THE INDIANA SRN “SPORTSPAGE” TUESDAY JANUARY 31, 2023

THE SCOREBOARD

INDIANA GIRLS BASKETBALL SECTIONAL SCHEDULE TUESDAY

LAKE CENTRAL SECTIONAL

HAMMOND MORTON (8-14) VS. HAMMOND CENTRAL (8-15)

LOWELL SECTIONAL

KANKAKEE VALLEY (16-6) VS. HOBART (13-10)

PLYMOUTH SECTIONAL

MISHAWAKA (11-11) VS. SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON (23-0)

CONCORD SECTIONAL

PENN (16-6) VS. NORTHRIDGE (19-5)

WARSAW (17-5) AT CONCORD (5-17)

DEKALB SECTIONAL

FORT WAYNE NORTH (7-15) AT DEKALB (11-11)

CARROLL (FORT WAYNE) (14-7) VS. FORT WAYNE NORTHROP (19-3)

HUNTINGTON NORTH SECTIONAL

FORT WAYNE SOUTH (2-17) VS. NEW HAVEN (2-18)

COLUMBIA CITY (20-2) VS. HOMESTEAD (16-5)

LAFAYETTE JEFF SECTIONAL

KOKOMO (11-12) VS. MCCUTCHEON (11-11)

LOGANSPORT (12-9) VS. MARION (1-21)

NOBLESVILLE SECTIONAL

CARMEL (4-18) VS. FISHERS (20-2)

WESTFIELD (12-10) VS. ZIONSVILLE (19-2)

MOUNT VERNON (FORTVILLE) SECTIONAL

GREENFIELD-CENTRAL (14-9) AT PENDLETON HEIGHTS (14-9)

LAWRENCE CENTRAL SECTIONAL

NORTH CENTRAL (INDIANAPOLIS) (8-14) VS. LAWRENCE NORTH (14-9)

SOUTHPORT SECTIONAL

BEN DAVIS (14-9) AT SOUTHPORT (10-12)

TERRE HAUTE SOUTH SECTIONAL

PLAINFIELD (7-15) VS. TERRE HAUTE NORTH (10-14)

BLOOMINGTON SOUTH SECTIONAL

MOORESVILLE (17-6) AT BLOOMINGTON SOUTH (13-8)

CENTER GROVE (18-4) VS. GREENWOOD (8-14)

SHELBYVILLE SECTIONAL

FRANKLIN (15-5) VS. COLUMBUS NORTH (14-8)

COLUMBUS EAST (9-13) VS. EAST CENTRAL (15-10)

BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE SECTIONAL

JENNINGS COUNTY (16-5) AT BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE (20-3)

EVANSVILLE HARRISON SECTIONAL

JASPER (10-14) AT EVANSVILLE HARRISON (2-20)

CASTLE (13-9) VS. EVANSVILLE CENTRAL (12-11)

GRIFFITH SECTIONAL

BOONE GROVE (6-14) AT GRIFFITH (4-18)

BREMEN SECTIONAL

JOHN GLENN (8-14) VS. CULVER ACADEMY (13-10)

ROCHESTER (11-12) AT BREMEN (7-14)

MISHAWAKA MARIAN SECTIONAL

JIMTOWN (9-13) AT MISHAWAKA MARIAN (19-5)

FAIRFIELD SECTIONAL

NORTHWOOD (13-10) VS. WAWASEE (11-11)

FORT WAYNE CONCORDIA SECTIONAL

HERITAGE (5-16) VS. FORT WAYNE DWENGER (9-15)

BENTON CENTRAL SECTIONAL

TWIN LAKES (23-0) VS. NORTH MONTGOMERY (3-20)

NORWELL SECTIONAL

PERU (9-13) VS. MACONAQUAH (5-17)

HAMILTON HEIGHTS SECTIONAL

CENTERVILLE (5-13) VS. JAY COUNTY (22-1)

LEBANON SECTIONAL

WESTERN BOONE (16-6) AT LEBANON (10-12)

OWEN VALLEY SECTIONAL

SOUTH VERMILLION (0-23) VS. BROWN COUNTY (12-9)

BREBEUF JESUIT SECTIONAL

INDIANAPOLIS HERRON (7-13) VS. HERITAGE CHRISTIAN (15-7)

GUERIN CATHOLIC (8-14) VS. INDIANAPOLIS CHATARD (8-13)

SPEEDWAY SECTIONAL

BEECH GROVE (9-12) AT SPEEDWAY (10-10)

INDIANAPOLIS WASHINGTON (8-13) VS. CHRISTEL HOUSE MANUAL (1-19)

RUSHVILLE SECTIONAL

SOUTH DEARBORN (5-18) VS. CONNERSVILLE (8-14)

CORYDON CENTRAL SECTIONAL

SALEM (5-18) VS. MADISON (9-11)

CHARLESTOWN (17-6) AT CORYDON CENTRAL (21-2)

PRINCETON SECTIONAL

HERITAGE HILLS (14-8) VS. SOUTHRIDGE (16-7)

PIKE CENTRAL (4-18) AT PRINCETON (13-10)

MOUNT VERNON (POSEY) SECTIONAL

EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL (23-1) AT MOUNT VERNON (POSEY) (1-19)

BOONVILLE (9-13) VS. EVANSVILLE MATER DEI (11-12)

ANDREAN SECTIONAL

LIGHTHOUSE CPA (0-14) VS. NORTH NEWTON (3-19)

GARY 21ST CENTURY (3-15) VS. WHITING (7-14)

NORTH JUDSON SECTIONAL

HEBRON (5-19) VS. SOUTH CENTRAL (UNION MILLS) (20-3)

LAVILLE (17-6) AT NORTH JUDSON (15-7)

CENTRAL NOBLE SECTIONAL

CHURUBUSCO (5-17) VS. WESTVIEW (8-14)

PRAIRIE HEIGHTS (1-21) AT CENTRAL NOBLE (21-2)

LEWIS CASS SECTIONAL

WABASH (15-7) VS. PIONEER (19-3)

BLUFFTON SECTIONAL

MANCHESTER (6-16) AT BLUFFTON (10-10)

SOUTH ADAMS (12-10) VS. WHITKO (9-13)

LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC SECTIONAL

SEEGER (19-3) VS. DELPHI (10-13)

CARROLL (FLORA) (20-3) VS. COVINGTON (8-14)

BLACKFORD SECTIONAL

EASTBROOK (16-5) VS. MADISON-GRANT (10-12)

ALEXANDRIA SECTIONAL

WAPAHANI (19-4) VS. LAPEL (16-7)

HAGERSTOWN SECTIONAL

NORTHEASTERN (15-8) AT HAGERSTOWN (8-15)

TRITON CENTRAL SECTIONAL

EASTERN HANCOCK (19-3) AT TRITON CENTRAL (18-4)

GREENCASTLE SECTIONAL

SOUTHMONT (11-10) AT GREENCASTLE (19-4)

SWITZERLAND COUNTY SECTIONAL

NORTH DECATUR (17-5) VS. SOUTH RIPLEY (13-9)

AUSTIN SECTIONAL

EASTERN (PEKIN) (10-12) VS. PROVIDENCE (14-8)

EASTERN GREENE SECTIONAL

PAOLI (14-10) VS. NORTH DAVIESS (8-14)

SULLIVAN (14-9) VS. SOUTH KNOX (18-6)

FOREST PARK SECTIONAL

CRAWFORD COUNTY (15-8) VS. SOUTH SPENCER (15-7)

NORTH POSEY (9-11) AT FOREST PARK (19-3)

KOUTS SECTIONAL

DEMOTTE CHRISTIAN (18-5) VS. WASHINGTON TWP. (16-6)

TRI-TWP. (16-6) VS. HAMMOND SCIENCE & TECH (4-11)

CULVER SECTIONAL

MARQUETTE CATHOLIC (13-8) VS. OREGON-DAVIS (7-15)

FORT WAYNE BLACKHAWK SECTIONAL

LAKEWOOD PARK (8-13) VS. HAMILTON (2-11)

TRI-COUNTY SECTIONAL

FRONTIER (5-17) AT TRI-COUNTY (11-11)

WEST CENTRAL (6-16) VS. NORTH WHITE (6-17)

SOUTHERN WELLS SECTIONAL

SOUTHWOOD (16-5) VS. FORT WAYNE CANTERBURY (2-17)

ATTICA SECTIONAL

CLINTON CENTRAL (16-6) VS. FAITH CHRISTIAN (19-3)

NORTH VERMILLION (9-14) VS. FOUNTAIN CENTRAL (10-12)

RANDOLPH SOUTHERN SECTIONAL

CAMBRIDGE CITY LINCOLN (5-15) AT RANDOLPH SOUTHERN (13-7)

TRI (21-1) VS. UNION CITY (9-14)

BLOOMFIELD SECTIONAL

NORTH CENTRAL (FARMERSBURG) (17-5) VS. SHAKAMAK (13-8)

EMINENCE SECTIONAL

GREENWOOD CHRISTIAN (4-18) VS. INDIANAPOLIS TINDLEY (11-9)

SOUTHWESTERN (SHELBYVILLE) SECTIONAL

WALDRON (5-17) VS. JAC-CEN-DEL (12-11)

BORDEN SECTIONAL

WEST WASHINGTON (7-14) VS. SOUTH CENTRAL (ELIZABETH) (2-20)

CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (9-13) VS. ROCK CREEK ACADEMY (14-6)

RISING SUN SECTIONAL

SHAWE MEMORIAL (16-5) VS. TRINITY LUTHERAN (18-6)

MEDORA (4-14) AT RISING SUN (10-11)

SPRINGS VALLEY SECTIONAL

VINCENNES RIVET (12-10) VS. LOOGOOTEE (3-20)

TECUMSEH SECTIONAL

EVANSVILLE CHRISTIAN (15-7) VS. NORTHEAST DUBOIS (17-4)

INDIANA GIRLS BASKETBALL SECTIONAL BRACKETS

4A: HTTPS://WWW.MAXPREPS.COM/TOURNAMENT/LIST/RCGN_41JEE2A0WQB9TL3HA/GIRLS-BASKETBALL-22-23/2022-23-IHSAA-CLASS-4A-GIRLS-BASKETBALL-STATE-TOURNAMENT.HTM

3A: HTTPS://WWW.MAXPREPS.COM/TOURNAMENT/LIST/1DYLMY1JEE2A0WQB9TL3HA/GIRLS-BASKETBALL-22-23/2022-23-IHSAA-CLASS-3A-GIRLS-BASKETBALL-STATE-TOURNAMENT.HTM

2A: HTTPS://WWW.MAXPREPS.COM/TOURNAMENT/LIST/-WG42I1JEE2A0WQB9TL3HA/GIRLS-BASKETBALL-22-23/2022-23-IHSAA-CLASS-2A-GIRLS-BASKETBALL-STATE-TOURNAMENT.HTM

1A: HTTPS://WWW.MAXPREPS.COM/TOURNAMENT/LIST/GYLXSO1KEE2A0WQB9TL3HA/GIRLS-BASKETBALL-22-23/2022-23-IHSAA-CLASS-1A-GIRLS-BASKETBALL-STATE-TOURNAMENT.HTM

INDIANA GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT FAVORITES

HTTP://SCOREBOARD.HOMESTEAD.COM/GIRLS/PIX.HTM#LOADED

INDIANA GIRLS BASKETBALL SECTIONAL SAGARIN RATINGS

HTTP://SCOREBOARD.HOMESTEAD.COM/GIRLS/SECTRATE.HTM#LOADED

INDIANA GIRLS BASKETBALL SAGARIN RATINGS BY CLASS

HTTP://SCOREBOARD.HOMESTEAD.COM/GIRLS/CLASSRATE.HTM#LOADED

INDIANA GIRLS BASKETBALL MONDAY

*CENTERVILLE*	40	*WES-DEL*	33
*INDIANA MATH & SCIENCE*	62	*KIPP INDY LEGACY*	13
*MOUNT VERNON (FORTVILLE)*	68	*DELTA*	34

INDIANA BOYS BASKETBALL SCORES MONDAY

*AVON*	75	*DECATUR CENTRAL*	54
*CARROLL (FLORA)*	63	*NORTH WHITE*	21
*CENTRAL NOBLE*	55	*BETHANY CHRISTIAN*	34
*CULVER*	45	*OREGON-DAVIS*	26
*INDIANAPOLIS RIVERSIDE*	95	*VICTORY COLLEGE PREP*	66
*LALUMIERE BLUE*	53	*HERITAGE CHRISTIAN*	50
*LAWRENCE NORTH*	59	*NEW PALESTINE*	58
*MARQUETTE CATHOLIC*	77	*HAMMOND MORTON*	61
*WEST LAFAYETTE*	40	*MCCUTCHEON*	37
*WESTVILLE*	84	*SOUTH BEND CAREER*	69
*WOODLAN*	81	*LAKEWOOD PARK*	44

INDIANA BOYS BASKETBALL SAGARIN RATINGS BY CLASS

HTTP://SCOREBOARD.HOMESTEAD.COM/BOYS/CLASSRATE.HTM#LOADED

INDIANA WRESTLING REGIONAL SITES

1. HOBART | 9 AM CT
FEEDER SECTIONALS: EAST CHICAGO CENTRAL, PORTAGE.

2. CROWN POINT | 8 AM CT
FEEDER SECTIONALS: CROWN POINT, LAPORTE.

3. PENN | 9 AM ET
FEEDER SECTIONALS: MISHAWAKA, PLYMOUTH.

4. LOGANSPORT | 10 AM ET
FEEDER SECTIONALS: LAFAYETTE JEFFERSON, WINAMAC COMMUNITY.

5. GOSHEN | 9:30 AM ET
FEEDER SECTIONALS: ELKHART, WEST NOBLE.

6. CARROLL (FORT WAYNE) | 8 AM ET
FEEDER SECTIONALS: CARROLL (FORT WAYNE), NEW HAVEN.

7. PERU | 8 AM ET
FEEDER SECTIONALS: PERU, OAK HILL.

8. JAY COUNTY | 8 AM ET
FEEDER SECTIONALS: DELTA, JAY COUNTY.

9. NORTH MONTGOMERY | 8 AM ET
FEEDER SECTIONALS: CRAWFORDSVILLE, FRANKFORT.

10. PENDLETON HEIGHTS | 8 AM ET
FEEDER SECTIONALS: ELWOOD, INDIANAPOLIS ARSENAL TECHNICAL.

11. PERRY MERIDIAN | 9 AM ET
FEEDER SECTIONALS: WARREN CENTRAL, SOUTHPORT.

12. RICHMOND | 8 AM ET
FEEDER SECTIONALS: SOUTH DEARBORN, SHENANDOAH.

13. MOORESVILLE | 8 AM ET
FEEDER SECTIONALS: AVON, MOORESVILLE.

14. BLOOMINGTON SOUTH | 8 AM ET
FEEDER SECTIONALS: BLOOMINGTON NORTH, SOUTHRIDGE.

15. JEFFERSONVILLE | 8 AM ET
FEEDER SECTIONALS: JEFFERSONVILLE, JENNINGS COUNTY.

16. CASTLE | 8 AM CT
FEEDER SECTIONALS: CASTLE, EVANSVILLE CENTRAL.

TRACK WRESTLING: HTTPS://WWW.TRACKWRESTLING.COM/LOGIN.JSP?TIM=1643731384335&TWSESSIONID=WAENAMISOK&TNAME=IHSAA%20REGIONAL&STATE=&SDATE=&EDATE=&LASTNAME=&FIRSTNAME=&TEAMNAME=&SFVSTRING=&CITY=&GBID=&CAMPS=FALSE

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL POLLS RANKINGS

AP POLL

*RANK*	*SCHOOL*	*VOTES*	*PREV*
1	*PURDUE* *21-1*	*1550 (62)*	1
2	*TENNESSEE* *18-3*	*1443*	4
3	*HOUSTON* *20-2*	*1415*	3
4	*ALABAMA* *18-3*	*1312*	2
5	*ARIZONA* *19-3*	*1310*	6
6	*VIRGINIA* *16-3*	*1258*	7
7	*KANSAS STATE* *18-3*	*1190*	5
8	*KANSAS* *17-4*	*1034*	9
9	*UCLA* *17-4*	*993*	8
10	*TEXAS* *17-4*	*939*	10
11	*BAYLOR* *16-5*	*905*	17
12	*GONZAGA* *18-4*	*837*	14
13	*IOWA STATE* *15-5*	*832*	12
14	*MARQUETTE* *17-5*	*769*	16
15	*TCU* *16-5*	*725*	11
16	*XAVIER* *17-5*	*689*	13
17	*PROVIDENCE* *17-5*	*438*	23
18	*SAINT MARY’S* *19-4*	*419*	22
19	*FLORIDA ATLANTIC* *21-1*	*392*	21
20	*CLEMSON* *18-4*	*340*	24
21	*INDIANA* *15-6*	*250*	NR
22	*SAN DIEGO STATE* *17-4*	*170*	NR
23	*MIAMI (FL)* *16-5*	*146*	20
24	*UCONN* *16-6*	*131*	19
25	*AUBURN* *16-5*	*117*	15

COACHES POLL

*RANK*	*SCHOOL*	*VOTES*	*PREV*
1	*PURDUE* *21-1*	*800 (32)*	1
2	*TENNESSEE* *18-3*	*731*	4
3	*HOUSTON* *20-2*	*708*	3
4	*VIRGINIA* *16-3*	*662*	6
5	*ALABAMA* *18-3*	*659*	2
6	*KANSAS STATE* *18-3*	*649*	5
7	*ARIZONA* *19-3*	*605*	8
8	*KANSAS* *17-4*	*557*	9
9	*TEXAS* *17-4*	*508*	10
9	*UCLA* *17-4*	*508*	7
11	*BAYLOR* *16-5*	*428*	17
12	*MARQUETTE* *17-5*	*411*	15
13	*IOWA STATE* *15-5*	*410*	13
14	*GONZAGA* *18-4*	*393*	14
15	*XAVIER* *17-5*	*364*	12
16	*TCU* *16-5*	*349*	11
17	*PROVIDENCE* *17-5*	*279*	21
18	*SAINT MARY’S* *19-4*	*269*	22
19	*CLEMSON* *18-4*	*212*	23
20	*FLORIDA ATLANTIC* *21-1*	*162*	24
21	*MIAMI (FL)* *16-5*	97	19
22	*INDIANA* *15-6*	93	NR
23	*AUBURN* *16-5*	81	16
23	*UCONN* *16-6*	81	20
25	*ILLINOIS* *15-6*	67	NR

RPI RANKINGS

*RANK*	*SCHOOL*	*RPI*	*PREV*
1	*ALABAMA* *18-3*	*0.6734*	1
2	*KANSAS* *17-4*	*0.6633*	2
3	*PURDUE* *21-1*	*0.6491*	4
4	*KANSAS STATE* *18-3*	*0.6472*	3
5	*ARIZONA* *19-3*	*0.6421*	5
6	*GONZAGA* *18-4*	*0.6395*	6
7	*UCLA* *17-4*	*0.6386*	7
8	*TENNESSEE* *18-3*	*0.6377*	8
9	*HOUSTON* *20-2*	*0.6359*	9
10	*NEVADA* *16-6*	*0.6342*	10
11	*FLORIDA ATLANTIC* *21-1*	*0.6314*	11
12	*TEXAS* *17-4*	*0.6313*	12
13	*SAN DIEGO STATE* *17-4*	*0.6311*	13
14	*VIRGINIA* *16-3*	*0.6260*	14
15	*BAYLOR* *16-5*	*0.6247*	15
16	*XAVIER* *17-5*	*0.6212*	16
17	*SAINT MARY’S* *19-4*	*0.6211*	18
18	*AUBURN* *16-5*	*0.6204*	17
19	*IOWA STATE* *15-5*	*0.6182*	20
20	*NORTH CAROLINA* *15-6*	*0.6175*	19
21	*DUKE* *15-6*	*0.6168*	21
22	*UTAH STATE* *17-5*	*0.6141*	22
23	*NEW MEXICO* *19-3*	*0.6135*	24
24	*MEMPHIS* *17-5*	*0.6094*	23
25	*ARKANSAS* *14-7*	*0.6091*	25

TOP 25 MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

#6 VIRGINIA 67 SYRACUSE 62

#10 TEXAS 76 #11 BAYLOR 71

TEXAS TECH 80 #13 IOWA STATE 77 OT

ELSEWHERE:

COMPLETE SCOREBOARD: HTTP://HOSTED.STATS.COM/CBK/SCOREBOARD.ASP?CONF=-1&DAY=20230130

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL POLLS AND RANKINGS

*RANK*	*SCHOOL*	*VOTES*	*PREV*
1	*SOUTH CAROLINA* *21-0*	*700 (28)*	1
2	*STANFORD* *21-2*	*635*	3
3	*LSU* *20-0*	*628*	4
4	*INDIANA* *20-1*	*627*	6
5	*UCONN* *20-2*	*623*	5
6	*IOWA* *17-4*	*522*	10
7	*UTAH* *18-2*	*520*	9
8	*MARYLAND* *17-4*	*492*	10
9	*NOTRE DAME* *17-3*	*480*	7
10	*OHIO STATE* *19-3*	*443*	2
11	*NORTH CAROLINA* *16-5*	*399*	15
12	*IOWA STATE* *15-4*	*345*	18
13	*VIRGINIA TECH* *17-4*	*317*	12
14	*UCLA* *17-5*	*310*	8
15	*NORTH CAROLINA STATE* *16-5*	*291*	20
16	*DUKE* *18-3*	*279*	16
17	*GONZAGA* *21-2*	*270*	17
18	*MICHIGAN* *17-5*	*266*	13
19	*VILLANOVA* *18-4*	*171*	21
20	*OKLAHOMA* *16-4*	*151*	14
21	*MIDDLE TENNESSEE* *18-2*	*119*	23
22	*ARIZONA* *16-5*	*114*	19
23	*FLORIDA STATE* *19-5*	*113*	24
24	*TEXAS* *16-6*	94	NR
25	*SOUTH FLORIDA* *20-4*	52	NR

RPI RANKINGS

*RANK*	*SCHOOL*	*RPI*	*PREV*
1	*UCONN* *20-2*	*0.7267*	1
2	*SOUTH CAROLINA* *21-0*	*0.6972*	3
3	*INDIANA* *20-1*	*0.6934*	2
4	*DUKE* *18-3*	*0.6885*	4
5	*STANFORD* *21-2*	*0.6873*	5
6	*IOWA STATE* *15-4*	*0.6838*	6
7	*NOTRE DAME* *17-3*	*0.6703*	7
8	*UTAH* *18-2*	*0.6702*	8
9	*NORTH CAROLINA STATE* *16-5*	*0.6661*	11
10	*VILLANOVA* *18-4*	*0.6606*	12
11	*UCLA* *17-5*	*0.6600*	9
12	*MARYLAND* *17-4*	*0.6545*	13
13	*OKLAHOMA* *16-4*	*0.6515*	15
14	*IOWA* *17-4*	*0.6511*	14
15	*COLORADO* *16-5*	*0.6483*	9
16	*NORTH CAROLINA* *16-5*	*0.6477*	17
17	*CREIGHTON* *14-6*	*0.6431*	18
18	*SOUTH FLORIDA* *20-4*	*0.6419*	20
19	*TENNESSEE* *16-7*	*0.6416*	19
20	*ALABAMA* *16-6*	*0.6412*	16
21	*LSU* *20-0*	*0.6376*	22
22	*TEXAS* *16-6*	*0.6369*	23
23	*MIDDLE TENNESSEE* *18-2*	*0.6363*	25
24	*GONZAGA* *21-2*	*0.6359*	24
25	*OHIO STATE* *19-3*	*0.6337*	21

TOP 25 WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

#3 LSU 76 TENNESSEE 68

#8 MARYLAND 87 PENN STATE 66

ELSEWHERE:

GREEN BAY 76 IUPUI 54

AUBURN 66 FLORIDA 55

COMPLETE SCOREBOARD: HTTP://HOSTED.STATS.COM/WCBK/SCOREBOARD.ASP?CONF=-1&DAY=20230130

NBA

ORLANDO 119 PHILADELPHIA 109

BROOKLYN 121 LA LAKERS 104

SACRAMENTO 118 MINNESOTA 111 OT

WASHINGTON 127 SAN ANTONIO 106

GOLDEN STATE 128 OKLAHOMA CITY 120

DALLAS 111 DETROIT 105

PHOENIX 114 TORONTO 106

PORTLAND 129 ATLANTA 125

BOX SCORES: HTTP://HOSTED.STATS.COM/NBA/SCOREBOARD.ASP

NHL

WINNIPEG 4 ST. LOUIS 2

BOX SCORES: HTTP://HOSTED.STATS.COM/NHL/SCOREBOARD.ASP

TOP NATIONAL HEADLINES

NFL NEWS

AP SOURCE: 49ERS’ PURDY HAS TORN LIGAMENT IN RIGHT ELBOW

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy tore a ligament in his throwing elbow, putting his status for the start of next season in question.

