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The continuous struggles of the Los Angeles Lakers didn&rsquo;t come to an end when they faced the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night. The Lakers lost 111-104 in yet another disappointing fashion, and much of the blame was once again directed toward Russell Westbrook.&nbsp;
While it is undeniable that Westbrook is in quite a bit of a shooting slump, the unexpected happened when he was benched in the fourth quarter during their final push to win the game.
"[I was] playing the guys that I thought were going to win the game," Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said following Wednesday's loss when asked about Russ not being on the floor to finish the contest.
Speaking with ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday morning, Westbrook reacted to Vogel's choice.
"Surprised, yes," Westbrook <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33115018/russell-westbrook-disagrees-benching-remains-undeterred-helping-los-angles-lakers-win-long-run" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in the exclusive interview</a>. "I was disappointed I didn't go back in, but I'm more disappointed that we lost the damn game... I want to be able to be on the floor to help my teammates and be able to help our team win in games like that &mdash; but that was a decision that was made."
Westbrook went on to reflect on the Lakers' status at the moment, and being considered a disappointing team.
"Ultimately, you have to be okay when sh** doesn't go well, and I'm okay," Westbrook <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33115018/russell-westbrook-disagrees-benching-remains-undeterred-helping-los-angles-lakers-win-long-run" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in the interview</a>. "I've done everything that's been asked of me here [in L.A.], and I'll continue to do so and ride this out as long as we can toward our ultimate goal &mdash; and that's to win a championship... We obviously haven't been fully healthy, but I'm committed to making this thing work. The communication is there with everybody in the organization to make this thing work, to make this team we all want it to be in the future.
"I have accepted everything that has been asked of me and tried to do it to the best of my ability," <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33115018/russell-westbrook-disagrees-benching-remains-undeterred-helping-los-angles-lakers-win-long-run" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he continued</a>. "I'm not the ultimate decision-maker of if it's working, or if it's not working. I'm okay with sacrificing some of the things that I've been able to do in this game to win, because that's the most important part of this game. I've done everything they've asked me to do to this point."
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With much of the chatter the past couple of days being centered around criticisms of Westbrook and calls for him to be moved by the Feb 10. trade deadline and run out of L.A., I wanted to have a more nuanced discussion on the topic.&nbsp;
On The Collision: &ldquo;Where Sports And Politics Collide,&rdquo; me and my co-host Dave Zirin had an <a href="https://archive.wpfwfm.org/mp3/wpfw_220120_100000collision.mp3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in-depth discussion about Westbrook</a>, and if the criticism he's been receiving this season has been warranted.
Etan Thomas: Okay, so Russell Westbrook was benched in the last five, six minutes of the game. They lose to the Indiana Pacers. There&rsquo;s been an ongoing criticism of Westbrook's play for a while now. What&rsquo;s your assessment of Westbrook in the midst of all of this criticism?
Dave Zirin: "The first thing we have to recognize is that Russell Westbrook is a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer and arguably the most dynamic point guard of his generation and, in my opinion, a top-five all-time point guard in the NBA. He is a titanic talent, the likes of which you get once in a generation. It is also true that while it may be a dream for Russell Westbrook to go home to Los Angeles &mdash; played at UCLA, play for the Lakers &mdash; there's a historical error happening here.
Etan:&nbsp;Break it down for me.&nbsp;
Zirin: "I don't think it's a good spot for him, and ironically, right across town I think if he was on the Clippers, he'd already be being celebrated as an MVP candidate there."
Etan: Oh really?
Zirin: "Factor it all in, like Kawhi being hurt, Paul George being hurt. Because for Russell Westbrook to be Russell Westbrook, he needs to be able to cook. He needs to be able to do the Russell Westbrook things that he does, and there's probably one player in the entire NBA who is so good all around that it sort of upsets the balance of what makes Westbrook, Westbrook, and that's LeBron James.
"I love LeBron, I respect LeBron, but look at LeBron's career. It's like he needs a certain type of player and a certain mindset around him to be the LeBron who we want to see and who can thrive. And Russell Westbrook, that's less his game; [he doesn't do] spot-up three-pointers, 3-and-D, a lot of defense. I don't think it's a very good fit at all, the two of them, from everything I'm watching. Russ looks at times tentative, but then he'll pull something out of the bag and dunk on Rudy Gobert, almost from the foul line right in the middle of the game.&nbsp;
"So all the athleticism is still there. All the amazingness is still there, it's just he needs the opportunity to make it happen, and right now it's not happening. But it's not that he's terrible. I'm looking it up right now. He's averaging 18.5 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists. For a lot of players, that would be a dream season. For Russ, it's significantly down."
Etan: I understand what you're saying as far as the cohesiveness between him and LeBron, but it's almost as if Westbrook has to be the scapegoat because they're not going to blame LeBron, they're not going to blame Anthony Davis. So the only other person to be able to blame for the Lakers not achieving the level that everybody thought that they would achieve so far is Westbrook.
Zirin: "Yeah, which to me just also an incredible advocation of leadership with the Lakers, and that's the other thing that's going on here. There have been a lot of leaks to the media that are clearly coming from inside the Lakers that are, I think, meant to undermine the presence of Westbrook on the team and Frank Vogel's coaching. Vogel could be gone at the end of business [this week], for all we know. The rumors are that hot and heavy, but I don't think Frank Vogel's necessarily done anything "wrong." But I do think that for the benching of Westbrook...
"And let me say something about this too, for people who didn't see the game [Wednesday] night. With about eight minutes to go, [Caris] LeVert &mdash; who's a really good player, big, athletic &mdash; beat Westbrook off the dribble and hit a layup. Big deal, it happens. A member of the L.A. coaching staff leaked to the media that [that particular play] is what soured Vogel on Westbrook; they had told him to guard LeVert a certain way and it didn't happen, and that's why he was getting pulled from the game.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The play that got Russ benched <a href="https://t.co/yONE54ZTCW">pic.twitter.com/yONE54ZTCW</a>
&mdash; Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) <a href="https://twitter.com/LakersDailyCom/status/1484178684697137154?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

"LeVert in the fourth quarter [Wednesday] night went 8 of 9 with 22 points. He was cooking on everybody and to me, he's a great player &mdash; injury-plagued, brilliant player who will be a superstar and an All-Star if he gets in the right situation and gets his health on point. So it's no shame giving up a layup to Caris LeVert for goodness sakes if you're Russell Westbrook.
"But the idea that they would leak to that the press is strange. It's weird... it also doesn't quite fit because Westbrook stayed in the game another three minutes before he took him out. Then, there&rsquo;s all these leaks about how there are all these people in the front office who didn't want to bring in Westbrook, but LeBron and Rob Pelinka (who's obviously very close to LeBron) insisted upon it. So this is my belief and please Etan, please disagree with me on this.
"I think the problem at its root level... I don't think it's coaching. I don't know about the Westbrook-LeBron dynamic being able to work together, particularly without a healthy Anthony Davis to erase all mistakes with people coming towards the hoop. Now what? Can you see Russ and LeBron working with a different coaching style, format, motivation? Do you like the combo?"
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Etan: You know, we talked about this a few weeks ago with my guys from Chopping it Up with G and Z. One of the things that I suggested was having Rajon Rondo play a little bit more at the point and having Westbrook play more of the 2 and attacking, with Rondo doing more facilitating, and that didn't happen at all. I mean, Vogel didn't even play Rondo at all and they traded him to Cleveland.
So I thought that would have worked as a strategy, to be honest with you because I think that you... there are ways that you can utilize what Westbrook brings to the table. I mean, is he a spot up shooter, like you said, for LeBron to drive and then kick it out to Westbrook for the three? That wouldn't really be my strategy. Would that be a strategy if you were the coach?
Zirin: "Not at all."
Etan: Right. So I don't know if they're playing him to his strengths. But let me ask you this: What do you think about some of the people like Shannon Sharpe, who are <a href="https://twitter.com/undisputed/status/1484550725061521410?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">constantly criticizing him publicly and kind of drumming up all criticism towards Westbrook</a>? Or do you think Shannon's just echoing what everybody is already saying? Not him in particular, but just a lot of the media talking heads, because I'm hearing a lot of people pile on with Westbrook. And I know the Lakers are always in the spotlight, but it's a little bit extra this year with Westbrook it seems.
Zirin: "Yeah. The Lakers are the the closest things to the Dallas Cowboys in the NBA. They're America's team. So there's a ton of focus on the Lakers at all times. And L.A. is a city that loves stars. So it's like that affects the decision-making, like Buddy Hield would have been a better [fit]... they had to choose. They were going to get either Buddy Hield, or they could get Russell Westbrook. And Buddy Hield is not... just being very frank, is not one-tenth of the player that Russell Westbrook is.
"But Buddy Hield would've been a better fit. He&rsquo;s like a 40% three-point shooter, plays defense. I think if the Lakers were the Cleveland Cavaliers, they would have said, 'Oh, of course we're [making a move for] Buddy Hield. That fits in with what we're trying to do.' But the Lakers... man, they're star-addicted. So they bring in Russell Westbrook, and Russell Westbrook in a lot of ways is like catnip for the L.A. media, and Shannon Sharpe is the L.A. media."
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Etan: Russ was great in D.C.
Zirin: "He was amazing."
Etan: Everybody here loved him.
Zirin: "Oh, he was outstanding in D.C. I wish he was still in D.C. He was [putting up] 22/12/12 for the season. That's bonkers.&nbsp;And his stats, in terms of shooting splits, aren't really down from last year. So that's why I think it's total scapegoating. I don't think he's the best fit in LA. I think from a coaching perspective, you start [LeBron and Russ] both and you play them both at crunch time. But second and third quarter, stagger them. Stagger them in the game, [and] have Russ's team and then have LeBron's team, make it work like that."
Etan:&nbsp;So how do you think this ends?&nbsp;
Zirin: "I think Vogel gets fired, and I think somebody comes in who tries to make it work in a better way, even though I do not blame Vogel for what's happening (except for this last game, where I think he was clearly trying to throw a little mischief in the mix). I think they get someone in there, fresh start, whole new ball game. Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, make a playoff run, make it at least to the Western Conference Finals. Boom, I'm throwing that down right now."
Etan: Okay. So you have faith think it can work with Russell Westbrook? And you're not hopping off the Westbrook train or anything like that?
Zirin: "Not even a little bit. You've got to make it work. You know, it's one of those things where it's like you got to play the hand that you're dealt. Would I, as a general manager, have combined these two incredible Hall-of-Fame talents? No, I wouldn't have, but you've got to make use with the talent that you have, especially when it's talent like Russell Westbrook. And I want to say this 'til the cows come home: He's 33 years old. Anybody who saw that dunk on Gobert knows Russ has not lost a step.&nbsp;At 33. So don't give me any of this, 'Oh, he doesn't have what he [used to].' Give me a break. He's in amazing shape. He takes tremendous care of himself. Nobody's more intense. I miss him on the Wizards terribly!"
Etan: I hear you Dave, and again, I was his teammate for a year, and it was a young Russell Westbrook. I have nothing bad to say about him. I mean, the intensity that he brought every single game and the way he brought it, the passion that he brought &mdash; I thought it was absolutely amazing. I still think it's a tragedy that OKC couldn't keep all those guys together (the young Thunder all together), but that's a whole different topic. Yeah, no, what he brings, I have a lot of respect for him &mdash; both on and off the court.
I interviewed him for <a href="http://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/we-matter-athletes-and-activism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">my book,</a> "We Matter: Athletes and Activism." He's <a href="https://apnews.com/article/5e662a89d2e24aaf80c69de3a93a67e2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speaking out about Terence Crutcher</a>. He's speaking out for the community and for our people and against police brutality. He cares.&nbsp;
So just hearing people pile on him like he's almost like a cancer to the team (as far as on the court and as far as in the locker room), and the media trying to set it up like he's now going to be a problem child because he got taken out the game is ridiculous. So I'm glad that you made these points.
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Etan Thomas speaks with Dave Zirin about Russell Westbrook's benching on Wednesday and how he isn't solely to blame in L.A.

Russell Westbrook has unfairly been made the Lakers' scapegoat

Ethan Fuller gauges which NBA teams should be zeroing in on Cade Cunningham.

NBA Sour Rankings: Cade-O-Meter 2.0

Best-selling author Jeff Pearlman on his new book: "Three Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty."

Jeff Pearlman on the Shaq-Kobe Lakers, his new book and more

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic has his bandmates back together. They&rsquo;re making up for lost time, too.
Paired again in the playoffs&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1651051540634017792" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">with Jamal Murray</a>&nbsp;and Michael Porter Jr., Jokic and his crew made quick work of short-handed Minnesota, closing out the Timberwolves with a 112-109 win&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/playoffs-nuggets-timberwolves-edwards-jokic-2da19619ba1700de0b50478cb7cef58b">in Game 5 of their first-round series</a>&nbsp;Tuesday night. Denver, the No. 1 seed in the West, will face a Phoenix Suns team led by its own terrific trio &mdash; Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Kevin Durant &mdash; starting&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2023/west-semifinal-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Saturday</a>&nbsp;at Ball Arena.
The trifecta of Murray, Porter and Jokic haven&rsquo;t been plugged in at the same time for the playoffs since the NBA bubble in 2020. It was a magical time, too, in Florida, when the team advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to LeBron James and the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers.
It seems so long ago, with Murray missing the last two versions of the playoffs as he recovered from a torn left ACL and Porter sitting out last season&rsquo;s postseason due to a balky back.
But they knew that once they were all reunited, they could be a powerful force.
They flashed that Tuesday by doing a little bit of everything. There was Murray, coming up big at crunch time on his way to 35 points. And Jokic, the reigning back-to-back NBA MVP who did his usual thing with 28 points, 17 boards and 12 assists. Porter, too, who despite struggling from the field found a way to contribute with defense &mdash; something he wasn&rsquo;t always known for &mdash; and by grabbing 10 rebounds. He also scored eight crucial points in the fourth quarter.
&ldquo;It was good to be back in the playoffs and just be playing at a high level along with Jamal,&rdquo; said Porter, who swished two big 3-pointers to help Denver fend off Anthony Edwards and the plucky Timberwolves. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a good feeling.&rdquo;
A year ago, guard/forward Bruce Brown was swept out of the postseason as a member &mdash; along with Durant &mdash; of the Brooklyn Nets. Brown did his homework as he looked for a new team last summer and liked the what he saw in the Mile High City. He and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope have given the Nuggets better depth in these playoffs.
&ldquo;I just knew they had a bunch of great players,&rdquo; said Brown, who wore a cowboy hat as he walked out of the locker room after a game in which the Nuggets went 32 of 36 from the free throw line. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very impressed (with this team).&rdquo;
Next up, a Suns team that swept the Nuggets in the second round of the 2021 playoffs. But that was without Murray. This is a revamped Nuggets cast.
Phoenix has a new look, too, with Durant coming over from the Nets as part of blockbuster deal at the NBA&rsquo;s trade deadline day.
This could be the start of something good. Despite Denver being the top seed &mdash; and Phoenix being No. 4 &mdash; the Nuggets feel overlooked.
&ldquo;Nobody is out there picking us to win,&rdquo; Nugget forward Jeff Green said. &ldquo;We know we have what it takes to win. We&rsquo;ve just got to keep showcasing.&rdquo;
First, some time to rest &mdash; and celebrate.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone wants his players to appreciate what they just accomplished. Him, too, as he earned his 25th playoff win to break a tie with Doug Moe and become the Nuggets&rsquo; winningest coach in the NBA playoffs.
&ldquo;To win a series in the playoffs is hard,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;So I&rsquo;m really proud of our guys.&rdquo;
The Suns and Nuggets split their season series 2-2. But it was hard to gain any sort of read into the series as Jokic sat out the last two, so he hasn&rsquo;t played the Suns with Durant.
Both teams put on quite a show on Christmas night, with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1607264124186107905" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aaron Gordon turning</a>&nbsp;in one of the most spectacular dunks of the season. It paved the way to a 128-125 overtime win where Jokic had 41 points, 15 boards and 15 assists.
&ldquo;Probably, they&rsquo;re the favorites to win the championship,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a big challenge for us.&rdquo;
These are the types of moments Porter pondered when he was sidelined with the bad back last year.
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t trying to look too far ahead, but to get back here and be competitive in a playoff series, man, it&rsquo;s a great feeling,&rdquo; Porter said. &ldquo;Especially considering everything I&rsquo;ve been through.&rdquo;

Denver, the No. 1 seed in the West, will face a Phoenix team led by its own terrific trio: Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Kevin Durant

Back to health, Porter and Murray help Nuggets to next round

Will Wade, who was fired last year by LSU because of alleged recruiting violations, has been hired as head men&rsquo;s basketball coach at McNeese State.
The hiring of Wade was announced by athletic director Heath Schroyer on Sunday, just days after former Cowboys coach John Aiken was fired following his second season.
&ldquo;I will not make excuses for why we can&rsquo;t win and win big. Quite frankly, there is no excuse,&rdquo; Schroyer said. &ldquo;The days of us celebrating making conference tournaments or accepting mediocrity in all of our sports, let alone in basketball, are over.&rdquo;
While Wade was a controversial figure at LSU and spawned an ongoing NCAA investigation into the program&rsquo;s alleged offering of improper benefits to players &mdash; before the current Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) era &mdash; his teams were competitive.
The Tigers won a Southeastern Conference regular-season championship in 2019 and received bids to the NCAA Tournament in 2019, 2021 and 2022. (There was no tournament in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic).
When LSU fired Wade, President William F. Tate and athletic director Scott Woodward, said Wade&rsquo;s tenure and the allegations that followed him place the men&rsquo;s basketball program &ldquo;under an exhausting shroud of negativity.&rdquo;
LSU received a formal notice of allegations from the NCAA&rsquo;s Complex Case unit, including multiple charges alleging Wade&rsquo;s personal involvement in &mdash; or awareness of &mdash; Level I misconduct.
Level I violations can include a head coach&rsquo;s lack of oversight on compliance matters; failure to cooperate in an NCAA investigation; unethical or dishonest conduct; or prohibited cash or similar benefits provided to recruits.
LSU&rsquo;s statement at that time, however, stressed that Wade&rsquo;s firing was &ldquo;not an acknowledgement of agreement with any of the allegations.&rdquo;
Wade went 105-51 at LSU, winning 20 games or more in three of his five seasons. He has 196 career wins during his nine years as a head coach. From 2015 to 2017, Wade went 51-20 at VCU. Wade also was the head coach at Chattanooga for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons, going 40-25.
&ldquo;I wanted someone who not only understands my expectations for our basketball program on and off the court, but actually embraces them,&rdquo; Schroyer said. &ldquo;There isn&rsquo;t a better fit for this basketball program, university or community at this moment than Will Wade.&rdquo;
Wade&rsquo;s formal introduction at McNeese was scheduled for Monday.

