TOP-25-SCHEDULE
Ranked teams collide
UNDATED (AP) β A pair of top-25 match-ups highlight the college basketball schedule tonight.
No. 5 Wisconsin can move a step closer to the Big Ten title when it visits No. 14 Maryland. The 25-2 Badgers enter play three games up on the Terrapins, Michigan State and Purdue for the conference lead with four games to play. Wisconsin’s 13-1 start in the Big Ten is a first for the program and the Badgers 10-game conference winning streak is the school’s longest since an 11-game stretch in 1940-41.
Meanwhile, the Terrapins have built a 22-5 record and 10-4 conference mark. They have won their last three games by a total of 11 points and are 8-0 in games decided by six points or fewer.
No. 6 Villanova takes an eight-game winning streak into its Big East showdown with 25th-ranked Providence. The 25-2 Wildcats are playing their final home game of the season. The 19-8 Friars are back in the top 25 for the first time since the final poll of the 2003-04 season. They’ve been off since a 27-point win over DePaul Wednesday.
Notre Dame will try to keep the pressure on ACC-leading Virginia when the ninth-ranked Fighting Irish host Syracuse. Notre Dame is a 1 1/2 games back of the Cavaliers for the conference lead. The Irish are ranked ninth in the nation in scoring average at 79.8 points.
Rounding out the schedule, No. 15 North Carolina hosts North Carolina State, Texas A&M visits No. 18 Arkansas and 20th-ranked West Virginia entertains Texas.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Hard-charging Cavs meet Detroit
UNDATED (AP) β Cleveland seems to have sorted out its early season chemistry problems. The Cavaliers head into tonight’s game at Detroit having won 16 of their last 18 games, boosting them into second place in the NBA’s Central Division. Cleveland heads into tonight’s play just a game back of Chicago for the division lead.
League-leading Golden State has a road appointment with staggering Washington tonight. The Warriors hope to have starting guard Stephen (STEH’-fehn) Curry back in the lineup after he sat out Sunday’s loss to the Pacers with an ankle injury. Curry is seventh in the league in scoring. The Wizards have dropped seven of their last 10 games and are just 14-17 after a 19-6 start.
Oklahoma City, minus reigning league MVP Kevin Durant, hosts Indiana tonight. Durant will miss his second game since have a surgical procedure on his right foot. He’s expected back before the end of the season. The Thunder have won five of the past six games they’ve played without Durant.
Atlantic Division-leading Toronto visits Dallas to round out the schedule.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Blues host Montreal
UNDATED (AP) β A pair of playoff-contending heavyweights face off tonight when Montreal visits St. Louis as part of an 11-game NHL schedule.
The Canadiens hold a one-point lead over idle Tampa Bay at the top of the Atlantic Division after snapping a two-game losing streak on Sunday against Columbus. The Blues enter the game trailing NHL-leading Nashville by seven points in the Central Division. Second-place St. Louis is wrapping up a four-game home stand in which they’ve lost two of the first three games.
The Predators return home, where they are 25-3-1, to face Colorado. Nashville is the first team in the NHL to 40 wins this season. The Avalanche are tied with Dallas at the bottom of the Central Division.
The Islanders will be trying to snap out of a mini-slump that has seen them lose two in a row when they host Arizona. The Metropolitan Division-leading Isles are the second-highest scoring team in the league, but were shutout for just the second time this season, at home Sunday by Vancouver. The Coyotes have dropped six straight.
The Canucks continue their five-game road trip at Boston. Vancouver has won two of the first three.
NFL-PANTHERS-BELL
Source: Panthers to release tackle Bell
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) β The Panthers have informed starting left tackle Byron Bell that he will not be re-signed, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no announcement has been made.
Pro Football Focus had Bell ranked as the second-worst left tackle in the league last season, allowing 11 sacks. He has started 56 games in the past four seasons for the Panthers.
NFL-LOS ANGELES
Vote on Inglewood stadium project due
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) β The Inglewood City Council could decide today to approve plans to build an NFL stadium in the Los Angeles suburb. That would fast-track a $2 billion project involving St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke (KRAHN’-kee).
The City Council is scheduled to vote on whether to adopt a new redevelopment plan that includes an 80,000-seat stadium without calling a public vote. An approval would effectively kick-start construction and sidestep lengthy environmental review of issues such as noise, traffic and air pollution.
The project could bring the NFL back to the Los Angeles area for the first time in 20 years.
SOCCER-WORLD CUP-QATAR
FIFA moves closer to moving World Cup
UNDATED (AP) β A FIFA task force has recommended playing the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in November and December to avoid the summer heat. Temperatures in the Gulf emirate routinely top 104 degrees when the World Cup traditionally kicks off in June.
The plan should be approved by the FIFA executive committee at a March 19-20 meeting in Zurich.
