Colleges quickly fill NFL void on weekend TV slate
Need to fill that dark, empty void on your television screen now that football season is over?
You can start by feasting your eyes on a plethora of marquee hoops and hockey matchups on a weekend TV sports slate highlighted by two Saturday college basketball showdowns between top-10 teams.
No. 4 Duke (19-3, 6-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) hosts No. 10 Notre Dame (21-3, 9-2 ACC) at 10 a.m. on CBS (8), and No. 3 Virginia (20-1, 8-1 ACC) hosts No. 9 Louisville (19-3, 7-2 ACC) at 4 p.m. on ESPN (30).
In a clash of Player of the Year candidates Jerian Grant (Notre Dame) and Jahlil Okafor (Duke), the Fighting Irish rallied from 10 points down to beat the Blue Devils 77-73 on Jan. 28 at South Bend, Ind.
With Wednesday’s win over Georgia Tech at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski — who claimed his 1,000th career victory Jan. 25 at St. John’s — passed former North Carolina coach Dean Smith for the most wins (423) in ACC games.
After suffering its first loss of the season to the Blue Devils on Saturday, Virginia bounced back Monday with a 75-64 win at No. 12 North Carolina. The Cavaliers are facing their third straight top-12 opponent in the Cardinals, whose three losses have been to Duke, North Carolina and No. 1 Kentucky.
TODAY
Los Angeles Clippers at Toronto Raptors (4 p.m., ESPN (30), FSW (49)): Blake Griffin and Chris Paul might attract most of the attention for the Clippers, but DeAndre Jordan also is turning heads with a monster season. The Los Angeles center leads the NBA in field-goal percentage (73.2), rebounds per game (13.6) and dunks (153) and is second in blocks per game (2.4).
Kyle Lowry averages a team-leading 18.8 points for the Raptors (33-17), who have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference behind the Atlanta Hawks (41-9).
BEST OF REST: PGA Tour, Farmers Insurance Open, second round (noon, TGC (339)); Anaheim Ducks at Washington Capitals (4 p.m., Prime (50)); Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs (6:30 p.m., ESPN (30)).
SATURDAY
BEST OF REST: No. 19 Baylor at No. 15 West Virginia (9 a.m., ESPNU (320)); No. 24 Georgetown at No. 7 Villanova (11 a.m., Fox (5)); Los Angeles Kings at Tampa Bay Lightning (2 p.m., FSW (49)); No. 1 Kentucky at Florida (6 p.m., ESPN (30)).
SUNDAY
Anaheim Ducks at Tampa Bay Lightning (2 p.m., Prime (50)): In a possible Stanley Cup Finals preview, the Pacific Division-leading Ducks face the Eastern Conference-leading Lightning in their third road game in four days.
Tampa Bay center Steven Stamkos is tied for fourth in the NHL in goals (27), and Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf is tied for fourth in assists (36) and sixth in points (52).
BEST OF REST: Chicago Blackhawks at St. Louis Blues (9:30 a.m., NBC (3)); Los Angeles Clippers at Oklahoma City Thunder (10 a.m., ABC (13)); PGA Tour, Farmers Insurance Open, final round (10 a.m., TGC (339); noon, CBS (8)); Los Angeles Lakers at Cleveland Cavaliers (12:30 p.m., ABC (13)); San Diego State at Boise State (3 p.m., CBSSN (333)); San Antonio Spurs at Toronto Raptors (4 p.m., NBA (318)); Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins (4:30 p.m., NBCSP (38)).
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow him on Twitter: @tdewey33.
