HARTFORD – The third-ranked UConn men’s basketball team completed its season sweep of Richard Pitino and Xavier in a 92-60 rout at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford Tuesday night.
UConn improved to 22-1 and 12-0 in the Big East, and will carry its 18-game winning streak into the toughest game of the conference season so far when it meets Richard’s father, Rick, and second-place St. John’s in primetime on Friday night.
Tuesday served as a solid warmup for the league’s first ranked matchup since the Huskies visited Seton Hall, then No. 25, on Jan. 13.
With an overwhelming matchup and talent advantage, UConn continued the relentless effort it showed on the road at Creighton on Saturday and took hold of the game early on its home floor.
The dominance started on the first possession, when UConn controlled three offensive rebounds, though its effort was fruitless after four tries. But Braylon Mullins made a 3-pointer the next time down the court and started a string of seven straight makes, including two transition dunks from the star freshman as he raced to 10 points and the Huskies’ lead ballooned to 16-2 in the first five minutes.
UConn didn’t need much else from the freshman and he finished as one of five in double-figures with 13 points in 24 minutes. Point guard Silas Demary Jr. led the way with 17 points, four rebounds, eight assists and two steals, connecting on 3 of 5 from beyond the arc and Tarris Reed Jr. finished with 14 on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting and eight rebounds.
The Huskies got 11 points from Jayden Ross and 14 with seven rebounds from Eric Reibe off the bench as Alex Karaban went for nine points, six rebounds and six assists and Solo Ball added nine of his own.
Dan Hurley started emptying the bench around the six-minute mark and UConn finished the game shooting 56.75 from the field and 10-for-27 (37%) from beyond the arc.
The Huskies had a 41-24 advantage on the glass, 26 assists on 34 made shots and outscored the Musketeers 46-20 in the paint and 17-3 in transition.
Demary, having the most success he’s had in his career from beyond the 3-point arc on fewer attempts this season, made back-to-back 3s as the lead grew to 22-6. Jaylin Stewart got involved with a triple of his own and the Musketeers had no answer for Reed, who didn’t miss on five attempts in the first half. He assisted Demary on a third 3-pointer before the break and UConn took a 50-22 lead into halftime.
The Huskies shot 61.3% from the field and had assists on 17 of their 19 made shots before the break, connecting on 7 of 13 from beyond the arc (53.8%). They dominated under the basket for a 22-12 rebounding advantage and a 24-10 difference in the paint.
Xavier didn’t fold, matching UConn’s shotmaking to start the second half until it used a 9-0 run to turn a 34-point lead into 25 with 12 minutes to play.
But Reed drove into the lane and threw a no-look pass over to Jayden Ross in the corner for his second 3-pointer of the game. Then Demary used his physicality in the paint for a three-point play on a putback and a dunk on the next possession. Ross hit again from deep off an assist from Karaban and the Huskies’ lead was back to 33 around the eight-minute mark.
Friday’s matchup, No. 3 vs. No. 22 at Madison Square Garden, is set to tip-off at 8 p.m. on FOX.
Less than 24 hours after rumors surfaced that the Cavaliers and Clippers were discussing trade possibilities for James Harden, the two sides have reportedly worked out a deal. Harden, whose contract for the 2026-27 season will be partially guaranteed if he opts in, heads back to the Eastern Conference in exchange for Darius Garland and a future second-round pick.
BREAKING: The Los Angeles Clippers are finalizing a trade to send 11x All-Star James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers for 2x All-Star Darius Garland, league sources told myself and @TomerAzarly.
Harden will join his fifth different team in the last six seasons.
Harden pairs up with Donovan Mitchell, giving the Cavaliers another healthy playmaker to help lighten Spida's workload. As for the Clippers, they receive a draft pick and a point guard in Garland, who is ten years younger than Harden. However, he's been dealing with foot injuries for the last two seasons and is currently out with a right big toe injury. Let's take a look at the trade details and how this transaction affects fantasy basketball.
While availability has been an issue for Garland this season, it has not been for Harden. Outside of the last two games, which he missed for personal reasons while his future was being worked out, he only missed three games. In 44 appearances, Harden averaged 25.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 8.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 3.1 three-pointers in 35.4 minutes, shooting 41.9 percent from the field and 90.1 percent from the foul line. Playing alongside Mitchell may decrease the usage percentages of both players, but not by much.
While there shouldn't be any concerns regarding how this trade affects Mitchell's fantasy value, it's fair for fantasy managers who have Evan Mobley (currently out due to a strained calf), Jarrett Allen and Jaylon Tyson to have questions.
In the past, Harden has developed excellent on-court chemistry with bigs who can roll to the basket and finish above the rim. In the short term, Allen, who scored a career-high 40 points on Sunday, may benefit from being able to run the two-man game with Harden. Mobley's a skilled big man who has the tools to be a highly effective option, but the question is what the spacing will look like when he and Allen are on the floor alongside Harden. Tyson's value may take a hit due to the decreased usage with another healthy playmaker on the floor, but not to the point where managers should consider moving on.
Clippers receive:
Darius Garland
Future second-round pick
Due to a right great toe injury, Garland has not appeared in a game since January 14. And with the guard limited to some individual work during his final practice as a Cavalier on Tuesday, it will likely be a while before we see him in a Clippers uniform. And before the most recent foot injury, Garland's fantasy value languished this season. The potential for him to be a key figure for the Clippers is certainly there, but they need to get Garland healthy first.
In the interim, the Clippers will continue to lean on Kris Dunn at point guard, with Kobe Sanders remaining in the starting lineup. While they take on bigger roles than they did when the Clippers' rotation was whole, neither player is a must-add.
Kawhi Leonard, named an All-Star on Tuesday, will continue to shoulder a heavy workload offensively. His fantasy value is already sky-high. Ivica Zubac had excellent chemistry with Harden, and he'll need to develop something similar with Garland once the point guard gets healthy. If so, the 7-footer's fantasy value should be fine.
With the Clippers' 2026 first-round pick going to Oklahoma City, there's no incentive for the franchise to pull the plug on this season, especially since they're currently in a play-in spot.
Jan 23, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) walks from the court following the game against the Denver Nuggets at Fiserv Forum. | Credits- Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
Giannis Antetokounmpo has reached a point in a superstar’s career where every move feels bigger than basketball. When a player has already won a title, multiple MVPs, and global respect, the conversation shifts. It becomes less about statistics and more about legacy. Fans begin to look at the full picture. Giannis seems to understand that better than most, which is one of the reasons he appears ready to shift bases.
Milwaukee has been his home and his proving ground. He grew from a raw prospect into a champion there. The city embraced him, and he embraced the city right back. But the NBA moves fast. After three first-round playoff exits, the Greek Freak now looks ready to start over elsewhere.
As the NBA trade deadline approaches, reports continue to surface about which teams may make a move for the 31-year-old superstar. For a time, Golden State appeared to be a potential landing spot, especially with Jimmy Butler injured and Steph Curry still playing at an elite level. However, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report recently shed light on Giannis’ thinking and why the Warriors are no longer in the mix.
“He is very much focused on the story and the arch of his career. That has been very apparent. Talking to people around Giannis he cares about the narrative structure of his next situation just as much as his exit from Milwaukee,” said the insider.
That idea of narrative is fascinating. Most stars say they just want to win, and Giannislikely feels the same. But he also seems aware that where you win and how you win shapes how you are remembered. One more ring as a hired gun is different from building something new somewhere else. History treats those paths very differently.
Fischer also made it clear that Giannis has not demanded a trade and did not want that wording circulating. That detail matters. There is a real difference between evaluating your future and forcing your way out. Based on everything shared, Giannis comes across as thoughtful rather than restless.
From a storytelling perspective, certain destinations stand out. Fischer noted, “Joining young superstar Anthony Edwards and helping the Wolves get past the Western Conference Finals after two straight trips, while building a long window together and creating history Minnesota has never achieved, would certainly be a major storyline.” The Timberwolves have never hung a banner. Pairing Giannis with a rising face of the league would be must watch television.
The Knicks offer a different kind of spotlight. New York magnifies everything. A title there turns players into legends forever. Jalen Brunson has already revived the energy at Madison Square Garden, and adding Giannis would feel like pouring gasoline on a fire that is already burning bright. The pressure would be enormous, but so would the payoff.
Miami fits the myth making angle as well. The Heatculture brand is very real around the league. Bam Adebayo and Giannis would form a defensive wall that could define an era. South Beach has also seen how a superstar move can reshape the league before, and that history adds weight to any rumor tied to Miami.
Fischer summed up the timing element too, saying, “You’re not going to have a 5 or 6 year window competing for a title in Golden State with Steph like you theoretically would next to Ant in MIN, next to Brunson in NYK, next to Bam Adebayo in Miami.” That comment highlights age, timelines, and realistic windows. Giannis is still in his prime but even primes have clocks.
For now, this is all about possibility and perspective. Giannis is not just chasing the next win. He is thinking about the full journey. Whether he stays in Milwaukee or writes a new chapter elsewhere, the choice will say a lot about what he values. In a league obsessed with rings, Giannis might be chasing something slightly bigger. He might be chasing a story that feels complete when it is all said and done.
It’s seems all but inevitable for the No. 1 Huskies, who are cruising through conference play this year and have won 59 straight meetings with Big East opponents dating back to 2023. The program hasn’t entered the NCAA Tournament without a loss since 2017-18, when All-Americans Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson led the team to 36 consecutive victories before falling on a buzzer-beater to Notre Dame in the Final Four.
Though UConn’s total dominance isn’t a shock coming off of last year’s national championship run, the Huskies entered 2025-26 with major questions about who would fill the leadership void left by superstar Paige Bueckers and starting point guard Kaitlyn Chen. But it’s been remarkably smooth sailing behind the duo of All-American sophomore Sarah Strong and redshirt senior sharpshooter Azzi Fudd. The pair rank first and third respectively in the Big East in scoring, and both have been spectacular in UConn’s biggest matchups at both ends of the floor. They combined for 53 of the team’s 96 points against Tennessee, and both rank top 10 in the country in defensive win shares.
“Sarah’s voice is getting louder. Azzi, she doesn’t use her voice a lot, but when she does, it’s pretty impactful,” Auriemma said Sunday after the rout. “But I think leadership is, ‘We really need a bucket right now,’ and you make one. ‘We really need to stop the bleeding, and we need a 3-point play. We need a blocked shot here.’ To me it’s doing those things that really have to be done right now that makes the rest of the team go, ‘That’s why they are who they are.'”
The Huskies return to Big East play on Wednesday for a rematch against DePaul in Chicago, and they’ll look to keep their momentum rolling against the last-place team in the conference. The first time UConn met the Blue Demons on Dec. 7, the team earned its biggest win of the season with a 102-35 rout at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies scored 52 points off of 32 forced turnovers, and they had their second-most steals in any game this year with 23.
Two months later, the Huskies have won 18 consecutive games by at least 25 points — the longest streak by any team in at least the last 25 years. They have yet to allow more than 55 points in a conference matchup, and their average margin of victory in the Big East is more than 43 points. It’s difficult to find a notable flaw in UConn’s game right now: The team currently has the No. 1 scoring defense and No. 2 scoring offense in the country, and it ranks top 5 nationally in assists, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, steals, and turnover margin.
But even as the Huskies run through every team in their path, Fudd said the final scores become irrelevant once they get in the practice gym with Auriemma.
“Oh, we still get a lot of stuff pointed out to us,” Fudd said with a smile. “In film session you would think, ‘You guys played really well, there’s a lot of good clips.’ No, we are definitely humbled every day in practice. From the outside I see how it could look like it’s kind of hard to find those things to work on, but every day in practice it’s a challenge between the coaches and the practice guys and us trying to make each other better.”
Auriemma said this time of year is mostly about cleaning up minor issues that can make or break a game against more challenging opponents. Whether it’s adjusting defensive rotations or getting more active on the boards, he can always find an imperfection to dig into that will keep his team sharp.
“The hardest thing is to keep getting better, because we’re nit-picking at some things,” Auriemma said. “Usually it’s on the defensive end, rebounding, trying to make sure that we do an even better job of spreading shots around … It’s just making sure we’re not easy to defend.”
DePaul also provides another opportunity for UConn to continue challenging some of its less-experienced players who need to be ready to contribute come March. USC transfer Kayleigh Heckel put up a season-high 16 points in the first meeting with the Blue Demons, and sophomore guard Allie Ziebell is coming off of back-to-back double digit scoring performances headlined by her record-tying 10 3-pointers against Xavier last Wednesday. Wisconsin transfer Serah Williams is also finding her footing, scoring at least 10 points in three of the last four games, and the Huskies need her to continue developing especially as freshman forward Blanca Quinonez recovers from a minor shoulder injury that sidelined her for the last two games.
“We’ve tried to make a concerted effort to test some of these guys and find out how they’re going to react,” Auriemma said. “At this time of the year you just want to be playing with a lot of confidence. You want to be you want to be feeling good about yourself … I tell our players this all the time: We could win 90-30, but if you play lousy, you’re happy we won but you’re not really a happy camper going home. The object is to play really well and and have that kind of confidence, and it’ll carry over … The more players that we have that feel like that, I think the harder we’re going to be to play against.”
Bryce James will officially redshirt his freshman season at Arizona, Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd announced on Tuesday. This is a move that benefits both the program’s depth and a long-term view of the 6-foot-5 wing’s development.
James has not made a single appearance for Wildcats this season and Lloyd confirmed the decision to preserve his eligibility rather than use limited minutes that would cost a full year. Under NCAA rules, appearing in even one game would trigger a season of eligibility, making a redshirt the more prudent option for a freshman still acclimating to the college level.
As the younger son of NBA all-time great LeBron James and the younger brother of Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James, Bryce James arrived in Tucson with immediate name recognition and elevated expectations.
Bryce James has chosen to redshirt his freshman season with Arizona, HC Tommy Lloyd announced
However, Arizona has had little incentive to rush him into the rotation. The Wildcats have been dominant, rolling through the first half of the season with one of the deepest and most efficient lineups in the country.
Arizona improved to 22-0 on Saturday with an 87-74 win over Arizona State, leaning on an established core and standout freshmen who have seized early roles. Guard Brayden Burries has emerged as a backcourt centerpiece, while Koa Peat has made an immediate impact, earning conference and national accolades.
With Lloyd comfortably using a tight rotation on a national title contender, minutes have been scarce for developmental players.
James’ redshirt season allows him to train, add strength, and adjust to the pace and physicality of the college game without game-day pressure. It also provides time to settle into academics and team culture while preparing for a more meaningful role in future seasons.
The Gophers men’s basketball team has lost seven straight games, and 10th-ranked Michigan State is up next on Wednesday night at Williams Arena.
But this ongoing skid is not as bleak as it might appear.
While head coach Niko Medved bristles at opportunities to take moral victories, one fact is important to lean on in these lean times: The majority of Minnesota’s roster will have eligibility remaining for at least next season. They can learn from this rough patch and apply it in the future, potentially to the benefit of the U in 2026-27.
While leading scorer Cade Tyson and guard Langston Reynolds are seniors, the three other starters can return next season: junior Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, sophomore Isaac Asuma and junior Bobby Durkin.
Two starters during nonconference play, point guard Chansey Willis and center Robert Vaihola, were seniors, but due to season-ending injuries, they are candidates for medical redshirts and could return for 2026-27. The same would go for B.J. Omot and Chance Stephens, who have not played at all this season.
Medved, in his first season at the U, said he’s constantly looking ahead to the future. “Your focus is on this year, but you are always thinking about your program,” he told the Pioneer Press last week. “What is next? How do we build on this?
“For us, too, being in Year 1, you are also trying to set a foundation. You are thinking about what can we build on going into next spring and summer. We spend a lot of time thinking about that and what it might look like.”
Every Gophers player is currently signed to one-year revenue sharing contracts, the Pioneer Press learned, so all of the key players would require a re-signing for them to return to Minnesota for next season.
The two biggest pieces would be Crocker-Johnson, who had followed Medved to Colorado State last year and Minnesota again this year. Asuma stayed loyal to the U through the coaching change from Ben Johnson last March.
Durikin, a transfer from Davidson, has adjusted to the Big Ten level and is averaging 17.3 points per game in his last three. That’s up from 9.3 on the season.
“Those thoughts go through your mind,” Durkin said about next year. “But I just try to stay locked in on the present moment and what I have to do (Tuesday) at practice and the best way I can be prepared for Michigan State.”
Through injuries, the Gophers have had to rely on two freshmen in their seven-man rotation. Both big Grayson Grove and guard Kai Shinholster have shown signs of development. That bodes well for larger roles next season.
Next year’s mix will also include three incoming freshman: Wayzata wing Nolen Anderson, East Ridge point guard Ced Tomes and Irvine, Calif., center Carrack Mpoyi. While Medved and staff went out and signed three high school recruits, it’s important to know the existing cupboard will not be bare — unlike last year.
Under Johnson a year ago, five of the top six players were seniors. The lion’s share of the offense went through Dawson Garcia, and their 15-17 overall record, 7-13 in Big Ten play, didn’t give signs for a brighter tomorrow.
This year’s situation has a different vibe.
Briefly
Tyson reported soreness in his ankle after playing 27 minutes in the 77-75 loss to Penn State on Sunday, but it doesn’t appear it will be an issue that will keep him from playing against the Spartans, Medved said. Tyson, who scored 17 on Sunday, missed one game, the 67-63 loss at Wisconsin last Wednesday.
Jan 25, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (left) talks with Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (right) after the game at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
There’s a distinct possibility that after over 13 season with the Golden State Warriors, Draymond Green could find himself wearing a new uniform within the next couple of days. That’s the price of doing business when a player like Giannis Antetokounmpo is on the table, and by all accounts, the Warriors are motivated to pair the Greek Freak with Steph Curry if at all possible.
Trading for Giannis and his $54 million salary will take more than draft picks, though the Warriors would certainly have to include a bunch of those. It would take matching salary numbers, which is where Draymond could come in. Either Jimmy Butler or he would have to be included in the deal to make the numbers work. Notably, Nick Friedell of The Athletic reported that the Warriors have indicated to Butler that he isn’t going anywhere.
Draymond can opt out of his contract this summer, meaning a move to Milwaukee could be just a temporary one unless he works out a long-term extension. More likely, he’ll become a free agent, and though he’ll be 36 by then, a player with his defensive acumen should have no shortage of suitors.
The New York Post published a really fun feature from Melissa Rohlin today on the unlikely friendship between Draymond and his longtime nemesis, LeBron James. Draymond and LeBron have met in the NBA Finals four times. Draymond’s Warriors have won three, though LeBron won his after coming back from a 3-1 deficit after the 2016-17 NBA Defensive Player of the Yea got suspended for kicking him.