A person familiar with the injury confirmed the diagnosis of the injury Purdy sustained in the NFC title game. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not released details on the injury.

NFL Network first reported that Purdy tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm and said he will seek a second opinion on whether he needs a repair or a reconstruction.

A repair of the elbow typically would lead to Purdy being sidelined for six months, which would mean he could return close to the start of training camp. A reconstruction would likely sidelined Purdy into the 2023 season.

The latest quarterback injury for San Francisco throws another wrench into their future plans at the position. Their Week 1 starter from this season, Trey Lance, went down with a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2 that required follow-up surgery last month.

Jimmy Garoppolo replaced Lance, but broke his foot in Week 13 and is eligible to be a free agent in March.

Purdy took over and won his first seven starts as a rookie before getting hurt on the first drive of the NFC championship game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

“My arm felt like it stretched out,” Purdy said after the game. “It felt like a lot of shocks all over from my elbow, down to my wrist. Front and back. Just pain all over.”

Purdy came back into the game in the second half after backup Josh Johnson left with a concussion and mostly was only able to hand the ball off. He attempted two passes with the injured elbow with neither going more than 1 yard beyond the line of scrimmage.

“I couldn’t throw anything over 5-10 yards,” he said. “That is why we just had some screens. That was our only option when I went back in.”

Purdy, who was selected with the last pick in the 2022 draft, was a revelation when he got forced into action. He threw for 1,374 yards, 13 touchdowns and only four interceptions in the regular season.

Purdy helped the Niners win their first two playoff games, throwing for 546 yards and three TDs with no turnovers in wins over Seattle and Dallas. Purdy was the third rookie ever to win two playoff starts.

Purdy’s 108 passer rating in the regular season and playoffs combined is the best ever for a rookie with at least 200 attempts.

CHARGERS AGREE TO HIRE KELLEN MOORE AS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR

(AP) — Kellen Moore is going from calling plays for Dak Prescott to Justin Herbert.

The Los Angeles Chargers didn’t waste any time in reaching an agreement with Moore to be their next offensive coordinator. Monday’s announcement came less than 24 hours after the Dallas Cowboys said Moore would not return.

Moore had spent the past eight seasons with the Cowboys, including the past four as offensive coordinator. He signed with Dallas in 2015 as a player and then joined the coaching staff in 2018, going from Prescott’s backup to his position coach.

Moore replaces Joe Lombardi, who was the Bolts’ coordinator for two seasons under head coach Brandon Staley.

Moore will be the third offensive coordinator since Justin Herbert was the sixth overall pick by the Chargers in 2020. Shane Steichen directed the Bolts offense as well as being QBs coach under Anthony Lynn in 2020 before Lynn was fired at the end of the season.

Herbert was second in the league in completions (477) and passing yards (4,739) this season, but the Chargers were inconsistent on offense.

Los Angeles reached the playoffs for the first time since 2018, but lost 31-30 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC wild-card round after the third-largest blown lead in postseason history.

Los Angeles was up 27-0 late in the second quarter before the Jaguars rallied.

Criticism about Lombardi’s play-calling increased throughout the season. The Chargers were ranked ninth in total offense, but 20th in scrimmage yards per play along with the third-worst rushing attack in the league.

Los Angeles also had the NFL’s second-biggest discrepancy between passing and running plays (65% pass to 35% run).

That is not expected to be the case under Moore. Dallas was 53% pass to 47% run last season, which was tied for the ninth-highest percentage of run plays.

“In terms of the passing game, we’ve been able to do that at a high level for the last two years. But, to be more explosive, you have to be able to run the football more consistently to put more pressure on people,” Staley said during his end-of-season news conference on Jan. 18.

In Moore’s four seasons as offensive coordinator, the Cowboys were second in the league in total offense (391.0 yards per game) and scoring (27.7 points per game).

The Chargers announced on Sunday that Herbert had labrum surgery on his left non-throwing shoulder, but should be ready for the start of offseason drills.

The Bolts also interviewed Rams passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson, Rams senior offensive assistant Greg Olson, Rams assistant head coach/tight ends coach Thomas Brown, Titans tight ends coach Luke Steckel and Vikings assistant quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson for the opening.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS

RASHADA CASE IN FLORIDA HIGHLIGHTS ISSUES IN NIL, RECRUITING

Broken promises and unrealistic expectations have been part of college football recruiting for as long as coaches have been pitching their programs in living rooms across America.

Opportunities for playing time and a path to the NFL are being peddled, as always, but now potentially lucrative endorsement deals handled by booster-run collectives are also in the mix. There is even more potential for prospects to feel shortchanged after signing a national letter of intent.

When college football’s traditional winter signing period opens Wednesday, among the unsigned blue-chippers will be Jaden Rashada. The four-star quarterback from California signed with Florida in December, but asked for and was granted his release after an endorsement agreement with a collective that was potentially worth more than $13 million fell through.

The ill-fated deal between Rashada and the Gator Collective — one that helped persuade him to back off a previous verbal commitment to Miami and a name, image and likeness offer from a collective that works with Hurricanes athletes —- should be a cautionary tale for recruiting in the NIL era.

“NIL and the presence of collectives and promises to prospects create a facet of the recruiting experience that is 100% outside of the school’s control, and what’s being magnified with the Rashada situation is the promises of independent third parties are impacting where kids decide to go to school,” said Blake Lawrence, the CEO of Opendorse, a company that works with schools and collectives on NIL compliance and other services.

The NCAA lifted a ban on athletes cashing in on their fame in 2021. While the association still has rules in place that make it impermissible to use NIL as a recruiting inducement, patchwork state laws and the fear of legal challenges have prevented the NCAA from putting detailed, uniform regulations in place.

The rise of collectives, which operate outside a school and its athletic department but ideally in its best interest, prompted the NCAA to clarify that collectives —- like individual boosters — can’t be involved in the recruiting process.

But the lines have been blurred as coaches try to present potential NIL opportunities to recruits without making guarantees.

“ The coaches that are well coached on NIL say things like this, ‘I can’t promise you anything. But what I can share is that a player that is in your position on our campus is currently receiving X-Y-Z,’” Lawrence said.

Coaches and athletic department employees can publicly support collectives that support their athletes, though they can’t directly raise funds. That easily allows recruits to identify the collectives most closely associated with the schools pursuing them.

Still, many who run collectives proceed cautiously when it comes to contact with recruits.

“They can reach out to us. Frankly, I avoid those conversations because it’s such a fine line between sharing information and enticement,” said Gary Marcinick, president and CEO of Cohesion Foundation, an NIL collective that works with Ohio State athletes.

Mike Caspino, an NIL attorney who has worked with numerous college athletes on deals with collectives — including Rashada’s with Miami — sees it differently.

He said the difference in recruiting pitches that fall inside and outside the rules comes down to semantics. Ideally, schools would be directly involved with NIL deals instead of having an outside entity with little accountability representing its interests.

Caspino said the Rashada/Florida situation is indicative of systemic problems with NIL and recruiting.

“Such as a lack of adequate representation on both sides, such as a lack of documentation, such as we need to treat these as the business deals that they are,” Caspino said. “And in any business deal, we’re going to have a contract that sets forth everybody’s obligations, and the benefits everybody receives from the contract. And we don’t do that.”

Lawrence also said the reality behind the rhetoric is that most collectives are not funded well enough to meet the demand for NIL deals.

Todd Berry, the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, said coaches worry about collectives dictating what players they can recruit.

“They have no control over some of the processes that are kind of going on, and who you’re getting. And so you’re not even getting the (players) that you want,” Berry said.

Berry said most coaches would prefer collectives work with established players already on campus.

“So, now you’ve got this outside entity that is basically putting value on players and you don’t really even have control over the value of what’s going on,” he said.

Mit Winter, a sports attorney based in Kansas City, said the fallout from the Rashada’s de-commitment should make schools closely examine the collectives they support.

“I think the moral of the story is collectives, you need to focus on your deals with current athletes and helping them with their NIL opportunities,” Winter said. “And you leave the recruiting to the coaches.”

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL NEWS

PURDUE A UNANIMOUS NO. 1 IN AP TOP 25; VOLS UP TO NO. 2

Purdue became this season’s first unanimous No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll Monday after wins over Michigan and Michigan State last week as chaos ensued behind the Boilermakers among other ranked teams.

More than half of Top 25 teams lost, including second-ranked Alabama, which was routed by Oklahoma in the Big 12-SEC Challenge. That allowed Purdue to grab the remaining No. 1 votes and tighten its grip atop the poll, while Tennessee jumped two spots to second and Houston held onto third in voting by 62 national media members.

The Boilermakers (21-1) have won eight straight since a one-point loss to Rutgers on Jan. 2.

“We’re the No. 1 team in the country because of how unselfish we are as a team,” Purdue guard David Jenkins Jr. said. “We had a lot of people doubting us in the beginning because, you know, we may not be the most talented team or whatever, but we’re close on the court and off the court and it’s really translating to how we’re winning.”

The Volunteers climbed to their highest perch since reaching No. 1 for four weeks during the 2018-19 season. They routed Georgia before becoming one of three SEC teams to beat Big 12 opponents on Saturday, knocking off No. 10 Texas 82-71 for their fifth consecutive win over a top-10 team.

Perhaps this is the year Rick Barnes finally gets the Vols through the Sweet 16 for the first time as their coach.

“We have a chance to be as good as we want to be,” he said. “It’s up to one thing: Are we tough enough to embrace the daily grind? And not worry about going to the Final Four or worry about going to the NCAA Tournament, but can we build a team that can be successful that time of year? It starts with truly embracing the grind.”

The Crimson Tide dropped to fourth after the blowout loss to the Sooners, when Alabama fell behind by 17 at halftime in an eventual 93-69 defeat. The Tide edged fifth-ranked Arizona by just two points in this week’s poll.

“It doesn’t have any effect on SEC standings, which is the only good thing to come out of this,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said of the lopsided loss. “Hopefully we’ll recover from a loss out of conference, but you know, it’s not good.”

Virginia was sixth and Kansas State, which rebounded from a narrow loss at No. 13 Iowa State by pummeling Florida on Saturday, fell two spots to seventh; the Wildcats face eighth-ranked Kansas in a top-10 showdown Tuesday night.

UCLA dropped to ninth after losing to Southern California and Texas rounded out the top 10.

Baylor continued its climb from unranked to No. 11 following wins over the Jayhawks and Arkansas. The Bears were followed by Gonzaga, Iowa State, Marquette and league rival TCU — the sixth Big 12 team in the top 15.

Xavier, Providence, Saint Mary’s, Florida Atlantic and Clemson completed the top 20, while poll returners Indiana and San Diego State joined Miami, UConn and Auburn in rounding out the Top 25.

RISING AND FALLING

The No. 11 Bears and No. 17 Providence made the biggest leaps, each climbing six spots from last week.

“I think our defense is better. Our turnovers are better. When you don’t give people easy transition baskets, now its five-on-five in the half court,” said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team had a date with the Longhorns on Monday night.

“We execute at a pretty high rate,” Drew said. “It really comes down to taking care of the ball, making sure we get shots up and when you don’t make them, you’ve got to get rebounds. And our guys are buying into that.”

Auburn took the biggest hit of those still in the poll, dropping 10 places after losses to unranked Texas A&M and West Virginia.

IN AND OUT

The Hoosiers returned to the poll at No. 21 and the Aztecs rejoined it right behind them. They took the place of Charleston, which fell out from No. 18 after losing to Hofstra, and New Mexico, which lost to Nevada in double overtime last week.

CONFERENCE CALL

The Big 12′s dominance of the SEC in the final year of their head-to-head challenge was rewarded in the poll, where the league led the way with six ranked teams and all of them in the top 15. The Big East has four teams in the poll but none higher than No. 14 Marquette, while the SEC and ACC have three teams apiece.

RICE, ALLEN LEAD NO. 10 TEXAS OVER NO. 11 BAYLOR 76-71

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Sir’Jabari Rice scored 21 points and Timmy Allen added 18 to send No. 10 Texas to a 76-71 win over No. 11 Baylor on Monday night, ending the Bears’ six-game win streak and keeping the Longhorns in a share of first place in the Big 12.

Rice made four 3-pointers in the second half and his two free throws with 16 seconds left put Texas ahead by five with the final points.

Baylor had closed to 72-71 on Keyonte George’s three-point play before Texas answered with Marcus Carr’s fallaway jumper with 27 seconds left. It was Carr’s first basket of the second half and just his second of the game.

Rice, a 29% 3-point shooter in Big 12 play, was 4 of 5 shooting from long range. Allen was 7 of 10 from the floor and made two free throws in the final minute that put the Longhorns (18-4, 7-2) ahead by four.

“That’s what this league is about. You have to put your hat on every day and come to work. That was one of the hardest games I’ve been in since I got here,” Allen said. “In the Big 12, that’s what it takes every night. “

Baylor had fought back from nine points down in the first half to tie it at 38 on the opening possession after halftime. Texas answered with a quick 8-0 run punctuated by a 3-pointer by Tyrese Hunter, a put-back dunk by Dillon Mitchell and Allen’s short jumper over two defenders.

Rice’s 3-pointers kept any chance of a Baylor rally in check and Texas never trailed in the second half.

LJ Cryer scored 19 points to lead four Baylor players in double figures.

Baylor (16-6, 5-4) trailed 70-68 with a chance to take the lead in the final two minutes, but Adam Flagler threw up a quick 3-pointer that missed before Allen made his two late free throws.

“It’s hard to have long winning streaks in this league,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “You can play well and lose games.”

Baylor had won 12 of the previous 13 matchups with the Longhorns.

“They’ve had our number,” Texas interim coach Rodney Terry said. “We needed to find a way to get this thing done. We were at home.”

MISSING POINTS

Carr, Texas’ leading scorer this season, had a rare off night as a shooter. He was just 2 of 8 from the floor and didn’t score in double figures for just the third time this season, and the first time since Dec. 12.

“Guys picked each other up,” Rice said. “Obviously Marcus didn’t have the game everybody’s used to him having, but he still made sure we sure we were playing defense … Things like that got us the win.”

BIG PICTURE

Baylor: The Bears fell in love with the 3-pointer and couldn’t break out of it against a Texas defense that denied shot after shot near the basket. Baylor was 8 of 26 from long range and made just two in the second half.

“We can’t let them dictate what we do,” Cryer said.

Texas: The Longhorns were coming off a loss at No. 2 Tennessee, when Terry complained the Longhorns let themselves get pushed around in a physical matchup. They had no such problems against the Bears, nearly matching the Bears in rebounding and points in the paint.

“(Terry) challenged us on defense. He challenged us to be better. We’re not a team that’s used to getting out-toughed. We had to respond physically, mentally,” Allen said.

UP NEXT

Baylor hosts Texas Tech on Saturday.

Texas plays at No. 7 Kansas State on Saturday.

GEORGIA FINDING NEW HOPE IN SEC UNDER FIRST-YEAR COACH WHITE

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Mike White is making an impact in his first season as Georgia’s coach.

After five consecutive losing seasons in Southeastern Conference games, the Bulldogs are 14-7 and 4-4 in the league under White.

Georgia has made its way to the middle of the SEC standings by beating three of the four teams tied for last place. The good news for White is the Bulldogs no longer rank as one of the bottom teams, one year after finishing 1-17 in the conference.

White knows his job of building a winner is far from finished.

“We’ve gotten better throughout the year,” White said after Saturday night’s 81-78 overtime win over South Carolina. “We still have room for improvement, obviously.”

The Bulldogs won three of their first four SEC games before losing three straight, including an ugly 70-41 loss at then-No. 4 Tennessee on Wednesday night. Georgia snapped the skid by beating South Carolina after trailing by 12 points in the second half.

“What have I learned? We’ve got some fighters,” White said. “We’re pretty connected. We’ve got a healthy locker room. We’ve got guys that like each other. We’re a resilient group that has found a way to win some close games. Hopefully we can keep a bunch more close and we can steal a few.”

White was hired from Florida only three days after Georgia fired Tom Crean. Georgia finished no better than 10th in the SEC in four seasons under Crean and hit a low point with a 6-26 overall record last season.

Georgia’s most impressive win under White came in its SEC opener, beating then-No. 22 Auburn 76-64 on Jan. 4. The Bulldogs visit Auburn, which moved to No. 25 in Monday’s AP Top 25 poll, in a rematch on Wednesday night.

White is building around defense, and full-court pressure was a key against South Carolina. Guard Jussaun Holt, who had five steals against the Gamecocks in only his fourth start, was a key to the defense.

“I feel like that’s our niche,” Holt said. “That’s what we’re good at. We’re going to take pride on defense.”

South Carolina is one of four teams tied for last at 1-7 in SEC games. Georgia also has wins over two other teams in that last-place group, Mississippi and Mississippi State.

Georgia fans can’t be picky about seeing the Bulldogs lean on wins over last-place teams. The Bulldogs haven’t finished better than 7-11 in the league since a 9-9 mark in the 2016-17 season under coach Mark Fox. Georgia’s last NCAA tournament appearance came in 2015.

White hopes the comeback win over South Carolina helps to build confidence for the second half of the conference schedule. He knows Georgia’s best hope for a winning season is to survive more close games.

“Really all year most of our wins … have been grind-it-out games, haven’t been overly pretty,” White said. “That’s kind of been our identity as a team. We’ve got a bunch of guys who play hard. We’ve got to play that way to have a chance.”

A team coming off a one-win season in the conference isn’t going to complain about an ugly victory over a last-place team.

“It was real big,” said Mardrez McBride after scoring a career-high 17 points. “Losing can be contagious, but also winning can be contagious. It feels good to get back in the win column and hopefully keep it going.”

MAC MEN’S BASKETBALL

AKRON’S FREEMAN NAMED MEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Enrique Freeman, Akron, Forward
Junior, Cleveland, Ohio

Enrique Freeman led the Akron to a pair of wins over Miami (73-68) and Ohio (83-77) as the Zips are riding a six-game winning streak and moved to 11-0 at James A. Rhodes Arena. Freeman averaged a double-double with 22.5 points and 11.5 rebounds while shooting 76.0 percent from the floor (19-of-25). Freeman had an incredible performance to lift the Zips over the Bobcats, collecting 32 points and 15 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. He shot 77.8 percent from the floor (14-of-18) and dished out two assists while grabbing 11 defensive rebounds. Against Miami, Freeman scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and grabbed eight rebounds with two assists.

HCAC 2022-23 MEN’S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK

Athlete of the Week:
Zach Sawyer (Columbus, Ohio) Manchester University | Guard | Sophomore – Sawyer averaged 26 points per game during a 2-0 week for the Spartans. Sawyer recorded a new career-high 34 points, shooting 11-for-15 from the field, 2-for-3 from three-point range, and 10-for-13 from the free throw line during Manchester’s thrilling double overtime win over Transylvania on Wednesday. Sawyer also pulled down 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season and added five assists on Wednesday night. During Saturday’s matchup against Franklin, Sawyer finished the afternoon with 18 points, five steals, six assists, and one block.

