Sports
Jaylen Brown returns to drop 30 in Celtics' rout of Bucks
Feb 1, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) controls the ball while Milwaukee Bucks guard Ryan Rollins (13) defends during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images Jaylen Brown returned after a one-game absence and had 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 107-79 triumph over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.
Brown, who sat out Friday night’s 112-93 victory over Sacramento with a sore hamstring, made 12 of 20 field goal attempts, including 4 of 6 shots from beyond the 3-point arc. His rebound total matched a season high.
Boston’s Anfernee Simons came off the bench and scored 27 points. He made 6 of 10 3-point attempts. Derrick White added 17 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the Celtics, who wrapped up a four-game homestand with a 3-1 record.
Center Neemias Queta also turned in another strong performance for Boston. He finished the game with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Ryan Rollins led Milwaukee with 25 points, six rebounds and seven assists. The Bucks received 16 points from Kyle Kuzma and eight points and 12 rebounds from Bobby Portis.
Milwaukee shot 29 of 82 from the field (35.4%) and was outrebounded 52-40.
The result extended Milwaukee’s losing streak to five games. The Bucks have lost eight of their last nine.
Milwaukee scored the game’s first 12 points, but it was 26-26 after Simons made a 3-pointer in the final second of the first quarter. The Celtics took their first lead on a Payton Pritchard 3-pointer with 11:36 left in the first half.
Brown converted a driving layup in the final second and Boston led 56-42 at halftime.
Boston extended its advantage to 68-47 on a Brown 3-pointer with 9:10 remaining in the third. Milwaukee got within 13 points with 1:13 left in the third, but Boston was up 78-61 entering the fourth.
The Celtics had their largest lead after Simons’ final 3-pointer made it 107-76 with 1:48 to play.
Boston made 15 of its 42 3-point attempts (35.7%) in the win, and had an 11-1 edge in fastbreak points.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Fresh off jolting rival, No. 14 UNC turns attention to Miami
Feb 7, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Seth Trimble (7) celebrates with teammates after the game at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images If North Carolina coach Hubert Davis is hyped, imagine what his players must be feeling.
The 14th-ranked Tar Heels (19-4, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) are set to visit Miami (18-5, 7-3) for a conference tilt on Tuesday night. The game could represent an emotional challenge for North Carolina, as the Tar Heels are coming off a thrilling 71-68 win over fourth-ranked Duke on Saturday night.
“I’m still a little bit numb,” Davis said after the dramatic home win over North Carolina’s biggest rival.
As for the Hurricanes, they have had some extreme highs and lows in recent years, reaching the NCAA Final Four for the first time in program history in 2023 before suffering through two straight losing seasons, including an embarrassing 7-24 record in 2024-25.
Jai Lucas — in his first season as a head coach — has turned around the Hurricanes. And Lucas, 37, knows the Tar Heels well because he was a Duke assistant/associate head coach for the past three seasons.
The Hurricanes are not deep — they got just seven bench points in their most recent game, a 74-68 win at Boston College on Saturday. Miami also is last in the ACC in 3-point-percentage defense (35.3) and just 12th in 3-point shooting on offense (34.2).
But what the Hurricanes do well is score inside, which is why they lead the ACC in field-goal percentage (51.1).
“That’s how we’re built,” Lucas said. “We have a formula of points in the paint. We’re big. We’re physical. We have to fight for our identity.”
Miami, which is 12-2 at home, starts an imposing front line of 6-foot-11, 265-pound Ernest Udeh Jr. along with Malik Reneau (6-9, 235) and Shelton Henderson (6-6, 240). Even shooting guard Dante Allen looks like a linebacker at 6-4, 220.
The fifth starter is point guard Tre Donaldson, who plays bigger than his listed size (6-2, 195). Donaldson is second on Miami in scoring (15.9) and ranks fourth in the ACC in assists (6.2). Donaldson typically closes strong, which was evident on Saturday as he scored 13 of his 14 points in the second half.
Donaldson also does a great job of getting the ball to Reneau, who ranks fifth in the ACC in scoring (20.0), sixth in field-goal percentage (56.5) and 17th in rebounding (6.5). Reneau is a master of scoring in the paint, using glass often.
Udeh ranks second in the ACC in rebounding (9.6).
Henderson ranks 19th in scoring (14.5). He’s also been efficient, ranking third in field-goal percentage (61.5).
Allen, a freshman averaging 6.6 points, has stepped in for starter Tru Washington, who has been out due to personal reasons.
Meanwhile, the Tar Heels are big, too — or at least tall — as they are led by Caleb Wilson (6-10, 215) and Henri Veesaar (7-0, 225).
Wilson ranks fourth in the ACC in scoring (20.2) and field-goal percentage (58.5) and third in rebounding (9.6). Veesaar is 10th in scoring (16.6), fifth in rebounds and second in field-goal percentage (62.6).
North Carolina’s only other double-figure scorer is Seth Trimble (14.2). Trimble, as every basketball fan in North Carolina knows, hit the last-second 3-pointer to beat Duke on Saturday.
“It’s special,” Trimble said of his shot. “I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 15 Vanderbilt on rebound against Auburn after surprising loss
Feb 7, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Tyler Tanner (3) and Oklahoma Sooners guard Dayton Forsythe (7) fight for the loose ball during the second half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images Searching for a bounce-back performance, No. 15 Vanderbilt will look for its first victory at Auburn in a decade when the Southeastern Conference opponents meet on Tuesday.
Vanderbilt (19-4, 6-4 SEC) had its three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday by lowly Oklahoma, which had lost its last nine games. The Commodores never led in the surprising home loss and trailed by 15 with 2:20 left before rallying in a 92-91 setback.
