NBA

• 76ers 101, Nets 98
  • The Nets, following the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, are in an odd spot. Brooklyn still lies ahead of Miami and New York in the standings, but that probably won’t last, as the Heat and Knicks are playing better basketball at the moment than the Nets. Royce O’Neale receiving just 17 minutes in this contest is a bit confusing. Perhaps Jacque Vaughn will settle on a reasonable rotation relatively soon.
• Nuggets 119, Hornets 105
  • Barring injury or some sudden, unforeseen regression, Nikola Jokic should be awarded his third consecutive MVP later this spring. Jokic yet again was marvelous in this game for the Western Conference’s best team, tallying 30 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists.
• Heat 107, Magic 103
  • With the Knicks playing well, the Heat needed this one against a subpar Magic team. There’s a couple of factors to be concerned about regarding Miami, and one of those is the team’s depth. Sure, this game went to overtime, but three members of the Heat played over 40 minutes yesterday. The Heat will need Jimmy Butler to take his game to the next level if it wishes to win a playoff series.
  • Franz Wagner was rolling for awhile earlier this season, but he’s come back to Earth lately. The battle to be considered the second best player from the 2021 Draft is a tight one — and it includes Wagner, but it’s probably Cade Cunningham, despite him not playing much this season due to injury.
• Hawks 125, Spurs 106
  • Tonight wasn’t the best example, as the guard shot 9-19, but Trae Young has upped his efficiency lately. This season’s Hawks are your classic play-in team, and they’ll have a decent chance at advancing out of that tournament, like they did a year ago.
• Knicks 126, Jazz 120
  • Jalen Brunson was pretty good a year ago for the Mavericks, but his play in his first year as a Knick has been astonishing. Brunson recorded 38 points and five assists in this tilt, and gives the Knicks a surprisingly decent one-two punch with Julius Randle. Still, it’ll be hard to trust New York to win a playoff series in April.
• Cavaliers 97, Bulls 89
  • This was a scheduled loss for Cleveland, given that the club had two games tip off within 22 hours of each other in different time zones. The Cavaliers didn’t give in, though. Cleveland has been gritty all year, and if it can maintain the league’s top defense, it’ll be a tough out in the playoffs for some of the East’s bigger name teams.

NCAAB

• Texas 94, West Virginia 60
  • It was obvious coming into yesterday that Texas was good, but it’s hard to shellack a team as tough as West Virginia like the Longhorns did in this game. Nobody is beating Texas if Sir’Jabari Rice continues to shoot at the clip he’s been shooting of late. The reserve scored 24 points on just six shots in this contest.
• Marquette 89, Georgetown 75
  • Surrendering 75 points to a bad Georgetown team isn’t ideal, but Marquette’s offense is good enough to win plenty of games, like it did yesterday. Tyler Kolek is one of the country’s best game managers at the point guard position. The sophomore had 14 points and eight assists in this tilt.
  • The Hoyas face an uphill battle in every Big East game they play as it is, but winning is nearly impossible for Georgetown with the way Primo Spears has performed lately. The sophomore has shot just 13-42 over his past four games.
• St. John’s 73, Providence 68
  • Providence wasn’t as good as its record in 2022, and that may be the case again this season. The Friars are 18-7, but something feels off. Thankfully, the addition of Bryce Hopkins has been huge. The Kentucky transfer tallied 29 points in this loss.
• Colgate 76, Bucknell 56
  • Colgate is fun. The Raiders are 19-8 and 13-1 in Patriot League play. The team isn’t super athletic, but Colgate’s offense is NCAA Tournament good.
• Pittsburgh 83, Florida State 75
  • Pittsburgh continues to take care of business and is now tied atop the ACC, but the Panthers’ uneven performance outside the conference still has me concerned. Regardless, the Panthers can beat you from a number of directions. In this game, the bullets came from Blake Hinson and Jamarius Burton, who both scored 19 points.