The Week In Tv Sports

Highlights

SATURDAY 11/24
? Ohio State at Michigan
ABC 1 PM
Expectations? After the Buckeyes' first game this season, a 28-14 victory over Akron on Sept. 8, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story closed with, "Seventy-seven days until Michigan." Pressure? Last year Ohio State coach John Cooper went a respectable 8-4 but was fired partly because he was 2-10-1 against the Wolverines. Now his replacement, Jim Tressel, stands before the red-and-white-clad jury of Columbus. To make matters worse, the 6-4 Buckeyes will face 11th-ranked Michigan (8-2) while dealing with the distraction surrounding starting quarterback Steve Bellisari, whom Tressel suspended after a drunken-driving offense, then reinstated on Monday.

TUESDAY 11/27

? Duke vs. Iowa
ESPN 9 PM
Once again, in a development as inevitable as another Police Academy sequel, the Blue Devils are back atop the polls, led by point guard Jason Williams and coach Mike Krzyzewski, who recently signed a lifetime contract that guarantees him everything but a bowl of M&Ms minus the brown ones. The ninth-ranked Hawkeyes feature much-traveled senior shooting guard Luke Recker and the chalkboard stylings of Steve Alford. Tune in two hours earlier for another Top 10 matchup: No. 2 Illinois against No. 6 Maryland.

? Bucks at Lakers
TBS 10:30
PM Considering Los Angeles's hot start (8-1 through Sunday) and the dominance of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, who had combined for 57.7 points a game, Milwaukee coach George Karl wouldn't be faulted if he took advantage of the new defensive rules and decided to double-team both Lakers big guns—simultaneously and regardless of whether either had the ball. This interconference heavyweight showdown could be a preview of things to come in June.

Don't Miss
MONDAY 11/26
? Buccaneers at Rams
ABC 9 PM
When these teams met on Monday Night Football last December, Tampa Bay quarterback Shaun King led the Bucs to a crazy 38-35 victory. Afterward Tampa Bay defensive tackle Warren Sapp touted the superiority of "Bucsball, baby!" and wideout Reidel Anthony dared to compare then second-year man King to Joe Montana. Tonight the only similarity between King and Montana will be that both will be watching football rather than playing it. Brad Johnson, not backup King, will quarterback the 4-5 Bucs when they face 8-1 St. Louis. The Rams are piling up wins behind the piston knees of Marshall Faulk (above, 28), who amassed 153 yards in Sunday's 24-17 victory at New England. On this occasion Sapp—three sacks in 2001—would be well advised to stop running his mouth and start running down the quarterback.

ALL TIMES EASTERN. SCHEDULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.