“THE SCOREBOARD” INDIANA BOYS WEDNESDAY SECTIONAL SCORES CLASS 4A MISHAWAKA PENN 63 MICHIGAN CITY 43 SOUTH BEND RILEY 58 LAPORTE 40 CLASS 3A DEKALB EAST NOBLE 46 FORT WAYNE DWENGER 42 LEO 61 FORT WAYNE CONCORDIA 52 OT LOGANSPORT WEST LAFAYETTE 59 WESTERN 47 PERU 71 MACONAQUAH 50 FRANKFORT DANVILLE 75 CRAWFORDSVILLE 61 GUERIN CATHOLIC 81 FRANKFORT 36 GREENWOOD BEECH GROVE 63 INDIAN CREEK 52 INDIANAPOLIS RONCALLI 69 NEW PALESTINE 58 CLASS 2A BOONE GROVE HEBRON 63 WHITING 22 GARY 21ST CENTURY 119 LAKE STATION 67 EASTERN HANCOCK HERITAGE CHRISTIAN 64 CHRISTEL HOUSE 55 TRITON CENTRAL 47 EASTERN HANCOCK 45 SALEM MITCHELL 62 CLARKSVILLE 49 PAOLI 68 CRAWFORD COUNTY 36 FOREST PARK NORTH POSEY 50 PERRY CENTRAL 44 EVANSVILLE MATER DEI 72 TELL CITY 41 CLASS 1A KOUTS WASHINGTON TWP. 79 HAMMOND SCIENCE & TECH 48 MARQUETTE CATHOLIC 76 TRI-TOWNSHIP 32 CASTON CASTON 69 NORTH WHITE 24 DEMOTTE CHRISTIAN 50 PIONEER 36 CULVER SOUTH CENTRAL (UNION MILLS) 47 ELKHART CHRISTIAN 38 NORTH JUDSON 63 CULVER 36 BETHANY CHRISTIAN LAKEWOOD PARK 73 SMITH ACADEMY 37 BETHANY CHRISTIAN 46 LAKELAND CHRISTIAN 32 FOUNTAIN CENTRAL NORTH VERMILLION 50 FOUNTAIN CENTRAL 34 RIVERTON PARKE 54 ATTICA 43 CLINTON CENTRAL BETHESDA CHRISTIAN 47 CLINTON PRAIRIE 28 FRONTIER 73 CLINTON CENTRAL 34 WES-DEL DALEVILLE 57 WES-DEL 52 SOUTHWOOD 60 COWAN 52 CAMBRIDGE CITY LINCOLN MONROE CENTRAL 69 BLUE RIVER VALLEY 23 RANDOLPH SOUTHERN 68 CAMBRIDGE CITY LINCOLN 39 INDIANA DEAF ANDERSON PREP 53 INTERNATIONAL 30 LIBERTY CHRISTIAN 86 MTI KNOWLEDGE 16 INDIANAPOLIS TINDLEY 67 INDIANA MATH & SCIENCE 51 INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN GREENWOOD CHRISTIAN 77 VICTORY COLLEGE PREP 30 INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN 83 INDIANAPOLIS METROPOLITAN 67 TRI EDINBURGH 63 KNIGHTSTOWN 60 SOUTH DECATUR 71 NORTH DECATUR 53 MILAN OLDENBURG ACADEMY 56 JAC-CEN-DEL 51 HAUSER 72 RISING SUN 24 WHITE RIVER VALLEY BLOOMFIELD 66 NORTH CENTRAL (FARMERSBURG) 39 CLAY CITY 68 DUGGER UNION 44 LOOGOOTEE BARR-REEVE 48 LOOGOOTEE 35 NORTH DAVIESS 55 SHOALS 42 BORDEN SOUTH CENTRAL (ELIZABETH) 69 NEW WASHINGTON 68 BORDEN 48 CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 47 WOOD MEMORIAL EVANSVILLE DAY 62 CANNELTON 27 NORTHEAST DUBOIS 52 SPRINGS VALLEY 39 ================================================================= INDIANA BOYS BASKETBALL FRIDAY SCHEDULE CLASS 4A CROWN POINT HAMMOND CENTRAL AT CROWN POINT 7:00 PM MUNSTER VS. LAKE CENTRAL 8:30 PM CHESTERTON HOBART VS. VALPARAISO 7:00 PM MERRILLVILLE AT CHESTERTON 8:30 PM MISHAWAKA SOUTH BEND ST. JOSEPH VS. SOUTH BEND ADAMS 6:00 PM PENN VS. SOUTH BEND RILEY 7:30 PM ELKHART WARSAW AT ELKHART 6:00 PM NORTHRIDGE VS. GOSHEN 7:30 PM FORT WAYNE NORTHROP FORT WAYNE SNIDER VS. CARROLL (FORT WAYNE) 6:00 PM FORT WAYNE NORTH AT FORT WAYNE NORTHROP 7:30 PM HUNTINGTON NORTH FORT WAYNE SOUTH VS. HOMESTEAD 6:00 PM FORT WAYNE WAYNE AT HUNTINGTON NORTH 7:30 PM LAFAYETTE JEFF MCCUTCHEON VS. HARRISON (WEST LAFAYETTE) 6:00 PM KOKOMO AT LAFAYETTE JEFF 7:30 PM NOBLESVILLE CARMEL AT NOBLESVILLE 6:00 PM FISHERS VS. HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 7:30 PM GREENFIELD-CENTRAL MOUNT VERNON (FORTVILLE) VS. MUNCIE CENTRAL 6:00 PM ANDERSON AT GREENFIELD-CENTRAL 7:30 PM INDIANAPOLIS ARSENAL TECH NORTH CENTRAL (INDIANAPOLIS) VS. LAWRENCE NORTH 6:00 PM WARREN CENTRAL VS. LAWRENCE CENTRAL 7:30 PM PLAINFIELD PIKE AT PLAINFIELD 6:00 PM BEN DAVIS VS. BROWNSBURG 7:30 PM MOORESVILLE SOUTHPORT AT MOORESVILLE 6:00 PM FRANKLIN CENTRAL VS. DECATUR CENTRAL 7:30 PM MARTINSVILLE BLOOMINGTON NORTH VS. TERRE HAUTE NORTH 6:00 PM TERRE HAUTE SOUTH VS. BLOOMINGTON SOUTH 7:30 PM COLUMBUS NORTH COLUMBUS EAST AT COLUMBUS NORTH 6:00 PM WHITELAND VS. FRANKLIN 7:30 PM SEYMOUR JEFFERSONVILLE AT SEYMOUR 6:00 PM BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE VS. NEW ALBANY 7:30 PM EVANSVILLE NORTH CASTLE AT EVANSVILLE NORTH 7:00 PM EVANSVILLE REITZ VS. EVANSVILLE HARRISON 8:30 PM CLASS 3A GARY WEST HAMMOND NOLL VS. EAST CHICAGO CENTRAL 7:00 PM GRIFFITH AT GARY WEST 8:30 PM HANOVER CENTRAL RIVER FOREST VS. LOWELL 7:00 PM KANKAKEE VALLEY AT HANOVER CENTRAL 8:30 PM NEW PRAIRIE CULVER ACADEMY AT NEW PRAIRIE 6:30 PM MISHAWAKA MARIAN VS. SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON 8:00 PM COLUMBIA CITY FAIRFIELD AT COLUMBIA CITY 6:00 PM NORTHWOOD VS. WAWASEE 7:30 PM DEKALB FORT WAYNE BLACKHAWK AT DEKALB 6:00 PM EAST NOBLE VS. LEO 7:30 PM BELLMONT MARION VS. HERITAGE 6:00 PM NEW HAVEN AT BELLMONT 7:30 PM LOGANSPORT NORTHWESTERN AT LOGANSPORT 6:00 PM WEST LAFAYETTE VS. PERU 7:30 PM NEW CASTLE CONNERSVILLE VS. YORKTOWN 6:00 PM DELTA VS. HAMILTON HEIGHTS 7:30 PM FRANKFORT LEBANON VS. BREBEUF JESUIT 6:00 PM DANVILLE VS. GUERIN CATHOLIC 7:30 PM INDIANAPOLIS ATTUCKS INDIANAPOLIS HERRON VS. INDIANAPOLIS CATHEDRAL 6:00 PM INDIANAPOLIS CHATARD AT INDIANAPOLIS ATTUCKS 7:30 PM SPEEDWAY CASCADE VS. EDGEWOOD 6:00 PM NORTHVIEW VS. INDIANAPOLIS WASHINGTON 7:30 PM GREENWOOD SHELBYVILLE AT GREENWOOD 6:00 PM BEECH GROVE VS. INDIANAPOLIS RONCALLI 7:30 PM SOUTH DEARBORN BATESVILLE VS. GREENSBURG 6:00 PM JENNINGS COUNTY AT SOUTH DEARBORN 7:30 PM MADISON CHARLESTOWN AT MADISON 6:00 PM SILVER CREEK VS. BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL 7:30 PM WASHINGTON PRINCETON AT WASHINGTON 6:00 PM SOUTHRIDGE VS. JASPER 7:30 PM BOONVILLE EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL VS. EVANSVILLE BOSSE 6:30 PM HERITAGE HILLS AT BOONVILLE 8:00 PM CLASS 2A BOONE GROVE WHEELER VS. GARY LIGHTHOUSE 6:30 PM HEBRON VS. GARY 21ST CENTURY 8:00 PM LAVILLE CAREER ACADEMY VS. BREMEN 6:00 PM JIMTOWN VS. KNOX 7:30 PM WESTVIEW CHURUBUSCO AT WESTVIEW 6:00 PM LAKELAND VS. PRAIRIE HEIGHTS 7:30 PM BLUFFTON WOODLAN AT BLUFFTON 6:00 PM FORT WAYNE LUERS VS. WHITKO 7:30 PM DELPHI RENSSELAER CENTRAL VS. WESTERN BOONE 6:00 PM BENTON CENTRAL VS. NORTH MONTGOMERY 7:30 PM MANCHESTER ROCHESTER VS. WABASH 6:00 PM LEWIS CASS VS. OAK HILL 7:30 PM ELWOOD SHERIDAN VS. TAYLOR 6:00 PM LAPEL AT ELWOOD 7:30 PM EASTBROOK BLACKFORD AT EASTBROOK 6:00 PM WAPAHANI VS. MUNCIE BURRIS 7:30 PM GREENCASTLE NORTH PUTNAM VS. SOUTH PUTNAM 6:00 PM SOUTH VERMILLION VS. PARKE HERITAGE 7:30 PM INDIANAPOLIS RITTER COVENANT CHRISTIAN VS. UNIVERSITY 6:00 PM PARK TUDOR AT INDIANAPOLIS RITTER 7:30 PM EASTERN HANCOCK INDIANAPOLIS SCECINA VS. KIPP INDY LEGACY 6:00 PM HERITAGE CHRISTIAN VS. TRITON CENTRAL 7:30 PM HAGERSTOWN CENTERVILLE AT HAGERSTOWN 6:00 PM SHENANDOAH VS. NORTHEASTERN 7:30 PM SOUTHWESTERN (HANOVER) AUSTIN VS. SWITZERLAND COUNTY 6:00 PM SOUTH RIPLEY AT SOUTHWESTERN (HANOVER) 7:30 PM SALEM PROVIDENCE AT SALEM 6:00 PM MITCHELL VS. PAOLI 7:30 PM NORTH KNOX SOUTH KNOX VS. LINTON 6:00 PM SULLIVAN VS. WEST VIGO 7:30 PM FOREST PARK SOUTH SPENCER AT FOREST PARK 6:30 PM NORTH POSEY VS. EVANSVILLE MATER DEI 8:00 PM CLASS 1A KOUTS MORGAN TWP. AT KOUTS 7:00 PM WASHINGTON TWP. VS. MARQUETTE CATHOLIC 8:30 PM CASTON TRI-COUNTY VS. WEST CENTRAL 6:00 PM DEMOTTE CHRISTIAN AT CASTON 7:30 PM CULVER TRITON VS. ARGOS 6:30 PM SOUTH CENTRAL (UNION MILLS) VS. NORTH JUDSON 8:00 PM BETHANY CHRISTIAN FREMONT VS. FORT WAYNE CANTERBURY 6:00 PM LAKEWOOD PARK AT BETHANY CHRISTIAN 7:30 PM FOUNTAIN CENTRAL COVINGTON VS. LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC 6:00 PM NORTH VERMILLION VS. RIVERTON PARKE 7:30 PM CLINTON CENTRAL ROSSVILLE VS. CARROLL (FLORA) 6:00 PM BETHESDA CHRISTIAN VS. FRONTIER 7:30 PM WES-DEL NORTH MIAMI VS. TRI-CENTRAL 6:00 PM DALEVILLE VS. SOUTHWOOD 7:30 PM CAMBRIDGE CITY LINCOLN UNION (MODOC) VS. UNION CITY 6:00 PM MONROE CENTRAL VS. RANDOLPH SOUTHERN 7:30 PM INDIANA DEAF PURDUE BROAD RIPPLE VS. ANDERSON PREP 6:00 PM LIBERTY CHRISTIAN VS. INDIANAPOLIS TINDLEY 7:30 PM INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN PROVIDENCE CRISTO REY VS. EMINENCE 6:00 PM GREENWOOD CHRISTIAN AT INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN 7:30 PM TRI WALDRON AT TRI 6:00 PM EDINBURGH VS. SOUTH DECATUR 7:30 PM MILAN TRINITY LUTHERAN AT MILAN 6:00 PM OLDENBURG ACADEMY VS. HAUSER 7:30 PM WHITE RIVER VALLEY CLOVERDALE VS. SHAKAMAK 6:00 PM BLOOMFIELD VS. CLAY CITY 7:30 PM LOOGOOTEE ORLEANS VS. VINCENNES RIVET 6:00 PM BARR-REEVE VS. NORTH DAVIESS 7:30 PM BORDEN LANESVILLE VS. WEST WASHINGTON 6:00 PM SOUTH CENTRAL (ELIZABETH) AT BORDEN 7:30 PM WOOD MEMORIAL TECUMSEH AT WOOD MEMORIAL 6:30 PM EVANSVILLE DAY VS. NORTHEAST DUBOIS 8:00 PM ================================================================= MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCORES #20 TO MIAMI FLORIDA 77 SMU 69 #20 ARKANSAS 105 TEXAS 85 #25 ST. LOUIS 79 LOYOLA ILLINOIS 65 #15 PURDUE 70 NORTHWESTERN 66 #7 HOUSTON 77 BAYLOR 64 CREIGHTON 76 BUTLER 59 INDIANA 77 MINNESOTA 47 CALIFORNIA 76 GEORGIA TECH 65 MARQUETTE 78 PROVIDENCE 56 ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM 80 CHARLOTTE 74 ST. JOSEPH’S 70 DAVIDSON 67 RHODE ISLAND 64 DUQUESNE 52 GEORGE WASHINGTON 91 ST. BONAVENTURE 82 OT ROBERT MORRIS 68 YOUNGSTOWN STATE 53 EASTERN ILLINOIS 77 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS EDWARDSVILLE 71 OT NORTHERN KENTUCKY 85 OAKLAND 84 DETROIT MERCY 84 MILWAUKEE 63 WRIGHT STATE 90 CLEVELAND STATE 61 OHIO STATE 94 PENN STATE 62 VILLANOVA 76 DEPAUL 57 WISCONSIN 78 MARYLAND 45 ORAL ROBERTS 84 KANSAS CITY 62 NORTH TEXAS 62 BRYCE 58 GEORGIA SOUTHERN 88 OLD DOMINION 84 FLORIDA STATE 75 PITTSBURGH 74 STANFORD 86 NOTRE DAME 78 LINDENWOOD 72 LITTLE ROCK 62 COLORADO STATE 82 NEW MEXICO 74 WASHINGTON 91 USC 72 =============================================================== WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCORES #17 KENTUCKY 94 ARKANSAS 64 MIAMI FLORIDA 83 STANFORD 76 OT KANSAS STATE 91 CINCINNATI 66 DUQUESNE 60 VCU 52 FLORIDA 86 MISSISSIPPI STATE 68 CALIFORNIA 75 WAKE FOREST 52 ST. LOUIS 68 FORDHAM 60 BYU 76 HOUSTON 66 INDIANA 72 NEBRASKA 69 GEORGIA TECH 72 FLORIDA STATE 60 UMASS 74 AKRON 64 AUBURN 50 TEXAS A&M 49 ILLINOIS 82 WISCONSIN 70 OHIO 62 EASTERN MICHIGAN 54 CENTRAL MICHIGAN 77 BOWLING GREEN 65 ARIZONA STATE 54 ARIZONA 51 MIAMI OHIO 71 KENT STATE 52 NORTHERN ILLINOIS 56 BUFFALO 53 TOLEDO 56 WESTERN MICHIGAN 49 YOUNGSTOWN STATE 76 WRIGHT STATE 60 PURDUE FORT WAYNE 73 ROBERT MORRIS 43 CLEVELAND STATE 81 OAKLAND 80 OT IU INDY 74 NORTHERN KENTUCKY 72 TULSA 53 TEXAS SAN ANTONIO 41 ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM 79 MEMPHIS 76 OT GREEN BAY 81 DETROIT MERCY 57 ALABAMA 65 MISSOURI 48 OREGON 82 PURDUE 64 KANSAS 56 CENTRAL FLORIDA 35 UNLV 76 BOISE STATE 47 =============================================================== BIG 10 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE THURSDAY, MARCH 5 – SECOND ROUND GAME 4 | #8 WASHINGTON VS. #9 USC | 12 P.M. ET | BTN GAME 5 | #5 OHIO STATE VS. INDIANA | 25 MINUTES FOLLOWING GAME 4 | BTN GAME 6 | #7 MICHIGAN STATE VS. ILLINOIS | 6:30 P.M. ET | BTN GAME 7 | #6 MARYLAND VS. OREGON | 25 MINUTES FOLLOWING GAME 6 | BTN FRIDAY, MARCH 6 – QUARTERFINALS GAME 8 | #1 UCLA VS. G4 WINNER | 12 P.M. ET | BTN GAME 9 | #4 MINNESOTA VS. G5 WINNER | 25 MINUTES FOLLOWING GAME 8 | BTN GAME 10 | #2 IOWA VS. G6 WINNER | 6:30 P.M. ET | BTN GAME 11 | #3 MICHIGAN VS. G7 WINNER | 25 MINUTES FOLLOWING GAME 10 | BTN SATURDAY, MARCH 7 – SEMIFINALS GAME 12 | G8 WINNER VS. G9 WINNER | 2 P.M. ET | BTN GAME 13 | G10 WINNER VS. G11 WINNER | 4:30 P.M. ET | BTN SUNDAY, MARCH 8 – CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 14 | G12 WINNER VS. G13 WINNER | 2:15 P.M. ET | CBS ============================================================== COLLEGE BASEBALL SCORES TOP 25: #13 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 9 QUEENS 2 WESTERN CAROLINA 10 #11 GEORGIA 9 #15 WAKE FOREST 9 APPALACHIAN STATE 8 #19 TENNESSEE 11 OAKLAND 2 #21 KENTUCKY 8 EASTERN KENTUCKY 4 #20 FLORIDA STATE 22 MERCER 5 #14 CLEMSON 12 MICHIGAN STATE 1 #24 MIAMI FLORIDA 5 BETHUNE COOKMAN 2 #9 FLORIDA 7 FLORIDA A&M 5 LOUISIANA 7 2 LSU 2 NICHOLLS 3 #10 SOUTHERN MISS 2 ELSEWHERE: NEBRASKA 5 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 4 XAVIER 13 OHIO STATE 4 RUTGERS 5 STONY BROOK 1 MARYLAND 7 DELAWARE 3 PENN STATE 12 ST. JOHN’S 2 IOWA 10 LORAS 0 MINNESOTA 6 MILWAUKEE 2 DAYTON 14 AKRON 11 PITTSBURGH 16 OHIO 2 KENT STATE 14 ST. BONAVENTURE 9 LINDENWOOD AT INDIANA STATE POSTPONED ============================================================== COLLEGE SOFTBALL SCORES TOP 25: #10 FLORIDA STATE 7 JACKSONVILLE 1 #13 MISSISSIPPI STATE 6 ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM 1 #15 GEORGIA 9 GEORGIA STATE 1 #18 TEXAS A&M 9 LOUISIANA TECH 1 #17 OREGON 11 OREGON STATE 3 ELSEWHERE: EVANSVILLE AT BUTLER CANCELED MICHIGAN 8 JAMES MADISON 0 KENTUCKY 9 IU INDY 1 ============================================================== MEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY SCORES NO GAMES SCHEDULED ============================================================== MEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL SCORES #7 PEPPERDINE 3 #3 HAWAII 1 ================================================================ DIVISION 1 MEN’S LAX SCORES NO GAMES SCHEDULED ================================================================= DIVISION 1 WOMEN’S LAX SCORES #17 PENN STATE 20 COLGATE 8 LINDENWOOD 17 BUTLER 12 #21 VIRGINIA 10 #22 PITTSBURGH 7 #3 MARYLAND 16 HOFSTRA 9 #6 YALE 22 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT 4 #23 ARMY 15 FAIRFIELD 8 #24 DUKE 17 #9 BOSTON COLLEGE 6 #1 NORTH CAROLINA 12 #15 CLEMSON 9 #16 LOYOLA MARYLAND 9 #18 GEORGETOWN 8 ================================================================= NBA SCORES OKLAHOMA CITY 103 NEW YORK 100 CHARLOTTE 118 BOSTON 89 PHILADELPHIA 106 UTAH 102 PORTLAND 122 MEMPHIS 114 ATLANTA 131 MILWAUKEE 113 LA CLIPPERS 130 INDIANA 107 ================================================================== NBA G-LEAGUE SCORES RIO GRANDE VALLEY 123 RAPTORS 121 LONG ISLAND 116 GREENSBORO 111 DELAWARE 125 WESTCHESTER 122 SOUTH BAY 129 OKLAHOMA CITY 120 IOWA 136 RIP CITY 117 SANTA CRUZ 121 BIRMINGHAM 117 ================================================================== NHL SCORES NEW JERSEY 4 TORONTO 3 VEGAS 4 DETROIT 3 CAROLINA 6 VANCOUVER 4 ST. LOUIS 3 SEATTLE 2 ANAHEIM 5 NY ISLANDERS 1 ================================================================== MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL DETROIT 2 PANAMA 1 NETHERLANDS 11 TAMPA BAY 8 ATLANTA 9 COLUMBIA 1 NICARAGUA 2 ST. LOUIS 1 HOUSTON 4 BALTIMORE 2 MINNESOTA 6 PUERTO RICO 3 CANADA 5 PHILADELPHIA 3 NY YANKEES 4 BOSTON 0 NY METS 5 ISRAEL 2 DETROIT 4 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 4 CINCINNATI 19 CUBA 2 ARIZONA 3 LAS VEGAS 1 TEXAS 13 BRAZIL 2 LA DODGERS 7 MEXICO 5 UNITED STATES 14 COLORADO 4 GREAT BRITAIN 2 SAN DIEGO 2 LA ANGELS 4 ITALY 3 CHICAGO CUBS 4 MILWAUKEE 1 WASHINGTON 5 VENEZUELA 1 SAN FRANCISCO 9 SEATTLE 4 ================================================================== WOMEN’S PRO VOLLEYBALL SCORES NO GAMES SCHEDULED ================================================================== MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER NO GAMES SCHEDULED ================================================================= NATIONAL SPORTS NEWS RELEASES NFL RAMS, CHIEFS WORKING ON TRADE SENDING CB TRENT MCDUFFIE TO LOS ANGELES, AP SOURCES SAY LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams are working on a trade to send star cornerback Trent McDuffie to Los Angeles in exchange for several draft picks, two people with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the terms of the trade have not been finalized. Kansas City is expected to get the 29th overall pick in the upcoming draft, and ESPN reported the Rams will send fifth-round and sixth-round picks this spring along with a third-round pick next year. The deal would fill the Rams’ biggest roster need by adding an elite cornerback to their mediocre secondary. Los Angeles finished 19th in the NFL in pass defense last season, undercutting the work of a strong defensive line and the NFL’s most productive offense. A two-time Super Bowl champion and a strong coverage defender who also excelled in pressuring quarterbacks and delivering big hits during his first four NFL seasons, McDuffie was a first-team AP All-Pro selection in 2023 and a second-team choice in 2024. McDuffie, a first-round pick in 2022, is entering the final year of his rookie contract and will make $13.6 million this season, though the Rams already are likely working on a long-term deal. The Chiefs would have been unable to fit a long-term contract with McDuffie under their salary cap, having already doled out big contracts to quarterback Patrick Mahomes, defensive linemen Chris Jones and George Karlaftis, and offensive linemen Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith. With this extra draft capital, the Chiefs will attempt to pry open a second Super Bowl window for Mahomes by boosting the talent around him. Kansas City will also continue its recent tradition of parting ways with its best defensive backs when they reach eligibility for their second contracts: Two years ago, Kansas City traded L’Jarius Sneed to Tennessee. The Rams’ cornerbacks were a clear flaw in last season’s powerhouse team, which reached the NFC championship game before falling to the eventual Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks. After failing to land any significant help for the secondary during the season, general manager Les Snead said last month that cornerback was “a position group that we’ll attack over the next few weeks.” Snead is doing exactly that with a vintage Rams trade using his draft assets to bolster a roster that wants to capitalize on its remaining years with 38-year-old quarterback Matthew Stafford, who just won his first NFL MVP award. More importantly, the Rams still have the 13th overall pick in the upcoming draft after acquiring it from Atlanta a year ago. They also have the salary cap room to accommodate an elite cornerback’s contract. The trade would be a homecoming for McDuffie, who grew up in the Los Angeles suburbs and played for St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. McDuffie then went to the University of Washington, where he played under head coach Jimmy Lake, who is now the Rams’ defensive backs coach. McDuffie fits the Rams’ preferred mold of cornerbacks who excel in multiple defensive roles. Los Angeles already re-signed safety Quentin Lake, who fills the versatile “star” role performed on their past defenses by former All-Pro Jalen Ramsey. McDuffie has three interceptions and 5 1/2 sacks in his career. leads all cornerbacks with 34 quarterback pressures and eight forced fumbles during his four seasons, according to NextGenStats. ================================================================== MEN’S/WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS FACE FINES STARTING AT $10K IF THEY FAIL TO FILE PLAYER AVAILABILITY REPORT INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Schools participating in the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments could face fines starting at $10,000 if they fail to submit player availability reports required for the first time this year, the NCAA announced Wednesday. Player availability reports are intended to combat betting-related pressure, solicitations and harassment athletes receive from bettors connected to playing status. Conference availability reports have become common in recent years. The requirement for the NCAA basketball tournaments is a pilot program. The reporting system will not be used for other NCAA championships in 2025-26 while the program is evaluated. Teams must submit initial reports the night before competition and provide any updates at least two hours prior to the scheduled tip time. The public can access reports on NCAA.com. A player will be designated as “available” if, according to the team medical staff, he or she has more than a 75% chance to play. A player is “questionable” if he or she has up to a 75% chance to play and “out” if he or she won’t play. Athletes will be assumed to be available unless designated as questionable or out. Failure to comply with the policy or misconduct violations may result in penalties, as determined by the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees. For 2026, a school would be fined up to $10,000 for a first offense and up to $25,000 for a second offense. Starting with a third offense, fines would be up to $30,000 for the school and up to $10,000 for the head coach. ======================================================================= MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL TOP 25 ROUNDUP: NO. 15 PURDUE EKES OUT VICTORY OVER NORTHWESTERN C.J. Cox scored 21 of his career-high 27 points after halftime and Trey Kaufman-Renn had 11 points and 10 rebounds to boost No. 15 Purdue to a 70-66 victory against Northwestern on Wednesday in Evanston, Ill. Purdue (23-7, 13-6 Big Ten) stopped a two-game skid while snapping a three-game winning streak for Northwestern (13-17, 5-14). After Jordan Clayton drilled a corner 3-pointer to put the Wildcats ahead 66-65 with 1:03 remaining, the Boilermakers took the lead for good with a Cox trey on the ensuing possession. Purdue sealed the game from the free-throw line while capitalizing on two critical Wildcats turnovers in the last 36 seconds. Northwestern senior Nick Martinelli, the conference’s leading scorer, had 28 points in his final game at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Jayden Reid added 16 points for the Wildcats, who were without Jake West (ankle). No. 7 Houston 77, Baylor 64 Sharpshooting Emanuel Sharp hit 5 of 10 3-point attempts in a 19-point outing as the Cougars closed their home schedule with a comeback win over the pesky Bears. Maintaining their one-game conference margin over third-place Texas Tech, the second-place Cougars (25-5, 13-4 Big 12) took their first lead with 7:16 left in the game and then roared away from the Bears (15-15, 5-12) behind a 20-3 run. Houston’s Kingston Flemings posted a game-high 21 points to go with seven assists, and Milos Uzan scored 12 points. Baylor’s Tounde Yessoufou totaled 20 points and 12 rebounds while Caden Powell had 12 points and six boards. No. 20 Arkansas 105, Texas 85 Darius Acuff Jr. had 28 points and tied a season high with 13 assists, senior Trevon Brazile scored a career-high 28 points in his final home game and the Razorbacks clinched a double bye in the Southeastern Conference tournament with a win over the Longhorns in Fayetteville, Ark. D.J. Wagner scored 15 points and Meleek Thomas added 13 points for Arkansas (22-8, 12-5 SEC), which bounced back strongly after a 111-77 loss at then-No. 7 Florida on Saturday. Matas Vokietaitis scored 21 points, Tramon Mark added 18 points and Dailyn Swain had 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Texas (18-12, 9-8). No. 22 Miami 77, SMU 69 Tre Donaldson scored 17 points and Malik Reneau added 14 points and 11 rebounds to help the Hurricanes beat the short-handed Mustangs in Dallas. The win guaranteed Miami (24-6, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) a third-place finish in the conference standings and a double bye in the upcoming league tournament. The Hurricanes tied the school record for regular-season victories. The loss keeps the Mustangs (19-11, 8-9) in a logjam at the middle of the league standings, with a move up to eighth still a possibility if SMU can beat Florida State in its final regular-season game. Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 27 points and Boopie Miller added 21 for SMU. No. 25 Saint Louis 79, Loyola Chicago 65 Amari McCottry scored 18 points as the Billikens closed the home portion of their schedule a perfect 19-0 with a win over the Ramblers. Dion Brown tallied 15 points and Robbie Avila pitched in 12 points as Saint Louis (27-3, 15-2 Atlantic 10) clinched a share of the league’s regular-season title, the No. 1 seed and a double bye in next week’s conference tournament. Saint Louis also tied a school record with its 22nd straight home win. Xavier Amos led Loyola Chicago (7-23, 3-14) with 25 points as he hit 6 of 7 3-point attempts. Kayde Dotson added 19 points for the Ramblers, who have lost five of their past six games. ====================================================================== WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL BIG TEN TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP: INDIANA RALLIES TO BEAT NEBRASKA Shay Ciezki tallied 22 points to help No. 13 seed Indiana rally from 20 points down to defeat 12th-seeded Nebraska 72-69 in the Big Ten women’s basketball tournament opener Wednesday in Indianapolis. The Hoosiers (18-13) trailed by 20 points before Ciezki ended first-half scoring with a 3-pointer. Indiana then outscored the Cornhuskers 44-24 in the second half — including 25-14 in the fourth quarter. Indiana took the lead for the first and only time on a 3-pointer with 1:06 remaining by Lenee Beaumont, who added 14 points and hit 3 of 4 threes. Neveah Caffey contributed 13 points, and Edessa Noyan chipped in 12 for the Hoosiers, who shot 50.9% from the floor. Nebraska (18-12) was led by Amiah Hargrove’s game-high 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and 20 points from Britt Prince. The Cornhuskers shot 41.8% for the game but made just 10 of 32 second-half shots (31.3%). Illinois 82, Wisconsin 70 Berry Wallace and Destiny Jackson contributed 22 and 21 points, respectively, to lead the 10th-seeded Fighting Illini to a victory over the No. 15 seed Badgers. Illinois (20-10) used a pair of 8-0 runs in quick succession to pull away during the third quarter, leading by double digits for the entire fourth quarter. Jackson scored 11 of her points at the free-throw line, leading the team’s 24-of-29 performance (82.8%) at the charity stripe. Gift Uchenna Okeke led all scorers with 24 points for Wisconsin (13-17). The Badgers made 44.8% of their shots and assisted on 21 of their 26 made field goals, but turned it over 19 times which led to 24 Illinois points. BIG 12 TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP: K-STATE SHOOTS OUT THE LIGHTS VS. CINCINNATI Freshman Jordan Speiser caught fire on her way to career highs of 20 points and six 3-pointers off the bench, and 12th-seeded Kansas State broke the Big 12 women’s tournament record with 17 triples in a 91-66 rout of Cincinnati on Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo. Speiser shot 5-for-6 from the arc in the second half. Cincinnati was hanging within 14 points midway through the third quarter when Speiser connected on three triples in an 89-second span to turn it into a Wildcats rout. Taryn Sides added 20 points, five rebounds and five assists and Nastja Claessens had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats (16-16). Speiser (6-of-8), Sides (5-of-11) and Claessens (5-of-7) combined for most of Kansas State’s 17-of-32 effort from long range. Mya Perry led 13th-seeded Cincinnati with 23 points. Destiny Thomas scored 13 points and Caliyah DeVillasee had 10 for the Bearcats (11-20). BYU 76, Houston 66 Olivia Hamlin’s 16 points off the bench, nine coming after halftime, helped power ninth-seeded BYU over 16th-seeded Houston in a battle of Cougars. Lara Rohkohl scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half as BYU (21-10) broke a halftime tie with a 27-15 third quarter in which it outshot Houston 52.6% to 18.8%. Delaney Gibb also scored 15 points and Sydney Benally added 14 points and a game-high six assists. Shun’teria Anumele went 11-for-11 at the foul line for the majority of