Sports
Senators eager to keep their offense in gear vs. Rangers
Mar 21, 2026; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators right wing Claude Giroux (28) celebrates with team his goal scored in the second period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-IMAGN Images In mid-January, the Ottawa Senators were in the initial stages of their bid to return to playoff contention when they scored eight goals in a game against the New York Rangers.
In the midst of a competitive Eastern Conference playoff chase, the Senators will return to the site of their most prolific offensive performance of the season when they visit the Rangers on Monday night.
Ottawa (36-24-9, 81 points) endured a 2-6-1 stretch from Dec. 23 to Jan. 10, and the rough patch left them seven points out of the second-wild card spot.
The Senators, however, swept a back-to-back set by rolling to a six-goal lead and an 8-4 victory against the Rangers on Jan. 14. It was the second win in Ottawa’s current 16-5-4 stretch.
Even with the improvement, Ottawa is four points behind the conference’s second wild-card team, the New York Islanders, entering its 70th game. The Senators are attempting to win three straight games for the third time in their surge after following Thursday’s 3-2 home victory over the Islanders with a 5-2 triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
The Senators scored the first three goals and set a season high with 43 shots on goal.
“It was a massive win,” said Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle, who scored his 32nd goal of the season and 13th in a barrage that began with a tally against the Rangers.
“Nobody underestimated them. We came out hard, and we didn’t really like the first 10 minutes, then we just settled in. There was a lot to like about our game.
The Senators had 11 players produce at least one point on Saturday.
“It was a great game,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said. “We stuck with it and didn’t change. The first period was choppy, and I felt like there wasn’t a lot of flow to our game. I really like how we got our game in the second period and didn’t change the rest of the way.”
New York (28-33-9, 65 points) is using several younger players in its lineup, including Tye Kartye and goalie Dylan Garand. Kartye scored a goal and Garand made 35 saves in his NHL debut in Sunday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets, a result that sent the Rangers to their fourth straight loss.
Garand was called up because backup goalie Jonathan Quick has an upper-body injury for the Rangers, who likely will start Igor Shesterkin on Monday. Shesterkin was a week into his injury when the Senators dominated the previous meeting.
Mika Zibanejad continued to be a bright spot for the Rangers by scoring a power-play goal Sunday. He enters his 1,000th career game after getting his 30th goal, marking the former Senators’ first-round pick’s fourth 30-goal season with the Rangers and first since 2022-23.
“I think Mika has been arguably our best forward all year,” New York coach Mike Sullivan said. “Not just with how he’s scoring goals, but with how he’s playing the game. As far as his goal-scoring ability, I think it’s on display every night. The puck comes off his stick differently than most, the way he shoots the puck, and that for me, is a sign of a true goal-scorer.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kenyon Giles pours in 28 points as Wichita State rolls over Oklahoma State
Feb 26, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Wichita State Shockers head coach Paul Mills reacts against the Memphis Tigers during the second half at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Wesley Hale-Imagn Images Kenyon Giles put on a show as he connected on eight 3-pointers and scored 28 points, leading Wichita State to a dominant 96-70 victory over Oklahoma State in the second round of the NIT Sunday night in Stillwater, Okla.
Giles shot 8-of-16 from long range while four others finished in double figures. Karon Boyd and Michael Gray Jr. scored 13 points apiece, Dillon Battie added 12 points and 10 rebounds and Dre Kindell chipped in 11 for the Shockers (24-11), who are in the NIT for the 15th time in program history.
Christian Coleman’s double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds wasn’t enough for the Cowboys (20-15), who also got 19 points out of Kanye Clary.
Any thoughts of the Cowboys getting a boost from the return of three of their top players from a suspension in the opening round, including leading scorer Anthony Roy, didn’t pan out.
Roy, the team’s leading scorer, was limited to seven points, well below his average (17.2), Vyctorius Miller tallied eight points and Isaiah Coleman managed two.
Oklahoma State didn’t score in the 3:05 of the first half but took its first lead of the day at 47-46 on a layup by Coleman with 17:07 remaining.
Tied at 48-48, Giles hit a 3-pointer to ignite a 6-0 run as the Shockers pulled in front 54-48 with 14:40 left.
Battie’s layup at the 11:25 mark stretched the Wichita State lead to double digits at 61-51. Giles all but sealed the deal for the Shockers when he connected from 3-point range for the fifth time, extending the lead to 68-53 with 9:21 left.
The two teams were meeting in the NIT for the second year in a row after the Cowboys won last year’s matchup 89-79.
Giles did his best to make sure history didn’t repeat itself, drilling back-to-back 3-pointers in the span of 29 seconds to propel the Shockers to a 10-2 lead with 15:21 to go, the first of the two going down on a shot from the OSU logo.
The Cowboys did themselves no favors in trying to erase the deficit, missing eight consecutive shots from the floor before Benjamin Ahmed ended the drought to cut the Wichita State lead to 15-6 with 13:31 to play.
