Sports
Top 25 roundup: No. 8 Michigan State stuns No. 16 Maryland at buzzer
Feb 26, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; Michigan State Spartans celebrate after a shot by Michigan State Spartans guard Tre Holloman (5) goes in at the buzzer against the Maryland Terrapins during the second half at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images Tre Holloman made a shot at the buzzer from just beyond halfcourt as No. 8 Michigan State stunned No. 16 Maryland 58-55 in College Park, Md., on Wednesday.
Holloman’s Hail Mary came after Maryland’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie missed a 3-pointer with two seconds left. The Spartans’ Jaxon Kohler got the rebound and passed to Holloman, who dribbled once and fired.
Jase Richardson scored 15 points for Michigan State (23-5, 14-3 Big Ten), which won its fourth straight. The last three have come against ranked teams. It also was the Spartans’ seventh straight victory over Maryland and third in a row in College Park.
Rodney Rice scored 20 points to pace Maryland (21-7, 11-6), which had won eight of its previous nine games. Gillespie scored 15 points and Derik Queen contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Terrapins.
No. 1 Auburn 106, Ole Miss 76
Johni Broome scored 24 points in a milestone outing, Auburn set a season high in points, and the Tigers hammered the visiting Rebels.
The shooting was outstanding for the Tigers (26-2, 14-1 SEC), who connected on 34 of 57 shots (59.6 percent) and hit 11 of 21 from long range. Broome, who added nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks, sank a free throw in the first half to become the 86th player in DI history to reach 2,500 career points. Chad Baker-Mazara had 22 points and was 4 of 5 from deep.
For the Rebels (19-9, 8-7), Sean Pedulla totaled 14 points, four assists and four rebounds. Jaemyn Brakefield had 13, while Matthew Murrell and Dre Davis had 12 each. Malik Dia added 11 in the team’s third straight defeat.
No. 7 St. John’s 76, Butler 70
RJ Luis Jr. scored 24 points to lead the Red Storm to a win over the Bulldogs in Indianapolis, clinching at least a share of the Big East regular-season title for the first time since 1992.
Luis shot 9-for-16 from the field for St. John’s (25-4, 16-2 Big East). The Red Storm can claim their first outright Big East crown since 1985 if they can beat visiting Seton Hall on Saturday.
Jahmyl Telfort led Butler (13-15, 6-11) with 13 points and seven rebounds. Pierre Brooks II and Boden Kapke each added 12 points.
Vanderbilt 86, No. 12 Texas A&M 84
Tyler Nickel scored 21 points on a career-high seven 3-pointers and the Commodores held on to upset the Aggies in College Station, Texas.
MJ Collins Jr. added 16 points and Jason Edwards contributed 15 for Vanderbilt (19-9, 7-8 SEC), which had to survive foul trouble.
Pharrel Payne led Texas A&M with 23 points and Wade Taylor IV contributed 21 points and six assists. Zhuric Phelps chipped in 14 and CJ Wilcher had 12 for Texas A&M (20-8, 9-6), which has lost three games in a row.
No. 13 Clemson 83, Notre Dame 68
Ian Schieffelin scored a career-high 24 points and the Tigers defeated the visiting Fighting Irish for their fifth win in a row.
Viktor Lakhin had 18 points, Jake Heidbreder notched 14 off the bench and Jaeden Zackery added 11 for Clemson (23-5, 15-2 ACC), which is one game behind Duke in the conference standings.
Markus Burton fired in 30 points and Tae Davis had 15 for Notre Dame (12-16, 6-11), which had won two of its previous four games.
No. 17 Kentucky 83, Oklahoma 82
Otega Oweh flipped in the game-winning layup with six seconds left to give the Wildcats a hard-fought win over the Sooners in its first-ever game at Norman, Okla.
Oweh, who played the previous two seasons with the Sooners, scored a career-high 28 points and pulled down six rebounds for the Wildcats (19-9, 8-7 Southeastern Conference). Brandon Garrison chipped in 12 points, three steals and three blocks off the Kentucky bench. He blocked Jeremiah Fears’ attempt for a game-winning layup at the buzzer.
Jalon Moore scored 20 points, Fears added 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Brycen Goodine chipped in 13 points for Oklahoma (17-11, 4-11).
No. 18 Memphis 84, Rice 72
Dain Dainja had game highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds as the Tigers pulled away in the last two minutes for an American Athletic Conference win over the visiting Owls.
PJ Haggerty added 21 points and five assists for the Tigers (23-5, 13-2 AAC), while Nicholas Jourdain contributed 19 points and nine rebounds. Memphis shot 49.2 percent from the field in securing a season sweep of the Owls.
