just now (417+ words) Xavier has found its offensive rhythm over its last three games, something it will try to carry over into Monday night's home game against Saint Francis in Cincinnati. Winners of three of their last four games, the Musketeers (5-3) have made at least 11 3-pointers in each of their last four. They've also had at least 19 assists in three of those games, showing great ball movement and having it lead to open looks from 3-point range. The Musketeers hit 12 3-pointers in their 88-67 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday. "Confidence is just growing, growing and growing," head coach Richard Pitino said. "The 3-point line has got to be a big part of this identity. We know that." Through eight games, the Musketeers are averaging 11 3-pointers per game and are shooting 39.5% from beyond the arc. Tre Carroll leads the Musketeers in scoring…...

10+ min ago (341+ words) The Winnipeg Jets and the host Sabres both hope that wins in their most recent outings can help ignite offenses that have been dormant lately when the clubs meet Monday night in Buffalo. The Jets snapped a four-game skid with a 5-2 victory Saturday in Nashville, buoyed by secondary scoring as Cole Perfetti recorded his first goal in six games and Nino Niederreiter scored twice, his first tallies in eight. It seemed to work after Jets head coach Scott Arniel questioned his team's professionalism following Friday's 5-1 loss in Carolina, saying he might need to do "a little more screaming" to "find a way to get these guys ready to play." That message appeared to resonate. "We've got so many guys who have produced offensively for a long time in this league," defenseman Luke Schenn said. "It's going to come as long…...

15+ min ago (451+ words) After a successful road trip, the Philadelphia Flyers are ready to enjoy some home cooking. The Flyers will try to post their season-high fourth straight win Monday when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opener of a six-game homestand. Philadelphia began its recent road trip with a lethargic 3-0 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, the team bounced back with a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers before heading north for victories over the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils. In the 5-3 win over New Jersey, Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov each scored twice to help the Flyers improve to 5-1-0 in their last six games. Dan Vladar made 29 saves against the Devils to improve to 10-4-1 with a 2.43 goals-against average. The offseason signee has given up three goals or fewer in 12 of his 15 games. Another first-year Flyer, center Trevor Zegras,…...

20+ min ago (323+ words) Alperen Sengun scored a game-high 27 points and Kevin Durant added 25 to lead the visiting Houston Rockets to a dominant 129-101 win over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Sunday. Steven Adams also made an impact off the bench, recording a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Amen Thompson filled up the box score with five points, nine assists, eight rebounds and a steal. The Rockets shot 52.9% from the field and went 11-for-31 on 3-point attempts. Houston outrebounded the Jazz 50-33, including 15 offensive boards. Durant, who missed the Rockets' last two games due to personal reasons, wasted no time making his presence felt. The star forward scored 17 points in the first half and went 3-for-4 from distance. Behind Durant and Sengun, the Rockets did a lot of their damage in the first half, taking a 67-48 lead into the half. Houston forced 14 turnovers…...

25+ min ago (347+ words) JT Toppin scored 27 points and collected nine rebounds as No. 20 Texas Tech held off Wyoming 76-72 Sunday in a non-conference game in Lubbock, Texas. LeJuan Watts had 19 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Red Raiders (6-2), and Christian Anderson finished with 15 points. Leland Walker had 28 points and five rebounds for the Cowboys (6-2). The Red Raiders, of the Big 12 Conference, never led by more than six in the second half as the Cowboys, of the Mountain West, would not go away. With 7:11 left in the game, Toppin scored on a layup to put Texas Tech up for good, 57-56. Watts then grabbed a defensive rebound, ran the floor and dished to Toppin underneath for a layup and a 59-56 lead. Donovan Atwell hit a jumper to make it 61-56 with 5:14 to go. Wyoming fought back as Khaden Bennett hit a pair of free throws…...

