Archives: Previews

A five-day break came at just the right time for the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers haven’t played since last Friday when they dropped their second straight, 125-119 to the Boston Celtics. All-Star center Joel Embiid missed the past two games with an illness. Tyrese Maxey was also out against the Celtics. Philadelphia is expected to have Embiid and Maxey back when it visits the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. “I think that they’re pretty much fine,”

The last time the Detroit Pistons tasted victory, trick-or-treaters hadn’t even collected their candy. They’ve endured a stomach-churning 17 consecutive losses, a franchise record for a single season. Their last win came Oct. 28. They’ll try once again to end their misery when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. It’s one of two games recently scheduled by the NBA for every team that didn’t advance during the in-season tournament. The Pistons suffered another agonizing

The Orlando Magic aim to tighten up defensively in a bid to bounce back after seeing their franchise high-tying nine-game winning streak come to a halt. The Magic’s first opportunity to get back on the right track comes Wednesday night when they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers. Orlando was able to continue its win streak despite surrendering 117 points to the Charlotte Hornets and 120 and 125 over a pair of games against the Washington Wizards.

Rarely have the Pittsburgh Steelers found themselves sporting a more impressive offense than their opponent this season, but that very well could be the case on Thursday night when they face the visiting New England Patriots. New England (2-10) has been anemic over its past three games, scoring a total of 13 points. It was shut out for the second time this season in a 6-0 home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

The Tampa Bay Lightning evened the season series with one opponent thanks to a quick turnaround Monday night. On Wednesday, they will try to turn the same trick. After blanking the Dallas Stars 4-0 following an 8-1 whipping in Texas on Saturday, the Lightning will try to settle the score with Pittsburgh when the Penguins come to town again. In a three-day span, the Lightning went from blowout to shutout against the Lone Star State

Matthew Tkachuk is behind schedule. Tkachuk, the Panthers’ star winger, will try to add to his modest four-goal total on Wednesday night when Florida hosts the Dallas Stars in Sunrise, Fla. Over the past two years, Tkachuk scored 82 goals, essentially one every other game. This season, Tkachuk has dropped from that 0.51 goals-per-game rate to 0.17 goals per game. And, after accumulating a career-high 109 points last season, he is on pace for just

UCF and visiting Jacksonville will renew an old rivalry on Wednesday in Orlando, Fla., one that used to factor into NCAA Tournament berths. From 1998-2005, the programs met twice a year in conference play as members of the Atlantic Sun (formerly known as the TAAC). Wednesday will be just the fifth meeting between the Knights and Dolphins since that stretch, in a marquee nonconference matchup for each school. UCF (5-2) enters the game following a

As St. John’s continues the start of its new era under coach Rick Pitino, the Red Storm will try for a fourth straight win when they host Sacred Heart on Wednesday night in Queens, N.Y. St. John’s most recently beat host West Virginia 79-73 on Friday night. Sacred Heart hasn’t played since Saturday, when its losing streak hit three games as the Pioneers fell to visiting Boston University, 70-49. The game against Sacred Heart will

Ohio State will take a brief interlude from Big Ten play and look to extend its six-game winning streak against visiting Miami (OH) on Wednesday night in Columbus. The Buckeyes (7-1) defeated Minnesota 84-74 on Sunday in their conference opener. After playing the RedHawks (4-3), they will return to league action Saturday at Penn State before playing their final three nonconference games to finish December. “They’re going to be tough, well-prepared, well-coached, ready to come

Penn State isn’t pointing fingers as it takes a four-game losing streak into its Big Ten opener at Maryland on Wednesday in College Park, Md. The Nittany Lions (4-4, 0-0) haven’t won since Nov. 17, and coach Mike Rhoades took accountability for the recent struggles after Saturday’s 76-67 home loss to Bucknell — a 21 1/2-point underdog. “The No. 1 thing when you have failure is to own it, is understand it, learn from it