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Georgetown hopes to continue turnaround vs. Creighton

NCAA Basketball: Georgetown at ButlerJan 31, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Georgetown Hoyas center Vince Iwuchukwu (3) celebrates after a play against the Butler Bulldogs during the first half at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Surging Georgetown hosts Creighton on Wednesday night in Washington, looking to match its longest Big East regular-season winning streak in over a decade.

As recently as two weeks ago, the Hoyas (12-10, 4-7 Big East) were looking up at everyone else in the league standings after a seventh consecutive conference loss in what was beginning to look like a lost campaign in Year 3 under coach Ed Cooley.

Since then, Georgetown has flipped the script and rattled off three straight wins — at Providence, vs. DePaul and most recently at Butler — to join a crowded group of four schools tied for sixth place heading into this week’s Big East games.

Georgetown last won four straight Big East regular-season games in 2015. That was also the last time the Hoyas earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament under John Thompson III.

So what’s been the difference in the Hoyas’ midseason turnaround?

Cooley thinks the return of big man Vince Iwuchukwu, who missed 10 games due to a medical procedure, has changed his team for the good.

“Having Vince (Iwuchukwu) back in the lineup for a period of time has really helped us,” Cooley said.

The 7-foot-1 senior transfer from St. John’s is third on the team in scoring at 10.8 points per game behind guards KJ Lewis (14.9) and Malik Mack (13.9).

“I wasn’t coming here to score,” Iwuchukwu explained.

“I came here to play defense, protect the rim make sure that guys can play defense to the best of their abilities.”

Despite his intentions, Iwuchukwu has come on during this three-game run by averaging 14.7 points and has expanded his game by making 3 of 3 3-pointers. Iwuchukwu had missed his previous eight attempts in his collegiate career, including four this season.

In the first meeting on Jan. 13, Creighton (12-10, 6-5) outlasted Georgetown 86-83 in overtime behind Austin Swartz’s career-high 33 points.

Since then, the Bluejays have struggled by losing three of four while Swartz has scored a combined 44 points in that stretch after his outburst against the Hoyas that included eight 3-pointers.

With a NET ranking of 76 on Feb. 2, Creighton is in jeopardy of missing the NCAA Tournament after five straight bids that includes three trips into the second weekend.

“You just keep working. That’s all you can do,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said after then-No. 2 UConn trounced the Bluejays 85-58. “As I told them, you want the goal to be as a teammate, what can I do to make my teammates’ job easier? … We just need to take another step with that.”

–Field Level Media

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Spacestation Gaming stay hot in Overwatch Champions Series

Syndication: The Courier-JournalA custom gaming keyboard backlit with red LED lights waits for tactile input before Manual took on Boone County in a Rocket League match, which was streamed on YouTube on Thursday, March 5, 2020.

Spacestation Gaming recorded their second win in as many days by posting a 3-2 victory over Disguised on Sunday in the Overwatch Champions Series 2026 — North America Stage 1.

The Overwatch 2 online competition, with a prize pool of $75,000, features six teams playing a regular season with a round-robin format from March 21 to April 5. All matches are first-to-three.

The top four teams advance to the regional playoffs, which are April 10-12 and feature a double-elimination bracket. All matches are first-to-three except for the grand final, which is first-to-four.

Spacestation Gaming followed up their 3-0 victory over LuneX on Saturday by outlasting Disguised on Sunday.

Disguised jumped out to a fast start by sandwiching a 2-1 victory on Lijiang Tower and a 3-1 triumph on Aatlis around a 3-0 setback on Rialto. Spacestation Gaming, however, bounced back with a 3-1 win on Numbani and 89.69m-62.11m victory on Runasapi.

LuneX Gaming rebounded from Saturday’s setback with a 3-0 victory over Extinction.

LuneX notched a 2-1 win on Lijiang Tower, a 128.06m-51.42m victory on Esperanca and 3-2 triumph on Suravasa.

Saturday’s Week 2 matches:

–Team Liquid vs. Dallas Fuel

–Disguised vs. Extinction

Standings

1. Spacestation Gaming, 2-0, +4

2. Dallas Fuel, 1-0, +2

3. Team Liquid, 1-0, +1

4. LuneX Gaming, 1-1, 0

5. Disguised, 0-2, -3

6. Extinction, 0-2, -4

Prize pool:

1. $30,000, qualifies for Champions Clash, NA Stage 2

2. $15,000, qualifies for Champions Clash, NA Stage 2

3. $12,000, qualifies for NA Stage 2

4. $8,000, qualifies for NA Stage 2

5-6. $5,000, qualifies for NA Stage 2 promotion/relegation

–Field Level Media

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OpTic Texas atop final standings at CDL Major 2 qualifying

Syndication: Arizona RepublicA backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.

Jordan Woodruff

OpTic Texas finished with the best record at 10-1, including a win on Sunday in the conclusion of Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major qualifying.

The 12 Call of Duty League teams were playing a full qualifying round robin to determine seeding for the second major of the season, to be held March 27-29 in Marston Green, England, as part of the DreamHack Birmingham event.

First place in the standings was worth 100 CDL points for OpTic Texas, who along with the next five teams will head straight into the Stage 2 Major playoffs. The teams in seventh through 10th place will compete in a play-in round.

