🏀 College Basketball Crazy

Huge weekend of hoops, NFL Pro Bowl, NHL All-Star Game, and more...

Good Morning! I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t know what to do with myself yesterday without football. I went on a walk. But then I started to wonder about what walk-out song the 49ers would choose for next Sunday. I went to the gym. But then I started to wonder about how Jim Harbaugh’s energy would impact the Chargers losing culture. I even poured myself a glass of Scotch. But then I started to think about Scott Hanson. So, I finally broke and turned on the Pro Bowl (using my Apple Vision Pro Goggles that are hardly noticeable on my face). And honestly, it wasn’t that bad. In addition, we also had the NHL All-Star Games, where players actually wore pads. But first, we had a loaded weekend of hoops, with four top-10 showdowns in men’s college basketball, Caitlin Clark on the cusp of women’s history, and a vintage performance by Steph Curry. Let’s go!

WTF Stat: The 49ers' Kyle Shanahan currently has the highest career postseason winning percentage (8-3, .727) of any head coach or manager in MLB/NBA/NFL/NHL history who has never won a championship.

Written By: Ian Dardani

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Photo: Heel Heaven | Source: USA Today

Men’s College Basketball - Top Games

  • #3 North Carolina 93, #7 Duke 84: In the latest chapter of college basketball’s fiercest rivalry, Kyle Filipowski (22 PTS, 5 REB) and freshman Jared McCain (23 PTS, 11 REB) kept Duke in it, but North Carolina was in control all night, and Armando Bacot (25 PTS, 10 REB, 5 AST) helped protect a 10-point halftime lead to give the Heels a big dub on Saturday night at the Dean Dome

  • #8 Kansas 78, #4 Houston 65: Hunter Dickinson (20 PTS, 8 REB, 4 AST) and the Jayhawks shot a ridiculous 68.9% (31-45) from the field, as the Phog was too much for LJ Cryer (24 PTS, 6-12 3PT) and the Cougars, who kept it respectable but never truly threatened Kansas on Saturday afternoon

  • #5 Tennessee 103, #10 Kentucky 92: In a top-10 SEC showdown in which both teams were coming off a loss, Zakai Zeigler (26 PTS, 13 AST) and the Vols picked up a massive road victory against the Wildcats on Saturday night, despite freshman Rob Dillingham (35 PTS, 14-20 FG, 4 AST) showing out for Kentucky

  • #2 Purdue 75, #6 Wisconsin 69: Zach Edey (18 PTS, 13 REB) was a force inside, while Lance Jones (20 PTS, 6 REB) was operating on the outside, and Purdue never trailed in the second half to top Tyler Wahl (20 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST) and the Badgers on Sunday, marking their seventh consecutive win

See the full men’s scoreboard here and the current rankings here.

Women’s College Basketball

  • #12 Texas 61, #2 Kansas State 54: After being upset by Oklahoma on Wednesday, Kansas State suffered their second straight loss on Saturday at the hands of freshman Madison Booker (20 PTS, 6 AST) and the Longhorns in Austin

  • #3 Iowa 93, Maryland 85: Caitlin Clark (38 PTS, 6 REB, 12 AST) dropped 38 to move within 66 points of passing Kelsey Plum atop the NCAA women’s career scoring list, and the Hawkeyes withstood a gritty effort by Jakia Brown-Turner (25 PTS, 9 REB) and Maryland to improve to 21-2 on the season

  • #8 Ohio State 74, #10 Indiana 69: Jacy Sheldon (25 PTS, 4 AST) and the Buckeyes led by as many as 13 in the second half and ultimately held on against Sara Scalia (25 PTS, 4 REB) and the Hoosiers for their ninth straight W

  • #4 Stanford 80, #7 UCLA 60: Cameron Brink (19 PTS, 19 REB) and Stanford led 45-27 at halftime, and the Cardinal never trailed in a rout over UCLA for a statement victory on Sunday

See the full women’s scoreboard here and the current rankings here.

NBA - Top Games

  • Atlanta Hawks 141, Golden State Warriors 134 (OT): Steph Curry (60 PTS, 22-38 FG, 10-23 3PT, 6 REB) went belligerent Saturday night, notching his second career 60-point game — two points shy of his career high of 62 set in 2021 — and although Curry had 22 in the 4th quarter, Trae Young (35 PTS, 6 AST) and the Hawks outlasted the Warriors in overtime to spoil his special night

  • Los Angeles Lakers 113, New York Knicks 105: LeBron James (24 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST), Austin Reaves (22 PTS, 6 REB, 7 AST), and the Lakers went into Madison Square Garden on Saturday night and snapped the Knicks’ nine-game winning streak, as New York was held scoreless for over six minutes down the stretch to suffer their first loss since Jan. 15 - Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson (36 PTS, 6 REB, 10 AST) still had a big night

See the full NBA scoreboard here and the current standings here.

