The Docket 1/23: The West Side Story Matchup Is Back As Sharks, Jets Tangle

It’s the Sharks and the Jets Thursday night at the SAP Center … just not these Sharks or Jets.

For the first time since Dec. 7, 1995, the Winnipeg Jets are coming to San Jose. That’s right, we have the Sharks and Jets battling in our own backyard for the first time in more than 18 years.

The Winnipeg Jets left the NHL after the 1995-96 season, when they moved to Phoenix and became the Coyotes. But they’ve actually been back for awhile now—this is their third season back in the NHL after the Atlanta Thrashers became Jets 2.0 in 2011.

But the new incarnation of the Jets hasn’t been to San Jose … until Thursday night.

The Jets won the first meeting between the teams on Nov. 10, a 5-4 shootout victory at Winnipeg.

Onto the rest of The Docket for Thursday:

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Sacramento State Hornets (6-9) at North Dakota (6-10), 5 p.m.
The Hornets, 2-4 in the Big Sky Conference, look for a second straight league win after beating Eastern Washington at The Nest on Saturday. North Dakota improved to 3-3 in Big Sky play after a win at Montana State Saturday. The Hornets and North Dakota are tied 2-2 all-time, with the teams splitting home-court victories last year. Sacramento is 0-2 in Grand Forks, including a 49-48 loss there last Valentine’s Day.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Loyola Marymount Lions (10-10) at Pacific Tigers (10-7), 7 p.m.
The two teams at the bottom of the West Coast Conference meet at the Spanos Center, with the Lions 2-6 in league play and the Tigers at 1-5. This is the first meeting between the schools in Stockton since Nov. 23, 1999. Loyola Marymount leads the all-time series 23-22, but Pacific won the last meeting between the teams on March 17, 2010, an 86-76 win in Los Angeles in the first round of the CIT.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Pepperdine Waves (12-8) at Saint Mary’s Gaels (14-5), 7 p.m.
A couple of WCC rivals collide looking for position, as the Waves are 5-3 in conference play while the Gaels come in at 4-2. Saint Mary’s has won the last 13 games in the series, but still trail all-time 66-59. That includes a string of six straight wins over Pepperdine at McKeon Pavilion, where the last time the Waves won was a 68-66 victory on Jan. 27, 2007. Last year, the Gaels beat Pepperdine in Moraga 84-72.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Hawaii Warriors (12-5) at UC Davis Aggies (6-13), 7 p.m.
The Aggies picked up their first Big West Conference win on Saturday, coming from behind to beat Cal State Fullerton at The Pavilion after dropping their first three league games. Hawaii also got off the conference dime last weekend, hammering UC Riverside in Honolulu 100-69 on Sunday after dropping their first two games in league play. UC Davis swept the season series last year, including an 89-65 win in Davis, and is 2-2 all-time against Hawaii.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Stanford Cardinal (12-5) at UCLA Bruins (14-4), 8 p.m.
Both teams enter with 3-2 marks in the Pac-12 Conference. The Cardinal have won three in a row after an 0-2 start, while the Bruins fell out of the Top 25 after they were upset at Utah on Saturday. UCLA leads the all-time series 138-91 and swept last year’s two games, including a 68-60 win at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 5, 2013, where the Cardinal haven’t won since Jan. 20, 2005, a string of eight straight losses.

Friday Lookahead
NBA
Indiana at Kings, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Warriors, 7:30 p.m.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
USC at Cal, 6 p.m.
UCLA at Stanford, 8 p.m.