🏀 Overtime at the Octagon

Rise and Shine! All eyes in Kansas will be on Las Vegas come Sunday. But yesterday, the state shifted its focus from the Sin City to the Octagon of Doom for the always dramatic Sunflower Showdown. Kansas versus Kansas State. They don’t like each other, and, once again, extra basketball was needed to decide a winner. In the NBA, Cleveland is rocking, Los Angeles is living large, and Dallas has its star duo back together. Finally, a handful of NHL squads made their return from the All-Star break. Let’s go!

WTF Stat: Knicks G Ryan Arcidiacono is the first player in NBA history to play 20 consecutive games without scoring a point - Arcidiacono averaged 2.3 minutes during that span and has received lots of love from his teammates for his accomplishment.

🏈 Eagles will be the host team in the NFL’s first game in Brazil which will be played on Friday, Sept. 6, in Sau Paulo during Week 1 of the 2024 season - Philadelphia’s opponent will be revealed closer to the NFL’s 2024 schedule release this spring

🏈 Commanders fired OC Eric Bieniemy yesterday, one day after hiring Kliff Kingsbury as their next offensive coordinator - Kingsbury was the Cardinals’ head coach from 2019 to 2022 and spent last season as a senior offensive analyst for USC

⚾️ Royals and SS Bobby Witt Jr. have agreed to an 11-year, $289M contract extension, the largest deal in franchise history - last year, the 23-year-old became the first player in MLB history to record 30 home runs, 10 triples, and 45 stolen bases in one season

🏀 Storm signed former Sparks F Nneka Ogwumike, the 2018 WNBA MVP, in free agency - Ogwumike, an eight-time All-Star, has played for the Sparks since being picked No. 1 overall in the 2012 WNBA Draft

College Basketball - Top Games

• NCAAM | Kansas State 75, #4 Kansas 70 (OT): Does this game ever disappoint?! Kansas State entered the night on a four-game skid and trailed by 11 points early in the second half, but the Octagon of Doom came alive when the Wildcats came surging back to force overtime, and Tylor Perry (26 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST) scored eight points in the extra frame to help knock off Hunter Dickinson (21 PTS, 12 REB) and the Jayhawks in the 300th edition of this historic rivalry - K-State also upset Kansas in overtime last year and is 6-0 in OT games this season

• NCAAM | Virginia 60, Miami 38: Norchard Omier (11 PTS, 13 REB) and the Canes jumped out to an early lead in Charlottesville, but Reece Beekman (16 PTS, 7 AST) and Virginia took control midway through the first half and used a dominant defensive effort to pull away, marking the Hoos seventh straight W - the Cavaliers are 114-2 when allowing 50 points or fewer under HC Tony Bennett

• NCAAW | #3 NC State 77, #15 Louisville 67: After trailing 47-30 at the half, Olivia Cochran (17 PTS, 12 REB) and Louisville managed to creep back into the game, but the Cardinals couldn’t slow down Aziaha James (28 PTS, 7 REB), and NC State held on for a big win at home, improving their record to 20-2

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

NBA - Top Games

• Cleveland Cavaliers 136, Sacramento Kings 110: Donovan Mitchell (29 PTS, 5-11 3PT, 5 AST) could do no wrong, and neither can the Cavs right now as Cleveland worked Domantas Sabonis (12 PTS, 19 REB, 15 AST) and the Kings for their 14th win in 15 games - with the win, Cleveland (32-16) moved past Milwaukee (33-17) for the second-best record in the East

• Los Angeles Lakers 124, Charlotte Hornets 118: Anthony Davis (26 PTS, 12-16 FG, 15 REB, 11 AST) notched his third career triple-double, LeBron James (26 PTS, 7 AST) threw down a monster jam and had 17 points at the half, and the Lakers earned their third straight W by holding off a late run from Miles Bridges (41 PTS, 16-26 FG, 4 AST) and the Hornets

• Los Angeles Clippers 149, Atlanta Hawks 144: The Clippers closed out their seven-game road trip in style as Kawhi Leonard (36 PTS, 5 AST) and James Harden (30 PTS, 8 REB, 10 AST) had their way with Trae Young (25 PTS, 12 AST) and the Hawks in Atlanta for LA’s sixth win amid the trip, improving to 26-5 since Nov. 30

