LOUISVILLE—Kyle Kuric scored 19 points, including the game-clinching 3-pointer with just over 2 minutes remaining as No. 15 Louisville held off DePaul 61-57 on Saturday night.Chris Smith and Terrence Jennings added 10 points each for the Cardinals (18-5, 7-3 Big East), who bounced back from a tough loss at No. 13 Georgetown on Monday despite playing without leading scorer Preston Knowles.The senior guard watched from the bench in a sweatshirt and jeans after injuring his hamstring against the Hoyas. Kuric filled in capably, making several big shots, including a 3-pointer from the corner that put Louisville up 60-54 with 2:05 to go.Brandon Young led the Blue Demons (6-16, 0-10) with 15 points and Cleveland Melvin added 12, but DePaul remained winless in conference play.

EVANSTON—Juice Thompson scored 22 points, hitting five 3-pointers, and Northwestern escaped with a wild 71-70 victory over Illinois on Saturday.Northwestern (14-8, 4-7 Big Ten) blew a 12-point lead in the second half and had to hang on after getting it back up to seven.Demetri McCamey nailed a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left, pulling the Fighting Illini (15-8, 5-5) within 68-65. The drama was just beginning.Thompson turned the ball over near midcourt. McCamey then hit two free throws to make it 68-67 with 10.4 seconds left. John Shurna immediately answered with two of his own to bump Northwestern’s lead back to three. McCamey then missed a free throw with 7 seconds left, and the Wildcats’ Luka Mirkovic got the rebound and was fouled before making 1 of 2 to make it 71-67.Illinois’ Brandon Paul hit a 3 as time expired.The win by NU evened up the season series after a one-sided 88-63 loss last month in Champaign.

VANCOUVER—Vancouver Canucks forward Daniel Sedin has the NHL scoring lead and bragging rights over twin brother Henrik. However, he was more impressed with a rare home win over the Blackhawks.Daniel Sedin’s goal with four minutes left moved him atop the NHL scoring race with 69 points, and lifted the Canucks to their fifth straight win with a wild 4-3 victory over the Blackhawks on Friday.More importantly, said Sedin, it ended a five-game losing streak against the Hawks that included all three games in last year’s second-round playoff loss — the second straight season the Canucks were eliminated by the Blackhawks.They did again, falling behind late in the second period and again eight minutes into the third when Dave Bolland, who had a goal waved off in the first period, had his errant shot batted into the Vancouver net by Canucks rookie defenseman Chris Tanev.But Henrik tied it on a power play just over two minutes later with a one-timer from just above the goal line after Mikael Samuelsson’s fake point shot stranded goalie Marty Turco atop his crease.Daniel’s two points moved him one up on Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos for the league lead.Henrik, who won the scoring race last season, finished with three points and is four back of Daniel.Daniel scored the winner after leaving the puck for Henrik and then redirecting the return feed toward the net. It hit a defenseman in the slot and fluttered over Turco, avenging Vancouver’s 7-1 loss to the Blackhawks on Nov. 20.Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo finished with 42 saves.Samuelsson tied it late in the second period and Christian Ehrhoff also scored for the Canucks, who are 24-4-6 since that lopsided loss to the Hawks in late November and lead the NHL with 77 points.Meanwhile the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks remain ninth in the Western Conference, a point out of the playoffs.But in a game that featured playoff intensity, several close calls, near misses, and great saves at both ends, the Hawks were unlucky not to extend its success in Vancouver.In addition to Bolland’s goal being called back with five minutes left in the first period, Ehrhoff’s goal three minutes later appeared to be offside.Captain Jonathan Toews scored and set up defenseman Nick Boynton’s first goal in 69 games for the Blackhawks, who have lost three of the past four. Turco made 28 saves in his second straight start since last weekend’s All-Star break.Bolland appeared to open the scoring with five minutes left in the first period, but his goal from the top of the right faceoff circle and past Luongo’s blocker was waved off immediately.The referee said it was called off because Troy Brouwer “was in the crease”, but replays showed he never touched Luongo beyond brushing his stick as he cut in front.Toews tied the game five minutes into the second, and set up Boynton’s go-ahead goal five minutes later. But the Blackhawks’ No. 1-ranked power play failed on three straight chances, including a 5-on-3 for 47 seconds, and Samuelsson tied it on a Canucks power play with 1:16 left in the period.

