Sports
Skidding Heat taking nothing for granted vs. Pacers
Jan 10, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers forward Jarace Walker (5) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has been known to get the best from his teams come playoff time.
After a dreadful two-week stretch, the Heat still are about to lock down a spot in the play-in tournament as they face the Indiana Pacers at Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon.
Miami (39-35) has dropped six of its last seven games, falling to the No. 10 spot in the crowded Eastern Conference standings. After losing 149-128 to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, the Heat trail the sixth-seeded Atlanta Hawks by just two games while trending in the wrong direction.
Spoelstra’s group has allowed 128.9 points per game across the last seven games, while the 149 scored by the Cavaliers was the most ever allowed in a game in franchise history. It came after a 120-103 victory over Cleveland on Wednesday.
“It’s extremely disappointing,” Spoelstra said. “The guys put blood, sweat and tears to develop a top-four defense two weeks ago and when we needed it the most, we let it disappear. That’s unacceptable at this time of the season.”
During Miami’s woeful seven-game run, each opponent has been in the postseason hunt. For a franchise that has made the playoffs the last six seasons, the Heat have grown accustomed to playing up to their competition level. That wasn’t the case the last half of March.
“We didn’t treat this like a playoff series and we should have,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said about back-to-back games against the Cavs. “You always want to be optimistic. The next game we need to go out and win. The recipe is holding teams under 120, 115 points. It’s going to be difficult, but our back is against the wall.”
First-time All-Star Norman Powell leads Miami with 22.1 points per game, while Tyler Herro is averaging 20.9 points in 27 games. Herro has played in seven straight games since missing most of the season with ankle and rib injuries.
Adebayo adds 20.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest.
For the Heat to get back on track, a victory over the lowly Pacers is key.
Indiana (16-58) owns the league’s worst record and is on pace to finish with its most losses in franchise history. The Pacers haven’t won a home game since Jan. 31 and have pieced together losing streaks of 13 and 16 games this season.
Indiana had a rare chance for a victory on Friday but squandered a 24-point lead before falling 114-113 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Kawhi Leonard’s go-ahead jumper with 0.4 seconds left.
In a bizarre ending, the Pacers had a chance to steal a win, but Jay Huff missed both free throws with 0.1 seconds remaining to finish the game.
“It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to finish it the way we would have liked to, but it’s great experience going against a team that is that athletic, that tenacious, defends that well and is playing for a lot,” Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle said. “We’ll learn from it.”
Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard have shown consistency amid the team’s forgettable season, averaging 23.7 and 17.0 points per game, respectively. Nembhard has averaged 7.6 assists.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Marta Suarez scores 33 as TCU upends Virginia in Sweet 16
Mar 28, 2026; Sacramento, CA, USA; Texas Christian University Horned Frogs guard Olivia Miles (5) and forward Marta Suárez (7) embrace after a called foul during the second quarter of the game against the Virginia Cavaliers in the Sweet Sixteen game of the Sacramento Regional 4 of the women’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images Marta Suarez scored a career-high 33 points, Olivia Miles added 28 points in a near triple-double and third-seeded TCU ended Virginia’s magical NCAA Tournament run with a 79-69 victory in the Sweet 16 in Sacramento on Saturday.
Miles had 10 rebounds and eight assists and Suarez had 10 rebounds as the Horned Frogs (32-5) overcame a one-point halftime deficit by scoring the first 11 points of the third quarter to take control.
The Horned Frogs will make their second straight Elite Eight appearance when they meet top-seeded South Carolina on Monday.
Suarez had 13 points in the third quarter, when Miles had six assists and four rebounds as the Frogs pushed their lead to 15. The 10th-seeded Cavaliers did not get closer than eight until the final 31 seconds.
Miles’ two free throws with 26.1 seconds left for a 77-69 lead clinched it. She is one of four Division I players with at least 600 points, 250 rebounds and 100 assists.
Paris Clark had 20 points and Kymora Johnson had 18 for the Cavaliers (22-12), the lowest seed to reach the Sweet 16 since 2022.
Clara Silva had eight points and eight rebounds for TCU, which had a 38-29 edge on the boards and limited Virginia to 41% shooting.
