Sports
Rebounds key to No. 9 Nebraska rebounding versus Penn State
Feb 17, 2026; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Pryce Sandfort (21) shoots a free throw against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images One of the last teams in the country to suffer its first loss, No. 9 Nebraska will try to get back to its winning ways when it hosts last-place Penn State in a Big Ten Conference game on Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, Neb.
Since starting 20-0, the Cornhuskers (22-4, 11-4) have dropped four of six to fall into a three-way tie for third place in the Big Ten.
The Huskers’ latest loss was a 57-52 setback Tuesday night at Iowa, which saw Nebraska post its lowest point total of the season – close to 27 points shy of the Huskers’ season average.
“We can’t hang our heads, we can’t sulk after this one,” said Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg, who had a brief altercation in the postgame handshake line when one of the Iowa students storming the court approached him. “We’ve got to find a way to regroup.”
Penn State (11-16, 2-14) lost by 85-72 Wednesday at home to Rutgers, its eighth double-digit loss in Big Ten play. The Nittany Lions also have pushed some of the league’s best, including a two-point home loss to No. 1 Michigan on Jan. 6, but slow starts have gotten in their way all season.
“If I knew it, we would keep fixing it and keep addressing it,” Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said. “Some of it is matchups. Some of it is turnovers. I really think the games where we got off to a good start and were in position to play better … is when we took care of the ball.”
Penn State turns the ball over 10 times per game in Big Ten play — which ranks in the middle of the pack — but Nebraska forces 13 turnovers per game.
Nebraska, on the other hand, struggles against physical teams. The Huskers’ inability to rebound well has been a big part of their recent struggles. Four of Nebraska’s six worst offensive rebounding games have come in losses, which leads to worse showings on the defensive end.
“We were better in the last game (against Northwestern), but in two of the last three (before that) we weren’t good,” Hoiberg said.
Nebraska junior Pryce Sandfort, who was among seven Big Ten players named to the national Naismith Trophy Late-Season Team, already has set the school’s single-season record for 3-pointers with 90. He’s shooting exactly 40% from the perimeter and the Cornhuskers as a team are shooting 35.6%, but they were just 5 of 24 at Iowa.
Penn State ranks next-to-last in league play in 3-point shooting (29.5%) and last in 3-point defense (41.2%). The Nittany Lions surrender a league-high 10.5 3-pointers per game to Big Ten foes.
The Nittany Lions missed the Big Ten Tournament last season when only 15 of 18 teams were invited. This season the entire membership will play in Chicago, but finishing in the bottom four during the regular season means needing to win six games in six days to get the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
For Nebraska, finishing in the top four would give it a bye until the quarterfinals and leave it needing only three wins to claim the title. The Cornhuskers are a lock to make the NCAA field for the second time in three seasons, but their potential seed has dipped.
Nebraska is the only power-conference school that has yet to win an NCAA Tournament game.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tyler Reddick's Daytona 500 win scores massive ratings for Fox
Michael Jordan at Tyler Reddick on Victory Lane. The 2026 Daytona 500 held Feb.15 at Daytona International Speedway. Tyler Reddick’s victory in the 2026 Daytona 500 scored massive ratings for Fox Sports, which saw an 11% increase over last year’s race.
The 7.489 million viewers for the race out-paced every non-prime Winter Olympics window on broadcast and cable and was the most-watched NASCAR race since the 2023 Daytona 500 (8.173 million). The peak viewership from 5:30-5:45 p.m. ET on Sunday drew 9.154 million viewers.
They tuned in to see Reddick score a victory for Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing by passing leader Chase Elliott on the final turn.
The 30-year-old Corning, Calif., native went high and swooped low off Turn 4 to beat Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 0.308 seconds as the lead group wrecked wildly before reaching the flagstand.
Joey Logano finished third, followed by Elliott and Brad Keselowski.
“Last year was really hard for us, hard for me,” said Reddick, who became the fourth Daytona 500 winner not to lead until the last lap. “When you’re a Cup driver and you get to this level and drive for Michael Jordan, you’re expected to win every single year.”
Elliott settled for his second Top 5 finish in 11 starts at Daytona.
“This really sucks to be that close,” Elliott said, “come off Turn 4 with the lead and not finish it off.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Women's Top 25 roundup: Texas A&M extends No. 21 Tennessee's slide
Tennessee guard Talaysia Cooper (55) guards Texas A&M guard Salese Blow (25) during a NCAA basketball game at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tenn., on Feb. 19, 2026. Ny’Ceara Pryor and Fatmata Janneh had double-doubles and Texas A&M upset No. 21 Tennessee 82-74 on Thursday night in Knoxville, Tenn.
