Victoria’s “chameleon” hasn’t given up hope.
2026 Arizona Diamondbacks Roster Dark Horse: Mitch Bratt
We already discussed one part of the return for Merrill Kelly in this series, when we covered Kohl Drake. Bratt was also received from Texas for their short-term loan of Kelly. While he is three years younger than Drake, having turned 22 in July, and is less likely to reach the majors this year, Mitch is still seen as among our better pitching prospects. Fangraphs had him in their top 10 arms, while Prospects 1500 were even more bullish, ranking Bratt as Arizona’s fifth-best pitcher (and it was perilously close there: Bratt was #13 overall, with the pitchers ahead of him occupying spots #9-12).
Mitch’s best talent is his control. He just doesn’t walk many batters: last year at Double-A, he issued only 21 free passes across 122.1 innings of work. His K:BB for the year was better than seven, and he actually improved on that after the trade. Small sample size warning, but in Amarillo, he had a K:BB ratio of 42:5 across 31.2 innings for the Sod Poodles. That 8.4 ratio was easily the best of any Arizona prospect in 2025 – nobody else, regardless of innings pitched, was able even to reach 7.0. Purely on walk rate alone, Bratt was tied for the lowest figure of anyone with 10+ IP in the D-backs’ system.
That’s the good news. The bad news is, his strike-throwing comes with a cost: a lot of hard contact. All told, Mitch allowed almost as many home-runs (18) as walks (21) last year. His fastball typically sits around 91 mph, and none of his pitches appear to be particularly outstanding at this point. Fangraphs rates them all 45-50, with the latter grade seen as the ceiling across the board. It seems that Bratt is going to need to learn how to pitch, in order to be successful, because he won’t be blowing the ball past batters based on stuff alone. That mean mixing up his offerings and locations, in order to keep hitters off balance, while continuing to show the good control he has done thus far.
While the fact he is a left-handed pitcher certainly raises his profile, the addition to the 40-man roster in November was likely more to do with Mitch being Rule 5 eligible, rather than immediate plans for him in the big leagues. Despite his young age, Bratt has already completed five years in the minors, having been drafted out of high school. He was picked by Texas in the fifth round of the 2021 draft, out of Georgia Premier Academy. I think he may start the year in Double-A again, mostly because the Reno Aces rotation appears full: Cristian Mena, Kohl Drake, Dylan Ray, Spencer Giesting and Yu-Min Lin are probably ahead of Mitch on our current depth chart.
As mentioned in our World Baseball Classic articles, Bratt is Canadian, though his appearance in the 2023 WBC did not go well. If he reaches the majors here, he won’t quite be a pioneers, but it’s close. The D-backs have only had one pitcher born in Canada across their history. It was Adam Loewen, who made eight appearances in relief, as part of the 2016 squad. It didn’t go well – a 15.00 ERA. So Bratt definitely has a shot at becoming our most successful pitcher from North of the border. [Since you ask, there have been three such position players. Most recently, of course, was Josh Naylor: but before him, Arizona was home to Jamie Romak and Danny Klassen]
Cam Thomas signs with Milwaukee Bucks as free agent after being waived
Free agent Cam Thomas has agreed to a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The terms for the deal were not initially disclosed.
Thomas averaged 21.4 points per game over the past three seasons with the Brooklyn Nets.
The 24-year-old guard was waived by the Nets on Thursday, Feb. 5, after the trade deadline.
He had signed a one-year, $5.9 million qualifying offer in September and was set to become a free agent after the season.
Thomas is expected to help bolster a Milwaukee roster that still features Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo was a popular name in trade rumors leading up to the deadline but was not traded by the Bucks.
Cam Thomas 2026 stats
Cam Thomas averaged 15.6 points, 3.1 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 24 games played for the Nets this season.
When was Cam Thomas drafted?
Thomas was drafted by the Nets in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft with the 27th overall pick.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cam Thomas signs with Milwaukee Bucks as free agent
Jakucionis goes 6 for 6 from 3 as Heat roll past Wizards 132-101
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kasparas Jakucionis was 6 for 6 from 3-point range and scored 22 points, Bam Adebayo also had 22 and the Miami Heat routed the Washington Wizards 132-101 on Sunday.
Norman Powell added 21 points for Miami, and Kel’el Ware had 19 points and 14 rebounds. The Heat snapped a two-game losing streak and added to their team record with a 14th 130-plus point effort of the season.
Andrew Wiggins had 11 points and 10 rebounds as eighth-place Miami closed within a half-game of seventh-place Orlando in the Eastern Conference.
