Category: Basketball

ATLANTA — After riding the bench in Golden State, Jonathan Kuminga finally got a chance to shine for the Atlanta Hawks.

He sure made the most of it.

In his Atlanta debut on Tuesday, Kuminga threw down thunderous dunks, knocked down 3-pointers and spent much of the night smiling in a 119-98 rout of the Washington Wizards.

Kuminga finished with a season-high 27 points — a far cry from the ending to his tenure in Golden State, where the high-flying forward fell out of favor with coach Steve Kerr.

“It was great,” said Kuminga, who also had seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. “I was excited to be out there with the guys.”

The Hawks acquired Kuminga and guard Buddy Hield in a deal that sent center Kristaps Porzingis to the Golden State Warriors at the trade deadline.

Kuminga checked in off the Atlanta bench near the midway point of the first quarter and made an immediate impact against the woeful Wizards.

He dunked off a fast break — breaking into a big grin as he headed back up the court — and gave a tantalizing glimpse of his wide-ranging talents with a 3-pointer, four assists, two rebounds and a steal during his initial stint on the court.

Kuminga wound up playing nearly 24 1/2 minutes, taking on a bigger-than-expected role after Atlanta’s All-Star forward, Jalen Johnson, went down in the first quarter with a hip flexor injury and didn’t return.

“He connected with his teammates and let the game come to him,” coach Quin Snyder said of his new addition.

Kuminga missed his first six games with the Hawks, sandwiched around the All-Star break, while recovering from a left knee bone bruise sustained in his closing weeks with the Warriors.

The No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 draft, Kuminga was dropped from the rotation in Golden State and asked to be traded when his playing time dwindled.

At first, the Warriors indicated there weren’t a lot of teams showing interest. But the Hawks stepped forward as a trading partner, parting ways with Porzingis after he played just 17 games during his only season in Atlanta because of injuries and illness.

Kerr discounted any off-the-court issues with Kuminga, even though the 23-year-old from the Democratic Republic of the Congo played in just seven of his last 38 games with Golden State.

He started the season as a starter, averaging 12.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game during his limited time on the court.

Kuminga insisted that he wasn’t trying to send a message to the Warriors in his first appearance with the Hawks.

But he was clearly thrilled to be back on the court.

“Everybody has an opinion,” Kuminga said. “I really don’t play attention to what anyone else is saying. We’re trying to win as many games as we can here. That’s my main focus.”

Coming into Tuesday’s NBA slate, the Dallas Mavericks (21-36) sat seventh from the bottom of the league standings. Just the Utah Jazz (18-40), the Washington Wizards (16-40), the New Orleans Pelicans (16-42), the Brooklyn Nets (15-42), the Indiana Pacers (15-43) and the sad Sacramento Kings (13-46) entered play with worse records than the Mavericks.

With a loaded 2026 NBA Draft class looming, all eyes in those markets are now firmly affixed upon the Tankathon standings, with visions of Dybantsa and Boozer dancing in fanbases’ heads. The Mavs may not have what it takes to get all the way to one of the top 2026 prospects, but the player available at the seventh overall pick this year may be more impactful than the second overall pick next year. Getting the seventh pick in this year’s draft would be a win.

But can the Mavericks’ tank gain any precious ground on any of the six teams ahead of them in the race to the bottom? That’s why they play the final 26 of the 82-game NBA season.

Dallas’ strength of schedule the rest of the way is 11th in the league. That’s a point in their favor for piling up more losses over the next month and a half. The fact that they came into Tuesday’s slate of games 3.5 games up on the Jazz, who sit at sixth in the Tankathon standings, and a full five games up on the Wizards in fifth, doesn’t bode as well. In fact, the Mavs came into play Tuesday just one game behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth-worst record in the NBA, inching a step closer toward moving from seventh to the eighth-best lottery odds with their 123-114 win at the Brooklyn Nets.

The tank is losing ground at the moment, in light of the Mavs’ back-to-back wins at Brooklyn and Indiana.

Snapshot: Race to the bottom

Team	Record as of Feb. 24	Remaining SOS
Chicago Bulls	24-35	13th
Memphis Grizzlies	21-35	6th
Dallas Mavericks	21-36	11th
Utah Jazz	18-40	21st
New Orleans Pelicans	17-42	23rd
Washington Wizards	16-41	4th
Brooklyn Nets	15-42	10th
Indiana Pacers	15-43	5th
Sacramento Kings	13-46	29th

After a cursory glance at the remaining schedule, I’ve got the Mavericks going 7-18 in their final 25 games, for a painful 28-54 record when it’s all said and done. That’s based on six scheduled wins and a belief that Dallas, a true blind squirrel, will find one more nut somewhere along the way.

If that happens, the Jazz would have to go 10-14 in their final 24 to tie the Mavs in the standings and bring conference record into play to decide the lottery-odds tiebreaker, or 11-13 to pass Dallas. The Jazz have an easier path to wins the rest of the way with their remaining strength of schedule at 21st in the league, but hoping they go 11-13 down the stretch seems like a bit of a stretch at this point.

The Mavs and the Jazz have already played all four of their matchups this year, splitting the four games between them.

It’s the same story with the New Orleans Pelicans. They’ve got more scheduled wins left in their final 23 games than the Mavericks have in their last 24, but they’d have to go 11-12 to finish out the year to give the Mavs a legitimate shot to pass them in the Tankathon standings. It looks like it’s going to be more ground than Dallas can make up at this point. It would be even harder to catch Washington, and their tank is emboldened by the fourth-best remaining strength of schedule in the NBA the rest of the way.

It looks more likely that the Mavericks will stay at the seventh-best odds in the lottery. In fact, it’s more likely that they slide to eighth than move up to sixth.

There are a lot of variables in play here. The sheer will of each team’s tanking effort is one that’s hard to quantify here. The Mavs, for instance, have consistently played hard in the face of a losing season, forcing their way into clutch loss after clutch loss along the way. The Jazz, on the other hand, are more blatant with their tank in terms of roster management.

At this point, if the Mavs are going to gain any ground, it will likely come at Utah’s expense, but it’s hard to see that happening. If you squint hard, you could convince yourself that Utah has 10 wins left on the schedule, but bad teams find a way to lose. It’s what bad teams do. And the Jazz are very much a team that has decided to be bad.

Keep an eye on this space, though, Mavs fans, because if Dallas can rattle off losses to Sacramento and Memphis on Thursday and Friday, or even split those two games, they’ll still have a chance to sneak past Utah before the year is out. Those would be two very valuable losses.

The 2026 NBA Draft is so good that it’s causing a moral crisis. There are nine teams in the tank race at the moment, and most of them feel like they’re putting out losing lineups on purpose with about 25 games to play in the season. This lottery will have huge stakes, and not just because there’s three potential No. 1 caliber prospects in BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Duke’s Cameron Boozer, and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson.

The Indiana Pacers could pull off the ideal gap year without Tyrese Haliburton by landing a premium young prospect … unless their pick lands outside the top-4, and then it goes to the Los Angeles Clippers in the Ivica Zubac trade. The Dallas Mavericks hit the lottery last year for Cooper Flagg, and now they need to land him a great teammate without control of their first-round pick from 2027-2030. The Utah Jazz better land in the top-8, otherwise their pick goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 2026 NBA Draft lottery will happen on Sunday, May 10, and until then the league’s worst teams are jockeying for position to maximize their ping pong balls. Here’s our latest mock draft, with more analysis on this class after the table.

