Men: Pitt at Syracuse

SATURDAY

Tipoff: 12:30 p.m., JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.

Records: Pittsburgh (12-6, 3-4 ACC); Syracuse (9-10, 3-5 ACC)

TV: ESPN2 (Doug Sherman and Randolph Childress)

Notable: Pitt is on a four-game losing streak with three of the losses (Duke, Louisville, Clemson) coming to the top three teams currently in the ACC … The Panthers are 12-0 when they win or tie the rebounding battle … Pitt is the only team with two players (Jaland Lowe, 17.3 ppg. and Ishmael Leggett, 16.6 ppg.) ranked in the top 10 in scoring in the ACC … Lowe is 38-of-39 from the foul line over the last six games … Syracuse has won three of its last five games, beating Georgia Tech, Boston College and Notre Dame … The Orange’s 6-foot-9 freshman Donnie Freeman (13.4 ppg., 7.9 rpg.) has missed the last five games with a lower right leg injury … Junior guard J.J. Starling averages 19.1 points per game for Syracuse, and 6-11 graduate student Eddie Lampkin Jr. averages 10.3 points and 8.3 rebounds … Adrian Autry went 20-12 in his first season as Syracuse’s head coach last season after replacing Jim Boeheim.

Mirror prediction: Pitt 81, Syracuse 74

Mirror prediction record: 13-5

— Buck Frank

Women: SFU at Wagner

SATURDAY

Tipoff: 4 p.m., Spiro Sports Center, Staten Island, N.Y.

Records: Saint Francis (6-14 overall, 4-3 Northeast Conference); Wagner (5-13, 2-4)

TV: NEC Front Row

Notable: The two teams are meeting for the second time this week as Saint Francis captured a 51-47 win on Monday. … Alary Bell pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds in the win. … SFU is currently in third place in the conference while Wagner is tied for seventh. … The Red Flash trailed LIU 41-24 at the half on Thursday. … The Seahawks dropped a 63-57 game at Mercyhurst on Thursday. … Julia Fabozzi led the way with 15 points.

Mirror prediction: Wagner 55, Saint Francis 51

Mirror prediction record: 17-3

— Nate Ritchey

Men: Wagner at Saint Francis

SUNDAY

Tipoff: 2 p.m., DeGol Arena, Loretto

Records: Wagner (10-9, 2-4 NEC) at Saint Francis (7-13, 2-4 NEC)

TV: NEC Front Row (Pat Farabaugh and Bernie Jubeck)

Notable: A win for SFU on Sunday would be the 100th career win at DeGol Arena for coach Rob Krimmel. The Flash defeated LIU on Friday for his 99th win. … This is the completion of the season series, as both teams played at Wagner earlier this week. The Seahawks won the first matchup,70-68, but lost Friday night at Mercyhurst, 71-66. Zae Blake led all Wagner scorers with 18 points. … Zaire Williams leads Wagner with 12.7 points per game and with 28 steals. R.J. Greene, who played at NEC rival LIU last season, powers the team with 5.5 rebounds per game. Javier Esquerra has a team-best 84 assists and ranks second with 26 steals.

Mirror prediction: Saint Francis 72, Wagner 67

Mirror prediction record: 16-5

— Dan Isenberg

Women: Rutgers at Penn State

SUNDAY

Tipoff: 1 p.m., Bryce Jordan Center, University Park

Records: Rutgers (8-12, 0-9 in Big Ten); Penn State (10-10, 1-8 in Big Ten)

TV: Big Ten+

Notable: Rutgers is 15-4 all time against Penn State but lost the last meeting by 14 in January of 2024. … With both teams at the bottom of the Big Ten, this is a key game as only 15 of the 18 Big Ten teams qualify for the Big Ten Tournament at the end of the regular season. … This game marks the first non-ranked opponent for Penn State in its last five games, though Wednesday PSU plays No. 8 Maryland.

Mirror prediction: Penn State 73, Rutgers 65

Mirror prediction record: 18-2

— Michael Boytim

Herro among All-Star hopefuls

Tyler Herro spent All-Star weekend last year vacationing. He would very much like to have other plans this season.

And the Miami Heat guard isn’t afraid to say that out loud, either.

Now that 10 of the 24 NBA All-Star slots have been filled for this season, and none of them by first-time All-Stars, Herro — having the best season of his career, by far — finds himself in a group waiting to see if this will be the year for their breakthrough. The 14 reserve slots will be picked by the league’s head coaches, and their selections will be revealed on Jan. 30.

“It would mean a lot,” Herro said. “Every year, I work hard to be able to come in here and help the team as much as possible. And I try to shape my game to help the organization and the team and do what helps the team. But as I’m working and putting all my time and effort into my craft, kind of my personal goal is definitely to become All-Star at some point. I feel like now is a great time.”

A look at some other players who may be in line for their first All-Star Game appearance:

Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio: OK, let’s just go ahead and save all the suspense. There’s no possible way the coaches are leaving Wembanyama off the All-Star team. “Just like everything, it’s a byproduct of collective results,” Wembanyama said. “And the individual rewards will come.”

Cade Cunningham, Detroit: The Pistons haven’t had an All-Star since Blake Griffin in 2019. Cunningham has done enough to end that drought, averaging 24.6 points and 9.4 assists so far this season as Detroit has gone from doormat to playoff hopeful.

Evan Mobley, Cleveland: The Cavs are 36-7, lead the Eastern Conference by a big margin and will have Kenny Atkinson and the rest of their coaching staff at All-Star weekend as one of the perks of having the best record in the East. Donovan Mitchell getting picked as a starter was an easy call. Mobley getting picked as a reserve — almost 19 points and nine rebounds per game, plus a defensive anchor — would be the right call.

Norman Powell, LA Clippers: At more than 23 points per game, the 31-year-old is having the best season of his career and he’s been downright explosive at times this season for the Clippers. It’ll be tough to get him into the seven remaining spots for Western Conference players, but he merits a serious look.

Alperen Sengün, Houston: It’s only a matter of time before Sengün gets to the All-Star Game. Averaging 19.2 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game so far this season might be enough to get it done — but again, that West reserve ballot will be tough to crack.

Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City: A 20-5-5 guy for the Thunder who is blossoming alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams has most definitely stepped up this season. It would frankly be wrong if the Thunder didn’t get at least two All-Stars this season.

The Associated Press