Sports
No. 1 Arizona travels to Arizona State with history on the line
Iowa State Cyclones center Dishon Jackson (1) and Arizona Wildcats forward Henri Veesaar (13) battle for a rebound during the first half in the Big-12 men’s basketball showdown at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday March 1, 2025 in Ames, Iowa. No. 1 Arizona will try to achieve the best start in program history and match the record for its longest winning streak when the Wildcats play at rival Arizona State in Tempe on Saturday.
Arizona (21-0, 8-0 Big 12) is tied for the best start in program history with the 2013-14 team. The school’s longest winning streak, 22 games, stretched from 1914 to 1917.
Arizona State (11-10, 2-6) has lost four of its last five games, including Tuesday’s 79-76 defeat at UCF.
Arizona beat No. 13 BYU 86-83 on Monday in Provo, Utah, behind 29 points from Brayden Burries and 26 from Jaden Bradley.
The Wildcats, who led by 19 points with close to 10 minutes remaining, withstood BYU’s late rally, which included a 12-2 run in the last 1:01.
The win was the closest of the season for Arizona, which is defeating opponents by an average margin of 21.3 points.
“It’s a big-time finish for us,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “We’ve been talking a lot about that from going back to this summer that there’s going to be some games that come down to getting one stop, and then we haven’t been in a lot of them. So it was great to experience that and have it come out our way.”
Burries, who averages 15.2 points a game, and fellow freshman Koa Peat (14.5) are the leading scorers for the Wildcats.
Peat, who hails from the Phoenix area, will experience a homecoming in Tempe.
Burries struggled in the first meeting with Arizona State, in which Arizona won 89-82 in Tucson on Jan. 14. He scored six points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field, 0 of 3 from 3-point range.
He has averaged 20.4 points a game in the four games since, including shooting 50% from the field (25 of 50) and from 3-point range (10 of 20).
“I feel like we are just getting better each and every day,” Burries said. “I feel like we have the best freshmen on our team in the whole nation. … It’s just getting better every day. We just continue to have that growth mindset.”
Arizona State kept it close at Arizona, cutting the lead to three points with 56.3 seconds remaining following a 3-pointer by Maurice Odum. A jumper by Bradley and two free throws by Tobe Awaka sealed the win for Arizona.
Odum is the Sun Devils’ catalyst, leading the team with 17.2 points and 6.6 assists per game.
Arizona State freshman center Massamba Diop competed well against counterpart Motiejus Krivas in the previous meeting. Diop had 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field.
Krivas finished with four points after making the only shot from the field that he attempted and going 2 of 4 from the free-throw line.
Against UCF in its most recent game, Arizona State lost Tuesday despite leading 70-58 going into the final six minutes.
“It’s brutal to lose,” Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said. “It always is. This was certainly a winnable game. We played very well. We probably played near the level that we played at Arizona, and that one again, we were down three with 50 seconds in that game.
“We only have what, like, 10 games left in league play? It’s getting late, just to feel good that we played well. I mean, it’s time where you have to capitalize and try and win these kinds of games.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Charley Hull uses late charge to win PIF Saudi Ladies International
England’s Charley Hull shot a final-round 65 to win the 2026 PIF Saudi Ladies International on Feb. 14. England’s Charley Hull shot a final-round 65 to rally from three shots back and win the PIF Saudi Ladies International by one shot in Riyadh on Sunday.
Hull began the day tied for 11th place and was only 1-under par through 12 holes at the Riyadh Golf Club. But the world’s No. 5-ranked player went 6 under over her final eight holes to reach 19 under for the tournament, and her clubhouse lead held up with a one-shot victory over South Africa’s Casandra Alexander and Japan’s Akie Iwai.
“It feels great,” Hull said. “It was funny because last time I was around here my boyfriend said to me go out and make loads of birdies to begin with. He said to me last night make loads of birdies coming in, you love chasing and that’s what I did.
“I feel great and I love this golf course. I like how this golf course has really matured over the years and it’s getting trickier each year. The grass is getting thicker and I really liked it. It was a good challenge.”
Hull made her turn in 2 under for the day. She dropped a shot on the 10th before beginning her run with a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch on hole Nos. 11-13. Hull added a birdie on No. 15 and closed with another on No. 18 to provide the final edge she needed.
“I worked really hard this offseason, so it’s nice to get a result pretty much straight away and it’s one of the bigger events on the LET,” said Hull, who took home the $631,625 winner’s prize.
Alexander had a chance to force a playoff but bogeyed the 17th hole.
“It’s been a great start to the season. There have been a lot of positives from this week, and I can learn from a couple of the shots, but overall, it was pretty solid,” Alexander said. “That gives me a great start to the season, the prep has been good and I’m excited to see what the rest of 2026 has in store for me.”
Iwai made seven birdies against a pair of bogeys in carding a 67 on Sunday, and three-putted the 17th green.
“My style of golf is very aggressive. Today I wanted to try (and go for it). Everything was good in my game,” Iwai said. “My driver, my shots and my putting were all good. On No. 17, I made a three-putt but it’s not a problem because there’s always next week.
“I like the golf course. The weather is a lot different than last year, it’s been lovely. Hopefully, this will give me a good feeling. I will keep going, have a smile on my face and play with my heart.”