her 17 points to lead Houston (7-23). TK Pitts bundled 14 points and 10 rebounds and Jade Jones scored 11. ACC TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP: MIAMI BEATS STANFORD IN OT Amarachi Kimpson drained the go-ahead 3-pointer 1:06 into overtime and Miami brushed off a blown double-digit lead to beat Stanford 83-76 in the opening round of the ACC women’s basketball tournament on Wednesday in Duluth, Ga. Twelfth-seeded Miami (17-13) held a pair of 13-point leads, including 65-52 at the end of the third period. Courtney Ogden led a furious comeback for 13th-seeded Stanford, scoring 11 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter and tying the game at 70 on a driving layup with less than 20 seconds in regulation. The Hurricanes shot just 2 for 10 (0 for 7 from deep) in the fourth quarter and were outscored 18-5, but Kimpson kicked in seven of her 20 points during OT. Ra Shaya Kyle had game highs of 25 points (10-of-12 shooting) and 11 rebounds and Gal Raviv added 20 points, six boards and six assists. Hailee Swain scored 17 points, Lara Somfai added 12 and Nunu Agara chipped in 11 to back Ogden, but Stanford (19-13) was outrebounded 46-30 and outscored 40-28 in the paint. Cal 75, Wake Forest 52 Sakima Walker led all players with 17 points and 10 rebounds as the 10th-seeded Golden Bears advanced past the 15th-seeded Demon Deacons. Cal (19-13) also received 11 points and seven rebounds from Lulu Twidale and 10 points apiece from Gisella Maul and Aliyahna Morris. Maul added eight boards and four assists as Cal used a 10-0 run in the second quarter and a 9-0 spurt in the third to break the game open. Mary Carter had 13 points and Grace Oliver scored 10 to pace Wake Forest (14-17). SEC TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP: KENTUCKY POUNDS ARKANSAS IN OPENER Clara Strack racked up 20 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks and Amelia Hassett drained six 3-pointers for her 18 points as No. 17 Kentucky kicked off the SEC women’s basketball tournament with a 94-64 romp over Arkansas on Wednesday in Greenville, S.C. The Wildcats (22-9) were seeded ninth in a competitive SEC but breezed through their opening-round game over 16th-seeded Arkansas (12-20). They led 29-10 after one quarter, and though the Razorbacks cut the halftime deficit to 42-33, a lopsided third quarter allowed Kentucky to go up by as many as 36 in the fourth. Tonie Morgan had 14 points and 10 assists while Jordan Obi put up 14 points and 10 rebounds for Kentucky. Teonni Key scored 12 and Asia Boone added 10. Kentucky controlled the boards 52-27, leading to 17 second-chance points. Taleyah Jones had a game-high 21 points to pace Arkansas. Bonnie Deas added 10 points and eight boards before fouling out. Florida 86, Mississippi State 68 Liv McGill and Me’Arah O’Neal poured in 22 points apiece and the 12th-seeded Gators never trailed against the 13th-seeded Bulldogs. McGill came close to triple-double territory, adding 10 assists and seven rebounds, while O’Neal canned 4 of 6 3-point tries for Florida (18-14). An early 12-2 run put the Gators ahead by double digits, and they never took their foot off the gas from there. Favour Nwaedozi paired 12 points with 10 rebounds and Destiney McPhaul also scored 12 for Mississippi State (18-13). The Bulldogs allowed Florida to shoot 50% overall, and the Gators also benefited from 22-for-28 free-throw shooting. PITT FIRES COACH TORY VERDI AFTER 8-23 SEASON, LITIGATION Tory Verdi was fired as the women’s basketball coach at Pitt after a third losing season. Verdi’s dismissal comes at a time when he is the defendant in six lawsuits filed by former players. Athletic director Allen Greene did not mention the litigation, which lists the university as a co-defendant, in his statement announcing Verdi’s departure. “After a thorough and thoughtful evaluation of our women’s basketball program, it has been determined that we have not progressed enough competitively and now is the right time to seek a new leader for our program,” Greene said in a news release issued Tuesday. “We thank Tory for his dedication over the past three seasons and wish him and his family nothing but the best in their future endeavors. The search process for our next leader is already underway.” In their lawsuits, the women alleged that Verdi’s behavior included creating a “hostile” environment, verbally abusing them, treating mental-health concerns with “hostility,” body shaming and retaliation against players. In one instance cited in some of the lawsuits, Verdi allegedly told a foreign-born player to “go back home because ICE is coming.” The lawsuits, filed Feb. 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, also named the university for its alleged failure to take action despite multiple officials being aware of the women’s accusations. In the aftermath of the lawsuits, a Pitt spokesperson told media outlets, “The university is aware of these lawsuits and their allegations, which are without merit and will be vigorously defended.” Pitt ended a miserable season with an 8-23 record (1-17 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) and did not qualify for the season-ending tournament. Verdi’s final game, a 93-43 loss to North Carolina State on Sunday, was the Panthers’ 14th consecutive loss. He took over the program ahead of the 2023-24 season and compiled a 29-66 (8-46 ACC) record. Verdi previously was the head coach at Eastern Michigan (2012-16) and Massachusetts (2016-23). TENNESSEE GUARD LEAVES TEAM, CALLS SENIOR NIGHT ‘BREAKING POINT’ Tennessee women’s basketball reserve Kaiya Wynn announced Tuesday that she has left the program, citing how she was treated during last week’s senior day game as a “breaking point.” Wynn, who is finishing her fifth season with the Volunteers, has appeared in nine games this season after missing the entire 2024-25 season with an Achilles injury. She did not appear in the home finale, an 87-77 loss to No. 5 Vanderbilt on Sunday, although she claims she was asked to sub in for the final seconds and refused. “This decision was not made lightly or instantly,” Wynn wrote on social media. “For the past five years I have given my all for Tennessee and have not regretted doing so once. Obviously, my last two seasons on the team have been less than ideal for many reasons, but the one night I was most looking forward to was senior night. “As someone who has never started a career game, l was hoping to start in my last appearance in Thompson-Boling. That obviously did not happen, and to be asked to check into the game with 15 seconds left while losing was not how I wanted to spend my final moments in my arena after five years. Although that was not the sole reason, it was the breaking point for me. I have the utmost love and respect for my teammates and this program and wish everyone nothing but the best.” Wynn has appeared in 102 games for Tennessee, averaging 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. She averaged career highs of 4.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 13.4 minutes per game in 2023-24. The guard originally signed to play for Kellie Harper, who was fired after the 2023-24 season and replaced by Kim Caldwell. The school nor coach have commented on Wynn’s departure. Tennessee (16-12, 8-8 Southeastern Conference) is the No. 6 seed in this week’s SEC tournament in Greenville, S.C. The Volunteers having lost their last six games and nine of their last 11 since starting the season with a 14-3 (6-0) record. ===================================================================== NBA NBA ROUNDUP: THUNDER SURVIVE KNICKS’ LATE SURGE Chet Holmgren poured in 28 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder held off a late charge to beat the New York Knicks 103-100 on Wednesday. The Thunder led by seven with just more than a minute remaining, but the Knicks had a chance to send the game to overtime in the closing seconds. OG Anunoby’s 3-point shot at the buzzer, however, bounced off the rim to give Oklahoma City the win. Gilgeous-Alexander reached the 20-point mark early in the fourth quarter, moving him within two of Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA-record 126 consecutive games scoring 20 or more points. The Thunder have won four consecutive games and nine of their last 11. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 17 points and grabbed 17 rebounds while Jalen Brunson amassed 16 points and 15 assists for the Knicks, who had won five of their previous six games. Hornets 118, Celtics 89 Kon Knueppel tossed in 20 points as Charlotte beat host Boston for the Hornets’ sixth consecutive win. LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller each added 18 points for Charlotte, which received 17 points and six assists from reserve Coby White. Each victory in the Hornets’ streak came by at least 16 points as Charlotte (32-31) moved over the .500 mark for the first time since it was 2-1 in October. The Celtics’ Derrick White led all scorers with 29 points. Jaylen Brown added 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, but he shot 7 of 19 from the field. 76ers 106, Jazz 102 Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points and Quentin Grimes made a pair of clutch free throws to lift Philadelphia past visiting Utah. Jabari Walker contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia, which played without Joel Embiid, Kelly Oubre Jr., VJ Edgecombe and Paul George. Grimes tallied 16 points as the Sixers avoided a third straight defeat. The Jazz, who have lost seven games in a row, were led by Keyonte George’s 30 points. Isaiah Collier scored 18 points. Trail Blazers 122, Grizzlies 114 Jrue Holiday scored a season-high 35 points and handed out 11 assists, Jerami Grant added 30 points and nine rebounds and Robert Williams III had 20 points and 11 boards to lead Portland to a victory over host Memphis. Donovan Clingan had nine rebounds and four blocks in 12 minutes for the Trail Blazers before being ejected in the second quarter. Portland, which was without Deni Avdija (back), had lost three of its previous four games. Jaylen Wells led the Grizzlies with 24 points, GG Jackson scored 20 and Olivier-Maxence Prosper contributed 17 points and nine boards. Memphis, limited to eight players because of injuries, lost for the fifth time in seven games. Hawks 131, Bucks 113 Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 23 points, guiding visiting Atlanta past Milwaukee for a fifth straight win. Five other Hawks scored in double figures, including Wisconsin native Jalen Johnson, who had 20 points and a team-high nine assists. Onyeka Okongwu added 21 points and eight rebounds. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 24 points in just 26 minutes as he is on a time restriction post-injury. Kyle Kuzma, who played zero minutes in Milwaukee’s prior game due to a “coach’s decision,” scored 16 off the bench. Clippers 130, Pacers 117 Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points, Bennedict Mathurin added 23 against his former team and Los Angeles increased its winning streak to three games with a victory over Indiana in Inglewood, Calif. Brook Lopez scored 17 points and Derrick Jones Jr. added 12 for the Clippers, who improved to 24-10 since Dec. 20. Darius Garland produced 12 points and eight assists in his first home game with the Clippers. Pascal Siakam scored 29 points, Jay Huff had 18 and Jarace Walker added 17 as the Pacers lost their seventh consecutive game and fell to 2-11 since Feb. 2. Siakam (wrist) returned after missing the previous three games. ==================================================================== WNBA WNBA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETS, STEWART SAYS PLAYERS STILL UNIFIED AMID CBA TALKS MEDLEY, Fla. (AP) — Breanna Stewart, who teamed with fellow WNBA star Kelsey Plum on a letter to the players’ association this week expressing concerns about the state of labor talks with the league, said Wednesday she feels better about where things stand and is convinced players are still unified in what they want in the next collective bargaining agreement. Stewart was part of a call with other members of the players’ executive committee on Tuesday night, hours after the letter that she and Plum wrote to WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson — one where they expressed “serious concerns about how (the union) is handling the current negotiations.” Several media outlets, including The Associated Press, obtained copies of the letter, which was dated Monday. “The call made me feel better,” Stewart told AP, speaking after her Mist team finished its final shootaround practice in advance of Wednesday night’s Unrivaled championship game against the Phantom team that features Plum. “Sometimes hard conversations need to be had. I felt better after it and know that we finished that call understanding that we’re representing the larger body (of players) and we have work to be done and we’re going to do that work.” There is obviously urgency to get a deal done. The WNBA has told the players’ union that it needs to get a deal in place by this coming Tuesday to start the season on time. That would allow the new CBA to be written and signed by the end of the month, which would in theory be followed by expansion drafts for the new franchises in Portland and Toronto during the first week of April. Free agency would follow, signings could start on April 12, training camps would open about a week later and the season would begin May 8. The league and the players have been unable to reach a new collective bargaining agreement since the union opted out of the previous deal. Stewart and Plum are in unique roles; both are vice presidents of the players’ association, both are among the biggest names in women’s basketball, and both have been dealing with the CBA uncertainty while on Unrivaled playoff runs with their clubs. “I’ve always approached anything in life, any adversity, by staying in the game,” Plum said after shootaround Wednesday, when asked about simultaneously dealing with an Unrivaled title push amid the WNBA’s labor uncertainty. “I’m a human being. It’s hard. I definitely have moments, but at the end of the day, I know my heart. I know I’m super excited about tonight, and when you work all year for something, you want to finish it.” Added Stewart: “We’ve been in CBA negotiations for more than just the past two weeks. It’s been 17, 18 months. I don’t know exactly how long. And to be able to compartmentalize that hasn’t been easy.” In the letter, Stewart and Plum said WNBA players “are at one of the most consequential moments in the history of this league” and called upon Jackson to provide many things, including: — a detailed breakdown of the WNBA’s expenses and revenue. — analysis between the potential losses players would face in a delayed or strike-shortened season vs. the gains that could be earned through a new CBA. — player opinions on the WNBA’s latest proposal. — clarity on the rookie salary scale. — an explanation of what Jackson thinks the executive committee’s “role and responsibilities should be in this process.” Stewart said it wasn’t her intention for the letter to get out publicly. “This is a letter that was meant for Terri, and for the EC, for us to really have a conversation and stay strong in all the things that we’re negotiating, and I believe that we are,” Stewart said. “We are still unified and understanding what we’re fighting for and that’s the messaging that we had on our call last night. … Our main goal is to make sure that we have the best possible deal for all players.” =================================================================== NHL SHARKS SIGN KIEFER SHERWOOD TO A 5-YEAR, $28.75 MILLION EXTENSION SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The San Jose Sharks signed forward Kiefer Sherwood on Wednesday to a five-year, $28.75 million extension six weeks after acquiring him in a trade from Vancouver. The Sharks dealt 2026 and ’27 second-round draft picks and minor league defenseman Cole Clayton to Vancouver for the 30-year-old Sherwood on Jan. 19 and hoped to lock up the pending free agent with a long-term deal before Friday’s trade deadline. “We are very excited to have Kiefer remain in San Jose and be part of the group that we are building,” general manager Mike Grier said. “The ingredients he brings to our lineup on a nightly basis blend extremely well with the skill sets of his teammates and we look forward to his contributions in the years to come.” San Jose got the deal done a day after Sherwood scored his first goal in five games for the Sharks when he scored on the power play for the game-winner against Montreal. Sherwood was hurt when he was acquired from the Canucks and has one goal and one assist in five games with San Jose. Sherwood led the Canucks with 17 goals through their first 48 games. He also has six assists. STARS ACQUIRE DEFENSEMAN TYLER MYERS IN A TRADE WITH THE CANUCKS The Dallas Stars answered a division rival’s move ahead of the NHL trade deadline with a significant one of their own. Dallas acquired defenseman Tyler Myers from the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2029 fourth-rounder. Vancouver is retaining half of Myers’ $3 million salary for the remainder of this season and next, meaning the Stars get him at a modest $1.5 million hit for two possible playoff runs. Myers, a 6-foot-6 right-handed shooter, is in his 17th season in the league and seventh with the Canucks at age 36. The Stars were looking to add depth to their blue line and could also still add up front before the trade deadline on Friday. Minnesota, likely Dallas’ first-round opponent, made a trade for depth center Michael McCarron on Tuesday night. The Wild also may not be done dealing, with a high-end center on general manager Bill Guerin’s shopping list. NHL ROUNDUP: TOMAS HERTL, KNIGHTS RALLY PAST WINGS FOR OT WIN Tomas Hertl scored a 4-on-3 power-play goal 2:11 into overtime as the visiting Vegas Golden Knights rallied from a two-goal third-period deficit to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Wednesday. Hertl took a pass from Mitch Marner at the bottom of the right circle and then buried a spinning wrist shot past goaltender Cam Talbot’s blocker side and inside the far-left post for the game-winner. Marner finished with a goal and two assists, Hertl had a goal and an assist, and Reilly Smith and Ivan Barbashev also scored for Vegas, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Rasmus Andersson logged two assists. Alex DeBrincat and Simon Edvinsson each had a goal and an assist and Emmitt Finnie also scored a goal for Detroit. Talbot finished with 21 saves. Hurricanes 6, Canucks 4 Nikolaj Ehlers collected a hat trick to power Eastern Conference-leading Carolina to a back-and-forth victory over last-place and host Vancouver. Sean Walker, Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho all collected one goal and one assist while Seth Jarvis registered a pair of assists for Carolina, which is on an 11-1-2 roll. Brandon Bussi made 18 saves to earn his 25th career win in his 29th NHL game. He is the fastest goalie in league history to reach 25 wins. Filip Hronek scored once in a three-point outing while Marco Rossi collected one goal and one assist for the Canucks, who are winless in seven games (0-5-2) and have managed only two victories in 23 outings (2-17-4). Ducks 5, Islanders 1 Cutter Gauthier scored Anaheim’s first two goals of a three-goal first-period flurry as the host Ducks cooled off surging New York. Beckett Sennecke scored late in the first while Ryan Poehling and Frank Vatrano added insurance goals in the third for the Ducks, who have won 13 of 16 (13-3-0). Ville Husso made 42 saves in his first appearance since Jan. 26. Anders Lee scored in the first for the Islanders, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. David Rittich recorded 21 saves. Devils 4, Maple Leafs 3 (SO) Jesper Bratt scored the final tally of a shootout to give New Jersey a win over Toronto in Newark, N.J., the Devils’ third straight win. The Devils erased three Toronto leads before winning in the shootout. New Jersey is 4-0 in shootouts this season and 11-2 in games decided beyond regulation. Arseny Gritsyuk recorded a goal and an assist for the Devils, and Nico Hischier contributed two assists. Timo Meier and Connor Brown scored the other goals for New Jersey. The Maple Leafs’ goal-scorers were Matias Maccelli, William Nylander and Matthew Knies. Blues 3, Kraken 2 Robert Thomas had a goal and an assist and Brayden Schenn added three helpers as St. Louis defeated host Seattle. Logan Mailloux and Dylan Holloway also scored for the Blues, who improved to 2-0-0 on a four-game trip. St. Louis goaltender Joel Hofer made 34 saves. Jaden Schwartz and Vince Dunn, who were both members of the Blues’ 2019 Stanley Cup championship team, scored for the Kraken, who dropped to 2-1-0 on a six-game homestand. Dunn also had an assist, and Philipp Grubauer stopped 24 of 27 shots. =================================================================== MLB SPRING TRAINING ROUNDUP: UNITED STATES ROUTS ROCKIES IN WBC PREP The United States national team routed the Colorado Rockies 14-4 in its second double-digit win of the World Baseball Classic exhibitions on Wednesday in Scottsdale, Ariz. Team USA has outscored its opponents 29-5 in its two exhibitions and opens the tournament on Friday against Brazil in Houston. The U.S. went 14-for-38 at the plate against the Rockies, including home runs by Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Judge, Alex Bregman, Byron Buxton and Will Smith. Ryan Yarbrough delivered a solid three-inning start, allowing two hits and one run while striking out two batters. Mickey Moniak and Kyle Karros hit home runs, and Karros added a sacrifice fly to complete the Rockies’ scoring. Colorado starter Kyle Freeland worked one inning, allowing two hits and one run with one strikeout. Tigers (ss) 2, Panama 1 Kerry Carpenter homered and Jace Jung delivered an RBI double to spark a hot start in a close win over the Panamanian national team in Lakeland, Fla. The Tigers managed just three hits but took a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Jack Flaherty started with three scoreless innings to record the win, and Keider Montero closed out with three scoreless innings for the save. Johan Camargo provided the only Panama run with a fourth-inning RBI double, one of his two hits. Allen Cordoba was 3-for-4 with a trio of singles. Nicaragua 2, Cardinals 1 Emanuel Trujillo delivered both of Nicaragua’s runs with a fourth-inning homer to lead the national team past St. Louis in Jupiter, Fla. Ismael Munguia was 3-for-3 and Mark Vientos was 2-for-4 with a double to spark Nicaragua. Christian Worley threw the final inning to record a save against his Cardinals organization. Andy Yerzy homered to supply St. Louis’ lone run. Matthew Liberatore started for the Cardinals, striking out five and allowing two runs over 3 1/3 innings on five hits. Mets 5, Israel 2 Ji Hwan Bae sparked a four-run eighth inning with a two-run single to lead New York’s win over Israel in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Jacob Reimer and Yohairo Cuevas also had RBI singles in the frame, and Carson Benge, the Mets’ No. 2 prospect per MLB Pipeline, homered. David Peterson started the game, pitching three scoreless innings, and Nick Burdi earned the win despite allowing a run on two hits in his inning of work. Zach Levenson homered and singled for Israel, and RJ Schreck had a go-ahead RBI double in the top of the eighth before the Mets rallied. Netherlands 11, Rays 8 Ceddanne Rafaela homered and doubled to ignite a strong start for the Netherlands in a win over Tampa Bay in Port Charlotte, Fla. Didi Gregorius, Dayson Croes and Chadwick Tromp all had two RBIs for the Netherlands, which plated four runs in the first and three more in the third to jump out to a 7-2 lead. Jamdrick Cornelia recorded the win, allowing two runs in one inning. Seven different Rays had a hit and eight had an RBI, but no one had more than one of either. Brayden Taylor’s double was the only extra-base hit for Tampa Bay, who watched Jake Woodford get rocked, allowing six earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. Canada 5, Phillies 3 Abraham Toro’s three-run double anchored a four-run sixth as the Canadian national team bounced back from a Tuesday loss to beat a fairly full-strength Philadelphia squad in its final WBC tune-up in Clearwater, Fla. Tyler Black led Canada with two hits, while Rob Zastryzny picked up the win with a scoreless fifth inning and Matt Wilkinson struck out five in a six-out save. Alec Bohm homered and Johan Rojas added an RBI double for the Phillies. They got a strong start on the mound from Aaron Nola, who struck out four over three shutout, one-hit innings of work. Twins 6, Puerto Rico 3 Orlando Arcia knocked in a pair of runs in Minnesota’s win over Puerto Rico in Fort Myers, Fla. Alan Roden delivered three singles and scored three runs for the Twins, with 2022 draftee Zebby Matthews earning the win while allowing one run over four innings. Minnesota left 11 runners on base. Edwin Arroyo had a pair of singles, one of which plated a run in the ninth as Puerto Rico attempted to make a comeback. Raymond Burgos took the loss, allowing two runs on three hits over 1 2/3 innings. Braves 9, Colombia 1 Eli White and Sandy Leon hit back-to-back homers in a five-run third inning, helping Atlanta crush Colombia in Venice, Fla. Matt Olson, Michael Harris II and Drake Baldwin each had an RBI and a pair of hits for the Braves, who led 9-1 after three innings. Elieser Hernandez recorded the win and set the pitching tone for Atlanta, which allowed just two hits and struck out nine. Michael Arroyo’s third-inning double brought home Colombia’s only run, plating his brother Carlos. Luis Patino was the losing pitcher, allowing three runs (one earned) over two-thirds of an inning. Yankees 4, Red Sox 0 Ben Rice homered and had an RBI double as New York blanked Boston — both somewhat depleted by WBC rosters — in Fort Myers, Fla. Top Yankees prospect George Lombard Jr. also homered as part of a 2-for-4 performance. Luis Gil recorded the win, striking out six over three shutout innings in the start. Former Yankee Isiah Kiner-Falefa was 2-for-2 to lead the Red Sox, who were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Garrett Crochet got the start for Boston, allowing three runs on three hits over 2 2/3 innings. Astros 4, Orioles 2 No. 3 prospect Ethan Frey homered and James Nelson added a triple as Houston beat Baltimore in Sarasota, Fla. The Astros managed just four total hits but still took a 4-0 lead into the final innings. Colton Gordon recorded the win with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless work in his start. Alimber Santa earned the save. Weston Wilson and Vance Honeycutt hit back-to-back homers in the eighth to break up the shutout bid. Starter Shane Baz struck out five but gave up three runs in three innings. Dominican Republic 4, Tigers (ss) 4 A ninth-inning slugfest left Detroit and the Dominican Republic tied in Santo Domingo. Detroit had only three hits and was behind 3-1 until Gage Workman and Seth Stephenson drove in three runs in their consecutive at-bats to take the lead in the ninth. Detroit lost the hitting battle 5 to 12, despite the win, with two hits allowed by Tigers starter Burch Smith during his 1 2/3 innings. Juan Soto drove in three runs, including a solo homer for the Dominican Republic, and Junior Caminero went 2-for-2 at the plate. Brayan Bello pitched the first three innings, allowing one unearned run on one hit and striking out two. Reds 19, Cuba 2 Three Reds each hit three-run home runs on their way to a dominant victory over Cuba in Goodyear, Ariz. JJ Bleday, Sal Stewart and Noelvi Marte all homered with two men on, while Will Benson and TJ Friedl also joined the multi-hit club. Rhett Lowder pitched the first three innings for Cincinnati, allowing two hits, no runs and striking out three batters. The Reds finished with an impressive 19 hits. Both Cuba’s runs came in the fourth inning, when Roel Santos scored on a groundout, and Omar Hernandez hit a sacrifice fly to right field. Starter Julio Robaina allowed four hits and two runs over his two innings. Angels 4, Italy 3 Jeimer Candelario hit a solo home run and then added the game-winning sacrifice fly to lift Los Angeles over Italy in Tempe, Ariz. Vaughn Grissom drove in a run with a single, and Jorge Soler hit a deep shot that helped the Angels earn the one-run triumph, even though Team Italy had two more hits. Starter Mitch Farris allowed five hits and two runs in three innings. Jon Berti started the scoring with a two-run home run for Italy in the third inning, then Vinnie Pasquantino drove in a run with an RBI double in the fifth. Dante Nori and Jakob Marsee each collected two hits. Starting pitcher Gabriele Quattrini struck out three batters over his scoreless three-inning start. Diamondbacks 3, Athletics 1 Jacob Amaya drove in all three runs, which included a two-run home run, as Arizona toppled the Athletics in Mesa, Ariz. Tommy Troy, the Diamondbacks’ fourth-ranked prospect, went 3-for-4 at the plate and added a stolen base. Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt went 2 1/3 innings, allowing just one hit. Jacob Wilson produced the lone score for the Athletics with a sacrifice fly. The A’s went 6-for-31 at the plate, while Jeffery Springs pitched the first 2 1/3 innings, and allowed three hits while striking out four. Dodgers 7, Mexico 5 Los Angeles scored three runs in the eighth inning to overcome visiting Mexico in Glendale, Ariz. Andy Pages, Santiago Espinal and Dalton Rushing each went 2-for-3 at the plate, and recorded at least one RBI. Tyler Glasnow was pulled after 2 2/3 innings, after having allowed four hits and three runs, while fanning four batters. Nacho Alvarez Jr. went 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in three of Mexico’s four RBIs. Starter Brennan Bernardino only pitched one inning for Mexico and allowed one hit. Cubs 4, Brewers 1 Chicago pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts in a victory over Milwaukee in Phoenix. James Triantos was the only Cub to record more than one hit. Newcomer Edward Cabrera tossed 2 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and striking out two. Christian Yelich recorded the only Brewers run with a solo homer. Starter Brandon Sproat went three innings, allowing three hits and two runs while striking out four. Great Britain 2, Padres 2 Jazz Chisholm Jr. went yard for Great Britain to highlight a tie against San Diego in Peoria, Ariz. Harry Ford added the only other run for Britain with an RBI single. Sean Boyle got the start and went three shutout innings, striking out three batters and allowing two hits. Kasen Wells and Tirso Ornelas drove in runs for San Diego on a groundout and a sacrifice fly. Joe Musgrove pitched two innings, allowed five hits and one run and struck out three batters. Rangers 13, Brazil 2 Texas hit four home runs and cruised to a victory over Brazil in Surprise, Ariz. Josh Smith led the game with two long balls and four RBIs, while Cameron Cauley and Jake Burger each hit solo shots. Texas went 14-for-31 at the plate and scored seven straight runs after the fourth inning to blow the game open. Jacob deGrom made his first preseason start, pitching two innings and allowing three hits and striking out three batters. Brazil only scored via solo home runs, with Lucas Rojo and Lucas Ramirez each going deep. Starter Enzo Sawayama pitched two innings, allowing two hits and one run. ACE RIGHT-HANDER HUNTER GREENE LEAVES REDS CAMP AND IS SCHEDULED TO HAVE MRI ON STIFF RIGHT ELBOW GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Right-hander Hunter Greene has left the Cincinnati Reds’ spring training camp due to right elbow stiffness. Manager Terry Francona and president of baseball operations Nick Krall told reporters on Wednesday that Greene will have an MRI in Cincinnati and be examined by team orthopedic consultant Dr. Timothy Kremchek. Greene also will consult with Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Expected to be the Reds’ ace, Greene added more lower-body work to his offseason routine in hopes of avoiding injuries. Greene went 7-4 with a 2.76 ERA last year, helping Cincinnati earn an NL wild card for its first playoff appearance since 2020. Greene whose 99.5 mph average four-seam fastball velocity led the major leagues among those throwing at least 1,250 pitches, was limited to a career-low 19 starts and 107 2/3 innings. Still, his 296 pitches of 100 mph or higher were second in the major leagues behind Mason Miller’s 422. Greene was placed on the 15-day injured list on May 9 with a right groin strain. He returned on May 23 and made three starts before going back on the IL with the same injury. This time, he was sidelined until Aug. 13. AARON JUDGE AND A LOADED US ROSTER HOPE TO DETHRONE OHTANI’S JAPAN AT THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC Aaron Judge is trading pinstripes for a plain jersey with red, white and blue letters. “Getting the chance to wear that across my chest is going to be pretty powerful,” the U.S. and New York Yankees captain said of the World Baseball Classic. “I think a lot of people have a lot of pride for their country.” After losing 3-2 in the 2023 final when Japan’s Shohei Ohtani ended the game by striking out Mike Trout, the U.S. will be trying for its first championship since 2017 when 20 nations compete for the sixth championship starting Thursday. Australia plays Taiwan at the Tokyo Dome in the opener, and action starts the next day in Houston, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The final again will be at Miami, on March 17. A much-improved pitching staff includes Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal and Mason Miller, and the batting order likely will include Judge, Cal Raleigh, Kyle Schwarber and Bobby Witt Jr. Having watched the last two tournaments, Skenes has hoped to receive an invite from U.S. manager Mark DeRosa. “When DeRo called, it was like, just, ‘Yeah, I’m in. You don’t need to talk me into this or anything,’” said Skenes, who played two seasons at Air Force Academy before transferring to LSU. “It was a quick yes.” Players have been in contact with each other long before reporting this week. “The group chat’s been firing away for the last couple of months,” Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper said. Rotation boost Logan Webb is slated to start the Americans’ Friday opener against Brazil in Houston, followed by Skubal on Saturday against Britain, Skenes vs. Mexico on Monday and top Mets prospect Nolan McLean against Italy on March 10. The foursome has a combined 19.8 Baseball Reference WAR last season. The Americans’ four starters in 2023, Adam Wainwright, Nick Martinez, Lance Lynn and Merrill Kelly, combined for a 7.8 the previous season. Skubal intends to make one start, then return to the Tigers. A pitcher is limited to 65 pitches in first-round games, 80 in a quarterfinal and 95 in a semifinal or final. If a player throws more than 50 pitches in an outing, he can’t pitch for the next four days. If he throws more than 30, he can’t pitch the next day. No one may pitch three days in a row. “There are obviously guardrails for the tournament to begin with, pitch-count wise, but there’s also guardrails for guys having to throw on certain days to get ready for their team’s opening day,” U.S. manager Mark DeRosa said. Trying to do it again Japan is trying to win its fourth title and become only the second repeat champion after the 2006 and 2009 Samurai Warriors. Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have some experience at consecutive titles after helping last year’s Los Angeles Dodgers become the first repeat World Series champion since the 1998-2000 Yankees won three in a row. “Going back to back, that is our only goal,” Yamamoto said through a translator. Yamamoto, the World Series MVP, is scheduled to start Japan’s opener against Taiwan on Friday. Los Angeles is allowing him to pitch for Japan after he threw 211 innings last year, including the postseason. “The Dodgers understand how big the WBC tournament is, big in Japan,” he said. “The Dodgers and the WBC, they both are very important to me equally.” Japan’s pitching staff is missing Ohtani, who won’t take the mound, along with Roki Sasaki, who remained at Dodgers camp following an injury-interrupted rookie season, and Yu Darvish, sidelined following elbow surgery. Star-filled Dominican roster Seeking its first title since its only previous win in 2013, the Dominican Republic has a roster that includes six players who finished among the top 10 in MVP voting last year: Junior Caminero, Jeremy Peña. Geraldo Perdomo, Julio Rodríguez, Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Manny Machado and Ketel Marte also are on a roster that includes pitchers Sandy Alcantara and Cristopher Sánchez. “It can be a headache also because you have so much talent. You wish that you can make everybody happy,” Dominican manager Albert Pujols said. ”The Dominican Republic has been blessed with so many talent.” Venezuela, with the Dominicans in Group D, is led by Ronald Acuña Jr., Jackson Chourio, Eugenio Suárez and William and Willson Contreras. Playing through politics, war Judge says there’s significance representing the U.S. in a tournament starting days after the U.S. and Israel launched a Middle East war with joint strikes on Iran. Skenes and reliever Griffin Jax played college ball at Air Force. “There are individuals out there that have sacrificed everything for this country to allow me to have my wife safe at home, my daughter safe at home and I get a chance to come out here and play a kids’ game,” Judge said. Israel is also in this year’s tournament. Outfielder Assaf Lowengart is the only player on the roster born in the country. Venezuela, with what appears to be among the strongest rosters, plays in Miami two months after the U.S. military captured former Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro. Following his ouster, Venezuela elevated the autocrat’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, to serve as acting president. Eight members of Cuba’s delegation were denied U.S. visas, including a pitching coach and federation executives, the Cuban Baseball and Softball Federation said. Hot pr ospect Travis Bazzana makes his Australia national team debut in the tournament opener after being selected first overall by Cleveland in 2024 amateur draft. While playing for Australia’s under-18 team in 2024, Bazzana wrote a note on his phone dreaming of being Australia’s second baseman and leadoff hitter at this year’s WBC. “Growing up, I always looked ahead and kind of had a vision of things I wanted to do in this game, and this was a big part of it,” he said Wednesday. “I was always writing about it and thinking about it.” Bazzana has an .801 OPS in 111 minor league games and is expected to start the season at Triple-A. Back after injury Edwin Díaz is on Puerto Rico’s roster after tearing the patellar tendon in his right knee during the 2023 WBC. Díaz missed the 2023 season with the New York Mets because of the injury, sustained during an on-field celebration with teammates following a 5-2 group-stage win over the Dominican Republic that clinched a quarterfinal berth. Several star players will be missing from this year’s tournament due to insurance issues, including Puerto Rico’s Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa and Venezuela’s Jose Altuve. =================================================================== INDIANA SPORTS TEAM RELEASES INDIANA PACERS GAME REWIND: PACERS 107, CLIPPERS 130 The Pacers’ first game on their four-game West Coast road trip didn’t go as planned. Despite getting their three leading scorers back, the Pacers (15-47) dropped their seventh straight game on Wednesday night in Los Angeles, falling to the Clippers (30-31), 130-107. Starters Pascal Siakam (wrist), Andrew Nembhard (lower back/neck), and Aaron Nesmith (ankle) all returned to the lineup on Wednesday. Siakam had missed the last three games and five of the last six, Nembhard had missed three of six including Sunday’s game against Memphis, and Nesmith had sat out five straight games and six of the last seven. Siakam had a strong showing on Wednesday, scoring a team-high 29 points while going 8-for-14 from the field and 12-for-14 from the free throw line. But the rest of the team struggled offensively, as Indiana shot just 42.8 percent from the field. And the Blue & Gold struggled to slow down the Clippers all night, as the hosts converted 55.1 percent of their attempts. Kawhi Leonard had 29 points and eight rebounds in just 23 minutes for the Clippers. Bennedict Mathurin — who was traded alongside Isaiah Jackson to the Clippers by the Pacers in the Feb. 5 deal that brought Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown to Indiana — tallied 23 points, eight boards, and four assists in 22 minutes off the bench, going 8-for-11 from the field and 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Siakam got off to a fast start, scoring six of Indiana’s first 16 points. But fellow All-Star Leonard was even better for the Clippers, scoring 12 of the first 24 points for the home team. Mathurin checked in for the first time against his former team midway through the first quarter. The sixth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft scored four points and also tallied a steal and an assist during a 14-0 Clippers run to open up a 36-19 lead. Brown ended the Pacers’ scoreless streak by knocking down a three. But the Clippers shot 64.6 percent in the opening frame and took a 42-25 lead into the second quarter. Los Angeles continued to extend the margin in the ensuing frame, as Mathurin scored again and then Leonard reeled off three straight buckets during an 8-0 Clippers run to push the lead to 23. Siakam and the Pacers clawed back late in the quarter, stringing together an 8-0 spurt of their own to pull within 12. That’s where the margin remained at halftime, as Indiana trailed 63-51. The Pacers continued their charge at the start of the third quarter, as Jay Huff knocked down back-to-back threes to open the scoring and pull the Blue & Gold within six. But Leonard and the Clippers responded. Leonard scored nine points during a 16-2 Los Angeles run that pushed the Clippers’ lead back to 21 at 83-62. The hosts kept rolling, with Mathurin feeding Jackson for a basket and then converting a three-point play that put Los Angeles up 94-64 with 2:06 remaining in the third quarter. The Clippers took a 102-77 lead into the fourth quarter and stretched the lead to as high as 37 points in the final frame, as both teams emptied their benches. Huff finished with 18 points and five rebounds for Indiana while going 4-for-8 from 3-point range. Jarace Walker finished with 17 points, five boards, and five assists, Quenton Jackson scored 11, and Micah Potter tallied 10 points and six rebounds. Brook Lopez scored 17 points for the Clippers, while Darius Garland added 12 points and eight assists. The Pacers will stay in L.A. for a couple more days as their next game is against the Lakers on Friday night. They will then play in Portland on Sunday and Sacramento on Tuesday to conclude the road trip. Inside the Numbers Siakam recorded his 42nd game this season with 20 or more points. Walker has scored in double figures in three straight and 16 of his last 17 contests. While Siakam had a big night offensively, Nesmith and Nembhard struggled, combining for just seven points on 2-of-13 shooting (0-for-7 from 3-point range). Jackson had 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, four rebounds, and two assists in 18 minutes off the bench in his first career game against the Pacers. Brown finished with five points on 2-of-4 shooting, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 22 minutes off the bench in his return to Los Angeles. The Clippers outscored Indiana 66-48 in points in the paint. You Can Quote Me On That “This is a tough building. This is almost like a college atmosphere. You’ve got to be ready and we were not ready. I’ll take my share of the blame for that.” -Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on the loss “This is a good situation for him. He’s an NBA scorer. How many times do I need to say it? He came out the womb with 20 points. Seriously, that’s a compliment. That’s how easily he scores. They’ve got another Kawhi Leonard-type scorer. That’s a great one-two punch for them.” -Carlisle on facing Mathurin for the first time Stat of the Night After the Pacers pulled within six early in the third quarter, the Clippers outscored Indiana 29-5 over a seven-minute span to put the game away. Noteworthy Indiana lost for the first time in three games at the Intuit Dome since the building opened in 2024. The Pacers deployed their 35th different starting lineup this season on Wednesday, with Nembhard, Nesmith, Walker, Siakam, and Huff getting the start. The Pacers will host the Clippers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 27. Indiana center Micah Potter went to the locker room with a right ankle sprain in the second quarter, but later returned. Former Pacers and Clippers guard Lance Stephenson was courtside at Wednesday’s game. Up Next The Pacers will remain in Los Angeles to take on LeBron James and the Lakers on Friday, March 6 at 10:30 PM ET. =================================================================== INDY FUEL FUEL CLAIM LATE NIGHT WIN OVER WICHITA ON WEDNESDAY FISHERS– The Indy Fuel hosted the Wichita Thunder for the first of three games this week. After a lengthy delay due to a power outage, they dropped the puck at 9:18 p.m. and wasted no time in heating things up. Despite two power play goals from Wichita, the Fuel claimed the 3-2 victory on Wednesday night. 1ST PERIOD Less than two minutes into the game, Fuel captain Chris Cameron and Wichita’s Jack Bar were each given two minute minor penalties for roughing. In addition to that, Dustin Manz was assessed a five minute major penalty for boarding. He was also given a ten-minute misconduct. Ten seconds later, Tyler Paquette was called for tripping too. Wichita poured on the shots with the 5-on-3 advantage, however Mitchell Weeks stopped every one. Nick Grima scored his first goal of the season at 8:02 to make it 1-0 in favor of the Fuel, on a puck that trickled past the goaltender unknowingly. The assists were credited to Matt Petgrave and Terry Broadhurst. At 11:16, Jesse Tucker and Wichita’s Declan Smith dropped the gloves. Tucker was given two minutes for interference, while Smith was given five minutes for fighting as well as a match penalty for fighting with taped hands. Less than a minute later, Peter Bates was called for high sticking, however Wichita killed off all their penalties. By the end of the first frame, Indy was outshooting Wichita 13-10. 2ND PERIOD At 3:39, Lee Lapid scored for the Fuel to make it 2-0. The lone assist was given to Brett Moravec. Less than three minutes later, Lapid picked up an assist on a goal by Cody Laskosky. Defenseman Christian Berger claimed the other assist to make it 3-0. At 8:38, Cameron headed to the penalty box for roughing. This put the Thunder on a power play, which they quickly capitalized on with a goal by Michal Stinil to make it 3-1. With 9:32 left in the second period, Tucker took a high sticking penalty. This put the Thunder back on the power play, but the Fuel killed it off. As soon as Tucker left the box, Grima went back in for a high sticking penalty of his own. Less than a minute later, Jadon Joseph joined him for an elbowing call. Wichita’s Noah Beck quickly capitalized with their second power play goal of the night to cut the Fuel’s lead to 3-2. At the end of the second period, the Fuel were outshooting Wichita 22-16, while still leading 3-2. 3RD PERIOD At 9:10, Petgrave took the game’s next penalty for tripping. That penalty was killed off. With about two minutes to go, Wichita pulled Gabriel Carriere from net in favor of the extra attacker. Despite a few shot attempts on the empty net by the Fuel, time expired with them up 3-2 while outshooting them 31-22. =================================================================== INDIANA MEN’S BASKETBALL HOOSIERS ROLL TO SENIOR DAY VICTORY BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Emotional? Darn straight. A father-son relationship is special at any time, and when it comes as part of big-time college athletics, as it is with Indiana’s Darian and Tucker DeVries, when it signifies the approaching end of something special, in this case the final home game of Tucker DeVries’ career, it’s easy to understand if tears flow, and they didn’t with DeVries the father and coach during Wednesday night’s 77-47 victory over Minnesota at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, it got close. “With all these guys, when you get to Senior Night, you have a special connection with them.,” Darian DeVries said. “When you get that with your son, it’s a different feeling. “I fought it all day. I’m not giving in now. But some special times are about to end.” And then there’s this — let it be known, Hoosier Nation, that basketball winning has returned. The four-game losing streak is over. “It felt good — senior night, last home game,” senior forward Sam Alexis said. “It was great to see the fans and parents supporting us.” Freeze frame this moment: As the clock ticked under a minute remaining, guard Lamar Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries were done for the night and cheers and hugs followed. Alexis joined them seconds later to his own hugs and cheers. Then came guards Conor Enright and Tayton Conerway, and forward Reed Bailey. All had played in the final home games of their careers. All six were honored during a brief pre-game ceremony. “I’m happy for the seniors to go out the way they did,” Darian DeVries said. Alexis was a one-man force of basketball nature in the first half with 17 points (on 8-for-9 shooting), three rebounds, and a block. He finished with a season-high 23 points on 90.9% shooting, nine rebounds, and two blocks in 27 minutes. “When he plays like that,” guard Nick Dorn said, “it does a lot for us. It opens up everything and leads to mismatches and gives us clean looks.” It was Alexis’s fifth double-figure scoring performance in the last seven games. “He’s been playing at a high level for the last couple of weeks,” Darian DeVries said. Tucker DeVries totaled 13 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Wilkerson had 16 points. Enright had eight assists, five rebounds, and four points. Dorn added 11 points. IU (18-12 overall, 9-10 in the Big Ten) was ruthlessly efficient in the first half, shooting 62 percent from the field (6-for-13 on 3-pointers) with 12 assists against just three turnovers. The second half was similar as the Hoosiers consistently worked the ball inside to gain a 40-22 advantage in points in the paint. Overall, they shot 57 percent from the field, made 10 3-pointers and had 17 assists against 10 turnovers. Minnesota (14-16, 7-12), reduced to a six-man rotation because of injuries, lacked the size and depth to slow the Hoosiers down. Triples from Wilkerson and Dorn, plus five Alexis points, boosted IU to an early 11-4 lead. A second Wilkerson 3-pointer, a spinning Alexis layup and then a dunk off a Wilkerson assist, plus a Dorn basket made it 20-6 eight minutes into the game. Minnesota responded with six straight points and closed within 22-19. Alexis and Dorn helped push the Hoosiers ahead 31-22. Triples from Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries, and then a Tucker DeVries dunk off a Bailey assist, helped give IU a 43-28 halftime lead. The goal — not let the Gophers get back in the game. “We broke it down four minutes at a time,” Dorn said. “After each media break, we assessed how much we won or lost that segment, then focus on the next four minutes and just put together 20 minutes.” IU made it 52-34 five minutes into the second half. Dorn’s third 3-pointer made it 62-40 as the clock ticked under 10 minutes. It was part of a 14-0 Hoosier run. The Gophers were finished. IU ends its regular season with a Saturday trip to Ohio State with huge postseason implications. “Just come into practice every day with the same mindset we’ve been having the last couple days,” Alexis said. “Have great leadership with the team and high intensity in practice.” =================================================================== INDIANA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HOOSIERS MOUNT COMEBACK TO DEFEAT NEBRASKA IN BIG TEN TOURNAMENT INDIANAPOLIS – 13-seed Indiana women’s basketball mounted its largest comeback in the Teri Moren era as it erased a 20-point deficit to defeat 12-seed Nebraska, 72-69, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the first round of the 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament. KEY MOMENTS Indiana (18-13) couldn’t contain a hot shooting Nebraska team (18-12) in the first quarter as it faced an early 18-6 deficit to force a timeout just before the five-minute media timeout. The Huskers shot 68 percent from the field in the first and built a 29-15 lead. Things didn’t get any better for the Hoosiers in the second quarter, as it trailed by as many as 20 before the break. The Hoosiers found some life in the third quarter, as a quick 6-0 run that included a triple by redshirt sophomore guard Leneé Beaumont with five-minutes to go pulled Iu within 12, 53-41. The run continued after a Husker timeout, as freshman forward Maya Makalusky made it an eight-point game with 2:38 to play on layup in transition. In an improbable fourth quarter, Indiana played from behind unti the final 57.2 seconds as Beaumont drilled a right wing 3-pointer to give IU its first lead of the day at 68-67. It was part of the Hoosier defense holding the Huskers to just one field goals in the final 4:14 of play. After Nebraska cut the game to one with 17 seconds left, freshman Nevaeh Caffey steeped up big in the bonus as she hit a pair to give Indiana its eventual 72-69 win. NOTABLE Indiana erased a 20-point deficit in the game, its largest comeback in the Teri Moren era. It’s the largest comeback since records are available in 2013-14 and the most since it erased a 17-point deficit against Iowa on Feb. 4, 2016. IU’s 20-point comeback is also tied for the fourth-largest NCAA Division I comeback in a conference tournament game (since 2013-14). Four players scored in double figures for Indiana behind a team-high 22 points for senior guard Shay Ciezki. She also added seven assists, four rebounds and three steals in the win. Junior forward Edessa Noyan notched her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Beaumont added 14 points while Caffey chipped in 12 for the Hoosiers. The Hoosiers beat the Huskers for the first time in a Big Ten Tournament game and improve to 14-7 all-time in the series. UP NEXT The Hoosiers face 5-seed No. 11/11 Ohio State in the second round at approx. 