Sports
No. 22 Xavier faces South Carolina St., eyes rebound from lone loss
Xavier Musketeers guard Ryan Conwell (7) shoots the ball during the first half of the Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division final against the Michigan Wolverines at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Fla., on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. A role reversal doomed the No. 22 Xavier Musketeers in their only loss of the season, against Michigan at the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Wednesday.
Normally a team that avoids committing turnovers and pressures its opponent into making them, Xavier (6-1) will try to recapture its early-season winning form when it hosts South Carolina State on Sunday in Cincinnati.
Through their six wins, the Musketeers had just 58 turnovers while forcing 82 by their opponents.
But against the Wolverines, they lost the turnover battle 19-10 and the game 78-53. The Musketeers committed 14 turnovers in the first half and fell behind 41-30.
Xavier head coach Sean Miller credited his team for typically playing an up-tempo style while avoiding mistakes, while also acknowledging that the turnover bug really bit them against the Wolverines.
“We lost to a really good team; no shame in that,” Miller said. “We, on top of that, didn’t play well.”
“And that (avoiding turnovers) is something you (usually) do well? That’s going to be hard to overcome against a quality team like Michigan.”
Leading scorer Ryan Conwell (17.6 points per game) gave the Musketeers a boost with 19 points. Zach Freemantle, second on the team at 15.4 ppg, added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Problematically, however, they also contributed to the turnover problem with three apiece.
“We didn’t play well enough to win the game,” Miller said. “The game got out of hand. It’s not like our guys quit. Their depth just continued to wear on us.”
The Musketeers also get 11 points and a team-high 4.4 assists per game from Dayvion McKnight. The guard had just one turnover against Michigan, but he also made just one of his eight shot attempts.
Xavier may have an opportunity get right in the turnover area against the Bulldogs (4-4), who are No. 207 in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.11.
South Carolina State is fresh off an 82-53 road loss to Marshall on Wednesday, in a game in which turnovers weren’t a huge problem. But assists and made shots were hard to come by for the Bulldogs.
Leading scorer Drayton Jones (12.0 ppg) again paced his team in points with 10 vs. Marshall, but the Bulldogs as a team managed just six assists and shot terribly at the 3-point (18.8 percent) and the free-throw (47.1 percent) lines.
Jones is also the team’s leading rebounder with 5.1 a game, but no Bulldogs player is averaging more than two assists.
It’s all part of the learning process for coach Erik Martin, whose first team went 5-26 in 2022-23. The Bulldogs improved to 14-18 last season, including 9-5 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
“The only way you can grow sometimes is by failure or by struggling,” Martin said this offseason. “You have to fail in order to learn how to deal with failure and move on and become the person you’re supposed to be.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Athletics vs. Diamondbacks Predictions: Best Bets, Odds and Props for Monday
May 23, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte (4) watches after hitting a two run home run against Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen (24) during the fourth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Anna Carrington-Imagn Images The Athletics (42-57) head to Chase Field in Phoenix to battle the Arizona Diamondbacks (51-48) in Game No. 100 for both teams.
The A’s were playing some good ball earlier in the season, but they’ve been in a nosedive for a while now, and the A’s currently sport a minus-114 run differential, worst among all teams in the majors. In fact, with the Kansas City Royals sitting at minus-99, the A’s are the only triple in triple digits in the category.
The A’s hit the road with a 22-27 mark on the road, and they’re just 18-24 in interleague play in 2026.
For the Diamondbacks, they’re just 12-15 in interleague play, but Arizona has a respectable 29-21 mark at home, while it took two of three games over the weekend against the St. Louis Cardinals, including wins in the past two.
While Arizona’s record against the AL leaves a lot to be desired, it will be facing LHP Jeffrey Springs (3-9, 6.08 ERA, 1.42 WHIP). That’s great news for the Diamondbacks, as they’re 15-7 against left-handed starting pitchers, the fewest losses in the majors. In fact, no other team has fewer than 10 losses vs. LHP.
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The Diamondbacks should be able to roll up some huge totals against Springs, who leads the majors with 26 homers allowed in just 97 ⅔ IP across his 19 starts. He also gets himself into a lot of trouble with 37 walks. Springs is a little better on the road, than at home, going 1-3 with a 5.19 ERA and 10 homers allowed in 43 ⅓ IP, but that’s not exactly encouraging.
Arizona counters with Canadian-born LHP Mitch Bratt (0-0, 6.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP). He’ll be making just his third Major League start, and it will be his first showing in front of the home fans. It’s set up to be a very good spot for him to make his home debut, but with a 23-year-old pitcher who doesn’t go deep into games, there is risk.
