Sports
No. 17 Virginia storms back to spoil Boston College's upset attempt
Jan 31, 2026; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Virginia Cavaliers forward Thijs de Ridder (28) shoots a lay up against Boston College Eagles guard Donald Hand Jr. (13) during the first half at Conte Forum. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images Thijs De Ridder came through with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and No. 17 Virginia survived an upset bid by Boston College with a 73-66 ACC win Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Malik Thomas chipped in 14 points, and Chase Mallory added 11 points and six rebounds for the Cavaliers (18-3, 7-2), who have now won their last four games against the Eagles.
Boston College (9-12, 2-6) lost despite a balanced attack that was headlined by Donald Hand Jr., who poured in 20 points, grabbed six rebounds, and handed out four assists.
Fred Payne finished with 17 points and seven boards, while Boden Kapke (14) and Jayden Hastings (12) also reached double figures. Hastings also snagged six rebounds and blocked two shots.
Down 32-27 at halftime, Virginia grabbed its first lead of the day when Sam Lewis hit a jumper and drew a foul. His ensuing free throw put the Cavaliers up 41-38 with 15:30 to go.
Trailing 50-43, the Eagles used an 9-0 run to take the lead back on a layup by Jayden Hastings. He was fouled and made a free throw for a 52-50 lead with 11:01 left.
Knotted at 52-52, Jacari White connected on a 3-pointer at the 9:52 mark for a 55-52 Virginia lead.
The Cavaliers held a 64-60 advantage heading into the final 3:32 despite missing five consecutive shots from the field.
Two free throws by Kapke had the Eagles within 64-62 coming out of a media timeout before Dallin Hall and Mallory scored on back-to-back baskets for a 68-62 advantage with 2:36 remaining.
Boston College’s hopes for a rally were dashed in part by going more than five minutes without a field goal down the stretch.
Boston College came in looking for its first win over a Top-25 team in nearly three years when it defeated Virginia, ranked sixth at the time, by a 63-48 score at home.
The Eagles started strong, leading 10-4 with 16:25 to play after Payne was fouled while making a 3-pointer and the ensuing free throw.
But the Cavaliers caught up and tied the score at 12-12 at the 14:56 mark thanks to a 3-pointer from Jacari White.
The Eagles stayed a step or two ahead, however, and led 28-21 at the 5:54 mark after Payne’s 3-pointer and Hand’s dunk on a fastbreak opportunity that left him wide open for the crowd-pleasing bucket.
Boston College went to halftime leading by five, shooting 50% (14-of-28) from the field while limiting Virginia to a 12-of-33 showing from the floor (36%).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Seattle game breaks U.S. arena attendance record for women's hockey
Mar 27, 2023; Seattle, WA, USA; A general overall view of the Space Needle and Climate Pledge Arena at Seattle Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images A sold-out crowd of 17,335 fans at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena broke the U.S. attendance record for a women’s hockey game on Friday night.
In the first game back from the Olympic break for both PWHL teams, the host Seattle Torrent fell 5-2 to the Toronto Sceptres.
The Torrent played without captain Hilary Knight, who led the U.S. women’s team to a gold medal in the Milan Cortina Olympics. She was placed on long-term injured reserve due to a lower-body injury she suffered during the Games.
The previous record of 17,228 fans came on Jan. 18 when the Montreal Victoire faced the New York Sirens at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
The Torrent also broke their own attendance mark, set when 16,014 fans filled the Seattle arena for the expansion club’s inaugural home opener on Nov. 28, 2025.
Overall attendance across the PWHL for the league’s third season was up 17 percent through 61 games at the Milan Cortina Olympics break, according to the league.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 13 Michigan State chasing season sweep of Indiana
Jan 13, 2026; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans center Carson Cooper (15) dunks the ball over Indiana Hoosiers forward Tucker Devries (12) and forward Nick Dorn (7) during the second half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images No. 13 Michigan State picked up a valuable road win on Thursday to enhance its NCAA Tournament resume.
The Spartans won’t get much time to savor it, however, as they face Indiana on Sunday afternoon in Bloomington, Ind.
The Spartans knocked off No. 8 Purdue, 76-74, for their third straight win and fifth over a ranked opponent. Michigan State (23-5, 13-4 Big Ten) was projected as a No. 4 seed entering the contest but could move up to a No. 3 or even No. 2 seed with a strong finish.
