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Graham Ike stars in return as No. 6 Gonzaga handles Saint Mary's

NCAA Basketball: St. Mary's at GonzagaJan 31, 2026; Spokane, Washington, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Jalen Warley (8) knocks the ball away from Saint Mary’s Gaels forward Paulius Murauskas (23) in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images

Graham Ike scored 30 points in his return from an ankle injury to lead No. 6 Gonzaga to a 73-65 victory over Saint Mary’s on Saturday night in West Coast Conference play at Spokane, Wash.

Jalen Warley had 10 points and seven rebounds and Emmanuel Innocenti also had 10 points for the Bulldogs (22-1, 10-0 WCC), who won their 15th consecutive contest.

Ike was 11-of-20 shooting — including 3 of 5 from 3-point range — to post his second 30-point outing of the season. Ike missed the previous three games.

Joshua Dent scored 16 points and Paulius Murauskas added 15 for the Gaels (19-4, 8-2). Dillan Shaw had 13 points for Saint Mary’s, which has dropped two of its last four games.

Gonzaga shot 46.6% from the field, including 6 of 17 from 3-point range, while beating Saint Mary’s for the 28th time in the past 38 meetings.

The Gaels made just 34% of their attempts and were 6 of 21 from behind the arc.

Shaw’s 3-pointer early in the second half gave the Gaels a 44-38 advantage.

Gonzaga answered with a 10-2 run and took a two-point lead on Ike’s turnaround jumper with 12:59 left.

Dent followed with a layup to tie the score before the Bulldogs rattled off eight more points. A basket by Warley capped it and gave Gonzaga a 56-48 lead with 10:12 to play.

Mantas Juzenas drilled a 3-pointer to pull Saint Mary’s within 60-56 with 8:35 left.

The Zags held off the charge and the lead was 71-61 after Ike made a trey with 1:27 left to play en route to closing it out.

Murauskas scored 13 first-half points to help Saint Mary’s hold a 38-34 halftime lead. Ike had 14 first-half points for the Bulldogs.

Ike’s dunk gave Gonzaga a 23-13 lead with 8:15 left in the first half before the Gaels dominated the rest of the half.

Saint Mary’s scored nine straight points to cut its deficit to one and later moved ahead at 33-32 on Dent’s 3-pointer with 59 seconds remaining.

–Field Level Media

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Five Matches WWE Should Book for Wrestlemania 2026

We are a few months away from WrestleMania and two weeks away from Elimination Chamber. Despite the excitement in the air from the WWE Universe, there is growing frustration internally as the WM card has been tough to navigate for the creative team. 

Reports suggest Triple H does not have a concrete plan for the WM. As of this writing, there’s one match announced for the “Showcase of Immortals.” CM Punk will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns, who won the Royal Rumble. The showcase between two future Hall of Fame players will headline one night of WM. This will be Reigns’ tenth main event in WrestleMania history, cementing his legacy even further. Look for these two to put on a clinic, but what about the rest of the card? Here are five matches I believe will take place at WM.

A Fatal-Four Way for the Undisputed Championship

WWE, we do not want or need another singles match between Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre of any kind. Having Rhodes win the Elimination Chamber match and choose would result in a sigh from the WWE Universe. I have a solution for that, which is to add two more superstars to the mix. The first one is Jacob Fatu, who has been wreaking havoc in the main event scene since returning to the blue brand months ago. The second one would be Sami Zayn, who fell short against Drew in Saudi Arabia at the Royal Rumble. During the main event of SmackDown, the Undisputed Champion interfered in hopes of deterring Cody from winning. That did not work, and it looks like we are headed towards the fifteenth (feels like it) match between the two. Having it as a fatal four-way for the title is something new and fresh that keeps the animosity alive between all competitors.

A Multi-Tag Team Ladder Match for the Women’s Tag Team Titles

This seems like a no-brainer given how stacked the division is. Throw in a ladder to climb and retrieve the belts, and this could be a match to steal the show. Have Rhea/Iyo face the Bella Twins, Charlotte/Alexa, Lash/Nia, and Bayley/Lyra. This would feature plenty of female superstars on the card and add some ample time; it could be a recipe for success.

Bianca Belair vs Jade Cargill for the Women’s World Title

This is all contingent on Belair making her return before WrestleMania, but this match would be electric. Reports suggest Triple H is still uncertain who Jade will face at WM, so why not be Bianca Belair? Belair has been out with a finger injury since last year’s Mania, and could miss out this time, though if Belair is healthy, these two would most certainly put on a show for the crowd.

Dominik Mysterio vs Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship

Like the previous match, this all depends on whether Chris Jericho returns to WWE before WM. He is still under contract with AEW, but it ends soon. As for the IC champ, Dominik has also been dealing with a shoulder injury as of late. In the case we could make this a reality, the promo battle between these two would be epic, as Mysterio would get heel heat instantly. Jericho would likely lose this match, but having him back on WWE soil would be awesome.

“El Original” Grande Americano vs El Grande Americano in a Mask vs Mask match

Who would have thought a Mask vs Mask match would be so intriguing in 2026? Well, that is what happens when two superstars with the same gimmick collide at ‘Mania. It is believed that Chad Gable is “El Original” Grande Americano, while Ludvig Kaiser is portraying El Grande Americano. When Gable was put on the shelf with an injury, Kaiser took over his gimmick and ran with it. One memorable moment in the Royal Rumble was when Gable returned with his gimmick and went face-to-face with Kaiser. Now, the two are likely headed toward a mask vs mask match. Whoever loses might face the consequences and get a rebrand after the ‘Mania season is over.