Virginia led by seven late in the first quarter. TCU took a 35-33 lead with 1:09 left in the first half, when Suarez made a free throw after Romi Levy was called for a Flagrant 1 foul for pulling Miles down as she drove to the basket.
Clark’s three-point play gave the Cavaliers a 36-35 lead at halftime.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Troy appoints NC State assistant Adam Howard as new coach
Nov 13, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg and assistant coach Adam Howard watch play during the first half against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images North Carolina State assistant Adam Howard is the new head coach at Troy, the school announced Saturday night.
Howard replaces Scott Cross, who left after the NCAA Tournament to become head coach at Georgia Tech. Cross finished his seven-year tenure with five straight 20-win campaigns.
Troy went 22-12 this season and reached the NCAA tourney for the second straight season. The Trojans, seeded 13th, were routed 76-47 by Nebraska in the first round of this year’s tournament.
Howard will look to continue the success. He had a two-season stint as an assistant with Troy (2016-18) earlier in his career with the Trojans qualifying for the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
Last season was Howard’s lone campaign at NC State, which went 20-14 and reached the NCAA Tournament before losing to the Texas in the First Four. Wolfpack coach Will Wade departed for LSU after the season.
Howard’s other stops as an assistant coach include Southern Miss (2012-14), Tennessee (2014), South Alabama (2018-22) and Nebraska (2022-25).
Howard resigned at Tennessee in November 2014, citing personal reasons, during a time when he and then-Volunteers coach Donnie Tyndall were being investigated by the NCAA for recruiting violations at Southern Miss, where Tyndall was previously the head coach.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Blues stay hot, crush Maple Leafs
Mar 28, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Easton Cowan (53) checks St. Louis Blues defenseman Logan Mailloux (23) during the first period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images The St. Louis Blues continued their dominant March with a 5-1 thumping of the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
The win marked St. Louis’ fourth in a row as they improved their March record to an NHL-best 10-1-2.
The Blues (31-30-11, 73 points) scored three in the third after Jake McCabe brought it back within one for the visitors. Dylan Holloway had a two-point game two nights after he scored the overtime winner against San Jose. Jake Neighbours, Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas also had multi-point games
Jordan Binnington stopped 12 of just 13 shots for the Blues while Joseph Woll turned away 33 of 38 shots for the Maple Leafs (31-30-13, 75 points).
Jimmy Snuggerud opened the scoring 5:21 into the second period, beating Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly to Cam Fowler’s slick feed through the slot. The goal boosted Snuggerud to second in rookie scoring since the new year. Former Leafs defenseman Justin Holl nabbed his first as a Blues player about five minutes later, tipping Kyrou’s point shot past Woll through a high screen to make it 2-0.
McCabe brought it back within one early in the third, flicking a seemingly innocent snap shot from the sideboards past an unsuspecting Binnington. The goal extended an unlikely point streak to three games for the stay-at-home defenseman.
The Leafs had some cause for excitement after Blues defenseman Theo Lindstein took a penalty for holding just over a minute later. Pius Suter was quick to disrupt their momentum with a short-handed goal off a feed from Thomas. Toronto was caught flat-footed on its own power play, with three Leafs opting to challenge Thomas in the corner instead of Suter in the high slot.
Kyrou recorded a second assist two-and-a-half minutes later, sliding a pass under the stick of Jacob Quillan and onto the tape of Holloway, who wristed it past Woll blocker side. Philip Broberg then made it 5-1 late on the power play.
The Maple Leafs were awarded a four-minute power play in the first period when Jack Finley was issued a double minor for high-sticking Quillan. Toronto failed to capitalize on the opportunity and only managed four shots through the first 20 minutes.
Toronto’s best chance of the opening frame came off the stick of Matias Maccelli after William Nylander stripped Pavel Buchnevich of the puck to spark a two-on-one. Binnington came across just in time to thwart Maccelli’s five-hole tuck.
–Field Level Media
Marta Suarez scores 33 as TCU upends Virginia in Sweet 16
Troy appoints NC State assistant Adam Howard as new coach
