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SMU on right side of bubble as road test against Syracuse looms

NCAA Basketball: Southern Methodist at PittsburghFeb 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

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Lindsey Vonn hopes to return to US after 4th leg surgery Saturday

Olympics: Alpine Skiing-Womens Downhill TrainingFeb 6, 2026; Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITALY; Lindsey Vonn of the United States in women’s downhill training during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

American skier Lindsey Vonn is set to have a fourth surgery Saturday on the fractured tibia she sustained in her downhill run at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Feb. 8.

Vonn shared the update on her Instagram account Friday, sharing that she may be able to return to the United States after this surgery to continue her recovery from the complex fracture closer to home.

“Hey guys, I just wanted to give you a little update and say thank you so much to everyone that has been sending me flowers and letters,” Vonn said in the video, resting her head on a shark pillow she received while in the hospital. “It’s just been so amazing and really helped me a lot.

“It has been quite a hard few days in the hospital here. I’m finally feeling more like myself. I have a long, long way to go. Tomorrow I’ll have another surgery and hopefully that goes well and then I can potentially leave and go back home, at which point I will need another surgery. Still don’t know exactly what that entails yet until I get some better imaging, but it’s kind of where I am right now.”

Vonn, 41, is being treated at a hospital in Treviso, Italy, after crashing 13 seconds into her downhill run when her arm hooked around a gate, sending her flying into the snow and breaking her leg.

She was competing through a torn ACL in her left knee sustained nine days prior to her event in the final tune-up race at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, the latest hurdle in an injury-plagued career that saw her win three Olympic medals (one gold) and more than 80 World Cup races before initially retiring in 2019. Vonn appeared to still be in medal contention, finishing with the third-best time in the final training run.

Vonn said in the video she is “very much immobile” but expressed gratitude for friends and family members who have visited her and being able to watch her fellow U.S. competitors in the Olympics to distract her.

“I feel very lucky and fortunate to have so many people around me that have really helped me get through this, so I just wanted to say thank you and go Team USA,” Vonn said. “It’s been so great to watch and really lifted my spirits. Good job, team, and keep crushing it. I’ll check in with you guys when I can.”

–Field Level Media

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Unrivaled bringing postseason semifinals to New York

Basketball: Unrivaled FinalMar 17, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Rose BC guard Chelsea Gray (12) dribbles the basketball past Vinyl BC guard Jordin Canada (3) during the fourth quarter of the Unrivaled Championship game at Wayfair Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Unrivaled playoff semifinals on March 2 will take place at Barclays Center, home of the WNBA’s New York Liberty and NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, the women’s 3-on-3 league announced Friday.

The chance to play in Brooklyn materialized after 21,490 fans packed Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena to watch a pair of Unrivaled games on Jan. 30, multiple media outlets reported.

That was a record attendance figure for regular-season women’s pro basketball, according to multiple media outlets, with Unrivaled making $2 million in ticket, merchandise and sponsorship revenue from the stop.

Barclays Center seats 17,732 for basketball. The Liberty’s average attendance in 2025 was 16,323, which ranked third in the WNBA.

“We’ve been in conversations with Barclays for a while,” Unrivaled CEO Alex Bazzell told Front Office Sports. “We had already built a relationship. Candidly, we were looking at potential stops for next year, so we’re in active dialogue with numerous venues across the country. This just so happened that the Nets were out of town. Coming off the heels of Philly, the excitement around it, we look at this as an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.”

Unrivaled’s regular season concludes Feb. 27 and the first playoff round is scheduled for the next day in Miami, where all other league games have been played.

Semifinalists that clash in Brooklyn will be trying to reach the March 4 championship game back in Miami. The triumphant team gets to split $600,000 in prize money.

Unrivaled’s eight teams deploy such WNBA stars as league scoring leader Marina Mabrey (26.8 points per game) and assists leader Paige Bueckers (6.7 per game).

Chelsea Gray was named Finals MVP when her Unrivaled squad, Rose Basketball Club, won the inaugural championship last March.

–Field Level Media

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Xavier, Marquette seek responses from road setbacks

NCAA Basketball: Xavier at MarquetteJan 7, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Marquette Golden Eagles forward Ben Gold (12) shoots against Xavier Musketeers forward Pape N’Diaye (22) during the second half at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Teams coming off difficult road losses meet Saturday afternoon in Cincinnati as Xavier takes on Marquette in a Big East rematch.

Xavier (12-12, 4-9 Big East) is coming off an 87-82 overtime loss on Monday to No. 17 St. John’s while Marquette (9-16, 4-10) blew a late nine-point lead Tuesday against Villanova.

In their first meeting on Jan. 7 in Milwaukee, Marquette came away with a 66-65 win, one of three one-point losses this season for Xavier. Marquette forward Ben Gold’s putback dunk in the final minute of regulation proved to be the game-winner for the Golden Eagles.

Gold finished with 10 points and had five of Marquette’s 19 offensive rebounds.

Rebounding remains an issue for the Musketeers, who have relied on strong guard and wing play this season without much size in the middle.

Xavier did not outrebound any of its last five opponents and was beaten 47-34 on the boards in the first matchup with Marquette.

In Monday’s loss at Madison Square Garden, St. John’s grabbed three offensive rebounds on its final possession of regulation before hitting a game-tying tip-in.

“We had a chance to win it. I’m proud of the effort. They’re great kids. I really believe in what we’re building,” Xavier head coach Richard Pitino said.

Xavier, which has lost two straight games and five of six, is trying to avoid falling below .500 for the first time since finishing the 2023-24 season with a 16-18 mark.

One game after scoring a career-high 18 points, Marquette freshman Adrien Stevens matched that total last time out versus Villanova. In the last two games, Stevens made 11 of 22 shots and was 10-of-19 (52.6%) from behind the 3-point line.

Stevens knocked down a career-best six treys against Butler on Feb. 7 and reached double figures in three of the past four games.

Royce Parham finished with a career night at Villanova, posting his first double-double — and the team’s first this season — with a 26-point, 11-rebound effort in 37 minutes. Parham averaged 17.1 points over his last seven games.

“Just my coaches trusting in me,” Parham said. “They believed in me and were calling up a lot of plays for me (against Villanova). I was kind of being more assertive today, too. I just kept going, flowing with that.”

–Field Level Media

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