Sports
New All-Star format takes center stage in Inglewood
Feb 14, 2026; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Team World center Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets during a news conference for the NBA All Star game at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Inside an arena covered by a shell that could pass for a globe, the NBA will try to entertain on Sunday while also reaching out to the rest of the world.
The NBA All-Star Game’s latest concept involves a team of the league’s top international players competing against two teams composed of domestic talent. The format will be a round-robin, leading to a championship game after one of the three teams is eliminated through a series of head-to-head matchups.
Team World will be without Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Canada, yet still features the talents of three-time MVP Nikola Jokic of Serbia, Luka Doncic of Slovenia and Victor Wembanyama of France among its nine players.
The USA Stars team skews younger with Devin Booker, Cade Cunningham and Anthony Edwards, while USA Stripes boasts experience with Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard of the host Los Angeles Clippers.
Leonard is eager to showcase what the Clippers’ two-year-old Intuit Dome is all about. He appears less enthusiastic about the All-Star Game format that departs from traditional norms.
“I know it’s three teams and I’m like, ‘Is it a pickup game where we wait until somebody (wins)?” Leonard said. “I’d rather just be East and West and go out there and compete and see what the outcome is.”
At first glance, the setup appears to give players worldwide a chance to represent themselves in basketball’s best league, but even that opportunity feels somewhat empty. At least until the competition kicks off, it does.
“For me, I’m going to play like I played every year,” Jokic said Saturday. “… I’m not sure that it is going to bring (more) fire to me, no, because I play (that way) every game the same.”
The NBA is known for setting trends, but Sunday’s format appears to draw inspiration from the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off last year and the ongoing international showdown that is the Milan Cortina Olympics.
And yet, it doesn’t seem to be generating the same passion as either event. Jokic even has a prediction about how it all will unfold.
“We are going to have (veteran) OGs and maybe they’re going to play the most. They’re going to try to prove they can still be in this league,” Jokic said. “They are really good players. Probably all of them are Hall of Famers.
“I think Europeans are going to probably pass the ball a lot and have fun out there. OGs (are) probably going to win it, and the third team is probably going to dunk the most times.”
For all of the complaints that All-Star Weekend no longer moves the needle, Jokic does point out what is on the line for each squad. Perhaps that is the lens to use come Sunday.
“They need something to complain about (and) I don’t think it’s that big of a deal, to be honest, the All-Star Game, All-Star Weekend,” Durant said about All-Star Game criticism. “Just here to celebrate the game of basketball. People still coming to celebrate the game of basketball. They’re coming to watch.”
–Doug Padilla, Field Level Media
Sports
Nate Kingz's game-winner lifts Syracuse over SMU
Feb 14, 2026; Syracuse, New York, USA; Syracuse Orange forward Kiyan Anthony (7) looks to get the ball past Southern Methodist University Mustangs guard Jaron Pierre Jr. (5) in the first half at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images Nate Kingz drove the lane and hit the winning layup with 2.3 seconds to play to lift host Syracuse to a wild 79-78 win over SMU on Saturday afternoon in an Atlantic Coast Conference dustup.
The Mustangs led 61-49 with 12:15 to play before Syracuse (15-11, 6-7 ACC) rallied. Naithan George grabbed a rebound and went the length of the floor for a layup to put the Orange up by a point with 3:21 left.
Jaden Toombs’s follow-up tip in with 2:41 left put the Mustangs back on top, but Toombs then missed a pair of free throws with 1:28 to play that would have expanded the lead. Syracuse’s Tyler Betsey missed out a 3-pointer with 50 seconds left before SMU came up empty on the next possession, setting the table for Kingz’s game-winning drive to the basket.
Donnie Freeman led the Orange with 18 points, while George scored 16. Kingz and Kiyan Anthony had 13 points each.
Toombs paced SMU (17-8, 6-6 ACC) with 19 points. Corey Washington added 13 points and nine rebounds, Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 12 points, and Boopie Miller and Samet Yigitoglu tallied 11 each. SMU went scoreless over the final 2:41 and missed six of its final seven shots.
The game went back and forth over its first five and a half minutes and was tied at 12-12 after Freeman hit a free throw at the 14:35 mark of the first half. SMU took the lead and pushed its advantage to 24-17 on Jermaine O’Neal Jr.’s dunk off a fast break pass from Miller with 9:19 left in the half.
Syracuse was within 24-21 after a pair of free throws by Freeman with 8:37 to play before halftime. The Mustangs then got pair of baskets from Toombs along with two free throws and a 3-pointer from Pierre to stroke their lead to 33-21 with 6:22 remaining.
