Weekly Update – December 16, 2024

Basketball – NBA: NBA Cup takes more of the headlines. Final this week.

Basketball – NCAAM: Not a ton of upsets this week. #1 recruit goes to Provo.

Football – NCAAF: 1 loss in Top 25. Bowl season began. Heisman to Colorado.

Football – NFL: MNF last week was awesome. TNF was not. Only 4 close games this week. Lots of low scoring games. Texans win division. Two more teams elim. Moss has cancer.

Golf: Q School. Scheffler PoY again.

Olympic Sports: Creighton knocked out Texas from VB NCAAs. Skiing news. Vonn returns next week. St. Louis hosts US champs. Worlds for short course saw WRs fall.

Basketball-NBA:

• This week’s regular games:
  • Monday only had one game in action. The Knicks beat the Raptors 113-108.
  • Thursday only had 3 games going on. The Celtics destroyed the Pistons 123-99. The Raptors would lose again but this time to the heat and the Kings beat the Pelicans in a close one and despite only scoring 20 in the final Q.
  • Friday was a more normal day in the NBA. The Timberwolves were leading the Lakers at half even with a 18 point 2Q. But the Lakers would shoot themselves in the foot in the 4Q with 20 turnovers! They would lose the game by 10. The Nuggets crushed the Clippers by 22 after a strong 72 points 2H.
  • Sunday: AD put up 40 points in the Lakers win over the Grizzlies (barely 6). The Mavericks took down the Warriors in a close one. The Mavs put up 46 in the 1Q to get things rolling early. The Timberwolves would beat the Spurs after a poor showing by SA 19 and 18 points – ugh. The Knicks beat the Magic in their house to hand them their first loss at home of the season. The Pelicans lost to the Pacers – not noteworthy necessarily but they are now 1-13 when playing away!

• NBA Cup:
  • Quarterfinals: In the first game of the week, the Bucks and Magic were separated by 1 point at half. But then the Magic would only score 13 in the 3Q. Despite that we were still close in the final minute. Lillard would have a strong 4Q and Giannis would score 37 to ultimately the win 114-109. SGA (with a 39 point game) and the Thunder beat the Mavs by 14.
  • The 2^nd day of Quarterfinals wasn’t too crazy points wise. The Hawks majorly upset the crowd in NY beating the Knicks 108-100 at home. The Warriors overcame a slow start (not scoring 20 in either of the first 2Qs) to keep the Rockets close but they would ultimately fall 1 point short. It was a controversial ending with HC Kerr literally open mouthed as a foul was called on GS and they were out of fouls, meaning Houston got to go to the line for free throws and would win the game off of those.

• • Semifinals: despite Trae Young scoring the most points of the day of any one player, the Hawks would lose to the Bucks by 8. The Thunder started off a little slow but came back to win in the 2H over the Rockets. So the final is set Bucks vs Thunder.

Basketball – NCAA:

• NCAAM:
  • Not a ton of upsets this week: Two Illinois players went off in their game against #20 Wisconsin to win by 6. As a part of the Jimmy V Classic, #14 Michigan put up 49 points in the 1H but Arkansas wasn’t far behind. The Wolverines would miss the game tying shot and Razorbacks win by 2. #6 Marquette dropped a game to Dayton on Saturday. We then had 2 ranked matchups. In the HoF Series #8 Gonzaga got beat in both halves by #18 UConn. #17 Texas A&M handed #11 Purdue their 3^rd loss this time by 4 points. We then had a thriller with #16 Clemson and Memphis. Clemson cameback in the 2H to tie it up and take us to OT. Memphis would get the last laugh winning in OT by 5.

• • BYU gets #1 recruit AJ Dybantsa. It is rumored that he will receive $5-7MM in NIL. He is being compared to Tracy McGrady and Thunder star SGA.

•  NCAAW:
  • Notre Dame hands UConn their first loss of the season. One ND player (Hidalgo) had 6 3-pointers while the entire Huskies team only managed 3 all game.
  • Tennessee’s Samara Spencer hit a school record 9 3-pointers in their game over NC Central on Saturday. The Lady Vols would win 139-59. 139 is a SEC record for total points in a game as well.
  • Serena Williams’ husband gave a multi-year and big donation to the UVA women’s bball team. He is an alum of the school.

Football-NCAAF:

• Travis Hunter is the 90^th recipient of the Heisman Trophy. He is only the 2^nd Colorado player to earn the honor after 1994 RB Rashaan Salaam. He had 92 catches for 1152 yards and 14 TDs. But he also had 4 INT, 32 tackles and broke up 11 passes and a forced fumble. He played 700 snaps on offense and defense. The only P4 player with more than 30 on either side – that’s how unusual that is! It wasn’t without its drama though. Boise St RB Ashton Jeanty got 2^nd in what was the closest voting since 2009. This is only the 5^th time in history that a QB did not win the award (and not get 2^nd has to be even smaller). 2015 was the last time a QB wasn’t in the top 2 (Derrick Henry and Christian McCaffrey).

