Sports
Top 25 roundup: WVU sinks No. 7 Kansas on late free throw
Dec 31, 2024; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks forward KJ Adams Jr. (24) shoots against West Virginia Mountaineers guard Jonathan Powell (11) as time expires in the second half at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images Javon Small hit a go-ahead free throw with 1.8 seconds left as West Virginia recovered after blowing an 18-point lead to clip No. 7 Kansas 62-61 on Tuesday in Lawrence, Kan.
Small had nine of his 13 points in the second half and finished with 11 rebounds and six assists for the Mountaineers (10-2, 1-0 Big 12), who notched their first win at Allen Fieldhouse in 12 visits. Eduardo Andre scored 15 points and Jonathan Powell chipped in 11 for West Virginia.
Zeke Mayo led the Jayhawks (9-3, 0-1) with a season-high 27 points, his third straight game with at least 25. Hunter Dickinson recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Kansas trailed 38-20 early in the second half before pulling even at 61 on Mayo’s three-point play with 15 seconds left.
On the Mountaineers’ ensuing possession, Small drew a shooting foul on Flory Bidunga and converted the second of two free throws for the win.
No. 1 Tennessee 67, Norfolk State 52
Chaz Lanier scored 24 points and the Volunteers never trailed in a win over the Spartans in Knoxville, Tenn.
Lanier made 8 of 18 attempts from the field and shot 6 of 16 from 3-point range while Zakai Zeigler added 10 points and led Tennessee (13-0) with six assists. Jordan Gainey and Cade Phillips finished with 10 points apiece for the Volunteers.
Christian Ings led Norfolk State (9-7) with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting, and backcourt mate Brian Moore Jr. added 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting. No other Spartan scored more than seven points as the Volunteers’ defense held the visitors below 30 points in both halves.
No. 4 Duke 88, Virginia Tech 65
Cooper Flagg scored 14 of his 24 points in the first half as the Blue Devils took care of business in a victory against the Hokies in Durham, N.C.
Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel each had 13 points, Isaiah Evans notched 12 points and Sion James and Mason Gillis finished with 10 points apiece as the Blue Devils (11-2, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their seventh game in a row. James also collected 11 rebounds.
Tobi Lawal had 19 points, with 15 in the second half, for Virginia Tech (5-8, 0-2), which has lost two games in a row. Patrick Wessler had 10 points off the bench.
No. 8 Marquette 78, Providence 50
Kam Jones posted an 18-point, 10-assist double-double to lead four double-digit scorers for the visiting Golden Eagles on the way to a blowout win over the Friars.
Jones scored 14 of his points in the first half as Marquette (12-2, 3-0 Big East) used a 21-0 run to build a 27-point halftime lead. Stevie Mitchell (14 points, five steals), David Joplin (11 points, six rebounds) and Zaide Lowery (11 points, three 3-pointers) also played key roles in the Golden Eagles’ rout.
Wesley Cardet Jr. had a team-high 11 points while Jayden Pierre had nine to go along with six assists for Providence (7-7, 1-2), which had won its previous five home games in the head-to-head series.
No. 10 Kentucky 88, Brown 54
Andrew Carr scored 14 points in the first half and finished with three steals to help the Wildcats roll to an easy victory over the Bears in Lexington, Ky.
Otega Oweh had 13 points and four steals, Amari Williams recorded 13 points and three blocked shots and Koby Brea also had 13 points as Kentucky (11-2) bounced back from an 85-65 loss to Ohio State on Dec. 21.
Kino Lilly Jr. scored 16 points and Landon Lewis added 15 points and six rebounds for Brown (7-5), which committed 23 turnovers.
No. 25 Baylor 81, Utah 56
V.J. Edgecombe scored 19 points to lead the Bears to a rout of the Utes in Waco, Texas.
Norchad Omier contributed 15 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and two steals while Jeremy Roach and Robert Wright III each scored 15 points for Baylor (9-3, 1-0 Big 12).
Hunter Erickson led Utah (8-4, 0-1) with 13 points off the bench. Mason Madsen was the only other Utes scorer in double figures, posting 10 points. The rest of the starters combined for just nine points on 3-of-25 shooting from the floor.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Strong second half by Jestin Porter powers Clemson past No. 24 Louisville
Clemson Tigers guard Jestin Porter (1) defends Louisville Cardinals guard Ryan Conwell (3) Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, during the NCAA men’s basketball game at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina. Powered by Jestin Porter’s 16 points, Clemson came away with an 80-75 win over visiting Louisville on Saturday afternoon in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
The win ended Clemson’s losing streak at four and gave the Tigers (21-8, 11-5 ACC) their second victory against a ranked opponent this season.
Porter scored all of his points after halftime and made four three-pointers.
Ace Buckner collected a season-high eight rebounds off the Tigers bench. RJ Godfrey scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Tigers.
For the Cardinals (20-9, 9-7 ACC), Ryan Conwell extended his double-digit scoring streak to 22 as he scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
Louisville’s leading scorer on the season, Mikel Brown Jr., came off the bench for the second time this season due to a back injury. He scored a season-low five points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field and a season-worst 0-for-6 from three-point range.
