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Golden Knights defeat Canucks to end 5-game skid

NHL: Vancouver Canucks at Vegas Golden KnightsFeb 4, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Vegas Golden Knights left wing Cole Reinhardt (23) scores a goal against Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen (32) during the second period at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Jack Eichel scored a goal and had an assist and Mark Stone added two assists as the Vegas Golden Knights snapped a five-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night in Las Vegas.

Cole Reinhardt, Ivan Barbashev, Pavel Dorofeyev and Alexander Holtz also scored goals and Akira Schmid made 21 saves for the Golden Knights, who broke a first-place tie with Edmonton, a 4-3 loser at Calgary earlier Wednesday, in the Pacific Division.

Elias N. Pettersson and Pierre-Olivier Joseph scored goals and Teddy Blueger added two assists for Vancouver, which suffered its third straight loss and fell for the 17th time in its last 19 games.

Kevin Lankinen finished with 26 saves for the Canucks, who head into the Olympic break still searching for their first road victory of 2026. Vancouver last won away from home on Dec. 29 at Seattle, 3-2, in a shootout, a streak of eight straight losses.

After a scoreless first 25 minutes, the two teams combined for four goals in the span of 2 1/2 minutes.

Vegas took a 1-0 lead at the 5:09 mark of the second period when Eichel ripped a wrist shot from the high slot off a Rasmus Andersson pass off the far post for his 20th goal, the ninth time he has hit the 20-goal mark in his career.

Reinhardt, breaking down the slot, made it 2-0, deking Lankinen and then tucking a forehand shot around his right pad.

Pettersson then put Vancouver on the board 37 seconds later with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle that beat Schmid five-hole.

Barbashev roofed a wrist shot off a Stone drop pass 28 seconds later to increase the Vegas lead to 3-1, extending his goal streak to a career-best four games.

Joseph scored with 7.8 seconds left in the period to cut the lead to 3-2, snapping a shot from the left point through heavy traffic and past Schmid’s glove side.

The Golden Knights then broke the game open early in the third period with goals one minute apart by Dorofeyev and Holtz.

–Field Level Media

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No. 5 Illinois rolls to 12th straight win, routing Northwestern

NCAA Basketball: Northwestern at IllinoisFeb 4, 2026; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Andrej Stojakovic (2) drives past Northwestern Wildcats forward Tre Singleton (8) during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Andrej Stojakovic scored 17 points to lead five players in double figures as fifth-ranked Illinois blitzed visiting Northwestern 84-44 on Wednesday in Champaign, Ill., to earn its 12th straight win.

Torrid long-range shooting and effective ball movement boosted Illinois (20-3, 11-1 Big Ten), which led by as many as 49 points.

The Illini had 20 assists on 28 made baskets while shooting 48.3%. That included 17 3-pointers.

Ben Humrichous, Zvonimir Ivisic and Keaton Wagler each scored 13 points while swishing three treys apiece. David Mirkovic hit four 3s and finished with 12 points.

Northwestern struggled to 29.2% shooting while falling 14 points shy of its previous season low. The Wildcats (10-13, 2-10) started 1-for-16 from 3-point range and finished 4-of-25.

Nick Martinelli, who entered play as the top scorer in the Big Ten at 23.7 points per game, had four points on 2-for-10 shooting. Tre Singleton paced the Wildcats with eight points and Jayden Reid scored seven.

Tomislav Ivisic grabbed 12 rebounds to help the Illini finish plus-27 on the glass. He added five assists to match Wagler for the team lead.

Northwestern stayed afloat in the early going, taking a 7-5 lead on a Tyler Kropp jumper with 15:57 to go in the first half. Jake Davis hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and the Illini never looked back.

The trey sparked Illinois to a 25-2 run over the next seven minutes, a surge that included long-distance makes from five different players. Humrichous paced the barrage with three 3s during the spurt.

Illinois rolled to a 47-19 lead at the break behind 51.7% accuracy from the floor that featured 11 first-half treys. Wagler punctuated the dominance and sent the State Farm Center crowd into a frenzy when he banked home a 3 from just inside midcourt to beat the buzzer.

Wagler led all scorers with 10 first-half points.

Illinois earned a sweep of Northwestern for the first time since 2021-22 while defeating its in-state rival in Champaign for the 10th straight game.