However, the A’s are 12-22 vs. LHP this season, so the rookie could look a lot better than he actually is.
We’re going to take the DIAMONDBACKS -1.5 (+124) on the run line at plus-money, although if you’re a bit on the conservative side, backing the Snakes (-163) as moderate favorites is perfectly OK.
In addition, we’re going to go OVER 9 (-122), as Springs should give up his fair share of runs, and Bratt might also give up a few. If Springs gets knocked around, there isn’t a lot of help behind him. The A’s rank dead-last in the majors in bullpen ERA (5.51). The Diamondbacks are middle of the road in bullpen ERA (3.95).
And, for an extra bonus, since Springs is so giving, let’s take KETEL MARTE – ANYTIME HOME RUN (+326) for the chance to go more than 3X. Marte is slashing .299/.346/.588 against lefties with seven homers in just 97 at-bats. Let’s roll it up!
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Sports
Report: LAFC sending F Amin Boudri to Swedish club
Mar 21, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; LAFC midfielder Amin Boudri (65) drives the ball during the second half against Austin FC at Q2 Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images Los Angeles FC are finalizing the transfer of forward Amin Boudri to Swedish side Hammarby IF, The Athletic reported on Monday.
LAFC reportedly will receive a fee of around $3.7 million for the 21-year-old Boudri, who returns home to Sweden after appearing in four regular-season MLS matches this season.
Boudri made his pro debut with Sweden’s GAIS in 2024 and signed with LAFC in January 2026, a deal that ran through 2029 with an option to extend to 2030.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ben Askren Didn't Win the Match—But He Won the Weekend
If one were to limit their combat sports scope to the goings-on of the UFC, you might take pleasure from Dricus Du Plessis’ near-shutout performance against Kamaru Usman, Christian Leroy Duncan’s major victory over Jared Cannonier, or a star-making showing from young Tommy McMillen. Add in the PFL’s card this weekend, and there is Johnny Eblen’s TKO to become interim middleweight champion.
But the best moment in combat sports this weekend wasn’t found in a cage. It was found on a wrestling mat on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. It was there that Real American Freestyle hosted RAF 11 and had a co-main event bout that was emotional and celebratory as Ben Askren made one last walk to the mat in front of a native Wisconsin audience.
For those who don’t know Askren’s story, it was just last year that this kind of event would have been considered a miracle.
In early June 2025, Askren was hospitalized after developing severe pneumonia as a result of a staph infection. He nearly lost his life, requiring a double lung transplant and, according to Askren, flatlining four times during his hospitalization.
One year ago this week, Askren was finally released from the hospital. And while such an ordeal would have spelt the complete end of one’s combat career, “Funky” gave himself one more chance to shine in a world that he’s so familiar with.
At the University of Missouri in the 2000s, Askren was a two-time NCAA champion and a multiple-time Big-12 champion. He went on to compete on the U.S. national wrestling team, winning a Pan-American Championships title and competing in the 2008 Olympics. Additionally, he won a gold medal in grappling at the 2009 World Grappling Championships.
That wrestling base would serve Askren well in his MMA career, going on to win welterweight championships in Bellator and ONE Championship. After a brief retirement in 2017 and 2018, Askren fought three times for the UFC in 2019, going 1-2, along with a boxing match with Jake Paul in 2021.
Askren’s opponent at RAF 11 was Belal Muhammad, a former UFC welterweight champion who trained with Askren as he was making his way up the ranks. Muhammad is an accomplished grappler in his own right, though he’s dropped three straight in the Octagon since losing the 170-pound championship.
As the two grappled for control during a quiet first period, Askren received a point when Muhammad could not score when put on the shot clock. Askren then defended well against Muhammad’s takedown attempts in the second period, and he added two points to his score by forcing Muhammad out of bounds twice. Askren had a 3-0 lead heading into the final period, and the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena seemed to be in a bit of a frenzy, hoping for Askren to pull off the epic victory.
Alas, as some sports stories over the years have taught us, victory is not always found at the end. Muhammad rallied in the third period, scoring a double-leg takedown and two go-behinds, scoring two points each time and totaling a 6-3 come-from-behind victory.
While Askren didn’t get his hand raised, he is still a victor. The simple walk to the mat shows how far his health has come over the last year. And he got to compete one more time on the mats that he loves, against a well-respected former training partner and UFC champion, sharing the moment with family and friends as he left his wrestling shoes on the mat.
Askren got life’s biggest victory – he defeated death. Whether he won or lost this wrestling match was irrelevant; Ben Askren is the biggest victor in life this weekend.
Athletics vs. Diamondbacks Predictions: Best Bets, Odds and Props for Monday
Report: LAFC sending F Amin Boudri to Swedish club
