“SCOREBOARD”
INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SECTIONAL TITLE GAMES NOV. 3
SECTIONAL 1
LAKE CENTRAL (5-5) AT CROWN POINT (10-0)
SECTIONAL 2
WARSAW (9-1) AT PENN (9-1)
SECTIONAL 3
FISHERS (7-3) AT HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN (8-2)
SECTIONAL 4
WESTFIELD (9-1) AT NOBLESVILLE (4-6)
SECTIONAL 5
BEN DAVIS (9-1) AT PIKE (3-7)
SECTIONAL 6
INDIANAPOLIS CATHEDRAL (7-3) AT LAWRENCE NORTH (7-3)
SECTIONAL 7
WARREN CENTRAL (4-6) AT SOUTHPORT (2-8)
SECTIONAL 8
CENTER GROVE (9-1) AT COLUMBUS NORTH (5-5)
SECTIONAL 9
MERRILLVILLE (8-2) AT HAMMOND MORTON (5-4)
SECTIONAL 10
MICHIGAN CITY (6-4) AT VALPARAISO (8-2)
SECTIONAL 11
MISHAWAKA (8-2) AT CONCORD (6-4)
SECTIONAL 12
FORT WAYNE NORTH (3-6) AT FORT WAYNE SNIDER (9-1)
SECTIONAL 13
HARRISON (WEST LAFAYETTE) (9-1) AT DECATUR CENTRAL (8-2)
SECTIONAL 14
TERRE HAUTE SOUTH (5-5) AT WHITELAND (6-4)
SECTIONAL 15
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH (9-1) AT SEYMOUR (6-4)
SECTIONAL 16
EVANSVILLE NORTH (7-3) AT CASTLE (7-3)
SECTIONAL 17
NEW PRAIRIE (9-2) AT CULVER ACADEMY (5-6)
SECTIONAL 18
NORTHWOOD (9-2) AT NORTHRIDGE (9-2)
SECTIONAL 19
FORT WAYNE DWENGER (6-5) AT LEO (9-2)
SECTIONAL 20
KOKOMO (9-2) AT MISSISSINEWA (11-0)
SECTIONAL 21
MOORESVILLE (6-5) AT BREBEUF JESUIT (6-4)
SECTIONAL 22
NEW PALESTINE (9-2) AT MOUNT VERNON (FORTVILLE) (7-4)
SECTIONAL 23
GREENWOOD (6-5) AT EAST CENTRAL (11-0)
SECTIONAL 24
EVANSVILLE REITZ (11-0) AT EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL (8-3)
SECTIONAL 25
HANOVER CENTRAL (11-0) AT WEST LAFAYETTE (8-3)
SECTIONAL 26
JOHN GLENN (7-4) AT KNOX (11-0)
SECTIONAL 27
DELTA (7-4) AT GARRETT (6-5)
SECTIONAL 28
INDIANAPOLIS CHATARD (11-0) AT HAMILTON HEIGHTS (11-0)
SECTIONAL 29
TRI-WEST (10-1) AT MONROVIA (9-2)
SECTIONAL 30
VINCENNES LINCOLN (8-3) AT GIBSON SOUTHERN (9-2)
SECTIONAL 31
BATESVILLE (10-1) AT INDIAN CREEK (8-3)
SECTIONAL 32
HERITAGE HILLS (10-1) AT SCOTTSBURG (7-4)
SECTIONAL 33
BREMEN (6-5) AT LAVILLE (10-1)
SECTIONAL 34
LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC (8-3) AT SEEGER (8-3)
SECTIONAL 35
FORT WAYNE LUERS (8-3) AT MANCHESTER (5-6)
SECTIONAL 36
EASTERN (GREENTOWN) (9-2) AT BLUFFTON (9-2)
SECTIONAL 37
SOUTHMONT (6-5) AT LINTON-STOCKTON (10-1)
SECTIONAL 38
WINCHESTER (8-2) AT EASTERN HANCOCK (7-4)
SECTIONAL 39
TRITON CENTRAL (10-1) AT EASTERN (PEKIN) (5-6)
SECTIONAL 40
PAOLI (10-1) AT NORTH POSEY (10-1)
SECTIONAL 41
NORTH JUDSON (7-4) AT TRITON (8-3)
SECTIONAL 42
PARK TUDOR (11-0) AT NORTH VERMILLION (8-3)
SECTIONAL 43
CARROLL (FLORA) (11-0) AT TRI-CENTRAL (5-6)
SECTIONAL 44
ADAMS CENTRAL (11-0) AT MADISON-GRANT (8-3)
SECTIONAL 45
SHERIDAN (8-3) AT MONROE CENTRAL (6-5)
SECTIONAL 46
NORTH DECATUR (8-3) AT MILAN (8-3)
SECTIONAL 47
INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN (9-0) AT COVENANT CHRISTIAN (7-3)
SECTIONAL 48
SPRINGS VALLEY (10-1) AT PROVIDENCE (11-0)
INDIANA VOLLEYBALL STATE FINALS
CLASS 1A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
11 AM ET | SOUTHWOOD (31-4) VS. TECUMSEH (32-4)
CLASS 2A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
1:30 PM ET | MUNCIE BURRIS (30-4) VS. BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL (24-13)
CLASS 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
4:30 PM ET | BELLMONT (34-2) VS. PROVIDENCE (30-5)
CLASS 4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
7 PM ET | HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN (32-0) VS. CASTLE (34-3)
GIRLS BASKETBALL
| BREMEN | 69 | MISHAWAKA MARIAN | 34 | |
| BROWNSBURG | 61 | WARREN CENTRAL | 58 | |
| COLUMBUS EAST | 57 | PURDUE POLY ENGLEWOOD | 50 | OT |
| EDGEWOOD | 42 | WEST VIGO | 32 | |
| FAIRFIELD | 46 | JIMTOWN | 43 | |
| FISHERS | 65 | BEN DAVIS | 49 | |
| FORT WAYNE DWENGER | 44 | CHURUBUSCO | 29 | |
| FOUNTAIN CENTRAL | 45 | FAITH CHRISTIAN | 41 | |
| INDIANAPOLIS HERRON | 74 | KIPP INDY LEGACY | 11 | |
| JENNINGS COUNTY | 62 | SCOTTSBURG | 45 | |
| LEO | 62 | LAKELAND | 16 | |
| MARQUETTE CATHOLIC | 59 | BOONE GROVE | 11 | |
| MISHAWAKA | 42 | SOUTH BEND RILEY | 11 | |
| MOORESVILLE | 61 | NORTHVIEW | 31 | |
| MOUNT VERNON (FORTVILLE) | 53 | WHITELAND | 34 | |
| NORTH KNOX | 49 | SHAKAMAK | 25 | |
| PENDLETON HEIGHTS | 60 | MARION | 13 | |
| PLAINFIELD | 73 | TERRE HAUTE SOUTH | 17 | |
| RIVERTON PARKE | 38 | CLOVERDALE | 22 | |
| SOUTH DECATUR | 58 | MILAN | 30 | |
| SOUTH PUTNAM | 61 | SOUTH VERMILLION | 10 | |
| SOUTHRIDGE | 47 | PERRY CENTRAL | 28 | |
| SULLIVAN | 52 | VINCENNES LINCOLN | 49 | |
| TELL CITY | 54 | CANNELTON | 6 | |
| VINCENNES RIVET | 48 | EASTERN GREENE | 43 | |
| WINAMAC | 53 | FRONTIER | 22 | |
| WOODLAN | 70 | NEW HAVEN | 43 |
WEDNESDAY
| CARROLL (FLORA) | AT | FRANKFORT | 7:30 PM | ||
| CULVER ACADEMY | AT | WASHINGTON TWP. | 7:30 PM | ||
| EASTERN (GREENTOWN) | AT | ELWOOD | 6:00 PM | ||
| EVANSVILLE HARRISON | AT | FLOYD CENTRAL | 7:30 PM | ||
| FORT WAYNE NORTH | AT | WARSAW | 7:45 PM | ||
| GREENCASTLE | AT | SOUTHMONT | 7:30 PM | ||
| HAMMOND MORTON | AT | HANOVER CENTRAL | 8:00 PM | ||
| HOBART | AT | CROWN POINT | 8:00 PM | ||
| INDIANAPOLIS RITTER | AT | EDINBURGH | 7:30 PM | ||
| INDIANAPOLIS RIVERSIDE | AT | GREENWOOD CHRISTIAN | 6:00 PM | ||
| INDIANAPOLIS ROOTED | AT | CHRISTEL HOUSE MANUAL | 6:00 PM | ||
| INDIANAPOLIS TECH | AT | INDIANAPOLIS ATTUCKS | 6:30 PM | ||
| KOKOMO | AT | BLACKFORD | 7:30 PM | ||
| LAPEL | AT | WINCHESTER | 7:30 PM | ||
| MARTINSVILLE | AT | EMINENCE | 7:00 PM | ||
| NEW CASTLE | AT | RICHMOND | 7:30 PM | ||
| NORTH CENTRAL (INDIANAPOLIS) | AT | WESTFIELD | 7:30 PM | ||
| NORTH HARRISON | AT | SOUTH CENTRAL (ELIZABETH) | 7:30 PM | ||
| OREGON-DAVIS | AT | MORGAN TWP. | 7:00 PM | ||
| PORTAGE | AT | BOWMAN ACADEMY | 8:00 PM | ||
| SOUTH DEARBORN | AT | EAST CENTRAL | 7:30 PM | ||
| TRITON | AT | JOHN GLENN | 7:30 PM | ||
| UNION (MODOC) | AT | UNION CITY | 7:30 PM | ||
| WAWASEE | AT | MANCHESTER | 7:30 PM | ||
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
WEEK 10
TUESDAY
CENTRAL MICHIGAN 37 NORTHERN ILLINOIS 31
TOLEDO 31 BUFFALO 13
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 1
BALL STATE AT BOWLING GREEN | 7 P.M. | ESPN2
KENT STATE AT AKRON | 7:30 P.M. | ESPNU
THURSDAY, NOV. 2
TCU AT TEXAS TECH | 7 P.M. | FS1
WAKE FOREST AT DUKE | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN
SOUTH ALABAMA AT TROY | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN2
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE AT BETHUNE-COOKMAN | 7:30 P.M. | ESPNU
FRIDAY, NOV. 3
PRINCETON AT DARTMOUTH | 7 P.M. | ESPNU
BOSTON COLLEGE AT SYRACUSE | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN2
COLORADO STATE AT WYOMING | 8 P.M. | CBSSN
SATURDAY, NOV. 4
OHIO STATE AT RUTGERS | 12 P.M. | CBS
KANSAS STATE AT TEXAS | 12 P.M. | FOX
TEXAS A&M AT OLE MISS | 12 P.M. | ESPN
NOTRE DAME AT CLEMSON | 12 P.M. | ABC
CAMPBELL AT NORTH CAROLINA | 12 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
UCONN AT TENNESSEE | 12 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
ARKANSAS AT FLORIDA | 12 P.M. | ESPN2
NEBRASKA AT MICHIGAN STATE | 12 P.M. | FS1
WISCONSIN AT INDIANA | 12 P.M. | BIG TEN NETWORK
JACKSONVILLE STATE AT SOUTH CAROLINA | 12 P.M. | ESPNU
HOLY CROSS AT LEHIGH | 12 P.M. | ESPN+
YALE AT BROWN | 12 P.M. | ESPN+
DRAKE AT MARIST | 12 P.M. | ESPN+
SAN DIEGO AT PRESBYTERIAN | 12 P.M. | ESPN+
HARVARD AT COLUMBIA | 12:30 P.M. | ESPN+
KENNESAW STATE AT SAM HOUSTON | 1 P.M. | ESPN+
DELAWARE STATE AT MORGAN STATE | 1 P.M. | ESPN+
BUCKNELL AT FORDHAM | 1 P.M. | ESPN+
YOUNGSTOWN STATE AT INDIANA STATE | 1 P.M. | ESPN+
CORNELL AT PENN | 1 P.M. | ESPN+
GARDNER-WEBB AT BRYANT | 1 P.M. | ESPN+
VMI AT EAST TENNESSEE STATE | 1 P.M. | ESPN+
FURMAN AT CHATTANOOGA | 1:30 P.M. | ESPN+
NAVY AT TEMPLE | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
ARMY AT AIR FORCE | 2 P.M. | CBSSN
ARIZONA STATE AT UTAH | 2 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORKS
GEORGIA TECH AT VIRGINIA | 2 P.M. | CW
FLORIDA A&M AT ALABAMA A&M | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
NORTH DAKOTA AT MURRAY STATE | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
SOUTH DAKOTA AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
DAYTON AT VALPARAISO | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
ROBERT MORRIS AT SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
BUTLER AT MOREHEAD STATE | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
MERCER AT THE CITADEL | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
WESTERN ILLINOIS AT UNI | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
UT MARTIN AT TENNESSEE TECH | 2:30 P.M. | ESPN+
FLORIDA ATLANTIC AT UAB | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
UTSA AT NORTH TEXAS | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
SOUTH FLORIDA AT MEMPHIS | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
LOUISIANA AT ARKANSAS STATE | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
ILLINOIS STATE AT MISSOURI STATE | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
SOUTHERN AT ALCORN STATE | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
TEXAS SOUTHERN AT JACKSON STATE | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
LINCOLN (CA) AT SOUTHERN UTAH | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
UTAH TECH AT ABILENE CHRISTIAN | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
IDAHO AT NORTHERN COLORADO | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
EASTERN ILLINOIS AT LINDENWOOD | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
WESTERN CAROLINA AT WOFFORD | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
NORTH ARIZONA AT MONTANA STATE | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
MISSOURI AT GEORGIA | 3:30 P.M. | CBS SPORTS
FLORIDA STATE AT PITT | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN
OKLAHOMA AT OKLAHOMA STATE | 3:30 P.M. | ABC
PENN STATE AT MARYLAND | 3:30 P.M. | FOX
VIRGINIA TECH AT LOUISVILLE | 3:30 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
TULANE AT EAST CAROLINA | 3:30 P.M. | ESPNU
IOWA AT NORTHWESTERN | 3:30 P.M. | PEACOCK
JAMES MADISON AT GEORGIA STATE | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN2
MERRIMACK AT UMASS | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
ILLINOIS AT MINNESOTA | 3:30 P.M. | BIG TEN NETWORK
UCF AT CINCINNATI | 3:30 P.M. | FS1
HOUSTON AT BAYLOR | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
COASTAL CAROLINA AT OLD DOMINION | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
HOWARD AT SOUTH CAROLINA STATE | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
NORFOLK STATE AT NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
AUBURN AT VANDERBILT | 4 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
CHARLOTTE AT TULSA | 4 P.M. | ESPN+
UL MONROE AT SOUTHERN MISS | 4 P.M. | ESPN+
CAL POLY AT EASTERN WASHINGTON | 4 P.M. | ESPN+
TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE AT LAMAR | 4 P.M. | ESPN+
MCNEESE AT SE LOUISIANA | 4 P.M. | ESPN+
TENNESSEE STATE AT CHARLESTON SOUTHERN | 4 P.M. | ESPN+
NICHOLLS AT UIW | 4 P.M. | ESPN+
AUSTIN PEAY AT EASTERN KENTUCKY | 5 P.M. | ESPN+
CENTRAL ARKANSAS AT NORTH ALABAMA | 5 P.M. | ESPN+
CAL AT OREGON | 5:30 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORK
LOUISIANA TECH AT LIBERTY | 6 P.M. | CBSSN
MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT NEW MEXICO STATE | 6 P.M. | ESPN+
MARSHALL AT APPALACHIAN STATE | 6 P.M. | NFL NETWORK
WEBER STATE AT IDAHO STATE | 6 P.M. | ESPN+
KANSAS AT IOWA STATE | 7 P.M. | ESPN
BYU AT WEST VIRGINIA | 7 P.M. | FS1
UTAH STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE | 7 P.M. | FOX
GEORGIA SOUTHERN AT TEXAS STATE | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN AT TARLETON STATE | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
PORTLAND STATE AT UC DAVIS | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
PURDUE AT MICHIGAN | 7:30 P.M. | NBC
WASHINGTON AT USC | 7:30 P.M. | ABC
KENTUCKY AT MISSISSIPPI STATE | 7:30 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
SMU AT RICE | 7:30 P.M. | ESPNU
LSU AT ALABAMA | 7:45 P.M. | CBS
MIAMI (FLA.) AT NC STATE | 8 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
SACRAMENTO STATE AT MONTANA | 8 P.M. | ESPN+
STANFORD AT WASHINGTON STATE | 9 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORKS
WESTERN KENTUCKY AT UTEP | 9 P.M. | ESPN+
OREGON STATE AT COLORADO | 10 P.M. | ESPN
BOISE STATE AT FRESNO STATE | 10 P.M. | CBSSN
UCLA AT ARIZONA | 10:30 P.M. | FS1
NFL WEEK 9
TENNESSEE TITANS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS (THU) 8:15P (ET) 8:15P PRIME VIDEO
MIAMI DOLPHINS VS KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (FRANKFURT) 3:30P (CET) 9:30A NFLN
MINNESOTA VIKINGS AT ATLANTA FALCONS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS AT BALTIMORE RAVENS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
ARIZONA CARDINALS AT CLEVELAND BROWNS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
LOS ANGELES RAMS AT GREEN BAY PACKERS 12:00P (CT) 1:00P FOX
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS AT HOUSTON TEXANS 12:00P (CT) 1:00P CBS
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
CHICAGO BEARS AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 12:00P (CT) 1:00P CBS
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS 4:05P (ET) 4:05P CBS
NEW YORK GIANTS AT LAS VEGAS RAIDERS 1:25P (PT) 4:25P FOX
DALLAS COWBOYS AT PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 4:25P (ET) 4:25P FOX
BUFFALO BILLS AT CINCINNATI BENGALS 8:20P (ET) 8:20P NBC*
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS AT NEW YORK JETS (MON) 8:15P (ET) 8:15P ESPN
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
WORLD SERIES
TUESDAY
TEXAS 11 ARIZONA 7 (RANGERS LEAD SERIES 3-1)
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 1
TEX @ AZ, GAME 5, 8 P.M. (FOX)
FRIDAY, NOV. 3
AZ @ TEX, GAME 6 (IF NECESSARY), 8 P.M. (FOX)
SATURDAY, NOV. 4
AZ @ TEX, GAME 7 (IF NECESSARY), 8 P.M. (FOX)
NBA SCOREBOARD
NEW YORK 109 CLEVELAND 91
SAN ANTONIO 115 PHOENIX 114
LA CLIPPERS 118 ORLANDO 102
NHL SCOREBOARD
LOS ANGELES 4 TORONTO 1
VANCOUVER 5 NASHVILLE 2
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
WEDNESDAY
COLUMBUS AT ATLANTA
NATIONAL SPORTS RELEASES/HEADLINES
WORLD SERIES
SEMIEN’S 5 RBIS, SEAGER’S HOME RUN LEAD RANGERS OVER DIAMONDBACKS 11-7 FOR 3-1 WORLD SERIES LEAD
PHOENIX (AP) Adolis García gathered Texas Rangers hitters in a clubhouse side room Tuesday afternoon and told them his World Series was over.
Max Scherzer was finished, too, injuries costing the American League champions their top slugger and potential Game 7 starting pitcher.
“Pull together guys. Let’s finish it!” Travis Jankowski recalled García saying.
Rangers batters not only bonded, they whipped through the Arizona Diamondbacks like a desert storm.
Marcus Semien’s two-run triple and three-run homer powered Texas to a 10-run lead by the third inning, Corey Seager hit another long home run and the Rangers won 11-7 to move ahead three games to one in the World Series.
“That took a lot of guts for him to come out there and speak,” Seager said of García. “He was vulnerable. He wants to be out there. He told us he loved us.”
Texas improved to a record 10-0 on the road this postseason and closed within one win of the first title in the 63-season history of a franchise that started as the expansion Washington Senators in 1961.
Nathan Eovaldi tries to clinch the third all-wild card Series on Wednesday night against Zac Gallen in a rematch of Game 1 starters.
“We’ve got our top guy on the mound now,” Semien said. “He’s a guy who’s been waiting for this moment the entire year.”
Forty-two of 49 previous teams to take 3-1 leads have gone on to win the World Series. The most recent club to overcome a 3-1 deficit was the Chicago Cubs against Cleveland in 2016.
Rangers batters built a 10-0 cushion by becoming the first team in Series history with consecutive five-run innings. Seager’s third two-run homer of the Series capped the second, Semien’s drive punctuated the third and Jonah Heim added an eighth-inning shot.
Texas scored its first 10 runs with two outs, battering an Arizona staff that needed four pitchers to get its first eight outs. Miguel Castro’s wild pitch brought home the first run, and an error by Gold Glove first baseman Christian Walker – the first by either team in the Series – led to five unearned runs in the third.
“This was nothing that we saw coming,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “It all came unraveled on us there in a matter of two innings.”
Seager and Semien, All-Star middle infielders signed as free agents for $500 million combined before the 2022 season, have six RBIs each in the Series. Seager, the first shortstop with three Series homers, has four long balls in his last five games dating to the AL Championship Series. After leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to the 2020 title, he could join Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson as the only two-time World Series MVPs.
Jankowski, replacing García in right field, singled in the second and hit a two-run double in the third in his first Series at-bats.
“I was locked in last night waiting, preparing to start. I didn’t get the official news until 2 o’clock today,” Jankowski said. “Shoot, I’ve been ready to go 15 years ago.”
Andrew Heaney, a 32-year-old lefty with his fifth big league team, earned the win by allowing four hits in five innings. Six relievers followed, with closer José Leclerc getting the final out.
“We had a 10-run lead. It’s a lot easier to go out there, attack the strike zone and not feel so confined to having to make perfect pitches,” Heaney said.
There was a festive mood at Chase Field, where the roof was open for the second straight night and some fans arrived in Halloween costumes.
Josh Jung doubled off opener Joe Mantiply leading off the second and in came Castro, who gave up García’s winning homer in the 11th inning of Game 1. Jung advanced on a groundout and put Texas ahead when Castro bounced a changeup off the plate for a wild pitch.
Semien hooked a slider that landed about 18 inches fair and bounced into the left-field corner for a two-run triple and a 3-0 lead.
“Looking for the outside corner. It didn’t do what I want to do. It just kind of stayed in the zone there,” Castro said through a translator.
Seager hit Kyle Nelson’s slider 431 feet off a video board above the right-center wall for his sixth postseason homer.
“Made a mistake to the wrong hitter,” Nelson said. “The plan was to carefully pitch around him.”
In the first World Series to open with three errorless games, Arizona’s defense cracked at an inopportune time. After singles by Jung and Nathaniel Lowe with one out in the third, Luis Frías relieved and Heim hit a sharp grounder to Walker, who had a chance for a double play but dropped the ball on the transfer as he looked to throw to second.
Jankowski doubled and Semien sent a fastball at the letters over the left-field wall for his first homer since Sept. 27.
“I hadn’t jogged around the bases in a while,” Semien said.
Heim had been 0 for 12 before his homer against Ryne Nelson.
TEAM HALLOWEEN
Rangers players gathered with their families at the team hotel at 10 a.m. About two dozen children were in costume, with Jankowski’s two sons and daughter dressed as a falcon, Spider-Man and Bingo from “Bluey.”
“I’m sure they’re all sugared up now, which is great,” Jankowski said after the game, breaking into a wide smile.
LATE SURGE
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth for Arizona and a three-run homer in the eighth against Chris Stratton. Tommy Pham had a sacrifice fly in the eighth, and Gabriel Moreno delivered a two-run single in the ninth.
STREAKING
Arizona’s Ketel Marte had two hits, extending his record postseason hitting streak to 20 games.
TRAINER’S ROOM
García (left oblique) and Scherzer (back spasm) were removed from the Texas roster a day after getting hurt. INF/OF Ezequiel Durán and LHP Brock Burke were added, and Burke was charged with three runs in the eighth. … Seager appeared to twist one or both ankles on his home run swing. He was removed for for a pinch runner after doubling in the ninth and said he was fine. … Rangers rookie Evan Carter was hit on the right pinkie by a pitch in the ninth.
UP NEXT
Eovaldi is 4-0 with a 3.53 ERA in five starts this postseason. He left with a 5-3 deficit in Friday’s opener, allowing five runs and six hits over 4 2/3 innings.
Gallen gave up three runs and four hits over five innings in the opener and is 2-2 with a 5.27 ERA in five postseason starts, yielding six homers in 27 1/3 innings.
NFL NEWS
RAIDERS FIRE COACH JOSH MCDANIELS AND GM DAVE ZIEGLER
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) When the Las Vegas Raiders hired Josh McDaniels in January 2022, he said he had learned from his first stint as an NFL head coach.
But McDaniels’ record actually was worse the second time around than it was with the Denver Broncos in 2009 and 2010, and late Tuesday night, the Raiders announced that owner Mark Davis fired McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler.
“After much thought about what the Raiders need to move forward, I have decided to part ways with Josh and Dave,” Davis said in a statement. “I want to thank them both for their hard work and wish them and their families nothing but the best.”
There was no immediate announcement regarding who will take over as the interim coach for the Raiders, who host the New York Giants on Sunday.
Davis had hoped to bring the New England’s success westward when he hired McDaniels, the longtime Patriots offensive coordinator. Ziegler worked in New England’s front office, and between the two, they transformed the Raiders into Patriots West by signing several players with ties to that organization.
But despite taking over a team that made the playoffs in 2021 before losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in the wild-card round, the success Davis so badly wanted never made its way to Las Vegas.
The Raiders under McDaniels went 6-11 in 2022 and are 3-5 so far this season for a .360 winning percentage. His record at Denver was 11-17 (.393 percentage).
Even so, Davis has stood by McDaniels, and the timing of this dismissal is surprising.
But McDaniels had some things working against him. The Raiders have failed to score at least 20 points in eight of their past nine games dating to last season, and offense is his specialty.
Perhaps just as damaging was the public displeasure some of his players have shown. Star wide receiver Davante Adams, in particular, has been vocal since the offseason about his concerns regarding the direction of the franchise. Running back Josh Jacobs when asked after Monday night’s loss to the Detroit Lions about what might spark the offense, said, “I don’t know, that ain’t my job.”
McDaniels was hired following the 2021 season when Davis opted not to keep interim coach Rich Bisaccia on for the full-time job even after he led the team to a surprising playoff run.
McDaniels and Ziegler were aggressive in their first offseason, trading first and second-round picks for Adams, giving a big free agent contract to defensive end Chandler Jones and extending the contracts of Derek Carr, Maxx Crosby, Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow.
But those moves didn’t lead to positive results on the field as McDaniels never was able to build the high-powered offense Davis expected when he hired him and struggled to win games.
The Raiders lost a record-tying five games after taking double-digit leads, including blowing a 20-0 halftime lead in his home debut against Arizona for the biggest collapse in franchise history. Las Vegas lost to Indianapolis in the Colts’ first game with Jeff Saturday as interim coach after he had never coached above high school level and then lost to Baker Mayfield and the Rams two days after Mayfield joined his new team.
McDaniels benched Carr late last season and eventually cut him in the offseason, giving the Raiders no return for a starting quarterback who ended up getting a $150 million contract from New Orleans.
McDaniels brought in his former pupil in New England, Jimmy Garoppolo, as the new starting quarterback and the offense severely regressed, becoming the first team since 2009 to score less than 20 points on offense in each of the first eight games of the season.
The last two weeks were particularly humbling as Las Vegas lost 30-12 to Chicago and undrafted rookie former Division II quarterback Tyson Bagent and then looked completely inept in a 26-14 loss at Detroit on Monday night.
McDaniels finished his tenure with the third-worst record of any Raiders coach with at least 25 games.
THE 49ERS ACQUIRE CHASE YOUNG FROM THE COMMANDERS, AP SOURCES SAY
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) The San Francisco 49ers got some needed help for their struggling defense, acquiring edge rusher Chase Young from the Washington Commanders for a conditional third-round draft pick.
Two people with knowledge of the deal confirmed that Young was headed to San Francisco pending a physical following the trade agreed to before Tuesday’s deadline. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the teams hadn’t announced it.
Young will team up with his former Ohio State teammate Nick Bosa to give the Niners (5-3) a formidable edge rushing duo and provide a needed boost for a team on a three-game losing streak.
Young was the second overall pick in the 2020 draft – a year after Bosa went No. 2 to San Francisco – and has been playing at a high level this season after two injury-plagued years.
Young has five sacks in seven games this season – two more than anyone on the 49ers – and is tied for eighth in the league with 38 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.
After a fast start to the season, San Francisco’s defense has struggled during the recent losing streak. The Niners had no sacks on 45 pass attempts in a loss to Minnesota in Week 7 and were picked apart last week by Joe Burrow and Cincinnati.
They hope the addition of Young to a defensive line that already includes Bosa; defensive tackles Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead; and recently acquired edge rusher Randy Gregory will help San Francisco return to its dominant form.
Young is the second defensive end traded away by Washington on Tuesday. The Commanders earlier shipped Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears for a 2024 second-round draft pick, a person with knowledge of the trade said on condition of anonymity because neither team had announced that deal.
VIKINGS GET QB JOSHUA DOBBS IN DEADLINE DEAL WITH CARDINALS IN FALLOUT FROM COUSINS INJURY
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Minnesota Vikings agreed to acquire quarterback Joshua Dobbs in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals in the hours before the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, adding another player with starting experience following the season-ending injury to Kirk Cousins.
The deal was pending completion of a physical for Dobbs, who was acquired on Aug. 24 by the Cardinals in a trade with Cleveland. The Vikings will send a 2024 sixth-round draft pick to the Cardinals and receive a conditional 2024 seventh-rounder with Dobbs in return.
“This immediate solution that we found provides us with a really quality player at a time when we were able to go out and get that player without potentially leaving the world of the future,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said.
The Vikings (4-4) also reached an agreement with Jacksonville to trade left guard Ezra Cleveland for a 2024 sixth-round draft pick, pending completion of a physical for Cleveland with the Jaguars. The pick coming to Minnesota originally belonged to Carolina.
Dobbs, who was a fourth-round draft pick out of Tennessee in 2017 by Pittsburgh, will join his seventh team in seven seasons. The 28-year-old started all eight games for the Cardinals (1-7), as a fill-in while Kyler Murray recovers from a knee injury. Murray’s return is imminent after his return to practice on Oct. 18, which was part of the reason why Dobbs was expendable.
For now, rookie Jaren Hall will lead the huddle for the Vikings. The fifth-round draft pick from BYU took over in the fourth quarter in Green Bay after Cousins tore his right Achilles tendon and will make his first career start at Atlanta on Sunday.
“Hopefully Jaren goes out and plays great on Sunday and there’s a lot to build off of there. We’re still going to prepare Josh Dobbs like he’s not only one snap away, but just as we move forward, what gives us the best possible chance to win,” O’Connell said. “We feel comfortable with the depth in that room now, and we can continue to press onward.”
Dobbs had decent moments with the rebuilding Cardinals, particularly during the first three weeks, while passing for 1,569 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s also rushed for 258 yards, the third most in the league among quarterbacks, and three scores.
Dobbs has also spent time with Jacksonville, Detroit and Cleveland. His best quality might be his intelligence, having picked up the offense quickly after arriving in Arizona just two weeks before the regular season started. While setting Volunteers program records for rushing yards and touchdowns by a quarterback, Dobbs also majored in aerospace engineering at Tennessee.
That bodes well for his transition to the Vikings, whose most-experienced in-house option without Cousins was Nick Mullens, who’s currently sidelined by a back injury. The Vikings placed Cousins on injured reserve on Tuesday to create an active roster spot. Mullens has been on the list three of the minimum four weeks, as has superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
Cleveland, a second-round draft pick in 2020 who will be a free agent next spring, has missed the past two games with a foot injury. Newcomer Dalton Risner has played well in his place, making Cleveland expendable, and Blake Brandel is a trusted backup.
The AFC North-leading Jaguars have had a revolving door at left guard this season, switching from Ben Bartch to Walker Little and then most recently to Tyler Shatley. Little is expected to retake the starting job next week after the bye, with Cleveland providing depth. Jaguars offensive line coach Phil Rauscher also coached Cleveland in his first two years in Minnesota.
Though the job just got immensely more difficult without Cousins, whom the Vikings believed was playing the best football of his 12-year career, there’s still hope for staying in contention with Hall considering how effective the defense has been lately and a recent improvement in pass protection. Hall also has a reputed play-caller and quarterback tutor in O’Connell.
“If we go about things the right way there’ll be tremendous opportunity for growth on a play-to-play, drive-to-drive and hopefully game-to-game basis that will allow us to watch Jaren grow before our very eyes,” O’Connell said. “I think he’s physically capable. I think he’s mentally capable. I think he’s made up of the right stuff.”
For all the mystery around Minnesota’s long-term plan at quarterback, O’Connell in a news conference after the trade for Dobbs on Tuesday made the team’s most pronounced suggestion yet that Cousins could well come back next year despite his expiring contract.
“Kirk Cousins is going to be healthy again. I know he’s going to be a free agent after this season, but Kirk knows how I feel about him and that’ll be something that hopefully will work itself out,” O’Connell said. “Kirk knows how I feel about Kirk. I think he was playing as well as anybody in the National Football League.”
BEARS ACQUIRE MONTEZ SWEAT FROM THE COMMANDERS FOR A 2024 2ND-ROUND PICK, AP SOURCE SAYS
(AP) — The Chicago Bears acquired pass rusher Montez Sweat from the Washington Commanders for a 2024 second-round draft pick, a person with knowledge of the trade told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Tuesday because neither team had announced the deal.
In Sweat, Chicago gets a disruptive defender with a pattern of consistent production. He has 6 1/2 sacks this season and 35 1/2 to go along with 197 tackles since Washington drafted him in the first round in 2019.
Sweat, 27, is in the final year of his rookie contract and looks primed for a big payday in free agency, whether it’s with the Bears or elsewhere.
The move is the first selloff by the Commanders, who are 3-5 after losing five of six since starting the season with back-to-back victories. Chase Young, the 2020 No. 2 pick and Defensive Rookie of the Year, also is a candidate to be traded, along with backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett and running back Antonio Gibson as new ownership looks to jump-start a rebuild.
