Sports
Top 25 roundup: JT Toppin leads No. 16 Texas Tech past No. 1 Arizona
Feb 14, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders forward JT Toppin (15) dribbles and dunks the ball during the first half of the game against the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images JT Toppin had 31 points, eight of them in overtime, and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead No. 16 Texas Tech to a 78-75 win over No. 1 Arizona on Saturday at Tucson, Ariz.
Toppin recorded his 16th double-double of the season for the Red Raiders (19-6, 9-3 Big 12), who have won three straight. Arizona (23-2, 10-2) has lost consecutive games after starting the season unbeaten through its first 23 games.
Christian Anderson, who played all 45 minutes, finished with 19 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Texas Tech.
Arizona had five players in double figures, led by 16 points from Tobe Awaka and Brayden Burries. Ivan Kharchenkov finished with 13 points, Jaden Bradley had 11 and Motiejus Krivas scored 10 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. .
No. 2 Michigan 86, UCLA 56
Yaxel Lendeborg had 17 points and eight rebounds as the Wolverines ran away in the second half to earn a Big Ten win over the Bruins in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Michigan (24-1, 14-1), which led 40-38 at halftime, maintained a two-and-a-half-game lead in the conference standings and is expected to be the top-ranked team in the country for the first time since 2013 when the Associated Press poll is released Monday, following No. 1 Arizona’s 0-2 week. Morez Johnson Jr. posted 15 points to lead the way for Michigan, which never trailed while winning its 10th in a row.
Trent Perry scored 14 points while Donovan Dent and Tyler Bilodeau each added 10 points for UCLA (17-8, 9-5), which had won five of its last six. Senior guard Skyy Clark, who had been out since Jan. 3 with a hamstring injury, contributed eight points in 16 minutes off the bench.
No. 3 Houston 78, Kansas State 64
Emanuel Sharp scored 23 points and the Cougars defense did the rest to help host Houston produce a win over the reeling Wildcats in a Big 12 clash.
The Cougars (23-2, 11-1 Big 12) relied on their defense to limit Kansas State to just five field goals in the first half and scored the final 13 points on the way to a 33-19 lead at halftime. Milos Uzan and Kingston Flemings added 12 points each for Houston, whose next three games are against teams ranked in the top 10 beginning with No. 5 Iowa State on the road on Monday. The Cougars shot 53.8% in the second half.
P.J. Haggerty led the Wildcats with 23 points while Johnson had 12 and Taj Manning scored 10. Kansas State (10-15, 1-11 Big 12) dropped its sixth game in a row.
No. 4 Duke 67, No. 20 Clemson 54
Cameron Boozer posted a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds as the Blue Devils maintained first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference by defeating the Tigers in Durham, N.C., for the 22nd straight time.
Isaiah Evans scored 17 points and Cayden Boozer added 12 for Duke (23-2, 12-1 ACC), which hit 10 3-pointers for the first time since Jan. 10 against SMU. The Blue Devils held a 31-26 edge at halftime and led by as many as 22 in the second half.
Carter Welling paced Clemson (20-6, 10-3) with 12 points and RJ Godfrey added 10. The Tigers hit just 35.1% from the field, which included a 6-for-24 showing from 3-point range. Godfrey added eight rebounds and two blocks.
No. 5 Iowa State 74, No. 9 Kansas 56
Milan Momcilovic scored a game-high 18 points and the Cyclones limited the Jayhawks to 37.2% percent shooting during a Big 12 clash in Ames, Iowa, that snapped Kansas’ eight-game winning streak.
Joshua Jefferson, Tamin Lipsey, Jamarion Batemon and Blake Buchanan added 11 points apiece for Iowa State (22-3, 9-3 Big 12), which moved into a third-place tie with Kansas (19-6, 9-3). Jefferson and Lipsey each added four assists while Buchanan grabbed six rebounds.
Melvin Council Jr. paced Kansas with 15 points, four assists and two steals. Flory Bidunga had 11 points and 13 rebounds, but prized freshman Darryn Peterson was limited to a season-low 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting in 24 minutes.
No. 6 UConn 79, Georgetown 75
Solo Ball scored 20 points as the Huskies stayed atop the Big East standings by holding on for a victory over the Hoyas in Storrs, Conn.