Notable Performances:

Tate Ivanyo (Valparaiso, Ind.) Anderson University | Wing | Sophomore – Ivanyo averaged 27.5 points and 3.5 steals for the week. Ivanyo helped lead the Ravens to an 85-78 double overtime victory against Bluffton, pouring in 38 points, collecting five steals, and knocking down 8-of-12 from three (66.7 percent). He also contributed 17 points against Earlham.
Marell Jordan (Chicago, Ill.) Defiance College | Guard | Senior – Jordan turned in another solid week for Defiance as he continues to pace the HCAC in scoring. He posted 15 points in Thursday’s victory over Mount St. Joseph and also recorded a season-high five steals. On Saturday, he led the Jackets with 24 more points as he approaches 1,500 career points for his college career.
Tommy Makabu (Champaign, Ill.) Earlham College | Guard | Senior – Makabu led the Quakers this week, averaging 18 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He played a key role in a 70-62 win over Anderson with 24 points. He also contributed six assists and three steals.
Ty Houston (Union, Ky.) Hanover College | Guard | Senior – Houston led the Panthers to a 2-0 week as he eclipsed the 1,000 career point mark on Wednesday at Rose-Hulman. In a second half comeback at Rose-Hulman, the senior netted a game-high 28 points with four rebounds. Houston added eight points and four rebounds in the victory at Defiance.
Miles McGowen (Indianapolis, Ind.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Guard | Sophomore – McGowen averaged 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as Rose-Hulman finished 1-1 last week. McGowen had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in a key win over Mount St. Joseph and scored 19 points with seven rebounds in a loss to Hanover. For the week, McGowen shot 57 percent from the field.
Colby Naiper (Hindman, Ky.) Transylvania University | Guard | Senior – Napier reached a season high in three point shots made with six and had a season high in points scored with 32 in his game against Manchester and went 1-1 this week.

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL NEWS

SOUTH CAROLINA TOPS WOMEN’S AP TOP 25; OHIO STATE TUMBLES

It was a rough week for Ohio State, which lost all three of its games and tumbled down the AP Top 25 as a result.

The previously unbeaten Buckeyes fell from second to 10th in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll released Monday after losing to Iowa and Indiana, two top 10 teams, as well as Purdue. Ohio State fell two games back in the Big Ten Conference standings.

South Carolina remained No. 1 for the 32nd consecutive week. The Gamecocks, who were again a unanimous choice from the 28-member national media panel, have the fourth-longest streak ever atop the poll. Only UConn (51 and 34 weeks) and Louisiana Tech (36) have had longer runs at No. 1.

Stanford moved back up to No. 2 in the poll and the Cardinal were followed by LSU, Indiana and UConn in the top five. LSU is the only other undefeated team in women’s basketball besides South Carolina, which visits UConn for a top-five showdown on Sunday.

Iowa jumped out four spots to sixth with Utah, Maryland and Notre Dame coming in ahead of Ohio State. The Hawkeyes started the season No. 4 in the poll.

The Fighting Irish split a pair of games last week against ranked opponents, routing Florida State before falling to N.C. State.

“There’s a lot of parity right now, which is great, great for the game,” Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said. “The game is growing, which is what you want. But yeah, I mean, every night, especially the ACC, the ACC is the strongest league and, you know, we have just a tough stretch every night.”

One week after falling out of the rankings, Texas re-entered the poll at No. 24. The Longhorns routed then-No. 14 Oklahoma and Oklahoma State last week. South Florida also came in at No. 25. Colorado and Illinois fell out of the poll.

RISING BULLS

No. 25 South Florida continued its streak of being ranked for at least one week every season since the Bulls entered the poll for the first time in 2015.

“For us not being in a so-called football five conference, that’s a huge accomplishment,” South Florida coach Jose Fernandez said. His team has won 10 consecutive games and has 20 victories this season. The team’s four losses have all come against ranked opponents (Michigan, Villanova, Ohio State and N.C. State).

“This group has been fun to coach. We always play a great non=conference schedule,” Fernandez said. “We won on the road at Texas, beat Alabama, beat Arkansas. We challenged ourselves in November and December.”

RECORD PERFORMANCES

Cameron Brink carried Stanford to a win over Oregon with a triple-double that included 10 blocks. It was the first triple-double in NCAA Division I women’s basketball featuring double-digit blocks since Tamari Key did it for Tennessee in an overtime win against Texas on Nov. 21, 2021.

No. 20 Oklahoma’s Taylor Robertson set the all-time NCAA women’s career record for 3-pointers when she hit her 498th in a loss to Iowa State on Saturday. Robertson has 503 entering this week. The all-time NCAA record, men or women, is held by Antoine Davis of Detroit Mercy, who has 534 and counting.

BIG 10 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

INDIANA AND IOWA EARN BIG TEN WEEKLY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL AWARDS

Co-Player of the Week
Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana
Sr. – F – Gorham, Maine – Gorham – Major: Human Development & Family Studies
• Also chosen as the espnW National Player of the Week on Monday
• Averaged 24.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game with a .700 field-goal percentage in the Hoosiers’ three wins last week, two against Top 25 opponents
• Posted her ninth double-double of the season on Jan. 23 at No. 13/16 Michigan, finishing with 25 points and 10 rebounds
• Scored a team-high 26 points on 11-of-13 shooting on Jan. 26 against No. 2/5 Ohio State, her third straight 25-point game against a ranked opponent (only the second women’s or men’s player in the past 20 years to accomplish that feat in the regular season after UConn’s Maya Moore in 2010-11)
• Twice named an Academic All-Big Ten honoree (2021, 2022) and was a 2021 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar
• Captures her sixth career Big Ten Player of the Week award and third this season
• Last Indiana Player of the Week: Mackenzie Holmes (Jan. 2, 2023)

Co-Player of the Week
Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Jr. – G – West Des Moines, Iowa – Dowling Catholic – Major: Business
• Also on Monday, was named a top 10 candidate for the Nancy Lieberman Award given to the nation’s top point guard (Clark earned the award in 2022)
• Registered 30.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 12.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game in two Hawkeye victories last week
• Compiled her conference-record eighth career triple-double (28 points, 10 rebounds, season-high 15 assists) on Jan. 23 at No. 2/2 Ohio State, joining Marquette All-American Dwyane Wade as the only NCAA Division I players since 1999-2000 with a triple-double against an AP top-two opponent
• Nearly had another triple-double on Jan. 28 against Nebraska, winding up with 33 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists
• 2022 College Sports Communicators (CSC) first-team Academic All-America and Academic All-Big Ten selection
• Earns her 16th career Big Ten Player of the Week award (fourth-most in conference history) and fourth this season
• Last Iowa Player of the Week: Caitlin Clark (Jan. 17, 2023)

Big Ten Women’s Basketball Weekly Honor Roll
Diamond Miller, Sr., G, MD: Paced the Terrapins to a win over No. 13/17 Michigan on Jan. 26 with 23 points and a career-high five steals
Leigha Brown, 5th-Yr., G, MICH: Averaged 22.3 ppg., 4.7 rpg. and 3.3 apg. with a .658 field-goal percentage in three games last week, two against Top 25 opponents
Abbey Ellis, Sr., G, PUR: Tallied 21.0 ppg. and 4.0 rpg. while shooting .600 from the field (7-12 3FG) to help Purdue earn a pair of key road wins over Top 25 opponents, including the program’s first-ever top-five road win Sunday at No. 2/5 Ohio State

Freshman of the Week
Yarden Garzon, Indiana
G – Ra’anana, Israel – Ostrovsky – Major: Economics
• Registered 14.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game with a .567 field-goal percentage (10-18 3FG) last week as Indiana collected three wins, including two against ranked teams
• Posted her first career double-double on Jan. 26 against No. 2/5 Ohio State with 20 points and 10 rebounds
• Added 14 points (5-8 FG, 4-6 3FG) in Sunday’s victory over Rutgers
• Collects her third Big Ten Freshman of the Week award
• Last Indiana Freshman of the Week: Yarden Garzon (Jan. 17, 2023)

HCAC 2022-23 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK

Athlete of the Week:
Lexi Dellinger (Berne, Ind.) Anderson University | Guard | Graduate Student – Dellinger averaged 23.5 points, eight rebounds and 2.5 steals as Anderson went 2-0 on the week. Dellinger notched 27 points, seven rebounds, three steals and went 9-10 from the free-throw line as Anderson scored a key win for HCAC position, topping Bluffton 78-51. She also recorded 20 points, nine rebounds, two steals and went 4-4 from the charity stripe in just 24 minutes of play as the Ravens collected an 83-44 win against Earlham.

Notable Performances:

Kalista Friday (Woodsfield, Ohio) Defiance College | Guard | First Year – The first year PG started two games last week. She averaged 13 ppg, six rebounds per game, including a career high seven rebounds against Hanover, recorded one steal and averaged 3.5 apg. She went 11-of-19 from the field combined in the two games, good for a shooting percentage of 58.
Kady Clancy (Scottsburg, Ind.) Hanover College | Guard | Sophomore – Clancy helped lead a second half comeback at Defiance on Saturday as she netted a game-high 17 points with four rebounds and two assists. She went 7-of-11 from the floor with two steals.
Abi Rosenkrans (Pendleton, Ind.) Manchester University | Guard | First Year – Rosenkrans averaged 15.5 points per game as the Spartans went 1-1 in HCAC play this week. During Wednesday’s game at Transylvania, Rosenkrans led Manchester with 17 points, three steals, and one block. During Saturday’s win over Franklin, Rosenkrans finished with 14 points and one block for the Spartans.
Anyiah Murphy (Columbus, Ohio) Mount St. Joseph University | Guard | Sophomore – Murphy led the surging Lions to a win over Defiance at home on Wednesday. She scored a team-high 17 points going 5-for-11 from the field and 3-for-6 from three point range. She added a season-high five assists, two rebounds and three steals.
Madison Kellione (Cynthiana, Ky.) Transylvania University | Guard | Senior – In two wins this past week, Kellione put up 30 points, 13 assists, and six rebounds.

RIVER STATES CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOREES PICKED FOR JAN. 23-29

Skeens scorches her way to RSC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — University of Rio Grande (Ohio) senior Ella Skeens averaged an amazing 46.0 points per game to claim River States Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week presented by Brown & Brown Insurance. It is her fourth conference weekly honor of the year and is for games Jan. 23-29.

Skeens’ hot week included a school-record 50 points versus Asbury (Ky.), and she followed that up with 42 points the next game versus IU East. Skeens also averaged 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting 82 percent from the field and 88 percent from the foul line (14 for 16).

Skeens, a guard/forward from Chillicothe, Ohio, got half a hundred by making 19 of 21 field goals versus Asbury. All but one of the makes was inside the arc. She was also 11 for 13 at the foul line and made it a double-double with 12 rebounds. Skeens then scored 42 points in 27 minutes versus IU East, a 105-66 win. She made another 17 of 23 shots, which included 5 for 7 from distance. There were also six rebounds, three assists and three steals in the game.

Stamps earns RSC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Jalen Stamps from Point Park (Pa.) University was selected River States Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week presented by Brown & Brown Insurance for Jan. 23-29.

A junior from Indianapolis, Ind., Stamps put up 52 points in two games for averages of 26.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in a 2-0 week for the Pioneers. He shot 52 percent from the field, made 6 of 12 from beyond the arc and was a perfect 12 for 12 at the foul line.

Stamps’ biggest performance was 30 points in a win at IU Kokomo. He scored 26 points in the second half and finished 9 for 17 from the field with a couple of treys and 10 for 10 at the free-throw line. He started out with 22 points, four treys, nine rebounds and five assists in a victory at St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.).

James secures RSC Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Elijah James from Point Park (Pa.) University claimed River States Conference Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week presented by Brown & Brown Insurance for his performances Jan. 23-29.

A sophomore from Pittsburgh, Pa., James ran two No. 1-ranked times in the RSC at the YSU Mid-Major. He took over the top conference spot in the 800 meters and the 1,000 meters at the same meet. The 800 time was 1:56.69 for a 13th-place showing at YSU. James placed second in the 1,000 meters finishing in 2:32.64 for another PR time.

Stephens-Stewart repeats as RSC Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Daimere Stephens-Stewart from Point Park (Pa.) University for the second week in a row is the River States Conference Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week presented by Brown & Brown Insurance. The current award is for Jan. 23-29.

Stephens-Stewart, a junior from Pittsburgh, Pa., posted the RSC’s top-ranked distance in the long jump with his showing of 6.99 meters at the YSU Mid-Major. That was just one centimeter away from national qualification, and it placed seventh at the meet. Stephens-Stewart went 13.69 meters in the triple jump. That was good for fifth place and a No. 2 ranking in the conference. He also shined on the track running the No. 1 times in the RSC this year for both the 60m and 200m at the same meet.

Schmid named RSC Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Jana Schmid from Point Park (Pa.) University was chosen as River States Conference Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week presented by Brown & Brown Insurance for Jan. 23-29.

A sophomore from Germany, Schmid ran the No. 1 time in the RSC for the 1,000 meters when she placed second at the YSU Mid-Major. That was with a time of 3:06.85. That was a PR along with her performance in the 800 meters, which came in a time of 2:24.62. That was good for 13th place at the meet and a No. 2 ranking in the conference.

Brown named RSC Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Nevaeh Brown from Midway (Ky.) University has been selected as the River States Conference Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week presented by Brown & Brown Insurance for the second week in a row. The latest award is for Jan. 23-29.

Brown, a junior from Louisville, Ky., hit the NAIA national qualifying standard once again in the pole vault to claim another conference award. She did so with a height of 3.50 meters at the Capital Comet Invitational. That met the NAIA ‘B’ standard and placed third at the meet. Brown is ranked fifth in the NAIA for the pole vault.

NBA NEWS

BANCHERO, MAGIC RALLY FROM EARLY HOLE, BEAT 76ERS 119-109

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Paolo Banchero had 29 points and 10 rebounds as the Orlando Magic stormed back from a 21-point first-quarter deficit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-109 on Monday night.

Mo Wagner scored 22 points and his younger brother Franz Wagner scored 19 for the Magic, who stopped a three-game skid and ended the Sixers’ seven-game winning streak.

It was the latest win over one of the NBA’s top teams for the Magic, who improved to 15-11 since their 6-20 start.

“They are learning from experiences,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “They are finding ways to bounce back and believe in each other and understand that it’s got to start on the defensive side of the ball.”

Orlando has beaten Boston three times, Golden State twice, Dallas, Phoenix and now Philadelphia.

“We are a very good team,” Banchero said. “We just have to learn how to put this effort out every night. We have to be able to take this game and take it to the next game and the game after that no matter who the opponent is.”

Joel Embiid had 30 points and 11 rebounds for Philadelphia, his 27th game this season scoring 30 or more and his ninth in the past 10. But he also led the Sixers in turnovers with six, got into foul trouble in the fourth quarter and was visibly frustrated by Orlando’s physical defense.

The Magic forced 19 turnovers and held Philly to 19 points in the fourth quarter. The 21-point deficit was the largest Orlando has overcome this season and the sixth-largest in franchise history.

The Magic methodically worked their way back from the early hole, trimming the Sixers’ lead to 10 points at halftime. Orlando went ahead for the first time on a 3-pointer by Gary Harris in the third quarter.

“We just wanted to challenge them and turn the heat up,” Banchero said. “We weren’t doing that in the first half and gave them too many easy buckets. You’re not going to stop Embiid, you just have to challenge him and make it difficult on him and we did a good job.”

The Magic took the lead for good with 7:03 to play when Mo Wagner made a reverse layup, was fouled and converted the free throw. Wagner converted another three-point play 19 seconds later when he was fouled by Embiid on a driving layup.

Sixers coach Doc Rivers unsuccessfully challenged the foul call on Embiid, insisting his big man had established defensive position.

Cole Anthony followed with a 3-pointer to complete a 9-0 Orlando run, and the Sixers got no closer than six points the rest of the way.

“I don’t think we played with any pace,” Rivers said. “Their pressure, their physicality … they got into us. We turned the ball over. We were flopping to try to draw fouls. We just turned it off and couldn’t get it back.”

Tobias Harris and James Harden scored 17 points apiece for the Sixers.

TIP-INS

Magic: Almost four years after the Sixers traded him to Orlando, Markelle Fultz played his first game in Philadelphia as a visitor. The former No. 1 overall draft pick has been injured each time the Magic played in Philly since the trade, although he played a road game against the Sixers in 2020 during the pandemic bubble in Florida. Fultz finished with 12 points and 10 assists and said the experience was “amazing.”

76ers: Philadelphia has been the hottest team in the NBA for nearly two months but has benefited from playing the league’s third-easiest schedule entering Monday night’s game. The Sixers have the second-toughest remaining schedule and will play 17 games in March, including 11 on the road.

UP NEXT

The teams play again at Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

IRVING HAS 26, NETS BEAT LAKERS 121-104 AS JAMES, DAVIS SIT

NEW YORK (AP) Kyrie Irving had 26 points, seven rebounds and six assists to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 121-104 victory Monday night over the Los Angeles Lakers, who played without LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Irving had scored 30 or more in a career-best six straight games but didn’t have to carry as heavy a load with some good play from Brooklyn’s backup guards.

“It’s nothing but joy in my eyes when I see them get rewarded for the hard work they’ve put in,” Irving said. “It makes my job a lot easier.”

Patty Mills and Cam Thomas added 21 points apiece for the Nets, who won their second straight and are 4-6 since Kevin Durant sprained a ligament in his right knee. They won just five times in 21 games last season when he sprained the other knee.

“I think from a big-picture standpoint we’ve just worked out how to navigate the ship, I guess,” Mills said, “and it definitely does feel a lot different than last year in that sense.”

Lakers coach Darvin Ham said James was experiencing “really significant soreness” in his left foot and would be evaluated Tuesday to see if he could play at the New York Knicks that night.

James, who is 117 points shy of passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA’s career scoring record, sat at the end of the Lakers bench.

It was a planned day off for Davis so he didn’t play both ends of a back-to-back after returning last week from a 20-game absence due to a right foot injury,

Thomas Bryant had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, while Russell Westbrook finished with 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. The 2017 NBA MVP moved past Gary Payton into 10th place on the career assists list, something he never would have imagined when he was younger.

“In the NBA, I never dreamt of being in this position, nor getting to the point to where I’m next to some of the greats,” Westbrook said, “and I’m just truly grateful and thankful for an opportunity to keep playing at the highest level and I don’t take any of it for granted.”

The Lakers trailed by 12 at halftime but opened the third quarter with a 14-0 run for a 60-58 lead. Irving finally got the Nets going, but the Lakers built a seven-point lead later in the period after some strong work from Wenyen Gabriel, who scored nine straight Los Angeles points. Brooklyn recovered to close the period with a 10-0 spurt to grab an 85-82 lead.

Mills and Thomas made consecutive 3-pointers after the Lakers cut it to two in the fourth, and Brooklyn went on to lead by 14 before putting this one away.

The Lakers missed 11 of their first 14 shots and the Nets soon led 19-6. Brooklyn extended it to 19 points a few times in the second quarter but didn’t close the half well, allowing the Lakers to pull within 58-46.

The Lakers were hoping to move on after an infuriating loss in Boston, when referees acknowledged they missed James being fouled on his drive to the basket at the end of regulation.

But it was clear early on they hadn’t fully left their frustrations behind. Patrick Beverley, who got a technical foul in overtime Saturday, got another one in the first quarter Monday when he was called for a foul on Irving’s 3-point attempt. Referee Ben Taylor then walked away from Beverley to the other side of the court to avoid having to call another one and issue an ejection.

TIP-INS

Lakers: With James and Davis out, Rui Hachimura made his first start for Los Angeles and scored 16 points. It was his third game with the Lakers since being acquired from Washington. … Troy Brown Jr. had 11 points and 17 rebounds.

Nets: Brooklyn was also short-handed, as Ben Simmons missed his second consecutive game with left knee soreness. Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said the hope is Simmons can return Wednesday. … Day’Ron Sharpe grabbed 14 rebounds and Nic Claxton had 12.

UP NEXT

Lakers: At the New York Knicks on Tuesday.

Nets: At Boston on Wednesday.

FOX, LYLES HELP KINGS OUTLAST TIMBERWOLVES 118-111 IN OT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) De’Aaron Fox scored 32 points and Trey Lyles had eight of his 11 points in overtime for the Sacramento Kings, who outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves 118-111 on Monday night.

Malik Monk scored 19 points, Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out and Keegan Murray added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the upstart Kings, who produced another signature win in their promising quest to end an NBA-record 16-year absence from the playoffs.

The Kings had a season-high 15 steals and turned 18 turnovers by the Timberwolves into 21 points.

“It’s just trying to be disruptive. If we get a deflection and it turns into a steal, great,” Fox said.

Lyles took over for Sabonis at center and started overtime with a 3-pointer. He dunked on Rudy Gobert for a three-point play and got wide open for a slam with 37.8 seconds left for a five-point lead that put the game away and gave the Kings a two-game split after a 117-110 loss on Saturday.

“Both those games were kind of ugly to our standards, so I thought we did a good job maintaining our composure down the stretch,” Murray said.

Anthony Edwards had 33 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, hitting the 30-point mark for the fifth time in the last six games, but he had six turnovers amid heavy double-teams down the stretch.

“He’s drawing a big crowd,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “For the most part, he’s trying to make the right play. Maybe he needs to see it a little earlier.”

Gobert added 19 points and 14 rebounds in a classic big man battle with Sabonis, who was whistled for a technical after a missed contested layup that had him screaming at the officials about the no-call with 3:57 left.

Neither team led by more than five points for the entire fourth quarter, when Edwards went to work once again for the Wolves and made baskets on three straight possessions for a 98-95 lead with 2:12 to go.

