Sports
UCF to chase season sweep against reeling Cincinnati
Jan 20, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; UCF Knights guard Riley Kugel (2) is defended by Iowa State Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey (3) during the second half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images After seeing a three-game win streak come to an end, UCF aims to get back on track and bolster its postseason resume by hitting the road to take on fading Cincinnati on Sunday in Big 12 Conference play.
The Knights (17-5, 6-4 Big 12) were shut down Wednesday night and unable to get their offense going in a road loss at No. 8 Houston.
Cincinnati (11-12, 3-7) dropped a 59-54 decision at home to West Virginia on Thursday in a game it led by 14 points with 16 minutes remaining.
Sunday’s game is a rematch of a Jan. 11 meeting in Orlando won by UCF 73-72.
UCF will have to solve its offensive deficiencies that were heightened against defensive-minded Houston. The Knights did not have a player score in double figures, shot 30.8% from the field, committed 11 turnovers and were outrebounded 40-29.
A lone bright spot came at the free throw line as UCF made 17 of 20 attempts.
“They’re a terrific team,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said of Houston. “They play at such a high level that you have to be prepared to match their intensity, match their physicality, and we were not able to do that.”
Riley Kugel led UCF with nine points and tops the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game. Themus Fulks — second on the team at 13.9 points — led a group of four players with eight points apiece.
UCF’s NCAA tournament resume remains strong at No. 42 in the NCAA NET ratings.
Cincinnati has a losing record for the first time since March 4, 2021, and for the first time in coach Wes Miller’s five seasons as coach.
The Bearcats have lost their last two games and four of five. Big man Moustapha Thiam missed Thursday’s game with an ankle injury, while Shon Abaev has missed the last three games, also with an ankle ailment.
Miller refused to use injuries or the schedule as an excuse following Thursday’s collapse against West Virginia, instead addressing the Cincinnati fan base for the home loss.
“I want to apologize to our fans and all the people who support Cincinnati basketball. It’s not OK,” Miller said. “I don’t want for one second for people to think that I think it’s OK. It’s not OK. In this program, there’s a higher standard. There’s no excuse. None of the circumstances matter. We have to close games out.”
–Field Level Media
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Women's Top 25 roundup: Duke, LSU notch lopsided wins
Toby Fournier dropped 26 points on 12-of-16 shooting, freshman Arianna Roberson had career highs of 22 points and 16 rebounds and No. 17 Duke thrashed
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North Carolina State extends ACC win streak with victory over Virginia Tech
Feb 7, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack guard Quadir Copeland (11) with the ball shoves Virginia Tech Hokies guard Jaden Schutt (2) during the first half of the game at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images Paul McNeil Jr. and Quadir Copeland each poured in 21 points and North Carolina State added to its hot stretch by beating Virginia Tech 82-73 for its longest Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season winning streak (six games) in more than a half-century Saturday afternoon at Raleigh, N.C.
Tre Holloman cranked out 16 points, and Ven-Allen Lubin had 11 points for NC State (18-6, 9-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). McNeil made four 3-pointers, and Hollomon hit seven 3s. Copeland provided 10 assists and five steals.
This is the Wolfpack’s best regular-season stretch in conference play within the same season since going 12-0 in 1973-74. They won the last four ACC regular-season games in 1988-89 and their first three in conference play the next season.
Amani Hansberry (19 points) and Tobi Lawal (17 points, 15 rebounds) led Virginia Tech (16-8, 5-6), which had a week off since falling at home to first-place Duke. Neoklis Avdalas added 14 points, and Jaden Schutt made three 3s on the way to 11 points off the bench.
Virginia Tech, which repeatedly failed to string together scoring possessions, went 7-for-25 on 3-pointers. The Hokies finished with 15 turnovers and 14 assists.
NC State overcame a shaky shooting outing from Darrion Williams, who had heated up in recent games, but was limited to four points on 1-for-9 shooting. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech starter Ben Hammond didn’t score in 32 minutes, missing all nine of his shots.
The Wolfpack, fresh off a big comeback Tuesday night at SMU, led 36-24 at halftime. Virginia Tech more than doubled its first-half output in the second half but it wasn’t enough.
Holloman’s 3-pointer gave the Wolfpack a 20-7 lead slightly more than eight minutes into the game. Virginia Tech didn’t have a 2-point basket until more than 10 minutes into the game.
Virginia Tech played again without guard Tyler Johnson, who hasn’t been in a game since prior to Christmas but earlier in the week was considered likely to return.
–Field Level Media
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Villanova takes over in second half, ends Georgetown's win streak
Feb 7, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Villanova Wildcats guard Acaden Lewis (55) drives as Georgetown Hoyas guard Malik Mack (2) defends during the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images Returning to his hometown, freshman Acaden Lewis scored a career-high 26 points to propel Villanova to an 80-73 Big East Conference victory over Georgetown on Saturday in Washington, D.C.
Duke Brennan put up 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Wildcats (18-5, 9-3 Big East) who won their third straight and completed a regular season sweep of the Hoyas.
Tyler Perkins added 15 points and eight rebounds, and Malachi Palmer scored all 10 of his points in the second half for Villanova which trailed by six points early in the second half before rallying for the victory.
Lewis fueled the comeback with 17 of his points coming in the final 11 minutes. His consecutive 3-pointers just 47 seconds apart gave the Wildcats their biggest lead of the game 77-69 with 1:46 left.
Lewis’ performance helped compensate for subpar showing by Villanova’s top scorer Bryce Lindsay, who missed all eight of his shots, while going 0 of 6 from 3-point range as he failed to score for the first time in two seasons.
Malik Mack scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half for the Hoyas (13-11, 5-8) who were gunning for their fifth straight conference win, a feat they had not accomplished since 2013.
Vince Iwuchukwu came off the bench, adding 15 points with 12 rebounds and KJ Lewis added 13 points for Georgetown, which committed 14 turnovers and were outscored off turnovers 23-3.
Early in the second half, Villanova started a 17-4 run which was ignited by a pair of 3-pointers by Palmer. Perkins added a triple and a jumper from the paint as the Wildcats surged to a 61-54 lead with 10:21 left.
A 3-pointer by Mack with 5:41 tied it 64-all. A slam by Iwuchukwu tied it again at 66-66, before Lewis answered with all but one of the points in an 11-3 spurt which put Villanova in command for good.
Georgetown led through most of the first half but never by more than six points. Villanova gained a pair of one-point advantages, but both were brief as they went into halftime down 40-37.
After Villanova opened the second half with 3-pointers from Matt Hodge and Perkins to take a 43-40 lead, Georgetown answered with a 10-1 run.
The spree was bookended by 3-pointers from Caleb Williams and Mack as the Hoyas grabbed a 50-44 advantage.
– Field Level Media
Women's Top 25 roundup: Duke, LSU notch lopsided wins
North Carolina State extends ACC win streak with victory over Virginia Tech