But the Orange swung back, using an 8-0 run to draw to within 37-35 after William Kyle III hit a pair from the charity stripe with 1:50 left in the half. Washington’s jumper 48 seconds later allowed SMU to carry a 39-35 lead into the break.
Freeman led all scorers with 11 first half points, while Toombs amassed 10 off the bench for SMU.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hot of late, Cincinnati out to extend Utah's road woes
Feb 8, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats guard Jizzle James (2) shoots against UCF Knights guard Riley Kugel (2) in the first half at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images Cincinnati looks to continue its offensive outburst and its winning ways when it hosts struggling Utah on Sunday afternoon in Big 12 play.
The Bearcats (13-12, 5-7 Big 12) have found their stride offensively in winning their last two games, reaching the 90-point plateau for the first two times in Big 12 action. Utah (9-15, 1-10) comes in on a six-game losing streak and has dropped 11 of 12.
After falling below .500 for the first time in the Wes Miller era and for the first time since the 2020-21 season, Cincinnati has responded with two resounding conference wins, 92-72 over visiting UCF last Sunday and a 91-62 victory at Kansas State on Wednesday. The point totals are the third and fourth-most on the season behind 94-point outputs against Western Carolina and NJIT.
Over the past two games, Jizzle James is averaging 19.5 points on 58.3% shooting (14 of 24) from the field and 69.2% (9 of 13) from 3-point range, while big man Baba Miller has averaged 16.5 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 52.9% (9 of 17) from the field.
“I got in a rhythm (against Kansas State) and I kept trusting my work,” James said. “I’m glad they were able to go down. That’s something I’ve been working on consistently. We’ll just build on (the win), and now we’re just looking forward to our next game.”
Cincinnati shot a season-high 58.9% (33 of 56) from the field against UCF and connected on a season-high 16 threes against Kansas State. The games marked the two best 3-point shooting nights of the season (61.1% on 11 of 18 against UCF and 57.1% on 16 of 28 at Kansas State).
Utah, on the other hand, is looking for a win of any kind. The Utes are 0-8 on the road this season and have dropped all five road games in conference play.
The Utes are led by Terrence Brown, who is averaging 20.8 points, ranked fourth in the Big 12 as of Saturday, and shooting 44.9% from the field. Brown also averages 3.9 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.
“Terrence needs to have more of a well-rounded, complete game, not just scoring,” Utah coach Alex Jensen said. “He’s got to do it with his defense and passing and he’s gotten better at that.”
Keanu Dawes has also been a bright spot for the Utes in their six-game skid. In the last five games since being held scoreless against Kansas State, the 6-foot-9 forward has averaged 15.8 points and 9.4 rebounds while shooting 62.5% from the field. Dawes has pulled down double-digit rebounds in three of the last four games, including two resulting in double-doubles.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Domen Prevc earns gold for Slovenia in rainy large hill competition
Feb 9, 2026; Livigno, Italy; General view of a jump on the course in the women’s freestyle skiing slopestyle final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Livigno Snow Park. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images PREDAZZO, Italy — Slovenia’s Domen Prevc lived up to his billing as favorite to claim gold in the men’s large hill ski jumping event at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Saturday, with Japan’s Ren Nikaido taking silver and Poland’s Kacper Tomasiak securing bronze.
Prevc was second after the first round, behind Nikaido, but turned the contest on its head in the final, soaring 141.5 meters to finish 6.8 points ahead of the Japanese jumper, drawing wild cheers from the large Slovenian contingent in the Predazzo Stadium in Val di Fiemme.
The first individual victory of his Olympic career completed a redemption arc for the 26-year-old, who opened the Games with a sixth-placed finish in the normal hill event, then led Slovenia to a mixed team gold alongside his sister Nika.
“I have this privilege to do really good under pressure,” Prevc, who sits top of the World Cup standings, told Reuters.
“I was just enjoying this, remembering why you started to do this and just fly as hard as possible.”
For Nikaido, the silver medal left a bitter taste after he won bronze in the normal hill.
“I am a bit disappointed that I could not win the gold medal,” he said, adding that he was upset with himself that he could not manage a bigger jump in the final round.
In wet conditions, ski jumpers were wary of their suits becoming waterlogged, prompting a series of countermeasures as a mix of rain and snow fell at the top of the hill.
Germany’s Philipp Raimund, who won gold in the men’s normal hill individual competition, finished ninth. Daniel Tschofenig of Austria got only one round of the competition as he was disqualified because his boots were four millimeters too long, with an FIS official saying it had been an oversight.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Nate Kingz's game-winner lifts Syracuse over SMU
Hot of late, Cincinnati out to extend Utah's road woes