• Losses in the Top 25: It was the first weekend of bowl games, and the of course best rivalry in college football, the Army Navy game. Only one team in the top 25 was in action and that was #22 Army and we have a loss in the top 25 meaning that #22 Army lost to their rival Navy. Army only got into the endzone once all game. QB Bryson Daily was tied with Ashton Jeanty for rushing touchdowns on the year until Saturday. The only touchdown army scored was a passing touchdown. Navy would win 31-13.

• Coaching changes:
  • UNC hires Bill Belichick – yes like the 6x SB Patriots HC. The 72 year old will have to see if he can relate to the world of NIL, transfer portal and this generation’s football player. His dad coached UNC for a while.
  • Purdue hired Barry Odom away from UNLV. All the experts are raving about this pick.
  • WV hired Rich Rodriguez back. He was the HC from 2001-2007 before moving onto Michigan. He is a alum HC.
  • UCF re-hired Scott Frost back. He left the HC of UCF job to take the Nebraska job after the 2017 season.

Football – NFL:

• Wrapping up week 14 MNF: It was awesome! The win probability chart changed teams 26xs. The Cowboys struck first but the Bengals answered with their own TD on the next drive. CIN would be leading 17-10 going into the locker room at half. But with the score of 20-20, the Bengals were punting the ball back to the Cowboys just after the 2-minute warning. The Cowboys get a beautiful blocked punt and that would’ve set up a short field to be able to kick a FG and win. But DAL muffs the catch and its recovered by the Bengals. QB Burrow only needed 3 plays to seal the deal with a TD.

• TNF: There were no TDs scored in the entire game of TNF by either team! The Rams won with 4 FGs over the 49ers who only managed 2. Talk about a boring game!

• There were only 4 close games this week (week 15): and one was TNF. 3 teams won with 30 points and another 3 won with around 30. Only 3 teams scored 40 or more.
  • The Bills/Lions game was a matchup of heavy hitters! Jared Goff would throw 5 passing TDs and lose!! The Bills just built too much of a lead in the first 3 Qs, at one point leading 35-14. There also wouldn’t be any FGs until the 4Q in this game. The Lions tried to come back scoring 21 points in the 4Q but would still fall 6 points short. It was called a SB preview – what a game!
  • The Commanders were leading 17-7 going into the 4Q. But Washington would be the only team to punt in the 2H. The Saints final 4 drives would be TD, FG, FG, TD. NOLA could’ve tied up the game and gone to OT but they went for the win and the 2-point conversion instead. They would be unsuccessful and would lose by 1. Commanders escape.
  • The Jets would have a much better 2H, putting up 25 points to win 32-25 over the Jets.

• The not so close ones:
  • Lamar Jackson would also have a 5 passing TD day against the Giants and would win 35-14.
  • The Texans would hold the Dolphins to no TDs until the final 5 min of the game. Helps when they would also get 4 turnovers. Texans wins by 8.
  • The Chiefs would score a TD in every Q but the final one and hold the Browns to only 1 TD the entire game and no other points. This game was also plagued by turnovers with the Browns having 4 INT and 2 fumbles (all but 1 of which was in the 2H). Chiefs win 21-7. But the noteworthy part of this game was that Mahomes limped off the field with an apparent ankle injury in the 4Q.
  • The Titans bookended their points (meaning only scored in the 1^st and 4Q) but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Bengals who won 37-27.
  • In the battle of the ponies, the Broncos were trailing all game until the 4Q when they had a successful comeback. They would score 21 points in the 4Q to win easily 31-13. There were 8 turnovers between the two team in this game – 5 by the Colts including a sloppy trick play.
  • The Eagles made easy work of the 10-3 Steelers, winning 27-13. Pit would score no points in the entire 2H.
  • On the flip side of that, the Bucs were off in the 2H to put up 40 points, beating the Chargers who only scored 17.

• SNF: The Packers/Seahawks game started off slowly. Not points wise but drive wise. There were only 7 possessions by both teams in the 1H. That being said the Packers scored on all of theirs to take a 20-3 lead. The teams would have identical scored in the next 2Qs meaning that the Packers win 30-13.

• The Texans have clinched the AFC-South for the 2^nd year in a row. The Steelers, Vikings, join the Lions and Eagles have clinched playoff berths. 2 other teams have now been eliminated from playoffs this week: Bears, Panthers, joining the Jets, Browns, Titans, Jags, Raiders, Patriots and Giants.
  • The Bills clinched the AFC East, the Chiefs clinched the West.