After a driving layup in the second half, Brown grimaced coming up the court. He left the game at the 16:12 mark and returned to action at the 13:12 mark. However, he played only five more minutes after that and exited the game for good at the 8:40 mark.
Adrian Wooley started the game for Brown and scored 17 points for Louisville and made three three-pointers, tying a season-high in conference play.
To begin the second half, Clemson went on a 10-4 run to build their lead to nine points.
Louisville had held Clemson scoreless for two and a half minutes, but a Porter layup followed by an immediate steal led to a three-pointer that ended the drought and increased Clemson’s lead to 11 points as the Littlejohn Coliseum rose to its feet.
Coming into the game, Louisville was second in the ACC in free-throw percentage at 77.8 percent. They shot a season-low 58 percent from the foul line Saturday.
The Cardinals were fifth in three-point percentage at 36.1 percent and first in three pointers made per game going into Saturday’s matchup, when they went 10-for-36 from three-point range and missed 24 out of their final 28 three-point attempts after starting the game 4-for-6 from three.
In the final minute of the game, Louisville went on a quick 16-4 run to get the Clemson lead from a game-high 15 points all the way down to four. Wooley scored 11 of his 17 points during that time frame.
However, Buckner made four free throws in the final 15 seconds to keep Louisville at bay long enough for the clock to hit zero.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Youth is served again as Red Bulls slip past Revolution
Feb 28, 2026; Harrison, New Jersey, USA; Red Bull New York forward Julian Hall (16) leaps to avoid New England Revolution defender Ilay Feingold (12) during the second half at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images Teenage breakout star Julian Hall scored his third goal in two matches, and that was enough for the New York Red Bulls to blank the New England Revolution 1-0 on Saturday in Harrison, N.J.
Hall, 17, is responsible for all three of New York’s goals this season after opening with a brace in last week’s 2-1 win at Orlando City.
His 53rd-minute header on Saturday gave the Red Bulls (2-0-0, 6 points) a deserved lead after they controlled play in the first half.
Ethan Horvath made two saves for New York, which finished with 62.5% of the possession. The Red Bulls won consecutive league matches for the first time since August and remained perfect under new head coach Michael Bradley.
Matt Turner did all he could in the second straight loss for the Revolution (0-2-0, 0 points), recording three saves and 19 clearances.
Horvath, playing his first season in MLS after a transfer from Cardiff City, did not have to make a stop until the 34th minute, when he parried Griffin Yow’s left-footed shot out of bounds.
New York broke the deadlock on a set piece.
The Red Bulls took a short corner and then crossed the ball to Adri Mehmeti. The 16-year-old headed it into the goal area, where Hall applied a header of his own and bounced the shot past Turner.
New England’s best chance of the second half came on the break in the 68th minute.
Ilay Feingold led the pack down the right sideline and the Red Bulls sprinted to get back. Feingold tapped his centering pass to Yow, who had a good angle to shoot past an out-of-position Horvath. But Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty knocked the shot over the net with a leaping header, and New York handled the resulting corner kick with ease.
The Revs missed another chance during second-half stoppage time when Carles Gil blasted a pass from the near post clear out of bounds, missing an open teammate at the far post.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Chicago Fire score twice in stoppage time, blank CF Montreal
Feb 28, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Fire forward Jonathan Bamba (19) reacts after swirling a goal against the CF Montreal during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images The host Chicago Fire scored twice in stoppage time during the second half to secure a 3-0 win against CF Montreal on Saturday.
Jonathan Bamba, Hugo Cuypers and Robin Lod scored for the Fire (1-1-0, 3 points), who earned their first victory of the season in their home opener.
Montreal (0-2-0, 0 points) was shut out for the second straight match to open the 2026 season and has been outscored 8-0.
The two sides struggled to generate much through the first 12 minutes, though the hosts held a decided edge in possession with 70% of the touches.
Bamba gave Chicago a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute. Maren Haile-Selassie on the right flank inside the box drew keeper Thomas Gillier toward him and sent a cross for Bamba at the back post, where the forward easily scored into the open net.
Montreal nearly gave up another opportunity 10 seconds into the second half when Haile-Selassie was just outside the right edge of the goal area but the midfielder couldn’t get all of his shot for a quality chance.
After playing a man short in their 5-0 defeat to San Diego a week ago, Montreal had the advantage of playing a man up from the 56th minute on. After video review, Fire defender Jonathan Dean was shown a red card for denying Hennadii Synchuk of a goal-scoring opportunity when he tugged the midfielder’s jersey outside the box.
Montreal continued to struggle to generate offense despite its man advantage, and the match slipped away from the visitors in second-half stoppage time.
Cuypers was awarded a penalty after Gillier came off his line to deny the Belgian a chance, tripping him in the process. Cuypers beat Gillier to the right as the goalkeeper dove to the left to make it 2-0 in the fourth minute of extra time.
Lod increased it to 3-0 when he buried a rebound from the left side in the 10th minute of stoppage time.
–Field Level Media
