Sports
Zuby Ejiofor powers St. John's past Providence into Big East semis
Mar 12, 2026; New York, NY, USA; Providence Friars forward Oswin Erhunmwunse (55) defends against St. John’s Red Storm forward Zuby Ejiofor (24) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images Zuby Ejiofor compiled 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists and No. 13 St. John’s sailed to an 85-72 win over Providence in the Big East tournament quarterfinals on Thursday in New York.
The Big East Player of the Year, Ejiofor made 9 of 14 shots and added three blocks while three teammates finished with 14 points: Oziyah Sellers, Bryce Hopkins and Ian Jackson. The top-seeded Red Storm (26-6) advanced to the semifinals to face the winner between fourth seed Seton Hall and fifth seed Creighton.
St. John’s dominated ninth-seeded Providence 51-30 on the glass, including 18-4 on offensive rebounds. Hopkins, an ex-Friar, had 13 rebounds, six on offense.
Stefan Vaaks made all five of his 3-pointers in the second half one day after sinking eight in the Friars’ win over Butler. He set the Big East tournament record for 3-pointers in a two-game span (13).
Vaaks scored 23 points and Jaylin Sellers had 21 as the Friars (15-18) likely played their last game under coach Kim English, who reportedly won’t be retained.
St. John’s scored the first nine points of the game while holding Providence without a made field goal for nearly six minutes. Hopkins’ steal and slam dunk made it 20-5 with 13:06 still to go in the half.
Providence made layups on three quick possessions to prompt St. John’s coach Rick Pitino to call a timeout. But the Red Storm scored eight of the next 10 points and led by double digits the rest of the afternoon.
Jackson’s triple at the 5:42 mark gave St. John’s its first 20-point advantage at 37-17, and Hopkins added a 3-pointer of his own before the top seed went to the locker room up 48-27.
Providence put up a fight in the second half. Consecutive 3-pointers by Vaaks and a pair of dunks by Oswin Erhunmwunse and Sellers brought the Friars within 59-46 at 13:51, and nearly two minutes later Ryan Mela (16 points) cut the margin to 11 on a layup
St. John’s hit an 0-for-6 snag during that time, going scoreless for 2:48. Ejiofor’s bucket off an offensive rebound ended the drought.
Vaaks drilled a highlight-reel 3 from near the logo at half court, though he missed the chance at a four-point play. St. John’s quickly reestablished control, scoring the next 10 to make it 75-53 on Dillon Mitchell’s fastbreak dunk with 8:07 to go.
Despite Providence ending the game on an 11-0 run in garbage time, the Red Storm outscored the Friars by a whopping 30-4 in bench points.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sirens, Victoire to play in PWHL's first game televised nationally in US
Dec 3, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; A general view of a hockey net with pucks during warm ups prior to a game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images The Professional Women’s Hockey League will make its debut on national television in the United States on March 28 when the New York Sirens play the Montreal Victoire.
The game will be at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit at 1 p.m., part of the PWHL Takeover Tour that introduces the league to fans in communities that potentially could be targeted for an expansion team.
“We are continuing to fuel this rocket ship that is the PWHL as we expand the reach and exposure of our league to new fans,” said Amy Scheer, the league’s executive vice president of business operations. “This first ever national broadcast is a truly historic moment for our league.”
The game will be televised by ION, which is available in more than 126 million U.S. households.
“Fan interest in women’s hockey is at an all-time high, buoyed by the amazing success of Team USA in this year’s Winter Olympics Games,” said Brian Lawlor, president of Scripps Sports, which owns ION. “We are thrilled to be teaming with the PWHL and Ally Financial on this milestone event and to bring the excitement of this league to a national audience for the first time.”
The PWHL, in its third season, is approaching two million fans through the turnstiles, with a 20% increase in year-over-year attendance this season. In all, 61 PWHL players were on rosters at the recent Milan Cortina Olympics.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Max Verstappen not liking new F1 cars, enjoys 'positive distractions'
Nov 21, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) celebrates his victory of the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Max Verstappen admitted that he is having more fun with his endurance racing projects as opposed to competing in Formula 1.
That’s a tricky spot given Verstappen is under contract until 2028.
“I don’t want to leave,” the four-time world champion said Thursday of competing with Red Bull. “I wish I had a bit more time and a bit more fun, for sure, but I’m also doing other stuff that is a lot of fun.
“I get to race the Nordschleife. I hope, in the coming years, I can do Spa, Le Mans, so I’m combining stuff to find other stuff that I find really fun as well. Of course, my team, so I have a lot of distractions at the same time.
“Positive distractions, I would call it. But at the same time, it’s a bit conflicting because I don’t really enjoy the car, but I do enjoy working with all the people in the team and from the engine department as well.”
Verstappen, 28, was voted the Formula 1 Driver of the Year for the fifth straight year in 2025. That said, he admitted to having other career ambitions.
“I don’t need to be only a Formula 1 driver, I can also do other things,” he said. “I’ve done this for a while and I’ve achieved everything that I wanted to achieve, so that’s why I want to explore other things, and I don’t want to do them when I’m 40 years old. So now I think this is the perfect age to do it.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jim Boeheim blasts Syracuse's 'best players' for Adrian Autry's firing
Oct 14, 2022; Syracuse, New York, US; Syracuse Orange associate head coach Adrian Autry (left) and assistant coach Gerry McNamara (center) and head coach Jim Boeheim (right) watch the action at the Orange Tip Off at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images Adrian Autry was unsuccessful as the successor to Jim Boeheim at Syracuse with 49 wins in three seasons before he was fired this week.
Boeheim believes Autry is a winning coach and suggested the Orange didn’t get enough from their best players this season.
“His two best players had horrible years,” Boeheim told ACC Network. “If you take any team in this league, and you take their two best players and they have really, really bad years — like Cam Boozer and Isaiah Evans have a bad year at Duke — they don’t win. That’s what happened this year at Syracuse. His two best players just didn’t play well.”
Syracuse brought back its top two scorers from 2024-25. But J.J. Starling and Donnie Freeman didn’t consistently perform at the same level in 2025-26. Starling dipped from 17.8 points per game last season to 10.9 in 2025-26. Freeman averaged 16.5 points per game but shot poorly in ACC play.
Syracuse elevated Autry, a former player and assistant coach for Boeheim, to head coach in 2023. But the Orange went 15-17 in Autry’s final season.
Boeheim said the Orange are nearing a crossroads and the program either must lower expectations or increase NIL commitments. He drew parallels between two other programs who fired coaches after the season.
“If you don’t have enough resources, that puts you behind,” he told ACC Network. “You look at the league — BC, Georgia Tech, now Syracuse — three of the (lowest for) NIL money in the league. You have to look at that.”
–Field Level Media
Sirens, Victoire to play in PWHL's first game televised nationally in US
Max Verstappen not liking new F1 cars, enjoys 'positive distractions'