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School	Age
1	Sacramento Kings	Cameron Boozer	Forward	Duke	Freshman
2	Indiana Pacers	AJ Dybantsa	Wing	BYU	Freshman
3	Brooklyn Nets	Darryn Peterson	Guard	Kansas	Freshman
4	Atlanta Hawks (via Pelicans)	Caleb Wilson	Forward	North Carolina	Freshman
5	Washington Wizards	Kingston Flemings	Guard	Houston	Freshman
6	Utah Jazz	Mikel Brown Jr.	Guard	Louisville	Freshman
7	Dallas Mavericks	Nate Ament	Wing	Tennessee	Freshman
8	Memphis Grizzlies	Dailyn Swain	Wing	Texas	Junior
9	Chicago Bulls	Patrick Ngongba	Center	Duke	Sophomore
10	Milwaukee Bucks	Yaxel Lendeborg	Forward	Michigan	Senior
11	Charlotte Hornets	Darius Acuff	Guard	Arkansas	Freshman
12	Oklahoma City Thunder (via Clippers)	Keaton Wagler	Guard	Illinois	Freshman
13	San Antonio Spurs (via Hawks)	Thomas Haugh	Forward	Florida	Junior
14	Portland Trail Blazers	Karim Lopez	Forward	NZ Breakers	Born 2007
15	Golden State Warriors	Hannes Steinbach	Forward/Center	Washington	Freshman
16	Miami Heat	Morez Johnson	Center/Forward	Michigan	Sophomore
17	Memphis Grizzlies (via Magic)	Jayden Quaintance	Center/Forward	Kentucky	Sophomore
18	Oklahoma City Thunder (via Sixers)	Cameron Carr	Wing	Baylor	Junior
19	Charlotte Hornets (via Suns)	Koa Peat	Forward	Arizona	Freshman
20	Toronto Raptors	Aday Mara	Center	Michigan	Junior
21	Detroit Pistons (via Wolves)	Braylon Mullins	Guard	UConn	Freshman
22	Los Angeles Lakers	Joshua Jefferson	Forward	Iowa State	Senior
23	Philadelphia 76ers (via Rockets)	Allen Graves	Forward	Santa Clara	Freshman
24	Denver Nuggets	Labaron Philon	Guard	Alabama	Sophomore
25	Atlanta Hawks (via Cavs)	Bennett Stirtz	Guard	Iowa	Senior
26	New York Knicks	Chris Cenac	Center	Houston	Freshman
27	Boston Celtics	Flory Bidunga	Center	Kansas	Sophomore
28	Cleveland Cavaliers (via Spurs)	Tyler Tanner	Guard	Vanderbilt	Sophomore
29	Dallas Mavericks (via OKC)	Tounde Yessoufou	Guard	Baylor	Freshman
30	Minnesota Timberwolves (via Pistons)	Amari Allen	Wing	Alabama	Freshman

Let’s dive into the biggest themes from this class over the last few weeks.

Ranking Boozer, Peterson, and Dybantsa in the top-3

There’s some movement on my personal board since I published a mid-season update at the start of the month. Here’s how I’d rank the ‘big three’ of the 2026 NBA Draft:

1. Cameron Boozer, F, Duke: The simple case for Boozer over Peterson and Dybantsa is that he’s the most productive and most versatile of the three while also being the youngest. It’s no coincidence that Boozer’s teams have won at the highest level in every setting: he positively impacts the game in so many ways without taking much off the table. At 6’9, 250 pounds, he can initiate a pick-and-roll like a guard, set a mean screen and make plays on the short roll as a big, pound the offensive glass, punish switches on the drive with his strength, or rip a catch-and-shoot three from deep. It’s understandable to question Boozer’s athletic fluidity, ability to finish over length, or high-level defensive impact, but he’s solid enough in those areas while shining basically everywhere else. If Boozer doesn’t pass your “eye test,” then your eye test probably sucks. I’ve always thought Boozer vs. Cooper Flagg is a better question than Boozer vs. Dybantsa or Peterson, and that continues to be true as he nears the stretch run of his one-and-done season.
2. A.J. Dybantsa, F, BYU: Dybantsa has been third on my board since the summer, but his strong Feb. combined with Peterson’s poor performance in conference play has elevated him to No. 2 for me for the first time. The BYU freshman is the prototypical big wing scorer NBA teams covet with a rare mix of length (7’1 wingspan), fluidity, and explosion. Dybantsa is a gifted driver with tight handles, impressive bend to turn the corner against defenders, and crazy stride length. His three-point volume has been underwhelming thus far, but otherwise he’s the total package as a scorer. I’m a bit skeptical of Dybantsa’s ability to impact the game in areas other than scoring. His playmaking has been surprisingly impressive thus far, but I wonder if some of that is due to BYU’s pristine system. His defense has been subpar, he’s only average as a rebounder, and he can have turnover problems. Ultimately, Dybantsa feels a clear step ahead of similar prospects like Brandon Miller and Ace Bailey in recent drafts because he’s more well-rounded as a scorer, but I wouldn’t put him in the Cooper Flagg/Jayson Tatum tier because he’s not as good at doing the dirty work.
3. Darryn Peterson, G, Kansas: Peterson washed Dybantsa at a high school level, and was so impressive as a senior that I briefly considered putting him over Boozer. The best version of Peterson would be a special guard prospect who can efficiently play a high-usage on-ball role while also being a knockdown shooter as an off-ball threat zooming around screens while also making a big impact defensively. The problem is that we haven’t seen Peterson’s best all year because of a bizarre set of injury issues that have limited his explosiveness at both ends. Peterson just isn’t getting into the paint off the bounce or jumping the passing lanes like he was expected to, but to his credit he’s still been a high-volume scorer on good efficiency. His shot-making has looked better than expected at Kansas, and if you believe his hamstring strain and cramping eventually resolve themselves, there’s still a case for him at No. 1. Peterson appeared to be the mainstream favorite to go No. 1 entering the year. Are we overreacting to a small sample by an injured player by dropping him to No. 3? It takes a leap of faith and heavy reliance on prior production to put Peterson over Boozer and Dybantsa, and I just don’t have the risk tolerance for that right now.

Mikel Brown Jr. makes it a strong top-6

Louisville freshman Mikel Brown Jr. has been considered a potential top-10 pick dating back to preseason. Two things slowed his momentum earlier in the season: a) a pesky back injury that kept him sidelined for an eight-game stretch, and b) an extended shooting slump. For his first 12 games this season, Brown was only shooting 27 percent from three, which was way below where he was expected to be. Over his last eight games, Brown has now made 32-of-83 (38.5 percent), which is more in line with his reputation.

No freshman EVER has more 3PM over a five-game stretch than Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr., with 27 3PM (!) in his last 5.

This level of shotmaking prowess (16.5 3PA/100 + 54% 3P) is truly unprecedented. pic.twitter.com/LyEApXsmRh

— Mohamed (@mcfNBA) February 24, 2026

Pull-up shooting is a big part of what makes Brown such an appealing potential offensive engine. The Louisville guard bombs away from deep with 14.5 three-point attempts per 100 possessions, which is just a fraction below Peterson for tops in the class among likely first-round picks. Of the 71 players in DI taking at least 14.5 threes per 100, no player has a higher free throw rate than Brown’s 46 percent. Add in a 30 percent assist rate, and the picture of Brown as a lead guard comes into focus: he pumps out a ton of threes, he consistently gets to the foul line with his attacking off the dribble, and he has good playmaking vision to kick out to teammates when the defense collapses on him.

