Sports
No. 15 Michigan braces for close contest vs. Illinois
Michigan Wolverines guard Nimari Burnett (4) celebrates the foul leading to a three-point play during the second half at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. In order to win a championship, teams often have to win close games.
But No. 15 Michigan has won nearly all of its close games in its pursuit of a Big Ten championship.
The latest hurdle to clear in that goal will come Sunday afternoon against Illinois in Ann Arbor, Mich.
If Michigan’s trend in Big Ten play continues, expect another close game against the Fighting Illini.
The Wolverines (22-6, 14-3) are 11-1 in conference games decided by four points or less, which is the main reason they are tied with Michigan State for the Big Ten lead with three games left.
The most dramatic of those close wins arguably came Thursday when Nimari Burnett sank a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Michigan an 84-82 home win over Rutgers.
“I know our guys have a very, very strong belief in each other,” Michigan coach Dusty May said. “After the season we’ve had and the experience of being in so many of these games, I think they just feel we’re going to find a way. We don’t know what it’s going to look like.”
Michigan continues to rely on arguably the country’s best frontcourt tandem in 7-footers Danny Wolf (12.6 ppg, 9.8 rpg) and Vladislav Goldin (15.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg). They have created matchup problems all season for opponents on both ends of the floor with their versatile skills.
The duo has helped Michigan overcome a group of guards that has produced good moments but also has struggled to shoot the ball and contributed to Michigan leading the league in turnovers at 14.4 a game.
Michigan’s already thin bench has been tested even further the last two games with guards Rubin Jones (illness) and Sam Walters (back) out of action. It’s uncertain if either will play against Illinois.
Illinois (18-11, 10-8) also has dealt with illnesses and injuries in recent weeks, but the Fighting Illini snapped a three-game losing streak with an 81-61 home win on Tuesday against Iowa.
Big man Tomislav Ivisic seemed healthier after missing time with an illness and played well against Iowa (22 points, five assists, four rebounds). He’ll need to be productive again to battle with Wolf and Goldin.
Illinois is led in scoring by projected NBA lottery pick Kasparas Jakucionis (15.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg), Ivisic (12.8 ppg) and Will Riley (11.8 ppg.)
Illinois coach Brad Underwood said his team implemented some defensive and lineup changes after a 43-point loss to Duke last Saturday. He said he hopes the game against Iowa restored some swagger in his team.
“I think we can whoop anybody’s (expletive),” Underwood said. “I think just making some of the subtle changes gave them a different perspective and something different to think about.”
Illinois seems to be in good shape for an NCAA Tournament berth, but incentive remains for the Fighting Illini despite being out of the conference title race.
Illinois still has an outside chance of getting a double bye in the Big Ten tournament with a top-4 league finish, and earning another Quad 1 win, over Michigan, would be a big boost for NCAA Tournament seeding.
–Field Level Media
Sports
76ers C Joel Embiid (oblique) out at least 3 games
Feb 26, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) reacts while clutching his body after a play against the Miami Heat during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Philadelphia star center Joel Embiid underwent an MRI on Saturday that revealed a strained right oblique and he will miss at least three games before being re-evaluated, the 76ers announced.
Embiid, 31, was injured during Philadelphia’s 124-117 home win over the Miami Heat on Thursday, when he still played 31 minutes and totaled 26 points and 11 rebounds.
A seven-time All-Star with a history of injuries, Embiid will be sidelined for Sunday’s game against the host Boston Celtics as well as back-to-back home games against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday and the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
The 76ers are 33-26, and Embiid has played in 33 games (all starts) this season, averaging 26.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 blocks and 31.2 minutes. Philadelphia is 21-12 with him and 12-14 without him.
Embiid was limited to 19 games last season because of an ailing left knee and had surgery in April. He began this season on a minutes restriction because of the knee, and he was out for five games in February because of knee and shin issues.
For his career, Embiid is averaging 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.6 blocks and 31.8 minutes in 485 regular-season games (all starts).
He also has averaged 24.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.7 blocks and 35.3 minutes in 59 playoff games (all starts).