Wade went 105-51 at LSU, winning 20 games or more in three of his five seasons. He has 196 career wins during his nine years.

Will Wade hired by McNeese a year after LSU firing amid probe

March Madness is quickly approaching! Here is everything you need to know, including some key games to watch and who&rsquo;s on the bubble ahead of Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament:
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-68 h2 Component-p-0-2-59">CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS</h2>
All eyes will be on the conference tournaments this week:
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://theacc.com/sports/2018/1/12/2017-18-new-york-life-acc-tournament.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The ACC Tournament is March 7-11</a>&nbsp;in Greensboro, North Carolina.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://admin.big12sports.com/tournaments/?id=1041" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Big 12 Tournament is March 8-11</a>&nbsp;in Kansas City, Missouri.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://bigten.org/sports/2022/10/20/2023MBBT.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Big Ten Tournament is March 8-12</a>&nbsp;in Chicago.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.bigeast.com/tournaments/?id=146" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Big East Tournament is March 8-11</a>&nbsp;in New York.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://pac-12.com/mens-basketball-tournament-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Pac-12 Tournament is March 8-11</a>&nbsp;in Las Vegas.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.bridgestonearena.com/events/detail/2023-sec-mens-basketball-tournament" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The SEC Tournament is March 8-12</a>&nbsp;in Nashville, Tennessee.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-68 h2 Component-p-0-2-59">MARCH MADNESS</h2>
Selection Sunday is March 12, when&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bracket matchups will be set</a>&nbsp;for the First Four and first- and second-round&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2023-02-21/2023-march-madness-mens-ncaa-tournament-schedule-dates-times" target="_blank" rel="noopener">games that stretch from Florida to California</a>.
Sweet 16 weekend will see games in New York City (East Region), Las Vegas (West), Kansas City, Missouri (Midwest), and Louisville, Kentucky (South).
Where is the Final Four? In Houston, on April 1, with the championship game on April 3.
Basketball aficionados, take note:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-kansas-city-march-madness-264616d053a2dc26ccf1f59999c0ea5b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The women&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament</a>&nbsp;will hold its Final Four in Dallas, a four-hour drive from Houston.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-68 h2 Component-p-0-2-59">BETTING GUIDE</h2>
Who&rsquo;s going to win the national championship? With the regular season over, the betting favorites as of this week to reach the Final Four are Houston, Alabama, Kansas and Purdue, according to&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/ncaab?tab=final-four" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FanDuel Sportsbook</a>. That matches the top teams in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2023-02-18/division-i-mens-basketball-committee-reveals-top-16-seeds-three-weeks-selection" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the NCAA&rsquo;s initial seed watch</a>. UCLA is in the mix near the top in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the AP Top 25</a>&nbsp;too.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-68 h2 Component-p-0-2-59">WHO&rsquo;S IN</h2>
These teams are already going dancing after landing their league&rsquo;s automatic bid:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/kennesaw-state-liberty-asun-atlantic-sun-conference-5b09f7866f7c962b6240905cfb971449" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kennesaw State</a>&nbsp;(26-8, Atlantic Sun),&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/campbell-unc-asheville-big-south-conference-a41680d93065815045140d736d2929dc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UNC Asheville</a>&nbsp;(27-7, Big South),&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-ziggy-reid-javon-bennett-tanner-thomas-nico-galette-c22c114822b241c1990b7f789466574f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fairleigh Dickinson</a>&nbsp;(19-14, Northeast),&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/mvc-championship-drake-bradley-0cafbe568b4c18386c99944f407b2f1d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Drake</a>&nbsp;(27-7, Missouri Valley),&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/chattanooga-furman-southern-conference-socon-f73c63056db9426a1cd7728db9cf86c7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Furman</a>&nbsp;(27-7, Southern),&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/sun-belt-south-alabama-louisiana-tournament-ncaa-560ca5dfbffdf02126b1aa254f5e50d1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Louisiana-Lafayette</a>&nbsp;(26-7, Sun Belt),&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/southeast-missouri-state-tennessee-tech-ovc-a1c488e92b79f977e42cb9a431f90c30" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southeast Missouri State</a>&nbsp;(19-16, Ohio Valley),&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/gonzaga-saint-marys-west-coast-conference-ncaa-tournament-8309d967f68424b76b6eb8d40e35babc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gonzaga</a>&nbsp;(28-5, West Coast),&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/charleston-unc-wilmington-a5a96b049c0254c4e02e13b104f2583f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">College of Charleston</a>&nbsp;(31-3, Colonial Athletic Association),&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/north-dakota-state-oral-roberts-d72cdca23a50685e2b63eca07e7f8ed9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oral Roberts</a>&nbsp;(30-4, Summit League),&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/northwestern-state-texas-am-corpus-christi-b6bda8e49d4f699d690bbb8b318980dc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi</a>&nbsp;(23-10, Southland),&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/northern-arizona-montana-state-big-sky-conference-c956fc0ad669863a5b90839c4b29f6d6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Montana State</a>&nbsp;(25-9, Big Sky),&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/northern-kentucky-cleveland-state-75d8750c09d58ac260f2ab8469945170" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Northern Kentucky</a>&nbsp;(22-12, Horizon League) and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lafayette-colgate-a865298447d891db81c6243f7f85902b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Colgate</a>&nbsp;(26-8, Patriot League).
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-68 h2 Component-p-0-2-59">BUBBLE WATCH</h2>
Arizona State (22-12, 11-9 Pac-12):&nbsp;The Sun Devils could have strengthened their NCAA Tournament hopes by beating Arizona for a second time this season. Arizona State failed in that bid, losing to their rival 78-59 in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals, but still should be in good shape after beating Southern California in the tournament quarterfinals.
Oklahoma State (18-15, 8-10 Big 12): The Cowboys&rsquo; NCAA Tournament chances looked good not that long ago. Closing the season with six losses in eight games, including to No. 7 Texas in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals, may dash their hopes.
Clemson (23-10, 14-6 ACC): The Tigers tied for third in the ACC regular season but will be sweating out Selection Sunday during a down year in the ACC. Clemson missed out on a big resume-booster by losing by 20 to No. 13 Virginia in the ACC Tournament semifinals.
Providence (21-11, 13-7 Big East):&nbsp;The Friars closed the season with three straight losses, which will lead to some tense moments on Selection Sunday. A close loss to No. 11 UConn after a huge rally in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals, along with a solid resume, could nudge them into the bracket.
<h2 class="Component-root-0-2-68 h2 Component-p-0-2-59">GAMES TO WATCH</h2>
Florida Atlantic (30-3) vs. UAB (25-8), Conference USA championship, Saturday, 8:30 p.m. Eastern (CBSSN):&nbsp;Every team riding the NCAA Tournament bubble will be rooting for the Owls, who could slip into the dance as an at-large team if they lose to the Blazers in the finals. They would much rather FAU take the automatic berth and free up another spot for them.
Ohio State (16-18) vs. No. 5 Purdue (27-5), Saturday, 1 p.m. Eastern (CBS): The Buckeyes have been the biggest surprise of any conference tournament, but every team on the bubble will be pulling for the Boilermakers to knock them out. With two more wins, Ohio State would be swiping another bid from a potential at-large team.

Here's everything to know about March Madness, including games to watch, who’s on the bubble ahead of Selection Sunday and more.

March Madness 2023: Last chances arrive for bubble teams

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) &mdash; LJ Cryer and Dale Bonner each scored 15 points, and No. 7 Baylor held off Oklahoma State for a 74-68 victory on Monday night.
Jalen Bridges had 14 points and Adam Flagler added 13 for Baylor (22-8, 11-6 Big 12), which earned its second straight win since dropping consecutive games at Kansas State and Kansas.
The Bears played without leading scorer Keyonte George, who sprained his right ankle during Saturday&rsquo;s 81-72 victory over Texas.
John-Michael Wright scored 17 points for Oklahoma State (16-14, 7-10). Caleb Asberry and Quion Williams finished with 12 apiece. The Cowboys also lost 74-58 to the Bears on Jan. 14.
Oklahoma State trailed 67-50 after Bonner made two foul shots with 4:01 left in the rematch. But Moussa Cisse responded with two free throws, sparking a 15-2 run for the Cowboys.
Bonner made three more from the line and Flagler also made two fouls shots to help Baylor close it out in the final seconds.
Baylor coach Scott Drew credited his veteran backcourt for helping his team hold off Oklahoma State&rsquo;s furious last-minute run.
&ldquo;With Adam and LJ, it makes it easy to sleep at night. Dale was tremendous down the stretch,&rdquo; Drew said. &ldquo;It starts with your backcourt, they&rsquo;ve got experience, they made free throws, they take care of the basketball, so you really trust them.&rdquo;
With the Bears losing two frontcourt starters to fouls in the final minutes, Cryer said it was up to the guards to take charge.
&ldquo;Just not to panic because things were going left,&rdquo; Cryer said. &ldquo;At the end of the day, we still had the lead and control of the game, even though they were on their run. It was like, we just have to take care of the ball and finish the game.&rdquo;
The Bears got off to a solid start, taking a 41-30 halftime lead. Baylor shot 56% (15 for 27 ) from the field in the first half, including 8 for 16 from 3-point range.
Oklahoma State dropped its fifth straight, and coach Mike Boynton says it is impossible for his team not to think about their need to finish the conference season with a win at Texas Tech and then win at the Big 12 Tournament to secure their spot in the NCAA Tournament.
&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t dance around this stuff. We show them the standings. This is where we are, this is what we&rsquo;ve done, this is what we have in front of us,&rdquo; Boynton said. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re a basketball player, that&rsquo;s what you think about and you&rsquo;re one of the teams that people are talking about being on the line. That&rsquo;s why I don&rsquo;t pretend that it&rsquo;s not a real thing.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Baylor: George will be evaluated again before the regular-season finale against Iowa State. He is averaging 16.3 points per game this season, which ranks fifth among freshmen in NCAA Division I. He has 12 games of 20 points or more this season.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys outrebounded the Bears 40-32 and enjoyed a 34-18 advantage in points in the paint. But the Cowboys went 5 for 9 at the line, compared to 17 for 20 for the Bears.
UP NEXT
Baylor: Hosts Iowa State on Saturday.
Oklahoma State: Visits Texas Tech on Saturday.

The Bears played without leading scorer Keyonte George, who sprained his right ankle during Saturday’s 81-72 victory over Texas.

Cryer, Bonner help No. 7 Baylor top Oklahoma State 74-68

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Miller scored 24 points and Mark Sears made seven of eight free throws over the final 1:04 to help No. 2 Alabama top Arkansas 86-83 on Saturday.
Miller delivered his second straight huge game for the Crimson Tide (25-4, 15-1 Southeastern Conference) since police alleged in courtroom testimony that he brought a gun to former teammate Darius Miles, who is charged with capital murder in a fatal shooting.
The week&rsquo;s details cast a different light on Miller&rsquo;s regular pregame introduction, which is a Tide staffer giving him a pat down. Coach Nate Oats said after the game that intro for Miller is now over.
Fellow freshman Nick Smith Jr. of Arkansas (19-10, 8-8), another potential NBA draft lottery pick who helped keep the Razorbacks in it with a late 3-pointer, scored 24 points. Davonte Davis added 21 points for Arkansas, Council scored 20, and the rest of the team combined for 18 points.
Jahvon Quinerly had 16 points and seven assists for the Tide, and Noah Clowney had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
NO. 1 HOUSTON 76, EAST CAROLINA 57
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Marcus Sasser scored 22 points to help Houston clinch outright possession of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title.
Tramon Mark added 20 points for the Cougars (27-2, 15-1), while J&rsquo;Wan Roberts had 17 points and 12 rebounds in Houston&rsquo;s ninth straight victory.
East Carolina (14-14, 5-10) had an energetic home crowd for the first-ever visit from a No. 1-ranked team to Minges Coliseum, as well as the program&rsquo;s first game against a top-ranked opponent in more than 31 years. But the Cougars never trailed and led for all but 56 seconds. Ezra Ausar scored 15 points to lead the Pirates.
NO. 3 KANSAS 76, WEST VIRGINIA 74
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Dajuan Harris was one point shy of a career high, scoring 17 points to help lift Kansas over West Virginia.
The Jayhawks&rsquo; stifling defense kept West Virginia from attempting a shot in the final 20 seconds. The Mountaineers&rsquo; Joe Toussaint traveled on their final possession of the game. Baskets by K.J. Adams and Kevin McCullar extended the Jayhawks&rsquo; lead to 75-68 late as they grinded out the victory.
Harris led Kansas (24-5, 12-4 Big 12) with 7-of-9 shooting from the field and had six assists and six steals.
Erik Stevenson led West Virginia (16-13, 5-11) with 23 points. Tre Mitchell scored 20, Kedrian Johnson scored 15 and Emmitt Mathews Jr. had 13.
NO. 17 INDIANA 79, NO. 5 PURDUE 71
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Hood-Schifino scored a career-high 35 points and Trey Galloway added 10 of his 13 in the second half to lead Indiana over Purdue.
The Hoosiers (20-9, 11-7 Big Ten) snapped a seven-game losing streak in West Lafayette and pulled their first season sweep in this bitter rivalry since 2012-13.
Zach Edey led the Boilermakers with 26 points and 16 rebounds and Fletcher Loyer added 14 points. Purdue (24-5, 13-5) has lost three of four and blew a chance to clinch a share of the conference crown in front of its home fans, who stood outside in chilly temperatures and snaking lines for hours before tip-off.
NORTH CAROLINA 71, NO. 6 VIRGINIA 63
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pete Nance scored 22 points to lead North Carolina past Virginia.
Nance shot 7 of 10 from the floor and was 4 of 4 from behind the arc, the most 3-pointers the fifth-year forward has made in ACC play. He added two assists and four blocks.
R.J. Davis notched the fourth double-double of his career with 16 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina (18-11, 10-8 Atlantic Coast Conference), which got a much-needed boost to its NCAA Tournament resume with a Quadrant 1 win &mdash; the first of the season for the Tar Heels.
Jayden Gardner had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead Virginia (21-6, 13-5), which lost its second in a row. Armaan Franklin added 14 points.
ARIZONA STATE 89, NO. 7 ARIZONA 88
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Desmond Cambridge Jr. hit a 60-foot shot at the buzzer and Arizona State rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Arizona.
The Wildcats (24-5, 13-5 Pac-12) built a 10-point lead midway through the second half before going more than six minutes without a field goal as Arizona State pulled ahead by one.
The Sun Devils (20-9, 11-7) went up 86-85 on Warren Washington&rsquo;s layup with just a minute left, but Pelle Larsson put Arizona back up on a layup with 29 seconds left. Arizona State&rsquo;s DJ Horne missed a jumper with 4 seconds left and the Sun Devils had a final shot after Oumar Ballo hit one of two free throws.
Catching the ball with 2.4 seconds left, Cambridge launched a shot from beyond half-court to finish with 19 points and give the Sun Devils a big boost in their bid to make the NCAA Tournament.
NO. 9 BAYLOR 81, NO. 8 TEXAS 72
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Jalen Bridges had 17 points for ninth-ranked Baylor, which overcame a huge deficit with an impressive run right after freshman standout Keyonte George left injured early and beat Big 12 co-leader Texas.
Adam Flagler had 14 points for the Bears (21-8, 10-6). Dale Bonner added 13 points, including seven in an quick spurt after halftime while Flo Thamba had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Dylan Disu had a season-high 24 points for Texas (22-7, 11-5), which twice got even early in the second half but never could regain the lead.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 90, DEPAUL 84
MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones and Tyler Kolek each scored 22 points while helping Marquette clinch a share of its first Big East regular-season championship in a decade.
Kolek also had 14 assists as Marquette (23-6, 15-3) rolled to a 49-28 halftime lead and hung on after DePaul (9-20, 3-15) got close down the stretch. Marquette has won nine of its last 10, while DePaul has lost 10 straight.
This is Marquette&rsquo;s first conference title in 2013, when the Golden Eagles shared the Big East crown with Georgetown and eventual national champion Louisville.
Umoja Gibson led DePaul with 20 points and eight assists. Nick Ongenda added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
NO. 11 TENNESSEE 85, SOUTH CAROLINA 45
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Josiah-Jordan James came back from missing four games with an injury to score 18 points to lead Tennessee to a rout of South Carolina.
James, who suffered an ankle injury against Vanderbilt on Feb. 8, shot 4 of 7 on 3-pointers for the Volunteers (21-8, 10-6 Southeastern Conference). Jahmai Mashack scored 14 points, Zakai Zeigler had 13 points and 11 assists, and Olivier Nkamhoua and Uros Plavsic scored 10 each.
Hayden Brown led the Gamecocks (10-19, 3-13) with 18 points.
NO. 12 GONZAGA 77, NO. 15 SAINT MARY&rsquo;S 68
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 19 points and Gonzaga earned a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title with a win over Saint Mary&rsquo;s.
Anton Watson had 17 points and Malachi Smith added 13 off the bench for the Bulldogs, who have won or shared the conference title in 11 straight seasons. Gonzaga (25-5, 14-2) also reached the 25-win mark for the 16th season in a row &mdash; and avenged a loss to the Gaels earlier this month in Moraga.
Logan Johnson led the Gaels (25-6, 14-2) with 27 points.
Because the teams shared the regular-season title, the WCC will use the NCAA&rsquo;s NET rankings to determine the top seed for the conference tournament.
FLORIDA STATE 85, NO. 13 MIAMI 84
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Matthew Cleveland&rsquo;s 3-pointer as time expired capped Florida State&rsquo;s comeback from a 25-point second-half deficit and a win over Miami.
Jordan Miller had given Miami the lead on a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left. But Cleveland let fly from about 25 feet and the ball swished to give the Seminoles (9-20, 7-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) their best moment of the season.
Cleveland and Darin Green Jr. each had 20 points for Florida State, which also got 13 from Caleb Mills and 11 from Jalen Warley.
Miller led Miami (23-6, 14-5) with 21 points. Norchad Omier had 15, Isaiah Wong scored 14 and Bensley Joseph added 12 for the Hurricanes, whose seven-game winning streak and perfect home season were ended.
NO. 18 UCONN 95, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 86
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points, Adama Sanogo added 18 points and nine rebounds, and UConn beat St. John&rsquo;s.
Andre Jackson Jr. had 15 points, Joey Calcaterra also scored 15 to lead a strong effort by Connecticut&rsquo;s bench and the resurgent Huskies (22-7, 11-7 Big East) avenged an 11-point loss to St. John&rsquo;s at home last month.
UConn won for the sixth time in seven games, closing in on a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament.
AJ Storr had 20 points and Posh Alexander added 18 for the Red Storm (17-13, 7-12), who had won three of four.
NO. 14 KANSAS STATE 73, OKLAHOMA STATE 68
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell had 22 points, eight assists and four steals in Kansas State&rsquo;s third straight win, beating Oklahoma State.
Keyontae Johnson added 17 points for the Wildcats (22-7, 10-6 Big 12), who swept the regular-season series.
Kalib Boone scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half on Senior Day for Oklahoma State. Caleb Asberry scored 13 points and John-Michael Wright added 12 for the Cowboys (16-13, 7-9), who have lost four straight.
VILLANOVA 79, NO. 19 CREIGHTON 67
PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Eric Dixon scored 18 of his career-high 31 points in the first half, Cam Whitmore added 17 and Villanova defeated Creighton.
Dixon also set a career high with six 3-pointers for Villanova (15-14, 9-9 Big East), which has won five of six.
Arthur Kaluma scored 19 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner had 18 for Creighton (18-11, 12-6). The Bluejays have lost three of four following an eight-game winning streak.
NO. 22 SAN DIEGO STATE 73, NEW MEXICO 71
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) &mdash; Lamont Butler&rsquo;s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave San Diego State a win at New Mexico.
After Jaelen House&rsquo;s steal and end-to-end run for a layup with 5.6 seconds left gave New Mexico a 71-70 lead, Butler unhurriedly brought the ball up court before dropping his shot, giving him 10 points for the Aztecs (23-5, 14-2 Mountain West).
Darrion Trammell scored 18 points to lead the Aztecs. Matt Bradley added 11 as San Diego State won its sixth straight.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. finished with 20 points for New Mexico (20-9, 7-9) and House had 15.
OKLAHOMA 61, NO. 23 IOWA STATE 50
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Jacob Groves led Oklahoma with 16 points as the Sooners knocked off Iowa State.
The Sooners (14-15, 4-12 Big 12) had lost nine of their previous 11 games but erased an early 11-point deficit and seized control with a 17-2 run in the second half.
Groves shot 4 of 5 from the 3-point line. Tanner Groves added 9 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
The Cyclones (17-11, 8-8) shot just 31%. Gabe Kalscheur led Iowa State with 12 points.
NO. 24 TCU 83, TEXAS TECH 82
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash; JaKobe Coles made two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining, and TCU beat Texas Tech despite blowing a 12-point lead in the final eight minutes.
After De&rsquo;Vion Harmon&rsquo;s steal and layup put the Red Raiders in front by one with 12 seconds remaining, Coles caught a pass from Emanuel Miller in the lane and was fouled by Fardaws Aimaq going up for the shot. The Horned Frogs (19-10, 8-8 Big 12) weren&rsquo;t in the bonus.
Harmon&rsquo;s desperation 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded wasn&rsquo;t close, ending a four-game winning streak Texas Tech (16-13, 5-11).
Mike Miles Jr. scored 24 points for the Horned Frogs, who had lost five of six and were coming off a loss to No. 3 Kansas at home. Miller had 14 points and 12 rebounds for TCU.
Aimaq scored 19 points, Harmon had 18 and Kevin Obanor finished with 17 points and nine rebounds for Texas Tech.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 69, NO. 25 TEXAS A&amp;M 62
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Tolu Smith had 17 points and Shakeel Moore had 14 as Mississippi State knocked off Texas A&amp;M.
Cameron Matthews had 11 points for the Bulldogs (19-10, 7-9 Southeastern Conference), who held the Aggies to one field goal in the final 14 minutes and outscored them 34-18 during the same time period.
Wade Taylor IV led Texas A&amp;M (21-9, 13-3) with 21 points, including four 3-pointers, and Henry Coleman III and Andersson Garcia each had 11.

