review Page 625 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
No. 15 Michigan aims to ignite offense vs. Rutgers
The ugliest of victories has put Michigan in a pretty position for a Big Ten regular-season title. ,The 15th-ranked Wolverines now will try to protect their home court for the next three games, beginning with a matchup against Rutgers on Thursday night in Ann Arbor, Mich.,Michigan, which averages 79...
Rockets bid to tighten defensively in encounter vs. Spurs
The Houston Rockets had dropped six of nine games with veteran guard Fred VanVleet absent from their lineup before they summoned some of the grit and determination that highlighted the early part of their season down the stretch of a white-knuckle win.,Houston kicked off a three-game homestand with ...
Pacers look to close out homestand with win over Raptors
After facing Western Conference contenders in the first three dates of their four-game homestand, the Indiana Pacers close out the set on Wednesday with their struggling Eastern Conference counterparts, the Toronto Raptors.,Indiana began its challenging home stretch with wins over Memphis (127-113) ...
Pistons bid for 8th straight win as they host Celtics
The surprising Detroit Pistons will try to do something on Wednesday that they haven't accomplished in 17 years. They'll look to stretch their winning streak to eight games when they host the defending champion Boston Celtics.,The last time Detroit won eight or more consecutive games came in 2008, w...
Cal needs win over SMU to make late ACC tourney push
Cal will have its top player while SMU probably won't when the Atlantic Coast Conference teams meet in a rematch Wednesday night in Berkeley, Calif.,Boopie Miller had 13 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals when the Mustangs (20-7, 11-5 ACC) beat the Golden Bears (12-15, 5-11) 76-65 i...
Valeri Nichushkin a 'possibility' to return for Avalanche vs. Devils
The Colorado Avalanche have stumbled out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break, but they may get a key player back when they host the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night.,Winger Valeri Nichushkin practiced with the team Tuesday and could return, though coach Jared Bednar would not fully commit to writing...
Stumbling Ohio State and Southern California desperately need win
Two teams mired in three-game losing streaks meet when Ohio State battles Southern California on Wednesday night in Big Ten play at Los Angeles.,The Buckeyes (15-13, 7-10 Big Ten) are locked in a 10th-place tie while USC (14-13, 6-10) finds itself barely on the right side of the Big Ten tournament c...
Kings' productive new line might stick together against Canucks
The Los Angeles Kings found another forward combination to boost their offense in a tight game, but it's unclear whether Adrian Kempe, Kevin Fiala and Quinton Byfield will remain together Wednesday night against the visiting Vancouver Canucks.,Kempe joined Fiala and Byfield in the second period Mond...
Cue the Spider-Man meme: Arkansas, Texas meet with matching records
Arkansas and Texas will try to create some separation from each other in the minds of the NCAA Tournament committee when they square off Wednesday in a key Southeastern Conference game in Fayetteville, Ark.,Differentiation is important for both teams because each owns a 16-11 overall record and a 5-...
Creighton goes for 22nd straight win over DePaul
Creighton looks to keep its faint Big East title hopes alive Wednesday night when it hosts DePaul in Omaha, Neb.,The Bluejays (19-8, 12-4 Big East) reside 2 1/2 games behind first-place St. John's in conference play with four games left for Creighton and three for the Red Storm.,While that's a steep...
Boston College heads to Stanford needing more wins to reach ACCs
Boston College will try to keep its hopes of reaching the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament alive when it tips off a critical two-game trip Wednesday night at Stanford.,The Golden Eagles (12-15, 4-12) began the week one game out of the conference's top 15 that will earn invitations to the prestig...
Rising Hoosiers aim to avoid flop against Penn State
After one of its biggest wins of the season, Indiana will try to avoid a letdown performance when it tips off against Penn State in a Big Ten Conference matchup Wednesday evening in Bloomington, Ind.,Indiana (16-11, 7-9 Big Ten) is coming off a 73-58 victory against then-No. 13 Purdue on Sunday. Now...
Wake Forest's sliding NCAA hopes on the line vs. Virginia
Wake Forest had avoided the pitfalls of what might be considered "bad losses" for most of the season.,After absorbing a couple of them recently, the Demon Deacons can ill afford another when Virginia visits for an Atlantic Coast Conference game Wednesday night in Winston-Salem, N.C.,Wake Forest (19-...
Villanova looks to continue climb against Seton Hall
It seems every time Kyle Neptune's seat gets piping-hot, Villanova pulls it off the burner with an unexpected win., ,Neptune's Wildcats remain on the periphery of the NCAA Tournament bubble thanks in large part to an 81-66 upset of then-No. 16 Marquette on Friday. Villanova has three games to go bef...
Zach LaVine, Kings aim to retain urgent tempo against Jazz
Two common themes emerged from the Sacramento Kings' blowout victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.,For one, the Kings liked how they responded while playing with "a sense of urgency." For another, they couldn't help but be wowed by the performance of recent acquisition Zach LaVine, who...
Slumping Clippers to face Bulls squad riding rare high
Bogdan Bogdanovic was assessing his struggles in his first start with the Los Angeles Clippers when he indirectly captured the pulse of the team.,"It's easy when everything is good, you know. Sometimes you can mask yourself with a couple wins," Bogdanovic said. "But it's good to see the real picture...
Dyson Daniels, Hawks go for two-game sweep of Heat
Dyson Daniels' goal prior to this season was to be named to the NBA's All-Defensive team.,Now, with the end of the regular season less than two months away, Daniels -- a 6-foot-7 wing for the Atlanta Hawks -- has amended his goal.,"Now it's to be Defensive Player of the Year," Daniels said this week...
Trail Blazers begin long trip against suddenly stingy Wizards
The Washington Wizards have been extremely generous throughout the season. However, they picked a fine time to get downright stingy.,After tightening the clamps on defense in their last game, the NBA-worst Wizards will try to string together wins on Wednesday when they welcome the Portland Trail Bla...
Thunder hope to learn from collapse, move on to face Nets
Because of their dominance for most of the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder rarely play close games or wilt in the fourth quarter.,That scenario unfolded against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night, resulting in a three-point overtime loss. Two nights later, the Thunder attempt to avoid taki...
UCF out to build momentum vs. skidding Kansas State
Kansas State and UCF square off Wednesday evening in Orlando, Fla., carrying little hope of making the NCAA Tournament outside of winning the Big 12 Championship tournament. With both clubs likely having to win five games in six days to make that happen, the NIT is likely now the goal.,K-State (13-1...