Month: February 2024

Colorado hangs on late to beat Washington Huskies, end losing streak

Colorado’s losing streak is no more

The No. 13 Colorado women’s basketball team (21-7, 11-6 Pac-12) returned home to the CU Events Center and secured a much-needed win over the Washington Huskies (15-13, 5-12) on Thursday, 68-62. The victory ended a season-long four-game losing streak and kept the Buffs’ hopes alive for a top-four seed in the looming Pac-12 Tournament.

Colorado led by as many as 15 points and despite a rough fourth quarter shooting the ball, hung on for the win. The Buffaloes shot just 1-for-10 from the field in the fourth quarter and went over five minutes without scoring.

Star point guard Jaylyn Sherrod missed much of the second half as she suffered an injury to her face at the 8:25 mark of the third quarter. She later re-entered the game with 35 seconds remaining in regulation.

Head coach JR Payne spoke about Colorado’s poor offensive execution in the fourth quarter:

“We were turning it over a bit and taking some early jumpers,” Payne said. “If you combine that with not getting stops, then it can go from 15 to 10 pretty quick. We have to go back and look at it and make sure we know what we’re looking for at the end of the game.”

Maddie Nolan led the Buffs in scoring with 20 points, hitting 7-of-8 shots from the field, including six 3-pointers.

“It definitely felt nice,” Nolan said. “My teamamtes, as always, do a great job of finding me. It’s nice to play with people that know where you are on the floor and are always looking for you.”

Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Friday’s Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons odds and lines, with NBA expert picks, predictions and best bets.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers (38-20) and Detroit Pistons (9-49) meet Friday with tip-off from Little Caesars Arena set for 7 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Cavaliers vs. Pistons odds and make our expert NBA picks and predictions.

Season series: Cleveland leads 3-0

Cleveland suffered a 132-123 double OT loss vs. the Chicago Bulls Wednesday, failing to cover as a 5.5-point road favorite. The Cavaliers were outrebounded by an astounding 74-39 in the loss. Cleveland is 2-1 in its last 3 games and it has failed to covered the spread in 7 consecutive outings.

Detroit picked up a 105-95 win over the Chicago Bulls Tuesday while covering as a 10-point road underdog. Detroit held the Bulls to only 39.8% shooting from the field and 6.9% shooting from deep in the loss. Tuesday’s win ended a 6-game losing streak for the Pistons.

Cavaliers at Pistons odds

Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 11:43 p.m. ET.

  • Moneyline (ML): Cavaliers -370 (bet $370 to win $100) | Pistons +295 (bet $100 to win $295)
  • Against the spread (ATS): Cavaliers -9 (-110) | Pistons +9 (-110)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 222.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

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Cavaliers at Pistons key injuries

Cavaliers

  • Not yet submitted

Pistons

  • None

For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.

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Cavaliers at Pistons picks and predictions

Prediction

Cavaliers 112, Pistons 109

Moneyline

PASS. 

Cleveland is a dominant 7-3 in its last 10 meetings with Detroit, and the Cavaliers are the much better team, but they are not worth the risk of betting on as such heavy (-370) favorites. Bet on the spread and/or total instead.

Against the spread

 BET PISTONS +9 (-110).

Detroit has covered the spread in each of its last 3 games and is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 outings. The Pistons have also covered the spread in 3 consecutive games vs. Cleveland. Detroit is 6-3-1 ATS in its last 10 matchups vs. Cleveland and is 30-28 ATS this season while the Cavs are 28-30.

Over/Under

BET UNDER 222.5 (-110).

The Under has hit in 7 consecutive games for Detroit and is 8-2 in its last 10. For Cleveland, the Under is 6-4 in its last 10 outings and is 31-26-1 on the season. The Under has also hit in 6 of the last 7 Cleveland-Detroit matchups.

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Michigan gets bad news on top overall target in 2025

Not great.

Sherrone Moore and his mostly revamped defensive coaching staff are hard at work on the recruiting trail trying to get Michigan back into consideration as an elite recruiter. Unfortunately, the staff received some unfortunate news regarding the recruitment of the top remaining player on the board with defensive back DJ Pickett announcing he would be focusing on six particular schools moving forward.

Pickett holds a grade of .9973 on to the 247Sports composite and is the seventh highest-rated player nationally. The Wolverines were fighting for the lead in Pickett’s recruitment for the past couple of months until the departures of Jim Harbaugh and Steve Clinkscale made him reconsider. It is unclear if the new staff reached out, but one would certainly hope recent DB coach hire LaMar Morgan made a move.

