Sports
No. 18 Saint Louis ready for 'reset' with VCU up next
Feb 13, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Saint Louis Billikens head coach Josh Schertz reacts during the first half at Joseph J. Gentile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images No. 18 Saint Louis received a wake-up call ahead of its Atlantic 10 showdown with VCU on Friday night.
The Billikens (24-2, 12-1 A-10) saw their 18-game winning streak end with an 81-76 loss at Rhode Island on Tuesday night. Saint Louis turned the ball over 18 times, including 11in the first 9:33 of the game.
“I think it’s a bit of complacency,” Saint Louis guard Dion Brown said. “We’re 24-1, we think we’re a good team, and (Tuesday) showed that we weren’t as good as we thought. We come out of the mindset that, hey we’re going to win this game. It takes away from our preparation.”
Saint Louis will try to rebound when it hosts the red-hot Rams (21-6, 12-2) at Chaifetz Arena.
“It’s hard when you win 18 games in a row to maybe maintain the humility and hunger it takes to play your best,” Saint Louis coach Josh Schertz said. “But at the end of the day, that’s what championship teams are able to do. They’re able to continue to improve while they win. Maybe this is what we needed to reset ourselves and get back to the team that we’ve been for most of the season.”
VCU’s 89-75 victory over George Washington on Tuesday night extended its winning streak to 10 games and left it with a 45 NET ranking.
“It was buckling down at the defensive end,” VCU coach Phil Martelli Jr. said. “It was another of those games, if we guard, we’re going to win the game. And we did.”
The Billikens, who are 16-0 at home this season, have a 22 NET ranking after their loss.
“They’re obviously a great team,” Martelli said. “I think they are a second weekend NCAA Tournament team. We get to go there and play a meaningful, high-level game on Feb. 20th, like you can’t ask for any better than that.”
The Rams lost to the Billikens 71-62 on Jan. 7 at home. VCU shot 18-for-63 from the floor, including 6-for-24 from 3-point range in that game.
But Martelli believes the Rams have made strides since these teams first met.
“I think we’re a better defensive team certainly,” he said. “We’ve kind of gotten our legs to us and a kind of a rhythm to us that I think we were still searching for then.”
Both teams feature a nine-man playing rotation and balanced scoring. VCU guards Terrence Hill Jr. and Jadrian Tracey are both shooting 38.0% from 3-point range on high volumes.
Prior to losing at Rhode Island, Saint Louis led the NCAA Division I with an average scoring margin of 23 points. Through 25 games they ranked second in 3-point shooting with 40.9% accuracy.
The Billikens have seven players averaging at least 9.3 points per game this season, led by Robbie Avila (12.7 ppg), and nine players averaging at least 15.2 minutes per game.
But Schertz believes the group lost its edge this month.
“We’ve been playing with fire the last three or four games in terms of our execution and physicality and competitiveness,” Schertz said. “The things that were our superpowers have been our effort and our toughness and our execution and our connectedness.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bucks waive Cam Thomas to convert Pete Nance's contract
Suns guard Jalen Green (4) drives against Bucks forward Pete Nance (35) during a game at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on March 21, 2026. The Milwaukee Bucks converted forward Pete Nance’s two-way contract to a fully guaranteed deal.
The Bucks waived guard Cam Thomas in a corresponding move prior to their game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. Thomas, 24, signed with the team as a free agent on Feb. 8 and averaged 10.7 points in 18 games off the bench with Milwaukee.
As for Nance, he was elated with the notion of receiving a new deal. The contract made him available to play in the team’s final 11 games this season and runs through the 2026-27 campaign.
“To be able to be in this spot is just awesome,” Nance said after the Bucks’ shootaround, per the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “Obviously I’m super thankful for the Bucks for giving me the opportunity. I think it’s just a testament to growth and the work that I’ve done and the experience that I’ve had over the years.”
Nance, 26, is averaging 4.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 12.1 minutes in 37 games off the bench this season.
Thomas was benched after playing just three minutes against the Atlanta Hawks on March 14. He was held out of consecutive games on March 15 and 17 due to what was listed as a coach’s decision before returning to the court against the Utah Jazz last Thursday.
“There are things we don’t need to talk about,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said, per the newspaper. “That’s not anybody’s business. Like I said before, that’s where as a coach you have to make decisions on what’s best for the team at that time. People don’t understand that. They start talking about other stuff. And, that’s not for anyone to know.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Buccaneers, LB Lavonte David schedule news conference
Jan 3, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) warms up before the game against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Veteran Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David is scheduled to hold a news conference on Tuesday afternoon at the team facility.
The Buccaneers did not divulge an official reason for the conference, however speculation is strong that David will announce his retirement from the NFL.
David, 36, is a free agent after spending his entire 14-year career with Tampa Bay.
He recorded 114 tackles, 3.5 sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries while starting all 17 games last season. It was his 12th season with triple-digit tackles.
An All-Pro selection in 2013 and a Pro Bowl selection in 2015, David has 1,716 tackles, 42.5 sacks, 14 interceptions, 33 forced fumbles and 21 fumble recoveries in 215 games (all starts).
David was selected by Tampa Bay in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Nebraska.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mikaela Shiffrin on cusp of season World Cup title
Feb 18, 2026; Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy; Gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States celebrates during the medal ceremony for the women’s slalom during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images Mikaela Shiffrin will ski Wednesday for the season World Cup overall title.
Heading into the giant slalom, the final race of the season, Shiffrin has an 85-point lead over Emma Aicher of Germany.
Shiffrin won her ninth slalom in 10 World Cup starts this season on Tuesday, earning 100 points. She increased her overall lead on Aicher, who finished third to grab 60 points.
To take the title, Aicher must win the race — a discipline in which she never has finished higher than fourth — and hope that Shiffrin finishes worse than 15th.
Shiffrin, 31, is striving to win her sixth overall World Cup title, which would tie her with Annemarie Moser-Proll. The Austrian won five season titles from 1971-75 and the final one in 1979.
The 2026 Olympic champion in the slalom, Shiffrin won the World Cup title in consecutive years from 2017-19 and again in 2022 and 2023.
With her slalom win on Tuesday, Shiffrin earned her 110th career victory on the World Cup circuit, extending her lead over Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 86 before his retirement in 1989.
–Field Level Media
NYT Strands hints, answers for March 25, 2026
Wordle today: Answer, hints for March 25, 2026
