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NFL finales, golf champions tourney, basketball fill weekend sports slate

Fullback Kyle Juszczyk and the San Francisco 49ers face the Los Angeles Rams at 4:25 p.m. EST Sunday on Fox. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI
1 of 5 | Fullback Kyle Juszczyk and the San Francisco 49ers face the Los Angeles Rams at 4:25 p.m. EST Sunday on Fox. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

MIAMI, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- The college football bowl season is nearly over, but the last week of the NFL regular season takes place this weekend. Golf's Tournament of Champions and NBA and college basketball games also fill the weekend schedule.

Dozens of European soccer matches and regular-season NBA and NHL games also take place from Friday through Sunday.

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The NFL's first-ever Week 18 headlines the schedule, with another Saturday and Sunday filled with games which impact the postseason picture.

Several teams already clinched their spot in the postseason, while others vie for a first-round bye or to snatch one of the remaining berths.

NFL

The 2021-22 campaign marked the first NFL season with 17 games, which resulted in a Week 18 for the first time in NFL history. The slate of season finales features two games Saturday and 14 games Sunday.

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Several teams are eliminated from playoff contention, while others are locked into the postseason with a slim chance of improving their seeding. That means some games are meaningless as far as the playoff picture is concerned.

Some of the top NFL teams are likely to rest key players to protect them from injuries before the playoffs, but three spots remain in the NFL's 14-team playoff field. The AFC's No. 1 seed -- and first-round bye -- is still available. Two Wild Card berths also remain in the AFC.

The Baltimore Ravens (8-8), Indianapolis Colts (9-7), Las Vegas Raiders (9-7), Los Angeles Chargers (9-7) and Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7-1) are the AFC teams that remain in contention for the conference's Wild Card berths.

In the NFC, six of the seven playoff spots are clinched. The New Orleans Saints (8-8) and the San Francisco 49ers (9-7) are the only teams that can earn the final berth.

The Colts face the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-14) at 1 p.m. EST Sunday on CBS. The Steelers battle the Ravens at the same time on the same network.

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The 49ers face the Los Angeles Rams (12-4) at 4:25 p.m. Sunday at Fox. The Saints battle the Atlanta Falcons (7-9) at the same time on the same network.

The Chargers face the Raiders in the final game of the NFL regular season at 8:20 p.m. Sunday on NBC.

Tournament of Champions

The PGA Tour's Sentry Tournament of Champions teed off Thursday and runs through Sunday at the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii.

The tournament airs on Golf Channel and NBC.

No. 1 Jon Rahm and No. 8 Justin Thomas are the favorites in the 39-player field. Defending champion Harris English (No. 13), No. 2 Collin Morikawa, No. 3 Dustin Johnson, No. 4 Patrick Cantlay, No. 5 Bryson DeChambeau, gold medalist Xander Schauffele (No. 6), No. 14 Jordan Spieth and No. 33 Phil Mickelson are among the top other top golfers in the field.

The tournament only features winners from the PGA Tour from the previous season and the gold medalist from the Olympics.

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Second-round action airs from 6 to 10 p.m. EST Friday on Golf Channel. The third round airs at the same time Saturday on Golf Channel. Early final round coverage airs from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday on NBC. Live final round coverage airs from 6 to 8 p.m. on Golf Channel.

The winner of the tournament claims a $1.476 million prize.

Basketball

Dozens of men's and women's college basketball and NBA games air nationally from Friday through Sunday.

Two Top 5 women's college teams take the court Friday night. Arizona, the No. 5 team in the Coaches Poll, hosts Washington state at 8 p.m. EST on Pac 12 Network. No. 3 Stanford hosts Oregon at 10 p.m. on the same network.

On the men's side, several Saturday afternoon matchups feature ranked teams. No. 3 Purdue faces Penn State at noon on Big Ten Network. No. 14 Houston, No. 17 Providence and No. 22 Seton Hall also play in noon games.

North Carolina hosts Virginia at 1 p.m. on ESPN. Michigan battles No. 10 Michigan State at 2:30 p.m. on Fox. No. 1 Baylor faces TCU at 5 p.m. on ESPN+.

One of the best women's games should take place Sunday, when No. 1 South Carolina hosts No. 20 Kentucky at 1 p.m. on ESPN. No. 4 NC State battles No. 19 Notre Dame in another great women's basketball matchup at 2 p.m. Sunday on ACC Network.

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The NBA TV slate tips off Friday night. Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets host Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN. LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers host Trae Young's Atlanta Hawks at 10 p.m. Friday on the same network.

The Boston Celtics host the New York Knicks at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on NBA TV. Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors host the Cleveland Cavaliers at 8:30 p.m. Sunday on NBA TV.

Weekend schedule (all times EST)

Friday

Soccer

Bundesliga: Borussia Monchengladbach at Bayern Munich at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+

FA Cup: Manchester City at Swindon Town at 3 p.m. on ESPN+

Golf

Sentry Tournament of Champions: Second round from 6 to 10 p.m. on Golf Channel

College basketball

Men's

Marquette at Georgetown at 6:30 p.m. on FS1

Kent State at Ohio at 6:30 p.m. on CBSSN

Milwaukee at Detroit Mercy at 7 p.m. on ESPN2

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Women's

Washington State at Arizona at 8 p.m. on Pac 12 Network

Oregon at Stanford at 10 p.m. on Pac 12 Network

NHL

Flames at Hurricanes at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Capitals at Blues at 8 p.m. on NHL Network

NBA

Bucks at Nets at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN

Hawks at Lakers at 10 p.m. on ESPN

Saturday

Soccer

FA Cup: Watford at Leicester City at 10 a.m. on ESPN+

FA Cup: Brighton at West Brom at 10 a.m. on ESPN+

FA Cup: Chesterfield at Chelsea at 12:30 p.m. on ESNP+

FA Cup: Everton at hull City at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN+