Sweat won’t be part of the future in Washington after the front office already committed big money to defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne and could do the same with Young, a local product who was once considered the new face of the franchise.
After a 38-31 loss Sunday to Philadelphia, Sweat said his agent was keeping him abreast of any trade talks.
“Anything can happen, but I can only control what I can,” Sweat said, acknowledging the possibility of being moved. “Yeah, that thought goes across your mind, but you hate to think like that.”
Coach Ron Rivera, in his fourth season in charge of Washington’s football operations, refused Monday to discuss anything related to the trade deadline, including hypothetically who would step into a starting role of Sweat or Young were no longer around. That figures to be veteran Casey Toohill, who has four sacks this season.
REPORT: PACKERS TRADE CB RASUL DOUGLAS TO BILLS
The Buffalo Bills acquired veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas and a fifth-round draft pick from the Green Bay Packers in exchange for a third-rounder on Tuesday, NFL Network reported.
Douglas, 29, heads to an AFC contender that lacked cornerback depth after Tre’Davious White suffered a torn Achilles and was lost for the season.
The Bills will be Douglas’ fourth team since entering the league in 2017 as a third-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles. He has 15 career interceptions to go with 354 tackles, 66 pass breakups and two forced fumbles over 96 career games for the Eagles (2017-19), Carolina Panthers (2020), Packers and Bills.
Douglas had one interception, one fumble recovery and 32 tackles in seven starts for the Packers (2-5) this season.
Green Bay is in rebuilding mode in Jordan Love’s first year at starting quarterback in place of Aaron Rodgers, while Buffalo (5-3) is in the thick of the AFC East race despite up-and-down performances.
BROWNS SEND WR DONOVAN PEOPLES-JONES TO LIONS
The Detroit Lions bolstered their wide receiver corps Tuesday, acquiring Donovan Peoples-Jones from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2025.
Peoples-Jones, 24, has eight catches for 97 yards in seven games this season for the Browns, who drafted him in the sixth round of the 2020 draft.
“We feel like he fits our style,” Lions coach Dan Campbell told reporters. “He’s smart and he can play multiple positions. … We just felt like he’d be a good fit for the team and the room.”
In four seasons with Cleveland, Peoples-Jones has 117 catches for 1,837 yards and eight touchdowns. His best season was 2022, with 61 catches for 839 yards and three touchdowns.
Lions general manager Brad Holmes said he talked with Peoples-Jones, who played for the University of Michigan, earlier Tuesday and that the organization is pleased with the move.
“We’re excited about the kid,” Holmes said of Peoples-Jones. “He’s had good production in the past. He’ll be a good fit here. He’s a high-character kid. …
“He’s from Detroit. He’s a local kid. I think he’ll be very, very happy. I just talked to the kid. He’s fired up about getting this process going.”
The Lions, who beat the Las Vegas Raiders 26-14 Monday night, are off this weekend before meeting the Chargers Nov. 12 in Los Angeles.
STEELERS QB KENNY PICKETT SAYS HE’S PLAYING ‘FOR SURE’ AGAINST TITANS DESPITE RIB INJURY
PITTSBURGH (AP) Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett plans to play against Tennessee on Thursday night despite a rib injury that forced him to sit out the second half of a loss to Jacksonville on Sunday.
Pickett said he “for sure” will be on the field when Pittsburgh (4-3) hosts the Titans (3-4). The second-year starter watched the final two quarters against the Jaguars from afar after getting drilled by Jacksonville defensive end Adam Gotsis.
Gotsis hit Pickett in the left side of the chest and then drove him into the ground in the waning moments of the first half. Pickett sat on the soggy Acrisure Stadium turf for several minutes before slowly walking off. He came out to warm up for the second half, but then went back to the training room while backup Mitch Trubisky took over.
“(I was) doing what I could to try and go back out there,” Pickett said. “I felt like I couldn’t throw it the way I needed to throw it to win so just listened to what the doctors said.”
Asked if the play deserved a flag for unnecessary roughness, Pickett shrugged.
“You know, I’ve had a couple where I feel like I was going to get some (calls) but I haven’t gotten them yet,” he said. “It is what it is, I’ve just got to keep playing.”
The biggest issue for Pickett will be pain management, particularly on a short week. He did some “light” throwing on Tuesday and could be more involved in Wednesday’s walkthrough. The only sure way for the ribs to heal is to rest, not an option with Pittsburgh playing twice in five days.
“We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do to play,” Pickett said.
Pittsburgh’s offense has spent most of the first two months of the season essentially running in place. The Steelers are near the bottom of the league in every major statistical category, including points (29th) and yards (30th).
While offensive coordinator Matt Canada has come under heavy criticism, Pickett believes the issue isn’t the game plan, but the inability to execute with any sort of consistency.
Wide receiver Diontae Johnson dropped a pass down the middle of the field on the first play against Jacksonville and later saw a potential touchdown slip away when Pickett’s pass to the end zone went behind him because of what Pickett described as a “miscommunication.”
“It’s not about scripting, it’s not about anything,” Pickett said. “It’s about us playing and being better than what we’re doing right now. It’s not where it needs to be and it has to get better.”
The Steelers used a run-heavy approach over the second half of last season to take some of the pressure off Pickett during his rookie season. Asked if his injury makes it even more important for Pittsburgh to be able to run the ball effectively, Pickett shook his head.
“I’m not going to use (the ribs) as a crutch,” he said. “We’ve got to play well.”
Pickett does plan to use a flak jacket, something he’s used regularly throughout his career. He called the timing of the injury – which came with Pittsburgh finally starting to gain some momentum – “frustrating” but part of the game.
“I’ve been doing it for a little bit, it is what it is,” he said. “You’ve just got to be available and get ready to go on Thursday night.”
JETS ADD FREE AGENT RODGER SAFFOLD TO HELP BANGED-UP O-LINE
The New York Jets signed veteran guard Rodger Saffold to their practice squad among a number of other roster moves Tuesday.
Saffold, 35, has yet to play this season after back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons with the Tennessee Titans (2021) and Buffalo Bills (2022). Amid a number of injuries on the offensive line, New York intends to promote Saffold to the active roster, ESPN reported.
Saffold started 173 of his 176 career NFL games for the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams (2010-18), Titans (2019-21) and Bills. He was a second-team All-Pro selection in 2017.
The Jets also signed defensive lineman Tanzel Smart and offensive lineman Dennis Kelly to their active roster, added defensive lineman Jalyn Holmes to the practice squad and placed center Connor McGovern, guard/center Wes Schweitzer and defensive tackle Al Woods on injured reserve.
Jets coach Robert Saleh said on Monday that McGovern (dislocated kneecap) and Schweitzer (calf) have a chance to return this season. Woods tore his Achilles and is out for the year.
McGovern left Sunday’s win over the New York Giants in the second quarter. Schweitzer slid over from right guard to replace him at center before exiting with his own injury.
Fourth-string offensive lineman Xavier Newman, elevated from the practice squad for the game, ended up playing 72 percent of the offensive snaps. The Jets entered the game without guard/backup center Joe Tippman (quad).
REPORTS: JAGUARS ACQUIRE G EZRA CLEVELAND FROM VIKINGS
The Jacksonville Jaguars are acquiring left guard Ezra Cleveland from the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick, multiple reports said Tuesday.
Cleveland, 25, missed the past two weeks with a foot injury, and former Denver Broncos starter Dalton Risner has held down the position in Minnesota.
Cleveland was a second-round draft pick by the Vikings in 2020, and he started all 17 games in both 2021 and 2022. He has made 53 appearances (49 starts) in his three-plus years in the NFL.
The AFC South-leading Jaguars (6-2) moved to add an option on the interior line, while the Vikings (4-4) recovered a sixth-round pick after sending one to the Arizona Cardinals earlier in the day for quarterback Josh Dobbs.
NFL PREVIEW: THE STARTING 11 – WEEK 9 FEATURES THREE SHOWDOWNS PAIRING TEAMS WITH TWO-OR-FEWER LOSSES
NEW YORK — Oct. 31, 2023 — As Neil Sadaka once said, breaking up is hard to do.
That’s especially true in the NFL, where a logjam of two- and three-loss teams enters Week 9 jockeying for ground. But as calendars flip to November this week, the league will start to see which teams can separate from the rest.
And for teams with two or three losses, victories in Week 9 mean significantly better postseason odds. Since 1990:
- 123 of the 145 teams with two losses through Week 9 went on to make the playoffs (84.8 percent).
- 116 of the 183 teams with three losses through Week 9 went on to make the playoffs (63.4 percent).
- 66 of the 197 teams with four losses through Week 9 went on to make the playoffs (33.5 percent).
Speaking of two-loss teams, the 2023 edition of Week 9 has a trio of marquee matchups. Three pairings on this week’s schedule feature teams with two-or-fewer losses, the most such games in an individual week this late in a season since Week 9 of 2020 (also three).
Two of the four teams tied for the AFC’s best record, KANSAS CITY (6-2) and MIAMI (6-2), will play the league’s first regular-season game in Frankfurt on Sunday (9:30 a.m. ET, NFLN). Meanwhile, back in the United States, BALTIMORE (6-2) hosts SEATTLE (5-2) in an interconference clash of first-place teams on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS). Then, in the late-afternoon window Sunday, PHILADELPHIA (7-1) puts the NFL’s best record on the line in an NFC East battle with DALLAS (5-2) at Lincoln Financial Field (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX).
Trust us and take advantage of that extra hour of sleep Saturday night. It’s another early Sunday morning in the NFL. And following those three games, along with extra courses of comebacks and fantastic finishes, you’ll be grateful you got some extra rest.
The Starting 11 entering Week 9…
1. FROM SHOWDOWNS TO SUPER BOWLS: MIAMI (6-2) meets KANSAS CITY (6-2) in Frankfurt, Germany, to kick off Sunday (9:30 a.m. ET, NFLN). Showdowns involving teams with two-or-fewer losses in the last half of the season are not rare – there have been six such matchups in Week 9 or later over the last three seasons. What is rare, however, is teams playing in those games and not winning the Super Bowl. Three of the last four such games produced a Super Bowl winner: The 5-2 Chiefs beat the 5-2 Titans in 2022 and went on to win Super Bowl LVII, the 7-1 Rams lost to the 6-2 Titans in 2021 and went on to win Super Bowl LVI, and the 6-2 Buccaneers lost to the 5-2 Saints in 2020 and went on to win Super Bowl LV. Overtime isn’t rare, either. The last two games pairing teams with two-or-fewer losses in Week 9 or later ended in the extra stanza: Minnesota (7-1) pulled out a 33-30 win at Buffalo (6-2) and Kansas City (5-2) beat Tennessee (5-2) – both in 2022.
- Frankfurt Stadium will become the 191st venue to host a regular-season or postseason NFL game since the league began play in 1920.
- Both Kansas City and Miami have played outside the United States in recent years. Kansas City’s last international game was a victory over the Chargers in Mexico City, Nov. 18, 2019. Overall, the Chiefs are 2-0 in international regular-season games, including a 2015 win over Detroit at London’s Wembley Stadium. Miami played in the NFL’s second-ever regular-season international game – the first on the European continent – against the New York Giants at Wembley in 2007. The Dolphins, who are 2-4 all-time outside the U.S., also played a 2008 game in Toronto, and four more times in London (2014, 2015, 2017 and 2021).
- Miami leads the NFL with 33.9 points per game. Meanwhile, the Kansas City defense ranks second in the NFL, allowing just 16.1 points per game.
- The Dolphins (6-2) are off to their best start since they were also 6-2 in 2001. With a win on Sunday, Miami would have its best record through nine games since the club began 7-2 in 2000.
- Dolphins quarterback TUA TAGOVAILOA leads the NFL in passing yards (2,416) and passer rating (108.8), and is tied for the league lead with 18 touchdown passes.
- Both Miami and Kansas City get their bye weeks following this game. Tagovailoa has started two career games entering a bye, winning both contests. Chiefs quarterback PATRICK MAHOMES is 4-1 in five career starts entering bye weeks, having won four straight. His only setback in those contests was a 54-51 road loss to the Los Angeles Rams in 2018.
- In the quarterbacks’ only previous meeting, at Hard Rock Stadium on Dec. 13, 2020, the Chiefs held off the Dolphins’ fourth-quarter comeback to win, 33-27. Both Mahomes (393) and Tagovailoa (316) passed for 300 yards and two touchdowns.
- Last week, Miami wide receiver TYREEK HILL had eight receptions for 112 yards and one touchdown. With an NFL-leading 1,014 receiving yards this season, Hill is the first player in 62 years and fourth in NFL history with 1,000 receiving yards in his team’s first eight games of a season, joining CHARLIE HENNIGAN (1,122 in 1961) as well as Pro Football Hall of Famers ELROY “CRAZY LEGS” HIRSCH (1,058 in 1951) and DON HUTSON (1,032 in 1942). Hill is on pace for 2,155 receiving yards (Pro Football Hall of Famer CALVIN JOHNSON holds the single-season NFL record, 1,964 in 2012).
2. NUMBER OF THE WEEK – 85: Last season, 203 NFL games – more than any season in league annals – were within one score in the fourth quarter. This year, the league has picked up where it left off. Through eight weeks, 85 of 122 games (69.7 percent) have been within one score in the final stanza. Only two prior seasons in league history (94 in 2022 and 88 in 2016) have had more entering Week 9. Since Monday Night Football in Week 6, 36 of the last 45 NFL games have been separated by just one possession in the fourth quarter.
3. SEASON’S MIDPOINT IN VIEW: When the LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (3-4) meet the NEW YORK JETS (4-3) at MetLife Stadium on Monday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC), the NFL will reach the midway point of the 2023 season. Beginning in Week 10, 136 of 272 games will remain on the regular-season schedule.
- Last week, the Chargers’ AUSTIN EKELER became the third running back since 2000 to reach 30 career touchdown receptions, joining DARREN SPROLES (32) and BRIAN WESTBROOK (30).
- With a minimum of 125 attempts, the Jets’ BREECE HALL has established the best yards-per-carry average (5.73) over a running back’s first 14 NFL games among those who began their careers since the 1970 league merger, slightly ahead of MAURICE JONES-DREW (5.66) and ADRIAN PETERSON (5.63).
4. SPOTLIGHT – INDIVIDUAL MATCHUP: Dallas cornerback DARON BLAND and Eagles wide receiver A.J. BROWN are arguably the NFL’s hottest players at their respective positions over the last month. They’ll be on the same field when DALLAS (5-2) visits PHILADELPHIA (7-1) on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX).
- In last week’s win, Bland returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown and became the third player ever with three interception-return touchdowns in his team’s first seven games of a season, joining safety DARREN SHARPER (2009) and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker DERRICK BROOKS (2002). Led by Bland, the first player in Cowboys franchise history to return three interceptions for touchdowns in a season, Dallas leads the league with four defensive touchdowns.
- For the Eagles in Week 8, Brown had eight receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first player in NFL history with 125 receiving yards in six consecutive games. Since Week 3, Brown leads the NFL with 831 receiving yards.
- When Dallas has the ball, wide receiver CEEDEE LAMB will look to build on a career-best performance. Last week, Lamb posted career highs in catches (12) and receiving yards (158) while matching his career best with two touchdown receptions. Prior to that effort, no player in Dallas franchise history had reached 12 receptions, 150 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a game.
- Philadelphia has started a season 7-1 or better for a second consecutive season and the ninth time in franchise history. In the Eagles’ previous five such seasons, they reached the Super Bowl four times: 2022, 2017, 2004 and 1980 (the team lost in the first round of the 1981 playoffs). The Eagles also began 7-1 in 1949, 1960 and 1961, winning NFL championships in both 1949 and 1960.
- Eagles quarterback JALEN HURTS passed for 319 yards and four touchdowns with a 135.7 rating in last week’s win. Hurts became only the fifth player in NFL history to eclipse 10,000 passing yards (10,046) and 2,000 rushing yards (2,178) in his first four seasons, joining JOSH ALLEN, KYLER MURRAY, CAM NEWTON and RUSSELL WILSON.
- Philadelphia’s opponents over its next six games – DALLAS (5-2), KANSAS CITY (6-2), BUFFALO (5-3), SAN FRANCISCO (5-3), DALLAS (5-2) and SEATTLE (5-2) – have a combined .689 winning percentage (31-14).
5. SPOTLIGHT – TEAM MATCHUP: Keep an eye on the turnover margin when BUFFALO (5-3) and CINCINNATI (4-3) face off at Paycor Stadium on Sunday Night Football (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC). The Bills enter the week tied for the third-most takeaways (14) in the NFL this season. The Bengals enter tied for the league’s second-fewest giveaways (six). Since Week 3, Cincinnati is 4-1 and owns a share of the NFL’s best turnover margin (plus-six).
- Buffalo’s JOSH ALLEN has 43 career rushing touchdowns, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer STEVE YOUNG for second on the NFL’s all-time list among quarterbacks. Only CAM NEWTON (75) has more.
- His favorite target has been wide receiver STEFON DIGGS, who leads the NFL this season with 64 receptions.
- In last week’s win, Cincinnati’s JOE BURROW completed 28 of 32 attempts (87.5 percent) for 283 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions for a 134.8 rating. Burrow has 16 career games with at least three touchdown passes, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer PEYTON MANNING (16) and DAK PRESCOTT (16) for the fifth-most such games by a quarterback in his first four seasons in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famers DAN MARINO (27) and KURT WARNER (21) as well as JUSTIN HERBERT (18, in his fourth season) and PATRICK MAHOMES (21) have more.
6. STREAK SPEAK: Ravens quarterback LAMAR JACKSON has won his last five starts against NFC opponents. Overall, he’s 17-1 in his career against the NFC. This week, Jackson and BALTIMORE (6-2) host the NFC West’s first-place team, SEATTLE (5-2), on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
- Safety GENO STONE, the Ravens’ final selection in the seventh round (219th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft, enters this week leading the league with five interceptions.
- Stone and the Ravens face another Geno this week, Seattle quarterback GENO SMITH. Since Smith became the Seahawks’ starting quarterback last season, he leads the NFL with a 69.1 completion percentage (551 completions, 797 attempts).
- Seahawks rookies JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA and JAKE BOBO have each scored touchdowns in two consecutive games, while second-year linebacker BOYE MAFE has recorded a sack in five consecutive contests, the longest active streak in the NFL.
- As a team, Baltimore leads the NFL with 31 sacks and 15.1 points per game allowed. The last NFL team to lead the league in those two categories over a full season was the 2010 AFC Champion PITTSBURGH STEELERS.
- As a team, Seattle has allowed just 12.5 points per game since Week 4, the NFL’s best mark in that span.
7. DID YOU KNOW?: The Steelers are 5-1 in primetime when KENNY PICKETT starts at quarterback. And fittingly, PITTSBURGH (4-3) plays in the first November game on the 2023 NFL schedule, hosting TENNESSEE (3-4) on Thursday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video). Over the last six seasons, the Steelers are 16-5-1 (.750) in November games, third in the NFL behind Kansas City and New England (both 16-5, .762).
- Tennessee rookie quarterback WILL LEVIS, making his first career start in last week’s win, completed 19 of 29 attempts (65.5 percent) for 238 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions for a 130.5 rating. Levis became the third player in NFL history with four touchdown passes in his NFL debut, joining MARCUS MARIOTA (Sept. 13, 2015) and Pro Football Hall of Famer FRAN TARKENTON (Sept. 17, 1961). Levis (130.5) also recorded the second-highest passer rating ever (minimum 25 pass attempts) by a player in his NFL debut, trailing only ROBERT GRIFFIN III (139.9 rating on Sept. 9, 2012).
- Seven rookie quarterbacks have started an NFL game this year, more than any season since the 1970 league merger through eight weeks (excluding the strike season of 1987). That number of rookies to start a game might rise to nine this week should Minnesota’s JAREN HALL and Arizona’s CLAYTON TUNE start on Sunday.
8. UNDER-THE-RADAR STORYLINE: Cardinals head coach JONATHAN GANNON returns this week to Northeast Ohio, where he was born, when ARIZONA (1-7) travels to CLEVELAND (4-3) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS). Gannon starred as a three-sport athlete at Cleveland’s St. Ignatius High School, helping the Wildcats to state titles in both football and basketball. His Arizona offensive coordinator, DREW PETZING, began his NFL career as an intern for the Browns in 2013 and also served on Cleveland’s coaching staff each of the past three seasons (2020-22).
9. TREND TIME: ATLANTA (4-4) looks to rebound this week at home against MINNESOTA (4-4) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, FOX). The Falcons are tied atop the NFC South with NEW ORLEANS (4-4), which hosts CHICAGO (2-6) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS). Both the Falcons and Saints are bidding to become the latest NFL teams to complete a worst-to-first turnaround after finishing tied for last in the 2022 division standings. JACKSONVILLE clinched the AFC South in 2022 after finishing last in the division in 2021. In 18 of the past 20 seasons, at least one team has finished in first place the year after finishing last or tied for last. Since 1990 – a streak of 33 consecutive seasons – at least four teams every season have qualified for the playoffs after failing to make the postseason the year before. Seven teams that missed the postseason in 2021 – BALTIMORE, JACKSONVILLE, the LOS ANGELES CHARGERS, MIAMI, MINNESOTA, the NEW YORK GIANTS and SEATTLE – accomplished the feat in 2022. What’s more, in 19 of the past 20 years, at least two teams have won their divisions the season after missing the playoffs.
- Minnesota wide receiver JORDAN ADDISION ranks second in the league with seven touchdown receptions, on pace for 14 over a 17-game season. Pro Football Hall of Famer RANDY MOSS holds the single-season NFL record for touchdown catches by a rookie, with 17 for the Vikings in 1998. Since that season, only three rookies have posted 12-or-more touchdown receptions: JA’MARR CHASE (13 in 2021), ODELL BECKHAM JR. (12 in 2014) and MIKE EVANS (12 in 2014).
- Vikings linebacker DANIELLE HUNTER leads the NFL with 10 sacks and 12 tackles for loss this season.
10. NEXT GEN STAT OF THE WEEK: This past week, Seattle running back KENNETH WALKER hit a max speed of 21.56 MPH, the fastest in the NFL for Week 8, on a 45-yard carry in the first quarter. Also on that play, Walker sustained a speed of 21.4 MPH, also a league-best in Week 8. Walker’s speed on that snap trails only Miami running back DE’VON ACHANE and wide receiver TYREEK HILL for fastest sustained speeds on a play this season (both Achane and Hill have two of the top four sustained speeds).
11. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST: MIKE SHANAHAN oversaw a 2012 Washington coaching staff that featured four future NFL head coaches: Offensive coordinator KYLE SHANAHAN, quarterbacks coach MATT LAFLEUR, offensive assistant MIKE MCDANIEL and tight ends coach SEAN MCVAY. On Sunday, McVay leads the LOS ANGELES RAMS (3-5) into GREEN BAY (2-5) against LaFleur for a Lambeau Field matinee (1 p.m. ET, FOX).
- Rams rookie wide receiver PUKA NACUA has 61 receptions this season, surpassing SAQUON BARKLEY (58 in 2018) for the most by a player in his first eight career games in NFL history. Nacua also has 795 receiving yards and surpassed JA’MARR CHASE (786 in 2021) for the most by a player in his first eight games in the Super Bowl era.
- Los Angeles defensive tackle AARON DONALD recorded two sacks in Week 8 and now has 10 tackles for loss this season. Donald is the second player since 2000 to record at least 10 tackles for loss in each of his first 10 seasons, joining JARED ALLEN.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS
OHIO STATE, GEORGIA, MICHIGAN, FLORIDA STATE ARE TOP 4 IN FIRST COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS
(AP) — Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan and Florida State sat atop the season’s first College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night, with unbeaten Washington and its Pac-12 rival, Oregon, next up.
Texas was seventh and Alabama eighth.
The Buckeyes (8-0) are No. 1 in for the fourth time in the 10-year history of the CFP, and first time since 2019.
Two-time defending champion Georgia (8-0) and Michigan (8-0) have been Nos. 1 and 2 in The Associated Press college football poll since the preseason, but schedules light on big-time competition to this point worked against them with the 13-member selection committee.
The Wolverines head into the final month of the season with the program being investigated by the NCAA for a sign-stealing scheme that allegedly involved impermissible in-person scouting.
Florida State (8-0) is in the CFP top-four for the first time since the 2014 season.
The first of six rankings sets the table for a month of scrutiny on the top teams and their performances.
The final rankings will be released Dec. 3, after the conference championship games, and those set the four-team playoff field, with semifinals at the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl ahead of the national championship game on Jan. 8 in Houston.
This is the final season of the four-team format before the playoff expands to 12 teams next season.
Four is the magic number for now and rarely in the nine previous years of the playoff have all four teams in the initial rankings actually made it to the playoff.
Last year, Tennessee was the committee’s first No. 1, followed by Ohio State, Georgia and Clemson. Only the Bulldogs and Buckeyes made the playoff.
Overall, 21 of the 36 teams (58%) that have appeared in the first CFP rankings of a season have made the playoff.
Among the 36 teams that have made the playoff in nine years, 29 started in the top six.
The longest climb to the CFP was Ohio State in 2014, when the Buckeyes were 16th in the committee’s first ranking. Oklahoma was No. 15 in the first rankings in 2015 and made the playoff.
Just once have the initial CFP rankings revealed the eventual playoff field. That was 2020, the pandemic season, which was far from normal in so many ways.
OHIO STATE RB MIYAN WILLIAMS LOST FOR THE SEASON DUE TO INJURY. WR EMEKA EGBUKA (ANKLE) PRACTICING
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) An injury requiring surgery has put an end to the season for Ohio State running back Miyan Williams, coach Ryan Day said Tuesday.
Day declined to discuss specifics of Williams’ injury.
The fourth-year back was unavailable for the third-ranked Buckeyes (8-0) last Saturday at Wisconsin with no explanation. The previous week he rushed for a season-high 62 yards and a touchdown in the win over Penn State.
“Miyan’s done a lot of great things for us,” Day said. “It’s a big hit for the team.”
Williams and No. 1 back TreVeyon Henderson have battled injuries in their Ohio State careers, including this season.
Henderson returned after missing three games and was terrific against Wisconsin, rushing for 162 yards and a touchdown and adding four pass receptions for 45 yards.
He and Williams were expected to be a combo this season, but they have rarely been available at the same time.
The Buckeyes are nursing some other key injuries.
Quarterback Kyle McCord was limping on his left ankle after last week’s game. Day said McCord showed “toughness” playing through the injury. He didn’t say how that could affect his availability for Saturday’s game at Rutgers.
Receiver Emeka Egbuka, who has missed three games with an ankle injury, was healthy enough to play last week but was held out as a precaution, Day said. Egbuka is practicing this week.
Starting safety Lathan Ransom was injured in last week’s game, but Day said it’s not clear yet how long he will be out.
Backup quarterback Devin Brown was expected to return to practice in some capacity this week after suffering an ankle injury in a pile up at the goal line in the Oct. 21 win over Penn State.
“Once you get to November, that’s what’s going to happen,” Day said. “You got to play depth, and guys got work through those types of things.”
REPORT: ALLEGED MICHIGAN SIGN-STEALER ON SIDELINE AT BIG TEN OPPONENT GAME
Officials at Central Michigan are reviewing photos that could be of Connor Stalions — a Michigan staff member at the center of a potential sign-stealing scandal — roaming the sidelines in the season opener at Michigan State, ESPN reported Tuesday.
Central Michigan athletic director Amy Folan told ESPN via a prepared statement that the school learned of the photos Monday night. The man in the pictures, who looks like Stalions, is dressed in Central Michigan attire and has on a bench credential as he stands on the sidelines, per the report.
His pass gives him access to areas of the sidelines reserved for players and specific staff members, including coaches.
“We are in the process of determining the facts surrounding them,” Folan said in the statement. “As this process is ongoing, we have no further comment at this time.”
The NCAA is investigating Michigan for violating rules regarding off-campus scouting of upcoming foes, with Stalions the alleged ringleader of a sign-stealing operation.
Michigan suspended Stalions with pay earlier this month, and head coach Jim Harbaugh denied knowledge of any wrongdoing.
ESPN reported Tuesday that it had obtained photos that showed a man in sunglasses holding what looked like a play sheet that he held near his face, although he still was caught by the television cameras.
While Stalions reportedly bought tickets to a variety of games featuring opponents the Wolverines could face, ESPN said the Central Michigan photos would place him on the field of a game involving a Michigan opponent for the first time.
Michigan State lost to Michigan 49-0 on Oct. 21.
On Monday, Harbaugh pushed back against multiple reports that a contract extension offer was being withdrawn, or at least put on hold, due to the ongoing sign-stealing investigation, telling reporters he “wouldn’t say that’s accurate.”
He added it is against policy to talk about ongoing contract negotiations.
The No. 2 Wolverines (8-0) host Purdue on Saturday.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL NEWS
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW TOP 25: #10 FLORIDA ATLANTIC
| 2022-23: | 35-4, 18-2 (1st, C-USA) |
| NCAA TOURNAMENT – FINAL FOUR | |
| Location: | Boca Raton, FL |
| Coach: | DUSTY MAY (6th Season) |
| Homecourt: | FAU Arena (2,500) |
| Key Departures: | MICHAEL FORREST (8.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.6 apg) |
| Key Newcomers: | DEVIN VANTERPOOL (freshman, Christ the King) |
| JAKEL POWELL (freshman, Raleigh Christian) |
ROSTER
| # | Player | Pos. | Listed | Year | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3PT% | |
| 2 | Nick Boyd | G | 6-3 | R-So. | 23.7 | 8.9 | 4.3 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 44.9 | 40.0 | |
| 4 | Bryan Greenlee | G | 6-0 | Sr. | 24.7 | 7.3 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 41.6 | 40.4 | |
| 15 | Alijah Martin | G | 6-2 | Jr. | 26.4 | 13.4 | 5.3 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 43.8 | 37.2 | |
| 1 | Johnell Davis | G | 6-4 | Jr. | 26 | 13.8 | 5.4 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 48.6 | 35.7 | |
| 50 | Vladislav Goldin | C | 7-1 | Jr. | 20.9 | 10.2 | 6.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 62.5 | – | |
| 12 | Jalen Gaffney | G | 6-3 | Sr. | 22.4 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 32.9 | 33.0 | |
| 3 | Giancarlo Rosado | F | 6-8 | Jr. | 16.8 | 5.8 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 63.5 | – | |
| 23 | Brandon Weatherspoon | G | 6-4 | Sr. | 15.9 | 5.0 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 38.9 | 33.1 | |
| 5 | Isaiah Gaines | F | 6-8 | Jr. | 5.6 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 61.5 | 100.0 | |
| 25 | Tre Carroll | F | 6-7 | R-So. | 5.7 | 3.4 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 64.1 | 54.5 | |
| 0 | Brenen Lorient | F | 6-9 | So. | 3.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 53.8 | – | |
| Jakel Powell | G | 6-5 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Devin Vanterpool | G | 6-4 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
FROM THE COACH
“It’s our balance and our sacrifice. Those are the two things that allow us to be unique. Very few teams will give up shots the way our guys will…we had a long stretch where our two best players came off the bench because we got hot. That sacrifice lets us be who we are.”
—Dusty May
THE SCOOP
Let’s see, what is the state of FAU basketball…oh, a Final Four participant? The first 30-win season in school history (and just the second 20-win season)? On top of that, the coach stayed put, nobody transferred, and the Owls are stepping into the American with a legitimate national contender in place?
Pretty, pretty good.
It starts with Dusty May, the brilliant coach who has found a home in south Florida. May would disagree with that assessment, however, quickly crediting his players for the boatloads of success the program has found. Even after 35 wins and kicking down the door to national relevance, no one at FAU is satisfied.
“Our players are just as hungry as they were last year, if not hungrier,” declared May. “Not a lot has changed. Just like every offseason, we did a deep dive autopsy on ourselves and figured out where we could get better.”
Just like a coach to dwell on the team’s few weak spots.
ROAD TO SUCCESS
The recipe for more victories in Boca Raton is simple: More of the same. With eight of the team’s nine primary contributors back, the hype is real. FAU has the horses to make another postseason charge.
What makes FAU special is its quality depth and versatility. At all times, May has four players on the court capable of making plays or launching from deep. The Owls also have a two-headed monster at center where each guy brings different strengths.
Perhaps nothing explains FAU better than beating Tennessee in a 58-possession slugfest, followed immediately by knocking off Kansas State in a 73-possession offensive exhibition. Put simply, these Owls can win in different ways.
“We’ve tried to add layers offensively every year,” explained May. “We want to be able to change our style game to game. So when you face opponents to take away certain things, we have the personnel and plan to adapt.”
Power wings Johnell “Nelly” Davis and Alijah Martin embody this malleability. Both players can score inside and out, they compete on the glass and they willingly defend bigger foes on a nightly basis. Their ability to play bigger than they are defensively generates myriad mismatch opportunities on the other end.
The craziest part? The two “stars” came off the bench in 20 and 14 games, respectively. It is hard to sum up the Owls’ unselfishness in a clearer way.
If defenses focus on those two, a cadre of other weapons are waiting to strike in May’s 4-out scheme. Nick Boyd hit the game-winner to beat Memphis in the NCAA Tournament’s First Round, and the savvy lefty has looked like a third all-conference gem in offseason workouts, per May. He and former UConn transfer Jalen Gaffney are the closest things to true point guards on the roster, but the Owls’ four-guard lineups allow for maximum positional interchangeability.
Bryan Greenlee is a sturdy combo scorer, and Brandon Weatherspoon brings a lot of the same fungibility as Davis and Martin. And freshmen Devin Vanterpool and Jakel Powell look like tremendous building blocks in the same mold – though both understand that minutes may be hard to come by as rookies.
The four-out alignment is particularly lethal thanks to the abilities of the “one-in” big men. Vlad Goldin is a powerful 7-footer with great feet – “he scores before he gets the ball,” said May. Conversely, Giancarlo Rosado is a sniper in the mid-range and excels in dribble handoff games with the guards. FAU can essentially field two different teams, depending which post player is on the floor.
That’s a lot of talk without mentioning the Owls’ defense, which finished 34th nationally in KenPom’s Adjusted Defensive Efficiency. FAU forces mid-range jumpers at one of the highest rates in the country, and the Owls are exceptionally sound positionally.
