Pittsburgh vs. Providence

Panthers vs. Friars

Once upon a time, Pittsburgh was enveloped in the top ranking in the country for the first time ever. That ranking was short lived and the Panthers tumbled with two losses in a short period of time. Seven straight and nine wins in their last 10 contests have propelled the Panthers to the top again. They will put their top ranking on the line as they face Providence on the road.

The top spot has not been a sought after spot this season as the teams in that spot have tumbled out of it and those approaching it have been stopped along the way.

Pitt (25-2, 12-2) will reluctantly, or otherwise, serve out their role. They are rolling, winning each of the last seven by an average of 15.7 points. Their big victory came over the prior number one team, Connecticut last Monday. They also were able to avoid a letdown and decimated DePaul 80-61 on Saturday.

Dominating the last two games, as he has done all season, has been DeJuan Blair. He dominated U-Conn’s star player Hasheem Thabeet by scoring 22 points and snatching 23 rebounds. His encore was a 20 point, 18 rebound performance against the Blue Demons. The Panthers are 21-0 when Blair scores 10 points or more.

Providence (16-11, 8-7) once had high hopes and were a shoe-in for the NCAA Tournament as they started 6-2 in the tough Big East. But all the good feelings have been lost when they dropped five of seven after their 103-84 home loss to Notre Dame.

Weyinmi Efejuku did his best to turn the tide of his team, scoring a career-high 31 points in a losing effort. He has averaged 23.7 points in his past three games. Sharaud Curry scored 23 points as well.

Providence is 1-10 all-time against number one teams.

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Capitals vs. Flyers

Washington vs. Philadelphia

Anytime Alexander Ovechkin and Sydney Crosby get together, it is quite a spectacle. This was the case on Sunday as Washington defeated Pittsburgh 5-2 behind Ovechkin’s goal an assist. He and his teammates will attempt to continue their winning ways when they welcome Philadelphia into the Verizon Center on Tuesday.

The Capitals (38-17-5) star has a league-best 43 goals and leads his team with 77 points. He has been effectively shutdown in both of these categories in his two meetings with the Flyers this season.

Over his past dozen games, Ovechkin has scored 12 times and tallied 18 points. He even got under the skin of Crosby in the waning moments of Sunday’s game.

Jose Theodore figures to get the start for the Capitals since he has fared well against the Flyers, going 4-1-0 with a 2.02 goals against average in his last five games.

Philadelphia (31-17-9) saw their three-game winning streak broken when they dropped a home game to Pittsburgh on Saturday as Crosby netted the game winner with 2:45 remaining in the game.

Crosby’s goal, by his own admission, was nothing spectacular. He simply took advantage of a mistake by Philly goalie Martin Biron, who failed to clear the pick after a Pascal Dupuis breakaway. The puck landed on Crosby’s stick and found its way to the back of the empty net.

Still the Flyers have won five out of their last seven, largely behind the efforts of Mike Richards and Mike Knuble. Each player has scored in the last three games. Richard has tallied nine points in those three games.

The rivals have split their last six games, including a pair this season with each team winning on their home ice.

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Magic vs. Bulls

Orlando vs. Chicago

After finally breaking free from the win one, lose one mold, the Magic will set their sights once again on regaining the Eastern Conference’s best record. They will have their work cut out for them in catching Boston, who they trail by three games in the loss column (and have played three less games then the Celtics) and Cleveland, who they trail by three games in the loss column. Still they will have to accomplish this feat without Jameer Nelson and will head to Chicago to take on the Bulls Tuesday night.

Nelson was one of the reasons that Orlando (41-14) alternated wins and losses. They went 3-3 through the first six games without him, but were able to finally win two straight for the first time since late January and early February when they defeated Charlotte and, most recently, Miami.

To counter that loss, the Magic picked up Rafer Alston, leading up to the trading deadline. He got off to a sluggish start in his first game against the Bobcats, going 1-of-9 with eight assists and three steals in the 92-80 victory. Sunday he seemed to find his way, scoring 12 points and nine assists in the rout of the Heat 122-99. Three of those assists went to Dwight Howard’s stellar 32 points and 17 rebounds.

The Bulls (25-31) have also had an inconsistent stretch, but unlike the Magic, the Bulls did not get off to a tremendous start to have the ability to ride it out. Chicago followed up a two-game winning streak with a 98-91loss to Indiana. In that game, Brad Miller, John Salmons and Tim Thomas made their Chicago debut after being picked up in a trading deadline acquisition. The trio combined for 23 points off the bench in the losing effort.

Ben Gordon scored 28 and has averaged that same amount over his last six games. Although Gordon, like his teammates, have struggled against Orlando. Gordon has averaged only 11.4 points in his last five games against the Magic and the Bulls have dropped six straight to Orlando.

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Spurs vs. Mavericks

San Antonio vs. Dallas

With two key players out, two of the Texas NBA teams have has to fill large holes. For San Antonio has been missing Manu Ginobili‘s presence of the bench. His achievements were so impressive a season ago that he won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. While not receiving an award for his efforts of the bench, Jason Terry is still missed by his team, Dallas. Each player will be missing another two weeks or so and will miss out when their teams face each other Tuesday in San Antonio.

Ginobili had missed the first 12 games of the season after surgery on his left ankle. Now his right ankle is bothering him. Terry, who leads the league with 20 points off of the pine is recovering from surgery on his left hand.

Grab a date and prepare for the dance, San Antonio because the Spurs are having their homecoming. As February is in its final week, the Spurs (37-17) will play at the AT&T Center for the first time in the month.

With nearly 11,000 miles of travel over 19 days, the Spurs had been evicted from their home while the rodeo dazzled the locals. They went a respectable 5-3 on the grueling trip and still lead the Southwest Division. The last time the Spurs played at home was January 31st, a 106-93 victory over New Orleans.

They capped the extensive road trip with a 98-67 destruction of Washington. Former Wizard Roger Mason led the team with 25 points and hit 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Mason needed to step up as Tim Duncan was held to a dozen points and Tony Parker netted 9. San Antonio is 8-8 in games without Ginobili.

In their last game, Dallas (33-22) had an easy time of it, thrashing Sacramento 116-95. The Mavericks were able to rest their starters and rely more heavily on the bench on the basis of their 70-50 halftime advantage. That gave some reserves and role players more time to shine. Brandon Bass recorded his season high of 20 points while James Singleton set his high with 19 points and also grabbed 12 rebounds. The Mavericks won their third game in five games that Terry has been absent.

Dallas has dropped four out of their last five against San Antonio. The teams have split their two prior contests this season with each team winning on the road. The Spurs won their most recent matchup in overtime on December 9th, 133-126.

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