2:30 p.m. ET tomorrow at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. =================================================================== INDIANA SWIMMING AND DIVING NINE INDIANA SWIMMERS, ALL FIVE RELAYS QUALIFY FOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – No. 6-ranked Indiana swimming and diving will send nine swimmers and all five relays to the 2026 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships following the NCAA’s announcement of selections to the national meet on Wednesday (March 4). The four-day meet will run March 18-21 inside the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta. Indiana can secure additional qualifiers via the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships, March 9-11 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. IU will have a representative in 16 of the 19 swimming events as well as multiple swimmers in eight of the 14 individual events. Three Hoosiers are qualified in each of the following events: the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard backstroke. Including relays, Hoosiers own 12 top 10 seeds and seven top 5 seeds in their events. Freshman Alex Shackell is the No. 3 seed in both the 100-yard butterfly (49.95) and 200-yard butterfly (1:50.71) after medaling and setting the program record in both events at the Big Ten Championships. Classmate Liberty Clark is also projected to have a strong NCAA debut as the No. 3 seed in the 200-yard freestyle (1:40.84), No. 5 seed in the 100 free (46.22) and No. 9 seed in the 50 free (21.47). Clark is the program record holder in the 50 and 100 and gets closer to the 200 school record with every swim. Grace Hoeper is the third freshman on the NCAA roster and will compete in the same events as Clark. Junior Miranda Grana ranks No. 4 in the 200-yard backstroke (1:49.06), No. 5 in the 100-yard butterfly (49.98) and No. 6 in the 100-yard backstroke (49.89). Last season, Grana finished third in the 100 back, fourth in the 100 fly and ninth in the 200 back. This season, she has already gone faster in the 100 fly and 100 back than her NCAA times last March. Four of Indiana’s relays project to reach the podium (top eight). IU’s Big Ten record-breaking 400-yard freestyle relay ranks No. 3 nationally after the quartet of Shackell, Clark, senior Kristina Paegle and Hoeper won the conference title in 3:07.72. INDIANA WOMEN’S SWIMMING QUALIFIERS 2026 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships Liberty Clark – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle Mya DeWitt – 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke Miranda Grana – 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke, 100 butterfly Macky Hodges – 200 backstroke, 200 IM, 400 IM Grace Hoeper – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle Jonette Laegreid – Relay alternate Kristina Paegle – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle Alex Shackell – 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly Reese Tiltmann – 200 breaststroke, 200 IM, 400 IM 200 freestyle relay 400 freestyle relay 800 freestyle relay 200 medley relay 400 freestyle relay =================================================================== INDIANA MEN’S TENNIS INDIANA OPENS BIG TEN PLAY AGAINST NO. 26 UCLA BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—The Indiana men’s tennis team turns its attention to the first weekend of Big Ten play when it hosts No. 26 UCLA at the IU Tennis Center this Friday, Mar. 6. Indiana is 6-3 this season and has won four of its last five matches. Most recently, the Hoosiers swept Texas Tech 4-0 at home, which helped push Indiana to No. 46 in the ITA team rankings. Through nine matches this season, Indiana has captured the doubles point in seven of their matches. The Hoosiers boast the No. 33-ranked duo of Sam Landau and Jip van Assendelft at No. 1 doubles, and playing next to them at No. 2 doubles is the No. 57-ranked duo of Michael Andre and Matteo Antonescu. UCLA enters the match with a 6-3 record, and the Bruins improved to No. 26 in the ITA rankings after a 4-3 win at No. 9 San Diego in their last match. The ITA has three Bruins ranked in singles: No. 35 Emon Van Loben Sels, No. 57 Spencer Johnson, and No. 104 Rudy Quan. In doubles, Spencer Johnson and Emon Van Lobel Sels mark the No. 35-ranked team, with Rudy Quan and Aardarsh Tripathi coming in just five places behind them at No. 40. Following Friday’s match, Indiana will host No. 22 USC at the IU Tennis Center on Sunday, Mar. 8. The match will have a live stream and live stats available. Live stream: https://iuhoosiers.com/sports/2018/2/22/tennis-playsight Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=654456 ====================================================================== INDIANA WRESTLING NO. 20 INDIANA READY FOR 2026 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ––– After two roughly weeks off, Indiana Wrestling will compete again as it set for the 2026 Big Ten Championships this weekend (March 7-8) in University Park, Pa. Penn State will house the event in the Bryce Jordan Center with Session I and II taking place on Saturday (March 7) which will get the tournament through the semifinals. On Sunday (March 8), the consolation brackets will finish out and all placing matches will occur. REGULAR SEASON REWIND: -Indiana closed out its 2025-26 regular season with a 20-16 win over Purdue at Wilkinson Hall (Feb. 20) and had four Hoosiers wrestle in the Patriots Last Chance Open (Feb. 22). -The Hoosiers went 9-5 in their dual schedule and were 4-4 in the Big Ten. Both records were the best in quite some time and the best of Angel Escobedo’s head coaching tenure at IU. -It was the first time since 2009-10 that Indiana won 4-or more Big Ten matches and the first time that the program reached 9-plus dual victories since 2016-17. -The Hoosiers charted three ranked dual wins on the season (No. 22 Little Rock, No. 27 Army and No. 15 Wisconsin) and notched their fourth-straight win over Purdue. BATTLE AT BIG TENS: -The Hoosiers were given the following Pre-Seeds ahead of the Big Ten Championships: No. 4 Jacob Moran (125), No. 12 Blaine Frazier (133), No. 9 Henry Porter (141), No. 11 Joey Buttler (149), No. 11 Bryce Lowery (157), No. 9 Tyler Lillard (165), No. 6 Derek Gilcher (174), No. 9 Sam Goin (184), No. 8 Gabe Sollars (197) and No. 14 Caleb Marzolino (285). -For seven of the Hoosiers this will be a return trip to the Big Ten Championships. Bryce Lowery, Sam Goin and Caleb Marzolino will all be competing in their first conference championship meet. -Moran and Porter will seek to make it back on the podium after the duo took fifth and eighth place, respectively at last year’s championships. -Derek Gilcher previously made it on the podium when he got eighth place at 157 lbs. in 2023. -Everyone else from the field will seek their first time on the podium at Big Tens. B1G HOOSIER HISTORY: -Indiana has 13 Big Ten Team Titles and 53 individual Big Ten Champions in its program history. -Indiana is seeking its first Big Ten Champion since head coach Angel Escobedo was an IU wrestler, when he took first place at 125 lbs. in 2010. -Under Angel Escobedo, the Hoosiers have had two semifinalists. Graham Rooks (149) and Brayton Lee (157) reached the semifinals at Big Tens in 2023 and 2024, respectively. -Last season, Indiana had four wrestlers finish on the podium as Jacob Moran (125) took fifth, Angelo Rini (133) and DJ Washington (174) got seventh and Henry Porter (141) got eighth. -It marked back-to-back years of four podium finishers at Big Tens for Indiana. MARCH MATNESS: -The results at the Big Ten Championships will determine the Hoosiers’ path for the pinnacle of wrestling season: the 2026 NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. -Last week, the allocations of automatic bids for the Big Ten Championships were announced as follows, 125: 9, 133: 8, 141: 7, 149: 9, 157: 8, 165: 9, 174: 10, 184: 8, 197: 10, 285: 9. -Indiana has qualified six wrestlers the past two seasons, which is the most in one season under Angel Escobedo. ====================================================================== INDIANA VOLLEYBALL ELITE MATCHUPS SET FOR BROADWAY BLOCK PARTY NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A massive doubleheader of NCAA Tournament programs will take center stage in downtown Nashville at the 2026 Sprouts Farmers Market Broadway Block Party this September. The Indiana volleyball team will take on Tennessee on Sunday, September 6th in the second of two games between premier programs. Louisville and Texas will play in the day’s first game. IU’s match will be played at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The Broadway Block Party women’s college volleyball tournament debuted in 2025 with an outstanding tripleheader on the season’s opening weekend. Three Big Ten programs (Nebraska, Purdue and Illinois) took on SEC programs at Bridgestone Arena, home of the NHL’s Nashville Predators. Just steps away from the main stretch of Nashville, the venue is centrally located to draw an outstanding crowd of volleyball fans. This year’s edition of the competition will take place on Sunday, September 6th as teams wrap up the second full weekend of games. Three of the four programs (Indiana, Texas and Louisville) were NCAA regional participants last season. IU advanced to its first regional semifinal since 2010, eventually falling to Texas in a tight three-set contest in Austin. Tennessee made the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Utah State. The contest between the Hoosiers and Volunteers will be the first in the all-time series since a five-set thriller in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. IU beat Tennessee in five sets (15-13) to advance to its first regional semifinal in program history. The two sides have met seven times in program history. The series is split evenly (3-3-1). The first matchup came back in 1977 before volleyball was a varsity sport. A familiar face will feature on IU’s side when the two teams play in September. Graduate student middle blocker Kiki Granberry played four seasons in Tennessee orange, finishing second in program history in career hitting percentage (.372). She will play her final season of eligibility for the Hoosiers this fall. The match in Nashville is the first piece of IU’s 2026 schedule to be unveiled. The Hoosiers, which return a big portion of their roster from last season, are expected to play a challenging non-conference slate. Head coach Steve Aird will also take his team overseas this summer for a foreign tour in preparation for the new campaign. ===================================================================== PURDUE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PURDUE RALLY FALLS SHORT AT BIG TEN TOURNAMENT VS. OREGON INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Trailing by double digits at the break, the Purdue women’s basketball team rallied in the second half only for its comeback bid to fall short, as the 14th-seed Boilermakers fell to 11th-seed Oregon on Wednesday night in the first round of the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. After a slow start offensively in the first half, the Boilermakers (13-17) heated up over the final 20 minutes, shooting 63% from the field, 6-of-11 (54.5%) from distance and outscoring the Ducks (21-11) 22-11 in the paint and 13-8 off turnovers. Down by as many as 26 points in the second quarter, Purdue chipped the gap down to 12 at the midway point of the fourth but could not get it down to single digits. The Boilermakers finished the night shooting 41.7% from the floor and 8-of-25 (32%) from behind the arc. Lana McCarthy and Hila Karsh were two of the three Boilermakers in double figures, combing for 25 of Purdue’s 30 bench points on the night. McCarthy tallied 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and tallied nine rebounds with a career-high three assists. Karsh connected three times from the outside to go for 11 points, all in the second half, for her first game in double figures in nine games. Tara Daye posted her 21st game in double figures this season with 11 points, including a pair of triples. The Boilermakers allowed 15 points on 10 turnovers, while turning nine Oregon miscues into 16 points. The Ducks put three players in double figures, eld by a 20-point outing from Katie Fiso. Oregon shot 41% on the evening and 5-of-16 (31.3%) from distance and finished plus-15 on the glass, 42-27, with 23 points on 14 offensive rebounds. The Ducks took advantage of a 24.2% shooting clip by the Boilermakers in the first half, including 2-of-14 from behind the arc, to build a 47-24 lead at the break. Oregon took 16 more free throws on the night, finishing 27-of-29 to Purdue’s 6-of-13. NOTES • Oregon leads the all-time series 3-0. • Kendall Puryear, Kiki Smith and Lana McCarthy fouled out, marking the fourth time since the 2002-03 season that Purdue had a trio foul out. • Purdue finished with 20 or more bench points for the 20th time this season. • Daye is the 15th Boilermaker in the last 10 years to post 21 double-digit outings. • Karsh posted her eighth game with multiple 3-pointers this season. ===================================================================== PURDUE MEN’S BASKETBALL #15 PURDUE RALLIES TO TOP NORTHWESTERN BEHIND COX’S CAREER HIGH #15 Purdue 70, Northwestern 66 (Postgame Notes) 15 Purdue rallied from a 10-point, second-half deficit to defeat Northwestern 70-66 in Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday night. The Boilermakers improved to 23-7 overall and 13-6 in the Big Ten Conference with the victory. It marks the sixth straight season with at least 13 league victories for the Boilermakers. Purdue becomes the first team in Big Ten Conference history to have six straight seasons of 13 or more league victories. Purdue won at Welsh-Ryan Arena for the first time since Feb. 2022. The Purdue senior class won a road game against every Big Ten foe with the exception of UCLA, which it only faced once. The seven Big Ten road victories tied a school record for most conference road victories, now done 10 different seasons, including the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns. Purdue has won at least seven conference road games in three of the last four seasons. The senior class ended its conference road career with a 26-14 (.650) record. The 110 career victories by the senior class are now tied for the second most in a four-year span in Purdue history. The senior class has won 58 conference games during their careers, needing a win on Saturday against Wisconsin to tie the Big Ten record for most wins by a senior class (Purdue 2025, Purdue 2024, Indiana 1978, Indiana 1977). The win was Purdue’s ninth quad-1 victory, the fifth-most in the country through Wednesday’s contests. Purdue had 14 turnovers, its most since having 14 against Oregon, a span of six games ago. Purdue outrebounded Northwestern 29-15. The 15 rebounds allowed are tied for the second fewest in a game in school history (also: Feb. 20, 2026, vs. Indiana). J. Cox scored a career-high 27 points with three rebounds and three assists, going 10-of-13 from the field and 5-of-8 from 3-point range. In addition, he had zero turnovers in 28 minutes and now has just three turnovers in 467 minutes in conference play. He’s had three turnovers in his last 23 games of action. Trey Kaufman-Renn recorded his 10th double-double of the season with 11 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. Kaufman-Renn surpassed 1,500 points and 700 rebounds in the win, becoming the seventh player in school history with 1,500 points, 700 rebounds and 200 assists (Vince Edwards, Robbie Hummel, Brian Cardinal, Brad Miller, Todd Mitchell, Walter Jordan). Braden Smith had seven points, nine assists and three rebounds, while playing 40 minutes for the first time this season. Smith moved into the top 10 on Purdue’s career scoring list with 1,816 points. Fletcher Loyer has made a 3-pointer in 12 straight games and now has 276 career trifectas, just five shy of the school record set by Carsen Edwards (281). EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — C.J. Cox scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 48 seconds left that helped No. 15 Purdue edged Northwestern 70-66 on Wednesday night. Cox outlasted Nick Martinelli in a memorable duel in the final minutes, sending Purdue to a sorely needed victory. The Boilermakers (23-7, 13-6 Big Ten) had lost two in a row and three of four overall. Trey Kaufman-Renn added 11 points and 10 rebounds, shaking off a shoulder injury in the second half. Fletcher Loyer finished with 10 points. Martinelli, a senior playing his final home game, scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half. The Big Ten’s leading scorer moved into seventh on the school’s career list with 1,687 points, passing Northwestern assistant coach Bryant McIntosh. Jayden Reid scored 16 points for the Wildcats (13-17, 5-14), who had won three in a row. Northwestern was in control before Purdue got back in the game with a 9-0 run in the second half. Cox tied it at 43 on a layup with 13:22 remaining. Braden Smith was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made three free throws to give the Boilermakers a 65-63 lead with 1:33 left. But the Wildcats moved back in front on Jordan Clayton’s contested 3 as the shot clock expired. Cox then put Purdue ahead to stay on a 3 with 48 seconds remaining. Following a Northwestern turnover, Smith helped close it out with two free throws with 12 seconds left. The Boilermakers shot 62.5% (15 for 24) from the field in the second half, compared to 45.8% (11 for 24) for the Wildcats. Northwestern led by 11 before settling for a 34-25 lead at the break. Reid scored nine points in the first half on 4-for-5 shooting. ===================================================================== NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL LOU HOLTZ, LEGENDARY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP COACH, PASSES AWAY Lou Holtz, the legendary college football coach who led the University of Notre Dame to the 1988 National Championship, has passed away at the age of 89. One of the most affable coaches of his generation, Holtz won 249 games as a collegiate head coach with 100 of those victories earned at Notre Dame from 1986 through 1996. He led the Irish to the 1988 National Championship with a 12-0 record capped by a victory over West Virginia in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl. The ‘88 title season began a 64-9-1 (.871) run for Holtz at Notre Dame that included a 23-game win streak, back-to-back 12-win seasons for the first time in school history and a program record nine consecutive bowl game appearances. Holtz was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008 and instituted several traditions at Notre Dame that carry on to this day. The famous “Play Like A Champion” sign in the football locker room, which Fighting Irish players continue to honor on the way out to the playing field, was first displayed during the Holtz era. Holtz also removed names from the back of the football jerseys to emphasize the team dynamic, a tradition that is still followed today during all regular-season games. Holtz returned to campus during the 2025 football season and presented the colors for the National Anthem before the kickoff of the Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M game. Among the legendary players coached by Holtz at Notre Dame are 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown and College Football Hall of Famers Raghib ‘Rocket’ Ismail, Michael Stonebreaker, Aaron Taylor and Chris Zorich. Holtz’s lasting legacy at the University of Notre Dame goes beyond his accomplishments and traditions with the football program. Football student-athletes who played for him developed Holtz’s Heroes, a charitable foundation that supports former student-athletes facing financial, physical, or mental hardships, provides scholarship aid to deserving youth and serves communities in need through charitable works. In 2021 the University dedicated the Beth and Lou Holtz Family Grand Reading Room at the Hesburgh Library, made possible by a generous gift to the University by Holtz in memory of his wife Beth, who passed away on June 30, 2020. The Holtz family also supported the Rockne Heritage Fund, which underwrites financial aid to Fighting Irish student-athletes, and in 1991 they established the Lou and Beth Holtz Family Scholarship, which assists deserving undergraduate students with financial need. They also served as members of University President Father John I. Jenkins’ Cavanaugh Council, funded the renovation of the chapels in the Breen-Phillips, Morrissey and St. Edward’s residence halls and created the Liz Holtz Endowment for Excellence for Lyons Hall to provide an annual operating budget and for future needs and enhancements for residents of the hall. At the 2011 Commencement ceremonies, Holtz received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Notre Dame. In 2011-12, the couple was named the University’s first “ambassadors for research” and took a prominent role in increasing awareness of Notre Dame’s research mission. They took a particular interest in cancer research after Beth was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in 1997. She recovered after being given a five percent chance of survival. Holtz began his coaching career at William & Mary in 1969, then moved to NC State for the 1972 season. He won 33 games in four years with the Wolfpack and claimed the 1973 ACC Championship. He spent one season in the NFL with the New York Jets, then returned to college football at Arkansas in 1977. His first season at Arkansas culminated with a 31-6 upset victory over No. 3 Oklahoma in the 1978 Orange Bowl. That victory, coupled with Notre Dame’s dominating upset of top-ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl, allowed the Fighting Irish to move from fifth to number one after the bowl season and earn the national championship. Holtz would finish his run at Arkansas 60-21-2 and eventually move to the University of Minnesota in 1984. He won 10 games in two years with the Gophers before accepting the Notre Dame opportunity at the end of the 1985 season. After his retirement at Notre Dame at the end of the 1996 season, Holtz joined CBS Sports as a game commentator but still had one more coaching run left. In 1999 he took the job at South Carolina and rebuilt the Gamecock program, finishing 0-11 in his first season then 8-5 in year two which included an upset of Ohio State in the Outback Bowl. The eight-game turnaround earned him national coach of the year honors. Holtz would eventually win 33 games in six years at South Carolina, which included back-to-back Outback Bowl wins in 2000 and 2001. Born January 6, 1937, in Follansbee, West Virginia, Holtz grew up in East Liverpool, Ohio, and played linebacker at Kent State University. His first coaching opportunity was at Iowa as a graduate assistant in 1960, then William & Mary, Connecticut, South Carolina and Ohio State as an assistant coach. He was a member of the Buckeye coaching staff for the 1968 national championship season. Holtz is survived by his four children, Luanne, Lou ‘Skip’ Junior, Kevin and Elizabeth, with the latter three all graduating from the University of Notre Dame. ================================================================== NOTRE DAME MEN’S BASKETBALL IRISH DROP HOME FINALE TO STANFORD, 78-86 SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (13-17, 4-13) fell 78-86 to the Stanford Cardinal (19-11, 8-9) in a late-night battle in the final home game of the season. Stanford’s hot shooting made it difficult for the Irish defense, as the Cardinal went 57.1 percent from the floor and 12-23 (52.2%) from three. The Irish had one of their best games from the free-throw line, converting 25-28 (89.3%). The Blue & Gold shot 43.1% from the field and 9-22 (40.9%) from three-point range. The Irish were led by Jalen Haralson with 19 points, shooting 3-6 from the floor and a career best 13-15 from the free throw line. The freshman also grabbed five rebounds and three assists. He was followed by Cole Certa with 17 points as he went a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe. The sophomore has now produced eight straight games in double figures, totaling 164 points in that span. Braeden Shrewsberry went 3-7 from behind the arc as he finished with 14 points and five boards. Brady Koehler and Logan Imes finished with 10 points a piece, while Garrett Sundra led the Irish with six rebounds. HOW IT HAPPENED The Fighting Irish led 9-8 at the first media timeout with eight of those points belonging to freshman Brady Koehler. Next, Stanford got red hot, completing a 12-14 shooting stretch from the field to jump out ahead 38-28. The Cardinal ultimately started 7-10 from beyond the arc. On the flip side, Notre Dame relied on the trio of Imes, Haralson and Shrewsberry to keep pace, as they combined for 17 points during that early stretch. Diving deeper, from 9:41-7:35, Shrewsberry recorded 8 points behind 2 triples; which was then outdone by Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie who recorded 11 points behind 3 triples from 8:37-6:04. Okorie’s surge kept Stanford out ahead by double digits at 30-40. Soon after, Certa banged in a three to record five straight, which cut the deficit to 35-42. The Irish would ultimately trail 37-45 at halftime with Shrewsberry and Haralson leading the offensive charge with nine points a piece for the Irish. Okorie had 13 at the break. Notre Dame shot 40.7 percent from the floor on 11-27 shooting and 44.4 percent from three on 4-9 shooting, while Stanford shot an impressive 69.2 percent from the field shooting 18-26 and 61.5 percent from three as they went 8-13 from behind the arc. Fast forward to 13:25 on the clock in the second half and Notre Dame found itself down nine. That’s precisely when an Irish duo gave the home team and crowd some life, as Carson Towt recorded a slam followed by a Cole Certa three. Stanford called a timeout to halt the Irish momentum and it worked. Coming off an 0-8 stretch from the field, the Cardinal made three straight and tallied a 9-2 scoring run to go up 11. An Imes jumper in the paint plus Shrewsberry three was countered by a three-pointer from Stanford’s Jeremy Dent-Smith, who hadn’t missed yet in the game (5-5 FG, 4-4 3PT). The Irish now trailed 58-67 with 7:13 left to play. Over the next four minutes, Imes would hit a pair of threes to keep the offense moving but Stanford got hot from the floor once again. With 3:25 remaining, the Irish trailed 68-75, as the Cardinal went into the media timeout on an 8-12 shooting stretch. A pair of Haralson free throws made it a five-point game with 