Caden Powell scored 19 points to lead four players in double figures for Rice (13-16, 4-12). Denver Anglin added 14 points, Andrew Akuchie had 12 and Kellen Amos came off the bench for 11.
No. 22 Arizona 83, Utah 66
Caleb Love hit six 3-pointers and scored 23 points to help the Wildcats cruise to a victory over the Utes in Tucson, Ariz.
Tobe Awaka (10 rebounds and two blocks), Henri Veesaar (seven boards) and Jaden Bradley each scored 12 points as the Wildcats (19-9, 13-4 Big 12) bounced back from a one-point home loss to BYU on Saturday in impressive fashion. Love scored 17 first-half points to help Arizona jump out to an early double-digit lead. He finished 7 of 15 on field-goal attempts, including 6 of 12 from 3-point range, and logged seven assists and four rebounds for the Wildcats, who had lost three of their previous four games.
Keanu Dawes produced 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench and Ezra Ausar collected 18 points and five boards for the Utes (15-13, 7-10).
No. 25 BYU 91, Arizona State 81
Richie Saunders sank six 3-pointers while scoring 26 points in the Cougars’ win over the Sun Devils at Tempe, Ariz.
BYU hit half of its attempts 34 from beyond the arc. Trevin Knell shot 5-for-6 from long range and finished with 18 points as the Cougars (20-8, 11-6 Big 12) increased their winning streak to five games.
Arizona State (13-15, 4-13) was short-handed in its eighth consecutive Big 12 home loss. BJ Freeman was recently dismissed from the squad, and the Sun Devils also were without Jayden Quaintance (knee) and Alston Mason (illness). Basheer Jihad led Arizona State with 19 points.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tundra Esports advances to grand final of DreamLeague Season 28 playoffs
Tundra Esports swept Team Liquid in the upper-bracket final on Saturday to advance to the grand final of the DreamLeague Season 28 playoffs.
The grand final on Sunday will pit Tundra Esports against the winner of the lower-bracket final earlier in the day between Team Liquid and Aurora Gaming in the double-elimination format.
The $1 million Dota 2 event began with 16 teams competing in a round-robin stage split into two groups of eight teams. All series consisted of two games, and the top four teams from each group advanced to Group Stage 2, a single round robin featuring best-of-three matches that ran through Friday.
The playoffs feature best-of-three matches until the grand final, which will be best-of-five.
The championship team will receive $250,000 in prize money and a $40,000 club reward. The runner-up side will get $100,000 and a $30,000 club reward.
Aurora Gaming opened play on Saturday with a 2-1 win over Xtreme Gaming in the lower-bracket semifinal. Xtreme Gaming opened with a win in 40 minutes on red before Aurora Gaming rallied to wins in 47 and 29 minutes, both on red.
Russia’s Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko logged a 21-4-28 kill-death-assist ratio for Aurora Gaming, while teammate Artem “Lorenof” Melnyk of Ukraine post a 23-8-30 K-D-A over three games. Wang “Ame” Chunyu of China had a 23-9-13 K-D-A ratio for Xtreme Gaming, which finished fourth in the tournament.
Tundra Esports dispatched Team Liquid 2-0 in the upper-bracket final, winning in 46 minutes on red and 39 minutes on green.
Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko of Russia posted a 32-2-19 K-D-A ratio for Tundra Esports and teammate Neta “33” Shapira of Israel had a 24-5-30. Michael “MiCKe” Vu of Sweden posted a 13-10-6 ratio for Team Liquid.
Dream League Season 28 prize pool, with prize money and club reward
1. $250,000, $40,000
2. $125,000, $30,000
3. $80,000, $25,000
4. $60,000, $20,000 — Xtreme Gaming
5. $45,000, $15,000 — Team Falcons
6. $35,000, $15,000 — PARIVISION
7. $30,000, $12,500 — BetBoom Team
8. $25,000, $12,500 — MOUZ
9-10. $20,000, $10,000 — OG, Natus Vincere
11-12. $17,500, $10,000 — Team Yandex, Team Spirit
13-14. $15,000, $10,000 — paiN Gaming, GamerLegion
15-16. $10,000, $10,000 — Yakult Brothers, Execration
–Field Level Media
Sports
LYON, Cloud9 in LCS Lock-In grand final
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
LYON knocked out Sentinels to earn a meeting on Sunday with Cloud9 in the grand final of the League Championship Series 2026 Lock-In at Los Angeles.
