Sports
Free-throw shooting propels Arizona State to win at Utah
Feb 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
Sports
Brooks Koepka embraces return to Phoenix Open and its "chaos"
Feb 12, 2022; Scottsdale, Arizona, USA; Brooks Koepka reacts after making par from 17 on the 18th hole during the third round of the WM Phoenix Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images Well before Brooks Koepka captured back-to-back U.S. Open titles … and won back-to-back PGA Championships … and earned generational wealth by jumping to LIV Golf, he was a 24-year-old fighting to claim his first PGA Tour title.
That’s when Koepka and the Phoenix Open became intertwined forever. Koepka collected his first PGA Tour victory in 2015 at TPC Scottsdale, which set the stage for his five major championships and his rise to No. 1 in the World Golf Rank.
Koepka, 35, has returned to the Phoenix Open field for the first time in four years as he reacquaints himself with old haunts in the wake of his recent split with LIV Golf.
During his years away, did he yearn to tune in to the Phoenix Open and its frenzied fans? Uh, not exactly.
“No, I was asleep when this was going on,” said Koepka, who’d be halfway around the world. “Kind of tough to watch.
“But, yeah, it’s a golf course I really like, a tournament I like coming to. I think this is always a comfortable event for me.”
The muscle memory associated with Koepka’s pair of Phoenix Open crowns — he also won in 2021 – ought to be valuable this week. Not just remembering where to place the ball as he whips around TPC Scottsdale, but recalling the joy of interacting with the raucous galleries.
“I said it earlier, I think last week, I enjoy the chaos,” Koepka said. “It’s fun. It can kind of get you in between shots. Gives you something to either kind of laugh at or whatever’s going on, there’s always something to see. But, yeah, it’s a fun week.”
This marks just his second tournament since being reinstated by the Tour. Two weeks ago, Koepka finished in a tie for 56th at the Farmers Insurance Open.
While his driving average (306.0 yards) and his short game around the green rank among the Tour’s best in the early going this season, his putting ranks 172nd on Tour as he’s losing 2.4 strokes per round compared to the norm.
“I’ve been putting pretty poorly for the good side of two years,” Koepka said. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ve got to figure it out.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Women's Top 25 roundup: No. 22 Maryland scores big road win over No. 12 Michigan State
Mar 24, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Brenda Frese looks on during the first half against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images Oluchi Okananwa scored 23 points to lead No. 22 Maryland to an emphatic 86-70 road win over No. 12 Michigan State on Wednesday in East Lansing, Michigan.
The Terrapins (18-6, 6-6 Big Ten Conference) went on a 21-5 tear in the second quarter that included an 8-0 run, building a double-digit-point lead that buoyed the Terps for much of the second half.
The Spartans (19-4, 8-4) cut a 10-point halftime deficit to six early in the third quarter, but Maryland responded with an 11-2 run that gave the Terps a cushion the rest of the way. Okananwa led five Maryland scorers in double figures, with Yarden Garzon adding 16 points while playing all 40 minutes.
Saylor Poffenbarger added 13 points, and reserves Kyndal Walker and Mir McLean scored 14 and 10 points off the bench. Grace VanSlooten led Michigan State with 19 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
No. 15 Baylor 76, Cincinnati 70
Taliah Scott’s 26 points helped the Bears avoid a stunning upset on the road in Big 12 Conference play versus the Bearcats.
Baylor (20-4, 9-2 Big 12) led a Cincinnati team languishing near the bottom of the league standings by just two points early in the fourth quarter, but Scott found Darianna Littlepage-Buggs for a basket and then connected on a 3-pointer to help launch an 11-5 spurt for the Bears.
Scott’s 5-of-11 3-point shooting made a huge difference for the Bears, as Cincinnati (8-15, 3-8) connected on more field goals as a team (26-of-60 to Baylor’s 23-of-63). However, the Bearcats managed just 6-of-18 shooting from deep.
Mya Perry scored 20 points for Cincinnati.
No. 8 Michigan 88, Nebraska 76
Olivia Olson delivered a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double, and Syla Sword poured in 28 points as the Wolverines ran past the Cornhuskers in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The Wolverines (20-3, 11-1 Big Ten) rallied from a narrow halftime deficit, but not before Nebraska (16-7, 5-7) scored the first two hoops after intermission. The two went back-and-forth until Michigan broke a 62-62 stalemate with a 9-2 run that stretched into the final period.
The Wolverines put the Huskers away for good with another 9-2 spurt to close out the game, holding Nebraska without a point for a stretch lasting almost three minutes.
Amiah Hargrove and Britt Prince led the Huskers with 16 points apiece in the loss.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Blue Jackets stay hot with season-sweep shutout over Blackhawks
Feb 4, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets center Mathieu Olivier (24) carries the puck against the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images Jet Greaves made 21 saves for Columbus’ second consecutive shutout in their 4-0 win over visiting Chicago on Wednesday night.
It was the final game before the Olympic break for both teams.
The Blue Jackets shut out the New Jersey Devils 3-0 in Newark on Monday night behind Elvis Merzlikins. Greaves got the fourth shutout of his career and second of the season on Wednesday.
Columbus has not allowed a goal in 146:25 of game time.
Defensemen Zach Werenski and Ivan Provorov, Danton Heinen and Sean Monahan scored for the Blue Jackets, who won their seventh straight and have 11 wins in their last 12. Charlie Coyle had two assists.
Spencer Knight stopped 16 shots for the Blackhawks, who lost for the sixth time in seven games (1-4-2).
Goals by defensemen gave the Blue Jackets a 2-0 lead in the first period.
Werenski got his 20th, 4:46 into the game when his shot from the bottom of the left circle off the rush deflected in off the skates of both Blackhawks’ defensemen, Louis Crevier and Alex Vlasic.
Provorov scored with 7:10 left in the opening period on another shot from the bottom of the left circle. It came just seconds after Chicago’s Ryan Donato leveled Columbus’ Mason Marchment, who got the second assist, with a check at the top of the left circle.
Heinen made it 3-0, 2:55 into the second period to capitalize on a turnover by the Blackhawk’s Nick Foligno in his own zone. Heinen also beat Knight from the bottom of the left circle.
Monahan added an empty-net goal with 4:27 left.
Chicago defenseman Wyatt Kaiser left with a lower-body injury after Werenski was checked awkwardly into Kaiser’s leg a little over seven minutes into the first period. That left Chicago with five defensemen for the remainder of the contest.
The Blackhawks’ Colton Dach left the contest early in the second period with an undisclosed injury.
The Blue Jackets’ Kirill Marchenko missed his second game with an illness.
-Field Level Media
Brooks Koepka embraces return to Phoenix Open and its "chaos"
Women's Top 25 roundup: No. 22 Maryland scores big road win over No. 12 Michigan State