Despite their confrontational history, Rohlin wrote, Draymond and LeBron have become close friends. Once they thawed the competitive ice, they realized that they actually have a lot in common, and they’ve since vacationed together, attended concerts together, and spoken glowingly about each other on their respective podcasts.
One super interesting tidbit near the end of Rohlin’s piece is that Draymond would love to play together with LeBron, especially after seeing what Steph and he were able to accomplish together in the 2024 Paris Olympics, when they led Team USA to a hard-fought gold medal.
*“I’ve always wanted to [play with him].”* Draymond said.
*“Saying I wanted to go to his team, that’s not the case. I’m very comfortable in my situation with 30 [Curry] and what we’ve built and what we have … I’ve always wanted the opportunity. Just to experience it, to see how he thinks, to see, all right, what I could do to help him and his thinking. Or what can I learn and pick up about what he’s thinking,” *he added.
Draymond has said, “I don’t see a path to it,” when it comes to playing with LeBron, but that was before his name cropped up in these Giannis-to-the-Warriors rumors. That could all change if Draymond gets dealt and opts out.
He could finally join forces with LeBron, whether that be in L.A. or elsewhere. LeBron will be a free agent this summer, so if the two longtime rivals want to finally be teammates, it’ll be within their power to make it happen.
That’s just one subplot of what could be a crazy trade deadline. Giannis could be on the move, and so could James Harden, so buckle your seat belts for the next two days of news.
We are here — NBA trade deadline week. Before things potentially get wild, we examined what’s transpired with some individual players of late and whether their play is a sign of good or bad things to come.
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Remember Ty Jerome? 2024-25 NBA Sixth Man of the Year candidate, Ty Jerome? Well, he just played his first couple of games of the season for Memphis, and immediately, he gets the “stock up” classification. Jerome being immediately thrown into the Grizzlies’ starting lineup in his first game back from injury is quite indicative of what the organization thinks of him and how they plan on showcasing him, if you ask me. And, of course, going for 20 points and six assists in his season debut, and then following with a 19/6/8 line two days later, is important. The sample size needs to grow, and the productivity probably needs to sustain longer for any real take to generate from me. However, it seems as though two successful performances are enough to at least warrant some optimism about the heights Jerome could reach the rest of the season.
Of everything that’s formulated over in New Orleans this season, Saddiq Bey being one of the Pelicans’ most reliable players isn’t something I necessarily had on my Bingo card. Yet, here we are, as the 26-year-old wing out of Vilanova is averaging a career-high in points and just recently finished January with averages of 21.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.4 three-pointers per game on 48.5/44.4/89.2 shooting splits. And while Monday’s eight-point performance on poor shooting in a loss to the Hornets isn’t the way he would have liked to start February, it shouldn’t be an indicator of things to come. Bey has been good throughout the season and has turned himself into a consistent scorer. More good things could be on the way.
Dillon Brooks — SF/PF, Suns
Here’s an appreciation post to Dillon Brooks, whose game continues to ascend in his first season as a Phoenix Sun. While shouldering a heavier offensive load in Devin Booker’s absence (ankle injury), Brooks has notched five 20-point games in all five of Booker’s recent missed games, with a 40-piece sprinkled in there during the Suns’ win over the Pistons toward the end of January. The veteran forward also has at least two three-pointers in these games, while averaging 1.0 steals over that time. There’s no need to speculate whether Brooks will keep this aggressive approach while Phoenix is undermanned; in reality, fantasy managers shouldn’t expect him to dial things back once Booker, and to a lesser extent, Jalen Green, are back in the lineup.
It seems like I add a different Pelicans player to this part of the column every other week, which is totally unintentional. Nonetheless, it’s been almost two weeks now since Jones’ return from injury and, despite logging heavy minutes, he hasn’t seemed to find his fit or rhythm with this group in his six appearances over that time. Fortunately, the defensive stats have protected him from sinking even farther in fantasy leagues. Yet, the offensive numbers since January 23rd haven’t been great. Whether there’s roster movement at the deadline for New Orleans or not, it’s not easy to see a path for Jones to find fantasy basketball relevance. But, hey, maybe that changes as he gets more games under his belt.
Deni Avdija — SG/SF/PF, Trail Blazers
The Trail Blazers are in a slump — a five-game losing streak, to be precise — and their best player either hasn’t been available or his production during that time has paled in comparison to what he showed consistently for most of the season en route to becoming a first-time NBA All-Star. Avdija, over his last three appearances (two during the losing streak), has averaged 12.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 41.0 percent from the floor. To be fair, there’s a recent back injury he’s continuing to work through, and once healthy, he’ll likely return to form and become a near-30-point triple-double threat again on a nightly basis. But for the sake of this exercise, Stock Down.
Karl-Anthony Towns — PF/C, Knicks
Stock…down? If rebounding is a priority, then Anthony-Towns has been a productive piece for those specific fantasy managers in need — he’s collected double-digit rebounds four times during the New York’s current six-game winning streak, twice reaching at least 20 boards. Yet, his offensive output, part of what has made him an impactful and high-upside center in fantasy leagues, has been mostly absent. The veteran center is 12.3 points on 10.1 shot attempts per game, and has totaled just 17 assists and seven three-pointers during the win streak. To his credit, Towns’ approach and apparent sacrifice on that end of the floor seems to be working out fine for the surging Knicks. But from a fantasy basketball perspective, there is certainly a lot of meat left on the bone.
Q: Aside from Tyler Herro and Kel’el Ware, the Bucks want more young pieces for Giannis Antetokounmpo. If it came down to choosing between Kasparas Jakucionis, Pelle Larsson or Jaime Jaquez Jr., who do the Heat value most? I would keep Kasparas and include one of the other two if they would let me. I really like this rookie’s two-way talent and playmaking. – Eddie.
A: What has gotten lost in this equation is that this mostly would not be the Heat’s choice. When it comes to a player of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s stature, it is the team trading out the superstar that can determine who and how much. Obviously different teams value different players in different ways. So it would mostly come down to the Bucks’ evaluation of the Heat’s talent, should Milwaukee choose to move in such a direction. Assuming Kel’el Ware would be the Heat’s centerpiece of youth that is offered, it would be a difficult choice for the Heat beyond, only because Jaime Jaquez Jr. becomes extension eligible in the offseason, which opens the debate to future valuation. But if you are asking whether Jaime, Pelle Larsson or Kasparas Jakucionis would be deal killers from a Heat perspective when it comes to Giannis, then highly doubt it. All likely would/could be sent out, need be. In fact, this also could be the opportunity for the Bucks to offload some bad salary, as well, while taking in youthful, cheaper replacements.
Q: Ira, it’s hard for me to comprehend why teams now covet draft picks over proven, experienced players, since drafting 19-year-old college kids is so hit-or-miss. Back in the day, Pat Riley used to just throw in draft picks as trade fillers. Now in our pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, we may have the best player package but could miss out because we may not have as many draft picks as another team. It makes absolutely no sense to me. – Greg, Jacksonville.
A: The intrigue is the mystery of the unknown. Once a player is drafted, you begin to appreciate his ultimate upside. When a pick has yet to be exercised, there is the abstract of getting the next great thing. As in so many walks of life, hope tends to trump reality. In addition, by acquiring distant first-round picks, they then can be packaged in the future. Plus, players come with salaries attacked, often high salaries. Draft picks that have yet to have been exercised have no impact on a team’s current salary cap or tax. So there is that, as well.
Q: So, this year’s key word used by Erik Spoelstra is “stack.” Kel’el Ware needs to stack more good days together. Orlando stacked too many paint points. Dru Smith said in an interview that the team needed to stack wins together. “Stack” goes with “stick with the process” and “play to our identity.” Whatever that means. – David, Fort Lauderdale.
The season debut for Jamson Coulter arrived about three months later than anyone at Rich Township would have wanted. But Coulter’s teammates and coaches were delighted that it happened at all.
And amazed at what transpired in his comeback game.
Coulter was the second-leading scorer on a Raptors team that finished fourth in the state last winter in Class 4A. The senior guard, however, had missed all of this season while dealing with a medical issue.
His return performance Monday night seemed to be out of a movie script. He scored 25 points over the final three quarters and had Lou Adams, his coach, fighting back tears postgame.
“Going through what he went through and to bounce back and perform like that on a big stage, it speaks volumes about him,” Adams said of Coulter. “He’s pretty good, man.
“I’ve seen everybody. I’ve seen a lot of great players. He’s special.”
Coulter’s big night was special and necessary as the host Raptors held off a furious Bloom comeback and pulled out a 73-66 Southland Athletic Conference win in Richton Park.
Kavon Ammons scored 16 points, including a 3-pointer with 1:45 to go that put Rich Township (13-11, 6-3) ahead for good. TJ Eaton added 15 points. Dyron Watson pulled down seven rebounds.
Coulter, who was not available for an interview after the game, did not play in the first quarter but entered a minute into the second quarter to a standing ovation.
“Seeing Jamson back on the court was amazing,” Ammons said. “It felt good having him back. We’ve been missing him.”
The start was a bit rough for Coulter, who committed a turnover and airballed a 3-pointer on his first two touches. But he got going soon after, scoring seven points before halftime.
The Raptors led 51-41 after three quarters before Bloom stormed back to tie the game four times in the final four minutes.
Coulter, though, was unstoppable down the stretch. He scored 14 points in the fourth, consistently getting to the basket even when the Blazing Trojans threw double and triple teams at him.
“That’s Jamson,” Ammons said. “I wasn’t surprised. I’m used to it. He doesn’t want to lose. He’s always been like that.”
The first three times Bloom tied the game, Coulter had immediate answers, scoring on two drives and knocking down a 3-pointer.
“He was just being Jamson Coulter,” Eaton said. “We’re a way better team with him. He was like the piece we were missing.”
Ammons, who struggled with his shot most of the night, knocked down his biggest with a 3-pointer that broke a 63-63 tie with 1:45 to go. He added three free throws to seal the win.
“It was just trusting the work,” Ammons said. “Trust that I’ve put in reps, put in the work and trust that when I put up the next shot, it’s going to go in.”
It all added up to a special night for the Raptors, who were emotional after the game.
“Words can’t even explain it,” Eaton said. “It was just a good team win and I’m glad to have my boy back.”
After Ammons was fouled with one second left and the win wrapped up, Adams substituted for Coulter to allow him to get one more round of applause from the crowd.
Coulter walked to the sideline and got a huge hug from Adams.
“Earlier in the day, Jamson told me, ‘Coach, I’m a little nervous,’” Adams said. “Then he went out there and he put on a performance that proves he’s one of the best players in the state.”
When Rutgers committed long-term to Steve Pikiell, it did so after he accomplished something the program had not seen in three decades. Back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances restored credibility and changed expectations. That success led to stability. Now, as results have slipped, the contract itself has become the defining factor in any conversation about the program’s future.
Pikiell’s current deal was signed in February 2023 and runs through the 2030-31 season. Beginning in 2025-26, his base salary increases annually, starting at $3.75 million and rising to $4.25 million in the final year. The contract also includes two retention bonuses of $300,000 each, scheduled for July 2027 and July 2029, reinforcing Rutgers’ financial commitment well beyond the short term.
Steve Pikiell buyout terms
The buyout structure explains why a change would be difficult. As reported by NJ.com, Pikiell were to leave on his own, the amount he would owe Rutgers decreases gradually over time, beginning at $5.5 million between April 2025 and March 2026 and shrinking to $500,000 in the final year of the deal. If Rutgers initiates a separation, the obligation is far more significant.
Terminating the contract following the 2025-26 season would require the school to cover roughly $20.25 million in remaining guaranteed compensation, subject to offset if he secures other employment. When contractual commitments tied to associate head coach Brandin Knight are included, the total climbs even higher.
That financial reality looms larger because on-court performance has declined. After peaking from the 2019-20 through 2021-22 seasons, Rutgers has posted consecutive losing records. The most damaging came last year, when the Scarlet Knights finished 15-17 despite having Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey on the same roster. Both players became top-five NBA Draft selections. Teams with that level of talent are rarely outside the postseason picture, and the gap between expectations and results has shifted the tone around the program.
Still, dissatisfaction alone does not dictate Rutgers’ options. The broader financial picture plays a major role. Since joining the Big Ten, Rutgers has accumulated more than $500 million in athletic department losses, operating under constraints that differ sharply from many conference peers. Absorbing a buyout exceeding $20 million would not be a routine basketball decision. It would require significant institutional backing and long-term financial planning.
That context is why this is not a traditional hot-seat situation. Even if struggles continue, the structure of the contract limits immediate action. In practical terms, Rutgers is incentivized to pursue improvement rather than reset, because continuity remains the less expensive path.
Pikiell’s legacy is secure for pulling Rutgers out of decades-long irrelevance. Whether the program can rediscover upward momentum before the financial math changes is the unanswered question. For now, the numbers, not public pressure, continue to define what comes next for Rutgers basketball.
Feb 1, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) against the Phoenix Suns in the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. | Credits- Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
The Los Angeles Clippers’ mid-season resurgence seemingly was not enough for anyone from the team to make the All-Star Game. Kawhi Leonard’s omission, in particular, was hard to ignore, although there may have been non-basketball-related reasons behind it, according to trusted insider Brian Windhorst.
At the beginning of the 2025–26 season, the Clippers looked like a lost franchise. They were losing frequently, and any strong performances Leonard delivered were quickly forgotten. Then, things began to change. The Clippers have won eight of their last ten games and are slowly climbing the standings.
Leonardhas also been contributing more than ever. He has been consistently available and is averaging 27.6 points per game, his highest mark since joining the Clippers. Still, no All-Star for him.
Could this snub have been due to the scandal at the beginning of the year involving Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and the fraudulent company Aspiration? That is what Windhorst believes, at least.
“The reaction within the league has been kind of universal between the executives that I’ve talked to, which is that Kawhi Leonard doesn’t make the team. So okay, that happens. Players get snubbed. Kawhi’s numbers are phenomenal,” he said.
Leonard is proving once again that when he is healthy, he can be a top 10, and perhaps even a top 5, player. It would still be easy to overlook his numbers, given how competitive the Western Conference is and the fact that he plays for the less popular Los Angeles franchise. However, Windhorst believes the real reason Leonard will not suit up for the All-Star Game is the Aspiration fiasco, in which he was accused of earning around $28 million more than his listed salary under the table.
“And the wonder is did he not make this team because the coaches didn’t vote for him because of the accusations of the improper contract? He is having a brilliant season. His highest scoring season as a Clipper.”
Maybe this is simply the reality of Kawhi’s career at this stage. Fair or not, he is judged on availability, narratives, and the overall vibe surrounding his team as much as on the box score. That is the tax you pay when you are a quiet superstar in a loud league.
Still, if the Clipperskeep climbing and Leonard continues producing at this level, the snub will age poorly. Fans and coaches have short memories when wins start piling up. Kawhi does not need an All-Star nod to validate his level anyway. Come playoff time, if he is healthy, nobody will care about February votes. They will only care that No. 2 looks like a problem again.
LSU has resolved its inquiry from the College Sports Commission related to athletes not reporting NIL deals, the school said in a statement to Ross Dellenger. Dellenger had previously reported that several programs have received similar letters over the last couple weeks with many having already been resolved.
“The CSC inquiry into non-reporting has been resolved with no disciplinary action, and any deals that require submission to NIL Go have been submitted,” the statement read. “We appreciate the CSC’s prompt review and resolution.”
Feb. 2—A familiar face is back on top of the Class B boys rankings in the latest South Dakota Prep Media basketball polls, released Monday.
De Smet, the Class B three-peat state champions from 2021-23 with runner-up finishes in 2019 and 2024, grabbed control of the No. 1 ranking this week for the first time since Dec. 18, 2023. The Bulldogs collected 13 of 22 available first-place votes this week as one of four teams to receive consideration for the top spot.
No. 2 Castlewood nabbed five top votes, with previously top-ranked Viborg-Hurley at No. 3 with three top votes. No. 4 Freeman got one vote for the top spot.
Viborg-Hurley had been No. 1 since Jan. 5, standing atop the rankings for three editions of the poll. The Cougars were bumped from the top spot following back-to-back losses, first to Class A power Hamlin at the Hanson Classic, then by Region 4B foe Centerville. Notably, Viborg-Hurley is still first in the Class B seed-point standings, with De Smet in second.
Elsewhere in the Class B top 10, Parkston and Wessington Springs traded places at No. 7 and No. 8, respectively, while Deubrook Area and Sully Buttes did the same at No. 9 and No. 10.
Here is a breakdown of the latest rankings.
The South Dakota Prep Media basketball polls for the week of Feb. 2, 2026, are listed below. First-place votes are indicated in parentheses and teams are ranked by total points received.
Feb. 2—WAGNER, S.D. — Ashlyn Koupal's lengthy prep basketball resume gained another accolade on Monday afternoon.
Koupal, the University of Nebraska signee and top-25 national recruit for the class of 2026, was announced as one of the 24 players selected to play in the prestigious McDonald's All-American game later this spring.
The Wagner product is the first girls basketball player in South Dakota history to be picked for the renowned all-star showcase set for Tuesday, March 31, at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The inaugural girls McDonald's All-American game took place at New York City's Madison Square Garden in 2002.
Tabbed as a five-star prospect, No. 13 nationally, by the 247Sports composite rankings, Koupal is averaging 28.4 points, 15.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 4.7 blocks and 2.6 steals per game this season. The versatile 6-foot-3 forward/guard's efforts have helped Wagner to an 11-2 start and the No. 4 ranking in Class A, per the South Dakota Prep Media poll. Already a top-15 scorer in state history for girls basketball, Koupal currently rests at 2,308 points ahead of a Tuesday night trip to play Hanson in Alexandria.
Notably, Koupal will be joined on the 12-person West region roster by Maddyn Greenway, daughter of Mount Vernon native Chad Greenway. Maddyn Greenway, who plays for Providence Academy in Plymouth, Minnesota, captured national attention over the weekend for reaching 5,000 career high school points. Greenway is a signee for the University of Kentucky.
Feb. 2—RAPID CITY — A pair of victories out west pushed the Mitchell Christian boys basketball team's win streak to three games over the weekend.
MCS defeated Takini 83-40 on Friday, then dispatched Oelrichs 68-30 on Saturday in a contest that was rescheduled from Jan. 17. Both games were played at Rapid City Christian High School.
Against Takini, MCS led 48-31 at halftime, then outpaced the Skyhawks 35-9 in the second half, including a 21-2 third quarter.
Luke Mentele led the way for the Golden Eagles with 25 points, seven rebounds and six steals, while Brady Asbenson added 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. Casey Gromer offered 14 points, four rebounds and two steals, as Micah Menning contributed nine points, seven rebounds and five assists.