2:35 to play. The defense then forced a shot-clock violation in which they capitalized again with another pair of Haralson free throws, cutting it to 72-75. Next, Stanford answered on the ensuing possession with a three. Then, Haralson took charge of the offense with a quick score, 74-78. The Cardinal then went to the free-throw line in which they went 1-2, making it a five-point game. Haralson went to work again, quickly getting it down the court and earning a trip to the stripe. The freshman converted both, making both to make it a one-possession game with just under a minute remaining. In just 20 seconds time, the Cardinal would go on a 5-0 run to extend their lead to 84-76. Haralson would have one last finish at the rim to make it 78-84 with 17 seconds left, but two more Stanford free throws would cap off their win as the Irish fell 78-86. UP NEXT One last game remains in the regular season and now the Fighting Irish need two things: a win at Boston College and a Pitt loss at Syracuse. If that happens, they’ll qualify for the 2026 ACC Tournament. Notre Dame and Boston College will tip off at Noon ET this Saturday inside the Conte Forum on ESPNU. ==================================================================== NOTRE DAME BASEBALL IRISH PAIR NAMED TO WATCH LISTS OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Noah Coy and Chase Van Ameyde were named to a pair of award watch lists by the College Baseball Foundation. Coy was named to the 2026 watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award, which honors the nation’s top shortstop. It is named for former Texas Tech shortstop Brooks Wallace, who played for the Red Raiders from 1977 to 1980. He passed away from leukemia at the age of 27. Van Ameyde is on the 2026 watch list for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year. The award is named after former Washington State University standout John Olerud, who was a first baseman and left-handed pitcher during the late 1980s. He was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. Both awards will be presented later this year. ====================================================================== NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S BASKETBALL NOTRE DAME DRAWS MIAMI IN FIRST ACC TOURNAMENT GAME DULUTH, Ga. — March has arrived, and a late-season run by Notre Dame (20-9) helped the Irish secure the No. 5 seed for the 2026 ACC Tournament. After earning a first-round bye, the Irish will open play on Thursday against No. 12 seed Miami (17-13). The game will air on the ACC Network from Gas South Arena at 1:30 p.m. Jenn Hildreth and Debbie Antonelli will be on the call. NOTES Notre Dame has won five consecutive games and seven of the last eight, including downing No. 10 Louisville on their home court on Sunday. Hannah Hidalgo posted another masterclass with 30 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals. She was 9-13 from the floor and had the game-sealing steal with 14 seconds to go. Vanessa de Jesus was also critical to Notre Dame’s win, hitting four triples and finishing with 14 points. Miami is coming off an ACC Tournament First Round game on Wednesday, defeating 13th-seeded Stanford 83-76 in overtime. Center Ra Shaya Kyle led the Hurricanes with 25 points and 11 rebounds. On Tuesday, Hidalgo was named ACC Player of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player in ACC history to win both awards in back-to-back seasons. Hidalgo was also ACC Defensive Player of the Year as a freshman and is the second player in ACC history to earn the honor three times. Cassandre Prosper also received her flowers this week, as the senior was named the ACC’s Most Improved Player and earned a spot on the All-ACC Second Team. Prosper averaged career-highs in nearly every category — points (14.1), rebounds (7.1), assists (1.9), blocks (1.0), field goal percentage (49.4), free throw percentage (75.8) and three-point percentage (35.6). Notre Dame is 27-6 all-time against Miami and 2-1 in the ACC Tournament. ================================================================= NOTRE DAME HOCKEY NOTRE DAME PREPARES FOR FINAL ROAD TRIP AT OHIO STATE Columbus, Ohio – The University of Notre Dame Hockey team hits the road one final time this regular season to travel to Columbus for a rematch with Big Ten opponent Ohio State. The rematch series between the Irish and Buckeyes is slated for this Thursday and Friday at the Schottenstein Center, March 5-6. Both contests are scheduled for a 6:30 pm start on B1G+. The mid-week hockey matchup marks the 109th & 110th times these two programs have squared off against each other after previously clashing in South Bend back in January. The series resulted in a split with each squad taking a victory in the two-game series, Ohio State on Friday night and Notre Dame on Saturday. Beginning in 1968-69, the Irish are currently in a deadlock through the all-time series with Ohio State in which both teams hold 48 wins along with 12 ties. The last time Notre Dame visited Columbus in the 2024-25 season they were bested in both games despite a pair of hard fought efforts each night. Owning 21 wins on the road in Columbus, the Irish look to take their previous performance against the Buckeyes in South Bend on the road with them this week. When these teams last met, Notre Dame secured its first conference win of the season with a 6-1 final after dropping a heartbreaker in the Friday night tilt with a pair of last minute goals by the Buckeyes. Graduate forward Sutter Muzzatti set a new career high in points during Saturday’s contest, notching four points on two goals and two assists (2-2-4) in the Irish victory, earning him conference honors as the Third Star of the Week following the weekend of play. In the two games played against the Buckeyes this season, seven different skaters for Notre Dame have recorded multiple points, and 12 have recorded at least one point on the score sheet. Coming off of an upset win over the then-fifth ranked Penn State Nittany Lions, the Irish skated to a tie and an overtime victory over the course of the weekend. Thanks to his strong play over both games, including two goals in Saturday’s overtime win, junior captain Danny Nelson earned Big Ten honors as the Second Star of the Week. In addition to his goals, Nelson was a force to be reckoned with in the face-off circle winning over 57.9-percent of his opportunities with 33 of 57 draws from the dot, ranking first in the Big Ten and second in the nation on the weekend. Senior alternate captain Axel Kumlin recorded his third goal of the season to secure the Irish victory in overtime to earn a senior night victory. The goal was set up by Muzzatti as he and Kumlin rushed the net from each side forcing the goalie to make a move. Muzzatti’s pass across the crease caught the senior’s stick before being launched past the diving body of the PSU netminder to end things just 47 seconds into the overtime period by a score of 4-3. As Notre Dame heads southeast for the final series of the regular season with Ohio State, the Irish aim to carry the explosiveness and hard hitting action from their recent series with Penn State into Columbus. Entering the final meeting with Ohio State, Notre Dame is prepared to add another installment of excitement to this 58 year-old rivalry and close out Coach Sheahan’s first regular season at the helm of Irish Hockey. SERIES OVERVIEW Opponent: Ohio State (March 5-6) Location: Columbus, Ohio Schedule: Thurs. 6:30 PM | Fri. 6:30 PM TV/Streaming: B1G+ Live Stats: FightingIrish.com Radio: fightingirish.com/radioaffiliates/ Game Notes: Notre Dame ====================================================================== BUTLER MEN’S BASKETBALL SECOND HALF PUSHES CREIGHTON BY BUTLER WEDNESDAY NIGHT Creighton used a strong second half to post a 76-59 win over Butler Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Bluejays erased a four-point halftime deficit by winning the second half, 44-23. With the result, Creighton is 15-16 overall and 9-11 in BIG EAST play. Butler falls to 15-15 (6-13 BIG EAST). HOW IT HAPPENED: An 8-0 run by Creighton eliminated Butler’s seven-point first-half lead as the Bluejays took a 29-28 advantage with 2:34 remaining in the half. A late spurt by the Bulldogs gave Butler a 36-32 halftime advantage. Michael Ajayi registered 15 first-half points as the Bulldogs scored 22 points in the paint over the first 20 minutes. Creighton scored the first 15 points of the second half to take their (then) largest lead of the game at 47-36 with 14:48 remaining. Butler opened the second half with seven missed shots and two turnovers before getting on the scoreboard. The Bluejays extended their lead to 16 at 58-42 by scoring 26 of the first 32 points of the second half. Butler never got any momentum from the field, going 2-for-21 from behind the arc before two Evan Haywood three-pointers in the final two minutes. TIP-INS: Creighton shot only 42 percent from the field, but did hit 10 three-pointers on 28 attempts. Josh Dix led the Bluejays with 22 points; Nik Graves had a double-double with 14 points and 13 assists to go along with six steals. Ajayi posted his 17th double-double of the season with 26 points and 13 rebounds. He entered the game ranked fifth nationally in rebounding and eighth in double-doubles on the season. Butler shot only 4-for-24 from three-point range and 41 percent overall from the field. The Bulldogs committed 15 turnovers, which Creighton converted into 27 points. The 59 points scored by Butler are the team’s third-lowest output of the season. This was the second meeting between the teams this season as the Bluejays won 89-85 Dec. 30 in Omaha. UP NEXT: The Bulldogs close out the regular season Saturday at DePaul. The Noon (Eastern) tip will air on FS1. The BIG EAST Tournament runs March 11-14 in New York City. ===================================================================== BUTLER BASEBALL LOGAN CROCK NAMED TO BROOKS WALLACE AWARD WATCHLIST INDIANAPOLIS – Logan Crock was named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watchlist on Wednesday morning. The award honors the nation’s top shortstop and will be presented by the College Baseball Foundation later this year. It is named for former Texas Tech shortstop Brooks Wallace, who played for the Red Raiders from 1977 to 1980. Wallace died of leukemia at the age of 27. The top 100 shortstops in the country made the list which featured Butler shortstop Crock. The sophomore has had a solid start to 2026 slashing .263/.395/.759 in 11 games for the Dawgs. Crock has 10 hits, two doubles, one homer and eight RBIs to his credit on the young season. The Noblesville, Indiana native leads the team on defense with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Crock has 33 assists and 17 putouts thus far and has been a vital piece of Butler’s middle infield. ===================================================================== BUTLER WOMEN’S LAX STRONG FOURTH QUARTER NOT ENOUGH IN DAWGS LOSS TO LINDENWOOD INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.- The Butler women’s lacrosse team fell to Lindenwood 17-12 on Wednesday afternoon. Lindenwood came out firing with three goals in the first six minutes. Elise Latham, would respond with a goal with six minutes to go in the first. Lindenwood would then respond with four more goals in the quarter. Emily Eckert closed out the quarter with the second goal for the Dawgs. Lindenwood outscored Butler 5-1 in the second quarter. Sarah Gastineau recorded a goal as the lonesome Bulldog second quarter goal. After the half, Lindenwood would score one quick goal then two more in the final five minutes of the quarter. The Bulldogs would score only two goals to fall down by ten going into the fourth. The two goals were recorded to Maggie Lewis and Katie Smyka. The Dawgs came out firing in the fourth quarter. They would score five goals in the first six minutes. Smyka recorded two, Riley Ryan recorded three more, and Genna Sulek would get on the board as well. Lindenwood responded with two goals. Latham and Grace Churchwell would record goals in the final minutes, but it would not be enough for the Bulldogs as they fell 17-12 to the Lions. Notable Stats: Kerrin McGovern recorded seven draw controls. Olivia DiCarlo recorded six draw controls. Up Next The Bulldogs finish out a three-game homestand, facing Central Michigan on Sunday, March 8 at 12 p.m. ===================================================================== IU INDY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL JAGUARS DEFEAT NORSE TO ADVANCE TO SECOND ROUND OF #HLWBB TOURNEY HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The No. 7 seeded IU Indy women’s basketball team opened Horizon League Tournament play in thrilling fashion on Tuesday night (March 4), knocking off No. 4 Northern Kentucky, 74-72, inside Truist Arena. With the win, the Jaguars advance to the second round of the tourney. IU Indy will now return home to Indianapolis for the second-round contest on Sunday, March 8 at 1:00 PM inside the Corteva Coliseum. “Winning a conference tournament game on the road is never easy,” said Head Coach Kate Bruce. “Our team showed toughness, discipline, and trust in each other when it mattered most. I’m incredibly proud of how we competed for 40 minutes.” The Jaguars shot an efficient 52.7 percent (29-of-55) from the floor and poured in 50 points in the paint, overcoming nine lead changes and seven ties to secure the two-point victory. IU Indy battled through a tight opening frame that featured multiple momentum swings. After trailing early, the Jaguars used interior scoring and a pair of threes from Nevaeh Foster to grab a five-point edge midway through the quarter. Northern Kentucky closed on a late three-pointer to take an 18-17 lead after one. The Norse extended their advantage in the second period, limiting IU Indy to ten points in the frame. Despite strong work on the glass and paint touches, the Jaguars went scoreless from three-point range in the quarter and entered halftime trailing 31-27. IU Indy flipped the script coming out of the locker room. The Jaguars erupted for 26 third-quarter points, shooting a blistering 11-of-16 (68.8 percent) from the field in the stanza. Olivia Smith and Hailey Smith fueled a fastbreak surge, while Foster added another key triple as IU Indy carried a 53-53 tie into the final quarter. In a back-and-forth final 10 minutes, IU Indy made winning plays down the stretch. The Jaguars shot 66.7 percent (8-of-12) in the fourth, reclaiming the lead on a series of transition buckets and defensive stops. Clinging to a one-point advantage in the final seconds, Julia Hall knocked down a free throw with nine seconds remaining to make it a two-point game. IU Indy secured the final defensive stand to secure their spot in the next round. Olivia Smith led the Jaguars with 20 points on an efficient 8-of-11 shooting night, adding five rebounds, two assists and a block. Hailey Smith added 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds, helping control the paint on both ends while contributing four steals. Nevaeh Foster chipped in 13 points, connecting on all three of IU Indy’s made three-pointers and shooting 4-of-6 overall. Destini Craig and Julia Hall each finished with 10 points, with Hall delivering the late free throw that helped seal the tournament victory. IU Indy forced 12 Northern Kentucky turnovers, turning defensive pressure into 23 fastbreak points in the upset win. With the opening-round victory secured, the Jaguars now turn their focus to Sunday’s second-round matchup at Corteva Coliseum. The Jags face No. 5 Purdue Fort Wayne at 1:00 PM. ===================================================================== BALL STATE MEN’S VOLLEYBALL MVB HEADS TO ILLINOIS FOR NO. 8 LOYOLA AND NO. 14 LEWIS This Week in Ball State Men’s Volleyball: The Ball State men’s volleyball program travels to Illinois this week for a pair of ranked conference matchups. The Cardinals begin its road trip at Gentile Arena to battle No. 8 Loyola Chicago (March 5) at 7 p.m., followed by a visit to No. 14 Lewis (March 7) at 5 p.m. Last Serve: Ball State finished another week of action inside Worthen Arena last week with back-to-back wins over Tusculum (Feb. 26) and then No. 20 Purdue Fort Wayne (Feb. 27). In a four set win over the Pioneers, (20-25, 28-26, 25-17, 27-25), Ryan Louis led the Cardinals’ offense with 19 kills on .621 hitting alongside Jason Harris who followed with a career-best 15 kills. Senior Griffin Satterfield recorded a season-high 44 assists to pace Ball State to a .321 attack percentage, while Daniel Gunther and Adir Ben Shloosh led the defensive front as Gunther tallied five blocks and Ben Shloosh contributed seven digs. The next night in a straight set win versus the Mastodons (25-18, 25-21, 25-12), Patrick Rogers had a match-high 16 kills on a .483 clip as Lucas Machado guided the floor with 32 assists, aiding the Cardinals to its sixth match hitting .400 or better. Machado also led at the net with five blocks. Libero Victor Scherer contributed greatly to Ball State’s defense with nine digs. 15-2 in the Iandolo Era: After taking the reigns of the program this past summer, head coach Mike Iandolo has marched the Cardinals to a 15-2 record to begin his first year in the position. Ball State last met this mark in Iandolo’s first year as an assistant coach in 2022, which led to a conference regular season and tournament championship, as well a No.2 national ranking and national semifinal appearance. Unbeaten at Worthen: The Cardinals have begun the 2026 campaign with an unblemished 11-0 start inside its home Worthen Arena. Ball State last achieved this type of success at home at the start of its 2004 season, reaching 11-0 before eventually falling to Lewis in three sets. The team finished that year with a 16-1 record at home. Including last year’s 3-1 Senior Day win over McKendree (March 29), Ball State holds a 12-0 streak on its home court. Top of the MIVA: Ball State has jumped to a 6-1 start to conference play, positioning itself at the top of the MIVA rankings in 2026. The program reached a similar mark in the 2024 season, starting 9-1 until dropping three sets to Ohio state (March 21). The Cardinals finished that year 13-3 in the league to secure its third-consecutive, and 25th total, regular season championship. A Homecoming for Iandolo: Saturday’s match against the Flyers will be a return to Niel Carey Arena for head coach Mike Iandolo, who was a standout setter at Lewis, being named a two-time All-MIVA first-teamer (2009 & 2010) and a three-time Academic All-MIVA selection. Iandolo was also a three-time recipient of Lewis’ Delahanty Award which honors exemplary student-athletes. Rogers AVCA POTY Watchlist: Senior outside hitter Patrick Rogers has been named as one of 15 members honored in the first ever watchlist for the American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Year award. The inaugural watch list was compiled by the AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Awards committee. Semifinalists for the award are to be announced in early April, and the final four will be named prior to the 2026 National Collegiate Championship May 9-11. The 2026 AVCA Player of the Year is to be revealed during the championship banquet. Match History – Loyola Chicago: In the all-time series between these two teams, which dates back to 1996, the Ramblers hold a 41-26 advantage. In matches held in Chicago, Loyola leads 29-5. Ball State last took a win at Gentile Arena in 2024, winning in five sets (25-16, 25-23, 22-25, 18-25, 15-11). Scouting Loyola Chicago: The Ramblers sit at third in the MIVA, holding a 4-1 conference record with its only blemish coming at the hands of Lindenwood in four sets (Feb. 4). Against ranked opponents, Loyola has a 5-4 record with its most notable win being against No. 2 Hawai’i (Jan. 2). Statistically, the team ranks second in the league in hitting percentage (.328), assists (12.17/set) kills (13.00/set) and blocks (2.42/set). Its kill, assist and hitting percent averages translate into top 10 placements nationally. Junior opposite Aleksandar Sosa leads the Rambler’s attacking, averaging a MIVA-best 4.23 kills per set on a .318 clip. His kill average also ranks fourth in the nation. Setter Alex Smits Van Oyen ranks at the top of the conference and second in the nation in assists (11.14). Defensively, JJ Sowa sits at second in the MIVA in digs (2.27/set) while Aidan Klein ranks fourth in blocks (1.00/set) Senior setter Ryan McElligott was awarded the league’s offensive player of the week award on March 3 after guiding the Ramblers to a .386 hitting average against NKU and Ohio State, including a 11.17 assists per set average against the Buckeyes. Match history – Lewis: Going back to 1994, Ball State holds a narrow lead in the all-time series over the Flyers, leading 39-38 which includes a 6-4 advantage in the last 10 contests. In Romeoville, Lewis has won 22 matches to Ball State’s 13. The Cardinals were last victorious at Neil Carey Arena in 2024, topping the Flyers in five sets. Scouting Lewis: The Flyers sit fourth in the league at 4-3, winning its past four conference matchups against Queens (Feb. 20 and 22), Ohio State (Feb. 26) and Northern Kentucky (Feb. 27). Against ranked opponents, Lewis is 2-6 with wins over #9 Stanford (Jan. 10) and in its most recent matchup against then #13 Ohio State. Prior to Saturday, the Flyers host No. #19 Purdue Fort Wayne. Overall, Lewis leads the MIVA in blocks (2.59/set) and opponent hitting percentage (.214). The Flyers also rank seventh in assists (10.90/set) and kills (11.78/set) as well as sixth in hitting (.280). It’s blocking average ranks seventh nationally. Senior outside hitter Daniel Haber leads the team’s offense with 2.82 kills per set on .251 hitting. Haber also ranks fourth in the MIVA in service aces with 0.54 per set. Libero Nico Paula leads the league and in digs, averaging 2.46 per set. Middle blocker Shawn Baggs Jr. is second in the conference in blocks with 1.19 per set. Both player’s averages rank ninth nationally. AVCA Top 20 Poll: Ball State entered the 2026 season ranked #16 in the AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Preseason Poll with a total of 144 points. Heading into week nine, the Cardinals sit at No. 9 with 288 votes. The only other MIVA team ranked higher is No. 8 Loyola Chicago. ===================================================================== INDIANA STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL MEN’S BASKETBALL SET TO BATTLE THE BEACONS ON THURSDAY NIGHT AT ARCH MADNESS ST. LOUIS – Indiana State men’s basketball opens the 2026 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Thursday night, drawing the No. 7 seed Valparaiso with a start time of 7 p.m. ET. The Sycamores earned the No. 10 seed following a 4-16 regular season conference record. With a win… With a win, Indiana State will move onto play the No. 2 seed Bradley on Friday night at 7 p.m. ET. Regular Season Stat Leaders Scoring: Ian Scott (13.5) Rebounds: Ian Scott (6.5) Assists: Xavier Hall (4.23) FG%: Ian Scott (65.5%, min. 150 attempts) Honorable mention: Enel St. Bernard (65.5%, 74-113) 3FG%: Camp Wagner (34.4%, min. 50 attempts) Honorable mention: Ian Scott (38.8%, 19-49) Steals: Ian Scott (38) Blocks: Enel St. Bernard (31) Minutes: Ian Scott (29.9), Camp Wagner (28.5), Xavier Hall (27.8) Series History Indiana State has fallen twice to Valpo this season, most recently on February 15 in Valparaiso, 76-75. The Sycamores had a one-point lead with less than 10 seconds remaining, but a short jumper sent the Beacons to the victory. In the game, the Sycamores shot 54.4% from the field but made only 4-of-15 (26.7%) from three with nine free throws made, while Valpo shot 51.8% from the field and made 8-of-19 (42.1%) from three with 10 made free throws. On January 31, Indiana State hosted Valpo and fell, 76-72. The numbers slightly favored the Sycamores: Indiana State (45.8%, 24.0%) vs. Valpo (43.8%, 21.4%). Though Indiana State shot slightly better, the difference is Valpo attempts five more field goals resulted in one more make, and the Beacons made five more shots from the line. Last Time Out Indiana State snapped a six-game losing streak on Senior Day Sunday with a win over UIC, 79-63. Camp Wagner paced the Sycamores with a season high 25 points, followed by Ian Scott with 15, Jo Van Buggenhout with 12, and Bruno Alocen with 11. Markus Harding led the team with five rebounds, while Van Buggenhout chipped in a game-high five assists. Indiana State shot 54.9% from the field and hit 48.3% of the shots from downtown, the second-best mark this season. Quick Hits Ian Scott (via KenPom) ended the regular season 17th in the nation in effective field goal percentage (eFG%) at 66.4% and 15th in true shooting (68.0%) In the last game, Camp Wagner scored a season-high 25 points, making 7-of-10 from three. He’s the first Sycamore to score 25 points in a game since Samage Teel scored 26 at Drake on February 8 of last season. In the last four games: Ian Scott:13.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 2.0 STL/G, 67.7% FG, 5 total BLK Camp Wagner: 12.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 43.8% 3FG (14-32) Following the UIC game, INS is 9-2 when giving up 73 points or less & 2-16 when allowing 74+ points ====================================================================== INDIANA STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SYCAMORES PLAY HOST TO PANTHERS IN REGULAR SEASON FINALE TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State plays its final road game of the 2025-26 season Saturday evening when it faces Belmont for a 5 p.m. tip in the Music City. Thursday’s game will be aired on ESPN+, with Chris Machado (play-by-play) and Nyah Wilson (analyst) on the call. John Sherman will also have the radio call on WFNB-FM The Fanbase (99.5 and 106.9 FM). Last Time Out Indiana State and Belmont were neck-and-neck for the majority of the first 30 minutes Saturday evening, before the homestanding Bruins pulled away to defeat the Sycamores 88-79 inside the Curb Event Center. Clemisha Prackett paced the Blue and White with a career-high 22 points and eight rebounds, with Kennedy Claybrooks adding 12 points and nine assists to finish just shy of a double-double. Da’Naria Washington tacked on 11 points and seven rebounds for the Sycamores. Indiana State kept pace with Belmont for most of the first half with a balanced attack, as four different Trees had at least seven points in the opening 20 minutes. A 13-0 Bruin run spanning parts of the second and third was answered by the Sycamores, as Indiana State pulled within three midway through the third. Belmont iced the game with a 10-0 fourth quarter run, holding off an Indiana State rally despite a 9-0 run for the Sycamores to close the game. Moo’s Monster Week Indiana State junior forward Clemisha Prackett put together her most productive week in a Sycamore uniform in the final road trip of the season, averaging 21.5 points and 13.0 rebounds per game against the top two teams in the conference, Murray State and Belmont. Prackett produced a 21-point, 18-rebound double-double against Murray State, with her 18 rebounds being tied for fourth-most in a game in program history. Her 18 rebounds were the most by a Sycamore in a game since Mya Glanton also tallied 18 rebounds against Murray State on Jan. 11, 2024. The West Memphis, Arkansas, native poured in a career-high 22 points in Indiana State’s last game at Belmont, also adding in eight rebounds against the Bruins. Prackett became the first Sycamore with back-to-back 20-point game since Keslyn Secrist accomplished the feat against Murray State and Belmont in the final week of the 2024-25 season. Prackett was named MVC Newcomer of the Week for the second time this season for her efforts against the Bruins and Racers, shooting 16-for-28 from the field (57.1 percent) and 11-for-13 from the charity stripe (84.6 percent) against the top two teams in the conference. Stepping Up Indiana State graduate guard Da’Naria Washington made the most of her opportunity against the top two teams in the conference, scoring in double-figures in both ends of the Sycamores’ final road trip of the 2025-26 season. Washington averaged 13.