A recap of Saturday's slew of action in top 25 NCAA men's college hoops.

Miller has another big game as No. 2 Alabama tops Arkansas

A former owner of two NBA teams, an NFL franchise and longtime Texas businessman, Billy Joe &ldquo;Red&rdquo; McCombs has died at his home in San Antonio, according to a statement from his family on Monday.
McCombs was 95 and preceded in death by his wife, Charline, in 2019.
&ldquo;The entire McCombs family is heartbroken to announce that our father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Red McCombs passed away Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023,&rdquo; according to the statement that called McCombs &ldquo;a Texas icon.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Red was a visionary entrepreneur who touched many lives and impacted our community in immeasurable ways,&rdquo; the statement said. &ldquo;But to us he was always, first and foremost, &lsquo;Dad&rsquo; or &lsquo;Poppop.&rsquo;&rdquo;
McCombs owned more than 400 businesses during his lifetime, according to the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.mccombsenterprises.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">McCombs Enterprises website,</a>&nbsp;and the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin is named for him.
He twice owned the NBA&rsquo;s San Antonio Spurs and between those two ownership stints owned the league&rsquo;s Denver Nuggets and later the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL.
In a statement, the Vikings expressed gratitude to McCombs and condolences to his family.
&ldquo;Red embodied his famous &lsquo;Purple Pride&rsquo; phrase and remained a staunch Vikings fan&rdquo; after selling his ownership of the team, according to the statement.
Beginning as an automobile salesman in the early 1950s in Corpus Christi, Texas, he would later establish Red McCombs Automotive, a group of dealerships in San Antonio.
He later established McCombs Energy, an oil and gas industry company, and operated real estate and land development companies, cattle ranches and breeding operations. He also was a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, which later became iHeartCommunications, Inc.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called McCombs an inspiration and &ldquo;a true Texas titan across sports, media, business and philanthropy.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Red&rsquo;s determination, accomplishments and positive spirit will live forever as he embodied a relentless and passionate approach to life, relationships and community,&rdquo; Jones said.
McCombs is survived by daughters Lynda McCombs, Marsha Shields and Connie McNab, as well as eight grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were not announced.
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<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_1" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">&nbsp;</div>

A former owner of two NBA teams, an NFL franchise and longtime Texas businessman, Billy Joe “Red” McCombs has died.

Former NBA, NFL team owner, businessman Red McCombs dies

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and overtime, and No. 6 Texas held off Oklahoma 85-83 on Saturday.
Rice&rsquo;s fourth 3-pointer of the game gave Texas an 84-77 lead with 2:26 left in overtime.
Oklahoma, however, had a chance to tie or win when Texas&rsquo; Tyrese Hunter missed one of two free throws with 6.8 seconds left. But Sam Godwin missed a shot from near the rim, and Texas extended its winning streak against Oklahoma to five games.
Marcus Carr added 17 points for Texas (21-6, 10-4 Big 12), and Timmy Allen had 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Grant Sherfield led Oklahoma (13-14, 3-11) with 18 points, including a 3-pointer that sent the game to overtime. Milos Uzan scored 15 for the Sooners.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 108, GEORGIA 59
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Miller scored 21 points, Nick Pringle had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Mark Sears made five 3-pointers in the first half to lead Alabama.
The Crimson Tide (23-4, 13-1 Southeastern Conference) rebounded from their first SEC loss by racing to a 54-25 halftime lead and a season scoring high. Alabama was coming off a 68-59 loss at No. 10 Tennessee on Wednesday night after rising to No. 1 for only the second time in program history and first in 20 years.&nbsp;
ustin Hill led Georgia (16-11, 6-8) with 17 points. Terry Roberts scored 11 and Braelen Bridges 10.
NO. 4 UCLA 78, CALIFORNIA 43
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 20 points and UCLA routed last-place California to improve to 15-0 at Pauley Pavilion this season and extend the nation&rsquo;s longest home winning streak to 23 games.
Amari Bailey added 16 points and nine rebounds for the first-place Bruins (23-4, 14-2 Pac-12), who clinched a first-round bye in next month&rsquo;s Pac-12 Tournament with their 11th win in a row over last-place Cal.
Kuany Kuany scored 14 points to lead the Golden Bears (3-24, 2-14), who dropped their 11th in a row. They fell to 0-3 against top-5 teams this season, having also lost a pair against No. 8 Arizona.
NO. 5 KANSAS 87, NO. 9 BAYLOR 71
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; DaJuan Harris scored all 14 of his points in the second half as Kansas stormed back from a double-digit halftime deficit.
The Jayhawks (22-5, 10-4 Big 12) outscored the Bears 55-26 in the second half. Jalen Wilson led Kansas with 21 points and 13 rebounds. KJ Adams added 17 points and Gradey Dick had 16.
The Jayhawks are tied with Texas for the top spot in the Big 12 Conference.
Baylor (20-7, 9-5) got nearly all of its scoring from its three-guard combo of Adam Flagler (22 points) Keyonte George (20 points) and LJ Cryer (15 points).
NO. 7 VIRGINIA 57, NOTRE DAME 55
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark scored 15 points, including a pair of critical free throws with 22.6 seconds left, and became Virginia&rsquo;s career assist leader in the narrow win over Notre Dame.
With Notre Dame closing to 55-54, Clark converted both ends of a one-and-one. Trey Wertz made the front end of a one-and-one with 3.9 seconds left for the Fighting Irish, but missed the second after a timeout. The ball was tipped out to Dane Goodwin for a potential game-winning 3-pointer, but his shot bounced off the rim.
Armaan Franklin added 12 points and Reece Beekman had 11 for Virginia (21-4, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). Nate Laszewski led Notre Dame (10-17, 2-14) with 18 points and Goodwin had 12.
NO. 8 ARIZONA 78, COLORADO 68
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Oumar Ballo had 18 points and 16 rebounds, Cedric Henderson Jr. added 15 points and Arizona dominated inside to beat Colorado.
The Wildcats (24-4, 13-4 Pac-12) opened with a rash of turnovers, falling into an early 12-point hole. Arizona righted itself quickly with a big run and slogged through a slowed-down second half by shutting down the Buffaloes.
Tristan da Silva had 18 points the Buffaloes (15-13, 7-10), who shot 38%.
KENTUCKY 66, NO. 10 TENNESSEE 54
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Cason Wallace and Oscar Tshiebwe each scored 16 points and Kentucky rushed to a big lead and beat Tennessee.
The Volunteers (20-7, 9-5 SEC) trailed by 20 points at halftime and lost in their first game since toppling No. 1 Alabama.
The Wildcats (18-9, 9-5) earned their first regular-season sweep of Tennessee since the 2011-12 season. Kentucky defeated the Volunteers 63-56 on Jan. 14 in Knoxville.
Wallace had totaled nine points in the Wildcats&rsquo; previous two games. Chris Livingston added 12 points and Jacob Toppin had 11.
NO. 12 KANSAS STATE 61, NO. 19 IOWA STATE 55
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell hit a 3-pointer from near midcourt with 2:42 remaining to help Kansas State over Iowa State.
Nowell finished with 20 points. Keyontae Johnson had 15 points for the Wildcats (20-7, 8-6 Big 12).
Aljaž Kunc led Iowa State (17-9, 8-6) with 15 points. Without their 3-point leader Caleb Grill in the lineup, the Cyclones worked inside the paint. They had 24 points inside and relied on a balanced scoring line led by Kunc.
NO. 13 GONZAGA 97, PEPPERDINE 88
MALIBU, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 22 of his 34 points in the second half and Julian Strawther added 28 points to help Gonzaga extend its winning streak over the Waves to 45 games.
The Bulldogs (23-5, 12-2 West Coast Conference), who haven&rsquo;t lost to Pepperdine (9-10, 2-12) since Jan. 18, 2002 and have won 20 straight on the road against the Waves.
Timme moved past Bill Cartwright, who scored 2,116 points for San Francisco (1975-79), into eighth on the West Coast Conference&rsquo;s career scoring list with 2,117.
Houston Mallette led the Waves with 22 points. Jevon Porter and Maxwell Lewis added 20 points apiece.
NO. 14 INDIANA 71, ILLINOIS 68
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, Jalen Hood Schifino made two free throws with 30.7 seconds left, and Indiana rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to beat Illinois.
Hood-Schifino had 13 points for the Hoosiers (19-8, 10-6 Big Ten), who have won nine of 11 overall and 15 straight on their homecourt.
Matthew Mayer scored 24 to lead the Fighting Illini (17-9, 8-7), who were without injured leading scorer Terrence Shannon.
NO. 15 MIAMI 96, WAKE FOREST 87
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Isaiah Wong scored 27 points and Nijel Pack finished with 24 in Miami&rsquo;s win over Wake Forest.
Norchard Omier had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting while Jordan Miller added 14 points for the Hurricanes (22-5, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their sixth straight and improved to 15-0 at home.
Tyree Appleby scored 15 points and Damari Monsanto and Cameron Hildreth had 14 each for the Demon Deacons (17-10, 9-7). Andrew Carr and Mathew Marsh finished with 12 points each.
NO. 16 XAVIER 82, DEPAUL 68
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Jack Nunge had 18 points and 10 rebounds as Xavier bounced back from a pair of narrow losses to beat DePaul.
The Musketeers (20-7, 12-4 Big East) reached the 20-win mark for the 34th time in school history, 32 of which have come since the 1982-83 season. It was the 17th career double-double for Nunge, eighth this season. Adam Kunkel scored 16 points and tied a career-high with eight assists for Xavier.
Umoja Gibson had 17 points and De&rsquo;Sean Nelson 16 for DePaul (9-18, 3-13), which lost its eighth in a row.
NO. 17 ST. MARY&rsquo;S 71, BYU 65
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Logan Johnson scored 27 points and Aidan Mahaney delivered once again in the second half to lead Saint Mary&rsquo;s to its 15th win in 16 games.
Mahaney scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and Mitchell Saxen added 13. The Gaels (24-5, 13-1 West Coast Conference) won their 16th straight conference home game to maintain a one-game lead over Gonzaga in the standings.
Fousseyni Traore scored 16 points to lead the Cougars (16-14, 6-9). BYU has lost four straight and was swept in the season series by the Gaels.
NO. 18 CREIGHTON 77, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 67
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Arthur Kaluma hit three straight 3-pointers down the stretch and Creighton overcame a second-half scoring drought to pull away from St. John&rsquo;s.
Creighton (18-9, 12-4) remained in a three-way tie for second place in the Big East after Providence and Xavier won earlier in the day. Marquette holds a one-game lead in the conference standings.
Ryan Nembhard scored 16 points for the Bluejays. Kaluma finished with 13 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 12 as Creighton won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Joel Soriano led St. John&rsquo;s with 15 points and eight rebounds. David Jones added 14 points off the bench but the Red Storm (16-12, 6-11) were unable to get their third straight win.
NO. 20 UCONN 64, SETON HALL 55
STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points and UConn used a big second-half run to beat Seton Hall.
Andre Jackson had a career high 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for UConn (20-7, 9-7 Big East).
Al-Amir Dawes and Tyrese Samuel each had 16 points for Seton Hall (16-12, 9-8), which trailed by 16 points with six minutes to play before a late run that fell short.
NO. 22 TCU 100, OKLAHOMA STATE 75
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; Mike Miles Jr. had 15 points in his first game in three weeks, five other TCU players also scored in double figures, and the Horned Frogs snapped a four-game losing streak by beating Oklahoma State.
Emanuel Miller had 18 points to lead TCU (18-9, 7-7 Big 12), which shot a staggering season-high 68.4% (39 of 57) from the field. Damion Baugh had 16 points with 11 assists. Shahada Wells had 15 points, Chuck O&rsquo;Bannon 12 and Micah Peavy 10.
Bryce Thompson had 18 points and John-Michael White 15 for the Cowboys (16-11, 7-7).
NO. 24 PROVIDENCE 85, VILLANOVA 72
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Ed Croswell scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Providence earned its 20th victory of the season.
Bryce Hopkins added 19 points and 12 rebounds. Noah Locked finished with 16 points. Croswell connected on two late free throws to notch the 1,000th point of his career.
The Friars (20-7, 12-4 Big East) have recorded 20 or more wins in seven of coach Ed Cooley&rsquo;s 12 seasons. They improved to 15-0 at home, including 8-0 in conference play.
Eric Dixon had 18 points and eight rebounds and Justin Moore added 17 points for the Wildcats (13-14, 7-9)&nbsp;

A recap of Saturday's action in men's college basketball includes a full slate of top-25 teams in heavy competition.

No. 6 Texas needs OT at home to hold off Oklahoma 85-83

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Devin Carter had a career-high 25 points and No. 24 Providence outlasted No. 18 Creighton 94-86 in double overtime Tuesday night.
Bryce Hopkins and Noah Locke each scored 20 for the Friars (19-7, 11-4 Big East), who ended an eight-game winning streak for the Bluejays that began with a Jan. 14 victory over Providence at home.
With the win, the Friars tied Creighton (17-9, 11-4) for third place in the Big East standings. Both teams are a half-game behind Xavier and a game back of first-place Marquette in a crowded race for the regular-season title.
Providence, the defending regular-season champion, improved to 14-0 at home this season and 9-1 in its past 10 games that went to overtime &mdash; including a pair of double-OT wins on its own court this season.
Ryan Nembhard led Creighton with 21 points and 10 rebounds in a game that featured 20 lead changes and 17 ties.
Carter, a sophomore guard, also had eight rebounds and two blocks &mdash; including a critical one that forced the second overtime.
NO. 5 KANSAS 87, OKLAHOMA STATE 76
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Gradey Dick scored 17 of his season-high 26 points in the second half and Kansas defeated Oklahoma State.
The freshman guard made 10 of 17 field goal attempts, shooting 4 of 9 on 3-pointers.&nbsp;
Kansas shot 66% from the field in the second half to pull away from the Cowboys. Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense.
Kansas (21-5, 9-4 Big 12) has won three straight. The Jayhawks are tied with Texas and Baylor atop the conference standings.
Kalib Boone scored a career-high 27 points for Oklahoma State (16-10, 7-6), which had won five straight.
OKLAHOMA 79, NO. 12 KANSAS STATE 65
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Grant Sherfield scored 22 points and Oklahoma went on a 12-0 run early in the second half against Kansas State.
The win snapped a seven-game conference losing streak for the Sooners (13-13, 3-10 Big 12) and prevented the Wildcats (19-7, 7-6) and first-year coach Jerome Tang from earning their 20th win of the season.
Tanner Groves scored 16 points and freshman Milos Uzan added 13 for Oklahoma.
Nae&rsquo;quan Tomlin had 17 points and 10 rebounds to pace Kansas State.
SYRACUSE 75, NO. 23 NC STATE 72
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) &mdash; Judah Mintz scored 20 points and Syracuse knocked off North Carolina State.
A three-point play by Jesse Edwards gave the Orange a 73-70 lead with two minutes left. Edwards finished with 18 points for Syracuse (16-10, 9-6 ACC), and Joe Girard III had 14.
D.J. Burns Jr. and Jarkel Joiner each scored 15 points for the Wolfpack (20-7, 10-6).
Syracuse was 16 for 17 at the foul line, while the Wolfpack went 3 for 5.