• Randy Moss announced that he is battling cancer after they found cancerous cells in his bile duct while putting a stent on his liver in November. He has undergone surgery to remove the cells and hopes to return to NFL countdown soon. If you see players sporting the #84 – that is why. He is in both the NCAAF and NFL HoF.

Golf:

• Lanto Griffin might’ve won Q-School this weekend but there were what felt like 6 winners as those golfers have now earned their PGA Tour cards for the next season: Hayden Buckley, Takumi Kanaya, Alejandro Tosti, Will Chandler and Matt Riedel.

Olympic Sports:

• Creighton knocked out 2x reigning champs Texas from the NCAA Volleyball tournament.
• Some Skiing news. Mikaela Shiffrin went through abdominal surgery last week to clean the puncture wound from the crash. She is recovering and things went well. No timeline for her return to the slopes. Speaking of a return to the slopes, Vonn will make her return next weekend in Switzerland. She did ski in the WC event this weekend in Colorado but to test the course before the racers. ITA Sophia Goggia was the big winner in CO.
• St. Louis will be the host for the US Figure Skating Championships in the 2026 Olympic year. Its been a while since St. Louis hosted (2006) Johnny Weir and Sasha Cohen were champs!
• WRs fell all over the place in the short course world championships- 30 of them in all which is in itself a record. Gretchen Walsh set her 10^th and 11^th WR in the 50m free and the women’s 4x100m medley relay. Regan Smith (another member of that relay) also set the WR in the W200m back. Luke Hobson took gold and the WR in the M200m Free.

What to watch this week

Basketball – NBA:

• Tues 12/17
  • NBA Cup Finals: Bucks at Thunder @ 7:30pm pm ABC
• Thurs 12/19
  • Thunder at Magic @ 6pm on TNT
  • Knicks at Timberwolves @ 8:30pm on TNT

NCAAM: (only ranked teams and on normal TV)

• Tues 12/17
  • George Mason at 4. Duke @ 6pm on ACC
  • UNC at 9. Florida @ 6pm on ESPN
  • 16. Clemson at South Carolina @ 6pm on SEC
  • 21. Michigan St at Oakland @ 6pm on ESPN2
  • Prairie View A&M at 24. UCLA @ 8:30pm on BTN
• Wed 12/18
  • Xavier at 11. UConn @ 6pm on FS1
  • 21. Memphis at UVA @ 6pm on ESPN2
  • 6. Alabama at North Dakota @ 8pm on CBSSN
  • Butler at 9. Marquette @ 8pm on FS1
  • 14. Oklahoma at 24. Michigan @ 8pm on ESPN2
• Fri 12/20
  • 19. Cincinnati at 22. Dayton @ 7:30pm on ESPNU
• Sat 12/21
  • 5. Duke at Georgia Tech @ 11am on ACC
  • North Florida @ 11am on SEC
  • 9. Marquette at Xavier @ 11am on FOX
  • 11. UConn at Butler @ 11am on Peacock
  • Mississippi St at 21. Memphis @ 11:30am on CBS
  • Texas A&M CC at 15. Houston @ 1pm on CBSSN
  • FAU at 20. Michigan St @ 1pm on FS1
  • Wake Forest at 25. Clemson @ 1pm on ESPN
  • 18. UCLA at UNC @ 2pm on CBS
  • 16. Purdue at 2. Auburn @ 3:30pm on ESPN
  • Ohio St at 4. Kentucky @ 4:30pm on CBS
  • 10. Oregon at Stanford @ 7pm on BTN
  • Cal at 23. San Diego St @ 9:30pm on ACC
• Sun 12/22
  • Kent St at 6. Alabama @ 12pm on SEC
  • Brown at 8. Kansas @ 2pm on ESPN

NCAAW: (ranked on TV only)

• Tues 12/17
  • Seton Hall at 4. LSU @ 5pm on FS1
  • 18. Iowa St at 2. UConn @ 7:30pm on FS1
  • 10. Oklahoma at 20. Michigan @ 8:30pm on ESPN2
• Wed 12/18
  • 14. UNC at Florida @ 5:30pm on ESPNU
  • Wofford at 9. Duke @ 6pm on ACC
  • 19. Tennessee at Memphis @ 7:30pm on ESPNEWS
• Fri 12/20
  • 11. Ohio St at Stanford @ 7:30pm on FS1
  • Creighton at 1. UCLA @ 10pm on FS1
• Sat 12/21
  • 9. Duke at USF @ 11am on ESPN2
  • 18. Iowa Sta t Oklahoma St @ 4pm on ESPN2
  • 24. Nebraska at 25. Georgia Tech @ 4:30pm on ACC
  • 5. USC at 2. UConn @ 7pm on FOX

