NFL

• Panthers 25, Falcons 15
  • The Panthers are going to be pedestrian on offense as long as PJ Walker is under center, but it’ll help matters if they run the ball well. That’s exactly what happened in this contest, as Carolina’s rushing attack looked like that of a college team, rumbling for 232 yards — 130 of which came from D’Onta Foreman. The Panthers won’t challenge for the NFC South. The team just isn’t good enough, but all things considered — 3-7 isn’t that bad. The team obviously shouldn’t have turned down two first-round picks for Brian Burns, but I’m sure Steve Wilks and Al Holcomb are happy to have the great pass rusher. Shaq Thompson, who had three tackles for loss last night, is also a nice piece on defense for Carolina.
  • The Falcons absolutely blew an opportunity in this game to get to .500 and gain control of the division. Defense has been a problem all year for Atlanta, and it reared its ugly head yesterday, surrendering 25 points to a pathetic Panthers club. The Falcons are in a weird spot at 4-6, as they’re still in the hunt, so it makes sense to stay with Marcus Mariota. It sure would be nice though to turn to Desmond Ridder at some point to see what he’s got.

NCAAF

• Memphis 26, Tulsa 10
  • Memphis, at 5-5, is having its worst season since 2013, which is actually a testament to how good the program has been the past nine seasons. Seth Henigan isn’t good yet, but he’s just a sophomore, and has been guiding the Tigers’ offense to some pretty solid point totals of late.

NBA

• Wizards 113, Mavericks 105
  • Kyle Kuzma scored 36 in this game, and is a human torch when he posses the confidence and accuracy to shoot at a high volume. Rui Hachimura was also good for Washington last night, and can still live up to his draft position when he plays smart and under control.
  • Luka Doncic and the Mavericks’ offense were humming in the first couple of minutes of this game, but never were able to rediscover that form the rest of the night. Dallas needs more scoring out of its starting wings, Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock.
• Hawks 104, 76ers 95
  • I like the Hawks’ roster, and this was a good win for them, but Trae Young has been thrown off a bit by playing with the talented Dejounte Murray. Young dropped 26 points last night, but was yet again inefficient, shooting just 7-21, including 2-8 from three point land.
• Heat 117, Hornets 112
  • It’s unusual to say this, but Jimmy Butler recording 35 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists in 42 minutes yesterday for Miami is a bad sign. The Hornets should be easily beaten by a team like the Heat, that finished first in the East in 2022. Miami shouldn’t need Butler to perform like that against a bad team in November.
  • Charlotte whiffed on its James Bouknight pick. Picked No. 11 in 2021, Bouknight has struggled on and off the court for the Hornets. The second year player is averaging just 6.1 PPG on 31.9% shooting this year.
• Trail Blazers 106, Pelicans 95
  • The Trail Blazers have been impressive thus far. At 9-3, Portland won this game without Damian Lillard, thanks in part to Anfernee Simons, Josh Hart, and Jerami Grant, who have all exceed expectations this season.

NCAAB

• Virginia Tech 78, Lehigh 52
  • Sean Pedulla, through two games, has made a leap for the Hokies. Pedulla averaged just 5.4 PPG in 2022, but is up to 19.0 PPG this season. Virginia Tech might be a sneaky contender in the ACC.
• Ohio State 82, Charleston Southern 56
  • The Buckeyes will be better than most think if Zed Key is the player he’s been through two games. Ohio State needs some guys to step up, and so far, Key has been one of them, scoring 15.0 PPG and grabbing 11.5 RPG.
• Western Kentucky 66, Eastern Kentucky 60
  • WKU trailed for most of this game, a worrying sign for a team with so many talented players. Dayvion McKnight, in particular, struggled to the tune of 4-15 with six turnovers.
• Towson 67, UMass 55
  • Towson should be really solid this year. The favorite in the CAA, the Tigers are led by Nicolas Timberlake, a flamethrower from deep.
• Kansas 82, North Dakota State 59
  • The competition hasn’t been too stiff, but it appears the Jayhawks haven’t dropped off much from last season, at least not yet. Jalen Wilson has been good so far, and it seems Gradey Dick is ready to step in right away.
• Southern Illinois 61, Oklahoma State 60
  • Southern Illinois is going to be tough this season. The Salukis winning on the road against a Big 12 foe is a massive development, and Lance Jones was a big reason why. Jones scored 19 points last night.
• Creighton 96, North Dakota 61
  • The computers don’t love Creighton yet, but the Bluejays are a machine on offense. Arthur Kaluma is an NBA-level prospect, and he’s surrounded by the rest of a loaded starting five. If Creighton’s bench is even just decent, it should win the Big East.
• Saint Mary’s 79, Vermont 53
  • The Gaels have faced two tough opponents thus far in Oral Roberts and Vermont, and have found a way to prevail. The Gaels are pretty old, which is always a good thing in college basketball. Saint Mary’s, per usual, isn’t better than Gonzaga in the WCC, but should be a tournament team come March.