Sports
Mikel Brown Jr. ties single-game records as No. 24 Louisville crushes NC State
Feb 9, 2026; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) reacts after making a shot against the NC State Wolfpack during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images Freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. tied the Louisville single-game scoring mark with 45 points and matched another single-game record with 10 3-pointers to lead the No. 24 Cardinals to a 118-77 win over visiting North Carolina State on Monday night.
Louisville (18-6, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) never trailed. Brown produced 21 points with five 3-pointers to stake the Cardinals to a 56-36 halftime lead before topping that total with five more 3-pointers in the second half.
He finished 14 of 23 from the field, 10 of 16 on 3-point attempts and 7 of 7 at the line while adding nine rebounds, three steals and two assists in 34 minutes. Ryan Conwell added 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Cardinals while going 5-for-6 from 3-point range.
When Brown hit his final 3-pointer with 2:09 to play — a swish from nearly 30 feet away — he tied Wes Unseld’s single-game school record set against Georgetown (Ky.) College on Dec. 1, 1967. Brown’s point total set the ACC freshman record, and his 10 3-pointers tied the school record established by Reyne Smith last season against SMU.
Louisville coach Pat Kelsey then called timeout to remove Brown from the game. The Cardinals wound up with their highest point total since beating Morehead State 119-61 on Dec. 6, 1995.
Louisville opened the game on a 7-0 run. NC State pulled within 25-20 on a Quadir Copeland dunk with 10:58 left in the first half.
Louisville answered with a 10-2 run, and NC State never got within single digits after that surge that included 3-pointers from Conwell and Brown.
The Cardinals racked up their sixth 100-plus scoring effort on the year. No Cardinal other than Brown and Conwell reached double figures, but Louisville shot 60% overall (39-for-65) and 60% from 3-point range (18-for-30).
NC State (18-7, 9-3) saw the end of a six-game winning streak as the Wolfpack allowed more than 85 points for just the second time this season. The Wolfpack were led by Ven-Allen Lubin’s 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Tre Holloman added 19 points and Copeland tallied 10.
The Wolfpack shot just 4-for-22 (18.2%) from 3-point range and were outrebounded 42-28.
–Field Level Media
Sports
UCLA's Lauren Betts among 15 to attend WNBA draft
UCLA Bruins players Lauren Betts, from left, and Kiki Rice celebrate with teammates their 79-51 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks to claim the NCAA women’s basketball national championship at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 5, 2026. National champion center Lauren Betts and four of her UCLA teammates are among the 15 prospects who will attend Monday’s 2026 WNBA Draft in New York City.
Bets will be joined by Bruins forward Angela Dugalic and guards Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez and Gianna Kneepkens.
UCLA defeated South Carolina 79-51 on Sunday to win the Women’s NCAA Tournament for the first time.
The other prospects who will be in attendance are forward Nell Angloma (France), center Awa Fam Thiam (Spain), guard Azzi Fudd (UConn), guard Flau’jae Johnson (LSU), guard Raven Johnson (South Carolina), guard Ta’Niya Latson (South Carolina), forward Cotie McMahon (Ole Miss), guard Olivia Mils (TCU), center Madina Okot (South Carolina/Kenya) and forward Marta Suarez (TCU/Spain).
Monday’s draft will be carried live on ESPN starting at 7 p.m. ET.
The Dallas Wings hold the top pick in the draft, followed by the Minnesota Lynx at No. 2 and the Seattle Storm at No. 3. The Washington Mystics have the fourth selection, and the Chicago Sky have the fifth. The expansion Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire will select sixth and seventh, respectively.
–Field Level Media
Sports
76ers C Joel Embiid (appendicitis) out vs. Rockets
Apr 3, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) controls the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will undergo surgery on Thursday afternoon in Houston, the team announced.
Embiid initially was ruled out for the game against the Rockets on Thursday night due to an illness.
The eighth-place 76ers (43-36) remain in a tight battle with several teams in the Eastern Conference, attempting to avoid the postseason play-in tournament. They are one full game in back of the sixth-place Toronto Raptors (44-35) with three games to play.
Embiid, 32, is averaging 26.9 points and 7.7 rebounds in 38 games (all starts) this season.
The 2022-23 MVP and a seven-time All-Star, Embiid is averaging 27.6 points and 10.8 rebounds in 490 career games (all starts) since being selected by Philadelphia with the third overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NBA clears Kings, says coach made mistake vs. Warriors
Apr 5, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie yells during the second quarter against the LA Clippers at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images The NBA announced Thursday that Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie made an honest mistake in his team’s loss to the Golden State Warriors.
The league was investigating Christie after he instructed forward Doug McDermott to intentionally foul Warriors guard Seth Curry with his team leading by one with 3:15 remaining in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s game.
“The league’s investigation determined that Christie mistakenly believed that the Warriors were not in the penalty and therefore instructed his team to foul in an attempt to stop the clock and utilize one of the team’s remaining timeouts,” the NBA’s statement said. “The investigation found that Christie made no intentional effort to give the Warriors a shooting foul, or to cause the Kings to lose the game.”
Curry made one of two free throws to tie the game at 101-101. The Kings (21-59) went on to lose the game, 110-105.
–Field Level Media
UCLA's Lauren Betts among 15 to attend WNBA draft
76ers C Joel Embiid (appendicitis) out vs. Rockets