Tristan Vukcevic had 14 points to lead Washington. The Wizards lost back-to-back games for the first time since a nine-game slide from Jan. 7-24.
Alex Sarr added 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who saw both Kyshawn George and Bilal Coulibaly depart early with injuries.
KNICKS 111, CELTICS 89
BOSTON (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 31 points and Josh Hart added 19 to help New York beat the cold-shooting Boston.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who never trailed over the final 42 minutes. Mikal Bridges (14 points) and recently acquired Jose Alvarado (12 points) rounded out the double-digit scorers for New York, which shot 14 of 45 (40%) from behind the 3-point line.
Jaylen Brown socred 26 points and Derrick White added 19 for the Celtics, who saw their five-game winning streak snapped, Baylor Scheierman started in place for the injured Sam Hauser and finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
Boston shot 37% for the game and was 7-of-41 (17.1%) from behind the arc.
The matchup pitted two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, with Boston entering with a one-game lead over New York for second place. They’ll meet one more time during the regular season on April 9 in New York.
CLIPPERS 115, TIMBERWOLVES 96
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kawhi Leonard had 41 points and eight rebounds and Los Angeles beat the slumping Minnesota.
John Collins had 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser also scored 15 points. The Clippers took command with a 17-3 run closing out the third quarter.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 23 points, and Julius Randle had 17. The Timberwolves have lost three of their last four, all to sub-.500 opponents. Minnesota made just 8 of 33 3-point attempts and committed 20 turnovers while being held under 100 points for just the second time this season.
Ayo Dosunmu, making his Timberwolves debut after being acquired in a trade with Chicago, had 11 points and two steals.
RAPTORS 122, PACERS 104
TORONTO (AP) — Scottie Barnes had 25 points and 14 rebounds to help Toronto beat Indiana.
Barnes was 12 of 20 from the field and had six assists, four blocks and two steals in 33 minutes. Toronto won its second straight to move 10 games above .500 at 32-22.
RJ Barrett had 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 17 points.
Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 18 points, Jay Huff had 15 and Jarace Walker 13. Last in the Eastern Conference, the injury-ravaged Pacers have lost four straight to fall to 13-40.
Pacific Northwest Sportswatch Daily Listings
| Schedule subject to change and/or blackouts |
|---|
| Monday, February 9 |
| COLLEGE BASKETBALL (MEN'S) |
| 8:30 p.m. |
Oregon at Indiana — FS1
| NBA BASKETBALL |
|---|
| 10 p.m. |
Philadelphia at Portland — KUNP Portland, NBCS Philadelphia, BlazerVision, NBA League Pass
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive TV listings provided by LiveSportsOnTV.
Betts delivers 16 points, 16 rebounds as No. 2 UCLA edges No. 8 Michigan 69-66
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Lauren Betts had 16 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and three blocks to help No. 2 UCLA hold off No. 8 Michigan for a 69-66 win on Sunday.
The Wolverines trailed by 11 points with less than two minutes left and with a chance to tie the game, Syla Swords shot an airball on a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left.
UCLA (23-1, 13-0 Big Ten) took a two-game lead over Michigan (20-4, 11-2) in the conference with its 17th straight victory since losing to No. 4 Texas in November.
The Bruins outscored Michigan by 14 over the second and third quarters, leading by as much as 13 points, and finished with their NCAA -high ninth win over an AP Top 25 team.
The Wolverines’ school-record, nine-game winning streak in Big Ten games was snapped by a big and experienced team that plays stifling defense and is led by a 6-foot-7 preseason All-America center that does it all.
NO. 3 SOUTH CAROLINA 93, TENNESSEE 50
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Ta’Niya Latson scored 21 points, Joyce Edwards added 20 and South Carolina ran past Tennessee for its ninth straight victory over the Lady Vols.
The Gamecocks (24-2, 10-1 Southeastern Conference) pulled away midway through the second quarter and never let up after that, finishing with a single-game program SEC shooting mark of 69% (36-52).
Tennessee has struggled, like most other SEC teams, against South Carolina the past few years, although the Lady Vols’ previous three games — all Gamecock wins — were decided by single digits.
And the Lady Vols matched the Gamecocks energy early on as things were tied at 16 last in the first quarter. That’s when South Carolina took control with a 9-2 run as Latson had five points and Edwards four.
Tennessee faltered again right before half, missing six of its final seven shots. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks were on fire, hitting six of their last eight to lead 47-32 at the break.