UConn (24-2, 14-1 Big East) won its second straight game following an 81-72 loss to then-No. 22 St. John’s on Feb. 6. Ball scored 16 in the first half after tallying 24 Wednesday at Butler. Alex Karaban added 13 of his 18 points in the second half, becoming the all-time winningest player in school history with his 116th career win.
KJ Lewis led all scorers with 24 points, including a 4-point play with 24 seconds left to get the Hoyas (13-12, 5-9) within 77-74. Vince Iwuchukwu added 16 and Kayvaun Mulready contributed 15, but Georgetown lost its 12th straight game in the series.
No. 7 Nebraska 68, Northwestern 49
Pryce Sandfort swished six 3-pointers on the way to scoring 29 points as the Cornhuskers defeated the Wildcats in Lincoln, Neb.
Nebraska (22-3, 11-3 Big Ten) surpassed last season’s win total despite matching a season-high with 18 turnovers, two fewer than slumping Northwestern (10-16, 2-13). Sam Hoiberg recorded 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Cale Jacobsen added 10 points. Rienk Mast grabbed nine boards to help Nebraska to a 40-24 edge on the glass.
The Wildcats tied their season-long losing streak with a fifth straight defeat. Nick Martinelli scored 11 points to pace the Wildcats, who held a 39-38 lead with 12:32 to go before the Huskers went on an 11-2 run to take control.
No. 11 North Carolina 79, Pitt 65
Jarin Stevenson and Seth Trimble scored 19 points apiece to help the short-handed Tar Heels hand the Panthers their fifth straight loss in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Zayden High had 15 points and seven rebounds for North Carolina (20-5, 8-4 ACC), which played without its two leading scorers in Caleb Wilson (19.8 points per game) and Henri Veesaar (16.4 ppg), who both missed the game with injuries. Luka Bogavac added 15 points for the Tar Heels, who won their sixth game in seven tries.
Cameron Corhen led Pittsburgh (9-17, 2-11) with 23 points, six rebounds and six assists. Roman Siulepa scored 14 points and Barry Dunning Jr. contributed 10.
No. 13 Purdue 78, Iowa 57
Four players scored in double figures and the Boilermakers clamped down on the Hawkeyes in a win in Iowa City.
C.J. Cox led the balanced Boilermakers (21-4, 11-3 Big Ten) with 14 points, connecting on four of their 12 made 3-pointers. Reserve Gicarri Harris also scored 14, while Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn each added 12 points in Purdue’s fourth straight win. Braden Smith dished out 12 assists to give him 980 for his career. Smith is 97 assists away from passing Bobby Hurley for the all-time NCAA record.
Bennett Stirtz scored a game-high 19 points for the Hawkeyes (18-7, 8-6), who fell to 0-5 against ranked opponents this season. Stirtz made 7 of 12 field goals but the rest of his teammates hit just 13 of 41.
No. 14 Florida 92, No. 25 Kentucky 83
Urban Klavzar netted 19 points off the bench and sparked a second-half run as the Gators led wire-to-wire to knock off the Wildcats in Gainesville, Fla.
Klavzar, who was 5 of 11 from distance, scored eight points in a span of 4:06 to turn an eight-point game into a 14-point lead and help the Gators win their fifth straight game and 10th in their last 11. The Gators (19-6, 10-2 SEC) led by 15 in the first half.
Kentucky’s Denzel Aberdeen notched 19 points and four assists, while Collin Chandler had 18 points, three rebounds and three steals. Otega Oweh had 13 points and five boards and Malachi Moreno totaled 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (17-8, 8-4).
No. 15 Virginia 70, Ohio State 66
Malik Thomas had 13 points and six rebounds as the Cavaliers extended their winning streak to six games with a nonconference victory over the Buckeyes at the inaugural Nashville (Tenn.) Hoops Showdown.
Virginia (22-3) got 12 points apiece from Chance Mallory and Sam Lewis. Ugonna Onyenso added eight points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. The Cavaliers held a 40-26 rebounding edge.
Bruce Thornton carried Ohio State (16-9) with 28 points. Amare Bynum had 15 points and six rebounds, while Christoph Tilly added 11 points. Virginia shot 23 more free throws (32-9) and outscored the Buckeyes 22-6 from the line.
