Sports
Streaking No. 24 Louisville, NC State seek to bolster resumes
Louisville Cardinals forward Sananda Fru (13) blocks the shot of Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Sir Mohammed (13) in the first half at the KFC Yum! Center Wednesday night Feb. 4, 2026 Monday’s Atlantic Coast Conference battle between No. 24 Louisville and visiting North Carolina State features a pair of teams each averaging 85.7 points per game.
Both the Wolfpack and Cardinals are gaining ground in the ACC race and firming up NCAA Tournament resumes. NC State has won six in a row while Louisville has won its last three.
The Cardinals (17-6, 7-4 ACC) are still making up ground after a 4-4 stretch when point guard Mikel Brown Jr. was sidelined with a back injury. But Brown has been back for five games and Louisville seems to be settling in offensively.
Louisville needed a late defensive stand to hold off Wake Forest 88-80 on Saturday. Louisville led 43-34 at halftime, but saw Wake Forest rally to tie the game, doing so for the final time at 80 on a pair of Sebastian Akins free throws with 4:44 to play. The Cardinals forced Wake into 0-for-11 shooting from there to claim the win.
“Our guys had the wherewithal to flip the switch and get stops and rebounds down the stretch,” said Louisville coach Pat Kelsey. “I felt like it was a phenomenal team win.”
Louisville placed six players in double figures in scoring. Sananda Fru tallied 17 points on 7-for-7 shooting from the field and also grabbed six rebounds. J’Vonne Hadley added 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting and added five boards. Reserve Khani Rooths notched 13 points in 18 minutes off the bench and was joined in double figures by Brown (12 points, eight assists), Ryan Conwell (11 points) and Isaac McKneely (11 points).
The Cardinals are three games behind Duke and Clemson in the ACC race but are No. 17 in the NCAA’s NET rankings and look all but certain for the NCAA Tournament.
NC State (18-6, 9-2) is just a game off the lead in the ACC race. All five of coach Will Wade’s usual starters are averaging double-figure scoring totals, and at 40.2%, the Wolfpack are one of the nation’s top 3-point shooting teams (currently best in the ACC and seventh nationally).
NC State is coming off an 82-73 win over Virginia Tech. The Wolfpack jumped out to a 20-7 lead, but saw Virginia Tech pull within 54-51 with 11:20 to play.
An immediate 10-1 run allowed the Wolfpack to cruise home with the win. Matching 3-pointers from Paul McNeil Jr. and Tre Holloman keyed the run.
“They limited our (3-point) attempts,” Wade said after the game. “But our best 3-point offense was in transition. It got us going in transition.”
The Wolfpack shot 9-for-21 (42.9%) from long range, with McNeil and Holloman combining for seven of their 3-point buckets.
McNeil tied Quadir Copeland as the high scorer with 21 points. Copeland made 7 of 11 shots and added 10 assists.
Hollman added 16 points, and Ven-Allen Lubin notched 11 points and seven rebounds.
NC State is 27th in the NET rankings, largely due to a Quad 2 loss and a Quad 3 loss. But with eight wins in the last nine games, the Wolfpack’s NCAA Tournament situation is increasingly solidifying.
–Field Level Media
Sports
David Coit takes over late as Maryland beats Minnesota
Feb 8, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Isaac Asuma (1) works around Maryland Terrapins guard George Turkson Jr. (11) during the first half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images David Coit scored seven of his 29 points in the final 26 seconds as Maryland snapped a four-game losing streak, outlasting Minnesota 67-62 Sunday in Big Ten play at Minneapolis.
Andre Mills added 12 points and Darius Adams contributed 11 points as Maryland improved to 18-3 all-time against Minnesota.
Solomon Washington put up nine points and 10 rebounds for the Terrapins (9-14, 2-10 Big Ten), who had lost their previous four games by an average margin of 28 points.
After Cade Tyson hit two free throws with 53 seconds left to put Minnesota up 62-60, Coit scored the game’s final seven points.
The key play came with 26 seconds left when Coit drained a side-step 3-pointer to put the Terrapins up 63-62. Coit then added four free throws in the final 11 seconds.
“Coach got on me after the last game. He called me out. I was being selfish with my body language,” Coit said. “I had to respond.”