MCS controlled Oelrichs from the opening tip, opening up a 26-4 lead through the first quarter and cruising from there.
Asbenson matched his 19 points from Friday and tacked on six steals, while Mentele, Gromer and Auston Twiggs all scored 11 points. Mentele also swiped six steals, Gromer grabbed five boards and Twiggs had five rebounds, three assists and five steals.
Mitchell Christian (4-8) hosts Gayville-Volin on Monday and Oldham-Ramona-Rutland on Thursday.
Who are all the players that have hit the hardwood for some of the nation’s top prep/high school basketball programs at the McDonald’s All American Game?
Glen Mayers (1980) Chris Brooks (1986) Brian Shorter (1987) Anthony Cade (1990) Cory Alexander, Ben Davis (1991) Chris Davis, Martice Moore (1992) Jeff McInnis (1993) Jerry Stackhouse (1993) Curtis Staples (1994) Ron Mercer (1995) Stephen Jackson (1996) Kevin Lyde (1998) Rashaad Carruth, DeSagana Diop (2001) Carmelo Anthony (2002) Ivan Harris (2003) Rajon Rondo, Josh Smith (2004) Eric Devendorf (2005) Ty Lawson (2006) Nolan Smith (2007) Brandon Jennings (2008) Keith Gallon (2009) Doron Lamb (2010) Quinn Cook (2011) Tyler Lewis (2012) Dwayne Bacon (2015) Billy Preston (2017) Keldon Johnson, David McCormack (2018) Cole Anthony (2019) Chris Livingston (2022)
Alabama is out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in more than two years.
The Crimson Tide dropped out of Monday’s men’s college basketball poll after a rough week that snapped a run of 42 consecutive rankings, the fifth-longest active streak entering the season. Alabama had been ranked every week since January 2024 and opened the week at No. 23 before losing two of its last three games, including a 100-77 rout at the hands of No. 19 Florida.
Nate Oats and the Tide fell out as Tennessee climbed back into the poll at No. 25, ending Alabama’s streak.
At the top, Arizona Wildcats remained the unanimous No. 1 for the eighth straight week after a school record 22-0 start. The Wildcats earned all 59 first-place votes from the national media panel. Tommy Lloyd’s team visits Oklahoma State next and would set a school record with a 23rd straight win.
Michigan jumped to No. 2 after wins over previously unbeaten Nebraska and rival Michigan State, followed by UConn, Duke and Illinois to round out the top five.
Gonzaga stayed sixth while Iowa State and Houston each climbed a spot. Nebraska slid to No. 9 and Michigan State to No. 10, leaving Arizona and Miami (Ohio) as the nation’s only unbeaten Division I teams.
The SEC finished the week with four ranked teams, down one after Alabama’s exit.
Texas forward Madison Booker picked up 16 points and an autograph Sunday at Moody Center.
Following Texas basketball's 78-70 win over No. 10 Oklahoma, Booker sat during the postgame news conference with UT senior Rori Harmon's name scribbled on her right hand. Harmon later revealed that Booker had autographed her right hand as well.
"I'm her biggest fan," Harmon said.
Texas Longhorns guard Rori Harmon (3) prepares to shoot the ball during the game against Oklahoma at the Moody Center on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026 in Austin. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
Harmon was fangirling over Booker, a two-time All-American who remains on a trajectory to being included in the G.O.A.T. conversation for the UT women's basketball program.
Texas Longhorns guard Rori Harmon (3) dribbles the ball during the game against Oklahoma at the Moody Center on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026 in Austin. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
On the other hand, Booker received her autograph from the player responsible for Sunday's biggest highlight.
En route to its 38th straight win at home, No. 4 Texas led by as many as 21 points before the Sooners rallied to within seven points with 7 minutes and 15 seconds left. After a Booker basket and an Oklahoma miss on the other end gave the Longhorns a little breathing room, Harmon put together a 10-second sequence for the Red River Rivalry to remember.
With 6:33 remaining, the 5-foot-6 Harmon sank a short shot over 6-3 Oklahoma defender Brooklyn Stewart. The Sooners attempted to beat Texas' full-court press by quickly inbounding the ball to freshman Aaliyah Chavez, but Harmon deflected the pass with her left hand. Before it went out of bounds, a lunging Harmon flicked the ball to forward Justice Carlton, who scored to give Texas a 68-55 advantage.
Harmon said she saw Chavez out of the corner of her eye after her score and reacted accordingly. Texas' veteran point guard expressed relief that Carlton was in the right place at the right time following the turnover.
"That's just an exciting play, and it brings the fans into it," Harmon said. "It just makes it more fun when you can play offense and play defense. We're so good at it. I love defensive plays, you all know that."
Texas turned 21 Oklahoma turnovers into 25 points in the eight-point win. The Longhorns are averaging 29.2 points off of turnovers this season.
Texas Longhorns guard Rori Harmon (3) shoots the ball during the game against Oklahoma at the Moody Center on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026 in Austin. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
Rori Harmon praised by both friends and foes
UP NEXT
NO. 4 TEXAS VS. NO. 6 LSU
When/where: 8 p.m. Thursday at Moody Center.
TV/radio: ESPN; 1300 AM.
With Sunday's win, Texas (21-2, 6-2) kept pace in a competitive SEC race. The fifth-place Longhorns trail first-place South Carolina (21-1, 7-1) by just one game. And they play three of the four teams ahead of them — Tennessee (14-5, 6-1), LSU (21-2, 7-2) and Vanderbilt (21-2, 7-2) — over the next two weeks.
Harmon finished with 10 points, six assists and three steals. The fifth-year senior was already the Longhorns' all-time leader in assists, and she now has 889 career assists to her name. Her 345 career steals trail Linda Waggoner's school record by just one. Harmon also tied Ariel Atkins on UT's all-time scoring list on Sunday and just needs three points to become the 19th Longhorn to score 1,500 points in a career.
"I don't think people understand how hard she works and how critical she is for this team," Booker said. "Like, she's our engine. When you see her go hard, we all go hard. ... She's good, and I hate that sometimes I take it for granted, but it's such a blessing to have her on this team."
Oklahoma head coach Jennie Baranczyk disputes a call during the game against Texas at the Moody Center on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026 in Austin. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
It makes sense that Booker would have good things to say about Harmon. The two have been teammates for three seasons now. Harmon, however, was also praised by Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk, who, like Harmon, has been a part of the Red River Rivalry for five years.
"I love Rori, and we're supposed to not like each other," Baranczyk said. "When you see a young person go through (a knee injury that ended Harmon's 2023-24 season), like an injury that's a hard injury to come back from, and lead her team and play really hard, you can't help but have a lot of respect for her.
"They are different when she's on the floor than when she wasn't a couple years ago. We know that. She's an elite point guard. She's Vic's extension on the floor. That's what you want in your point guards. She definitely embodies all things Texas."
Nikola Jokic(L) and Charles Barkley(R) Credit: Imagn Images
After missing around a month of NBA action, Nikola Jokic returned to the court on January 30th against the Los Angeles Clippers, and he looked a hundred percent like his old self. The only problem was that he didn’t play as long as he normally would, and that irked Charles Barkley.
The Nuggets won 122-109 against the Clippers, and Jokic scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. It was business as usual for the Joker, whose return will only bolster the Denver Nuggets’ post-season hopes. The crowd and pundits seemed to miss seeing Jokic’s greatness on display, which is why Barkleybizarrely called for David Adelman’s head for limiting the Serbian’s minutes.
Jokic‘s incredible stat line was a result of just 25 minutes of basketball action. Barkley feels — and rightly so — that he could have done a lot more. The punishment for Adelman? Fire him.
“I gotta call out coach Adelman,” Barkley said on ESPN. “He gave this guy 25 minutes; he would have had 40… We gotta get rid of coach Adelman. He holding this dude back.”
“This dude should have had 40-15-7… He can’t even get his triple-double on cuz he played half the game,” the Round Mound of Rebounds added.
Of course, he was joking. No coach would be fired simply for restricting their star player’s minutes, especially after returning from a long-term injury. Jokic missed 16 games with a knee injury he suffered on December 29. Now, he is back and will slowly, but surely, play more minutes to satisfy Barkley and others.
The Nuggets looked fine without Jokic as well, which makes them an even scarier team. They went 10-6 in his absence, establishing themselves as a genuine contender in the Western Conference.
Unfortunately, Jokic’s second game back was not as impressive. He scored just 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and recorded eight assists in a 121–111 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the top team in the NBA. He played four more minutes than he did against the Clippers, which once again shows that Adelmandoes not want to risk losing his best player to injury again this season.
By the time the playoffs arrive, however, Jokic should be ready to perform at his best.
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball coach Brad Underwood saw his team overcome road adversity once again, as it snagged a critical road win Sunday afternoon to extend its winning streak to 11 by overcoming a talented No.5-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers team, 78-69.
It wasn't just any win. It's a microcosm of a season marked by raw, elite talent finally gelling together as the season's critical stretch run really gets going. Sunday at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln was no different, as for the second consecutive weekend, the No.9-ranked Illini took down an AP Top 5 road opponent after doing the same against the Purdue Boilermakers in West Lafayette last Saturday.
It's the first time the Illini have done so in program history, but it came with a bit of extra motivation that has since begun to circulate in the hours after the revenge win.
More specifically, the team's whiteboard. There weren't X's and O's, nor was there a diagram explaining the ways Illinois can continue to remain atop a crowded Big Ten title race with a little over a month left in the season.
Whether it was a jab at the arena's name or otherwise, it certainly seemed to fire up Illinois as it now holds a win against every conference opponent it's played so far.
Underwood said his players were relaxed and composed in the second half after overcoming a 39-33 halftime deficit. The Illini outscored the Cornhuskers 45-30 in the final 20 minutes, as freshman guard Keaton Wagler finished with 28 points.
“Chemistry and connectivity," Underwood told reporters. "Just the communication… We’ve made huge strides there and we’re competing on every play,” Underwood said.
The Illini are going to attempt to keep their winning streak alive Wednesday night from State Farm Center in Champaign, hosting the Northwestern Wildcats. Unlike Illinois, Northwestern has struggled to stay above .500 for much of the season and is trying to bounce back after dropping a 76-62 game to the Washington Huskies Saturday night.
Tip is set for 8 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network as the Illini try to sweep the season series.
In the aftermath of a 95–61 blowout loss to No. 8 Iowa State, that was the sentence Jerome Tang chose to stand on as Kansas State slipped to two games under .500 as February is underway. No hedging. No qualifiers. Just a clear rejection of the framing.
The scoreboard left little room for interpretation. Iowa State was faster, stronger, and sharper. Tang didn’t argue that. “They’re just better than we are right now,” he said, repeatedly crediting the Cyclones. What he refused to do was let the moment fracture his locker room.
“This is not a message for the fans,” Tang said. “This is a message for my players.”
That posture carried through the entire press conference. When asked about disappointment, he pushed back. When pressed to expand, he declined. “No, I don’t want to expand on it.” When the conversation drifted toward broader program questions, he deferred. “At the end of the season we’ll talk about that.”
Still, Tang didn’t hide from accountability. With program legends in attendance, he turned the disappointment inward. “I’m more disappointed in me as a as a coach and the game plan for the first half than I am for the players for their execution,” he said.
The message remained consistent. Protect the players. Own the rest.
Asked whether the group remains bought in, Tang was brief but firm. “They’re still trying. Yes. Yes, they are.”
There was definitely an edge in the room, but it wasn’t reckless. It was protective. Tang wasn’t denying results or pretending the season has gone to plan. He was drawing a boundary around how his team would be discussed publicly.This is the kind of press conference that gets remembered quietly.
Defiance doesn’t guarantee anything. But at 10–12 this late in the season, it draws a clear picture. Tang isn’t hedging. He’s standing with his guys and betting that belief still matters.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Illinois has now defeated top-five opponents in back-to-back weekends, the latest win coming in Lincoln, Nebraska, over the No. 5 Nebraska Cornhuskers.
WCIA 3’s Courtney Layne Brewer shares the highlights from the 78-69 win with Sports Director Glenn Kinley reporting from Pinnacle Bank Arena, plus extended analysis of another high-scoring game by Keaton Wagler and some of the best plays of the game.
Up next, No. 9 Illinois hosts Northwestern on Wednesday, February 4 at 8 p.m.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
SAN ANTONIO — After multiple delays caused by travel issues stemming from a winter storm in North Carolina, the Magic and Spurs finally took to the court inside Frost Bank Center on Sunday night.
Despite flying the day of the game and having tip-off pushed back five hours from its originally scheduled time over the course of the past day, San Antonio wasn’t deterred by the off-court issues against Orlando while playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
In a contest that was tied six times and included six lead changes, Jamahl Mosley’s squad found itself trailing by double digits majority of the night when the Spurs, behind Victor Wembanyama’s 25 points, pulled away in the second half to capture a 112-103 victory in front of a spirited home crowd.
Desmond Bane scored 25 points, Paolo Banchero added 19 and Orlando received 41 bench points, but the team was outscored 89-63 between the first, third and fourth quarters.
Although Orlando scored 23 points off 17 takeaways, San Antonio (33-16) notched 17 points off 15 Magic turnovers and had six different players finish in double figures.
The Magic (25-23) make their lone trip of the regular season to Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
Slow start
Although the Spurs were the ones who flew into San Antonio just hours before tip-off, it was Orlando who lacked energy and precision to open the contest.
The Magic trailed by as many as 18 points in the opening 12 minutes when the Spurs led 37-21 at the end of the first frame.
San Antonio not only scored more points in the paint (22) than the Magic scored total (21) in the first quarter, but it also shot 7 for 10 at the free throw line while Orlando shot no free throws in that stretch.
Second-quarter swing
The Magic punched right back when they opened the second quarter on a 17-3 run.
Orlando was far more efficient in the second frame when it shot 15 of 25 (60%) from the floor and held San Antonio to below-43% from the floor (9 for 21).
The Magic, who won the second quarter 40-23, outscored San Antonio 16-6 in the paint and 13-4 in second-chance opportunities to take a one-point lead, 61-60, into the half.
Free points
The Magic not only took zero free throws in the opening quarter but they also hardly got to the free throw line most of the night.
After entering the game averaging a league-high 27.4 free throws per night, Orlando finished 13 for 15 at the line.
On the other end, San Antonio shot 23 for 32 at the charity stripe.
Wembanyama on his own shot 11 for 15.
Rookie watch
Second-round pick Noah Penda started the second quarter and was a part of Orlando’s spark that frame.
The French forward racked up seven points, two rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes.
First-round pick Jase Richardson didn’t see the floor until the final result had been determined with less than three minutes to play.
Danny Cervantes comes through with 16 points as Hilltoppers stun St. Ignatius 74-70 on the road.
10. Rich Township 12-11 (10)
Kavon Ammons produces 19 points as Raptors take OT thriller 61-59 over Thornwood.
Player of the Week
Senior guard Jayden Armstrong pours in 35 points in Joliet Catholic’s 74-70 win over St. Ignatius, scores 25 points in a 64-58 victory over Nazareth and then picks up 31 points in a 93-46 win over Pontiac. He surpasses 1,000 career points in the process.
NBA coaches voted Towns in as a reserve for 2026 All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles in mid-February and the seven-foot big man was introspective and reflective of his path after defeating the Lakers, 112-100, at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
“It’s special. This one’s a real special one for sure,” said Towns. “It’s better to be getting the win against the Lakers. I feel better about that right now than the All-Star thing, but as time goes, I’ll be able to digest it and understand the importance of it.
“But right now, I’m just happy we got the win.”
Players, fans and media didn’t vote Towns in as a starter this season after he earned his first-ever All-Star starting nod last year, his first with the Knicks under former head coach Tom Thibodeau. Instead, the talented scoring big man had to rely on the 29 opposing NBA coaches who ultimately gave him the OK.
“It’s been six times and six different roads to get there, you know? And I think every [All-Star appearance] is special, and every one is unique,” he said. “I think this one is one I’ll cherish, but when you’re in the mode and in the moment — it’ll take time for me to digest this All-Star nod. But it’s great to have a day like this that ends with a win.”
Towns’ sixth-career All-Star nod was not a guarantee in a down season under first-year Knicks head coach Mike Brown. His scoring efficiency is down across the board, and with 11 points in Sunday’s victory, he’s close to falling below 20 points per game for the first time since his rookie season with the Minnesota Timberwolves a decade ago.
Yet ahead of tipoff on Sunday, an hour before All-Star reserves were announced, Brown maintained he believed Towns had a no-brainer, rightful spot as an All-Star reserve.
“I’m a firm believer that winning should be a big factor in [All-Star voting], and we’re sitting third in the East right now, so we should have multiple guys on the [All-Star] team,” he said pregame. “Jalen definitely is in the MVP conversation, but we have other guys on this team that have stepped up and helped in a lot of different ways. KAT — he’s leading us in rebounds, he’s second in scoring, I don’t know how many double-doubles he has, but that’s impactful when you’re talking about doing it in a winning situation.”
Towns joined Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson, Indiana’s Pascal Siakam, Miami’s Norman Powell, Toronto’s Scottie Barnes and Detroit’s Jalen Duren as Eastern Conference All-Star reserves. Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Denver’s Jamal Murray, Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, Houston’s Kevin Durant, Phoenix’s Devin Booker, Portland’s Deni Avdija and Los Angeles’ LeBron James rounded out the reserves in the Eastern Conference.
Towns is averaging 20 points, a league-leading 11.8 rebounds and 3 assists per game on 46% shooting from the field and 36% shooting from three-point range.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Angela Dugalic scored a season-high 22 points and had a career-high five steals as No. 2 UCLA extended its winning streak to 15 with an 88-65 victory over No. 8 Iowa on Sunday.
Kiki Rice had 17 points and seven assists and Lauren Betts scored 16 points as the Bruins (21-1, 11-0 Big Ten) remained the only undefeated team in conference play while improving to 10-0 at home. UCLA has won both of its games against Iowa since moving to the Big Ten last season.
The Bruins shot 57.8% from the floor and went 6 of 12 from 3-point range after they entered fifth in the nation from distance at 38.4%. Iowa shot 43.4% from the field.
Ava Heiden scored 19 points and Hannah Stuelke added 13 for the Hawkeyes (18-3, 9-2), who went 0-2 on their trip to Los Angeles. They lost 81-69 to Southern California on Thursday.
Taylor Stremlow scored 12 points for Iowa, which fell behind by double digits midway through the second quarter and never threatened the rest of the way.
Iowa led 5-2 just over two minutes into the game before UCLA went on a 6-0 run and never trailed again. The Bruins led 17-13 after one quarter and were up 28-18 near the midway point of the second.
