Rodgers these conditions are likely downright refreshing, but for the Dolphins it will likely be quite a shock to the system. Look for the Dolphins to try to keep it on the ground as much as possible, especially with Osweiler under center.

College Special

I have highlighted too many games here to give individual breakdowns but below you will find a summary of the notable conditions so that you can make or adjust any wagers accordingly. Take note – wind will be an issue at many games on Saturday.

TCU @ West Virginia – Mid to low 30s. Slight chance of snow. Wind 14 MPH gusting to 25 MPH.

Ohio State @ Michigan State – Low 30s. Chance of snow early in the game. Wind 17 MPH gusting to 30 MPH.

Wisconsin @ Penn State – Mid 30s. Wind 15 MPH gusting to 40 MPH.

Baylor @ Iowa State – Temperature in the upper 20s with a windchill in the upper teens.

Virginia Tech @ Pitt – Mid 30s. Chance of snow. Wind 16 MPH gusting to 35 MPH.

Purdue @ Minnesota – Temperatures in the upper 20s with a chance of snow late.

Temple @ Houston – Low 50s with rain.

Florida State @ Notre Dame – Temperature in the mid 20s.

Texas @ Texas Tech – Mid 40s. Wind 14 to 20 MPH.

Clemson @ Boston College – Upper 30s. Wind 15 MPH gusting to 45 MPH.

If you are looking for information on any other games feel free to reach me on Twitter @stephenuzick.

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Jalen Green does it again! Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.

Jalen Green scored 27 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 110-92 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

It was the Rockets' ninth straight win, their longest winning streak since 2019.

At 36-35, Houston is now just a half game behind Golden State for the final spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament.

“For sure, I’m looking at it,” Green said of the standings. “I was watching the Warriors last night. We’re making a push, and we’re executing so we’ve just got to stay the course.”

Green entered Monday tied for fourth in the NBA in scoring in March with 27.8 points per game on 51.4% shooting. Against Portland, he made 9 of 26 shots, including 4 of 12 from 3.

“He was kind of forcing it a little bit early and looked a little anxious, but he grinded it out and played the right way,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “It was huge for him to come out in the second half like that.”

Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. was out, serving a one-game suspension for his Saturday night fight with Jazz guard Kris Dunn. In his place, Jock Landale had a season-high 17 points and added nine rebounds.

“His energy really got us back in the game,” Udoka said. “His energy has been huge lately, and we really needed it tonight with a few guys struggling early.”

Houston outscored Portland 33-20 in the third quarter, taking an 80-71 lead into the fourth after trailing 51-47 at halftime.

Portland suffered its seventh straight loss and fell to 4-13 since the All-Star break.

Dalano Banton led the Blazers with 28 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, while Scoot Henderson added 15 points.

“We need to keep our defensive intensity up,” Henderson said. “That’s going to give us a chance every night — defensive intensity, moving the ball and just making the game easier for ourselves and not trying to one-on-one the whole game because we can’t win like that.”

In Saturday night’s loss to Denver, Portland became the second team to start five rookies since NBA box scores started tracking starters in the 1971-72 season. The Blazers started the same five rookies on Monday night.

Portland briefly held a nine-point lead in the first quarter but entered the second quarter down 28-25.

“I thought we had a really good first half and had some good moments in that third quarter, but the game kind of turned,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “They picked up their defensive pressure, and we just didn’t respond well to it. Give them credit. They turned it up when they needed to, defensively, against a young group.”

The Blazers were missing Deandre Ayton (left elbow tendinitis), Anfernee Simons (left knee tendinitis), Malcolm Brogdon (right elbow tendinitis) and Jerami Grant (right hamstring strain).

UP NEXT

Trail Blazers: At Atlanta on Wednesday night.

Rockets: Visit Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.

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