It’s fair to wonder how else Brown can impact the game. He has only one offensive rebound in his first 20 games this season. His stock rate of 2.9 percent is underwhelming. His turnovers have been an issue all year, including six against Baylor and seven against SMU in back-to-back games earlier this month. Age can be a knock too, as Brown will turn 20 during Final Four weekend, and is six months older than Jeremiah Fears, the stud one-and-done point guard in last year’s draft.

I like the shooting/passing/foul-drawing package from Brown enough to solidify him as the No. 6 overall prospect in the class. If he really turns it on in the home stretch, he can challenge Houston’s Kingston Flemings for the top point guard in the class.

The late lottery feels like a hornets’ nest

Why is this considered such a strong NBA draft class? Mostly because it has three potential No. 1 overall picks at the top, and then really good prospects at 4-6. After that, I think it gets really dicey.

I wouldn’t want to be picking in the back-half of this lottery. Here’s how ESPN’s Jeremy Woo, probably the most sourced reporter covering the draft, ranked the 6-11 range: Keaton Wagler, Darius Acuff, Nate Ament, Mikel Brown Jr., Karim Lopez, Thomas Haugh. While I can see the vision with a lot of these players, I would feel serious hesitation using a top-11 pick on them outside of the aforementioned Brown.

Darius Acuff pull-up dagger three to send Arkansas-Alabama to overtime. He's got 41 points at the end of regulation pic.twitter.com/EV8FUKdpdl

— Ricky O'Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) February 19, 2026

To my knowledge, there’s never been a 6’6+ one-and-done lottery pick to finish a season with zero dunks, and Wagler is in line to do that so far. His athletic limitations also show up in his low steal rate, but it’s fair to point out that Illinois’ system suppresses steals as they rank dead-last in DI in takeaway percentage. Wagler has made up for it by being a nuclear off-the-dribble shooter who cooks especially hard against bigs on switches. Is that really a sustainable way to live in the NBA for a top-10 pick, though? Acuff has been remarkably productive for Arkansas, but I’m worried about his defense, rebounding, and mid-range heavy shot profile. Ament has been killing it lately as a tall and skinny wing, but his finishing, shooting, and defensive playmaking are so poor that he feels mostly like a theoretical player to me. Lopez is a skilled and strong ball handler at 6’9, but I’m worried about his outside shooting and defense. Haugh is a decent connective wing, but I don’t think his defense is special, and it feels like he would be the lowest usage player in most five-man NBA lineups.

Maybe I’m wrong and Wagler will be a cross between SGA and Haliburton, Acuff becomes Gen Z Stephon Marbury, Haugh turns into a star role player, and Ament refines his skills and becomes an ideal modern wing. It could all happen. I just don’t think the second-half of the lottery plays into the narrative that this is a super strong draft.

Give me 10 underrated prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft

Don’t twist my arm! Here’s some guys I’m higher on than consensus with some brief scouting reports.

Dailyn Swain vs Kentucky

29 points (10/16 FG | 2/6 3pt | 7/7 FT)
6 rebounds
3 assists
2 steals
1 turnovers
36 minutes

There is so much to unpack with Swain's game. He's a hyper efficient 2pt scorer, shooting 65.9% inside the arc with nearly 85% of his attempts unassisted.… pic.twitter.com/pg5au45n0o

— Chip Williams (@chipwilliamsjr) January 31, 2026

• Dailyn Swain, F, Texas: Defensive wing stopper with vastly improved driving and finishing while showing signs of outside shooting development:

• Patrick Ngongba, C, Duke: Stout defensive paint protector with soft hands on interior finishes and great passing chops.
• Bennett Stirtz, G, Iowa: Pick-and-roll maestro and strong pull-up shooter who will probably struggle to guard the ball in the league.
• Morez Johnson Jr., F, Michigan: Monster defender and rebounder with interior scoring touch and possible outside shooting potential.
• Tyler Tanner, G, Vanderbilt: Tiny but super productive guard who plays physically on both ends and has developed into a really good shooter.

In addition to being an elite offensive rebounding prospect, Hannes Steinbach absolutely crushes in transition pic.twitter.com/fJnYUxFj2K

— Ricky O'Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) January 30, 2026

• Hannes Steinbach, F, Washington: Elite offensive rebounder who catches and finishes everything inside and shines in transition.
• Aday Mara, C, Michigan: Massive center (7’3 with 7’7 wingspan) who can defend the rim in drop coverage and also throws some absurdly great outlet passes.
• Meleek Thomas, G, Arkansas: Knockdown three-point shooter who limits mistakes as a passer and ball handler.
• Joshua Jefferson, F, Iowa State: Mack truck forward who rebounds, defends, and can make some awesome passes off the bounce.
• Flory Bidunga, C, Kansas: Athletic center who can protect the rim and finish lobs.

Which picks do you love and hate?

Conference tournaments are about to be in full swing, and then it’s time for the big dance. March Madness is the best, and it’s going to be even better this year with such a loaded draft class on display.

What picks did I totally blow it on? What picks did you love? Sound off in the comments.

UCLA men's basketball flat-out outplayed USC in Tuesday night's 81-62 win. The archrivals met for the first of their two Big Ten clashes on Feb. 24 in what was a crucial game for two teams on the bubble in USA TODAY Sports' latest Bracketology.

The two have been on opposite trajectories as of late, with the Bruins entering Tuesday fresh off Donovan Dent's overtime buzzer-beater to beat No. 11 Illinois and secure a much-needed quad 1 win. The Trojans, meanwhile, entered the night in the midst of a three-game losing streak capped off by a stunning 71-70 home loss to Oregon in which they led by six points with 59 seconds to go.

Those trends played continued as UCLA's physical defense and a 30-point gem from Donovan Dent derailed a Trojans team that couldn't find much offense from anyone not named Chad Baker-Mazara (25 points, eight rebounds, two assists).

"They're a very athletic team, obviously Baker-Mazara is a potent offensive player that can turn your lights out. Proud of the guys that got the job done," Bruins head coach Mick Cronin said postgame. "This late in the year, guys are just trying to win and stay healthy. ... Happy with the win, and nobody got injured. So, onward."

Here are the winners and losers from the first leg of the USC-UCLA rivalry:

WINNERS

UCLA's tournament hopes

The Bruins entered the day as one of the last four teams in, and they just got one step closer to March with a big quad 2 win – over their biggest rivals, nonetheless. After the Illinois game on Saturday, Feb. 21, players said they're feeling like they're at their highest point as a team right now.

Cronin sees it a little differently.

"I'm glad they feel that way," he said. "I would say you're only as good as your next game. When you win, your team's going to have a better feeling about those things. Sometimes you can play well and lose, though. We could've lost that game, I still thought it was one of the best comebacks we had played. ... But we got a little goal here for the end of the year. We got two down, three to go."

Donovan Dent

Dent followed up his heroics from the Illinois game with another stellar performance. He led all scorers with 30 points, two rebounds and seven assists (which also led the game). He shot 62.5% from the floor and was five-for-six from deep.