POTENTIAL POTHOLES
A couple of the potential speed bumps are obvious. Thanks to its newfound national prominence, FAU is playing a gauntlet of a schedule. The American brings its own set of new challenges, and the non-conference slate already features battles with Illinois, St. Bonaventure, Liberty, Charleston, Loyola Chicago and the ESPN Events Invitational.
Plus, after such a remarkable, headline-stealing season, the Owls will be the hunted — every foe will bring its best effort. They will not be sneaking up on anyone this year.
FAU also faces the challenge of keeping everyone happy. The players and coaches are saying the right things, but it is natural human instinct to want more shots, more playing time, more accolades — the staff must be wary of this potential concern.
On the floor, May harped on a few defensive keystones as areas of improvement.
“We need to defend the 3-point line better,” said the coach. “We’ve done it well in the past, but for whatever reason, we weren’t as sharp last year. We also gave up way too many baskets in transition.”
For as much speed as FAU consistently had on the floor, both of those are somewhat surprising. But that also means they are fixable with more focused effort and attention to detail.
The Owls are also stepping up in leagues, and the American could necessitate bigger lineups at times. Three forwards will compete for time, all of whom bring a slightly different style to the table.
Tre Carroll is the most gifted offensive player of the bunch, while rangy sophomore Brenen Lorient has stopper potential thanks to his considerable physical tools. Former junior college transfer Isaiah Gaines is the most rugged and physical of the trio, having nearly averaged a double-double at Northwest Mississippi CC.
Again, it is worth highlighting that all three players stayed in Boca Raton despite extremely limited playing time and a bevy of veterans returning to the rotation. That underscores the culture May has built — it sounds easy, it sounds like a cliché, but it does breed winning.
THE X-FACTOR
The Owls’ massive statistical leap in offensive turnover percentage fueled their overall surge in 2022-23. A year ago, May highlighted that as a serious problem; the 2021-22 squad was 251st nationally and 13th in Conference USA in that category. Last year, FAU jumped to 85th and 1st, respectively.
Maintaining that kind of care with the ball is vital, especially given the Owls’ other strengths.
“We need to be able to get shots off,” mandated May. “We have great shooters, and we’re good on the offensive glass. If we take care of it, that allows us to thrive (in those areas).”
Davis and Martin do a tremendous job of setting the tone on high usage, and both Boyd and Gaffney posted assist-to-turnover ratios north of 2.2-to-1.
May also expressed curiosity — not quite concern — at who would shoulder the scoring load off the bench. Michael Forrest is the only rotational mainstay to depart (graduation), but he was no small piece. The Owls’ second-leading scorer in program history, Forrest was a steady contributor capable of big outbursts when needed. He also exemplified the team’s overall willingness to sacrifice individual numbers to attain greater heights as a collective. His scoring dipped five ppg compared to 2021-22, but all he cared about was winning.
Greenlee is the obvious candidate to see a boost, and Weatherspoon likely has some untapped potential as well. Carroll is the wild card — his size and skill level out to the perimeter is one of the rare roster elements absent from last year’s core.
THE OUTLOOK
Like the coach and most of the rotation, these Owls are not going anywhere. Ranked as high as the top five by some prognosticators, FAU has a real chance to return to the college hoops promised land.
Davis and Martin are on NBA radars, and the rest of the roster complements their versatile skill sets well. Boyd could blossom into a third professional piece, and the Goldin/Rosado center duo is power conference caliber. FAU can win slugfests or shootouts, play at a snail’s pace or that of a cheetah. With that kind of flexibility, May’s group is the perfect postseason chameleon.
Sure, the change to the American and rise to household name status could generate challenges. But even after so much success last year, these Owls are eager to meet those barriers — and charge straight through them.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW TOP 25: #9 TENNESSEE
| 2022-23: | 25-11, 11-7 (T-4th, SEC) |
| NCAA TOURNAMENT – SWEET 16 | |
| Location: | KNOXVILLE, TN |
| Coach: | RICK BARNES (9th season) |
| Homecourt: | THOMPSON-BOLING ARENA (21,678) |
| Key Departures: | OLIVIER NKAMHOUA (10.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.0 apg) |
| JULIAN PHILLIPS (8.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg) | |
| TYREKE KEY (8.2 ppg) | |
| UROS PLAVSIC (4.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg) | |
| Key Newcomers: | DALTON KNECHT (transfer, Northern Colorado) |
| JUSTIN GAINEY (transfer, USC Upstate) | |
| FREDDIE DILIONE V (freshman, Word of God Academy, NC) | |
| JP ESTRELLA (freshman, Brewster Academy, ME) | |
| CAMERON CARR (freshman, Link Academy, MN) |
ROSTER
| # | Player | Pos. | Listed | Year | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3PT% | |
| 5 | Zakai Zeigler | G | 5-9 | Jr. | 28.7 | 10.7 | 2.7 | 5.4 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 37.5 | 31.1 | |
| 25 | Santiago Vescovi | G | 6-3 | RSr. | 32.9 | 12.5 | 4.6 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 39.6 | 37.0 | |
| 3 | Dalton Knecht* | G | 6-6 | 5th | 35.3 | 20.2 | 7.2 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 47.9 | 38.1 | |
| 30 | Josiah Jordan-James | G | 6-6 | 5th | 25.3 | 10.0 | 4.7 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 37.2 | 31.3 | |
| 11 | Tobe Awaka | F | 6-8 | So. | 10.3 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 59.2 | 0.0 | |
| 0 | Jonas Aidoo | F | 6-11 | Jr. | 18.3 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 50.7 | 27.8 | |
| 15 | Jahmai Mashack | G | 6-4 | Jr. | 18.1 | 4.7 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 42.0 | 31.4 | |
| 2 | Jordan Gainey* | G | 6-3 | Jr. | 31.8 | 15.2 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 39.3 | 34.5 | |
| 44 | D.J. Jefferson | G | 6-5 | R-Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 1 | Freddie Dilione V | G | 6-5 | R-Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 13 | JP Estrella | F | 6-11 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 43 | Cameron Carr | G | 6-5 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 12 | Cade Phillips | F | 6-9 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
FROM THE COACH
“Through our recruiting we improved our offensive skills. We expect those guys to live up to the expectation that we have defensively, but we felt this offseason we addressed our offensive needs. And we gotta get guys in the program better.”
—Rick Barnes
THE SCOOP
The report of Rick Barnes’ coaching demise was an exaggeration.
Barnes has been at Tennessee for the past eight seasons after leaving Texas. It took a couple of years for him to get it going, but the Vols have been no lower than a 5 seed in each of the past five NCAA Tournaments. They’ve reached the second weekend twice in that span, they won the SEC regular season title in 2018, the SEC Tournament in 2022 and just once in the past six years have they finished outside the top four in the SEC standings.
The Volunteer ascent to ‘consistent SEC power’ is, along with the growth at Alabama, Arkansas and Auburn, the major reason that the league has turned into one of the best in all of college basketball.
The days of the SEC being Kentucky and everyone else are long gone. The conference has sent, on average, half of its 14 league members dancing over the past five NCAA Tournaments. That doesn’t seem like it will change this year.
And neither will Tennessee’s place among the best in the league.
ROAD TO SUCCESS
Tennessee has developed an identity when it comes to its program and the brand of basketball it plays. The Vols guard. They’re tough, they’re physical, they’re old. They’ve finished top five in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom, in each of the past three seasons and top 10 in four of the past six years.
It shouldn’t be any different this season, not with Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi back for their super-senior season and Zakai Zeigler healthy.
James isn’t the best or most decorated player on the roster, but he’s the guy that sets the tone for what this program wants to be. At 6-6 and 230 pounds, he’s the kind of athlete that can quite literally guard any position at any point in any game.
“He has elite hands defensively, a great basketball IQ,” Barnes said of James. “And he’s had his best summer. He went through the NBA Draft process, which was great for him. He understands what he has to do to get better.”
The value isn’t just bringing James back but bringing him back with Vescovi, a terrific shooter that has improved his ability to score off the bounce over the years. Vescovi isn’t necessarily the best defender in the program, but he and James are so effective together because they know each other’s games so well.
Meanwhile, there are enough terrific pieces around him to continue Tennessee’s dominance on the defensive end. Jahmai Mashack, a 6-4 junior, is “an elite defender,” Barnes said, and a guy who can be counted on to play major minutes as a result. Barnes is excited about the impact that freshman Cam Carr and redshirt freshman D.J. Jefferson can have as well.
“They bring a unique skill set in terms of what they can do athletically,” the coach said of Carr and Jefferson.
The pathway to minutes for both of them will be impacting the game on the offensive end as well. Barnes wants his perimeter players to be able to play on or off the ball, given different situations, and they both have to prove themselves there. Barnes expects that they will.
“Neither one is going to back down from a fight,” he said.
Up front is where things can get interesting. Uros Plavsic is gone. So is Olivier Nkamhoua, who transferred to Michigan.
In their stead, junior Jonas Aidoo and sophomore Tobe Awaka will step into bigger roles. Aidoo is the more versatile of the two. At 6-11, he has range out to the 3-point line and has been an impactful rim protector in his minutes through two seasons. Awaka is smaller at 6-8, but he’s a relentless rebounder who spent the summer playing for Team USA U19 in Turkey.
“He’s just getting started,” Barnes said of Awaka. “He has a tremendous future, but we’re getting on him to do things he’s never tried. He can drive the ball well, but he needs to physically understand how strong he is.”
Tennessee’s rotation will likely see the two split most of their minutes at the 5, but given Aidoo’s ability to shoot, they can play together as well.
POTENTIAL POTHOLES
There’s little doubt that Tennessee is once again going to be a great defensive team.
But if the Vols want to have a higher ceiling than the Sweet 16, they are going to have to be better offensively. Despite being top five in the country in offensive rebounding, the Vols finished 64th in offensive efficiency, per KenPom, and in the bottom half of the country in shooting percentages across the board.
That’s where the newcomers enter the equation.
Tennessee brought in a pair of transfers known for what they can do offensively. Northern Colorado’s Dalton Knecht appeared this summer to be the more prepared of the two for a major role early on in the SEC.
“He has elite offensive skills,” Barnes said of Knecht, who shot 38% from 3 as a 6-6 guard last season. “The reason he came here was because we’ve been known as a defensive program.”
Knecht wanted to develop on that end of the floor in order to secure his playing time — because what he does best doesn’t exist on Tennessee’s roster.
Meanwhile, Jordan Gainey is younger and smaller at 6-4, but it’s his versatility that caught the coaching staff’s eye. He can play anywhere from the 1 to the 3, and he can do it while scoring in bunches. As a freshman, he shot 49% from 3 on nearly five attempts per game at USC Upstate.
And then there is Freddie Dillione V, a talented 6-5 scoring guard who reclassified and redshirted at Tennessee this past season. He’s one of the few guys on this roster that can create a bucket out of nothing on his own. His adjustment to the Division I level might take some time, but it’s hard to quantify the value of spending every day last season on the Tennessee scout team, playing against the best defense in the country every single day.
Fellow freshman J.P. Estrella will be an interesting addition as well. At 6-11, he’s more skilled than either Awaka or Aidoo, but he’ll take some time.
The key in all this could end up being the willingness of Barnes to loosen the reins offensively. Last year’s roster included a one-and-done in Julian Phillips who had the talent to be a creator that could open up things on the offensive end, but he wasn’t given the opportunity to showcase what he could do.
Will Barnes be willing to let that happen with some of the transfers?
THE X-FACTOR
The key to the season is going to end up being Zakai Zeigler, who is a driving force behind what Tennessee wants to do on both ends.
A smaller guard, Zeigler is a pest at the point of attack defensively and has All-SEC caliber at point guard. With him healthy, Tennessee was the No. 2 team in the country, according to T-Rank, with the best defense in America and a top 50 offense. After Zeigler tore his ACL against Arkansas on Feb. 28, Tennessee fell outside the top 15, with an offense that ranked 76th and a defense that ranked 15th over the final month.
“We definitely missed him offensively,” Barnes said of his star guard. “We need his ability to break down defenses, to get into seams. He used his time rehabbing to try and become a better shooter, because he already does a tremendous job with his assists.
“His DNA impacts all of us.”
The question is going to be just how healthy he ends up being.
ACL injuries usually take somewhere around eight or nine months to heal properly, and the 2023-24 season officially starts eight months and one week removed from his injury. At 5-9, Zeigler’s game rests on his quickness, his explosiveness and his change of direction.
When will he get that back? Will it be this season?
THE OUTLOOK
We know what Tennessee is going to be this season.
Right?
It’s what the Volunteers have been the past three seasons. They are going to be an absolute menace to play against. They are going to be bigger, stronger, older and more physical than just about anyone they play. They’ll wear you down with their toughness and relentlessness on the glass. They’ll be one of those teams that dares officials to call a foul every possession — knowing full well that once league play starts, it ain’t happening.
Tennessee is going to spend the year getting rated higher by most metrics than anyone thinks is right because of its defense. The Vols are going to finish in the top four in the SEC, and they’re going to end up being a 4 seed with a favorable draw to the Sweet 16. And because of the questions on offense, they aren’t going to be a popular pick to make it to the Final Four.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW TOP 25: #8 UCONN
| 2022-23: | 31-8, 13-7 (t-4th Big East) |
| Won National Title | |
| Location: | STORRS, CT |
| Coach: | DAN HURLEY (6th Season) |
| Homecourt: | GAMPEL PAVILION (10,167) |
| Key Departures: | ADAMA SANOGO (17.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 60.6% FG) |
| JORDAN HAWKINS (16.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 38.8% 3PT) | |
| ANDRE JACKSON JR. (6.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 4.7 apg) | |
| JOEY CALCATERRA (5.8 ppg, 44.6% 3PT) | |
| NAHEIM ALLEYNE (5.2 ppg) | |
| Key Newcomers: | CAM SPENCER (transfer, Rutgers) |
| STEPHON CASTLE (freshman, Newton HS, GA) | |
| SOLO BALL (freshman, Brewster Academy, VA) | |
| JAYLIN STEWART (freshman, Garfield HS, WA) | |
| JAYDEN ROSS (freshman, Long Island Lutheran, VA) | |
| YOUSSOUF SINGARE (freshman, Mali) |
ROSTER
| # | Player | Pos. | Listed | Year | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3PT% | |
| 2 | Tristen Newton | G | 6-5 | RSr. | 28.8 | 10.1 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 37.4 | 36.6 | |
| 12 | Cam Spencer* | G | 6-4 | RSr. | 31.5 | 13.2 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 44.4 | 43.4 | |
| 5 | Stephon Castle | G | 6-6 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 11 | Alex Karaban | F | 6-8 | RSo. | 28.9 | 9.3 | 4.5 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 47.6 | 40.2 | |
| 32 | Donovan Clingan | C | 7-2 | So. | 13.1 | 6.9 | 5.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 65.5 | 0.0 | |
| 10 | Hassan Diarra | G | 6-2 | Sr. | 12.7 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 30.1 | 18.9 | |
| 1 | Solo Ball | G | 6-3 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 3 | Jaylin Stewart | F | 6-7 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 23 | Jayden Ross | F | 6-7 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 35 | Samson Johnson | F | 6-10 | Jr. | 3.9 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | |
| 24 | Youssouf Singare | C | 6-10 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
FROM THE COACH
“With that 7-3 size and his passing, the technique and vision, we’ve been working on his post game. [Donovan Clingan is] proven as a rim-runner and an offensive rebounder, he can play in the ball-screen game, but for him, he’s going to be someone that dominates on the block like Adama did.”
—Dan Hurley
THE SCOOP
Everyone knows the UConn story at this point, right?
Dan Hurley entered the 2022-23 season feeling a little bit of pressure. Through his first four years in Storrs, UConn had just two tournament appearances, with both ending in first-round losses — one against 10 seed Maryland and the other against 12 seed New Mexico State.
Saying that he was on the hot seat would have been premature, but the locals were starting to get a bit restless.
Then UConn’s PK-85 run happened — they rolled over Oregon, Alabama and Iowa State — followed by blowouts over Florida and Oklahoma State. This firmly established the Huskies as favorites to win a loaded Big East conference. After a dreadful January ruined any chance of winning the Big East, UConn caught fire in the NCAA Tournament, recording six straight double-digit victories en route to their fifth national championship in 24 seasons.
While the Huskies lost the three best players on last season’s roster, they brought back a pair of future pros, landed a top three recruiting class and added one of the most important transfers in college basketball this season.
Add it all up, and this season will be UConn’s best chance at back-to-back national championships in the program’s storied history.
ROAD TO SUCCESS
It’s impossible to talk about UConn without first mentioning the presence of 7-2 center Donovan Clingan.
A Bristol native, Clingan was one of the most productive per-minute players in the sport last season. Adama Sanogo was the NCAA Tournament’s best player and Final Four MOP, yet there were still people clamoring for Clingan to start over him.
The rim protection speaks for itself; he’s one of those 5-men that just has an innate ability to time his jump while staying down on pump fakes. His advanced skill defending ball-screens in drop coverage makes him an elite defensive presence. On the offensive end, Clingan is as good a rim-running lob target as anyone in college basketball, but fans around the country will also be surprised by his contributions as a pick-and-pop threat this season.
“The biggest focus for him has been post moves and getting better position,” Hurley said. “More back to the basket focus so that he can warrant double teams with as good of a passer as he is.”
As good as Clingan is, his impact — particularly on the offensive end — will likely be a product of the surrounding pieces, and there is more than enough talent there for the Huskies to win their first Big East regular-season title since 2006.
It’s also important to note here that Clingan injured his foot in late-September. He’s expected to be healthy for the bulk of the season, but there is a chance that he could miss some of UConn’s early games.
One critical player is Tristen Newton, who shook off a miserable January to become a dominant offensive weapon down the stretch, scoring 19 points in the national title game. “I think he’s excited about being able to attack more aggressively,” Hurley said. “He’s shown the ability to blend, and he show’s the ability to get a triple-double. He knows this team is in real need of him to shoot, score and create a lot of offense.”
He declared for the NBA Draft this summer before returning to school, and pairing him with Cam Spencer and Stephon Castle on UConn’s perimeter is a perfect marriage.
Castle, a potential lottery pick, is a 6-6 playmaker that has been listed by some as a point guard. He’s at his best when he is able to get into the lane and create, either as a passer or as a finisher. While his jump shot needs development, he’s a more capable scorer than Andre Jackson was.
Spencer is Castle’s complete opposite on offense; he’s an elite 3-point shooter whose burst leaves something to be desired. He’s a functional athlete — he was a star lacrosse player in high school — and a very good positional defender. Spencer is heading into his fifth-year in college, having averaged more than three assists per game in each of his first four seasons.
“The transition time has been minimal,” Hurley said of the Rutgers transfer. “He’s exactly what we needed.”
Size. Athleticism. Basketball IQ. Shooting. Defensive toughness.
That perimeter trio has it all.
Rounding out the core is Alex Karaban, a 6-8 sophomore and one of the most underrated players in college basketball. Karaban is a versatile offensive weapon that can do damage in the post, run off pin-downs, and even showed the ability to put the ball on the floor and dunk on a defender last season. Karaban also showed improvement on the defensive end last year. He was exploited by Big East teams early in the season, but became a defensive weapon by the NCAA Tournament.
You’d be hard-pressed to find many starting lineups with more talent, ability and proven production than UConn’s unit.
POTENTIAL POTHOLES
Things get a little more dicey when looking at UConn’s bench.
Part of what made the Huskies so good in 2022-23 was that they legitimately went eight or nine deep. They survived off-shooting nights from their stars, foul trouble, and injuries.
While UConn’s bench still has talent, it is relatively unproven.
The lone veteran presence on UConn’s bench is Hassan Diarra, a fourth-year point guard that was a key role player for the Huskies last season. He’s an absolute pest defensively, but he can struggle with his decision-making and is not known for his ability as a shooter.
The bench around Diarra is young. Four freshmen — other than Castle — are expected to push for rotational minutes this season.
Solomon Ball and Jaylin Stewart are likely to be the first wings off the bench. Ball is an electric athlete, but the 6-4 Baltimore native is still figuring out how to turn his talent into production. It would not be surprising to see him follow Jordan Hawkins’ career arc — the freshman year version of Hawkins had his limitations. Stewart is impressive, but asking him to do what Karaban did a season ago is a big ask.
It’s also worth noting that both Ball and Stewart dealt with injuries in the summer and “they’ve been cramming a lot from what they missed,” Hurley said.
Jayden Ross might be the most interesting piece. When he arrived on campus, most thought he was probably a year away, but he’s “turned a lot of heads,” said Hurley, adding that with his size, length, activity level and shooting ability, he’ll garner attention from NBA front offices. Youssef Singare is a physical specimen at the 5, but it’s hard for freshmen in that position to make an early impact.
THE X-FACTOR
The key to UConn’s success in 2023 was the dynamic between Sanogo and Clingan.
Sanogo was the best player on the roster, especially in March. He was an anchor offensively, an underrated defensive weapon and a guy that figured out how to be a passer by the time the season ended. And he only needed to play 25-30 minutes a night because of the presence of Clingan, who changed games when he stepped on the floor.
This accomplished two equally important things.
For starters, it ensured that neither Sanogo or Clingan tired. Clingan’s presence alleviated the fatigue issues that hit Sanogo late in the 2021-22 season.
Secondly, it allowed both players to play physically without worrying about getting into foul trouble. If Sanogo picked up two fouls in the first four minutes of a game, Clingan would get extended first-half minutes. Hurley didn’t have to worry about risking a third foul. And for Clingan, it meant that he had the freedom to fly around and try to block every shot, get every rebound and hedge every ball screen hard. It’s tough to foul out of a game in 13 minutes.
This is where Samson Johnson enters the chat.
Johnson has the physical tools to be an absolute superstar. He’s 6-10 with the wingspan of a 737 and a vertical to match. Hurley has, for three years, talked about Johnson’s potential, and this will be the year that he has a chance to live up to the hype.
The minutes are going to be available; asking Clingan to do what he did last season for 35 minutes a night isn’t feasible or ideal, especially when he is dealing with a strained foot before playing a single game. Johnson may be asked to play a starting role to open the year if Clingan misses any time. The best-case scenario for UConn is that Johnson forces his way into playing time the same way that Clingan did last year, but while it’s easy to see why the UConn staff believes it is possible, we’ve yet to see Johnson come anywhere near that level of consistency.
“I think playing him at the 5 and simplifying things will take advantage of his athleticism,” Hurley said. “Having a movement 5, someone like Oso Ighodaro at Marquette, would allow us to have that 1-2 punch again.”
If he can play 12 to 15 minutes per game with even 75% of the impact that Clingan had last season, UConn will be significantly better for it.
THE OUTLOOK
UConn has the pieces to be able to win this season —- a lot. Many will rank the Huskies in the nation’s top five entering the season, and it still might not be the clear-cut best team in the Big East. Marquette is poised to defend their conference title, while Creighton also looks excellent.
The conference is absolutely loaded this year. Winning 15 games is going to be an achievement, and that may not be enough to win the league. The semifinals of the Big East Tournament was better last season than the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, and it should be just as competitive this season.
Winning at the highest level is really hard to do, and UConn has as good of a chance as anyone to do it.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW BIG 10: WISCONSIN
| 2022-23: | 20-15, 9-11 (T-11th, Big Ten) |
| NIT – Semifinals | |
| Location: | Madison, WI |
| Coach: | GREG GARD (9th Season) |
| Homecourt: | KOHL CENTER (17,287) |
| Key Departures: | JORDAN DAVIS (5.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.4 apg) |
| Key Newcomers: | AJ STORR (transfer, St. John’s) |
| GUS YALDEN (freshman, La Lumiere) | |
| NOLAN WINTER (freshman, Lakeville North) | |
| JOHN BLACKWELL (freshman, Brother Rice) |
ROSTER
| # | Player | Pos. | Listed | Year | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3PT% | |
| 23 | Chucky Hepburn | G | 6-2 | Jr. | 32.1 | 12.2 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 37.7 | 40.5 | |
| 3 | Connor Essegian | G | 6-4 | So. | 27.4 | 11.7 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 40.4 | 35.9 | |
| 11 | Max Klesmit | G | 6-4 | Sr. | 32.1 | 8.4 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 42.3 | 38.3 | |
| 5 | Tyler Wahl | F | 6-9 | Gr. | 31.5 | 11.3 | 6.3 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 42.3 | 29.4 | |
| 22 | Steven Crowl | F | 7-0 | Sr. | 30.6 | 12.1 | 6.9 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 51.0 | 30.7 | |
| 2 | AJ Storr* | G | 6-7 | So. | 21.1 | 8.8 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 43.4 | 40.4 | |
| 14 | Carter Gilmore | F | 6-7 | Sr. | 18.8 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 40.7 | 19.2 | |
| 25 | John Blackwell | G | 6-4 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 31 | Nolan Winter | F | 6-11 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 35 | Markus Ilver | F | 6-9 | Jr. | 6.6 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 29.7 | 23.8 | |
| 34 | Gus Yalden | F | 6-9 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 4 | Kamari McGee | G | 6-0 | Jr. | 7.1 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 28.0 | 18.5 | |
| 10 | Isaac Lindsey | G | 6-4 | Sr. | 5.9 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 31.7 | 33.3 | |
| 21 | Chris Hodges | F | 6-9 | R-So. | 2.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 33.3 | – | |
FROM THE COACH
“Our formula in the past has been to get old and stay old. Last year we weren’t old — but now we’ll be old again.”
—Greg Gard
THE SCOOP
A year ago, Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard was concerned heading into the season. Rightfully so. He had just lost All-American Johnny Davis and had a bunch of question marks — especially on the perimeter.
Chucky Hepburn would be thrust into the spotlight, and Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl would have to take a major step forward also. All three of them averaged in double figures, but Wahl battled through an ankle injury for much of the season. As a result, the Badgers were absent from the NCAA Tournament field for just the second time since Gard took over for Bo Ryan back in 2015-16.
But he is optimistic it’ll only be a one-year hiatus with literally everyone back in the fold except for Jordan Davis (5.1 ppg), who transferred to Illinois State.
“As much as we didn’t like not being in the NCAA tourney, I think it helped us out,” Gard admitted.
ROAD TO SUCCESS
Retention and experience.
While most programs were hit by the transfer portal, Gard and the Badgers didn’t just keep their entire starting unit. They also retained nearly all of their reserves while adding a trio of freshmen and a transfer who should help in former St. John’s wing AJ Storr.
Nine of Wisconsin’s top 10 scorers are back.
“That was our No. 1 priority in recruiting,” Gard said. “Keeping everyone.”
The trio of Hepburn, Wahl and Crowl have started more than 220 games in Madison in their careers. Former Wofford transfer Max Klesmit has played in 83 college games — including starting all 33 for the Badgers a year ago — and Connor Essegian averaged 27 minutes as a freshman a year ago.
In this day and age of record-setting transfer numbers in the sport, the Badgers are outliers.
The good news is also that the 6-9 Wahl, who enters his fifth season in the program, is healthy after missing time with an ankle injury and coming back at far less than 100%. Wahl’s production a year ago was similar to his junior campaign, but he’s still been unable to show he can be a threat shooting the ball from the perimeter.
The 7-foot Crowl (12.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg) did make a jump a year ago and was more productive scoring in the paint and also on the glass. But much like Wahl, Crowl has yet to add the dimension of a consistent 3-point shooter.
Hepburn (12.2 ppg) had a solid season, but more was expected — and that was part of the reason the Badgers didn’t get to the NCAA tourney. He’s slimmed down this offseason, but needs to be able to utilize that quickness to get into the lane and make more happen for himself, and even more importantly, for his teammates. He can’t average fewer than 3.0 assists again this season.
Gard loves the energy and toughness that Klesmit brought to the table, and he wants even more of it this year.
“He’s the glue,” Gard said. “He’s a warrior. He’ll run through a wall and take everyone else with him.”
The final returning starter was a surprise last season as Essegian, a 6-4 guard out of Indiana, wasted little time making an impact. He was third on the team in scoring despite being overmatched at times physically.
Add Storr, a 6-6 sophomore who averaged 8.8 points and shot 40% from 3 last year at St. John’s, and three more freshmen into the mix, and this is a Badgers team that has high expectations. This team has its core back, and being a year older should make the difference between an NIT berth and a return to the NCAA Tournament.
POTENTIAL POTHOLES
The concern would be that this Wisconsin group is what it is, and that these players don’t have a much higher upside that what they displayed a year ago. Basically, what you see is what you get. Sure, they have experience and continuity — but is there a bona fide star on the roster?
Probably not.
Wahl, Hepburn and Crowl are all nice college players, but none were all-league guys. Essegian was terrific as a freshman, and Klesmit is a tough, hard-nosed system guy. Gard is optimistic all will take jumps, but if that doesn’t happen, it could be another NIT bid.
Gus Yalden comes in as a top-100 freshman nationally, but will he be able to make an immediate impact — especially with Crowl getting 30-plus minutes?
There’s also a concern with perimeter shooting. A year ago, the Badgers made just 34% of their 3s, ranking 10th in the league. Crowl made 31% from deep while Wahl hit just 29%, so those numbers must improve. Wisconsin will also need to be more effective on the glass, as it ranked dead last in rebound margin.
While Wisconsin didn’t lose much, the Badgers did lose their most productive player off the bench in Jordan Davis. Carter Gilmore (2.6 ppg) was the only reserve that’ll be back who averaged more than 7.0 minutes, so Gard will need to get more from those beyond his starting unit.
We’ll see what a three-man freshman class can provide.
The most heralded frosh is Yalden, an in-state product out of Appleton. The skilled 6-9 big man fits the mold of former Loyola Chicago post Cam Krutwig, and he recently dropped about 40 pounds before arriving on campus. The Badgers also bring in skilled 7-footer Nolan Winter — who hails from the same high school program as Wahl and can step out and shoot it. He can also protect the rim but may need a year to get stronger. The third and final freshman is John Blackwell, a 6-3 guard who could get on the court this season due to his length, athleticism and ability to defend.
THE X-FACTOR
Hepburn was supposed to be The Guy a year ago. Instead, he was just another guy. Maybe that’s not fair, but in order for the Badgers to get back to national relevance — instead of making an NIT run — it’ll be Hepburn that will have to make a jump and become one of the best guards in the Big Ten.
The 6-2, 210-pound junior shot it well from deep and wound up leading the team in scoring, but he will need to become a better distributor and someone who can get into the lane to open things up for his teammates on a consistent basis.
“He had so much success as a freshman,” Gard said. “But it was in a supporting role with Johnny (Davis) and Brad (Davison).”
Maybe it’s unfair to ask Hepburn to take the scoring load, but what he does have to do is help the Badgers close out games — which was an issue last season. Two years ago, this was a team that found a way to win nearly every close contest. It was vastly different in 2022-23 without Davis and Davison on the court.
“We struggled in close games,” Gard said. “That probably cost us getting into the NCAA Tournament last season. We need to figure out how to finish those games this year.”
If Hepburn can turn into more of a leader and set up his teammates for easy baskets, that should result in execution in the final minutes, which should also result in a few more wins.
THE OUTLOOK
Gard’s record since taking over is 164-93, and he’s gone to the NCAA Tournament five of seven years. While he might not have an All-American like Johnny Davis or even a first-team all-league guy, what he does possess is a bunch of good players who have all spent at least one season together.
This was a group that was 11-2 to start last year before Wahl suffered an ankle injury. The Badgers went 0-3 without Wahl, and both he and the team just weren’t the same after he came back.
Experience generally wins — especially in Madison. This year Gard has no shortage of it.
“We have a lot of pieces, a lot of weapons, and we just have to figure out how it all fits together,” Gard said. “But that’s the fun part.”
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW MAC: CENTRAL MICHIGAN
| 2022-23: | 10-21, 5-13 (11th, MAC) |
| No Postseason | |
| Location: | Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Coach: | TONY BARBEE (3rd Season) |
| Homecourt: | MCGUIRK ARENA (5,300) |
| Key Departures: | KEVIN MILLER (18.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 5.3 apg) |
| REGGIE BASS (12.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.3 apg) | |
| JESSE ZARZUELA (16.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.7 apg) | |
| Key Newcomers: | ANTHONY PRITCHARD (transfer, Tulsa) |
| PAUL MCMILLAN (transfer, NJIT) | |
| DERRICK BUTLER (transfer, Chipola CC) | |
| KJ ODOUR (transfer, College of Southern Idaho) | |
| JEMAL DAVIS (transfer, Florida Southwestern) | |
| CAYDEN VASKO (freshman, Bosco Institute) | |
| SHAEDON SIMPSON (freshman, Combine – Canada) |
ROSTER
| # | Player | Pos. | Listed | Year | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3PT% | |
| 30 | Anthony Pritchard* | G | 6-2 | Jr. | 29.8 | 8.9 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 46.1 | 32.5 | |
| 34 | Paul McMillan IV* | G | 6-2 | So. | 17.1 | 5.8 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 38.9 | 26.8 | |
| 44 | Max Majerle | G | 6-4 | So. | 22.4 | 4.0 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 33.9 | 26.7 | |
| 0 | Brian Taylor | G | 6-6 | Gr. | 36.4 | 14.4 | 6.1 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 41.6 | 28.4 | |
| 15 | Markus Harding | F | 6-10 | Jr. | 21.5 | 9.3 | 4.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 47.6 | 30.4 | |
| 3 | Derrick Butler* | G | 6-2 | Jr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 2 | Cayden Vasko | G | 6-6 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 11 | KJ Odour* | F | 6-9 | So. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 4 | Jemal Davis* | F | 6-8 | Jr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 10 | Shaedon Simpson | G | 6-6 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 12 | Hunter Harding | F | 7-0 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 1 | Bryce Eaton | G | 6-0 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 13 | Aidan Rubio* | G/F | 6-6 | Jr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 5 | Josiah Sanders | F | 6-5 | R-Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
FROM THE COACH
“We’re rebooting in Year 3, but I think we’re on pace to have the best season I’ve had since I’ve been here. Last year, we had the big win over Michigan in the nonconference, but the injuries set us on a roller-coaster ride.”
—Tony Barbee
THE SCOOP
A brutal bout with injuries sent Central Michigan into a spiral last year.
CMU lost its backcourt bellcow, Kevin ‘Boopie’ Miller, in the fourth game of the season. A flurry of additional injuries culminated in a frustrating season — a season that once looked promising after a monumental win over Michigan in nonconference play.
