Sports
Strong start propels Arizona to easy UCF defeat in Big 12 tourney opener
Mar 12, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Brayden Burries (5) shoots the ball over UCF Knights forward Jordan Burks (99) during the first half at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images Brayden Burries scored 21 points and top-seeded Arizona never trailed while cruising to an 81-59 victory over eighth-seeded UCF on Thursday afternoon in Kansas City to reach the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament.
Tobe Awaka had 12 points and 12 rebounds in the quarterfinal matchup and Koa Peat also scored 12 points for the Wildcats (30-2). Ivan Kharchenkov added 10 points for Arizona.
Themus Fulks scored 14 points for the Knights (21-11), who are expected to receive an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. Jordan Burks and Chris Johnson added 10 points apiece for UCF.
Arizona will face fifth-seeded Iowa State in Friday night’s first semifinal.
UCF’s John Bol was helped off the court with an apparent chest injury with 11:07 remaining in the game, collapsing to the floor while touching his chest with a hand. He had six points and five rebounds.
Arizona shot 48.3% from the field, including 6 of 16 from 3-point range, while leading by as much as 27.
The Knights made 36.5% of their attempts and were just 3 of 21 from behind the arc.
UCF threatened to make it a game after cutting its 27-point first-half deficit to 54-42 on Johnson’s floater with 11:49 left in the game.
But Awaka converted a three-point play to get it back to 15. A short time later, Motiejus Krivas made two free throws to give the Wildcats a 61-44 advantage with 8:22 left in the contest.
The Knights made another attempt on baskets by Johnson and Burks to move within 13 with 7:24 to play.
The Wildcats pushed the lead back to 66-49 on a dunk by Peat with 5:31 left.
A trey by Fulks got UCF within 12 with 4:48 left before Burries went on a personal 7-0 burst to give Arizona a 73-54 lead with 3:32 to play.
Kharchenkov followed with a 3-point play to boost the lead to 22 with 2:53 left as the Wildcats closed it out.
Arizona exploded at the outset of the game with seven straight points and led 14-2 before the game was five minutes old.
Awaka scored consecutive baskets to make it 20-6 with 13:11 left in the half. Johnson scored next for UCF before the Wildcats ripped off 15 straight points.
Peat scored the last five of that run to give Arizona a 35-8 lead with 7:38 left in the half.
The Knights later scored 18 of the last 25 points in the half to trail 46-30 at the break.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 23 Wisconsin slips past Washington to reach Big Ten quarters
Mar 12, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Nick Boyd (2) reacts after scoring against the Washington Huskies during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images John Blackwell made six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 34 points as No. 23 Wisconsin eliminated Washington from the Big Ten Conference tournament with an 85-82 victory Thursday at Chicago.
Nick Boyd added 23 points and nine assists for the fifth-seeded Badgers (23-9), who advanced to a quarterfinal matchup on Friday with fourth-seeded Illinois. Wisconsin was 15 of 39 (38.5%) from 3-point range.
Freshman Hannes Steinbach scored 25 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in his 22nd double-double for No. 12-seed Washington (16-17). Zoom Diallo added 21 points and seven assists, while Quimari Peterson chipped in 14 points and made 4 of 10 3-pointers for the Huskies.
The Badgers never trailed and led by as much as 18 points at 66-48 with 13:23 remaining after Blackwell made a 3-pointer. The Huskies used a late 18-6 run to close within 83-82 with 17 seconds left when Diallo drove for a layup.
Andrew Rohde sank both ends of a one-and-one with eight seconds left for Wisconsin, requiring Washington to hunt a game-tying 3-pointer to force overtime. Diallo’s pullup 3-pointer as time expired misfired, enabling the Badgers to avoid the upset.
Playing its third straight game without its top inside player in forward Nolan Winter (ankle), the Badgers got off to a fast start. They established a 20-7 lead with 11:47 remaining in the first half when Hayden Jones converted a three-point play.
