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Top 5 Knicks trade targets ahead of 2026 deadline

Although no transactions have officially kicked it off, NBA trade season is here and the Knicks are looking increasingly likely make a move by February’s deadline. 

Some of New York's much-hyped bench pieces haven’t performed, while they’ve gotten big seasons from unexpected places, giving them some flexibility to reshuffle their rotation.

Here are the top five targets the Knicks should aim to acquire by the deadline. We’ve centered these around salaries that closely match Guerschon Yabusele’s as the main piece of a potential deal, excluding the hanging cloud that is Giannis Antetokounmpo’s availability and trades that would require shipping Josh Hart or Mitchell Robinson, which aren’t likely.  

Keon Ellis

A 6-foot-4 guard doesn’t seem like it should be on the top of New York’s priority list, but as far as realistic short-term upgrades go, they may not find a better one in the league. Ellis is only a four-year player, but even spending all that time with the Sacramento Kings, his strengths have popped through.

He’s a strong defender and career 41.7 percent three-point shooter, and had his best years under Knicks head coach Mike Brown. The Kings don’t appear to value him highly despite being one of their few young talents, giving the Knicks a chance to boost their depth at a discounted cost. 

Saddiq Bey

The Knicks have been starting 20-year-old rookie Mohamed Diawara and playing second-year man Kevin McCullar Jr. amid Yabusele’s disappointing season and Hart’s injury. While both have been impressive, New York could use some more veteran depth on the wing, perhaps more so than anything else.

One target who fits the bill is Bey, a six-year veteran playing for the New Orleans Pelicans. He just torched the Knicks for 26 points -- perhaps his tryout for the team -- and was an intriguing 3-and-D prospect before his shot fell off. 

Nicolas Batum

The Clippers should be looking for any way to get younger and more draft assets during this disaster of a season, giving New York an edge should they call about a supplementary role player. Batum is 37 years old, long past his prime, and shouldn’t be expected to move the needle. But he’s reliable, flexible, and has played in the biggest of games.

He’s also still shooting close to 40 percent from three. If you’re looking for an under-the-radar pickup, this may be the right move.

Jose Alvarado

Linked to the Knicks by SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley, Alvarado has New York roots and plays with a New York attitude from the point guard position, hounding ball-handlers and never shrinking from a big game or shot. He’s hitting nearly 38 percent of his threes this season and would thrive in Brown’s high pace style.

Andre Drummond or Precious Achiuwa

The focus has been on wings and guards, but the Knicks could also look for a big man since their current rotation hinges heavily on Robinson’s health. Two names brought up by Begley are Drummond and Achiuwa.

The former is playing for the Philadelphia 76ers and getting plenty of chances with Joel Embiid in and out of the lineup. It’s unclear if they'd even be interested in dealing him given their own postseason aspirations, but he’s still one of the league’s most impactful rebounders and would be a big help up front.

Achiuwa spent a year and a half in New York after coming over in the OG Anunoby deal. He had a mixed career with the Knicks, bouncing in and out of the rotation and between frontcourt positions, but all under former head coach Tom Thibodeau -- opening up a potential avenue for a return and revitalization after having to deal with the Kings.

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What we learned as Steph Curry's 26 leads Warriors past Hornets in hometown win

What we learned as Steph Curry's 26 leads Warriors past Hornets in hometown win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

Scoreboards aren’t always a beauty pageant. 

The Warriors, to close out 2025, still gave away far too many turnovers that were accompanied by perplexing decisions on Wednesday. They also let it fly from deep and found a way to end the year winning five of their last six games after beating the Charlotte Hornets 132-125 at the Spectrum Center. 

Hometown hero Steph Curry scored a team-high 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting and went 5 of 10 behind the 3-point line. Curry now has 400 career games of making at least five 3-pointers.

Draymond Green dished a season-high 12 assists, showcasing his chemistry alongside Curry all game. He was a game-high plus-18, also adding 10 points and eight rebounds. To round out the Big Three, Jimmy Butler scored 19 points, going 11 of 12 from the free-throw line, and also had five rebounds and seven assists to stuff the stat sheet.

Led by Brandin Podziemski (19 points) and Gui Santos (13 points), the Warriors’ bench shone again to outscore the Hornets’ reserves 61-29.