Things only got worse the rest of the way as the Lady Vols were outscored 46-18. Tennessee was held 28 points below its season average. The 43-point defeat was the worst in program history, surpassing a 31-point loss to Texas in 1984.
NO. 5 LSU 77, AUBURN 44
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — ZaKiyah Johnson scored 16 points, Mikaylah Williams added 12 and LSU bounced back from a midweek loss to rout Auburn.
LSU’s defense proved to be the key, holding Auburn to 25% shooting from the field and 14.3% from 3-point range.
Flau’jae Johnson, LSU’s leading scorer, finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Amiya Joyner notched a double-double, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
LSU (22-3, 8-3 Southeastern Conference) jumped out to an early lead after holding Auburn (13-12, 2-9) to just six points in the first quarter and took a 36-13 lead into the half. Auburn made 5 of 30 shots from the field and missed all 14 from behind the arc in the first half.
LSU built its advantage with a 10-0 run that lasted nearly eight minutes during the first half, then closed out the half with an 8-0 spurt.
Once again, size proved to be an issue for Auburn. The Tigers were outrebounded 54-30, and LSU held a 34-24 advantage in points in the paint.
NO. 6 LOUISVILLE 84, SYRACUSE 65
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Laura Ziegler scored 22 points and Louisville raced out to a quick lead it never gave up in a win over Syracuse.
The Cardinals (22-4, 12-1 ACC) were coming off a one-point loss to Duke that snapped the team’s 14-game winning streak. They scored the first 12 points against Syracuse, holding the Orange without a field goal in the first quarter. Louisville built the lead to 28-6 over the Orange (19-5, 9-4) as Syracuse missed all 13 of its field goal attempts in the first 10 minutes.
Syracuse didn’t score its first basket until a jumper by Dominique Darius with 10 seconds gone in the second quarter, but the Cardinals went on to build a 36-14 lead.
The Orange stormed back, closing the first half on a 22-6 run to narrow the margin to 44-36 at the break. Darius fueled the comeback, scoring all her 16 first-half points in the quarter and going 6-of-6 from the field, including two 3s.
Syracuse closed to within five at 59-54 on a layup by Burrows off a Louisville turnover with two minutes to go in the third, but that’s the closest Syracuse would get. The Cardinals closed the game on a 25-11 run.
NO. 9 OHIO STATE 80, OREGON 64
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Elsa Lemmila scored a career-high 23 points to help Ohio State beat Oregon.
Kennedy Cambridge added 20 points, hitting five 3-pointers, for the Buckeyes (22-3, 11-2 Big Ten), who won their fourth straight game and 11th in 12 games. Jaloni Cambridge scored 19 points to surpass 1,000 points in her career.
The Buckeyes shot 52% from the field and made 17 of its 19 free throws. Senior guard Chance Gray, who played her first two years at Oregon before transferring to Ohio State, had eight points and five rebounds in her return game.
Ari Long made four 3-pointers while scoring 16 points to lead the Ducks (18-8, 6-7), who had a four-game winning streak snapped. Oregon is 2-4 vs. Top 25 teams this year, but 0-3 against those opponents at home.
Sarah Rambus added 13 points for Oregon, which committed 23 turnovers that led to 17 points for Ohio State. Mia Jacobs had 13 points and five rebounds for the Ducks, who shot 37% from the field.
COLORADO 80, NO. 14 TCU 79
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Jade Masogayo’s three-point play with two seconds remaining lifted Colorado to a stunning victory over TCU, denying the Horned Frogs a spot at the top of the Big 12 Conference.
After Donovyn Hunter’s driving layup gave TCU a 79-77 lead with five seconds remaining, Masogayo took a sideline inbounds pass, drove the right side of the lane and made a short bank shot to tie the score. Kennedy Basham was called for a foul on the play and Masogayo sank the and-1 for the win.
TCU led 76-70 after a layup by Olivia Miles with about three minutes remaining. Colorado scored the next five points, then Miles made a free throw for a 77-75 lead with 50 seconds left. Masagayo made two tying free throws with 24 seconds left.
Masaqayo scored a career-high 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting plus 9 of 10 free throws. Desiree Wooten added 19 points, Logyn Greer 17 and Zyanna Walker 15 for the Buffaloes (16-8, 7-5 Big 12). Masagayo topped her previous best of 22 points against TCU last season.