UCLA led 39-28 at halftime, shooting 54.8% from the floor and getting 10 points from Dugalic. The Bruins pushed ahead 58-30 with an 11-0 run in the third quarter.
Iowa got within 66-53 on a 3-pointer from Stremlow with 7:07 remaining before UCLA went on a 14-4 burst.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As the NBA announced the reserves for the 2026 NBA All-Star game, former Memphis Tiger Jalen Duren was one of six first-timers announced from the Eastern Conference.
Duren, in his fourth NBA season with the Detroit Pistons, is averaging a career-high 18 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.
The Pistons sit atop of the Eastern standings, and Duren will be joined at All-Star weekend with teammate Cade Cunningham and former Memphis Grizzlies head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
The NBA All-Star game will take place on February 15th at the Intuit Dome.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Wofford SID) – The Wofford men’s basketball team fell to second place in the Southern Conference standings after losing to the East Tennessee State Buccaneers on Sunday evening, 86-72, in Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
The Terriers (15-8, 7-3) were led by Nils Machowski’s 23 points, followed by Chace Watley with 19. Brian Sumpter pulled down eight rebounds while Cayden Vasko dished out five assists. Sumpter and Machowski each had one block.
How It Happened
Brian Sumpter opened scoring for the Terriers with a backdoor cut slam dunk with a pass from Nils Machowski. Both teams had a slow start, scoring just nine combined points before the first media timeout. ETSU found a rhythm over the next frame, shooting ahead by nine points, 23-14. Machowski was the main offensive conduit, going two for two from before the arc. Wofford went back and forth with the Buccaneers to prevent a ten-point deficit.
With six minutes left in the half, Wofford grabbed a quick 5-0 run to cut into the ETSU lead. After exchanging scores, the Terriers were able to force their way back to just a one-point deficit with crucial makes from Chace Watley and Brendan Rigsbee. The East Tennessee State bench called a timeout with 2:19 left in the half, 35-34. Wofford was only able to pull things closer from behind the arc. Rigsbee made a corner three to tie the game, before ETSU could answer with a layup on the other end. The teams went into the locker room with Wofford trailing, 39-41.
Cayden Vasko started scoring for the half with a three from the wing. Shortly after, Sumpter found a 4-0 run by himself, highlighted by a backdoor dunk off a slipped pass from fellow freshman, Watley. The Buccaneers forced back-to-back turnovers on their way to an 8-0 run, leading to a Wofford timeout with the Terriers down 50-59.
Despite an and one make from Watley, ETSU was able to reach a ten-point lead with nine minutes left in the game. A technical foul for the Buccaneers gave Wofford some relief. Nils Machowski converted one of two from the line but followed it up with a three-pointer on the next possession. Wofford was able to hold ETSU from making a field goal for over four minutes. The Bucs went ten for ten from the line in that time, keeping Wofford from pulling the game closer. With four minutes left to play, the Terriers trailed, 63-73.
The Terriers continued to prevent ETSU from making field goals but brought the Bucs to the line. ETSU made 13 consecutive free throws before missing. With a minute left in the game, the Terriers found themselves down by ten and began to foul. The game would end with the Terriers falling to second place in the conference, 74-86.
Inside the Numbers
Starters: Cayden Vasko, Brian Sumpter, Chace Watley, Brenden Rigsbee, Nils Machowski.
Brian Sumpter’s block brings him to 34 for the season. This ties him with Kenny Hastie’s ninth-place mark, set in 2001.
Chace Watley set a new career high with 19 points.
Up Next
The Terriers return to the road to face their final SoCon opponent, VMI, on Wednesday, February 4. The Keydets will host Wofford in Cameron Hall with tip-off at 6 p.m. Listen along on the Wofford Digital Network or watch on ESPN+.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Feb. 1—A stampede waiting at the gables. Then, a mass pileup as the gates swung open.
Pandemonium aptly describes the conclusion of Gonzaga's last conference home game with rival St. Mary's College. Not the contest on the hardwood, but the scene that unfolded in front of the McCarthey Athletic Center after the final buzzer.
As part of a promotion, fans as they left the arena were handed One Piece collectables, including a collector's card that has unexpectedly become highly valuable, fetching several hundred dollars apiece when resold online. Outside, more than two dozen One Piece fans, collectors and scalpers sought to separate those fans from the cards. And because many fans had no idea the value of the cards, some parted with them for $50 or less.
The rivalry game in the Kennel Saturday was the second of three games to feature a partnership between Gonzaga and the nearly 30-year-old Japanese franchise One Piece. Each has featured giveaways, like co-branded T-shirts and posters, as part of Bandai Namco Entertainment's campaign to get more Americans to read the manga, watch the anime, catch up on Netflix's live-adaptation and play the associated One Piece Card Game.
Dubbed the One Piece College Basketball: US Voyage, the promotion partnership spans fifteen games at five American universities: Gonzaga, St. John's University, Rutgers University, the University of Illinois and the University of Houston. It was organized by the marketing and multimedia rights company Learfield, which contracts with more than 280 higher education institutions across the country.
Each school is hosting a halftime show featuring clips from the show, T-shirt tosses and performances of the series theme song by college pep bands and cheer squads. Across the 15 games, three for each school, attendees have or will receive limited edition posters and playing cards associated with the "One Piece" game.
While the T-shirts, posters and halftime show drew some interest, the high value giveaway that caused a ruckus at Saturday's game, as it has at collegiate arenas across the country, is a limited edition trading card.
With more than three minutes left in the game Saturday, crowds had formed on either side of the glass doors at the south entrance of the McCarthey Athletic Center.
Inside, fans were eagerly waiting to be handed one of the cards as they exited. Outside, collectors prepared to make their aggressive pitches more than two dozen One Piece fans, collectors and scalpers sought to separate those fans from the cards.
Nick Goble, 27, and his cousin Jayden Martinez, 18, were were stationed outside. The longtime fans of the series made the trek from Moses Lake with two other friends who sought to get a showpiece for their collections.
Martinez said he loves playing the game, while Goble said he enjoys collecting anything One Piece-related. They had the date circled on the calendar since they first caught wind of the collaboration, but tickets proved too hard to obtain.
"My boss, you know, he's a big sports guy," Goble said. "He said this is the first event he's ever heard of where there's no after-market tickets."
As if it wasn't already hard enough to get tickets in the Kennel, the card giveaway has pushed ticket costs up for college games across the country. For example, the cheapest same-day ticket available for Rutgers' giveaway game and matchup with No. 7 Michigan State last Tuesday hung around $250. By comparison, it would cost just $16 for the cheapest seats when Rutgers hosts the University of Washington on Feb. 24 after the promotion ends, according to Ticket Data.
Unable to get tickets, Goble, Martinez and their friends made a plan. Each armed with posters offering cash for cards, the latter two stationed themselves at the student section exit to the North of the building, while Martinez and Goble hung out front. Each brought around $500, intending to start with offers of $50. They had meager goals compared to some of the others outside the gates: obtain a few cards for their personal collections.
"I want one to keep sealed in the package, and then I want one to put in my binder," Goble said.
"If I see a couple that has some, I might offer them $50 for both of them," he added. "I probably wouldn't go over $200 for one."
Martinez hoped for a set of four, which is how the cards are usually incorporated into decks to play the game. Although, as a collector item, few likely will be playing with them.
"It's a really cool collection piece, and honestly, that'd be something, four with all of this," Martinez said, gesturing to the competition also awaiting the flood of fans exiting the arena.
The final buzzer sounded, the doors opened and chaos ensued. As fans fought to get to their vehicles, collectors and others outside the arena closed in around them, leading to a tangle just outside the front doors.
Goble and Martinez's posters quickly fell by the wayside as they saw the aggressiveness others used as they hounded Zags fans for the cards.
Among the would-be buyers were fans and collectors like themselves, some Gonzaga students and those with seemingly nothing more than an entrepreneurial spirit and fat stacks of cash in hand.
Offers started flying, only to be bested by an eavesdropping competitor.
"I'll give you $20 for the card," a timid would-buyer said to a senior couple decked in Zags gear.
"Here's $100 right now," someone interjected with. The woman quickly pocketed the second offer.
"This is just sleazy," someone in the crowd said.
Every few feet, a similar interaction seemed to play out. Befuddled basketball fans had cash thrown in their faces from seemingly every angle. Some were stopped repeatedly, and lamented the losses they were made aware of only after being offered more for the card they just sold to someone else.
"I don't even know what this is all about," said season-ticket holder Sam Wood. "But someone shoved $100 in my face."
Wood said he was unaware of the One Piece franchise, and he missed the last giveaway, so he was confused by the fervor that awaited him after watching his Bulldogs win. His eyes widened when The Spokesman-Review informed him they were fetching between $400 to $800 online.
"Really?" Wood asked incredulously. "So I shouldn't have just sold it is what you're saying."
The circus carried on for around an hour, and security had to get involved more than a few times. At one point, a middle-aged man wielding a stack of cards in one hand and a ridiculously large sandwich of $100 bills in the other was escorted off the property.
He loudly protested, while trying to show the guard something on his cellphone.
"I'll tell him right now, Adam Morrison, there he is right there, look," he told the guard, waving his phone around, apparently with a picture of the former Zags star on the screen.
"Who do you think you are?" he added.
He hung around the parking lot for a few minutes, only to return a few moments later to carry on aggressively bargaining with departing fans after the guard had to return inside for her duties.
Security also closed the doors for re-entrance as scalpers tried to get in for the giveaway, pleading to use a restroom or fetch an item they claimed to have left inside. Security repeatedly asked the crowd out front to disperse for about an hour after the game.
Gonzaga likely had an inkling some chaos would ensue.
Last week, Learfield's Gonzaga Sports Properties general manager, Mark Livingston, said the college decided to do the giveaway after the game to avoid a scene inside the building as the game got underway. Season ticket holders told The Spokesman-Review that the giveaway at the start of the game against San Francisco last month led to a similar scrum inside the building, as the game was being played.
Gonzaga's peer institutions also participating in the One Piece campaign have had their own headaches as a result of the partnership. In New Jersey, someone broke into Rutgers' Jersey Mike's arena and made off with an untold number of the cards last Tuesday, as reported by New York City broadcast station WABC.
If all of the estimated 8,000 cards in the university's possession were stolen, it'd amount to an estimated $2 million in re-sell value given current market prices.
Goble and Martinez got separated amidst the hustle and bustle of the open-air market. It was rowdier than they anticipated, but each was able to obtain at least one card for their collections. Goble said he paid $200, mostly to get it over with, after he was shoved around and outbid more than a few times.
As longtime fans, he and Martinez said it's a bit disappointing seeing others treat the collectible as nothing more than a business opportunity. The promotional campaign coincides with a sharp rise in the value of all One Piece cards, and an influx of scalpers hoping to capitalize.
"If that wasn't the case, I don't think this card would be that big," Martinez said.
Still, Goble said he was grateful they were able to secure some of the cards, and at a price that's still half of what they would have paid online.
"This was just crazy," Goble said.
The final One Piece giveaway at a Gonzaga home game will be Feb. 10 against Washington State University.
Feb. 1—Eight months after capturing an NBA championship with the Oklahoma City Thunder, former Gonzaga center/forward Chet Holmgren earned his first NBA All-Star nod.
The Oklahoma City star became the third former Zag to earn All-Star honors on Sunday, joining a small group that previously only included John Stockton and Domantas Sabonis. Stockton was a 10-time All-Star during his Hall of Fame career with the Utah Jazz while Sabonis made three All-Star teams playing for the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings.
Holmgren was one of seven players named to the NBA West All-Star reserves Sunday afternoon, joining Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets, Kevin Durant of the Houston Rockets, Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, Deni Avdija of the Portland Trail Blazers and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 2026 NBA All-Star Game is taking place on Feb. 15 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles with a new format. Two teams of American-born players will compete against one team of international players, the "World Team," in a round-robin format featuring four 12-minute games.
Holmgren becomes the seventh Thunder player to earn All-Star honors and will join Oklahoma City teammate/reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Los Angeles later this month.
The 7-footer is averaging career-highs in scoring (17.8 points per game) and rebounding (8.6 rebounds per game) while ranking third in the NBA with 2.1 blocks per game. After opening the season with a 24-1 record, Oklahoma City's just 14-10 in its last 24 games, but the Thunder still own the NBA's best mark at 38-11.
Holmgren is one of only three players in the league averaging at least 17.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg while shooting 55% from the field and 37% from the 3-point line, joining Denver's Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee's Giannis Antetekounmpo.
Holmgren was named Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month in December and currently leads the NBA while holding opponents to 44.2% on 2-point shots. He's tied for first in total blocks at the rim with 56.
Once the nation's top-rated recruit, Holmgren followed former Minnehaha (Minnesota) High School teammate Jalen Suggs to Gonzaga one season after the guard led Mark Few's program to an unbeaten regular season and national championship game run.
Holmgren was a consensus second-team All-American during his lone season at Gonzaga, leading the Zags to a No. 1 seed at the NCAA Tournament, where they were upset by Arkansas and future Oklahoma City teammate Jaylin Williams. Holmgren averaged 14.1 ppg, 9.9 rpg and 3.7 bpg at Gonzaga, breaking Brandon Clarke's single-season record with 117 blocked shots.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Holmgren encountered adversity before he could step foot on an NBA court, injuring his foot during a pickup game at the Crawsover Pro-Am event in Seattle. Holmgren sat out the entire 2022-23 NBA season, but earned All-Rookie honors in 2023-24 and led Oklahoma City to the Western Conference Semifinals.
Holmgren averaged 15.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 2.2 bpg in his second NBA season as the Thunder advanced to the NBA Finals against former Gonzaga teammate Andrew Nembhard and the Indiana Pacers. Holmgren capped an impressive Finals run with 18 points, eight rebounds and five blocks as the Thunder beat the Pacers 103-91 in Game 7.
Feb. 1—Graham Ike took care of the offense with 30 points, but Gonzaga took care of Saint Mary's 73-65 on Saturday night in large part by shutting down the Gaels' Paulius Murauskas in the second half and winning the glass throughout.
The latter two tasks were not easy. Murauskas paces the West Coast Conference in scoring at 19.3 points, including 20.2 points in conference games.
He was easily on his way to surpassing those averages after a 13-point first half, but he stalled in the second half, making just 1 of 5 shot attempts while scoring two points in 17 minutes.
Gonzaga wing Jalen Warley had the most reps defending Murauskas. Emmanuel Innocenti and Tyon Grant-Foster also had stretches guarding the talented 6-foot-8 forward from Lithuania.
"Big shout-out to 'E' (Emmanuel)," Warley said. "He came up really big because when he wasn't guarding Murauskas he was guarding (point guard Josh) Dent. He was really making life difficult for them.
"He (Murauskas) is a great player. I knew we weren't going to shut him out, he was going to score. Trying to make his life difficult, not letting him get the shots he's used to getting all year. We did a good job kind of knocking him off his normal spots and normal rhythm."
Warley had his typical widespread impact on the outcome, finishing with 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one steal. In the plus-minus column, Warley was plus 25. Ike was the next highest Zag at plus 8.
"Jalen guarded him, Emmanuel had some good runs on him and Ty had several runs on him," Zags coach Mark Few said. "If (Murauskas) did escape, Graham came over and put a body on him."
Murauskas struggled in three games against GU last season, scoring just 19 points on 7 of 26 shooting.
"You have to play two halves," Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett said. "You have to do a better job. Most importantly, he didn't defend well."
The Zags also shut down guard Mikey Lewis, limiting the sophomore to four points and 1 of 5 shooting on 3-pointers. Lewis hit nine 3s and scored 34 points in two regular-season wins over GU last season.
"Just have to guard your yard and again take away his 3s," Few said.
Gonzaga also won the rebounding battle, not by a huge margin (39-34) but enough to contribute mightily to the victory. The Gaels lead the WCC and the nation in rebounding margin at plus 11 with GU not far behind at 10.5.
The Zags collected 11 offensive boards to Saint Mary's seven, leading to a 17-5 advantage in second-chance points. Innocenti had three offensive rebounds and Warley and Adam Miller both had two.
"They're an excellent rebounding team and those bigs' (7-1 Harry Wessels, 7-3 Andrew McKeever and Murauskas) numbers are something on offensive rebounds," Few said. "We did a great job on that. We ended up with 11 offensive rebounds. We needed every single one of them."
Eight Zags finished with at least three boards, led by Warley and Grant-Foster with seven.
"It was huge," Ike said. "We understood that coming in, the staff made a good point of that. Obviously, the returners know with the past couple years that's what they do. So if we could just clear their big guys off the boards and have our guards come in and rebound — we did execute that. J-War with seven and a lot of guards with five-plus, three-plus."
Grant-Foster's final numbers (five points, seven rebounds, three assists, one block) were fairly modest, but he had a big hand in Gonzaga rallying from a six-point second-half deficit.
"He was all over the place," Few said. "He had some monster rebounds on the defensive end and the offensive side, some tip-outs. He was another that was part of the defensive effort in that second half."
Gonzaga outscored the Gaels 39-27 in the closing 20 minutes.
This time last year, the stakes were different — and so were the results.
The Knicks had traded for Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges the preceding summer, a series of moves signaling New York’s newfound “singular focus” on bringing a championship to Madison Square Garden for the first time in over 50 years, and on the week of last season’s early-February NBA Trade Deadline, the Knicks hosted the Los Angeles Lakers in a matchup the Lakers ran away with following OG Anunoby’s in-game hamstring injury.
The Lakers would go on to trade Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic just moments after leaving Madison Square Garden with a victory. A year later, the shoe is on the other foot.
Now, it’s the Knicks who could very well be positioned to pull off the deal of the century — if not an organizational lifetime — regardless of their 112-100 victory over the Lakers on Sunday. It’s the Knicks who have to prove between now and the Feb. 5 NBA Trade Deadline that a seismic move for Giannis Antetokounmpo would do more harm than good for the championship odds of a team that believes it has bounced back from the doldrums of nine losses in 11 games.
So far, so good. Message received, loud and clear. The Knicks have now won six games in a row. They’ve tied their longest winning streak of the season (it was seven games if you count the NBA Cup Final against the San Antonio Spurs, a game the league does not credit toward season stats or the official win-loss column). And they’re back to moving the ball and playing selflessly on the offensive end.
Mike Brown credited the Knicks’ improved play to having more practice time as the schedule has lightened.
“We’ve had a chance to practice a little bit. But we made changes a little earlier, we’ve gotten a little better with the changes. Guys have been communicating more, but they’re able to do that because they feel a little bit more comfortable with what we’re doing,” he said ahead of tipoff. “Defensively, we made some changes. Offensively too. And, uh, you know. I think because we’ve had a chance to work at it a little bit, the guys have had a chance to get- be involved with it a little bit, the confidence is great. That’s growing as well.”