Coit made 9 of 13 shots from the floor, 4 of 7 from distance and hit all seven of his free throw attempts.
Isaac Asuma scored all 18 of his points from behind the arc to lead Minnesota (11-13, 4-9), which was coming off an upset of No. 10 Michigan State on Wednesday. The loss was the Golden Gophers’ eighth in their last nine games.
Tyson finished with 12 points and Langston Reynolds contributed 11 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Golden Gophers.
Midway through the first half, Mills made a 3-pointer which gave Maryland a 17-14 lead, before Asuma responded with consecutive triples to give Minnesota a lead that it held the rest of the period.
Two 3-pointers by Bobby Durkin pushed the Golden Gophers’ edge to 33-26. Coit answered with a 3-pointer and a driving three-point play to cut the deficit to 33-32 at the break.
Midway through the second half, two driving layups by Reynolds gave Minnesota the biggest lead of the second half, 53-47.
But Coit put the Terrapins on his back scoring 15 of his points in the final 8:41.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bam Adebayo, Heat rout Wizards to snap out of miniature skid
Feb 8, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) inks the ball against the Washington Wizards during the second quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images Bam Adebayo and Kasparas Jakucionis scored 22 points apiece to help the visiting Miami Heat breeze past the Washington Wizards for a 132-101 victory on Sunday afternoon.
Norman Powell added 21 points and Kel’el Ware had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat, who had dropped three of their previous four. Simone Fontecchio scored 12 and Andrew Wiggins had 11 points and 10 boards.
Tristan Vukcevic paced Washington with 14 points, while Justin Champagnie, Kyshawn George and Bub Carrington scored 13 each. Alex Sarr collected 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who fell to a game ahead of the Indiana Pacers for last place in the Eastern Conference.
After leading by 22 at halftime, Miami extended the margin to 31 as Wiggins and Powell bookended an 8-0 run to give the Heat a 92-61 edge with 6:54 remaining in the third.
Jamir Watkins’ floater and six straight points from Vukcevic cut the Washington deficit to 22, forcing a Miami timeout with 3:35 left in the third.
From there, the Heat scored 10 straight to open up a 105-73 edge. Ware finished the third with a layup to send the visitors into the final quarter with a 107-75 lead.
Washington won the fourth quarter 26-25 to end the lopsided game.
Washington jumped out to a 20-11 lead on Bilal Coulibaly’s layup at the 7:21 mark.
Miami finished the opening quarter on a 14-2 run, with Jakucionis drilling a pair of triples in the final minute to give the Heat a 37-33 edge entering the second quarter.
Miami built its lead to double figures as Fontecchio’s trey began a 12-0 run, which was stamped with Adebayo’s 3-pointer to give the visitors a 58-39 lead.
George hit a pair of free throws to pull the Wizards within 15, but Adebayo’s layup began a 7-0 spurt to end the half, giving the Heat a 74-52 halftime advantage.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Two-time champ Damian Lillard to participate in 3-point contest
Dec 29, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) warms up before a game against the Dallas Mavericks at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images Rehabbing Portland Trail Blazers icon Damian Lillard will be part of the eight-man field competing in Saturday’s 3-point contest as part of All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles.
Lillard won the competitions in 2023 in Salt Lake City and 2024 in Indianapolis. He is sitting out this season after sustaining a torn Achilles tendon in a playoff game with the Milwaukee Bucks last April.
Hall of Famer Larry Bird (1986-88) and Craig Hodges (1990-92) are the only three-time winners of the event.
Lillard ranks fifth in NBA history with 2,804 treys over 13 NBA seasons.
The others in the competition are Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), rookie Kon Knueppel (Charlotte Hornets), Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers), Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers), Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets), Bobby Portis Jr. (Milwaukee Bucks) and Norman Powell (Miami Heat).
Mitchell leads the NBA with 180 3-pointers, five ahead of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, who is not part of the festivities.
Knueppel ranks third with 174, Maxey stands fourth at 169 and Murray is ninth at 156. Knueppel can become the first rookie to capture the title.
Portis boasts the best 3-point accuracy (45.1%) of the group this season. He has converted 92 of 204 attempts.
–Field Level Media
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David Coit takes over late as Maryland beats Minnesota
