Watch: Trayce Jackson-Davis throws down emphatic dunk over Knicks’ Precious Achiuwa

Trayce Jackson-Davis added to his rookie season highlight reel with multiple dunks against the Knicks.

During the final stretch of the regular season, rookie center Trayce Jackson-Davis has been making a consistent impact for the Golden State Warriors. On Monday against the New York Knicks, the Indiana alum was all over the court, especially around the rim.

Jackson-Davis caught multiple lobs for highlight-reel-worthy dunks. In the fourth quarter, with the Warriors cutting into the Knicks lead, Jackson-Dunk threw down an emphatic dunk over New York center Precious Achiuwa that set San Francisco’s Chase Center into a frenzy.

Via @warriors on Twitter:

Jackson-Davis led Golden State’s bench, tallying 19 points on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting from the field with nine boards and two assists in 26 minutes during the Warriors 119-112 loss to the Knicks.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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Josh Dobbs lands with 49ers

Dobbs joins an NFC West rival to back up QB Brock Purdy after starting eight games for the Cardinal in 2023.

Quarterback Josh Dobbs is not one of the Arizona Cardinals’ free agents. They traded him to the Minnesota Vikings before the trade deadline.

He has a new team in 2024.

According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Dobbs is signing with the San Francisco 49ers, getting a fully guaranteed one-year, $2.25 million contract with up to $750,000 in incentives.

He is lined up to be Brock Purdy’s backup for the 49ers.

Dobbs started the first eight games of the season for the Cardinals last season after they acquired him from the Cleveland Browns before the season. He went 1-7, completing 62.8% of his passes for 1,569 yards, eight touchdown passes and five interceptions. He also rushed for three touchdowns.

He was traded to Minnesota with a seventh-round pick in exchange for a sixth-rounder and then started three games for the Vikings before getting benched for the final four games of the season.

Now he will get to face the Cardinals (although perhaps not playing) twice in 2024.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Bad news regarding Christian Wood’s injury status

Backup big man Christian Wood may be done for the season after the latest update on his injured knee.

As the Los Angeles Lakers fight to, at the very least, hold on to the final play-in tournament spot in the Western Conference, they’re having to go to war while somewhat short-handed.

Guard Gabe Vincent and forward Jarred Vanderbilt, arguably their two best perimeter defenders, have been out for several weeks due to a knee ailment and foot sprain, respectively. While both have made progress and are doing some cautious, conservative work, neither seems particularly close to returning.

It’s also easy to forget that backup big man Christian Wood is also out of action due to a knee ailment of his own. He hasn’t played since Feb. 14, and he will reportedly have a procedure that will keep him out for several more weeks.

Given the team’s situation, it could very well mean his season is over.

Via ESPN:

“Lakers forward Christian Wood will undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee and is expected to be sidelined for several weeks, sources told ESPN on Monday,” wrote Dave McMenamin.

While Wood, who established himself as a very capable scorer in prior seasons, has been a disappointment with L.A., he has shown an ability to help the team with his rebounding.

Without him, its big man depth has been seriously depleted. Its only backup center right now is Jaxson Hayes, who is an energy player but is lacking on the defensive end and doesn’t have any real offensive skills.

Big Ten notebook: Six Big Ten teams selected to NCAA Tournament

Six Big Ten teams made the NCAA Tournament.

For college basketball fans, months of anticipation are days away from ending. The NCAA Tournament starts on Thursday, and the Big Ten will be well represented. As teams around the country prepare for a national title run, the Big Ten teams competing in the madness are Purdue, Illinois, Nebraska, Michigan State, Northwestern, and Wisconsin.

On that list, Purdue is the highest-ranked seed. They will enter the tournament as the No.1 seed in the Midwest region after posting a 17-3 record in the regular season. The Boilermakers will begin their tournament run against the winner of the Montana State and Grambling State game on Wednesday.

 

After adding another Big Ten championship to their trophy case, Illinois will be the No.3 seed in the East region. The Fighting Illini posted a 14-6 record in the regular season and beat Wisconsin 93-87 in the Big Ten title game on Sunday. Their first game of the tournament will be against No.14 Morehead State.

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The only other Big Ten team to earn a top-five seed is Wisconsin, which will be the No.5 seed in the South Region. During the regular season, the Badgers posted an 11-9 record, which included one win over Purdue. Their first opponent in March Madness will be No.12 James Madison.

Rounding out the list are Nebraska and Northwestern. Nebraska is the No.8 seed in the South Region, and its first matchup will be with Texas A&M. Northwestern is the No.9 seed in the East Region, and it will take on FAU.

Alabama basketball remains ranked No. 19 in the Week 20 AP Poll

Do the Crimson Tide fall in the Week 20 AP Poll after SEC quarterfinal exit vs. Florida?

