Sports
No. 9 Illinois rallies past No. 5 Nebraska with big 2nd half
Feb 1, 2026; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini center Tomislav Ivisic (13) and center Zvonimir Ivisic (44) celebrate after a shot in the first half against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images Keaton Wagler scored 23 of his game-high 28 points in the second half as No. 9 Illinois rallied for a 78-69 Big Ten victory over No. 5 Nebraska on Sunday afternoon in Lincoln, Neb.
After going 2-for-9 from the field in the first half, Wagler canned 3 of 4 from 3-point range and 10 of 12 at the line in the second half for the Fighting Illini (19-3, 10-1 Big Ten), who won their 11th game in a row and pulled into a share of the Big Ten lead alongside No. 3 Michigan.
Jake Davis scored 13 points and Tomislav Ivisic added 12 points and eight rebounds, as Illinois held a 40-27 edge on the boards and a 28-18 advantage in points in the paint.
Braden Frager came off the bench to score 20 points for the Cornhuskers (20-2, 9-2), who dropped their second game in a row despite hitting 15 of 35 from 3-point range. Pryce Sandfort scored 14 points and Sam Hoiberg added 13, but Rienk Mast, who missed Tuesday’s loss at Michigan due to the flu, hit just 2 of 10 shots and scored all five of his points in the final minute.
Similar to the teams’ meeting at Illinois, where Nebraska earned an 83-80 victory on Dec. 13, Sandfort buried two 3-pointers during the opening minutes to stake the Huskers to a 9-4 lead.
Wagler missed his first four shots, but his driving layup at the 12:46 mark gave Illinois its first edge at 10-9. This coincided with Illinois’ decision to switch to a Twin Towers lineup and a 2-3 zone that slowed Nebraska for several minutes.
Then Frager, playing for the first time since rolling his ankle Jan. 21 against Washington, swished three 3-point attempts in a 4:22 stretch to forge a 20-20 tie with 7:11 remaining in the half.
Illinois took a 31-25 lead late in the first half, but Nebraska answered with back-to-back 3-pointers by Sandfort and Sam Hoiberg. Worse for the Illini between those shots, Wagler took a blow to the midsection while trying to chase a loose ball.
With Wagler on the bench, Frager drilled a 3-pointer as part of Nebraska’s 11-0 run. The Huskers finished 11 of 20 from 3-point range in the first half to take a 39-33 lead into the break.
Illinois enjoyed an 11-2 burst early in the second half and seized a 46-44 lead on Ivisic’s running lefty bank with 15:06 to play.
After the teams exchanged the lead, Illinois went on a 10-0 spree that began with a Davis 3-pointer and concluded with a Wagler 3-pointer to make it 63-52 with 6:45 to go. Nebraska never got closer than seven the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media
Sports
US takes bronze in combined skiing; Mikaela Shiffrin misses podium
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics – Alpine Skiing – Women’s Team Combined Victory Ceremony – Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, Belluno, Italy – February 10, 2026. Bronze medalists Jacqueline Wiles of United States and Paula Moltzan of United States celebrate after the Women’s Team Combined CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Austria’s Ariane Raedler and Katharina Huber won women’s team combined Olympic gold on Tuesday as overwhelming U.S. favorites Breezy Johnson and Mikaela Shiffrin missed out on the podium in a major shock.
Germany’s Kira Weidle-Winkelmann and Emma Aicher took the silver, 0.05 behind, and Jacqueline Wiles and Paula Moltzan finished third for the United States on a slalom piste set by the Austrian coach.
World and Olympic downhill champion Johnson and dominant slalom skier Shiffrin finished fourth — missing a medal by 0.06 of a second — after looking set to repeat their 2025 world championship win.
Johnson was fastest in the downhill leg but Shiffrin, winner of seven out of eight slaloms this season and the most successful World Cup skier of all time, was only 15th in the slalom run on Cortina d’Ampezzo’s Olimpia delle Tofane piste after losing the advantage early on.
Shiffrin arrived at the 2022 Beijing Games as favorite to win a fistful of medals but left empty-handed. She has two more chances in giant slalom and slalom.
The fourth place also ended Johnson’s hopes of a “double double” — holding both the world downhill and team combined titles and adding Olympic golds in both.
The silver was Aicher’s second of the Games after she finished runner-up in the downhill. Remarkably, the German skied the slalom leg on Tuesday.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Sports
Former Lions DE Tracy Scroggins dies at 56
Detroit LIons Tracy Scroggins exchanges words with Green Bay Packers Marco Rivera after a play during the second quarter of their game Sunday, December 10, 2000 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis.(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel photo by Dale Guldan) Tracy Scroggins, who spent his entire 10-year NFL career with the Detroit Lions, died Monday. He was 56.
The Lions announced the passing of the former defensive end but did not provide a cause of death.
His family issued a statement to TMZ, however, that blamed football, saying they believed he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. That can be diagnosed only after death.
Scroggins was among the thousands of former players to sue the NFL over concussion-related symptoms. The case was settled in 2015.
“Playing in the NFL gave Tracy the opportunity to pursue his lifelong dream and to rise from poverty,” the family statement read. “However, unfortunately, the NFL was also ultimately the cause of his untimely demise. Tracy spent every moment of retirement courageously battling the devastating effects of CTE. While our hearts are heavy, we find comfort in knowing that he is finally at peace.”
Scroggins appeared in 142 games (89 starts) with the Lions from 1992-2001. The team selected the Oklahoman in the second round of the 1992 NFL Draft out of Tulsa.
He retired with 60.5 sacks, 321 tackles (23 for loss), eight forced fumbles and seven recoveries, and an interception.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin out vs. US
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Feb 8, 2026; Milan, Italy; Kristin O’Neill of Canada celebrates scoring their first goal with Marie-Philip Poulin of Canada and Ella Shelton of Canada against Czechia in women’s ice hockey group B play during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: David W Cerny/Reuters via Imagn Images Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin won’t play in Tuesday’s Group A game against the United States after sustaining a lower-body injury in Monday’s 5-1 win over Czechia, Hockey Canada announced.
A three-time gold medalist who has earned the nickname “Captain Clutch,” Poulin is considered day-to-day after leaving Monday’s win in the first period following a hit into the boards from Czechia’s Kristyna Kaltounkova. The latter was assessed a penalty for an illegal hit.
Poulin, 34, is playing in her fifth Olympics, winning gold in 2010, 2014 and 2022 along with a silver in 2018.
Canada and the U.S. have combined to win all six gold medals in women’s hockey since it was introduced in the 1998 Nagano Olympics — Canada claiming four and the Americans two. They’ve faced off five times in the gold-medal game and are heavy favorites to meet there again in this year’s Games.
Both teams are undefeated entering Tuesday’s Group A game. Canada is 2-0 with a 9-1 goal differential, while the U.S. is 3-0 with a 15-1 differential.
–Field Level Media
US takes bronze in combined skiing; Mikaela Shiffrin misses podium
Former Lions DE Tracy Scroggins dies at 56