Fox is one of those clutch players, too. He gave the Kings the lead twice with shots in the final 1:48 and had the chance to win it at the regulation buzzer, when his fadeaway fell short.

Jaden McDaniels hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 13.5 seconds left for the Wolves, but they failed to take advantage of the absence of Sabonis in overtime and hurt themselves anew with unforced errors on both ends. In another sign of the crowded Western Conference race, they fell from fifth place to ninth. The Kings are in third, with just one more win than the Wolves.

“To go into overtime in someone else’s building and gut out a win is definitely big,” Fox said.

EARLY BRICKS

The rims on both ends were in an unforgiving mood. The Wolves had a season-low 17 points in the first quarter. D’Angelo Russell missed his first three free throws after missing a total of twice from the line in his previous 13 games.

“We tried to scrape this one out, and we made too many mistakes to get the win,” Russell said.

GHOST TOWNS

Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has missed 32 games with a strained right calf. He posted an Instagram photo over the weekend showing his right foot in a walking boot.

“No setbacks at all,” Finch said. “Just part of the process.”

TIMES CHANGE

Three years and three days ago, the Kings stunned the Timberwolves by overcoming a 27-point deficit – they were still down 17 with 2:49 left in regulation – to win in overtime.

Only three players remain on each team’s roster from that night. The only ones who saw the floor in both the Jan. 27, 2020, game: Fox and Harrison Barnes for Sacramento and Naz Reid for Minnesota.

TIP-INS

Kings: SG Kevin Huerter went 5 for 19 from the floor and 2 for 12 from 3-point range in the two-game series. … SG Deonte Burton was signed to a 10-day contract prior to the game, plucked from the G-League affiliate in Stockton.

Timberwolves: Backup SF Taurean Prince returned from a four-game absence with a sprained left ankle. … The Wolves shot 13 for 25 from the free-throw line.

UP NEXT

Kings: Visit San Antonio on Wednesday.

Timberwolves: Host Golden State on Wednesday.

WIZARDS END 22-GAME SKID IN SAN ANTONIO, BEAT SPURS 127-106

SAN ANTONIO (AP) Deni Avdija had a career-high 25 points, Bradley Beal had 21 points and the Washington Wizards ended a 22-game losing streak to the Spurs in San Antonio with a 127-106 victory Monday night.

Washington, which last won in San Antonio on Dec. 11, 1999, has won six straight for its longest winning streak since a six-game run in 2015.

“You never want to be on the losing end of that streak, but it’s good to get that one off our chest,” said Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr., who was an advance scout with the team in 1999.

Kristaps Porzingis added 17 points and nine rebounds after a fast start for Washington.

Keldon Johnson had 26 points, Jeremy Sochan added 17 and Zach Collins had 16 for the Spurs, who have lost six straight to fall to 2-13 this month.

The Wizards led 63-55 at halftime and never trailed in the second half. The Spurs closed within four points midway through the third quarter, but Washington responded with an 8-0 run to regain a double-digit advantage.

San Antonio is 0-35 this season when trailing by double digits.

“We had more fast-break points,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We had more second-chance points. We had fewer turnovers. We had more points in the paint but shot 20-something from 3 and they shot 50 or something. Game over.”

San Antonio was 7 for 29 on 3-pointers while Washington shot 16 for 30 on 3s.

Porzingis scored 13 of the Wizards’ first 19 points. Jakob Poeltl picked up two fouls in the opening four minutes, forcing the Spurs to bring Zach Collins in sooner than usual.

After his early scoring burst, Porzingis was scoreless in the next two periods and had four points in the fourth.

Avdija responded by scoring 23 points in the final three quarters to help the Wizards win here for the first time since he was 2 years old.

“The streak is done,” Avdija said. “Just to close that circle and be here and having a good game versus the Spurs and end that streak. I think everybody did a really great job competing. When we’re focused and sharing the ball, we’re a really dangerous team.”

Avdija was 10 for 12 from the field and made both his 3-point attempts. Kendrick Nunn added 10 points, giving him double-digit scoring in all three games since being acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers for Rui Hachimura.

TIP-INS

Wizards: Washington’s longest winning streak in franchise history is nine straight, which it accomplished in 2002, 1979, 1975, 1970 and 1969. … Washington is 12-16 on the road, two victories shy of matching last season’s win total away from home. … Kuzma and Delon Wright were reunited with Poeltl, their teammate with the Utah Utes in 2015. … Nunn received a technical foul 7 seconds into the second quarter after complaining about a non-call. After stripping possession from Blake Wesley, Nunn thought he was fouled on a layup attempt that was knocked out of bounds by the Spurs’ rookie. San Antonio F Doug McDermott missed the free throw.

Spurs: San Antonio has allowed 100-plus points in six straight games and in all but one of its past 27 games. .. Sochan has scored in double figures in seven straight games and in 10 of his past 12. … G Josh Richardson did not play after being upgraded to probable several hours before tipoff. Richardson missed his third straight game with a sore left knee. … Collins suffered a bloody nose that forced officials to stop play with 2.8 seconds left in the first quarter. Keldon Johnson re-entered the game in place of Collins.

TURBO

Avdija’s recent rise has coincided with the team bestowing the nickname “Turbo” on the 22-year-old forward.

Wizards veteran Monte Morris unknowingly gave Avdija the nickname while the two were playing 1-on-1. Morris playfully remarked that Avdija’s hustle reminded him of the “turbo and square” move in NBA2K.

“They really want me to succeed and be aggressive,” Avdija said. “Since they gave me that nickname, I really just am being more aggressive. I’m just enjoying, that’s the most important for me.”

UP NEXT

Wizards: At Detroit on Wednesday night.

Spurs: Host Sacramento on Wednesday night.

CURRY HAS 38 POINTS, 12 ASSISTS AS WARRIORS TOP THUNDER

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The defending NBA champions are starting to hit their stride.

Stephen Curry had 38 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 128-120 on Monday night for their third straight win.

Curry made 8 of 14 3-pointers and 12 of 20 shots overall. Klay Thompson added 28 points and hit six 3s for Golden State.

It was the opener of a three-game road swing for the Warriors, who are two games above .500.

“This was really a key game for us on the trip,” coach Steve Kerr said. “To start out with a win puts us in a good position to get some rest tomorrow, prepare for Minnesota, go attack that game and see what happens. … So we needed this one tonight, and guys did a great job of winning and getting it. Now, we’ve got to get greedy and go get the next one.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half for the Thunder. Josh Giddey had 21 points and Jalen Williams added 19 for Oklahoma City, which missed out on a chance to even its season record.

The Warriors led 63-48 at halftime behind 18 points from Curry and 16 from Thompson. Golden State made 12 of 25 3-pointers and had 21 assists on 23 baskets before the break.

The Thunder said they failed to execute their defensive game plan early.

“We’ve kind of got to dictate terms from the jump and make teams play how we want to play,” Giddey said. “It’s hard to beat a team like that going back and forth and trading baskets because they’ve got so many weapons.”

The Thunder hung tough, and a 3 by Mike Muscala as time expired in the third quarter cut Golden State’s lead to 94-85.

“I thought there was a little bit of a boogeyman there in the first quarter,” coach Mark Daigneault said. “And then, you know, once we opened the closet and realized there’s no one there, then we started playing.”

Oklahoma City trailed by just two in the fourth before Golden State responded. A 3-pointer by Curry pushed the advantage to 115-107 with 2:35 remaining, and the Warriors remained in control from there.

TIP-INS

Warriors: Curry passed Wilt Chamberlain for most field goals in franchise history. … The Warriors shot 62.5% in the first quarter to take a 38-20 lead. … F Draymond Green finished with seven points, nine rebounds and 12 assists.

Thunder: G Lu Dort sat out with a strained right hamstring. … Daigneault said F/C Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is nearing a return from a sprained right ankle, but he would start off with the G-League affiliate Oklahoma City Blue before playing for the Thunder again.

REAL RECOGNIZES REAL

Curry, the NBA’s career leader in 3-pointers, chatted with University of Oklahoma women’s basketball star Taylor Robertson before the game. Robertson, who wears No. 30 like Curry and wore a Curry jersey to the game, set the NCAA women’s career record for 3s on Saturday.

WIGGINS IS BACK

Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins returned after missing two games with an illness. He scored 15 points on 7-for-13 shooting.

Between the illness and injuries, Wiggins has played just 30 games this season.

“He’s lost some conditioning, lost some rhythm,” Kerr said. “He had a great practice yesterday. You could see this coming, just from the way he was moving and how aggressive he was. I love the way he played tonight.”

UP NEXT

Warriors: Visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.

Thunder: Visit the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.

DONCIC SCORES 53 IN RETURN, MAVERICKS BEAT PISTONS 111-105

DALLAS (AP) Luka Doncic had 53 points in his return to the lineup and Spencer Dinwiddie scored 10 of his 12 in the fourth quarter as the Dallas Mavericks rallied to beat the Detroit Pistons 111-105 on Monday night.

Four of Doncic’s five career 50-point games have come this season. He scored a career-best 60 against the New York Knicks in a game that went to overtime on Dec. 27.

His 53 points tied for second-most in Dallas history with Dirk Nowitzki’s total against the Houston Rockets on Dec. 2, 2004.

Doncic had 24 points in the first quarter and 18 in the third. Second in the NBA going in with an average of 33 points per game, he returned after spraining his left ankle three-plus minutes into last Thursday’s game at Phoenix and then missing Saturday’s game at Utah.

Usually animated and vocal on the court, Doncic was particularly involved in a running conversation with Pistons assistant coach Jerome Allen.

“From the first quarter, he was just chirping,” Doncic said. “I don’t want to say the words. I have no problem with that. It’s basketball. It gets me going, for sure.”

The Mavericks (27-25) moved into sixth place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the four-team play-in positions.

Bojan Bogdanovic had 29 points and Saddiq Bey scored 18 – including five 3-pointers – for the Pistons (13-39), who have lost six of seven.

Doncic’s final basket was a shot that bounced off the front rim and dropped in to put Dallas ahead 109-105 with 46 seconds left. On the Pistons’ next possession, Bogdanovic missed a long 3-pointer near the right sideline amid traffic and landed on his backside out of bounds.

“We thought Bojan got fouled,” Detroit coach Dwane Casey said. “You still have to play in all those situations and close out the game, because we put ourselves in a situation to win.”

The Pistons were called for 31 fouls to the Mavericks’ 18. Doncic was 14 of 18 at the free throw line while Detroit went 19 for 27.

Detroit led by 11 in the third quarter and 84-83 going into the fourth. Dallas opened the period on a 9-2 run with Doncic on the bench, as Dinwiddie scored six points on his first three field goals of the game.

Dinwiddie’s 12 points followed his two highest-scoring games of the season – 36 and 35 points in Doncic’s absence.

The Pistons shook off a 10-0 deficit nearly three minutes in and grabbed their first lead with 4:41 to play in the first quarter. They led 57-53 at halftime.

ONE-MAN BAND

Doncic had 18 of Dallas’ first 20 points and 24 of the Mavericks’ 30 in the first quarter, the highest-scoring opening period for an NBA player this season. It was his fourth quarter with at least 20 points this season, tying Brooklyn guard Kyrie Irving for most in the NBA.

“You couldn’t ask for a better quarter,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said.

TIP-INS

Pistons: Bogdanovic has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 10 games, the longest streak of his career and tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the NBA. . Reserve guard Hamidou Diallo, who averages 17 minutes per game, was out with a stomach flu.

Mavericks: Kidd said the team expects a medical update later this week on starting center Christian Wood, who missed his sixth consecutive game with a broken left thumb. . Theo Pinson was assessed a technical foul late in the first quarter while sitting near the end of the bench.

UP NEXT

Pistons: Begin a three-game homestand Wednesday against Washington.

Mavericks: Host the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday.

BRIDGES SCORES 29, SUNS PULL AWAY LATE, BEAT RAPTORS 114-106

PHOENIX (AP) Deandre Ayton had to do a double-take in the final minutes as his Phoenix Suns pulled away for another win.

His eyes weren’t playing tricks. That was Mikal Bridges getting big mid-range buckets during crucial possessions in the fourth quarter, not injured All-Star guard Devin Booker.

Bridges had one of his best games of the season with 29 points, Ayton added 22 points and 13 rebounds and the Suns won for the sixth time in seven games by beating the Toronto Raptors 114-106 on Monday night.

“I told Booker – `You know what’s crazy? These are your plays,'” Ayton said, teasing his teammate. “These are Mikal’s plays now.”

The Suns are on a bit of roll despite missing Booker the past several weeks. The 6-foot-6 Bridges has always been a solid player – mostly known for his defense and 3-point shooting – but he has morphed into a lead scoring option with Booker on the shelf with a groin injury.

The fifth-year player is averaging 23 points per game over his last nine contests, which has coincided with a Suns revival after an extended midseason swoon. He shot 12 of 19 from the field against the Raptors, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

“I’m loving it,” Suns guard Chris Paul said. “It’s a confidence thing and I think it just keeps building.”

Neither team led by more than 10 points in a contest that featured 16 lead changes and five ties.

The Raptors trailed by nine to start the second half but scored 12 straight points in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the third quarter to take a 65-62 lead. Toronto took an 84-82 advantage into the fourth.

The game stayed tight from that point forward until Phoenix pulled away in the final minutes. Bridges had a pair of clutch jumpers before Paul made a 3-pointer to push the Suns ahead 106-102 with 1:30 left. Ayton added a tip-in with 51.4 seconds left to extend the advantage to 108-102.

Paul finished with 19 points and nine assists.

“They threw some shots in that we needed to miss,” Raptors guard Fred VanVleet said. “We fought hard, we competed, but give them credit.”

Toronto was led by VanVleet’s 24 points and nine assists. Gary Trent Jr. added 21 points while Pascal Siakam had 19.

“We were playing really hard, really well,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “We could have down a few things and shored up the rebounding, but it didn’t really bounce our way when it needed to.”

Bridges scored 23 points on 9 of 12 shooting to push the Suns to a 62-53 halftime lead.

“I felt it for sure,” Bridges said. “The crowd had me all gassed up. The crowd and our bench. I felt it from both of them.”

TIP-INS

Raptors: G O.G. Anunoby (wrist) and F Otto Porter Jr. (foot) were out. … Shot just 9 of 33 (27.3%) from 3-point range.

Suns: Guards Devin Booker (groin), Cameron Payne (foot) and Landry Shamet (foot) were out. … Hosted a 53rd straight sellout crowd. … Paul hit a 3-pointer at the first quarter buzzer to give the Suns a 32-28 lead. … Dario Saric added 11 points over 14 minutes off the bench.

UP NEXT

Raptors: Travel to face Utah on Wednesday night.

Suns: Host Atlanta on Wednesday night.

LILLARD SCORES 42 AS TRAIL BLAZERS HOLD OFF HAWKS 129-125

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Damian Lillard scored 42 points, Anfernee Simons hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 34 seconds left and the Portland Trail Blazers held off the Atlanta Hawks 129-125 on Monday night.

Dejounte Murray had 40 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Hawks, who played without star point guard Trae Young (ankle).

Lillard added six assists in his fifth 40-point game this month. Jerami Grant had 22 points and Simons finished with 21, including his clutch 3 that gave the Trail Blazers a 124-121 lead.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 23 points for Atlanta off the bench.

Portland led by 10 in the fourth quarter before the Hawks made their run and tied it at 119 on two free throws by Murray with 1:06 left.

Lillard scored on a drive but then fouled Murray, who sank two more free throws to tie it 121-all with 41.1 seconds to go.

Simons put the Blazers in front for good with his 3-pointer. Bogdanovic was fouled on a 3 with 27.1 seconds to play but missed two of three at the line, leaving Portland ahead 124-122.

Jerami Grant hit two free throws before Bogdanovic missed a 3 at the other end with 15.1 seconds to go.

A free throw by Josh Hart and two more from Lillard helped the Blazers seal it.

Lillard drained all 17 of his foul shots. Hart finished with nine points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

Lillard had 22 points in the first half to help the Blazers take a 64-60 lead into the locker room. Murray scored 20 before the break.

Portland got a big lift from rookie Shaedon Sharpe, whose chase-down block on Murray with 2:49 left in the third quarter gave the crowd a jolt of energy. Sharpe also had two alley-oop dunks and a near miss that drew the loudest reaction of the night. He finished with 10 points and four rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.

With 2:14 left in the third, Murray received a technical for arguing a foul called on the Hawks. Lillard made three free throws to extend Portland’s lead to seven. He closed the quarter scoring five straight points to put the Blazers up 99-92 heading into the fourth.

SIDELINED

Young sat out with a right ankle injury, missing his sixth game of the season. Aaron Holiday started in his place.

HONORED

Earlier in the day, Lillard was selected Western Conference player of the week. Portland went 2-1 at home last week as Lillard averaged 42.3 points per game while shooting 63% from the field and 51% on 3-pointers.

“You’ve got to have somebody in his face when he crosses half court,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. “He’s shown the ability to be unstoppable at times with his ability to stretch the floor and create offense. I don’t think you can give him the same look and expect to have success against him. He’s seen everything and he’s still able to affect the game.”

UP NEXT

Hawks: Play at Phoenix on Wednesday night.

Trail Blazers: Play at Memphis on Wednesday night.

NHL NEWS

HALL OF FAMER BOBBY HULL, THE GOLDEN JET, DIES AT 84

CHICAGO (AP) — When Bobby Hull got the puck, he was tough to stop. He had blazing speed, a hard slap shot and tons of confidence.

Long before today’s biggest stars took the ice, “The Golden Jet” put on quite a show.

Hull, a Hall of Fame winger and two-time NHL MVP who helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in 1961, has died. He was 84.

The Blackhawks and the NHL Alumni Association announced Hull’s death on Monday. There were no further details provided by either organization.

The Blackhawks said Hull “delivered countless memories to our fans, whom he adored. Generations of Chicagoans were dazzled by Bobby’s shooting prowess, skating skill and overall team leadership that led to 604 career goals, a franchise record that remains to this day. We send our deepest sympathies to the Hull family.”

Hull was one of the most prolific forwards in NHL history, scoring 610 times during his 16-year career with Chicago, Hartford and Winnipeg. Nicknamed “The Golden Jet” for his speed and blond hair, he also collected 303 goals while playing for the Jets in the World Hockey Association for seven seasons.

While Hull starred on the ice, he faced legal and family issues in his personal life.

Hull was convicted of assaulting a police officer who intervened in a dispute with then-wife Deborah in 1986. He also was accused of battery, but that charge was dropped after Deborah told authorities she didn’t want to testify against her husband, a state attorney told the Chicago Tribune.

Hull’s second wife, Joanne, accused him of abuse during an interview with ESPN for a 2002 show.

A Russian newspaper reported in 1998 that Hull said Adolf Hitler “had some good ideas.” Hull denied making the comment, calling it “false and defamatory.”

Hull was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983 and his No. 9 sweater was retired by the Blackhawks that same year. He was estranged from the team for a while before he was named a Blackhawks ambassador in a ceremony with former teammate Stan Mikita in 2008. Hull and Mikita have adjacent statues outside the United Center.

The franchise announced in February 2022 that Hull had retired from any official team role, calling it a joint decision.

“Bobby Hull will always be remembered as one of the greatest Blackhawks players of all time. He was a beloved member of the Blackhawks family,” team owner Rocky Wirtz said in a statement.

“When I assumed leadership of the organization upon my father’s passing in 2007, one of my first priorities was to meet with Bobby to convince him to come back as an ambassador of the team. His connection to our fans was special and irreplaceable.”

Hull’s brother, Dennis, played for Chicago for most of his 14 years in the league, and Bobby’s son, Brett, spent 19 years in the NHL. Bobby and Brett each won the Hart Trophy as league MVP, becoming the first father-son duo to accomplish the feat. Bobby won in 1964-65 and 1965-1966, while Brett won in 1990-1991.

Bobby Hull helped the Blackhawks return to the top of the NHL after they were one of the worst teams in the league for years before his debut during the 1957-58 season. He had 13 goals and 34 assists in his first campaign with the team, finishing second in the Calder Trophy race for rookie of the year.

It was a steady rise from there. Hull posted 13 consecutive seasons with 30 goals or more from 1959-72, becoming a perennial fixture at the All-Star Game and a regular candidate for the league’s top awards.

Hull and Mikita powered Chicago to the franchise’s third championship in 1961, beating Montreal and Detroit in the playoffs. Hull had two goals and five assists as the Blackhawks eliminated the Red Wings in six games in the final.

The Pointe Anne, Ontario, native remains Chicago’s career leader for regular-season and playoff goals. He is second to Mikita on the franchise points list with 1,153.

Hull left the Blackhawks after the 1971-72 season when he was selected by Winnipeg in the WHA draft. The Jets lured Hull away from the NHL with hockey’s first $1 million contract, according to his bio on the Hall of Fame website.

The NHL and WHA merged in 1979, and Hull played 27 games with Winnipeg and Hartford in his final season before retiring.

Hull had 560 assists in 1,063 regular-season NHL games. In addition to his two Hart trophies, he was a three-time winner of the Art Ross Trophy awarded to the league leader in points and took home the 1965 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship combined with stellar play.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in a statement called Hull “a true superstar with a gregarious personality.”

“When Bobby Hull wound up to take a slapshot, fans throughout the NHL rose to their feet in anticipation and opposing goaltenders braced themselves,” Bettman said. “During his prime, there was no more prolific goal-scorer in all of hockey. … We send our deepest condolences to his son, fellow Hockey Hall of Famer Brett; the entire Hull family; and the countless fans around the hockey world who were fortunate enough to see him play or have since marveled at his exploits.”

ISLANDERS ACQUIRE BO HORVAT IN TRADE WITH CANUCKS

(AP) — It’s no secret the New York Islanders need more scoring if they hope to return to the playoffs.

Bo knows a thing or two about that.

