Sports
Virginia Tech's task? Slow No. 4 Duke's blowout roll
Jan 26, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) dunks in front of Louisville Cardinals center Aly Khalifa (15) during the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images Duke experienced some close calls early in its ACC schedule, but the nation’s No. 2 team in the NET rankings has dominated opponents of late.
The No. 4 Blue Devils attempt to run their winning streak to nine games and remain unbeaten in conference play Saturday afternoon when they visit Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.
Duke (19-1, 8-0 ACC) has not lost since blowing a 17-point lead in an 82-81 loss to Texas Tech on Dec. 20 at Madison Square Garden. The Blue Devils won their first four ACC games by a combined 28 points before dominating California, Stanford, Wake Forest and Louisville by a combined 97 points.
“I feel you get a chance to really learn about the identity of your team and who we can be,” coach Jon Scheyer said of Duke’s recent blowouts. “That doesn’t mean winning and losing. I think it just means understanding the process and understanding the areas you have to grow and get better.”
Duke has shot at least 50% in each of its last games and finished at 50.8% during Monday’s 83-52 home win over No. 20 Louisville. Cameron Boozer led the Blue Devils in scoring for the third straight game as part of a 19-point, 10-rebound, four-assist night.
Duke dominated the second half by a 45-24 margin when it shot 58.6% (17 of 29). In its past four second halves, the Blue Devils outscored opponents 172-119 while shooting 54.2% (58 of 107).
On Monday, Duke held prized Louisville freshman Mikel Brown to 1-of-13 shooting and the Cardinals to 29.6% shooting overall. The Blue Devils also outrebounded the Cardinals 47-26.
Virginia Tech (16-6, 5-4) opened league play with a 10-point triple-overtime win over Virginia on Dec. 31. The Hokies followed that by losing three of the next four, though the setbacks to Wake Forest, Stanford and SMU came by a combined five points.
Since those close losses, Virginia Tech has won three of four and bounced back from an 85-71 loss Jan. 24 at Louisville by earning a 71-65 home win over Georgia Tech on Tuesday. Despite this recent surge, the Hokies remain outside the Top 50 in the NET rankings at No. 54.
The Hokies trailed by nine less than two minutes into Tuesday’s contest before using a 15-1 run to get the lead for good, though they survived some shaky moments down the stretch. Virginia Tech held a 15-point lead with 4:26 left before giving up 11 straight points. Coach Mike Young’s squad hit 6 of 8 at the free-throw line in the final 40 seconds to clinch it.
“I’ve got the most poised, smart basketball team that I’ve had in a long, long time, and we are anything but poised and smart down the stretch,” Young said. “We’ll get better.”
Virginia Tech earned the win despite a quiet night from leading scorer Amani Hansberry, who got into foul trouble. Hansberry, who averages 14.8 points, was held to a season-low five points on 1-of-5 shooting.
Ben Hammond led the Hokies in scoring for the second time in three games by finishing with 20 and is shooting 51.4% (28 of 54) since entering the starting lineup on Jan. 14. That includes a 13-for-23 showing from 3-point range.
“He’s awesome,” Young said of Hammond, who averaged 5.6 points last season as a freshman. “He’s doing it every night.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Former Georgia WR Zachariah Branch arrested
Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch (1) takes questions from the press during the Sugar Bowl and College Football Playoff quarterfinals Media Day at Sheraton New Orleans Hotel in New Orleans, La., on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. Players and coaches from Ole Miss and Georgia took questions from the press. Wide receiver Zachariah Branch, a Georgia standout who was expected to be selected in the NFL Draft later this week, was arrested early Sunday in Athens, Ga., according to Athens-Clarke County jail records.
Branch, 22, was charged with obstructing public sidewalks/streets and obstruction of a law enforcement officer, both misdemeanors. He was booked at 1:26 a.m. and released on bond at 3:44 a.m.
Widely projected as a Day 2 NFL draft pick, estimates show Branch going as high as the second round on Friday.
In his first season at Georgia, following a transfer from Southern California, Branch led the Bulldogs with 81 receptions for 811 yards and six touchdowns last season. Georgia went 12-2 and lost 39-34 to Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl.
In three college seasons, the first two at USC, Branch had 159 receptions for 1,634 yards and nine touchdowns in 37 games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cavs guard duo out for even more in Game 2 vs. Raptors
Apr 18, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) celebrates after hitting a three point basket against the Toronto Raptors during the second half of game one in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images The Cleveland Cavaliers’ starting backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden lived up to the hype in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first round series against the Toronto Raptors.
Mitchell scored 32 points in 31 minutes, and Harden dissected the defense for 22 points and 10 assists, leading the fourth-seeded Cavaliers to a 126-113 home victory Saturday. Cleveland built a 24-point lead before coasting home with the win.
Fifth-seeded Toronto must figure out how to slow them down Monday, when Game 2 takes place at Cleveland.
“Every scenario is on the table,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “We’ve got to take a look at the film. I have my own thoughts, just based on the game, but I want to watch it to see what adjustments we can make.”
Mitchell and Harden were the best players on the court in the opener, combining to make 19 of 38 field goal attempts, 8 of 14 from 3-point range and 8 of 9 free-throw opportunities. They also combined for four steals, as the Cavaliers forced 17 turnovers as a team.
