Sports
Cooper Flagg, No. 2 Duke take aim at North Carolina
Jan 25, 2025; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Cooper Flagg (2) drives to the basket against Wake Forest Demon Deacons forward Tre’Von Spillers (25) during the second half at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Duke’s Cooper Flagg will get his first taste of the Tobacco Road rivalry Saturday evening when the No. 2 Blue Devils welcome North Carolina to Durham, N.C.
Duke (18-2, 10-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) has pulled out seven- and 10-point wins, respectively, over Wake Forest and North Carolina State in its past two games. The run against in-state opponents will conclude when the Tar Heels (13-9, 6-4), who swept last year’s series, make the short trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Both teams are playing it cool in the lead-up to game day. Duke players and coach Jon Scheyer didn’t comment on their next opponent after beating the Wolfpack 74-64 on Monday. As for North Carolina coach Hubert Davis, an alum of the school, he stayed even-keeled.
“We’ll prepare, we’ll practice, and we’ll play with the same type of competitive enthusiasm that we played with (Tuesday against Pitt),” Davis said. “I think every game is the Super Bowl. Whether it’s a preseason game or just any time you get a chance to step out there on the floor, you should be ready to go.”
Davis was speaking after the Tar Heels dropped a 73-65 decision on the road to Pitt. They committed 14 turnovers and were outscored 16-6 on free throws, neutering North Carolina’s plus-10 advantage on the boards.
North Carolina needs more quality wins to bolster its NCAA Tournament case, and beating Duke easily would qualify as the Tar Heels’ second Quadrant 1 victory.
It’s a different story in Durham, where Duke has an argument as the best team in the nation. The Blue Devils beat the only team ahead of them in the AP Top 25 poll, Auburn, by six points at home on Dec. 4.
Duke has won 14 straight games, the longest active streak in the nation, and Flagg is just one reason why. The star freshman and presumptive No. 1 pick in this summer’s NBA draft is averaging 19.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game — including 27.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists over his past five.
Flagg is hardly perfect. He revealed after the North Carolina State game that Scheyer told him he was being “very soft” in the first half.
“I felt like that led to most of our first-half troubles, just me being soft,” Flagg said. “It’s hard to initiate the offense if I’m not being strong with the ball. It’s not really a choice anymore. I have to be aggressive. What Coach has told me is that that’s going to create for everyone else.”
Flagg scored 23 of his 28 points vs. North Carolina State in the second half. He got to the foul line more after intermission and shot 10 of 11 there.
Kon Knueppel added 19 points and Sion James had 13 on Monday as Duke’s defense kicked in and held the Wolfpack to 27 points after halftime.
Duke ranks fifth in Division I in scoring defense (59.6 points per game), fifth in field-goal percentage defense (37.2) and, per KenPom.com, first in 2-point percentage allowed (41.0).
That could spell trouble for a North Carolina team that gets the majority of its offense inside the arc. Guards RJ Davis (17.6 ppg), Ian Jackson (14.7), Seth Trimble (12.3) and Elliot Cadeau (10.7) average double figures in scoring, but of the quartet, only Jackson (38.1 percent) shoots better than 30.3 percent from deep.
North Carolina won 93-84 at home and 84-79 at Duke last season. Duke swept the series the year before that, meaning Scheyer and Hubert Davis are 2-2 against one another.
The Tar Heels lead the all-time series 145-117.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Two ex-Fordham players banned after betting probe
Mar 11, 2023; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Fordham Rams guard Will Richardson (1) looks to drive past Dayton Flyers guard Koby Brea (4) in the second half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Two former Fordham men’s basketball players received permanent bans from the NCAA on Tuesday after a lengthy gambling investigation.
The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions found that Elijah Gray and Will Richardson participated in potential game manipulation for sports betting reasons.
According to the investigation, a $10,000 bet was placed on a February 2024 game involving Fordham in which the bettor wagered that the other team would win. NCAA enforcement staff identified three members of the roster with connections to the bettor, including Gray and Richardson.
Another member of the team told investigators he overheard Gray, Richardson and another student-athlete discussing the idea of throwing a game for money.
Gray admitted to agreeing to participate in the scheme in exchange for a payment of $10,000 to $15,000, but said he reconsidered and played with his normal effort and Fordham won the game. Richardson has denied involvement and he declined to cooperate with the investigation, which itself is an NCAA violation.
Gray, a 6-foot-8 forward, played two seasons at Fordham (2022-24) before transferring to Temple for the 2024-25 season. He transferred again to Wisconsin but was dismissed from the program last October amid the investigation. Gray averaged 5.7 points in 61 games (nine starts) for the Rams.
Richardson, a 6-foot-3 guard, played three seasons at Fordham (2022-25) before transferring to Albany, where he was dismissed from the program in December without appearing in a game. He averaged 7.9 points in 73 games (41 starts) for the Rams.
The bettors involved in the plot were indicted in January by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on wire fraud and bribery charges related to sports contests.
–Field Level Media
Sports
PWHL officially passes 1M attendance mark for first time
Nov 30, 2024; Toronto, ON, CANADA; Toronto Sceptres forward Jesse Compher (18) joins team mates and fans as they celebrate a goal scored by forward Hannah Miller (34) against the Boston Fleet in the third period at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images The Professional Women’s Hockey League surpassed one million fans in the regular season for the first time in its three-season history, the league announced Tuesday.
In all, 120 games were played, with slightly more than 1.1 million people filling the seats for an average of 9,304 per game.
That total is an increase of 28 percent over last season, including the playoffs, and 71% over the first season of 2023-24. The average total of fans in the stands was 5,448 per game in the first season, 7,230 in the second.
On April 17, the PWHL surpassed one million fans in a single season for the first time in league history, reaching the milestone in 109 regular season games, 30% fewer than the PWHL needed to reach its first million fans.
The attendance mark was helped by the addition of the expansion Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes, which The Athletic reported had the largest average attendance of all franchises at home this season. Seattle averaged 12,875 fans, with Vancouver bringing in 11,234 per game.
The league is expected to announce further expansion soon.
Before that, the league will hold the Walker Cup Playoffs beginning Thursday. The top-seeded Montreal Victoire and reigning champion Minnesota Frost will meet in one semifinal, with the Boston Fleet and Ottawa Charge in the other pairing. The winners of the two best-of-five series will play for the Walker Cup.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Celtics' Brad Stevens named NBA Executive of Year
Feb 28, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens before their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was named the NBA Basketball Executive of the Year for the second time in three seasons on Tuesday.
Stevens’ Celtics finished with the second-best record (56-26) in the Eastern Conference in 2025-26 and secured a top-two playoff seed for the fifth time in his five seasons in his current role.
Boston accomplished that despite parting ways with Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday before the season and only having All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum for 16 games after he recovered from an Achilles injury.
Stevens, who also won the award in 2023-24, is the 12th executive to receive the honor multiple times since it was first presented in 1972-73.
Stevens, 49, received 11 first-place votes and 69 total points in voting by his fellow executives. Atlanta Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh was second with 41 points, one more than Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon.
Before joining Boston’s front office, Stevens served as the team’s head coach for eight seasons and tallied a 354-282 record. During his 13-year tenure with the franchise, the Celtics have made 12 playoff appearances.
The Celtics currently have a 3-1 lead in their first-round series with the Philadelphia 76ers. Game 5 is on Tuesday night in Boston.
–Field Level Media
Two ex-Fordham players banned after betting probe
PWHL officially passes 1M attendance mark for first time