"I'm hoping this groove continues," he said. "This is the best time to get a groove, honestly. I was struggling early this season, so for me to get in a groove right now I feel like would be huge for our team and huge for myself."

When you're hot, you're hot.

📺: FS1#GoBruins | @Donovandent1pic.twitter.com/2m7tcGxAKh

— UCLA Men’s Basketball (@UCLAMBB) February 25, 2026

UCLA's offensive attack

It wasn't just Dent who shared the love on Tuesday. The team overall moved the ball especially well, finishing the game with 18 assists, seven more than USC. Trent Perry (four assists) and Skyy Clark (three) did their part in finding the open man.

"When we share the ball we're a very high level offense. When we share the ball," Cronin said. "That said, Donnie had a great game. Got Tyler (Bilodeau) some balls late. ... Got some different contributions (too)."

LOSERS

USC still outside the bubble

With Tuesday's loss, the Trojans have now dropped their fourth consecutive Big Ten game and second straight quad 1 game. All 10 of their losses this season have come in conference play. They took another step back, and now their tournament hopes are standing at the edge of a cliff.

"We're not in the tournament," USC head coach Eric Musselman said. "We're outside looking in. We have to figure out a way to win a game before we even worry about anything of that magnitude. We have three opportunities left, and then we have the Big Ten tournament.

"We're a team that has been on the bubble with three games left and we haven't played good basketball last four games, and obviously the Northwestern loss and the Oregon loss is going to hurt us for sure."

Growing pains for Alijah Arenas

Arenas' night can best be summed up by his reaction after subbing out when he was called for his third foul of the game early in the second half. He walked over to the sideline and slammed his hands on a chair in frustration.

It wasn't all bad. Arenas finished with 10 points to be the only Trojan besides Baker-Mazara to score in double figures. A lot wasn't good either, though. He didn't make his first field goal of the game until late in the second half as his opportunities to make an impact early in the game were limited by foul trouble. He also had five turnovers.

But these bumps on the road are to be expected for Arenas, who didn't make his season debut until late January due to a torn right meniscus.

"It's a learning curve for him," Musselman said. "We're trying to balance his minutes and teaching him on the fly and it’s super difficult because he missed all the summer, and he missed the first half of Big Ten, and he's a reclassification.

"He's an incredible talent who's got an awesome ceiling, and he's got an incredible future. ... But it's a process when you don’t – he doesn't have the whole summer. He doesn't have non-conference play, and so we're asking him to do a lot for sure."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UCLA vs USC winners, losers from March Madness bubble-teams matchup

Per a Spurs press release:

The NBA G League announced that Austin Spurs forward Harrison Ingram has been named NBA G League Player of the Week for games played Feb. 9-22. This marks the first Player of the Week honor of Ingram’s career and the first for an Austin player this season.

Spurs forward Harrison Ingram just earned NBA G League Player of the Week honors after a dominant stretch with Austin.

His highlight came last week in a 116–115 win over the San Diego Clippers, where he nearly posted a triple-double with 23 points, 12 boards, and 8 assists in 36… pic.twitter.com/Z9xqePk2to

— SpursRΞPORTΞR (@SpursReporter) February 24, 2026

Ingram averaged 22.2 points, 13.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists over five games. He recorded four double-doubles and one triple-double as the Austin Spurs went 4-1.

Harrison Ingram filled up every column 📊
TRIPLE-DOUBLE.
Impact on both ends. That Spurs DNA showing early. pic.twitter.com/Dadmqr9R9W

— SleeperSpurs (@SleeperSpurs) February 23, 2026

Ingram also posted a season-high 30 points against the Iowa Wolves on February 10th.

In his second season with the Silver and Black, Ingram has appeared in 76 games (72 starts) and holds career averages of 13.7 points, 10.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 33.3 minutes. His 31 career double-doubles rank third in franchise history.

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The game against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night opened with signs that the Suns had steadied themselves after the loss to Portland, the narrow win over Orlando, and the beating they took against San Antonio. Injuries have weighed heavily on them, but for a half, Phoenix looked functional. They trailed 50-46 at the break, and the offense felt balanced, which was a welcome sight. Shots were falling, something that has been rare for this team throughout February. There was flow. There was purpose.

Then the third quarter arrived.

It turned into an avalanche of green inside the Mortgage Matchup Center, and at times it sounded like TD Garden had relocated to downtown Phoenix. The Suns opened the night 7-of-14 from three. They then missed their next 12 straight. The Suns also got overwhelmed on the offensive glass. They surrendered 22 offensive rebounds to Boston and finished with 25 defensive rebounds of their own. Boston only turned those extra chances into 15 second-chance points, but the issue remains. Phoenix continues to struggle with closing possessions and preventing second and third opportunities, and that lack of control keeps resurfacing at costly moments.

That pattern is becoming far too familiar. Long shooting droughts, extended inefficiency from deep, poor rebounding, and an inability to steady themselves when the offense freezes over. Injuries factor into it, but schematically, the counter never arrives. Whether that is personnel, competition, or system-related, the result is the same. Phoenix becomes a team that survives through the three, and lately, it has not survived at all. The third quarter broke the game open, with Boston outscoring the Suns 30-11. Against a team operating like a machine, that margin is fatal.

Phoenix pushed, because they always do, opening the fourth on a 9-0 run that trimmed the deficit to 14. It did not matter. The damage was already done. Shooting 18.2% in the third quarter sealed it long before the final horn.

Bright Side Baller Season Standings

The Portland game, with 77 total points, is one we’d like to forget. But it is one may never will. Why? Because it is the first game that Khaman Maluach earned Bright Side Baller honors. Here’s to many more, Khaman.

Bright Side Baller Nominees

Game 59 against the Celtics. Here are your nominees:

Collin Gillespie
15 points (6-of-11, 3-of-6 3PT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, -5 +/-

Grayson Allen
14 points (2-of-12, 1-of-9 3PT, 9-of-10 FT), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, -13 +/-

Jalen Green
13 points (5-of-18, 1-of-8 3PT, 2-of-2 FT), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, -33 +/-

Ryan Dunn
10 points (4-of-6, 2-of-2 3PT), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 0 turnovers, -3 +/-

Royce O’Neale
9 points (3-of-6, 3-of-4 3PT), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, -19 +/-

Oso Ighodaro
5 points (2-of-5), 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, +4 +/-

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Votin’ time…

Let’s talk about resilience, Dub Nation. The Warriors limp into FedExForum tonight missing Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Kristaps Porzingis, carrying their playoff hopes on the backs of Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and a collection of contributors who were largely afterthoughts two months ago. And somehow, the Warriors are still eighth in the Western Conference at 30-28, clinging to that play-in spot with both hands.

Next up in there way is the new look Memphis Grizzlies, who have let go of pretty much anybody who played in these two teams short lived rivalry besides Ja Morant. Oh by the way, he’s out with an elbow injury for another week and a half at least.