35+ min ago (275+ words) The Jonathan Smith era at Michigan State has ended; the Pat Fitzgerald era is about to begin. The Spartans fired Smith on Sunday, according to ESPN. Not long after that news could be viewed across people's screens, Yahoo Sports reported that Michigan State intends to hire Fitzgerald as his successor. Fitzgerald last coached in 2022 for Northwestern. The Wildcats went 110-101 across his 17 seasons while recording a few double-digit-win campaigns and claiming a handful of bowl victories. However, Fitzgerald finished his last two seasons with the program a combined 4-20. Worse, Northwestern fired the program's longtime coach in July 2023 due to a hazing scandal that the school said included "forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature." That kind of off-field scandal will be very familiar to both Michigan State and Smith, who took over for the program in November 2023 after…...

40+ min ago (647+ words) Audi Crooks poured in a career-high 47 points, 30 of which came in the second half, and No. 10 Iowa State outdueled Indiana 106-95 to win the Coconut Hoops Blue Heron championship game Sunday in Fort Myers, Fla. Crooks dominated inside with 19-of-25 field goal shooting and 9-of-11 shooting at the line. She scored on three possessions early in the third quarter, only for Indiana to match her each time and take a brief 55-53 lead. But Crooks and the Cyclones scored the next nine points and never trailed again, leading by as many as 19 points in the fourth. Jada Williams (23 points, 11 assists) and Addy Brown (17 points, 10 rebounds) contributed double-double efforts for Iowa State (9-0). The Cyclones shot a season-best 63.9% from the field and outscored their opponents 62-34 in the paint. Shay Ciezki helped Indiana (7-1) stay connected to Iowa State by scoring a season-high 38 points, including 13-of…...

55+ min ago (411+ words) De'Von Achane rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown, Riley Patterson kicked four field goals, and the host Miami Dolphins won their third straight game by holding off the New Orleans Saints 21-17 on Sunday afternoon. Achane scored on a 29-yard run on the first possession of the game, and the Dolphins (5-7) never relinquished the lead despite a shaky performance by Tua Tagovailoa, who completed 12 of 23 passes for 157 yards, with an interception. Rookie Tyler Shough passed for 239 yards and two touchdowns for the Saints (2-10). On the first possession of the second half, the Saints drove 65 yards, the last 17 of which came on a touchdown pass from Shough to Chris Olave. Shough ran for a two-point conversion, New Orleans pulled to 16-8, and the score stayed that way through the end of the third quarter. Patterson kicked a 33-yard field goal to increase the…...

1+ hour, 15+ min ago (444+ words) Nick Folk kicked a game-winning, 56-yard field goal as time expired on Sunday, giving the New York Jets a 27-24 win over the Atlanta Falcons in East Rutherford, N.J. Tyrod Taylor threw for 172 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for another score, as the Jets (3-9) won despite being outgained 389-269. Adonai Mitchell had 102 receiving yards and a score, and Breece Hall rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown. For the Falcons (4-8), who have dropped six of their last seven games, Kirk Cousins threw for 234 yards and a touchdown, while Bijan Robinson totaled 142 rushing yards and a score. Atlanta opened the second half with an eight-play, 95-yard drive, scoring on Robinson's 5-yard run with 9:36 left in the third quarter. The Jets knotted the score two plays later, as Taylor found Mitchell for a 52-yard touchdown pass. Zane Gonzalez missed wide right on a 50-yard field-goal…...

1+ hour, 15+ min ago (503+ words) Khris Middleton will be intent on slowing down old friends when the Washington Wizards play host to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. Washington comes in off two NBA Cup group play games last week. After picking up just their second win of the season against the Atlanta Hawks 132-113 on Tuesday, they fell on the road to the Indiana Pacers 119-86 on Friday. Alex Sarr led Washington with 23 points and nine rebounds against Indiana, while Middleton added 12 points with four assists. "We couldn't get into our pace, we weren't getting stops. We weren't getting into our actions with thrust," Wizards coach Brian Keefe said. "We weren't sharp, we weren't flying around like we're capable of." Sarr leads the Wizards with 19.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. CJ McCollum is just behind him with 17.8 points per game. Antetokounmpo's return from an…...