English Premier League - Top Match

  • Arsenal 3, Liverpool 1: In an eagerly anticipated match between the Premiership’s top two clubs, a brutal Liverpool defensive mix-up allowed Gabriel Martinelli (67’) to restore Arsenal’s lead with an easy second-half goal, and then Leoandro Trossard (90’+2’) put in the finishing touches to put the Gunners within two points of the Reds for first place in the table - Liverpool’s only score came on a Gabriel (45’+'3’) own goal

See the full soccer scoreboard here and the current EPL table here.

PGA Tour - AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

Winner: Wyndham Clark (-17): The 2023 US Open, Wyndham Clark, shot a Pebble Beach record 12-under 60 on Saturday and held a one-stroke lead over Ludvig Aberg (-16) after the third round, which ultimately got Clark the win as the tournament’s final round was canceled on Sunday due to inclement weather that included heavy rainfall and 60 mph winds through Monday morning

Final Leaderboard

  • 1. Wyndham Clark -17

  • 2. Ludvig Aberg -16

  • 3. Matthieu Pavon -15

  • T4. Mark Hubbard -14

  • T4. Thomas Detry -14

  • T6. Scottie Scheffler -13

  • T6. Justin Thomas -13

  • T6. Jason Day -13

  • T6. Tom Hoge -13

See the entire final leaderboard here.

NHL All-Star Games - Final

  • Team Matthews 7, Team McDavid 4: Surprise, surprise. The NHL’s leading goal-scorer, Auston Matthews (2 G, 1 A), earned the All-Star Game Final MVP, leading his team to a win over David Pastrnak (1 G, 1 A) and Team McDavid on Saturday in Toronto

See the full ASG scoreboard here.

NFL Pro Bowl Games

  • NFC 64, AFC 59: The NFC won their second consecutive Pro Bowl Games thanks to a clutch fourth-and-goal stop in the flag football game, as coach Eli Manning improved to 2-0 against his brother Peyton - Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield won the precision passing competition by edging out Texas rookie QB CJ Stroud in the final round, while Cowboys punter Bryan Anger won the Closest to the Pin contest on the golf course

🏀 76ers C Joel Embiid will have a corrective procedure this week to repair an injury to the lateral meniscus in his left knee and is expected to miss extended time - Embiid will likely miss his 18th game of the season during his upcoming absence, making him ineligible for the MVP, other awards, and the All-NBA team

🏀 Bulls G Zach LaVine has opted to undergo season-ending surgery on his injured right foot and will be out 4-6 months - LaVine averaged 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.9 assists through 25 games this season and is in the second season of a 5-year, $215M maximum contract

⚽️ FIFA announced that the 2026 men’s World Cup final will be played at MetLife Stadium — home of the New York Giants and New York Jets — in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19 - FIFA chose the venue over the Dallas’ AT&T Stadium and Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium

⚽️ PSG F Kylian Mbappe has decided to join Real Madrid once his current contract with the French side expires this summer

In honor of the tournament beginning Thursday… Since TPC Scottsdale began hosting the PGA’s Waste Management Phoenix Open in 1987, how many hole-in-ones have there been on the Par-3 16th?

A. 9

B. 11

C. 14

D. 18

NBA

  • Dallas Mavericks @ Philadelphia 76ers 7:00pm ET, Local

  • Golden State Warriors @ Brooklyn Nets 7:30pm ET, NBA TV

  • Toronto Raptors @ New Orleans Pelicans 8:00pm ET, Local

  • Full Schedule

NHL

  • New York Islanders @ Toronto Maple Leafs 7:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

  • Colorado Avalanche @ New York Rangers 7:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

College Basketball

  • NCAAM: Miami @ Virginia 7:00pm ET, ESPN

  • NCAAM: #8 Kansas @ Kansas State 9:00pm ET, ESPN

  • NCAAM: Full Schedule

  • NCAAW: #16 Louisville @ #5 NC State 7:00pm ET, ESPN2

  • NCAAW: Full Schedule

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Trivia Time Answer

B. 11. Since TPC Scottsdale began hosting the Phoenix Open in 1987, there have been 11 aces on the Par-3 16th. Sam Ryder and Carlos Ortiz both forgoed their flat sticks in 2022, but there were no hole-in-ones last year - the most memorable ace is, of course, Tiger's in 1997.

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NBA

  • Mavericks @ 76ers: Tyrese Maxey Over 29.5 PTS (-120)

Patrick Mahomes’ father, Patrick Mahomes Sr., was arrested this weekend in Texas on suspicion of DWI.