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Michigan State’s defensive troubles continue in Big Ten loss

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has been complaining about his team’s defense for about three weeks.“So I guess my experience kind of gave the answer,” Izzo said.A painful one, too.Michigan State dropped its Big Ten Tournament opener on Friday, losing 68-58 to a 13th-seeded Ohio State team playing for the third straight day. The Spartans are 7-8 in their last 15 games, but they have enough quality wins that they are expected to receive an at-large bid when the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed on Sunday.“Today we didn’t come ready to play, but we’ve got a second chance in the tournament to turn things around,” Michigan State guard Jaden Akins said. “We just know we’ve got to put our all into that and make this run.”Under Izzo, the Spartans (19-12) have a long history of postseason success built on defense and rebounding. But Michigan State’s opponents are averaging 70 points and 44% shooting since Jan. 13, a slight increase from the season average of 67.4 ...

No. 25 Mizzou tops No. 17 Tennessee, 1st trip into SEC semis

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — First-year coach Dennis Gates is in a hurry to turn Missouri into champions and remains unhappy his Tigers missed the Southeastern Conference’s regular-season title. Now they’re targeting the program’s first SEC Tournament crown and must go through the league’s regular season champ to get there. Nick Honor hit a 3-pointer with 1:45 left to put Missouri ahead to stay, and the 25th-ranked Tigers beat No. 17 Tennessee 79-71 Friday to reach the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since joining the league in 2012.“We wanted to cut down nets, hold trophies, hang banners as the regular-season champs,” said Gates, who was hired last March. “I credit Nate Oats and his program for their successes. It has taken too long for us to be able to do that, and I want it more.” The Tigers (24-8) will play fourth-ranked Alabama on Saturday. The Crimson Tide, the regular-season champ, never trailed beating Mississippi State 72-49 earli...

Dennis leads Toledo past Ohio into MAC tournament title game

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

CLEVELAND (AP) — RayJ Dennis scored 28 points as top-seeded Toledo advanced to the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship with its 17th straight win, 82-75 over Ohio on Friday night.The Rockets (27-6), who haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1980, matched the school record for wins in a season set by the 2013-14 squad. Now, they can end their long NCAA drought by beating the Akron-Kent State semifinal winner in Saturday’s title game for the MAC’s automatic bid.Dante Maddox Jr. added 20 points for Toledo, which is 0-5 in MAC title games since winning it 43 years ago.Jaylin Hunter made seven 3-pointers and scored 27 and Devon Baker added 17 for fifth-seeded Ohio (19-13), which stayed close and pulled within 76-72 after AJ Brown made three free throws with 55.3 seconds left.But Toledo, which lost in the semis last year to Akron, was able to hang on despite missing four free throws in the final 51 seconds.The MAC’s player of the year, Davis set the tone ...

NCAA Men’s Div. II Basketball Tournament Glance

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

All Times ESTFirst RoundFriday, March 10West RegionAt San DiegoPoint Loma (27-3) vs. Northwest Nazarene (15-14), 8 p.m.Saint Martin’s (24-6) vs. Academy of Art (21-9), 10:30 p.m.Cal St. San B’dino 63, Mont. St. Billings 57Cal St. San Marcos 72, Azusa Pacific 62Saturday, March 11Atlantic RegionAt Indiana, Pa.Indiana (Pa.) (30-1) vs. Winston-Salem (21-8), 5 p.m.Virginia Union (23-7) vs. Fairmont St. (20-10), 7:30 p.m.West Liberty (27-4) vs. Pitt.-Johnstown (20-10), 2:30 p.m.Mercyhurst (24-5) vs. East Stroudsburg (23-8), NoonCentral RegionAt Bozeman, Mont.Northwest Mo. St. (30-2) vs. Southern Ark. (22-9), 7 p.m.MSU Moorhead (25-6) vs. Southern Nazarene (25-4), 9:15 p.m.Northern St. (24-6) vs. Emporia St. (22-8), 3:15 p.m.Central Okla. (26-5) vs. Minn. Duluth (23-9), 1 p.m.East RegionAt Goffstown, N.H.St. Anselm (22-7) vs. Caldwell (21-9), 5 p.m.New Haven (20-10) vs. Pace (20-10), 7:30 p.m.Bentley (21-6) vs. Dominican (N.Y.) (21-8), 2:30 p.m.Southern N.H. (20-8) vs. St. Thom...

Las Vegas Raiders re-sign Brandon Parker, Jesper Horsted

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Offensive tackle Brandon Parker and tight end Jesper Horsted re-signed with the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday.Parker has started 32 games and played in 54 over five seasons for the Raiders, who drafted him in the third round in 2018. Horsted caught three passes for 19 yards last season and made four special teams tackles.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFLSource

Kaprizov injury might mean more Wild rides on the ‘Gus Bus’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The ascension of the Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference standings hit some turbulence this week with an injury to leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov that will keep the superstar left wing out for at least three to four weeks.The Wild might need to catch a few more rides on the “Gus Bus” in the meantime.Goalie Filip Gustavsson has an active shutout streak of 170 minutes and 45 seconds, the third-longest in franchise history, that has further solidified him as a fan favorite in his first season in Minnesota and one of the NHL’s most unexpected breakout players. “I play the way I want to right now,” Gustavsson said on Friday before the Wild departed for their game at San Jose on Saturday. “It makes my game feel calmer and on time, all the time. It makes the saves much easier.”Acquired in a trade with Ottawa for goalie Cam Talbot, Gustavsson arrived as a clear-cut backup to Marc-Andre Fleury after Wild general manager Bill Guerin opted to avoid the potenti...