NOTES—Canucks D Aaron Rome returned after missing eight games with a sprained knee, taking rookie Lee Sweatt’s spot in the lineup…..John Scott missed the game with the flu and was replaced by rookie Nick Leddy……Ryan Johnson, who played for Vancouver last season, sat out with a lower-body injury…….Brian Campbell played his 600th NHL game.

***In his annual ‘State of the NFL’ News Conference, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell all but admitted(without directly saying so)that if a new labor agreement with the Players Association is not reached by March 4, that a lockout is likely.Goodell also defended the proposed switch from four Pre Season Games to two and two more Regular Season contests. Problem is that it appears as though 98% of NFL Players are opposed to increasing the Regular Season to 18 games.

***Steelers Center Maurkice Pouncey is sidelined for the Super Bowl. He has a high left ankle sprain. Backup Doug Legursky will start.

ROSEMONT—Notre Dame was more eager than rusty following a nine-day layoff. Coming off an impressive win at Pittsburgh in their previous outing, the Fighting Irish couldn’t wait to get back on the court and it showed against struggling DePaul.Hansbrough did that, leading the ninth-ranked Irish on big runs at the end of the first half and beginning of the second as Notre Dame (18-4, 7-3) coasted to its fourth consecutive victory.Mike Brey’s planning helped. He brought the Irish to the Chicago area on Tuesday to beat the worst of a winter blizzard.And despite two nights in a hotel waiting for one game, the Irish benefited. They were able to practice at Allstate Arena on both Wednesday and before the game Thursday.Scott Martin added 15 points and Tim Abromaitis chipped in 13 for Notre Dame. Freshman Brandon Young paced DePaul (6-15, 0-9) with 16.DePaul lost its 22nd consecutive Big East game, counting one in the league tournament. The Blue Demons (6-15, 0-9) have also dropped 25 straight to ranked opponents.Blue Demons leading scorer Cleveland Melvin, another freshman averaging 14.5, managed only four.Hansbrough, who was 5 for 8 on 3-pointers, hit a pair early in the second half as the Irish expanded a 37-24 halftime lead quickly into a 48-29 lead with less than four minutes in the half. At the end of the 15-5 run, Notre Dame was up 52-29 as the talent disparity between the two old rivals became even more apparent.Hansbrough, who sparked the win over Pitt with 19 points, had a flying highlight-reel, one-handed dunk after driving through the lane and finished the opening half with 11 points. He was the catalyst in the Irish’s closing run that gave them a 37-24 halftime lead. “He [Hansbrough] is one of the elite guards in the Big East and he demonstrated that,” DePaul coach Oliver Purnell said.After Hansbrough had his shot blocked from behind, he came up with the ball and fed Carleton Scott for a dunk. Moments later Hansbrough hit a free throw and then found Eric Atkins, who was open for a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Irish a 30-20 lead late in the half.Tyrone Nash then tracked down a loose ball and sank a 3-pointer just as the shot clock was expiring to put the Irish up 33-22. Then it was Hansbrough hitting a 3-pointer to cap the 14-2 spurt and the Irish were rolling at 36-22 with just over two minutes remaining.Hansbrough hit his leg when he went down to retrieve a ball early in the second half, but shook that off quickly and hit a 3-pointer, putting the Irish up 40-24.Abromaitis, in a scoring slump with only eight points in the previous two games, hit a 3-pointer and Scott, who missed two early dunks in the second half, had two free throws to make it 45-29. Hansbrough then found the range again from beyond the 3-point line and the Irish were sailing by 18 before four minutes had expired in the second half.DePaul, one of the nation’s poorest 3-point shooting teams (27 percent entering the game), made 3 of 12 in the first half and finished the game 9 for 25. The Blue Demons shot 35 percent overall.