Each team scored with ease. The Warriors shot 55.4 percent from the field, 49 percent from three and 94.1 percent at the free-throw line. On the other side, the Hornets shot 51.6 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and went 13 of 17 on free throws (76.5 percent). 

However, the Warriors had a 24-point advantage from downtown, and six players made multiple threes.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ win that pushes their record to 18-16 entering 2026.

Curry’s Charlotte Homecoming 

With his father, Dell, on the broadcast, all that was missing from a full family affair was a healthy Seth Curry. The younger of the Curry brothers remains sidelined due to sciatic-nerve issue related to his pelvis and lower back. But the elder still was ready to give his hometown fans plenty to cheer about.

Curry missed a layup and three to begin the game before draining a triple from the right wing. While being hugged and hounded wherever he went, the theatrics started to show up in the second quarter. Cheers echoed while Curry dropped 12 points and made three 3-pointers in the second quarter. 

The strategy of holding onto Curry for dear life worked for stretches and even had him showing some frustrations. Before Wednesday, Curry was averaging 27.3 points per game in Charlotte, falling just short of the mark in Year 17. 

He and Dell, in an early New Year’s Eve game, tied Dolph and Danny Schayes for the most combined games played by a father-son duo in NBA history with 2,134. They’ll stand alone when the Warriors play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday for their first game of 2026.

Three Santos 

It could be four minutes, eight minutes or more. Steve Kerr knows what he’s getting from Santos.

The Brazilian always brings energy on both sides of the ball. When he’s hitting outside shots, the Warriors reap the benefits of a cherry on top. That hasn’t happened often this season. But it sure did in Charlotte. 

Santos came into the day shooting a career-low 30.8 percent from three. That didn’t stop him from taking advantage of wide-open space, going a perfect 4 of 4 from the field and 3 of 3 on threes in the first half for 11 points. 

“I jumped, I didn’t see anybody to pass to, but I’m glad Will showed up. I hit him, he hit me right back and I was wide open. I got to shoot that. I shot three shots, I had made all three, so I said, ‘Ahh, I gotta shoot that one too,’” Santos said to Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike at halftime while talking about his third three.

Yet as the Warriors watched their lead vanish in the third quarter, Santos was watching from the bench. Once he came in, he immediately grabbed a huge offensive rebound that led to two free throws for Butler. Those are the kind of intangibles that led to Santos being a plus-15 in 17 minutes off the bench with 13 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Wake-Up Call 

Breakfast with a side of basketball was an odd feeling on Wednesday morning. The Warriors clearly still were waking up and in need of Butler’s BIGFACE Coffee at the start of the game against an 11-win Hornets team. They were all tied up at 30 points apiece after the first quarter, mostly because of six Warriors turnovers that became 10 Hornets points. 

A few minutes into the second quarter, the Warriors had one of their more low-IQ sequences of the season. Following a turnover by Green where he dribbled the ball off his foot, there was a shot-clock malfunction where Moussa Diabate caught a Brandon Miller airball, but the clock reset. Refs corrected the mistake, giving the Hornets the ball out of bounds with 1.8 seconds, just for the Warriors to commit two terrible fouls – first from Gary Payton II and then Moses Moody on a Sion James 3-point attempt, to which he made two free throws.

As the Warriors went into halftime with a five-point lead behind hot shooting, they already committed 11 turnovers for 19 Hornets points. Their tendency to foul also led to the Hornets taking six more free throws than them in the first half. The Warriors started the third quarter strong, but once they held a 15-point lead, 79-64, the Hornets outscored them 36-19 the rest of the quarter to go up by two at the start of the fourth.

Giving the Hornets 28 points off 19 turnovers won’t work against better teams, which the Warriors have seen time and time again. Starting Friday, they don’t leave California until Jan. 22, giving the Warriors a stretch of games to build some real momentum.

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Warriors reportedly are ‘staunchly' against trading Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler

Warriors reportedly are ‘staunchly' against trading Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors’ path to acquiring a superstar player before the NBA’s Feb. 5 trade deadline appears slim.

Golden State, if it wanted to acquire a player like Giannis Antetokounmpo or Anthony Davis, for example, would need to match salaries in a potential blockbuster trade due to the league’s salary cap rules for second-apron teams.