The Islanders on Monday acquired center Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks in the first blockbuster of NHL trade deadline season.

The Islanders sent forward Anthony Beauvillier, top prospect Aatu Raty and a top-12 protected first-round pick in the 2023 draft to the Canucks for the someone general manager Lou Lamoriello called “a complete player.”

“He brings a two-way game, used in all situations, and without question is on the verge of having a career year but has over the past several years been a 30-35 goal scorer,” Lamoriello said. “And I think that’s going to add to certainly a need for us.”

Horvat, 27, is a pending free agent and was one of the top rentals available ahead of the March 3 deadline. He said there hasn’t yet been any talks about a contract extension, which Lamoriello expressed confidence about agreeing to at some point.

“It’s all happened so fast,” Horvat said. “We’ll see if we can get something done, but I’ll leave that to (agent Pat Morris) and everybody to handle that.”

The former Canucks captain, who was chosen to represent them at the NHL All-Star Weekend, could give the Islanders the scoring boost they’ve needed. Horvat has already tied his career high with 31 goals this season and also has 23 assists in 49 games.

“(I have been) going to the right areas and putting myself in positions to score those goals or make those plays,” Horvat said.

Horvat has 420 points in 621 regular-season NHL games and is also on pace to shatter his career-best season in scoring.

New York ranks 25th out of 32 teams in scoring at 2.85 goals a game, is second worst on the power play and currently sits two points out of a playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

“You make this type of a transaction because you can improve your team today and tomorrow,” said Lamoriello, who added the Canucks retained 25% of Horvat’s salary to even out the salary cap ramifications with Beauvillier.

“And in my opinion he makes us a better team and gives us a better opportunity to (do) what we want to do.”

Horvat has 12 more goals this season than the next-closest Islanders teammates: fellow All-Star Brock Nelson and captain Anders Lee, who each have 19 at the break.

When his season resumes next week, Horvat will not have to wait long to face the team that drafted him ninth in 2013 with the pick acquired from New Jersey for goaltender Cory Schneider – a trade Lamoriello made when he was GM of the Devils. The Islanders host the Canucks on Feb. 9.

“That is going to be an interesting game to say the least,” Horvat said. “It’s a game that I already circled on my calendar and I can’t wait to play.”

Dealing Horvat is the latest shakeup for Vancouver, which recently fired coach Bruce Boudreau and hired Rick Tocchet as his replacement. General manager Patrik Allvin said Horvat “has been a great leader and ambassador” for the team.

“As difficult as it is to trade away our captain, we are excited to add a high-quality 25-year-old winger in Anthony Beauvillier, a young center in Aatu Raty, and a protected first-round draft pick,” Allvin said in a statement. “These pieces will be a big part of our development and growth moving forward.”

Horvat’s camp and the Canucks were unable to agree last summer on a long-term contract. He said he expected to play his entire career with the organization.

“Things didn’t work out that way,” Horvat said. “It led me to this. I’m grateful for that, and I’m grateful the New York Islanders believe in me.”

MORRISSEY, SCHEIFELE LEAD JETS’ RALLY IN 4-2 WIN OVER BLUES

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele each scored twice in the third period as the Winnipeg Jets rallied for a 4-2 win against the St. Louis Blues on Monday night.

Saku Maenalanen and Kyle Connor each had two assists for the Jets, who snapped a three-game skid. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 24 shots.

“Josh played fantastic tonight,” Scheifele said. “He always does, and he got rewarded. A few big goals by him, and he led us tonight, sure.”

Jake Neighbours had a goal and assist and Nikita Alexandrov also scored for the Blues, who have lost five straight. Jordan Binnington had 34 saves and picked up an assist on Neighbours’ goal.

After the Blues came up empty on the game’s first power play, the Jets were handed a four-minute man advantage when Alexandrov was dinged with a double minor for high-sticking Jets forward Kyle Connor in the face. The lengthy power play was a bust, with the Jets only getting one shot on Binnington. The goalie then foiled shots by Pierre-Luc Dubois and Maenalanen.

“He was obviously a big part of why we were in that game the whole game,” Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said of Binnington. “He made some big saves early on, big saves throughout the game.”

The Jets had two more power plays in the first half of the second period, but a total of six shots couldn’t get by Binnington.

The Blues got on the board with 5:24 left in the second on its next power play. Binnington sent the puck to Nick Leddy, who made a stretch pass to Neighbours that he used for a backhand shot to beat Hellebuyck for his fourth goal.

“Our kill was really good and we got a power-play goal there. It was a nice play,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “Kind of hanging in there with a pretty depleted lineup, you know. You’ve got to manage things and we just didn’t manage it good enough.”

Alexandrov made it 2-0 at 2:02 of the third period before the Jets began their comeback.

Morrissey scored 40 seconds later to get Winnipeg on the scoreboard with an exuberant celebration.

“It just felt like we were playing a really good game tonight and not getting rewarded, so I tried to get a little emotion,” Morrissey said. “It was kind of like, alright one went in. We were just waiting for that to happen.”

Jets coach Rick Bowness agreed Morrissey kind of took over the game.

“To score 40 seconds after they got that second goal just turned the whole game around in our favor,” Bowness said. “That was a hell of a shot and a great rush. … He’d been playing that way the whole game. Sometimes you step up and be the difference-maker, and he was tonight.”

Scheifele tied it 2-2 at 9:32 as the Jets took advantage of a Blues giveaway and Morrissey put Winnipeg ahead with his 10th just 21 seconds later when his shot went off St. Louis’ Brayden Schenn.

Scheifele scored his 31st of the season into an empty net with 24 seconds remaining.

REMEMBERING A STAR

Before puck drop, the Jets showed a video tribute and held a moment of silence for former star Bobby Hull, who died Monday at the age of 84.

The Hockey Hall of Famer played for the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks before signing a then-record $1-million deal to join the Winnipeg Jets of the upstart World Hockey Association in 1972. The scoring legend spent eight seasons with the Jets, the last when the club merged with the NHL.

UP NEXT

Blues: Host Arizona on Feb. 11 to open a four-game homestand.

Jets: Host Chicago on Feb. 11 in the third game of a stretch of five straight at home.

BIG 10 HOCKEY

BIG TEN HOCKEY WEEKLY RELEASE

• A month’s worth of games remain as the 10th season of Big Ten Hockey hits the homestretch. This weekend’s action finds No. 2/2 Minnesota taking a 10-point lead into a series against No. 15/15 Michigan State in Minneapolis. The Gophers recently became the second NCAA team to surpass 100 goals this season. Michigan State has seen its last four games extended into overtime. Top 10 teams clash when No. 6/6 Penn State travels to #7/7 Michigan. A four-point weekend would guarantee the Nittany Lions sole possession of second place in the Big Ten standings. Saturday’s game in Ann Arbor will be carried on Big Ten Network. Wisconsin hits the road for the first time since December taking on rv/#20 Notre Dame, which reentered the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll this week. No. 7/8 Ohio State, victorious in seven of its last 10 games, is off this week.

• Sophomore forward Matthew Knies scored with eight seconds left in overtime to lead Minnesota to a 4-3 win over Michigan on Jan. 20. It was his fifth game-winner this season, which leads all NCAA players. Knies also has four game-winners in conference play, one shy of the Big Ten record shared by Minnesota’s Hudson Fasching (2015-16) and Ohio State’s Georgii Merkulov (2021-22). The Big Ten also features a national leader in Michigan freshman Adam Fantilli, who is averaging 1.65 points per game with 33 points in 20 contests.

• Minnesota and Penn State are the only teams to earn points in every conference series this season. Minnesota’s league-leading 37 points breakdown as 3-6-3-6-6-6-4-3 while Penn State has gone 6-4-3-3-3-3-2-3. Of the 27 Big Ten conference series played thus far, nine sweeps have occurred. A sweep is defined as a team earning six points in a series. Those teams breaking out the brooms: Minnesota (four times), Michigan State (twice), Ohio State (twice) and Penn State (once). Special thanks to broadcaster Fred Pletsch for passing along this note.

• Penn State drew a record crowd of 6,566 to Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday as part of its “Wear White” promotion. The previous night 6,558 spectators came through the turnstiles, including the 1 millionth fan in Pegula’s history. Penn State is playing to 106.6 percent capacity this season, the highest mark in college hockey. Hockey Valley is not alone in drawing crowds. Minnesota established a series attendance record with 20,755 fans for its two games against Michigan last week. Michigan State has sold out its last five home games and is one of five Big Ten teams ranked in the Top 10 nationally in home attendance. That list includes: Minnesota (second), Wisconsin (third), Penn State (fifth), Michigan (eighth) and Michigan State (ninth).

• Looking ahead, the Big Ten Tournament commences March 3-5 with best-of-three quarterfinal series on campus sites. The conference champion receives a first-round bye. Single-elimination semifinals are slated for March 11 with the Championship Game taking place March 18 at the site of the highest remaining seed.

MEN’S GOLF NEWS

MCILROY OVERCOMES REED, WINS DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC BY 1 SHOT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Rory McIlroy watched his 15-foot birdie putt roll into the cup, clenched his fist and let out a roar to celebrate a victory that felt bigger and sweeter than most.

Because of the guy he beat as much as the big title he won.

The top-ranked McIlroy overcame a final-round charge from Patrick Reed to win the Dubai Desert Classic for the third time Monday after a tense duel between players who were involved in a pre-tournament spat.

McIlroy finished birdie-birdie to shoot 4-under 68 and win by a stroke from Reed, who shot 65.

“Mentally, today was probably one of the toughest rounds I have ever had to play because it would be really easy to let your emotions get in the way,” McIlroy said. “I just had to really focus on myself and forget who was up there on the leaderboard.”

McIlroy and Reed traded verbal blows Wednesday after an interaction — of sorts — at the practice range on Tuesday that saw McIlroy snub Reed, who had gone over to wish the Northern Irishman a happy new year.

Reed walked away before lightly tossing a tee — featuring a logo of his 4 Aces team in the LIV Golf league — in the direction of McIlroy, one of the most vocal critics of the Saudi-run breakaway series.

Reed said it was “unfortunate” that McIlroy didn’t shake his hand and was quoted as describing McIlroy as “an immature little child.”

Hence McIlroy’s sense of satisfaction after making the title-clinching putt on the par-5 18th — a hole where he has encountered big problems over the past year.

“This is probably sweeter than it should be,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy started a year with a win for the first time in his career — he has come close numerous times in nearby Abu Dhabi, where he has typically chosen to play his year-opening tournament — and backed up victories at the Dubai Desert Classic in 2009 and 2015.

He decided to take extra time off around Christmas because, in his words, he was “mentally drained” by effectively being an anti-LIV spokesman last year.

He couldn’t escape those issues during his time off, either. McIlroy said he was served a subpoena on Christmas Eve from Larry Klayman — an attorney who has filed a lawsuit against the PGA Tour and European tour for suspending players who have signed with LIV Golf. Reed is not involved in that lawsuit. Klayman also represents Reed in lawsuits filed against a number of media outlets.

A final-day duel between McIlroy and Reed looked unlikely, with McIlroy starting Monday with a three-shot lead — and four ahead of American. However, he was overtaken on the back nine by Reed, who picked up seven shots in his first 13 holes while McIlroy was playing safety-first golf.

Reed bogeyed No. 16, could only make par at the drivable 17th after hitting his tee shot into a small bush but birdied No. 18 to put pressure on McIlroy, who had two-putted for birdie at No. 17 to move back into a share of the lead.

McIlroy’s drive on No. 18 dribbled into the rough beside the water to the right of the fairway — he watched it all the way, clearly fearing the worst — and he decided to lay up. His third shot from 92 yards was close enough and, as Reed watched from the scorer’s hut, McIlroy made the putt.

McIlroy finished on 19 under overall. He wound up winning with his B game and was particularly proud how he held up down the last, having hit shots into the water in front of the green on Sunday and also in the final round last year, costing him the title.

“It was a battle all day — honestly, it’s been a battle all week,” McIlroy. “I feel as if I haven’t had my best all week but just managed my game so well and played really smart. Even that second shot at the last. I probably could have got to the green but with what happened yesterday and last year, I tried to give myself a wedge and get it up and down for the win.

“Ecstatic that I gave myself the opportunity the first week back out. I managed my game well.”

Reed was attempting to become the first LIV Golf player to win an event on the European tour. Players from the Saudi-run series that changed the face of golf in 2022 are still able to play on the tour ahead of the imminent ruling of a British arbiter, who is reviewing whether the tour has the right to issue bans to those members who joined LIV without clearance.

Initial bans were lifted last year by the arbiter, pending a full legal review.

Ian Poulter, another LIV golfer, joined Reed in attempting to hunt down McIlroy but his challenge ended after making double-bogey at the last. He shot 70 and was tied for sixth, six shot off the lead.

Lucas Herbert of Australia shot 66 and placed third, three strokes behind McIlroy.

MLB NEWS

AP SOURCE: ROYALS AGREE WITH RHP GREINKE ON DEAL FOR 2023

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) The Royals and Zach Greinke have agreed to a contract for the coming season, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Monday, making it nine seasons over two stints in Kansas City for the six-time All-Star pitcher.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the 39-year-old Greinke still needed to pass a physical.

The financial terms of the deal, which was first reported by Kansas City sports radio host Bob Fescoe, were not immediately available. Greinke was paid $13 million last season by the Royals, where he spent the first seven season before returning last year and going 3-9 with a 3.68 ERA and striking out 73 over 137 innings for the rebuilding club.

Greinke did spend two stints on the injured list but allowed two runs or fewer in 17 of his 26 starts last season.

Perhaps most importantly, Greinke provided veteran leadership to one of baseball’s younger rotations. Brady Singer, at just 26, flourished into the staff ace, while fellow 20-somethings Daniel Lynch and Kris Bubic also made progress.

Greinke, who will turn 40 in October, began his career in Kansas City as a mercurial first-round pick in the 2002 amateur draft. He nearly walked away from the game before making it to the big leagues two years later, beginning a 20-year career that included stints with the Brewers, Angels, Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Astros.

The 2009 Cy Young winner is first among active pitchers with 514 career starts and 3,247 innings pitched. Greinke is second to Justin Verlander with 223 wins, third in strikeouts (2,882) and has six Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger awards.

The Royals had been quiet much of the offseason but have been busy in the weeks leading up to spring training.

Just recently, they sent starting outfielder Michael A. Taylor to the Twins and injury-prone shortstop Adalberto Mondesi to the Red Sox, netting three pitching prospects in the deals. They also signed reliever Aroldis Chapman to a $3.75 million deal for 2023 in the hopes the seven-time All-Star can bounce back from a disappointing season with the Yankees.

Earlier in the offseason, the Royals signed pitchers Ryan Yarbrough and Jordan Lyles. Both of them are candidates for the starting rotation, though Yarbrough’s value most likely will be found in the bullpen.

TENNIS NEWS

DJOKOVIC BACK AT TOP OF ATP RANKINGS; SABALENKA NO. 2 IN WTA

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open championship returned him to a rather familiar spot on Monday: No. 1 in the ATP rankings.

His four-place rise from No. 5 to replace Carlos Alcaraz at No. 1 is the largest jump to the top spot in the 50-year history of the computerized rankings for men’s tennis.

“You never know how much more time you have left, so, of course, I nurture and celebrate these moments of becoming No. 1 again and Grand Slam champion,” the 35-year-old Djokovic said after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) in the final at Melbourne Park on Sunday night, “even more than I have, maybe ever in my career. I don’t take it for granted.”

Aryna Sabalenka’s first major title moved her up from No. 5 to a career-best-equaling No. 2 in the WTA rankings, behind only three-time major champion Iga Swiatek.

Ons Jabeur, twice a finalist at Slams in 2022, went from No. 2 to No. 3, followed by No. 4 Jessica Pegula, No. 5 Caroline Garcia and No. 6 Coco Gauff.

The player Sabalenka beat in Saturday’s Australian Open final, Elena Rybakina, makes her top 10 debut at No. 10, up from No. 25.

This marks Djokovic’s 374th week leading the ATP, adding to his record. He earned a 10th title at the Australian Open and tied Rafael Nadal with 22 Grand Slam trophies.

Alcaraz slid to No. 2. He had become the youngest man to be No. 1 when he took over at age 19 after winning the U.S. Open last September. Alcaraz missed the Australian Open because of a leg injury.

Nadal, who hurt his left hip flexor during a second-round loss to Mackenzie McDonald of the United States, dropped from No. 2 to No. 6.

Tsitsipas went from No. 4 to No. 3 because of his run in Melbourne; he would have been No. 1 for the first time if he had managed to win the title. Casper Ruud, a two-time Grand Slam runner-up who lost in the second round to Jenson Brooksby of the United States, went from No. 3 to No. 4. Andrey Rublev is No. 5 after getting to the quarterfinals.

Cracking the top 20 for the first time is Tommy Paul, a 25-year-old American who reached his first Grand Slam semifinal before exiting against Djokovic. Paul’s showing in Melbourne lifted him 16 spots from No. 35 to No. 19.

He is one of 10 U.S. men in the top 50, something that last happened in 1995.

TOP INDIANA RELEASES

INDIANA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

HOLMES NAMED BIG TEN CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK, GARZON EARNS BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Senior forward Mackenzie Holmes was named the Big Ten Player of the Week while freshman guard Yarden Garzon is the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, announced by the league office on Monday.

It marks the second time this season the duo has swept the weekly awards, also earned player and freshman of the week honors on Nov. 28, 2022. Holmes earns her fourth player of the week honor her career, tying for the second-most of any Indiana women’s basketball player in the program’s history Garzon becomes the fifth player in IU history to be named a Big Ten Freshman of the Week on multiple occasions.

Holmes averaged 24.0 points, 6.7 rebounds while shooting 70 percent from the floor in three wins for No. 6 Indiana last week also averaged 1.3 blocks and 1.7 assists per game. She started off the week with a double-double, her ninth of the year, at No. 13/16 Michigan where she had 25 points and 10 rebounds. In the victory on Thursday against No. 2/5 Ohio State, Holmes led with a team-high 26 points and chipped in four rebounds, an assist and a block while going 11-for-13 from the floor. The Gorham, Maine native shot 72.7 percent against Rutgers on Sunday where she converted on 8 of 11 shots and added six boards along with three assists, two steals and two blocks.

Garzon averaged 14.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals and shot 56.7 percent from the floor and 55.6 percent from the 3-point line in IU’s three victories. The Ra’anana, Israel native went 4-for-5 from the floor including a 2-for-3 effort beyond the arc at No. 13/16 Michigan as she added five rebounds, a block and a steal. On Thursday against No. 2/5 Ohio State, Garzon had her first career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds where she hit four 3-pointers and distributed three assists and had three steals. Garzon closed out the week against Rutgers, where she went 5-for-8 from the floor and 4-for-6 from 3-point range to go along with four rebounds and three assists.

No. 4 Indiana will face Minnesota on the road on Wednesday night. Tipoff in Williams Arena is set for 8 p.m. ET.

ALSO:

MACKENZIE HOLMES EARNS SPOT ON WOODEN AWARD LATE SEASON TOP 20

LOS ANGELES – Senior forward Mackenzie Holmes has earned a spot on the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s Late Season Top 20, announced by the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Monday evening.

Holmes is leading Indiana with 22.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and shoots one of the nation’s best percentages at 68.4 percent. She has scored in double figures in all 21 games, recording 12 20-point scoring games and a pair of 30-point efforts this season as well. The Gorham, Maine native leads IU with 1.7 blocks per game (35 total) and adds 1.3 assists per outing. She has nine double-doubles on the season, seven coming in Big Ten play, which ranks seventh in a single season in school history.

She scored a new career-high 32 point against Michigan State and had another 30 point effort in the win at then No. 21 Illinois. During her three-game span against Illinois, Michigan and Ohio State, Holmes became the second player in 20 years, male or female, since Maya Moore (2010-11) to score three-straight 20-point games against AP Top 25 foes. She continues to climb her way up the all-time scoring list with 1,668 career points, which ranks 10th all-time and 715 career rebounds. The Gorham, Maine native is also third all-time in blocked shots (185). This season, Holmes has also earned recognition on the 2023 Lisa Leslie Award preseason watch list and 2023 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy women’s watch list.

Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on their performances during the 2022-23 season thus far, the list comprises 20 student-athletes who are the front-runners for the sport’s most prestigious honor. The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2023 John R. Wooden Women’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s. The Wooden Award All American Team™ will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament. The 20223 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s following the NCAA Tournament in April.

INDIANA MEN’S BASKETBALL

JACKSON-DAVIS NAMED TO JOHN R. WOODEN LATE SEASON TOP 20 WATCH LIST

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis was among a group of 20 student-athletes selected to the John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy’s® Late Season Top 20 Watch List today on ESPN2.

Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on their performances during the 2022-23 season thus far, the list comprises of 20 student-athletes who are front-runners for the sport’s most prestigious honor.

The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award. Nearly 1,000 voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games. The Wooden Award All American Team™ will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2023 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s following the NCAA Tournament in April.

Jackson-Davis paces the Hoosiers with 19.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks per game this season. He is shooting 58.6% (140-of-239) from the floor.

Since being named to the Midseason Top 25 Watch List on Jan. 4, Jackson-Davis is averaging 23.6 points, 13.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 3.8 blocks per game. The Hoosiers have ripped off five-straight Big Ten wins for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

Jackson-Davis currently sits eighth all-time at IU in scoring (1,941), fourth in rebounds (990), and holds the school record for blocked shots (235). He is one of two players (Alan Henderson) to be top-10 all-time in career scoring, rebounding, and blocks in IU men’s basketball history.

The Center Grove product is the only active men’s Division I player to tally at least 1,900 career points, 950 career rebounds, and 225 career blocks. In the last 25 seasons, only 12 players have achieved those numbers in college basketball.

Jackson-Davis is one of two high-major players (Zach Edey; Purdue) to average at least 19.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game this season. In the last 30 seasons of Division I men’s college basketball, Jackson-Davis and NBA Hall of Famer Tim Duncan are the only players to average at least 19.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game.

