Sports
No. 24 Louisville rising, Baylor falling ahead of nonconference tilt
Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) gets congratulated by teammate Louisville Cardinals guard Ryan Conwell (3) after Brown Jr. scored 45 points with 10-for-16 3-point shooting as the Cards roll past NC State 118-77 at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville February 9, 2026. Conwell finished with 31 points and six assists. No. 24 Louisville and Baylor will step outside of their conferences for the last time in the regular season when they meet Saturday on a neutral court in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Cardinals (18-6) and the Bears (13-11) will be playing for more than just pride in what shapes up to be a Quad 1 game. Louisville, 5-6 in Quad 1 games, has won four straight overall and six of the past seven to shore up its status as a near-certain NCAA Tournament team.
However, Baylor with its 3-9 Quad 1 record, may not even be considered a bubble team. The Bears are on a two-game skid and have lost six of their past eight.
A high-scoring affair may be in the cards as Louisville is 12th among Division I schools in adjusted offensive efficiency at 125.2 points per 100 possessions while Baylor is 23rd (122.4).
In Louisville’s 118-77 rout of North Carolina State on Monday, Mikel Brown Jr. put up 45 points to tie the single-game school record and break the Atlantic Coast Conference mark for most points in a game by a freshman.
The epic night came after Brown struggled somewhat, especially from the 3-point arc, since returning from a back injury that cost him eight games this season. He shot 27.3% (9 of 33) from the arc in his first five games after the injury. On Monday, he tied a school record with 10 treys, reaching that figure on 16 attempts (62.5%).
However, Brown (17.3 ppg) is far from the only scoring threat on coach Pat Kelsey’s team. Louisville features seven players who average seven or more points per game. Leading scorer Ryan Conwell (18.9 ppg) added 31 in the Monday win.
While the Cardinals have been on a roll, Kelsey told reporters after the NC State game that the team will keep an even keel just as it did after Duke beat the Cardinals 83-52 on Jan. 26.
“They didn’t listen to the thump, thump, thump. The noise, the rat poison,” the coach said. “And we’re not going to do it after winning a big game tonight by a lot.”
After a 10-2 start, the Bears are just 3-9, all against their Big 12 colleagues. However, they have remained close against some of the conference’s top teams. On Tuesday, No. 22 BYU visited Waco, Texas, and left with a 99-94 victory.
Depth has been an issue as coach Scott Drew has relied on seven players who average 23.1 or more minutes per game. It’s been an even bigger issue since Dan Skillings Jr. (10.2 ppg) has missed the past three games because of a knee injury.
Baylor’s starters all logged at least 29 minutes in the loss to BYU, with Tounde Yessoufou (18.5 ppg) playing the entire 40 minutes as he scored a career-high 37. Cameron Carr (19.8 ppg) went 35 minutes while scoring 24.
Carr, Yessoufou and Obi Agbim played all 40 minutes on Feb. 7 in a 72-69 loss to then-No. 7 Iowa State.
Those minutes come at a cost, according to Drew.
“I think most coaches will tell you, when you’re tired, you’re going to give it up somewhere,” said Drew, whom Louisville pursued for its head-coaching vacancy two years ago before hiring Kelsey. “Might be shot selection. Might be defense.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Victoria Mboko, Karolina Muchova to square off in Doha title match
Jan 25, 2026; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Victoria Mboko of Canada in action against Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round of the women’s singles at the Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images No. 10 seed Victoria Mboko delivered six aces while recording a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Jelena Ostapenko on Friday to reach the final of the Qatar Open at Doha.
Mboko took down Ostapenko one day after upsetting Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in a quarterfinal match.
The Canadian will face Czech Karolina Muchova in Saturday’s title match. The No. 14 seed beat Maria Sakkari of Greece 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in her semifinal match.
Mboko, 19, will be seeking her third career WTA title on Saturday. She also will enter the Top 10 on Monday, regardless of whether she wins (at No. 9) or loses (No. 10) in the championship match.
“It’s kind of crazy,” Mboko said afterwards. “I never expected something to happen so fast for me. I just have been taking it day by day, tournament by tournament. Every tournament I enter, I want to do well. I don’t really hold that much expectation of myself. It’s not like when I enter a tournament I’m going to say I’m going to win it, but you always want to try your best.
“I think this came relatively fast, but it’s a nice feeling. It’s nice to see that, to have that milestone, to see that number. So, yeah, I’m pretty happy with that.”
Ostapenko of Latvia started strong by winning the first two games of the match. Mboko then took over and won 11 of the next 12.
Mboko said she will stick to her plan in the title match.
“I don’t want to change something up because what I’ve been doing has been working so far,” Mboko said. “I just want to rest up the best I can, focus for tomorrow, tomorrow’s a new day, and just play my game.”
Muchova, 29, has won just one singles title and that came in Seoul in 2019. The clash with Mboko will be her seventh WTA final.