Miles matched her season high with 31 points. Marta Suarez scored 20 and Hunter 17 for TCU (21-4, 9-3). With a win, TCU would have shared first place with 15th-ranked Baylor, which is 10-2 in the conference.
NO. 17 DUKE 95, SMU 36
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Freshman center Arianna Roberson had career highs of 22 points and 16 rebounds off the bench, Toby Fournier added 26 points and Duke routed SMU for the Blue Devils’ 15th straight win.
Duke’s 13th straight ACC victory extends the Blue Devils’ best conference start under head coach Kara Lawson. The 15 consecutive wins are also the most under Lawson, who is in her fifth full season leading the Blue Devils (18-6, 13-0).
Delaney Thomas had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Ashlon Jackson was Duke’s third player with a double-double in the game, scoring 11 points to go with 10 assists.
Fournier and Jackson scored eight points each and the Blue Devils raced out to a 24-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. They led 5-2 before going on a 19-3 run.
Roberson and Fournier scored eight points each in the second quarter and the Blue Devils continued to dominate, ending the half with a 46-16 lead. The Blue Devils shot 56% in the first half, compared to 22% for SMU.
NO. 24 WASHINGTON 91, WISCONSIN 86, OT
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Avery Howell had a career-high 34 points and 14 rebounds — the 6-foot sophomore’s sixth double-double this season — and Sayvia Sellers scored 23 points to help Washington beat Wisconsin in overtime.
Howell scored eight points in OT, including two of her career-high tying six 3-pointers. Elle Ladine finished with 16 points for Washington (18-6, 8-5 Big Ten). The Huskies had lost back-to-back games for just the second time this season.
Destiny Howell hit five 3-pointers and finished with 28 points for the Badgers. Gift Uchenna had 24 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Laci Steele added 10 points and Ronnie Porter tied her season high with 10 assists to go with eight points and six steals.
Destiny Howell made a 3-pointer and, after Brynn McGaughy hit two free throws on the other end, was fouled as she hit another and the and-1 free throw gave the Badgers a one-point lead with 1:09 to play. Avery Howell answered with a putback off a miss by McGaughy that made it 87-86 with 43 seconds left.
NO. 25 NORTH CAROLINA 84, WAKE FOREST 56
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Nyla Brooks scored 21 points, Nyla Harris added 19 and North Carolina rolled past Wake Forest.
North Carolina (20-5, 9-3 ACC) has won seven straight and reached 20 wins for the 34th time in program history.
Wake Forest led 9-6 through the first five minutes before North Carolina hit four 3-pointers — two each from Brooks and Lanie Grant — in a 16-0 run. The Tar Heels led 22-11 heading to the second quarter. Two more 3s from Brooks helped push the lead to 14 points before the Tar Heels settled for a 39-29 advantage at halftime.
Harris scored 11 points in the third quarter and the Tar Heels extended their lead to 65-42 entering the fourth. Carolina’s lead first reached 30 points at 78-48 on a short jumper by Blanca Thomas with about 3 1/2 minutes to go.
Mets sign MJ Melendez to Major League deal
The Mets and MJ Melendez agreed to a one year, $1.5m deal (with $500k in incentives) in the twilight of the 2026 offseason, giving the Mets another option to fill out their bench, and giving Melendez a legitimate shot to open the 2026 season on a Major League roster. According to Will Sammon of The Athletic it is a split deal, meaning his salary differs depending on whether he is in the big leagues or in the minor leagues.
Melendez, now 27, spent his entire professional career up until now with the Kansas City Royals. The Daytona Beach, Florida native was drafted in the second round by the Royals in 2017, forgoing a commitment to Florida International University to turn pro. He eventually became one of the best prospects in the sport, earning Top 100 prospect status from Baseball Prospectus (#35), Baseball America (#42) and MLB Pipeline (#51) prior to the 2022 season, then as a catcher. He eventually made his debut in 2022, moving positions and converting to the corner outfield, where he has been a regular part of the Royals Major League roster, until last season.
He never reached the heights he did as a prospect in the Majors, putting together three okay seasons at the plate (97 wRC+ in 2022, 93 wRC+ in 2023, 86 wRC+ in 2024) before falling off a cliff in 2025, hitting .083/.154/.167 (-14 wRC+) in 23 games before getting sent to Triple-A for the remainder of the season. He was non-tendered after the season, and became a free agent. He comes to the Mets a career 215/.297/.388 hitter, with 52 home runs in 435 games, good for an 88 wRC+.
