SATURDAY

Tipoff: 4:30 p.m., JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.

Records: Pittsburgh (11-19, 4-13 ACC); Syracuse (15-15, 6-11 ACC)

TV: The CW (Tom Werme and John Henson)

Notable: Pitt needs to win in order to get the No. 15 (and final) seed for the ACC Tournament. If Pitt loses, its season will be finished and the winner of Saturday’s noon Notre Dame-Boston College game will get the 15th seed … Syracuse will end up being the 13th or 14th seed … Syracuse won the first meeting, 83-72, in Pittsburgh on Jan. 10. Donnie Freeman scored 22 points, and J.J. Starling had 19 for the Orange. Brandin Cummings, who is injured and out for the season, led Pitt with 29 points … Both Pitt and Syracuse have won only three of their last 13 games.

Mirror prediction: Pitt 76, Syracuse 73

Mirror prediction record: 21-9

— Buck Frank

Men: Penn State at Rutgers

SUNDAY

Tipoff: Noon

Records: Penn State (12-18, Big Ten 3-16); Rutgers (12-18, Big Ten 5-14)

Radio: Penn State Sports Network

TV: Big Ten Network

Satellite: SiriusXM Ch. 380 & 970

Notable: This is the final regular-season game for both teams. The Big Ten Tournament begins Tuesday. Both teams will know their opponent by Sunday. … Penn State is coming off a 32-point defeat at home to Ohio State in which freshman starter Kayden Mingo did not play because of an injury. … Rutgers is coming off a four-point loss at Michigan State. … The Scarlet Knights are 9-7 at home this season. Their top scorer is Tariq Francis, who averages 16.9 points-per game. Teammate Dylan Grant scores 10.2 points-per game. … Penn State lost by 13 points to Rutgers back on Feb. 18 at home. … The Nittany Lions are 17-26 all-time in games at Rutgers. … Penn State averages 74.3 points-per game, while Rutgers is at 70.8 ppg. The Nittany Lions give up 79.6 ppg while Rutgers gives up 75.9.

Mirror prediction: Rutgers 80, Penn State 68

Mirror prediction record: 24-6

— Scott Franco

Buckeyes star closer to record

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State senior point guard Bruce Thornton needs 12 points against Indiana on Saturday to become the Buckeyes’ career scoring leader.

That achievement would be memorable in any era but is unique nowadays.

He came to Ohio State as a four-star recruit in a top-10 signing class for former coach Chris Holtmann in 2022, but Holtmann and the rest of the class are long gone.

Holtmann was fired before the end of the 2023-24 season, three transferred out and Brice Sensabaugh is in his third season in the NBA.

Thornton knows as well as anyone that type of attrition has become normal in the age of name, image and likeness payments and players being able to transfer without penalty in most cases.

Thornton scored 371 points as a freshman, 550 as a sophomore, 566 last season and has 598 so far as a senior.

Dennis Hopson set the Ohio State career scoring record in 1987, passing Herb Williams late in his senior season to finish with 2,096 points.

Tar Heels star out for the season

Caleb Wilson appeared close to returning for No. 17 North Carolina from a fracture to his left hand, just in time for the peak of March.

Instead, the star freshman and high-end NBA prospect is abruptly done for the season after suffering a new injury.

The school announced Friday that Wilson will need surgery after breaking his right thumb in a non-contact drill suffered during Thursday’s practice. The news comes on the eve of a second matchup with No. 1 Duke, less than a week from the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament and roughly two weeks from the start of March Madness.

The Tar Heels had gone 5-1 in his absence, including a home win against then-ranked Louisville and Tuesday’s win against Clemson in UNC’s home finale. And Wilson had been on the bench, eagerly jumping around and cheering on teammates with his left hand in the cast.

The 6-foot-10, 215-pound freshman from Atlanta was averaging team-highs of 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds.

Ex-Penn Stater done for the year

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Center Yanic Konan Niederhauser has sustained a serious right foot injury that is putting an early end to his rookie season with the Los Angeles Clippers.

The team says he got hurt in a win against Indiana. He has a Lisfranc injury that affects ligaments and bones in the middle of the foot and will require surgery.

Niederhauser, out of Penn State, averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 41 games. He started the season in the G League after the Clippers drafted him 30th, but since starting the past five games, he has averaged 8.2 points-per game and 6.2 rebounds-per game.

Trouble for Phoenix starter

PHOENIX — Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Police say they conducted a traffic stop in Scottsdale at roughly 1 a.m. Friday and Brooks, a starter averaging nearly 21 points-per game, was arrested after an investigation.

He was taken to jail and released following the booking process around 3:30 a.m. The 30-year-old hasn’t played since Feb. 21 because of a fractured left hand. He’s expected to be out until at least late March.

Tatum returns to Celtics’ lineup

BOSTON — Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum’s belated birthday present to himself was a return to the game that was abruptly taken away from him last season.

His homecoming at TD Garden on Friday night, a 120-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks marked his season debut almost 10 months after having surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon.

It came with smiles, cheers and relief from an entire city that welcomed him back to basketball.

It also was a reminder — to everyone — that the player who helped bring Boston a 2024 NBA championship and has five All-NBA and eight All-Star selections during his previous eight seasons, will need time before he’s fully back to being himself.

Tatum had 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting, 12 rebounds and seven assists in a rust-filled 27 minutes.