Young forward Jonathan Kuminga is one obvious piece to a potential deal, but his contract ($23.4 million this season) still is much smaller than what the biggest names that could be on the trade market are making, like Antetokounmpo ($54.1M) and Davis ($54.1M), which means Golden State likely would have to include one of its other veteran players, like forwards Draymond Green ($25.89M) or Jimmy Butler ($54.1M), to make the money work.

However, the Warriors reportedly are “staunchly” against the notion of including either Green or Butler in a potential trade, The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported in a story published Wednesday, citing team sources.

Golden State’s brass, from coach Steve Kerr to general manager Mike Dunleavy, repeatedly have expressed confidence in the team’s veteran core of Butler, Green and Steph Curry, so any seismic deal that breaks that trio up, in addition to the financial complications a potential trade might present, seems unlikely.

However, things certainly can change between now and Feb. 5, and if the Warriors end up sliding further down the Western Conference standings, Dunleavy and Co. might be inclined to really shake things up in order to give Curry a chance at winning a fifth championship.

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Life after LeBron James: who will inherit the NBA’s future?

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) guards Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) during an NBA Cup game in November.Photograph: Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

That the NBA is reckoned in seasons is apt. To measure a legacy this way is as much existential as it is symbolic. Martin Heidegger argued that time is not something we pass through, but the condition of our being – less a pathway than a pressure. Heavy stuff, yes, but the NBA has always operated under similar weight.

The millennial superstars who stabilized the league for two decades are now entering their twilight: LeBron James (who turned 41 on Tuesday), Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Chris Paul. In their wake comes something genuinely new. For the first time, the league’s next dominant generation is unmistakably international. The NBA’s gen Z elite now emerge from Slovenia, Serbia, Greece, Canada and France.

Related: The ascendant San Antonio Spurs are the gift the NBA needed

America’s domestic pipeline still produces talent, but the excesses of AAU culture, one-and-done college basketball and eroding fundamentals have dulled its once overwhelming edge. In a garden crowded by its own overgrowth, the question is which strain ultimately thrives.

Each of the millennial stars now plays under the pressure of finitude. Heidegger described this as living toward an ending – an awareness that sharpens responsibility rather than diminishing it. That sense defines the league’s aging icons. For them, responsibility means one more run. Collectively, this group has won 10 championships and appeared in 23 Finals, but the odds of one last triumph are slim. Curry is straining to extend a dynasty time is quietly dismantling. LeBron is both the Lakers’ largest contract and no longer their centerpiece. Westbrook chases relevance on a lottery-bound roster. Harden remains productive but unsettled. Only Durant, newly aligned with a rising Houston team, appears plausibly positioned for one more push.

The question of succession is unavoidable. Elder statesmen Nikola Jokić (30) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (31) understand the clock well enough to know urgency has arrived. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (27) looks capable of anchoring something durable in Oklahoma City, with Luka Dončić (26) and Victor Wembanyama (21) pressing close behind. The American presence has not vanished, but it has dimmed since the 1990s. Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, Cade Cunningham and Jayson Tatum keep the idea of domestic succession alive, while 19-year-old Cooper Flagg now complicates the hierarchy entirely.

The NBA has never struggled to define its image. From its rise into national consciousness, the league’s authority flowed through Black American players who made the game modern and irresistible, even while navigating deep economic contradictions. But dominance erodes. The world has caught up.

Generation Z moves differently. Previous generations were asked to embody systems that rarely worked in their favor. These players arrive as brands unto themselves, unburdened by history. American moxie still matters, but it no longer travels alone.

For decades, only Hakeem Olajuwon briefly disrupted American supremacy, and even that required Michael Jordan’s retirement. Now the balance has shifted. The millennial generation reshaped the sport – stretching shooting, flattening positions, weaponizing collectives – but even golden eras end, and their fading has left a vacuum no single nation can easily fill.

There is an uncomfortable symmetry to the timing. As American authority softens on the global stage, so too does its basketball hegemony. Players from countries once peripheral to the sport now produce its gravitational centers.

Can an American reclaim the mantle? Until recently, the answer felt unconvincing. Then Cooper Flagg arrived. As his shooting stabilizes, his path becomes clearer – and it begins where greatness has always been defined: defense.

Across generations, the truly defining stars shared not just brilliance, but responsibility on both ends of the floor. Julius Erving, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James could dominate a game while guarding its most dangerous opponent. That same two-way versatility distinguishes Flagg. It is what gives his ceiling historical weight.