For the second time in New York’s last three games, Jalen Brunson (12 points, 4-of-15 shooting) had a poor shooting night from the field, yet for the third game in a row, it didn’t matter. For the third game in a row, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby scored 20 or more points apiece.
Anunoby (25 points, 9-of-15 shooting) and Hart (20 points, 8-of-11 shooting) combined for 45 points on 26 shot attempts, and the Knicks got another 23 points and six 3s off the bench from Landry Shamet as Miles McBride missed his third consecutive game with ankle soreness. Anunoby put the final nail in the Lakers’ coffin when he secured an offensive rebound with three minutes left in the fourth and scored on a putback dunk in traffic to extend New York’s lead to 12.
But the Lakers were without star forward Austin Reaves, and after a 33-point opening period, Los Angeles was unable to sustain its scoring punch. James finished with 22 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds, and Luka Doncic added 30 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists on 10-of-23 shooting, but no other Lakers players scored more than 13 points.
The Knicks, who entered Sunday’s matchup with the NBA’s top-ranked defense over their last five games, strengthened their position in the win over the Lakers. They have held five of their last six opponents to 100 or fewer points.
The going is set to get tough from here, but Sunday night was a good sign. The Knicks’ five-game winning streak came against opponents with a combined 100-122 record. With Denver, Detroit and Boston as three of New York’s next four games, the Knicks will see exactly where they stand.
MIAMI – Perhaps it was the return of Davion Mitchell. Perhaps it was the humiliation of falling 18 hours earlier to a team that scheduled it as a day of rest. Or perhaps there is rekindled hope of the move into February leading to a move out of nearly permanent residence in the play-in bracket.
Looking far more cohesive and connected than in either of the previous two games in this unusual three-game head-to-head series, the Miami Heat made quick work of the Chicago Bulls Sunday night at Kaseya Center in a 134-91 victory, tying for the third-most-lopsided victory in the Heat’s 38 seasons.
This was not having to survive a potential game-tying 3-pointer in Thursday night’s three-point victory over the Bulls at the United Center. This was not lacking answers in Saturday night’s humbling seven-point loss to a Bulls team that rested its regulars.
This was more to what coach Erik Spoelstra has stressed what could come from this middling season that has the Heat at 27-24 with one game remaining before Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET NBA trading deadline.
“The one thing I told our group is that we definitely have something,” Spoelstra said afterward. “We have some toughness and guys really care and they want to. It was a good response.”
There was an initial push to a 22-5 lead, the type of third-quarter resolve that previously had been lacking, and Mitchell back to settle things on both ends.
So with 20 points apiece, Bam Adebayo and Pelle Larsson were able to sit out the fourth quarter, with Mitchell returning with 13 points and six assists in his 27 minutes.
“We played the right way and it was great to see,” Spoelstra said. “We know what we need to work on. We need to work on our consistency and we’ll continue to forge ahead until we get there.”
The Heat again were without Tyler Herro (ribs) and Norman Powell (personal reasons), with Nikola Jovic (hip) also out.
The Bulls remained without Josh Giddey (hamstring) and Jalen Smith (calf), with Kevin Huerter (back) also out.
“For us,” Adebayo said, “it’s jut how can we sustain this type of how we are playing? After we lose, we normally respond like that.”
Five degrees of Heat from Sunday night’s game:
— Game flow: The Heat led 34-13 after the first quarter, the most the Heat have outscored an opponent by in an opening quarter this season. For the Bulls, it was their lowest-scoring quarter of the season, one that featured 4-of-21 shooting and seven turnovers by Chicago.
The Heat then moved up 27 in the second period, as the Bull fell to 1 of 18 on 3-pointers, with a 62-40 lead at halftime.
And this time, no letdown in the third period, with the Heat instead moving to a 101-62 lead entering the fourth quarter, affording the primary rotation players time off at the end of the run of four games in five nights.
“We just want to keep the momentum going,” forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. said after his 14-point performance. “I think everyone’s here, you know, tired of being sick and tired. And I think that’s kind of the mentality that we had going into this game.”
— Mitchell returns: Mitchell was back in the mix after missing the previous six games, and eight of the previous 10, with a shoulder sprain.
“D-Mitch brings us that pace,” Spoelstra said. “There’s something about the way he pushes the ball and delivers it.”
Mitchell’s return had first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis again playing off the bench, after starting the previous six games.
There nonetheless still was a twist with the starting lineup, with Simone Fontecchio getting his second start of the season. That left the Heat with their 16th starting lineup, with the opening unit with Mitchell and Fontecchio rounded out by Adebayo, Larsson and Andrew Wiggins.
“I’m feel good, kind of was tired after that first wind,” Mitchell said of his return. “After that first wind I was good.
“I tried to go out there and just be aggressive.”
— Larsson sizzles: Shifted from starting forward to starting guard, Larsson came out firing, with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
That came a night after Larsson scored a career-high 22 points.
Larsson now has scored in double figures in five of his last six games, this time closing at 8 of 11 from the field, with four rebounds and four assists.
“It was very important just for our own heads,” Larsson said of the bounceback victory. “I think just to show that to ourselves that that wasn’t us yesterday and in the future trying to limit those performances.”
Larsson said there was no specific story behind the back-to-back 20-point performances.
“Just got good looks and made them,” Larsson said. “That’s kind of our offense. Sometimes you’re gonna get some good looks and just gotta be ready to shoot.”
— Ware’s world: A night after playing 3:11 in Saturday’s loss, Kel’el Ware this time played as the primary backup big man, with Jovic sidelined by a hip impingement sustained in Saturday night’s loss.
This time Ware’s initial stint was 8:45, a run that included four points and four rebounds.
From there, there was ample action and opportunity, as the Bulls emptied their bench.
He closed with 17 points and six rebounds, needed for just 18:24.
“It’s good to have him get some extended minutes tonight,” Spoelstra said.
Spoelstra said he also would work more to make it work with his younger players going forward.
“I want to take that challenge,” he said. “And I want to be better with that,”
— Tiebreaker achieved: With the victory, the Heat won the season series 3-1.
So, yes, potential play-in seeding was at stake.
“What we do have is an opportunity to win the season series,” Spoelstra said pregame. “When you have an opportunity like that, you want to take it.”
The Heat and Bulls have met in the pre-playoff round for conference seeds Nos. 7-10 in each of the past three seasons.
Luka Doncic(L) and Caitlin Clark(R) Credit: Imagn Images
Among the new generation of stars in the NBA, Luka Doncic is right up there with the very best, and it’s no surprise that other ballers in the country look up to him for inspiration. Even Caitlin Clark, one of the WNBA’s most electrifying talents, desires to pick up a thing or two from Doncic.
Doncic has one of basketball’s greatest minds in the league today, capable of creating shots seemingly out of thin air. He’s also a great facilitator, which is why teams are comfortable letting him have the ball as much as he wants.
Ahead of the Knicks–Lakers matchup earlier today, Clarkused the pre-game NBC panel to highlight Luka Doncic’s brilliance, singling out the one skill of the Slovenian star she wishes to learn.
“Man, Luka, I mean Luka, is amazing,” she began. “I mean, he’s incredible. The way he not only scores the ball but also the way he passes, and I think, the thing about him is that, he’s not the fastest, he’s not the most athletic, but he can get his defender to move where he wants him to go.”
“He does a really good job of either keeping the defender behind him or to the side,” the Indiana Fever guard continued. “I mean, it’s something I can certainly learn from…”
Carmelo Anthony on this same panel compared CC to Luka. “The way that you are able to play in that open court to see the vision that you have, to be able to shoot at the drop of a dime.”
Greats learn from greats, and it makes perfect sense why Clark would want to follow in Doncic’s footsteps. Physically, she isn’t the most athletic person in the WNBA, and she admitted in the same interview that she shies away from absorbing contact. Doncichas made a legendary career (so far) out of it.
Doncic is also a strong three-point shooter, particularly excelling on step-back attempts. He shoots around 35% from deep while making some of the league’s most difficult shot attempts look effortless.
Clark, meanwhile, is already one of the best shooters in basketball today. If she begins consistently knocking down tough, off-the-dribble threes from downtown the way Doncic does, the WNBA will find it extremely difficult to contain her.
MIAMI — Nothing good lasts long for the Bulls this season.
Less than 24 hours after a short-handed roster clinched a galvanizing win over the Heat, the Bulls returned to the Kaseya Center to receive a crushing 134-91 smackdown in their final game of the series.
The Bulls should have been better equipped to fend off the Heat after regaining Coby White and Nikola Vučević, who sat on Saturday for injury and load management. Center Jalen Smith (calf) and guard Josh Giddey (hamstring) remained sidelined and guard Kevin Huerter (lower back) joined the injury report, but the Bulls inched closer to full strength with the return of White and Vučević.
The pair combined for 28 of Chicago’s 91 points as the rest of the roster seemed to come up empty in the final game of a grueling stretch of four games in five days played in three different markets. The Bulls managed to score only 13 points in the first quarter, slipping into a double-digit deficit that ballooned as the game wore on. They spent most of the fourth quarter lofting a white flag while playing deep rotational players like Yuki Kawamura, Lachlan Olbrich and Julian Phillips.
“They came into the game really physical, really took it to us and it didn’t help that we couldn’t make a shot,” Vučević said. “We just never really found a way to respond.”
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
1. Frigid finishing in chilly Miami.
Outside the arena, Miami experienced its coldest day since 2010 as temperatures dropped into the lower 30s early Sunday morning. Inside, that same cold crept into the Bulls roster, who failed to ignite any vestige of their typical shooting acumen at the perimeter.
The Bulls made only one 3-pointer in each of the first three quarters of the game. Ayo Dosunmu was the only starter to make a 3. Matas Buzelis went 0-for-5, while Coby White went 0-for-6 and Patrick Williams went 0-for-7 from behind the arc. Julian Phillips and Dalen Terry were the only players to make multiple 3s, both of which occurred in garbage time during the fourth quarter. The Bulls finished shooting at a 14.6% clip from 3-point range.
While the Heat’s 36.8% shooting wouldn’t have been particularly notable on any other night, they still went 14-for-38 from behind the arc to outscore the Bulls 42-18 from 3-point range.
2. More minutes for Yuki Kawamura.
After making his Bulls debut Saturday, two-way guard Yuki Kawamura returned to the lineup for considerable minutes for the team’s second night in Miami.
Kawamura played nearly 27 minutes in the loss, including 10 minutes and 30 seconds in the fourth quarter. He finished with six points and six assists as one of only two players with a positive plus-minus score.
3. Another lost series.
The Bulls dropped to 1-3 against the Heat in their final matchup of the regular season. The two teams played each other three times in four games due to a rescheduled game caused by excessive condensation on the United Center court earlier in January.
This result could be crucial for the final standings of the Eastern Conference, which currently features a familiar cast — Chicago, Miami and Atlanta — in position for the play-in tournament. The Heat now holds a tiebreaker over the Bulls in potential postseason positioning. The Bulls hold the regular-season tiebreaker over the Hawks.
New York City will always play a small part in the Luka Doncic trade that stupefied the NBA.
A few hours before they acquired the generational superstar in a middle-of-the-night deal with the Dallas Mavericks, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Knicks on Feb. 1, 2025, in their annual trip to Madison Square Garden.
Lakers head coach J.J. Redick knew before he left for the Garden that day that the trade was nearing the finish line.
“I found the steam room at the hotel and was just in a really thoughtful space, I thought,” Redick recalled Sunday. “And then Coach Ty [Abbott] walked in and was like, ‘What the [expletive] is wrong with you?’ I guess I was stressed out, but I managed it well during the game.”
Sunday marked one year since that whirlwind day. ESPN first reported the trade — which sent Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick back to Dallas — minutes after midnight EDT on Feb. 2, while it was still Feb. 1 in Los Angeles when Lakers fans found out.
It was fitting, then, that the Lakers were back at the Garden for the trade’s first anniversary — and that Doncic dominated, even in a losing effort, 112-100, against the Knicks.
Playing at MSG for the first time as a Laker, the 26-year-old Doncic dazzled with 30 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists in 37 minutes.
He had 10 points, four rebounds and three assists in the first quarter alone, including an electrifying 71-second stretch in which Doncic made a 3-pointer, found Rui Hachimura for an alley-oop dunk and then drilled another 3-pointer.
In the second quarter, after Josh Hart made a 3-pointer for the Knicks, Doncic answered on the other end by sinking a step-back 3-pointer — over Hart. Ever the showman, Doncic tapped Hart on the backside after the ball swished through the net.
Doncic delivered an even more impressive highlight late in the third quarter when he unleashed a spin move on Landry Shamet, then stepped back and made another tough 3-pointer.
That happened right in front of Knicks superfan Spike Lee, whom Doncic pointed to on his way back up the court, earning a smile from the Oscar-winning filmmaker.
But Doncic managed only three points in the fourth quarter as the Knicks (31-18) pulled away for their sixth consecutive win. Doncic finished 10-of-23 from the field, including 5-of-14 on 3-pointers.
Helping to fuel the Knicks’ win were 12 points, seven rebounds and 13 assists from Jalen Brunson, who was teammates with Doncic for four years in Dallas.
It was therefore a bit symbolic that Los Angeles’ first basket Sunday was a Doncic lay-up off of a full-court pass from James, considering the Lakers’ passing of the torch was put into motion when Doncic arrived last year.
James has said he was out to dinner in the city when he found out about the Doncic deal and that he initially thought it was a “hoax.”
Doncic was similarly stunned, having expected to spend his entire career with Dallas, the team he led to the NBA Finals less than eight months before he was traded.
Mavericks fans revolted, holding protests outside of Dallas’ American Airlines Center and calling for the firing of general manager Nico Harrison. When the Mavericks fired Harrison in November, they were just 16-28 since trading Doncic.
Dallas fans can take some solace in the fact that last year’s post-trade slide helped them net the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft lottery, landing them a new phenom in Cooper Flagg.
But the Mavericks’ loss of the dynamic Doncic remains the Lakers’ gain — and that was on full display Sunday night.
James, in his 21st NBA season, is certainly near the end of his decorated basketball career. With his current Lakers contract set to expire this summer — and no certainty that he’ll be back for a 22nd season — Sunday’s 112-100 loss could be the final time he graced the arena he called his favorite playground.
In the loss, James recorded 22 points, six assists, five rebounds and a steal.
Much of the spotlight went to star teammate Luka Dončić, who finished with 30 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists.
The evening lacked a signature, highlight reel performance for four quarters that MSG fans got accustomed to whenever the 22-time All-Star stepped onto The Garden hardwood.
Shockingly, he misfired on four of six total free throws in a close game that was within reach minutes into the fourth quarter.
There was no 30-point triple-double outing like in last year’s win at The Garden. Nor was there a 50-point Manhattan takeover on 53% shooting to go along with 10 blocks similar to his performance as a Cleveland Cavalier back in 2008.
But, he did garner the loudest ovation of the night after slamming in an alley-oop from Marcus Smart a few minutes into the third quarter.
The theatrics — that so many NBA superstars relish when visiting the Knicks’ home floor — might’ve been on his mind early on as he pulled up for a near midcourt buzzer-beating jumper as time expired in the first quarter.
The heave, however, never came close as the airball coincided with zeros on the clock.
The future Hall of Famer went on to shoot 9-of-15 from the field in 35 minutes of action.
Fans always fill Madison Square Garden when James — and other superstars — make their visits. For stars on West Coast teams, it’s their one chance a year to wow fans at the arena.
An hour before tip-off between the two teams, the cheapest get-in price for the matchup hovered above $400 each on Ticketmaster.
Available courtside tickets on the site would cost fans nearly $4,000 each.
The usual celebrities sat courtside for LeBron’s potential final home game: rapper Fat Joe, Steve Schirripa from ‘The Sopranos’ and actor Tracy Morgan.
Spike Lee, of course, was seated in his usual sideline seat while exchanging words with Dončić after a patented fadeaway jumper.
With fans still seated as the Knicks led by 10 with about four minutes remaining, James checked back in for a final push to shortened the deficit.
Just maybe, the superstar could make magic just one more time before potentially walking off The Garden hardwood for good.
There was no such comeback. No signature breakaway tomahawk dunk. No chase down block that he made famous.
Just thoughts and questions whether he’ll ever play inside Madison Square Garden again.
SEATTLE, Wash. (WCIA) — Illinois women’s basketball took on its seventh ranked opponent of the year in the Washington Huskies and kicked off the west coast swing with a win.
The Illini played No. 25 Washington on the road in Seattle, leading by as many as 14 points and coming out with a 75-66 victory.
Cearah Parchment and Berry Wallace once again top the box score, with 23 and 22 points, respectively. Parchment also picked up her seventh double-double of the year with ten rebounds.
Illinois stays out west to face Oregon on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
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The college basketball world is torn on Alabama's fight to keep Charles Bediako on the court. Legendary broadcaster Dick Vitale was the latest to weigh in on the burning topic. He opened up Sunday on the ongoing eligibility controversy surrounding Bediako, offering his take during an ABC broadcast of SEC action between No. 19 Florida and No. 23 Alabama.
Vitale was calling the game alongside ESPN colleagues Jimmy Dykes and Karl Ravech, and addressed the tension between NCAA rules and the court system after Bediako was allowed to play while his legal challenge remains unresolved.
“The bottom line is, you have a rule book, and the rule book says, according to the rules of the NCAA, he is ineligible,” Vitale said during the first half via On3 . “However, the court system said, ‘No, he can play.’ And you can’t blame a coach when a judge says you can play a 7-footer.”
Bediako is playing under a temporary restraining order granted Jan. 20, with an injunction hearing scheduled for February 6 in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court.
The NCAA previously ruled the 23-year-old ineligible after he entered the 2023 NBA Draft and signed multiple contracts while playing in the G League. After going undrafted, Bediako signed deals with the San Antonio Spurs, Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets
Vitale noted the NCAA did not have the opportunity to present its full legal case before the initial ruling. That's been the same argument by several analysts. Also, former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl took it a step further and said Alabama should be banned from the postseason.
Entering Sunday, Bediako is averaging 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in two games since returning to Alabama.
Feb. 1—The Plum girls basketball team did not lose a game in January, going 9-0 overall and 7-0 in Section 1-5A to take control at the top of the section standings.
The Mustangs clinched at least a tie for their first section title with a convincing 52-34 win over playoff-bound Penn Hills on Friday behind 18 points from senior Riley Stephans, 11 from junior Tamia West and nine off the bench from freshman Tori Glogowski.
Stephans' performance came on the heels of a magical night two days earlier when she scored 31 points and surpassed 1,000 points for her career in helping lead Plum to a 54-52 win over Penn-Trafford in a nonsection battle of section leaders at Plum High School. The victory snapped the Warriors' 12-game winning streak.