A recap of Tuesday's action in men's college hoops includes a double-overtime thriller in the Big East.

No. 24 Providence gets past No. 18 Creighton in double OT

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; D&rsquo;Andre Gholston hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Missouri a stunning 86-85 victory over No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday night.
With 4.2 seconds left in the game and the Volunteers (19-6, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) leading 85-83, Santiago Vescovi missed a free throw. His second attempt was waived off when Tobe Awaka committed a lane violation, setting up a final chance for the Tigers (19-6, 7-5).
Gholston took the inbounds and dribbled up the court before taking an off-balance contested 3-pointer from about 30 feet that swished through the net at the buzzer for the win. He was mobbed by his teammates after hitting the shot.
Tennessee came back from a 17-point deficit early in the second half and led the last 7:11 of the game.
NO. 3 ALABAMA 77, AUBURN 69
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Rylan Griffen scored 16 points, Mark Sears added 15 and Alabama held off a big challenge from its in-state rival Auburn.
The Crimson Tide (22-3, 12-0 Southeastern Conference) remained the only Power 5 team without a league loss. Sears and Griffen helped Alabama overcome an off shooting performance from star Brandon Miller, who had 13 points but missed all seven 3-point attempts.
Wendell Green Jr. had 16 of his 24 points in the second half for Auburn (17-8, 7-5).
STANFORD 88, NO. 4 ARIZONA 79
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Spencer Jones scored all 18 of his points in the second half for Stanford and played a key role in neutralizing Pac-12 leading scorer Azuolas Tubelis, as the Cardinal stunned Arizona.
Stanford (11-14, 5-9 Pac-12) beat a ranked team for the first time this year and a top-five team for the second time in two seasons. Arizona (22-4, 11-4), hoping to stay a half-game behind UCLA for the conference lead, had a seven-game win snapped.
Courtney Ramey scored a season- and game-high 26 points for Arizona. Tubelis was held to four points and did not have any rebounds.
Stanford&rsquo;s Michael O&rsquo;Connell scored a team-high 22 points, helping the Cardinal outshoot the Wildcats 61% to 46% from the field.
NO. 5 TEXAS 94, WEST VIRGINIA 60
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabri Rice scored 24 points in just 17 minutes in Texas&rsquo; win over West Virginia.
Texas (20-5) remained in first place in the Big 12 at 9-3, while West Virginia (15-10, 4-8) lost for the sixth time in its last seven games against the Longhorns.
Rice, a guard who transferred this season from New Mexico State, was nearly perfect. He converted 5 of 6 field-goal attempts, including 4 of 5 3-pointers and all 10 free throws.
Emmitt Matthews led West Virginia with 13 points.
NO. 8 VIRGINIA 69, DUKE 62, OT
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Armaan Franklin scored 23 points, including a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left, to lift Virginia over Duke in overtime.
Kihie Clark added 16 points and Ben Vander Plas 13 for the Cavaliers (19-4, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won despite a 9 for 22 performance from the free-throw line.
Duke (17-8, 8-6) seemed poised to win when Kyle Filipowski drove on the final play of regulation and two defenders contested his shot. The officials initially whistled a foul, but waved it off after a lengthy review. Jeremy Roach led the Blue Devils with 16 points.
NO. 9 KANSAS 78, OKLAHOMA 55
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson scored 18 points, and Kansas rolled past Oklahoma.
Wilson, who entered the day leading the Big 12 with nearly 21 points per game, bounced back from a two-point outing against Texas on Monday.
Dajuan Harris scored 16 points and Kevin McCullar added 13 for the Jayhawks (20-5, 8-4 Big 12).
Jalen Hill scored 14 points and Otega Oweh added 11 for the Oklahoma (12-13, 2-10). Grant Sherfield, who leads the Sooners with nearly 17 points per game, was held to 10 on 4-for-14 shooting.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 89, GEORGETOWN 75
WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones, Oso Ighodaro and Tyler Kolek each scored 14 points to lead a balanced scoring attack for Marquette in its win over Georgetown.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper had 11 points and Chase Ross added 10 for Marquette (20-6, 12-3 Big East), which moved into first place in the conference.
Jay Heath scored 18 points to lead last-place Georgetown (6-20, 1-14), which has lost five straight after ending their league record 29-game conference losing streak on Jan. 24.
OKLAHOMA ST 64, NO. 11 IOWA ST 56
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; John-Michael Wright scored 19 points and Oklahoma State rallied past Iowa State.
The loss was the Cyclones&rsquo; fourth in five games.
Bryce Thompson added 12 points for the Cowboys (16-9, 7-5 Big 12) in their fifth straight win.
Aljaz Kunc scored 13 for Iowa State (16-8, 7-5).
TEXAS TECH 71, NO. 12 KANSAS STATE 63
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash;De&rsquo;Vion Harmon scored 20 points, including a crucial driving basket in the final minute, as Texas Tech upended Kansas State.
The Red Raiders (13-12, 2-10 Big 12) held the Wildcats to two field goals in the game&rsquo;s final four minutes.
Kansas State (19-6, 7-5) edged as close as one point throughout the second half, but Tech answered with key baskets to maintain the lead. The Wildcats were led by Markquis Nowell&rsquo;s 18 points. Desi Sills added 12 points.
NO. 14 BAYLOR 72, NO. 17 TCU 68
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; Adam Flagler scored 28 points, with 16 in a row for Baylor during the stretch when the Bears overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half and then held on to beat TCU.
LJ Cryer had 23 points for the Bears (19-6, 8-4 Big 12), who on Jan. 4 at home against TCU blew a 17-point lead in an 88-87 loss. They have won nine of their last 10 games.
Damion Baugh had 16 points and 10 assist for TCU (17-8, 6-6).
NO. 15 SAINT MARY&rsquo;S 81, PORTLAND 64
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Logan Johnson had 34 points, six rebounds and six assists as Saint Mary&rsquo;s handled Portland on the road.
Alex Ducas added 18 points and six rebounds for the Gaels (22-5, 11-1 West Coast Conference) and Aidan Mahaney contributed 10 points and five assists.
Kristian Sjolund led the Pilots (13-15, 5-8) with 12 points, and Juan Gorosito and Tyler Robinson each added 10 points.
NO. 18 INDIANA 62, MICHIGAN 61
Trayce Jackson-Davis had 28 points and 11 rebounds, Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 21 points and Indiana held on for a win over Michigan.
Freshman Jett Howard was short on a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, leaving the Wolverines without a point for the final 5:12.
The Hoosiers (18-7, 9-5 Big Ten) trailed by 11 in the first half and for much of the second, but went ahead for good with 2:58 left when Hood-Schifino made two free throws for their last points.
Michigan (14-11, 8-6) fell to 0-4 against teams in the AP Top 25, losing each game by five or fewer points.
Hunter Dickinson scored 16 points, Kobe Bufkin had 14 points and Howard added 12 for the Wolverines.
NO. 19 MIAMI 93, LOUISVILLE 85
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Nijel Pack scored 22 points in Miami&rsquo;s win over Louisville.
Five days following its dominant 22-point home win over Duke, Miami (20-5, 11-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) could not shake off the conference&rsquo;s last-place team until Pack&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 2:44 remaining made it 82-72. Pack shot 8 of 14, including 4 of 9 on 3-pointers.
Isaiah Wong and Norchad Omier finished with 21 points each and Jordan Miller added 10 for the Hurricanes, who are 14-0 at home.
El Ellis scored a career-high 33 points and had five assists while Jae&rsquo;Lyn Withers finished with 18 for the Cardinals (3-22, 1-13).
ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 73, NO. 20 PROVIDENCE 68
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; David Jones scored 16 points and AJ Storr added 15 for St. John&rsquo;s, which beat Providence.
Joel Soriano had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Red Storm (15-11, 5-10 Big East).
Bryce Hopkins equaled a career best with 29 points for the Friars (18-7, 10-4).
NO. 22 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 92, BOSTON COLLEGE 62
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Jarkel Joiner scored 26 points and D.J. Burns Jr. added 18 with 10 rebounds to lead North Carolina State over Boston College.
Terquavion Smith scored 17 points for the Wolfpack (20-6, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), giving him 1,000 points for his career.
Quinten Post scored 20 points for Boston College (12-14, 6-9).
NO. 23 CREIGHTON 56, NO. 21 UCONN 53
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Trey Alexander scored 17 points to lead Creighton past UConn after the Huskies had what would have been a tying 3-pointer erased on video review in the final seconds.
Creighton (17-8, 11-3) is a half-game behind Big East-leading Marquette with its eighth straight win. The Huskies (19-7, 8-7) lost for the first time in four games.
Adama Sanogo had 17 points and 10 rebounds for UConn.
ILLINOIS 69, NO. 24 RUTGERS 60
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Coleman Hawkins scored 18 points and Illinois held Rutgers scoreless for more than 10 minutes in the second half to rally for the win.
Illinois (17-7, 8-5 Big Ten) trailed 47-41 with 14 1/2 minutes left before Hawkins&rsquo; 3-pointer started a 19-0 run. Hawkins hit four consecutive shots &mdash; including a 3 &mdash; and gave the Illini the lead for good at 48-47.
Rutgers (16-9, 8-6) missed 15 straight shots during its drought.
NO. 25 SAN DIEGO STATE 82, UNLV 71
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Adam Seiko scored all 18 points on 3-pointers and Matt Bradley added 17 points for San Diego, the Mountain West Conference front-runner that beat UNLV for its third straight win and seventh in eight games.
The Aztecs (20-5, 11-2 MWC) buried the Runnin&rsquo; Rebels in a blizzard of 3-pointers and slam dunks, including during a 14-0 run midway through the first half, to sweep the season series and top UNLV the fifth straight time. Keshad Johnson scored 11 of his 14 points in the game&rsquo;s first 6 1/2 minutes and Nathan Mensah had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Elijah Harkless scored 24 for UNLV (16-9, 5-8) before fouling out with 2:05 to go. Keshon Gilbert added 19 for the Runnin&rsquo; Rebels, who didn&rsquo;t get their first assist until two minutes into the second half.

A recap of Saturday's action in men's college hoops includes numerous upsets in the top-15.

Three-pointer at buzzer lifts Missouri over No. 6 Tennessee

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Kalib Boone scored 25 points and Oklahoma State blew a 19-point second-half lead before recovering to beat depleted No. 15 TCU 79-73 on Saturday.
Caleb Asberry added 19 points and John-Michael Wright had 17 for Oklahoma State (14-9, 5-5 Big 12). The Cowboys have won three straight and five of six to move back into the conversation for a potential NCAA tournament berth.
Emanuel Miller led TCU with 17 points and Shahada Wells had 14.
The Horned Frogs (17-6, 6-4) have struggled since their leading scorer, Mike Miles Jr., suffered a hyperextended right knee last Saturday early during a loss to Mississippi State. TCU also was minus injured big man Eddie Lampkin Jr.
TCU coach Jamie Dixon received a technical foul in the final minute of the half and the Horned Frogs trailed 43-29 at the break. Five quick points by Asberry to open the second half gave Oklahoma State its biggest lead at 48-29 with 18:49 left.
An 20-3 run by TCU cut the deficit and Damion Baugh&rsquo;s layup with 11:51 left pulled the Horned Frogs within 51-49 with 11:51 left. Oklahoma State answered with six straight points to quell the immediate threat.
TCU eventually tied it at 59 on three free throws by Baugh with 5:41 left, then took its first lead 33 seconds later on two free throws by Miller.
Wright took over down the stretch for the Cowboys. His 3-pointer with 3:38 left gave Oklahoma State the lead for good at 66-65 and started a 9-0 run that included a dunk by Boone that started with an over-the-shoulder save by Wright.
TCU pulled within 72-70 with 1:33 left on a 3-pointer by Wells, but Boone scored a pair of close-in baskets, the latter with 29.1 seconds left, to make it 76-71 and after a TCU miss, Asberry sealed the win with two free throws with 19.3 seconds left.
Oklahoma State took a 12-0 lead as TCU missed its first eight shots and didn&rsquo;t made a basket for 6 1/2 minutes. Oklahoma State eventually led 22-6 less than eight minutes in and the Cowboys&rsquo; lead never fell below double digits the rest of the half.
BIG PICTURE
TCU: Miles can&rsquo;t return fast enough for the Horned Frogs, who lost to Mississippi State in the game in which he was injured, then struggled to beat West Virginia at home before falling Saturday. The upcoming schedule for TCU looks daunting &ndash; No. 7 Kansas State, No. 11 Baylor and No. 13 Iowa State are its next three opponents, with the K-State and Iowa State games on the road.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys, now 2-6 this season against ranked foes, need all the big wins they can get as they look to position themselves for a NCAA tournament bid. To pick one up without one of their top players &ndash; Avery Anderson III &ndash; out with an injury is a bonus.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
TCU has been ranked for a program-record nine consecutive weeks and while the Horned Frogs might drop a few spots for the loss to Oklahoma State, they figure to make it 10 in a row, since they beat West Virginia earlier in the week.
UP NEXT
TCU: Will visit No. 7 Kansas State on Tuesday.
Oklahoma State: Will host Texas Tech on Wednesday. The Cowboys are 10-2 this season at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Kalib Boone scored 25 points and Oklahoma State blew a 19-point second-half lead before recovering to beat depleted No. 15 TCU.

Boone, Oklahoma St blow big lead, recover to top No. 15 TCU

Bill Self hasn&rsquo;t had to go through many stretches like this in his 20 seasons at Kansas. Yet the coach hasn&rsquo;t seemed angry or even all that discouraged during a rare three-game losing streak.
Self knows this isn&rsquo;t the same Jayhawks team that won the national championship last season.
Kansas (16-4, 5-3 Big 12) has gone from having one of the nation&rsquo;s most experienced rosters to a much younger group without a proven presence in the post in a loaded Big 12 Conference that may be better than ever.
&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have as much margin for error as we&rsquo;ve had in years past and that&rsquo;s OK,&rdquo; Self said. &ldquo;But (when) you don&rsquo;t have quite as much margin for error, and the other teams in the league are a lot better, it makes it tough.&rdquo;
The ninth-ranked Jayhawks have lost three in a row for only the fourth time under Self. Each loss was to a ranked conference opponent, two on the road. The latest was 75-69 at Baylor on Monday night in a matchup of the last two national champions, the fifth win in a row for the 17th-ranked Bears.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be honest with you, I&rsquo;ve got to take a different approach and understand that it&rsquo;s a marathon,&rdquo; Self said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not an immediate reaction, because you can react immediately in this league, and you&rsquo;ll have nine other teams go through the exact same thing at some point.&rdquo;
Kansas is still loaded with talent.
Junior forward Jalen Wilson leads the Big 12 with in scoring at 21.4 points per game and is second in rebounds at 8.6. While streaky, freshman Gradey Dick (14.9 ppg) is the league&rsquo;s top 3-point shooter at 43.7%, and Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar Jr. averages 7.3 rebounds. Dajuan Harris Jr. is one of the top assist men at 6.5 per game despite his extended shooting struggles.
But these Jayhawks are different than most of Self&rsquo;s standout teams in the past that played through the post with big guys like David McCormack, Jeff Withey, Thomas Robinson or Udoka Azubuike.
McCormack was part of last year&rsquo;s title team, along with first-round NBA draft picks Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun. The Jayhawks also lost ballhandler Remy Martin and veteran sharpshooter Jalen Coleman-Lands.
Kansas plays its SEC/Big 12 Challenge game Saturday at Kentucky (14-6), which won 80-62 at Allen Fieldhouse last season. The Jayhawks will be trying to avoid their first four-game losing streak since 1988-89, their first season under coach Roy Williams.
After going to Rupp Arena to face coach John Calipari&rsquo;s struggling Wildcats, the Jayhawks return to conference play against fifth-ranked Kansas State. They then open the second half of their Big 12 schedule at No. 12 Iowa State before hosting No. 10 Texas.
Their current skid began with an 83-82 overtime loss last week at K-State, which had a 14-point lead midway through the first half. TCU, now ranked 11th, hit 13 of its first 15 shots and had an early 19-0 run in an 83-60 win Saturday, the second-worst home loss in the Self era.
&ldquo;Our league is that good,&rdquo; Self said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a grind.&rdquo;
The Jayhawks trailed by as many as 13 midway through the first half at Baylor. They took their only lead when Wilson swished a 3-pointer with 15 1/2 minutes left, but the Bears responded with a 12-3 run.
&ldquo;The way that K-State played the first 10 minutes, the way TCU played the first 10 minutes, and the way Baylor played the first 10 minutes, if we had played really well, we would have still been behind,&rdquo; Self said, before using a wrestling analogy prompted by seeing two former Oklahoma State classmates in the postgame interview room at Baylor.
Brad Livingstone was a senior at Oklahoma State during the 1981-82 season, when Self was a freshman for the Cowboys. Livingstone&rsquo;s wife, Baylor president Linda Livingstone, also played basketball for the school in Stillwater where wrestling is big.
&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re on top and you can get riding time, it takes twice as much energy if you&rsquo;re the low man in wrestling. ... It&rsquo;s exactly the way basketball is too,&rdquo; Self said. &ldquo;When you&rsquo;re behind, it takes more energy, everything&rsquo;s magnified, it takes more effort. And when you&rsquo;re playing with the lead, obviously you&rsquo;re looser, everything&rsquo;s not life or death.&rdquo;

Kansas has gone from having one of the nation’s most experienced rosters to a much younger group without a proven paint presence.