Embiid was the league’s Most Valuable Player for the 2022-23 season and was voted All-NBA first team in 2022-23 and second team four other times. He’s a three-time All-Defensive team second-team pick. Philadelphia made him the third overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft out of Kansas.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 7 Florida drubs No. 20 Arkansas, wins SEC regular-season title
Florida forward Alex Condon (21) drives on Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile (7) during the first half of an NCAA basketball game at Steven C. O’Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, February 28, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun] Thomas Haugh scored 22 points, Ruben Chinyelu had 12 points and 16 rebounds for his 17th double-double, and No. 7 Florida clinched the Southeastern Conference regular-season title with a 111-77 rout of No. 20 Arkansas in Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday.
Alex Condon scored 17 points, Urban Klavzar and Boogie Fland scored 14 apiece and Xaivian Lee added 13 as the Gators (23-6, 14-2 SEC) placed seven players in double figures in their highest scoring game of the season.
The defending champion Gators lead second-place No. 17 Alabama (22-7, 12-4) by two games with two games left, and they own the tiebreaker after a 100-79 victory in their lone regular-season meeting.
Florida has won a season-high nine in a row — eight by at least 13 points — and is a projected No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Billy Richmond scored 22 points and Darius Acuff Jr. added 17 for the Razorbacks (21-8, 11-5), who had won five of six. They are a projected No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Acuff, the SEC’s leading scorer at 22.2 points per game, had a streak of nine straight 20-point games broken. He was 6 of 19 from the field.
Florida led by at least 24 in the final 15 minutes and stretched its advantage to 37 on Condon’s layup in the final three minutes.
The Gators secured their first regular-season title since 2013-14, when they also won the SEC tournament.
Florida shot 56.5% from the field and had a 51-31 rebounding advantage. Condon had six rebounds and Haugh had five. The Gators led the nation with a plus-14.1 rebound margin.
The Razorbacks shot 40.0% from the field.
Florida coach Todd Golden and Arkansas coach John Calipari were hit with double technical fouls with 17:27 left with the Gators holding a 23-point lead.
Klavzar kickstarted the Gators with two 3-pointers and Condon added a dunk in a 12-0 run to give Florida a 23-16 lead nine minutes in.
Lee made three layups later in the first half and Isaiah Brown (11 points) hit two 3-pointers and a transition dunk to push the Gators’ lead to 51-27 with 2:33 left in the first half.
Florida led 53-34 at half, when it totaled 32 points in the paint.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Thomas Muller's first-half brace leads Vancouver to rout of Toronto
Feb 28, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Whitecaps FC forward Thomas Muller (13) celebrates scoring on a corner kick from midfielder Sebastian Berhalter (16) (not pictured) against Toronto FC goalkeeper Luka Gavran (1) during the first half at BC Place. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images Thomas Muller scored a first-half brace, leading the Whitecaps to a 3-0 victory over visiting Toronto FC on Saturday night in Vancouver.
Brian White also scored a first-half goal, while keeper Yohei Takaoka made three saves for his second consecutive clean sheet to open the MLS season.
With the victory, Vancouver (2-0-0, 6 points) improved to 4-0-1 in its last five regular-season matches against Toronto.
The Reds (0-2-0, 0 points) are now 6-9-4 in 19 MLS meetings against their Western Canadian rivals.
Trailing 3-0, Toronto had an excellent chance to cut into the lead early in the second half. Djordje Mihailovic thought he’d put Toronto on the board in the 55th minute, but the midfielder was caught offside.
Then in the 74th minute, Takaoka made a diving save off Toronto midfielder Jose Cifuentes – the Reds’ first shot on target of the match.
Vancouver controlled possession in the first half with five shots on target.
Aziel Jackson was awarded a penalty kick after being taken down in the area by Walker Zimmerman in the 24th minute. On the ensuing penalty kick, Muller opened the scoring, putting his right-footed strike in the bottom-left corner past Luka Gavran.
Muller added his second of the half 12 minutes later as Sebastian Berhalter’s corner was headed across to Muller by Mathias Laborda, and the German midfielder ripped his left-footed shot into an open goal.
In first-half stoppage time, off another Berhalter corner, Gavran was caught out of position, allowing White to score on a right-footed strike.
Up next, Vancouver travels to Portland for its first away match of the season next Saturday. Toronto visits Cincinnati next Sunday to wrap up a three-game road trip to open the season.
–Field Level Media
76ers C Joel Embiid (oblique) out at least 3 games
No. 7 Florida drubs No. 20 Arkansas, wins SEC regular-season title