No. 17 St. John’s 79, Providence 69
In a Big East clash marred by a second-half brawl that led to six ejections, Dylan Darling scored 18 of his season-high 23 points in the second half to lead the Red Storm (20-5, 13-1) over the host Friars (11-15, 4-11).
With Providence clinging to a 40-39 edge with 14:25 to play, the Friars’ Duncan Powell clotheslined former Providence standout Bryce Hopkins as he went up for a breakaway layup. As Hopkins got up off the floor and stood up to Powell, players and coaches flew off both benches to try to restore order.
After a video review, Providence’s Powell and Jaylin Sellers were ejected along with Dillon Mitchell, Kelvin Odih, Ruben Prey and Lefteris Liotopoulos for St. John’s – the latter three for leaving the Red Storm’s bench.
Zuby Ejiofor scored 14 points for St. John’s while Oziyah Sellers added 11 points and Hopkins had nine points and nine rebounds. Stefan Vaaks notched 20 points, Ryan Mela scored 14 and Jaylin Sellers added 13 for Providence, which has lost six of its last eight.
No. 19 Vanderbilt 82, Texas A&M 69
Tyler Nickel, AK Okereke and Devin McGlockton combined for 65 points to lead the Commodores over the Aggies in Nashville, Tenn.
Nickel scored 25 points, while Okereke added 23. McGlockton posted 17 points and eight rebounds. Nickel’s long-range shooting (five 3-pointers) and a season-high scoring total from Okereke allowed Vanderbilt (21-4, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) to win for the fifth time in six games.
Texas A&M (17-8, 7-5), which lost its fourth straight game, got 20 points from Marcus Hill. No other Aggie scored in double figures. Zach Clemence finished with nine points, Ali Dibba added nine points and eight rebounds, and Rashaun Agee collected eight points and 11 rebounds.
No. 21 Arkansas 88, Auburn 75
Freshman Darius Acuff Jr. tied a career high with 31 points and made a career-best seven 3-pointers as the Razorbacks ran away from the short-handed Tigers in Fayetteville, Ark.
Billy Richmond III scored a career-high 25 points for Arkansas. He was 12-of-15 from the field with four assists, three steals and two blocked shots for the Razorbacks (19-6, 9-3 Southeastern Conference), who moved into second place behind No. 14 Florida (19-6, 10-2).
Tahaad Pettiford had 29 points and seven assists and KeShawn Murphy scored a career-high 22 points and added 12 rebounds for the Tigers (14-11, 5-7), who have lost four in a row after a four-game winning streak. Auburn played without leading scorer Keyshawn Hall (20.7 points per game), who has been benched indefinitely for disciplinary reasons, according to coach Steven Pearl.
No. 22 BYU 90, Colorado 86 (OT)
Robert Wright III set a new career high with 39 points to lead the Cougars to an overtime win against the Buffaloes in Provo, Utah.
Wright made 12 of 16 field goal attempts and all four 3-point attempts to lead short-handed BYU (19-6, 7-5 Big 12). AJ Dybantsa had a double-double with 20 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Second-leading scorer Richie Saunders went down 45 seconds into the game, left the court with an apparent leg injury and did not return. BYU coach Kevin Young had no postgame update on Saunders.
Isaiah Johnson led Colorado (14-12, 4-9) with 27 points. Barrington Hargress contributed 20 points and Bangot Dak added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Buffaloes, who have lost two straight games.
No. 24 Louisville 82, Baylor 71
Mikel Brown Jr. scored 29 points to lead the Cardinals past the Bears in a nonconference showdown in Fort Worth, Texas.
The freshman guard followed up his 45-point performance in Monday’s win over NC State by notching his seventh 20-point game of the season. He made 8 of 14 shots, including 4 of 5 from beyond the 3-point arc. He also dished out six assists and posted a season-high five steals as he helped the Cardinals (19-6) dig out of a first-half hole.
Baylor (13-12) used a 16-2 run in a less than five-minute span to take a 32-25 lead with 3:37 left in the first half after a Michael Rataj jumper. However, that was the Bears’ last bucket in the first half as they missed their last six shots. That enabled a Brown trey with 16 seconds left before halftime to tie the game at 34-all.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Honor Huff, West Virginia surge past UCF
Feb 14, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Honor Huff (3) shoots a three-point basket against UCF Knights guard Riley Kugel (2) during the first half at Addition Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images Honor Huff scored 18 of his game-high 21 points in the second half and visiting West Virginia rallied from a 14-point deficit to stop Central Florida 74-67 on Saturday night in Orlando.