Self assessment: Skidding No. 9 Kansas has little margin

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Kawhi Leonard scored a game-high 30 points, Paul George had 21 and Norman Powell added 19 off the bench to give the Los Angeles Clippers a 112-98 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
With the score tied at 79 going into the fourth quarter, the Clippers scored the first six points and pulled away to build their largest lead at 110-95 with two minutes to play. Powell scored 11 in the quarter, including nine in the first part of it.
Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 22 points and Spencer Dinwiddie had 21.
The Clippers won consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 26-27, while the Mavericks have lost four of their last five games and seven of 10.
The Mavericks led by as many as 10 points during the first half and were up 54-49.
WORDS MATTER
Doncic received his 10th technical foul of the season, with one rescinded, late in the first quarter. After Nicolas Batum blocked a Doncic shot inside, Doncic expressed his dissatisfaction to official Ashley Moyer-Gleich on his way back down the court.
FAN FRIENDLY
Tipoff time was moved to 1:30 p.m. PST from 6:30 to avoid a conflict with the Dallas Cowboys&rsquo; playoff game at San Francisco, which was scheduled to kick off at 5:30 p.m. PST.
TIP-INS
Clippers: Leonard and George played in the same game for the 18th time in 49 games this season, the third time in Los Angeles&rsquo; last nine starting lineups.
Mavericks: Doncic, fourth in the NBA averaging 8.8 assists per game going into Sunday, had four &mdash; and none in the first half. &hellip; Dallas shot 15 for 26 from the free-throw line.
UP NEXT
Clippers: Are the designated visiting team against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday.
Mavericks: Finish a four-game homestand Tuesday against the Washington Wizards. It's likely to be the first Dallas appearance for Kristaps Porzingis since he was traded to the Wizards almost a year ago.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Kawhi Leonard scored 30 points, Paul George had 21 and the Los Angeles Clippers scored a 112-98 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Leonard, George lead Clippers past Mavericks, 112-98

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Shahada Wells scored 17 points as No. 14 TCU beat No. 2 Kansas 83-60 on Saturday in one of the worst losses in Bill Self&rsquo;s 20-year coaching career with the Jayhawks.
The loss snapped a 16-game winning streak at home for Kansas and was the second-largest home loss under Self. The Jayhawks (15-3, 5-2 Big 12), who lost 83-82 in overtime at Kansas State on Tuesday, had not lost consecutive games in the state since 1989 &mdash; against K-State and Missouri.
Kansas trailed by 10 at halftime and never closed the gap within single digits. TCU extended the lead to as many as 24 points. The Jayhawks shot only 32.1% in the second half.
TCU (15-4, 4-3 Big 12), which shot 54.4% (31 of 57) from the field, got 15 points from Mike Miles Jr. and 11 from Damion Baugh.
NO. 4 ALABAMA 85, MISSOURI 64
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) &mdash; Noah Clowney and Mark Sears each scored 17 points, and Alabama remained undefeated against unranked teams this season.
Freshman Brandon Miller added 15 points and eight rebounds for Alabama (17-2, 7-0 Southeastern Conference), and reserve Jahvon Quinterly scored 13 points. Clowney also had 14 rebounds, and Sears finished with eight rebounds and three steals.
Isiaih Mosley led Missouri (14-5, 3-4) with 19 points. Mohamed Diarra had eight points and 12 rebounds.
NO. 11 ARIZONA 58, NO. 5 UCLA 52
TUSCON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Oumar Ballo scored 16 points, Azuolas Tubelis had a double-double and Arizona withstood a late rally to end UCLA&rsquo;s 14-game winning streak.
The Wildcats (17-3, 5-3 Pac-12) took a 56-44 lead on Ballo&rsquo;s alley-oop dunk with 2:07 left. But the Bruins (17-3, 8-1) fought back, creating four straight turnovers to pull within 56-52. UCLA then blocked consecutive shots but couldn&rsquo;t convert on two shots of its own. Arizona&rsquo;s Pelle Larsson hit two free throws with 0.9 seconds to close it out.
Tyger Campbell led the Bruins with 13 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 12 with 11 rebounds.
NO. 6 GONZAGA 99, PACIFIC 90
STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 24 of his career-high 38 points in the second half, including 18 straight points during one stretch, and Gonzaga pulled away in the closing minutes.
Timme made 17 of 23 shots and almost all of them within a couple feet of the rim. Anton Watson added 16 points and 13 rebounds for Gonzaga (17-4, 6-1 WCC). Rasir Bolton added 16 points for the Bulldogs, who had won their previous three road games in conference play by a combined eight points, and Julian Strawther had 15.
Jordan Ivy-Curry led five Pacific players in double figures with 17 points. Nick Blake scored 16 before fouling out. Keylan Boone finished with 15, Luke Avdalovic added 13 and Judson Martindale finished with 12. Pacific (10-12, 3-4) made eight 3-pointers in the first half and was tied at 47 at halftime, but the Tigers were just 1 of 8 from deep in the second half.
NO. 7 TEXAS 69, WEST VIRGINIA 61
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- Marcus Carr scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half to lead Texas.
Dylan Disu added 13 points before fouling out, and Christian Bishop and Tyrese Hunter scored 11 apiece for the Longhorns (16-3, 5-2 Big 12), who bounced back from a double-digit loss at No. 12 Iowa State on Wednesday.
The Mountaineers (11-8, 1-6) had several players in early foul trouble. Kedrian Johnson had a career-high 22 points, but his teammates fell flat in the second half against the Longhorns.
NO. 8 XAVIER 95, GEORGETOWN 82
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Zach Freemantle tied a career-high with 30 points and Colby Jones had 20 as Xavier handed Georgetown its 29th straight Big East loss.
Adam Kunkel scored 14 points to help the Musketeers (16-4, 8-1 Big East) bounce back from a 73-72 loss at DePaul on Wednesday.
Primo Spears scored a career-high 37 points and Akok Akok had 14 for the Hoyas (5-15, 0-9 Big East), who have lost 10 straight. Spears&rsquo; previous high was 34 against LaSalle on March 5, 2022.
NO. 9 TENNESSEE 77, LSU 56
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Josiah-Jordan James scored a season-high 22 points and Tennessee defeated LSU, which has lost six straight.
James, who missed eight games in November and December due to injury, made his second straight start for the Volunteers (16-3, 6-1 Southeastern Conference). Playing 31 minutes, James was 9-of-16 from the field and matched his career-high with four 3-pointers.
Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler had 12 points and 10 assists, which tied his career high. Julian Phillips and Tyreke Key each had 10 points.
KJ Williams led LSU (12-7, 1-6) with 16 points. Trae Hannibal added 10 points. The Tigers committed 19 turnovers which resulted in 33 Volunteers points.
NO. 10 VIRGINIA 76, WAKE FOREST 67
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Armaan Franklin scored 18 of his 25 points during the first half and Virginia survived blowing nearly all of a 19-point lead to beat Wake Forest.
Kihei Clark added 12 points despite getting into foul trouble for the Cavaliers (15-3, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). But it was a day of wild swings for Virginia, who went from missing its first eight shots to suddenly being unable to miss to go up 34-15 &mdash; only to see the Demon Deacons push back to within a single point with 8 1/2 minutes left.
Damari Monsanto had a career-high 25 points for the Demon Deacons (14-6, 6-3), highlighted by making 7 of 15 3-pointers.
OKLAHOMA STATE 61, NO. 12 IOWA STATE 59
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Avery Anderson scored 18 points, including the go-ahead free throws, and Oklahoma State defeated Iowa State for its first win over a ranked team this season.
Kalib Boone added 13 points for the Cowboys (11-8, 3-4 Big 12), who won their second straight game.
Osun Osunniyi scored 15 points and Gabe Kalscheur added 14 for Iowa State (14-4, 5-2), which had won seven of its last eight games. Cyclones sharpshooter Caleb Grill spent most of the second half on the bench wearing a back brace and wasn&rsquo;t in the game in the closing minutes.
NO. 13 KANSAS STATE 68, TEXAS TECH 58
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell had 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists in Kansas State&rsquo;s win over Texas Tech.
Keyontae Johnson had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (17-2, 6-1 Big 12), who won for the 11th time in 12 games. Ismael Massoud scored 12 points.
Pop Isaacs and De&rsquo;Vion Harmon each scored 13 points for Texas Tech (10-9, 0-7), which shot 32.4% (23 for 71) from the field.
NO. 16 AUBURN 81, SOUTH CAROLINA 66
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Johni Broome had a season-high 27 points and 11 rebounds as Auburn took control late in the opening half to run past struggling South Carolina.
Broome&rsquo;s performance helped the Tigers to their fifth straight win and offset a career-best 30 points from Gamecocks&rsquo; freshman Gregory &ldquo;GG&rdquo; Jackson II.
The 6-foot-10 Broome took full advantage of South Carolina&rsquo;s undersized interior for the Tigers (16-3, 6-1 Southeastern Conference). He hit 12 of his 17 shots in 30 minutes for his sixth double-double this season and fifth against an SEC opponent.
Meechie Johnson was the only other player for South Carolina (8-11, 1-5) in double figures with 11 points.
DUKE 68, NO. 17 MIAMI
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kyle Filipowski had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Jeremy Roach scored 14 points in his first game in more than two weeks to lift Duke over Miami.
Tyrese Proctor had 11 points and Dariq Whitehead added 10 points for the Blue Devils (15-4, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who played their first game of the season without a national ranking.
Jordan Miller&rsquo;s 19 points and Nijel Pack&rsquo;s 18 were tops for Miami (15-4, 6-3), which has lost three of its last five games.
NO. 18 CHARLESTON 87, NORTHEASTERN 61
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Ben Burnham scored 15 points, Pat Robinson III added 14 and Ryan Larson had 12 to lead Charleston to its 20th win in a row.
The Cougars (21-1, 9-0 Colonial Athletic Association) scored 13 straight points in the first half to pull away and extend the longest active winning streak in the nation. They have not lost since the second game of the season, to then-No. 1 North Carolina on Nov. 11, climbing to their highest ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 since 1999.
Chris Doherty had 11 points and 13 rebounds and Jared Turner also scored 11 for Northeastern (8-11, 4-4). The Huskies haven&rsquo;t beat a Top 25 team since 2015.
NO. 19 CLEMSON 51, VIRGINIA TECH 50
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Hunter Tyson&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 12 seconds left lifted Clemson to a dramatic victory over Virginia Tech.
Tyson caught a pass just left of the key, took a look at at the basket and let it fly. The crowd exploded as the ball went through and the Tigers (16-4, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) continued their unexpected run atop the ACC.
PJ Hall led Clemson with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Grant Basile led the Hokies (11-8, 1-7) with 13 points.
NO. 20 MARQUETTE 74, SETON HALL 53
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones scored 22 points, Oso Ighodaro had 18 on 7-for-7 shooting and Marquette beat Seton Hall.
Marquette (16-5, 8-2 Big East) shot 54% (29 for 54) from the field in its second straight win since an 80-76 loss to Xavier last weekend.
Kadary Richmond led Seton Hall (12-9, 5-5) with 10 points and five assists. The Pirates committed a season-high 26 turnovers.
NO. 21 BAYLOR 62, OKLAHOMA 60
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Bridges scored 11 points and hit a trio of game-turning 3-pointers in the final five minutes as Baylor rallied to hold off Oklahoma.
Adam Flagler had 16 points and five assists, and Keyonte George added 11 points as Baylor (14-5, 4-3 Big 12) won its fourth straight game after opening conference play with three straight losses and briefly dropping out of The Associated Press Top 25.
Jalen Hill had 17 points and nine rebounds, while Tanner Groves added 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots for the Sooners (12-7, 2-5).
NO. 22 PROVIDENCE 75, DEPAUL 64
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Noah Locke had a career-high 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, to help Providence fend off DePaul.
Bryce Hopkins added 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Friars (15-5, 7-2 Big East) snapped a two-game losing skid and improved to 11-0 at home. They are 2-2 without point guard Jared Bynum, who missed his fourth consecutive game with a torso injury.
The Blue Demons (9-11, 3-6) came in fresh off a home victory over eighth-ranked Xavier. But they dropped their sixth straight road game and are now 0-4 in conference games away from home. Umjoja Gibson had 16 points and five assists for DePaul and Da&rsquo;Sean Nelson added 13 points.
NO. 24 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 67, UTEP 59
EL PASO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Johnell Davis scored 20 points on 6-for-9 shooting and Florida Atlantic extended its program record for consecutive wins to 18.
Davis hit 2 of 3 attempts from 3-point distance and was perfect on six shots from the line for FAU (19-1, 9-0 Conference USA). Vladislav Goldin finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks for the Owls.
Calvin Solomon finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Tae Hardy also scored 16 points for UTEP (11-9, 4-5). Mario McKinney Jr. added 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
NO. 25 ARKANSAS 69, OLE MISS 57
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Anthony Black scored 17 points, reserve Joseph Pinion had 13 and Arkansas snapped a four-game losing streak by topping Mississippi.
Only nine teams in Division I had made fewer 3-pointers than Arkansas (13-6, 2-5 Southeastern Conference) this season, but the Razorbacks tied a season high by making eight from beyond the arc. They led by as many as 21 points.
Pinion and Devo Davis each made three 3s. Davis had 16 points and Jordan Walsh finished with 13.
Ole Miss (9-10, 1-6) committed 17 turnovers. The Rebels had six giveaways in the first six minutes of the second half, helping Arkansas extend its three-point halftime lead to 11 at the first media timeout after the break.

A roundup of Saturday's top-25 action in men's college basketball includes a TCU rout of the second-ranked Jayhawks on the road.

No. 14 TCU blows out No. 2 Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; The San Antonio Spurs are set to break the NBA's single-game attendance record on Friday night when they host the Golden State Warriors.
The Spurs announced Wednesday they have sold 63,592 tickets for the game, which will be played at the Alamodome &mdash; their former home in San Antonio. It's possible that, with standing room tickets, the Spurs could host about 68,000 people.
Either way, they're assured of breaking a record that stood for nearly 25 years. The biggest crowd at an NBA regular-season game &mdash; measured by tickets distributed &mdash; is the 62,046 people who gathered to watch Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls meet the Atlanta Hawks at the Georgia Dome on March 27, 1998.
The biggest crowd in league history was 108,713 for the 2010 All-Star Game at the home of the NFL&rsquo;s Dallas Cowboys.
Excluding that All-Star Game, Friday's matchup will be only the fourth NBA game with an attendance exceeding 50,000.
Two of those were at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan &mdash; the Detroit Pistons drew 52,745 for a game against Philadelphia on Feb. 14, 1987, then had a crowd of 61,983 for a game against Boston on Jan. 29, 1988. That record stood until the game at the Georgia Dome in 1998.
The Alamodome record for an NBA game is 39,554 on June 18, 1999, when New York visited San Antonio for Game 2 of that year&rsquo;s NBA Finals.
The Spurs announced the record in the franchise's typical understated fashion: A press release was distributed, saying only &ldquo;63,592." They played in the Alamodome from 1993 through 2002, before moving into their current arena.
&nbsp;

The Spurs are set to break the NBA's single-game attendance record on Friday night when they host the  Warriors.

Spurs set to break NBA single-game attendance record

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; KJ Adams scored a career-high 22 points and No. 2 Kansas closed the game on an 18-4 run to beat Oklahoma 79-75 on Tuesday night.
Kansas (14-1, 3-0 Big 12) got 17 points from Jalen Wilson, 11 from Dajuan Harris and 10 from Zach Clemence. The Jayhawks have won 22 straight games against Oklahoma in Allen Fieldhouse, including 16 straight under coach Bill Self.
Oklahoma (10-5, 1-2 Big 12) was led by Grant Sherfield&rsquo;s season-high 25 points. Sam Godwin added 12 points, Milos Uzan had 11 and Tanner Groves had 10.
Kansas went more than 12 minutes without a field goal in the second half, but Adams ended that streak with a thunderous dunk at the 5:06 mark.
NO. 5 TENNESSEE 77, VANDERBILT 68
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Santiago Vescovi and Julian Phillips each scored 15 points as Tennessee recovered from a halftime deficit to pull out a win over Vanderbilt.
Vescovi scored 12 of his points in the second half to lead the recovery for the Volunteers (14-2, 4-0 Southeastern Conference), who won their 25th straight game at Thompson-Boling Arena. Uros Plavsic contributed 11 points.
Vandy&rsquo;s 7-foot Liam Robbins won the battle of the big men with 18 points off the bench. Noah Shelby had 12 points and Jordan Wright added 13 for Vanderbilt (8-8, 1-2).
NO. 11 KANSAS STATE 65, OKLAHOMA STATE 57
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell scored 20 points and found Keyontae Johnson for an alley-oop dunk with 38 seconds left as Kansas State held off Oklahoma State.
Johnson added 12 points and Desi Sills had 11 for the Wildcats (15-1, 4-0 Big 12), who won their ninth straight and matched their victory total from last season. Predicted to finish last in the Big 12, Kansas State went from unranked last week to just outside the top 10 in the AP poll.
Kalib Boone scored 23 points and Caleb Asberry had 15 for the Cowboys (9-7, 1-3), who have lost three of four, all by 10 points or fewer.
NO. 13 VIRGINIA 65, NORTH CAROLINA 58
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Ben Vander Plas had 17 points and eight rebounds and Virginia used a 17-2 second-half run to beat North Carolina, which lost leading scorer and rebounder Armando Bacot to a left ankle injury.
Reece Beekman scored 13 points and Armaan Franklin had 12 points and nine rebounds as the Cavaliers (12-3, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their eighth straight meeting with the Tar Heels at John Paul Jones Arena.
Bacot rolled his ankle 1:18 into the game and did not return. RJ Davis led the Tar Heels (11-6, 3-3) with 16 points and Caleb Love and Jalen Washington added 13 each. Washington, a freshman, played 27 minutes in Bacot&rsquo;s absence.
NO. 14 IOWA STATE 84, TEXAS TECH 50
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Gabe Kalscheur scored a season-high 25 points to help Iowa State roll past Texas Tech.
Kalscheur made five of six shots from 3-point range and was 10 of 14 overall as the Cyclones (13-2, 4-0 Big 12) coasted to their sixth straight win.
Jaren Holmes added 15 points. Caleb Grill finished with 14 after hitting four of his first six 3-pointers. Iowa State finished 12 of 22 from behind the arc.
De&rsquo;Vion Harmon led Tech (10-6, 0-4) with 14 points.
MICHIGAN STATE 69, NO. 18 WISCONSIN 65
MADISON, Wis. (AP) &mdash; A.J. Hoggard made a tiebreaking layup with 41 seconds left and Michigan State rallied past Wisconsin for its seventh consecutive victory in a game that had 14 lead changes.
Wisconsin (11-4, 3-2 Big Ten) was playing its second straight game without leading scorer and three-year starter Tyler Wahl, who averages 13.2 points per game.
Joey Hauser had 20 points for Michigan State (12-4, 4-1), which won its first road game since Dec. 7. Tyson Walker added 13 points, Jaden Akins 12 and Hoggard 10.
Steven Crowl scored 19 points, Chucky Hepburn 14 and Connor Essegian 13 for Wisconsin.
NO. 21 AUBURN 82, OLE MISS 73
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Wendell Green Jr. scored 23 points, including 18 in the second half, and Auburn dominated after halftime to beat Mississippi.
Auburn (13-3, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) trailed 35-34 at the break but put together runs of 6-0, 10-2 and 9-4 in the opening 10 minutes of the second half.
Johni Broome had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Allen Flanigan added 15 points and Jaylin Williams scored 11 for the Tigers, who shot 17 of 28 (60.7%) in the second half.
Matthew Murrell led Ole Miss (8-8, 0-4) with 24 points, adding six rebounds and four assists. Tye Fagan scored 13 points and Jaemyn Brakefield added 12 for the Rebels, who lost their fifth straight.
NO. 23 SAN DIEGO STATE 74, NEVADA 65
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Matt Bradley scored 17 points and Lamont Butler added 15 and San Diego State took sole possession of first place in the Mountain West Conference.
The Aztecs (13-3, 4-0 MWC) dominated on both ends of Steve Fisher Court in a showdown between the last two undefeated teams in the conference to extend their winning streak to six games. Keshad Johnson added 11 points for SDSU, which has beaten Nevada nine straight times.
Nick Davidson scored 17, Kenan Blackshear 12 and Jarod Lucas 11 for Nevada (14-4, 4-1), whose six-game winning streak was snapped.