La Liga: Barcelona at Granada at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN+

Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund at Eintracht Frankfurt at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN+

La Liga: Valencia at Real Madrid at 3 p.m. on ESPN+

College basketball

Men's

Purdue at Penn State at noon on Big Ten Network

Wichita State at Houston at noon on CBS

St. John's at Providence at noon on FS1

UConn at Seton Hall at noon on Fox

Virginia at North Carolina at 1 p.m. on ESPN

Texas at Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. on CBS

Villanova at DePaul at 2 p.m. on FS1

Michigan State at Michigan at 2:30 p.m. on Fox

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Alabama at Missouri at 3:30 p.m. on SEC Network

Kansas at Texas Tech at 4 p.m. on ESPN2

Colorado State at San Diego State at 4 p.m. on CBS

Baylor at TCU at 5 p.m. on ESPN+

Iowa State at Oklahoma at 6 p.m. on ESPNU

Georgia at Kentucky at 6 p.m. on SEC Network

Tennessee at LSU at 6 p.m. on ESPN2

Miami at Duke at 8 p.m. on ACC Network

UCLA at California at 8 p.m. on Pac 12 Network

Florida at Auburn at 8 p.m. on ESPN2

Saint Mary's at BYU at 10 p.m. on ESPN2

Women's

TCU at Iowa State at 2 p.m. on ESPN+

Oklahoma at Kansas at 5 p.m. on ESPN+

NHL

Penguins at Stars at 2 p.m. on NHL Network

Bruins at Lightning at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Sharks at Flyers at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Panthers at Hurricanes at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Devils at Blue Jackets at 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Maple Leafs at Avalanche at 7 p.m. on NHL Network

Capitals at Wild at 8 p.m. on ESPN+

Predators at Coyotes at 8 p.m. on ESPN+

Senators at Canucks at 10 p.m. on ESPN+

Blackhawks at Golden Knights at 10 p.m. on ESPN+

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Rangers at Ducks at 10 p.m. on ESPN+

Red Wings at Kings at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN+

NFL

Chiefs at Broncos at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN

Cowboys at Eagles at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN

Golf

Sentry Tournament of Champions: Third round from 6 to 10 p.m. on Golf Channel

NBA

Knicks at Celtics at 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV

Sunday

Soccer

Serie A: AC Milan at Venezia at 6:30 a.m. on Paramont+

Ligue 1: Nice at Brest at 7 a.m. on beIN Sports

La Liga: Real Beits at Rayo Vallecano at 8 a.m. on ESPN+

FA Cup: Shrewsbury Town at Liverpool at 9 a.m. on ESPN+

FA Cup: Morecambe at Tottenham Hotspur at 9 a.m. on ESPN+

FA Cup: Leeds United at West Ham at 9 a.m. on ESPN+

FA Cup: Sheffield at Wolves at 9 a.m. on ESPN+

La Liga: Getafe at Sevilla at 10:15 a.m. on ESPN+

Serie A: Sampdoria at Napoli at 10:30 a.m. on Paramont+

Serie A: Atalanta at Udinese at 10:30 a.m. on Paramont+

Ligue 1: AS Monaco at Nantes at 11:05 a.m. on beIN Sports

FA Cup: Arsenal at Nottingham Forest at 12:10 p.m. on ESPN+

Serie A: Juventus at AS Roma at 12:30 p.m. on Paramont+

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Serie A: Lazio at Inter Milan at 2:45 p.m. on Paramont+

Ligue 1: PSG at Lyon at 2:45 p.m. on beIN Sports

La Liga: Atletico at Villarreal at 3 p.m. on ESPN+

College basketball

Men's

Minnesota at Indiana at noon on Big Ten Network

Cincinnati at Memphis at 3:30 p.m. on ABC

Washington at Colorado at 5 p.m. on ESPN2

Northwestern at Ohio State at 5:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network

Wisconsin at Maryland at 7:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network

Women's

Louisville at Miami at noon on ACC Network

Wichita State at South Florida at noon on ESPNU

Kentucky at South Carolina at 1 p.m. on ESPN

Tennessee at Ole Miss at 1 p.m. on SEC Network

NC State at Notre Dame at 2 p.m. on ACC Network

Duke at Syracuse at 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra

Alabama at Georgia at 3 p.m. on SEC Network

Florida at Texas A&M at 3 p.m. on SEC Network+

Virginia at Georgia Tech at 4 p.m. on ACC Network

LSU at Auburn at 5 p.m. on SEC Network

Virginia Tech at North Carolina at 6 p.m. on ACC Network

NFL

Packers at Lions at 1 p.m. on Fox

Colts at Jaguars at 1 p.m. on CBS

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Washington at Giants at 1 p.m. on Fox

Bears at Vikings at 1 p.m. on Fox

Titans at Texans at 1 p.m. on CBS

Steelers at Ravens at 1 p.m. on CBS

Bengals at Browns at 1 p.m. on Fox

49ers at Rams at 4:25 p.m. on Fox

Panthers at Buccaneers at 4:25 p.m. on CBS

Seahawks at Cardinals at 4:25 p.m. on Fox

Patriots at Dolphins at 4:25 p.m. on CBS

Saints at Falcons at 4:25 p.m. on Fox

Jets at Bills at 4:25 p.m. on CBS

Chargers at Raiders at 8:20 p.m. on NBC

NHL

Stars at Blues at 2 p.m. on NHL Network

Golf

Sentry Tournament of Champions: Final round from 4 to 6 p.m. on NBC and 6 to 8 p.m. on Golf Channel

NBA

Cavaliers at Warriors at 8:30 p.m. on NBA TV

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