The conference chapter, however, took a turn for the worse. The Chippewas started out 2-2 after an overtime win against Buffalo, but they dropped 11 of the final 14 games and ended up missing out on the MAC Tournament.
After a year like that, the writing was on the wall for this summer’s transfer floodgates to swing wide open. However, head coach Tony Barbee relishes the opportunity to wipe the slate clean in his third year on the job.
Granted, players the caliber of Boopie Miller or Reggie Bass aren’t easy to find in the portal, but Barbee rounded up a stable of proven veterans to run with a deep freshmen class — and despite their youth, the rookies’ time to shine may come sooner than expected.
ROAD TO SUCCESS
All roads to improvement will be paved by the known commodities this year. There’s only three, but all are indispensable cogs in the rotation.
It all starts with Brian Taylor, who was the MAC’s Iron Man last season: no one played a higher percentage of his team’s minutes in conference play than Taylor, per KenPom. However, that workload may explain a subtle dip in his offensive efficiency metrics, relative to a breakout 2022 campaign. Taylor was productive, albeit less consistent in terms of scoring and finishing around the rim than the year prior.
A deeper, and healthier, supporting cast could be just what the doctor ordered for Taylor.
Max Majerle, one of Barbee’s prized rookie prospects last season, is back in action after a bumpy inaugural collegiate campaign last year. He was thrown to the wolves after Miller and Jesse Zarzuela went down, but those growing pains are sure to pay dividends this season. His family lineage is reason enough to bet on a sizable jump this year, especially after slowly gaining confidence down the stretch. All in all, there’s potential for Majerle to be a MAC-caliber starter.
Up front, Markus Harding is a critical piece to the Chips’ puzzle. The versatile big man from Canada didn’t take flight until conference play last year — again, the injury impact was considerable to multiple positional groups.
When healthy, Harding’s ability to stretch the floor and shoot it with range is a deadly element for CMU’s offensive floor spacing. And while the advanced individual on/off numbers depict Harding’s defense as a liability, he still anchored the league’s second-best interior defense last year, per KenPom, as measured by 2-point field goal percentage allowed.
It’s hard to find a bright spot in a 5-13 MAC season but there were real signs of resistance on the defensive end last season. The key this year will be continued buy-in, particularly from the newcomers, on that end of the floor.
Again, experience was the underlying driver behind three key perimeter pickups: Anthony Pritchard, Paul McMillan IV and Derrick Butler.
“We did a good job replacing our backcourt with experience,” Barbee said. “We have one of the deepest backcourts we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
Butler may be the make-or-break piece. He was a full-time starter and a second-team all-conference performer at a nationally-ranked JUCO program (Chipola) last year. He’s a smooth shooter from distance and can set the table for his teammates if Barbee opts to deploy him at lead guard.
Pritchard is more of a pure point guard, and he may end up running the show this year while the up-and-coming McMillan rides his coattails. Rookie point guard Bryce Eaton should also figure into the equation at point guard, which is a glaring positional need in wake of losing two players at that spot over the summer.
POTENTIAL POTHOLES
The refurbished backcourt will have a ton on its plate this season.
Between Miller, Zarzuela and Bass, that’s multiple entrees worth of scoring and playmaking to replace. Barbee witnessed the perils of unproven guard play last year, which became magnified during Miller and Zarzuela’s absence. This dynamic duo only played in a combined 21 games, and their absence became excruciatingly painful. Bass doubled as a point guard at times in hopes of patching over the injury holes, but it was impossible to establish any semblance of rhythm or chemistry.
Ball security should be at the top of the guards’ priority list. CMU coughed up the ball on a whopping 24% of its offensive possessions last season during MAC play (dead last in the league, per KenPom).
These careless giveaways served up transition opportunities on a platter for opponents. Haslametrics.com measures this exact impact, “transition points off steals,” which charts baskets occurring within 10 seconds after a steal. The Chips graded out as 362nd out of 363 teams in this department — effectively, an “F” grade.
“We’ve gotta be more efficient than we’ve been offensively,” Barbee stated. “College basketball is a guard-dominated game. Last year, we were playing with an all freshmen backcourt. Our depth and experience in the backcourt will be a strength this year.”
That’s the ripple effect of sound guard play: Costly turnovers not only sting your offense but they also hurt your defense, too. CMU’s half-court defensive metrics — that is, how the Chippewas performed when they were able to get set up — was rather strong. But they were caught on the back foot too often due to the team’s ball security issues.
THE X-FACTOR
The length and skill Barbee accumulated up front may ease the burden off the guards — and then some. Barbee highlighted Hunter Harding, the younger brother of Markus, as an exemplar of size and skill. He’s not physically ready to dominate on the inside, but his versatility should earn him immediate run.
Look for two elder JUCO transfers, Jemal Davis and KJ Oduor, to make a name for themselves this year.
Davis is another versatile 4-man able to slot in different lineup constructions, and he’s coming off a year with Florida Southwestern State College in which he averaged 9.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 “stocks” (steals plus blocks) in just under 20 minutes per game. Meanwhile, Oduor profiles as a paint-bound rim protector who arrives from one the country’s top JUCO programs last year, College of Southern Idaho.
There’s also a cadre of 6-5 to 6-7 options for Barbee. Cayden Vasko, a 6-6 freshman, is dripping with potential. He’s a high jumper and sharpshooter rolled into one enticing package. Barbee is also excited about Canadian prospect Shaedon Simpson, another potential program pillar down the road. Aidan Rubio and Josiah Sanders are also firmly in the hunt for high-leverage minutes, too, which underscores the depth Barbee is raving about.
Not only will the competitive depth serve as a soothing safety net to unforeseen injuries, but it also opens up Barbee’s tactical playbook. The coach said he plans to experiment with a wide range of lineup formations, from speed-induced guard-heavy lineups to supersized forward-heavy configurations.
THE OUTLOOK
The Chippewas’ basketball program carries a proud tradition and a high standard for excellence. Tony Barbee sees the path back to that glory, but playing the waiting game is harder and harder in today’s ‘win now’ college landscape.
Even with the older D1 and JUCO additions, this team is still devoid of proven winners at this level. Pritchard and McMillan will be important pieces, but neither brings that winning aura from their prior destinations. The JUCO guys came from winning programs, but they weren’t the central figures, and there’s always the level jump to consider.
Indeed, it’s up to Barbee to school both the old and the new in how to win, and win consistently.
The silver lining for any MAC team is its conference tournament format: a wide-open neutral site free-for-all in which anyone can beat anybody on any given day. If the Chips can creep out of the bottom-four purgatory of the MAC’s regular season standings (only the top eight qualify for the MAC Tournament), they could be a dangerous draw in the conference tournament.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW BIG EAST: DEPAUL
| 2022-23: | 10-23, 3-17 (10th, Big East) |
| No Postseason | |
| Location: | CHICAGO, IL |
| Coach: | TONY STUBBLEFIELD (3rd Season) |
| Homecourt: | WINTRUST ARENA (10,387) |
| Key Departures: | UMOJA GIBSON (15.8 ppg, 4.7 apg, 41.6% 3PT) |
| JAVAN JOHNSON (14.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.4 apg) | |
| NICK ONGENDA (12.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.4 bpg) | |
| ERAL PENN (8.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg) | |
| PHILMON GEBREWHIT (5.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg) | |
| YOR ANEI (5.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.3 bpg) | |
| Key Newcomers: | CHICO CARTER JR. (transfer, South Carolina |
| ELIJAH FISHER (transfer, Texas Tech) | |
| JEREMIAH ODEN (transfer, Wyoming) | |
| JADEN HENLEY (transfer, Minnesota) | |
| MAC ETIENNE (transfer, UCLA) | |
| DRAMANE CAMARA (freshman, NBA Academy) | |
| KEYONDRE YOUNG (transfer, Triton College) |
ROSTER
| # | Player | Pos. | Listed | Year | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3PT% | |
| 23 | Caleb Murphy | G | 6-4 | Sr. | 20.5 | 5.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 37.0 | 50.0 | |
| 2 | Chico Carter Jr.* | G | 6-2 | RSr. | 30.7 | 9.8 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 47.1 | 47.6 | |
| 22 | Elijah Fisher* | G | 6-6 | So. | 12.2 | 3.3 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 46.1 | 25.0 | |
| 21 | Da’Sean Nelson | F | 6-8 | Sr. | 24.7 | 10.0 | 4.8 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 52.8 | 33.3 | |
| 12 | Mac Etienne* | C | 6-10 | RSo. | 6.8 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 44.7 | 0.0 | |
| 3 | Jalen Terry | G | 6-0 | Sr. | 19.8 | 5.7 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 38.8 | 36.5 | |
| 10 | Jaden Henley* | F | 6-7 | So. | 20.8 | 5.3 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 37.6 | 37.8 | |
| 4 | KT Raimey | G | 6-3 | Sr. | 8.4 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 37.8 | 30.8 | |
| 25 | Jeremiah Oden* | F | 6-8 | Sr. | 24.7 | 9.6 | 3.6 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 44.3 | 34.4 | |
| 0 | Zion Cruz | G | 6-4 | So. | 10.7 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 33.3 | 28.0 | |
| 11 | Keyondre Young* | G | 6-8 | Jr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 35 | Dramane Camara | G | 6-5 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 5 | Churchill Abass | C | 6-9 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
FROM THE COACH
“I want to be as versatile as we can be from a roster standpoint, lots of guys that can play multiple positions and are good athletes. We’ve accomplished that, we just have a lot of new faces, so it’s about getting all these guys together.”
—Tony Stubblefield
THE SCOOP
No one in the Big East was more upset than Tony Stubblefield when Georgetown fired Patrick Ewing. When the Hoya legend went winless while coaching his alma mater during the 2021-22 season, Stubblefield was able to put on his resume that he was the first DePaul coach in six seasons to avoid finishing in last place in the Big East.
And he did it in back-to-back years.
There hasn’t been much basketball history to get excited about for DePaul fans since the program moved to the Big East in 2005. Just once in the 18 seasons since have the Blue Demons finished with a winning record in league play, and they’ve finished dead last in the Big East standings in 11 of the past 15 seasons. As a member of the Big East, DePaul is 71-272 against conference foes when you include the Big East Tournament.
With all that in mind, Stubbs is about to head into this season losing five of his top six scorers from a team that put together a 3-17 campaign in the league.
It’s not the place you want to be if you’re a DePaul fan — or DePaul’s head coach.
ROAD TO SUCCESS
It’s easy to crack jokes about DePaul basketball, but the truth of the matter is that last year’s struggles had as much to do with bad injury luck as anything. Four starters and two more bench pieces missed significant time with injuries. DePaul got off to a slow start, and by the time the roster was close to full health, there wasn’t much left for the Blue Demons to play for.
That’s unfortunate, because there actually was some talent and momentum to build off of following Stubbs’ first season in Chicago.
“We didn’t lose a lot of guys to the portal,” Stubblefield said. “We lost guys to graduation and the draft. But we still have to replace those six guys and build the roster all over again.”
It’s clear to see what Stubbs is trying to build with the team that he’s put together. He wants length, athleticism and versatility to play with a level of pace and space that can match some of the best teams in the conference. Before getting hired by DePaul, Stubbs spent more than a decade on staff with Dana Altman at Oregon, coaching in a system that thrived with two guards and multiple mismatch forwards on the floor at all times.
That approach will start with Da’Sean Nelson, a 6-8 combo-forward that averaged double-digits in his first season in the Big East. “He was in contention for Big East Newcomer of the Year,” Stubbs said. “It was a jump in levels, but he’s very talented, extremely athletic, and with a year under his belt, we expect big things from him.” DePaul will be counting on Nelson to not only pick up the scoring load, but the leadership load as well.
Then, take a look at who Stubbs added in those perimeter forward positions this offseason.
Elijah Fisher is a 6-6 guard that was a five-star 2023 prospect coming out of Canada before reclassifying to enroll at Texas Tech. He transferred when Mark Adams was fired. Jeremiah Oden is a 6-8 wing, Chicago native, and transfer from Wyoming who shot 34% from 3 last season. Jaden Henley is a 6-7 wing who shot 38% from 3 and started 18 games in the Big Ten for Minnesota a season ago. Throw in Keyondre Young, a 6-8 guard that spent last season in the JUCO ranks after leaving Valpo, and Dramane Camara, an athletic, 6-5 guard with a 6-11 wingspan, and Stubbs has as much versatile size and athleticism as anyone in the Big East.
In an ideal world, Caleb Murphy will be DePaul’s backcourt anchor. A sensational athlete, Murphy is a lead guard with a terrific ability to use his explosiveness to get to the rim. “He was thrown in a tough situation last year,” Stubbs said. “He missed fall workouts because of his wrist, had another issue pop up when he got healthy and was thrown into the fire in the middle of Big East play with no practice under his belt.”
Murphy, Jalen Terry and KT Raimey all return to DePaul’s backcourt this season. Terry is the smallest of the bunch, a 6-0 pure point guard that followed Stubbs from Oregon. “He had an illness and broke his nose last season,” Stubbs said, “but he knows what we are looking for from an offensive standpoint.” Raimey is a bigger guard that can guard down the lineup if needed, and Stubbs calls him one of the “better shooters on the team.” He and South Carolina transfer Chico Carter will be the floor spacers for the Blue Demons this season. Carter spent the summer recovering from an offseason knee procedure.
POTENTIAL POTHOLES
The frontcourt is not just a potential pothole, it’s a major concern.
DePaul ranked in the bottom four of the Big East in offensive and defensive rebounding rates, as well as 2-point percentage on both ends of the floor last season. That was with Nick Ongenda and Yor Anei. Neither is walking through the door this time around.
Right now, there are only two big men on the DePaul roster. One of them is Churchill Abass, a 6-9 freshman from Nigeria who is a product of NBA Academy Africa. He’s big, he’s bulky, and he’s a freshman who was unranked and did not arrive in Chicago until early August. The other is Mac Etienne, a former four-star recruit that spent the past three seasons at UCLA, where he played just 45 games and scored a total of 74 points.
That’s a lot of inexperience in a Big East ripe with frontcourt talent.
Joel Soriano is in this league. Ryan Kalkbrenner is in this league. Zach Freemantle, Eric Dixon, Donovan Clingan and Oso Ighodaro are all in this league. Good luck.
THE X-FACTOR
Assuming that Murphy, Carter and Terry are able to stay healthy, a lot of the issues that DePaul had in its backcourt last season should be solved. And it’s probably unfair to call DePaul’s frontcourt an X-factor — it appears as if Stubbs is all-in on playing as much small-ball as possible.
The key to the season, instead, will be what the Blue Demons get out of Fisher.
Fisher entered his freshman season at Texas Tech as a highly regarded prospect that was expected to push for rotational minutes in his first year on campus. It didn’t really go as planned, but DePaul hopes to unlock that potential. It may take some time for him to adjust – to a new team, a new city, a new coaching staff, a new everything – but Fisher is still a guy with a really high ceiling if he can put it all together.
“He is just a basketball player, a guy I put on the floor and he makes things happen, I don’t even label him with a position,” Stubbs said. “He’s a mismatch for a lot of teams on the offensive end. Talented, physical, strong … He’s a breakout player for us.”
THE OUTLOOK
Look, it’s DePaul.
Anybody can write complimentary things. Anybody can buy into the ideas that Stubbs is pushing. Anybody can squint their eyes and tell you a story of how his vision will work.
But at the end of the day, it has been a long time since there has been any kind of positive momentum with this program. This season, specifically, there appears to be a clear-cut top six in the Big East. The other five schools are St. John’s, who hired Rick Pitino; Seton Hall, whose coach was in the Elite Eight in 2021; Butler, whose coach has been to two Final Fours and a national title game; Georgetown, who brought in the guy that turned Providence from DePaul East to a Big East champion; and DePaul.
It’s not going to be easy.
NBA NEWS
76ERS TRADE DISGRUNTLED GUARD JAMES HARDEN TO CLIPPERS, AP SOURCE SAYS
CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) James Harden publicly called his boss a liar and swore he would never again play for the Philadelphia 76ers.
So he won’t – the 10-time All-Star with a history of trade demands only slightly shorter than his signature beard is on the move to his fifth NBA team, chasing his first championship, this time in his native California.
Harden joins Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook to shape a core group of veterans trying to win the Los Angeles Clippers their first NBA title in franchise history.
The 76ers are simply trying to move on from the Harden Headache and continue their own long shot bid at a championship behind reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid and star-in-waiting Tyrese Maxey.
The final haul was yet to be settled on Tuesday – coach Nick Nurse and Maxey danced around the topic of the trade following practice – but the key parts were this: the 76ers sent Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrušev to Los Angeles for Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, K.J. Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round draft pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 draft-pick swap and an additional first-rounder from a third team, a person familiar with the trade told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the final details of the trade were not yet official.
Maxey texted the 34-year-old Harden when word of the deal broke overnight – Nurse said he slept through the trade call – and thanked his former teammate for his contributions in 79 total regular-season games with the 76ers.
“I told him I loved him, told him I appreciated him,” Maxey said. “One thing he really installed in me was confidence. I’ve always been a confident person. He made me be even more confident than I already was. All I can do is appreciate him for that.”
Maxey turns 23 on Saturday and has improved his numbers in each of his first three seasons – 8.5 points per game to 17.5 to 20.3 to 30.3 and his first Eastern Conference Player of the Week award in a small sample this season. That improvement has the 76ers finally believing he can be the star to pair with Embiid and remain contenders. Not Ben Simmons. Not Harden.
“Everything’s been going well, the flow’s been well, the organization’s been great, the team believes, the coach believes in himself,” Maxey said. “Everything’s been great.”
Still, the longer the Harden melodrama lingered in Philly, the greater the chance the situation would eventually implode. Harden – now traded by Houston, Brooklyn and the 76ers in each of the past three seasons – had long wanted to play in Philadelphia.
Harden and team president Daryl Morey, who was not available Tuesday for comment, were first allies when they were in Houston. Harden was a league MVP and had scoring titles for the Rockets. But when the Rockets went into a rebuild, Harden issued his first ultimatum and forced his way to Brooklyn in 2021. He joined Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in a “Big Three” that was never very big. The trio was socked by injuries and other controversies and played only 18 games together before Harden wanted out.
So it was off to Philly at the 2022 trade deadline in a deal for Simmons.
He was reunited with Morey and seemed comfortable in his role as a playmaker while the offense ran through Embiid. Harden even declined his $47.4 million option in June 2022, saying he wanted to give the 76ers financial flexibility to improve their roster and compete for a championship. He signed a below-market deal worth slightly more than $68 million, paying him about $33 million last season with a $35.6 million player option for this one.
Harden led the NBA in assists last season with 10.7 per game, but it was his 22 total points in Games 6 and 7 losses that doomed the Sixers when they lost to Boston in the second round of the playoffs.
Part of Harden’s complaint with the Sixers stemmed from his belief he should have earned a long-term contract. When he didn’t, Harden was determined to sever ties with the Sixers, and called he Morey a liar at an August promotional event in China.
“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” Harden said at the event. “Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”
While Eastern Conference powerhouses Boston and Milwaukee made bold pickups in the summer, the 76ers instead learned that Harden desired a trade to the Clippers.
He was a late arrival to training camp and continued to practice with the 76ers until he was told to stay home for the team’s first two road games in the wake of the trade demand. The lone time he spoke at practice, Harden said that his fractured relationship with Morey could not be repaired – comparing it to a broken marriage. Nurse insisted Harden would not play until he met certain conditioning requirements. Harden wore street clothes and watched Sunday’s home opener from the bench.
Harden had been scheduled to practice with the 76ers on Tuesday.
Instead, he is on his way to California.
The 76ers are off until Thursday’s home game against Toronto. The Clippers play Tuesday night against Orlando. There was no immediate word when all the traded players would be available to their new teams.
“I’m not sitting here thinking it’s a big relief,” Nurse said. “These guys are focused. Other than spending a few minutes a day answering questions about it, or having a few meetings maybe that I wouldn’t have about it, it really wasn’t that cumbersome or bothersome or taxing for me.”
Harden and Westbrook joined Bob McAdoo as the only league MVPs traded four times in their careers. Harden and Westbrook will play together for a third time.
This may be the Clippers’ last chance to win a title with this group of players.
Both Leonard and George are eligible for extensions and the Clippers will have to decide whether it’s worth keeping the injury-prone duo together, along with their other aging stars.
The 76ers get draft picks down the road, but the short-term win – besides shearing themselves of “The Beard” – is a glut of salary cap space next season.
While the Sixers failed to get prized guard Terance Mann in the deal, Batum, Covington (making his second stint with the 76ers), Martin and Morris all have expiring contracts at the end of the season. That leaves just Embiid, Paul Reed and Jaden Springer as the only players on the books for 2024-2025. For now, the Sixers are expected use some of the cap space to extend Maxey next summer.
“This kid is really good and this is a tremendous opportunity,” Nurse said.
JULIUS RANDLE AND JALEN BRUNSON SCORE 19 POINTS APIECE AS THE KNICKS BEAT THE CAVALIERS 109-91
CLEVELAND (AP) Julius Randle had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored 19 points and the New York Knicks did not trail in the final three quarters of a 109-91 victory over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
Immanuel Quickley added 18 points off the bench and RJ Barrett had 16 as the Knicks won the first half of a home-and-home series. It was the teams’ first meeting since New York eliminated Cleveland in five games in the first round of the 2023 playoffs.
“It doesn’t matter what happened in the past, that’s all history,” Brunson said. “The only advantage is when you get back to playing certain teams, you can lean on certain tendencies against them.”
New York native Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points in 29 minutes, and Isaac Okoro and Georges Niang had 11 points apiece for the Cavaliers, who have lost three straight and are 0-3 at home. Cleveland is 2-8 against the Knicks since the start of last season.
Mitchell, who is averaging team highs of 32.0 points and 4.7 assists, returned after sitting out a 125-113 loss to the Pacers with a sore right hamstring Saturday. The four-time All-Star was hurt in a 108-105 home loss to Oklahoma City one night earlier.
“We had to make it as hard on him as we could,” New York coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You want to have a strategy for everybody. That’s why you shouldn’t pace yourself. When that ball goes up, you’ve got to be ready to go.”
The injury-plagued Cavaliers were without point guard Darius Garland (left hamstring strain) for the third straight game and have not had center Jarrett Allen (left ankle bone bruise) in uniform this season. Top reserve Caris LeVert also did not play (left hamstring soreness), nor did backup point guard Ty Jerome (right ankle sprain).
“It’s tough because we’re missing a bunch of guys, but you can’t dwell on it because we have to come back tomorrow and do it again,” Mitchell said. “I’m never one to make excuses.”
Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said he hoped that Allen “is doing more and more work and hopefully will be back soon,” but doesn’t have a return date targeted.
“It’s hit us at a tough time, obviously,” Bickerstaff said. “Our approach is no different, but you have to accept the results of the situation.”
Isaiah Hartenstein had 13 points and seven rebounds, and fellow center Mitchell Robinson added eight points and seven boards for New York. The Knicks are 2-1 on the road and 2-2 overall.
“The luxury that we have is we have two great bigs (Randle and Robinson) and any night, one of them can step up,” Hartenstein said. “My job is just to be ready every night.”
Cavaliers undrafted rookie Craig Porter scored 10 points and Evan Mobley collected six points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Draft pick Emoni Bates had nine points and six rebounds.
“You do what you have to do to ramp a guy up for NBA basketball,” Bickerstaff said. “This is what is expected.”
UP NEXT
The teams complete their back-to-back set Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.
KELDON JOHNSON’S LATE BASKET GIVES SPURS ONLY LEAD OF GAME, 115-114 WIN OVER SUNS
PHOENIX (AP) Keldon Johnson stripped Kevin Durant and made a contested layup with 1.2 seconds left to give the Spurs their only lead of the game and a 115-114 victory over the stunned Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.
The Spurs, who trailed by as many as 20 points, broke a nine-game losing streak against Phoenix.
Johnson had 27 points to lead San Antonio.
Playing in his fourth NBA game, top draft pick Victor Wembanyama missed his first five shots before throwing down a sensational dunk in the final seconds of the first half. He scored 18 points and had eight rebounds in 28 minutes. Devin Vassell also had 18 for the Spurs.
Durant led Phoenix with 26 points. Eric Gordon scored 20, Grayson Allen had 19 on 5 of 7 shooting from 3-point range for the Suns, who played without injured starting guards Bradley Beal and Devin Booker.
Jusuf Nurkic had a game-high 12 rebounds for Phoenix, which scored the game’s first eight points.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called a timeout 53 seconds into the game after Durant’s fastbreak dunk made it 4-0. It didn’t help much as Phoenix went on to lead 27-18 at the end of the quarter. Durant had a game-high 10 points in the period, finishing with a step-back jumper as time was running out. The Spurs shot 29% from the field in the quarter and made just 1 of 11 from 3-point range.
Phoenix led 63-45 at halftime.
Before the game, Suns coach Frank Vogel said “there’s no timetable” for the return of Booker (left ankle sprain) and Bradley Beal (low back spasms). “They’re working very hard to get back as soon as possible,” Vogel said, noting that they have resumed some on-court activities in practice.
NEXT
Spurs and Suns meet again Thursday in Phoenix.
WITH JAMES HARDEN WATCHING, CLIPPERS TAKE CONTROL IN 3RD QUARTER TO BEAT MAGIC 118-102
LOS ANGELES (AP) Paul George scored 27 points, Russell Westbrook added 18 and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Orlando Magic 118-102 on Tuesday night as future teammate James Harden watched from a suite.
Harden could not be on the Clippers’ bench because the trade bringing him to Los Angeles from the Philadelphia 76ers has not been finalized.
Harden and fellow newcomer P.J. Tucker arrived at the arena 75 minutes before tipoff. Harden was greeted by owner Steve Ballmer and then met with the Clippers in the locker room. The 10-time All-Star hugged Westbrook and George upon seeing them. Harden already has a locker with his new No. 1 Clippers blue jersey ready to be donned.
When asked by a reporter if he was excited about being traded to the Clippers, Harden said: “You don’t understand.”
The Clippers had only 11 players in uniform due to the pending trade, with nine seeing at least 18 minutes. Bones Hyland and Norman Powell added 18 points apiece.
Westbrook scored 16 points and George 14 in the third quarter. The Clippers trailed 50-47 at halftime before taking control by outscoring the Magic 41-21.
Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 15 points and Franz Wagner had 14 points and eight rebounds. Moritz Wagner scored 13 off the bench.
Orlando jumped out to a 38-29 advantage with 4:24 remaining in the second quarter before Los Angeles scored seven straight points.
The third period featured a 26-6 run by Los Angeles over nearly six minutes. It included a spurt of 10 straight Clippers points, eight supplied by George.
After shooting 33.3% from the floor in the first half, the Clippers were 17 of 23 in the third quarter.
UP NEXT
Magic: Wrap up their four-game trip Thursday against Utah.
NHL NEWS
DALY: NECK PROTECTION IN NHL ‘NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT’
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league will explore the usage of neck guards following Adam Johnson’s death.
“Obviously, something that needs to be looked at,” Daly said, per TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. “There is no reason we shouldn’t be doing everything possible to keep our players safe.”
Neck protection is not enforced in the NHL, and very few players, if any, wear them voluntarily. Daly hopes more players will choose to wear them despite having no mandate in place.
Johnson, who played 13 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2019, died while playing with the EIHL’s Nottingham Panthers on Saturday after his neck was cut by an opponent’s skate in a freak accident.
Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said the organization has mandated neck protection for their AHL and ECHL teams and is exploring options for their NHL players to wear neck protection, at least for practices, as soon as possible, per The Athletic’s Rob Rossi and Chris Johnston.
Pittsburgh forward Jeff Carter is among players who are open to experimenting with neck protection immediately.
“Why not?” Carter said. “We do it at every other level of hockey. They have socks and wrist (sleeves) made out of (cut-resistant) material. We should have already been trying it. Shouldn’t have taken this long or something like this.”
Neck guards are mandatory in youth hockey in Canada, as well as the OHL and QMJHL. However, they’re not mandatory in the WHL, NCAA, or USA Hockey.
The Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins are also reportedly pursuing the use of neck protection in some form. The Carolina Hurricanes will also make neck protection available for players to try in practice.
TALBOT LEADS KINGS TO A WIN; NYLANDER SETS TORONTO RECORD WITH SEASON-OPENING 9-GAME POINT STREAK
TORONTO (AP) Cam Talbot made 30 saves as the Los Angeles Kings beat Toronto 4-1 on Tuesday night in a game in which Maple Leafs winger William Nylander extended his season-opening point streak to a franchise record nine games.
Talbot improved to 4-2-1 in his first season with the Kings after signing a one-year $2 million contract as a free agent after an injury-plagued season with the Ottawa Senators limited the 36-yeaer-old to 36 games last season.
“I never take a day for granted here,” Talbot said. “At this point in my career, all I wanted to do was get an opportunity to show that I can still play and still battle for starts.
“When I’m healthy, I feel like I’m gonna be at the top of my game like that.”
Adrian Kempe, Phillip Danault, Arthur Kaliyev and Andreas Englund scored for the Kings. Quinton Byfield added two assists.
Joining the Kings, Talbot was reunited with head coach Todd McLellan, who was behind the bench for all four of his seasons with the Edmonton Oilers from 2015-16 through 2018-19.
“Very competitive,” McLellan said of his netminder. “He’s a little longer in the tooth like some of us, but he takes care of himself so well that he can play – and play a lot. He’s hungry.”
John Tavares scored for Toronto, which was coming off a 3-1-1 road trip that finished with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators on Saturday. Joseph Woll stopped 23 shots.
With an assist on Tavares’ goal, Nylander passed former Maple Leafs Frank Mahovlich (1961-62), Lanny McDonald (1976-77) and John Anderson (1982-83) who had eight-game point streaks.
“Every team goes through times during the year where you have a difficult schedule,” Tavares said. “With the type of team that we have, we have to recognize and understand how you have to fight through that.”
The Kings, who entered averaging an NHL-leading 4.38 goals, opened the scoring at 6:38 of the first period when Englund’s shot went in off the stick of Toronto defenseman Mark Giordano. It was the journeyman’s first goal in his 89th career game.
Los Angeles doubled its lead at 11:40 when former Maple Leafs winger Trevor Moore spun away from Timothy Liljegren down low and found Danault near the net for his second goal of the season.
Woll robbed Kaliyev five minutes into the second, but the Kings forward scored on a power play at 9:46 when he settled a bouncing puck and scored his second.
Kevin Fiala fed Kaliyev to become the third Kings player in the last 25 years to register an assist streak of at least eight games.
The Maple Leafs scored on a power play when Tavares ended Talbot’s shutout bid with his fifth at 8:25 of the third.
Later in the third, Toronto defenseman John Klingberg turned the puck over on a sequence and Kempe scored his third at 12:13.
Next up for Talbot and the Kings is a Thursday game at Ottawa.
“Being injured three separate times, and out of training camp … it was tough to jell with the new team,” Talbot said of the Senators. “But that’s a great group over there. You meet a lot of guys throughout your career that you’re going to be friends with, and that group is no different.
“Look back on it fondly, but obviously I’m here now and looking forward to playing them.”
UP NEXT
Kings: At Ottawa Senators on Thursday.
Maple Leafs: At Boston Bruins on Thursday.
ELIAS PETTERSSON’S 2ND HAT TRICK POWERS CANUCKS TO A 5-2 WIN OVER THE PREDATORS
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Elias Pettersson had the second hat trick of his career to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.
Sam Lafferty and J.T. Miller also scored for Vancouver. Thatcher Demko stopped 24 of 26 shots.
Colton Sissons and Dante Fabbro scored for Nashville. Kevin Lankinen stopped 22 of the 26 shots he faced.
Pettersson’s second goal of the game came on a wrist shot at 16:38 and gave the Canucks a 3-2 lead. The 24-year-old forward from Sweden completed his hat trick with under three minutes remaining in the game.
Nashville had tied and taken the lead in the first period on goals from Sissons and Fabbro.
Pettersson tied the game at the start of the second period for Vancouver. After Canucks captain Quinn Hughes slid the puck across, Pettersson cut in front of the net and fired a wrist shot past Lankinen.
Lafferty opened the scoring after a shot from the point by Hughes found its way through a crowd and bounced off the fourth-line forward at 13:45 of the first.
The Predators responded quickly after Hughes gave the puck away and Demko went for a poke check only for Nashville forward Liam Foudy to move around him, allowing Sissons to score his fifth goal of the season.
Nashville grabbed the lead three minutes later after a long shot from Fabbro made its way through a crowd of bodies and beat Demko.
The Predators had the best opportunity to open the scoring in the first period after the Canucks were called for a slash on Foudy at the start of a three-on-one, leading to a penalty shot.
But Foudy slipped during the attempt and, when he got back to his knees, his shot went wide of Demko’s net.
UP NEXT
Predators: At Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
Canucks: At San Jose Sharks on Thursday.
GOLF NEWS
TIGER WOODS AND RORY MCILROY’S TGL TO FEATURE 15-HOLE MATCHES, OVERTIME AND LOTS OF TECHNOLOGY
(AP) — Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are bringing modern technology to the royal and ancient game with TGL, a team-based golf league played over 15 holes that combines an oversized simulator with actual shots to a tech-infused green that can change contours depending on the shot.
Fourteen months after it was announced, and two months before TGL launches at newly constructed SoFi Center in Florida, the league on Tuesday provided details on just what it is and how it works.
Five of the six four-man teams have been announced for New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Atlanta.
The prime-time matches on ESPN platforms (ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+) will be between two teams, each activating three players for the match.
The opening nine holes will be called “triples” – alternate shot for the three players, with one point awarded for winning a hole, no carryovers if there is a tie. The final six holes will be singles, with each team member playing two holes.
Any match ending in a tie goes to overtime, similar to what amounts to penalty kicks in soccer. Each player goes head to head in a closest-to-the-pin competition.
A team win is worth 2 points. The losing team get no points in regulation, 1 point if the match is decided in overtime. Every team faces each other during the regular season, and the top four advance to the playoffs.
TGL debuts on Jan. 9 and ends before the Masters.
“If you take the macro view, we have a sport with 600 years of history and tradition that we’re now combining with technology that exists and has never been deployed in this manner,” said Mike McCarley, founder and CEO of TMRW Sports, which developed TGL.
“You combine history and credibility with a new access to golf, and I think it broadens the fan base … making golf relevant to new groups of people in new ways.”