A recap of Tuesday's men's top-25 action includes a career night from Jayhawks forward KJ Adams.

No. 2 Kansas extends home win streak against Oklahoma to 22

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Makai Ashton-Langford had 21 points and seven rebounds, hitting a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left in overtime to clinch a win Wednesday night for Boston College over No. 21 Virginia Tech 70-65.
Devin McGlockton added 18 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles (7-6, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won back-to-back games to snap a four-game losing streak. It was Boston College&rsquo;s first win over a ranked team since 2020, making it the first for second-year coach Earl Grant.
Sean Pedulla and Justyn Mutts had 18 points apiece for Virginia Tech (11-2, 1-1), which had won six in a row.
NO. 1 PURDUE 74, NEW ORLEANS 53
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Redshirt freshman Trey Kaufman-Renn scored a season-best 24 points to lead Purdue past New Orleans.
Kaufman-Renn hit 8 of 10 shots and 8 of 10 free throws for the Boilermakers (12-0). The only other Boilermaker in double figures was Mason Gillis with 11 points.
The Boilermakers played without 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey, who was sidelined by illness.
Jordan Johnson scored 17 points to lead the Privateers (3-8), who have lost five of their last six games. Tyson Jackson had 14 for New Orleans.
NO. 3 HOUSTON 83, MCNEESE ST. 44
HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Ja&rsquo;Vier Francis scored a career-high 23 points and had 13 rebounds as Houston routed McNeese State.
Emanuel Sharp added 18 points while going 6 of 9 on 3-pointers for the Cougars (12-1), and Marcus Sasser hit 5 of 10 from long range and scored 17 points. The pair combined to shoot 9 of 14 on 3s in the first half.
Roberts Berze scored 13 points and Christian Shumate added 10 for McNeese State (3-10). The Cowboys lost their fourth straight game.
NO. 7 TEXAS 100, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 72
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Freshman Arterio Morris scored a season-best 25 points in just 18 minutes in Texas&rsquo; victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.
Timmy Allen and Marcus Carr scored 17 apiece for the Longhorns (10-1), whose 100 points were a season-high and their most since a 105-59 victory against Northwestern State on Nov. 10, 2017.
Jordan Brown, a 6-foot-11 forward, led Louisiana-Lafayette (10-2) with 20 points.
NO. 8 TENNESSEE 86, AUSTIN PEAY 44
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Olivier Nkamhoua scored 20 points to lead Tennessee to a victory over Austin Peay.
Santiago Vescovi had 18 points, shooting 5 for 5 on 3-pointers, and Jonas Aidoo set a career high with 10 points and matched his career best with nine rebounds as the Volunteers (10-2) cruised in their final tune-up before the start of Southeastern Conference play next week.
The Governors (6-7) were led by Sean Durugordon and Elijah Hutchins-Everett with 11 points each.
NO. 10 ARKANSAS 85, UNC-ASHEVILLE 51
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Graham scored a season-high 16 points and Arkansas breezed past UNC-Asheville.
Graham, who hadn&rsquo;t played more than 11 minutes in a game this season, logged 19 minutes and shot 8 of 10 from the field as the Razorbacks (11-1) shot 53.3% overall.
Arkansas was missing standout freshman Nick Smith Jr.
Taijon Jones led UNC-Asheville (8-5) with 14 points and Jamon Battle scored 10.
NO. 13 UCLA 81, UC DAVIS 54
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Jaylen Clark had 18 points and 11 rebounds as UCLA returned from a productive East Coast trip to earn a victory over UC Davis.
Tyger Campbell scored 17 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 14 as the Bruins (11-2) won their eighth consecutive game.
Elijah Pepper scored 16 points for the Aggies (7-5), just under his 20-point average per game. Robby Beasley added 14 points and Ty Johnson had 13 points for UC Davis.
NO. 19 KENTUCKY 88, FLORIDA A&amp;M 68
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Cason Wallace scored a career-high 27 points to help Kentucky beat Florida A&amp;M.
Wallace scored the first seven points of the second half for the Wildcats (8-3) as they took a 69-48 lead. The Rattlers (2-8) answered with a 14-0 run, cutting the deficit to seven points on Jaylen Bates&rsquo; 3-pointer. Wallace steadied Kentucky with a jumper and an assist on Antonio Reeves&rsquo; dunk.
Bates led the Rattlers with 21 points and Dimingus Stevens added 13 points.
NO. 20 TCU 75, UTAH 71
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Emanuel Miller had 21 points and seven rebounds and TCU beat Utah.
Mike Miles added 18 points for the Horned Frogs (10-1), and center Eddie Lampkin had 10 rebounds in his return from a back injury.
Gabe Madsen made seven 3-pointers and scored 26 points &mdash; both career highs &mdash; for Utah (9-4). Marco Anthony added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Branden Carlson had 14 points and eight rebounds. The Utes have lost two in a row.
NO. 23 AUBURN 84, WASHINGTON 61
SEATTLE (AP) &mdash; Jaylin Williams scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half, Johni Broome also scored 18, and Auburn ran away in the second half for a win over Washington.
Chris Moore added 12 points and Wendell Green Jr. added 11 for Auburn (10-2), which shot 21 of 29 (72.4%) in the second half and led by as many as 27.
Keion Brooks Jr. led Washington (9-4) with 15 points and Koren Johnson scored 12.
SAN FRANCISCO 97, NO. 25 ARIZONA ST. 60
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Khalil Shabazz scored 26 points and San Francisco routed Arizona State to end the Sun Devils&rsquo; nine game winning streak.
The Sun Devils had entered the AP Top 25 poll on Monday for the first time since their No. 23 ranking on Dec. 7, 2020.
The Dons opened the game on a 24-2 run, had a 27-point advantage at the break and a 47-point lead with about six minutes left.
Isaiah Hawthorne added 19 points for San Francisco (10-4). Tyrell Roberts scored 14 points.
DJ Horne and Duke Brennan scored 12 points apiece for Arizona State (11-2).

A recap of Wednesday night's men's college basketball slate includes the upset-minded Eagles taking down the Hokies.

Boston College beats No. 21 Virginia Tech 70-65 in overtime

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Luka Doncic scored 33 points, Spencer Dinwiddie added 21 and the Dallas Mavericks preserved a big lead against the Phoenix Suns this time in a 130-111 victory on Monday night.
The Mavericks remained in control after a 28-8 run covering most of the last 10 minutes of the first quarter while ending a 10-game, regular-season losing streak against the Western Conference-leading Suns.
Dallas squandered a 22-point lead in the second half of a 107-105 loss at Phoenix in the season opener between teams that met in the West semifinals last season. Dallas won that series last spring with a Game 7 rout on the Suns' home court.
Deandre Ayton scored 20 points for the Suns, who couldn't recover from a 15-point first quarter, their lowest total in any quarter this season, as they finished a Texas back-to-back after a blowout victory in San Antonio.
Phoenix lost for just the second time in nine games, while Dallas won consecutive games for the first time in three weeks.
Devin Booker, who was averaging 39 points over the previous four games, scored 11 on 4-of-13 shooting. The Suns shot 26% in the first quarter before finishing at 44% to 52% for the Mavericks.
The Suns trailed by as many as 27 and were never closer than 17 in the second half. Doncic, who had six rebounds and eight assists, sat the entire fourth quarter along with Booker.
RECRUITING VISIT
Free agent NFL receiver <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1599950602271830016?s=20&amp;t=qqVd42ed37psP9KxaB6d1A">Odell Beckham Jr. attended the game</a> with two stars of the defense for the Dallas Cowboys, linebacker Micah Parsons and cornerback Trevon Diggs. They sat in Dallas owner Jerry Jones' courtside seats next to the Phoenix bench.
Beckham politely declined to discuss in detail his visit with reporters when he arrived at the arena, where fans chanted &ldquo;O-B-J&rdquo; multiple times during the game.
He was spending Monday and Tuesday with the playoff-contending Cowboys after previous trips to the New York Giants, his first NFL team, and Super Bowl contender Buffalo.
The 30-year-old Beckham is recovering from a torn ACL, an injury he sustained in the Super Bowl in February while winning the title with the Los Angeles Rams.
TIP-INS
Suns: Cameron Payne had 14 points and a game-high 10 assists. ... Josh Okogie scored a season-high 12 points.
Mavericks: Kemba Walker dressed but still didn't make his Dallas debut in the fourth game since signing. The four-time All-Star went unsigned the first six weeks of the season. The 32-year-old has been battling knee issues in recent years. ... Christian Wood had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Josh Green scored 16 points.
UP NEXT
Suns: Host Boston on Wednesday before a four-game trip in a road-heavy December.
Mavericks: At Denver on Tuesday to finish a back-to-back and a stretch of seven games in 11 days. It's the third meeting in 19 days after the teams split consecutive games in Dallas last month.

Luka Doncic scored 33 points, Spencer Dinwiddie added 21 and the Mavericks preserved a big lead against the Suns to win.

Doncic, Mavericks preserve big lead, roll past Suns 130-111

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Marcus Carr scored 19 points and made two free throws with 10 seconds left as No. 2 Texas held off No. 7 Creighton&rsquo;s furious late-game rally and beat the Bluejays 72-67 on Thursday night.
Texas led by 11 points in the second half, but Creighton got within three points a few times in the final minutes.
Tyrese Hunter scored 15 points for Texas (6-0), which got its second win over a top 10 opponent in its new arena. The Longhorns beat then-No. 2 Gonzaga on Nov. 16.
Ryan Kalkbrenner had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Creighton (6-2), and Ryan Nembhard scored 17 points. The Bluejays were 4 of 27 on 3-pointers, but found a late shooting touch in the final seconds to stay close.
UTAH 81, NO. 4 ARIZONA 66
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Branden Carlson scored 22 points and Utah handed No. 4 Arizona its first loss of the season in the Pac-12 opener for both teams.
Carlson went 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Rollie Worster had 12 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Utes (6-2), and Gabe Madsen and Ben Carlson scored 11 points apiece.
Oumar Ballo led Arizona (6-1) with 22 points and seven rebounds. Azuolas Tubelis added 20 points for the Wildcats, who trailed wire to wire and didn&rsquo;t resemble the high-flying team that won the Maui Invitational.
The Utes forced 11 turnovers in the first half that they converted into 15 points.
NO. 8 UCONN 74, OKLAHOMA STATE 64
STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored a career-high 26 points to lead UConn past Oklahoma State in the Big East-Big 12 Battle.
Adama Sanogo added 20 points and Andre Jackson scored 11 for the Huskies (9-0).
It was the smallest margin of victory for UConn so far this season. The Huskies&rsquo; next closest was an 82-67 win over then-No. 18 Alabama last Friday at the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Oregon.
Kalib Boone scored 15 points to lead the Cowboys (5-3). Avery Anderson III added 14.
NO. 9 KANSAS 91, SETON HALL 65
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Kevin McCullar Jr. returned from an injury to score 17 points and grab 10 rebounds, Jalen Wilson added 15 points and 13 boards, and Kansas rolled past Seton Hall in the big East-Big 12 Battle.
KJ Adams had 11 points, DaJuan Harris Jr. had 10 with seven assists and Ernest Udeh Jr. also scored 10 for the Jayhawks (8-1), who now have more than a week off before visiting bitter rival Missouri for the first time in a decade next Saturday.
Kadary Richmond had 17 points but also turned the ball over seven times for the Pirates (4-4), who were 4 of 19 from the 3-point arc in losing their third straight game. Tyrese Samuel added 16 points.
NO. 21 UCLA 80, STANFORD 66
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 27 points to help UCLA open up Pac-12 play with a win over Stanford.
The Bruins (6-2, 1-0 Pac-12) have won three straight after dropping back-to-back games to No. 6 Baylor and No. 16 Illinois in Las Vegas.
Tyger Campbell had 17 points and was two assists shy of a double-double, while Amari Bailey scored a season high-tying 19 points.
The Cardinal (3-5, 0-1) outscored the Bruins 37-30 in the second half, starting with three straight baskets within 90 seconds from Spencer Jones, who set a season high and led the team with 18 points.&nbsp;

A recap of Thursday night men's college hoops includes a close battle between two top-10 teams in Texas and Creighton.

Carr scores 19 as No. 2 Texas outlasts No. 7 Creighton 72-67

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; LeBron James has questions about the disparity of media scrutiny he believes is being applied to a 1957 photo of Jerry Jones and the recent controversy surrounding Kyrie Irving.
The photo of Jones, captured by an Associated Press photographer, shows him standing among a group of white students at North Little Rock High School in Arkansas on Sept. 9, 1957. The group was blocking six Black students who were attempting to desegregate the school and news reports said that moments after the image was taken, the students were shoved down a flight of stairs.
The photo accompanied a Washington Post story last month that was about Jones&rsquo; legacy as owner of the Dallas Cowboys, including how the team has never had a Black head coach.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
A lot of people are coming to the defense of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JerryJones?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JerryJones</a> &ldquo;It was a long time ago&rdquo;, &ldquo;He was just a teenager&rdquo;, &ldquo;People evolve&rdquo;, &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t deserve this&rdquo; etc etc. Chuck Modi puts it all into perspective. Great discussion <a href="https://t.co/Evcw3Cgpgv">https://t.co/Evcw3Cgpgv</a> <a href="https://t.co/1HKMJj0oNu">pic.twitter.com/1HKMJj0oNu</a>
&mdash; Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1596859971270234112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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James has spoken often about the Cowboys &mdash; he was a fan of the team for years before saying in October on Instagram Live that he has switched allegiances &mdash; but said Wednesday that he found it interesting that he wasn&rsquo;t asked about the Jones photo.
&ldquo;When I watched Kyrie talk, and he says, &lsquo;I know who I am, but I want to keep the same energy when we&rsquo;re talking about my people and the things they&rsquo;ve been through,&rsquo; and that Jerry Jones photo is one of those moments that our people, Black people, have been through in America,&rdquo; James said after the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; game on Wednesday night. &ldquo;And I feel like as a Black man, as a Black athlete, someone with power and with a platform, when we do something wrong or something that people don&rsquo;t agree with, it&rsquo;s on every single tabloid, every single news coverage. It&rsquo;s on the bottom ticker. It&rsquo;s asked about every single day.
&ldquo;But it seems like to me that the whole Jerry Jones situation, the photo, and I know it was years and years ago, and we all make mistakes, I get it. It seems like it&rsquo;s just been buried under, like, &lsquo;Oh, it happened. OK. We just move on.&rsquo; And I was just kind of disappointed that I haven&rsquo;t received that question from you guys.&rdquo;
Irving was suspended for an eventual eight games by the Brooklyn Nets earlier this season after the guard &mdash; a former teammate of James&rsquo; with the Cleveland Cavaliers &mdash; tweeted a link to a film containing antisemitic material.
James was asked by reporters about that last month, and he made clear that he thought Irving made a significant mistake.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no place in this world for it,&rdquo; James said in November. &ldquo;Nobody can benefit from that and I believe what Kyrie did caused some harm to a lot of people. ... We as humans, none of us are perfect. But I hope he understands how what he did and the actions that he took were just harmful to a lot of people.&rdquo;
Jones told reporters last week that he was at that school entrance as &ldquo;a curious kid.&rdquo; He was 14 at the time.
&ldquo;That was, gosh, 65 years ago, and (I was a) curious kid,&rdquo; Jones said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know at the time the monumental event really that was going on. And I&rsquo;m sure glad that we&rsquo;re a long way from that.&rdquo;
(Editor's Note: Etan Thomas broached this subject last week between the lack of media coverage toward Jerry Jones vs. Kyrie Irving. Read the article <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-long-will-the-media-continue-to-troll-kyrie-irving" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.)

LeBron James has questions about the disparity of media scrutiny between Jerry Jones and Kyrie Irving.

LeBron: Media disparity between Jerry Jones photo, Kyrie Irving tweet

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Zach Edey scored 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting as No. 5 Purdue fought off Florida State 79-69 on Wednesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Edey recorded his sixth straight game scoring 20 or more for the Boilermakers (7-0).
The 7-foot-4 center helped Purdue keep pace with 15 first-half points as the Boilermakers looked jet-lagged early following weekend wins over Duke and Gonzaga in Portland, Oregon.
Darin Green Jr. scored 16 of his 23 points in the first half for Florida State (1-8), which lost its fourth straight.
NO. 10 INDIANA 77, NO. 18 NORTH CAROLINA 65
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Trayce Jackson-Davis had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Xavier Johnson scored 20 points and Indiana beat North Carolina.
The Hoosiers (7-0) produced their most impressive win of the season two days after cracking the top 10 for the first time since 2017.
Pete Nance had 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead North Carolina (5-3), the preseason No. 1 that has lost three straight for the first time since the 2019-20 season. Caleb Love scored 13 points.
The Tar Heels were not themselves after playing three games in four days last weekend in Portland, Oregon, and losing Sunday to No. 18 Alabama in quadruple overtime.
NO. 13 TENNESSEE 76, MCNEESE STATE 40
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Santiago Vescovi scored 16 points to lead Tennessee past McNeese State.
The Volunteers (6-1) won their fifth straight game and their first since winning the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. Julian Phillips scored 12 points and Olivier Nkamhoua had 11. Jonas Aidoo had five blocks and six rebounds.
The Cowboys (2-6) were led by Christian Shumate and Trae English with eight points each.
NO. 17 DUKE 81, NO. 25 OHIO STATE 72
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Freshman Kyle Filipowski had 16 points, including a key three-point play with 2:37 left, and Duke beat Ohio State.
Jeremy Roach added 13 points for the Blue Devils (7-2), who had a strong stretch late in the first half to take a 10-point lead into the break. Duke held its lead even as the Buckeyes (5-2) stayed within reach and repeatedly made multiple pushes to climb closer.
Ohio State&rsquo;s Zed Key posted his second straight big game against Duke. After finishing with 20 points in last year&rsquo;s home win against the then-No. 1 Blue Devils, he had 17 of his 21 points after halftime in this one to go with eight rebounds.
NOTRE DAME 70, NO. 20 MICHIGAN STATE 52
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Cormac Ryan scored 20 of his 23 points in the first half as Notre Dame cruised past Michigan State.
Ryan went 6 of 7 on 3-pointers, helping the Fighting Irish (6-1) jump out to a 42-24 halftime lead.
JJ Starling added 14 points and Dane Goodwin 12 for the Irish.
The Spartans (5-3) were paced by A.J. Hoggard with 15 points. Joey Hauser and Tyson Walker added 12 apiece.
NO. 23 IOWA STATE 63, NORTH DAKOTA 44
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Caleb Grill scored 16 points as Iowa State beat North Dakota.
Grill connected on 4 of 5 3-point tries for the Cyclones (6-1). Tamin Lipsey added 11 points for Iowa State, which used a 15-3 run early in the second half to pull away.
Matt Norman led North Dakota (5-4) with nine points.

