Ranking the top 10 sports events Feb. 6-12 you won’t want to miss:
NO. 1: COLLEGE BASKETBALL
UCLA vs. OREGON
Details/TV: At Pauley Pavilion, Thursday at 7 p.m., ESPN
USC vs. OREGON
Details/TV: At Galen Center, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Pac-12 Net
The last time the Bruins invited a Top 25-ranked conference opponent to its home court — Jan. 21 against Arizona — they marked the occasion by honoring alum Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for receiving a Presidential Medal of Freedom award. The crowd showed some mettle as it tried to stay loud when UCLA fell behind by nine points at halftime, but the Wildcats wore down the Bruins at their own game and ran off with a 96-85 win.
When the Ducks (21-3, 10-1) arrive this week, the Bruins (21-3, 8-3) pay homage to Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Enberg, who called UCLA games at the start of his career in the 1960s and ‘70s. He will even sit in with Bill Walton on the ESPN telecast and try to get a word in edgewise.
Oh, my. What’s the worst that could happen?
Oregon, ranked No. 13 when last week ended, should move up after a 85-58 rout of No. 5 Arizona last Saturday, as sophomore Tyler Dorsey (Maranatha High) scored 23 points and junior Dillon Brooks added 18.
Back on Dec. 28, Brooks hit a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left as Oregon toppled then-No. 2 and undefeated UCLA, 89-87, in the Pac-12 opener. The Ducks had been up by 12 at one point but then needed to erase an eight-point deficit in the final four minutes, exposing some Bruins’ defensive lapses.
Two nights later, Brooks scored 28 points on 9-of-10 shooting and Oregon blazed past the No. 22 Trojans, who had their 14-0 start interrupted. These Trojans (20-4, 7-4) have won four in a row and seem to have new life in them with the return of Bennie Boatwright.
Also this week for UCLA: Vs. Oregon State at Pauley Pavilion, Saturday at 7 p.m., Pac-12 Net
Also this week for USC: Vs. Oregon State at Galen Center, Thursday at 8 p.m., Pac-12 Net
NO. 2: COLLEGE BASKETBALL
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT vs. No. 1 GONZAGA
Details/TV: At Gersten Pavilion, Thursday at 7 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet
Gonzaga (24-0, 12-0 West Coast Conference) gets to wear the giant party hat as the last unbeaten team in the country and has carried the No. 1 national ranking for a full week. It’s the Zags’ third trip to Southern California — they knocked off Arizona by seven at Staples Center on Dec. 3, then coasted past Pepperdine in Malibu by 47 points on Jan. 28. LMU (11-12, 4-8) went to Spokane, Wash., to face the then-No. 5 Zags in mid-January and lost by 38.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few will find very few WCC opponents who challenge their unbeaten status between now and the start of the NCAA Tournament, but one of them will be after this contest — an ESPN televised matchup against No. 18 St. Mary’s on the road (Saturday, 5:15 p.m.). Junior guard Nigel Williams-Goss, out of Happy Valley, Oregon, leads the Zags in most major categories in his first season with the team following a transfer and two productive seasons at the University of Washington.
Also this week for LMU: vs. Portland at Gersten Pavilion (Saturday at 1 pm., Spectrum SportsNet)
Also this week for Pepperdine: vs. BYU at Firestone Fieldhouse (Thursday at 8 p.m., ESPNU), at San Diego (Saturday at 6 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet)
Also this week for Long Beach State: at UC Riverside (Thursday at 7 p.m., ESPN3); at Cal State Fullerton (Saturday at 7:30 p.m., ESPN3)
Also this week for Cal State Northridge: vs. UC Santa Barbara at the Matadome (Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Prime Ticket)
Also this week nationally: Louisville at Virginia, Monday at 4 p.m., ESPN; Kansas at Kansas State, Monday at 6 p.m., ESPN; LSU at Kentucky, Tuesday at 4 p.m., ESPN; Georgetown at Villanova, Tuesday at 4 p.m., FS1; Michigan State at Michigan, Tuesday at 6 p.m., ESPN; Stanford at Arizona, Wednesday at 8 p.m., FS1; North Carolina at Duke, Thursday at 5 p.m., ESPN; Kentucky at Alabama, Saturday at 10 a.m., Channel 2; Ohio State at Maryland, Saturday at 1 p.m., ESPN; Florida State at Notre Dame, Saturday at 3 p.m., ESPN; Cal at Arizona, Saturday at 7 p.m., ESPN2; Michigan at Indiana, Sunday at 10 a.m., Channel 2; Northwestern at Wisconsin, Sunday at 3:30 p.m., Big Ten Network; Virginia at Virginia Tech, Sunday at 3:30 p.m., ESPNU
NO. 3: NHRA 57th WINTERNATIONALS
Details/TV: At Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Thursday-Sunday, FS1 and Ch. 11
Hold your ears: There was 16-time Funny Car champion John Force popping in on a recent Fox cable coverage of the Supercross in Anaheim Stadium to promote this event and the season ahead. “It’s been a long winter and I’m about to explode,” said Force, who’ll turn 68 during this season. “They’re gonna let me drive till I just fall over dead.” Maybe the Force will always be with us. Force, who lost the NHRA Final race last November and was fourth in the Funny Car standings last year, hasn’t won a season title since 2013. Ron Capps comes in as the defending champion, with Antron Brown winning the last two seasons of Top Fuel and Jason Line winning the Pro Stock. This starts the 24-event season that always circles back to Pomona for the grand finale.
