San Antonio Spurs rookie forward Carter Bryant will replace injured Memphis Grizzlies rookie guard Cedric Coward on Team Vince in the Rising Stars game on Friday in Inglewood, Calif.

Bryant, 20, also will compete in the Slam Dunk contest on Saturday. He has averaged 3.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 43 games this season since being selected with the 14th overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft.

Coward, 22, is dealing with right knee soreness.

–Field Level Media

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Joel Retornaz’s Italy beat Britain 9-7 on Friday to continue its winning start at the Winter Olympics with a victory over another favorite in the men’s curling competition, boosting hopes of a medal on home ice.

In its opening match, Italy beat Olympic champions Sweden, which also lost to Britain on Thursday.

Britain, the defending world champions, began on a disastrous note as skip Bruce Mouat attempted a complicated takeout but ended up clearing out a couple of his own team’s stones, giving Italy a steal of four points in the first end.

A frustrated Mouat kicked out at a stone and then got back to work, nailing a double takeout in the fourth end to reduce the deficit before another stolen point left the score at 5-4 to Italy at the halfway mark.

With momentum slowly shifting towards the top-ranked British side after it leveled at 7-7 in the penultimate end, Retornaz sealed two points with the final stone to secure the win.

“It’s good for us, it’s good for the fans, and those are the games you want to be in,” Retornaz said.

“Something changes in the head because you have those four points (in the first end), but that’s what you have to fight also.

“You have to fight your mindset because you cannot rely on those four points in the first end out of ten. The game is too long.”

Brad Jacobs’ Canada also picked up a comfortable 6-3 win over Danny Casper’s United States, while Yannick Schwaller-led Switzerland beat the Czech Republic 7-3. Norway defeated China 8-6 in a hard-fought encounter which went into an extra end.

US WOMEN BEAT CANADA

In the women’s competition, Tabitha Peterson’s United States team claimed the country’s first-ever Olympic victory over neighbors Canada.

Two-time world champion and top-ranked Canada, led by Rachel Homan, had a slender lead heading into the final end but the United States had the hammer and Peterson sealed a 9-8 win.

Both nations have competed at every Games since curling’s return to the official program in 1998, but the U.S. women’s team has won no medals, while Canada has won two golds, a silver and a pair of bronzes.

Asked what it was like to record a first Games win over Canada, Peterson said: “That’s what I just heard too. I know we came close in the past. Great time to beat the number one team … It was a good game, it was a good battle.”

The U.S. women’s team includes Cory Thiesse, who became the first American woman to win an Olympic curling medal when she and partner Korey Dropkin won silver in mixed doubles earlier in these Games.

Britain suffered its second defeat in as many games, losing 9-3 to South Korea, while Silvana Tirinzoni’s Switzerland beat China 7-5.

Anna Hasselborg’s Sweden saw out a narrow 6-5 win over Denmark, which moved the team to the top of the standings with a 3-0 record.

Teams play nine matches in the round-robin stage, which continues on Friday. The top four advance to the semifinals next week.

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media

Villanova’s season of redemption has incurred few blemishes, and the Wildcats have the opportunity to remedy one of them Saturday afternoon when they take on Creighton in Omaha, Neb.

First-year coach Kevin Willard has Villanova on the cusp of its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2022, when Jay Wright’s swan song concluded with his fourth Final Four appearance.

After three subpar seasons compared to Wright’s program standards, the Wildcats (19-5, 10-3 Big East) are back on track, having won four straight games.

Tyler Perkins, who leads the team in scoring, had 22 points and eight rebounds and Acaden Lewis added 15 points and five assists as Villanova knocked off visiting Marquette 77-74 on Tuesday.

“The growth has been fun to watch. It’s a great group to be around. They work hard, bring a great attitude. To put ourselves with 10 wins and three losses in Big East play is not me,” Willard said. ” … I think we’ve matured a lot. Acaden is playing like one of the best point guards in the country.

After making just three starts and averaging 6.3 points last season, Perkins has emerged for Villanova, especially during the Big East portion of the schedule. He is averaging 13.5 points, 15.8 in conference play and 18.0 over the last eight games.

The Wildcats are 5-1 away from home in conference play, with their only true road losses coming against Top-10 foes in Michigan and UConn. But the Bluejays (13-12, 7-7) have been a thorn in Villanova’s side lately.

Creighton has won four straight in the series, including a 76-72 triumph at Villanova last month. Austin Swartz led the way in that game for the Bluejays with 20 points, followed by Josh Dix and Blake Harper with 17 points apiece.

However, the team is reeling late, dropping six of nine games since that victory. Last time out, Creighton had a 72-71 setback at DePaul on Wednesday. Swartz led the Bluejays, who saw their 23-game win streak against the Blue Demons come to an end, with 15 points.

“Just really unfortunate, because we shot the ball well,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “We did some good things well, but free-throw block-out, second-chance points, at the rim, it’s kind of a broken record. It’s been our weakness all season long.

–Field Level Media