The battle for Pickett’s talent is far from over. Michigan may have been snubbed from his most recent update, but recruiting is an ever-shifting field and there will be plenty of chances to get back into his recruitment. Coach Morgan will need to be heavily involved, as will defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and Sherrone Moore himself. Pickett is a rare five-star talent who is not focused on NIL, and Michigan needs to capitalize on that. To make a Michigan commitment even more natural, Pickett’s mother is an alumnus and loves the idea of her son attending the same school.

Today was not all negative, however. Michigan secured a spot in Mark Zackery’s (top 150 prospect) top four schools so the cornerback board is far from drying up. Expect Michigan to push hard for Zackery, Dawayne Galloway, and Jahmari DeLoatch to fill out what could be a large cornerback class. Michigan could also get back into the recruitment of former commit Chris Ewald, who reopened his process shortly after the national championship game.

Oklahoma Sooners offer four-star DL prospect and Auburn commit Malik Autry

Oklahoma has offered fast-rising 2025 four-star DL prospect Malik Autry.

Oklahoma just had one of its all-time best defensive line recruiting hauls with their 2024 class. It was headlined by five-star defensive tackle David Stone but there were multiple four-star defensive linemen in the Sooners’ haul.

Oklahoma needed every single signee as the Sooners were set to be pretty thin along their defensive line after the 2024 season. They now turn their recruiting efforts to 2025, where the Sooners already have one commitment from three-star nose tackle Ka’Mori Moore.

Moore committed last summer, and Oklahoma is in pursuit of adding more.

Their most recent offer is to four-star prospect Malik Autry. Autry is a large human being who most certainly fits the mold of the 1-technique type of nose tackle that the vast majority of SEC teams seem to have. He is the no. 89 overall prospect in the Top247 and is seeing his recruitment take off. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him rise into the top 60 nationally when it’s all said and done.

Autry stands tall at six-foot-five and clocks in at 320 pounds. He hails from Alabama and is currently committed to the Auburn Tigers. He was offered by Todd Bates, who is from Alabama himself. Bates has long been considered an excellent recruiter for his ability to connect with the gentlemen he recruits. Can he help loosen the bond between Auburn and help give Oklahoma a fighting chance?

Malik Autry’s Recruiting Profile

Film

HUDL

12 underrated draft prospects at 2024 combine

Check out who enters the combine underrated.

The 2024 NFL combine has begun and workouts and tests have begun as well. There will be a lot of surprises and some disappointment.

Before we start to see the official numbers, Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar put together a list of the 12 most underrated prospects entering the combine.

Check out who they are below and read his full post to know why they are underrated.

 

Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 38 points for South Bay Lakers on Thursday

Lakers rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino has been showing some promise while playing in the G League, and he had a monster game on Thursday.

When the Los Angeles Lakers took Indiana University guard Jalen Hood-Schifino with the No. 17 pick in the 2023 NBA draft, there was plenty of intrigue. While some fans wanted the team to take someone else, such as Cam Whitmore or Jaime Jaquez Jr., Hood-Schifino seemed to be a fine prospect in his own right.

In his lone season in the NCAA, he showed an ability to create his own shot from the midrange area, hit the open man, handle the ball and be a decent defender.

But in spot duty with the Lakers this season, he has looked like a zero-impact player who has had significant trouble merely putting the basketball in the hoop.

There has been a feeling he would be better off spending most of his time in the G League so he could develop and gain some confidence. Well, in 10 games with the South Bay Lakers through Sunday, he averaged 20.1 points and 6 assists a game while hitting 41.3% of his 3-point attempts.

On Thursday, Hood-Schifino had a monster 38-point effort in a 131-126 loss to the Austin Spurs.

Perhaps Hood-Schifino simply needs a more seasoning and time to develop than Whitmore or Jaquez, both of whom have been producing efficiently for the Houston Rockets and Miami Heat, respectively.

Nets’ Cam Johnson reacts to season-high scoring night in win over Hawks

Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson reacted to scoring a season-high 29 points in Thursday’s 124-97 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson had to make a big adjustment coming out of the All-Star break as he had to transition from being a starter to coming off the bench. While he was visibly displeased with the change in role, Johnson showed on Thursday why he should be playing starter’s minutes either way.