The schedule of qualifying and eliminations leads to the finals on Sunday afternoon. Fox Sports covers the Sunday finals live for the first time starting at 1 p.m. FS1 has qualifying on Friday (4 p.m.) and Saturday (10 a.m.)
More info: www.nhra.com
NO. 4: NBA: CLIPPERS at NEW YORK
Details/TV: Wednesday at 5 p.m., Prime Ticket
What’s the holdup? There is no better time to pull off the Carmello Anthony trade and tell everyone involved they have to switch locker rooms, then watch Madison Square Garden go crazy. Are Doc Rivers and Phil Jackson on the same page?
Also this week: At Toronto (Monday, 4:30 p.m., Prime Ticket) and at Charlotte (Saturday, 2 p.m., Prime Ticket)
NO. 5: NBA: LAKERS at MILWAUKEE
Details/TV: Friday at 5 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet
Our first real sighting of the Greek Freak. The Eastern Conference has the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo in the starting lineup for the Feb. 19 NBA All-Star Game; the Lakers are fortunate to get a couple guys in the Rising Stars game as well as the 3-point shooting contest.
Also this week: At New York (Monday, 4 p.m., SSN) and at Detroit (Wednesday, 4:30 p.m., SSN)
NO. 6: NBA: GOLDEN STATE at OKLAHOMA CITY
Details/TV: Saturday at 5:30 p.m., Channel 7
Kevin Durant gets two opportunities to return with his Warriors and play a regular-season game back in the OKC against Russell Westbrook. This is the first one. It could get pretty loud.
NO. 7: NHL: KINGS at FLORIDA
Details/TV: Thursday at 4:30 p.m., Fox Sports West
As Jonathan Quick slowly works himself back into practice shape, he’ll have a break in the schedule to perhaps facilitate things. Because of the tight schedule caused by the World Cup of Hockey, one of the things players asked for and were granted was a rotation of “bye weeks” in the middle of their team’s schedules. Most will happen sometime this month, and for the Kings, they have a full week off after this game against the Panthers, which ends a four-game East Coast swing. (By the way, the Ducks get their break Feb. 26 to March 2).
Also this week: At Tampa Bay (Tuesday, 4:30 p.m., NBCSN)
NO. 8: NHL: DUCKS at N.Y. RANGERS
Details/TV: Tuesday at 4 p.m., Prime Ticket
We know why the Kings have been banished from Staples Center — the Grammy Awards rehearsals leading up to the Feb. 12 ceremony. So why are the Ducks immersed in a six-game road trip that won’t let them come home until Feb. 17? Honda Center just finished booking the Pro Rodeo event, has the Harlem Globetrotters coming in (Sunday, 2 p.m.), then a WWE Smackdown and three nights of Twenty One Pilots. It’s all about prioritizing.
Also this week: At Buffalo (Thursday, 4 p.m., Prime Ticket) and at Washington (Saturday, 4:30 p.m., FSW)
NO. 9: UFC 208: HOLLY HOLM vs. GERMAINE de RANDAMIE
Details/TV: At the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., Saturday at 7 p.m., pay-per-view ($59.95), FS1, UFC Fight Pass
Event No. 208 was originally scheduled for Jan. 21 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, but when that got pushed back to August, this numerally fell in line with the pre-scheduled fight night in Brooklyn. Holm (10-2), the former UFC women’s bantamweight champ best known as the first person to defeat Ronda Rousey, is in a position to become the first women’s featherweight champ. The undercard includes Anderson Silva against Derek Brunson and Ronaldo Souza against Tim Boetsch.
NO. 10: GOLF: PGA TOUR AT&T PEBBLE BEACH PRO AM
Details/TV: At Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course and Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shore Course, on the Monterey Peninsula, Thursday-Sunday, Golf Channel and Ch. 2
The celebs are supposed to include Bill Murray, Justin Timberlake, Peyton Manning, Huey Lewis, Andy Garcia, Wayne Gretzky, Toby Keith, Steve Young, Josh Duhamel, Aaron Rodgers, Mark Wahlberg and Ray Romano. But no Tiger Woods. He’s supposed to be resting up for next week’s Genesis Open at Riviera. Meanwhile, Vaughn Taylor shot a final-round 65 to catch and pass Phil Mickelson to win this by a stroke last year.
ALSO: TRACK: THE 109th MILLROSE GAMES
Details/TV: At the Armory in New York, Saturday at 1 p.m., Ch. 4
The world’s longest-running and most prestigious indoor track and field competition continues with the Wanamaker Mile, the Paavo Nurmi two-mile race, the Joe Yancy 60-meter dash and the high school mile. Remarkably, Gail Devers’ mark of 7.00 in the 1994 women’s 60 meters continues to stand as a meet record, as does Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s long jump mark of 7.00 meters set in 1992. More info: www.nyrrmillrosegames.org
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