The Mets were in clear need of someone who can handle the corner outfield, especially after the acquisition of Luis Robert Jr. and the continued presence of Tyrone Taylor (and, frankly, the likely debut of Carson Benge) leaving them completely covered in center field. They could also use someone who could hit left handed off the bench, as their roster became right-handed heavy over the course of the offseason.
For the Mets, Melendez represents a chance to get some pop off the bench, and a chance to recapture some of his former Top 100 prospect status that he had not too long ago. He also put together some roughly league average season as a Major Leaguer, and that is a welcome development from a bench player if they can get him back to that. He can serve as cover in the corner outfield, perhaps first base (again, according to Sammon), and will likely serve has the emergency catcher if he does make the roster. He will be a project for the new hitting apparatus of Jeff Albert and Troy Snitker. He also, according to FanGraphs, still has an option remaining, which still leaves David Stearns open to acquiring someone else for the role and stashing Melendez in Syracuse.
For Melendez, the Mets represent a competitive environment that has a pretty open bench spot, so the combination of being on a Major League roster on a good team on Opening Day is likely too good to pass up for him.
How much was UNC basketball fined by ACC for court storming vs Duke? Conference rules
North Carolina basketball picked up a thrilling win over rivalDuke on Saturday, Feb. 7, but will feel its pockets getting lighter as a result.
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced on Sunday, Feb. 8, that it was fining the Tar Heels $50,000 for fans storming the court at Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, following Seth Trimble's game-winning shot.
"The Atlantic Coast Conference announced today that the University of North Carolina has been fined for violation of the league’s event security policy at the conclusion of its men’s basketball game versus Duke University on February 7," the league wrote in a news release.
"The conference’s event security policy is designed to protect the safety and well-being of all student-athletes, coaches, officials and fans."
The fine is $50,000 for UNC, as it was the first offense for the program. The penalty increases to $100,000 for a second offense and is $200,000 for each subsequent offense within two years.
All fines for storming the court or rushing the field that are collected under the policy are directed to the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship Fund, which benefits ACC student-athletes pursuing graduate education.
In addition to the court storming, following the game, Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer alleged that members of his staff "got punched in the face."
"It's hard to talk about the game when I was most concerned for the safety of our players,” Scheyer said. “I don't wanna make it about that, but ... I got staff members that got punched in the face ... That's not what this game is about. That was a scary ending."
The University of North Carolina did not respond to USA TODAY Sports' request for comment on the claim from Scheyer.
Fans actually stormed the court on two separate occasions. Fans first rushed the court following Timble's 3-pointer, but the clock still showed 0.4 seconds remaining in the game. They rushed the court once again after the clock officially hit triple zeroes, however, it was treated as one incident by the conference.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UNC basketball fined by ACC for fans storming court after Duke win
Jade Masogayo's three-point play wins it for Colorado women against No. 14 TCU
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Jade Masogayo's three-point play with two seconds remaining lifted Colorado to a stunning 80-79 victory over No. 14 TCU on Sunday, denying the Horned Frogs a spot at the top of the Big 12 Conference.
After Donovyn Hunter's driving layup gave TCU a 79-77 lead with five seconds remaining, Masogayo took a sideline inbounds pass, drove the right side of the lane and made a short bank shot to tie the score. Kennedy Basham was called for a foul on the play and Masogayo sank the and-1 for the win.
TCU led 76-70 after a layup by Olivia Miles with about three minutes remaining. Colorado scored the next five points, then Miles made a free throw for a 77-75 lead with 50 seconds left. Masagayo made two tying free throws with 24 seconds left.
Masaqayo scored a career-high 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting plus 9 of 10 free throws. Desiree Wooten added 19 points, Logyn Greer 17 and Zyanna Walker 15 for the Buffaloes (16-8, 7-5 Big 12). Masagayo topped her previous best of 22 points against TCU last season.
Miles matched her season high with 31 points. Marta Suarez scored 20 and Hunter 17 for TCU (21-4, 9-3). With a win, TCU would have shared first place with 15th-ranked Baylor, which is 10-2 in the conference.
TCU took its first lead of the game, 37-34, on a 3-pointer by Suarez to open the third quarter. Colorado never led in the third but 10 points from Greer helped keep it close, 67-62 heading to the fourth quarter.
Wooten scored 10 points in the first quarter and Colorado led 28-20 after one. It was 34-all at halftime.
Up nextTCU: The Horned Frogs visit Baylor on Thursday.
Colorado: at Houston on Wednesday.
