Sports
No. 25 Vanderbilt opens season-ending road swing vs. Kentucky
Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington works with his team against Tennessee during the second half at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. No. 25 Vanderbilt begins a season-ending three-game road swing with a Southeastern Conference game against Kentucky on Saturday afternoon in Lexington.
The Commodores (22-6, 9-6 SEC) are coming off an 88-80 win over Georgia on Wednesday, snapping a two-game losing streak.
They now prepare for the final stretch of the regular season and understand it’s crucial to stay on a winning streak, especially as they vie for an NCAA tournament bid. Vanderbilt is ranked 13th in the KenPom rankings.
Head coach Mark Byington said after the win over Georgia that he believes his team is heading in the right direction to be at its best when it matters most.
“That’s what you want,” Byington said. “We’re not close to the postseason yet, whether it’s the SEC tournament or NCAA, but we want to be playing good basketball.
“We don’t play anymore at home. We have to be playing our best for what is ahead.”
Kentucky (18-10, 9-6) just ended a three-game losing streak with a 72-63 win over South Carolina on the road.
The Wildcats, ranked 30th in the KenPom rankings, play two of their final three at home, where they are 13-3.
They beat the Gamecocks despite turning the ball over 15 times, marking the first time they have won an SEC game while doing so this season. The Wildcats, averaging 10.6 turnovers per game, are 7-0 in conference play when committing 10 turnovers or fewer.
“It’s going to be important that we continue to get better at protecting the ball,” head coach Mark Pope said in a postgame radio interview. That marker (10 turnovers or less) is important for us. It’s been almost perfect in its predictive value of the outcome of the game.”
Vanderbilt’s Devin McGlockton recorded his fourth double-double of the year in the win over Georgia, racking up 17 points and 10 rebounds. He is averaging 10.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
“Devon was possessed,” Byington said. “He was not going to let us lose this game. You could see his determination. He plays hard every night.”
Tyler Tanner is the leading scorer at 18.5 points per game for a Commodores team averaging 87.3 points per outing.
One question mark for Vanderbilt is the status of Frankie Collins, who has not played since suffering an injury Dec. 17. He was originally slated to return at some point during the SEC schedule.
Byington told reporters after the Georgia win that he’d update everyone when he has a “definitive answer.”
The Wildcats are averaging 80.9 points per contest and are hoping to avenge an 80-55 loss to Vanderbilt in their last meeting on Jan. 27. Kentucky is 4-3 since that game.
Denzel Aberdeen scored 19 points in the win over South Carolina, knocking down four 3-pointers, to lead the way. He’s averaging 12.9 points per game on the year and has made 46 shots from 3-point range.
In the last meeting with Vanderbilt, Aberdeen scored 15, with Otega Oweh leading the way with 20 points.
Vanderbilt has played well on the road, going 6-3 away from home in true road games this season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tyler Reddick starts bid for 3rd straight NASCAR Cup win with pole run
Feb 22, 2026; Hampton, Georgia, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Tyler Reddick rounds the track at EchoPark Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Images AUSTIN, Texas — One of the few things that wasn’t startling about Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Circuit of the Americas was Tyler Reddick’s run for the pole position.
Negotiating the 2.4-mile road course in 97.760 seconds (88.380 mph) in the second qualifying group, Reddick claimed his third Busch Light Pole Award in six attempts at the track. He will lead the field to green in Sunday’s DuraMAX Grand Prix Powered by Reladyne (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Of course, there’s more at stake for Reddick than simply a victory at COTA. In winning at EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta last Sunday, the driver of the No. 45 Toyota became the sixth Cup competitor to start a season with two consecutive wins. No driver has ever won three straight to open a season.
The 23XI Racing driver acknowledged that the pole position, the 12th of his career, is a positive first step toward that goal.
“It helps the chances, certainly,” said Reddick, whose series-best average finish of 4.6 at COTA includes a victory in 2023. “I think starting up front is huge.”
Michael McDowell led the first qualifying group of 19 drivers with a lap at 88.031 mph but fell to sixth soon after the second group took to the track. Ultimately, Ross Chastain posted the second-fastest lap at 88.256 mph (97.897 seconds) and will start on the front row beside Reddick.