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in Indiana State’s two-game swing against Murray State and Belmont, shooting 10-for-19 from the field (52.6 percent) against the Racers and Bruins. Washington tallied one of her most productive outings at Murray State, finishing with 16 points and four assists against the Racers while shooting 60 percent from the floor. 11 of Washington’s 16 points came in the first half, with the Indianapolis native being an early spark in an otherwise rough start for the Sycamores against the conference champions. Playing in her final road game as a Sycamore, Washington finished with 11 points and seven rebounds against Belmont. The seven rebounds were tied for her second-most in a game this season, with the guard recording back-to-back double-figure outings for the second time in conference play this season. Dishing Out Dimes Indiana State senior guard Kennedy Claybrooks has been among the assist leaders in the Missouri Valley Conference this season, with her 4.9 assists per game ranking third in the conference. The Memphis native has dished out five or more assists in 11 games this season, with seven of those games coming against conference foes. Claybrooks dished out nine assists in the Sycamores’ last game at Belmont and also finished with eight assists in Indiana State’s Senior Day win over Southern Illinois. She also has a pair of games this season with 10-plus assists, with 10 against Murray State and 11 against Bradley. Claybrooks’ 4.9 assists per game are on paces to be the most by a Sycamore since the 2006-07 season, when Angela Phillips averaged 5.3 assists per game for the Sycamores. She would become the second straight Sycamore point guard to average more than 4.5 assists per game (Deja Jones – 4.7 in 2024-25), after Indiana State went nearly 15 years without a single player averaging at least 4.5 assists per game. Off And Running Indiana State has placed an emphasis on its up-tempo offense this season, with the Sycamores on pace for their highest-scoring season since the 2006-07 campaign. The Trees are poised to surpass 70 points per game for the first time in nearly 20 years and just the sixth time in the last 30 years, with the Blue and White currently averaging 74.0 points per game. Indiana State has scored at least 70 points in 19 of its 29 games this season, including five games with 80-plus points. The Sycamores rank second in the MVC and 53rd nationally in scoring offense, with the Blue and White set to finish the season in the top 100 nationally in scoring for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign. Indiana State has not ranked this highly in scoring offense since a five-year stretch from 2002-07 which featured four top-10 nationally ranked scoring offenses. A major factor behind Indiana State’s ability to score at a high rate is the Sycamores’ pace of play under head coach Marc Mitchell. The Blue and White enter Thursday’s game ranked sixth nationally with 78.4 possessions per 40 minutes, the most among any school in the MVC. Indiana State has ranked in the top 20 nationally in possessions per 40 minutes in each of Mitchell’s first two seasons as head coach of the Sycamores, with the Trees’ 75.9 possessions per 40 minutes in the 2024-25 season ranking 17th nationally. The 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons mark Indiana State’s only seasons ranked inside the top 50 in pace within the last 15 seasons. No Start, No Problem Indiana State’s rotation is unique, in that the Sycamores’ three leading scorers this season have primarily come off the bench. Tierney Kelsey (14.2 points per game) and Clemisha Prackett (11.0) both average double-figures off the bench, while Jayci Allen adds just shy of 10 points per game off the pine for the Blue and White The Sycamore bench unit has been one of the most productive in the nation this season, entering Thursday’s regular season finale ranked third overall at 32.4 points per game. Indiana State trails only a pair of top-25 teams in LSU and Louisville in bench scoring this season, while being one of just six teams this season averaging more than 30 bench points per game. Indiana State and Drake (25.9) are the only teams in the MVC averaging more than 25 bench points per game. Indiana State’s bench has upped its production in recent weeks, with the Sycamores producing 40-plus bench points in each of their last three games. The Sycamores outscored Southern Illinois 44-9 in bench points in their 81-73 Senior Day win over the Salukis, as four different Sycamore reserves had at least seven points in the victory for the Blue and White. Indiana State tallied 42 bench points in both of its road games against Murray State and Belmont, with Clemisha Prackett coming off the bench to score 20-plus points against both the Racers and Bruins. Tierney Kelsey added 16 off the bench at Murray State. Indiana State has produced eight games this season with 40-plus bench points, with five of those eight games coming against conference foes. On This Date Indiana State owns a 5-13 record in games played on this date, including a 2-4 record in home games played on this date. The Sycamores have never played Northern Iowa on this day and last played on this day in 2022. 1976 – at Ball State (W, 76-68) 1977 – vs. Indiana (L, 53-58) 1982 – vs. Ball State (L, 51-71) 1984 – at Southern Illinois (L, 61-101) 1986 – Illinois State (L, 70-77) 1994 – at Bradley (W, 87-82) 1995 – at Creighton (L, 102-110) 1998 – vs. Illinois State (W, 67-58) 1999 – vs. Creighton (L, 54-76) 2003 – Illinois State (W, 74-54) 2005 – Illinois State (W, 68-48) 2009 – at Creighton (L, 32-54) 2011 – at Bradley (L, 69-77) 2015 – Missouri State (L, 56-65) 2016 – at Wichita State (L, 53-54) 2020 – Bradley (L, 59-68) 2021 – at Bradley (L, 52-86) 2022 – Drake (L, 71-86) Northern Iowa At A Glance Northern Iowa enters Thursday’s game at 15-13 overall and 11-7 in conference play. The Panthers have won two straight, including an 82-62 victory over UIC in their last game. Ryley Goebel leads the Panthers with 14.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, with sharpshooter Jenna Twedt also scoring in double-figures at 14.0 points per game. Elise Jaeger averages a team-leading 10.2 rebounds per game and has dished out a team-high 74 assists. Goebel leads the MVC with 2.7 blocks per game and also ranks third in the conference with 1.9 steals per game. Tanya Warren is in her 19th season as head coach at Northern Iowa and owns a 354-257 record at the helm of the Panthers. Warren has led the Panthers to 14 postseason apperances during her time in Cedar Falls, including three NCAA Tournament berths. Series History Against Northern Iowa Indiana State is 42-45 all-time against Northern Iowa, including a 24-18 mark in Terre Haute. The Panthers have won 10 straight in the series, including a 91-78 victory in Cedar Falls earlier this season. The Sycamores’ last win in the series came in Terre Haute during the 2019-20 season. Last Meeting Against Northern Iowa (Feb. 12, 2026) Playing with just nine available players, Indiana State gave homestanding Northern Iowa everything it could handle on the road. The Sycamores nearly overcame a 16-point deficit, but ran out of gas late in a 91-79 defeat inside McLeod Center. Tierney Kelsey led the Trees with a career-high 27 points and six rebounds, while Jayci Allen and Clemisha Prackett came off the bench to score in double-figures with 13 and 12, respectively. Samiyah Briggs added 10 points, with Allen also leading the Blue and White with eight rebounds. After a rough first quarter which saw the Sycamores give up seven threes, the Blue and White found their stride in the middle frames. Indiana State got 11 points between Allen and Kelsey in the second to pull within five at the break, with the Trees briefly taking a lead in the third quarter after trailing by as many as 16. UNI took the lead back midway through the third, but the Sycamores kept pace thanks to 10 points in the period from Kelsey. Indiana State was within two possessions with less than four minutes remaining, but the Trees were unable to complete the comeback as Northern Iowa held off a resilient Sycamore effort. Up Next Indiana State turns its attention to the MVC Tournament in Coralville, Iowa, with the Sycamores slated to play at either 4:30 or 7 p.m. in the opening round March 12. ===================================================================== PURDUE FT. WAYNE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL MASTODONS ROLL PAST ROBERT MORRIS TO ADVANCE TO INDIANAPOLIS FORT WAYNE, Ind. – For the fourth season in a row, the Purdue Fort Wayne women’s basketball team will be back in Indianapolis for the Barbasol Horizon League Championship. Thanks to a 73-43 blowout of Robert Morris on Wednesday night (March 4), the Mastodons move on to the second round of the league tournament and will face IU Indianapolis on Sunday (March 8) at 1 p.m. in the Corteva Coliseum. After the Mastodons held a four-point lead at halftime, Purdue Fort Wayne’s smothering defense caused Robert Morris fits. The Colonials were only able to make four baskets in the second half, including just one in the fourth quarter. While the Mastodons shut down RMU’s offense, they mounted an 18-2 run in the last six minutes of the third quarter. Jordan Reid started the run with back-to-back buckets, including a triple, then Hillary Offing sandwiched two buckets around Lauren Lee’s 3-pointer. Aside from Purdue Fort Wayne’s relentless defense, it was the Mastodons’ rebounding that helped eliminate any Colonial hope. In the last 20 minutes, Purdue Fort Wayne out-rebounded RMU 20-8 and allowed just three offensive rebounds. The Mastodons finished the game with a 32-28 edge on the boards. Reid finished with a game-high 15 points and Lee chipped in 14. Alana Nelson added 12 points and Rylee Bess had 10. As a team, the ‘Dons shot 47.3 percent (26-of-55) and 42.9 percent from deep (9-of-21). RMU was a putrid 28.3 percent from the floor (13-for-46) and 18.8 percent from 3-point range (3-of-16). For the third game in a row, Purdue Fort Wayne held its opponent without a single fast break point while scoring 16 of their own fast break points. The ‘Dons also converted RMU’s 21 turnovers into 25 points. Wednesday’s win was the largest margin of victory for the Mastodons in the Horizon League Championship since they beat Detroit Mercy 66-35 in the 2024 tournament. Purdue Fort Wayne improved to 19-12. Robert Morris fell to 18-12. ====================================================================== PURDUE FT. WAYNE MEN’S VOLLEYBALL MASTODON MVB FACES TWO RANKED MIVA FOES FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Purdue Fort Wayne men’s volleyball team will finish their road trip by traveling to No. 14 Lewis on Thursday (March 5) and No. 8 Loyola Chicago on Saturday (March 7).Game Day InformationWho: No. 14 LewisWhen: Thursday, March 5 | 8 PM ETWhere: Romeoville, Ill. | Neil Carey ArenaWatch:YoutubeLive Stats:LinkGame Notes:MIVA | Purdue Fort WayneGame Day InformationWho: No. 8 Loyola ChicagoWhen: Saturday, March 7 | 8 PM ETWhere: Chicago, Ill. | Gentile ArenaWatch:ESPN+Live Stats:LinkGame Notes:MIVA | Purdue Fort Wayne Know Your Foes No. 14 Lewis is 11-6 on the year, 4-3 in MIVA play. The Flyers have ranked victories over No. 9 Stanford and No. 13 Ohio State, while losing to No. 13 Penn State, No. 6 Pepperdine, No. 11 UC San Diego, No. 13 McKendree and No. 18 Lindenwood. Lewis ranks seventh in blocks per set (2.59) and eighth in aces per set (1.84) nationally. Nico Paula leads the MIVA in digs per set (2.65) during association play, ninth in the nation through the season (2.46). Daniel Haber is eighth nationally in aces per set (0.54), fourth in MIVA play (0.50). The Flyers rank second in the MIVA in opponent hitting percentage (.248) during association play. Shawn Baggs is ninth nationally in blocks per set on the season (1.19). No. 8 Loyola Chicago is 10-4, 4-1 in MIVA play. The Ramblers have ranked wins over No. 2 Hawaii, No. 11 Stanford, No. 11 UC San Diego, No. 13 McKendree and No. 13 Ohio State, while losing to No. 2 Hawaii, No. 1 UCLA, No. 6 Pepperdine and No. 18 Lindenwood. Loyola Chicago leads the MIVA in hitting percentage (.342), assists (12.12), opponent kills (10.47), opponent hitting percentage (.183) and opponent assists (9.88). The Ramblers rank sixth in kills per set (13.00) and assists per set (12.17) nationally. Alex Smits Van Oyen has averaged 11.14 assists per set as Loyola Chicago’s setter, second best mark in the nation. Aleksandar Sosa is fourth in points per set (4.83) and kills per set (4.23) in the nation. Aidan Klien (.597) and Josh Schellinger (.379) are first and second in the MIVA in hitting percentage, respectively. Oskar Berg Mikkelsen’s 1.31 blocks per set in MIVA play ranks second in the association. Series Histories The ‘Dons trail in the series history with Lewis 47-27. The Flyers took both matches last year. Logan Muir hit 14 and 17 kills in the matches last season. Loyola Chicago leads the Mastodons 45-24 in the series history. The Ramblers swept the ‘Dons in both meetings last season. ‘Dons This Season No. 19 Purdue Fort Wayne are 8-5 on the season, an even 3-3 in MIVA play. Purdue Fort Wayne owns wins over (RV) NJIT, No. 20 Charleston and No. 12 McKendree, while suffering four of their five losses to ranked opponents: No. 12 CSUN, No. 13 Lindenwood, No. 13 Ohio State and No. 10 Ball State. Logan Muir leads the MIVA in points per set (5.09), kills per set (4.24) and service aces per set (0.59) during association play, also third in hitting percentage (.362). Hunter Hopkins is eighth in the nation in assists per set on the year (10.25), third in the association in MIVA play (10.20). Blocked By Fozzy! Kaden Fosdick was selected as the MIVA’s Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday (Feb.10). The junior aided the Mastodons to a 2-0 weekend and into a four match win streak. Fosdick rejected a total of 12 attacks against Northern Kentucky (Feb. 6) and Daemen (Feb. 8) for an average of 2.00 blocks per set, best in the MIVA for the week. The Wisconsin native had seven blocks and a dig during Purdue Fort Wayne’s first MIVA victory over the Norse. Fosdick had another five blocks in the victory over the Wildcats. Last Time Out Purdue Fort Wayne men’s volleyball team fell in straight sets (25-18, 25-22, 25-12) on Friday night (Feb. 27) at Ball State. Carlo Huisden finished with six kills and nine digs. ‘Dons In Five Purdue Fort Wayne is 4-1 this season in five-set matches, all at home, only losing the season opener to Missouri S&T. The Mastodons have beaten (RV) NJIT, Maryville, Daemen and No. 12 McKendree in the fifth set this year. Preseason All-MIVA Logan Muir was selected for the Preseason All-MIVA Team on December 15. Muir was named to the 2025 All-MIVA Second Team following last season. The Junior led the Mastodons in points (464.5), kills (391) and service aces (41) last year. He was second in the MIVA in kills per set (4.39), aces per set (0.41) and points per set (5.19) during conference play. Muir’s 5.09 points per set ranked fifth in the nation. The California native also was 10th in the MIVA in hitting percentage with .299. Muir recorded double-digit kills in 19 of the ‘Dons’ 26 matches. He hit a career-high 23 kills in three sets at McKendree, the third most in the program’s rally scoring era. Coming Up The ‘Dons host No. 15 Ohio State on March 14 for a lone home match. ====================================================================== EVANSVILLE MEN’S BASKETBALL MEN’S BASKETBALL OPENS ARCH MADNESS AGAINST UNI EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Arch Madness opens on Thursday when the University of Evansville men’s basketball team faces sixth-seeded UNI at 8:30 p.m. at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. ESPN+ and Purple Aces Radio Network will have the broadcast. All-MVC – AJ Casey earned a spot on the All-MVC Third Team when the league announced its postseason awards on Wednesday – Casey averaged 16.1 points per game against league foes while shooting 54.1% – Highlighting his league season was 37 points against Valparaiso where he hit the game-winning triple at the buzzer Last Time Out – Southern Illinois scored the final 12 points on Sunday to defeat the Aces by a final score of 81-67 in the regular season finale – Josh Hughes, Trent Hundley, and AJ Casey led UE with 16 points apiece SC Top 10 – AJ Casey made one of the SportsCenter Top 10 plays on Saturday, Feb. 28 with his game-winning triple at the buzzer to defeat Valparaiso – Casey set his new career high with 37 points in the contest tying him for the third-highest point total by a UE player at the Ford Center; he matched his career mark with 11 boards for his second double-double – He heads to St. Louis averaging 23.3 PPG over his last four contests – His previous career mark saw him record 28 points in the home win over Illinois State UE at Arch Madness – Evansville heads to St. Louis as the #11 seed for the first time in program history – Since an 83-72 win over Indiana State in 2017, UE has lost nine of its last 10 games in the tournament Series Notes – Thursday will mark the third meeting of the season between the Aces and Panthers – UNI took a 62-48 win in Evansville on Jan. 4 before earning a 71-55 victory in Cedar Falls on Jan. 31 – This marks the fifth time the teams have met at Arch Madness – UNI has won the first four meetings That’s a First – For what is believed to be the first time in program history, UE had three players record a double-double in the Feb. 28 game against Valparaiso – AJ Casey finished the game with 37 points and 11 boards while Josh Hughes added 10 tallies and 11 caroms – Leif Moeller picked up 10 points and a career-high 11 assists in the contest Scouting the Opponent – UNI enters Arch Madness as the No. 6 seed after going 19-12 in the regular season while posting an MVC mark of 11-9 – The Panthers come to St. Louis on a streak that has seen them win five of their last eight contests including a 75-53 road win at Drake to complete the regular season last weekend – Trey Campbell leads the Panthers with 13.2 points per game, 121 assists, and 50 steals – Leon Bond III is averaging 11.5 PPG and a team-high 5.0 rebounds while Will Hornseth has averaged 11.3 points over the course of the season. AJ CASEY EARNS ALL-MVC THIRD TEAM ACCOLADES ST. LOUIS – University of Evansville senior AJ Casey earned a spot on the All-Missouri Valley Conference Third Team on Wednesday when the league announced its postseason awards. In his first season with the Purple Aces, Casey averaged 13.2 points per game but excelled in conference games, raising his average to 16.1 PPG. He was named the MVC Player of the Week on Monday in a week highlighted by a career-high 37 points against Valparaiso where he hit the game-winning triple at the buzzer. His previous career game was a 28-point effort in the win over Illinois State. Entering Arch Madness, Casey has scored seven or more points in 21 out of 23 games. He has posted two double-doubles on the season with 17 points and 11 boards at UNI before his 37-point, 11-rebound effort against the Beacons. Casey ranks in the top ten in the Valley in rebounds, field goal percentage, steals, and offensive rebounds. ===================================================================== EVANSVILLE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ACES BEGIN FINAL WEEK OF REGULAR SEASON PLAY AT BRADLEY EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women’s basketball team begins the final week of regular season play on Thursday, taking on Bradley in Peoria. Tip-off for Thursday’s game is set for 6 PM. Evansville at Bradley | Thursday, March 5 | 6 PMSite | LocationRenaissance Coliseum | Peoria, Ill.Links6 PM CT: Live Stats | TV: ESPN+Follow the Aces Women’s Basketball Site | Twitter | Instagram | Game Notes Series History – Thursday’s matchup marks the 45th all-time meeting between Evansville and Bradley– The Braves lead the all-time series, 42-21– Bradley won the first meeting between the two teams this season, a 79-68 win in Evansville on February 13MVC Player of the Week– Camryn Runner earned her first career MVC Player of the Week honor on Tuesday– In two games last week, Runner averaged 29 points, six rebounds and six assists while shooting 65.3% from the field, 66.7% from three and 88.9% from the free throw line– Entering the final week of regular season play, Runner ranks third in the Valley in scoring (18.2 ppg), second in assists (5.4), and first in free throws made (182) and attempts (216)– As of Wednesday, Runner is on pace to become just the second player in the nation since the 2021-22 season to average 18.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 0.5 blocks per game, joining Iowa legend Caitlin ClarkStepping Up– Kylee Norkus had her two best games of the season last week, scoring an average of 17 points per game– Against Drake on Thursday, Norkus put up 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field while grabbing a season-high six rebounds– Norkus notched a career-best scoring day on Saturday against Murray State, contributing 19 points while going a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw lineTournament Implications – Entering the final two games of the regular season, Evansville sits in ninth place in the MVC standings at 5-13– The Aces are a half game ahead of Indiana State and a half game behind Southern Illinois, who Evansville will take on this Sunday in the regular season finale– The Aces could earn anywhere from the 8-10 seed in next week’s MVC Tournament Scouting the Opponent– Bradley enters Thursday’s game with a 19-10 record and a 12-6 mark in MVC play– The Braves are tied with Illinois State for third place in the Valley standings– Bradley is coming off a 66-53 loss at UIC last Thursday– Offensively, the Braves are led by Kaylen Nelson, who ranks fifth in the MVC in scoring at 17.5 ppgFollow AlongThursday’s game will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats are available at GoPurpleAces.com. =================================================================== EVANSVILLE BASEBALL PENNINGTON NAMED TO JOHN OLERUD TWO-WAY PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST OVERLAND PARK, Kansas – University of Evansville freshman Wyatt Pennington (Avon, Ind./Avon) was one of 49 players in the country to be named to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award watch list, the College Baseball Foundation announced on Wednesday. Pennington is one of 14 freshmen and two MVC players to be selected for the watch list. The 2026 watch list for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award features the best dual role players in the nation. The award is named after former Washington State University standout John Olerud, who achieved success both as a first baseman and left-handed pitcher during the late 1980s. He was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. Pennington, who was named the Preseason MVC Freshman of the Year by D1Baseball and Perfect Game, has started all 11 games in the infield to start his career. In 41 at-bats, Pennington has hit .244 with a .706 OPS, including two doubles and a home run. In yesterday’s contest at SEMO, the right-hander made his debut on the mound, tossing two innings. He allowed two unearned runs on one hit while striking out one. Pennington and the Aces are back in action this weekend for a three-game set at Ole Miss. First pitch for Friday’s series opener is set for 6:30 PM. ================================================================== SOUTHERN INDIANA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL USI BEGINS PLAY AT OVC TOURNAMENT ON THURSDAY, OPENING AGAINST SIUE EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball begins its postseason at the Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament this week when the Screaming Eagles take on Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 3 p.m. from Ford Center in downtown Evansville. All games from the OVC Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament can be seen live with a subscription to ESPN+. 