The concept – 15 holes, a mix of alternate shot and singles, the scoring system – is unlike anything else in golf. McCarley said it was developed through brainstorming involving him, Woods, McIlroy and their management groups.
Woods favored alternate shot to bring in more strategy, particularly because the players will be wearing microphones.
As for the actual competition, it starts with a tee shot from one of two areas – 35 yards away or 20 yards away from a screen that is 64 feet by 46 feet, roughly 20 times the size of a standard simulator. The ball needs to be in the air for a half-second before hitting the massive screen for all the data to register and simulate the shot.
From there, the next shot to the big screen will be played from either real fairway grass, rough or sand, depending on the accuracy of the tee shot. Once players get within 50 yards, they play actual shots to a green complex that is larger than four basketball courts.
The 3,800-square-foot green includes three virtual greens, 15 feet by 27 feet, in which the slope of the green can change to create variety.
Don’t get the idea they will be playing Pebble Beach or Riviera. Top golf course designers have pitched in to help design the holes.
SoFi Center is built at Palm Beach State College in Florida, a 250,000-square-foot arena with a 75-foot-high apex. It can hold about 1,600 spectators, and the “course” is about the size of a football field.
Justin Thomas on Tuesday was the first player assigned to a team – Atlanta Drive GC. More announcements are expected by the end of the week, and still to come is the sixth team.
Player assignments are expected to have regional connections (think Keegan Bradley and Boston Commons GC as a possibility), along with what fits into their tour schedules. McIlroy, for example, is playing consecutive weeks in Dubai starting the week of the launch.
Key to TGL – along with a world-class roster of players – was getting a TV contract with ESPN, allowing for cross promotion. ESPN plans a promotional show on Dec. 30.
The idea is for the matches to last about the length of a basketball game. Most matches (there could be doubleheaders) will be in prime time on Tuesday.
Still to be announced is the prize money for TGL, and any other wrinkles to the competition.
RORY MCILROY TO OPEN 2024 WITH CONSECUTIVE DP WORLD TOUR EVENTS
Rory McIlroy’s 2024 season begins in the United Arab Emirates with back-to-back events on the DP World Tour in Dubai.
He is set to compete at the inaugural Dubai Invitational Jan. 11-14 at Dubai Creek Resort, followed by the Hero Dubai Desert Classic at the Emirates Golf Club from Jan. 18-21.
The 34-year-old from Northern Ireland is the defending champion at the latter, a one-shot victory over Patrick Reed in January 2023.
“I’m really excited to start my year at the Dubai Invitational,” said McIlroy, per Sky Sports. “I’ve always enjoyed coming back to Dubai to set up my season and with a pro-am format, this tournament is going to be an enjoyable week.”
McIlroy’s participation in the Dubai events will keep him out of two PGA Tour events in the same weeks – the Sony Open in Honolulu, scheduled for Jan. 11-14, and The American Express in LaQuinta, Calif., the following week.
WNBA NEWS
WNBA DRAFT LOTTERY SLATED FOR DEC. 10
The WNBA announced Tuesday that the lottery for the 2024 draft will be held Dec. 10.
The lottery will be conducted at 4:30 p.m. ET and broadcast on ESPN between the latter two games of a women’s college basketball tripleheader: Utah against South Carolina and North Carolina vs. UConn.
The four teams vying for the No. 1 overall pick in the draft are the Indiana Fever, Phoenix Mercury, Los Angeles Sparks and Seattle Storm.
Indiana won last year’s lottery and drafted South Carolina star Aliyah Boston first overall.
Still, the Fever have the worst combined record in the league over the past two years (18-58) and therefore have the highest likelihood of receiving the No. 1 pick (44.2 percent).
The Mercury have a 27.6 percent chance of winning the lottery, the Sparks are at 17.8 percent and the Storm are at 10.4 percent.
The draft will be held April 15. Iowa guard Caitlin Clark and LSU forward Angel Reese are among the players expected to be available at the top of the draft.
TOP INDIANA RELEASES/NEWS
COLTS FOOTBALL: COLTS RELEASE UNOFFICIAL DEPTH CHART FOR WEEK 9 GAME VS. CAROLINA PANTHERS
OFFENSE
» WR: Michael Pittman Jr.
» LT: Bernhard Raimann
» LG: Quenton Nelson, Arlington Hambright
» C: Ryan Kelly, Wesley French, Jack Anderson
» RG: Will Fries, Josh Sills
» RT: Braden Smith, Blake Freeland
» TE: Mo Alie-Cox, Drew Ogletree
» TE: Kylen Granson, Will Mallory
» WR: Josh Downs, Isaiah McKenzie
» WR: Alec Pierce, Juwann Winfree
» QB: Gardner Minshew II, Sam Ehlinger
» RB: Jonathan Taylor, Zack Moss, Trey Sermon
- Smith (hip/wrist) and Granson (concussion) were inactive Week 8 against the New Orleans Saints due to injury.
- Last Sunday, Taylor rushed for a season-high 95 yards on 12 carries.
DEFENSE
» DE: Kwity Paye, Tyquan Lewis, Jake Martin
» DT: DeForest Buckner, Adetomiwa Adebawore
» NT: Taven Bryan, Eric Johnson II
» DE: Samson Ebukam, Dayo Odeyingbo, Isaiah Land
» WLB: Shaquille Leonard, Grant Stuard
» MLB: Zaire Franklin, Segun Olubi
» SAM: E.J. Speed, Cameron McGrone
» CB: JuJu Brents, Ameer Speed
» FS: Rodney Thomas II, Trevor Denbow
» SS: Julian Blackmon, Nick Cross
» N: Kenny Moore II, Tony Brown
» CB: Jaylon Jones, Darrell Baker Jr.
- Brents missed the Colts Week 8 game due to a quad injury.
- Buckner notched his fourth sack of the season against the Saints last weekend. He’s tied with Ebukam for the most on the team.
SPECIALISTS
» P: Rigoberto Sanchez
» PK: Matt Gay
» H: Rigoberto Sanchez
» LS: Luke Rhodes
» KR: Isaiah McKenzie, Josh Downs
» PR: Isaiah McKenzie, Josh Downs
COLTS SIGN C JACK ANDERSON TO 53-MAN ROSTER FROM PRACTICE SQUAD, RELEASE G IKE BOETTGER
Indianapolis–The Indianapolis Colts today signed center Jack Anderson to the 53-man roster from the practice squad and released guard Ike Boettger.
Anderson, 6-4, 314 pounds, was originally signed to the team’s practice squad on September 12, 2023. He participated in the New York Giants’ 2023 offseason program and training camp. Anderson has played in 14 career games (three starts) in his time with the Colts (2023), Giants (2022-23), Philadelphia Eagles (2021-22) and Buffalo Bills (2021). He was originally selected by the Bills in the seventh round (236th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Texas Tech.
Boettger, 6-6, 313 pounds, has spent time on Indianapolis’ active roster and practice squad this season after originally being signed to the team’s practice squad on September 12, 2023. He has appeared in 36 career games (17 starts) in his time with the Colts (2023), Buffalo Bills (2018-23) and Kansas City Chiefs (2018). Boettger has also started three postseason contests. He was originally signed by the Bills as an undrafted free agent on May 11, 2018, out of Iowa. His last name is pronounced BUTT-gur.
COLTS SIGN G IKE BOETTGER TO THE PRACTICE SQUAD
Indianapolis – The Indianapolis Colts today signed guard Ike Boettger to the practice squad.
Boettger, 6-6, 313 pounds, has spent time on Indianapolis’ active roster and practice squad this season after originally being signed to the team’s practice squad on September 12, 2023. He has appeared in 36 career games (17 starts) in his time with the Colts (2023), Buffalo Bills (2018-23) and Kansas City Chiefs (2018). Boettger has also started three postseason contests. He was originally signed by the Bills as an undrafted free agent on May 11, 2018, out of Iowa. His last name is pronounced BUTT-gur.
INDIANA PACERS BASKETBALL
GAME PREVIEW: PACERS AT CELTICS
Game Preview
With a tough test ahead, the Indiana Pacers will have to put their first loss of the 2023-24 season quickly behind them.
On Wednesday, the Pacers (2-1) are back on the road, taking on the first-place Boston Celtics (3-0) at TD Garden. Boston is the only undefeated team left in the Eastern Conference.
Indiana dropped a 112-105 Central Division matchup to the Chicago Bulls (2-2) on Monday. The Pacers led the Bulls 83-78 going into the fourth quarter, but the visitors limited the Blue & Gold to 23.1 percent shooting (6-for-21 field goals) in the final 12 minutes to deal Indiana its first loss of the season.
The game was close from start to finish, with 21 ties and 14 total lead changes. The Pacers made a season-low 12 3-pointers in the game and shot just 40.9 percent overall while turning the ball over 17 times.
Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton logged a third straight double-double in the loss, finishing with 19 points and 13 assists and veteran center Myles Turner achieved a second straight double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Like the Pacers did last week, Boston blew out the Washington Wizards 126-107 on Monday. The Celtics led the Wizards 42-19 at the end of the first quarter and coasted the rest of the game.
As a team, the Celtics shot 50 percent from the field, including knocking down 19 3-pointers. Boston’s All-Stars led the way, as Jaylen Brown finished with 36 points and six rebounds and Jayson Tatum scored 33 points while pulling down six boards.
Coming into the 2023-24 season, like the Pacers, the Celtics made a couple of key additions to their starting lineup.
In the offseason, after losing in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat in seven games, the Celtics shook up their roster by acquiring Jrue Holiday from the Milwaukee Bucks and Kristaps Porzingis from the Wizards. As part of the three-team deal, former Celtics Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart went to the Memphis Grizzlies.
On their previous teams, both Holiday and Porzingis gave the Pacers problems last season. For the Bucks, Holiday averaged 31.1 points, 9.8 assists and 7.0 rebounds in four games against the Pacers in Milwaukee; and Porzingis averaged 20.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in four games against Indiana for the Wizards. Holiday had double-doubles in two of the three games and scored 51 points with eight rebounds and eight assists on March 29.
Indiana and Boston had an up-and-down season series in 2022-23, with the Celtics coming out on top 2-1. After beating Boston 117-112 in December, the Celtics defeated the Pacers 142-138 in overtime in February and 120-95 in March.
The Celtics dominated at home last season, tying the Bucks for the best home record in the East at 32-9.
Tatum and Brown both had strong games against the Pacers last season. Tatum averaged 35.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists, and Brown put up 25.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists against the Blue & Gold.
For Indiana, Haliburton had some strong performances against the Celtics last season, averaging 25 points, 10.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds across the three games. Turner also had an excellent trio of games, averaging 23.3 points and 7.3 rebounds at center.
As of Monday night, the Pacers led the league in points per game (134), assists per game (37), 3-point percentage (43.2 percent) as a team and free throw percentage (86.2 percent).
So far this season, the two teams are playing at much different speeds, as the Pacers are playing at the fifth-fastest pace and the Celtics are 21st. Boston has steadily scored more points in each game played this season, and not given up more than 111 in a game.
Projected Starters
Pacers: G – Tyrese Haliburton, G – Bruce Brown, F – Bennedict Mathurin, F – Obi Toppin, C – Myles Turner
Celtics: G – Jrue Holiday, G – Derrick White, F – Jayson Tatum, F – Jaylen Brown, C – Kristaps Porzingis
Injury Report
Pacers: None
Celtics: None
Last Meeting
March 24, 2023: The Boston Celtics used a strong second half effort to post a 120-95 win over the Indiana Pacers at TD Garden, securing the season series 2-1.
Boston led 60-56 at halftime before distancing themselves in the third quarter by outscoring the Pacers 32-21, largely built on a 17-5 run. In the final 12 minutes, the Pacers scored just 19 points.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 34 points on 13-for-24 shooting, Jaylen Brown added 27 points and seven rebounds and Derrick White logged 22 points and nine assists.
For the Pacers, Tyrese Haliburotn finished with 20 points, nine assists and six rebounds in his first game back after a bruised left knee and sprained right ankle sidelined him for six games. Myles Turner also had a solid night, totaling 20 points and six rebounds.
While the Celtics just nudged the Pacers in shooting from the field 47.3 percent to 46.4 percent, Indiana made just four total 3-pointers to Boston’s 18 threes. Additionally, the Pacers struggled from the free throw line, making just 13 of 22 attempts.
Boston also took advantage of 17 Pacers turnovers by turning those into 21 points.
Noteworthy
Indiana has not beaten Boston in a season series since the 2015-16 season.
Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton leads all NBA players in assists per game at 12.3.
Rick Carlisle has 898 career wins as an NBA head coach. Just 13 head coaches have reached 900 in league history.
On Friday, the Pacers kick off a five-game homestand when they play their first-ever game of the inaugural In-Season Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The game will be played on a new court designed specifically for IST play.
Broadcast Information (TV and Radio Listings >>)
TV: Bally Sports Indiana – Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)
Tickets
The Pacers will host Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, Nov. 3 7:00 PM for Indiana’s first-ever In-Season Tournament game.
INDY FUEL HOCKEY
- INDY FUEL WEEK 2 RESULTS: 1-1-0
- INDY FUEL OVERALL RECORD: 2-2-0 (2nd in Central Division)
GAME 3 – WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25 AT KALAMAZOO – 5-4 L
The Fuel headed to Kalamazoo to take on the K-Wings in their first of fourteen meetings this season. In a rare Wednesday night matchup before meeting again this Saturday, it was the K-Wings who came out victorious, beating the Fuel 5-4.
GAME 4 – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28 VS. KALAMAZOO – 6-2 W
The Indy Fuel hosted the Kalamazoo Wings on Saturday night for Pucks and Paws/Halloween Night. Despite going down in the first period, the Fuel came out with the 6-2 win.
ROSTER MOVES
- Goaltender Mitchell Weeks was recalled by Rockford on 10/29
- Defenseman Ross MacDougall was recalled by Rockford on 10/29
OIL DROPS
- Forward Jon Martin ties the franchise record of most consecutive games with a goal to start a season with four. He is also the only player in the league with a 4-game goal streak.
- Fuel newcomer Santino Centorame is ranked 12th in the league for defensemen, with four assists so far. On Pucks & Paws Night, Centorame tied a Fuel franchise record of the most points in one period by a defenseman (3).
- Cam Hillis has an assist streak going; with 6 assists across all four contests.
- Goalie Zach Driscoll is ranked sixth for goaltender leaders across the league. His save percentage is .938. He has played in two contests.
- Kyle Maksimovich was a hot dog on Pucks & Paws Night with a two-goal game.
- Seamus Malone scored his first goal of the season and first as captain of the Indy Fuel on Saturday.
TEAM NOTES
- On Saturday, the Fuel outshot the K-Wings 37-15 and had four players with a multi-point night.
- In Wednesday’s contest, they also had 37 shots but allowed 23 shots by Kalamazoo.
- The Fuel scores the most during the second period with 50 second period shots across all four contests. In comparison, they average mid-30s for both the first and third periods.
- The Fuel’s power play is ranked seventh in the league with a power play success rate of 26.3%.
INDY FUEL WEEK 3 SCHEDULE
GAME 5 – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3 AT KALAMAZOO
GAME 6 – SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4 AT TOLEDO
BROADCAST
Don’t miss a moment of the action! Get your tickets to an Indy Fuel game or tune in live!
UPCOMING FAN EXPERIENCES AND EVENTS
Get ready for lots of fun at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in 2023! Check out some of our upcoming promotions and special fan experiences!
Friday, November 10 – The Indy Fuel will honor veterans and those who currently serve our country for Military Appreciation Night. This night is in partnership with the Indiana Army National Guard and Financial Center. After the Fuel’s contest with the Cincinnati Cyclones, there will be post-game autographs with select players. Plus donate to recieve a campfire mug.
Friday, November 17 – Get your hands on special giveaways and challenges all night long on Survivor Night, with special guest four-time Survivor challenger, Rupert Boneham, as the Fuel tries to vote the Wheeling Nailers off the island!
INDIANA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
NO. 9/9 INDIANA HOST NORTHWOOD IN EXHIBITION ON WEDNESDAY
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – No. 9/9 Indiana hosts its only public exhibition of the season when it faces Northwood on Wednesday night inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES
Northwood was picked to finish fourth in the 2023-23 preseason G-MAC women’s basketball poll, following up a season where it finished 14-14 overall. Returning to lead the Timberwolves is 2023 G-MAC second team selection senior guard Mackenzie Todd who averaged a team-high 15.1 points and shot 41.6 percent from the floor. Todd joins junior forward Maddie Voekler (11.0 ppg., 5.9 rpg.) and Ava DiMilia (10.7 ppg., 5.3 rpg.) as the program’s three leading scorers returning from a season ago.
NOTES
Indiana will host its only public exhibition of the season on Wednesday night. Fans will notice changes to the Indiana Women’s Basketball game day experience including the new reserved seating sections and reserved parking. More information about game day changes can be found here.
The Hoosiers were picked to finish second among the league’s media and third by the coaches in the annual preseason Big Ten poll. Graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes was named to the first team.
Holmes enters her fifth and final season with the Hoosiers, as she takes advantage of her extra year of eligibility. The Gorham, Maine native has been named to a host of preseason honors including the Lisa Leslie award watch list and a preseason AP All-American, the first for the program. She is following up a spectacular senior campaign where she averaged 22.3 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 68.0 percent from the floor while being named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a first team All-Big Ten honoree.
The Hoosiers also return four other All-Big Ten players from a season ago, including senior guard Chloe Moore-McNeil, senior guard Sydney Parrish, senior guard Sara Scalia and sophomore guard Yarden Garzon.
Three newcomers will also be featured on the roster including a pair of freshmen in Lenée Beaumont and Julianna LaMendola along with UT Martin transfer Sharnecce Currie-Jelks.
IU is ranked in the top 10 of both national polls to start the season, both No. 9 rankings from the Associated Press and USA Today/WBCA coaches poll.
In the offseason, the Hoosiers took its first foreign tour in six years when it traveled to Greece. They toured Athens, Napfaktos and places along the Ionian and Aegean seas. The team spent a total of 10 days abroad.
UP NEXT
The regular season officially tips off on Thursday, November 9 against Eastern Illinois at 7 p.m. ET.
PURDUE MEN’S BASKETBALL
#3 PURDUE HOSTS GRACE COLLEGE IN LONE HOME EXHIBITION CONTEST
GAMEDAY INFORMATION — EXHIBITION GAME
[3] Purdue vs. Grace College
7:00 p.m. ET | West Lafayette, Indiana
Mackey Arena | 14,876 (SOLD OUT)
ONLINE: B1G+ (Craig Combs, Charlie Schmidgall
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• No. 3-ranked Purdue hosts NAIA power Grace College in its final tuneup before the 2023-24 season, when the red-hot Lancers visit Mackey Arena for the first time in school history. The game is sold out, marking the third straight season that Purdue has sold out its lone home exhibition game. The two teams are ranked in the top five nationally in their respective divisions (Purdue – 3; Grace College – 2).
• Purdue’s No. 3 ranking marks its highest preseason ranking since the 1987-88 season (No. 2). Purdue has been ranked in the preseason top 10 for the second time in the last three years (2021-22 –> No. 7). It marks the eighth time in school history that Purdue has been ranked in the top 10 of the AP preseason poll. The last five times that Purdue has been ranked top 10, it has posted a 140-31 (.819) record.
• With its top-five preseason ranking, Purdue has been ranked in the top five in 17 straight weeks, the longest streak in the country. Kansas is the next closest at six weeks.
• A year ago, Purdue became the first team since Wisconsin in 2015 to win an outright Big Ten regular-season title and the Big Ten Tournament title in the same season. Purdue became the first team in Big Ten history to win the regular-season title by at least three games and win the Big Ten Tournament in the same season. No team since Michigan State (1999, 2000) has won consecutive Big Ten Tournament and outright regular-season championships.
• Purdue’s 58 wins over the last two seasons are the most in school history and the sixth most in the country (Houston, Kansas, Arizona, Gonzaga, Duke). Purdue needs just 25 wins this season to tie the school record for the most wins in a three-year span (83; 2016-17-18).
• Purdue will enter the year having won 14 straight games in the month of November, with the last loss coming Nov. 26, 2020, vs. Clemson in the SpaceCoast Challenge. The streak is the second-longest November winning streak in America (Arizona – 22).
• The Boilermakers have won 24 straight regular-season, non-conference games, dating to a Dec. 8, 2020, setback at Miami, Fla. The streak is the longest in the country by nine games (New Mexico – 15).
• Purdue is in search for its 26th Big Ten Championship, already owning the most Big Ten titles in league history. Should Purdue win the Big Ten title in 2024, it will mark its fourth title in the last eight seasons and back-to-back titles for the first time since 1994-95-96.
• The Boilermakers enter the season ranked No. 1 by three major analytic services (KenPom, Bart Torvik, Evan Miyakawa). It marks the first time in the 23-year history that Purdue has been ranked No. 1 by KenPom.
• Eric Musselman and Matt Painter are two of eight coaches nationally to average at least 25 wins over the last eight seasons.
• Zach Edey won Purdue’s third National Player of the Year honor (1932 – John Wooden; 1994 – Glenn Robinson) a year ago after averaging 22.3 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. Purdue (2), Duke (3) and North Carolina (2) are the only schools in America to have at least two consensus (all six major services) National Players of the Year in the last 30 seasons. Edey could become the first consensus back-to-back National Player of the Year since Bill Walton (1972, 1973).
• Zach Edey is the nation’s third-leading scorer from a year ago (22.3 PPG), but among players that played in a major conference a year ago, he is first. Edey is the only one of the top-11 returning scorers in America from a year ago to play in a major conference last year.
• Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer return after scoring a combined 724 points a year ago. The total is second nationally among sophomore teammates behind Duke’s Kyle Filipowski and Tyrese Proctor (881 points).
• Matt Painter ranks fifth on the Big Ten’s list for career wins with 413, needing just eight victories to tie Illinois legend Lou Henson for fourth (421). On the Big Ten games-only chart, Painter is seventh (209 wins), needing one win to tie Indiana’s Branch McCracken (210).
PURDUE WRESTLING
WRESTLING 2023-24 SEASON PREVIEW: 125-157
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Boilermakers will open their season at the Clarion Open for the second straight year this Sunday, bringing a lineup that is once again expected to be one of the youngest in the Big Ten.
Head coach Tony Ersland wrestled 10 freshmen in duals in the 2022-23 campaign, the most of any Big Ten team, and the youth movement will continue into this year with a talented recruiting class now on board.
16 duals and five tournaments on the schedule will give the full roster opportunities to showcase their talents and contribute to the team, so let’s take a look at who will be donning the old gold and black this season.
Previews: 125-157 | 165-285 (Thursday)
125
How do you even begin to preview this guy? A 2023 NCAA Runner Up and the 60th All-American in program history, redshirt-junior Matt Ramos comes into the season as the consensus preseason No. 1 at 125 pounds after an incredible finish to last year vaulted him into the national spotlight. An upset win over Iowa’s Spencer Lee in the NCAA semifinals showed the world what he is capable of and now he has an opportunity to accomplish everything he has set out for himself.
Our records indicate that he is the first preseason No. 1 in program history, much less a consensus top-ranking. He is the first Boilermaker to earn a top-ranking since Chris Fleeger in March of 2003 and the highest ranked wrestler under Ersland since Devin Schroder was No. 2 in January of 2021. The Lockport, Ill., native went 35-5 last year and already sits in the top-7 for career winning percentage at Purdue (56-15, 78.9%).
Ramos will have plenty of opportunities to solidify his spot at the top. 28 of the 33 wrestlers ranked at 125 pounds by Intermat are scheduled to appear in an event with the Boilermakers this season, including nine of the top-10.
He will be backed up by a pair of true freshmen in Ashton Jackson and Cooper Rider. Jackson was a two-time Indiana state champion and was the No. 177 overall ranked recruit in 2023 according to MatScouts.
133
Ranked for the first time in his young career, redshirt-sophomore Dustin Norris enters his second season as the starter at 133 pounds for the Boilermakers and ranked at No. 28 in the country. He went 14-16 last season with six duals wins, but he did some of his best work late.
Fighting for NCAA tournament qualification at Big Tens, he picked up his highlight win of the year by pinning former All-American RayVon Foley of Michigan State. He ended up one spot shy of a berth to Tulsa but will look to build on a good start to his varsity career.
Behind Norris at 133 sits redshirt-freshman Jacob Macatangay, who impressed in open competition last season and took first at the Clarion Open in his only varsity action in his true freshman campaign.
141
There are big shoes to fill at 141 pounds, as the Boilermakers look to replace their 61st All-American and four-time NCAA qualifier Parker Filius who graduated after climbing the podium into seventh at the 2023 NCAA Championships.
Ersland has several promising options at his disposal, none more decorated than true freshman Greyson Clark who looks primed to jump straight into the lineup. The No. 29 overall recruit in the nation, Clark won a state title all four years of high school in Wisconsin and was named the state’s representative for the prestigious Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award.
Redshirt-senior Michael Leveille has the most experience of the group with 37 matches under his belt. Christian White, Brac Hooper and Cole Solomey will also compete at 141 for the Boilermakers.
149
One of two high profile transfers into the program, redshirt-senior Marcos Polanco comes to Purdue from Minnesota with three years of Big Ten and NCAA Championship experience. He enters the season at No. 27 nationally at 149 and has a 26-24 career record.
Pushing him for the starting spot is a cast of experienced wrestlers. Seniors Trey Kruse and Christian Navida have a combined 57 career matches with 14 bonus point wins. Redshirt-sophomore Jaden Reynolds competed for the Boilermakers at the Big Ten Championships last season, snagging a dramatic sudden victory win over Nebraska’s Dayne Morton.
157
Another weight class replacing an experienced veteran, Ersland now looks for someone to step up after four-time NCAA qualifier Kendall Coleman graduated last May. Once again, it looks as though a true freshman is set to fill the role.
Perrysburg native Joey Blaze came in as the No. 17 overall recruit on the back of a Super 32 title and three state championships. The young talent looked impressive at the Boilermaker Wrestle Offs as well, picking up two tech falls on the back of 13 takedowns.
Redshirt-freshmen Kade Law and Isaac Ruble also plan to slot in at 157 this season.
PURDUE VOLLEYBALL
VOLLEYBALL SLATED TO FACE 2 TOP-16 RANKED OPPONENTS
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The No. 19 Purdue volleyball squad (14-7, 8-4 Big Ten) is set for a pair of top-16 matchups to begin the final month of regular-season action.
First, the Boilermakers will travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to take on the No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers (20-1, 11-1 Big Ten) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network. Then, Purdue returns home for the first time in 10 days as the team hosts No. 16 Penn State (15-6, 9-3 Big Ten) on Sunday. The Boilermakers, which hold the 1-0 series lead over the Nittany Lions this year, will play at 1 p.m. ET on B1G+. The match will serve as Turn Back the Clock – 80’s Day, with the first 750 fans in attendance receiving an 80’s themed Purdue flag.
PURDUE AT A GLANCE
Eight regular-season matches remain on Purdue’s slate, with an even 50% split between home and road.
Purdue is in its toughest stretch of the season, having faced four of the last five matches vs. teams ranked or receiving votes and four of the next five opponents also ranked or receiving votes.
The Boilermakers are 6-2 over the last eight matches.
Up next, Purdue will take on Penn State and Wisconsin, which are two of the best defensive teams in the league, and includes ranking No. 1 and No. 2 in the league in team blocks and No. 2 and No. 3 in opponent hitting %.
Purdue is fourth in the Big Ten standings and rank as high as third in the Big Ten statistical rankings in hitting % (.250) and opponent blocks (1.89).
Two Boilermakers rank first or second in the league: Raven Colvin (#1 with 122 total blocks) and Maddie Schermerhorn (#2 with 4.37 digs per set). Meanwhile, Eva Hudson and Chloe Chicoine are among the top offensive players in the conference, ranking 4th and 7th, respectively in kills per set and 4th and 5th in total points.
LAST WEEK’S WRAP-UP
Purdue split the week with a 3-0 sweep vs. Minnesota and a 3-1 loss at Illinois, ending a four-match win streak.
The Boilermakers posted a season-high and best attack % in Big Ten play since 2021 with their .390% vs. Minnesota as the team improved to 8-3 vs. teams ranked or receiving votes in the poll.
Raven Colvin was selected Defensive Player of the Week for the second straight week after leading the Big Ten with 2.00 blocks per set and ranking seventh with 4.57 points per set.
Taylor Anderson led the league with 11.50 assists per set and ranked 6th in blocks (1.50 per set). Meanwhile, Maddie Schermerhorn was second with 5.14 digs per set and Eva Hudson was third in both kills per set (5.00) and points per set (5.36).
SCOUTING THE WISCONSIN BADGERS
Wisconsin ranks first or second in the league in hitting %, points per set, digs per set, kills per set, opponent kills, assists and opponent hitting %.
Sarah Franklin was named Big Ten Player of the Week after leading all Big Ten players in points (7.25 per set). Meanwhile, she ranks eighth on the season with 4.45 per set.
Carter Booth and Anna Smrek rank first and second, respectively, in hitting %, with both above .400 this season.
Wisconsin has dropped sets in only one Big Ten match (L, 2-3 at Nebraska). On the season, the Badgers have dropped just 11 sets in total.
Purdue will be looking to hand Wisconsin its first home loss of the season, ending the team’s 9-0 home win streak.
IN RECENT MATCHES VS. WISCONSIN
The Boilermakers are 2-1 over the last two seasons vs. Wisconsin. All three of those matches were decided in four sets.
The last time Purdue played at UW-Fieldhouse was Nov. 1, 2021 when Purdue took down the #3-ranked Badgers, 3-1.
LAST TIME OUT VS. PENN STATE (PURDUE 3, PENN STATE 1)
Purdue took down Penn State, 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-22) for the team’s first win in Rec Hall since 2021.
The win marked Purdue’s first over a top-15 program since taking down #8 Minnesota, 3-0, in the 2022 Big Ten season-opener (9/23/22). Meanwhile, it was the first top-15 road win since 2021 (W, 3-1 at #8 Minnesota, 11/14/21).
It was Purdue’s fifth-ever win in Rec Hall, including the fourth since 2018.
Purdue improved each set, beginning the match with 11 attack errors (-.031 attack %) and closing it out with one error and a .485 hitting % in Set 4.
As a team, Purdue committed just one error in the fourth set, led by Chicoine’s six kills on nine swings (.667%). Additionally, Anderson served up 16 assists in the set, marking the fifth straight match the Boilermaker has posted as many in a single game. Moreover, it was the third straight match it’s come in the final set.
Chloe Chicoine totaled 20 kills, leading the team, with a .405 attack %. The performance was a Big Ten season-high in kills and most since setting a career-high vs. then-#19 Kentucky (9/9). Meanwhile, it was the second match the freshman has hit over .400.
Setter Taylor Anderson dished out 47 assists in the four-setter, knocking on the door of a double-double with seven digs.
The Boilermakers allowed zero Nittany Lion service aces, marking the second time this season Purdue has gone perfect in serve-receive.
BUTLER MEN’S BASKETBALL
BUTLER MBB HOSTS FRANKLIN COLLEGE WEDNESDAY IN SECOND AND FINAL EXHIBITION
Butler vs. Franklin College – Exhibition
Wednesday, Nov. 1; 7PM
Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.
TV: None
Radio: 1430AM & Varsity Network Radio App – @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
@ButlerMBB | #ButlerWay | ButlerSports.com
The Bulldogs welcome Franklin College to Hinkle Fieldhouse Wednesday night in the Bulldogs’ second and final exhibition tip of the preseason. The Butler and Franklin campuses are separated by about 30 miles.
Butler holds a 46-18 advantage over Franklin in regular season contests over the years; the teams first met during the 1904-05 season. The last of those regular-season match-ups came in the finale of the 1945-46 season. The teams last met in an exhibition contest Nov. 8, 2014 at Hinkle, a 98-43 Butler win.
Tip is set for 7 p.m. Fans not taking in the action in person at Hinkle Fieldhouse can listen to Mark Minner and Nick Gardner, who will call the action on the PNC Butler Radio Network on WXNT 1430AM in Indianapolis and on the Varsity Network Radio App nationally.
Butler opens the regular season Monday (Nov. 6), hosting Eastern Michigan.
LAST TIME OUT: Butler opened the 2023-24 season with a 78-46 exhibition win over Ohio Northern Saturday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The evening tip closed a day of Homecoming festivities on the Indianapolis campus. The Bulldogs shot 58 percent from the field and had a balanced offensive effort as seven players posted between eight and 13 points on the night.
DJ Davis led the Bulldogs with 13 points, which included a 3-for-4 performance from three-point range and four free throws.
Pierre Brooks II (12) and Finley Bizjack (10) joined Davis in double figures.
Ten of the 13 players who saw action in Saturday’s exhibition were suiting up for Butler for the first time.
• Butler will be without freshman Augusto Cassia, who sustained a strain to a muscle in his right leg Monday in practice. He is out indefinitely, and his status will be updated in the coming weeks.
• Thad Matta has won 453 games in his 18 seasons as a head coach, which averages out to 25.2 wins per season.
• Butler returns only 9% of scoring (191 of 2,088 points) and 9% of minutes played (563 of 6,400) from the 2022-23 season.
• The nine scholarship players on Butler’s 2023-24 roster who bring collegiate experience have combined for 237 double-figure scoring games; only eight of those games (all by Jalen Thomas during the 2022-23 season) have come in a Butler uniform.
• Five of Butler’s incoming transfers averaged double figures during the 2022-23 season for their respective former teams.
• Posh Alexander arrives at Butler from conference rival St. John’s; Alexander led the BIG EAST in steals in each of his three seasons with the Red Storm.
• DJ Davis, a transfer from UC Irvine, was a first-team All-Big West Conference selection during the 2022-23 season; his 40.2-percent three-point percentage was 33rd nationally.
• Jahmyl Telfort played for Canada’s U23 team in July as part of the GLOBL JAM event in Toronto, helping the Canadians to the silver medal in the four-team event. Telfort posted 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in the gold medal game, a loss to the University of Kentucky, which represented the United States in the event. In the four games, Telfort averaged 10 points per game.
• Telfort, a transfer from Northeastern, ranked fifth in the Colonial Athletic Association in scoring in 2022-23.