De’Anthony Melton on how he feels physically and if he thinks he can play in the 5 back-to-backs left this season:

“I feel good. I feel solid. Taking it day by day, see how tomorrow holds up. See how my body holds up and just keep checking along. Most definitely. There were… pic.twitter.com/HpdgwEuYsh

— aly ✶ (@jinthirty) February 25, 2026

Golden State Warriors at Memphis Grizzlies

When: February 25, 2026 | Time 4:30pm

TV: NBC Sports Bay Area

Radio: 95.7 The Game

Last night in New Orleans was painful. Zion Williamson dropped 26, Dejounte Murray made his return from a torn Achilles like he never missed a beat, and the Warriors shot a brutal 24.4% from three on 45 attempts. You can survive a lot of things in this league. Making eleven threes on 45 attempts isn’t one of them. Melton’s season-high 28 and Moody’s 24 weren’t enough to close a four-point gap with under two minutes left, and Golden State fell 113-109 to a Pelicans team that seemed like an easier win on paper than real life.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr highlighted 21 turnovers and a lack of offensive execution against New Orleans.

“With the injuries we have, we have to play well to win. And I don’t think we played well tonight.”

More: pic.twitter.com/1J80XFe7uU

— Sam Gordon (@BySamGordon) February 25, 2026

Now it’s time to face Memphis one night later. The Grizzlies that once made this rivalry genuinely threatening, the Dillon Brooks-led outfit that tortured Golden State in the 2022 playoffs, barely exists anymore. Jaren Jackson Jr. is gone. The team just lost to the Sacramento Kings, who had dropped sixteen straight and hadn’t won since January 16th. They are decimated by injuries, missing eight players in the loss to Sacramento. Some relative unknowns are running this show now, and the Ja Morant trade rumors are so loud at this point that ESPN’s insiders are writing offseason previews about it in February.

Here’s what matters: Golden State has handled Memphis twice this season, 131-118 in October and 114-113 in a February nail-biter. Only nine Warriors saw action Tuesday. Tonight won’t look much different. But this is a winnable game against a rebuilding team that just got embarrassed by the league’s worst record. The play-in picture is close enough that every W matters.

Game tips off tonight at FedExForum. Come on, Dub Nation. This one’s there for the taking.

Next week, the month of March arrives.

But for college basketball fans, the angst and excitement of March Madness has already arrived. With conference tournaments around the corner, the excitement for the 2026 NCAA Tournament is building among many fan bases.

REQUIRED READING: March Madness bracketology prediction for NCAA Tournament has another shakeup

Fans have been treated to potential Final Four previews, with Duke-Michigan and Houston-Arizona facing off on Saturday, Feb. 21. Another big one ― No. 11 Illinois hosting No. 3 Michigan ― is on the docket for Friday, Feb. 27, which could help determine final seeding for the tournament.

However, while fans of programs are certainly excited, the bigger joy fans get is watching the teams currently on the bubble playing for their postseason lives. For all intents and purposes, their NCAA Tournament has already begun for these teams.

Here's a look at the latest NCAA Tournament preview, including bubble teams and locks to reach March Madness:

March Madness bracket bubble watch tracker

March Madness locks

Based on games through Tuesday, Feb. 24

• Big Ten (7): Michigan, Purdue, Nebraska, Michigan State, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin
• Big 12 (6): Iowa State, Arizona, Kansas, Houston, Brigham Young, Texas Tech
• ACC (6): Duke, Louisville, Virginia, North Carolina, Clemson, North Carolina State
• SEC (5): Florida, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee
• Big East (3): UConn, Villanova, St. John's
• Other (3): Utah State, Gonzaga, Saint Louis

Thirty teams entered play on Tuesday, Feb. 24, with a 99.8% chance or better to reach the Tournament, according to Bart Torvik's "TourneyCast." That number is up from the 27 entering play on Feb. 22.

Torvik's metrics are used in the NCAA's BPI equation, alongside third-party analyst Ken Pomeroy, also referenced as KenPom by college basketball fans.

NCAA Tournament likely ins

• Big 12 (1): UCF
• Big Ten (2): Indiana, UCLA
• ACC (2): SMU, Miami
• SEC (4): Kentucky, Texas A&M, Texas, Georgia
• Big East (0): N/A
• Other (2): Saint Mary's, New Mexico

Even with two weeks left in the regular season, the likely-ins list is shorter than the locks. The teams on this list have between a 70% and 98.9% chance to reach the NCAA Tournament, per Torvik.

However, Texas and New Mexico have been big droppers over the past few weeks, while UCLA has worked itself into the equation following an upset win over Illinois on Feb. 21.

NCAA Tournament bubble teams

• Big 12 (3): Texas Christian, West Virginia, Cincinnati
• Big Ten (3): Ohio State, Southern California, Washington
• ACC (2): Virginia Tech, California
• SEC (2): Auburn, Missouri
• Big East (1): Seton Hall
• Other (3): Santa Clara, San Diego State, VCU

All of these teams have their work cut out to reach the NCAA Tournament, and not all of them are going to crack a spot in the tournament. They are going to either need to win out, win their respective conference tournament, or need some help with other teams stumbling.

However, having a shot is all that matters at this point in the season.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NCAA tournament bubble tracker: Who's in, out March Madness bracket

While there are still regular-season games and conference tournaments to be played, the March Madness picture for men's college basketball is starting to come into shape.

Strong national championship contenders for the 2026 NCAA Tournament include Duke (led by Cameron Boozer), Arizona (led by Brayden Burries), Michigan (led by Yaxel Lendeborg), Iowa State (led by Milan Momcilovic), Connecticut (led by Solo Ball), Houston (led by Kingston Fleming) and Illinois (led by Keaton Wagler). Reigning national champion Florida has also started to re-enter the mix in recent weeks with a few wins over Alabama and Kentucky.

There are, of course, a handful of teams sitting on the bubble that are hoping to secure a key win (or a few) to change their status from "March Madness maybes" to "March Madness locks" over the next few weeks.

REQUIRED READING: Who is rising, falling in latest March Madness bracket prediction?

The Final Four is set for five weeks from this upcoming Saturday in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium, the first time the Final Four is being held in the NFL stadium of the Indianapolis Colts since the COVID-19 bubble tournament in 2021, when Baylor took down Gonzaga.

Here's what to know on the when March Madness gets underway for men's college basketball:

When is March Madness?

March Madness gets going on Tuesday, March 17 in Dayton, Ohio, at UD Arena with the First Four. The condensed 64-team bracket will then officially get underway with first-round games two days later on Thursday, March 19.

When is Selection Sunday?

• Date: Sunday, March 15

Selection Sunday for the 2026 men's NCAA Tournament is set for Sunday, March 15 at 6 p.m. ET. The unveiling of the 68-team bracket will take place after the conclusion of the Big Ten championship game.

Complete March Madness 2026 schedule

Here’s a rundown of the schedule for the 2026 NCAA men's tournament:

• First Four: March 17-18
• First round: March 19-20
• Second round: March 21-22
• Sweet 16: March 26-27
• Elite Eight: March 28-29
• Final Four: Saturday, April 4 (at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis)
• National championship game: Monday, April 6 (at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis)

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When is March Madness? Complete schedule, dates for 2026 tournament

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers picked up one of their most impressive wins of the season, as they downed the New York Knicks 109-94 after losing their previous two meetings.

Knicks head coach Mike Brown didn’t take the bait when asked pregame if his team lost something they could exploit against the Cavs since they don’t have two smaller guards after swapping out Darius Garland for James Harden.

“I don’t necessarily think that,” Brown said diplomatically.