Vanderbilt still is off to its best 23-game start since 2007-08 (also 19-4 before reaching 24-4), but head coach Mark Byington knows his team can’t afford a slide in conference play.
“In this high level of sports, you get what you deserve, and we did not play well,” Byington said. “We obviously didn’t play well, and we weren’t ready to play. … We’ve got to go back and figure it out and learn from it and we’ve got to fix some things. We can’t ever do this again.”
The Commodores, who haven’t won at Auburn since Feb. 13, 2016, are led by breakout sophomore Tyler Tanner. After averaging 5.7 points per game in a reserve role as a freshman, Tanner ranks fifth in the SEC with 18.6 points per game.
Tanner has shouldered the load of Vanderbilt’s injured backcourt, as second-leading scorer Duke Miles (16.6 ppg) has missed the last three games with a knee injury and Frankie Collins (7.8 points, 4.7 assists per contest) hasn’t played since Dec. 17 as he also deals with an injured knee.
“I’m just proud of his resiliency,” Byington said of Tanner, who poured in a career-high 37 points against Oklahoma, 15 in the final two minutes. “He was fighting and playing as hard as he could, and he almost got us back into it.”
Byington noted that Miles and Collins don’t have timetables for returns, but they could be back before the end of the regular season.
Auburn (14-9, 5-5), meanwhile, is out to avoid its first set of consecutive home losses since February 2021. A year removed from their second Final Four appearance in program history, the Tigers are 11th in the SEC standings with a month remaining in the regular season.
First-year head coach Steven Pearl’s team held a 10-point first-half lead against rival Alabama on Saturday, before allowing 59 points after halftime in a 96-92 home loss. Auburn won’t have much time to lick its wounds with another Quad 1 opportunity around the corner.
“You’ve got to have a short memory because you’ve got such a quick turnaround on Tuesday against another really good offensive team,” Pearl said. “Vanderbilt runs a ton of offensive sets, so it’s going to be really hard to break that down to show the guys. I’ve got to do a good job of really identifying areas that we got exposed.”
Vanderbilt ranks 12th in the nation with 88.9 points per game, while Auburn allows 78.4 ppg — third most in the SEC.
Hoping to steer the Tigers away from the NCAA Tournament bubble has been Keyshawn Hall, who ranks second in the conference at 21 points per game. Playing on his fourth team in four years, Hall is averaging 23.8 points across the last five outings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sam Darnold Is 60 Minutes Away From Erasing His Past
Sam Darnold was viewed as a complete bust by age 25.
In the spring of 2023, nobody wanted to bring Darnold in to be their starting quarterback so he took a backup gig with the San Francisco 49ers.
Darnold, the third overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, spent the campaign backing up Brock Purdy, the final pick of the 2022 draft.
That’s not how the career of a high draft pick is supposed to go.
Darnold, who once famously said he was “seeing ghosts” turning a horrific nationally televised performance, was becoming invisible.
But come Sunday, Darnold will be more visible than ever when he leads the Seattle Seahawks into Super Bowl LX against the New England Patriots at Santa Clara, Calif.
He’s just 60 football minutes away – or more if the game goes into overtime – of perhaps being known forever as a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. He could even be named the game’s MVP.
At least Darnold is back on the track after badly derailing his career.
Darnold was supposed to be the savior of the Jets but he completed just 59.8% of his passes through three rocky seasons. He passed for 45 touchdowns against 39 interceptions.
He was traded to the Carolina Panthers following the 2020 campaign and he continued to struggle and had 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions over two lackluster seasons.
Then it was off to the 49ers and it looked like journeyman duty for the long haul.
But after getting a chance to be an observer and soaking it the atmosphere, Darnold was ready for another chance. He had worked hard on his mental game – something he admitted to struggling with – and was refreshed when he joined the Minnesota Vikings.
He enjoyed a big 2024 season with Minnesota – setting career highs of 4,319 passing yards and 35 touchdowns – and led the Vikings to a 14-3 record.
The Vikings badly erred by not re-signing Darnold and he landed a three-year, $100.5 million free-agent contract with the Seahawks
He came through with a second straight stellar season with 4,048 yards and 25 touchdowns while leading Seattle to a 14-3 regular-season record and two playoff victories.
“Sam’s just been so resilient,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “… He’s so steadfast in his approach, he’s confident in who he is. He understands how much his team believes in him and has his back.”
Now 28, Darnold is the more experienced quarterback in this game as Patriots star Drake Maye is in his second NFL season.
Darnold has been a cool customer the past two seasons but everyone will be paying attention to see if he can deliver in his biggest moment.
What’s become clear is that Darnold has simplified his approach and that has led to less miscues and fewer times beating himself up.
“As a young player, early on in my career, I was really hard on myself,” Darnold said. “After a bad rep or a bad practice, I would let it affect my attitude a little bit. Just being able to have a great attitude all the time, ‘All right, that happens, it’s football, we’re not always going to be perfect.’”
Both teams have strong defenses so the quarterback who makes the biggest mistake could cost his team the game on Sunday.
Maye, 23, completed a league-best 72% of his passes and was intercepted just eight times while being a close runner-up for MVP honors behind Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams.
Darnold completed 67.7% of his throws and was picked off 14 times. And he never saw ghosts like he did in the humbling four-interception, 33-0 loss to the Patriots in 2019.
“I almost forgot about it, so thanks,” Darnold said when reminded by a reporter this week.
Darnold can erase nearly all his bad memories just by winning on Sunday.
Fresh off jolting rival, No. 14 UNC turns attention to Miami
No. 15 Vanderbilt on rebound against Auburn after surprising loss