• Despite being limited to only 19 games during the season, Landon Moore was named Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week seven times during the 2022-23 season while playing for St. Francis (Pa.).
• Pierre Brooks II arrives at Butler from Michigan State; Brooks was named Michigan’s Mr. Basketball in 2021 and was a Top 75 recruit nationally.
• Andre Screen, a transfer from Bucknell, ranked second in the Patriot League in both blocks and field goal percentage during the 2022-23 season.
• Incoming freshman Finley Bizjack was ranked as a Top 100 recruit by ESPN in the Class of 2023; he scored 2,832 points during his high school career.
• Thomas led the Bulldogs in scoring in the Dec. 29, 2022 game against Providence, the only game that anyone on Butler’s current roster has led the team in scoring.
• Thomas and Connor Turnbull combined for 32 of the team’s 74 blocked shots in BIG EAST play despite combining to play only 493 of the team’s 4,000 minutes played in conference action.
• Alex Barlow, most recently the head coach of the Boston Celtics’ G-League affiliate in Maine, returns to Butler as an assistant coach for the upcoming season; as a player, Barlow helped the Bulldogs to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2013 and 2015.
• The ESPN Events Invitational field includes opening-round opponent Florida Atlantic in addition to Texas A&M, Penn State, Iowa State, Virginia Tech, VCU, and Boise State.
• According to KenPom, Butler played the nation’s 19th-toughest schedule during the 2022-23 season. Twenty-three (23) of the team’s 32 games came against teams ranked among the KenPom Top 100.
• In 2022-23, all seven of Butler’s top scorers were available in only nine of the team’s 32 games.
• Butler shot 50 percent or better from the field 11 times during the 2022-23 season; the Bulldogs won all 11 of those games.
• Butler was 11-0 during the 2022-23 season when scoring 70 or more points.
IUPUI MEN’S SOCCER
JAGUARS HEAD TO FORT WAYNE TO CLOSE OUT REGULAR SEASON
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The IUPUI men’s soccer team will close out its regular season on Wednesday (Nov. 1) when the Jaguars face Purdue Fort Wayne (6-5-3, 3-3-2 HL) at 2:00 p.m. at Hefner Soccer Complex. IUPUI has already captured a spot in the upcoming six-team Horizon League Tournament, but Wednesday’s game has major seeding implications for both sides.
The Jaguars could finish as high as the No. 1 seed and the regular season champion, or could finish as low as No. 5 and be forced to go on the road in the quarterfinals round of the league tournament. IUPUI is currently locked in a three-way tie for second place with 14 points.
IUPUI played Milwaukee to a critical 1-1 draw at Carmel’s Murray Stadium on Saturday as Josemir Gomez deposited a late equalizer to earn a result. Graduate student Lucas Morefield was brilliant in goal, stopping a first half penalty kick and making a second incredible diving save in the second half to keep things interesting. Gomez’ goal came on the end of a set piece as Lukas Hackaa and Kenshiro Yamaguchi both earned assists on the header score.
For the year, Hackaa and Gomez have a team-high seven goals and Logan Finnegan has four tallies from his forward position. Morefield has ranked among the league’s best keepers in league play, authoring a league-high three shutouts and 0.77 goals against average.
SCOUTING PURDUE FORT WAYNE
PFW is 6-5-3 on the year and 3-3-2 in Horizon League games. The Mastodons have outscored opponents by a 22-19 margin and blanked three opponents, using three different goalkeepers. Seth Mahlmeister leads the Mastodon attack with nine goals and 53 shot attempts while Soshi Fujioka has a goal and team-high eight assists. In goal, Danny Salazar has started eight of the team’s 14 games, registering a 3-2-2 record with 1.20 goals against average and .679 save percentage.
AGAINST THE ‘DONS
IUPUI is 16-15-1 all-time against Purdue Fort Wayne, but just 6-10 in 16 meetings in Fort Wayne. IUPUI hasn’t won in Fort Wayne since a 2-1 victory in 2010, having since dropped five consecutive road contests in the series. The Jaguars won last year’s meeting in Westfield at Grand Park, 3-1.
UP NEXT
IUPUI will compete in the 2023 Horizon League Tournament – that’s about all they know. The opening round site and opponent will be determined following Wednesday’s league wide slate.
NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S SOCCER
ACC TOURNAMENT SEMIS – HERE COME THE IRISH
play is upon us and the Irish have earned the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament. As a result, they jumped straight to the semifinal round at WakeMed Stadium Thursday night. The opponent – none other than the team they played just this past week in the regular-season finale – Clemson. The Irish claimed that initial encounter, 2-0.
Thursday’s match will kick off at 5:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network. If the Irish win, it would mark their first appearance in an ACC Tournament championship match.
IRISH A NO. 2 SEED
This marks the third straight year Notre Dame achieved seven wins in ACC play and sixth time overall. It also tied their league-high win mark.
It’s the first time they’ve been the No. 2 seed and it’s their highest seeding since 2016, when they had their lone No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament.
The Irish are 1-7-2 all-time in the ACC Tournament. They’ve appeared in the semis three times (2014, 2016, 2022) and its lone win was a quarterfinal matchup in 2016.
WHAT’S ON THE LINE
Notre Dame joined the league back in 2013 and are searching for its first appearance in the ACC Tournament Championship game.
Also, looking at the bigger picture that is the NCAA Tournament, if the Irish can knock off Clemson again, it would almost guarantee Notre Dame being a top-8 team and earning a No. 2 seed. Therefore, that means the Irish will host three games in South Bend until the quarterfinal round. The NCAA Tournament seeding committee had the Irish at No. 9 and the Tigers at No. 8 before the last week of the regular season when ND beat Clemson 2-0.
GOAL SCORERS FROM ALL OVER
Last season, 47 of the team’s 56 goals came from Korbin Albert, Olivia Wingate, Mercado and Van Zanten.
This season’s stats allude to the depth and balanced attack Coach Norman has at his disposal. Currently, six players boast four goals or more. All-in-all there have been 11 different goal scorers for the Irish — four of which have been freshmen — all equating for 40 goals.
It is three grad players who lead the way –> Mercado (7), Van Zanten (6) and Lynch (6). Ellie Ospeck, Meg Mrowicki and All-American defender Eva Gaetino follow right behind them with four goals.
POINTS SPREAD
Heading into this week’s game, seven players now boast 11 points or more– Mercado, Ospeck, Mrowicki, Van Zanten, Lynch, Gaetino, Klenke. It marks a career high for everyone except Mercado and Van Zanten.
No other team in the ACC has seven players with double-digit points.
In terms of ranked teams – only BYU has more with nine players with double-digit points.
ASSIST LEADER – LEAH KLENKE
Klenke has been an absolute sparkplug and the main cog that runs the Notre Dame offense. Klenke leads the team with 10 assists, which ranks 11th nationally and second in the ACC. Her 0.6 assists per game rank 13th in the country and second in the league.
Get this, Klenke has registered points in 10 of the last 13 matches.
She had 7 assists in conference play.
Klenke now has a career best 14 points on the season.
TRENDING
Notre Dame jumped from an RPI of No. 11 to No. 8 after the Clemson victory.
As previously stated, Leah Klenke has notched at least one point in 10 of the last 13 matches.
Kristina Lynch has recorded a point in three of the last six matches.
Charlie Codd has scored all three of her goals in the month of October.
The key to victory – the Irish have scored multiple goals in every game they’ve won this season except the 1-0 win at NC State. Irish are 10-0-2 when scoring two goals or more.
Notre Dame outscored its ACC opponents 24-11 during the regular season.
BALL STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL
MEN’S BASKETBALL TO HOST ROSE-HULMAN IN EXHIBITION AT WORTHEN
The Ball State men’s basketball team hosts Rose-Hulman on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Worthen Arena in the Cardinals’ lone exhibition before the regular season.
The game will not be broadcast or streamed, so fans will need to be in attendance to get their first look at this year’s Cardinals.
Ball State recorded a 20-12 record (11-7 Mid-American Conference) in 2022-23 to earn the No. 4 seed in the MAC Tournament. Head coach Michael Lewis enters his second season leading the Cardinals after recent stops as an assistant at UCLA, Nebraska and Butler.
Juniors Mickey Pearson Jr. and Basheer Jihad headline the returners, as they averaged 7.7 points and 5.5 rebounds and 7.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, respectively, in 2022-23. Three transfers and five true freshmen bolster Ball State’s 2023-24 team.
SCOUTING ROSE-HULMAN: The Fightin’ Engineers went 17-11 and 12-6 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference of NCAA Division III last season, which was the first for head coach Nick Sales at Rose-Hulman. The HCAC preseason poll recently released had the Engineers 5th in the 10-team conference.
Junior forward Miles McGowen is back after scoring 13.4 points and securing 8.8 rebounds per game to be named First Team All-HCAC. Senior guard Bradley Harden (9.1 points and 3.9 assists per game), sophomore guard Kobe Stoudemire (5.7 points and 1.8 assists) and junior forward Simon Blair (3.6 points and 4.4 rebounds) are other returning Fightin’ Engineers to watch.
CARDINAL DIRECTIONS
Ball State’s 20 wins last year were its most since 2016-17 when that team won 21. This season’s Cardinals will look for back-to-back 20-win schedules for the first time since that 2016-17 season.
The Cardinals are a young group, as the roster includes only one senior or graduate student (Ethan Brittain-Watts). Ball State returns only 21.5 percent of minutes played and 19.6 percent of points scored from last year’s team.
Brittain-Watts (Boston University), Jalin Anderson (Loyola Marymount) and Davion Bailey (Southeastern CC) form Ball State’s trio of transfers.
Joey Brown (Indianapolis), Zane Doughty (Indianapolis), Mason Jones (Valparaiso, Ind.), Trent Middleton Jr. (Philadelphia) and Jurica Zagorsak (Zadar, Croatia) are the Cardinals’ quintet of true freshmen.
Up Next
The regular season officially gets underway with a 7 p.m. tipoff on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at Worthen Arena against Goshen College.
BALL STATE WOMEN’S SOCCER
FRALEY’S OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR HONOR HIGHLIGHTS SOCCER’S MAC AWARDS
CLEVELAND, Ohio – – Four members of the Ball State soccer team were honored Tuesday (Oct. 31) afternoon when the Mid-American Conference released its annual postseason awards as voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches.
Leading the charge for the Cardinals was junior forward Lexi Fraley who became the first player in program history to earn MAC Offensive Player of the Year honors. Fraley also earned a spot on the All-MAC First Team for the second consecutive season as did senior forward Avery Fenchel. Sophomore midfielder Delaney Caldwell was named to the All-MAC Second Team for the second straight year as well, while defender Audrey Goodyear was named to the MAC All-Freshman Team.
“Soccer is a team sport and I know the players recognized would trade any of this to still be playing, but it’s always great to see our young ladies be recognized for the hard work and sacrifice that they put in to be their best,” head coach Josh Rife said. “Avery and Lexi are the first double-digit goal scorers in a single season in program history and put teams on their heals all season long. Our shape moved Delaney a little farther away from goal this year, but she was still impactful for us and led our team in assists. Audrey was a young player who battled some injuries early in the season, but once fully healthy really came on and played significant minutes for us throughout the season.”
Fraley was a dominating force on the front line during league play for Ball State, scoring nine of her 10 goals this season against MAC foes. Those nine goals tied as the most for any player in league action, while she also ranked atop the MAC in points (20), shots (38) and shots on goal (23) in league play. Just the sixth player in program history to record double-digit goals in a season, with her 10 goals currently ranked 37th nationally, Fraley also currently leads all league players in shots (59) and shots on goal (30) for the entire season.
Fraley scored braces in league matches versus Kent State (Oct. 5), at Buffalo (Oct. 8) and versus Central Michigan (Oct. 26), with her opening goal versus CMU proving to be the match winner to help the Cardinals secure the No. 3 seed and a home quarterfinal match in the MAC Women’s Soccer Championship. A member of the 2021 MAC All-Freshman Team, Fraley also collected three assists on the year, with two coming in league play. She was named MAC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 10.
Fenchel was another dominating attacker for the Cardinals, producing 11 total goals this season, seven of which came in #MACtion. Despite missing Ball State’s final two league matches due to injury; she ranked second among all league players with three match-winning goals in conference play. Overall, Fenchel tallied four match-winning goals on the season which currently ranks 27th nationally, while her 11 goals are 26th.
She opened the season with a hat trick versus Mercyhurst (Aug. 17), while adding braces in back-to-back league wins at Buffalo (Oct. 8) and at Akron (12). Fenchel followed the Akron brace with a goal in the draw versus Ohio (Oct. 15), helping her earn her first career MAC Offensive Player of the Week honor. Ball State’s active career leader with 24 goals, Fenchel also registered her first career assist at Loyola (Sept. 3).
Caldwell followed her 2022 MAC Freshman of the Year campaign with another solid performance, including tying for league-high honors with five assists in MAC play. Overall, she tallied six total assists this season which ties as the fifth-highest single season total in program history, is tied for second among all league players and is currently 82nd nationally. Caldwell also finished the season with a pair of goals, including the opening goal in Ball State’s 2-1 victory over Toledo (Sept. 28). She also scored a goal at Texas Tech (Aug. 24).
Goodyear was an anchor on the Ball Sate back line, helping the Cardinals tally three shutouts on the season, including playing 78 minutes in the 5-0 shutout at Buffalo (Oct. 10) and all 90 minutes in the 2-0 shutout of Central Michigan (Oct. 26) to end the regular season. Her defensive play also helped limit opponents to one goal in eight other matches, as Ball State allowed one-or-fewer goals in 11 of its 19 matches on the year. Goodyear logged 1273 total minutes on the year, including 881 versus MAC foes. Overall, she played all 90 minutes in six of Ball State’s 11 league matches after being limited early in the year due to injury.
2023 MAC Women’s Soccer All-Conference Teams & Specialty Award Winners
Coach of the Year: Lewis Robinson, Western Michigan
Offensive Player of the Year: Lexi Fraley, Ball State
Defensive Player of the Year: Mira Pierre-Webster, Western Michigan
Goalkeeper of the Year: Lauren Boafo, Western Michigan
Freshman of the Year: Kate Robinson, Eastern Michigan
All-MAC First Team
Forward: Lexi Fraley, Ball State
Forward: Avery Fenchel, Ball State
Forward: Brynn Gardner, Bowling Green
Forward: Jen Blitchok, Western Michigan
Midfielder: Katie Krohn, Buffalo
Midfielder: Alisa Arthur, Kent State
Midfielder: Abby Werthman, Western Michigan
Defender: Isabelle Gilmore, Bowling Green
Defender: Kelsey Salopek, Kent State
Defender: Mira Pierre-Webster, Western Michigan
Goalkeeper: Lauren Boafo, Western Michigan
All-MAC Second Team
Forward: Arianna Zumpano, Buffalo
Forward: Shae Robertson, Ohio
Forward: Jenna Blackburn, Western Michigan
Midfielder: Delaney Caldwell, Ball State
Midfielder: Leah Wengender, Buffalo
Midfielder: Camber Hayes, Miami
Defender: Lea Gruennagel, Northern Illinois
Defender: Aubrey Robertson, Northern Illinois
Defender: Quintin Tostevin, Ohio
Defender: Brielle Gomez, Western Michigan
Goalkeeper: Celeste Sloma, Ohio
All-Freshman Team
Audrey Goodyear, Ball State
Emma Stransky, Bowling Green
Taylor Green, Bowling Green
Maya Galko, Buffalo
Kate Robinson, Eastern Michigan
Olivia Sipsock, Eastern Michigan
Alanna Raimondo, Kent State
Josie Morgan, Kent State
Dominique Popa, Miami
Morhea Hoefen, Miami
Tyra King, Northern Illinois
Jaimason Brooker, Ohio
EVANSVILLE MEN’S SOCCER
UE MEN’S SOCCER TO PLAY AT BELMONT IN FINAL MATCH OF THE SEASON
NASHVILLE — The University of Evansville men’s soccer team will play its final regular season match of 2023 on Wednesday night.
Evansville earned a crucial three points in the Missouri Valley Conference postseason race on Friday night against the Bradley Braves. The Aces earned their second conference win and second shutout of the MVC season on their senior night. Senior forward Kai Phillip added his ninth goal of the season in UE’s 1-0 win while graduate goalkeeper Jacob Madden had his third clean sheet of the year.
Evansville hopes to get their first road win in Valley play this week as they travel to Belmont for the final game of the season. The Aces last played the Bruins in Nashville during the 2021 fall season prior to Belmont joining the Missouri Valley Conference. In the two team’s 15-game series, UE holds the edge with 12 wins and last won in Tennessee in 2016. Evansville won the team’s final meeting in 2022 in the MVC Tournament Semifinals, posing a 1-0 shutout against the Bruins at Missouri State.
Belmont comes into Wednesday’s game with an 8-6-2 overall record and a 3-4 conference record. The Bruins are coming off a tough 5-0 loss to the winners of the MVC Regular Season, Western Michigan. The 5-0 loss was the most goals conceded by Belmont since a similar defeat at UNC Wilmington on Oct. 13, 2019. The Bruins are led by sophomore forward Brock Kiper and graduate midfielder Jansen Wilson. Kiper leads the team in goals with 5 along with 4 assists while Wilson has 5 assists and 4 goals on the season.
The Aces are in a multiple-tie scenario heading into Wednesday. With seven points, the Aces are tied with Northern Illinois for the final spot in the tournament. A win against the Bruins would secure a spot in the tournament for UE. A result against Belmont could also secure Evansville the final seed of the tournament if NIU either ties or loses to Bowling Green.
VALPO MEN’S BASKETBALL
PREVIEW: MEN’S BASKETBALL SEASON IS UPON US AS POWELL ERA TIPS OFF WITH WEDNESDAY EXHIBITION
The time has come.
After months of anticipation, a new era of Valparaiso University men’s basketball will tip off on Wednesday night as the Beacons welcome Saint Mary-of-the-Woods at 7 p.m. for an exhibition game. This will serve as a final tune-up before the regular season begins on Monday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
The start of the season represents new beginnings as Roger Powell Jr. gets set to embrace his first game as a collegiate head coach.
“The adjustment has been great,” Powell said. “I took my time; I didn’t rush into the first opportunity. I took the job that fits me, and Valpo fits me. With (Director of Athletics Dr.) Charles (Small), President (Jose) Padilla and the community, I’ve been really comfortable in this position. God sets that up; I can’t take credit for something like that. I was ready and it was time. I have a great staff, and I’m expecting to win at a high level. With that confidence, a clear vision and a clear plan, that makes the adjustment a lot smoother.”
The return to Northwest Indiana has been a homecoming of sorts for the Joliet, Ill. native, who was part of Bryce Drew’s staff at Valpo from 2011-2016, helping lead the team to 124 wins in five seasons. Since taking over the top spot in Valpo’s program, Powell has been omnipresent in the community with appearances including the Popcorn Fest, IBCA State Wide Clinic, Valpo Kiwanis, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana, Big Shoulders NWI, the Valpo Athletics Coaches Tour and many more.
“It was important for me to get out in the community,” he said. “It’s part of who I am. Being the ‘Rev’ is not just a nickname, it’s part of my calling. Sharing my faith and being able to inspire people is something I’ve done everywhere I’ve been. It’s been seven years since I’ve lived here, so to be able to come back home has been awesome.”
The program features a trio of returning scholarship players – junior Darius DeAveiro (Kanata, Ottawa, Canada / Orangeville Prep), senior Jerome Palm (Almere, Netherlands [Echnaton [Hillsborough CC]) and senior Connor Barrett (Chicago, Ill. / Loyola Academy).
“They’ve been great,” Powell said. “Darius has stood out with his leadership ability. I’ve named him a captain; he’s earned it. From Day 1, he came into my office and said, ‘Coach, one of my goals is to be a captain.’ I said, ‘You’re going to have to earn it.’ He has. He’s playing at a high level and I think people are going to be surprised to see how much growth he’s had over the last five months. Jerome is playing with a ton of confidence. His goal was also to be a captain, and he’s earned it. Connor has been awesome too; I think he was considering transferring, but he fell in love with our culture. I want those three players to experience winning in college. That is my motivation.”
The roster features five freshmen who played in either high school or prep school last season – Sherman Weatherspoon IV (Bowie, Md. / Bethesda-Chevy Chase [Golden State Prep]), Jahari Williamson (Pickering, Ontario, Canada / Royal Crown Academy), Lucas Scroggins (Woodbridge, Va. / Hylton [Bosco Institute]), Cooper Schwieger (Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley Southwest [Link Year]) and Kaspar Sepp (Tartu, Estonia, Fairmont Academy).
“I wanted to build a class that was going to be here for a while that we can develop and grow with,” Powell said. “I’m excited about the young guys we were able to get. While everyone was doing the portal madness, I was able to get some really good prep school freshmen who I think are going to be names and faces that fans will grow to love. They’re going to see us building with them. I’m a builder, so it’s fun to see these young guys mature. They’ve matured a ton even over the last few months.”
The team brought in a quartet of transfers – sophomore Jaxon Edwards (Indianapolis, Ind. / Cathedral [Murray State]), sophomore Ola Ajiboye (Chicago, Ill. / Evanston Township [Central Michigan / Bosco Institute]), junior Isaiah Stafford (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Crispus Attucks [John A. Logan / Southern Indiana) and redshirt freshman Lual Manyang (Twic, South Sudan / Blair Academy [Hofstra]). The roster also features walk-ons Anthony Sciarroni (Columbus, Ohio / St. Francis DeSales [Alderson Broaddus at Findlay]), Joe Vick (Kouts, Ind. / Kouts) and Luke Carroll (Westfield, Ind. / Hamilton Heights [Lake Land]).
“I want to be gritty,” Powell said. “I want our guys to play with a lot of passion. I want our guys to come out and take pride in getting stops defensively. Offensively, I want to play with a lot of pace. Hopefully we’ll be able to score at a high clip.”
About the Exhibition Opponent
St. Mary-of-the-Woods, an NAIA program from Terre Haute, Ind. that plays in the River States Conference, features numerous transfers including Cobie Barnes, who previously played against Valpo when he was at Indiana State. The Pomeroys will face another Missouri Valley Conference team on Monday when they clash with Indiana State. The team is under the direction of first-year head coach Jesse McClung.
Following the Beacons
There will be no ESPN+ video feed for the exhibition game, but all regular-season contests will be streamed or televised again this season. Wednesday’s exhibition will air on 95.1 FM Valparaiso, WVUR, ValpoAthletics.com and the TuneIn Radio app. Legendary Valpo Voice Todd Ickow will have the play-by-play alongside Valpo women’s basketball student-athlete Olivia Brown. A link to live stats will also be available on ValpoAthletics.com.
VALPO WOMEN’S SOCCER
SOCCER HEADS TO DES MOINES IN SEARCH OF TOURNAMENT TITLE
Valparaiso (9-5-6, 3-3-4 MVC)
2023 MVC Tournament – Semifinals/Championship – Des Moines, Iowa
Thursday, Nov. 2 – vs. Missouri State (12-1-5, 7-0-3 MVC) – 3 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 5 – at Drake or vs. UIC – 1 p.m.
Next Up in Valpo Soccer: With two tournament wins already under its belt, the Valpo soccer team heads to Des Moines this weekend with its sights set on the first Valley tournament championship in program history. The sixth-seeded Beacons will face second-seeded Missouri State in semifinal action Thursday afternoon, and would take on either top-seeded Drake or fourth-seeded UIC in a potential title match Sunday afternoon.
Previously: Valpo advanced to Des Moines by virtue of a pair of 1-0 victories last weekend, taking down seventh-seeded Belmont on Thursday and handing third-seeded UNI its first home loss of the year on Sunday.
Looking Ahead: The MVC Tournament champion earns the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament and will learn its first-round matchup on Monday afternoon.
Following the Beacons: All of the MVC Tournament matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Links for the live video and live stats can be found at ValpoAthletics.com.
Head Coach John Marovich: In his 16th season at the helm of the Valpo program, John Marovich holds a 130-117-48 (.522) record both overall and at Valpo as a head coach. The 2014 Horizon League Coach of the Year and the head of the 2022 MVC Coaching Staff of the Year, Marovich holds Valpo’s all-time records for both victories and winning percentage.
Series Notes: Missouri State – The Bears hold a 5-3-2 advantage in the all-time series, but it is Valpo with a slim 3-2-2 edge since joining the Valley. Earlier this season, the two teams battled to a scoreless draw at Brown Field on Sept. 28.
Drake – Valpo is just 2-7-2 all-time against the Bulldogs, but had won the last two meetings prior to this season. When the two sides met in Des Moines on Oct. 8, Peyton Evans gave the Beacons the lead late in the first half with her first career goal, but Drake scored twice in a seven-minute stretch in the second half to earn a 2-1 win.
UIC – Valpo is 4-2-1 all-time since the Flames started their program prior to the 2014 season, but it was UIC which came away with the win in the regular season finale in Chicago on Oct. 22, as Sophia Jaime scored the lone goal of the match in the 63rd minute.
Quartet of Preseason Honorees: Plenty of individual standouts have helped Valpo get to the point where it is regarded as one of the Valley’s top programs, and four of them were honored with preseason All-MVC accolades. Fifth-year Nicole Norfolk joined seniors Lindsey DuSatko and Nikki Coryell as preseason First Team All-MVC selections, while junior Addy Joiner picked up Honorable Mention accolades.
Looking Back at Last Season: Valpo’s journey up the MVC table over the last few years culminated last season with a dramatic final day of the regular season which saw the Beacons emerge with the MVC regular season championship – Valpo’s first team title in any sport since joining the Valley. The Beacons finished the season with an 8-7-4 overall record, including a 7-1-2 mark in MVC action to claim the regular season crown. Nikki Coryell was named MVC Goalkeeper of the Year for a third straight season, while John Marovich, Brianne Barnes and Noah Smith were honored as the Valley Coaching Staff of the Year. Nicole Norfolk was named a Third Team All-Region honoree as well.
Who’s Back and Who’s New: Valpo returned 18 letterwinners, including nine starters, from last year’s squad which claimed the MVC regular season title. The returnees accounted for 16 of the Beacon’s 19 goals and 17 of their 18 assists in Valley play last season. 11 newcomers round out the 2023 roster – nine incoming freshmen, one transfer and one redshirt.
Valpo in the MVC Tournament: With the pair of wins last week, this year’s Valpo side is improving upon the program’s track record all-time in the MVC Tournament. Valpo dropped all three of its conference tournament matches when it was an affiliate Valley member in the late 1990s, and was 1-5-1 in the tournament since joining the Valley as a full member in the summer of 2017 before the two victories last week, improving to 3-8-1 all-time in the MVC Tournament.
Back in the Semifinals: With their two wins, the Beacons advanced to the semifinals of the MVC Tournament for a fourth straight season. This year’s senior class, which already held the distinction of having the best conference record in program history by a four-year class (19-7-10), is the first class in program history to advance to the league tournament semifinals in each of their four seasons. This season featured the hardest path, as the spring 2021 squad had to win just one game to reach the semis, while the fall 2021 and 2022 sides earned byes directly to the semis.
A Measure of Revenge: After falling to Belmont 2-0 in regular season action, Valpo turned the tables with its 1-0 first-round win over the Bruins. It is the first time since 2009, when Valpo lost to Wright State 3-0 in the regular season and then earned a 2-1 win over the Raiders in the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament, that the program has beaten a team in the postseason it lost to in the regular season.
Twice as Nice: The Beacons followed with a 1-0 win in second-round action over UNI, just 10 days after downing the Panthers 2-0 in the regular season. This is Valpo’s first time beating the same team twice in one season since Indiana State in the spring 2021 campaign, and the first time shutting out a team twice in one season since both Indiana State and Evansville that same season. It is just the fourth time in program history beating the same team twice in one year and just the fifth time with two clean sheets against the same team in one year.
Double-Digit Wins: Valpo enters the weekend with nine victories on the season, one shy of reaching the 10-win milestone for the second time in the last three seasons. It would be the 11th time in program history the Beacons have won 10 or more matches in a season.
Strong Nonconference Record: The Beacons finished nonconference play with a 4-2-2 record. This year’s side is the first Valpo team to finish above .500 in nonconference action since the 2017 squad went 6-5-0 outside of Valley play. It is the program’s best nonconference record since going 4-1-4 in 2014.
Notable Streaks This Season: This year’s Valpo side had a number of notable streaks that came to an end:
Home Success – Started season 3-0-3 through six home matches before falling to Belmont; second time in program history going unbeaten through first six home matches (2005)
Unbeaten Streak – Seven matches without a loss (2-0-5) Sept. 8-Oct. 5; sixth unbeaten streak of at least seven matches in program history
MVC Play – 11-match unbeaten streak in Valley action (5-0-6) Oct. 6, 2022-Oct. 5, 2023
Strong Defense – 15 consecutive MVC matches surrendering one goal or fewer Sept. 17, 2022-Oct. 5, 2023
Perhaps the most impressive item which was snapped in Valpo’s Oct. 8 loss at Drake was the fact that the Beacons lost a match in which they held a lead. The last time prior to Drake Valpo had the lead in a match and didn’t come away with at least a draw was way back on Sept. 28, 2019 at Missouri State. Valpo had won or tied 34 consecutive matches in which it held a lead before falling to the Bulldogs.
Fit to Be Tied: This season has featured a record number of ties for the Beacons. Valpo drew four times in MVC play and six times overall, both the highest single-season marks in program history. The 2010, 2011 and spring 2021 seasons all featured five deadlocks overall, while the 2003 and spring 2021 squads tied three times in conference action.
Starting Every Time Out: Four players started every match of the season for Valpo: goalkeeper Nikki Coryell, center backs Nicole Norfolk and Anna Cup and right back Aubrey Ramey. Coryell and Norfolk both played all 1,620 minutes in the regular season, while Cup nearly did so, ending the regular season with 1,607 minutes played. Norfolk’s streak of consecutive starts came to a close when she missed out on the first-round match due to injury, leaving Coryell – who has now started 30 straight matches – as the only Valpo player with a consecutive start streak dating beyond this season.
Coryell Cleans Up: Senior goalkeeper Nikki Coryell continues to move up the MVC’s all-time charts for career shutouts, as she posted back-to-back clean sheets against Belmont and UNI to open the MVC Tournament. Coryell has tallied seven clean sheets this season, the third time in her career recording seven shutouts in a single campaign, and is up to 26 career shutouts – second-most in MVC history and one shy of the top spot. Coryell, who blanked UNI and its 16th-ranked nationally scoring offense twice in the last two weeks, finished MVC regular season play with a 0.90 GAA, the third time in her four seasons she has posted a GAA under one in conference action.
In On the Goals: Senior forward Kelsie James played a role in both goals last week as the Beacons won their first two tournament chances. It was James who took the corner early on against Belmont that was headed in by Lindsey DuSatko, giving James her 12th career assist – tied for third-most in program history. James was then on the other end against UNI, scoring the match’s lone goal to send Valpo to the semis. The goal was the 13th of her Valpo career, one shy of the program’s all-time top-10. It also gave her 38 career points, tied for ninth-most in program history.
11 By 11: There are just five players in Valpo program history who have scored at least 11 career goals and tallied at least 11 career assists, and two of them reside on this year’s squad. The aforementioned James is one, and senior forward Lindsey DuSatko is another. DuSatko picked up her 11th career goal against Belmont in the first-round win – the second match-winner of her career in the MVC Tournament. She followed by recording the secondary assist on the goal versus UNI – her fifth of the season and 11th of her career. She is tied for fourth in a single season in Valpo history and is tied for third among MVC players this year, while her career total is joint fifth in program history.
Dream Night For Norfolk: For a player who has been a stalwart in the back for Valpo since stepping on campus in 2019, the evening of Oct. 19 was the perfect way to send Nicole Norfolk off in the final home match of her career. When the whistle blew to kick off the match versus UNI, Norfolk officially moved alone atop the program’s career matches played and matches started charts, as she played and started for the 83rd time in the Valpo uniform.
Norfolk then came up with the eventual match-winning goal, her fifth career goal, in the 52nd minute and picked up an assist, the sixth of her career, on the later insurance tally. It marked the first time in Norfolk’s collegiate career she has been involved in multiple goals in the same match.
Joiner Just Keeps Scoring: One season after pacing Valpo in the goal-scoring department, junior Addy Joiner has continued her prolificacy in 2023. She netted just the eighth hat trick in program history on August 31 against Chicago State, while most recently, she scored what proved to be the match-winner in the Beacons’ 2-1 win at Southern Illinois. Joiner has scored a team-high eight goals this year, tied for ninth-most in a single season in program history and just one off the MVC lead. Joiner has 18 career goals, tied for sixth-most in program history, and is tied for eighth in program history with 39 career points.
A Sudden Nose for Goal: Senior Chase Ray went the first 56 minutes of her collegiate career without a goal, but the midfielder has found the scoring touch in Valley play, scoring in three of the Beacons’ 10 MVC fixtures. Ray opened her collegiate account with the tying goal at Evansville, scored the early match-winner in the second minute at Indiana State and most recently opened the scoring in Valpo’s win at Southern Illinois.
Three-Time Goalkeeper of the Year: Senior goalkeeper Nikki Coryell has quite simply been the Valley’s top goalkeeper throughout her career, as she has been honored as the MVC Goalkeeper of the Year in each of her first three seasons. In 2022, Coryell posted an 8-5-4 record with a 0.91 GAA and an .800 save percentage, posting seven clean sheets. Coryell and the Valpo defense surrendered just five goals in 10 MVC matches last season and posted five shutouts – matching the program record for the most clean sheets within conference play in a single season. In her three Goalkeeper of the Year campaigns, Coryell has posted a cumulative GAA of 0.59 and a save percentage of .878 in conference play.
Running Up Top: Senior forward Lindsey DuSatko entered the 2023 campaign having earned All-Conference honors in each of the last two seasons, as she was a Second Team honoree in 2021 and a First Team choice last season. The pacey forward was tied for second among Valley players with four assists in MVC-only play in 2022, picking up a helper apiece in four of Valpo’s regular season conference wins, and scored a goal as well.