A recap of Wednesday night's action in men's college hoops highlights many games in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Edey dominant again, No. 5 Purdue beats Florida State 79-69

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Anthony Davis knew he had to have a big game to help the Los Angeles Lakers snap a five-game losing streak.
After getting motivation from an unlikely source, he put together his best game of the season.
&ldquo;I was watching the Green Bay Packers game (against the Dallas Cowboys) and Aaron Rodgers threw a slant to Allen Lazard for 40 yards. He was flexing and that got me motivated,&rdquo; said Davis, who had a season-high 37 points and 18 rebounds in the Lakers 116-103 victory over the Brooklyn Nets Sunday night.
&ldquo;I knew I had to dominate to get this win. With LeBron (James) out, a lot of guys lean on me to get the job done.&rdquo;
Davis grabbed 10 offensive rebounds, which tied a career-high in a regular-season game, as the Lakers led throughout. Davis was averaging only 8.6 points in the second half, but had 21 against the Nets, including 15 in the third quarter.
&ldquo;I was trying to get to the paint and score inside knowing thCam Thomasey had limited shot blockers,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;If we put it on the rim then I had a guard on me and a chance to get an offensive rebound.&rdquo;
Davis was not only active inside on the boards, but in his shot selection as well. All but two of his 25 attempts were in the paint.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s been the plan and figuring out how to get him more touches and in rhythm. Everything was aggressive,&rdquo; Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.
Lonnie Walker IV added 25 points for Los Angeles, which was missing James for the second straight game due to an left adductor strain.
Kevin Durant led the Nets with 31 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Cam Thomas came off the bench to score 15 points and Edmond Sumner added 13.
&ldquo;We played in spurts tonight. It was a perfect storm for them. They made shots and got to the rim,&rdquo; Durant said.
The Lakers led by 16 with less than four minutes remaining in the third, but the Nets rallied to close to 91-87 on a two free throws by Durant with 8:27 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Lakers then blew it open with a 15-2 run, including seven points by Walker and four from Davis.
Los Angeles' largest lead was 18 with four minutes remaining.
Kyrie Irving missed his sixth straight game as part of a team suspension for refusing to say he had no antisemitic beliefs,
Los Angeles had a 55-46 lead at halftime. The Lakers extended their advantage to 77-61 with 3:56 remaining in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Walker before the Nets scored 11 straight points and closed the quarter on a 16-3 run.
&ldquo;I knew we expended a lot of juice from the Clipper game (a 110-95 win on Saturday). The guys gave what they had,&rdquo; said Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn after the Nets fell to 1-3 during the second game of back-to-backs.
TIP-INS
Nets: Nic Claxton suffered a left eye contusion during the third quarter and did not return. ... Markieff Morris made a crosscourt shot at the end of the first half, but it happened after the buzzer. ... Ben Simmons was declared out one hour before tipoff due to left knee soreness. ... Seth Curry (left ankle) sat out after playing 26 minutes on Saturday in a win over the Clippers.
Lakers: Austin Reaves had 15 points while Russell Westbrook had 14 points and 12 assists. ... Walker scored 11 of the Lakers' first 20 points.

Anthony Davis had a season-high 37 points and 18 rebounds as the Lakers beat the Nets 116-103 to snap a five-game losing streak.

Davis scores season-high 37, Lakers beat Nets to snap skid

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Marcus Domask drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner with 21.6 seconds left and Troy D&rsquo;Amico came up with the a key steal and clutch rebound to allow Southern Illinois to post a 61-60 upset win over Oklahoma State on Thursday night.
The victory is Southern Illinois&rsquo; first win over a Power-Five team on the road since beating Colorado in the NIT in 2000.
Bryce Thompson grabbed a defensive rebound for Oklahoma State but clanged a go-ahead jumper off the front of the rim with 4 seconds left and D&rsquo;Amico snared the rebound.
Oklahoma State led by 13 points in the second half, but the Cowboys did not score in the final 4:15. The Salukis closed the deficit to six points several times and used a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to one, setting up Domask&rsquo;s game-winning 3.
Southern Illinois (2-0) made 10 steals and forced 14 turnovers by the Cowboys (1-1), who shot just 8 of 16 from the free-throw line.
Lance Jones paced the Salukis with 19 points. Domask hit 4 of 8 from behind the arc and finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Avery Anderson III and Thompson each scored 14 points to lead Oklahoma State and Caleb Asberry added 13 points off the bench.&nbsp;

The victory is Southern Illinois’ first win over a Power-Five team on the road since beating Colorado in the NIT in 2000.

Southern Illinois earns 61-60 upset win over Oklahoma State

By mid-January, LeBron James could be the NBA&rsquo;s scoring king.
The NBA schedule was released Wednesday, all 1,230 games that are set between Oct. 18 and April 9 taking place in four countries with Mexico and France playing host to regular-season contests along with the U.S. and Canada.
There are the usual highlights &mdash; <a href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-stephen-curry-klay-thompson-ae5dda0cafbdf59296bdb45001e47c4d">Stephen Curry and Golden State</a> will raise another title banner on opening night, as is the NBA's customary perk for champions; <a href="https://apnews.com/article/kobe-bryant-memphis-grizzlies-brooklyn-nets-los-angeles-lakers-charlotte-hornets-847e28d4335e726bfa869cd1d6c91b85">a five-game slate of games on Christmas</a> yet again; the traditional games in Atlanta and Memphis as part of the leaguewide commemoration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This year brought a twist, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-nba-sports-voter-registration-827945d5b94f984baa992d71809a1c6b">with Election Day now a newly created off day in the NBA.</a>
And now that the list of games is out, the numbers show that James could catch Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the final two weeks of January &mdash; assuming James doesn&rsquo;t have to miss games and scores at his usual pace. James enters this season No. 2 on the all-time list, 1,325 points behind Abdul-Jabbar.
&ldquo;We have obviously a very large ecosystem of league office staff, team staff, players, arena staff that are truly driving to this process,&rdquo; said Evan Wasch, who, along with Gene Li and Tom Carelli, is on the NBA team of executives who build the schedule. &ldquo;So, we are just one small piece.&rdquo;
Wasch, Li and Carelli spent weeks putting a 1,230-piece jigsaw puzzle together, mindful of things like team wishes to have games on certain dates, total miles traveled, even carbon footprint.
The big headline from their work: Teams will travel a bit less, about 5% fewer miles in the air on average over last season.
The NBA made that happen by adding to the instances of teams having no travel between road games, something that&rsquo;ll happen 88 times this season &mdash; up 66% from last season. There are 55 instances of teams playing consecutive road games against the same opponent, and 33 instances of teams playing two games in a row against the two teams from Los Angeles or New York.
Add it all up, and NBA teams will combine to fly about 50,000 fewer miles this season.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a player health component, and there&rsquo;s also a sustainability component there,&rdquo; Wasch said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a 5% decrease from where we&rsquo;ve been. We&rsquo;ll take it.&rdquo;
Among the countless storylines entering the season is James, and his pursuit of more NBA history.
If he continues scoring at his typical pace &mdash; 27 points per game for his career, 30 points per game last season for the Los Angeles Lakers &mdash; he would need between 44 and 49 games to pass Abdul-Jabbar.
Games 44 through 49 for the Lakers fall in the second half of January. They happen to be at home for most of that stretch, a coincidence since it precedes the annual spot in the calendar where the Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers need to vacate their home arena while it gets ready to play host to the Grammy Awards.
Other revelations from the schedule:
BACK-TO-BACKS
Minimizing the instances of having games on back-to-back days is still a point of emphasis for the NBA, and the average number of them dipped another 1.5% this season &mdash; the average going from 13.5 per team last season to 13.3 per team this season.
Since 2014, the average is down 31.1%. Teams faced an average of 19.3 of them per season then.
No team has fewer than 12 back-to-backs this season. No team has more than 15.
ATTENDANCE RECORD
The San Antonio Spurs&rsquo; magic number on Jan. 13 &mdash; 62,047.
If the Spurs&rsquo; game against Golden State that night draws at least that many fans, it&rsquo;ll set an NBA regular-season record. The Spurs will play that game in San Antonio&rsquo;s Alamodome, not their typical arena, and it&rsquo;ll be set up to accommodate at least 65,000 fans.
The biggest crowd at an NBA regular-season game is 62,046, who gathered to watch Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls meet the Atlanta Hawks at the Georgia Dome on March 27, 1998.
The biggest crowd in league history was 108,713, that group gathering for the 2010 All-Star Game at the home of the NFL&rsquo;s Dallas Cowboys in North Texas.
The Alamodome record for an NBA game is 39,554 on June 18, 1999, when New York visited San Antonio for Game 2 of that year&rsquo;s NBA Finals.
INTERNATIONAL REACH
The NBA has scheduled 45 games that will be shown live in prime time across Europe, the Middle East and Africa on Saturdays and Sundays.
Many of those games feature at least one prominent international player, including two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of Denver, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee, reigning scoring champion Joel Embiid of Philadelphia and All-NBA first-teamer Luka Doncic of Dallas.
INTERNATIONAL GAMES
San Antonio has a &ldquo;home" game against Miami in Mexico City on Dec. 17. Detroit has a &ldquo;home" game with Chicago in Paris on Jan. 19.
WELCOME BACK
Some prominent NBA names missed the entirety of last season for a variety of reasons. Among those who were in that group and are expected back this year, assuming they&rsquo;re ready to go when their teams play Game 1:
Kawhi Leonard and John Wall, now teammates with the Clippers, would open their season Oct. 20 &mdash; a &ldquo;road&rdquo; game against the Lakers.
Denver&rsquo;s Jamal Murray would return Oct. 19 at Utah. Brooklyn&rsquo;s Ben Simmons and New Orleans&rsquo; Zion Williamson also would be in line to come back Oct. 19 when the Nets host the Pelicans.

The NBA schedule was released Wednesday, all 1,230 games that are set between Oct. 18 and April 9.

2022-23 NBA schedule has less miles, and LeBron chasing more history

March Madness is underway!
Across the country, teams are competing in conference tournaments and trying to punch their ticket for the NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday is almost here, and then the tourney starts next Tuesday.
If you missed any of the Day 2 action, here's a recap of what went down on Thursday.
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Games of the Day
Indiana def. Michigan 74-69 &mdash; B1G Second Round
With 11:03 remaining, Michigan led 60-43 and appeared to be in complete control. The Hoosiers would go on a 20-2 run and took the life right out of the Wolverines, completing the comeback by winning 74-69. Trayce Jackson-Davis led all players with 24 points and 4 blocks in a stunner. Indiana faces No. 1 Illinois next.
Texas A&amp;M def. Florida 83-80 in OT &mdash; SEC Second Round
This one was wild. The Aggies dominated all afternoon and held a 9-point lead with 1:07 to play, but the Gators went on a 12-3 run of the next 50 seconds to tie it at 70-70, forcing the game into overtime. They stayed deadlocked at 78-78 with 1:10 left in overtime when Hassan Diarra hit a triple with one second on the clock to win 83-80. A huge win for a true Bubble Team in A&amp;M.
Arizona def. Stanford 84-80 &mdash; Pac-12 Quarterfinals
The largest lead either way today was 7 points &mdash; in a game where Stanford was given a whopping 5% chance of victory. The Cardinal took a 75-74 lead with just over three minutes to go, but the Wildcats had answers. Kerr Kriisa exiting with injury is important to monitor, but Christian Koloko led the team with 24 points as Arizona survives and advances.
Miami (FL) def. Boston College 71-69 in OT &mdash; ACC Quarterfinals
Kam McGusty led the Canes with 16 points in the nail-biter, as they avoided the upset in overtime. Only one basket was scored in the final 2:30 of the contest &mdash; a Jordan Miller layup that sealed the deal. A big save by Miami.&nbsp;
Villanova def. St. John&rsquo;s 66-65 &mdash; Big East Quarterfinals
The Red Storm let a 17-point second half lead slip away to end their season. Villanova was carried by its starting five, with only 7 points coming from the bench unit. Caleb Daniels led the way with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Justin Moore added 15 points of his own.&nbsp;
Toledo def. Central Michigan 72-71 &mdash; MAC Quarterfinals
In a game where the largest lead was 7 points for each team, Toledo held on for the 1-point win. Harrison Henderson scored with 20 seconds remaining to make it 71-70 Central Michigan, but a RayJ Dennis layup with 10 seconds left would seal the deal. Setric Milner Jr. led the way with 22 points for the Rockets. It's a big win for Toledo who currently projects a No. 13 seed.
Providence def. Butler 65-61 &mdash; Big East Quarterfinals
This one was back-and-forth from the tip, as the teams traded leads the entire contest. Tied at 55 with 3:06 remaining, Simas Lukosius hit a big pair of free throws for Butler to take the lead, but Al Durham hit a huge triple with 43 seconds to go for the Friars to take a 61-59 lead. Durham would follow with a dunk at the end of the game to seal the deal at 65-61. Despite the loss, it was a hard-fought game by the Bulldogs.&nbsp;
Wyoming def. UNLV 59-56 &mdash; Mountain West Quarterfinals
The Cowboys held a 9-point lead in the second half, but allowed the Rebels to fight their way back into it. Xavier DuSell hit a huge three with 30 seconds, and then, Brendan Wenzel iced the game with a pair of free throws. A great game from UNLV&rsquo;s Bryce Hamilton comes up just short.&nbsp;
Akron def. Buffalo 70-68 &mdash; MAC Quarterfinals
This was a fight from start to finish. Led by Ali Ali&rsquo;s 19-point effort and a pair of Greg Tribble free throws with four seconds remaining, the Zips survive and advance. They will face No. 1 seed Toledo on Friday afternoon in the MAC semis.
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The Upsets, the Madness
Oklahoma def. Baylor 72-67 &mdash; Big 12 Quarterfinals
The Sooners took the lead with 11:51 to play and never gave it back. With a balanced offensive attack of five players in double-digits, Oklahoma shocked the Bears. Jacob Groves led the way with 15 points, while Marvin Johnson provided 12 off the bench.&nbsp;
Vanderbilt def. Alabama 82-76 &mdash; SEC Second Round
Bama led by 10 points at the break but Scotty Pippen Jr. and Co. had other plans. Vandy roared back to take a 68-67 lead with 4:26 to play, and was able to hold the Crimson Tide off the rest of the way. Jordan Wright hit a pair of free throws late to ice the game, and the Commodores advance. Pippen Jr. ended with 26 points and 7 assists.
TCU def. Texas 65-60 &mdash; Big 12 Quarterfinals
The Horned Frogs had a win probability of 29.3% entering this one, and that&rsquo;s all they needed. After being down 40-20 in the first half, TCU did a complete 180 and outscored the Longhorns 45-20 the rest of the way. Mike Miles and Co. are setting themselves up well, and will take on the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12 semis.
Penn State def. Ohio State 71-68 &mdash; Big Ten Second Round
The Nittany Lions were given a 24.2% chance of winning today, and they did just that behind Sam Sessoms' 18 points off the bench. Jalen Pickett also had a huge game with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Penn State moves on to play No. 3 Purdue.&nbsp;
Grambling def. Southern 60-58 &mdash; SWAC Quarterfinals
Led by Tra&rsquo;Michael Moton&rsquo;s 12 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists, Grambling took the lead with 10 minutes left in the game and never gave it back. The Tigers will face Texas Southern next.&nbsp;
Tulsa def. Wichita State 73-67 &mdash; American First Round
The Golden Hurricane had four players with 10 or more points, including two with at least 20. After an 11-19 season, this was a nice win for Tulsa as it tries to make a late push in the conference. Tulsa will move on to face No. 2 SMU.&nbsp;
Portland State def. Southern Utah 77-65 &mdash; Big Sky Quarterfinals
The Vikings entered this game under .500 on the season, but put up 77 points on 51.9% shooting from the floor. They held Southern Utah to a lowly 36.8% from the floor and are able to advance.
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Standout Performers
Noah Fernandes (UMass): 29 points, 7 assists
Spencer Jones (Stanford): 28 points, 8 rebounds
Jimmy Boeheim (Syracuse): 28 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
Keegan Murray (Iowa): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Grant Sherfield (Nevada): 25 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds
Joel Murray (Long Beach State): 25 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana): 24 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 10-17 FG
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke): 26 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
Nate Watson (Providence): 26 points, 7 rebounds, 9-14 FG
Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt): 26 points, 7 assists
Tristen Newton (East Carolina): 26 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists
Jordan Walker (UAB): 26 points, 5 steals, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
EJ Liddell (Ohio State): 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State):&nbsp;25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
Christian Koloko (Arizona): 24 points, 9 rebounds, 10-12 FG
Dillon Jones (Weber State): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals
Julian Champagnie (St. John&rsquo;s): 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Prentiss Hubb (Notre Dame): 23 points, 5 assists
Zyon Pullin (UC Riverside):&nbsp;23 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Amadou Sow (UC Santa Barbara): 21 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Bryce Hamilton (UNLV): 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Mahki Morris (Abilene Christian): 22 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds
Chuba Ohams (Fordham): 20 points, 16 rebounds, 2 steals
Darien Jackson (Tulsa): 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Brady Manek (UNC): 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Malique Jacobs (Kent State): 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists
Kowacie Reeves (Florida): 21 points, 6 rebounds
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17866936_lg.jpg" alt="" width="381" height="272" />
2022 NBA Draft: Prospect Watch&nbsp;
Keegan Murray (Iowa): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke): 26 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
EJ Liddell (Ohio State): 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State):&nbsp;25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
Christian Koloko (Arizona): 24 points, 9 rebounds, 10-12 FG
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Tari Eason (LSU): 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Justin Lewis (Marquette): 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
Ochai Agbaji (Kansas): 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Trevor Keels (Duke): 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Jabari Walker (Colorado): 18 points, 16 rebounds
Iverson Molinar (Miss. State): 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Julian Champagnie (St. John&rsquo;s): 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists
Collin Gillespie (Villanova): 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
David Roddy (Colorado State): 13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
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March Madness is underway! If you missed any of the Day 2 action, here's a recap of what went down during Thursday's games.

