NCAAF

2025 five-star RB Harlem Berry commits to LSU

Berry is a bit undersized, for now, at just 175 pounds, but the Louisiana product has a chance to be the next great LSU running back. Brian Kelly cleaned out his defensive staff earlier today, but the offensive side of the ball continues to trend up in Baton Rouge.

NBA

Cavaliers 140, Wizards 101

Cleveland’s investment in three-point shooting last offseason has led to mixed results, but the Cavaliers were relentless from behind the arc in this game. Led by six makes from Max Strus, the Cavaliers nailed 20 shots from deep, paving the way to this blowout victory. While Darius Garland and Evan Mobley have missed time, Jarrett Allen has been dominant, and that continued last night. 17 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists for Cleveland’s center.

The 6-27 Wizards are just so, so far away. If Jordan Poole was giving Washington solid production, the situation would be less bleak in the nation’s capital, but that hasn’t been the case. Poole scored just eight points on 3-for-11 from the field yesterday.

Pacers 142, Bucks 130

Tyrese Haliburton blossoming into a star for the Pacers is proof that hitting on just one big acquisition can turn an NBA franchise around. Haliburton, 23, is already one of the league’s best point guards, and tallied 31 points, 12 assists and zero turnovers in this contest. Pacers fans must be enjoying watching this team and its 126.9 points per game.

Hawks 141, Thunder 138

A 14-19 mark certainly isn’t what Hawks fans were hoping for at this point, but Jalen Johnson’s progression has been a major bright spot for Atlanta. The Duke product was okay the past two seasons while playing behind John Collins, but a lack of opportunities held the forward back. The situation is different this year, and Johnson’s play has reflected that. The 22-year-old recorded 28 points, seven rebounds and three assists in this game.

Tuesday night’s big win over the Celtics probably caused a hangover for the Thunder yesterday, as evidenced by Oklahoma City allowing 141 points and 39 rebounds. It’s fair to ask if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is already the NBA’s second-best guard. The sixth-year man has been excellent this season for the Thunder, and accumulated 33 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in this tilt.

Rockets 112, Nets 101

The blossoming of Alperen Sengun has bailed Houston out from some poor selections at the top of the draft in recent years. The center is a true building block for the Rockets, and the only question surrounding Sengun is the height of his ceiling. 30 points, eight rebounds and four assists for Sengun in this game.

There have probably been plenty of discussions within the Nets’ front office regarding the direction of the franchise. Brooklyn lacks a clear franchise player, and likely won’t be capable of contending without one. At 15-20, though, it’s not worth it for the organization to make any short-sighted moves, so a rebuild might be the best course of action. Brooklyn will be an interesting team to track over the next month and a half.

Raptors 116, Grizzlies 111

I thought the Raptors would’ve been able to fetch a better return for OG Anunoby than they did, but Immanuel Quickley is a nice add, regardless. The combo guard didn’t get enough playing time with the Knicks this season with just 24 minutes per game, and that’s already changing up north, as Quickley played 33 minutes in this game, scoring 26 points. Toronto’s new starting five of Scottie Barnes, Quickley, RJ Barrett, Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl is intriguing.

Due to a 6-19 start without Ja Morant, the Grizzlies need to stack wins the rest of the way with their All-Star point guard in order to make the playoffs. Losing to sub-.500 teams like Toronto at home won’t help matters.

Pelicans 117, Timberwolves 106

The Pelicans, winners of four straight games, are strengthening their case as a stealth contender. New Orleans is well-balanced, big and finally has the record (21-14) to support its case as a good team. Zion Williamson, of course, is critical to New Orleans’ success, and he went for 27 points in this win.

At 24-9, Minnesota probably isn’t as good as its record, and the regression to the mean might already be happening with two straight losses for the Timberwolves. Rudy Gobert isn’t a scorer, but five points isn’t enough for an All-Star caliber player.

Knicks 116, Bulls 100

Losing Mitchell Robinson for the season was a big blow to the Knicks, but Isaiah Hartenstein’s play is softening the damage. In this contest, the replacement center grabbed 20 rebounds and provided his usual contributions by doing the little things.

