preview Page 56 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

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...

White-hot Austin Swartz guides Creighton against Providence
After scoring a career-high 33 points in a comeback win over Georgetown earlier in the week, Austin Swartz hopes to help Creighton continue its strong start in Big East Conference play on Friday evening at Providence.,Swartz averaged 5.9 points as a freshman before transferring from Miami to the Blu...

With star Deni Avdija likely out again, Blazers square off with Hawks
Jrue Holiday and Deni Avdija have shared the court just once since Holiday sustained a right calf injury on Nov. 14.,Though Holiday returned earlier this week, Portland's top two players likely will not be together again Thursday night when the Trail Blazers host the Atlanta Hawks.,Avdija, a leading...

Rams layer up, pack their own LaFleur to visit Bears, 'Iceman'
Any skeptics left doubting the merit of Caleb Williams' nickname might look to the mercury for confirmation on Sunday night when the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams stage the finale of a four-game NFL Divisional Playoff weekend.,Williams' late-game heroics and growing legend for cool under pressu...

Mammoth rolling, aim to gain on stumbling Stars
The Utah Mammoth look to extend their point streak to six games when they face the suddenly scuffling Dallas Stars on Thursday in Salt Lake City.,The Stars sit 13 points ahead of the Mammoth in the standings, but the gap has been narrowing between the Central Division rivals. Dallas is 2-4-4 in its ...