Locking Down the Back Line: Fifth-year center back Nicole Norfolk has been the linchpin in the Valpo defense ever since stepping onto campus prior to the 2019 season. The stalwart in the back was a First Team All-MVC honoree in 2022 after earning Second Team recognition the previous year. Valpo’s record holder for consecutive minutes played by a field player, Norfolk played all but 14 minutes of Valpo’s first 15 matches of the 2022 season before suffering an injury in mid-October. With Norfolk on the field during Valley regular season play, Valpo surrendered just one goal in 544 minutes of play in 2022. Norfolk added Third Team All-Midwest Region honors to her resume as well last season.
She Scores, We Win: Junior forward Addy Joiner was more than just a spark off the bench in 2022 – she was an assassin in front of goal. A First Team All-MVC honoree, Joiner finished the regular season with a Valley-high seven goals on the year and eventually concluded the season in second place with her seven tallies. The two-time MVC Offensive Player of the Week scored six of her seven goals in Valley play, one apiece in six of Valpo’s seven MVC victories. Her six goals in conference play were the most by a Valpo player in league action since Jackie Kondratko netted six goals in Horizon League matches in 2009.
Wait, There’s More!: The aforementioned four First Team All-MVC honorees from a season ago represent just over half of the total number of honorees from last season’s regular season champions. Fifth-year midfielder Allie Anderson picked up Second Team All-MVC recognition in 2022, while junior left back Abby White was a Third Team All-MVC choice. Sophomore Molly O’Rear rounds out last year’s award winners, as she claimed a spot on the MVC All-Freshman Team.
Even More on Last Year’s Awards: Valpo’s four First Team honorees in 2022 set a program record for postseason honors, as the program previously boasted three First Team All-League recipients on three occasions. The Beacons have had multiple First Team All-MVC honorees each of the last three seasons, and also have had at least one representative on the MVC All-Freshman Team in each of their six seasons in the conference.
VALPO FOOTBALL
FOOTBALL TO HOST DAYTON ON SATURDAY
Dayton (2-6, 0-5 PFL)
at Valparaiso (1-7, 0-5 PFL)
Game #9 Saturday, Nov. 4, 1 p.m. CT
Brown Field (5,000) – Valparaiso, Ind.
This Week in Valpo Football: The calendar flips to November this week as the Valparaiso University football team returns to Brown Field for the first of back-to-back games to close out the 2023 home slate. Valpo fans have been treated to exclusively thrilling contests in each of the team’s home outings this season, a trend that could continue as head coach Landon Fox matches up with his former team with Dayton in town this week.
Previously: It was a game of “almosts” for Valpo last week as rival Butler held on to the Hoosier Helmet trophy with a 17-7 win in Indianapolis. Valpo turned the ball over just once and punted just once on a day where the Beacons accrued 289 yards of total offense, but they were limited to just seven points as three missed field goals and two turnovers on downs played a factor. The Bulldogs possessed the football for 38:59 to Valpo’s 21:01 including a pair of elongated drives totaling upwards of 18 minutes and chewing up much of the second-half clock. Solomon Davis had a 70-yard touchdown run and Wade Abrams recorded 13 tackles to supply Beacon bright spots.
Series Notes: Dayton holds a large lead in the all-time series at 27-4, but Valpo has won two of the last three Brown Field showdowns including a 45-28 rout in 2021. Last season, Dayton defended Welcome Stadium with a 31-24 win, a game that saw the Beacons rally from a 14-point deficit to take the lead early in the second half before the Flyers scored a go-ahead touchdown in the closing seconds. Three of Valpo’s four wins in the all-time series have come at Brown Field – 2021, 2017 and 2000. The Beacons lone win in Ohio occurred in 2003.
Following the Beacons: Like all Valpo football home games, Saturday’s contest will be carried on ESPN+. Legendary Valpo voice Todd Ickow (play-by-play) and Valpo Athletics Hall of Famer Tom Byrne (analyst) will have the call. In addition, the radio commentary will air on 95.1 FM WVUR, The TuneIn Radio App and ValpoAthletics.com. For in-game updates, follow @valpoufootball on Twitter. Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on ValpoAthletics.com.
Head Coach Landon Fox: Landon Fox (15-34) is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Valparaiso University football program in 2023. Over the last three seasons, Fox has led Valpo to 12 Pioneer Football League victories, the most in a three-year period in program history. The program finished with a PFL record of .500 or better for a third consecutive season in 2022, the first time that has occurred since 1998-2000. Prior to that, Valpo had not had a stretch of three straight years with a league record of .500 or better since 1961-1964. The program won four PFL games in the same season just once in the 26 seasons prior to Fox’s arrival. Now, the program has reached that threshold in three straight seasons and three of the first four years under his direction (Spring 2021, Fall 2021, 2022). During his four years in charge of the program, Valpo has boasted 43 All-PFL honorees and 22 academic all-PFL selections. During his second season at the helm in Spring 2021, Fox was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award – which is presented annually to the FCS National Coach of the Year – after guiding Valpo to its best winning percentage since 2003 and tying for the squad’s best winning percentage since 1999. He led his team to Pioneer Football League runner-up honors, the program’s highest finish in the league standings since the PFL championship season of 2003. Fox’s defensive roots paid dividends on that side of the football in his second year at the helm, as the team enjoyed its best defensive season in four decades. Valpo held opponents to 283.3 yards per game, the program’s best total defense in the last 40 years. In Year 1 of the Fox Era in 2019, Valpo ranked in the Top 5 in the PFL in scoring defense (32.0, fifth), total defense (381.6, fourth), rushing defense (184.2, fourth) and passing defense (197.3, fifth). After spending the previous 11 seasons as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at the University of Dayton, Fox was named the head football coach at Valpo prior to the 2019 season. He helped the Flyers finish with 10 winning seasons in his 11 years on staff and guided a defensive backfield that produced one All-American, four Academic All-Americans, two PFL Special Teams Players of the Year and three corners who were invited to NFL Rookie Minicamp. Prior to joining Dayton’s staff, Fox served as the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Wayne State University in Detroit from 2005-2007. He also spent time as a defensive graduate assistant at Ball State University (2004), Dayton (2002-2003) and Lakeland College (2001). Fox began his coaching career as an assistant varsity coach at Preble Shawnee High School in Camden, Ohio during the 2000 season. During his playing days, Fox was a team captain and all-conference performer at Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio from 1995-1999 and graduated with a degree in physical education and health in May 2000 before earning his master’s degree in education from Lakeland in May 2002.
Fox’s 50th
Saturday’s game vs. Dayton will represent Landon Fox’s 50th as Valpo head coach.
A win on Saturday would allow Fox to have an identical record to his predecessor Dave Cecchini through 50 games at Valpo. Cecchini beat Butler 35-17 in his 50th game on Oct. 13, 2018.
A win would allow Fox to tie for the most victories by a Valpo head coach through the first 50 games of a tenure since the late Bill Koch coached his 50th game on Sept. 18, 1982 at Wisconsin Eau Claire.
Abrams in Action
After being sidelined the previous two games with an injury, linebacker Wade Abrams returned to action on Oct. 28 at Butler.
The redshirt freshman made his presence felt in the rivalry matchup, posting a career-high 13 tackles. This outdid his previous season watermark of seven that came on Sept. 23 vs. Marist.
Abrams’ tackle total – which featured 10 solo stops – was the highest by a Beacon this season. Prior to the Oct. 21 game at Davidson, no Valpo player had boasted a double-figure tackle total this year. Now, four Beacons have turned the trick in the last two contests, two in each game – Mohamed Kamara (10) and Evan Annis (10) at Davidson; Abrams (13) and Colin Graves (10) at Butler.
Graves’ tackle total also represented a career high, outdoing his previous personal best of nine from last season’s game at Dayton.
Abrams posted the highest tackle total by a Beacon since Oct. 29, 2022 (James Doerer, 13 at Dayton).
Abrams is second on the team in tackles per game with 6.33, behind only Evan Annis at 6.38. Annis leads the team with 51 tackles this season and has 168 in his career, the most among active Beacons.
Strength of Schedule
The Pioneer Football League schedule has proven to be a difficult one as four of the five teams that Valpo has faced in league play hold a combined 18-4 league mark.
Four of Valpo’s five PFL defeats have come to four of the top five teams in the league – Davidson (5-0), Drake (5-0), Butler (4-2) and Marist (4-2).
Meanwhile, Valpo has played just one of the other five teams that are below .500 in league play. Two of the league’s sub-.500 squads are not on Valpo’s schedule at all this season – Presbyterian (1-4) and San Diego (2-3).
After this set of back-to-back home games, Valpo will have another tough test to close out the season with a Nov. 18 game at St. Thomas, the preseason favorite to win the PFL and a squad that currently owns a 5-1 mark.
A Solo Shot
After entering the Oct. 28 game with 12 career rushing yards, Solomon Davis enjoyed a 70-yard touchdown run to account for Valpo’s lone points at Butler.
His first collegiate rushing score was his ninth overall touchdown and fifth this season. He also had two catches for a team-high 68 yards in the game against the Bulldogs.
Davis’ 70-yard run was Valpo’s longest offensive play this season. The team’s three longest offensive plays of the season have all come in the last two weeks – Brandon Jimenez’s 68-yard reception at Davison, Chris Gundy’s 60-yard reception at Davidson and the aforementioned rush by Davis.
Davis’s run at Butler was Valpo’s longest offensive play since Aaron Dawson’s 99-yard touchdown run on Oct. 15 of last season, also against the Bulldogs.
Davis ranks top five in the PFL and top 50 nationally in receiving touchdowns (four), receiving yards (66.5) and receiving yards per game (4.5).
First-Half Shutout
The Valpo defense kept Butler off the scoreboard in the first half of the Oct. 28 game in Indianapolis.
This was the first time Butler has been shutout in a half this season. The Bulldogs were most recently held scoreless in the first half of last season’s finale vs. PFL champion St. Thomas.
This marked the first time Valpo held an opponent off the scoreboard for a half since putting together a second-half shutout on Sept. 30 vs. Southwest Minnesota State.
The last time Valpo held a league opponent off the scoreboard for an entire half was Butler last season. Valpo led 13-0 at the break on Oct. 15, 2022 at Brown Field.
Three of the last four times that the Valpo defense has put together a scoreless half in league play, it has come against Butler. The Bulldogs were scoreless after halftime in Valpo’s 47-3 win on Nov. 13, 2021, so the last three Hoosier Helmet rivalry matchups have seen the Valpo defense blank Butler in one of the two halves.
This year’s scoreless tie at the half represented Valpo’s first game in which neither team produced any first-half points since April 3, 2021 at Drake, an eventual 10-7 Valpo victory.
Keeping Punts to a Minimum
Valpo had a season-low one punt on Oct. 28 at Butler, the first time this season that the offense was forced to punt fewer than three times.
The game featured an unusual combination as Valpo punted just once and committed only one turnover but produced just seven points. Missed field goals (0-3), turnovers on downs (two) and Butler dominating time of possession all played a factor.
This marked the first time Valpo had one punt or fewer since Dec. 12, 2019 vs. Dayton, when Valpo did not punt in a 41-28 loss to Dayton. That was the first time Valpo did not punt in a game in over 18 years.
Other Notes Wrapping Up Oct. 28: Butler 17, Valpo 7
Jimmy Pouba notched his first forced fumble and fumble recovery with the Brown & Gold.
Butler converted eight third downs and went 4-for-4 on fourth down.
Valpo accumulated 289 yards of total offense, edged by Butler’s 335 in that category. The Beacons out-passed the Bulldogs 172-89.
Quarterback Rowan Keefe went 11-of-19 passing for 172 yards in his first collegiate start.
Running back Ryan Mann accrued 47 yards on 10 carries.
Among PFL and National Leaders
Valpo leads the league and ranks 12th nationally in kickoff return average at 24.20.
Jashon Butler ranks second in the PFL and third nationally in combined kickoff return yards at 575. He is first in the league and fourth in the nation in kickoff return average at 31.9.
Tyler Geiman leads the league and ranks second nationally in passes defended per game at 1.8.
Evan Matthes leads the league and ranks 20th in the nation in punting average at 43.1.
Scouting the Flyers
Have dropped five straight games to open league play after nonconference wins over Central State (62-24) and Taylor (52-20).
Close losses in league action have come against preseason favorite St. Thomas (20-14) and Presbyterian (20-17).
Enter the game well rested, coming off a bye week following a 37-10 loss to Butler on Oct. 21.
Picked to finish third in the PFL Preseason Poll.
Under the direction of first-year head coach Trevor Andrews after Rick Chamberlin retired after last season following 48 years with the program as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
UINDY MEN’S SOCCER
GREYHOUNDS STAY AT 14TH IN NEW COACHES POLL
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The UIndy men’s soccer team remained in 14th place in new United Soccer Coaches DII poll, released Tuesday. The Greyhounds finished the 2023 season 10-1-5.
In the final weekend of regular season play, the Hounds defeated Quincy 4-1 and tied no. 8 Illinois-Springfield over the weekend.
The GLVC Tourment is next up for the squad, UIndy will host Truman on Sunday, Nov. 5. Action is slated for 2:30 p.m. in Key Stadium.
United Soccer Coaches DII Poll
| Rank | School | Prev | W-L-T |
| 1 | Franklin Pierce University | 1 | 14-0-0 |
| 2 | Midwestern State University | 2 | 15-0-1 |
| 3 | University of Charleston | 3 | 15-1-0 |
| 4 | California State University-Los Angeles | 4 | 14-1-1 |
| 5 | Gannon University | 7 | 15-0-2 |
| 5 | Cal Poly Pomona | 11 | 11-1-4 |
| 7 | Florida Tech | 8 | 10-1-3 |
| 8 | University of Illinois-Springfield | 10 | 11-1-5 |
| 9 | Post University | 9 | 10-1-4 |
| 10 | Wingate University | 12 | 9-3-2 |
| 11 | California State University Chico | 5 | 11-1-5 |
| 12 | Fort Lewis College | 23 | 10-3-4 |
| 13 | Mississippi College | 13 | 12-1-3 |
| 14 | University of Indianapolis | 14 | 10-1-5 |
| 15 | Colorado State University-Pueblo | 6 | 12-4-2 |
| 15 | Limestone University | 19 | 10-2-2 |
| 17 | Southern Nazarene University | 16 | 11-3-2 |
| 18 | Mercyhurst University | 20 | 13-2-1 |
| 19 | Barry University | RV | 9-4-1 |
| 20 | Simon Fraser University | RV | 9-2-2 |
| 21 | Colorado Mesa University | 17 | 10-3-5 |
| 22 | Tiffin University | RV | 11-2-2 |
| 23 | Clayton State University | RV | 13-3-0 |
| 24 | Lynn University | NR | 9-2-4 |
| 25 | California State University Monterey Bay | 21 | 10-3-4 |
UINDY MEN’S BASKETBALL
MEN’S BASKETBALL SECURES HIGHEST PRESEASON NATIONAL RANKING EVER
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The UIndy men’s basketball team ranked fifth in the 2023-24 preseason National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), released Tuesday afternoon. It is the highest preseason ranking in program history, besting the previous poll position of eighth prior to the 2015-16 season.
UIndy also received one first-place vote, totaling 312 points. The Hounds ended last season at No. 9, when they earned the top seed in the Midwest Regional.
The Greyhounds battled Indiana this past Sunday, falling at Assembly Hall to the Big 10 program by a score of 74-52. UIndy led at halftime, 27-75.
UIndy returns half of its team from last season, including All-Americans Jesse Bingham and Kendrick Tchoua. The Greyhounds matched a pair of impressive program records during the 2022-23 campaign, including most wins in a season (26) and longest winning streak (18).
The complete poll can be found below.
NABC Preseason DII Coaches Poll
| SCHOOL (1st-place votes) | 22-23 REC | PTS | PREV |
| 1. Northwest Missouri State (10) | 31-3 | 385 | 2 |
| 2. Nova Southeastern (5) | 36-0 | 352 | 1 |
| 3. West Liberty | 33-4 | 333 | 5 |
| 4. Indiana (PA) | 32-2 | 315 | 3 |
| 5. UIndy (1) | 26-5 | 312 | 9 |
| 6. Lincoln Memorial | 30-5 | 300 | 12 |
| 7. West Texas A&M | 27-7 | 273 | 13 |
| 8. UNC Pembroke | 26-4 | 269 | 8 |
| 9. Central Oklahoma | 26-6 | 214 | 11 |
| 10. Augusta | 27-6 | 211 | 10 |
| 11. Point Loma | 29-4 | 200 | 4 |
| 12. Minnesota Duluth | 26-10 | 195 | NR |
| 13. Cal State San Bernardino | 31-4 | 159 | 6 |
| 14. Colorado Mesa | 25-6 | 150 | 20 |
| 15. Fort Lewis | 29-4 | 141 | 7 |
| 16. Bentley | 23-7 | 134 | 25 |
| 17. Black Hills State | 29-6 | 122 | 21 |
| 18. Colorado School of Mines | 26-6 | 100 | 14 |
| 19. Angelo State | 26-7 | 93 | 23 |
| 20. Emporia State | 23-9 | 89 | NR |
| 21. Northern State | 24-7 | 84 | 18 |
| 22. Chico State | 13-16 | 82 | NR |
| 23. Alabama Huntsville | 27-8 | 78 | NR |
| 24. West Alabama | 27-6 | 65 | 17 |
| 25. Mercyhurst | 25-6 | 61 | 16 |
MARIAN MEN’S BASKETBALL
BRODY WHITAKER CLAIMS FIRST CAREER CROSSROADS LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Men’s Basketball 10/30/2023 4:22:00 PM
Brody Whitaker Claims First Career Crossroads League Player of the Week Honor
Jackson, Mich. – After dropping a career-high 33 points in Marian’s season opening win over IU-Southeast, the Knights’ Brody Whitaker was named as the Crossroads League’s Player of the Week. Whitaker’s honor is the first of his career.
Whitaker scored at will on Saturday in the Knights’ season-opener, leading all players in the season-opening 90-76 win over IU-Southeast. Whitaker’s 33 points tops his previous career-high by 10, as he shot 52 percent from the floor while adding eight rebounds, one steal, and one block to his totals. The junior drained 11 total shots from the floor, including three trifectas and an 8-11 day at the foul line.
The Knights will gear up for an exhibition matchup on Friday night, as they take on the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Tip is 6:30 p.m.
SMALL COLLEGE ATHLETICS
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
NBA STANDINGS
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||
| Atlantic Division | ||||||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | Div | Conf | Last 10 | Streak | |||
| Boston | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | — | 1-0 | 2-0 | 1-0 | 3-0 | 3-0 | 3 W | ||
| Philadelphia | 2 | 1 | .667 | 1.0 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 2 W | ||
| New York | 2 | 2 | .500 | 1.5 | 0-1 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 2-1 | 2-2 | 1 W | ||
| Brooklyn | 1 | 2 | .333 | 2.0 | 0-1 | 1-1 | – | 1-1 | 1-2 | 1 W | ||
| Toronto | 1 | 3 | .250 | 2.5 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 1-3 | 3 L | ||
| Central Divison | ||||||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | Div | Conf | Last 10 | Streak | |||
| Milwaukee | 2 | 1 | .667 | — | 2-1 | – | – | 2-1 | 2-1 | 1 W | ||
| Indiana | 2 | 1 | .667 | — | 1-1 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 2-1 | 1 L | ||
| Detroit | 2 | 2 | .500 | 0.5 | 1-0 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 2-1 | 2-2 | 1 L | ||
| Chicago | 2 | 2 | .500 | 0.5 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 2-2 | 1 W | ||
| Cleveland | 1 | 3 | .250 | 1.5 | 0-3 | 1-0 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 3 L | ||
| Southeast Division | ||||||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | Div | Conf | Last 10 | Streak | |||
| Orlando | 2 | 2 | .500 | — | 1-0 | 1-2 | – | – | 2-2 | 2 L | ||
| Atlanta | 2 | 2 | .500 | — | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 2 W | ||
| Washington | 1 | 2 | .333 | 0.5 | 1-1 | 0-1 | – | 0-2 | 1-2 | 1 L | ||
| Charlotte | 1 | 2 | .333 | 0.5 | 1-2 | – | 1-0 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 2 L | ||
| Miami | 1 | 3 | .250 | 1.0 | 1-0 | 0-3 | – | 1-2 | 1-3 | 3 L | ||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||
| Northwest Division | ||||||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | Div | Conf | Last 10 | Streak | |||
| Denver | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | — | 2-0 | 2-0 | 2-0 | 4-0 | 4-0 | 4 W | ||
| Oklahoma City | 3 | 1 | .750 | 1.0 | 1-1 | 2-0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 3-1 | 1 W | ||
| Minnesota | 1 | 2 | .333 | 2.5 | 1-0 | 0-2 | – | – | 1-2 | 1 L | ||
| Portland | 1 | 3 | .250 | 3.0 | 0-1 | 1-2 | – | 0-1 | 1-3 | 1 W | ||
| Utah | 1 | 3 | .250 | 3.0 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 2 L | ||
| Pacific Division | ||||||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | Div | Conf | Last 10 | Streak | |||
| Golden State | 3 | 1 | .750 | — | 0-1 | 3-0 | 1-1 | 3-1 | 3-1 | 3 W | ||
| LA Clippers | 3 | 1 | .750 | — | 3-0 | 0-1 | – | 2-1 | 3-1 | 2 W | ||
| Sacramento | 2 | 1 | .667 | 0.5 | 1-1 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 2-1 | 1 W | ||
| LA Lakers | 2 | 2 | .500 | 1.0 | 2-0 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 1 W | ||
| Phoenix | 2 | 2 | .500 | 1.0 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 1 L | ||
| Southwest Division | ||||||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | Div | Conf | Last 10 | Streak | |||
| Dallas | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | — | 1-0 | 2-0 | 2-0 | 2-0 | 3-0 | 3 W | ||
| New Orleans | 2 | 1 | .667 | 1.0 | 1-1 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 1 L | ||
| San Antonio | 2 | 2 | .500 | 1.5 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 1 W | ||
| Houston | 0 | 3 | .000 | 3.0 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0-3 | 3 L | ||
| Memphis | 0 | 4 | .000 | 3.5 | 0-3 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0-3 | 0-4 | 4 L | ||
NFL STANDINGS
| American Football Conference | |||||||||||||
| East Division | |||||||||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | GB | PF | PA | Home | Road | vs. Conf | vs. Div | Streak | ||
| Miami Dolphins | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 0.0 | 271 | 204 | 4-0-0 | 2-2-0 | 4-1-0 | 2-1-0 | 1 W | |
| Buffalo Bills | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 1.0 | 222 | 136 | 4-1-0 | 1-2-0 | 2-3-0 | 1-2-0 | 1 W | |
| New York Jets | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 1.5 | 126 | 129 | 2-2-0 | 2-1-0 | 2-2-0 | 1-1-0 | 3 W | |
| New England Patriots | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 4.0 | 118 | 208 | 1-3-0 | 1-3-0 | 2-3-0 | 2-2-0 | 1 L | |
| West Division | |||||||||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | GB | PF | PA | Home | Road | vs. Conf | vs. Div | Streak | ||
| Kansas City Chiefs | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 0.0 | 187 | 129 | 3-1-0 | 3-1-0 | 4-1-0 | 2-1-0 | 1 L | |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 2.5 | 174 | 168 | 2-2-0 | 1-2-0 | 1-3-0 | 1-1-0 | 1 W | |
| Las Vegas Raiders | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 3.0 | 126 | 187 | 2-1-0 | 1-4-0 | 2-3-0 | 1-1-0 | 2 L | |
| Denver Broncos | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 3.0 | 172 | 226 | 2-3-0 | 1-2-0 | 1-4-0 | 1-2-0 | 2 W | |
| North Division | |||||||||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | GB | PF | PA | Home | Road | vs. Conf | vs. Div | Streak | ||
| Baltimore Ravens | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 0.0 | 202 | 121 | 2-1-0 | 4-1-0 | 4-2-0 | 2-1-0 | 3 W | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 1.5 | 113 | 147 | 2-2-0 | 2-1-0 | 3-2-0 | 2-0-0 | 1 L | |
| Cleveland Browns | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 1.5 | 154 | 139 | 3-1-0 | 1-2-0 | 3-2-0 | 1-2-0 | 1 L | |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 1.5 | 131 | 144 | 2-1-0 | 2-2-0 | 0-3-0 | 0-2-0 | 3 W | |
| South Division | |||||||||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | GB | PF | PA | Home | Road | vs. Conf | vs. Div | Streak | ||
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 0.0 | 193 | 156 | 2-2-0 | 4-0-0 | 4-2-0 | 2-1-0 | 5 W | |
| Houston Texans | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 2.5 | 148 | 128 | 2-1-0 | 1-3-0 | 2-2-0 | 1-1-0 | 1 L | |
| Tennessee Titans | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 2.5 | 132 | 140 | 3-1-0 | 0-3-0 | 2-3-0 | 0-1-0 | 1 W | |
| Indianapolis Colts | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 3.0 | 205 | 229 | 1-4-0 | 2-1-0 | 3-3-0 | 2-2-0 | 3 L | |
| National Football Conference | |||||||||||||
| East Division | |||||||||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | GB | PF | PA | Home | Road | vs. Conf | vs. Div | Streak | ||
| Philadelphia Eagles | 7 | 1 | 0 | .875 | 0.0 | 224 | 172 | 3-0-0 | 4-1-0 | 5-0-0 | 2-0-0 | 2 W | |
| Dallas Cowboys | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | 1.5 | 197 | 120 | 3-0-0 | 2-2-0 | 2-2-0 | 1-0-0 | 2 W | |
| Washington Commanders | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 4.0 | 171 | 228 | 1-3-0 | 2-2-0 | 2-4-0 | 0-3-0 | 2 L | |
| New York Giants | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 5.0 | 95 | 187 | 1-3-0 | 1-3-0 | 2-3-0 | 1-1-0 | 1 L | |
| West Division | |||||||||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | GB | PF | PA | Home | Road | vs. Conf | vs. Div | Streak | ||
| Seattle Seahawks | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | 0.0 | 168 | 138 | 3-1-0 | 2-1-0 | 4-1-0 | 1-1-0 | 2 W | |
| San Francisco 49ers | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 0.5 | 218 | 140 | 3-1-0 | 2-2-0 | 4-1-0 | 2-0-0 | 3 L | |
| Los Angeles Rams | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 2.5 | 175 | 184 | 1-3-0 | 2-2-0 | 2-3-0 | 2-1-0 | 2 L | |
| Arizona Cardinals | 1 | 7 | 0 | .125 | 4.5 | 151 | 213 | 1-3-0 | 0-4-0 | 1-5-0 | 0-3-0 | 5 L | |
| North Division | |||||||||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | GB | PF | PA | Home | Road | vs. Conf | vs. Div | Streak | ||
| Detroit Lions | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 0.0 | 200 | 165 | 3-1-0 | 3-1-0 | 4-1-0 | 1-0-0 | 1 W | |
| Minnesota Vikings | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 2.0 | 175 | 162 | 1-3-0 | 3-1-0 | 4-2-0 | 2-0-0 | 3 W | |
| Green Bay Packers | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | 3.5 | 140 | 156 | 1-2-0 | 1-3-0 | 2-3-0 | 1-2-0 | 4 L | |
| Chicago Bears | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 4.0 | 171 | 218 | 1-3-0 | 1-3-0 | 1-3-0 | 0-2-0 | 1 L | |
| South Division | |||||||||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | GB | PF | PA | Home | Road | vs. Conf | vs. Div | Streak | ||
| Atlanta Falcons | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 0.0 | 138 | 161 | 3-1-0 | 1-3-0 | 3-2-0 | 2-0-0 | 1 L | |
| New Orleans Saints | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 0.0 | 171 | 154 | 1-2-0 | 3-2-0 | 1-2-0 | 1-1-0 | 1 W | |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 0.5 | 121 | 128 | 1-3-0 | 2-1-0 | 3-3-0 | 1-1-0 | 3 L | |
| Carolina Panthers | 1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | 2.5 | 127 | 199 | 1-2-0 | 0-4-0 | 0-5-0 | 0-2-0 | 1 W | |
NHL STANDINGS
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||
| Atlantic Division | ||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | ROW | GF | GA | Home | Road | L10 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 8 | 29 | 14 | 4-0-1 | 4-0-0 | 8-0-1 | |
| Detroit Red Wings | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 6 | 40 | 31 | 3-1-1 | 3-2-0 | 6-3-1 | |
| Montreal Canadiens | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 28 | 30 | 4-2-0 | 1-0-2 | 5-2-2 | |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 32 | 28 | 4-0-2 | 0-2-1 | 4-2-3 | |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 30 | 28 | 2-2-0 | 3-1-1 | 5-3-1 | |
| Florida Panthers | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 22 | 23 | 3-1-0 | 1-2-1 | 4-3-1 | |
| Ottawa Senators | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 32 | 26 | 3-2-0 | 1-2-0 | 4-4-0 | |
| Buffalo Sabres | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 27 | 27 | 3-3-0 | 1-2-0 | 4-5-0 | |
| Metropolitan Division | ||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | ROW | GF | GA | Home | Road | L10 | ||
| New York Rangers | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 28 | 18 | 1-1-0 | 6-1-0 | 7-2-0 | |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 37 | 37 | 3-0-0 | 3-4-0 | 6-4-0 | |
| New Jersey Devils | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 33 | 30 | 3-2-1 | 2-0-0 | 5-2-1 | |
| New York Islanders | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 21 | 23 | 3-1-2 | 1-1-0 | 4-2-2 | |
| Washington Capitals | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 26 | 3-2-0 | 1-1-1 | 4-3-1 | |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 30 | 28 | 3-2-0 | 1-2-1 | 4-4-1 | |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 23 | 30 | 2-3-1 | 1-1-1 | 3-4-2 | |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 26 | 29 | 2-4-0 | 1-2-0 | 3-6-0 | |
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||
| Central Division | ||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | ROW | GF | GA | Home | Road | L10 | ||
| Colorado Avalanche | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 28 | 20 | 2-0-0 | 4-2-0 | 6-2-0 | |
| Dallas Stars | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 22 | 18 | 3-1-0 | 2-0-1 | 5-1-1 | |
| Winnipeg Jets | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 29 | 31 | 2-2-1 | 2-1-1 | 4-3-2 | |
| Arizona Coyotes | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 28 | 21 | 2-1-0 | 2-3-0 | 4-4-0 | |
| Nashville Predators | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 25 | 26 | 3-2-0 | 1-3-0 | 4-5-0 | |
| Minnesota Wild | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 32 | 38 | 2-1-1 | 1-3-1 | 3-4-2 | |
| St. Louis Blues | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 20 | 2-1-0 | 1-2-1 | 3-3-1 | |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 19 | 32 | 0-2-0 | 3-4-0 | 3-6-0 | |
| Pacific Division | ||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | ROW | GF | GA | Home | Road | L10 | ||
| Vegas Golden Knights | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 6 | 38 | 22 | 5-0-1 | 4-0-0 | 9-0-1 | |
| Vancouver Canucks | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 6 | 36 | 21 | 3-0-1 | 3-2-0 | 6-2-1 | |
| Los Angeles Kings | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 39 | 31 | 1-2-2 | 4-0-0 | 5-2-2 | |
| Anaheim Ducks | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 29 | 27 | 1-2-0 | 4-2-0 | 5-4-0 | |
| Seattle Kraken | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 24 | 34 | 1-2-0 | 2-3-2 | 3-5-2 | |
| Edmonton Oilers | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 22 | 32 | 1-2-1 | 1-3-0 | 2-5-1 | |
| Calgary Flames | 9 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 19 | 34 | 1-2-0 | 1-4-1 | 2-6-1 | |
| San Jose Sharks | 9 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 35 | 0-3-1 | 0-5-0 | 0-8-1 | |
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1942 The Dodgers replace team president Larry MacPhail, who accepted a commission in the U.S. Army in September, with Branch Rickey, formerly the Cardinals vice-president, before resigning three days ago. Brookyn’s new boss will guide the team to two pennants during his eight-year reign in the “The Borough of Churches.”
1951 Future Hall of Famer Roy Campanella (.325, 33, 108) wins the first of his three National League MVP Awards. The 29-year-old Dodger backstop will also receive the prestigious honor in 1953 and 1955.
1966 In the final time when there is only one selection from both leagues, Dodger southpaw Sandy Koufax becomes the first three-time recipient of the Cy Young Award. The 30-year-old left-hander, recipient of the prestigious pitching prize in 1963 and 1965, posted a 27-9 (.750) record and an ERA of 1.73 for the National League champs.
1968 Denny McLain is the BBWAA’s unanimous choice for the American League Cy Young Award after the right-hander posts a 31-6 (.838) record for the World Champion Tigers. The 24-year-old Chicago native, who will cop the prestigious pitching prize again next season, will also be named this year’s Junior Circuit’s Most Valuable Player.
1972 Paul Owens replaces himself when he introduces Danny Ozark as Philadelphia’s new manager. After firing Frank Lucchesi, Owens, the team’s general manager, took over the managerial reins in July to get a closer look at the last-place Phillies, a team finishing with a 59-97 record.
1978 After dominating the American League, Yankee lefty Ron Guidry (25-3, 1.74) wins the league’s Cy Young Award unanimously. ‘Gator’ receives all 28 first-place votes, with Mike Caldwell and Jim Palmer being the runners-up for the prestigious pitching award.
1979 Edward Bennett Williams buys the Orioles for a reported $12.3 million from Jerold Hoffberger. The successful trial attorney will own the club until 1988, and under his ownership, the team will sign a new long-term lease with the city of Baltimore that will pay for the innovative Oriole Park at Camden Yards, a ballpark he will not live to see.
1982 Doug Rader becomes the twelfth manager in the Rangers’ twelve-year history, replacing Darrell Johnson, the term’s former third base coach who took over for the dismissed Don Zimmer on an interim basis at the end of July. The 38-year-old skipper, who managed the Padres’ Triple-A club for the past three years, will compile a 155-200 (.437) record during his two-plus season with Texas.
1982 The National League owners block the re-election of Bowie Kuhn, thus ending his fourteen-year reign as baseball’s boss. Next year, the commissioner’s supporters will make a failed last-ditch effort to retain him, but he will be allowed to stay in his position to the end of the 1984 regular season before being replaced by Peter Ueberroth.
1999 The last-place Cubs (67-95) hire Don Baylor, the Braves hitting coach, as the team’s 46th and first black manager to replace recently-fired Jim Riggleman. The 47-year-old former major league outfielder/DH managed the Rockies from 1993-98, leading the expansion team into the postseason in 1995.