Jasper Floyd added 17 for the Mountaineers (16-9, 7-5 Big 12 Conference), including a critical 3-pointer with 1:49 remaining for a 66-62 lead. Chance Moore came off the bench to chip in 12 points, while Brenen Lorient contributed 11 to go along with eight rebounds.
Huff applied the dagger by canning a 3-pointer with 59 seconds left to up the margin to seven. He added a pair of clinching free throws with 24 seconds on the clock.
Themus Fulks bounced back from a scoreless outing in his previous game in a loss at Cincinnati to lead the Knights (17-7, 6-6) with 19 points and seven assists before fouling out. Riley Kugel scored 13 points, while Chris Johnson and Jordan Burks added 10 apiece.
UCF owned a 52-38 advantage at the 11:27 mark after Fulks made a foul shot. But West Virginia rattled off the next eight points and took the lead for good on two foul shots by Huff with 2:37 on the clock.
Each team entered this game looking for answers after discouraging losses last weekend. UCF was hammered 92-72 on Sunday at Cincinnati, while West Virginia made only two of 22 3-pointers in a 70-63 home defeat against then-No. 13 Texas Tech.
The Knights came into the contest allowing 83.4 points per game in their last seven contests but clearly paid attention to the defensive end in the first half. The Mountaineers sank just 13 of 36 attempts from the field (36.1%), including a pitiful 1 of 12 on 3-pointers (8.3%).
UCF, however, managed only a 29-28 edge at halftime because it also couldn’t get going offensively. It was only 10 of 27 from the field (37%) and also got pummeled 24-16 on the glass, allowing a whopping 11 offensive rebounds.
Huff, who entered as West Virginia’s leading scorer, managed only three points on 1-of-5 shooting in the first half.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Men's hockey roundup: Slovakia wins Group B despite loss to Sweden
Feb 14, 2026; Milan, Italy; Slovakia players react after a Group B men’s ice hockey game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images MILAN, Italy — Slovakia lost the battle but won the war against Sweden on Saturday, as it clawed its way to the top of Group B on goal differential despite losing to the Nordic powerhouse 5-3, earning a bye into the men’s ice hockey quarterfinals.
In other group action, the United States recovered from a slow start to double up Denmark 6-3, Finland walloped Italy 11-0 and Latvia fought back to edge Germany 4-3 on the fourth day of the tournament.
Slovakia, Sweden and Finland each had two wins and a loss when the dust settled on the tournament’s most competitive group of the preliminary stage, but Slovakia scored in the final minute to ensure it could bypass Tuesday’s qualification round.
The winners of each of the three preliminary groups and the next best overall team automatically advance to the quarterfinals in Milan, while the remaining teams compete in a single-elimination qualification playoff.
Host Italy will go into the single-elimination playoffs after going winless through the group stage, while Groups A and C will conclude on Sunday.
SLOVAKIA VICTORIOUS IN DEFEAT
Elias Pettersson scored twice while forwards Joel Eriksson Ek, Adrian Kempe and Lucas Raymond each added goals for Sweden, the pre-tournament favorite to challenge Canada and the United States for the top of the podium.
Eriksson Ek nudged the puck over the line for a short-handed goal in the eighth minute at Santagiulia Arena but Slovakian star forward Juraj Slafkovsky leveled it less than two minutes later with a slapshot from the right wing.
Kempe scored four seconds into a power play midway through the second, putting the puck under the Slovakian goalie’s glove, but defenseman Martin Gernat answered less than three minutes later, sending the puck zipping by the Swedish goaltender’s right skate for the equalizer.
Pettersson made it 3-2 for Sweden with a five-hole shot late in the second and Raymond found Pettersson on the back post eight minutes into the third before burying one in the net himself.
Dalibor Dvorsky’s goal for Slovakia in the final minute of competition gave his side the goal differential upper hand.
Group B ended with bitter disappointment for Italy, as Finland set the tone with three goals in the first 10 minutes.
