Flagg leads No. 2 Duke against North Carolina after 28-point game

Duke Blue Devils (27-3, 18-1 ACC) at North Carolina Tar Heels (20-11, 13-6 ACC) Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Saturday, 6:30 p.m. EST BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Blue Devils -11.5; over/under is 156.5 BOTTOM LINE: No. Duke takes on North Carolina after Cooper Flagg scored 28 points in Duke's 93-60 win against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Ole Miss visits No. 5 Florida following Condon’s 27-point outing

Ole Miss averages 77.9 points while outscoring opponents by 6.7 points per game. Florida makes 46.8% of its shots from the field this season, which is 3.8 percentage points higher than Ole Miss has allowed to its opponents (43.0%). Ole Miss averages 8.4 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.8 more made shots on average than the 6.6 per game Florida allows.

No. 13 Maryland hosts Berry and Northwestern

Northwestern Wildcats (16-14, 7-12 Big Ten) at Maryland Terrapins (23-7, 13-6 Big Ten) College Park, Maryland; Saturday, 3 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Northwestern faces No. Maryland after Ty Berry scored 22 points in Northwestern's 73-69 loss to the UCLA Bruins.

Six Nations proves a beacon of light, hope and escapism amid global moral surrender | Emma John

In a world run by bullies, with sports subsumed by greed, England v Italy – never mind Ireland v France – offers comfort

I recently caught myself telling someone I couldn’t wait for England’s Six Nations match against Italy on Sunday, which seemed a bit, well, enthusiastic. Clearly, rugby fans of all stripes will be salivating at Saturday’s key clash between Ireland and France. It’s a bit less usual to get excited at the kind of historical mismatch which, in the past, I might have watched as highlights, late in the evening, when I already knew the result.

Is it because I expect the action to be good? Uncertain. Italy pushed England close last year and dominated Wales in Rome last month, which salts the dish. The home team need a sizeable win – four tries for the bonus point – to stay in the title hunt, which raises the question of whether Steve Borthwick’s reformatted backline can finally cut loose and run in a cricket score. Or will Italy bounce back from a drubbing at the hands of the French and provide a last-minute Twickenham thriller for the third game running?

Continue reading...