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Barnes has 25 points and 14 rebounds in Raptors' 122-104 win over Pacers
TORONTO (AP) — Scottie Barnes had 25 points and 14 rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors beat the Indiana Pacers 122-104 on Sunday.
Barnes was 12 of 20 from the field and had six assists, four blocks and two steals in 33 minutes. Toronto won its second straight to move 10 games above .500 at 32-22.
RJ Barrett had 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 17 points. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 10 points and 10 rebounds in 15 minutes in his Toronto debut following a trade with Golden State.
Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 18 points, Jay Huff had 15 and Jarace Walker 13. Last in the Eastern Conference, the injury-ravaged Pacers have lost four straight to fall to 13-40.
Toronto rookie center Collin Murray-Boyles left with 3:47 left in the first quarter and did not return after he sprained his left thumb. He had two points in eight minutes.
Indiana swingman Johnny Furphy left after taking a bad fall in the third quarter. The Pacers said he was out with right leg soreness.
Up nextPacers: At New York on Tuesday night.
Raptors: Host Detroit on Wednesday night.
___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Avery Howell has 34 points and 14 rebounds, No. 24 Washington women beat Wisconsin in OT
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Avery Howell had a career-high 34 points and 14 rebounds — the 6-foot sophomore’s sixth double-double this season — and Sayvia Sellers scored 23 points to help No. 24 Washington beat Wisconsin 91-86 in overtime on Sunday.
Howell scored eight points in OT, including two of her career-high tying six 3-pointers. Elle Ladine finished with 16 points for Washington (18-6, 8-5 Big Ten). The Huskies had lost back-to-back games for just the second time this season.
Destiny Howell hit five 3-pointers and finished with 28 points for the Badgers. Gift Uchenna had 24 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Laci Steele added 10 points and Ronnie Porter tied her season high with 10 assists to go with eight points and six steals.
Destiny Howell made a 3-pointer and, after Brynn McGaughy hit two free throws on the other end, was fouled as she hit another and the and-1 free throw gave the Badgers a one-point lead with 1:09 to play. Avery Howell answered with a putback off a miss by McGaughy that made it 87-86 with 43 seconds left.
Wisconsin (13-11, 5-8), which has lost four straight, went 0 for 3 from the field — all 3-point shots by Destiny Howell — from there.
The Badgers closed the third quarter with an 11-0 run and scored eight — all by Uchenna — of the first 11 in the fourth to take a six-point lead with 6:09 left in regulation. The Huskies scored nine — five by Sellers and four by Howell — of the next 12 to make it 71-all with 3:40 remaining.
Up nextWashington: Plays Wednesday at No. 10 Iowa.
Wisconsin: Visits Illinois on Wednesday.
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Bennett Stirtz scores career-high 36 to help Iowa hold off Northwestern 76-70
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Bennett Stirtz scored a career-high 36 points and Iowa upped its winning streak to six games by handing Northwestern a seventh straight loss with a 76-70 victory over the Wildcats on Sunday.
Stirtz made made 12 of 20 shots and all eight of his free throws for the Hawkeyes (18-5, 8-4 Big Ten Conference). The senior guard hit 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Tavion Banks added 13 points and seven rebounds.
Nick Martinelli scored 21 on 6-for-19 shooting for the Wildcats (10-14, 2-11). Jake West sank four 3-pointers and scored 18. Tre Singleton had 10 points before fouling out.
West buried a 3-pointer to give Northwestern an 18-13 lead with 8:31 remaining in the first half. The Wildcats played with the lead until a three-point play by Stirtz tied it 30-all with 2:13 left. Stirtz added two free throw, Kael Combs hit a jumper and Banks scored the final five points in a 12-5 run to give Iowa a 39-35 advantage at halftime.
Combs had the first basket of the second half and Stirtz followed with a 3-pointer to push the lead to nine. Stirtz added another 3-pointer and the Hawkeyes took their first double-digit lead at 54-40 with 13 minutes left.
West answered with a 3-pointer to spark a 13-2 run and Northwestern pulled within 56-53 four minutes later. Stirtz hit a 3-pointer to keep Iowa in front and the Hawkeyes maintained a two-possession lead until West hit another 3 to cut it to 70-67 with two minutes left. Stirtz drove for a layup and Banks added two free throws to wrap it up.
Up nextIowa: At Maryland on Wednesday.
Northwestern: Hosts No. 2 Michigan on Wednesday.
