Hoops Du Jour
Men: Stanford at Pitt
SATURDAY
Tipoff: 6:30 p.m., Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh
Records: Stanford (9-4, 1-1 ACC); Pittsburgh (11-2, 2-0 ACC)
TV: ESPN2 (Doug Sherman and Cory Alexander)
Notable: Pitt is off to its best start since the 2016-17 season … In Wednesday’s win over Cal, Pitt was without two of its starting guards. Ishmael Leggett rolled an ankle in practice and missed his first game of the season, and Damian Dunn (thumb) has been out since Nov. 24 … Pitt, No. 13 in the NCAA NET rankings, has won 14 straight games at home … Pitt sophomore guard Jaland Lowe is averaging 18.7 points and 10.3 assists over the last three games … Freshman guard Brandin Cummings has scored in double figures in each of the last three games for the Panthers … Kyle Smith is in his first season as Stanford’s coach after leading Washington State to a 94-71 record over the last five years … Maxime Raynaud (20.8 ppg. and 11.9 rpg), a 7-foot-1 senior from France, leads the Cardinal, along with 6-2 graduate student Duke transfer Jaylen Blakes (15.2 ppg.) and 6-5 junior USC transfer Oziyah Sellers (14.2 ppg.). … Stanford’s losses are to Grand Canyon, Cal Poly, Oregon and Clemson.
Mirror prediction: Pitt 84, Stanford 77
Mirror prediction record: 11-2
— Buck Frank
Women: SFU at Stonehill
Saturday
Tipoff: 2 p.m., Merkert Gymnasium, North Easton, MA
Records: Saint Francis (3-11 overall, 1-0 Northeast Conference); Stonehill (5-9, 1-0)
TV: NEC Front Row
Notable: The series is tied at 2-2. … Saint Francis’ victory Thursday marked the 27th time in program history it opened conference play with a win. … SFU gave up the first bucket of the game against CCSU but then reeled off an 18-5 burst en route to the win. … Stonehill coach Trisha Brown has 421 victories in 24 years as head coach. … The Skyhawks’ Sharn Hayward has been tabbed a NEC prime performer five time this year including three straight weeks.
Mirror prediction: Stonehill 75, Saint Francis 64
Mirror prediction record: 12-2
— Nate Ritchey
Men: Indiana at Penn State
Sunday
Tipoff: Noon, The Palestra, Philadelphia
Records: Indiana (11-3, Big Ten 2-1); Penn State (12-2, Big Ten 2-1)
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: WRAX-FM 106.5
Satellite: Sirius Radio
Notable: This is the annual game the Nittany Lions play in Philadelphia each season. Their last two opponents have been Purdue and Michigan. … The Hoosiers are coming off a win over Rutgers, while the Nittany Lions defeated Northwestern this past Thursday night. … Penn State is 9-0 at home this year. Indiana is 10-0 at home while Indiana is 1-3 on the road. …Indiana has lost to Louisville, Gonzaga and Nebraska. Their non-league notable wins are against South Carolina and Providence. … Indiana has four players scoring in double figures, led by Malik Reneau (14.1), Mackenzie Mgbako (13.6), Oumar Ballo (12.8) and Myles Rice (12-2). … Penn State can hit you with Ace Baldwin Jr., Zach Hicks, Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Nick Kern and Puff Johnson on offense. … The Hoosiers are averaging 79.1 ppg while giving up 70.2 ppg. Penn State is averaging 87.9 ppg while giving up 67.9 ppg.
Mirror prediction: Penn State 77, Indiana 73
Mirror prediction record: 12-2
— Scott Franco
Women: PSU at Nebraska
Sunday
Tipoff: 3 p.m., Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Neb.
Radio: WRSC 93.3-FM & 1390-AM
Live video: GoPSUSports.com
Records: Penn State (9-5, 0-3 Big Ten); Nebraska (10-4, 1-2 Big Ten)
Notable: Penn State is coming off loss at home to Iowa by 12 points. Nebraska is coming off a 20-point loss to USC. … The Lady Cornhuskers are led by Natalie Potts (14.6 ppg), followed by Alexis Markowski (13.6) and Britt Prince (12.4). … Nebraska is averaging 75.6 ppg while giving up only 60.9 ppg. …Penn State beat Nebraska last season, 82-73. … Lady Lion Gracie Merkle has produced double-figure scoring in 13 of Penn State’s 14 games this season. … Teammate Morriah Murray has made six-plus 3-pointers in four of Penn State’s 14 games this season, including one game with eight 3-pointers. She ranks first in the Big Ten in 3-point shots made. … Penn State has not won at Nebraska since 2013. … Alli Campbell is ranked sixth in the Big Ten this year for the Lady Lions in assists with a total of 63.
Mirror prediction: Nebraska 80, Penn State 65
Mirror prediction record: 13-1
— Scott Franco
Men: Stonehill at Saint Francis
SUNDAY
Tipoff: 2 p.m DeGol Arena, Loretto
Records: Stonehill (8-8, 0-1 Northeast); Saint Francis (5-10, 0-1 Northeast)
TV: NEC Front Row
Notable: Both teams enter Sunday’s contest coming off of losses to open in NEC play Friday night. SFU lost to CCSU, 74-59, while Stonehill fell at Mercyhurst, 76-69. Sophomore Todd Brogna led Stonehill in scoring with 19 points on a 7 for 13 shooting performance to go with six rebounds. He averages 12.5 ppg behind Josh Morgan, who paces the Skyhawks with 13.3 ppg. No one else on the roster is averaging in double figures. …Stonehill has lost to Notre Dame and Marquette this season. It did play Boston College strong, losing by only four points. … The Skyhawks are 6-0 at home this season but are 1-7 away from home. … They are averaging 71.1 ppg while giving up 71.6 ppg. They are averaging a little over a dozen turnovers a game.
Mirror prediction: Saint Francis 72, Stonehill 69
Mirror prediction record: 14-1
— Dan Isenberg
Heat suspend Butler for his behavior
MIAMI — The Miami Heat have suspended Jimmy Butler for seven games and say they will seek to trade him.
The Heat say the suspension was for “conduct detrimental to the team over the course of the season and particularly the last several weeks.”
The team made the move one day after Butler said in a postgame press conference that he does not believe he can be happy playing in Miami going forward.
The Heat say Butler “has shown he no longer wants to be part of this team.” Butler was Miami’s best player for five years and the leader of a team that went to the NBA Finals twice.
Butler will lose about $336,543 per game during the suspension, about $2,355,798 in all. He has the right to an appeal, which could lessen the financial hit.
The Associated Press