After an early quarterfinal exit from the SEC Tournament, the Alabama Crimson Tide will need to regroup as the NCAA Tournament tips off this weekend. The No. 4 seeded Crimson Tide will open up Tournament play against Charleston on Friday at 6:35 p.m. C.T. in Spokane, WA. Alabama enters the contest against the Coastal Athletic Association champions as 9.5-point favorites with an absurd over/under of 172.5 points.

With the March Madness field already selected, it doesn’t mean a ton, but the Crimson Tide remains ranked No. 19 in the Week 20 AP Poll. Unfortunately, both Auburn and Tennessee crack the top ten at No. 6 and 7 in the country, but both have tougher paths ahead in the Tournament than Alabama.

Despite the unfortunate ending to SEC play, it was another successful season in Tuscaloosa as they tied for second in the conference. Which is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of when you have to replace ten players as well as all three assistant coaches from a season ago. The biggest win of the entire season came on Friday as Nate Oats inked an extension with the Tide that will keep him in Alabama for quite some time as his buyout has reportedly increased to $18 million.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Watch: Austin Reaves steals inbounds pass, feeds LeBron James for dunk

Austin Reaves and LeBron James combined for a highlight play in the second quarter of Monday’s Lakers versus Hawks game.

The Los Angeles Lakers have lost two games in a row and three of their last five during a critical stretch, and they’re practically starving for wins right now. They sit in 10th place in the Western Conference, and there is an outside chance they will miss the play-in tournament right now.

They took the court on Monday against the Atlanta Hawks looking to rectify things, and after a disjointed start, they asserted themselves and opened up a double-digit lead.

In the process of doing so, Austin Reaves and LeBron James combined for a highlight play. Reaves stole an inbounds pass, then went behind the back to feed a cutting James for a dunk.

James, who scored 40 points in Saturday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors, led the way early on Monday with 12 first-quarter points.

Kyle Lowry had a message for Sixers to close out win over former Heat team

Kyle Lowry had a message for the Philadelphia 76ers in order to close out his former Miami Heat team in a win.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers needed a win on Monday night at home against the Miami Heat. The standings are in a big bunch as the season begins to really come to a close. The Heat had won the first two matchups between the teams and the Sixers needed a win against Miami in the worst way.

The Sixers were able to do so with a 98-91 win on Monday, but it didn’t come easy. Philadelphia held a 12-point lead in the first half that it squandered and then held a 17-point lead in the third quarter before the Heat rallied to tie it and threaten to steal one on the road.

However, former Heat guard Kyle Lowry made sure the Sixers understood that they had to keep playing and close it out.

“They’re gonna fight, right? And they weren’t ever gonna quit,” coach Nick Nurse said of the Heat. “Kyle kept reminding everybody on the bench that they weren’t gonna quit even when we had a 17-point lead or whatever it was. They had a great run and we responded pretty good there at the end.”

The Heat are one of those teams that you have to knock them out to really beat them. No lead is ever safe and Miami doesn’t quit until the final buzzer sounds. Lowry has seen first-hand from his 2.5 seasons in South Florida. It’s that “HEAT Culture” that Miami proudly presents.

“I love and admire those guys so much,” said Lowry who drilled a big triple late and made winning plays all night. I still root for them except when I’m playing against him, but there was no added juice. There was just like go out there and try to win the game for our team because of the standing. It’s going to be a tight race and we got to do what we can do and hold it down while we can and then try to take advantage of opportunities that we have and win as many games as we possibly can.”

On the night, Lowry had 16 points including five in the waning moments of the game. Philadelphia needed him to stabilize things down the stretch and it was an important win for this group.

“He was in his OG bag tonight, man,” laughed Kelly Oubre Jr. “It was really good to see him aggressive. You definitely knew that he had the energy. It was his former team. He wanted to win very badly and that just goes to show the impact that he can bring. Any given night, he can use his IQ and manipulate and control the game and that’s what he did tonight.”

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Where UNC basketball ranks among teams in NCAA Tournament

Here is where the UNC basketball program ranks in CBS Sports’ ranking of the entire field of 68 in the NCAA Tournament.

The North Carolina Tar Heels earned a No. 1 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, a record 18th in program history. With the final No. 1 seed, UNC is slotted in the West Region, lined up with No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 Baylor and No. 4 Alabama.

There are also some big mid-major teams in that region as well.

As we get set for the best few weeks of the year with the tournament beginning this week, CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander ranked every team in the field of 68 going into the tournament.

For North Carolina, they were ranked in the top 10 but check in at No. 6 overall:

A year after UNC failed to make the tournament following being the preseason No. 1, Hubert Davis has brought the Tar Heels back to their comfort zone. Which is to say: consistently back in the top 10 of the sport. Two names still here you’ll recognize. The first is Armando Bacot (14.1 ppg, 10.2 rpg), who played a huge role on UNC’s team that made the 2022 national championship game. The other is RJ Davis, a lock First Team All-American who puts up 21.2 points per night and has a knack for how to make the right play in a big spot. UNC also has Stanford transfer Harrison Ingram, who is capable of taking over games in stretches. No program has more Final Fours than UNC’s 21. Does it make it 22 in ’24?

