NCAAF

Former Kansas State QB Will Howard transfers to Ohio State

After years of dominance at the position from Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud, the Buckeyes suddenly faced a need at quarterback following a poor offensive performance against Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. Enter Will Howard. The 6-foot-5, 242-pound signal-caller probably won’t contend for a Heisman Trophy like Haskins, Fields and Stroud did, but he’ll upgrade the quarterback room in Columbus, and should have Ryan Day feeling better about his team heading into the 2024 season.

NBA

Bucks 125, Spurs 121

The brilliance of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard creates so much margin for error for the Bucks. In this game, the elite duo combined for 69 points, completely stonewalling the Spurs’ chances of pulling off the upset at home.

As Gregg Popovich and the Spurs decide how to build around Victor Wembanyama moving forward, Devin Vassell will be an easy choice to keep around. For one, San Antonio inked the wing to a five-year, $146 million contract prior to this season. Also, Vassell, who dropped 34 points last night, is a seamless fit in any system with his size and shooting ability. The Spurs are just 5-29, but everyone knows the arrow is pointing up in San Antonio.

Nuggets 130, Warriors 127

It’s starting to get uncomfortable for the Warriors. At 16-18, Golden State sits in 11th place in the Western Conference, and while the Warriors will likely still make the play-in tournament, it doesn’t come easy anymore for Steve Kerr’s team. 19 minutes for Jonathan Kuminga, who scored 16 points in this tilt, isn’t enough.

NCAAB

Monmouth 51, Towson 43

Towson took a huge step forward as a program in 2022 and 2023 with a combined record of 46-21, but the Tigers have been going in reverse this season at 7-7. It would help if Towson had the best player on the floor in this game, but Monmouth’s Xander Rice and his 21 points took that honor.

Delaware 80, Hampton 53

I don’t understand what the CAA thought it was gaining by adding Hampton, but it was a bad decision. For the second year in a row, the 4-10 Pirates are the conference’s worst team, and would be better suited for the MEAC than the CAA.

Charleston 73, Hofstra 61

Charleston underachieved a bit in non-conference play with four losses, but the Cougars know how to win in the CAA. The Cougars finished 16-2 in league play in 2023, and something like 14-4 feels like a good bet for Charleston this season. However, Charleston will have its hands full trying to return to the NCAA Tournament with Drexel, Hofstra and UNC Wilmington vying for the same bid.

Michigan State 92, Penn State 61

Michigan State has been a hard team to figure out this season, but this game is an example of the Spartans’ ceiling. Sure, Penn State isn’t good, but Tyson Walker is, and his 22 points and five assists last night are a reflection of that. The Spartans should be able to take down Northwestern on Sunday night.

Ace Baldwin has struggled with efficiency on offense this season after transferring to the Nittany Lions from VCU, and his numbers only got worse yesterday after shooting 0-for-7 from the field.

Florida Gulf Coast 80, Jacksonville 70

Here comes Florida Gulf Coast. After a stunning upset over Florida Atlantic, the 7-9 Eagles were able to parlay that momentum into Atlantic Sun conference play with this victory. FGCU has a realistic chance to win the conference, even though the metrics say it’s Lipscomb’s to lose and conventional wisdom says it’s Kennesaw State’s to lose.

Long Island 69, Wagner 67

Long Island is getting there. The Sharks were laughably bad in 2023 at 3-26, but have gotten slightly better this season. LIU lost both matchups against Wagner a year ago.

Northern Kentucky 79, Youngstown State 76

Northern Kentucky guard Marques Warrick is one of the better microwave scorers across college basketball, and the Norse will need him to have more games like this one in order to beat other top Horizon League opponents. Warrick scored 29 points on just 16 shots yesterday.

Green Bay 69, Detroit Mercy 51

Mike Davis rode the success of his son, Antoine, the past few seasons to moderate levels of success, but now that the NCAA’s No. 2 all-time leading scorer is no longer part of the program, Detroit Mercy has sunk to an 0-16 start. The Titans will probably be able to find a few wins the rest of the way, but Davis’ time should be up in Detroit.

Wright State 82, Cleveland State 70

The Raiders, after suffering some frustrating losses this season, needed this one. At 7-8, Wright State doesn’t have the best-looking record, but is still one of the better teams in the Horizon League and sports a great scorer in Trey Calvin. Calvin matched his season average with 20 points in this contest.

Morehead State 82, Tennessee Tech 57

There’s no excuse for Morehead State this season to not advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles are far and away the best team in the OVC and could conceivably enter postseason play on a 19-game winning streak.

Memphis 78, Tulsa 75

Memphis is far too loaded to play close games against Tulsa, but that seems to be a theme with top teams in the AAC this season. Florida Atlantic, another titan of the conference, has consistently played down to its competition, as well. David Jones has been a revelation this year for Memphis, and continued his excellent campaign with 17 points and eight rebounds last night.

James Madison 68, Louisiana 61

At risk of sounding like a downer, it’s only a matter of time until 14-0 James Madison loses a game. The Dukes have mostly faced an easy schedule to this point, but that shouldn’t take away from the exploits of Terrence Edwards and T.J. Bickerstaff. The JMU duo combined for 33 points and 17 rebounds in this heated contest.

MLB

Mets sign CF Harrison Bader to one-year, $10 million contract

Bader excels as a defender in center field, but his bat has left plenty to be desired both last season and in 2022. Last year, when the 29-year-old suited up for the Yankees and Reds, Bader slashed just .232/.274/.348, which simply isn’t good enough for a player making what the Mets are about to pay Bader in 2024.

Grade: C