LOS ANGELES0—If Derrick Rose feels this confortable playing at Staples Center, he should feel right at home in 2½ weeks when he starts in the All-Star Game.Rose scored 32 points on Wednesday night and the Bulls beat the Clippers 106-88 for their sixth consecutive victory, snapping Los Angeles’ nine-game home winning streak. He scored 34 points against them on Dec. 18 in the United Center, but missed a tying free throw with 0.8 seconds on the clock as the Bulls lost 100-99.Rose made three 3-pointers in the first five minutes with Randy Foye guarding him. Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro then put rookie reserve Eric Bledsoe on the third-year veteran, but Rose finished the quarter with 13 points to match Blake Griffin’s total. Both players were the No. 1 overall pick in their respective drafts, Rose in 2008 and Griffin in 2009. Rose didn’t make another field goal until his reverse layup with 10:12 left in the third helped increase the Bulls six-point halftime lead to 61-49. The Bulls built a 89-71 lead on a layup by Deng that capped a 10-0 run with 9:41 remaining, and the Clippers got no closer than 13 points after that.Griffin led Los Angeles with 32 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists in 41 minutes for his 40th double-double of the season and 34th in 35 games. The 21-year-old rookie also played an entire game without a turnover for the second time this season, but missed nine of 13 free throws.Rose, the only player among the league’s top 10 in scoring and assists, shot 11 for 18 and had 11 assists. He played through two stomach ulcers over the past week to lead the Central Division leaders to victories against Orlando and Indiana.The Bulls never trailed as they began a five-game road trip with their 23rd victory in 29 games — a stretch that began one game after Carlos Boozer returned to the lineup from a broken right hand. Luol Deng scored 26 points and Boozer added 16 points and 10 rebounds.The Bulls’ 34-14 start is their best since 1997-98, when they had the same record after 48 games en route to their sixth NBA title in an eight-year span. They are tied with Miami for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, three games behind Boston, and are 18-6 since Joakim Noah was sidelined by injuries to his right hand and thumb. “Our confidence is very high,” Rose said. “We’re still under the radar, but that’s fine with us. We’re just going to try to keep getting wins. We’re jelling. I mean, we’re still missing a big piece in Joakim, but we’re still finding ways to win.” The Clippers, who have been playing without leading scorer Eric Gordon for the past 1½ weeks because of a sprained right wrist, shot 46.8 percent against a defense that had held opponents to a league-low 42.3 percent coming into the game.The Clippers will play their next nine games away from Staples Center. The first four opponents on the trip — Atlanta, Miami, Orlando and New York — are a combined 64-27 at home. They’ll also play Milwaukee (23-4) and New Orleans (20-5).

NOTES—The next time Griffin takes the court at Staples, it will be during All-Star weekend, when he and Bledsoe will compete for a team of rookies against a squad comprised of second-year players. Griffin also will match talents with Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings, Oklahoma City’s Serge Ibaka and Washington’s JaValle McGee in the Slam-Dunk contest. The last Clipper to compete in that event was Corey Maggette in 2001, and the last one to win it was Brent Barry in 1996. Griffin, named the top rookie in the Western Conference for the third consecutive month on Monday, is trying to join Chris Paul (2005-06) as the only player to sweep the award in his conference…..If Griffin is added to the All-Star roster, expect the NBA to excuse him from the Rookie Challenge. That’s what they did last year with Rose, who was scratched from the Skills Challenge because of a bruised right hip but did play in the main event……The Bulls have held opponents under 100 points in 13 consecutive games and 19 of 20. They are 31-6 this season when giving up fewer than 100, and 0-8 with allowing 100 or more in a regulation game……Boozer is averaging 18.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in his past five games after missing the previous three because of a sprained left ankle.

