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No. 18 Purdue, Illinois ride recent resurgence into season finale

NCAA Basketball: Rutgers at PurdueMar 4, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) reacts to making one of his career-high seven 3-pointers against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Nearly two weeks ago, Purdue’s prospects for a long March Madness run looked poor, and Illinois’ appeared worse.

Matt Painter’s Purdue crew was suffering through the program’s first four-game losing streak in five years. Meanwhile, Brad Underwood’s bunch was dealing with national ridicule after taking a 43-point beatdown from Duke — the largest loss in Illinois’ 120-year history.

But look at what a fabulous fortnight can do.

As the 18th-ranked Boilermakers (21-9, 13-6) and the Illini (19-11, 11-8) prepare for their Big Ten Conference regular-season finale Friday night in Champaign, Ill., both squads have regained the swagger necessary to make some amazing March memories.

Illinois worked out its anger over the 110-67 loss to Duke on Feb. 22 at Madison Square Garden by burying Iowa and then-No. 15 Michigan by 20 points apiece.

“I couldn’t be prouder of a group of guys than I am this group,” Underwood said. “After New York, it would have been very easy to pitch a tent and say, ‘We’re done. We don’t want to fight very hard.’

“This group has done just the opposite. (We had) some of the best practices of the year. Nice to be able to practice. But just to get the energy back in practice, it allows you to improve and get better.”

Illinois’ most tangible improvement came at the 3-point line. After shooting just 26.2 percent from long range in the previous 12 games, the Illini shot 37.8 percent (14 of 37) in a 93-73 victory over Michigan.

Purdue, meanwhile, got its groove back by beating UCLA and Rutgers at home. In Tuesday’s 100-71 win over the Scarlet Knights, junior point guard Braden Smith — the favorite to win Big Ten Player of the Year honors — posted 23 points, nine assists, seven 3-pointers and five rebounds in 32 minutes.

Perhaps Purdue’s best number, at least from Painter’s perspective, came on the glass. The Boilermakers outrebounded Rutgers 40-26.

“We can’t get to the point of getting into transition and getting (Rutgers) on their heels if we don’t get turnovers and we don’t get rebounds,” Painter said. “Now we’re getting ready to have maybe the greatest challenge in that area because Illinois is the best rebounding team in the country. They put on an exhibition (at Michigan) crashing the glass and just being quick to the basketball.”

The Illini average 42.9 rebounds per game, second in the nation to Alabama’s 43.7. Illinois ourebounded Michigan 43-32.

Illinois already knows it would have to win four games in four days to repeat as Big Ten tournament champion. If the Illini lose Friday to Purdue, they’ll likely be the No. 8 seed and will meet either Indiana or Ohio State in Thursday’s second-round opener. If the Illini beat Purdue, they could rise as high as the No. 6 seed.

The Boilermakers are tied with Wisconsin and Maryland for third place in the league. Illinois is tied with Oregon for seventh place.

The Big Ten tournament will take place March 12-16 in Indianapolis.

–Field Level Media

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Balanced scoring effort gets Arizona State past Utah

NCAA Basketball: Utah at Arizona StateFeb 28, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils forward Santiago Trouet (1) controls the ball against Utah Utes forward Keanu Dawes (8) in the first half at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Maurice Odum scored 15 points as Arizona State completed a season sweep over Utah with a 73-60 victory at Tempe Ariz.

Massamba Diop scored 14 points for the Sun Devils (15-14, 6-10 Big 12) and Anthony Johnson added 13. Santiago Trouet delivered his fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds for Arizona State.

Keanu Dawes had 16 points for Utah (10-19, 2-14), alongside 14 from Don McHenry. The Utes’ Terrence Brown failed to score in double digits for just the third time this season, shooting an uncharacteristic 4 of 12 from the field. Brown missed his one attempt from 3-point range.

The Sun Devils shot 52.9% (9 of 17) from 3-pont range, the team’s second-best performance of the season. Arizona State had just five turnovers, while Utah’s eight turnovers were its lowest in eight games this month.

Dawes tallied seven points in the first five minutes of the game, highlighted by a poster dunk over the 6-foot-11 Diop. It started a 7-0 run that gave the Utes an early 14-5 advantage.

Brown nailed a routine jumper to give Utah a 21-18 lead with 9:19 remaining in the half before the Utes went on a scoring drought of over seven minutes.

Arizona State capitalized with a 13-0 run for a 31-21 lead with 3:13 remaining in the first half. Don McHenry ended Utah’s drought with a 3-pointer and Odum answered with a 3-pointer of his own as the Sun Devils led 34-32 at halftime.

Odum finished the first half with 13 points and went 3 of 3 from 3-point range.

Trouet made a pair of free throws to give the Sun Devils a 43-30 lead with 16:19 remaining before the Utes went on a 9-0 run to pull within 43-39 with 13:33 remaining.

Johnson responded with a 3-pointer, quickly followed by a steal at half court to set up a Bryce Ford 3-pointer that once again extended Arizona State’s lead to double digits at 49-39 with 12:47 left.

