Sports
No. 24 Louisville rising, Baylor falling ahead of nonconference tilt
Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) gets congratulated by teammate Louisville Cardinals guard Ryan Conwell (3) after Brown Jr. scored 45 points with 10-for-16 3-point shooting as the Cards roll past NC State 118-77 at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville February 9, 2026. Conwell finished with 31 points and six assists. No. 24 Louisville and Baylor will step outside of their conferences for the last time in the regular season when they meet Saturday on a neutral court in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Cardinals (18-6) and the Bears (13-11) will be playing for more than just pride in what shapes up to be a Quad 1 game. Louisville, 5-6 in Quad 1 games, has won four straight overall and six of the past seven to shore up its status as a near-certain NCAA Tournament team.
However, Baylor with its 3-9 Quad 1 record, may not even be considered a bubble team. The Bears are on a two-game skid and have lost six of their past eight.
A high-scoring affair may be in the cards as Louisville is 12th among Division I schools in adjusted offensive efficiency at 125.2 points per 100 possessions while Baylor is 23rd (122.4).
In Louisville’s 118-77 rout of North Carolina State on Monday, Mikel Brown Jr. put up 45 points to tie the single-game school record and break the Atlantic Coast Conference mark for most points in a game by a freshman.
The epic night came after Brown struggled somewhat, especially from the 3-point arc, since returning from a back injury that cost him eight games this season. He shot 27.3% (9 of 33) from the arc in his first five games after the injury. On Monday, he tied a school record with 10 treys, reaching that figure on 16 attempts (62.5%).
However, Brown (17.3 ppg) is far from the only scoring threat on coach Pat Kelsey’s team. Louisville features seven players who average seven or more points per game. Leading scorer Ryan Conwell (18.9 ppg) added 31 in the Monday win.
While the Cardinals have been on a roll, Kelsey told reporters after the NC State game that the team will keep an even keel just as it did after Duke beat the Cardinals 83-52 on Jan. 26.
“They didn’t listen to the thump, thump, thump. The noise, the rat poison,” the coach said. “And we’re not going to do it after winning a big game tonight by a lot.”
After a 10-2 start, the Bears are just 3-9, all against their Big 12 colleagues. However, they have remained close against some of the conference’s top teams. On Tuesday, No. 22 BYU visited Waco, Texas, and left with a 99-94 victory.
Depth has been an issue as coach Scott Drew has relied on seven players who average 23.1 or more minutes per game. It’s been an even bigger issue since Dan Skillings Jr. (10.2 ppg) has missed the past three games because of a knee injury.
Baylor’s starters all logged at least 29 minutes in the loss to BYU, with Tounde Yessoufou (18.5 ppg) playing the entire 40 minutes as he scored a career-high 37. Cameron Carr (19.8 ppg) went 35 minutes while scoring 24.
Carr, Yessoufou and Obi Agbim played all 40 minutes on Feb. 7 in a 72-69 loss to then-No. 7 Iowa State.
Those minutes come at a cost, according to Drew.
“I think most coaches will tell you, when you’re tired, you’re going to give it up somewhere,” said Drew, whom Louisville pursued for its head-coaching vacancy two years ago before hiring Kelsey. “Might be shot selection. Might be defense.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Blue Jays hold on to get one back from Guardians
Apr 25, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto (7) hits a home run against the Cleveland Guardians during the fourth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images Kevin Gausman pitched an effective 6 2/3 innings, Kazuma Okamoto homered and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the visiting Cleveland Guardians 5-3 on Saturday afternoon.
Gausman (2-1) allowed two runs, six hits and no walks with three strikeouts.
Louis Varland allowed one run on two singles and a double in the ninth to pick up his second save.
Andres Gimenez keyed a three-run sixth with a two-run double to help the Blue Jays gain a split of the first two games of the three-game series.
David Fry hit a solo homer for the Guardians.
Cleveland scored once in the third against Gausman. Juan Brito led off with a double to left, took third on a groundout and scored on Brayan Rocchio’s groundout to shortstop.
Okamoto led off the home fourth with a home run to center on a 1-1 fastball against Joey Cantillo (1-1).
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. led off the sixth with a single to right, stole second and took third on Okamoto’s single to left. Matt Festa replaced Cantillo. With one out, Daulton Varsho’s grounder to second squirted past Brito for an RBI single. Gimenez blooped a two-run double down the left-field line.
Cantillo allowed three runs, six hits and one walk while striking out four in five-plus innings.
Cleveland got one run back when Fry hit a first-pitch slider to left with one out for his first homer of the season. Mason Fluharty replaced Gausman with two outs in the seventh.