___
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European football: PSG thrash Marseille and return to summit of Ligue 1
Dembélé doubles up in 5-0 mauling
Kane and Díaz on target in Bayern win
Ousmane Dembélé struck twice as Paris Saint-Germain blew away bitter rivals Marseille on Sunday, reclaiming top spot in Ligue 1 with a crushing 5-0 victory at the Parc des Princes.
Dembélé opened the scoring after just 12 minutes and added a second before half-time as PSG delivered a real statement of intent going into the crucial months of the season.
Continue reading...Against Heat, Wizards Fall Behind by 32, and Do Not Make It Interesting
The best thing about the Wizards blowout loss to the Miami Heat is that it’s over. Miami weathered an early stretch of hot shooting from Washington — and a cold streak of its own. When the teams reverted to something closer to their norms, the Heat gave Washington the bum’s rush. The game was into garbage time by halftime.
I have little good to say about the Wizards after this one. I mean, they got curb-stomped by a team starting someone named (and I’m not making this up) Myron Gardner.
In fairness, Gardner wasn’t bad. Basketball-Reference claims he attended Georgetown (the one in DC) after first playing for South Plains College (a community college in Texas), and that he also played for Little Rock.
Here are the few Wizards positives:
- Justin Champagnie was decent — 3 offensive rebounds and 7 total in 25 minutes.
- Alex Sarr tried on the defensive end but was truly on an island all afternoon. He finished with 12 rebounds…and five fouls as he tried to cover for his missing in action teammates.
- Coulibaly also tried on the defensive end. He committed four fouls.
- Solid game from Jamir Watkins, who scored 12 points, hit a three, and had 7 rebounds, a steal and 2 blocks.
- The Wizards committed just 12 fouls in the game. Sarr had five. Coulibaly had four. No one else had more than one. Perhaps this is because a prerequisite for committing a foul is being near the offensive player.
For example, when he wanted to throw down a poster dunk on an offensive rebound, Bam Adebayo had to do it over teammate Kel’el Ware. No Wizards were in the vicinity.
Washington lost in every meaningful way. They got outshot, out-rebounded, committed more turnovers, and made fewer free throws. They got lit up by Kasparas Jakucionis. They got outscored by 41 points in Adabayo’s 28 minutes.That’s a complete drubbing.
This was Washington’s eighth loss of the season by 30 or more points. One of those was a 45-point beatdown by the Boston Celtics.
They have eight more losses by 20 or more points, including a 29-point drubbing by Boston. They have three more defeats by 19 points.
Four Factors
Below are the four factors that decide wins and losses in basketball — shooting (efg), rebounding (offensive rebounds), ball handling (turnovers), fouling (free throws made).
The four factors are measured by:
- eFG% (effective field goal percentage, which accounts for the three-point shot)
- OREB% (offensive rebound percentage)
- TOV% (turnover percentage — turnovers divided by possessions)
- FTM/FGA (free throws made divided by field goal attempts)
| FOUR FACTORS | HEAT | WIZARDS | LGAVG |
|---|---|---|---|
| eFG% | 57.2% | 48.4% | 54.3% |
| OREB% | 39.6% | 20.4% | 26.1% |
| TOV% | 15.2% | 18.0% | 12.7% |
| FTM/FGA | 0.125 | 0.118 | 0.208 |
| PACE | 106 | 99.5 | |
| ORTG | 125 | 96 | 115.5 |
Stats & Metrics
PPA is my overall production metric, which credits players for things they do that help a team win (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defending) and dings them for things that hurt (missed shots, turnovers, bad defense, fouls).
PPA is a per possession metric designed for larger data sets. In small sample sizes, the numbers can get weird. In PPA, 100 is average, higher is better and replacement level is 45. For a single game, replacement level isn’t much use, and I reiterate the caution about small samples sometimes producing weird results.
POSS is the number of possessions each player was on the floor in this game.
ORTG = offensive rating, which is points produced per individual possessions x 100. League average so far this season is listed in the Four Factors table above. Points produced is not the same as points scored. It includes the value of assists and offensive rebounds, as well as sharing credit when receiving an assist.
USG = offensive usage rate. Average is 20%.
ORTG and USG are versions of stats created by former Wizards assistant coach Dean Oliver and modified by me. ORTG is an efficiency measure that accounts for the value of shooting, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. USG includes shooting from the floor and free throw line, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers.
+PTS = “Plus Points” is a measure of the points gained or lost by each player based on their efficiency in this game compared to league average efficiency on the same number of possessions. A player with an offensive rating (points produced per possession x 100) of 100 who uses 20 possessions would produce 20 points. If the league average efficiency is 115, the league — on average — would produced 23.0 points in the same 20 possessions. So, the player in this hypothetical would have a +PTS score of -3.0.
