Sports
No. 16 UNC works to continue winning ways in clash vs. struggling Ga. Tech
Jan 21, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Caleb Wilson (8) with the ball in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images No. 16 North Carolina appears to be back on track after a good week. Now, with a week between games, the key will be making sure there’s no drop-off.
The Tar Heels will visit Georgia Tech for Saturday afternoon’s game in Atlanta.
“We’re consistently practicing well and stacking days in practice,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said. “Each week has its own life. … In order to be a good team, you have to sustain that.”
North Carolina (16-4, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) is looking to extend its winning streak to three games. The Tar Heels most recently played in last Saturday’s 85-80 comeback victory at then-No. 14 Virginia.
Georgia Tech (11-10, 2-6) has lost back-to-back games to Clemson and Virginia Tech. The Yellow Jackets’ only victory in their last six games came in a 78-74 upset at North Carolina State on Jan. 17.
Good stretches haven’t been rewarded for the Yellow Jackets.
“They’re not getting payback for it,” Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire said of his players. “I wish we would get some wins to get their chins up and make them feel better about themselves, but we’ve just got to keep grinding.”
Now North Carolina will have to navigate the sold-out McCamish Pavilion. The Tar Heels will try for more strong outings from guard Derek Dixon, who has double-digit points in each of his last three outings.
“Derek is a very confident player, very fundamentally sound,” Davis said. “With the extended minutes (90 over his past three games), I feel like he has done a really nice job. He has become more vocal throughout the year.”
Freshman forward Caleb Wilson has led the Tar Heels in scoring in four consecutive games, marking his longest such streak of the season. His 14 games with 20 or more points have tied Tyler Hansbrough for North Carolina’s freshman record for 20-point outings.
“I don’t think anybody can see the ceiling; it’s so high for him,” Davis said of Wilson’s potential.
Luka Bogavac has come off the bench for most of January for North Carolina, yet he leads the team with 29 baskets from 3-point range this season.
“It has always been a non-factor for me as a player and a coach,” Davis said of whether a player is a starter or a reserve. “He has been really good for us lately.”
Stoudamire said he’s willing to try different strategies to find the right formula for Georgia Tech on Saturday.
“We’ve got to figure it out,” he said. “It’s still a lot of fun to try to figure it out on the run. We’ve just got to keep fighting.”
Stoudamire said untimely turnovers have been devastating at times.
“You just can’t do it,” he said. “It has to hurt.”
In Tuesday’s 71-65 loss at Virginia Tech, Jaeden Mustaf with 16 points and 11 rebounds was Georgia Tech’s leading scorer and rebounder for the first time this season. Mustaf has a double-figure point total in four of eight ACC games.
There also was a boost from Kam Craft’s 11 points. He returned to the starting lineup, accounting for all three of the Yellow Jackets’ 3-point baskets.
“He hasn’t played 30 minutes (in a game) since the beginning of the season,” Stoudamire said. “It’s good to see him see some shots go in. Hopefully, it will have some carryover going into Saturday.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
NHL scores highest TV ratings in 14 seasons
May 6, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin (74) is interviewed by ESPN reporter Emily Kaplan (R) after scoring the overtime goal against the Washington Capitals in game one of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images A year after NHL viewership shrunk, the league drew its highest average television audiences in 14 years for the just-concluded regular season, Sports Business Journal and Sports Media Watch reported on Tuesday.
In games on ESPN, ABC and TNT/truTV, the NHL posted averages of 546,000 viewers, per the reports. That’s a year-on-year increase of at least 23% and a better average than all seasons since 2012-13, when NBC and NBCSN averaged 590,000.
Nielsen’s change in methodology might explain a part of the decade-plus high, as ratings across all sports are higher based on the new measurement system. NBA ratings were up 35% this year, other sports also seeing double-digit-percentage increases.
The 54 games airing on ESPN and ABC drew 760,000 viewers on average, a 30% jump from 2024-25. ESPN games in particular saw a major rating improvement, with games attracting 602,000 on average, a 48% hike from the prior season.
TNT/truTV carried 72 games that brought in 381,000 viewers on average, a rise of 21% year-on-year. Those contests saw a significant bump after Team USA won hockey gold at the Milan Olympics, as NHL viewership on TNT Sports rose to 453,000 on average following the league’s midseason break.
The top-rated NHL game of the regular season was the Stadium Series game at Tampa on Feb. 1, when the Tampa Bay Lightning edged the Boston Bruins 6-5 in a shootout. ESPN drew 2.07 million viewers for that contest, a cable-TV record for an NHL regular-season game.