A 7-0 run brought Utah within 57-51 with 7:54 remaining before Arizona State delivered a 9-0 run to take control at 68-53 with 3:52 left. The Sun Devils closed the run on a Diop dunk.

–Field Level Media

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Flyers strike in 3rd to snap Bruins' 8-game point streak

NHL: Boston Bruins at Philadelphia FlyersFeb 28, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers left wing Noah Cates (27) reaches for the puck against the Boston Bruins in the first period at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Flyers scored back-to-back goals to start the third period and held on to defeat the visiting Boston Bruins 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.

Travis Konecny and Jamie Drysdale both scored and assisted on each other’s goals for Philadelphia, which has won two of its three games since the Olympic break. Drysdale tallied the eventual game-winner with 8:05 left.

Sean Couturier added an empty-net goal with 55 seconds remaining, Christian Dvorak recorded two assists, and Dan Vladar was excellent with a 26-save performance to help the Flyers win.

Boston’s Charlie McAvoy extended his point streak to nine games with a third-period goal that cut the hosts’ lead to 2-1.

Jeremy Swayman made 14 saves for Boston, which entered on an eight-game point streak (5-0-3).

With the game scoreless through two periods, the Bruins looked to take a 1-0 lead 1:05 into the third as Hampus Lindholm’s point shot beat Vladar, but the goal was immediately waved off due to goaltender interference.

Instead, Konecny scored first at 3:41. After Dvorak’s shot into the zone hit a stanchion behind the net, he recovered the bounce and made a tight backhand feed to his oncoming linemate to bury into an open side of the net.

Drysdale doubled Philadelphia’s lead at 11:55 by slipping down the slot on a Konecny pass and firing an open wrist shot past Swayman’s blocker.

The Bruins found an answer from McAvoy 1:08 later. Pavel Zacha won the faceoff right to Hampus Lindholm, who found his fellow defenseman cutting to the net to make it a 2-1 game.

Swayman followed up that goal by stopping Konecny on a breakaway with 5:36 left, but Boston could not find an equalizer.

Philadelphia had a 7-6 shot advantage in a scoreless first. Swayman made one of his best early saves halfway through as Trevor Zegras fired a turnaround shot from the slot.

Vladar made two close-range stops on Morgan Geekie within the first eight minutes of the second period, including one early in Boston’s second power play. The first stop occurred when David Pastrnak set up Geekie for a one-timer in the slot at the 5:00 mark.

Less than a minute after Vladar’s second stop on Geekie, Swayman returned to the highlight reel at the other end of the ice. Konecny’s wraparound put the puck on goal before Swayman robbed Dvorak with the glove on a rebound effort coming to the doorstep.

After Boston’s first man advantage came up empty, Vladar made another big save as Sean Kuraly separated from the Flyers’ defense for a breakaway with 5:43 left in the second.

–Field Level Media

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Heat rally in 4th quarter to take down Rockets

NBA: Houston Rockets at Miami HeatFeb 28, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) argues with Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Bam Adebayo posted a double-double, and Andrew Wiggins ignited a fourth-quarter rally after returning from an in-game injury to lead the Miami Heat to a 115-105 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets on Saturday.

Adebayo paired 24 points with 11 rebounds to help the Heat snap a two-game skid. Pelle Larsson (20 points) and Tyler Herro (18) contributed to the balanced scoring attack for the Heat, who also received double-digit efforts from Jaime Jaquez Jr. (14 points) and Kel’el Ware (13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds) off the bench. The Heat shot 50% overall from the floor.

But it was Wiggins, who took an elbow to the jaw from Rockets center Alperen Sengun and needed stitches in his cheek to close the gash, who led a critical fourth-quarter surge. He assisted on a Ware alley-oop and a Larsson 3 to put the Heat ahead 100-92 before his transition dunk resulted in a three-point play and a 111-103 lead with 2:24 remaining.

Wiggins finished with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 32 points and added eight assists for the Rockets. Amen Thompson (20 points, 11 rebounds) and Tari Eason (10 points, 11 boards) added double-doubles, while Reed Sheppard chipped in 14 points and five assists for Houston.

The Rockets turned an early run, capped by a Sheppard 3, into a 14-4 lead, only for the Heat to respond with an 8-0 rally. Adebayo hit a 3-pointer to give Miami a 27-26 lead, and the Heat carried a 32-28 advantage into the second quarter after hitting 6 of 13 from beyond the arc in the first.

Miami extended its lead to double digits on a Ware tip-in, and led 41-28 before the Rockets scored their first basket of the second quarter with an Aaron Holiday 3-pointer at the 7:07 mark. That ended a 19-2 run by the Heat and sparked another Houston rally, featuring Sheppard and Durant combining to hit three 3-pointers and tie the game at 48.

The Rockets led 52-51 at the intermission after Miami missed 7 of 8 3-pointers in the second.

–Field Level Media

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