01.27.20: Five things for the week ahead based on unscientific evidence of guaranteed importance

What we know about today’s NBA:
== The third Lakers-Clippers regular-season meeting set for Tuesday at Staples Center, a TNT game for 7 p.m., has now been postponed.

How the rest of the week unfolds for the Lakers (36-10, still No. 2 in the Week 15 ESPN NBA Power Rankings)
= Vs. Portland, Staples Center, Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet, ESPN
= At Sacramento, Saturday at 7 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet
How the rest of the week unfolds for the Clippers (33-14, down from No. 3 to No. 4 in the ESPN NBA Power Rankings)
= Vs. Sacramento, Staples Center, Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Prime Ticket
= Vs. Minnesota, Staples Center, Saturday at 12:30 p.m., Prime Ticket

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What we surmise will be noteworthy about the 54^th Super Bowl between San Francisco and Kansas City that lands in Miami Gardens, Fla., on Sunday – 3:15 p.m., Channel 11:
== It’s been 10 years since an NFL title game was in this part of town, but the city has the game for the 11^th time, the most of any place in the country, as it returns not to the old Orange Bowl but the revamped Hard Rock Stadium.

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The latest we seem to know about the college basketball season:
== The top seven teams in the AP Top 25 poll remained the same — Baylor (17-1), Gonzaga (21-1), Kansas (16-3), San Diego State (21-0), Florida State (17-2), Louisville (17-3) and Dayton (18-2). The Pac-12 has Oregon (17-4) up one spot to No. 11 after an overtime win over USC and easy triumph over UCLA. Colorado (16-4) is up three spots to No. 20. That’s it.

How the week plays out for USC (16-4, 5-2 in the Pac-12, a half-game behind Oregon for the lead)
= Vs. Utah, Galen Center, Thursday at 6:30 p.m., FS1
= Vs. Colorado, Galen Center, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., FS1
How the week plays out for UCLA (10-10, 3-4 in the Pac-12)
= Vs. Colorado, Pauley Pavilion, Thursday at 8 p.m., ESPN2
= Vs. Utah, Pauley Pavilion, Sunday at noon, FS1

How the week plays out for Cal State Northridge (8-14, 3-3 Big West)
= Vs. UC Santa Barbara, the Matadome, Thursday at 8 p.m., ESPNU
= At Hawaii, Saturday at 10 p.m.
How the week plays out for Long Beach State (7-14, 2-3 Big West)
= At UC Riverside, Thursday at 7 p.m., ESPN3
= Vs. UC Santa Barbara, Walter Pyramid, Saturday at 4 p.m., ESPN3

How the week plays out for Loyola Marymount (8-13, 2-5 in the WCC)
= At Pacific, Thursday at 7 p.m.
= Vs. Pepperdine, Gersten Pavilion, Saturday at 3 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet
How the week plays out for Pepperdine (11-10, 4-3 in the WCC)
= At BYU, Thursday at 5:30 p.m., CBSSN
= At Loyola Marymount, Saturday at 3 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet

Games of national interest this week include:
Monday
North Carolina at North Carolina State, 4 p.m., ESPN
Kansas at Oklahoma State, 6 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday
Villanova at St. John’s, 3:30 p.m., FS1
Florida State at Virginia, 4 p.m., ESPN
Pittsburgh at Duke, 6 p.m., ESPN
Butler at Georgetown, 6 p.m., CBSSN
Wednesday
DePaul at Seton Hall, 3:30 p.m., FS1
Vanderbilt at Kentucky, 3:30 p.m., SEC Network
Dayton at Duquesne, 4 p.m., CBSSN
West Virginia at Texas Tech, 5 p.m., ESPN+
Baylor at Iowa State, 6 p.m., ESPNU
San Diego State at New Mexico, 6 p.m., CBSSN
Louisville at Boston College, 6 p.m., ACC Net
Arizona State at Washington State, 8 p.m., ESPNU
Thursday
Iowa at Maryland, 5:30 p.m., Big Ten Net
Oregon at Cal, 6 p.m., Pac-12 Net
Arizona at Washington, 6 p.m., ESPN2
Gonzaga at Santa Clara, 7:30 p.m., CBSSN
Oregon State at Stanford, 8 p.m., Pac-12 Net
Saturday
Xavier at Seton Hall, 8 a.m., Channel 11
Creighton at Villanova, 9 a.m., FS1
UConn at Memphis, 10 a.m., Channel 2
Michigan State at Wisconsin, 10 a.m., Channel 11
Louisville at North Carolina State, 11 a.m.
Providence at Butler, 11 a.m., FS1
TCU at Baylor, 1 p.m., ESPN2
Texas Tech at Kansas, 1 p.m., ESPN
Oregon State at Cal, 1 p.m. Pac-12 Net
Oregon at Stanford, 3 p.m. Pac-12 Net
Kentucky at Auburn, 3 p.m., ESPN
Duke at Syracuse, 5 p.m., ESPN
Arizona at Washington State, 5 p.m., Pac-12 Net
Utah State at San Diego State, 7 p.m., CBSSN
Arizona State at Washington, 7:30 p.m., Pac-12 Net
Sunday
Illinois at Iowa, 10 a.m. FS1
Georgetown at St. John’s, 10 a.m., Channel 2

Bill Walton’s schedule this week:
= Arizona at Washington, Thursday at 6 p.m., ESPN
= Arizona State at Washington, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network

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What we know about the NHL beyond the All-Star Game weekend:
== The third annual “Hockey Day SoCal” happens Saturday – an event sponsored by Fox Sports West, Prime Ticket and Fox Sports San Diego. Capped off by the Kings-Ducks game from Staples Center (7:30 p.m., FSW, Prime Ticket), it also includes the team’s American Hockey League affiliates facing off at 4 p.m. – Ontario at San Diego – on all three channels. The studio show emanates from the Great Park Ice rink in Irvine at 2 p.m.

Also this week for the Kings (18-27-5, last in the Western Conference with 41 points)
= Vs. Tampa Bay, Staples Center, Wednesday at 7 p.m., NBCSN
= At Arizona, Thursday at 6:30 p.m., FSW
Also this week for the Ducks (19-24-5, next to last in the Western Conference with 43 points)
= At San Jose, Monday at 7:30 p.m., Prime Ticket
= Vs. Arizona, Honda Center, Wednesday at 7 p.m., Prime Ticket
= Vs. Tampa Bay, Friday at 7 p.m., Prime Ticket

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The conclusion of the Australian Open sees the men’s side with defending champ Novak Djokovic “cruising through with little fuss and almost no hype” as he has Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals next. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer remain alive. Dojkovic and Federer are lined up for the semifinals. Women’s top seed Ashley Barty is into the quarterfinals with 10 of the next 13 seeds already gone, including Serena Williams.
The TV schedule:
Women’s championship: Saturday at 5 a.m., ESPN2
Men’s championship: Sunday at 5 a.m., ESPN2
Men’s semifinals: Thursday at 12:30 a.m., ESPN and Friday at 12:30 a.m., ESPN
Women’s semifinals: Wednesday at 7 p.m., ESPN2