The Huskies found some traction in the next seven minutes, whittling the deficit down to 27-23 with 4:55 left in the half when Wesley Yates III made two free throws. Wisconsin expanded the advantage behind Blackwell and Boyd, who combined for 13 straight points.
Aleksas Bieliauskas sent the Badgers to the locker room at halftime with a 43-33 lead after completing a three-point play with a second left before halftime.
–Field Level Media
Sports
BetBoom, Spirit, Yandex, Liquid move on in PGL Wallachia 7 playoffs
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. BetBoom Team, Team Spirit, Team Yandex and Team Liquid advanced to the upper-bracket semifinals on the first day of the PGL Wallachia Season 7 playoffs on Thursday in Bucharest, Romania.
BetBoom blanked HEROIC 2-0, and Spirit did the same to Vici Gaming. Yandex defeated Aurora Gaming 2-1, and Liquid rallied to beat Tundra Esports 2-1.
The double-elimination playoffs for the $1 million Dota 2 tournament run through Sunday. All matches are best-of-three until Sunday’s best-of-five grand final, with the winning team taking home $300,000.
Eight teams advanced from the 16-team group stage, which concluded Wednesday.
On Thursday, BetBoom prevailed in 37 minutes and 47 minutes on green against HEROIC. Ilya “Kiritych” Ulyanov of Russia averaged 8.5 kills, 2.5 deaths and 10.5 assists over the two maps for BetBoom.
Spirit defeated Vici in 44 minutes and 54 minutes, both on red. Ukraine’s Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk led Team Spirit with an 11.0-3.0-7.0 average kills-deaths-assists ratio.
Yandex sandwiched a 37-minute win and a 40-minute win on red around Aurora’s 60-minute win on green. Alimzhan “watson” Islambekov of Kazakhstan averaged an 11.3-2.0-11.0 K-D-A to guide Yandex.
Tundra opened with a 31-minute win on green, but Liquid tied it with a 30-minute win on red and advanced by winning the third map in 29 minutes on red. On the dominant final map, Michal “Nisha” Jankowski of Poland posted a 16-0-10 K-D-A and Liquid teammate Michael “miCKe” Vu of Sweden put up an 11-0-15.
Play continues Friday with four matches:
–BetBoom Team vs. Team Spirit (upper-bracket semifinals)
–Team Yandex vs. Team Liquid (upper-bracket semifinals)
–HEROIC vs. Vici Gaming (lower-bracket Round 1)
–Aurora Gaming vs. Tundra Esports (lower-bracket Round 1)
PGL Wallachia Season 7 prize pool:
1. $300,000
2. $175,000
3. $120,000
4. $80,000
5-6. $60,000
7-8. $40,000
9-11. $20,000 — Xtreme Gaming, Natus Vincere, PARIVISION
12-14. $15,000 — Team Falcons, Yellow Submarine, OG
15-16. $10,000 — Team Nemesis, MOUZ
–Field Level Media
Sports
NHL rescinds Nathan MacKinnon's major for goalie collision
Mar 10, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) collides into Edmonton Oilers goaltender Connor Ingram (39) in the second period at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images The NHL rescinded Nathan MacKinnon’s major penalty for running over opposing goaltender Connor Ingram, the Colorado Avalanche forward told reporters Thursday.
MacKinnon was ejected from Colorado’s 4-3 loss to the visiting Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night after he flattened Ingram on a drive to the crease in the final minute of the second period.
Officials penalized MacKinnon with a five-minute major and a game misconduct despite replay showing that he was angled into the goalie by Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse.
Being absolved of wrongdoing is a boon to MacKinnon, who would have been suspended for one game if he received a second major and game misconduct within his next 41 appearances.
MacKinnon is tied for second in league scoring with 104 points (43 goals, 61 assists) in 62 games.
Ingram, who left Tuesday’s matchup to be evaluated for a concussion, was cleared to back up Oilers starter Tristan Jarry against the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.
The powerhouse Avalanche, who had won five straight before falling to Edmonton, open a two-game road trip against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
–Field Level Media
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for March 13, 2026
No. 23 Wisconsin slips past Washington to reach Big Ten quarters