Carolina Hurricanes’ points leader Sebastian Aho, captain Mikael Granlund, Kaapo Kakko and Joel Kiviranta provided two goals each, and Miro Heiskanen, Artturi Lehkonen and Joel Armia also scored in the most lopsided win of the men’s tournament so far.
DENMARK PUSH UNITED STATES
Fans expected the favored United States to run up the score against Denmark on the penultimate day of the men’s preliminary stage. But the Danes showed they would not be bossed around in the Group C contest as they went into the locker room for the first intermission up 2-1.
Forward Jack Eichel got to work setting things back on track for the Americans in the second period, where he assisted on Brady Tkachuk’s second goal of the tournament before netting one of his own less than a minute later.
Eichel’s Vegas Golden Knights teammate Noah Hanifin made it 4-2 and, while Denmark’s defenseman Phillip Bruggisser trimmed the score with less than three seconds before the second intermission, the Americans kept them scoreless in the third.
“Give them credit, they played really hard, they were opportunistic,” said Eichel. “No game’s going to be easy, we realize that, and it was good of the group to continue to play our game for 60 minutes.”
The United States plays Germany and winless Denmark faces Latvia on Sunday in the final two Group C games.
LATVIA HOLDS OFF GERMANY
Latvia twice fell behind on goals from Lukas Reichel and Lukas Kalble, with Dans Locmelis evening the game both times.
Final-period goals by Eduards Tralmaks and Renars Krastenbergs had the Latvians cruising, until Tim Stutzle scored late for Germany.
Down 0-1, Latvia tied it with a power-play goal four minutes from the end of the opening period when Locmelis was hovering near the post and slammed home Zemgus Girgensons’ pass. Germany took just over a minute to regain the lead through Kalble. Playing with a 5-on-3 advantage, Locmelis equalized again, slamming the puck into the roof of the net, and Latvia went in front through Tralmaks just after killing a penalty. Krastenbergs gave Latvia a two-goal cushion with less than nine minutes remaining but had to hang on in the closing stages when the Germans pulled their goalie for an extra skater and Stutzle scored with over two minutes left.
Latvia wraps up the first round of its Milan campaign on Sunday with a Group C game against Denmark.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Sports
Josh Hubbard, hot-shooting Mississippi State outlast Ole Miss
Feb 14, 2026; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Josh Hubbard (12) drives to the basket as Mississippi Rebels forward Malik Dia (0) defends during the first half at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images Junior guard Josh Hubbard scored 32 points on 12-for-16 shooting and dished out a game-high six assists to lead the most accurate Mississippi State shooting performance of the season in a 90-78 win over host Ole Miss on Saturday night in Oxford.
Mississippi State (12-13, 4-8 Southeastern Conference) had shot better than 50% only four times all season but shot 62.1% (18-for-29) in the first half and finished at a season-best 56.9% (33-for-58) from the field. The Bulldogs also shot 11-for-24 (45.8%) from 3-point range, which tied the team’s season high for long-range makes and was the second-best accuracy from distance.
Hubbard scored 16 of his points in the first half when the Bulldogs built a 19-point lead, 47-28, after 20 minutes and helped them end a run of eight losses in their previous nine games. It was the fifth 30-plus scoring performance of the season for Hubbard, who had 31 points in a home loss to Tennessee on Wednesday.
State jumped out to a 13-3 lead in the first five minutes of the game, with Achor Achor scoring the team’s first 11 points and Hubbard dropping a jumper to end the run.
Ole Miss pulled within 24-21 on AJ Storr’s layup with 7:43 left in the half, but State responded with the next seven points, including a Hubbard 3-pointer. The Rebels closed within five, but the Bulldogs finished the half on a 16-2 run with seven more points coming from Hubbard. Ole Miss never pulled closer than 12 points in the second half.
Hubbard was joined in double figure scoring by Achor, who tallied 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting and also grabbed five rebounds. Jayden Epps added 12 points and seven rebounds.
Ole Miss (11-14, 3-9) has lost its last seven games and struggled to find offense aside from Malik Dia and reserve Storr.
Dia tallied 32 points on 11-for-20 shooting and pulled down seven boards. Storr scored 21 points on 8-for-16 shooting while grabbing six rebounds and dishing five assists. No other Rebel topped six points.
–Field Level Media
Honor Huff, West Virginia surge past UCF
Men's hockey roundup: Slovakia wins Group B despite loss to Sweden