The No. 6 ranking isn’t terrible but they are the only No. 1 seed that isn’t ranked in the top 4. Instead, No. 4 Iowa State and No. 5 Tennessee are ahead of them.

Time will tell if these rankings are correct and UNC will have their work cut out for them.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

WWE WrestleMania 40 card: Logan Paul faces 2 opponents in Philly

A look at the updated match card for WWE WrestleMania 40.

Anticipation is building for WWE’s grandest annual event, as it always brings massive hype. A month out, it seems fans know who will square off in some of the top matches of the two-day extravaganza at WrestleMania 40.

Bayley‘s Royal Rumble win propelled her to a title match at WrestleMania. While Rhea Ripley presented an intriguing matchup, once her Damage CTRL teammates turned on her, the Role Model chose to challenge IYO SKY for the WWE Women’s Championship instead.

In a surprising turn of events, Cody Rhodes told Roman Reigns on the Feb. 2 episode of SmackDown that he would not challenge for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. While it seemed like the logical continuation of Rhodes’ storyline, one wondered how much CM Punk’s injury changed WWE’s WrestleMania plans for the top title matches.

Nevertheless, Rhodes surprised the audience by bringing out The Rock to share a face-to-face moment with Reigns in the ring, closing the show. This comes just a month after the People’s Champion proclaimed on Raw that he would “sit at the head of the table.”

However, then came the WrestleMania Kickoff event in Las Vegas on Feb. 8. Rhodes, Reigns, The Rock and Seth Rollins were all billed for it, with a teaser that the American Nightmare made his decision on what he’ll do at WrestleMania despite what happened.

The Tribal Chief tried to take matters into his own hands at the Sin City show, declaring he’ll face the People’s Champion at WrestleMania. After a handshake agreement, Rhodes interrupted the festivities and told them he wanted Reigns at Lincoln Financial Field after all.

It sparked a fierce war of words, with The Rock snapping back at Rhodes and Rollins for talking about his family. Most comments were explicit and bleeped from the Peacock broadcast as the faces traded words with the Bloodline members.

For any questions about how definitive that event’s shenanigans were, Triple H confirmed on X that Reigns vs. Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Rollins got his own challenger at Elimination Chamber, when Drew McIntyre outlasted five other men to earn his world title shot. Becky Lynch did the same earlier on the show, and will take on Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship.

But that’s not all. After the events of the first few shows of March, a huge tag team match has been set for Night 1. Rhodes and Rollins will team together to face Reigns and The Rock with high stakes for Night 2: If Cody and Seth win, the Rhodes-Reigns rematch will be one-on-one, but if they lose the tag team match, that rematch will be fought under Bloodline Rules, meaning anything goes.

WrestleMania 40 goes down on Saturday, April 6, and Sunday, April 7 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. We’ll update this post with more matches as WWE makes them official, so check back often until Mania week rolls around.

Latest update: March 18, 2024, 11:10 p.m. ET.

WWE WrestleMania 40 card:

Night 1:

  • Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns and The Rock – If Rhodes and Rollins win, then all members of The Bloodline will be barred from ringside during Rhodes’s Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match against Reigns on Night 2; however, if Reigns and Rock win, then the championship match will be Bloodline Rules

Night 2:

  • Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes – Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match
  • Seth Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre – World Heavyweight Championship match

Night TBD

  • IYO SKY (c) vs. Bayley – WWE Women’s Championship match
  • Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch – Women’s World Championship match
  • Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn – WWE Intercontinental Championship match
  • The Judgment Day (Damian Priest and Finn Balor) (c) vs. #DIY vs. The Awesome Truth vs. The New Day vs. TBD vs. TBD – Six-pack challenge match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship
  • Logan Paul (c) vs. Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton – WWE United States Championship match
  • LA Knight vs. AJ Styles
  • Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso

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The youth movement of the Chicago Bulls has already begun, but did the front office notice?

The ball club’s front office seems stuck in the past.

The youth movement of the Chicago Bulls has already begun, but has the team’s front office noticed? The impressive breakout play of reserve guards like Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu was made possible by the removal of players like Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine from the equation. And finding young players like Onuralp Bitim and Julian Phillips has laid a foundation for a new era of Bulls basketball.

But the ball club’s front office seems stuck in the past, leaning into older players like DeMar DeRozan, Andre Drummond, and Nicola Vucevic, instead of collective assets at the trade deadline to invest in a new core.

Speaking on a recent episode, the host of the “Chicago Bulls Central” podcast, Haize, got into this seeming confusion over the direction of the team.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear his case on what that future ought to look like.

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