COLUMBUS—It looked like a bleak start to a six-game, 12-day road trip for the Blackhawks.Down 3-2 early in the second period after the Columbus Blue Jackets scored twice in a span of 42 seconds, coach Joel Quenneville called a timeout — and the game swung dramatically the other way.Jonathan Toews had a short-handed goal and two assists and the Blackhawks ran off four consecutive goals to beat the Blue Jackets 7-4 on Tuesday night.Quenneville said the huddle was necessary to get his team focused and to steal some of the Blue Jackets’ fire.In a game of soft goals and shoddy defense, the Blackhawks flaunted their ability to score goals in bunches.Patrick Kane added a goal and an assist, while Nick Leddy, Duncan Keith, Viktor Stalberg, Dave Bolland and Marian Hossa also scored for the Hawks, who began a run in which it plays 20 of its last 32 regular-season games on the road.Fernando Pisani and Brent Seabrook each had two assists as both teams returned to action for the first time after the All-Star break. Marty Turco looked shaky at times, but made 29 saves.The loss could prove memorable for a Columbus team which can’t afford many more slips if it wants to get in the playoff chase. The Blue Jackets started the night in the crowded Western Conference tied for 13th but just five points out of the eighth and final playoff spot.Derek Dorsett, Derick Brassard, Samuel Pahlsson and Matt Calvert had the Blue Jackets goals.After Columbus scored the quick, back-to-back goals — Brassard on a slick assist from Rick Nash and Pahlsson on a shot from the right wing through traffic — the Blackhawks took control.An instant after killing Stalberg’s roughing penalty, they tied it when Stalberg joined a rush and benefited from Pisani’s helper.Then Kane crashed the net just as Toews stole the puck from Columbus’ Chris Clark on the back boards, Toews sliding a centering pass that Kane converted for the go-ahead goal.The backbreaker came with 40 seconds left in the second period when Toews won a battle for the puck near the offensive zone blue line with Columbus defenseman Fedor Tyutin and then skated past another defenseman, Grant Clitsome, who had overcommitted, before beating goaltender Steve Mason to make it 5-3.

NOTES—The teams were sent to the dressing rooms early, with 39.6 seconds left in the first period, after the lights in Nationwide Arena dimmed for several minutes. After the intermission, the remainder of the first period was played, with the teams then switching ends and playing the second period…..Columbus D Marc Methot played in his 200th career NHL game……The Blackhawks are 32-22-7 all-time against the Blue Jackets…..Nash’s assist stretched his points streak to nine games…..Due to the stormy weather, the Blackhawks decided to stay the night in Columbus.

CHAMPAIGN—Mike Davis scored 22 points, including 10 on dunks, to lead struggling Illinois past Penn State 68-51 Tuesday night in front of a sparse crowd held down by a winter storm.Davis scored seven straight points midway through the second half to give the Illini (15-7, 5-4 Big Ten) a 52-39 lead with just over 10 minutes to play. Four minutes later he calmly buried a pair of free throws that put the game out of reach at 60-45.Bill Cole added 10 for the Illini, who had lost their last two games.Penn State (12-9, 5-5) lost senior forward Jeff Brooks just before halftime to a dislocated right shoulder. Tim Frazier and Talor Battle had 12 points each for the Nittany Lions.Just under 3,500 fans braved one of the worst winter storms in years to get to the Assembly Hall. That’s less than one-fifth of facility’s capacity.

PEORIA—Andrew Warren scored 23 points and Bradley beat Creighton 69-61 Tuesday to end its longest losing streak in 56 seasons.Dyricus Simms-Edwards added 22 points for the Braves (7-16, 1-11 Missouri Valley), who ended an 11-game slide, their longest streak since dropping 14 straight in 1954-55.Doug McDermott had 19 points and a career-high 17 rebounds for the Bluejays (14-10, 6-6), who have lost three of four and five of seven. Tied at 56 after Creighton’s Jahenns Manigat banked in a 3 with 4:06 to go, Bradley pulled ahead for good with a 7-0 run, the last five points scored by Warren. McDermott’s 3 with 1:35 left made it 63-61, but the Bluejays failed to score again.The game started four hours earlier then originally scheduled because a blizzard was expected to hit Peoria later Tuesday