–Field Level Media

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Free-throw shooting propels Arizona State to win at Utah

NCAA Basketball: Arizona State at UtahFeb 4, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils guard Maurice Odum (5) goes to the basket against Utah Utes forward James Okonkwo (32) during the first half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Massamba Diop scored nine of his 15 points at the free-throw line as Arizona State snapped a six-game Big 12 road losing streak with a 71-63 victory over Utah on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.

Diop shot just 3-for-11 from the floor but hit nine of 10 free-throw attempts as the Sun Devils (12-11, 3-7 Big 12) made 22 of 25 (88%) at the line, marking their second-best showing of the season.

Arizona State’s Anthony Johnson added 14 points and hit 5 of 6 free throws to offset a 4-of-12 showing from the floor. Maurice Odum added 13 for the Sun Devils, who led by 18 in the first half but shot 23.1% in the second half and 38.6% overall.

Arizona State played seven players while improving to 7-0 when allowing 70 points or fewer.

Don McHenry led all scorers with 23 points, but Utah (9-13, 1-8) lost for the ninth time in 10 games. Seydou Traore added 16, but leading scorer Terrence Brown shot 2-of-16 and was held to six.

The Utes shot 39%, went 9-for-27 from 3-point range and only attempted 13 free throws, sinking eight. Utah was held to its second-lowest point total this season.

Arizona State scored 12 consecutive points and took a 29-14 lead when Bryce Ford hit a fadeaway near the baseline late in the shot clock shortly after the midpoint of the first half. The Sun Devils expanded their lead to 37-19 on a layup by Andrija Grbovic with 3:56 left in the half and held a 41-25 cushion at the break.

Utah started the second half with an 11-2 run, and McHenry’s transition layup sliced the lead to 43-36 with 15:08 left. McHenry continued keeping the Utes within striking distance, and his open corner 3-pointer cut the deficit to 50-43 with 11:41 to go.

Arizona State took a 61-49 lead on a trey by Odum with 5:36 left following an offensive rebound Grbovic. Utah countered with a 12-4 run, capped by McHenry’s coast-to-coast layup that sliced the lead to 65-61 with 1:41 to go.

Utah was within 67-63 following a putback by James Okonkwo with 20 seconds left, but Arizona State finished it off by making four free throws.

–Field Level Media

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Anthony Roy, Oklahoma State outduel AJ Dybantsa, No. 16 BYU

Syndication: The OklahomanOklahoma State Cowboys guard Anthony Roy (9) celebrates a 3-point basket during a BIG 12 men’s college basketball game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys (OSU) and the BYU Cougars at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026.

Anthony Roy scored a season-high 30 points and Jaylen Curry added 18 as Oklahoma State upset No. 16 BYU 99-92 on Wednesday in Stillwater, Okla.

The Cowboys (16-6, 4-5 Big 12) shot 54.7% from the field and forced 16 turnovers that resulted in 21 points. Oklahoma State’s Parsa Fallah added 13 points and seven rebounds.

Vyctorius Miller, who didn’t take a shot in the first half, scored 14 in the second half for the Cowboys on 5-of-7 shooting from the field.

AJ Dybantsa led the Cougars (17-5, 5-4) with 36 points, but he couldn’t keep BYU from losing its third straight game. Richie Saunders contributed 20 points and eight rebounds, and Robert Wright III put up 15 points.

The Cowboys led 74-69 with six minutes left in the game before they went on a 7-0 run to take control.

Roy scored on a layup and also hit a 3-pointer in the decisive sequence.

The Cowboys jumped out to a 15-point lead with 5:21 to go in the first half.

The Cougars turned the ball over nine times in the first 11 minutes as the Cowboys built a double-digit lead.

When Fallah sank a layup, the Cowboys led 37-22. The Cougars were shooting only 28.9% compared to the Cowboys’ 63.6%.

Dybantsa then heated up, and the Cougars finished the half on a 19-4 run, including an 8-0 surge in the final 3:07 to tie the score entering the break.

Saunders started the run with a 3-pointer to make it 37-24.

Dybantsa nailed back-to-back 3-pointers, and suddenly the 15-point lead was down to 37-31.

Isaiah Coleman hit a jumper and soon added a layup for Oklahoma State, but Dybantsa wasn’t done.

He started the final run by dribbling through the defense to dunk.

Saunders scored on a layup to make it 41-37 with 2:22 left.

Dybantsa then finished the half with two free throws and another dunk in which he dribbled past three defenders. The slam with three seconds left tied the game at 41.

–Field Level Media

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