Stephans averaged 24.0 points in January.
Plum, 16-3 overall, can clinch the section outright Monday with a win over Gateway (2-15, 0-10).
The Mustangs close section play Friday at Fox Chapel (12-8, 7-3) in a rematch of a 65-49 Plum win Jan. 12.
The Foxes hope to keep pace and head into the finale against Plum with momentum. They travel to Shaler on Tuesday in hopes of completing a season sweep. Fox Chapel won the first meeting 49-31 on Jan. 9.
The Foxes went 7-2 in January and have won four in a row, taking down Franklin Regional, 54-35, on Thursday before topping Armstrong, 45-32, on Friday.
Senior Lyla Jablon, one of the area's leading scorers, fronted the Fox Chapel attack against Franklin Regional with 23 points. Jablon and Emily McKee scored 12 and 11 points against Armstrong.
Riverview rallies around injured star
Senior Isabel Chaparro suffered a knee injury in a loss to St. Joseph on Jan. 20.
She was able to play two days later at Jeannette but injured her ankle midway through the game and didn't return. But the rest of the Raiders rallied around Chaparro and each other to produce an important 55-50 win over the Jayhawks. Senior Lana Lynch and freshman Mia Murphy each scored 14, and junior Blake Huffman added 12.
Without Chaparro in the lineup, Riverview topped Frazier, 48-39, on Thursday behind eight points apiece from Murphy, freshman Gianna Brenza and junior Juliette Brun.
Riverview coach Andre Carter said Saturday that there is no indication of when Chaparro, who averaged 28 points heading into the Jeannette game, might return.
The Raiders (9-6, 5-2 in Section 4-2A) close section play Monday at Ellis, Tuesday at Apollo-Ridge (9-10, 3-4) and at home Thursday against Winchester Thurston (14-3, 7-0).
The Vikings hope to finish their push to the playoffs strong with three more section games. A-R saw its seven-game winning streak snapped with a loss to Winchester Thurston on Jan. 23 before Thursday's five-point setback at Jeannette. Sophomore Madison Hughley scored 14 against the Jayhawks.
St. Joseph returns to action
The Spartans (11-6, 7-3 Section 1-A) last played Jan. 22 with a 61-24 home win over Eden Christian that helped clinch a spot in the WPIAL playoffs.
The heavy snowstorm last Sunday and the extreme cold that followed forced school officials to switch to remote learning all week. As a result, all after-school activities were canceled, including practices and games.
Coach Geoff Dutelle said the team was to return to practice Saturday to prepare for Monday's game at Sewickley Academy (10-8, 7-4), a rematch of a six-point Panthers win Jan. 8.
St. Joseph, winner of five in a row, faces Union (9-2) on Tuesday, Springdale (2-8) on Thursday and Aquinas Academy (10-0) on Saturday.
Cavaliers help their cause
Kiski Area sits in fourth place in Section 2-5A at 4-5, ahead of McKeesport (3-8) and trailing third-place Latrobe (6-4) with three section games remaining this week.
The Cavaliers moved closer to the postseason Friday by claiming their second straight section win, 63-31 over West Mifflin. Kiski took control early, outscoring the Lady Titans, 21-4, in the first quarter. Senior Gianna DeVito and junior Jada Blanciak scored 15 points each to lead the way, with junior Olivia Strellec draining a trio of 3-pointers on the way to 11 points.
Kiski Area needs one more section win to secure its place in the playoffs. The Cavaliers conclude section play this week, starting Tuesday at Penn-Trafford (10-0). Kiski hosts McKeesport on Thursday and visits Latrobe on Friday.
Rivals go down to the wire
Freeport and Knoch finished the week tied for the fourth and final WPIAL playoff spot from Section 1-4A at 4-6.
The Yellowjackets (10-9 overall) battled Burrell on Thursday before falling to the Bucs, 55-39. The Knights (4-15) joined Freeport in the standings with Friday's 46-18 win over Derry behind 19 points, including three 3-pointers, from senior leading scorer Neah Ewing. Knoch finished a season sweep of the Trojans.
Freeport will pick up a forfeit win Monday over Highlands to move to 5-6 and will clinch at least a tie for fourth in the section with a Knoch loss at home Monday to North Catholic (8-2).
Burrell (13-6, 7-3) clinched at least third place in the section with its win over Freeport
Deer Lakes clinches
The Lancers are back in the WPIAL playoffs for the second year in a row under coach Dana Petruska. They wrapped up a spot with a 50-42 win over Ligonier Valley on Saturday, which completed a Section 2-3A season sweep.
The victory also got Deer Lakes back in the win column after tough losses to section leaders Avonworth and Shady Side Academy.
Deer Lakes (10-8, 7-5) hosts Steel Valley in section Monday evening before wrapping up section play Thursday at Greensburg Central Catholic.
Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.
The chants were the kind that you'd never think would be heard in Olean, New York.
"Fire Mark Schmidt" were the cries of some St. Bonaventure basketball fans recently, directed at the Bonnies' head coach since 2007.
And, well, it's quite shocking.
The Bonnies fell to 13-9 on the season with a loss in their most recent game, but it was a four-point defeat to a George Mason team that's 20-2, so not exactly a brutal loss.
Has St. Bonaventure been quite up to par of some of the Schmidt era in the past few years? Not really.
But a chant to fire the guy? Man, that seems misguided.
Former Bonnies player Dion Wright had this to say on X:
It’s either you die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain . . . Chanting “fire schmidt” is absolutely disgusting. A lot of people didn’t even know anything about St. Bonaventure until he got there. At the end of the day it’s a players game.
The four seasons before Schmidt was hired at Bonaventure all featured single-digit wins.
It took him just one year of rebuilding before he got to 15 wins in his second season.
They haven't won fewer than 14 games in a season in his entire tenure.
That includes three NCAA Tournament appearances and two trips to the Round of 32.
Schmidt is Bonaventure's all-time wins leader, now with 337 wins and counting.
And this isn't like other jobs. Bonaventure, with an enrollment of less than 3,000 students, is one of the few smallest Division I basketball programs in the country.
In the NIL era and transfer-heavy era, it's hard to get recruits to come to Olean.
And so somehow, that all led to the chants by Bonnies fans. Apparently some people feel that way.
There are plenty of St. Bonaventure faithful who would never dream such a fate on Schmidt.
For a stretch on Sunday, Tennessee looked like it had UConn on its heels. But the thing about a team as talented and well-balanced as UConn is that even on its heels, it can find momentum. Heck, Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong could probably find momentum in quicksand.
The two combined for 53 points in No. 1 UConn’s 96-66 win over No. 15 Tennessee (14-5, 6-1 in SEC). The pair’s ability to score from anywhere on the floor makes UConn (23-0, 12-0 in Big East) not just a defensive mismatch, but also an unsolvable problem — at least to this point in the season. After all, having either Strong or Fudd could make almost any team a title contender. To have both? Well, that’s UConn for you.
But for UConn to be as dominant as it is — the Huskies just reeled off their 18th-consecutive 25-plus point victory — Fudd and Strong need to be excellent.
“When we go into these kinds of games, we pretty much know that if those two don’t have big games, it’s going to be really hard for us to win,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “Not that we can’t, but it would be really hard for us to win.”
Though Fudd scored the first seven points of the game to indicate a forthcoming rout, the Huskies still managed to hit some quicksand. UConn coughed up a 15-point first-quarter lead and let the Lady Vols tie it up by halftime, and the Huskies turned over the ball nearly as much in the first half as they have in full games this year. Yet with Strong and Fudd, a creeping sense of an inevitable Huskies victory never goes away — the eventual 30-point margin was the largest in the series’ history and was Tennessee’s second-worst loss in program history.
Fudd and Strong combine for 36.5 points per game this season, seamlessly filling the scoring gap left by Paige Bueckers, who was a focal point of last season’s offense. Against their top competition this season — five games against teams that currently rank among the top 15 — the duo averaged 47.8 points a game. Their production against Tennessee marks the second time this season they’ve combined for at least 50 points; their 50 points against Iowa were responsible for another signature victory.
The cast around Fudd and Strong has its moments, too. The energy and defensive prowess of KK Arnold (six steals), the all-around contributions of Ashlynn Shade, transfers Serah Williams and Kayleigh Heckel’s continued growth in UConn’s system and sharpshooter Allie Ziebell — who hit a program-record 10 3-pointers in the Huskies’ previous game and requires constant monitoring on the perimeter — all support the duo. Tennessee looked outmatched for most of the game, and that was even as Blanca Quiñonez, one of the nation’s top freshmen, sat on UConn’s bench with a day-to-day shoulder injury.
For years, the women’s hoops calendar revolved around the UConn-Tennessee matchup. The rivalry helped build and sustain the sport over decades. Today, Fudd said, “it’s not the same as it was back then” when it comes to the circus of the game. But inside those lines, this game still did everything for UConn that games of the past did: It put a mirror up to a UConn team that has national title aspirations.
Auriemma won’t have issues finding faults in that reflection. After Fudd finished three rebounds and three assists short of a triple-double (with four steals and a block), he pointed out that she also had two turnovers. But the uncharacteristic mistakes UConn made in the second quarter when it allowed Tennessee’s defensive speed and pressure to impact its play will resonate more loudly at the Huskies’ practices in Storrs this week than the margin of victory.
“You play these games to be really tested, to find out a little bit of what your team is made of,” Auriemma said. “It’s good that you have to regroup and find yourself.”
UConn found itself on Sunday. It played unselfish basketball in an exclamation point victory. The Huskies have been perfect so far this year, having rough quarters only here and there, and never at a point when or for long enough to hurt them beyond learning a lesson. (UConn’s four-point third quarter in a win against ranked Michigan comes to mind.)
No doubt, when any team in March sees UConn in its path, it will examine these occasional rough patches UConn has experienced. Can Tennessee or Michigan provide a roadmap for future UConn opponents? Can anything be done to slow the Huskies from regrouping and finding their stride?
It’ll be on Auriemma and his staff to plan the reverse. It’ll be on his players to learn from these stretches to find the new version of themselves faster the next time around. To work backward to figure out how to stop issues at the first warning sign. To understand how the yarn started unraveling in the first place. In the rankings, this is another “W,” putting the Huskies one step closer to another undefeated season. But to UConn, it will be a warning sign along the way (and to Auriemma, a close call).
The perennial knock against UConn is that because it plays in the Big East, it doesn’t come up against the night-in, night-out challenges like teams in the SEC or Big Ten. And yet, every SEC and Big Ten opponent on the Huskies’ schedule this year has met the same fate. Even in those games with cold stretches or tough moments, UConn’s UConn-ness was inevitable. The Huskies are appearing to pull away from the field as they go for the first back-to-back women’s basketball national championships since the program’s 2015 and 2016 titles.
For now, UConn remains perfect. It’s a sentence that has been typed a thousand times over the last few decades in women’s hoops. The Huskies’ last loss came 39 games ago in Knoxville last season. Since then, the only thing they’ve lost is the No. 1 WNBA Draft pick. Somehow, with Fudd and Strong leading the charge, this season’s Huskies team might be even more dominant.
Seven Eastern Conference reserves were announced Sunday, and the Nets forward’s name was not among them, a result that’s difficult to square with the season he’s having and the way opponents have been forced to guard him for the past three months.
For Porter, the omission changes nothing about what this year has become. For Brooklyn, it changes nothing about what this rebuild has already produced.
Through 38 games, Porter has authored the kind of season coaches typically reward when ballots land on their desks. He entered the day 14th among qualified players in scoring at a career-high 25.6 points per game, fifth in the East, while handing out a career-best 3.2 assists.
He ranks seventh in the NBA with 145 made 3-pointers, the most by any player through his first 38 games as a Net, and second in the league with 3.8 made 3s per game, trailing only Stephen Curry. He’s shooting 41.1% from the top-left arc and 46.1% from the top right.
More telling is the difficulty. Porter leads the NBA with 77 made 3s against tight defense, defined as a defender within four feet. The next closest player, James Harden, has 51. No one else has more than 40.
Porter has scored 30 or more points 13 times, tied for 11th most in the NBA, made at least five 3s in 14 games, tied for second most in the league and already the third-most in a single season in franchise history. As of Jan. 30, he has made six or more threes in back-to-back games for the third time in his career, becoming just the 10th Net to do so.
Only one Nets player has ever made more 3s in a season than Porter is currently on pace for, D’Angelo Russell with 234 in 2018-19.
But the stat that may be hardest to ignore is simpler.
The Nets have an offensive rating of 115.5 with Porter on the floor. That number drops to 103.0 when he sits. Per Cleaning The Glass, Brooklyn outscores opponents by 13.2 points per 100 possessions with Porter on the court, the sixth-highest differential in the NBA among players with at least 600 minutes. The Nets score 10.8 more points per 100 possessions overall and shoot 5.6 percent better from three when he plays, both top-10 marks league-wide.
As Nets head coach Jordi Fernández put it recently, “Obviously, gravity is the buzzword for him because he does attract so much attention. What he gives us is a stabilizer on the offensive end. Somebody to play through, someone to calm everybody down when the other team is going on a run. He is one of the best, if not the best, off-ball players in this league. The way he’s able to read how he’s being guarded, seal switches, slip to the rim, slip out and curl off of Nic [Claxton] from the top of the key. The degree of difficulty of shotmaking is elite. He gives us somebody to play through, and he’s played on a winning team for a long time, so he knows what it looks like.”
Porter is the only qualified player in the Eastern Conference and one of four in the NBA averaging at least 25.0 points and 7.0 rebounds this season. He ranks second in points per game off dribble handoffs (4.2) and third off screens (3.6), a reflection of how much Brooklyn’s offense flows through his movement without the ball.
He didn’t arrive in Brooklyn with the résumé of a traditional rebuilding centerpiece. He arrived as a former five-star recruit who once projected as a No. 1 overall pick, a player whose career was nearly derailed by three back surgeries, degenerative disc disease and even foot drop that required a brace. He slid to 14th in the 2018 draft because teams feared he might never play again.
With the Denver Nuggets, he became a high-level starter and champion alongside Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray, but often as a third or fourth option in a loaded offense. Last summer’s trade to Brooklyn, largely viewed through the lens of salary cap mechanics, gave him something he had never truly had before.
An offense built around him.
“He looks strong, he’s confident,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said recently. “It’s great to see, given the issues that he had early in his career. You know, multiple back surgeries, just thrilled to see him out there feeling free and confident and healthy. And he’s always been an unquestionably talented, gifted player, and that’s why he was so highly ranked, you know, coming out of school, but obviously the injuries lowered where he ended up in the draft. But he’s a hell of a player.”
The timing still matters. The trade deadline arrives Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. ET, just four days after the All-Star reserves were announced. Around the league, Porter’s name has circulated in speculation as a potential target for contenders.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst pushed back on that idea during a recent broadcast.
“I know everybody thinks that Porter’s available, that would be news to me,” Windhorst said. “I have not heard that he is available. If he is available, I’ll wait for Shams [Charania] to tell me because I haven’t heard that.”
The league may not have voted him an All-Star, but teams around the league clearly view him like one.
Because you don’t accidentally develop this type of player during a rebuild. Recognition or not, Porter has become the stabilizer of Brooklyn’s offense, the player defenses must bend around and the clearest evidence yet that this timeline may be ahead of schedule.
Michael Porter Jr. is not an NBA All-Star.
But the Nets’ rebuild looks very different because of him.
MIAMI — Amid a less-than-stellar season, the Miami Heat nonetheless will have a representative at the Feb. 15 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
Bypassed in the combined fan/player/media balloting for starters, the Heat wound up with guard Norman Powell being selected by conference coaches as an East reserve, with the announcement coming Sunday as the Heat faced the Chicago Bulls at Kaseya Center.
It is the fourth consecutive season the Heat will have a single All-Star. Guard Tyler Herro was the Heat’s lone All-Star last year, with center Bam Adebayo the Heat’s lone All-Star in 2023 and ’24.
Powell expressed disappointment over being bypassed for last year’s All-Star Game despite having All-Star statistics. He said that fueled this season’s push, as he provided needed perimeter scoring punch in the midst of Herro’s injury-riddled season.
“I think I definitely have made the case,” Powell said of the unlikely script of making the All-Star Game for the first time three months shy of a 33rd birthday. “I’ve learned last year not to get caught up in whether I make it or not.”
But this season’s breakout only further fueled the desire.
“My peers around the league after games and things like that are telling me that I’m an All-Star and that I should be there,” he said. “But I do believe that I am an All-Star. I’ve always seen myself as that, and something that I’ve always wanted to work towards.”
Although five starters and seven reserves were selected from each of the two conferences, the formal for this year’s event will not be played in the East-West format.
Instead, two teams of U.S. players and one team of international players (known as the World team) will compete in a round-robin tournament featuring four 12-minute games. The three teams will each have a minimum of eight players.
Because he played for the Jamaican national team during last summer’s World Cup qualifying round, Powell is eligible for the World roster.
In the round-robin tournament, Team A will play Team B in Game 1. The winning team from Game 1 will take on Team C in Game 2, followed by the losing team of Game 1 meeting Team C in Game 3. After Game 3, the top two teams by record will advance to face each other in the championship game (Game 4). If all three teams have a 1-1 record after Game 3, the tiebreaker would be point differential in each team’s two round-robin games.
Previously voted in as starters from the Eastern Conference were Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown, Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham and Tyrese Maxey. Previously voted in as starters from the Western Conference were Stephen Curry, Luka Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama.
Antetokounmpo (Greece), Dončić (Slovenia), Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada), Jokić (Serbia) and Wembanyama (France) all qualify for the World roster.
Commissioner Adam Silver will select All-Star replacements, which likely will be required for Antetokounmpo, who currently is sidelined with a calf injury.
Second-year Heat center Kel’el Ware previously was selected to participate in the Rising Stars at All-Star Weekend for first- and second-year players, with that event on Feb. 13 at the Intuit Dome.
Jerome Tang’s contract at Kansas State reflects a growing complexity with the Wildcats’ men’s basketball program.
Tang is in the third year of a seven-year contract extension signed in September 2023 that runs through April 30, 2030. The deal, which followed one of the most successful debut seasons in school history, includes escalating base salaries, annual retention bonuses and one of the largest buyout figures in college basketball.
For the 2025-26 season, Tang’s base salary is approximately $3.6 million. Under the contract’s structure, that figure increases by roughly $100,000 each year, reaching $4 million in 2029-30 and $4.1 million in 2030-31. In addition, Tang is eligible for $200,000 retention bonuses at the conclusion of the 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons.