Boston Breach and Cloud9 New York, which finished 11th and 12th, did not advance.

The Stage 2 Major champion will receive $150,000 and 100 Call of Duty League points. The runner-up will get $90,000 and 75 CDL points.

On Sunday, the Vancouver Surge outlasted the Riyadh Falcons 3-2. Vancouver opened with a 250-237 win on Scar Hardpoint and 6-4 win on Raid Search and Destroy. But the Falcons drew even with wins on Scar Overload (6-3) and Exposure Hardpoint (250-83). The Surge captured the last map, Colossus Search and Destroy, 6-2, for the win.

Kenyen “Capsidal” Sutton of the United States was match MVP with 105 kills to 101 deaths as the only Surge player in positive numbers.

The Los Angeles Thieves went the distance to down Paris Gentle Mates 3-2. The Thieves started fast with a 250-107 win on Den Hardpoint and 6-4 win on Colossus Search and Destroy. PARIVISION rallied with a 5-3 win on Exposure Overload and 250-176 victory on Colossus Hardpoint. Los Angeles took the match with a 6-2 win on Raid Search and Destroy.

Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez of France was match MVP with 90 kills and a plus-6 kill-death differential for Los Angeles.

The Miami Heretics swept Boston Breach, winning 250-157 on Den Hardpoint, 6-4 on Exposure Search and Destroy and 6-2 on Exposure Overload.

Diego “SupeR” Escudero of Spain was match MVP with 59 kills and a plus-15 differential for Miami.

OpTic Texas closed out the week with a sweep of Toronto KOI, winning 250-216 on Den Hardpoint, 6-3 on Raid Search and Destroy and 5-4 on Scar Overload.

Brandon “Dashy” Otell of Canada was match MVP, pacing OpTic with 64 kills and a plus-18 differential.

Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major qualifying final standings (match record, map differential, CDL points)

1. OpTic Texas, 10-1, +21, 100

2. Miami Heretics, 7-4, +11, 70

3. Los Angeles Thieves, 7-4, +9, 70

4. GS Minnesota, 6-5, 0, 60

5. Riyadh Falcons, 6-5, +6, 60

6. FaZe Vegas, 6-5, +3, 60

7. Carolina Royal Ravens, 6-5, 0, 60

8. Toronto KOI, 5-6, -1, 50

9. Vancouver Surge, 4-7, -1, 40

10. Paris Gentle Mates, 4-7, -4, 40

11. Boston Breach, 3-9, -13, none

12. Cloud9 New York, 2-9, -20, none

–Field Level Media

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Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka sails through third round at Miami Open

Tennis: Miami OpenMar 22, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Aryna Sabalenka hits a forehand against Caty McNally (USA) (not pictured) on day six of the 2026 Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka won 10 of the last 12 games in dispatching Caty McNally 6-4, 6-2 in one hour, 25 minutes in a third-round match on Sunday night at the Miami Open.

Sabalenka of Belarus, coming off the BNP Paribas Open championship at Indian Wells, Calif., is defending her title in Miami Gardens, Fla.

It wasn’t all that easy, as Sabalenka blew a 4-2 lead in the first set for 4-4, then needed six deuces to hold serve — despite a 15-30 start — before breaking McNally’s serve for the third time to win the set.

Sabalenka converted 5 of 8 break points in the match, to 2 of 3 for McNally, and won 67.4% of her first serve points (29 of 43), to 55.3% (21 of 38) for her American opponent.

Next up for Sabalenka is No. 23 Qinwen Zheng of China, who had a much tougher match in beating 15th-seeded Madison Keys of the United States 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours, 17 minutes.

“The ball was just like a bomb for me at the beginning,” Zheng said of the early going against Keys. “I couldn’t react. I haven’t had this speed of match in a long time.”

Zheng would catch up, finishing with 31 winners — 23 in the last two sets — to Keys’ 15. Zheng had more aces (11-4) and fewer double faults (3-5). She converted four of 13 break-point opportunities, but Keys succeeded on just 2 of 12.

Sabalenka won the first six meetings against Zheng, who won two of the next three of nine total.

“I’ll focus on myself. I’ll focus on my game. I’ll try to stay focused from the first point ‘til the last,” Sabalenka said of playing Zheng. “She’s an incredible player. We played a lot of matches. I have a good record against her, but it doesn’t say anything. It’s always tough battles. I’m always looking forward to play her. It’s always a fight and I really enjoy it.”

Third-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan defeated No. 27 Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4. No. 5 Jessica Pegula downed No. 26 Leah Fernandez of Canada 6-2, 6-2.

Other high seeds didn’t make it out of the round. No. 7 Jasmine Paolini of Italy was knocked out by No. 25 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. No. 9 Elina Svitolina of Ukaine fell to American Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 7-5. No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia was eliminated by No. 34 Jaqueline Cristian of Romania 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5).

Australia’s Talia Gibson, coming off of a quarterfinal run at Indian Wells where she earned her first three top-20 wins, notched her fifth on Sunday. Gibson, who beat Naomi Osaka in straight sets on Saturday, downed 18th-seeded Iva Jovic of the United States 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday.

Gibson did not face a break point while converting four of eight.

–Field Level Media

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