“They’ve got a hell of a team, it was just our night,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said of the Boilermakers. “They made 3s. We weathered the storm of all those 3s. To do that on the road in Mackey Arena, I’ll give my team some credit on that.”
It was Michigan State’s first win at Purdue since a 94-79 decision on Feb. 20, 2014. The Spartans had lost seven straight games on Purdue’s home floor.
“I did think we played with a different mentality that we haven’t been playing with as much lately,” Izzo said. “So hopefully that can catapult us. Now we go home, get a quick rest, quick turnaround and then go to Indiana.”
The Spartans, who had four players in double figures, shot 52.7% from the floor, including 57.7% in the second half. They also committed just six turnovers.
“All in all, we couldn’t play much better,” Izzo said.
Now, the Spartans will look for their second win over the Hoosiers (17-11, 8-9) this season. Michigan State rolled to an 81-60 victory in the first matchup on Jan. 13 behind a big performance from point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who racked up 23 points and 10 assists.
Indiana is desperate for a quality win to improve its chances of getting an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers have lost three straight following a stretch of five wins in six games.
They were defeated on the road by Illinois and Purdue before a damaging 72-68 home loss Tuesday to unranked Northwestern.
“It was a tough loss. We have a big home stand here,” coach Darian DeVries said. “This was the first game of it. We’re at that point in the year where games have become very meaningful and it was an opportunity. We certainly wanted to get started off on the front of the home stand with a good note. You know, didn’t happen, so we have to make sure that we put it away. We got a big game on Sunday and then we’ve got to come ready to go.”
The Hoosiers were outscored 39-26 in the second half and missed 11 straight field goal attempts during crunch time.
“The path forward is just keep fighting, keep pushing forward,” DeVries said. “The Illinois and the Purdue losses were tough. They were two tough games, two tough teams. Not a lot of people going in there and winning. I thought our guys were ready (Tuesday). Thought they came out and had good focus in practice, good energy. Thought they came out and played well the first half. Unfortunately, the second half we weren’t good enough.”
Lamar Wilkerson (21.0 points per game) has led the team in scoring the last six games. The Hoosiers will need a big game from him to pull off the upset on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NYCFC visits Philadephia, hoping to get on winning track
Feb 1, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; New York City FC coach Pascal Jansen looks on after a win in a MLS preseason match between Austin FC at Q2 Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Jefferson-Imagn Images The Philadelphia Union and visiting New York City FC will both look to respond from disappointing away results when they meet on Sunday in Chester, Pa.
As the winner of the 2025 Supporters’ Shield, awarded to the team with the best regular-season finish, the Union (0-1-0, 0 points) suffered one of the MLS opening weekend’s most shocking results in last Saturday’s 1-0 loss at a D.C. United team that finished 2025 with the worst MLS record.
Former Union striker Tai Baribo scored the lone goal for his new club late in the first half. And a red card on the hour mark to Philadelphia Ezekiel Alladoh for an obscene gesture toward an opponent hurt the Union’s comeback chances. It also means Alladoh will be suspended on Sunday.
But after beginning their 2026 schedule with a 5-0 victory at Defence Force in a Concacaf Champions Cup match three days before the league opener, Philadelphia manager Bradley Carnell was able to rest several regulars in Thursday’s home return leg (a 7-0 win).
“It’s only as good as we want it to be, right?” Carnell said of the rest. “I mean we have to apply it in the right way, and just because you’re rested, it doesn’t mean — it’s only an ingredient for success. It doesn’t mean that the success is there. So we have to work really hard at it to make it count.”
New York City (0-0-1, 1 point) earned a 1-1 draw at the LA Galaxy in their opener last Sunday, but that felt more like a defeat after failing to capitalize on a man advantage for the final 26 minutes plus stoppage time.
Nicolas Fernandez Mercau scored the visitors’ lone goal from the penalty spot as they began the season without Alonso Martinez, who led NYCFC in scoring the previous two seasons but suffered a torn ACL while on international duty last November.
But Cityzens manager Pascal Jansen insisted the performance showed his team is still capable of attacking production.
“We are fully aware of the fact that we are missing our No. 1 No. 9,” he said. But the fact is … If you see, if we are able to add maybe 20% more quality, better decision-making, we’ll get the goals …”
–Field Level Media
–Field Level Media
Seattle game breaks U.S. arena attendance record for women's hockey
No. 13 Michigan State chasing season sweep of Indiana