These are just five matches WWE could consider for their biggest event of the year. Whether or not they happen is anyone’s guess, but it would give them momentum. Let’s hope Triple H and the creative team can deliver this year.

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NBA Slam Dunk Contest Falls Flat Once Again

NBA All-Star Saturday Night honored its self-imposed curfew and ended before 8 p.m. Eastern, allowing viewers in certain markets to catch the end of “Wheel of Fortune.”

Fittingly, the conclusion of the Slam Dunk Contest that capped the festivities in Inglewood, Calif., recalled a would-be “Before & After” puzzle: VINCE CARTER BRYANT.

There stood Vince Carter, TV analyst and first dunk champ of the millennium, offering encouragement to San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant. Bryant needed a 47.5 on his second dunk of the final round to eclipse Miami’s Keshad Johnson after delivering a perfect 50 with his first.

A competition that introduced its greenhorn participants with fictitious action movie trailers had at last attained drama worthy of Tinseltown.

Instead, it limped to an anticlimactic finale as fans settled for lackluster over blockbuster again.

Johnson and Bryant defeated Jaxson Hayes of the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic rookie Jase Richardson to reach the finals. Each took part in the contest for the first time.

Along the way, Richardson fell on his back and appeared to bump his head after an ill-timed attempt on a 360 lob. He emerged uninjured.

As actor, comedian and noted roundball lover Michael Rapaport took to X to suggest the NBA “cancel this shit before someone gets hurt,” the men dunked on. Someone needed to win, and indeed, people wanted to, if only because it beat the alternative.

“Just losing in general, no matter what it is. I could care less if it was an Uno game, I could care less if it was running lines, I could care less if it’s a shooting competition,” Bryant said. “I feel like losing is something that burns. I just hate it. That’s just something you don’t want to feel.”

The same social media platforms that lazily lambasted the field for being relative unknowns featured footage of Bryant executing the very dunk he was aiming for: bouncing the ball off the glass and finishing with a thunderous reverse.

“I’ve been doing that dunk since I was 14 years old,” said Bryant, a 20-year-old from Riverside, Calif. “Just the ball didn’t roll my way tonight.”

Bryant settled for a different dunk to produce a score knowing it wouldn’t top the ever-smiling and dancing Johnson, who took the court alongside rapper E-40 and skied over him for his initial first-round dunk.

Johnson surely did his part to uphold the hype in a contest that has given fans only four participants in each of the past five All-Star weekends. As ever, the judges’ table housed dunking royalty representing an era when players’ attitudes toward the contest and game were different.

Kudos, then, to Carter. While he might have lingered around Bryant for a few seconds too long as Saturday afternoon approached evening out Cali way, he admirably threw support instead of shade. That produced what the peppy Johnson called “contagious” energy.

“I feel like he loved being out here. He loved giving back,” Johnson said. “Him being able to embrace me, embrace the other participants. You know when something is real, and I feel like his love, his knowledge he was trying to get to us and him being accessible to us, it was real love, and I felt that.”

Now for coaxing contemporary dunkers approaching Carter’s profile into the contest, too.

Whether dunks take flight outside LA or elsewhere, it shouldn’t take incentives to give fans a good show, but here we are.

Someone should grab the wheel, or else the “Wheel” could look even more attractive next year.

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Baba Miller, Moustapha Thiam propel Cincinnati past Utah

NCAA Basketball: Utah at CincinnatiFeb 15, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats center Moustapha Thiam, back, hugs forward Baba Miller after their team’s win against the Utah Utes at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Baba Miller slammed home a dunk with 36.9 seconds remaining and grabbed a key rebound moments later as host Cincinnati rallied for a 69-65 win over Utah in Big 12 play on Sunday afternoon.

Miller finished with 13 points and seven rebounds while Moustapha Thiam added 15 and 10, respectively, to send Cincinnati (14-12, 6-7 Big 12) to its third straight victory.

Day Day Thomas led the Bearcats with 16 points and Keyshuan Tillery added 10 off the bench.

Don McHenry scored 18 points and Keanu Dawes added 16 to go along with 14 rebounds for Utah (9-16, 1-11), which fell to 0-9 in road games this season.

Ibrahima Traore converted a layup with 4:20 remaining and started a 6-0 run that put Utah up 65-60 with 1:56 left in a back-and-forth game.

Miller’s dunk with 36.9 seconds left gave Cincinnati a 66-65 lead. Dawes missed a straight-away 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining and Miller grabbed the rebound. Thomas converted two free throws with 18 seconds left for a three-point lead.

McHenry was long on a 3-pointer with four seconds left that would have tied the game.

Cincinnati opened the game with a bang as Thiam won the opening tip to Thomas, who dribbled down the right side and lobbed to Miller for an alley-oop dunk in the opening four seconds of the game. Miller was honored before the game with a game ball by head coach Wes Miller and given a standing ovation for reaching the 1,000-point plateau in his career against UCF last Sunday.

The Bearcats took an early 14-8 lead before Utah ran off 10 straight points thanks to 3-pointers from Kendyl Sanders and Dawes and four points from Terrence Brown.

Utah was up 20-16 before Cincinnati answered with a 12-0 run, highlighted by consecutive 3-pointers from Tillery. Eventually the Bearcats built their biggest lead of the half at 32-23 on a Miller dunk with five minutes left.

But the Utes rallied with an 11-5 run and trailed by only three at 37-34 at halftime despite Cincinnati’s 18-6 advantage in the paint.

–Field Level Media

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