NHL ratings declined in the 2024-25 season despite the league replacing the All-Star Game with the wildly popular 4 Nations Face-Off that saw Canada defeat the United States 3-2 in overtime in the final.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Nicolas Roy's OT tally gives Avalanche 2-0 advantage over Kings
Apr 21, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) makes a save against Los Angeles Kings right wing Alex Laferriere (14) in the first period in game two of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Nicolas Roy scored at 7:44 of overtime to lift Colorado to a 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday in Denver, giving the Avalanche a 2-0 lead in a Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Roy got to a loose puck in the slot and shot it through the legs of Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke and past goalie Anton Forsberg for the win.
Game 3 will be played Thursday night in Los Angeles.
Gabriel Landeskog scored the tying goal late in regulation and Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves for the Avalanche, who won the series opener 2-1 on Sunday.
During the regular season, Wedgewood led the NHL in goals-against average (2.02) and save percentage (.921).
Anton Forsberg made 34 saves for the Kings in his second career postseason start, both in the current series. He has allowed two goals or fewer in eight of his past nine starts.
Neither team scored until the final seven minutes of the third period.
The Kings were on a power play when Trevor Moore brought the puck along the goal line before making a backhand pass to Panarin just above the left hashmarks. Panarin had time to gather the puck before shooting it into the net for a 1-0 lead at 13:04.
The Avalanche tied it with 3:35 left in regulation.
Devon Toews made a diagonal pass from above the left point to Martin Necas on the opposite goal line. Necas passed the puck back through the top of the crease to Landeskog, who was cutting to the net, and he scored with a one-timer.
Kings forward Quinton Byfield was hooked by Cale Makar on a short-handed breakaway at 3:12 of the second period, resulting in a penalty shot, but Wedgewood made a lunching glove save to keep the game scoreless.
During the penalty, fans broke the glass behind the Los Angeles bench, causing shards to fall on Kings interim coach D.J. Smith. Play was halted for 19 minutes as the glass was cleaned up and replaced.
The Avalanche briefly celebrated nine seconds into the third period after defenseman Sam Malinski took a one-timer from the left point that hit the net, but replays showed the puck had stuck in the net on the outside of the left post.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NBA roundup: After Victor Wembanyama's exit, Blazers level series
Apr 21, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) talks with guard Stephon Castle (5) after falling to the ground during the first half of game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images Scoot Henderson poured in a season-best 31 points as the visiting Portland Trail Blazers came back from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to outlast the short-handed San Antonio Spurs 106-103 on Tuesday and even their first-round Western Conference playoff series at one win each.
The teams will play Game 3 on Friday in Portland, and it’s unclear if the Spurs will have Victor Wembanyama available. The NBA Defensive Player of the Year hit his face on the floor in the second quarter and was diagnosed with a concussion. He is scheduled for further testing on Wednesday.
The Spurs, led by Stephon Castle’s team-high 18 points, carried a one-point lead into the fourth quarter but reeled off the first 13 points of the final period to build their advantage to 93-79. The Trail Blazers roared back to take the lead via a 7-0 run capped by a Jrue Holiday layup with 2:02 left and held on from there.
Holiday produced 16 points and nine assists, and Deni Avdija added 14 points for the Trail Blazers. The Spurs got 17 points from De’Aaron Fox plus 16 points and 12 rebounds from Devin Vassell.
Lakers 101, Rockets 94
LeBron James compiled 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead Los Angeles to a victory over visiting Houston, giving the Lakers a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
With leading scorers Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) watching from the bench, Los Angeles’ Marcus Smart added 25 points, shooting 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and Game 1 hero Luke Kennard contributed 23 points, going 3 of 6 from deep.
Kevin Durant, who missed the opening game with a right knee contusion, scored 23 points for the Rockets, but he had nine turnovers and was held to three points after halftime. Alperen Sengun paired 20 points with 11 rebounds.
76ers 111, Celtics 97
VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey combined to make 11 3-pointers and score 59 total points as Philadelphia bounced back to even its Eastern Conference playoff series with host Boston.
Seventh-seeded Philadelphia shook off a dismal Game 1 performance, which included making just four 3-pointers in a 123-91 loss, with a complete reversal on the offensive end. The Sixers, who got 19 points from Paul George, shot a torrid 19 of 39 (48.7%) from beyond the arc in Game 2.
Jaylen Brown went for a game-high 36 points and Jayson Tatum finished with 19 points to go with his game-high 14 rebounds for the Celtics. No other Boston player reached double figures in scoring, a stark contrast from Game 1, when the Celtics’ entire starting five notched at least 10 points.
–Field Level Media
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NHL scores highest TV ratings in 14 seasons