2000 The Phillies hire Larry Bowa to manage the team, replacing the recently released Terry Francona. The former Phillies’ shortstop, who piloted the Padres in 1987-88, will compile a 337-308 (.522) record during his four seasons in the Philadelphia dugout.
2000 Succeeding Davey Johnson, Jim Tracy, the team’s bench coach, is hired as the Dodgers manager. L.A.’s new skipper will compile a 427-383 (.527) record during his five-year stint with the club, including a National League West Division flag in 2004.
2001 The first major league game ever started in November becomes memorable when the Yankees, for the second consecutive night, make a dramatic comeback in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game and go on to a World Series victory in extra innings. Scott Brosius hits a game-tying two-out two-run homer to knot the game at 2-2, and Alfonso Soriano singles in Chuck Knoblauch in the 12th, giving the Yankees a 3-2 victory and 3-2 lead in the Fall Classic over the Diamondbacks.
2001 The Astros name Jimy Williams, 58, as the franchise’s thirteenth skipper. The 35-year veteran, who also managed the Blue Jays and Red Sox, replaces Larry Dierker, who could not win a playoff series for Houston despite reaching the postseason four times in five seasons.
2004 Wally Backman signs a two-year contract to manage the Diamondbacks, baseball’s worst team last season, replacing interim skipper Al Pedrique. The 45-year-old former major league infielder posted an 86-54 record with the Lancaster JetHawks, Arizona’s Class A team in California League.
2005 The unveiling of A bronze sculpture capturing the friendship of Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson takes place at Brooklyn’s KeySpan Park, home of the Mets’ Single-A team. The William Behrends sculpture captures the moment when the Dodger captain showed support by putting his arm around his black teammate’s shoulder, hushing an unruly crowd hurling racial slurs at his teammate at Crosley Field in 1947.
2006 In a move designed to prepare the team’s next manager, the Yankees promote hitting instructor Don Mattingly to bench coach to assist Joe Torre in 2007. The Bronx Bombers’ former All-Star first baseman replaces Lee Mazzilli, who will not be brought back by New York.
2006 The Seibu Lions officially agree to release Daisuke Matsuzaka, allowing the 26-year-old pitching sensation to play in the United States. The Japanese League plans to charge an American major league club $30 million for rights to negotiate with the former 2006 World Baseball Classic and 2004 Olympic teams star.
2006 Paul Lo Duca (.286, 13, 80), avoiding salary arbitration, signs a three-year, $18 million deal to remain with the Marlins. The catcher was acquired by Florida, along with relief pitcher Guillermo Mota and outfielder Juan Encarnacion, in a trading deadline blockbuster swap that sent starter Brad Penny, first baseman Hee Seop Choi, and southpaw prospect Bill Murphy to the Dodgers.
2007 The Dodgers hire Brooklyn-born Joe Torre as their 26th manager in franchise history, the eighth since the club moved to the West Coast from their new manager’s hometown. The former Yankee manager was replaced in New York this week by Joe Girardi, initially pursued by Los Angeles to replace the team’s skipper, Grady Little.
2007 In an interview aired on MSNBC, Barry Bonds said he is prepared to boycott his induction, when elected, into the Hall of Fame if the museum accepts the ball he hit for his record-breaking 756th career home run marked with a permanent asterisk. Fashion designer Marc Ecko, who bought the historic sphere for $752,467, releases the results from an internet poll from www.vote756.com, where nearly half the fans (47%) voted in favor of sending it to Cooperstown after branding the ball.
2007 “Does he want to go into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee or a Toledo Mud Hen?” – HANK STEINBRENNER, commenting on Alex Rodriguez opting out of his contract during a World Series game. In response to Yankee owner Hank Steinbrenner’s sarcastic remark about Alex Rodriguez entering the Hall of Fame as a member of the Mud Hens rather than as a Yankee, the Toledo Triple-A team frivolously offers the free agent a contract. The minor league deal includes a bonus for hitting 75 home runs next season and leading the Tigers’ affiliate to ten consecutive International League titles.
2007 After Daisuke Yamai retires 24 of 24 Ham Fighters batters in eight innings, Dragons’ closer Hitoki Iwase replaces the right-hander, pitching a perfect ninth inning to record a save in the 1-0 victory against Nippon. The combined perfect game in Game 5 of the seven-game series brings Chunichi its first title in 53 years.
2008 The Red Sox and Lee County (FL) sign an agreement for Boston’s spring training home to stay in the Fort Myers area for the next three decades. The 30-year deal keeps the team playing in the City of Palms Park until the completion of the new complex before the 2012 season.
2010 Edgar Renteria, who drove in the Marlins’ winning run against Cleveland during Game 7 of the 1997 Fall Classic, joins Yankees legends Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Yogi Berra as only the fourth player in baseball history to collect two World Series-winning hits. The Series MVP’s three-run homer off Cliff Lee in the seventh inning leads to San Francisco’s 3-1 victory over the Rangers, bringing a World Championship to the Giants for the first time since 1954.
2014 The Blue Jays trade long-time fan favorite Adam Lind to the Brewers for right-handed starter Marco Estrada, who will become a mainstay in the Toronto rotation. The team’s new DH will play one season in Milwaukee before being traded to Seattle for three minor leaguers.
2015 In Game 5, the Royals beat the Mets in 12 innings, 7-2, winning the World Series for the first time in 30 years. Trailing the Citi Field contest entering the top of the ninth, Kansas City ties the game with two runs off starter Matt Harvey, who insisted on completing the game despite throwing over 100 pitches.
2019 The Mets tap their one-time player Carlos Beltrán to replace recently-fired manager Mickey Callaway, who compiled a 163-161 (.503) record during his two years at the helm. The 42-year-old former slugger with no managerial experience inks a three-year deal with a club option for 2023.
WORLD SERIES HISTORY
1933
New York Giants (4) vs Washington Senators (1)
In 1933, few teams had as productive a batting order as the American League champion Washington Senators. Heinie Manush hit .336 and had ninety-five runs batted in, Buddy Myer finished with a .302 average, Joe Kuhel contributed with a .322 and one-hundred seven RBIs and Goose Goslin and Fred Schulte were .297 and .295 sluggers.
Hitting wasn’t their only weapon as Alvin Crowder won twenty-four games, Earl Whitehill had twenty-two victories and Lefty Stewart went 15-6. The Senators had outdistanced the defending champion New York Yankees by seven games for the American League pennant and were heavy favorites over the National League’s New York Giants.
In stark contrast to Washington’s “lumber yard”, New York’s team had only one .300 hitter in Bill Terry and one one-hundred RBI man in Mel Ott. What they lacked in offense the Giants certainly made up for in defense with Carl Hubbell, Hal Schumacher, Freddie Fitzsimmons, Roy Parmelee and Dolf Luque on the mound.
Hubbell had led the National League in victories with twenty-three, shutouts with ten and earned-run average with a 1.66. Schumacher, Hubbell and Parmelee had ranked 1-2-3 in the league in fewest hits allowed per nine innings. Schumacher had won nineteen games, and his 2.16 ERA ranked third in the National League. Fitzsimmons had won sixteen. And reliever Luque, at forty-three, had won eight-of-ten decisions and boasted a 2.70 ERA.
Hubbell and Schumacher, who had combined for seventeen shutouts, started the first two games of the Series for the Giants and were opposed by Stewart and Crowder. Hubbell did not permit an earned run while allowing only five hits and striking out ten in a 4-2 opening victory that featured an Ott two-run homer and run-scoring single. His teammate surrendered only one run in Game 2 (a Goslin homer), and wound up a 6-1 winner as the Giants erupted for six runs in the sixth inning.
Pitching continued to rule in Game 3 although this time it would be Washington on top. Earl Whitehill, who was a key off-season acquisition from the Detroit Tigers, threw a crucial five-hitter that resulted in a 4-0 victory and put his team back in the hunt.
Hubbell returned for Game 4 and did not allow an earned run for nine innings in a 1-1 tie. Neither club could score in the tenth, but the Giants pulled ahead in the eleventh on a Travis Jackson bunt, a sacrifice and Blondy Ryan’s single. The Senators were unable to answer and New York held on for a 2-1 win and one game away from their first championship title since 1922.
Schumacher was given the start for Game 5 and looked strong with a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the sixth. Down, but now out, Washington came alive with a Fred Schulte homer that brought in Heinie Manush and Joe Cronin for the tie. Now the game turned to a duel of the relievers as the Giants’ Dolf Luque squared off against the Senators’ Jack Russell for the win. The 3-3 stalemate continued until the top of the tenth when Ott drilled a Russell pitch deep into the bleachers. Luque (who had first appeared in the majors in 1914) then went about the business of nailing down the Series title for the Giants.
In the end, New York batted .267 in the Series (slightly above its season figure of .263) and Washington hit .214 after leading the majors in 1933 with a .287 team mark.
FOOTBALL HISTORY
November 1, 1966 – Pontchartrain Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana- NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle made the announcement that the League had awarded the 16th franchise in the NFL to the New Orleans Saints franchise. The Saints ended up playing their very first game on September 17, 1967 and the first play was a very memorable 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by rookie John Gilliam against the Los Angeles Rams, as the Saints won the game 27-13 in front of over 80,000 at Tulane Stadium.
November 1, 2003 – The University of Arkansas vs. the University of Kentucky football game tied an NCAA record for the longest ever played. The regular session of this game was extended by 7 overtime periods until a final outcome was achieved. The Razorbacks ended up finally coming out on top with the 71-63 victory over the Wildcats when Kentucky quarterback Jared Lorenzen fumbled the football on a quarterback keeper play, ending the game.
HOF Birthdays
Slade Cutter – Navy
November 1,1911 – Oswego, Illinois – Slade Cutter a tackle for the Navy Midshipmen was born on this day. Slade in high school didn’t set out to play football. In fact he was a musician and played the flute. It wasn’t until he entered Severn Preparatory School in Maryland that the football coach there, a guy by the name of Paul Brown, yes that Paul Brown, asked him to try out for football. The National Football Foundation bio on Cutter goes onto say how he made the Severn team and then later became an All-American with the Naval Academy team. Cutter also won two letters in lacrosse and three in boxing and was the collegiate heavyweight boxing champion. During World War II Slade commanded a submarine the USS Seahorse and he and his crew sunk 19 Japanese ships. In 1957 Cutter was quoted talking about officers who played football and then had troops under their command: “There is a grapevine in the ranks of all the services. The men make it their business to find out who their officers are. There is a special respect for those who would carry the ball on a football field, throw a wicked block, or make a dead-stop tackle.” Slade Cutter was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1967.
Tom Mack – Michigan
November 1, 1943 – Cleveland, Ohio – Tom Mack the 1965 All-American guard out of the University of Michigan was born. Tom was the Los Angeles Rams 1st round pick in 1966 and boy what great pick he was. Mack played 13 seasons for the Rams and in that span he went to 11 Pro Bowls, never missed a game as his streak was 184 straight and was an All -NFL selection 5 times! Pretty amazing numbers for anyone but especially someone playing offensive line! Tom Mack entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame at 1999’s enshrinement ceremonies.
HALL OF FAME BIRTHDAYS FOR NOVEMBER 1
Tom Curtis -Michigan
November 1, 1947 – Cleveland, Ohio – Marked the birth of a safety from the University of Michigan, Tom Curtis. Curtis played for the Wolverines from 1967 through the 1969 season where he was selected as a consensus All-American in 1969. The footballfoundation.org site also tells how Tom set records at Michigan for interceptions in a game, season with 10 adding 431 return yards to them. His career interception mark of 25 picks ranks second in Big Ten history and is tied for fourth to this day in the NCAA record books! The National Football Foundation inducted Tom Curtis into their College Football Hall of Fame in 2005. Tom Curtis moved to the pro game after college, playing for the Baltimore Colts in 1970 and the 1971 seasons and was a member of the Super Bowl V championship team.
The Mad Stork – Ted Hendricks
November 1, 1947 – Guatemala City, Guatemala – Ted Hendricks the linebacker from the University of Miami, Florida came into this life. According to the National Football Foundation’s website bio on the player, Ted Hendricks stood 6- 7 and weighed in at 218-pound while at the University of Miami and his angry style of play along with his long lanky physical stature had peers dub him as the “Mad Stork”. As a defensive end during his three seasons with the Hurricanes, Ted received All-America recognition 3 times by totaling 327 tackles and that averages out to a remarkable 109 tackles per season. Pretty good numbers for a DE! Ted was also an above average student at Miami majoring in Math with a minor in psychology. The NFF selected and placed Ted Hendricks into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987. Ted was the number pick of the Baltimore Colts in the 1969 NFL Draft and he played pro football as a linebacker, 1969-83, with the Colts, Packers and Raiders, and was a member of four winning Super Bowl teams. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s bio, in his career, Ted intercepted 26 passes, which he returned for 332 yards and a touchdown. He also recovered 16 opponents’ fumbles and scored a record-tying four safeties. Hendricks scored touchdowns on an interception, a fumble return, and a blocked punt. In all he blocked 25 field goals/points after attempts in his pro career scored 4 safeties and played on 8 Pro Bowl teams. In 1990, Ted Hendricks was honored by being enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Steve Hutchinson – Leading the way
November 1, 1977 – Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Steve Hutchinson a guard from the University of Michigan was born. The profootballhof.com website states that Steve was 6’4”, 315-pound and was drafted in the first round, the 17th player taken overall, of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. He played 12 NFL seasons both in Seattle and with the Minnesota Vikings. In that span he made 7 Pro Bowl teams, and was selected to the All Decade team of the 2000’s and even played in Super Bowl XL with Seattle. Steve was an integral part of an offensive line unit that blocked the way for Shawn Alexander to earn the Associated Press’ NFL MVP honors in 2005 after rushing for a team-record 1,880 yards and setting an NFL record with 28 touchdowns, 27 of those on the ground. The Pro Football Hall of Fame selected Steve Hutchinson to enter their ranks in 2020.
NUMBERS IN SPORTS
35- 3 – 11 – 39 – 92 – 32 – 1 – 16 – 32 – 17 – 13 – 88 – 23 – 8 – 80 – 13 – 83 – 1 – 71 – 4
November 1, 1913 – Notre Dame upsets Army, 35-13 in the colleges’ inaugural football game; quarterback Gus Dorais (14 of 17 passes, 243 yards, 2 TDs) and receiver Knute Rockne use forward pass effectively
November 1, 1924 – Boston Bruins officially join the NHL, becoming the first United States based team to enter the League; Montreal Maroons also join NHL, but only last until 1938
November 1, 1938 – NL batting champion Ernie Lombardi, Number 35 of the Cincinnati Reds is named National League MVP; first catcher to win award; Boston Red Sox 1st baseman Number 3, Jimmie Foxx takes American League award
November 1, 1950 – Bosoton Celtics’ forward Chuck Cooper, Number 11 becomes first African American to play in the NBA in Boston’s 107-84 loss at Fort Wayne Pistons; future Hall of Famer Bob Cousy also debuts for Celtics
November 1, 1951 – Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Number 39, Roy Campanella won the first of his 3 National League MVP awards
November 1, 1953 – Herb Thomas, driving his own Number 92 Hudson Hornet wraps up the NASCAR Grand National Championship with 14th-place in 100-mile finale at Atlanta’s Lakewood Speedway; Thomas first repeat champion of the series
November 1, 1959 – Future Pro Football Hall of Fame running back, Number 32, Jim Brown ran for 5 touchdowns in Cleveland Browns, 38-31 win over Baltimore Colts at Memorial Stadium
November 1, 1959 – Montreal Canadiens’ goal tender Jacques Plante, Number 1 becomes first NHL net-minder to wear a fibreglass protective face mask
November 1, 1964 – Cleveland running back Jim Brown rushed for 149 yards in Browns’ 30-17 win at Pittsburgh to become the first NFL player to exceed 10,000 yards career rushing
November 1, 1964 – Houston Oilers quarterback Number 16, George Blanda attempted an AFL record 68 passes (37 completions) in 24-10 loss v Buffalo Bills at War Memorial Stadium
November 1, 1964 – Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Number 16, Len Dawson passed for 435 yards and 6 TDs in 49-39 win over Denver Broncos at Municipal Stadium
November 1, 1966 – LA Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax, Number 32 became the first 3-time winner of Cy Young Award; unanimous winner for 2nd straight year; final year only 1 award given for pitchers in both major leagues
November 1, 1968 – Detroit pitcher Denny McLain, Number 17 was named unanimous AL Cy Young Award winner after finishing MLB season, 31-6 for World Series winning Tigers
November 1, 1987 – New York Jets retired Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Don Maynard‘s jersey Number 13.
November 1, 1992 – NY Jets wide receiver Number 88, Al Toon became the 10th NFL player to make a reception in 100 straight games; Jets beat Miami Dolphins, 26-24 at The Meadowlands
November 1, 1994 – The Chicago Bulls organization retired basketball superstar Michael Jordan‘s jersey Number 23 in a 2-hour ceremony at the United Center
November 1, 1996 – Shaquille O’Neil wearing Number 32 made his Hollywood debut as Los Angeles Lakers beat Phoenix Suns, 96-82 at the Forum, Inglewood; O’Neil scores 23 points and pulls down 14 rebounds in 35 minutes
November 1, 1997 – Louisiana State University running back Number 33, Kevin Faulk rushed for 212 yards and a school record 5 touchdowns in a 63-28 win at Kentucky’s Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington
November 1, 1997 – North Carolina State University wide receiver Number 81, Torry Holt caught 5 touchdown passes in a 48-35 loss to Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee
November 1, 1998 – Steve Young (Number 8) and Jerry Rice (Number 80) hooked up for their 80th career touchdown in Niners’ 36-22 loss to GB Packers at Lambeau Field; eclipse previous NFL mark held by Miami Dolphins tandem Dan Marino (Number 13) and Mark Clayton (Number 83)
November 1, 2003 – University of Pittsburgh wide receiver, who wore Number 1, Larry Fitzgerald established a new NCAA record with a touchdown reception in his 14th straight game as Pittsburgh beats Boston College, 24-13 at Alumni Stadium. Pitt retired Fitz’s jersey soon after he was done playing college ball.
November 1, 2006 – Russian born hockey player, Number 71, Evgeni Malkin scored in the 1st period to become the first NHL player in 89 years with goals in his first 6 games as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Kings, 4-3 in Los Angeles
November 1, 2010 – World Series: San Francisco beats Texas Rangers, 3-1 in Game 5 at Arlington to clinch Giants first title since relocating from NYC in 1958; MVP: SF shortstop Number 16, Édgar Rentería
November 1, 2015 – World Series: KC Royals win first title since 1985; rally in 9th and break away in 12th to beat NY Mets, 7-2 in Game 5 in NYC; MVP: Royals catcher Salvador Perez, Number 13
November 1, 2017 – World Series: Houston Astros win their first ever title; beat LA Dodgers, 5-1 in Game 7 at Dodger Stadium; MVP: Astros outfielder Number 4, George Springer III
TV SPORTS WEDNESDAY
| COLLEGE FOOTBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| Ball State at Bowling Green | 7:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Kent State at Akron | 7:30pm | ESPNU |
| NBA REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Portland at Detroit | 7:00pm | Root Sports Bally Sports |
| Milwaukee at Toronto | 7:00pm | Bally Sports Sportsnet |
| Washington at Atlanta | 7:30pm | NBCS-WSH Bally Sports |
| Indiana at Boston | 7:30pm | Bally Sports NBCS-BOS |
| Brooklyn at Miami | 7:30pm | YES Bally Sports |
| Cleveland at New York | 7:30pm | Bally Sports MSG |
| New Orleans at Oklahoma City | 7:30pm | ESPN |
| Charlotte at Houston | 8:00pm | Bally Sports ATTSN-SW |
| Denver at Minnesota | 8:00pm | ALT Bally Sports |
| Chicago at Dallas | 8:30pm | NBCS-CHI Bally Sports |
| Memphis at Utah | 9:00pm | Bally Sports ATTSN-RM |
| Sacramento at Golden State | 10:00pm | NBCS-CA NBCS-BAY |
| LA Clippers at LA Lakers | 10:00pm | ESPN |
| NHL REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Buffalo at Philadelphia | 7:00pm | TNT |
| Dallas at Calgary | 8:30pm | Bally Sports Sportsnet |
| St. Louis at Colorado | 9:30pm | TNT |
| Arizona at Anaheim | 10:00pm | Bally Sports |
| SOCCER | TIME ET | TV |
| Women’s Olympic Soccer Qualifying: Philippines vs Iran | 3:50am | ESPN+ |
| Women’s Olympic Soccer Qualifying: Australia vs Chinese Taipei | 7:00am | ESPN+ |
| Coppa Italia: Genoa vs Reggiana | 10:00am | Paramount+ |
| Coppa Italia: Lecce vs Parma | 1:00pm | Paramount+ |
| DFB Pokal: Sandhausen vs Bayer Leverkusen | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| DFB Pokal: Borussia Dortmund vs Hoffenheim | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| DFB Pokal: Freiburg vs Paderborn | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| England League Cup: West Ham United vs Arsenal | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| DFB Pokal: Saarbrücken vs Bayern München | 3:45pm | ESPN+ |
| DFB Pokal: Hertha BSC vs Mainz 05 | 3:45pm | ESPN+ |
| DFB Pokal: Viktoria Köln vs Eintracht Frankfurt | 3:45pm | ESPN+ |
| England League Cup: Chelsea vs Blackburn Rovers | 3:45pm | ESPN+ |
| England League Cup: AFC Bournemouth vs Liverpool | 3:45pm | ESPN+ |
| England League Cup: Everton vs Burnley | 3:45pm | ESPN+ |
| England League Cup: Ipswich Town vs Fulham | 3:45pm | ESPN+ |
| Coppa Italia: Udinese vs Cagliari | 4:00pm | Paramount+ |
| England League Cup: Manchester United vs Newcastle United | 4:15pm | ESPN+ |
| Brasileirão: Corinthians vs Athletico-PR | 6:00pm | Paramount+ |
| Brasileirão: Internacional vs América Mineiro | 6:00pm | Paramount+ |
| Argentina Primera División: Defensa y Justicia vs Racing Club | 7:00pm | Paramount+ |
| Brasileirão: Coritiba vs Grêmio | 7:00pm | Paramount+ |
| Brasileirão: Flamengo vs Santos | 7:00pm | Paramount+ |
| MLS: Columbus Crew vs Atlanta United | 7:30pm | FS1 |
| Brasileirão: Botafogo vs Palmeiras | 8:30pm | Paramount+ |
| Brasileirão: Atlético Mineiro vs Fortaleza | 8:30pm | Paramount+ |
| Liga MX: Atlas vs Pachuca | 9:00pm | TUDN |
| Liga MX: Mazatlán vs Santos Laguna | 11:00pm | TUDN |
| SOCCER – MEN’S COLLEGE | TIME ET | TV |
| ACC Tournament First Round | 6:00pm | ACCN |
| ACC Tournament First Round | 8:00pm | ACCN |
| SOCCER – WOMEN’S COLLEGE | TIME ET | TV |
| Portland vs St. Mary’s (CA.) | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Pepperdine vs San Francisco | 9:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Loyola Marymount vs Gonzaga | 9:00pm | ESPN+ |
| San Diego vs Santa Clara | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| TENNIS | TIME ET | TV |
| WTA Finals Round Robin Paris-ATP Early Rounds | 6:00am | TENNIS |
| WTA Finals Round Robin Paris-ATP Early Rounds | 2:00pm | TENNIS |
| WTA Finals Round Robin Paris-ATP Early Rounds | 10:00pm | TENNIS |
| WOMEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| Purdue vs Wisconsin | 7:00pm | BTN |
| North Florida vs Jacksonville | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Austin Peay vs Lipscomb | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Manhattan vs Fairfield | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Oklahoma vs Baylor | 8:00pm | ESPN+ |
| LSU vs Mississippi | 8:00pm | SECN |
| Marquette vs DePaul | 8:00pm | FloSports |
| Northwestern vs Illinois | 9:00pm | BTN |
What to Watch: Wednesday, 11/1/23
| COLLEGE FOOTBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| Ball State at Bowling Green | 7:00pm | ESPN2 |
Bowling Green Falcons leads all time series 21-9-1 versus Ball State Cardinals. Last time both teams met was in 2015 which the Falcons won 48-10 on the road versus the Cardinals. Since 1942 Bowling Green is 11-6 at home versus Ball State. The last time the Cardinals won on the road versus the Falcons was in 2014.
| NBA | TIME ET | TV |
| Brooklyn at Miami | 7:30pm | YES Bally Sports |
The Brooklyn Nets finished sixth in the Eastern Conference last season with a record of 45-37. The Miami Heat finished eighth in the Eastern Conference in the 2022-23 season with a record of 44-38. The Nets lead 2022-23 regular season series 3-0 versus the Heat. Last season Brooklyn was 22-19 on the road and Miami was 27-14 at home.
| New Orleans at Oklahoma City | 7:30pm | ESPN |
The New Orleans Pelicans finished tenth in the Western Conference last season with a record of 42-40. The Oklahoma City Thunder finished fourth in the Western Conference in the 2022-23 season with a record of 40-42. The Pelicans lead 2022-23 regular season series 3-1 versus the Thunder. Last season Pelicans was 15-26 on the road and Thunder was 24-17 at home.
| LA Clippers at LA Lakers | 10:00pm | ESPN |
The Los Angeles Clippers finished fifth in the Western Conference last season with a record of 44-38. The Los Angeles Lakers finished seventh in the Western Conference in the 2022-23 season with a record of 43-39. The Clippers lead 2022-23 regular season series 4-0 versus the Lakers. Last season Clippers was 21-20 on the road and Lakers was 23-18 at home.
| Sacramento at Golden State | 10:00pm | NBCS-CA NBCS-BAY |
The Sacramento Kings finished third in the Western Conference last season with a record of 48-34. The Golden State Warriors finished sixth in the Western Conference in the 2022-23 season with a record of 44-38. The Warriors lead 2022-23 regular season series 3-1 versus the Kings. Last season Sacramento was 25-16 on the road and Golden State was 33-8 at home.
| NHL | TIME ET | TV |
| Dallas at Calgary | 8:30pm | Bally Sports Sportsnet |
The Dallas Stars finished second place in the Central divsion last season with 108pts. The Calgary Flames finished fifth place in the Pacific divsion last season with 93pts. The Flames lead regular season series 2-1 versus the Stars. Last season Calgary was 20-16-5 at home and Dallas was 25-11-5 on the road.
| St. Louis at Colorado | 9:30pm | TNT |
The St. Louis Blues finished sixth place in the Central divsion last season with 81pts. The Colorado Avalanche finished first place in the Central divsion last season with 109pts. The Avalanche lead regular season series 3-1 versus the Blues. Last season Colorado was 22-13-6 at home and St. Louis was 19-21-1 on the road.
THURSDAY
| COLLEGE FOOTBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| TCU at Texas Tech | 7:00pm | FS1 |
| Wake Forest at Duke | 7:30pm | ESPN |
| South Alabama at Troy | 7:30pm | ESPN2 |
| GOLF | TIME ET | TV |
| Rolex Challenge Tour | 7:00am | GOLF |
| PGA: World Wide Technologies Championship | 4:30pm | GOLF Peacock |
| LPGA: Toto Japan Classic | 11:00pm | GOLF |
| NBA REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Toronto at Philadelphia | 7:00pm | NBATV Sportsnet NBCS-PHI |
| Detroit at New Orleans | 8:00pm | Bally Sports |
| Orlando at Utah | 8:00pm | ATTSN-RM Bally Sports |
| San Antonio at Phoenix | 10:00pm | NBATV Bally Sports |
| NFL REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Tennessee at Pittsburgh | 8:15pm | AMZN |
| NHL REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Tampa Bay at Columbus | 7:00pm | Bally Sports |
| Florida at Detroit | 7:00pm | Bally Sports |
| Carolina at NY Rangers | 7:00pm | MSG Bally Sports |
| Los Angeles at Ottawa | 7:00pm | Bally Sports Sportsnet |
| NY Rangers at Washington | 7:00pm | MSGSN MNMT |
| Toronto at Boston | 7:30pm | ESPN+ HULU |
| New Jersey at Minnesota | 8:00pm | Bally Sports MSGSN |
| Dallas at Edmonton | 9:00pm | Bally Sports Sportsnet |
| Montreal at Arizona | 10:00pm | Bally Sports Sportsnet |
| Nashville at Seattle | 10:00pm | Bally Sports Root Sports |
| Winnipeg at Vegas | 10:00pm | Scripps Sportsnet |
| Vancouver at San Jose | 10:30pm | NBCS-CA Sportsnet |
| SOCCER | TIME ET | TV |
| Coppa Italia: Sassuolo vs Spezia | 1:00pm | Paramount+ |
| Coppa Italia: Torino vs Frosinone | 4:00pm | Paramount+ |
| Brasileirão: Cuiabá vs Vasco da Gama | 4:00pm | Paramount+ |
| Brasileirão: Goiás vs RB Bragantino | 5:00pm | Paramount+ |
| Brasileirão: São Paulo vs Cruzeiro | 7:00pm | Paramount+ |
| SOCCER – MEN’S COLLEGE | TIME ET | TV |
| UCLA vs Califronia | 6:30pm | PAC12N |
| San Diego State vs Stanford | 10:00pm | PAC12N |
| SOCCER – WOMEN’S COLLEGE | TIME ET | TV |
| Big South Championship Semifinals | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| ACC Championship Semifinals | 5:30pm | ACCN |
| SECN Tournament Semifinals | 6:00pm | SECN |
| Big South Championship Semifinals | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| San Diego vs Santa Clara | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| ACC Championship Semifinals | 8:00pm | ACCN |
| SECN Tournament Semifinals | 8:30pm | SECN |
| TENNIS | TIME ET | TV |
| WTA Finals Round Robin Paris-ATP Early Rounds | 6:00am | TENNIS |
| WTA Finals Round Robin Paris-ATP Early Rounds | 2:00pm | TENNIS |
| WTA Finals Round Robin Paris-ATP Early Rounds | 10:00pm | TENNIS |
| WOMEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| Texas vs West Virginia | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Louisiana Tech vs Liberty | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| SIU Edwardsville vs Morehead State | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| The Citadel vs Wofford | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UC Irvine vs UC Davis | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| South Florida vs Temple | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Georgia State vs Old Dominion | 6:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Seattle U vs Stephen F. Austin | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Grand Canyon vs Tarleton | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Utah Valley vs UT Arlington | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| California Baptist vs Abilene Christian | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Louisiana vs Southern Miss | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Purdue vs Wisconsin | 7:00pm | BTN |
| Houston Christian vs Northwestern State | 7:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Incarnate Word vs New Orleans | 7:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Nicholls vs Texas A&M-Commerce | 7:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Texas A&M-CC vs SE Louisiana | 7:30pm | ESPN+ |
| LSU vs Mississippi | 8:00pm | SECN |
| Marquette vs DePaul | 8:00pm | FloSports |
| UT Rio Grande Valley vs Utah Tech | 8:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Northern Arizona vs Montana | 9:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Northern Colorado vs Montana State | 9:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Cal State Fullerton vs UC Riverside | 9:00pm | ESPN+ |
| San Diego vs Santa Clara | 9:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Northwestern vs Illinois | 9:00pm | BTN |
| Eastern Washington vs Sacramento State | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Idaho vs Portland State | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Portland vs Loyola Marymount | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Pacific vs San Francisco | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Gonzaga vs Pepperdine | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
What to Watch: Thursday, 11/2/23
| COLLEGE FOOTBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| TCU at Texas Tech | 7:00pm | FS1 |
Since 1926 Texas Tech Red Raiders leads all time series 32-30-3 versus TCU Horned Frogs. Last season TCU won 34-24 at home versus Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are 16-10-3 at home all time versus the Horned Frogs. Since 2012 TCU is 7-4 overall and 4-1 on the road versus Texas Tech.
| Wake Forest at Duke | 7:30pm | ESPN |
Since 1889 Duke Blue Devils leads all time series 59-41-2 versus Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Last season the Blue Devils won 34-31 at home versus Wake Forest. The Blue Devils are 32-24 at home all time versus the Demon Deacons. Since 2016 Wake Forest is 4-2 overall and 2-0 on the road versus Duke.
| NBA | TIME ET | TV |
| Toronto at Philadelphia | 7:00pm | NBATV Sportsnet NBCS-PHI |
The Toronto Raptors finished tenth in the Eastern Conference last season with a record of 41-41. The Philadelphia 76ers finished third in the Eastern Conference in the 2022-23 season with a record of 54-28. The 76ers lead 2022-23 regular season series 3-1 versus the Raptors. Last season Toronto was 14-27 on the road and Philadelphia was 25-16 at home.
| Orlando at Utah | 8:00pm | Bally Sports ATTSN-RM |
The Orlando Magic finished 13th in the Eastern Conference last season with a record of 34-48. The Utah Jazz finished 12th in the Western Conference in the 2022-23 season with a record of 37-45. The Jazz lead 2022-23 regular season series 2-0 versus the Magic. Last season Magic was 14-27 on the road and Jazz was 23-18 at home.
| NFL | TIME ET | TV |
| Tennessee at Pittsburgh | 8:15pm | AMZN |
Pittsburgh Steelers leads all time series 48-32 versus the Tennesse Titans. The Steelers and Titans last met in 2021 which the Steelers won 19-13 at home versus the Titans. The Titans last win at Pittsburgh was in 2013. Since 2003 the Steelers 5-2 at home against the Titans.
| NHL | TIME ET | TV |
| Carolina at NY Rangers | 7:00pm | Bally Sports MSG |
Last season the Carolina Hurricanes finished first place in the Metropolitan divsion with 113pts. The New York Rangers finished third place in the Metropolitan divsion with 107pts. The Rangers lead 2022-23 regular season series 3-1 versus the Rangers. Last season the Rangers was 23-13-5 at home and Hurricanes was 24-11-6 on the road.
| Toronto at Boston | 7:30pm | ESPN+ Hulu |
The Toronto Maple Leafs finished second in the Atlantic division last season with 111pts. The Boston Bruins finished first in the Atlantic division in the 2022-23 season with 135pts. The Bruins lead 2022-23 regular season series 3-1 versus the Maple Leafs. Last season Toronto was 23-13-5 on the road and Boston was 34-4-3 at home.