Jackson-Davis is tied for fifth in the NCAA with 42 career double-doubles. He posted Indiana’s third ever triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in an 81-65 victory over Nebraska on Dec. 7, 2022.

JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD LATE SEASON TOP 20

Armando Bacot, North Carolina

Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy

Kendric Davis, Memphis

Zach Edey, Purdue

Kyle Filipowski, Duke

Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana

Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA

Keyontae Johnson, Kansas State

Mike Miles Jr., TCU

Brandon Miller, Alabama

Kris Murray, Iowa

Markquis Nowell, Kansas State

Jalen Pickett, Penn State

Marcus Sasser, Houston

Terquavion Smith, NC State

Drew Timme, Gonzaga

Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky

Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona

Jalen Wilson, Kansas

Isaiah Wong, Miami (Fla.)

ALSO:

HOOD-SCHIFINO, JACKSON-DAVIS CLAIM BIG TEN HONORS

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Indiana freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week, while senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis was voted as the league’s co-player of the week, the league announced on Monday.

The awards mark the second for each this season after Hood-Schifino claimed his first-career freshman of the week honor on Jan. 9 and Jackson-Davis was named player of the week on Jan. 23.

Hood-Schifino averaged 15.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.0 steals on .435/.500/1.000 shooting splits in a pair of Indiana wins over Minnesota (Jan. 25) and Ohio State (Jan. 28). Jackson-Davis posted 21.5 points, 15.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 4.0 blocks in the games against the Gophers and Buckeyes.

TJD compiled 25 points, 21 rebounds, and six blocked shots at Minnesota on Jan. 25. The game marked the first 20-20 game from a Hoosier since D.J. White on Jan. 8, 2008. He also became the first high-major player to post a 25-20-5 game since UConn’s Hasheem Thabeet on Feb. 14, 2009. JHS added six points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals at The Barn.

Against the Buckeyes, JHS posted a career-best six made 3-pointers and scored a game-high 24 points. He added three assists and two steals in 32 minutes of run. Jackson-Davis posted an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Hoosiers in the victory.

The Hoosiers will be back on the floor at Maryland at 9 p.m. ET on Jan. 31 at the Xfinity Center.

PURDUE MEN’S BASKETBALL

EDEY HONORED BY MULTIPLE OUTLETS AFTER DOMINATING WEEK

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Following a record-setting performance against Michigan State on Sunday, Zach Edey was named the Player of the Week by multiple outlets on Monday.

Big Ten Player of the Week

Dick Vitale Star of the Week

NCAA March Madness National Player of the Week

Naismith Award National Player of the Week

Canada Basketball Player of the Week

Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 watch list

Edey averaged 28.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocks while shooting 24-of-40 (.600) from the field in two Purdue victories during the week. He scored 19 points with nine rebounds in a 75-70 victory over Michigan on Thursday, then scored a career-high 38 points with 13 rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block in a 77-61 win over Michigan State on Sunday. He was the first Boilermaker since Glenn Robinson in Nov. 1993, to have at least 38 points and 13 rebounds in a game and the first Big Ten player to do so in the last 15 years.

Edey’s five Big Ten Player of the Week awards this season are the second most by a Purdue player in school history (Caleb Swanigan – 6) and the fourth most in Big Ten history (Evan Turner – 7; Swanigan, Keegan Murray – 6).

Edey has five 30-10 games this season. The only major-conference players with more in the last 15 years are Duke’s Marvin Bagley (2017-18) and Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin (2008-09). For the season, he ranked third in the country in scoring (22.1 PPG) and third in rebounds (13.0), currently being one of four players in the last 20 seasons ranked in the top 5 in both (South Dakota’s Mike Daum – 2018-19; Kansas State’s Michael Beasley – 2007-08; Texas’ Kevin Durant – 2006-07).

Edey is doing most of his damage against the nation’s top teams. In 10 games against the nation’s top-50, he is averaging 24.7 points and 12.5 rebounds, while shooting over 60.0 percent. He is ranked No. 1 in KenPom’s Player of the Year ratings by a significant number over the 2nd-ranked player. In fact, the space between No. 1 (Edey) and No. 2 (Kansas’ Jalen Wilson) is the same as the distance between No. 2 and No. 40 in the Player of the Year ratings.

Edey and the No. 1-ranked Boilermakers host Penn State on Wednesday night in Mackey Arena, beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.

IUPUI WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

JAGUARS’ STREAK SNAPPED AT GREEN BAY, 76-54

GREEN BAY, Wisc. – The IUPUI women’s basketball team’s streak was snapped at Green Bay on Monday night after falling 76-54. Rachel Kent and Destiny Perkins led the Jaguar offense with 13 points each while Ali Berg added in 12.

After Jazmyn Turner kicked off the game with a three-pointer to give the Jags the 3-0 lead, Green Bay went on a 25-2 run to secure the lengthy lead, which they kept for the rest of the game. The Phoenix took their largest lead of the game in the second quarter at 43-16.

IUPUI came within 19 points to end the third quarter, but Green Bay outscored the Jags once again in the fourth quarter to extend their lead to 22 points and seal the win, 76-54.

Kent and Perkins each totaled 13 points to lead the offense while Berg added 12 points and four rebounds. Kent and Natalie Andersen each collected a team high seven rebounds while Kent also added five assists. Turner totaled eight points while Jaci Jones collected three rebounds.

IUPUI shot just 26.7 percent (16-for-60) from the floor and 26.3 percent (10-for-38) from behind the arc. The Jags totaled 30 rebounds and forced ten Phoenix turnovers.

The Jaguars are now 12-9 overall and 8-4 in the Horizon League and will next travel to Dayton, Ohio to face the Wright State Raiders on Saturday, February 4 with tipoff at 1:00 PM.

IUPUI MEN’S BASKETBALL

JARRARD NAMED #HLMBB FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI freshman guard Armon Jarrard has been named the #HLMBB Freshman of the Week for the week ending Jan. 29 after a stellar two-game trip to Purdue Fort Wayne (Jan. 25) and Cleveland State (Jan. 29). It marks the second time this season that Jarrard has earned the award.

Jarrard, a 6-foot-3 guard, averaged 15.0 points, 2.0 assists and 1.0 blocked shots per game while shooting 8-of-11 (72.7 percent) from the field, 5-of-7 from three (71.4 percent) and 9-of-11 (81.8 percent) from the foul line. He entered the week averaging just 4.3 points per game and having made just eight threes in his first 14 games of the season.

On Wednesday, he had eight points (2-3 FG, 4-6 FT) an assist and two blocked shots at Purdue Fort Wayne. He followed up with a career-high 22 points (6-8 FG, 5-7 3’s, 5-5 FT) and three assists at Cleveland State on Sunday (Jan. 29). His five threes were also a career-high and he matched his career-high with 28 minutes played in that contest.

For the season, Jarrard is averaging 5.6 points per game and is second on the team in threes made (13) and tied for third in steals (18).

BALL STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL

BALL STATE EYES MAC SHOWDOWN AT BOWLING GREEN

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men’s basketball team is returns to the road for a Mid-American Conference matchup with Bowling Green on Monday, Jan. 31. The Cardinals (14-7, 5-3 MAC) and the Falcons (10-11, 4-4 MAC) are scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip.

Last Time Out

Ball State is coming off an 87-69 road win against Northern Illinois. Jarron Coleman led the Cardinals and tied for a game-high 20 points. He added a game-high six assists, four rebounds and two steals. Demarius Jacobs tallied 16 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Mickey Pearson Jr. finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, and one block. Payton Sparks finished with a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with nine points.

Boogie on Down

Coleman is averaging a team-high 15.0 points per game. He leads the team with 51 made 3-pointers and is shooting 38.1 percent from behind the arc. He leads the team with 73 assists and in steals with 32. Coleman has added nine blocks. He has compiled five games of 20 or more points, including back-to-back games.

Sensational Sellers

Jaylin Sellers is second on the team with 13.1 points per game. He is shooting 47.1 percent from 3-point range, which leads the team. He is fourth on the team with 4.0 rebounds per game. He has produced a field-goal percentage of 48.3 on the season. Sellers has collected 17 assists, 16 steals and 10 blocks. He has notched four games with 20 or more points for the season.

Spark Plug

Sparks leads the team with 7.8 rebounds per game, which is tied for 98th in the country and fourth in the conference. His 3.14 offensive rebounds per contest have him ranked 37th in the nation and third in the MAC. He is third on the team averaging 12.4 points per game. He is shooting 59.6 percent from the field, which leads the team. He has five double-doubles on the season, which is tied for 89th in the country and tied for fourth in the MAC. He is third on the team with 39 assists, second on the team with 18 blocks, and has added nine steals.

Spreading the Love

The Cardinals have four players averaging double-digit points. Jacobs rounds out the double-digit scorers with 12.1 points a contest. He has a team-high 31 blocks, which is tied for 73rd in the NCAA and most in the MAC. His 1.48 blocks per contest is 77th in the nation and first in the conference. He second on the team in assists with 69 and is second on the team in steals with 29. He is averaging 3.9 boards per contest. Mickey Pearson Jr. is second on the squad with 5.3 rebounds per contest and is averaging 6.9 points a game. Pearson is shooting 49.0 percent from the field.

Taking Advantage at the Free-Throw Line

As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 24.7 free throws per game, which is tied for seventh in the NCAA and leads the MAC. Ball State is averaging 16.7 free-throws made per contest, which is 15th in the nation and leads the conference. Sparks is seventh in the nation with 155 free-throw attempts, which leads in the MAC.

Effective Shooting

The Cardinals are currently shooting 46.7 percent from the field, which is tied for 62nd in the NCAA and is second in the MAC. Ball State has been effective from behind the arc with a combined 37.7 percent from 3-point range, which is 31st in the country and second in the MAC.

Series History with the Falcons

Ball State and Bowling Green will meet for the 93rd time on Tuesday. The Falcons have a 53-39 record against the Cardinals. BSU is 13-32 at BGSU, but the Cardinals won the meeting last season in Bowling Green 91-82, on Feb. 19. Ball State has won two straight against Bowling Green.

Scouting Bowling Green

Leon Ayers III leads the team with 18.8 points per game and has a team-high 22 steals. His 18.8 points per contest is third in the MAC. He has added 4.3 rebounds per game, 70 assists, and eight blocks. Samari Curtis is second on the team averaging 12.1 points a game. He is fifth in the NCAA with a 93.0 free-throw percentage, which leads the MAC. Curtis paces the team with 90 assists. He has added 3.4 rebounds per contest, 18 steals, and four blocks. Rashaun Agee has a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game and is averaging 11.0 points a game. He has a team-high 29 blocks with 13 assists and 10 steals. Kaden Metheny rounds out the double-digit scorers with 10.9 a contest. He has 3.0 rebounds per game along with 46 assists and 20 steals.

NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

MILES NAMED ONE OF 10 FINALISTS FOR THE 2023 NANCY LIEBERMAN AWARD

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The dog days of conference season are upon us, meaning the preseason watchlists are being trimmed. Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles is holding strong.

On Monday, Miles was announced as one of 10 finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame and WBCA 2023 Nancy Lieberman Award, which is given to the nation’s top point guard. She was featured on the preseason watch list as well.

To be considered for this top honor, candidates must exhibit the floor leadership, playmaking and ball-handling skills of Class of 1996 Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman. The award is in its 24th year.

Miles leads Notre Dame in four of the five major statistical categories this year: points (15.0), rebounds (7.2), assists (7.0) and steals (2.2). She has posted double-digit assists in four games this season, and her 14 assists against Merrimack are the most in a single game by any ACC player this year. Also against Merrimack, Miles recorded her third career triple-double, passing Skylar Diggins and Jackie Young for most in Notre Dame basketball — men’s or women’s — history.

The New Jersey native is one of two players in the nation averaging at least 15 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists per game (Caitlin Clark, Iowa).

While 10 players were recognized Monday, anyone can still play their way onto or off of the list. Five finalists will be announced in late February. Fan voting will open on Feb. 3 on hoophallawards.com, and top player selections from the fan vote will receive an additional vote toward making the final list.

Iowa’s Clark is the reigning winner, and Diggins is the only Notre Dame player to earn the laurels. The South Bend native won in 2012 and 2013.

Complete List of Semifinalists:

Caitlin Clark, Iowa

Jenna Clark, Yale

Dyaisha Fair, Syracuse

Rori Harmon, Texas

Maura Hendrixson, Drexel

McKenna Hofschild, Colorado State

Olivia Miles, Notre Dame

Alexa Morris, LSU

Nika Muhl, UConn

Lauren Park-Lane, Seton Hall

ALSO:

WOODEN AWARD LATE SEASON TOP 20 INCLUDES MILES

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — For the second time in a few hours, Olivia Miles is a feature piece of a prominent midseason watch list. On Monday evening, the Notre Dame point guard was named to the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20. She was on the group’s Midseason Top 25 earlier this season as well and was named to the 2023 Nancy Lieberman Award Top 10 earlier today.

The New Jersey native is one of two players in the nation averaging at least 15 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists per game (Caitlin Clark, Iowa). She has been named the ACC Player of the Week twice (Dec. 5 and Dec. 19).

Three schools — Iowa, South Carolina and Stanford — have multiple selections on the list. South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston was last season’s winner. The ACC leads all conferences with five players, while the Big Ten and Pac-12 have four each. The complete list of 20 women can be found here.

Players who did not make the late season list are still eligible for the Wooden Award National Ballot. That list will consist of 15 players, and close to 1,000 voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens just before the start of the NCAA Tournament. The Wooden Award All American Team will be announced during the Elite Eight, and the winner of the award will be named following the national championship.

SOUTHERN INDIANA MEN’S BASKETBALL

POLAKOVICH NAMED CO-OVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR 2ND-STRAIGHT WEEK

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) was named co-Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week for the second-straight week after his efforts the Screaming Eagles’ home win over Eastern Illinois University and overtime loss at the University of Tennessee at Martin. The OVC honor is the third for Polakovich and the fifth this season for the Eagles as a program.

Polakovich started the week by overpowering EIU in the lane, grabbing 24 rebounds and posting 16 points in the 78-74 victory at Screaming Eagles Arena. The 20-20 game was his second of the season.

The senior forward finished the week with a 12-point, 20-rebound performance in the 86-83 overtime loss at UT Martin. The double-double was his 10th of the season and his 14th double-digit rebound game. The 20-rebound contest was his third-straight and his fourth game of 20-or-more rebounds this season.

The 10 double-doubles this season are six behind the USI single-season record of 16 set by Chris Thompson in the 2005-06 season.

For the week, Polakovich averaged 16.0 points and 22.0 rebounds per game. He shot 48.1 percent from the field (13-27) and averaged 13 defensive rebounds per contest.

This season, Polakovich averaging a double-double with 12.3 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. He also leads the OVC and ranks second nationally in rebounds per game, while ranking for 14th nationally in double-doubles.

The OVC honor was shared this week with UT Martin’s senior guard Mark Freeman. Freeman averaged 26.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.

Polakovich and the Eagles resume OVC action Thursday when they host Tennessee State University at Screaming Eagles Arena. The game is slated for a 7:30 p.m. tip, streaming on ESPN+ and airing on ESPN 97.7FM and 95.7FM The Spin.

SOUTHERN INDIANA WOMEN’S BB

USI WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TO HOST ANNUAL PLAY4KAY GAME ON FEBRUARY 11

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball will host its annual Play4Kay game on Saturday, February 11 at 5 p.m. from Screaming Eagles Arena.

The Screaming Eagles will wear pink uniforms, and fans are encouraged to join USI’s efforts in raising breast cancer awareness by wearing pink at the game and making Screaming Eagles Arena a SEA of Pink.

This year, USI Women’s Basketball is asking fans to submit photos of themselves or their loved ones who are cancer survivors or anyone affected by cancer to be featured in a special video. Photos can be emailed to Randa Gatling at rddallas1@usi.edu by February 4.

The Play4Kay game, which is named after the late Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow (North Carolina State), who passed away in 2009 following a 22-year battle with cancer, is the WBCA’s breast cancer awareness initiative.

VALPO MEN’S BASKETBALL

KRIKKE NAMED MVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Valparaiso University men’s basketball standout Ben Krikke (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada / Jasper Place) was recognized by the Missouri Valley Conference office on Monday after one of his best weeks yet, earning MVC Player of the Week honors.

Krikke averaged 26.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game over two contests this week, shooting 86.7 percent from the free-throw line (13-of-15) and 61.3 percent from the field (19-of-31). He also dished out nine assists (4.5 per game) and had a block and a pair of steals.

Krikke started the week with 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals at UNI on Wednesday. He continued his dominance in Saturday’s 81-69 win over Evansville, finishing a point shy of a career high with 30 while also pacing the team with nine rebounds. He made 10 free throws – a career high and the most by a Valpo player since Tevonn Walker in January 2018 – and 10 field goals. He became just the third Valpo player in the last decade with 30+ points and 9+ rebounds in a game, joining Javon Freeman-Liberty (twice) and Alec Peters (7x).

For the season, Krikke is averaging 18.1 points per game. He recently moved up to 16th in program history in career scoring. Krikke is the only player in The Valley averaging better than 17.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

U OF I BASEBALL

BASEBALL NOTCHED AT #6 IN GLVC PRESEASON POLL

INDIANAPOLIS – As announced the GLVC league office earlier Monday, the Greyhound are tabbed at sixth in the GLVC Preseason coaches’ poll.

The preseason poll is determined by the league’s head coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their own team. The Greyhounds earned 93 points in the poll. Illinois Springfield, the reigning GLVC Champions, are the top of the poll with 142 points, alongside 10 first place votes.

The Hounds skipper Al Ready enters his fifth season as the helm of Hounds, carrying a 86-75 career record. Last season, UIndy finished the season 21-31 with their season ending by the Hands of the Drury Panthers in the GLVC Tournament.

The team returns Caleb Vaughn who led the team in OPS with .947 on the season, as well as the teams batting average leader in the speedy Brandon DeWitt. Armen Torosian also returns at third, both on the field and in the stats in OPS after his freshman campaign where in 122 ABs he grabbed 22 RBIs, 10 doubles and four homers. Will Spear returns as the Hounds catcher after a solid season with a .992 fielding percentage while nabbing 18 runners while only allowing 12 passed balls all season.

GLVC PRESEASON COACHES POLL

RK SCHOOL (1st-place votes) PTS

1. Illinois Springfield (10) 142

2. Quincy (2) 130

3. Drury 114

4. Maryville 112

5. Lewis 100

6. Indianapolis 93

7. Missouri S&T 71

8. William Jewell 63

9. McKendree 55

10. Missouri-St. Louis 44

11. Rockhurst 37

12 Truman State 35

13. Southwest Baptist 18

U OF I WOMEN’S LAX

HOUNDS SIT AT #8 IN ILWOMEN/IWLCA PRESEASON POLL

NORTHBOROUGH, Ma. – The University of Indianapolis women’s lacrosse team has earned the No. 8 spot in the ILWomen/IWLCA Division II Preseason Poll, officials announced on Monday afternoon.

UIndy, who will enter this season as the defending national champions from a year ago, earned 436 points and collected three first-place votes in the poll. Defending runner-up East Stroudsburg holds the top spot while Adelphi, West Chester, Florida Southern, and Grand Valley State round out the top five, respectively.

The Hounds are set to open up the season on Saturday, Feb. 11 at Concordia-St. Paul. Action will being at noon ET.

MARIAN BASEBALL

MARIAN BASEBALL SEASON PREVIEW: KNIGHTS TO OPEN 2023 ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5

INDIANAPOLIS – In less than seven days time, the Marian baseball team is set to begin their 2023 campaign as head coach Todd Bacon will lead his 10th Knights team when they open the season in Memphis, Tennessee. The Knights will take on No. 6 Faulkner and Bethel (TN) on Sunday, February 5 for their season opening doubleheader.

CROSSROADS LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL

Marian was picked to finish fifth in the Crossroads League, as released in the earlier this month in the league’s coaches preseason poll. Marian finished fourth in last year’s CL Tournament, and placed sixth in the regular season with a 17-19 league record.

Taylor University was projected by the coaches to win the league in 2023, followed by Huntington, Indiana Wesleyan, and Mount Vernon Nazarene.

KEY DEPARTURES

The Knights graduated some key experience from last season’s team, with shortstop and centerfielder Matteo Porcellato graduating his .380 batting average and taking his talents north of the border post college to play with the Welland Jackfish. Also graduating from the everyday lineup was Hironori Kato, as the second baseman batted .332 in his final season with 35 RBI. Among members of the pitching staff, Jared Berger, Jake Marin, and Jaxon Meyer combined to make 44 appearances on the mound as either relievers or starters, with the trio combining to earn over one-quarter of the Knights wins in 2022.

KEY RETURNERS

Marian brings back a wealth of experience in 2023, with seven starters returning to the mix this spring. First baseman Bryce Davenport(.339 avg., 12 HR), utility players Trey Heidlage(.281 avg., 52/54 games started) and Kameron Salazar(.348 avg.), and outfielders JJ Rivera(.340 avg., school record 25 doubles) and Jackson Hogg(.347 avg.) are among the key pieces in Coach Bacon’s lineup for this season. Also returning from the 2022 squad is starting infielder AJ Bordenetand Dion Wintjes, while Caden Jonesis back in the fold after missing last season with injury.

On the mound, Marian’s staff has veteran depth with upperclassmen Craig Nixonand Damien Wallace returning, as the duo led the staff in innings combining for 128.2 innings on the bump in 2022. Nixon led Marian in wins and appearances in 2022, while Wallace was the team-leader in total innings pitched and strikeouts. Relievers Taylor Soperand Michael Mateswill be in check to hold down the bullpen once more, while spot starters and middle relief men Jace Stoops, Chris Adams, and Justin Johnsonreturn to the lineup.