Players are sorted by total production in the game.
| WIZARDS | MIN | POSS | ORTG | USG | +PTS | PPA | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamir Watkins | 33 | 74 | 123 | 13.9% | 0.7 | 115 | -33 |
| Justin Champagnie | 25 | 55 | 121 | 20.5% | 0.6 | 120 | -8 |
| Tristan Vukcevich | 20 | 44 | 101 | 31.4% | -2.0 | 95 | -17 |
| Bub Carrington | 29 | 63 | 92 | 22.6% | -3.4 | 52 | -9 |
| Sharife Cooper | 20 | 45 | 107 | 17.8% | -0.7 | 72 | -28 |
| Alex Sarr | 26 | 57 | 94 | 23.1% | -2.9 | 50 | -5 |
| Kyshawn George | 19 | 42 | 97 | 30.6% | -2.4 | 56 | -4 |
| Keshon Gilbert | 13 | 30 | 99 | 4.3% | -0.2 | 20 | -21 |
| Will Riley | 21 | 46 | 64 | 23.3% | -5.5 | -16 | -26 |
| Bilal Coulibaly | 34 | 74 | 62 | 14.4% | -5.7 | -40 | -4 |
| HEAT | MIN | POSS | ORTG | USG | +PTS | PPA | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasparas Jakucionis | 26 | 57 | 213 | 16.6% | 9.2 | 431 | 27 |
| Bam Adebayo | 28 | 62 | 134 | 22.7% | 2.7 | 287 | 41 |
| Andrew Wiggins | 23 | 52 | 132 | 18.0% | 1.5 | 261 | 1 |
| Kel’el Ware | 30 | 66 | 153 | 16.0% | 3.9 | 200 | 22 |
| Simone Fontecchio | 19 | 42 | 141 | 21.2% | 2.2 | 288 | 33 |
| Myron Gardner | 21 | 46 | 124 | 22.1% | 0.8 | 224 | 0 |
| Norman Powell | 25 | 55 | 137 | 23.2% | 2.7 | 182 | 7 |
| Davion Mitchell | 25 | 55 | 71 | 14.0% | -3.4 | -26 | 16 |
| Jaime Jaquez Jr. | 24 | 52 | 54 | 31.4% | -9.9 | -174 | 9 |
| Nikola Jovic | 6 | 12 | 168 | 22.6% | 1.5 | 369 | 0 |
| Dru Smith | 6 | 12 | 103 | 9.4% | -0.1 | 125 | 0 |
| Jahmir Young | 8 | 18 | 68 | 17.1% | -1.4 | -41 | -1 |
Blazers' Damian Lillard surprising addition to 2026 3-point contest field
Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard hasn’t played all season long due to sitting out with a torn Achilles. Despite that, he plans to participate in the 2026 All-Star Weekend at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
The NBA announced its participants in the 2026 State Farm 3-Point Contest on Feb. 8 and one of the participants is Lillard.
Lillard, 35, suffered his injury when he was with the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 4 of the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers.
Lillard, who is a nine-time All-Star, isn’t a stranger to three-point competitions. He won the contest twice in back-to-back years in 2023 and 2024.
The Oakland native has played 13 seasons in the NBA. Throughout his career, Lillard made a name for himself as one of the best shooters, especially in the clutch, where he developed his signature “Dame Time”.
Lillard is currently No. 5 all-time in three-pointers made with 2,804, sitting behind Klay Thompson, Ray Allen, James Harden, and Stephen Curry.
2026 State Farm 3-Point Contestants
The 2026 State Farm 3-Point Contest for NBA All-Star Weekend is happening Feb. 14. All-Star Saturday night, which features the three-point shootout, shooting stars event and slam dunk contest. It will start at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) on NBC and Peacock.
Here are the participants competing in the three-point contest:
- Charlotte Hornets forward Kon Knueppel, 42.8% 3-pt FG, 174 3-pt made in 2025-26 season
- Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell,3.7 3-pt made per game in 2025-26 season, 1,798 career 3-pt made
- Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray,43.2% 3-pt FG, 156 3-pt made in 2025-26 season
- Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey,38.% 3-pt FG, 169 3-pt made in 2025-26 season
- Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker,2018 NBA All-Star Three-Point Contest winner
- Portland Trail Blazer guard Damian Lillard,2023 & 2024 NBA All-Star Three-Point contest winner