It’s probably too soon to aggressively test the trade market, which explains why the 15-21 Bulls haven’t made a move yet, but that time should be coming. Chicago isn’t heading anywhere good, so the faster a trade is made, the quicker the Bulls can get started on their inevitable rebuild.

Mavericks 126, Trail Blazers 97

If there’s any active player that can challenge James Harden’s 36.1 points per game in 2019, it’s Luka Doncic. Dallas’ star guard entered yesterday averaging 33.4 points per game, and improved on that by tallying 41 in this game. Even at 20-15, the Mavericks probably need to make a move to enhance their championship odds.

Speaking of odds, you’d be rich if you bet a year ago on Toumani Camara and Ibou Badji starting together for an NBA team this season. In Camara’s defense, he’s been a steal of a second-round pick for Portland this season, earning nearly as many minutes per game as prized second-overall pick Scoot Henderson. Henderson again struggled yesterday, going 2-for-11.

Clippers 131, Suns 122

This is the first fun Clippers’ regular season since the shortened 2020 campaign, and Tyronn Lue deserves ample credit for that. The championship-winning head coach has brought the Clippers together and has mixed and matched his way to a 21-12 record. It certainly hasn’t hurt that Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have remained mostly healthy for LA.

Health has not been on the side of the 18-16 Suns, and that’ll likely have to change at some point for Phoenix to avoid the play-in tournament. Even with good health, the Suns will need better play from Bradley Beal. Last night, the shooting guard went just 7-for-20 from the field and committed five fouls.

Jazz 154, Pistons 148

Following a tough 7-16 start, Utah has rallied to a 16-19 mark. The Jazz has, quite frankly, an overabundance of players that deserve minutes, but Will Hardy has done a nice job in dealing with the logjam. Hardy’s best decision this season has been to insert Collin Sexton into the starting lineup. The combo guard is clearly one of Utah’s five best players, and has proven it since receiving more minutes. In this overtime shootout, Sexton scored 25 points.

It won’t eliminate any frustration in Detroit, but it’s safe to say the Pistons are the best 3-31 team in NBA history. Sure, the Pistons aren’t flush with rotation-caliber players — the team has just four — but Detroit doesn’t even have the league’s worst point differential. Those four players, Cade Cunningham, Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks and Jalen Duren, should still be able to get the Pistons to, let’s say, 14 wins this season.

Heat 110, Lakers 96

I hope the Lakers enjoyed winning the in-season tournament championship, because the team surely won’t win the NBA championship this season. There’s plenty of ways to dissect Los Angeles’ failures this season, and we can start with the team selecting lost rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino over Miami’s prized rookie, Jaime Jaquez. Jaquez is already one of the 150 or so best players in the league, and tallied 16 points in this contest versus his hometown Lakers.

NCAAB

Yale 86, Howard 78

Similar to Cincinnati earlier this season, I’m not sure why Yale decided to play a game at Howard. Thankfully for the Bulldogs, they were able to escape with a victory over a pesky Howard team.

UNC Asheville 95, USC Upstate 67

Drew Pember wasn’t ready for high-level college basketball when he began his career at Tennessee, but it would be so much fun if he suited up for the Volunteers now. On the other hand, it’s a good thing when talented players play for mid-majors. Hopefully we’ll have the chance to watch Pember and UNC Asheville in the NCAA Tournament again this March.

Seton Hall 61, Providence 57

What a horrible night for Providence. A loss to Seton Hall certainly stings, but the Friars could be without forward Bryce Hopkins for the rest of the season after Hopkins suffered a painful knee injury in this game. Hopkins entered yesterday averaging 16.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and likely would’ve made an All-Big East team.

Winthrop 68, Longwood 60

Longwood entered this contest with a better record than Winthrop, but the spread indicated Winthrop was the better team. As it turns out, Vegas always knows, and we should have a heck of a battle in the Big South this winter.

Virginia 77, Louisville 53

Kenny Payne’s time should be up with Louisville. 9-36 over one and a half seasons is completely unacceptable for a program as proud as Louisville, and the sooner leadership makes a change, the better off the Cardinals will be moving forward.