The shocker was not that Chastain, the 2022 COTA winner, fashioned an excellent lap. What was surprising was that his two Trackhouse Racing teammates, Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch — both vaunted road course racers — failed to crack the top 10 in qualifying.
Van Gisbergen was 13th fastest on his third lap. Zilisch could do no better than 25th. Van Gisbergen is seeking his sixth straight road course victory in the Cup Series, a mark that would tie NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon for most consecutive road course wins.
Chase Briscoe (88.242 mph) will start third, followed by Ryan Blaney (88.179 mph) and Chase Elliott (88.161 mph). Elliott leads active drivers with seven road course victories.
Behind McDowell in sixth, AJ Allmendinger qualified seventh, followed by defending race winner Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs and William Byron.
“We’ll see how it gets going,” Reddick said. “Certainly, Ross, Shane, Ryan Blaney-there’s a number of good drivers who were really strong in practice today. We’ll try to understand what that all looks like and make our best decisions on the car and everything.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Warriors F Gui Santos signs multi-year extension
Feb 25, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Gui Santos (15) passes the ball as Memphis Grizzlies guard Javon Small (10) defends during the third quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images Golden State Warriors forward Gui Santos signed a multi-year contract extension on Saturday.
Specific terms were not disclosed by the Warriors. However, ESPN reported it was a three-year, $15 million contract extension with a player option in 2028-29. Santos was in line to become a restricted free agent prior to this extension.
Santos, 23, is posting career-best averages in points (6.6), rebounds (3.2) and assists (1.7) in 48 games (13 starts) this season.
He is contributing 4.9 points, 3.0 boards and 1.4 assists in 127 career games (15 starts) since being selected by the Warriors in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Isaiah Evans, No. 1 Duke overwhelm No. 11 Virginia
Feb 28, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Isaiah Evans (3) grabs a pass as he moves around a pick center Patrick Ngongba II (21) as Virginia Cavaliers guard Sam Lewis (5) defends during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images Isaiah Evans used a hot start on the way to 19 points and top-ranked Duke’s defense contained No. 11 Virginia for much of Saturday afternoon’s showdown in a 77-51 victory at Durham, N.C.
The Blue Devils, with two games remaining, secured at least a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship and locked up the top seed for the upcoming ACC tournament.
Cameron Boozer racked up most of his 18 points on free throws for Duke (27-2, 15-1 ACC), which built its lead to 28 points in the second half. Boozer also had a team-high nine rebounds, while Patrick Ngongba II added 11 points.
Thijs De Ridder had 16 points for Virginia (25-4, 13-3), which was bidding to pull even atop the ACC standings. Instead, the Cavaliers’ nine-game winning streak was halted as they were held to a season-low point total.
Virginia went 29.1% from the field, including 7-for-35 on 3s, so the Cavaliers’ 12-for-13 shooting at the foul line couldn’t save them. Virginia collected nine offensive rebounds despite its volume of missed shots.
Evans shot 5-for-9 on 3-pointers and was 7-for-11 overall from the floor, accounting for nearly half of Duke’s 12 baskets from 3-point range.
Boozer had 11 first-half points on 11-for-12 free-throw shooting, but didn’t make a field goal until a 3-pointer early in the second half. He ended up 3-for-9 from the field in 33 minutes in Duke’s second-to-last home game of the season.
Aside from De Ridder, Virginia’s starters shot a combined 4-for-22 from the field.
An 11-0 run in the second half stretched Duke’s advantage to 70-43.
Duke built an 18-9 lead across the first 11 minutes, with Evans providing 14 of those points. The Blue Devils carried a 41-26 lead into halftime.
Virginia shot 4-for-17 on first-half 3s, while going 4-for-8 on 2-point range attempts.
By game’s end, Boozer attempted 12 of Duke’s 14 free throws.
–Field Level Media
Tyler Reddick starts bid for 3rd straight NASCAR Cup win with pole run
Warriors F Gui Santos signs multi-year extension