Thrown immediately into the burden of replacing Dončić-level expectations, Flagg initially wavered. But after Dallas moved on from general manager Nico Harrison, the collective exhale allowed him to find his footing. The Mavericks sit on the fringes of the play-in picture, but Flagg already checks the league’s most important box: trust.

What makes him viable as the NBA’s next face is the rare blend of responsibility, versatility and control at an age when most players are still learning how to stay on the floor. He plays the basketball the league prefers to elevate – two-way, connective, portable. His defensive impact resembles that of elite bigs, while his offensive reads mirror those of primary creators. He spots mismatches early, toggles between force and patience, and resists rushing possessions into waste.

The NBA crowns players it can trust. As the youngest player in the league, Flagg already plays like an old one.

If the NBA is shaped by contingency rather than ceremony, then the passing of the torch is not an event but an obligation. LeBron’s generation carried the league until their bodies gave way. The world has stepped forward to claim it. But as Heidegger reminds us, what matters is not the future we imagine, but how we handle it once it arrives.

The league is not waiting for Cooper Flagg to become something else. It is already responding to what he is.

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Nikola Jokic’s injury changes everything: West playoff chase, MVP race, more

It sounds strange to say, but it is true: Nikola Jokic missing a month is great news for Denver.

Not great that he's out, but great in the sense that the hypertension of his left knee that will sideline Jokic for at least the next month is the best possible outcome from what looked like a far worse injury when it happened.

While it may “only” be a month (although don't be shocked if he is out through the All-Star break), Jokic's absence is going to change things with the Nuggets, the Western Conference playoff chase, and the MVP race (it changes everything for people betting on NBA awards futures). Let's break it all down, starting with the team itself.

How Nuggets change without Jokic

Before Monday night, the Nuggets were already dealing with a rash of injuries. Three starters were out: Aaron Gordon (hamstring strain), Christian Braun (ankle sprain) and Cam Johnson (a knee hyperextension, just like Jokic).

Despite the bad luck, the Nuggets could always rely on Jokic, one of the league's most durable players — he had played fewer than 70 games in a season only once in his career (69 in 2022-23). He hasn't missed more than five games in a row since the 2017-18 season.

Without him, Denver has to find a way to keep its head above water in a deep West. The Nuggets remain arguably the biggest threat to the Thunder in the NBA, but only if Denver enters the playoffs with everyone healthy.

Denver also needs several players to step up. For the next month at least, even more playmaking falls on the shoulders of Jamal Murray, who deserves to be a first-time All-Star this season, averaging 25.2 points and 7 assists a game, shooting 45.4% from beyond the arc. He has to be the alpha on this roster now.

Beyond Murray, this is a chance for some key guys to get paid. Peyton Watson will be a restricted free agent after this season and can make his case in the next month for a big payday. Tim Hardaway Jr. is in Denver on a minimum contract, here is his chance to prove to Denver and others that he deserves a bigger deal.

Also, Jonas Valanciunas — who was signed to back up Jokic —needs to step up and be a solid anchor in the middle on both ends of the court for the next month.

How West playoff race changes without Jokic

Denver is at 22-10 and sits as the No. 3 seed in the West, however, they remain just three games out of the play-in in a deep West. Without Jokic, the Nuggets will slide down the standings, raising two key questions.

1) How far do they slide? Can Denver win enough games in the next month to stay in the top six in the West? Or, at least stay within striking distance of the top-10? The good news for Denver is it is entering its softest part of the schedule — Tom Haberstroh noted on his podcast that the Nuggets' opponents through the end of January have just a .434 winning percentage. That helps, there are some winnable games in there. Still, the Nuggets need some guys to step up.

2) Do the Nuggets end up on the same side of the bracket as the Thunder? In an injury-free world, we would be headed for a Nuggets vs. Thunder Western Conference Finals (that would feel like the de facto NBA Finals). Now, these teams may end up on the same side of the bracket and meet in the second round — maybe even the first if things go really poorly enough for Denver in the next month.

A Denver/OKC second-round showdown would clear the path for Houston, San Antonio or another team to slide in and make the Western Conference Finals.

How Jokic’s injury changes MVP race

Jokic was the frontrunner — or at very least the co-frontrunner — with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the MVP race. In Tim Bontemps 1/3rd of the season straw poll at ESPN, voters had Jokic and SGA lapping the field.