Toronto loaded the bases with none out in the seventh against Peyton Pallette when Myles Straw and Ernie Clement singled and Guerrero walked. Okamoto walked to force in the only run of the inning.
Cleveland rallied in the ninth against Varland. Rhys Hoskins and George Valera singled with one out. Pinch hitter Kyle Manzardo stroked an RBI double to left. Brito walked to load the bases before Varland struck out the next two batters.
Cleveland’s Steven Kwan was a late scratch with a stiff neck.
Toronto put Nathan Lukes on the injured list with a strained left hamstring. Outfielder Yohendrick Pinango was promoted from Triple-A Buffalo.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hurricanes sweep Senators in first-round series
Apr 25, 2026; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators goalie Linus Ullmark (35) makes a save in front of Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho (20) in the second period of game four of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Logan Stankoven’s power-play goal midway through the third period broke a tie for Carolina, and the Hurricanes never trailed in defeating host Ottawa 4-2 on Saturday afternoon to eliminate the Senators from the playoffs.
The Hurricanes completed a four-game sweep in the best-of-seven, first-round Eastern Conference series.
Sebastian Aho scored two empty-net goals, and Taylor Hall had a goal and an assist for Carolina. Seth Jarvis had two assists and Frederik Andersen made 25 saves.
For the Senators, Drake Batherson had a goal and an assist, and Dylan Cozens scored. Linus Ullmark stopped 26 shots.
Stankoven’s power-play goal 9:10 into the third period gave the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead. He put the carom off the back boards into the open side of the net for his fourth goal of the series.
Aho’s first empty-netter came with 2:22 left. Cozens made it 3-2 with Ullmark pulled and 1:49 remaining. Aho got his second empty-netter with 1:15 left.
Batherson’s power-play goal had tied it 1-1 with 2:52 left in the second period. He redirected Tim Stutzle’s shot for Batherson’s third goal of the series. That came 2:35 after Hall had given Carolina a 1-0 lead on a shot from the inside edge of the left circle off the rush.
The second period featured several scrums. The first came 4:35 into the middle period after a clean check by Ottawa defenseman Tyler Kleven along the boards left Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin dazed and on the ice. He was woozy as he was helped off the ice.
Kleven was not penalized for the hit.
Ottawa was without defenseman Jake Sanderson due to a concussion suffered in Game 3 when he was hit in the head by Hall, who received a minor penalty on the play. Sanderson’s usual partner on the top defensive duo, Artem Zub, has been out since leaving Game 1 with an undisclosed injury.
The Hurricanes’ Nikolaj Ehlers did not play because of a lower-body injury.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pours in 42 points as Thunder beats Suns
Apr 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain (3) shoots against the Phoenix Suns in the first half during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a playoff career-high 42 points to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 121-109 road win over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday.
The reigning Most Valuable Player finished 15 of 18 from the floor with eight assists to give the Thunder a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Oklahoma City has won 11 consecutive first-round games.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s previous playoff high was 40 points in Game 4 of last season’s Western Conference Finals against Minnesota.
Playing without Jalen Williams, who suffered a hamstring strain in Wednesday’s Game 2 victory, the Thunder leaned even more heavily on Gilgeous-Alexander.
Gilgeous-Alexander hit his first 11 shots, not missing until less than three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Despite being without Williams, which moved Ajay Mitchell into the starting lineup, and Isaiah Joe, who was out for personal reasons, the Thunder reserves still dominated their counterparts. Oklahoma City’s bench outscored Phoenix’s 36-12.
The Suns were within nine early in the fourth quarter when Gilgeous-Alexander checked back in.
Moments later, Cason Wallace stepped into a passing lane, intercepting Devin Booker’s pass and fed to Gilgeous-Alexander for a layup on the other end, sending the Oklahoma City bench into celebration while Phoenix called a timeout with the Thunder up 13.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished 14 of 15 from inside the arc and 11 of 12 from the free-throw line.
Mitchell scored 15 points while Alex Caruso scored 13 off the bench.
Dillon Brooks scored nine consecutive Phoenix points to help his team pull within 10 with three minutes remaining.
The Thunder took a nine-point lead into halftime with a 12-2 run to close the second quarter.
Brooks led the Suns with 33 points while Jalen Green added 26 points. Booker scored just 16 points.
Grayson Allen, who had missed the last five games with a hamstring injury, made his first appearance of the postseason, playing 17 minutes and scoring seven points on 2-of-8 shooting.
The Suns were without Jordan Goodwin, who suffered a calf injury in Game 1, and Mark Williams (foot).
The Thunder have a chance to close out the series Monday in Phoenix.
–Field Level Media
Blue Jays hold on to get one back from Guardians
Hurricanes sweep Senators in first-round series