Football – NCAAF:

Bowl Game Schedule

Bowl	Visitor	Home	Day	TV	Time (CT)	Stadium (State)	Line
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl	25. Memphis	West Virginia	Tues Dec 17	ESPN	8:00 PM	Toyota (TX)	Mem -4
Boca Raton Bowl	Western Kentucky	James Madison	Wed Dec 18	ESPN	4:30 PM	FAU (FL)	JMU -6.5
Art of Sport LA Bowl	Cal	24. UNLV	Wed Dec 18	ESPN	8:00 PM	SoFi Stadium (CA)	Cal -1
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl	Georgia Southern	Sam Houston	Thurs Dec 19	ESPN2	6:00 PM	Caesars Superdome (LA)	GA S -6
StaffDNA Cure Bowl	Ohio	Jacksonville St	Fri Dec 20	ESPN	11:00 AM	Camping World (FL)	OH -3
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl	Tulane	Florida	Fri Dec 20	ESPN	2:30 PM	Raymond James (FL)	FL -13.5
College Football Playoff – 1st Round	8. Indiana	5. Notre Dame	Fri Dec 20	ESPN/ABC	7:00 PM	Home Game	ND -7.5
College Football Playoff – 1st Round	10. SMU	4. Penn St	Sat Dec 21	TNT	11:00 AM	Home Game	PSU -8.5
College Football Playoff – 1st Round	16. Clemson	3. Texas	Sat Dec 21	TNT	3:00 PM	Home Game	TX -11.5
College Football Playoff – 1st Round	7. Tennessee	6. Ohio St	Sat Dec 21	ESPN/ABC	7:00 PM	Home Game	OSU -7

Football – NFL:

• Mon 12/16
  • Bears at Vikings @ 7pm on ABC
  • Falcons at Raiders @ 7:30pm on ESPN
• Thurs 12/19
  • Broncos at Chargers @ 7:15pm on Prime
• Sat 12/21
  • Texans at Chiefs @ 12pm on NBC
  • Steelers at Ravens @ 3:30pm on FOX
• Sun 12/22
  • 7 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX
    • CBS: Browns at Bengals, Titans at Colts, Rams at Jets
    • FOX: Giants at Falcons, Lions at Bears, Eagles at Commanders, Cardinals at Panthers
  • Vikings at Seahawks @ 3:05pm on FOX
  • 3 games @ 3:25pm on CBS
    • Pats at Bills
    • Jags at Raiders
    • 49ers at Dolphins
  • Bucs at Cowboys @ 7:20pm on NBC
• Mon 12/23
  • Saints at Packers @ 7:15pm on ESPN/ABC

Golf:

• Tues 12/17
  • The Match @ 5pm on TNT & TBS
• Fri 12/20
  • PNC Championship @ 11am on Golf Channel
• Sat 12/21
  • PNC Championship
    • @ 12pm on Golf Channel
    • @ 1:30pm on Peacock
    • @ 3pm on NBC
• Sun 12/22
  • PNC Championship
    • @ 10:30am on Golf Channel
    • @ 11:30am on Peacock
    • @ 12:30pm on NBC

Hockey:

• Tues 12/17
  • Islanders at Hurricanes @ 6:30pm on hulu
• Wed 12/18
  • Flyers at Red Wings @ 6pm on TNT
  • Panthers at Wild @ 8:30pm on TNT
• Thurs 12/19
  • Rangers at Flyers @ 6:30pm on hulu
• Fri 12/20
  • Maple Leafs at Sabres @ 6pm on hulu

Olympic Sports:

• Thurs 12/19
  • NCAA Volleyball: Semifinals Louisville vs Pitt @ 5:30pm on ESPN
  • NCAA Volleyball: Semifinals Nebraska vs Penn St @ 8pm on ESPN
• Sun 12/22
  • NCAA Volleyball Championship @ 2pm on ABC

Soccer:

• Mon 12/16
  • Premier League: Bournemouth vs West Ham @ 2pm on USA
• Sat 12/21
  • Premier League: Aston Villa vs Manchester City @ 6:30am on USA
  • Premier League: Brentford vs Nottingham Forest @ 9am on USA
  • Premier League: Crystal Palace at Arsenal @ 11:30am on USA
• Sun 12/22
  • UEFA Nations: ESP vs SRB @ 4:30am on FS1
  • Premier League: Everton vs Chelsea @ 8am on USA
  • Premier League: Tottenham vs Liverpool @ 10:30am on USA
  • UEFA Nations: GRE vs ENG @ 10pm on FS1