95.7 FM The Spin and 97.7 FM WREF will have radio coverage of USI contests. Prior to Thursday’s tipoff, USI alumni and fans can join in on a pregame gathering and lunch at The Rooftop across from Ford Center from 12:30-2:30 p.m. Special guests include USI athletic staff, Archie Eagle, and the USI Cheer Team. After lunch, head over to the Ford Center for the game. Additionally, United Fidelity Bank invites USI fans with tickets to the OVC Tournament to join them in the Ford Center Corner Club Bar from 2 p.m. through halftime for complimentary appetizers, tea, water, and a cash bar. USI Women’s Basketball (20-9, 14-6 OVC) makes its third consecutive OVC Tournament appearance as the No. 3 seed. To conquer the tournament championship, the Screaming Eagles will have to win three games in three days after earning a first-round bye. The path to the tournament title begins with a game against seventh-seeded SIUE (16-15, 8-12 OVC) on Thursday at 3 p.m. The winner advances to face the No. 2 seed, Lindenwood University (24-7, 16-4 OVC), on Friday at 3:30 p.m. Saturday’s championship game, against an opponent TBD, would be set for a 3 p.m. tipoff. The Screaming Eagles are two years removed from their championship win in 2023-24 and advanced to the semifinals a year ago in 2024-25. Entering last year’s tournament as the fifth seed, USI captured wins against Tennessee State University and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock before coming up short in a close battle against eventual champion Tennessee Tech University. The Eagles have a 4-1 overall record in the OVC Tournament entering Thursday. USI finished the 2025-26 regular season with a 68-63 road victory at Little Rock last Saturday to conclude a four-game road stretch to end the regular season. USI went 2-2 during the four-game road stretch. The win at Little Rock clinched the third seed for the Screaming Eagles over Morehead State University, which claimed the fourth seed. In the regular-season finale against Little Rock, USI had a strong start but had to fend off a comeback effort by the Trojans. The game was tied at 63 with just over a minute left to play before the Eagles scored the final five points. Senior guard Ali Saunders led USI with 25 points, while junior forward Chloe Gannon tallied 13 points and junior guard Shannon Blacher added 12 points. Earlier this week, the OVC announced its postseason awards and all-conference selections. Saunders was named to the All-OVC First Team for her second all-conference honor after receiving OVC All-Newcomer Team honors in 2023-24. Gannon was selected to the All-OVC Second Team. Saunders paced the team this season and was second in the OVC with 17.9 points per game. The guard also topped the squad and ranked first in the conference with 4.4 assists per game. Saunders ranked top five in the OVC with a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio and with 2.2 steals per contest. Shooting the ball, the senior was third in the OVC in three-point percentage (37.9 percent) with 69 made threes. Saunders was top 15 in the nation and second in the OVC with an 89.5 free-throw percentage. In conference play, Saunders recorded 19.4 points per game for second in the OVC while shooting over 37 percent from beyond the arc with an OVC-best 55 triples. Gannon was top 15 in the OVC and second on the team with 13.3 points per game. The junior was also second on the team with seven rebounds per contest, which was good for seventh in the OVC. Gannon was also top 10 in the conference in field goal percentage, shooting over 46 percent from the floor. Gannon’s team-best 1.2 blocks per game ranked second in the OVC. During league play, Gannon averaged 13.5 points (11th in OVC) and 7.3 rebounds per game (7th in OVC). Junior guard Sophia Loden finished third on the team in scoring at 10 points per game and ranked seventh in the OVC with 7.1 rebounds per game. Junior guard Shannon Blacher averaged just over six points per contest with 4.4 rebounds and ranked second in the OVC with 2.6 steals per outing. As a team, USI finished in the top three in the OVC in scoring offense (69.4). On the defensive side, the Screaming Eagles ranked first in the conference and among the best in the nation in scoring defense (58.3) and field goal percentage defense (37.0). USI was also the top rebounding team in the conference (40.8). USI heads into the conference tournament after recording its 37th winning season in program history, while securing its third straight season and 16th season with at least 20 wins. Tickets are $80 for all women’s tournament session passes and can be purchased through the Ford Center Ticket Office. Individual session tickets are also on sale now through the Ford Center and Ticketmaster. USI students receive free tickets to all USI games at the OVC Tournament at Ford Center by showing their student ID. Student tickets can be picked up at the interior Ford Center box office an hour before game time. ======================================================================= VALPO MEN’S BASKETBALL PETTIGREW, DEASE EARN ALL-MVC THIRD TEAM HONORS; PETTIGREW ALSO SNAGS ALL-FRESHMAN RECOGNITION Recognition continued to roll in for the Valparaiso University men’s basketball team on Wednesday as the Missouri Valley Conference released its all-conference honors and major awards for the 2025-2026 season. Redshirt senior Owen Dease (Evansville, Ind. / Evansville Reitz) and freshman JT Pettigrew (Lisle, Ill. / Bolingbrook) were named to the All-MVC Third Team, while Pettigrew also garnered MVC All-Freshman Team laurels. Pettigrew was the runner-up in the league’s Freshman of the Year voting, while Valpo head coach Roger Powell Jr. finished third in the voting for the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year award. This marks the first time since joining the Missouri Valley Conference that Valpo has boasted multiple all-conference selections in the same season. Alec Peters and Shane Hammink in 2016-17 comprised the last Valpo duo to earn all-conference honors (Horizon League) in the same season. Only three different Valpo players had earned All-MVC honors prior to this season – Javon Freeman-Liberty, Ben Krikke (3x) and Cooper Schwieger. Pettigrew becomes the first Valpo freshman to achieve All-MVC status and first Valpo freshman to garner all-conference honors in any league since Lubos Barton was on the All-Mid-Continent Conference First Team in 1998-99. Prior to that, it was Bryce Drew in 1994-95. This marks the third straight year Valpo has had a top-2 finisher in the MVC Freshman of the Year balloting. Valpo has featured seven all-freshman team honorees since joining the MVC including one in each season under head coach Roger Powell Jr. Pettigrew joins Javon Freeman-Liberty (2018-19), Donovan Clay (2019-20), Sheldon Edwards (2020-21), Preston Ruedinger (2021-22), Cooper Schwieger (2023-24) and All Wright (2024-25) as Valpo players who have earned MVC All-Freshman Team recognition. Dease finished ninth in the league in scoring average at 14.7 points per game, and also ranked among league-only leaders in field-goal percentage (.451, 12th), free-throw percentage (.831, fifth), 3-point percentage (.435, fourth) and 3-point field goals made per game (1.85, seventh). A three-time MVC Newcomer of the Week, Dease scored in double figures 19 times this season, including a career high 28 on Jan. 7 vs. Illinois State, one of five times that he scored at least 20. Pettigrew finished 15th in MVC-only scoring average at 12.9 points per game. The rookie also ranked third in the league in rebounds at 7.1 per game, behind only Murray State’s Fredrick King (8.5) and SIU’s Rolyns Aligbe (7.6). Pettigrew finished ninth in Valley-only free-throw percentage at .794, tied for 12th in steals per game at 1.2 and second in offensive rebounds per game at 2.4. Pettigrew finished the regular season with 375 points, sixth on Valpo’s all-time freshman scoring list, and set the program’s freshman rebounding record with 203. Pettigrew ranked second in the league in freshman scoring average and had the top rebound total by an MVC freshman since 2017-18, ranking 16th nationally in rebounds by a rookie. Pettigrew was named the MVC Freshman of the Week four times this season, lifting Valpo’s total to 20 out of 50 possible since the MVC Freshman of the Week award began, which coincided with Roger Powell Jr.’s arrival at Valpo. This marks the first time a Valpo head coach finished in the top three in the Coach of the Year voting. Year 3 of Powell’s head coaching tenure at Valpo saw the Beacons take a major step forward. After he inherited a rebuilding project that saw the team go 3-17 in league play in Year 1, double its MVC win total to 6-14 in Year 2 and finish Year 2 with an MVC semifinal appearance, the Beacons nearly doubled their league win total again, finishing at 11-9 in Year 3. Valpo completed the 2025-26 regular season with its highest winning percentage in league play since joining The Valley prior to the 2017-2018 campaign. This marked the program’s first winning season in MVC play. Overall, Valpo won 17 regular-season games in 2025-2026, the program’s highest regular-season win total since its final season in the Horizon League in 2016-2017, Alec Peters’ senior year. Although the Missouri Valley Conference only released the top five in the MVC preseason poll, Valpo Athletics can confirm that the Beacons were voted last in the 11-team league in the preseason survey of head coaches, sports information directors and media members. Valpo finished tied for sixth and just one game out of a tie for third in a tightly-packed MVC this season. Valpo will tip off the State Farm MVC Tournament on Thursday at 6 p.m. vs. Indiana State at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. For tickets, visit tickets.valpoathletics.com. LARRY BIRD PLAYER OF THE YEAR Tyler Lundblade, Belmont Jaquan Johnson, Bradley COACH OF THE YEAR Casey Alexander, Belmont Rob Ehsan, UIC Roger Powell Jr., Valparaiso Brian Wardle, Bradley FIRST TEAM ALL-MVC Jaquan Johnson, Bradley Fred King, Murray State Tyler Lundblade, Belmont Drew Scharnowski, Belmont Jalen Quinn, Drake Chase Walker, Illinois State SECOND TEAM ALL-MVC Trey Campbell, Northern Iowa Elijah Crawford, UIC Quel’Ron House, Southern Illinois Javon Jackson, Murray State Sam Orme, Belmont THIRD TEAM ALL-MVC AJ Casey, Evansville Owen Dease, Valparaiso Roman Domon, Murray State Alex Huibregtse, Bradley JT Pettigrew, Valparaiso ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM Elijah Crawford, UIC Quel’Ron House, Southern Illinois Alex Huibregtse, Bradley Fred King, Murray State Jalen Quinn, Drake NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR Fred King, Murray State ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM Eoin Dillon, Belmont Roman Domon, Murray State Andy Johnson, UIC JT Pettigrew, Valparaiso Jack Smiley, Belmont FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – Points Roman Domon, Murray State — 127 JT Pettigrew, Valparaiso — 106 ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM Leon Bond III, Northern Iowa Trey Campbell, Northern Iowa Jaquan Johnson, Bradley Fred King, Murray State Drew Scharnowski, Belmont DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Jaquan Johnson, Bradley Fred King, Murray State SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR Roman Domon, Murray State ======================================================================= VALPO SOFTBALL SOFTBALL OPENS MVC PLAY THIS WEEKEND Valpo (9-8, 0-0 MVC) March 6 – at Southern Illinois (11-9, 0-0 MVC) – 2 p.m. DH March 7 – at Southern Illinois – 1 p.m. March 10 – at Northern Kentucky (7-6, 0-0 Horizon) – noon DH Next Up in Valpo Softball: The Valpo softball team opens up Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend as it heads to Southern Illinois for a three-game series. The Beacons then return to nonconference action with a Tuesday twinbill at Northern Kentucky. Previously: Valpo posted a 3-1 record last weekend at the truncated Lindenwood Invite. The Beacons opened with three straight wins over Green Bay, Lindenwood and Western Illinois before falling to the hosts in their finale. Looking Ahead: The Beacons’ long and winding road before playing a home game comes to an end next weekend with a trek to Murray State. Following Valpo Softball: All three games of the SIU series are slated for broadcast on ESPN+, while every game will have live stats available via ValpoAthletics.com. Most home games and most MVC road games will be broadcast on ESPN+, while select nonconference games will have video streams depending on the host. Head Coach Mike Armitage (29-38 [.433] at Valpo, 2nd season; 98-105 [.483] overall, 5th season): Mike Armitage is in his second season as head coach of the Valpo softball program after being hired as head coach on June 6, 2024. In his first year at Valpo, Armitage guided the Beacons to 20 wins – the program’s winningest season since 2018 and an 11-win improvement over the previous season. Valpo posted a six-win improvement within MVC play, finishing with its highest total of Valley wins, its most MVC series wins and its best Valley regular season finish since 2018 as well. Prior to Valpo, Armitage spent three seasons as head coach at Minnesota State Moorhead, posting the first back-to-back 30-win seasons in MSUM program history in 2023 and 2024 after inheriting a Dragons program which had not finished above .500 since 2007. Series Records: Southern Illinois – The Beacons are just 1-17 all-time against the Salukis, with that one win coming in their first meeting as MVC foes in 2018 – since then, SIU has claimed 16 straight wins. Last season, the Salukis swept a three-game series at the Valpo Softball Complex by scores of 10-4, 18-3 and 6-3. Northern Kentucky – Valpo owns a 5-2 record all-time against the Norse, including a 4-1 victory in the most recent meeting last season in Highland Heights. Sydney McDermott and Azalya Lopez each pitched three innings of one-hit ball in the win, with Lopez earning the victory, while Kayden Krug led the way at the plate, going 2-for-2 with two RBIs. Scouting the Opposition: Southern Illinois – The Salukis start off MVC play with an 11-9 overall record, most recently going 3-2 last weekend at the Lipscomb Piurple and Gold Challenge. Offensively, Sydney Potter leads the Valley with 11 home runs and 28 RBIs, while in the circle, Hailey Lucas (2-4, 2.42 ERA) and Emily Delgado (3-2, 3.07 ERA) have seen the majority of work. Northern Kentucky – The Norse enter the week at 7-6, with four games on the docket this weekend at Eastern Kentucky prior to Tuesday’s doubleheader. Kenzie Gulley leads the NKU offense with a .419 batting average, one of five regulars hitting over .300. In the circle, Makaree Chapman has tossed just shy of half the innings for the Norse and is 2-4 with a 3.90 ERA and 27 strikeouts. Nonconference Success: Valpo heads into MVC play with a winning record, as the Beacons sit at 9-8 through four weekends of play. This is the second straight season the Beacons have carried a winning record into Valley action, as they were 11-9 going into their MVC opener in 2025. Prior to last year, it had been since 2018 (12-8) that Valpo opened conference play with a winning record. Walk This Way: A big reason for Valpo’s offensive success in the opening month of the season has been its collective discerning eye at the plate. The Beacons have drawn six or more walks in nine of their 17 games this year, highlighted by a 10-walk performance in the opening-weekend win over Oakland – tied for fifth-most in a single game in program history. Valpo currently ranks 16th nationally in walks (94), with five different players having already drawn 10 or more walks, and is also 24th in on-base percentage (.444). Hitting .400: A pair of Beacons enter MVC play hitting at or above the .400 mark, as Madison Vrastil ranks eighth in the Valley with a .404 batting average and is tied for fifth with 23 hits, while Marissa Jackson is ninth in the Valley with a .400 batting average. For Jackson, it is a 111-point improvement from her .289 average prior to MVC play last season, while Vrastil hit .471 prior to the start of Valley play last season as a freshman. V Races Into Record Book: One season after cracking Valpo’s single-season top-10 for stolen bases by going a perfect 17-for-17, sophomore Madison Vrastil made her mark in the single-game department on opening weekend. Vrastil stole one base in the first inning, one in the second inning and two in the third inning of the Beacons’ Saturday win over Green Bay, establishing a new Valpo single-game record with four stolen bases. Last weekend, Vrastil stole three bases in as many attempts, improving to 15-for-15 on the bases this year – tied for seventh nationally in steals and tied for most by a player who hasn’t been caught once. Just Keep Reaching Base: Senior Mack Gallagher extended her season-opening on-base streak to 17 consecutive games as she reached at least once in all four games last weekend. She went 3-for-11 with four walks over the four games, including her fourth multi-walk game of the season in the weekend finale against Lindenwood. Gallagher ranks fifth nationally in walks/game (1.12), while her 19 walks lead the MVC and her .561 on-base percentage ranks second in the Valley. Rodas Stays Hot: Senior Kim Rodas continued swinging her recent hot bat last weekend, going 7-of-11 at the plate and slashing .636/.692/.909 over Valpo’s four games at Lindenwood. Rodas reached base at least twice in all four games and had at least one hit in all four contests, highlighted by a 3-for-3 performance in the opener against Green Bay – her second career three-hit game. After going 1-for-10 at the plate over the first two weekends of play, she is 13-for-26 with five walks over the last two weekends. Defensively, Rodas handled 13 chances (5 putouts, 8 assists) at shortstop without an error last weekend, continuing her perfect season in the field at short. Cadan Connects: Junior Cadan Brinkman enjoyed a strong weekend at the plate at Lindenwood last weekend, going 5-for-9 and slashing .556/.600/1.222 in her three games played. The junior stood out in the Friday win over the host Lions, coming up a triple short of the cycle as she went 3-for-4 with a double and her second home run this season. She also reached base twice the next day in the win over Western Illinois, tallying a triple, a walk and a run scored. Brinkman’s .667 slugging percentage this season ranks ninth in the Valley. The Win Goes to Syd: Sydney McDermott had a hand in all three of Valpo’s victories last weekend, finishing the weekend 2-0 with a save, a 1.50 ERA, a .176 OBA and 13 strikeouts in 14 innings of work. She pitched a shutout seventh inning to secure the save in the tournament opener against Green Bay, and came back later that night with a complete-game four-hitter, striking out nine while only surrendering an unearned run in a win over Lindenwood. The next day, McDermott tossed the first six innings of Valpo’s win over Western Illinois, again giving up just four hits. With seven wins this year, McDermott is tied for 23rd nationally and ranks third in the Valley, while her 45 strikeouts are also good for third among MVC pitchers. Caitlyn in Control: Sophomore Caitlyn Quickle handed out just one free pass in 6.2 innings pitched over two starts last weekend while striking out eight batters in that same time frame. She has now tossed 25.1 innings this season and has walked only two batters, ranking her sixth nationally in fewest walks per seven innings. Her 0.99 WHIP is good for third in the Valley as well. A Perfect Start: Valpo swept its four games on opening weekend at the DePaul Dome Tournament, starting 4-0 for the fifth time in program history and just the second time against all D-I opponents. The 2017 squad started 5-0 for the best start by a Valpo team, while the 1986, 2000 and 2002 teams all faced at least two non D-I opponents en route to a 4-0 start. Plating Runs: The Beacons scored 33 runs over their four wins on opening weekend, plating at least six runs in each game. Valpo scored 11 times in the season-opening win over Detroit Mercy and 10 runs in the Saturday win versus Green Bay, the program’s first time scoring double-digit runs in consecutive games since 2020, when it plated 11 against Bethune-Cookman Feb. 29 and turned around to score 12 versus Stetson March 1. Walk It Off: After three big wins to start the season, Valpo faced adversity for the first time in its final game of opening weekend against Oakland, but successfully navigated an early four-run deficit, scoring three in the fourth and two in the fifth to take the lead. The Golden Grizzlies tied the game with a run in the top of the seventh before Mack Gallagher’s RBI single scored Sophia Leitzen to walk off with a 6-5 victory. The walk-off was the Beacons’ first since winning in their final at-bat against Evansville March 29, 2025. It was Valpo’s first walk-off victory in nonconference play since a game-ending home run against Cleveland State March 8, 2020. Who’s Back: Valpo returns 15 letterwinners from last year’s squad for the 2026 campaign, a group which accounted for 85.3% of the team’s at-bats and 100% of the innings pitched last season. The Beacons also return two pitchers – Mia Carroll-Greeves and Kayla Purdy – who sat out the entirety of their first season on campus in 2025. Who’s New: Valpo welcomes six newcomers to the program this season. Transfers Grace Hollopeter and Cadan Brinkman join from Purdue Fort Wayne and Campbell, respectively, while Addie Young, Jenna Flessner, Lillian Martinez and Ava Goodman come in as true freshmen. A Large Roster: Do the math from the above two notes, and you find that this year’s Valpo softball roster is comprised of 23 players. While that is one shy of last year’s team, which featured a program-record 24 players, it is still the second-largest roster in program history. Hitting the Road: This weekend’s games continue a long and winding road for the Beacons before they finally get the chance to play at the Valpo Softball Complex. Valpo played in tournaments hosted by DePaul, UT Martin, UNLV and Lindenwood to open the season, and following these road games against SIU and NKU, the Beacons’ second conference series is on the road as well at Murray State. In all, Valpo has 25 games on its slate before the scheduled home opener against DePaul March 17. Looking Back at 2025: Valpo won 20 games in 2025, more wins than the previous two seasons combined and its highest win total since the 2018 season. The Beacons won nine MVC games, also their highest total since 2018. Offensively, Valpo scored the most runs in a season since 2017, while on the mound, the pitching staff’s ERA was the program’s lowest since 2018. Lopez Earns Preseason Honor: Senior Azalya Lopez was named to the preseason All-MVC First Team for her work in the circle and at the plate. Lopez – a Second Team All-MVC choice last season in her first year at Valpo – posted 10 wins, four saves, a 2.89 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 138 innings of work in 2025 while allowing opponents to hit just .218 off of her — the tenth-best mark in a single season in program history. She tied for the MVC lead in saves, ranked fifth in strikeouts and opponents’ batting average, and eighth in ERA and wins. At the plate, the two-time MVC Newcomer of the Week hit .254 with 14 runs scored and 25 RBIs. Lopez led the team with 10 doubles and ranked second in both RBIs and walks (23). She found her groove in the batter’s box during conference play, hitting a team-best .307 in MVC play with an .835 OPS. ====================================================================== UINDY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHIKAMBA GARNERS SECOND TEAM ALL-GLVC HONORS INDIANAPOLIS – UIndy’s Patricia Chikamba earned 2025-26 second team All-GLVC honors, the league office announced on Wednesday. This is the second consecutive year that Chikamba has captured second team honors. Her final year with the program saw her notch her second straight season averaging 14 plus points and five plus rebounds. She reached double figures 19 times this season, including eight times in her final 10 outings of the season. Her two best performances on the season came when she scored 24 points against Purdue Northwest and McKendree. The All-Conference awards are nominated and voted on by league coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their own players. Amyrah Sapenter also earned the sport’s GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award, which includes 15 student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior this season. These individuals must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees from full-time GLVC member institutions are now eligible to become one of their school’s two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced at the end of the academic year. A complete list of the 2025-26 All-GLVC team and postseason honors can be found below. PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Mara Rieder, Jr., F, Missouri-St. LouisDEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ally Cesarini, Jr., G, LewisFRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Jayden Kuper, G, Missouri-St. LouisCHUCK MALLENDER COACH OF THE YEAR: Katie Vaughn, Missouri-St. Louis FIRST TEAM Rhi Gibbons, Sr., G, DUSara Mendel, Jr., F, DUKayla Rice, Jr., G, UISMallory Ramage, R-Jr., G, LEWISLindsey Schadewalt, So., G, MUBaylie Parks, Jr., F, MCKMorgan Ramthun, Sr., G, UMSLMara Rieder, Jr., F, UMSLEmajin McCallop, R-Jr., G, TSUEllie Foster, Gr., G, UIU SECOND TEAM Kaylee King, R-So., G, DUPatricia Chikamba, Sr., G, UINDYYahaira Bueno, So., G, LEWISAlly Cesarini, Jr., G, LEWISGracie Gopalan, So., G, MUKyra Taylor, So., C, MCKNorah Gum, Jr., F/G, S&TJayden Kuper, Fr., G, UMSLAcheampomaa Danso, Sr., C, QUAva Privet, Jr., G, UIU ALL-DEFENSIVE Sara Mendel, Jr., F, DUKayla Rice, Jr., G, UISAlly Cesarini, Jr., G, LEWISAlicia Burgos, Jr., F, MUMorgan Ramthun, Sr., G, UMSL ALL-FRESHMANJulia Mingus, G, UISClaire Lueken, G/F, MUJayden Kuper, G, UMSLHayven Harden, PF/C, QUKendyl Lodermeier, G, UIU ALL-NEWCOMER Kennedy Osterman, Gr., G, UISGracie Gopalan, So., G, MUKamiyah Hurd, Jr., F, SBUEmajin McCallop, R-Jr., G, TSUEllie Foster, Gr., G, UIU GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD HONOREESRaegan Halliday, DUGracie Gopalan, UISAmyrah Sapenter, UINDYKree Nunnally, LEWISKaleah Toran, LINBree Shannon, MUKylie Moeller, MCKMorgan Luebbering, S&TAliya Tripp, UMSLKarly Peters, QUAlivia McCulla, RUKamiyah Hurd, SBUMallory Ott, TSUSteph Cink, UIURylee Thompson, WJC GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD TEAM WINNERWilliam Jewell ===================================================================== UINDY MEN’S BASKETBALL ARNOLD STEALS GLVC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR; THREE HOUNDS EARN ALL-GLVC HONORS INDIANAPOLIS – Indianapolis forward Shaun Arnold was named the 2025-26 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Men’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Year, the league office announced on Wednesday. Senior Guard, Carmelo Harris, was named to the league’s first team, while Arnold was named to the second team and joins redshirt sophomore Kelvin Amoako on the GLVC All-Defensive Team .Elad Bakshi was named as a James R. Spalding Sportsmanship honoree for the Hounds. 