The extension was awarded after Tang’s first season in Manhattan, when Kansas State went 26-10 and finished 11-7 in the Big 12, tying for third in what was widely considered the nation’s toughest conference.
The Wildcats reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 2017-18, posting the third-most wins in school history. Tang earned the 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year award and was the consensus Big 12 Coach of the Year.
Jerome Tang buyout terms
If Kansas State were to part ways with Tang before April 30, 2026, the buyout would total $18.675 million, according to contract terms via the Topeka Capital-Journal. That figure drops to $15.75 million after the 2026-27 season and gradually declines to $4.4 million between May 2030 and April 2031, or the remaining unpaid salary.
Before April 30, 2026 — $18.675 million
After 2026-27 season — $15.75 million
After 2027-28 season — $12.75 million
After 2028-29 season — $9.675 million
After 2029-30 season — $6.525 million
Between May 2030 and April 2031 — $4.4 million or remaining unpaid salary
According to USA TODAY, it ranks as the 12th-largest buyout in college basketball, placing Kansas State in a potentially historic financial decision as frustration around the program continues to grow for the Kansas State Wildcats.
Jerome Tang bonuses
Tang's first season unlocked multiple bonuses. Tang received a $340,000 milestone bonus for completing his first year and became eligible for performance incentives that can exceed $1 million annually, including $200,000 for an Elite Eight appearance, $400,000 for a Final Four and $600,000 for a national championship.
Since his first season, results have declined for Tang and the Wildcats. K-State won 19 games in 2023-24 and 16 in 2024-25, with projections placing the Wildcats near the bottom of the conference in 2025-26 despite significant Name, Image and Likeness investments. Tang previously served as associate head coach at Baylor Bears before being hired in March 2022.
Yuki Kawamura is the shortest active player in the NBA and in Chicago Bulls history
While making his debut with the Chicago team during their Jan. 31 game against the Miami Heat, Kawamura won a jump ball against his 6-foot-5 opponent, Kasparas Jakučionis
“It was my first win since I started basketball … I’m so happy,” Kawamura said after defying all odds
Yuki Kawamura, the shortest active player in the NBA and in Chicago Bulls history, didn’t let his height stop him from leading his team to victory.
The Japanese NBA player, 24, made his debut with the Bulls during the team’s game against the Miami Heat at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Saturday, Jan. 31.
In the process, the 5-foot-7 athlete proved his incredible talents by defying all odds and winning a jump ball against his 6-foot-5 opponent, Heat guard Kasparas Jakučionis.
In videos shared on social media, Kawamura can be seen gaining a tight grip on the ball moments after Jakučionis, 19, lost his balance and fell to the ground. Upon forcing his opponent into a jump ball, Kawamura was facing a 10-inch disadvantage against Jakučionis.
“Yuki was on him like a wolverine,” an announcer quipped, as seen in a clip shared by the NBA. “We’re gonna see the shortest player in ball’s history go up for a jump ball!"
After the referee eventually tossed the ball in the air, Jakučionis appeared to graze the ball with his finger as he jumped up to swipe it out of the air, but his timing seemed a bit too early. Before he knew it, Kawamura successfully hit the ball and gained possession of it for his team.
“He won the tap!” the announcer repeated in astonishment. “Yuki, here he comes. 5-foot-8 [sic], winning the tap!”
Ultimately, Kawamura helped his team secure their 125-118 win against the Miami team by recording six points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in just 11 minutes of game play.
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Yuki Kawamura forces a jump ball during the Chicago Bulls-Miami Heat game on Jan. 31
NBA/Facebook
“It was my first win since I started basketball. I’m so happy,” he said of his jump ball win after the game, according to K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network. “I've been a big Chicago Bulls fan my whole life. I'm so happy to be here. I just wanted to bring energy from the bench. But I got to be better — I'm not satisfied yet."
“It was my first time playing in clutch time in the NBA,” he continued. “I felt so amazing. I got locked in."
Kawamura, a former player for the Memphis Grizzlies, played for Chicago’s Summer League team in 2025 but was waived in the preseason due to a blood clot in his lower right leg. After recovering to full health with the help of the Bulls' medical team, the basketball star signed a two-way deal with the Bulls in early January.
“You always take those things seriously,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said, per Lancaster Online. “He’s worked really, really hard. I’m happy for him because at that point, when you have something like that, you just don’t know what that’s going to look like in the future. I’m just happy it all worked out well for him."
For nearly a decade after the legendary rivalry series began in 1995, UConn and Tennessee were perennially among the best women’s basketball teams in the country.
Both programs were ranked top 10 for each of the first 19 games in the historic rivalry, and they were both in the top 5 for 15 of those matchups. The teams met seven times in the NCAA Tournament from 1995-2004, including four times with a national championship on the line.
The rivalry doesn’t carry the same stakes it once did as the No. 15 Lady Vols come to Hartford on Sunday to face the undefeated No. 1 Huskies, but the history behind the series still matters to the faithful fans who remember when the matchup defined the sport.
“Every great scenario in sports generally involves two teams that manage to create these big moments,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “Somebody’s got to have somebody that they respect a lot, and that they’re fighting with all the time, and that’s kind of how it was … It seemed like whoever won that game early in the season … was going to win a national championship. It’s not that anymore. Things have changed. A lot has happened since then, but they’re still a really good team.”
Here are our top 10 moments from the iconic rivalry:
10. Feb. 1, 2001: Tennessee 92, UConn 88
The teams met twice during the regular season in 2000-01, and UConn took the first meeting int in Hartford 81-76. But a month later, just weeks after Tennessee legend Tamika Catchings suffered a season-ending knee injury, the Lady Vols upset the No. 2 Huskies in Knoxville behind 28 points and 14 rebounds from sophomore Gwen Jackson.
9. Jan. 16, 1995: UConn 77, Tennessee 66
The meeting that started it all came in the middle of UConn’s undefeated 1994-95 season. Tennessee was the standard in women’s basketball with three national championships, but the Huskies pulled off the upset of the No. 1 Lady Vols in a nationally-televised game at Gampel Pavilion.
8. Jan. 8, 2005: Tennessee 68, UConn 67
The 2005 regular-season meeting was the lowest-ranked in series history with the Lady Vols No. 10 and UConn No. 15, but the game itself was electric. Tennessee took a two-point lead in the final seconds, and the Huskies missed a pair of free throws to hand the Lady Vols their first win in the rivalry since 2001.
7. April 6, 2004: UConn 70, Tennessee 61
The last time the Huskies and Lady Vols met in a national championship game resulted in UConn’s first three-peat, ending Taurasi’s college career on a victory. The senior superstar was crowned Final Four Most Outstanding Player for the second year in a row after dropping 28 points in the title game.
6. Jan. 21, 2021: UConn 67, Tennessee 61
After Summitt ended the series with UConn in 2008, the programs went 11 years without meeting until it was renewed in 2020. The closest game of the new era was UConn’s six-point win in 2021, highlighted by a clutch fourth quarter 3-pointer from freshman Paige Bueckers after she started 0-for-5 to seal the victory.
5. March 29, 2002: UConn 79, Tennessee 56
UConn earned what remains its biggest win in series history in the 2002 Final Four en rout to its second undefeated NCAA championship. All four members of the Huskies’ iconic senior class— Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones and Tamika Williams — scored in double digits, as did then-sophomore Taurasi.
4. Feb. 2, 2000: Tennessee 72, UConn 71
After trailing UConn by six at halftime, Tennessee mounted a comeback at Gampel Pavilion that was completed by a game winner from Semeka Randall with four seconds on the clock. It was the Huskies’ only loss of the season, and they went on to beat the Lady Vols in the 2000 national championship.
3. Jan. 4, 2003: UConn 63, Tennessee 62
With seven seconds left in regulation of the 2003 regular-season matchup, UConn legend Diana Taurasi sank a clutch 3-pointer to send the contest into overtime. Taurasi finished with 25 points, leading the Huskies to their 51st consecutive win and third straight over the Lady Vols.
2. March 29, 1996: Tennessee 88, UConn 83
The Lady Vols got revenge after losing in the NCAA title game the previous year, eliminating the Huskies in the 1996 Final Four with a thrilling overtime victory. Tennessee went on to win its first of three consecutive national championships under coach Pat Summitt.
1. April 2, 1995: UConn 77, Tennessee 66
UConn’s first national championship set the tone for what the rivalry would become, also completing the program’s first undefeated season and just the second ever in NCAA women’s basketball. Rebecca Lobo led the Huskies with 17 points and eight rebounds to earn Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
A classic women's basketball rivalry commences Sunday afternoon as UConn hosts Tennessee.
No. 1 versus No. 15 in the nation, it's a matchup basketball fans from near and far won't want to miss. Can the Huskies stay perfect or will the Vols get the upset of the season?
In last season's matchup, Tennessee earned the 80-76 win, but it came on its home court in Knoxville. The Vols will need the best from Talaysia Cooper and Co. if they want to overcome Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong.
No matter the results, this Sunday afternoon showdown is a must-see event. Here's how you can tune in with live stream and start time information.
What channel is UConn vs. Tennessee women's basketball on today?
UConn vs. Tennessee women's basketball will be broadcast on Fox. Cord-cutters can live stream the game on DirecTV.
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UConn vs. Tennessee women's basketball start time
Date: Sunday, Feb. 1
Time: Noon
UConn hosts Tennessee women's basketball on Sunday, Feb. 1. Tipoff is set for noon ET from PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, CT.
UConn vs. Tennessee women's basketball radio station
Radio channel: SiriusXM channel 84 (UConn), 190 (Tennessee)
Tune into UConn vs. Tennessee women's basketball on SiriusXM. The Huskies' broadcast will be on channel 84 while the Vols' broadcast will be on channel 190.
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UConn women's basketball schedule 2025-26
Below is a look at the Huskies' upcoming schedule.
ATHENS, Texas (KETK) — The Trinity Valley Lady Cardinals have been rolling so far this season, and were looking to remain undefeated in Region 14 play as they hosted the rival Angelina College Lady Roadrunners.
MORGANTOWN, West Virginia (FOX 44) — It’s been a rough stretch for Baylor men’s basketball. After a 1–7 start in Big 12 play — their worst conference start since 2007 — the Bears finally flipped the script Saturday, snapping West Virginia’s 16-game home winning streak with a 63-53 victory at Hope Coliseum. The win improves Baylor’s Big 12 record to 2–7 and marks the program’s ninth victory in Morgantown under Scott Drew, the most by any Big 12 team at WVU.
Baylor returns to Waco with some momentum, ready to face Colorado at Foster Pavilion on Wednesday.
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The Chicago Bulls made their first move of the trade deadline Saturday night, receiving two second-round picks and forward Dario Šarić while acting as facilitators in a three-team trade with the Sacramento Kings and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The main core of the trade involved the Cavaliers sending De’Andre Hunter to the Kings in exchange for Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis. The Bulls sent forward Emanuel Miller to the Cavaliers, per league sources. Due to Miller’s status as a two-way player, the Bulls also waived guard Jevon Carter to create room for Šarić on the roster.
Šarić appeared in only five games for the Kings this season. He is on the final season of a two-year, $10.6 million contract, which will contribute to the flexibility the Bulls are pursuing in the upcoming 2026 free-agency window.
Miller appeared in only 11 games over two seasons with the Bulls, averaging 2.3 points. Carter, a Maywood native who played college hoops for Proviso East, was a deep rotation player for the Bulls, averaging 12 minutes per game over three seasons in Chicago.
Frustration and disappointment rippled through Philadelphia on Saturday as fans learned that 76ers star forward Paul George will miss the next 25 games.
George was suspended for violating the NBA's drug-free policy.
"Shaking my head, I said I gotta go get myself a drink," said Ronnie Duranto of Aston.
George's suspension overshadowed the atmosphere as fans arrived to the Xfinity Mobile Arena for the game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Some said the news was especially tough given George's recent performance.
"It's actually shocking. I mean, it's really not good for the Sixers. I'm definitely not happy about it," said Zurab Khitalishvili of New York City.
Others echoed that disappointment, particularly those who paid to attend the game in person.
"A little disappointed. It would be nice to actually see him play in person. He's usually injured and now he's suspended. And he's been playing really good lately too, especially the last couple weeks," said Rich Pepe of Northeast Philadelphia.
The NBA has not disclosed what substance was involved in the violation. In a statement, George said he was seeking treatment for his mental health and took an "improper medication."
Some fans said that explanation gave them pause.
"That's a shame, but I heard it's mental health related, so mental health comes first. So I support if it was for a good reason. I support that," said Hayley Pataki of Perkasie.
Others were less forgiving, saying the suspension is another blow for a team coming off a difficult season.
"At the end of the day, when you're an NBA vet like Paul George, you gotta value the team and what's best for them," said Carter Krouse of Wallingford. "And obviously you saw his apology, which you can understand, but at the end of the day it's inexcusable."
Duranto said he believes the signing has not paid off.
"I thought it was a waste of money from the beginning. He's just been hurt, and now this is just icing on the cake of we should've never signed this guy," he said.
George has apologized to fans and said he takes full responsibility. He is eligible to return in late March with 10 games left in the regular season.
Jan. 31—WAYNE, Neb. — The losses just keep coming for the Bemidji State men's basketball team.
The Beavers dropped their 10th straight in a 76-67 loss to Wayne State Saturday night.
John Pecarich led the team with 25 points, followed by Nathan Fenske with 16. Pecarich also led the team in 3-pointers with six. Brock Heffner led BSU (6-15) in rebounds with nine.
Jan. 31—WAYNE, Neb. — The Bemidji State women's basketball team only scored 20 points in the first half against Wayne State.
That slow start cost them, as the Wildcats defeated the Beavers 61-50 Saturday night.
For the second game in a row, Tieryn Plasch scored the most points for the Beavers (8-12) with 14. She also collected the most rebounds with eight and most 3-pointers with three.
Plasch and Beth Bolte collected three assists, a team high.
Jan. 31—MORGANTOWN — West Virginia's 16-game home winning streak came to an unceremonious and difficult end on Saturday.
Of course, it had to be against Baylor. It makes all the sense in the world that Bears' head coach Scott Drew was on the opposite sideline. Drew has darned near built a career out of winning inside Hope Coliseum, improving his mark here to 9-4 following Baylor's 63-53 victory.
His secret ?
"A lot of prayer, man, " Drew said with a smile. "This is a tough place to play. I can tell you one thing, though, every year we come here the hospitality has been genuine and tremendous. That goes anywhere from the hotel to when we first enter here. It's as good as anywhere."
BOX SCORE The last time Baylor dropped a game in Morgantown, the world was just beginning to hear about COVID-19 and there was no such thing as NIL in college athletics.
Baylor (12-9, 2-7 Big 12) has now won eight in a row against the Mountaineers (14-8, 5-4), with five of those wins coming in Morgantown.
"I want to give coach Drew and his team a ton of credit, " WVU head coach Ross Hodge said. "I thought they started the game with a higher sense of urgency and competitive spirit."
As far as being hospitable, the Mountaineers were just that. That included falling behind 15-5 in the early stages of the game — "We dug ourselves a hole, which has now started to kind of become a little bit of a trend the last four games, " Hodge said. — and then went nearly eight minutes of the second half without scoring a single point.
Then again, Baylor, which had lost four straight games entering Saturday, wasn't having much success either. The Bears' lead was 47-44 after WVU forward Chance Moore picked up a loose ball and hit a turnaround jumper as the shot clock was about to expire.
There was still 11:35 left in the game at that point. By the time the next basket was scored by either team — Baylor's Caden Powell did manage a couple of free throws at the 9:02 mark — one could have gone out and ran a couple of laps around the arena, came back in to buy a slice of pizza and a Coke and sat back down in their seat without missing a thing.
"Coach said we had eight empty possessions, " said WVU guard Treysen Eaglestaff, who finished with nine points on 3 of 7 shooting. "That second half, we were down by a little bit, but no one was scoring. We just couldn't get over that hump."
When it came time for anyone to step up in the clutch, the call was finally answered by Baylor point guard Obi Agbim, who nailed two big-time 3-pointers in the span of 90 seconds to give the Bears a comfortable 57-49 edge with 2:08 remaining.
Agbim finished with 16 points and four assists.
"We got Obi some good looks. He made a couple, " Drew said.
WVU, which now travels to Cincinnati on Thursday, closed out the game missing four shots and turned the ball over twice to put the final nail in the coffin of what was the third-longest home winning streak among Power Four Conference teams. Only Duke (27) and Arkansas (17) have had more recent success in home games.
WVU's streak actually began last season under former head coach Darian DeVries. Hodge had won 13 in a row.
"It's disappointing anytime you lose at home, " Hodge said. "We take a lot of pride in protecting this place. The fans tried everything they could to get us in that game. They tried to will us back into it."
WVU's misfires were plentiful. Leading scorer Honor Huff finished 1 of 13 shooting and WVU was held to just 36 % (18 of 50) from the floor.
Baylor guard Cameron Carr — a projected first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft — did show up and finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, but also finished with a game-high seven turnovers.
"His length and his ability to go to the glass was huge, " Drew said. "I think he was trying to get a triple-double, but I've got to make sure he knows that turnovers don't count.
"He played really hard. That's why, I guess, he was throwing up in the locker room. As a coach, you want guys playing as hard as they can and leaving it all out there and he did that today."
Tuskegee men’s basketball coach Benjy Taylor was arrested and escorted off the court following a Division II HBCU game against Morehouse on Saturday in Atlanta.
Taylor was briefly detained after Tuskegee’s 77-69 loss, but it's still unclear why the incident happened in the first place. During the postgame handshake line, the Golden Tigers coach can be seen in a video posted by Field of 68's Jeff Goodman. He was talking to a police officer on the court before being handcuffed.
According to HBCU GameDay, Taylor was attempting to ensure conference mandated security protocols were followed after members of the Morehouse football team was there with basketball players, which is a violation of conference policy.
Tuskegee athletic director Reginald Ruffin said Taylor asked security to remove the football players to comply with those rules.
Tuskegee head coach Benjy Taylor was handcuffed by police after the loss at Morehouse.
“I am at a loss for words and I am upset about how I was violated and treated today. For my players, my family and people of Tuskegee to witness that… pic.twitter.com/2AQRNCu1Dd
“We have security measures for our protection of our officials, our student-athlete coaches and spectators,” Ruffin told HBCU GameDay. He said the procedures are “mandated by the conference office” and are standard across member institutions. However, it led to officers handcuffing Taylor.
“I am at a loss for words and I am upset about how I was violated and treated today,” Taylor said in a statement to Goodman. “For my players, my family and people of Tuskegee to witness that is heartbreaking. I was simply trying to get the football team out of the handshake line.”
Taylor was released shortly after and traveled home with the team. He's currently in his sixth season with the Golden Tigers.