“It’s going to be the first time,” Muchova said of facing Mboko. “I watch her here and she’s playing incredible. I know her since last year, probably all of us, she has this boom. I think she’s an incredible, strong athlete. So it’s for sure going to be a very tough battle.”
Muchova had four aces against Sakkari, who saved 11 of 17 break points. Sakkari wilted in the final set as Muchova won the first five games en route to closing out the win.
“I tried to play a little more aggressive, I would say,” Muchova said of her third-set strategy. “I tried to change it up more. I wanted to go more for the returns, go for more lines. I think that it paid off because then we didn’t play such long rallies, which I think she’s striving at, and I was able to get some faster points on my side.”
Muchova saved 6 of 10 break points against Sakkari.
–Field Level Media
Sports
SMU on right side of bubble as road test against Syracuse looms
Feb 7, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; SMU MUstangs guard B.J. Davis-Ray (9) drives on Pittsburgh Panthers Damarco Minor (7) during the second half at Petersen Events Center. The Panthers lost 86-67. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images SMU takes its varied offensive attack on the road as it looks to build its resume for the postseason when it plays against host Syracuse on Saturday afternoon in an Atlantic Coast Conference game.
It’s the first time the teams will square off in Syracuse after SMU defeated the Orange twice last season — once at home and again on a neutral floor in the ACC tournament — in the only other contests between the programs.
The Mustangs (17-7, 6-5 ACC) head to central New York after an 89-81 home win over Notre Dame on Tuesday. Boopie Miller and Jaron Pierre Jr. traded off bell-cow duties in the game, with Pierre scoring 18 of his team-leading 22 points in the second half after Miller racked up 18 of his 20 before halftime.
“That’s how it’s got to be every game,” Miller said. “If I’m off, Jaron got to pick it up. And if he’s off, I’ve got to pick it up. So that’s how it’s going to be for the rest of the season. We’ve just got to keep bringing guys along so we can keep winning.”
Corey Washington added 14 points and Samet Yigitoglu racked up 11 points and 10 rebounds in the victory for SMU, which has captured back-to-back games and is back on track for an at-large spot in the NCAA Tournament.
The Mustangs are a No. 9 seed in ESPN’s latest bracketology update posted on Friday.
Syracuse (14-11, 5-7) beat Cal 107-100 at home in double overtime in its most recent outing, getting 27 points from Nate Kingz and 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds from William Kyle III before he was forced from the game with leg cramps in the second extra period.
J.J. Starling scored 21 points and collected a season-high four steals for the Orange, who snapped a two-game losing streak and produced their second victory in a stretch of eight games. Donnie Freeman (16 points), Naithan George (14) and Sadiq White Jr. (10) all also scored in double figures.
“One thing you can’t question is this team’s fight,” Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said. “This team fights every game. They don’t give up. And you know, that’s what we’re gonna keep doing until we can’t fight anymore.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Feds allege Guardians P Emmanuel Clase fixed pitch in playoff game
Jul 18, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Athletics at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Federal prosecutors allege in an indictment unsealed Friday that former Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase rigged a pitch in a playoff game and used coded language to try to conceal his efforts to help gamblers win prop bets.
The indictment details the belief of prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York that Clase rigged more pitches during his years with the Guardians than initially thought.
They now suspect Clase, a three-time All-Star and 2024 AL Cy Young Award finalist, fixed 15 pitches between the 2023 and 2025 seasons, including in the ninth inning of the Guardians’ 2024 American League Division Series opener against the Detroit Tigers, and intended to rig pitches on three additional occasions but did not get into the game.
The documents unsealed Friday allege Clase and collaborators used words like “chicken” and “rooster” in text exchanges to mask his intention to deliberately throw certain pitches for balls.
The Athletic cited an example from May 18, 2025, when Clase, 27, received a text directing him to “Throw a rock at the first rooster in today’s fight.”
Prosecutors say gamblers netted at least $450,000 from the wagering scheme and kicked back some winnings to Clase and teammate Luis Ortiz, who face charges of wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery.
They accuse Ortiz, 27, of fixing two pitches.
MLB placed both pitchers on the restricted list and administrative leave last July ahead of their arrests in November.
Clase and Ortiz pleaded not guilty to all charges, and their trial in New York is scheduled to start May 4.
Along with requesting a later start date, counsel for Ortiz has asked the federal judge overseeing the proceedings to sever his case and allow him to be tried separately from Clase.
Clase owns a career 1.88 ERA with 182 saves in 366 games. Cleveland acquired him in a trade with the Texas Rangers in 2019.
Ortiz has a career 16-22 record and 4.05 ERA in 75 games (50 starts) with the Pittsburgh Pirates (2022-24) and Guardians (2025).
–Field Level Media
NYT Strands hints, answers for February 14, 2026
Victoria Mboko, Karolina Muchova to square off in Doha title match