Brown did, however, go into all the ways that Harden changes the offensive dynamic. It isn’t that the Cavs necessarily want to do different things; they’re just better at doing so due to his size and strength.

“Your backside [defense] has to be on point. Your transition [defense] has to be on point because everybody wants to run because he’s great at throwing that long pass. There are a lot of things you have to pay attention to. At the end of the day, they still have Donovan (Mitchell).”

They also still have Jarrett Allen, who’s playing the best basketball of his career.

Unlike Sunday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Allen was an active part of the offense early, which led to him controlling the paint on both ends. He finished with 19 points on 7-8 shooting to go along with 10 big rebounds.

Performances like this have become the norm in February, to the point that his teammates are jokingly referring to this version of Allen as “Black History Month J.A.” In February, he’s averaging 21.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game on 74% shooting.

Allen has been one of the best centers in the league during that stretch, and it was all spurred on by head coach Kenny Atkinson challenging him several weeks back when it was announced Evan Mobley would be a few weeks with a calf strain.

“He told me you’re going to have to pick it up,” Allen said. “You’re gonna have to make up for the loss of rim protection, lost offensive ability, and I took it to heart.”

It’s fair to say Allen has. And the Cavs have been at their best this season when he’s actively involved in the offense. They’re now 19-2 when he’s scored 15 or more points in a game. His rim pressure simply opens everything up for the offense, and that’s even more true after the addition of Harden.

The two-man game between Harden and Allen is lethal, given how well their skillsets match.

“He understands when to roll to the basket, when to short roll, when to find the pocket, screening angles, different things like that,” Harden said. “He’s so athletic, he gets into the role, to the screen, out of the screen so fast, which you know, I got to get used to that.”

Allen’s grasp of how to do these things pairs incredibly well with someone like Harden, who may be the best pick-and-roll manipulator in the history of the game.

“Just his patience,” Allen said. “He’s not going to force any lob…He’s not going to try to make the hero play. He’s going to try to pick the other team apart. Just try to understand their defense and try to make the right play.”

This play is a great example of how Allen’s feel and Harden’s patience can work in tandem.

Here, Allen sets a high screen for Harden, but holds it long enough to get OG Anunoby to trail on the play, forcing Karl Anthony-Towns to step up. Instead of Harden trying to blow by Towns, he slowly strings him out across the court, creating more separation between him and the roller. By the time Harden delivers the pass to Allen, the only thing the defense can do is foul or give up what would be an easy lay-in with how far out of position they are.

Good players can create mismatches and advantages. Great ones can amplify those advantages to consistently break a defense.

Harden processes the game at such a high level. He can diagnose and dissect what is happening in real time, allowing him to make the correct decision seemingly whenever he’s running the pick-and-roll.

“The first option is myself scoring the basketball off the pick-and-roll,” Harden said. “Then it’s the big, and then, once they figure that out, then it trickles down to the corner threes and the pull-behind guys and so forth.”

Allen said after the game that the offense has been clicking because they’ve been able to repeatedly run the same set and consistently score.

The Cavs have been able to do that with the pick-and-roll. It’s such a simple action, but when you run it correctly, there’s seemingly unlimited positive outcomes.

This is a good example of that. The Knicks know that they want to get the ball to Allen, so they crash to keep that from happening. This leads to the kickout to Dean Wade. But in the shuffle, the off-balance defense lost Allen, which set up another easy dunk inside.

The Cavs have become a one-play Madden spammer. But no matter what the defense does, it’s nearly impossible to take away all the possible outcomes if it’s run correctly. Someone is bound to be left alone. It just comes down to execution at that point.

Being able to lean on the pick-and-roll has made the offensive adjustment easy; the same can’t be said for the defense, even on a night they held the Knicks under 100 points.

The defensive strategy has been simple since the trades: protect the rim at all costs and live with the three-point variance. These last two games show how differently that can play out depending on the night.

It didn’t work against the Thunder. They hit over half of their threes. Conversely, the Knicks converted just 27% of them, which led to their offense sputtering, particularly in the third quarter when they went 1-12 from three and essentially lost the game in that span.

Playing this way is a good short-term strategy, but it may not be how this team reaches its ceiling. That’s why both Allen and Harden brought up the defense as an area of concern postgame, even though they just held one of the best offenses in the league to only 94 points.

“Defense is going to be the key,” Harden said. “If we can find a way to really hone in defensively, and really get stops and limit teams to one shot, we’re going to be very, very tough.”

The Cavs are a better team now than they were the previous two times they played the Knicks. Swapping out an injured Garland for Harden has drastically changed the offense, as has finding legit bench contributors in Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis, who’ve done an incredible job of stabilizing the second unit.

In their Christmas Day meeting, the Cavs got up big in the third quarter, but coughed it all up in the fourth due to an inability to execute offensively, combined with poor defensive rebounding.

Tuesday night was different as they simply kept their foot on the gas, never giving the Knicks any hope that they could come back from their 18-point deficit at the end of the third. This speaks to how much more prepared the Cavs are to face elite opponents, despite their limited time together.

“I think we’re pretty good, but the crazy part is, we’ve had two practices (since the trade),” Mitchell said. “There’s some groups out there where we’re just playing off [feel]. Like, Dennis came in and created this play for me the first game we’ve got here, and we’ve been runnnig that. … We’ve just been going off film and going off our IQ. … Thats a credit to the guys coming in here.”

The scary thing is that the Cavs believe they’re nowhere near their ceiling for this group.

“We’ll continue to get better and better,” Mitchell said. “The fact that were doing what we’ve been doing at a high level without much time together, it speaks to a lot, but we’re not even close to where we want to be. We have a lot more we can figure out.”

When the Boston Celtics acquired Nikola Vučević at February’s NBA trade deadline, it gave them options.

Adding Vučević provided Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla the flexibility to lean on the two-time All-Star, roll with a double-big lineup, or bring him off the bench behind Neemias Queta — the plan Boston has used to acclimate Vooch. But the Anfernee Simons–Chicago Bulls swap in the final 48 hours before the deadline has not only benefited Vučević, now in a contending environment, and Boston’s need for frontcourt depth; it’s also gone a long way for Queta’s breakout campaign as a first-year starter.

“It’s been huge,” Queta told reporters following Tuesday night’s win over the Phoenix Suns, per CLNS Media. “I’m trying to pick his brain every day, trying to figure out how I can get better with my game as well. Credit to him — I think he’s been a great addition in terms of spacing the floor, being able to be a threat down low. He’s going to rebound for sure, too. He’s going to be key for us late in the season, and we’re still trying to figure out a couple of things with him — how to get him in his best spots, and he’s trying to get loose too.”

Vučević has only been around for six games, and Queta isn’t squandering the opportunity of sharing a locker room with the 15-year veteran’s expertise.

For the first 52 games of the season, Queta was on his own. Chris Boucher, a nine-year veteran and two-time champion, joined the Celtics but fizzled out of the rotation early before a deadline trade to the Utah Jazz. With only six games of prior starting experience, Queta was elevated from his usual backup role in response to the offseason departures of Kristaps Porziņģis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet, becoming Joe Mazzulla’s starting center. It marked the first true opportunity of Queta’s career, and easily the most challenging.

So as soon as Vučević entered Boston’s locker room for the first time, Queta spotted an avenue, and he wasn’t going to pass it up.