LYON won 3-1 on Saturday in the lower-bracket final, taking the first map in 31 minutes as Kim “Berserker” Min-cheol of South Korea posted a 7-0-1 kill-death-assist ratio. LYON won again in 37 minutes as Niship “Dhokla” Doshi, an American/Indian player, had a 7-3-6 K-D-A and Berserker a 5-0-6.
Sentinels stayed alive with a victory in 34 minutes in the third game as Ham “HamBak” Yoo-jin of South Korea recorded a 5-0-8 K-D-A.
But LYON wrapped up the match by winning the fourth game in 39 minutes on red. Berserker contributed a 6-3-7 K-D-A.
Following the eight-team Swiss stage in the League of Legends event, six teams competed in the double-elimination playoffs, with all matches best-of-five. The overall winner qualifies for the First Stand Tournament, while the second- and third-place teams will head to the Americas Cup.
Both of the latter two events will be contested in Sao Paulo.
Cloud9, which finished atop the Swiss stage standings with a 3-0 record, has moved through the playoffs by beating FlyQuest 3-0 in the upper-bracket semifinal and Sentinels 3-0 in the upper-bracket final.
LYON, who finished fifth in the Swiss stage, eliminated FlyQuest with a 3-0 victory in the lower-bracket quarterfinals, then a 3-1 triumph over Team Liquid in the bracket’s semifinal before Saturday’s victory.
2026 League Championship Series Lock-In at Los Angeles prize pool
1. TBD, qualifies for First Stand Tournament
2. TBD, qualifies for America’s Cup
3. Sentinels, qualifies for America’s Cup
4. Team Liquid
5-6. FlyQuest, Disguised
7. Dignitas
8. Shopify Rebellion
–Field Level Media
Sports
OpTic Texas moves into first place in CDL Major 2 qualifying
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. OpTic Texas defeated Los Angeles Thieves in a battle of 4-0 teams to move to the top of the standings in qualifying for the Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major on Saturday.
In other second-day action of Week 3 competition, G2 Minnesota edged Riyadh Falcons, Toronto KOI beat Miami Heretics and Carolina Royal Ravens defeated Vancouver Surge.
The 12 Call of Duty League teams are playing a full qualifying round robin to determine seeding for the second major of the season, to be held March 27-29 in Marston Green, England, as part of the DreamHack Birmingham event.
The top six teams in qualifying head straight into the Stage 2 Major playoffs, while the teams in seventh through 10th place will compete in a play-in round.
The Stage 2 Major champion will receive $150,000 and 100 Call of Duty League points, while the runner-up will get $90,000 and 75 CDL points.
After Los Angeles Thieves claimed an opening 250-238 Den Hardpoint victory, OpTic Texas won the next three to claim a 3-1 victory. A 6-2 Exposure Search and Destroy triumph was followed by a 4-2 Den Overload win before the result was clinched with a 250-173 Colossus Hardpoint triumph.
In Saturday’s first match, G2 Minnesota won the final two games to come away with a 3-2 win. Riyadh opened with a 250-229 Scar Hardpoint victory and took a 2-1 lead with a 5-0 Scar Overload win. G2 leveled it at 1 with a 6-1 Raid Search and Destroy win, tied it at 2 with a convincing 250-134 Colossus Hardpoint victory and won the deciding Colossus Search and Destroy game 6-3.
Toronto finished a sweep of Miami with 250-182 Hardpoint, 6-4 Search and Destroy and 4-2 Overload victories, all on the Den map.
Carolina also swept Vancouver for its second victory in as many days after a 1-3 start. After opening with a 250-186 Blackheart Hardpoint win and following with a 6-2 Den Search and Destroy victory, the team closed out the win with an 8-2 Exposure Overload win.
The weekend schedule:
Sunday
–Toronto KOI vs. Paris Gentle Mates
–FaZe Vegas vs. Boston Breach
–Miami Heretics vs. Cloud9 New York
–Vancouver Surge vs. OpTic Texas
Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major qualifiers standings (match record, map differential)
1. OpTic Texas, 5-0, +11
2. Los Angeles Thieves, 4-1, +8
3. Paris Gentle Mates, 3-1, +5
4. G2 Minnesota, 3-2, +1
5. Riyadh Falcons, 3-3, +2
6. Carolina Royal Ravens, 3-3, -1
7. FaZe Vegas, 2-3, 0
8. Toronto KOI, 2-3, -2
9. Miami Heretics, 1-3, -4
10.. Vancouver Surge, 1-3, -6
11. Cloud9 New York, 1-3, -7
12. Boston Breach, 1-4, -7
–Field Level Media
Tundra Esports advances to grand final of DreamLeague Season 28 playoffs
LYON, Cloud9 in LCS Lock-In grand final
