preview Page 25 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Wisconsin showing toughness on Big Ten win streak; Rutgers up next
While his play and his team's form lately might imply otherwise, Wisconsin guard John Blackwell says that not everything is perfect.,"It's not always going to be sunshine and rainbows," Blackwell said. "You pray about things and you imagine things, and it's not always going to be the case.",However,...

No. 6 Duke-Stanford to showcase pair of freshman stars
No. 6 Duke and Stanford look to complete impressive two-game sweeps when the Atlantic Coast Conference rivals meet in Northern California on Saturday afternoon.,Duke (16-1, 5-0 ACC) tipped off its first-ever ACC trip to the San Francisco Bay Area with a workmanlike 71-56 victory at Cal on Wednesday ...

Riding 8-game winning streak, No. 4 Purdue visits USC
No. 4 Purdue takes its eight-game winning streak into the first of four road games over the next five outings on Saturday, facing Southern California in Los Angeles.,The Boilermakers (16-1, 6-0 Big Ten) are visiting the Galen Center for the first time in program history, and at USC for the first tim...

No. 12 Michigan State buckles up for Washington, West Coast trip
Michigan State is hitting the road, and head coach Tom Izzo demanded the No. 12 Spartans pack some grit for their Pacific Northwest swing that begins Saturday in Seattle. ,The Spartans went 0-2 at UCLA and USC last season but Izzo reminded his troops novelty is no longer an excuse when visiting the ...

UCLA, Ohio State square off while navigating injuries
The team with better depth may decide the winner when UCLA plays Ohio State on Saturday in Columbus.,The potential for key injury absences on both sidelines could force others to step up.,UCLA (12-5, 4-2 Big Ten) has been without second-leading scorer Skyy Clark since he sustained a hamstring injury...

No. 17 Arkansas vs. No. 21 Georgia to feature plenty of points
A shootout between two high-scoring offenses could be brewing on Saturday when No. 17 Arkansas travels to face No. 21 Georgia in Athens in a Southeastern Conference showdown.,Georgia (14-3, 2-2 SEC) leads the nation at 96.4 points per game, while Arkansas (13-4, 3-1) is fifth in the conference (90.5...

No. 8 Nebraska eyes 18-0 start vs. lowly Northwestern
Big Ten Conference teams headed in opposite directions meet up Saturday afternoon when Northwestern takes on No. 8 Nebraska in Evanston, Ill.,The visiting Cornhuskers (17-0, 6-0 Big Ten) are off to their best start in school history, winners of 21 straight dating to last season, and have their best ...

No. 1 Arizona wary of upset-minded UCF in road clash
The past week's trend featured undefeated teams on the receiving end of a first setback, and top-ranked Arizona will try to remain unaffected and stay perfect on Saturday afternoon against UCF in Orlando, Fla.,On Tuesday, No. 2 Iowa State had its hopes of perfection dashed by Kansas. Following Satur...

Nate Ament prepared for first No. 24 Tennessee-Kentucky clash
Tennessee freshman Nate Ament has played just 17 college games, but the forward has made a veteran-like impact for coach Rick Barnes' squad.,Four days after taking over against Texas A&M in a double-overtime win, the 19-year-old Ament leads the No. 24 Volunteers against Kentucky in the first of thei...

Minnesota faces former recruit Keaton Wagler, No. 13 Illinois
During each broadcast of an Illinois game, it only takes a few minutes before the announcers start raving about freshman point guard Keaton Wagler and how amazing it was he only had two high-major offers: Illinois and Minnesota., ,Considering the No. 13 Fighting Illini (14-3, 5-1 Big Ten) face the G...

Perfect at home, SMU faces No. 16 Virginia with both offenses hot
SMU's unbeaten home record will be tested on Saturday afternoon as No. 16 Virginia visits Dallas for an Atlantic Coast Conference clash.,The Mustangs (13-4, 2-2 ACC) improved to 11-0 at Moody Coliseum in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night when Boopie Miller's heroic, half-court heave beat the buzze...

Suddenly hot Kings take aim at woeful Wizards
The Sacramento Kings are flying high and look to extend their season-best winning streak to four games when they host the Washington Wizards on Friday night.,The Kings lost 30 of their first 38 games before suddenly winning three straight by double digits against playoff contenders - the Houston Roc...

History waiting to be written when Indiana, Miami collide in title game
Top-seeded Indiana stands one victory away from becoming the biggest rags-to-riches story in college football history.,A program that went 9-27 over a three-year span earlier this decade and had the most losses in FBS history until earlier this season is on the verge of becoming national champions w...

Riding wave, Kansas out to extend home dominance of Baylor
Falling out of the national rankings might have been the fuel struggling Kansas needed.,The Jayhawks responded with their most impressive victory of the season and look to ride the momentum when they face Baylor in Big 12 play Friday night at Lawrence, Kan.,Kansas (12-5, 2-2 Big 12) delivered an 84-...

Lightning go for franchise-record win streak against banged-up Blues
After recovering from a sluggish start to this season, the Tampa Bay Lightning are rolling along with an 11-game winning streak.,They will try to set franchise record by winning their 12th straight Friday night when they visit the St. Louis Blues.,"It's a long way from winning one in our first seven...

Pacers want to see more progress against woeful Pelicans
The Indiana Pacers look to close out a four-game homestand on a high note Friday when they welcome the New Orleans Pelicans to Indianapolis.,Indiana concludes its stretch at home after a loss that snapped its longest winning streak of the season at three games. The Pacers won at Charlotte and knocke...

Raptors pose next challenge for surging Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers will be going for their fifth consecutive victory Friday night when they open a three-game road trip against the Toronto Raptors.,The surging Clippers took their fourth in a row and 11th win in the past 13 with a 119-105 home victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday....

76ers can get quick revenge on Cavaliers to end two-game set
The Philadelphia 76ers won't have to wait long for a chance to exact revenge on the Cleveland Cavaliers.,Two days after the Cavaliers pummeled the Sixers, the teams will reconvene Friday for the second part of their two-game series in Philadelphia.,Cleveland dominated Wednesday's contest 133-107 beh...

Bulls enter two-game set vs. Nets eyeing .500 mark
After hitting the game-winning shot to complete his best showing of the season, Nikola Vucevic described the Chicago Bulls beating the Utah Jazz by saying, "We found a way.",As the Bulls continues to inch closer to the .500 mark, Vucevic will try to help them find more ways to win Friday night when ...

Hurricanes face Panthers, hope to brush off first shutout loss of season
The Carolina Hurricanes had extra time this week to ponder an unfortunate rarity.,After being shutout victims for the first time this season, the Hurricanes will try to crank it up against the Florida Panthers on Friday night in Raleigh, N.C.,Both teams will enter the game after extra time to prepar...