NBA-SCHEDULE
Playoff jockeying continues
UNDATED (AP) β The battle for the NBA’s Southwest Division title continues tonight as Houston visits Indiana and Memphis takes on the Knicks in New York. The Grizzlies top the division by 2 1/2 games over the Rockets and have a game in hand. Memphis blew out New York 105-83 in their first meeting of the season, and Houston knocked off Indiana 110-98 on Jan. 19.
The Brooklyn Nets entertain Boston, while Charlotte visits Chicago, important games for all four teams. The Hornets are a half-game ahead of Boston and Indiana in the race for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth, with the Nets just one game back. The Bulls are 3 1/2 games behind the Central Division-leading Cleveland Cavaliers, who’ve won 27 of their last 33.
Utah tips off against visiting Minnesota before Golden State hosts Washington. The Warriors own a five-game winning streak and lead the Western Conference by 7 Β½ games over Memphis. The Wizards have dropped 11 of their last 14 road games, leaving them 1 Β½ games behind the Bulls for fourth place in the East.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Sens could pass B’s…Fighting for the West
UNDATED (AP) β The Ottawa Senators were 20-22-9 and sitting in 14th place in the NHL’s Eastern Conference the morning of Feb. 8. Six and a-half weeks later, the Senators have a chance to unseat the Boston Bruins for eighth place in the conference.
Ottawa is just one point behind the Bruins heading into tonight’s game against the visiting San Jose Sharks. Goaltender Andrew Hammond has led the Senators’ resurgence, going 13-0-1 with a 1.65 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage since making his season debut Feb. 16.
The Sharks have gone in the opposite direction while Ottawa has climbed the standings. They were fifth in the Western Conference at 28-19-7 on Feb. 8 before going 7-10-1 in their next 18 games. San Jose currently sits in a 10th-place tie with Colorado, eight points out of a playoff berth.
The scramble for the last three seeds in the Western Conference playoffs continues as Los Angeles visits New Jersey, Minnesota is at Toronto, Winnipeg skates at Edmonton and Calgary hosts Colorado. The Wild are seventh in the West, one point ahead of the Jets and five better than the ninth-place Kings. The Flames sit sixth in the conference but have three fewer points than Minnesota.
Chicago visits Carolina in a big game for the Blackhawks, who are five points behind the Central Division-leading St. Louis Blues.
The other NHL game has Buffalo at Dallas as the Sabres try to clinch the league’s worst record and improve their chances of landing Erie Otters standout Connor McDavid in the draft this summer.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL-NIT
NIT resumes
UNDATED (AP) β The second round of the NIT resumes today with three games on tap. Texas A&M hosts Louisiana Tech in the first game of the day before Illinois State tips off at Old Dominion. The schedule concludes with Tulsa entertaining Murray State.
NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Round 3 continues
UNDATED (AP) β The NCAA women’s basketball tournament will set its Sweet 16 participants by the end of the night. Top overall seed Connecticut hosts Rutgers and Louisville is at South Florida in Albany Regional action, while the Spokane Region has unbeaten Princeton at No. 1 Maryland and Pittsburgh visiting Tennessee. The Greensboro Region slate consists of Ohio State against North Carolina, Florida Gulf Coast at Florida State and Arizona State hosting Arkansas-Little Rock after Oklahoma takes on Stanford in the Oklahoma City Region.