The best people to talk about this race are the betting experts from NBC Sports, starting with Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper).

“Jokić is likely to miss a month with the hyperextension and bone bruising which will make his qualification for MVP fairly difficult on top the massive impact it will have for the Nuggets trying to avoid the play-in seeding. The clear advantage goes to SGA in this case who has somewhere between and 85% to 90% to win now; the only realistic path to victory for an outsider is if the defending champ sustains a long-term injury as well. In that black swan event, I think Cade Cunningham, Jalen Brunson and Jaylen Brown all have compelling cases and would be great long shots at current prices because the current second tier of players face qualification questions themselves as Doncic, Giannis and Wemby have already amassed significant missed time.”

Trysta Krick (@trysta-krick) takes a slightly different angle but comes to the same conclusion.

"When it comes to winning MVP, the criteria are actually pretty simple. Either you’re the best player on one of the top one or two teams in your conference, or you’re so far ahead of the field that voters are willing to overlook team record altogether.

Last season was a perfect example of how that balance plays out. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić were essentially neck and neck from a production standpoint, but Oklahoma City’s sustained dominance all year — combined with the reality that Jokić had already won the award three times — tipped the scales. The tiebreaker went to Shai.

This year, it felt like Jokić had regained momentum until the injury, and now the race once again looks like Shai’s to lose. There simply isn’t another team operating at OKC’s level, and no other player has separated himself from the pack the way Shai has over the full body of work.

The other candidates all come with caveats. Luka Dončić? The Lakers’ record just isn’t strong enough. Jalen Brunson? Same issue — the Knicks sitting as a three seed hurts his case. Jaylen Brown? Possibly, but Boston has been inconsistent at times, and the Eastern Conference is far more congested in the middle than the West.

At this point, it would take a seismic shift for the MVP to come out of the East at all. As things stand, the combination of elite individual performance and team success still points in one direction — and it’s Shai’s award to lose.

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James' birthday spoiled by Lakers' loss to Pistons

LeBron James stands on the court with his hands on his hips
The Los Angeles Lakers have won 20 of their 31 games this season [Getty Images]

LeBron James' 41st birthday was spoiled by the Detroit Pistons, who claimed a 128-106 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Cade Cunningham scored 27 points for the Pistons, who remain top of the Eastern Conference with 25 wins from 33 games after avoiding a season-worst three-game losing streak.

Luka Doncic registered 30 points and 11 assists for the Lakers, with NBA all-time leading scorer James adding 17 points.

James became just the 12th player in NBA history to compete at age 41 or older.

He has now played 1,577 career games - second only to Robert Parish's 1,611 - as he contests his record 23rd NBA season.

The Lakers end 2025 having lost four of their past five games and sit fifth in the Western Conference.

Rookie VJ Edgecombe scored with 1.7 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Philadelphia 76ers victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The 20-year-old contributed 25 points - including his clutch three-pointer - as the 76ers earned a 139-136 victory on the road.

Team-mates Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid led their side with 34 points apiece as the 76ers ended a three-game losing streak.

Ja Morant responded with 40 points for the Grizzlies, while rookie Cedric Coward added a career-high 28 points, but the hosts fell to back-to-back defeats.

There were also wins for the Los Angeles Clippers and the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.

The Clippers claimed a fifth straight victory with a dominant 131-90 win over the Sacramento Kings, while the Celtics beat the Utah Jazz 129-119.

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Lakers implode in fourth quarter of turnover-filled blowout loss to Pistons

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 30, 2025: Detroit Pistons forward Paul Reed.
Detroit Pistons forward Paul Reed scores on a reverse layup in front of Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) and center Jaxson Hayes, right, in the Lakers' 128-106 loss at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

LeBron James strolled to the scorer’s table Tuesday night and went through his pregame routine of throwing chalk up in the air, an iconic moment in his NBA-record 23rd season and on his 41st birthday.

James still marvels with his abilities to be a force at this stage of his career, leaving teammates and opponents in awe.

But the Lakers were unable to give James the celebration he wanted, losing 128-106 to the Detroit Pistons at Crypto.com Arena.

The Lakers, who had 20 turnovers, have lost four of their last five games, and their 11 losses this season have been by at least 10 points.