It didn’t matter who Toronto used against the star guards defensively. The guards took turns beating the defense off the dribble, in transition and making pinpoint passes in half-court sets. Max Strus took advantage with a career playoff-high 24 points off the bench and four 3-pointers.
“Our job now is to stay in the moment and take one game at a time,” Harden said. “I’ve been in this (situation). Things happen fast. Our job is to focus on what we can do better.”
Harden, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Los Angeles Clippers, was especially proficient at slowing down the pace and feeding his big men. Seven of his 10 assists went to either center Jarrett Allen or forwards Evan Mobley and Keon Ellis.
Mitchell was much more aggressive, bypassing his heavy diet of 3-pointers in favor of slashing through the lane. Thirteen of his 20 shots were within the arc, which also led to him go 6 of 7 from the foul line.
“You’ve got to pick, right? Do you trap James? Do you trap me? Do you switch?” said Mitchell, who extended his league-record streak of 30-plus points in a series opener to nine straight. “There are so many different things you have to pick. James makes my life a lot easier.”
Being so efficient on offense allowed Cleveland to set up defensively, stopping the fast-paced Raptors from using their youth and athleticism to speed up the game.
Toronto couldn’t adapt and only managed to take 71 shots — a whopping 18 below the league average. The Cavaliers took 81 shots, making 54.3% of them, and were 16 of 32 on 3-pointers.
“They were getting back, stopping us from running,” Toronto power forward Scottie Barnes said. “They beat us at one of the things we do best, and that’s transition. We’ve got to be prepared and have some urgency.”
RJ Barrett scored 24 points, Barnes had 21 points and Brandon Ingram and Jamal Shead added 17 apiece, but none had more than 14 shots. Shead started in his playoff debut with point guard Immanuel Quickley (right hamstring strain) inactive.
Quickley did practice Sunday, when the Raptors worked out in the practice gym at the Cavaliers’ arena, but Rajakovic said his status won’t be known until the pregame.
Regardless of which point guard is playing, the coach will emphasize the importance of feeding Ingram. Toronto’s leading scorer in the regular season (21.5 points per game) only got off nine shots while being blanketed by Strus, Ellis and Dean Wade.
“We have a small margin of error,” Ingram said. “They knew everything (play-wise) we would run throughout the year. They tried to deny me the ball every time I ran down the floor.
“At the end of the day, me shooting nine shots is not going to win basketball games.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Gilbert Burns Retires: A Look Back at His Legendary UFC Career
UFC Winnipeg was that kind of card that had everything – a couple of fantastic fights, one of the worst robberies of the year, a draw, referee action, referee inaction, a devastating knockout, and a couple of impressive finishes.
But while Mike Malott got the win at UFC Winnipeg, taking himself one step further up the welterweight ranks, there needs to be a dedicated spotlight on his opponent, Gilbert Burns.
After Malott scored the victory, he gave time in his post-fight interview to praise Burns for all he has done in and out of the Octagon. Burns then got his own time to speak, laying his gloves down and retiring from the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. And while Burns never won a UFC championship, he should be saluted as a fantastic athlete who gave his all to the sport.
Burns’ path to MMA started with Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In fact, the story goes that Burns’ father got Burns and his brothers three months of jiu-jitsu lessons as payment from a car repair customer. That deal, and those three months of training, set Burns on a path that helped him land in the UFC.
Burns became a Brazilian and European jiu-jitsu champion, then went on to win several world titles in the discipline. Then, in 2015, Burns won a bronze medal at the 2015 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championships.
It was 2012 when Burns made his professional MMA debut, starting his career with seven first-round finishes. That was the same year he served as a coach on Vitor Belfort’s team for The Ultimate Fighter.
A couple of years later, the UFC came calling, and he debuted in the promotion in July 2014, scoring a decision win over Andreas Stahl. He started his UFC tenure 6-3, but it was in late 2018 that Burns started to really find a groove.
He racked up six straight wins, moving up to welterweight during that time frame. His wins in that span included a victory over Olivier Aubin-Mercier, a first-round finish of Demian Maia, and a decision win over former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
Those performances led Burns to a welterweight title shot against Kamaru Usman at UFC 258. Burns troubled Usman early in the fight, scoring a first-round knockdown, and he was seemingly moments away from capturing the gold. But Usman stormed a comeback, eventually finishing Burns in the third round.
It was a heartbreaking defeat. And unfortunately, it was the start of a skid for Burns over the remaining five years of his UFC career. Burns’ last 10 Octagon bouts, which includes the loss to Usman, saw him go just 3-7.
Burns’ loss to Malott was his fifth straight. At 39 years old, Burns’ retirement is unsurprising, but still unfortunate. He fought so many of today’s fantastic UFC athletes and earned a number of post-fight bonuses. And that’s why while it’s disappointing he never got the UFC gold, he still should go down as a memorable UFC competitor.
And the thing is, he still can do great things in the sport. He will be in the corner of his teammates. He will prepare them for their fights. Maybe we can still see Burns in jiu-jitsu and submission grappling competitions.
“Durinho” has always been considered a man of class. And it was uplifting to see the Canadian crowd give him such a warm ovation and thank you as Burns rode off into the sunset.
Thank you, Gilbert Burns, and congratulations on a tremendous career.
Former Georgia WR Zachariah Branch arrested
Cavs guard duo out for even more in Game 2 vs. Raptors