• Dallas Mavericks 118, Philadelphia 76ers 102: Kyrie Irving (23 PTS, 5 REB, 8 AST) made his return after missing six games with a sprained thumb and didn’t miss a beat, as he and Luka Doncic (19 PTS, 8 REB) took care of business against Tyrese Maxey (15 PTS, 7 AST) and the Joel Embiid-less 76ers - Irving will make his return to Brooklyn tonight, one year after being traded by the Nets

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

NHL - All Games

• New York Rangers 2, Colorado Avalanche 1 (OT): After Nathan MacKinnon’s (1 G) early goal, Jonathan Quick (32 SV) settled in between the pipes, and Artemi Panarin (1 G) tied the game for New York in the 3rd period to set up Alexis Lafreniere’s (1 G) beautiful OT-winner, as the Rangers opened their second half of the season with an impressive victory at the Garden - it’s New York’s 15th comeback win of the season

• New York Islanders 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 2: Islanders rookie Kyle MacLean (1 G) scored his first career goal in his sixth NHL game to put his team up 2-1 in the 2nd period, and although John Tavares (1 G, 1 A) evened the score late in the 3rd period, former Maple Leaf Pierre Engvall buried the winner on a rebound with 2:02 left to give New York a hard-fought dub - it was Engvall’s first game in Toronto since being traded a year ago

See the full box scores here and the current NHL standings here.

English Premier League - Lone Match

• Manchester City 3, Brentford 1: Neal Maupay (21’) gave Brentford an early advantage, but the home side was reeling all afternoon, and Phil Foden (45’+3’, 53’, 70’) leveled the score late in the first half before adding two more for a hat trick, as Manchester City rallied to move within two points of Premier League leaders Liverpool - Liverpool lost to Arsenal on Sunday and has 51 points through 23 games, while City has 49 points through 22 games

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

Looking for more news and stories in hockey? Subscribe to our friends below!

As we mentioned last week, the team wearing white jerseys has won 16 of the last 19 Super Bowls. When was the last time a team wearing their home (colored) jerseys won the Super Bowl?

A. 2020

B. 2018

C. 2016

D. 2013

On February 6, 1921, the New York Yankees purchased 10 acres of land in the Bronx to build Yankee Stadium. The news came on the same day as Babe Ruth’s 26th birthday. When the ballpark opened in 1923, sportswriter Fred Lieb gave it the nickname "The House that Ruth Built." The franchise's rise to baseball prominence shortly followed with Ruth as the driving force behind their success. The Yanks won their first World Series title in the park's inaugural season and three more in 1927, 1928, and 1932. Of course, Yankee Stadium played host to countless historic moments over the years until the team moved to a new park with the same name in 2009.

NBA

• Dallas Mavericks @ Brooklyn Nets 7:30pm ET, TNT

• Memphis Grizzlies @ New York Knicks 7:30pm ET, Local

• Milwaukee Bucks @ Phoenix Suns 10:00pm ET, TNT

• Full Schedule

NHL

• Philadelphia Flyers @ Florida Panthers 7:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Colorado Avalanche @ New Jersey Devils 7:30pm ET, ESPN+ / Hulu

• Edmonton Oilers @ Vegas Golden Knights 10:00pm ET, ESPN+ / Hulu

• Full Schedule

College Basketball

• NCAAM: Clemson @ #3 North Carolina 7:00pm ET, ESPN

• NCAAM: Oklahoma State @ #5 Houston 7:00pm ET, ESPN2

• NCAAM: #23 Texas Tech @ #13 Baylor 9:00pm ET, ESPN

• NCAAM: Full Schedule

• NCAAW: #23 Texas Tech @ West Virginia 7:00pm ET, ESPN+

• NCAAW: Full Schedule

Grab $20 off tickets to your favorite games, concerts and events using code TORCH20 at Vivid Seats - Promo is for first-time buyers and orders over $200!

Trivia Time Answer

A. 2020. Coincidently, the Chiefs were the last team to win the Super Bowl while wearing their home jerseys when they beat the 49ers in 2020. Kansas City is the official home team for the game this year and elected to go with their home reds, leaving the 49ers with their road whites — the same uniform combination that we saw in 2020 - the Chiefs lost the Super Bowl the following season in their home jerseys against the Buccaneers and then won last year against the Eagles in their road whites.

Prime Lock of the Day

Subscribe to Blitz Prime to unlock this betting slip. For those already signed up, enjoy the winner!

The 49ers are unhappy with the field conditions at UNLV, where they’re practicing this week ahead of the Super Bowl.