Vučević spent nine years with the Orlando Magic and his six most recent seasons in Chicago, fortifying himself as one of the league’s most skilled perimeter big men. Over the years, he was frequently linked to Boston in trade rumors, and each time landed in Beantown to face the Celtics, fans across the city made their desire clear — offering warm welcomes and not-so-subtle invitations to join the fold, even though it took until his age-35 season for that desire to come to fruition.

In his prime, Vučević was an automatic double-double, capable of averaging over 20 points and 10 rebounds. Today, he remains one of the league’s best at spacing the floor and knocking down the three-ball, but it’s the finer details of Vučević’s game that Queta has been eyeing for years.

Now, Queta has the luxury of working alongside Vučević daily, seeing it all up close.

“Being able to seal guys off, how he can be a threat down low, how he can make quick moves down there in the paint, in the post, and just how much more effective I can be,” Queta explained. “Just picking his brain on anything.”

Queta made his 53rd start in 54 appearances this season on Tuesday night in Phoenix. He scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, recording his second consecutive double-double for the first time in his career. His performance wasn’t beyond what Queta has proven capable of as a full-time starter, but it was an extension of the player he’s been before Vučević arrived — eager to learn and ready to step up wherever the team needs him.

“(He’s) curious about the details, wants to get better, understands what he has to do to help us win games, and takes pride in that,” Mazzulla told reporters, per CLNS Media.

That attitude will be most beneficial as Queta logs big, meaningful minutes while Vučević serves as both a teammate and a reliable shoulder to lean on. Whether in practice, on off-days, or during games, Queta can look to Vučević as a source of guidance straight from an expert’s perspective.

What began as a daunting task for Queta has become an ideal situation for the 26-year-old. He’s been a vital part of the retooled Celtics offense, particularly when running the Spain pick-and-roll, and has quietly eased Boston’s frontcourt concerns. Replacing Porziņģis, Horford, and Kornet is no small task, but the promotion has paid off, and now having Vučević in the mix is somewhat of a reward that could pay dividends for Queta over time.

Boston’s fourth straight victory, without Jaylen Brown, was just the latest indicator of his ascension.

“That’s a sign of the consistency that he’s playing with,” Mazzulla told reporters. “That’s the growth of a guy — when you can earn being counted on every night — and he’s earned that. We know, heading into every game, that we can count on him. So it’s a credit to him.”

Queta isn’t looking to put a cap on his potential development.

This season was penciled in as a bridge year for Queta to get his feet wet, but that’s no longer the prevailing sentiment. Boston is flourishing, as is Queta, and expectations have been restored, pushing the Celtics back into the conversation as contenders. He’s no longer viewed as an easy-to-pull-for underdog thrown into a tough situation. Queta has been legit, and he’s been legit throughout the season’s entirety. If anything, he’s underrated when compared with the rest of the league’s starting centers, and little by little, he’s continuously changing the narrative around him.

“I feel like I’ve taken strides in so many different aspects of my game,” Queta told reporters. “And there’s so much more I can get better at. I don’t wanna pinpoint just one thing. I feel like it’d be a disservice to all the stuff I’m getting better at. By thinking, ‘Oh, this is the biggest thing I’ve done,’ I’d be shortchanging what’s coming next. I’m still hungry, and I still wanna keep on getting better.”

Nothing really jumps off the page with a quick glance at the box score of the Celtics’ total eclipse of the Suns. The team shot just 40% from the field, including a dismal 13-of-47 from beyond the arc. They shot just nine free throws, with Payton Pritchard making all four of his trips after hitting just two of his 13 shots on the night.

And yet, the 97-81 win might be one of their most impressive and definitive victories of the season.

Disregard the fact that Jaylen Brown (and obviously, Jayson Tatum) didn’t play. They weren’t around three weeks ago when the Celtics grounded the Rockets in Houston either.

No, what the Celtics did to the Suns on Tuesday night has become their calling card throughout the entire season. If you were to boil down Boston’s approach, head coach Joe Mazzulla will tell you that it’s all about winning the margins, particularly limiting turnovers, generating more possessions with offensive rebounding, getting up threes, and defending like hell.

The latter two have always been staples of Mazzulla ball. In his first two seasons at the helm including the championship year in 2024, the Celtics were top-2 in defensive rating and three-point field goal attempts. Boston, with its star-studded roster, could bury teams with math.

This year, with several newcomers and young players, further refined the formula to include offensive rebounding and taking care of the ball.

“We just have to fight for perspective,” Mazzulla said after the team was down 26-21 despite winning the offensive rebounding battle, taking several open 3s, and turning the ball over just once. “We need to do a better job on the defensive glass, but we ended up getting more shots than they did and the shots finally came, but credit to the guys. Even when we’re not shooting well, we’re still defending. We gotta keep that up.”

At the buzzer, Boston ended up taking sixteen more field goals because of 22 offensive rebounds. At one point in the third quarter, they were up 28 points.

It may seem like an elementary basketball theory — take care of the ball, maximize your shots by taking threes, and get more shots off the glass — but it’s a novel approach in recent history. The Thunder were #1 in turnovers and defense, but didn’t hit the offensive glass as much and weren’t a prolific three-point shooting team. The Nuggets of three seasons ago ranked 20th in turnovers, 25th in 3FAs, 15th in defensive efficiency, and 12th in offensive rebounding percentage.

There are many ways to skin a cat and raise a banner for sure, but the Celtics this season might have the most unique technique. Considering they average the fewest possessions per game with a 95.55 pace, Mazzulla is betting that Boston will be more disciplined and more consistent in what is in effect a shorter game. The 81 points that the Suns mustered against the Celtics was their second lowest point total of the year. More so, it’s the fifth time in February that Boston has held a team under 100. They haven’t the lowest scoring defense in the league at 107.6 points per game and the lowest defensive efficiency in the month of February.

The 2026 men's NCAA tournament starts in Dayton for the First Four and ends in Indianapolis for the Final Four. Below is a list of the March Madness venues in between.

First- and second-round games will be held at eight cities spanning across four time zones. Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games will be held at regional sites before the final four teams converge on Indianapolis in early April.

March Madness bracketology: NCAA Tournament field prediction has another shakeup

When is Selection Sunday? March Madness bracket release date, TV info

Here’s a look at where 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament games will take place:

March Madness 2026 game locations, venues 

• First Four: Dayton, Ohio; UD Arena
• First/second round: Buffalo, N.Y.; KeyBank Center
• First/second round: Greenville, S.C.; Bon Secours Wellness Arena
• First/second round: Oklahoma City; Paycom Center
• First/second round: Portland, Ore.; Moda Center
• First/second round: Tampa; Benchmark International Arena
• First/second round: Philadelphia; Xfinity Mobile Arena
• First/second round: San Diego; Viejas Arena
• First/second round: St. Louis; Enterprise Arena
• Sweet 16/Elite Eight: Houston; Toyota Center
• Sweet 16/Elite Eight: San Jose, Calif.; SAP Center
• Sweet 16/Elite Eight: Chicago; United Center
• Sweet 16/Elite Eight: Washington, D.C.; Capital One Arena
• Final Four: Indianapolis; Lucas Oil Stadium
• National championship: Indianapolis; Lucas Oil Stadium

NCAA men's tournament 2026 schedule 

• First Four: March 17-18
• First round: March 19-20
• Second round: March 21-22
• Sweet 16: March 26-27
• Elite Eight: March 28-29
• Final Four: April 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
• National championship game: April 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NCAA tournament 2026 locations: Every arena for March Madness

LOS ANGELES — While the Lakers have their big three of LeBron James, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves healthy and available, it hasn’t been smooth sailing.