NEWCOMERS

Plenty of newcomers could fill the lineup for the Knights in 2023, with Marian bringing in 21 new players to the mix this season. Of the 21 new players, a handful will be counted on early in the season to make an impact, on both the mound and in the field. The slew of new talent includes seven transfers coming from NCAA DI, NAIA, and NJCCA schools.

The Marian season opens on February 5 in Memphis, with Crossroads League play starting less than a month after opening day.

SMALL COLLEGE ATHLETIC SITES:

INDIANA WESLEYAN ATHLETICS: https://iwuwildcats.com/

EARLHAM ATHLETICS: https://goearlham.com/

WABASH ATHLETICS: https://sports.wabash.edu/

FRANKLIN ATHLETICS: https://franklingrizzlies.com/

ROSE-HULMAN ATHLETICS: https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/

ANDERSON ATHLETICS: https://athletics.anderson.edu/landing/index

TRINE ATHLETICS: https://trinethunder.com/landing/index

BETHEL ATHLETICS: https://bupilots.com/

DEPAUW ATHLETICS: https://depauwtigers.com/

HANOVER ATHLETICS: https://athletics.hanover.edu/

MANCHESTER ATHLETICS: https://muspartans.com/

HUNTINGTON ATHLETICS: https://www.huathletics.com/

OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS: https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx

ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS: https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index

IU KOKOMO ATHLETICS: https://iukcougars.com/

IU EAST ATHLETICS: https://www.iueredwolves.com/

IU SOUTH BEND ATHLETICS: https://iusbtitans.com/

PURDUE NORTHWEST ATHLETICS: https://pnwathletics.com/

INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS: https://indianatechwarriors.com/index.aspx

GRACE COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://gclancers.com/

ST. MARY OF THE WOODS ATHLETICS: https://smwcathletics.com/

GOSHEN COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://goleafs.net/

HOLY CROSS ATHLETICS: https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php

TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/

VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index

SPORTS EXTRA

NBA STANDINGS

EASTERN CONFERENCE

PCT

CONF GB

HOME

ROAD

DIV

CONF

LAST 10

STREAK

1 BOSTON

.706

—

19-6

17-9

6-1

20-11

7-3

1 W

2 MILWAUKEE

.660

2.5

20-5

13-12

7-4

19-13

7-3

4 W

3 PHILADELPHIA

.653

3.0

19-8

13-9

5-3

18-11

8-2

1 L

4 BROOKLYN

.620

4.5

15-8

16-11

6-4

21-10

4-6

2 W

5 CLEVELAND

.596

5.5

21-5

10-16

8-3

18-9

5-5

1 W

6 MIAMI

.549

8.0

17-9

11-14

6-3

12-14

7-3

1 L

7 NEW YORK

.529

9.0

12-13

15-11

3-7

18-15

5-5

1 L

8 ATLANTA

.490

11.0

13-11

12-15

5-4

17-17

6-4

2 L

9 WASHINGTON

.480

11.5

12-10

12-16

5-3

13-15

7-3

6 W

10 CHICAGO

.469

12.0

13-10

10-16

5-4

19-15

5-5

1 W

11 INDIANA

.462

12.5

16-10

8-18

3-4

17-14

1-9

3 L

12 TORONTO

.442

13.5

15-12

8-17

4-9

15-19

4-6

1 L

13 ORLANDO

.392

16.0

13-13

7-18

2-7

10-21

5-5

1 W

14 CHARLOTTE

.294

21.0

7-16

8-20

5-6

8-23

4-6

2 W

15 DETROIT

.250

23.5

6-19

7-20

0-8

5-23

2-8

2 L

WESTERN CONFERENCE

PCT

CONF GB

HOME

ROAD

DIV

CONF

LAST 10

STREAK

1 DENVER

.680

—

22-4

12-12

9-4

25-10

7-3

2 L

2 MEMPHIS

.640

2.0

21-3

11-15

6-2

15-15

5-5

1 W

3 SACRAMENTO

.571

5.5

16-11

12-10

5-5

16-10

7-3

1 W

4 LA CLIPPERS

.528

7.5

14-11

14-14

4-4

17-15

6-4

1 L

5 GOLDEN STATE

.520

8.0

19-6

7-18

4-4

15-9

6-4

3 W

6 DALLAS

.519

8.0

18-9

9-16

6-2

19-12

4-6

1 W

7 PHOENIX

.519

8.0

19-8

8-17

8-0

20-14

6-4

2 W

8 NEW ORLEANS

.510

8.5

17-9

9-16

7-3

16-12

1-9

8 L

9 MINNESOTA

.509

8.5

18-11

9-15

6-6

18-17

6-4

1 L

10 UTAH

.500

9.0

17-9

9-17

4-5

19-15

6-4

1 W

11 OKLAHOMA CITY

.480

10.0

15-11

9-15

4-6

11-14

6-4

1 L

12 PORTLAND

.480

10.0

14-11

10-15

5-7

17-15

5-5

1 W

13 LA LAKERS

.451

11.5

13-12

10-16

1-9

12-17

4-6

2 L

14 SAN ANTONIO

.275

20.5

9-19

5-18

2-7

5-29

1-9

6 L

15 HOUSTON

.240

22.0

7-17

5-21

1-8

6-27

2-8

1 W

NHL STANDINGS

EASTERN CONFERENCE
	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	ROW	GF	GA	HOME	ROAD	L10
1 BOSTON BRUINS	50	38	7	5	81	36	187	109	22-1-3	16-6-2	6-3-1
2 CAROLINA HURRICANES	49	32	9	8	72	29	163	131	16-5-2	16-4-6	7-1-2
3 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS	51	31	12	8	70	31	173	136	20-4-4	11-8-4	6-3-1
4 NEW JERSEY DEVILS	49	32	13	4	68	31	171	131	13-10-2	19-3-2	8-1-1
5 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING	48	32	15	1	65	31	175	141	20-4-1	12-11-0	8-2-0
6 NEW YORK RANGERS	49	27	14	8	62	25	157	129	13-9-4	14-5-4	6-2-2
7 WASHINGTON CAPITALS	52	26	20	6	58	25	162	149	14-8-3	12-12-3	4-6-0
8 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS	49	24	16	9	57	23	161	153	14-6-4	10-10-5	4-3-3

9 BUFFALO SABRES	49	26	19	4	56	25	185	165	11-12-2	15-7-2	6-2-2
10 NEW YORK ISLANDERS	52	25	22	5	55	25	148	144	15-9-2	10-13-3	3-5-2
11 FLORIDA PANTHERS	52	24	22	6	54	23	178	183	13-7-3	11-15-3	5-3-2
12 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS	51	21	21	9	51	21	142	162	10-12-2	11-9-7	5-3-2
13 DETROIT RED WINGS	48	21	19	8	50	20	145	160	12-10-3	9-9-5	5-4-1
14 OTTAWA SENATORS	49	23	23	3	49	22	146	155	14-11-1	9-12-2	5-5-0
15 MONTREAL CANADIENS	50	20	26	4	44	16	130	184	11-13-1	9-13-3	4-5-1
16 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS	50	15	32	3	33	14	128	194	11-15-1	4-17-2	3-6-1

WESTERN CONFERENCE
	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	ROW	GF	GA	HOME	ROAD	L10
1 DALLAS STARS	51	28	13	10	66	27	173	133	13-5-6	15-8-4	4-2-4
2 SEATTLE KRAKEN	49	29	15	5	63	29	177	151	13-10-3	16-5-2	6-3-1
3 WINNIPEG JETS	52	32	19	1	65	32	166	137	18-8-0	14-11-1	5-5-0
4 VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS	51	29	18	4	62	26	160	148	14-13-0	15-5-4	2-6-2
5 LOS ANGELES KINGS	52	28	18	6	62	24	169	178	14-9-2	14-9-4	6-4-0
6 MINNESOTA WILD	48	27	17	4	58	23	151	138	15-8-1	12-9-3	5-4-1
7 EDMONTON OILERS	50	28	18	4	60	28	187	162	13-11-3	15-7-1	7-1-2
8 COLORADO AVALANCHE	48	27	18	3	57	23	151	133	13-9-3	14-9-0	7-3-0

9 CALGARY FLAMES	50	24	17	9	57	23	157	152	14-9-2	10-8-7	5-3-2
10 NASHVILLE PREDATORS	48	24	18	6	54	22	137	141	14-7-3	10-11-3	6-4-0
11 ST. LOUIS BLUES	51	23	25	3	49	20	156	185	10-12-2	13-13-1	3-7-0
12 VANCOUVER CANUCKS	49	20	26	3	43	17	165	193	10-13-1	10-13-2	3-7-0
13 SAN JOSE SHARKS	51	15	25	11	41	14	157	196	5-12-7	10-13-4	3-4-3
14 ARIZONA COYOTES	50	16	28	6	38	14	131	177	10-8-2	6-20-4	3-6-1
15 ANAHEIM DUCKS	50	16	29	5	37	13	125	205	9-13-1	7-16-4	4-5-1
16 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS	48	15	29	4	34	15	118	176	9-16-2	6-13-2	6-4-0

FOOTBALL HISTORY

JANUARY 31, 1982 – NFL PRO BOWL WAS PLAYED AT ALOHA STADIUM IN HONOLULU. THE FINAL SCORE HAD THE AFC SQUAD DEFEATING THEIR COUNTERPARTS OF THE NFC BY THE SCORE OF 16-13. THERE WERE CO-MVPS IN THIS GAME AS KELLEN WINSLOW SR. THE TIGHT END OF THE SAN DIEGO CHARGERS SHARED THE HONOR WITH LEE ROY SELMON THE STANDOUT DEFENSIVE END OF THE TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS.

JANUARY 31, 1988 – JACK MURPHY STADIUM, SAN DIEGO – SUPER BOWL XXII WAS NOT A VERY CLOSE ONE WHEN THE DENVER BRONCOS FACED THE WASHINGTON REDSKINS. THE BRONCOS JUMPED OUT QUICKLY TO A 10-0 LEAD AFTER RICKY NATTIEL CAUGHT A JOHN ELWAY PASS FOR 56 YARDS AND A SCORE. BUT THE POWERFUL WASHINGTON TEAM TATTLED OFF 42 UNANSWERED POINTS AS QB DOUG WILLIAMS CAUGHT FIRE AND THREW FOR 340 YARDS AND 4 TDS TO HELP THE WASHINGTON REDSKINS CRUISE TO A 42-10 VICTORY. THE MVP WAS DOUG WILLIAMS PER THE PRO FOOTBALL REFERENCE WEBSITE.

JANUARY 31, 1993 – ROSE BOWL, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA – SUPER BOWL XXVII HAD SOME SPECIAL HISTORIC MOMENTS, THE BUFFALO BILLS BECAME THE SECOND TEAM SINCE THE EARLY 1970’S DOLPHINS TO PLAY IN THREE STRAIGHT SUPER BOWLS. IT IS INTERESTING THAT THIS WOULD BE THE THIRD DIFFERENT NFC EAST TEAM THAT THE BILLS WOULD MEET IN THIS RUN OF SUPER BOWLS FOR THEM. THE COWBOYS WERE JUST 4 SEASONS REMOVED FROM HAVING A LEAGUE WORST 1-15 RECORD. SUPER BOWL XXVII WAS SHAPED UP TO BE INTERESTING INDEED, BUT ONE TEAM CAME IN A BIT MORE PREPARED THAN THE OTHER. ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN FOOTBALL FANDOM SITE DALLAS FORCED A SUPER BOWL RECORD NINE TURNOVERS —FOUR INTERCEPTIONS AND FIVE LOST FUMBLES AND SCORED 35 POINTS OFF OF THOSE BILLS MISCUES. THE DALLAS COWBOYS WON IN A LANDSLIDE 52-17 OVER THE BILLS. TROY AIKMAN, THE QUARTERBACK OF THE COWBOYS, WON THE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER HONORS AS HE TOSSED FOUR TOUCHDOWN PASSES AND RACKED UP 273 YARDS THROUGH THE AIR. ANOTHER INTERESTING NOTE WAS THAT A 30 SECOND COMMERCIAL SPOT COST $850,000.

JANUARY 31, 1999 – PRO PLAYER STADIUM, MIAMI, FLORIDA – SUPER BOWL XXXIII FEATURED THE DIRTY BIRDS OF THE ATLANTA FALCONS FACING THE AFC CHAMPS THE DENVER BRONCOS. DENVER WAS THE DEFENDING CHAMPS AS A YEAR EARLIER THEY HAD DEFEATED GREEN BAY FOR THE FRANCHISE’S FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP PER THE PFR. QUARTERBACK JOHN ELWAY WAS GETTING A LITTLE LONG IN THE TOOTH BUT HIS MASTERY OF THE OFFENSE WAS NEVER IN DOUBT. THE FALCONS WERE APPEARING IN THEIR FIRST SUPER BOWL LED BY QUARTERBACK CHRIS CHANDLER AND RUNNING BACK JAMAL ANDERSON. THE BRONCOS WERE A LITTLE TOO MUCH FOR UPSTART ATLANTA THOUGH AS THEY GROUNDED THE FALCONS 34-19. ELWAY WHO THREW FOR 336 YARDS AND A TOUCHDOWN TOOK HOME THE MVP TROPHY AND TRAVELED TO DISNEY. A 30 SECOND COMMERCIAL DURING THIS SUPER BOWL WOULD SET YOU BACK A COOL $1.6 MILLION.

JANUARY 31, 2010 – SUN LIFE STADIUM, MIAMI GARDENS – THE NFL PRO BOWL GAME HAD THE AFC ONE UPPING THE NFC, 41-34. THE MVP OF THE GAME WAS MATT SCHAUB, THE HOUSTON TEXANS SIGNAL CALLER.

JANUARY 31, 2016 – ALOHA STADIUM, HONOLULU – NFL PRO BOWL TEAM IRVIN DEFEATED TEAM RICE, 49-27 AS THE NFL WAS STILL IN THE SERIES OF GAMES WHERE TWO LEGENDS WOULD DIVIDE THE PRO BOWL PLAYERS UP INSTEAD OF PLAYING CONFERENCE VERSUS CONFERENCE. THE DUAL MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS WERE SEATTLE SEAHAWK PLAYERS QUARTERBACK RUSSELL WILSON AND DEFENSIVE END MICHAEL BENNETT.

HALL OF FAME BIRTHDAYS

JANUARY 31, 1909 – HINSDALE, ILLINOIS – BERT METZGER THE GUARD FROM NOTRE DAME WAS BORN. THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION VOTERS SELECTED BERT METZGER TO GAIN ENTRANCE INTO THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME IN 1982.

JANUARY 31, 1913 – PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS – THE FINE ALABAMA END DON HUTSON CELEBRATED HIS BIRTH. DON HUTSON HAD NO TROUBLE GAINING ENTRANCE INTO THE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME IN 1963.

JANUARY 31, 1913 – ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS – WAYNE MILLNER THE LEGENDARY END FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME WAS BORN. ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION’S BIO ON HIM, “DOUBLE L” MILLNER WAS A HERO IN TWO SPECTACULAR FIGHTING IRISH WINS DURING A DISMAL SEASON OTHERWISE IN SOUTH BEND IN 1933. NOTRE DAME HAD WON ONLY TWO OF ITS FIRST EIGHT GAMES AND WAS SCHEDULED AGAINST THE UNBEATEN ARMY TEAM. WITH ONE MINUTE TO PLAY NOTRE DAME TRAILED THE CADETS BY 6. WITH HIS LEGENDARY TEAMMATE, MOOSE KRAUSE, LEADING THE THE WAY FOR HIM, MILLNER BLOCKED AN ARMY PUNT AND RECOVERED IT FOR A TOUCHDOWN. NOTRE DAME WON 13-12 ON THE LAST MINUTE HEROICS! ANOTHER STORY HAD MILLNER CATCHING A LATE TOUCHDOWN PASS FROM QB BILL SHAKESPEARE WITH 32 SECONDS LEFT TO LIFT THE IRISH TO A 18-13 VICTORY OVER OHIO STATE IN A BATTLE OF UNBEATENS. HE ENDED UP HAVING THE HONOR OF ALL-AMERICAN STATUS IN TWO DIFFERENT SEASONS. THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION SELECTED WAYNE MILLNER IN 1990 TO ENTER INTO THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME. AFTER COLLEGE MILLNER JOINED THE BOSTON REDSKINS AND PLAYED 11 SEASONS FOR THEM, BEING INTERRUPTED BRIEFLY FOR HIS MILITARY SERVICE DURING THE WAR. WHEN HE RETIRED HE WAS THE TOP PASS CATCHER IN REDSKINS HISTORY. PROBABLY HIS HIGHLIGHT GAME WAS IN THE 1937 NFL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME WHERE HE CAUGHT TD PASSES OF 55 AND 78 YARDS. THE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME ENSHRINED WAYNE MILLNER IN 1968.

JANUARY 31, 1938 – OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – THE GREAT STANFORD END CHRIS BURFORD WAS BORN. THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION VOTERS CHOSE THE LEGACY OF CHRIS BURFORD TO ENTER INTO THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME IN 1995.

JANUARY 31, 1953 – BRENHAM, TEXAS – ROOSEVELT LEAKS THE RUNNING BACK FROM TEXAS UNIVERSITY ARRIVED INTO THIS LIFE. LEAKS WAS THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN TEXAS LONGHORNS PLAYER TO EARN ALL-AMERICA HONORS ACCORDING TO THE NFF. ROOSEVELT LEAKS FINISHED HIS COLLEGIATE CAREER WITH 2,923 YARDS AND 26 TOUCHDOWNS IN JUST THREE SEASONS AND WAS RECOGNIZED AS A CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICA SELECTION IN 1973. THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION SELECTED ROOSEVELT LEAKS TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME IN 2006.

BASEBALL HISTORY

1919 IN CARIO (GA), MALLIE (MCGRIFF) AND JERRY ROBINSON GIVE BIRTH TO JACK ROOSEVELT ROBINSON, THE YOUNGEST OF FIVE CHILDREN OF THE SHARECROPPERS’ FAMILY. ON APRIL 15, 1947, THE FORMER UCLA FOOTBALL AND TRACK STANDOUT WILL BREAK BASEBALL COLOR LINE, STARTING AT FIRST BASE IN THE BROOKLYN DODGERS’ 5-3 VICTORY OVER THE BOSTON BRAVES AT EBBETS FIELD.

1950 AFTER PURCHASING HIS CONTRACT FROM MOVIE PRODUCER FREDERICK STEPHANI, THE PIRATES SIGN NARBONNE HIGH SCHOOL (HARBOR CITY, CA) SOUTHPAW PAUL PETTIT TO A RECORD $100,000 DEAL. IN 1951 AND 1953, THE ‘WIZARD OF WHIFF,’ WHO ONCE STRUCK OUT 27 BATTERS IN A 12-INNING HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL GAME, MAKES ONLY 12 MOUND APPEARANCES FOR THE BUCS, POSTING A 1-2 RECORD AND A 7.34 ERA .

1959 JOE CRONIN SIGNS A SEVEN-YEAR DEAL TO BECOME THE AMERICAN LEAGUE PRESIDENT. THE FORMER RED SOX INFIELDER WILL REMAIN IN THE POST UNTIL SUCCEEDED BY LEE MACPHAIL IN 1971.

1961 HOUSTON VOTERS APPROVE FINANCING FOR A DOMED STADIUM, REMOVING THE LAST HURDLE TO GAINING A MAJOR LEAGUE FRANCHISE FOR THE TEXAS CITY. THE ASTRODOME, DUBBED THE WORLD’S EIGHTH WONDER, RESULTS FROM TODAY’S APPROVAL, SERVING AS THE ASTROS’ HOME FROM 1965-1999.

1977 ONE-TIME INDIAN INFIELDER JOE SEWELL, FORMER GIANTS HURLER AMOS RUSIE, AND AL LOPEZ, AS THE WHITE SOX MANAGER, ARE ELECTED TO THE HALL OF FAME. THE VETERANS COMMITTEE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR SELECTION TO THE COOPERSTOWN SHRINE.

1980 FREE-AGENT SECOND BASEMAN JOE MORGAN SIGNS WITH ASTROS, REJOINING HIS FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE TEAM. THE TWO-TIME MVP, TRADED TO CINCINNATI IN 1971, BECAME A VITAL COG IN THE BIG RED MACHINE.

1983 FUTURE HALL OF FAMER TONY PEREZ SIGNS A ONE-YEAR CONTRACT WITH THE PHILLIES, JOINING HIS FORMER BIG RED MACHINE TEAMMATES PETE ROSE AND JOE MORGAN. THE VETERAN FIRST BASEMAN WILL HIT .241, APPEARING IN 91 GAMES IN HIS ONLY SEASON WITH PHILADELPHIA, BEFORE RETURNING TO HIS FIRST TEAM, THE REDS, FOR THE FINAL THREE YEARS OF HIS 23-YEAR TENURE IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES.

2000 “I WOULD RETIRE FIRST. IT’S THE MOST HECTIC, NERVE-RACKING CITY. IMAGINE HAVING TO TAKE THE [NUMBER] 7 TRAIN TO THE BALLPARK, LOOKING LIKE YOU’RE [RIDING THROUGH] BEIRUT NEXT TO SOME KID WITH PURPLE HAIR NEXT TO SOME QUEER WITH AIDS RIGHT NEXT TO SOME DUDE WHO JUST GOT OUT OF JAIL FOR THE FOURTH TIME RIGHT NEXT TO SOME 20-YEAR-OLD MOM WITH FOUR KIDS. IT’S DEPRESSING.” – JOHN ROCKER, COMMENTING IN A SPORTS ILLUSTRATED ARTICLE ON HIS FEELINGS ABOUT PLAYING FOR A NEW YORK TEAM. COMMISSIONER BUD SELIG SUSPENDS JOHN ROCKER UNTIL MAY 1, A SPAN OF 73 DAYS, DUE TO THE BRAVES CLOSER’S RACIAL AND ETHNIC INSENSITIVE REMARKS REPORTED IN A SPORTS ILLUSTRATED ARTICLE WRITTEN BY JEFF PEARLMAN. THE 25-YEAR-OLD RELIEVER FROM GEORGIA, WHO IS ALSO FINED $20,000 AND ORDERED TO ATTEND SENSITIVITY TRAINING, BECOMES THE FIRST PLAYER TO BE DISCIPLINED FOR COMMENTS MADE PUBLICLY.