Lakers star LeBron James is fouled by Detroit Pistons guard Javonte Green (31) in the first half Tuesday.
Lakers star LeBron James is fouled by Detroit Pistons guard Javonte Green (31) in the first half Tuesday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

James finished with 17 points and Luka Doncic had 30 points and 11 assists but they took a seat on the bench for good with four minutes and 9 seconds left when the Lakers were down 122-96.

The Lakers (20-11) were better defensively in the third quarter after struggling in the first half. After giving up 36 points in the first quarter, 34 in the second, the Lakers gave up 26 in the third and were down 96-88.

But the Lakers fell apart in the fourth, getting run over by an 18-6 Pistons run that put the Lakers in a 20-point hole midway through the quarter. Detroit went on to outscore the Lakers 32-18 in the quarter.

Lakers coach JJ Redick called a timeout with six minutes remaining, but that didn't stop the Pistons (25-8), who got 27 points and 11 assists from Cade Cunningham.

Before the game, Redick said he's had conversations with James about what it takes to play at such a high level for so long.

“He talked about, you had to sacrifice loved ones,” Redick said. “I think there's an external cost that comes with caring, and I think there's also an internal cost, and that can be exhaustion, could be burnout, could be mental fatigue, physical fatigue.

Read more:Lakers takeaways: Nick Smith Jr. shines in win over Kings with Austin Reaves sidelined

"That's why you don't see many — I don't know about in other industries — but you don't see many great athletes that can sustain it for as long as he sustained it."

Detroit also showed its ability to sustain a level of greatness, scoring 70 points in the first 24 minutes and making 67.5% of their shots and 57.1% of their threes. They had 19 fast-break points in the first half.

Doncic had 24 points in the first half, making eight of 10 free throws.

James had 15 at the half, going five of 10 from the field and three of six from three-point range.

Etc.

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura missed the game with right calf soreness and is expected to be out for about a week.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Warley’s 22 points and 14 rebounds help No. 7 Gonzaga beat San Diego

NORTH CAROLINA 79, FLORIDA STATE 66 CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Caleb Wilson had 22 points in North Carolina's win over Florida State. Wilson also had 16 rebounds and six assists for the Tar Heels (13-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). Seth Trimble scored 20 points while shooting 6 of 13 from the field and 8 for 11 from the line and added seven rebounds and four steals.

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Warley’s 22 points and 14 rebounds help No. 7 Gonzaga beat San Diego 99-93

Jalen Warley had 22 points and 14 rebounds as No. 7 Gonzaga held off a late charge to beat San Diego 99-93 on Tuesday night for its 20th straight win against the Toreros. Gonzaga (14-1, 2-0 WCC) was making its final trip to San Diego as a member of the West Coast Conference. Tyon Grant-Foster scored 18 points while Mario Saint-Supery and Braden Huff had 14 apiece for Gonzaga, which won its seventh straight game since its only defeat, a 101-61 loss to then-No. 7 Michigan in the championship game of the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.

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Wooley scores season-high 21 points as No. 16 Louisville beats California 90-70

Sophomore Adrian Wooley scored a season-high 21 points and No. 16 Louisville beat California 90-70 on Tuesday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams. Ryan Conwell made six 3-pointers and had 26 points, and all five Louisville starters scored in double figures. Sanandra Fru added 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Isaac McNeely and J’Vonne Hadley each scored 11.

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No. 13 Nebraska pulls away in 2nd half against New Hampshire to go unbeaten in nonconference play

Pryce Sandfort scored 19 points and No. 13 Nebraska shook off a second straight slow start to beat New Hampshire 86-55 on Tuesday night and go undefeated in nonconference play for the first time since 1928-29. The Cornhuskers (13-0) extended the best start in program history but not before the Wildcats (4-9) of America East, like North Dakota of the Summit League nine days earlier, caused some anxious moments. The Huskers led by just three at halftime but were much sharper on both ends after that and will ride momentum into Friday night's Big Ten home game against ninth-ranked Michigan State.

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Wilson’s double-double helps No. 12 North Carolina beat Florida State 79-66 in ACC opener

Caleb Wilson had 22 points, 16 rebounds and six assists to help No. North Carolina beat Florida State 79-66 on Tuesday night to open Atlantic Coast Conference play. The 6-foot-10 freshman set a season high on the boards and matched his high in assists as clearly the best player on the floor, from his energy in chasing down rebounds to high-flying athleticism that showed in throwing down four dunks.