Archives: Previews

Minnesota prepares for a season-opening tipoff against visiting Bethune-Cookman on Monday in Minneapolis, and this time the Golden Gophers are looking for better results. That said, it would be hard to envision worse results. The Golden Gophers are coming off a difficult season in which they went 9-22, including 2-17 in the Big Ten Conference to finish in last place. A healthier roster, combined with a year of experience for some of the team’s key

The Kim English era at Providence begins Monday night when the Friars host Columbia. After two seasons as the head coach at George Mason, English will lead Providence (21-12 in 2022-23) following Ed Cooley’s departure for Big East rival Georgetown in March. English welcomes seven new players but has a pair of preseason All-Big East honorees to build around in first-team forward/guard Bryce Hopkins — who averaged 15.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per

Through their early games, the Brooklyn Nets boast a top-10 offense in terms of scoring and field goal percentage, while the Chicago Bulls are towards the bottom of the NBA in those categories. How those teams perform in both areas could determine whether they get a trip to Las Vegas next month, since Brooklyn’s visit to Chicago on Friday is their first of four group-stage games in the NBA’s new in-season tournament. The Nets and

The Miami Heat, who are set to host the Washington Wizards on Friday night in their first game of the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament, are slumping. Miami has lost four straight games for the first time since it had that exact skid this past February. “We don’t want to dig this hole too deep,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said. “That’s the concern.” Miami will hope to rebound when it faces the Wizards. Both teams are

Most teams welcoming a new coach and a seven-time All-Star likely would experience a few growing pains, and the Milwaukee Bucks are proving to be no exception. After splitting their first four games, the Bucks’ adjustment period continues when they face the visiting New York Knicks on Friday in their first game of the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament. Milwaukee coach Adrian Griffin is looking for an improved defensive effort after his team lost 130-111 to

The Las Vegas Raiders didn’t wait until the end of the season to cast blame. They did it in Week 9. Coach Josh McDaniels and general manager David Ziegler were dismissed Tuesday night. Antonio Pierce will serve as interim coach when the Raiders host the New York Giants on Sunday. Las Vegas (3-5) lost 26-14 to the Detroit Lions on Monday and only gained 157 yards of total offense. The second consecutive poor performance —

Two of the top contenders in the AFC reunite for the first time since January when the Cincinnati Bengals (4-3) host the Buffalo Bills (5-3) on Sunday night. The game marks the return of Bills safety Damar Hamlin to Cincinnati. On Jan. 2, Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated on the field after making contact with Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. The game, which Cincinnati led 7-3, was postponed before it was ultimately canceled.

Leave it to Pete Carroll. Instead of having newly acquired Leonard Williams recite the accomplishments of his nine-year career in New York with the Jets and Giants, the coach had the defensive lineman shoot baskets during a team meeting. “Instead of standing me up and making me introduce myself to the team, he made me come up here and compete with some guys on the basketball rim,” Williams said. “I love it because it breeds

The Arizona Coyotes won’t have long to dwell on their Wednesday loss to the Anaheim Ducks, as they return home to face the Montreal Canadiens in Tempe, Ariz., on Thursday. Two teams that entered the season with lesser expectations, the Coyotes and Canadiens have strung together competitive campaigns so far. They sit on nine and 12 points, good for third and fourth in the Central and Atlantic Divisions, respectively. For the Canadiens, coming off a

Stringing together wins on the young season has not been easy for the Edmonton Oilers. The same can’t be said for the surging Dallas Stars. Looking to build on just their second victory, the Oilers try to cool off the visiting Stars on Thursday night. To say Edmonton’s 2-5-1 start is a major disappointment would be a severe understatement. The Oilers have been outscored 32-22 overall and totaled just five goals while going 0-2-1 on