“Felt good, just the way we played felt right, you know what I mean?” Johnson said after putting up a season-high 29 points in Thursday’s 124-97 dismantling of the Atlanta Hawks. While Johnson has been trying to figure out how his routine has to change amidst all of the injuries, he chose to focus on how the Nets played as a team. “Everybody’s intention and focus, attention to detail, attention to the scout(ing report) felt like it was in the right place,” Johnson continued.

For awhile, it seemed like Brooklyn could only get wins against the worst teams in the NBA like the rebuilding San Antonio Spurs team or the severely-injured Memphis Grizzlies. However, Thursday showed what the Nets can look like when they are firing on all cylinders and playing hard, similar to how they played to begin this season.

One thing that Johnson has pointed out since his change in role after interim head coach Kevin Ollie took over has been rhythm. It looks like he found his rhythm at the perfect point of Brooklyn’s season to make a playoff push:

“I tell you guys all the time: all you’re looking for is rhythm and feel of the game. It slows it down for you anytime you’re in your comfortable spaces, your comfortable roles, it slows the game down for you. You’re able to process quicker, more efficiently and sometimes, good results follow that.”

The Nets and Hawks play again on Saturday for the fourth and final time this season as both squads are looking to win that crucial game.

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Texas A&M LB & NFL Draft prospect Edgerrin Cooper loves his 6 French bulldogs & cane corsos

This week at the NFL Combine, teams are getting to know some of the best prospects in the nation, including the Aggies junior linebacker.

This week at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, organizations are getting to know some of the best prospects in the nation.

One of those players is former Texas A&M junior linebacker Edgerrin Cooper. The AP All-American first-team selection displayed his speed by running the 40-yard dash in 4.52 seconds on Thursday night.

NFL Network national correspondent Stacey Dales also shared a heartwarming anecdote about Cooper. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound defensive signal-caller has six dogs, three French bulldogs and three cane corsos.

“I’ve got some hard-hitting stuff here. You guys were just talking about dogs and it’s important to put the spotlight on Edgerrin Cooper, the linebacker out of Texas A&M,” Dales stated. “His dogs are really important to him. Those are his buddies, they’re with his grandparents right now.”

According to Dales, Cooper walks each dog individually, so he certainly gets his steps in and daily cardio with his buddies collectively for at least three hours a day.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

Hogs take 41 3s, lose by 37 points to South Carolina

South Carolina is the best team in the country for a reason.

The good news is Arkansas played South Carolina as well as almost any other team in the SEC has over the last month.

The bad news is the game still wasn’t close.

The top-ranked Gamecocks had no trouble with Arkansas on Thursday night at Bud Walton Arena, taking a 98-61 victory of the Hogs ahead of both teams’ regular-season finales Saturday. A 27-10 fourth quarter for South Carolina exacerbated the final score.

South Carolina handled its business in the interior, per usual, outscoring Arkansas in the paint 56-22 and outrebounding the Razorbacks 52-21 while shooting 61% from the field.

Arkansas’ plan was to counter with a barrage from the outside. Coach Mike Neighbors’ team buried eight 3-pointers, but they came on 41 attempts. Overall, the Hogs shot just 33%, struggling with the Gamecocks’ height the whole game.

South Carolina has yet to lose this season and have won by single-digits just three times and only once in league play. Arkansas almost certainly needs to beat Ole Miss on Saturday to have even a small chance at the NCAA Tournament, barring a deep run in the SEC Tournament.

Watch: Jewell Loyd makes halfcourt shot, advises in Notre Dame return

A program legend was there for a great night.

[autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag] will go down as one of the best women’s basketball players ever. In her WNBA tenure with the Seattle Storm, she’s earned two championships, five All-Star selections and her first scoring title just this past season. But her journey to superstardom at the professional level began at Notre Dame, and she returned there for the Irish’s game against No. 5 Virginia Tech.

Before anyone got there, she stepped onto the court at Purcell Pavilion and made a shot from halfcourt like it was nothing:

After the Irish earned a victory over the Hokies that many were not expecting, Loyd met with the Irish and offered advice to the players who undoubtedly remained a high from their upset win:

One of the best players in program history, Loyd always will have a place at Notre Dame. That she came back for the high point of the season to this point makes it better. Hopefully, the Irish won’t have to wait long for her next visit:

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89