2001 A WALL STREET JOURNAL ARTICLE QUOTES FORMER PLAYERS MONTE IRVIN, SAL YVARS, AND AL GETTEL, ADMITTING THE TEAM STOLE CATCHERS’ SIGNS DURING THE 1951 PENNANT RACE WHEN THE GIANTS OVERCAME THE DODGERS’ 13.5 GAME LEAD. ACCORDING TO THE WSJ STORY WRITTEN BY JOSHUA PRAGER, BOBBY THOMSON, WHOSE THREE-RUN, NINTH-INNING WALK-OFF HOMER IN GAME 3 OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS WON THE PENNANT FOR NEW YORK, DID NOT STEAL A SIGN BEFORE HITTING HIS HISTORIC HOME RUN.

2003 TO SECURE FUNDING FOR A SIGNIFICANT RE-DESIGN OF THE 12-YEAR-OLD ‘NEW’ COMISKEY PARK, THE WHITE SOX ANNOUNCE THE BALLPARK WILL NOW BE KNOWN AS U.S. CELLULAR FIELD. THE 23-YEAR DEAL WITH THE WIRELESS SERVICE PROVIDER, WHICH WILL PAY THE WHITE SOX $68 MILLION, CHANGES THE NAME OF THE SOUTHSIDERS’ HOME USED SINCE 1910.

2007 AT NEW YORK’S GRACEY MANSION, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ANNOUNCES YANKEE STADIUM AS THE VENUE FOR THE 2008 ALL-STAR GAME, MARKING THE FOURTH TIME IN ITS HISTORY (1939, 1960, 1977) THAT THE BALLPARK HAS SERVED AS THE GAME’S HOST. THE ANNUAL MIDSUMMER CLASSIC WILL SHOWCASE THE HISTORIC ‘HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT’ IN ITS FINAL SEASON AS THE BRONX BOMBERS’ HOME.

2008 PEDRO FELIZ (.253, 20, 72) AND THE PHILLIES COME TO TERMS ON A TWO-YEAR, $8.5 MILLION CONTRACT, WHICH COULD BE WORTH UP TO $15 MILLION OVER THREE YEARS WITH AN OPTION AND VARIOUS PERFORMANCE BONUSES. THE VERSATILE FREE-AGENT THIRD BASEMAN HELPS THE CLUB SHORE UP ITS WEAKNESS AT THE HOT CORNER.

2008 BRAD WILKERSON (.234, 20, 62) SIGNS A ONE-YEAR, $3 MILLION CONTRACT TO ROAM THE MARINERS’ OUTFIELD. THE FREE-AGENT ACQUISITION MAY INDICATE THAT THE MUCH-ANTICIPATED TRADE WITH THE ORIOLES FOR SOUTHPAW ERIK BEDARD IS CLOSE WHEN SEATTLE INCLUDES OUTFIELDER ADAM JONES TO BALTIMORE AS PART OF THE DEAL.

2011 RAFAEL BETANCOURT BECOMES THE FIFTH NON-FREE AGENT TO SIGN A MULTI-YEAR DEAL WITH THE ROCKIES WHEN HE AGREES TO A NEW CONTRACT THAT CALLS FOR $4 MILLION IN 2012 AND INCLUDES A $4.25 MILLION MUTUAL OPTION THE FOLLOWING SEASON. THE 35-YEAR-OLD RIGHT-HANDED RELIEVER JOINS SHORTSTOP TROY TULOWITZKI, OUTFIELDER CARLOS GONZALEZ, AND HURLERS MATT LINDSTROM AND JASON HAMMEL TO BE OFFERED AN EXTENDED DEAL FROM COLORADO THIS OFFSEASON.

2013 MARTIN PRADO, ACQUIRED BY THE DIAMONDBACKS IN THE JUSTIN UPTON TRADE WITH ATLANTA, AGREES TO A $40 MILLION, FOUR-YEAR CONTRACT WITH HIS NEW TEAM. THE TEAM OBTAINS THE 29-YEAR-OLD ALL-STAR, WHO CAN BE USED BOTH IN THE OUTFIELD AND THE INFIELD, TO PLAY THIRD BASE, HELPING TO FILL THE VOID CREATED BY CHRIS JOHNSON’S DEPARTURE, ALSO SENT TO THE BRAVES IN THE DEAL.

2018 MOOKIE BETTS WINS HIS ARBITRATION CASE AGAINST THE RED SOX, GETTING THE HIGHEST ONE-YEAR SALARY EVER AWARDED TO A PLAYER IN THEIR FIRST YEAR OF ELIGIBILITY. THE $10.5 MILLION WILL PROVE TO BE A BARGAIN WHEN THE BOSTON GOLD GLOVE RIGHT FIELDER EASILY COPS THE AMERICAN LEAGUE MVP AWARD, LEADING THE TEAM TO ITS FOURTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SINCE 2004.

2019 “THE IMPACT HE MADE, THE ADVERSITY HE FACED, THE SUCCESS HE HAD, AND THE ROADS HE PAVED FOR SO MANY PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY, IT’S VERY INSPIRING.” – STEVE KERR, NBA HEAD COACH, SPEAKING OF JACKIE ROBINSON’S LEGACY. ON JACKIE ROBINSON’S 100TH BIRTHDAY, NBA WARRIORS HEAD COACH STEVE KERR WEARS A TEE-SHIRT HONORING THE BASEBALL LEGEND WHILE ADDRESSING THE MEDIA BEFORE GOLDEN STATE’S LOSS 113-104 TO THE 76ER AT ORACLE ARENA. THE FORMER POINT GUARD AND AVID FAN OF BASEBALL HISTORY, KNOWN FOR HIS OUTSPOKEN POLITICAL VIEWS, BELIEVES THE DODGERS LEGEND PROBABLY REPRESENTS BLACK HISTORY MONTH AS WELL AS ANY PERSON POSSIBLY COULD.

SPORTS IN NUMBERS

7 – 11 – 2 – 4 – 12 – 8 – 21

JANUARY 31, 1920 – NUMBER 7, JOE MALONE, A CENTER OF THE QUEBEC BULLDOGS SET AN NHL RECORD 7 GOALS IN A 10-6 WIN AGAINST THE RIVAL TORONTO ST. PATRICKS ON THE ICE OF THE QUEBEC ARENA. MALONE LED THE NHL WITH 39 GOALS ON THE SEASON AND HIS 49 TOTAL POINTS ALSO WERE TOPS IN THE LEAGUE THAT YEAR.

JANUARY 31, 1923 – MONTREAL CANADIENS BEAT HAMILTON TIGERS, 5-4 AT THE MOUNT ROYAL ARENA, MONTREAL; FIRST PENALTY-FREE GAME PLAYED IN NHL HISTORY

JANUARY 31, 1927 – THE NATIONAL LEAGUE BRASS RULED FUTURE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME INFIELDER ROGERS HORNSBY COULDN’T HOLD STOCK IN THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS AND PLAY FOR THE NEW YORK GIANTS BECAUSE OF THE OBVIOUS CONFLICT OF INTEREST. ODDLY ENOUGH THE LEGENDARY BALLPLAYER EARNED A $2,916 DIVIDEND ON SAME DAY FROM HIS OPTION WITH THE CARDINALS. THAT PROBABLY DIDN’T HELP HIS CASE ANY. THOUGH HE MAY NOT HAVE WORN A UNIFORM NUMBER IN 1927, NO BIG LEAGUE MANDATED THEM THEN, HORNSBY WOULD EVENTUALLY IN COMING YEARS BE SEEN WEARING 4, 9, 11 & 16 FOR VARIOUS TEAMS INCLUDING THE ST. LOUIS BROWNS, CHICAGO CUBS, AND ST LOUIS CARDINALS.

JANUARY 31, 1952 – HARRY HEILMANN & PAUL WANER ELECTED TO BASEBALL HALL OF FAME. HEILMAN PLAYED BALL FROM 1914 THROUGH 1929 AS A RIGHT FIELDER AND A 1ST BASEMAN FOR THE DETROIT TIGERS. HE ALSO PLAYED A COUPLE OF SEASONS FOR THE REDS AT THE END OF HIS CAREER. THE MAJORITY OF HIS PLAYING DAYS HE DID NOT WEAR A NUMBER, AND I AM NOT SURE WHAT UNIFORM DIGITS HE WORE IN 1929, 1930 & 1932. WANER WAS AN OUTFIELD PLAYER FOR THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES FOR 15 OF HIS 20 YEARS PLAYING MAJOR LEAGUE BALL. FOR MOST OTHER SEASONS IN PITTSBURGH HE WORE THE NUMBER 11. HIS CAREER SPANNED FROM 1926 ALL THE WAY THROUGH 1945 IN THE GREAT AMERICAN PASTIME.

JANUARY 31, 1958 – “JACKPOT BOWLING” PREMIERES ON NBC WITH FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE BASBALL PLAYER AND MANAGER, LEO DUROCHER AS ITS HOST. LEO WAS AN INFIELDER FOR A FEW TEAMS. HE SPENT MOST OF HIS CAREER WEARING THE NUMBER 2 AS A MEMBER OF THE ST LOUIS CARDINALS AND THE BROOKLYN DODGERS ORGANIZATIONS.

JANUARY 31, 1959 – FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER AND MANAGER, JOE CRONIN SIGNS 7 YEAR PACT TO BECOME HEAD OF AMERICAN LEAGUE OF BASEBALL. IN HIS PLAYING DAYS CRONIS WAS A SHORTSTOP AND HE DONNED THE NUMBER 4 MOSTLY DURING HIS SEASONS WITH THE WASHINGTON SENATORS AND THE BOSTON REDSOX.

JANUARY 31, 1971 – SPECIAL VETERANS COMMITTEE ADDS 6 FORMER PLAYERS AND 1 EXECUTIVE TO THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME: DAVE BANCROFT, JAKE BECKLEY, CHICK HAFEY, HARRY HOOPER, JOE KELLEY, RUBE MARQUARD AND GEORGE WEISS

JANUARY 31, 1977 – JOE SEWELL, AMOS RUSIE AND AL LÓPEZ ARE ELECTED TO BASEBALL’S HALL OF FAME

JANUARY 31, 1988 – DOUG WILLIAMS, WHO WORE NUMBER 12 FOR THE WASHINGTON REDSKINS IN SUPER BOWL XXII TOOK HOME THE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD AT JACK MURPHY STADIUM, SAN DIEGO AS WASHINGTON BEAT DENVER BRONCOS, 42-10.

JANUARY 31, 1991 – DENVER NUGGETS MICHAEL ADAMS BECOMES SHORTEST NBA PLAYER TO HAVE PUT UP A TRIPLE-DOUBLE IN A GAME. ADAMS WORE THE NUMBER 14 FOR MOST OF CAREER IN THE MILE HIGH CITY. ADAMS WAS LISTED AS BEING 5′-10″ TALL.

JANUARY 31, 1993 – SUPER BOWL XXVII AT THE ROSE BOWL, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA SAW THE DALLAS COWBOYS SLAP AROUND THE BUFFALO BILLS, 52-17. THE MVP OF THIS GAME NUMBER 8 OF DALLAS, QUARTERBACK TROY AIKMAN.

JANUARY 31, 1997 – SAN ANTONIO FORWARD DOMINIQUE WILKINS, WEARING NUMBER 21 SCORES 27 POINTS IN THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS’ 97-95 LOSS TO MINNESOTA. THAT EVENING POINTS GAVE HIM 26,009 FOR HIS CAREER; AND MADE HIM ONLY THE 6TH NBA PLAYER TO REACH THE 26K MILESTONE.

JANUARY 31, 2015 – THE ATLANTA HAWKS SET A NEW NBA MONTHLY WIN RECORD AS THEY MOVE TO 17-0 FOR JANUARY, WITH A 91-85 WIN AGAINST THE PHILADELPHIA 76ERS.

TV TUESDAY

NCAA BASKETBALL GAMES – MEN’S	TIME ET	TV
MISSISSIPPI STATE AT SOUTH CAROLINA	6:30PM	SECN
WAKE FOREST AT DUKE	7:00PM	ESPN
TEXAS A&M AT ARKANSAS	7:00PM	ESPN2
NEBRASKA AT ILLINOIS	7:00PM	BTN
VIRGINIA TECH AT MIAMI (FL)	7:00PM	ESPNU
CLEMSON AT BOSTON COLLEGE	7:00PM	ACCN
VCU AT DAVIDSON	7:00PM	CBSSN
SAINT LOUIS AT FORDHAM	7:00PM	SNY
NORTHERN ILLINOIS AT WESTERN MICHIGAN	7:00PM	ESPN+
OHIO AT EASTERN MICHIGAN	7:00PM	ESPN+
TOLEDO AT MIAMI (OH)	7:00PM	ESPN+
MARIST AT QUINNIPIAC	7:00PM	ESPN+
AKRON AT BUFFALO	7:00PM	ESPN+
BALL STATE AT BOWLING GREEN	7:00PM	ESPN+
CENTRAL MICHIGAN AT KENT STATE	7:00PM	ESPN+
UCONN AT DEPAUL	8:00PM	FS1
KANSAS STATE AT KANSAS	8:00PM	ESPN+
VANDERBILT AT ALABAMA	8:30PM	SECN
KENTUCKY AT OLE MISS	9:00PM	ESPN
INDIANA AT MARYLAND	9:00PM	ESPN2
NORTHWESTERN AT IOWA	9:00PM	BTN
WEST VIRGINIA AT TCU	9:00PM	ESPNU
LOYOLA CHICAGO AT DAYTON	9:00PM	CBSSN
BOISE STATE AT AIR FORCE	9:00PM	ALTITUDE
UNLV AT COLORADO STATE	9:00PM	–
FRESNO STATE AT WYOMING	10:00PM	FS1
SAN DIEGO STATE AT NEVADA	11:00PM	CBSSN
NBA REGULAR SEASON GAMES	TIME ET	TV
BOSTON AT MILWAUKEE	7:30PM	TNT
ORLANDO AT TORONTO	7:30PM	BALLY SPORTS SPORTSNET
SACRAMENTO AT PHOENIX	9:00PM	NBCS-CA BALLY SPORTS
GOLDEN STATE AT LA CLIPPERS	10:00PM	NBCS-BAY BALLY SPORTS
WASHINGTON AT PORTLAND	10:00PM	ROOT SPORTS NBCS-BAY
NHL REGULAR SEASON GAMES	TIME ET	TV
CAROLINA AT WASHINGTON	7:00PM	BALLY SPORTS NBCS-WSH
CHICAGO AT MONTREAL	7:00PM	NBCS-CHI SPORTSNET
NEW JERSEY AT COLUMBUS	7:30PM	MSGSN BALLY SPORTS
OTTAWA AT NY ISLANDERS	7:30PM	SPORTSNET MSGSN
FLORIDA AT ST. LOUIS	8:00PM	ESPN+ HULU
SEATTLE AT WINNIPEG	8:00PM	ROOT SPORTS SPORTSNET
BOSTON AT DALLAS	8:30PM	NESN BALLY SPORTS
TAMPA BAY AT COLORADO	9:00PM	ALT BALLY SPORTS
PITTSBURGH AT SAN JOSE	10:30PM	ATTSN-PIT NBCS-CA
SOCCER MATCHES	TIME ET	TV
DFB POKAL: PADERBORN VS STUTTGART	12:00PM	ESPN+
DFB POKAL: UNION BERLIN VS WOLFSBURG	2:45PM	ESPN+
ENGLAND LEAGUE CUP: NEWCASTLE UNITED VS SOUTHAMPTON	3:00PM	ESPN+
COPPA ITALIA: INTERNAZIONALE VS ATALANTA	3:00PM	CBSSN
PRIMEIRA LIGA: AROUCA VS BENFICA	4:15PM	GOLTV

TV WEDNESDAY

NCAA BASKETBALL GAMES – MEN’S	TIME ET	TV
UALBANY AT UMASS LOWELL	6:00PM	ESPN+
PROVIDENCE AT XAVIER	6:30PM	FS1
PENN STATE AT PURDUE	6:30PM	BTN
CREIGHTON AT GEORGETOWN	6:30PM	CBSSN
TENNESSEE AT FLORIDA	7:00PM	ESPN2
EAST CAROLINA AT SOUTH FLORIDA	7:00PM	ESPNU
GEORGIA AT AUBURN	7:00PM	SECN
PITT AT NORTH CAROLINA	7:00PM	ACCN
GEORGIA TECH AT LOUISVILLE	7:00PM	ACCN
ST. BONAVENTURE AT RICHMOND	7:00PM	MASN2
UMASS AT GEORGE MASON	7:00PM	ESPN+
RHODE ISLAND AT SAINT JOSEPH’S	7:00PM	ESPN+
GEORGE WASHINGTON AT LA SALLE	7:00PM	ESPN+
BINGHAMTON AT UMBC	7:00PM	ESPN+
MAINE AT BRYANT	7:00PM	ESPN+
NEW HAMPSHIRE AT NJIT	7:00PM	ESPN+
TULSA AT CINCINNATI	7:00PM	ESPN+
GARDNER-WEBB AT CHARLESTON SOUTHERN	7:00PM	ESPN+
LONGWOOD AT WINTHROP	7:00PM	ESPN+
RADFORD AT PRESBYTERIAN	7:00PM	ESPN+
USC UPSTATE AT CAMPBELL	7:00PM	ESPN+
NAVY AT LAFAYETTE	7:00PM	ESPN+
ARMY WEST POINT AT LEHIGH	7:00PM	ESPN+
BUCKNELL AT AMERICAN	7:00PM	ESPN+
HOLY CROSS AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY	7:00PM	ESPN+
SAMFORD AT WESTERN CAROLINA	7:00PM	ESPN+
CHATTANOOGA AT FURMAN	7:00PM	ESPN+
WOFFORD AT ETSU	7:00PM	ESPN+
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT BRADLEY	7:00PM	ESPN+
SAM HOUSTON AT UTRGV	7:30PM	ESPN+
UIC AT ILLINOIS STATE	8:00PM	MARQ
BELMONT AT MURRAY STATE	8:00PM	ESPN+
INDIANA STATE AT EVANSVILLE	8:00PM	ESPN+
VALPARAISO AT MISSOURI STATE	8:00PM	ESPN+
TARLETON AT UTA	8:00PM	ESPN+
VILLANOVA AT MARQUETTE	8:30PM	FS1
MINNESOTA AT RUTGERS	8:30PM	BTN
SETON HALL AT ST. JOHN’S	8:30PM	CBSSN
OKLAHOMA STATE AT OKLAHOMA	9:00PM	ESPN2
SMU AT TULANE	9:00PM	ESPNU
LSU AT MISSOURI	9:00PM	SECN
FLORIDA STATE AT NC STATE	9:00PM	ACCN
UNI AT DRAKE	9:00PM	MVC TV
SOUTHERN UTAH AT CALIFORNIA BAPTIST	10:00PM	ESPN+
ABILENE CHRISTIAN VS. SEATTLE U	10:00PM	ESPN+
NEW MEXICO AT UTAH STATE	10:30PM	FS1
NBA REGULAR SEASON GAMES	TIME ET	TV
WASHINGTON AT DETROIT	7:00PM	NBCS-WSH BALLY SPORTS
ORLANDO AT PHILADELPHIA	7:00PM	BALLY SPORTS NBCS-PHI
PORTLAND AT MEMPHIS	7:00PM	ROOT SPORTS BALLY SPORTS
BROOKLYN AT BOSTON	7:30PM	ESPN YES NBCS-BOS
OKLAHOMA CITY AT HOUSTON	8:00PM	BALLY SPORTS
GOLDEN STATE AT MINNESOTA	8:00PM	NBCS-BAY BALLY SPORTS
SACRAMENTO AT SAN ANTONIO	8:00PM	NBCS-CA BALLY SPORTS
TORONTO AT UTAH	9:00PM	SPORTSNET ATTSN-RM
ATLANTA AT PHOENIX	10:00PM	ESPN BALLY SPORTS
NHL REGULAR SEASON GAMES	TIME ET	TV
CAROLINA AT BUFFALO	7:30PM	TNT
BOSTON AT TORONTO	7:00PM	NESN SPORTSNET
SOCCER MATCHES	TIME ET	TV
COPPA ITALIA: FIORENTINA VS TORINO	12:00PM	PARAMOUNT+
DFB POKAL: RB LEIPZIG VS HOFFENHEIM	12:00PM	ESPN+
FIRST DIVISION A: AS EUPEN VS GENK	12:45PM	ESPN+
LIGUE 1: NANTES VS OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE	1:00PM	BEIN SPORTS
PRIMEIRA LIGA: MARÍTIMO VS PORTO	2:00PM	GOLTV
BELGIAN CUP: UNION SAINT-GILLOISE VS ANTWERP	2:45PM	ESPN+
DFB POKAL: MAINZ 05 VS BAYERN MÜNCHEN	2:45PM	ESPN+
ENGLAND LEAGUE CUP: MANCHESTER UNITED VS NOTTINGHAM FOREST	3:00PM	ESPN+
LA LIGA: REAL BETIS VS BARCELONA	3:00PM	ESPN+
LIGUE 1: MONTPELLIER VS PSG	3:00PM	BEIN SPORTS
COPPA ITALIA: ROMA VS CREMONESE	3:00PM	PARAMOUNT+
LIGA MX: ATLAS VS TOLUCA	9:05PM	TUDN