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The Milwaukee Bucks will aim for their third consecutive win and eighth in 10 games on Saturday when they host a Detroit Pistons team mired in a franchise-record, 22-game losing streak. Detroit’s woes lengthened Friday in the first leg of a weekend back-to-back. The Philadelphia 76ers went wire-to-wire in a 124-92 rout as the Pistons surpassed the franchise-worst skid of 21 games set late in the 1979-80 season and early in the 1980-81 season. The

Ascending in the NFC playoff picture, the Dallas Cowboys visit the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y., on Sunday with a lot on the line for each side. Winners of five in a row, the Cowboys (10-3) moved into a tie atop the NFC East with the Eagles after posting a 33-13 victory over Philadelphia last Sunday. Dallas averaged a robust 40.2 points a game during its winning streak, and the Cowboys can clinch a

The Vancouver Canucks will try for a fifth straight win as they embark on a busy road trip that kicks off with a visit to the resurgent Minnesota Wild on Saturday in Saint Paul, Minn. The Wild contest starts a stretch of four away games in just six nights for red-hot Vancouver, which is off to one of the best starts in franchise history. The Canucks have won 20 of their first 30 games (20-9-1),

There’s plenty of time for Arkansas basketball to figure things out, but coach Eric Musselman wants it to happen sooner instead of later. The Razorbacks were a Top 25 team when the season started but have fallen out of the rankings after starting the season 6-4, including a 79-70 loss Dec. 9 to Oklahoma that saw Musselman get ejected on two technicals with 15:50 left. Arkansas will try to get back in the win column

Iowa will aim to stop a season-high three-game losing streak when it faces Florida A&M on Saturday in a neutral-site game in Des Moines, Iowa. The Hawkeyes (5-5) sputtered in the second half of Sunday’s home loss to Michigan on the heels of a blowout loss at Iowa State. What’s the key to avoiding a further hole? “The first thing is, they have to stay positive and continue to believe in themselves,” Hawkeyes coach Fran

Utah battles an in-state opponent for the third consecutive game when it hosts Utah Valley on Saturday in Salt Lake City. The Utes (7-2) survived late rallies in wins over Southern Utah on Dec. 5 and BYU last Saturday. Their 73-69 victory over the then-No. 14 Cougars marked Utah’s first win over a ranked BYU team since 1993. Utah jumped on BYU early behind Gabe Madsen’s sizzling perimeter shooting. Madsen knocked down four 3-pointers in

The key questions entering Vermont’s game against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., on Saturday involve Hokies point guard Sean Pedulla: Will Pedulla play? And if he does, how productive will he be? An ankle injury prevented Pedulla from participating in Saturday’s 71-50 victory over Valparaiso. Pedulla, who is averaging 13.7 points and a team-high 4.6 assists per game this season, watched the game from the bench with a protective boot covering his right foot. Pedulla

Rick Pitino was horrified as St. John’s struggled to defend anyone in its last game. Pitino is hoping to see the Red Storm start making strides with their defense Saturday afternoon when they host Fordham at Madison Square Garden in New York. St. John’s (6-3) is playing its penultimate nonconference game and seeking a fifth win in six contests overall. The Red Storm saw a four-game winning streak stopped with Sunday’s 86-80 loss to Boston

Either Ohio State or UCLA will rebound from a tough loss when they clash in Atlanta on Saturday. The young Bruins (5-3) were in a tight contest at Villanova last Saturday before the Wildcats went on a late run to propel them to a 65-56 victory. Ohio State (8-2) was cruising toward what would have been its eighth straight win last Saturday but blew an 18-point lead in the second half to drop an 83-80

Juwan Howard is expected to resume his duties as Michigan’s head coach on Saturday as the Wolverines host Eastern Michigan in a non-conference game in Ann Arbor, Mich. Assistant Phil Martelli has been acting head coach while Howard recovers from mid-September heart surgery, and also while the university investigates an altercation between Howard and strength coach Jon Sanderson last week after practice. A 90-80 win at Iowa on Sunday snapped a three-game losing streak for