Jan. 31—GRAND FORKS — UND trailed Denver by 10 points with 5 minutes, 3 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
The Fighting Hawks led at halftime and were finally shooting at a high clip from 3-point range, but a poor third quarter seemed poised to negate any positive strides — just like it had in
Thursday's loss to Oral Roberts.
This time around, the Hawks dug in.
"I kind of talked about in a timeout, where we're getting into that, 'Here we go again,'" UND head coach Dennis Hutter said. "But then, obviously, they found a way to rally together, work together, reconnect as a group, and they started to fight. I think they showed a tremendous amount of resiliency in that fourth quarter. We know how it is, it's going to start on the defensive end."
The Pioneers did not score again. As the defense stood tall, UND embarked on an 11-0 run in the final three minutes, capped off by sophomore forward Ava Miller's driving layup with 24 seconds remaining.
Miller's basket proved to be the game-winner, and the Hawks hung on for a 73-72 victory over Denver (9-13, 3-6).
"Thursday's game, we were really close," sophomore guard Sydney Piekny said. "And you know what? We weren't satisfied enough in the locker room after the game. So getting the win in this one today, it just felt like it was definitely deserved."
The win snapped a five-game losing streak for UND, which improved to 5-17 and 2-7 in the Summit League.
"I'm proud of them because of the effort they've put in," Hutter said. "These kids are getting in the gym. They're doing everything they're supposed to be doing to make them better players. They just weren't seeing the results. As a coach, it's really hard, because you want to tell them it's going to pay off, you just can't tell them when it's going to happen. And so a night like tonight is great, because it gets them to start to see the results, and it makes them hopefully want to continue to do it."
The Hawks' turnover struggles reemerged in the third quarter. Eight of UND's 17 turnovers came in the third, and Denver outscored the hosts 30-15 to take a 63-51 advantage into the fourth quarter.
The Hawks' issues with 3-point shooting, however, did not appear.
UND nailed a season-high 15 triples, shooting 53.6% from beyond the arc.
Piekny led the way, shooting 5-for-5 from deep to reach a career-high 15 points.
"I was like, 'They haven't missed at all,'" freshman guard London Harris said. "I already knew it was going in, I didn't even need to look, I just got back on defense. I was like, 'She already made it.'"
UND has found a groove with its new starting lineup in the last two games, which now includes Harris and freshman guard Lauren Hillesheim.
Harris scored 11 points and led the Hawks with seven rebounds. She shot 4-for-6 from the field and 3-for-6 from the free-throw line.
"Sometimes the team needs a little bit of a jolt, it needs a little bit of something," Hutter said. "To insert two freshmen is a pretty big jolt, it really truly is. I wanted to make sure they were okay with it, that they could handle it mentally. That's a lot to put into their lap. They immediately were like, 'Yep coach, we can handle this, we're all about this.' I'm hoping we don't have to do anything else (to the starting lineup) the rest of the year, so I'm hoping we found a bit of a groove as far as our sub pattern goes from here on out."
As the Hawks tried to stem Denver's run in the second half, though, they turned to their senior leaders. Graduate guard Mackenzie Hughes nailed four 3-pointers and scored all 13 of her points in the final two quarters.
Senior center Walker Demers collected seven points in the second half to finish with 14 points, second only to Piekny.
"I always used to say that you're only as good as your senior leadership," Hutter said. "They are going to set the tone for everything that we're going to do. Their urgency will create urgency for the group. If it's a senior who doesn't want it to end, then the team is going to give everything they have until the very end. You're seeing that with Kenzie right now — I've been seeing that for years, obviously, when I was at Mayville — I also think you're seeing that out of Walker a little bit."
It'll be a quick turnaround now for UND, which hosts Bismarck State Sunday at 1 p.m. in a non-conference game rescheduled from Dec. 9.
MANCHESTER — In his first time experiencing the rivalry game, Ewa Edokpolo brought the energy — and clinched the win for the Manchester Memorial boys basketball team.
During a Manchester Central timeout with 13.2 seconds left in overtime, the junior transfer from Trinity looked to the Memorial side of a packed Simon Gym and raised his arms, asking the Crusaders faithful to get loud.
Edokpolo then denied Central’s attempt to tie the game, blocking Little Green senior Chris Gummaa’s shot with 1.5 seconds remaining to secure Memorial its 70-68 NHIAA Division I win on Friday night.
Edokpolo, who came off the bench, also made the buzzer-beating 3-pointer on a designed play at the end of regulation to tie the game at 60-60, forcing overtime.
The lone meeting between the Queen City rivals this season featured 20 lead changes and 14 ties.
“He gives us a spark,” Memorial coach Danny Bryson said of Edokpolo. “He’s definitely our energy guy.”
Edokpolo called Gummaa (game-high 22 points) one of the best scorers in the state. When he saw Gummaa with the ball at the end of the game, Edokpolo knew he had to step in to help defend.
“He’s really quick,” Edokpolo said of Gummaa. “I was able to just get up and get the block and help seal the game defensively.”
The victory ended a three-game losing streak for the Crusaders (5-6). Central is 3-8.
Edokpolo transferred to Memorial this year to play and go to school with his friends and family. He has two cousins on the team, junior Ledum Adumene and freshman Kench Emadamerho.
Bryson considers Adumene (nine points, two rebounds) and Edokpolo (11 points, eight rebounds) to be the Crusaders’ defensive front.
“We’ve been playing basketball together our whole lives,” Edokpolo said. “We’re cousins so we have that intuition with each other.”
Both teams had starters foul out of the game before overtime.
Memorial sophomore center Eldan Taric (six points, six rebounds) fouled out in the third quarter.
Crusaders junior forward Joel Gomez (team-high 18 points) and Central junior forward Glodie Hamisi (19 points, nine rebounds) both picked up their fifth fouls in the fourth quarter.
“It was about just grinding it out,” Bryson said.
Alongside Hamisi and Gummaa’s combined 41 points, Central got a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) from Kingston Patten.
Jake Ornelas tallied nine points and four rebounds off the bench for the Crusaders.
First-year Central coach Tim Lambrou said he told his players, who took the loss hard, that the game wasn’t decided by one moment.
“I’m proud of them,” Lambrou said. “They play their tails off and we competed. It was a great atmosphere.”
Edokpolo was surprised by how boisterous the crowd was and embraced the heckling from the home fans.
Bryson said the Central game is always the hardest on the Crusaders’ schedule.
“The city rivalries are the best,” said Bryson, a Memorial alum. “These are two teams that are sub-.500 and this was the game of the night.”
In a historic afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse that marked the building’s 1,000th game, all eyes were on the projected top two picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa. Peterson showed why he is the projected top pick, but lingering issues came up again — causing Peterson to miss most of the second half — as No. 14 Kansas fended off a furious second-half rally to defeat No. 13 BYU, 90–82.
The contest began as a masterclass from the projected No. 1 pick Peterson, who silenced any lingering injury concerns by torching the Cougars for 18 points in the first half alone. Peterson was virtually untouchable early on, hitting a barrage of contested jumpers and transition dunks that helped the Jayhawks build a massive 20-point lead, leaving BYU searching for answers in the most hostile environment in the Big 12.
However, the narrative shifted dramatically in the second half as Kansas head coach Bill Self was forced to limit Peterson’s minutes to manage his recovery. With the Jayhawks' primary engine on the bench for the final 16 minutes, the door swung open for BYU to mount a comeback. Led by a relentless performance from Richie Saunders, who finished with a career-high 33 points, the Cougars chipped away at the deficit with a barrage of threes and a high-octane transition game. Saunders was electric, seemingly everywhere on the court as he willed BYU back within single digits, turning what looked like a blowout into a tense, possession-by-possession battle.
While the second-half comeback made it a game, it was a frustrating afternoon for AJ Dybantsa. The top-ranked freshman struggled to find his footing against the length of the Kansas defense, often forced into difficult shots while Peterson dominated the first-half spotlight. Dybantsa finished with just 17 points on inefficient shooting, and though he showed flashes of his generational athleticism in the closing minutes, he was never able to take over the game in the way NBA scouts expected during this high-stakes audition.
Ultimately, Kansas’s veteran composure proved to be the difference. Despite Saunders' heroics and the Cougars' late-game surge, the Jayhawks used timely buckets from Flory Bidunga, Melvin Council and Tre White to protect the lead until the final horn. The win serves as a major statement for Peterson in the No. 1 pick conversation, but also a reminder of BYU's depth and resilience as they remain a dangerous threat in the conference race.
Check out all the highlights below as Peterson and Kansas came up victorious over Dybantsa and BYU.
Kansas vs. BYU updates, highlights from 2026 college basketball game
Peterson, Kansas defeat BYU
6:40 p.m.: In a play that sums up today's game, Dybantsa misses a three and Tre White dunks it to solidify a 90-82 Kansas win.
Even with Darryn Peterson barely playing and going scoreless in the second half, the Jayhawks did enough to win, similar to what it's been for most of the year. On the other side, Dybantsa struggled early on but finished with 17 points.
With Peterson, Kansas is a true contender, and if the second half shows anything, it might be without him.
6:35 p.m.: With 1:11 left, it's a four point game in Lawrence. Peterson is still on the bench and hasn't been in the game since early in the second half.
But, in his absence, players like Council have stepped up. He hits a tough shot here, and Kansas leads by six with 52 seconds remaining.
6:31 p.m.: It's a six point game, with Dybantsa driving into Bidunga and laying it up with his left hand. While it's been an inconsistent day, Dybantsa is up to 17.
6:30 p.m.: With 2:18 p.m., momentum is building for the Cougars.
It's an eight point game down the stretch.
Saunders having career game BYU deficit down to single digits
6:23 p.m.: It's become the Richie Saunders show in Lawrence.
Now, he hits his sixth three of the game and is up to a career-high 33 points. BYU is now down nine with 4:18 remaining.
6:21 p.m.: With BYU down only 12, Dybantsa has re-entered the game.
A foul on Melvin Council brings Saunders to the line, but he misses the front end of the free throw. It's 80-68 with five minutes remaining.
6:19 p.m.: Saunders is up to 30, stealing the show from the two top draft picks.
Peterson has not seen much time in the second half with Kansas leading by a significant margin.
6:14 p.m.: Both teams have gone cold from the field with 6:26 remaining. Kansas leads 78-63, with both Peterson and Dybantsa on the bench.
6:12 p.m.: The one reason BYU is in this game is because of Saunders. He is up to 27 on the day after draining another three, cutting the Kansas lead to 15.
6:11 p.m.: Every time BYU throws a punch, Kansas responds right back.
Now, it's Flory Bidunga with an and-one and the Jayhawks lead by 18. Peterson is still on the bench, with two personal fouls.
6:02 p.m.: The next possession, Dybantsa hits a mid-range shot. BYU trails by 16.
Then, after a Bryson Tiller miss, Dybantsa uses a turnaround and gets fouled by Tiller. He'll be heading to the line after the under-12.
6:00 p.m.: Dybantsa is back in the game, immediately drawing a foul.
With "overrated" chants coming from the Kansas crowd, he knocks down both free throws. He's up to 12 points on the day.
5:55 p.m.: With 13:23 remaining, Kansas leads 64-46.
Both Peterson and Dybantsa are out of the game as it stands.
5:49 p.m.: The Cougars are clawing back and Saunders is at the center of it.
No. 15 hits a three in the corner, and moreover, gets fouled. Coming out of the break, he will go to the line with a chance at a four-point play.
BYU trails 60-45, with a chance to cut the deficit down to 14.
5:48 p.m.: Dybantsa has his first points of the second half.
He takes a pass from right at the top of the key and hits a catch-and-shoot three. BYU still trails by 16.
5:41 p.m.: The second half is underway in Allen Fieldhouse.
With the Cougars trailing by 20, Dybantsa needs to make an impact on the game early.
Peterson, Kansas lead by 20 at halftime
5:23 p.m.: At halftime in Lawrence, Kansas is dominating BYU, 53-33.
Peterson, the projected No. 1 pick, has looked unstoppable with the ball in his hands. He has 18 points in 17 minutes. On the other side, Dybantsa and the Cougars are struggling. He is up to seven points on the day.
Earlier in the week, the Cougars erased a double-digit deficit against No. 1 Arizona. They are going to have to pull some similar magic again in one of the most hostile environments in the sport.
5:20 p.m.: Dybantsa has his second basket of the game, but it is quickly outdone by Peterson.
The next possession, the superstar dunks over a BYU defender as the arena erupts. He looks healthy and as dangerous as ever.
The Jayhawks are 8-for-10 from deep as the lead stretches to 21. Kevin Young calls another timeout with 3:22 left in the first half.
5:12 p.m.: Peterson has his third three of the game, stretching the Kansas lead to 18. Robert Wright hits a triple of his own right after.
5:05 p.m.: At the under-eight timeout, Kansas is dominating.
After Peterson's third steal, Tre White is wide open for a three. Dybantsa has his first points right after on a triple of his own, but at the commercial the Jayhawks lead by 16.
5:02 p.m.: Peterson finally misses a shot as Kansas now leads by 15.
Dybantsa is the only starter in the game not to score yet.
4:59 p.m.: Peterson is in double digits after his second three of the game.
No. 22 is perfect from the field, 4-for-4 and 2-for-2 from three.
Peterson surging, Dybantsa struggling early on
4:57 p.m.: Dybantsa is struggling early, with Kansas' defense making a huge difference.
Now, No. 3 travels and it's a turnover. Kevin Young calls another timeout with his team reeling.
4:55 p.m.: Dybantsa's first two shots are both misses as Kansas takes a double-digit lead.
Halfway through the first, it's been all Jayhawks.
4:49 p.m.: With just over 12 minutes left in the first half, Peterson and Dybantsa are back on the floor with Kansas leading 22-14.
4:47 p.m.: Dybantsa is out of the game early on.
Whenever No. 3 has gotten the ball, he's been swarmed immediately. The second-leading scorer in college basketball still does not have a shot in the game.
The next possession, Peterson heads to the bench, with nine of Kansas' 17 points.
4:44 p.m.: The early portion of this game has belonged to Peterson.
Here, he tips a pass intended for Dybantsa for his second steal of the game, then hits a shot over Dybantsa. Peterson is up to nine points already.
Peterson, Kansas lead early
4:38 p.m.: Peterson is hot early on. After a Saunders miss, he takes a pass and immediately a three and is up to seven points in four minutes.
We have our first break of the game, with Kansas leading 12-7.
On the other side, Dybantsa is yet to attempt a field goal.
4:37 p.m.: Now, Peterson has his first basket. He takes the ball on the left side of the court, does a dribble-drive and switches to his left hand for the lay.
4:35 p.m.: With the Kansas fans roaring, Peterson tips a ball and is off to the races for a layup. But, he gets fouled by Kennard Davis Jr.
No. 22 hits two free throws and he has his first points of the game.
4:34 p.m.: The first points of the game come from a BYU superstar not named Dybantsa.
Richie Saunders, who shoots nearly 40% from deep, hits the first three of the game. Kansas responds immediately and it's 3-2.
Then, the next possession, Tre White hits his own triple, and Kansas has its first lead.
4:32 p.m.: The 1,000th game at one of the most historic venues in college basketball is underway.
The Jayhawks win the tipoff and have the first possession.
4:30 p.m.: Allen Fieldhouse is loud and ready. A.J. Dybantsa. Darryn Peterson. It doesn't get better than this.
Both teams enter the day with identical 5-2 conference records, making this a pivotal "separation game" in the hunt to chase down Arizona for the Big 12 crown.
With Kansas riding a four-game win streak and BYU looking to prove they can win in the most hostile environment in sports, the winner takes a massive leap toward a protected seed in March.
4:24 p.m.: BYU and Kansas have taken the court. We are minutes away from the blockbuster showdown.
Will it be the No. 13 Cougars or No. 14 Jayhawks with a massive Big 12 win?
4:02 p.m.: We have two potential No. 1 picks going at it in Lawrence. Here's what ESPN's Pete Thamel said on "College GameDay" about Dybantsa and Peterson.
1:29 p.m.: The last time these two stars played in high school, they staged an instant classic that many talent evaluators consider one of the greatest individual duels in prep history.
Competing at the Grind Session in Atlanta, Peterson exploded for a school-record 58 points and drilled a game-winning three-pointer with just one second remaining to secure an 88–86 victory for Prolific Prep.
Darryn Peterson vs. Utah Prep [02/08/2025]:
Peterson dropped 58 PTS, 7 REB & 5 AST in a blockbuster win vs. Utah Prep, scoring 47 (!) of those points while being guarded by Dybantsa.
Not to be outdone, AJ Dybantsa countered with a staggering 49-point performance of his own, marking the second time in a year that Peterson managed to outduel Dybantsa in a head-to-head matchup.
1:28 p.m.: Peterson has been equally dominant but slightly more limited, averaging 21.6 points and 4.6 rebounds across just 10 games due to persistent hamstring and ankle injuries.
Despite the missed time, he has remained incredibly efficient, shooting 42% from three-point range and drawing comparisons to elite NBA scorers for his polished perimeter game
1:27 p.m.: Dybantsa enters today’s matchup as the nation's second-leading scorer, averaging 23.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists while leading BYU to a 17–3 start.
AJ DYBANTSA SETS BYU FRESHMAN RECORD WITH 43 PTS 🤯
His season reached a historic peak last weekend when he erupted for 43 points against Utah, breaking Danny Ainge’s long-standing BYU freshman single-game scoring record and solidifying his status as a frontrunner for the No. 1 overall pick.
1:09 p.m.: The college basketball world turns its attention to Allen Fieldhouse today as No. 14 Kansas hosts No. 13 BYU in a high-stakes clash headlined by the first collegiate meeting between freshman stars Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa.
Widely projected as the top two picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, the duo arrives in Lawrence after a legendary high school rivalry that saw Peterson score 61 points and Dybantsa 49 in their final prep encounter.
With ESPN’s "College GameDa"y on-site and dozens of NBA scouts in attendance, this matchup serves as a critical showcase for two "generational talents" vying for the number one overall selection.
This section will be updated closer to tipoff on Jan. 31, 2026.
Where to watch Kansas vs. BYU basketball
Kansas vs. BYU start time
Date: Saturday, Jan. 31
Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
The ranked matchup between No. 13 BYU and No. 24 Kansas will tip off at 4:30 ET on Saturday, Jan. 31.
The teams meet at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas.
The Cougars and Jayhawks can be found nationally on ESPN on Saturday afternoon. ESPN's "College Gameday" will be on site, with Rece Davis joined by Jay Williams, Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg, and Andraya Carter. For the game, Dan Shulman will be on play-by-play with Jay Bilas on color.
Fans looking to stream the game can on the ESPN App.
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