21 student-athletes claimed All-Conference honors, 10 earned All-Defensive Team honors, five were named to the All-Freshman team, while 15 were chosen as GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship honorees for the sport. The All-Conference awards are nominated and voted on by league coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their own players. Defensive Player of the Year: Shaun Arnold, Forward, Junior, Indianapolis Wins Indianapolis’ first Defensive Player of the Year award. Led league in overall (83; 3.0) and GLVC-only games (69; 3.5) for total steals and steals per game. Has eight games with five or more steals, including the top two games in the GLVC with eight and seven steals respectively. Ranked third in DII for total steals and fourth for steals per game. Played in all 28 games, starting 27 contests. Currently leads the league in rebounds (190), and rebounds per game (9.5) in GLVC-only games Named GLVC Player of the Week on Feb. 2 Helped Greyhounds to fourth seed in GLVC Tournament. Named to All-GLVC Second Team and All-Defensive Team. A complete list of the 2025-26 All-GLVC teams and postseason honors can be found below. PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jaylen Wesley, Sr., G, Rockhurst DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Shaun Arnold, Jr., F, Indianapolis FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Andrew Moore, G, McKendree COACH OF THE YEAR: Kyle Blackbourn, Rockhurst FIRST TEAM Zach Howell, R-Jr., G/F, DUJordan Rice, Gr., G, UISCarmelo Harris, Sr., G, UINDYRini Harris, So., G, MCKCha’Vez Woods, Sr., G, MCKAndrew Young, Sr., F, S&TJaylen Wesley, Sr., G, RUDrenin Dinkins, Sr., G, RUKyle Hrncir, R-Jr., F, UIUJustice Sutton, R-So., G, WJC SECOND TEAM Colin Hardrick, R-So., G, DUShaun Arnold, Jr., F, UINDYNoah Franklin, 5th, F, MCKBlaise Beauchamp, Sr., G, S&TCameron Stovall, Jr., F/G, S&TTaye Moore, R-Fr., G, UMSLTiernan Stynes, So., G, QUJaden Flournoy, Sr., G, RUZac Reedus, Jr., G, SBUJulian Brown, Sr., G, TSUBradley Lightbourne, R-Sr., G, WJC *Extra Member due to tie. ALL-DEFENSIVE Colin Hardrick, R-So., G, DUShaun Arnold, Jr., F, UINDYKelvin Amoako, R-So., C, UINDYMax Ekono, Sr., F, LINRini Harris, So., G, MCKAndrew Moore, Fr., G, MCKCha’Vez Woods, Sr., G, MCKAdam Rickman, So., F, S&TJaylen Wesley, Sr., G, RUBradley Lightbourne, R-Sr., G, WJC ALL-FRESHMAN KeShaun Thomas, F, DUAlex Stell, F, UISAndrew Moore, G, MCKMiles Boland, G, UMSLEthan Bolton, G, QU GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD HONOREESLuke Stubbs, DUColin Schuler, UISElad Bakshi, UINDYBilly Durkin, LEWISMalcolm Davis, LINLincoln Pablicki, MUCaleb Burton, MCKDarron Henry, S&TVince Davis, UMSLJakeb Wallingford, QULandon Eiland, RULuke Ogle, SBUDrew Kingery, TSUTrey Lewis, UIUKyle Scharbrough, WJC GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD TEAM WINNERMcKendree ======================================================================== MARIAN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL MARIAN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HEADLINES ALL-CROSSROADS LEAGUE AWARDS JACKSON, Mich. – The Crossroads League announced its 2025-2026 Women’s Basketball All-League honors on Wednesday, following No. 4 Marian’s sweep of the regular season and tournament championships. The Knights headlined the All-Crossroads League honors, earning a league-high 11 conference awards, led by Abbey McNally and coach Suntana Anderson. Abbey McNally repeated as the Crossroads League Player and Defensive Player of the Year, becoming Marian’s third player to earn Player of the Year in consecutive seasons, while becoming the first player in Crossroads League History to repeat as Defensive Player of the Year three consecutive seasons. In addition to McNally being named as the league’s top player, head coach Suntana Anderson was named as the Crossroads League Coach of the Year, earning the honor for the first time in her career. Marian had five additional players join McNally on the All-CL Teams, with Taylor Double joining the senior on the All-CL First Team. Both Madisyn Bailey and Olivia Faust were named to the Second Team, and Kenna Kirby and Kiley McNally were named as Honorable Mention Team players. For Abbey McNally, the dominant senior forward enjoyed a record-setting senior season, becoming Marian’s all-time leader in games started and field goals made, while eclipsing the 2000-point threshold in her career at Grace College on February 11. The senior leads Marian in scoring, averaging 19.5 points per game, and is one of the nation’s best rebounders, averaging 10.7 rebounds per game. McNally has 18 double-doubles this year and has eclipsed 1350 career rebounds, the most of any female in Crossroads League history. In addition to her First Team and Player of the Year honors, McNally was named to the All-CL Defense Team, leading the league as the Defender of the Year for the third consecutive season. McNally recorded a team-high 43 blocked shots this season and has 51 steals entering the NAIA Tournament, while leading the Crossroads League in field goal percentage and rebounding. Taylor Double joins McNally on the All-CL First Team, making her second career appearance on the Crossroads League First Team. Double enters the NAIA Tournament as Marian’s second-leading scorer, averaging 9.8 points per game, and has been on fire in the last month, scoring in double figures in six of the team’s last seven games, including her season-high 25 points against Indiana Wesleyan. Double scored 16 points in Marian’s CL Championship win against No. 6 Saint Francis, with 11 points coming in the fourth quarter. The junior scored what stood as the game-winning three with 90 seconds to play, helping Marian end the game on a 9-0 run. Double is third in the Crossroads League this season in three-point field goal percentage. Madisyn Bailey made both the Crossroads League Second Team and Defensive Team, as the sophomore point guard turned in another stellar campaign this season. Bailey played a team-high 30 minutes per game through the team’s first 31 games this season, and leads the Knights in assists with 154 total, dishing 5.0 per contest. The point guard is also averaging 8.7 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game, while defensively she records 2.4 steals per contest. Bailey is on the cusp of being in the top-10 all-time at Marian in assists and steals following her strong season. Bailey leads all players in the Crossroads League in assists and is third in steals. Olivia Faust joined Bailey on the Second Team, starting 19 of 31 games and averaging 7.3 points per game. Faust logged 26 steals and 30 assists, while averaging 3.3 rebounds per game this season. Faust’s honor is the second of her career by the league, and first mention on the Second Team. Making the honorable mention team were Kenna Kirby and Kiley McNally, both of whom play an integral role in Marian’s 2025-26 gameplan. Kirby is third on the team in scoring at 8.8 points per game and is second on the team in assists with 96 on the campaign. The senior leads both the Knights and the Crossroads League with 78 steals this season, and is on the verge of ranking in the top-five all-time in Marian single season thefts. Kirby’s appearance on the All-CL Team is the second of her career. Kiley McNally averages 8.0 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game, ranking third overall on Marian’s roster in steals with 61 this season. Kiley has 16 blocked shots for the second-most on the team, and is making her first mention on the All-CL Team with her Honorable Mention Team honor. Head Coach Suntana Anderson completes Marian’s honors, as she was named Coach of the Year for the first time in her career. Anderson led the Knights to a 29-2 record entering the NAIA National Tournament, seeing her team rank as high as No. 4 in the NAIA Coaches’ Poll. The Knights are the third-best team in the RPI, and are on a 12-game winning streak entering the NAIA National Tournament. The NAIA Selection Show airs Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. on the NAIA YouTube channel. Marian will host the NAIA Tournament First and Second Round on March 13 and 14 in the PE Center. ===================================================================== MARIAN MEN’S BASKETBALL AARON HUMPHREY JR. REPRESENTS MEN’S BASKETBALL ON ALL-CL HONORABLE MENTION TEAM JACKSON, Mich. – The Crossroads League announced its 2025-2026 Men’s Basketball All-League honors on Wednesday, following No. 2 Grace’s sweep of the regular season and tournament championships. Marian men’s basketball received one honor from the league this season, with Aaron Humphrey Jr. being named to the Honorable Mention Team. Humphrey Jr. was Marian’s leading scorer in the 2025-26 season, averaging 15.0 points per game, in addition to leading the program in rebounds with 8.6 per game. The first-year Marian student-athlete shot just under .500 from the field this past season, and scored in double figures in 19 of 28 games. The junior started all 28 contests, and scored a season-high 29 points on February 14 at the University of Saint Francis. The All-Crossroads League honors were voted on by the head men’s basketball coaches from around the league. ====================================================================== MARIAN BASEBALL MARIAN BASEBALL FEATURED IN NAIA RANKINGS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2005 SEASON KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The first regular-season edition of the 2026 GoRout NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll was released on Wednesday afternoon, and for the first time since the 2005 preseason poll, the Marian baseball team is featured among the NAIA’s best.The Knights come in as a receiving votes team in their first entry to the rankings this season, collecting three votes from the national voters. Marian, who is off to their best start in recent history with a 9-3 record and 4-0 Crossroads League start, snaps a 21-season drought since last being featured in the rankings. The Knights’ last mention in the poll came on November 17, 2004, when the Knights were ranked No. 21 in the 2005 preseason poll. Marian is one of three Crossroads League teams featured, with Taylor moving from ninth to third in the nation, while Huntington vaulted from unranked to No. 24. The Knights play the Foresters next weekend in Indianapolis, and Taylor on the final weekend of the regular season. The Knights also have games lined up with two other teams in the rankings, playing a home-and-home with No. 25 Oakland City, in addition to hosting (RV) Indiana Tech. Poll Methodology The national poll is for publicity purposes only and does not influence the selection process for national championship consideration. A panel of head coaches representing each conference and the Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) votes in the poll. The Top 25 teams are selected using a points-based system: 30 points for a 1st-place vote, 29 for 2nd, 28 for 3rd, and so on. The highest and lowest rankings received by each team are discarded before final tallying. Teams receiving only one point are not listed as “receiving votes.” For the Preseason Poll, there is no “previous ranking” column since it is the initial poll and differs from the prior rating system. Marian travels to Goshen this weekend, playing at 1 p.m. on Friday and Sunday. The Saturday games in the series have been pushed to Sunday due to weather forecasts. ===================================================================== SMALL INDIANA COLLEGE SPORTS WEB SITES UINDY ATHLETICS: https://athletics.uindy.edu/ MARIAN ATHLETICS: https://muknights.com/ INDIANA WESLEYAN ATHLETICS: https://iwuwildcats.com/ EARLHAM ATHLETICS: https://goearlham.com/ WABASH ATHLETICS: https://sports.wabash.edu/ FRANKLIN ATHLETICS: https://franklingrizzlies.com/ ROSE-HULMAN ATHLETICS: https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/ ANDERSON ATHLETICS: https://athletics.anderson.edu/landing/index TRINE ATHLETICS: https://trinethunder.com/landing/index BETHEL ATHLETICS: https://bupilots.com/ DEPAUW ATHLETICS: https://depauwtigers.com/ HANOVER ATHLETICS: https://athletics.hanover.edu/ MANCHESTER ATHLETICS: https://muspartans.com/ HUNTINGTON ATHLETICS: https://www.huathletics.com/ OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS: https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS: https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index IU KOKOMO ATHLETICS: https://iukcougars.com/ IU EAST ATHLETICS: https://www.iueredwolves.com/ IU SOUTH BEND ATHLETICS: https://iusbtitans.com/ PURDUE NORTHWEST ATHLETICS: https://pnwathletics.com/ INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS: https://indianatechwarriors.com/index.aspx GRACE COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://gclancers.com/ ST. MARY OF THE WOODS ATHLETICS: https://smwcathletics.com/ GOSHEN COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://goleafs.net/ HOLY CROSS ATHLETICS: https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/ VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index ========================================================= “SPORTS EXTRA” TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY 1922 Babe Ruth and the Yankees agree to a three-year contract worth $52,000 annually, breaking down to $1,000 for each of the 156 weeks of the deal, more than three times as much as teammate Home Run Baker, the second-best paid major leaguer. The ‘Sultan of Swat’ will prove worthy of his contract, hitting 122 home runs and earning MVP honors in the team’s first World Championship season in 1923. 1936 Without the holdout Dean brothers, Dizzy and Daffy, available, the Cardinals lose an exhibition game to Habana at Havana’s Tropical Park. Luis Tiant Sr., the dad of a future major league pitcher, is the starting pitcher for the Cuban Winter League team. 1958 Duke Snider, Johnny Podres, and Don Zimmer, trying to beat a 12:30 am curfew, suffer minor injuries in an auto mishap in Vero Beach. With prior crashes involving Roy Campanella and Jim Gilliam, the car accident involves Dodger players for the third time within the last two months. 1962 Gene Freese suffers a severely fractured ankle in the team’s first intrasquad game, keeping the Reds’ third baseman out of action until mid-August. The 28-year-old infielder, who played an essential role in Cincinnati’s National League championship last season, will never regain the form he displayed during the pennant drive. 1964 Atlanta’s Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. claims to have a verbal agreement with a major league team that promises to move to the Peach State if a stadium is ready by next year. The Board of Alderman will approve a $15-million stadium the next day. 1966 Marvin Miller, an assistant to the President of United Steelworkers, is elected as the first full-time executive director of the Major League Players’ Association by the player representatives. The skilled negotiator, who will lead the MLBPA from 1966 to 1982, transforms the organization into one of the country’s strongest unions. 1972 Jim Fregosi, obtained by the Mets from the Angels in the off-season for future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, breaks his right thumb during a spring training workout. The six-time All-Star shortstop will suffer through an agonizing season, batting only .232 in 101 games after being touted as the team’s solution to its revolving door at third base, a position covered by 45 players in the franchise’s first 10 seasons. 1973 “We may have to call off family day.” – LEE McPHAIL, Yankees GM, jesting about two players swapping their wives and children. Yankee southpaws Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich announce that they have traded families, including their wives, kids, and dogs. The teammates’ swap that began last Fall will work better for Peterson, who will become married to his best friend’s former wife with whom he will have four children, than for Kekich, whose relationship with Marilyn Peterson is short-lived. 1982 Gaylord Perry signs a one-year deal with Seattle, needing three wins to reach 300 career victories. The 43-year-old ‘Ancient Mariner’ will reach the milestone in May when he goes the distance to beat New York at the Kingdome, 7-3, en route to finishing his 22-year career next season with a 314-265 (.542) won-loss record. 1986 The Braves and Brewers swap backstops, with Atlanta acquiring Ted Simmons from Milwaukee in exchange for Rick Cerone and a pair of minor leaguers, David Clay and Flavio Alfaro. The offensively talented Simmons spends three years with his new club before retiring after the 1988 season with a lifetime .285 batting average. 1997 The Veterans Committee selects longtime Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda, White Sox second baseman Nellie Fox, and Negro League infielder Willie Wells to the Hall of Fame. The trio joins Phil Niekro, a knuckleballer elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in January. 2002 When dismissed by the Red Sox, Joe Kerrigan becomes the fourth manager fired during spring training. The team’s former pitching coach, who led the club to a 17-26 record after taking over for Jimy Williams last August, had signed a multi-year contract to be Boston’s field boss with then-GM Dan Duquette but was not favored by the new ownership that took control last month. 2003 Although the players’ union does not agree to ban ephedra, a memo is sent to all major leaguers strongly recommending that players “be extremely reluctant to use any products” containing the substance. The diet supplement, available without a prescription, has been linked to Orioles’ pitcher Steve Belcher’s death during spring training. 2005 A new ownership group, headed by real estate tycoon Lewis N. Wolff and businessman John J. Fisher, takes control of the A’s after purchasing the franchise from Steve Schott and Ken Hoffman. Oakland’s four-year playoff streak, fueled by Billy Beane’s “Moneyball” approach, had ended in 2004, and the former owners were anxious to sell the club they bought from the estate of Walter A. Haas, Jr. in 1995. 2012 Lenny Dykstra is sentenced to three years in a California state prison after pleading no contest to grand theft auto charges and providing a false financial statement. The 49-year-old former Phillies and Mets outfielder initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea to no contest in exchange for having 21 of 25 counts dropped, including drug charges. ================================================================= TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY On March 5 in … 1864 – First track meet between Oxford and Cambridge, England. 1910 – Stanley Cup: Montréal Wanderers beat Ottawa Senators, 3-1. 1924 – Frank Carauna becomes first to bowl two successive perfect 300 games. 1945 – US Ladies Figure Skating Championship won by Gretchen Merrill. 1949 – Donald Bradman plays his last innings in first-class cricket, gets 30. 1956 – Mickey Wright wins LPGA Jacksonville Golf Open. 1960 – World Ice Dance Championship in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada won by Doreen Denny and Courtney Jones (Great Britain). 1960 – World Ice Pairs Figure Skating Championship in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada won by Barbara Wagner and Robert Paul (Canada). 1960 – World Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada won by Carol E Heiss (USA). 1960 – World Men’s Figure Skating Championship in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada won by Alain Giletti (France). 1964 – Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Junior announces a baseball team is moving there. 1965 – Ernie Terrel beats Eddie Machen in 15 rounds for heavyweight boxing title. 1966 – Bob Seagren pole vaults 5.19-metre indoor world record. 1966 – Marvin Miller, assistant to the President of United Steelworkers, is elected as the first full-time executive director of the Major League Players’ Association by the player representatives. 1981 – World Ice Dance Championship in Hartford won by Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean (Great Britain). 1981 – World Ice Pairs Figure Skating Championship in Hartford won by Irina Vorobieva and Igor Lisovski (USSR). 1981 – World Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Hartfoed won by Denise Biellmann (Switzerland). 1981 – World Men’s Figure Skating Championship in Hartford won by Scott Hamilton (USA). 1982 – Gaylord Perry (with 297 wins) signs with Seattle Mariners. 1983 – New South Wales beats Western Australia by 54 runs to win Sheffield Shield. 1985 – New York Islanders’ Mike Bossy is first to score 50 goals in eight straight seasons. 1989 – Blaine McCallister wins Honda Golf Classic shooting 266. 1989 – Elly Verhulst runs world record 3000 metre indoor (8:03.82). 1993 – Florida Marlins beat Houston Astros 12-8 in their first spring training game. 1994 – Dottie Mochrie wins Chrysler-Plymouth Tournament of Golf Championship. 1994 – PBA National Championship won by David Traber. 1995 – Marc Velzeboer skates world record 3 km short track (5:00.26). 1996 – Earl Weaver and Jim Bunning elected to Baseball Hall of Fame. 1997 – Tommy Lasorda, Nellie Fox, and Willie Wells selected for American Baseball Hall of Fame. 2022 – At Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, USA, NHL regular season game: Calgary Flames beats Colorado Avalanche by score 4-3. 2022 – At SAP Center in San Jose, California, USA, NHL regular season game: Nashville Predators beats San Jose Sharks by score 8-0. 2022 – At Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, NHL regular season game: Montreal Canadiens beats Edmonton Oilers by score 5-2. 2022 – At Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, USA, NHL regular season game: Boston Bruins beats Columbus Blue Jackets by score 5-4. 2022 – At Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., USA, NHL regular season game: Washington Capitals beats Seattle Kraken by score 5-2. 2022 – At Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, NHL regular season game: Vancouver Canucks beats Toronto Maple Leafs by score 6-4. 2022 – At FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, USA, NHL regular season game: Florida Panthers beats Detroit Red Wings by score 6-2. 2022 – At Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona, USA, NHL regular season game: Arizona Coyotes beats Ottawa Senators by score 8-5. 2022 – At Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, NHL regular season game: Philadelphia Flyers beats Chicago Blackhawks by score 4-3. 2022 – At UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, USA, NHL regular season game: New York Islanders beats Saint Louis Blues by score 2-1. Births of sports figures on March 5 1877 – Birth of Malcolm D Whitman; tennis champion (US Open-1898). 1886 – Birth of Paul Radmilovic in England; swimmer (Olympics-3 gold-1908). 1918 – Birth of Ranga Sohoni; Indian cricket player (pace bowler of late 1940s average 101). 1922 – Birth of Ebrahim Maka; Indian cricket wicketkeeper (two Tests 1952). 1935 – Birth of Malcolm J Anderson; tennis champion (US Open-1957). 1936 – Birth of Dale Douglass in Wewoka, Oklahoma, USA; PGA golfer (1970 Phoenix Open). 1938 – Birth of Fred “Hammer” Williamson in Gary, Indiana, USA; NFL player (Kansas City Chiefs), actor (Julia). 1945 – Birth of Randy Matson; American shot putter (Olympics-gold-1968). 1946 – Birth of Rocky Bleier in Wisconsin, USA; NFL running back (Pittsburgh Steelers). 1951 – Birth of Rodney Hogg; cricket player (prolific Australian wicket-taker 1978-84). 1961 – Birth of Zeke Mowatt; NFL tight end (New York Giants). 1963 – Birth of Eddo Brandes; cricket player (Zimbabwe Test pace bowler). 1964 – Birth of Reggie Williams; NBA forward/guard (Denver Nuggets). 1966 – Birth of Greg Clark; Canadian Football League linebacker (Saskatchewan Roughriders). 1966 – Birth of Michael Irvin; NFL wide receiver (Dallas Cowboys). 1966 – Birth of Tracy Kerdyk in Coral Gables, Florida, USA; LPGA golfer (1995 JAL Big Apple). 1967 – Birth of Nicole Boegman; Australian long jumper (Olympics-1988, 1992, 1996). 1968 – Birth of Marq Mellor in Long Island, New York, USA; field hockey forward (Olympics-1996). 1968 – Birth of Roman Phifer; linebacker (Saint Louis Rams). 1968 – Birth of Shjon Podein in Rochester, Minnesota, USA; NHL left wing (Philadelphia Flyers). 1971 – Birth of Amy Peistrup-Matthews in Arlington Heights, Illinois, USA; WPVA volleyball player (Old Orchard-17-1995). 1971 – Birth of Brian Hunter in Portland, Oregon, USA; outfielder (Houston Astros). 1971 – Birth of Chad Fonville in Jacksonville, North Carolina, USA; infielder (Los Angeles Dodgers). 1971 – Birth of James Roberson; WLAF defensive end (Rhein Fire). 1971 – Birth of Jose Mercedes in El Seybo, Dominican Republic; pitcher (Milwaukee Brewers). 1972 – Birth of Brandon Hamilton; Canadian Football League cornerback (Winnipeg Blue Bombers). 1972 – Birth of Brian Grant; NBA forward (Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings). 1972 – Birth of Tom Hipsz; Canadian Football League defensive tackle (Montreal Alouettes). 1973 – Birth of Nicole Pratt in Mackay, Australia; tennis star (1995 Futures Australia). 1973 – Birth of Paul Lieftink; Dutch soccer player (NAC, Spakenburg). 1974 – Birth of Brad Schumacher; American 400 metre/800 metre freestyle (Olympics-gold-1996). 1974 – Birth of Hans Bond; Dutch soccer player (FC Volendam). 1975 – Birth of Chris Silverwood; cricket player (England Test pace bowler versus Zimbabwe 1996). 1976 – Birth of Adriana Serra-Zanetti in Modena, Italy; tennis star (1995 Moscow semi-finals). 1977 – Birth of Bryan Berard; NHL defenseman (Team USA Olympics-1998, New York Islanders). 1982 – Birth of Daniel Carter; New Zealand rugby player. Deaths of sports figures on March 5 1948 – Charles Prince, cricket player (5 and 1 in only Test for South Africa), dies. 1986 – Teddy Hoad, cricket player (West Indian captain 1930), dies. 2013 – Death of Paul Bearer, American professional wrestling manager (born 1954). ========================================================== TV SPORTS TODAY Thursday, 3/5/26 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC POOL PLAYTIME ETTVSouth Korea vs. Czechia5:00amFS1Czechia vs. Australia10:00pmFS1MLB SPRING TRAININGTIME ETTVPhiladelphia Phillies vs Boston Red Sox1:05pmMLBNLos Angeles Dodgers vs Cincinnati Reds3:05pmESPNSan Diego Padres vs Seattle Mariners3:10pmMLBNNBA REGULAR SEASONTIME ETTVUtah Jazz vs Washington Wizards7:00 PMKJZZMNMTDallas Mavericks vs Orlando Magic7:00pmKFAAFanDuel Sports FLBrooklyn Nets vs Miami Heat7:30pmYESFanDuel Sports SunGolden State Warriors vs Houston Rockets7:30pmPrimeNBCS-BAYDetroit Pistons vs San Antonio Spurs8:00pmFanDuel Sports DETFanDuel Sports SWToronto Raptors vs Minnesota Timberwolves8:00pmSNFanDuel Sports NorthChicago Bulls vs Phoenix Suns9:00pmCHSNAFSNNew Orleans Pelicans vs Sacramento Kings10:00pmGCSNNBCS-CALos Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets10:00pmPrimeSpectrumNHL REGULAR SEASONTIME ETTVFlorida Panthers vs Columbus Blue Jackets7:00 PMESPN+FanDuel Sports OhioToronto Maple Leafs vs New York Rangers7:00pmMSGSNUtah Mammoth vs Philadelphia Flyers7:00pmUtah16NBCS-PHIBuffalo Sabres vs Pittsburgh Penguins7:00pmESPNMSG-BUFATTSN-PITBoston Bruins vs Nashville Predators8:00pmNESNFanDuel Sports NSHTampa Bay Lightning vs Winnipeg Jets8:00pmFanDuel Sports SunSNOttawa Senators vs Calgary Flames9:00pmESPN+SNNew York Islanders vs Los Angeles Kings9:30pmESPNESPN UnlimitedMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALLTIME ETTVMVC First Round4:30pmMVC TVSouth Carolina State at North Carolina Central5:00pmESPNUSun Belt Third Round6:00pmESPN+MAAC First Round6:00pmESPN+Tulsa at East Carolina7:00pmESPN2Sam Houston at Delaware7:00pmCBSSNTulane at Temple7:00pmESPNUMVC First Round7:00pmMVC TVSummit League Quarterfinal7:00pmMidCo SportsOVC Quarterfinal7:00pmESPN+Louisiana Tech at Liberty7:00pmESPN+Howard at Norfolk State7:00pmESPN+Middle Tennessee at FIU7:00pmESPN+Rutgers at Michigan State8:00pmFS1Mississippi Valley State at Jackson State8:00pmSWAC TVGrambling State at Alabama State8:00pmSWAC TVMichigan at Iowa8:00pmPeacockCoppin State at Morgan State8:00pmESPN+WKU at Missouri State8:00pmESPN+UTA at Tarleton8:00pmESPN+Southern at Alabama A&M8:30pmSWAC TVSun Belt Third Round8:30pmESPN+MAAC First Round8:30pmESPN+Utah Valley at Southern Utah8:30pmESPN+South Florida at Memphis9:00pmESPN2Kennesaw State at UTEP9:00pmCBSSNWCC First Round9:00pmESPN+Jacksonville State at NM State9:00pmESPN+MVC First Round9:30pmMVC TVSummit League Quarterfinal9:30pmMidCo SportsOVC Quarterfinal9:30pmESPN+CSUN at CSU Bakersfield9:30pmESPN+UC Davis at Long Beach State10:00pmESPN+Abilene Christian at California Baptist10:00pmESPN+UC San Diego at Cal State Fullerton10:00pmESPN+Cal Poly at UC Irvine10:00pmESPN+WCC First Round11:30pmESPN+UC Riverside at Hawai’i11:59pmESPN+GOLFTIME ETTVDP World Tour: Joburg Open5:30amGOLFPGA Tour: Puerto Rico Open10:00amGOLFPGA Tour: Arnold Palmer Invitational2:00pmGOLFLPGA Tour: Blue Bay LPGA11:00pmGOLFSOCCERTIME ETTVEPL: Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace3:00pmPeacockCoupe de France: Olympique Lyonnais vs Lens3:10pmfuboTV About The Author troyderengowski61@gmail.com See author's posts Post navigation THE INDIANA SRN “SCOREBOARD” MARCH 4, 2026 THE INDIANA SRN “SCOREBOARD” MARCH 5