The Shockers held a lead of 24-10 midway through the first half but the Cowboys were only down 32-26 with 5:13 to go after Roy drilled a 3-pointer.
A 12-2 run for the Cowboys got them within 34-31 with 3:42 left but the Shockers weathered the storm and led 44-37 at the half thanks to a 3-pointer from Boyd with 14 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Saint Joseph's makes 19-point comeback to overcome Cal
Dec 11, 2025; Syracuse, New York, USA; Saint Joseph’s Hawks guard Jaiden Glover-Toscano (11) shoots against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images Jaiden Glover-Toscano had 24 points and a game-ending blocked shot to cap a 19-point comeback as visiting Saint Joseph’s nipped Cal 76-75 on Sunday night in the second round of the NIT in Berkeley, Calif.
The Hawks (24-11) advance to play New Mexico in the NIT quarterfinals.
Cal (22-12) was in complete control of the game, ahead 61-42 with 13:34 left after a 3-pointer by Chris Bell, but the Hawks chipped away.
A rim-rattling dunk by Dasear Haskins cut the lead to nine with 6:54 to play for Saint Joseph’s. A basket by Glover-Toscano made it a four-point game with 4:11 to play.
Justin Pippen made a free throw for Cal to give them a 75-73 lead with 2:10 left, but the Bears would not score again. Hawks guard Derek Simpson shook loose outside the arc and drained a three with 1:50 to go to give St. Joseph the lead.
After both teams had empty possessions, Cal called a timeout with 44.2 seconds left with the ball and worked it inside to Lee Dort, but Dort had the ball stripped and the Hawks went back the other way. Cal elected not to use a timeout as Simpson dribbled the ball near half court. His runner in the lane missed with six seconds to go.
Dort sent an outlet pass over to Dai Dai Ames, who drove into the front court and attacked the basket, but Glover-Toscano was able to get a few fingers on his shot to knock it away just before the final buzzer.
Bell had 23 points to lead Cal, including five threes. Haskins had 17 for Saint Joseph’s. The Hawks outscored Cal 42-24 in the paint.
Saint Joseph, playing the second time on the road in the NIT, jumped out to a 16-8 lead seven minutes into the game, but Cal took over midway through the first half. The Bears led at halftime 41-33 and opened the second half on an 11-2 run to build the lead to double digits.
–Field Level Media
Sports
UConn turns to veteran Alex Karaban, downs UCLA to reach Sweet 16
Mar 22, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; UConn Huskies forward Alex Karaban (11) reacts against the UCLA Bruins in the second half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images PHILADELPHIA — Alex Karaban has seen his role evolve across 147 games at UConn, from a supporting role as a freshman to a key shooter and connector on offense and, now, the senior leader.
On Sunday, the Huskies asked him for something different. With others struggling and their season on the line, they needed Karaban to carry their offense.
Karaban responded with a career-high 27 points, freshman Braylon Mullins added 17 and No. 2 seed UConn took down No. 7 seed UCLA 73-57 to return to the Sweet 16.
UConn (31-5) will face No. 3 Michigan State in the East Region semifinals. The program is shooting for a third national title to cap Karaban’s four-year career, after eventual champion Florida eliminated the Huskies in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year.
Two nights after racking up 31 points and 27 rebounds against Furman, Tarris Reed Jr. had 10 points and 13 boards but shot just 3 of 8 from the field. Jayden Ross had 11 points, but Solo Ball was scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting and Silas Demary Jr. scored two on a pair of free throws.
Xavier Booker had 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the first half to fuel UCLA (24-12), but he was held in check after that and finished with 13. Eric Dailey Jr. put up 12, Donovan Dent added 11 with nine assists and Skyy Clark also scored 11.
It was the second matchup of the blue bloods all-time after the Bruins defeated UConn in the 1995 NCAA Tournament on the way to their most recent national championship.
UCLA led by six early on until the Huskies hit seven shots in a row, anchored by a pair of 3-pointers from Ross that gave them their first lead at 23-21.
Eric Reibe threw down a two-handed dunk with 3:38 remaining, and Mullins knocked down two triples in the final 2:49 to give UConn a 38-33 halftime edge.
But it barely lasted. UCLA scored the first six points of the second half, and Clark’s triple put UCLA ahead 42-40.
Karaban dug in and converted two layups. His third-chance tip-in put UConn back up 46-44 with 13:49 to go.
He added one trey from the left wing and sidestepped a defender closing in to hit another, capping a 14-0 run for the first double-digit lead of the night at 56-44.
Dailey briefly brought UCLA within four on a 3-pointer and old-fashioned three-point play, but a 9-0 UConn run restored the double-figure advantage. The Bruins shot 33.3% in the second half and 38.8% overall to UConn’s 46.9%.
–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
Kenyon Giles pours in 28 points as Wichita State rolls over Oklahoma State
Saint Joseph's makes 19-point comeback to overcome Cal