NCAA Women’s Division III Basketball Glance

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

Times EST (through March 31)Times EDT (April 1)First RoundFriday, March 3Smith 100, SUNY Morrisville 50St. John Fisher 80, Marymount (Va.) 72Mary Washington 69, Roger Williams 60DeSales 78, Mitchell 60Trinity (Conn.) 58, Notre Dame (Md.) 43Cortland 62, Saint Vincent 51Gust. Adolphus 84, Ohio Wesleyan 68Wis.-Whitewater 69, Webster 50Transylvania 58, Rhodes 45Millikin 76, Emory 70Wis.-Oshkosh 58, Wash. & Lee 55Ohio Northern 54, Berea 43Loras 68, Knox 56Trine 79, WashU 69Messiah 47, Bridgewater St. 43NYU 71, Greensboro 54Chris. Newport 89, Brooklyn 52Elizabethtown 79, Stevens 68Wartburg 57, Baldwin Wallace 43Hope 82, St. Norbert 61Trinity (Texas) 79, Texas-Dallas 62Hardin-Simmons 77, Redlands 60Skidmore 62, Johns Hopkins 59Tufts 72, Merchant Marine 57Babson 69, Maine Maritime 44SUNY New Paltz 63, Gettysburg 47Marietta 61, Eastern Conn. St. 57Ithaca 58, La Roche 42UChicago 63, Northwestern-St. Paul 48Whitman 85, Wis.-Eau Claire 81, 3OTRhode Island Col. 67, Rowan 59Scranton 64, St. J...

Chicago Cubs camp report: Seiya Suzuki to start the season on IL, while prospect Brennen Davis is sent to Iowa

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

The Chicago Cubs continue to weigh the best right-field option to fill in short term for Seiya Suzuki.Suzuki will start the season on the injured list because of his left oblique strain, a source told the Tribune, with a best-case scenario, involving no setbacks, setting up a return sometime in April.Suzuki is progressing through his mobility work. Although pain-free, he is still feeling tightness in his oblique and has not achieved full range of motion. Once he clears that point, the Cubs will likely re-image his oblique to see how it looks, and if it appears OK, Suzuki would move on to baseball activities.The Cubs cut camp to 56 players before Friday’s 4-3 loss to the White Sox, sending 10 players to minor-league camp.Outfielders Brennen Davis and Alexander Canario were optioned to Triple-A Iowa. Right-handers Ben Brown and Ryan Jensen, and catcher Miguel Amaya were optioned to Double-A Tennessee. Outfielder Kevin Alcántara has been optioned to High-A South Bend. Outfie...

Giants’ and Bears’ rebuilds take different trajectories with Chicago No. 1 pick blockbuster trade

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

Ryan Poles was a finalist for the Giants’ GM job a year ago and got hired by the Chicago Bears. Joe Schoen interviewed for the Bears’ GM vacancy and landed the Giants gig.Schoen’s Giants surprisingly made the playoffs in year one, gave incumbent quarterback Daniel Jones a four-year, $160 million extension, and now hold the No. 25 pick in April’s draft.Poles’ Bears sold off pieces and slipped to the NFL’s worst record in 2022, landed the No. 1 pick, but still saw some promise in incumbent quarterback Justin Fields — a player selected by the previous Chicago regime after a 2021 draft-day trade-up with the old Giants guard.On Friday night, Poles traded the No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a boatload of assets: the No. 9 overall pick, No. 61 in the second, a 2024 first-rounder, a 2025 second-rounder and stud wide receiver D.J. Moore.The Panthers, with GM Scott Fitterer and new head coach Frank Re...

Knicks’ Jalen Brunson ruled out Saturday against the Clippers with sore foot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

Jalen Brunson’s injury is now officially a concern.The Knicks point guard was ruled out of Saturday’s matinee against the Clippers because of a “sore foot,” the same ailment that kept him out of the second half in Thursday’s loss to the Kings.Brunson had missed two previous games this week with the sore left foot, and it wasn’t a good sign that his return in Sacramento lasted just 19 minutes. The point guard moved and played well in the 122-117 loss to the King while dropping 19 points.But he was also in clear discomfort and spotted limping to the locker room with trainer Anthony Goenaga. The Knicks are in the middle of a Western Conference trip with back-to-back games this weekend against the Clippers and Lakers.“When you’re dealing with a bruised foot like that, it’ll feel great when you have a little time off – which Brunson has had,” TNT analyst Stan Van Gundy, a longtime coach who is close with Thibodeau, said du...