After the team’s loss against the Celtics on Sunday, Lakers head coach JJ Redick said they were “awful” offensively. In their encore on Tuesday, LA had another poor performance, losing to the Magic 110-109.

The game ended in heartbreaking fashion with Luka passing up an open look and tossing the ball to LeBron, who had to heave a shot to beat the buzzer that bounced off the rim.

This sequence, featuring some poor offensive execution, has been far too common in Los Angeles. It’s a prime example of how the team hasn’t been able to find an offensive rhythm lately.

With LA needing every win possible in the crowded Western Conference, better offense is necessary, especially on a night where the other aspects of their game were good enough to earn the result.

“I thought we played well enough to win tonight,” Redick said postgame. “[We] certainly had the edge and played hard enough to win. We played together. We did our best to play the right way and share the basketball.”

With 24 assists on 40 makes, Redick is right that the ball was moving. And with Dendre Ayton finding a rhythm during the first half, things were looking up for LA early on.

“Well, my playmakers were feeding me the ball, and they just kept telling me do the same thing over and over,” Ayton said. “So, I just was making sure I was physical and I tried my best to score closest to the rim as much as possible so I can keep getting it down there. Tonight, they believed in their switches a lot, so I’m glad I got a chance to punish that just to switch it up a little bit and give them a different look.”

But Los Angeles slowly died in this game. Through three quarters, they took a double-digit lead and turned it into a home loss. They couldn’t take advantage of Orlando shooting 24% from deep because they were outrebounded 48-40.

And as individuals, none of their big three stepped up.

Reaves is known for being an aggressive player who gets inside the paint and to the free-throw line. He only took five shot attempts in the first half and didn’t score until the third quarter.

Luka is the team’s bestplayer and on-ball creator. Against the Magic, he went 8-24 from the field and converted on just two of his ten3-point attempts. Perhaps that poor shooting is why he became passive on that final possession.

"I know I was open, I just thought I was a little bit far." Luka Dončić on the final play of the game.

— Edwin Garcia (@ECreates88) February 25, 2026

And LeBron had a respectable game, scoring 21 points, but most of that damage came during his first six minutes of play, where he scored 10 points. After that, he was rather pedestrian,and that’s not going to be enough when his co-stars are struggling.

LA needed more from their starson Tuesday night and no one was able to respond.

It’s clear the Lakers’ strength isn’t defense. They are ranked 24th in the league in defensive rating. So, they have to win games with their offense. That shouldn’t be as much of a problem with two All-Stars and Reaves, who is also known for putting the ball in the hoop.

However, they posted their second-lowest point total of the season against the Celtics and shot horrendously from three against Orlando, going 9-29 as a team.

Whether it’s because of a lack of time working together, their opponents throwing different defensive coverages at them or just a cold streak, the fact is they haven’t been able to, as a collective, consistently score since the All-Star break.

With 25 games left, time is running out for them to figure things out.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

PHOENIX —  Late in the third quarter of the Celtics 97-81 win over the Phoenix Suns, Payton Pritchard turned the ball over. Suns two-way player Jamaree Bouyea dribbled furiously down the court, while Baylor Scheiermman stayed in front of him, keeping his arms raised, but avoiding any contact.

Ron Harper Jr, amid his second-ever NBA start, trailed the play, but sprinted back and ultimately swatted Bouyea’s layup. Hugo Gonzalez secured the rebound and finished a layup on the other end. The Celtics led by 23.

The block was pretty cool.

But in the split second after Harper’s massive block came the play of the game. Before they ran back on offense, Harper and Scheierman enthusiastically high-fived, celebrating their collective big-time stop.

WHAT A PLAY by the Celtics

Baylor Scheierman does a GREAT job going straight up allowing Ron Harper Jr time to catch up and absolutely smack this layup attempt

The dap up afterwards is a true mark of what happened : a collective effort

Hugo scores right after pic.twitter.com/CvP1XY9jan

— NikNBA🏀 (@NIKNBAYT) February 25, 2026

Harper got credit for the block on the box score, but Scheierman’s role in the play was just as important — he stayed vertical, avoided a foul, and ultimately helped force Bouyea into a difficult look.

“We talk about that a lot,” Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “Those plays are super important, because a lot of times that guy that goes up for the block may foul, and then you don’t get a chance to contest it. And so we do focus on a lot, it’s not just that guy that gets the block — it’s just as important to protect the rim.”

A Ron Harper Jr — Baylor Scheierman defensive sequence perfectly captures the magic of this Celtics season

Ron Harper Jr. and Baylor Scheierman first met when they played on the Celtics’ Summer League team in 2024. Scheierman had just been drafted days prior, while Harper was coming off a serious shoulder injury that abruptly ended his season.

Both players spent most of the 2024-2025 season in the G League; Harper began his year with the Maine Celtics and finished it with the Motor City Cruise after getting a two-way contract with the Detroit Pistons, while Scheierman spent it in Maine.

Now, both players are impacting winning with the parents club, and both got the start in Tuesday’s matchup against the Suns. (Scheierman has started the last five games for the Celtics, while Harper started in place of Jaylen Brown, who missed the game with a knee contusion).

Harper, who remains on a two-way contract, added 8 points, 5 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block in 30 minutes.

Afterwards, Sam Hauser — who also started en route to a 16-point night — praised his performances.

“Nothing changes when he gets out there,” Hauser said of Harper. “There’s no skipping of the beats, and he’s a great player. He’s a great defender, and he helps us in a lot of different ways. And tonight he was great.”

Scheierman, meanwhile, tallied 11 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal in 32 minutes — and also earned Hauser’s praise.

“He can kind of can do a little bit of everything, and he’s shown it,” Hauser said. “And he, again, is another guy who just kind of got thrust into the lineup — and he’s made the most of it. At times, it’s really hard to take him off the floor, for obvious reasons, because he’s a really well-rounded player, and he’s been defending his butt off, and it’s been fun to watch.”

Harper will likely go back to the bench when Jaylen Brown returns to the lineup in the coming days, and Scheierman’s minutes will likely diminish when (or if) Jayson Tatum makes his season debut.

But on Tuesday night, for a brief moment, those two 25-year-old, former G League standouts were invincible.

And in the middle of live action, they high-fived one another, taking a moment to recognize just how great a defensive possession it was. It’s that kind of synergy that’s allowed the Celtics to have the NBA’s best defense over the past month, and the 8th-best defensive rating in the league this season.

Teamwork pic.twitter.com/4OooA8Iipt

— Wildes (@kevinwildes) February 25, 2026

That Harper-Scheierman sequence stood out to Derrick White, too.

“It’s huge,” said White. “Baylor does a good job of occupying, kind of slowing him down a little bit, and Ron sprints back and makes a play. That’s the kind of thing we talk about all the time — it’s a team effort, every time down the court. Even in transition, you try to get nothing easy. Big time for both of them to sprint back and make that big play, and it was a big momentum swing for us.”

The duo’s reaction perfectly captured what kind of season it’s been.