Pryor finished with 22 points and 10 assists, Janneh produced 17 points and 12 rebounds and Lemyah Hylton scored 12 for the Aggies (11-11, 4-9 SEC), who took command with a 16-2 spurt to start the third quarter that generated a 63-44 lead.
Texas A&M scored the first 10 points of the game, but held just a five-point halftime lead before the blitz that triggered a 22-9 scoring edge in the third quarter.
Senior forward Janiah Barker posted a career-high 29 points with 10 rebounds, Zee Spearman scored 14 and Talaysia Cooper had 11 to pace the Volunteers (16-9, 8-5), who never led while losing their third straight game.
No. 22 North Carolina 66, Virginia Tech 63 (OT)
Nyla Harris had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead the Tar Heels over the Hokies in Blacksburg, Va.
Harris made two free throws to give North Carolina (22-6, 11-4 ACC) the lead for good with 1:27 left in overtime as it bounced back from a 72-68 loss at Duke on Sunday that ended an eight-game winning streak. Elina Aarnisalo added 13 points, Lanie Grant scored 12 and Indya Nivar had 10.
Carys Baker had 15 points and eight rebounds, Samyha Suffren scored 15 and Carleigh Wenzel added 14 for Virginia Tech (20-8, 10-6), which had two game-tying 3-point attempts blocked in the waning seconds before missing a third at the buzzer.
No. 11 Oklahoma 71, No. 24 Georgia 67
Aaliyah Chavez scored 27 points and the Sooners never trailed in holding off the Bulldogs in Athens, Ga.
Sahara Williams added 11 points for Oklahoma (20-6, 8-5 SEC), which scored the first nine points of the game and built a 37-27 halftime lead.
Mia Woolfork had a career-high 29 points with nine rebounds for Georgia (20-7, 6-7), which shot just 2 of 15 from 3-point range. Dani Carnegie scored 14 points and Trinity Turner added 10.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Aaron Rai on top, Rory McIlroy 1 back at rain-delayed Genesis
Aug 3, 2025; Greensboro, North Carolina, USA; Aaron Rai drives off the 9th tee box during the final round of the Wyndham Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Allison Lawhon-Imagn Images PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Aaron Rai of England held a one-shot lead at the Genesis Invitational on Thursday at Riviera Country Club despite being unable to complete his round during a rainy and windy day.
Rai was at 6 under par through 16 holes before the rain-delayed opening round was halted by darkness. He can still pad his opening-round advantage Friday morning when play resumes at 7 a.m. local time.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy shot a 5-under-par 66 and was tied with Jacob Bridgeman for second place. Ryan Fox of New Zealand was alone in fourth place at 4 under as the tournament, hosted by Tiger Woods, returned to the Los Angeles area.
The signature event was relocated south to Torrey Pines last year following a devastating wildfire in Pacific Palisades in January 2025.
A morning rain shower delayed play three hours, with many in the field unable to finish their opening rounds. Windy conditions proved to be a challenge the remainder of the day.
McIlroy, a 29-time winner on the PGA Tour, opened his round at 3 under through four holes before the rain delay. He moved to 5 under with a birdie at No. 11, lost a shot with a bogey at No. 16 and moved back to 5 under with a birdie at the par-5 17th.
“I’ve started to just really enjoy this style of golf,” McIlroy said about the wet, windy and cool conditions. “If you had asked me 10 years ago, I didn’t enjoy these conditions, but it’s been a shift in mindset and maybe just a continuation of trying to build upon the skill set that I have. Then when it does get to conditions like this, I’m a lot more prepared.”
Bridgeman, who is in his third season on the PGA Tour without a victory, had an erratic start to his round with an eagle 3 at No. 1 and a double bogey at the long par-3 fourth hole. He then went 5 under through a stretch of 10 holes starting at No. 8.
“I’ve never really had any success on the West Coast in my career, but I think I’m starting to understand more of how to play out here and be a little more confident with it,” said Bridgeman, a South Carolina native. “We never played out here in college, I never played in junior golf out here. So really my (first time) coming out for the West Coast was as a pro. I’m starting to get a little more comfortable.”
Collin Morikawa, a Los Angeles-area native who won last week at Pebble Beach, opened in a seven-way tie for fifth place at 3 under.
“Nice to get off to a good start and kind of be around the lead,” Morikawa said. “This course is going to play very different, I think, the next three days, not quite with the softness and speed of the greens but just score-ability with the wind being down.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler struggled in the opening round for the third consecutive week and was at 5 over par through 10 holes.
Defending champion Ludvig Aberg of Sweden opened tied for 44th place at 1 over par, while Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama was tied for 12th place at 2 under. Matsuyama won the tournament the last time it was played at Riviera in 2024.
–Field Level Media
Tyler Reddick's Daytona 500 win scores massive ratings for Fox
Women's Top 25 roundup: Texas A&M extends No. 21 Tennessee's slide