March Madness: Conference tournament Thursday recap

Gonzaga is the unanimous No. 1 in the latest Associated Press men&rsquo;s basketball poll. The Zags aren&rsquo;t likely to budge the way they&rsquo;re dominating the West Coast Conference.
Gonzaga remained at No. 1 for the second straight week, receiving all 61 votes from a media panel <a class="" href="https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll">in the poll </a> released Monday. Arizona moved up a spot to No. 2 for its highest ranking in four years, with Auburn, Purdue and Kansas rounding out the top five.
Gonzaga (23-2, 12-0 WCC) has followed up last year&rsquo;s run to the national championship game with another dominating regular season. The Zags haven&rsquo;t lost since Dec. 4 and their lopsided wins over Pepperdine and Santa Clara last week clinched a <a class="" href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-basketball-march-madness-mens-college-basketball-college-basketball-0d120c2bc9765f174753110ae8849824">10th straight WCC regular-season title</a>.
Gonzaga is winning its WCC games by an average of 27 points, one of the most dominant conference seasons in the past 25 years, according to KenPom.com. The Zags are on pace to match the 2019 team for largest margin of victory in conference games. They have four of the top five spots on that list in the last 25 years, joined by the 1999 Duke team.
&ldquo;They could win the whole thing,&rdquo; Pepperdine coach Lorenzo Romar said after an 86-66 loss to Gonzaga last Wednesday. &ldquo;They have size, they have scoring ability, they can guard.&rdquo;
Gonzaga closes out the regular season with road games against San Francisco and Saint Mary&rsquo;s before getting the top seed in the West Coast Conference tournament in Las Vegas.
CLIMBING CATS
Arizona keeps finding ways to win under first-year coach Tommy Lloyd, a longtime Gonzaga assistant.
Picked to finish tied for fourth in the Pac-12 Conference, the Wildcats (24-2, 14-1 Pac-12) have a 2 1/2-game lead over No. 16 Southern California with two weeks left in the regular season.
Arizona shrugged off a shaky start to beat Oregon State 83-69 last Thursday, then outlasted Oregon 84-81 in a high-level game on Saturday.
The wins, combined with Auburn&rsquo;s loss to Florida, put the Wildcats right behind Gonzaga, where Lloyd coached under Mark Few the previous 22 seasons.
&ldquo;Weird, cool, awesome &mdash; I&rsquo;m proud of those guys, they&rsquo;ve got a great team,&rdquo; Lloyd said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re family and I think they&rsquo;re happy for us.&rdquo;
RISING/FALLING
No. 18 Arkansas had the biggest jump of the week, moving up five spots after blowing out Missouri and shutting down No. 17 Tennessee. UConn was next, climbing three spots to No. 21 with wins over Seton Hall and Xavier.
No. 22 Ohio State had the biggest drop of teams still in the poll, falling four spots after losing to Iowa. No. 10 Baylor, No. 11 Providence and No. 15 Illinois all lost three spots.
IN AND OUT
No. 23 Saint Mary&rsquo;s returned to the poll after a one-week absence following wins over San Francisco and BYU. No. 25 Iowa is ranked for the first time this season following its win over Ohio State.
Michigan State dropped out of the poll from No. 19 with losses to Penn State and Illinois. The Spartans, ranked in the top 10 earlier this season, have lost four of five.
Wyoming&rsquo;s first stint in the AP Top 25 since 2015 didn&rsquo;t last long. The Cowboys fell out from No. 22 after splitting against New Mexico and Air Force last week.
CONFERENCE WATCH
The Big 10 and Southeastern conferences had five ranked teams each and the Big 12 four. The Pac-12 and Big East each had three and the West Coast Conference two with the addition of Saint Mary&rsquo;s.
The Atlantic Coast, American Athletic and Ohio Valley conferences each had one ranked team.

Gonzaga is the unanimous No. 1 in the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll.

Gonzaga unanimous No. 1 in AP Top 25; Arizona up to 2

Gonzaga has reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press men&rsquo;s college basketball poll, while Providence climbed into the top 10 and Wyoming earned its first ranking in more than seven years.
Mark Few&rsquo;s Bulldogs earned 56 of 60 first-place votes in Monday&rsquo;s poll to swap positions with Auburn, which had spent the past three weeks at No. 1 but fell from the top spot after suffering its first loss since November.
Gonzaga (21-2) was the preseason No. 1 after last year&rsquo;s run to the NCAA championship game for what became its only loss. The Zags spent three weeks at the top before falling out after a loss to Duke, and also spent a week at No. 1 in mid-January before being supplanted by Auburn.
Bruce Pearl&rsquo;s Tigers earned the other four first-place votes despite losing in overtime at Arkansas last week to snap a 19-game winning streak.
Arizona climbed one spot to No. 3 followed by Kentucky -- which has its highest ranking since spending a week at No. 1 in November 2019 &ndash; and Purdue.
Kansas was next at No. 6, followed by reigning national champion Baylor and Providence, which climbed three spots to No. 8 for its highest ranking since spending a week in that same position in January 2016.
Duke and Villanova rounded out the top 10, with the Wildcats making the week&rsquo;s biggest jump by climbing five spots.
Houston had the week&rsquo;s biggest slide, falling eight spots to No. 14 after losses to SMU and Memphis last week.
No. 22 Wyoming, No. 23 Arkansas and No. 25 Alabama were the week&rsquo;s new additions, with the Cowboys from the Mountain West Conference earning its first ranking since spending a week in the 2015 poll and only its second appearance since the 1987-88 season.
The Razorbacks and Crimson Tide have both spent multiple weeks in the poll this season.
Marquette, Saint Mary&rsquo;s and Xavier fell out from last week&rsquo;s rankings.

Gonzaga has reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in the AP men’s college basketball poll, while Providence climbed into the top-10.

Gonzaga back at No. 1 in AP Top 25; Wyoming enters poll

The <a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/lebron-revealed-which-two-nfl-teams-offered-him-a-contract-during-the-2011-lockout/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">following article</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNetwork.net</a>:
A lot of great NBA players were multi-sport stars in high school and college, but only the best could play in any of the major sports at the professional level. Wilt Chamberlain, possibly the greatest athlete in NBA history, was offered a spot on the Kansas City Chiefs in the early 1960s. About 50 years later, during the 2011 lockout, LeBron James received similar interest and seriously considered signing with an NFL team.
In his prime, James was often described as the best athlete in all of sports. At 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, with an insane combination of speed, strength and agility, you&rsquo;d be hard-pressed to find a better athlete. He stepped away from football during his senior year in high school to focus on basketball, but the football bug never left James. His friends actually made him drop football to not get injured, and told LeBron they would &ldquo;jump me every day of practice until I had enough!"
Then, the 2011 NBA lockout happened, and the best athlete in the U.S. was sitting at home. Two NFL teams saw their chance and made a call to LeBron, each offering him a contract to play professional football. James shared the details on Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli Manning.
&ldquo;Jerry Jones offered me a contract, Pete Carroll did as well in Seattle," LeBron <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZIdOdITruY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said on the Manning Bros. broadcast</a>. "It definitely got my blood flowing again, got my mind racing again thinking about the game of football. But, we were able to get a deal done in the NBA and I was back on the court in no time. But I definitely thought about it.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
LeBron James on the Cowboys and the Seahawks offering him an NFL contract during the NBA lockout. <a href="https://t.co/MkvZdCRaZz">pic.twitter.com/MkvZdCRaZz</a>
&mdash; Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArashMarkazi/status/1442660277137248258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The lockout began on July 1, 2011, meaning LeBron was recovering from a dramatic loss to the Dallas Mavericks at the time. He was still without an NBA ring, so putting that in jeopardy to play some football was probably out of the question. Still, that doesn&rsquo;t mean the teams didn&rsquo;t try.
&ldquo;I still have the jerseys that Jerry and Pete Carroll sent me in 2011,&rdquo; LeBron <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZIdOdITruY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
The position both teams had in mind for LeBron was tight end, which makes sense given LeBron&rsquo;s size. James said he wanted to be a Gronk-like red-zone specialist, and Peyton agreed that would&rsquo;ve been the right decision. Imagine LeBron out wide running a fade route &mdash; it would&rsquo;ve been unstoppable. Still, we&rsquo;re happy he stayed on the court and left the football field for other players. The NBA is better for it.
Check out more articles from BasketballNetwork.net <a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

LeBron James shared on Monday Night Football that he had multiple opportunities to sign with an NFL team during the 2011 NBA lockout.

LeBron reveals 2 NFL teams offered him a contract during 2011 lockout

Alex Kennedy examines which NBA players could have played professional football if they had seriously pursued it.

Which NBA players could have realistically played in the NFL?

The Detroit Pistons have selected Cade Cunningham with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
ANALYSIS: Widely considered the favorite to go No. 1 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, Cade Cunningham has very few holes in his game. At 6-foot-8, he can play multiple positions including being a floor general who can carry his team&rsquo;s offense in crunch time when necessary. He has a tremendous basketball IQ and is improving as a shooter. Although he is not an elite athlete, he is perhaps the safest bet to have a long and successful NBA career of all the players in this year's draft.
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The Detroit Pistons have selected Cade Cunningham with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.

2021 NBA Draft: Pistons pick Cade Cunningham No. 1

Cade Cunningham, who is widely believed to be the next No. 1 overall pick, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-basketball-wayman-tisdale-nba-draft-cade-cunningham-be92592b2af1b341b85e4949d60d89d9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced his intentions to enter the NBA Draft</a>.
Cunningham declares after a freshman season where he averaged 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 40 percent on three-pointers. He helped lead Oklahoma State to an NCAA Tournament appearance, where the Cowboys were upset by 12th-seeded Oregon State.&nbsp;

Cunningham is the consensus favorite to be selected first overall in the 2021 draft.

Potential No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham declares for NBA Draft

Joel Embiid is not the NBA MVP favorite anymore. He is not even second. That spot now belongs to Nikola Jokic. 
The All-Star center for the Philadelphia now sits in third place after injuring his left knee -- the team is calling it a bone bruise. The Sixers said he will be re-evaluated in two weeks, and multiple media outlets said he could be back in three weeks.
DraftKings, the No. 2 sports gambling site in the legalized U.S. marketplace, took down its MVP odds overnight and then put them back up at midday Saturday. LeBron James is back to being the favorite at 3/2 (+150), and Jokic of the Denver Nuggets is second at 2-1.&nbsp;
Embiid is +426 at DraftKings and +600 at FanDuel, where spokesman Kevin Hennesey said he has the book&rsquo;s single biggest liability all season in the MVP market. 
DraftKings had its own sentiment. 
&ldquo;The news could have been worse,&rdquo; said Johnny Avello, head oddsmaker at DraftKings. &ldquo;The guy was putting up MVP numbers every single night, but LeBron was right behind him, and money continues to flow in on LeBron. Also, three weeks could turn into something more, whereas there are no unknowns with the other two guys (James and Jokic)."
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Philadelphia has a one-game lead over the Brooklyn Nets as the top team in the Eastern Conference heading into Saturday night&rsquo;s games, as Doc Rivers and Co. have won four in a row. In fact, the top four teams in the conference &ndash; the Sixers, Nets, Bucks and Heat &ndash; have all begun to string together winning streaks.
The Nets have 3/1 odds and the Sixers are 12/1 to win the championship, a sign that gamblers are putting their team bets on Brooklyn even though Embiid has been drawing a large percentage of the MVP money.
&ldquo;LeBron James is now the favorite at +150 in the MVP market at the FanDuel Sportsbook. Embiid&rsquo;s recent injury news has moved Jokic (+230) and James ahead of the 76ers' big man. Embiid has been a customer favorite all year," FanDuel's Hennesy said. "He opened the season at +3600 and Embiid&rsquo;s impressive season has seen his MVP odds go below +550 and garner 20% of all bets in the MVP market. The MVP race is going to be interesting to watch."
The news also comes as gamblers are turning their attention to the NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis, where most of America will get its first extended look as projected No. 1 draft pick Cade Cunningham and Oklahoma State. The Cowboys have reached the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament and will be on ESPN tonight against Texas.&nbsp;
But back to the subject matter -- the Embiid injury looked quite serious when it happened, and a stretcher was brought onto the court before Embiid walked off under his own power.
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Despite the sportsbooks pretty much making it look like a three-man race, NBA writers typically do not make up their minds about an award this early in the season. They did last year with Giannis Antetokounmpo, but that was under different circumstances because the Bucks had a 53-12 record when the season was halted due to the pandemic. Nine times out of 10, maybe more, the award is up for grabs at the midway point of the season.
This season, James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets is a viable candidate, as is Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, who took a five-game winning streak into Saturday night&rsquo;s game against Indiana and have won 17 of their last 20. Like Harden in Brooklyn, Booker faces the prospect of a teammate (Chris Paul) getting equal credit for his team&rsquo;s success.
But this award is going to be won over the second half of the season, and Booker is currently 150-1 at DraftKings. That is not a misprint.

Chris Sheridan checks into the NBA MVP race following Joel Embiid's latest setback.

LeBron James reclaims lead in MVP race, Joel Embiid drops to third after knee injury

The New York Knicks are still the most valuable franchise in the NBA with a $5 billion net worth, according to Forbes' annual list of NBA franchise valuations by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2021/02/10/nba-team-values-2021-knicks-keep-top-spot-at-5-billion-warriors-bump-lakers-for-second-place/?sh=57e8cada645b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kurt Badenhausen and Mike Ozanian.</a>
The Knicks are now the third franchise in American sports to cross the $5 billion mark, joining the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees. NBA teams as a whole increased in value by about 4 percent in the last year.&nbsp;
The Golden State Warriors have surpassed the Los Angeles Lakers as the second-most valuable franchise with a $4.7 billion net worth (a 9 percent increase over the last year). The Lakers sit third at $4.6 billion, and the Chicago Bulls ($3.3 billion) and Boston Celtics ($3.2 billion) round out the top five.
Forbes lists the Memphis Grizzlies as the least valuable franchise in the NBA with a net worth of $1.3 billion.&nbsp;

The Warriors passed the Lakers (third), and the Bulls and Celtics round out the top five.

Knicks still most valuable NBA franchise at $5 billion, Warriors second

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day. Some are insightful, some are just hilarious (so we had to include them).
Without further ado, here are the tweets of the day for February 4, 2021.
A Proposition
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if it takes someone becoming a father to unlock their full potential and play at mvp level, i&rsquo;m willing to do my part to help you get there <a href="https://twitter.com/BenSimmons25?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BenSimmons25</a>
&mdash; kos (@kostancaaa__) <a href="https://twitter.com/kostancaaa__/status/1357160507829010432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2021</a></blockquote>

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It worked for Fred VanVleet and Joel Embiid, so perhaps Ben Simmons should take this lovely person up on their offer...for science.
&ldquo;I Don&rsquo;t Even Know Where You&rsquo;re Sittin&rsquo; At&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Paul George: "God bless you Jared Dudley. I don't know what it is, dudes love throwing my name in stuff. But God bless you, Jared."
&mdash; Andrew Greif (@AndrewGreif) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewGreif/status/1357180060847927297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2021</a></blockquote>

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If you&rsquo;ve been living under a rock since, well...forever, you will not understand why Paul George is telling God to bless Jared Dudley, so let&rsquo;s break it down. Dudley recently released a 42-page book about the NBA bubble in which he states that the Lakers felt disrespected by Paul George putting himself in the same category as LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Dudley&rsquo;s statement was in response to a question in which George was asked if he thought that he and Kawhi Leonard were the best duo in the league, and he answered with &ldquo;I think so.&rdquo; This should make for an interesting playoff matchup&hellip;if the Clippers don&rsquo;t blow a 3-1 lead in the semifinals again.
Play It Cool, Dance It Off
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Can&rsquo;t hold a real one down <a href="https://t.co/lheY6MJJT2">https://t.co/lheY6MJJT2</a>
&mdash; Josu&eacute;lito (@J_Rich1) <a href="https://twitter.com/J_Rich1/status/1357172466939031554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Being able to laugh at yourself for getting spiked in the face with a basketball on national television is a level of self-awareness that not many basketball players have reached yet. Good job, J-Rich. I would have cried.
Good Company
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Tyrese Haliburton tonight: 21 PTS (career-high) 4 AST 5 3PT He&rsquo;s the first Kings rookie with 20+ points, 5+ threes off the bench since Peja Stojakovic in 1999. <a href="https://t.co/hmQ3P3ZEKz">pic.twitter.com/hmQ3P3ZEKz</a>
&mdash; StatMuse (@statmuse) <a href="https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1357199725385064450?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2021</a></blockquote>

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He also recently <a href="https://twitter.com/TyHaliburton22/status/1353076687206932480" target="_blank" rel="noopener">got a puppy</a>. We&rsquo;ll let you decide which is more impressive.
It&rsquo;s Time To Overreact!
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
TWO. DAYS. APART. 😂😂😂😂😂 <a href="https://t.co/kS5FWUOPGP">pic.twitter.com/kS5FWUOPGP</a>
&mdash; 🇨🇦N-jay 🏀 (@_Njay3) <a href="https://twitter.com/_Njay3/status/1357048911811198982?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Stephen A. Smith, at the end of the day, is a reactionary fan. Every small event in the NBA is either the end of the world or the best thing to ever happen. Celebs, they&rsquo;re just like us.
Super Human
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
In another indicator of progress in his rehab of a torn Achilles, Klay Thompson is traveling with the Warriors to Dallas today. He mentioned Monday that he should begin mobility work on his right ankle soon.
&mdash; Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/wcgoldberg/status/1357091038343680004?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2021</a></blockquote>

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This doesn&rsquo;t seem like a great idea, given that he was probably still recovering from his last torn Achilles when he tore it again. But I&rsquo;m not a doctor.
Buckle Up, Buckaroos
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
it took years of planning, years of failure, but I can finally hoop in cowboy boots <a href="https://t.co/72kA066Hbv">pic.twitter.com/72kA066Hbv</a>
&mdash; Samson Folk (@samfolkk) <a href="https://twitter.com/samfolkk/status/1357037021823442948?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Has anyone shown this monstrosity to Jimmy Butler?
He&rsquo;s Right and He Should Say It
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
A brutally honest De'Aaron Fox said having an NBA All-Star game this season is "kind of stupid" because of all the daily protocols that are in place for teams. Said he understands it's all about money and he'd play if voted in strictly because the fine for not playing is huge
&mdash; Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeanCunningham/status/1357230026891132928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Credit to De&rsquo;Aaron Fox for being honest and saying what a lot of fans are saying and probably thinking. No credit to the NBA, who apparently fines players who don&rsquo;t participate in the All-Star game.
See a tweet that should be featured in tomorrow's Tweet of the Day piece? Send it to <a href="https://twitter.com/kelsea_lately" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@kelsea_lately</a>.

Every day, our Kelsea O'Brien scours #NBATwitter to find the best posts. Here are the tweets of the day for Feb. 4, 2021.

Wyoming Cowboys