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi finished in a tie for fourth place at 17 under.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 19 Vanderbilt takes down Texas A&M behind supporting cast
Feb 14, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Texas A&M Aggies guard Ali Dibba (6) fouls Vanderbilt Commodores forward Ak Okereke (10) during the first half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images Tyler Nickel, AK Okereke, and Devin McGlockton combined for 65 points to lead No. 19 Vanderbilt to an 82-69 victory Saturday over Texas A&M in Nashville, Tenn.
Nickel scored 25 points, while Okereke added 23. McGlockton posted 17 points and eight rebounds.
Nickel’s long-range shooting (five 3-pointers) and season-high scoring total from Okereke allowed the Commodores (21-4, 8-4 SEC) to win for the fifth time in six games.
Vanderbilt also got 11 points off the bench from Chandler Bing. The Commodores shot 56.5 percent in the second half and made 15 of 17 free throws in the final 8:20. Tyler Tanner, who leads Vanderbilt in scoring at 18.9 points per game, was held to four points. He had reached 20 or more points for three straight games.
Texas A&M (17-8, 7-5), which lost its fourth-straight game, got 20 points from Marcus Hill. No other Aggie scored in double figures. Zach Clemence finished with nine points, Ali Dibba added nine points and eight rebounds, and Rashaun Agee collected eight points and 11 rebounds.
Ahead by four at the half, Vanderbilt used a flurry of 3-pointers in the opening 4:26 of the second half to built a 50-39 advantage. Nickel dropped in three of the four 3-pointers during that span.
The Commodores extended their lead to 13 points with 13:04 to go on an Okereke jumper in the paint.
The Vanderbilt lead grew to 15 points in the closing two minutes following a corner 3 by Okereke. Okereke made eight of 10 free throws in the final 5:18 to keep the Aggies from coming back.
Vanderbilt trailed by five in the opening minutes but used a 10-0 run late in the opening half to grab a 25-19 lead. The Commodores missed 11 of their first 16 shot attempts before finding their range.
After the scoring run, the Commodores maintained a first-half advantage. Vanderbilt, behind 11 points each from Nickel and McGlockton, led 36-32 at the break.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 17 St. John's win over Providence marred by brawl
Feb 14, 2026; Providence, Rhode Island, USA; St. John’s University Red Storm forward/guard Bryce Hopkins (23) shoots during the first half of the game against the Providence College Friars at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Natalie Reid-Imagn Images Dylan Darling scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half, leading No. 17 St. John’s to a 79-69 win over host Providence on Saturday afternoon in a game that included a benches-clearing altercation that led to six ejections.
The game changed for good with 14:25 left in regulation. Providence’s Duncan Powell committed a hard foul on former Friar Bryce Hopkins on a breakaway layup. Powell, Jaylin Sellers and Dillon Mitchell were ejected along with Kelvin Odih, Ruben Prey and Lefteris Liotopoulos, who left the St. John’s bench area.
Following a delay for video review and debriefing, the Red Storm sank three of the four ensuing free throws to start an 8-0 run and take a 47-40 lead. Darling finished that stretch with his first of back-to-back 3-pointers and stole an inbounds pass for a layup.
St. John’s outscored Providence 40-29 to finish.
Darling sank three 3-pointers, went 8 of 9 from the foul line and added eight rebounds en route to a season-best performance for the Red Storm (20-5, 13-1), who extended their win streak to 11 since a Jan. 3 home loss to Providence.
Zuby Ejiofor scored 14 points, Oziyah Sellers added 11 and Hopkins had nine points and nine rebounds to add to the St. John’s attack.
Stefan Vaaks had 20 points, Ryan Mela scored 14 and Jaylin Sellers added 13 for Providence (11-15, 4-11), which has lost six of its last eight.
Before the brawl, Providence had been on a 14-1 run dating back to the final minutes of the first half, with a Jaylin Sellers 3-pointer highlighting the spurt and kicking off a back-and-forth stretch during which the game was tied two other times.
After the altercation, Providence got within four after Vaaks’ outlet feed led to a Jamier Jones three-point play with 13:55 left, but got no closer as Darling scored the game’s next five points and Ejiofor responded to multiple Mela baskets midway through the half.
Oziyah Sellers’ midrange jumper with 5:52 left gave St. John’s a double-digit lead again as part of a 9-3 run that put the game out of reach.
The Red Storm stormed out of the gates, responding to Oswin Erhunmwunse’s opening layup with a 10-0 run. Two Providence turnovers extended the segment, with Hopkins scoring the first of back-to-back baskets off steals.
After Mela’s layup stopped the run, Stu Jackson sank a 3-pointer and turned another turnover into a dunk for a 15-4 St. John’s lead in less than five minutes. A 5-0 burst brought Providence within seven, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Darling and Joson Sanon gave the Storm a 13-point lead.
A Jones three-point play and a Vaaks trey bookended Providence’s longest first-half run, making it 25-20 with 7:09 to play. St. John’s answered a near six-minute field-goal drought with a 9-2 run including a Hopkins transition dunk, but five Jaylin Sellers points and a Powell triple ended the first half.
–Field Level Media
Charley Hull uses late charge to win PIF Saudi Ladies International
No. 19 Vanderbilt takes down Texas A&M behind supporting cast
