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
Cardinals scouting director to appeal NFL's gambling suspension
Arizona Cardinals logo at the Cardinals Training Facility in Tempe on May 6, 2016. Two days after Arizona Cardinals director of college scouting Ryan Gold was suspended indefinitely by the NFL, his attorney responded, calling the allegations “blatantly false” and stating that they would be appealing the ruling.
On Friday, the league took the action after determining that Gold had disclosed confidential draft details and placed wagers involving football games. The NFL did not state to which parties that Gold had provided the information.
The league revealed that Gold disclosed inside information regarding Arizona’s 2026 draft picks prior to their announcement. Additionally, investigators discovered he took part in parlays involving NFL and college football games.
The suspension took effect immediately, but an appeal is permitted.
“Ryan Gold has been an outstanding NFL executive for over a decade,” attorney Mike Caspino said in a statement on Sunday. “The accusations made by the league regarding his participation in prohibited gambling activities are blatantly false. We have demanded an appeal and we look forward to clearing his good name.”
Caspino claimed that Gold’s wife, Jennifer, was making $10 weekly bets with a group of high school friends on parlays and that Gold played no role in that activity.
He added that Gold did not know whom the Cardinals were selecting because only team owner Michael Bidwill and general manager Monti Ossenfort knew and did not share that information.
NFL rules prohibit league and club employees from betting on sports, assisting others with wagers or providing information that is not available to the public.
“Although there is no reason to believe the integrity of any NFL game was affected,” the NFL said in Friday’s statement, “the league takes any violation of the gambling policy with the utmost seriousness.”
The league said its investigation included interviews and a review of electronic records. It found no evidence that any Cardinals player, coach or other employee knew about or participated in Gold’s actions. There was also no indication that a play or game had been compromised.
The Cardinals on Friday issued a statement saying they “fully support the league’s decision in this matter.” They removed Gold’s bio from the team’s official website.
Gold was entering his 13th year with the organization and his second as director of college scouting. He was promoted to the position in June 2025 after three seasons as Arizona’s assistant director of college scouting. He previously spent four years with the organization as a college scouting coordinator.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Thunder deal Luguentz Dort to Hawks in 3-team trade
May 26, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) shoots during the third quarter against the San Antonio Spurs in game five of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images The Atlanta Hawks acquired 2025 All-Defensive wing Luguentz Dort from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Ryan Nembhard from the Dallas Mavericks in a three-team deal on Sunday.
The Hawks sent former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher and a protected future second-round draft pick to the Mavericks, with two more future second-rounders going to the Thunder. Dallas is shipping one second-rounder to Oklahoma City.
While Dort has been a mainstay in Oklahoma City’s starting lineup for years, the move completed a necessary stretch of offseason deals for the Thunder. They acquired seven second-round picks while going under the second apron with their trades of Dort, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins.
Oklahoma City picked up Dort’s $17.7 million team option, acquired three future assets and created a $17 million trade exception. Dort is now in position to sign a long-term contract in Atlanta that was infeasible with the Thunder.
Dort, 27, joins a young Hawks team led by Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker that won more playoff games against the NBA champion New York Knicks than any other opponent. Atlanta also freed up $40-plus million in cap space next summer.
Dort, who finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024-25, averaged 8.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in 69 games last season. He averaged 11.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in seven seasons with the Thunder.
In his second NBA season, the 21-year-old Risacher averaged 9.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 67 games. However, he received just 23 minutes during the playoffs. The forward finished second to the Spurs’ Stephon Castle in the NBA’s 2025 Rookie of the Year voting.
Nembhard, 23, played in 60 games for the Mavericks as a rookie guard last season. The undrafted free agent made 27 starts and averaged 6.6 points, 5.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lakers sign developing forward Ziaire Willaims
Mar 31, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Ziaire Williams (1) controls the ball against Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (7) during the third quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images The Los Angeles Lakers announced the signing of five-year veteran forward Ziaire Williams on Sunday.
Terms were not released, but multiple outlets reported on Monday that the deal was for one year at a $3 million salary.
The 6-foot-9 Williams is reuniting with Bronny James, who he played alongside at California high school Sierra Canyon. The Lancaster, Calif. native earned McDonald’s All-America honors and was a consensus five-star recruit in the 2020 class.
The No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Stanford by the Memphis Grizzlies, Williams is a career 8.7 points-per-game scorer, though he averaged a career high 10.2 points last season for the Nets, his second season in Brooklyn after three seasons in Memphis.
He reached career highs in games played and starts (63/45), points (632), field goals made (214), 3-point field goals made (103), rebounds (287), assists (84) and blocked shots (28) during his first season in Brooklyn.
Williams, 24, converted 85% (119 of 140) of his free throw attempts in 2025-26 and is an 82.4% career shooter from the stripe.
–Field Level Media
Cardinals scouting director to appeal NFL's gambling suspension
Thunder deal Luguentz Dort to Hawks in 3-team trade
