Weekly Update January 27, 2025

Basketball – NBA: This week’s games. Cavs losing streak. SGA’s high scorer. Standings update.

Basketball – NCAAM: All the upsets. No undefeated teams left. Only 2 NCAAW undefeated teams left.

Football – NCAAF: Ohio St Buckeyes National Championships

Football – NFL: NFC and AFC Championship games. Super Bowl is set!

Golf: Farmers is for the dads.

Olympic Sports: All the winter Olympic sport updates. Luge, ice sakting and skiing.

Tennis: Keys wins first GS title. Sinner successfuly defends.

Basketball-NBA:

• This week’s games:
  • The Hornets got a big upset over the Mavs on Monday 110-105. That’s their 11^th win of the season. The Pelicans and Jazz went into OT in a battle of some of the worst in the NBA. The Pelicans would win by 4 thanks in big part to CJ McCollum’s 45 points during the game.
  • The Magic may have a better record and got off to a big start but the Raptors came back in a big way in the 2Q and 3Q, outscoring the Magic by 28 in those two Qs. They would get the win. The Nuggets trashed the 76ers without Embiid 144-109.

• • The Cavaliers were locked in a close one with the Rockets. Houston didn’t play well in the final Q but they did enough to hang on by 1 over the Cavs who missed a foul shot! SGA got his first 50 point game (54) on Wed against the Jazz. They would still only win by 9. The Celtics needed OT to beat the Clippers but they avoid the upset.
  • The Spurs and Pacers played in Paris so no surprise that Wemby played well in his home country. He put up 30 points and his spurs would get the win 140-110! They would lose game two by almost as many points on Sat. Pacers take the 2^nd one 136-98. It was a day of underdogs that day as the teams with the worst records took more games than the favorites did. The Mavs upset the Thunder, The Raptors took down the Hawks, The Trail Blazers killed the Magic, The Lakers beat the Celtics.
  • Just 3 games were on Friday. The 76ers got a big win over the Cavs in a close one by 3.

• • Sat had a rematch of the NBA finals with the same result. The Celtics beat the Mavs by 15. Vince Carter’s jersey got officially retired by the Nets on Sat even as the NY team would lose that game to the Heat. The Raptors had themselves a week, scooping up 3 wins in a row. Quite a change of pace for a team who only has 13 on the season. Flip that with the Cavs who lost their 3^rd game on Sat to the Rockets. Yikes!
  • Only 1 game in action on Sunday. The Thunder beat the Trail Blazers by 10.

•  Standings:
  • Despite the 3 losses this week, the Cavs still sit at the top of the East. The Celtics and Knicks are the only other teams in the conference to have 30 or more wins. The Wizards bring up the bottom still sitting at just 6 wins on the season!
  • The West is led by the Thunder at 37 wins with the Rockets and Grizzlies both at 30+. The Jazz are the bottom with 10 wins and the Pelicans not far in front with 12.
• The Play-in tournament is April 16^th.

Basketball – NCAA:

• NCAAM:
  • No upsets Monday
  • Tuesday we had a SEC matchup. #14 Mississippi St only scored 16 points in the 1H and damage was done and they would lose to #6 Tennessee by 12. we just had some good plain upsets. #11 Purdue fell to Ohio State by 3. The Buckeyes had lost 3 games in a row before that game. Quite a game to break that with. #18 Wisconsin snapped their 7 game winning streak by losing to UCLA in a close one. The Bruins would comeback in the 2H to win by 2. #22 Mizzou fell to unranked Texas by only scoring 53 all game. #23 West Virginia only put up 57 to lose to Arizona State. The Mountaineers would also lose again on Sat to K St by 13. They will not be ranked.

• • There was only 1 ranked lose on Wed. #12 Texas A&M and #16 Ole Miss played a great close game. The Aggies trailed at half by 7 but a frantic finish had the Aggies toppled the Rebels by 1! The Rebels would also lose again on Sat to #22 Mizzou. #17 Illinois lose their 3^rd game in 4 on Thursday by losing to the Terps 91-70. #11 Purdue bounced back nicely on Friday to beat #21 Michigan by almost 30 points.

• • The Vols might’ve won a ranked game earlier in the week, but they would lose on Saturday though to #1 Auburn by 2. The game was a close one with both teams scoring 31 in the 2H. In the Big 12, it was a great game between #7 Houston and #12 Kansas. The game would go to 2OT before the Cougs would finally pull one out. They are undefeated in the conference. Texas would knock off the #13 Aggies despite leading by 18 going into the locker room. The two teams flipped halves and they would lose by 1. Vanderbilt upset #9 Kentucky and stormed the court. #19 UConn won in OT earlier in the week but on Sat they lost to Xavier by 4. Minnesota was previously ranked and it showed against #15 Oregon. The Golden Gophers would beat the Ducks by 8.

•  NCAAW:
  • LSU lost their first game of the season to #2 South Carolina in a low scoring affair 66-56. They will play 3 other ranked teams in the next 5 games. The only undefeated team left is #1 UCLA.

Football-NCAAF:

• CFP: The first drive of the game was a successful TD drive by Notre Dame that spanned 75 yards and took 9:45 off the clock. They needed 2 4^th&1s to do it but the Irish drew first blood. But Ohio State and OC Chip Kelly know how to scheme up a game too. The Buckeyes do the same thing. The Irish then went 3&out and Ohio St scored a TD, ND 3&out and Ohio ST TD. It was looking not so great for the Irish coming back from halftime when it only took the Buckeyes 5 plays to go up 28-7. But ND never gives up. At the end of the 3Q, they would score their first TD since the first drive, Ohio St would fumble the ball back to the Irish who would then miss a FG. Ohio St looked to have taken their foot off the gas and you cant do that against a Top 10 team. ND brought the game was back 23-31 in the final 5 min of the game. ND had Ohio St behind the chains at a huge 3^rd&11 with 2:38 to go and needed that stop. But as so many times this season, Howard found Jeremiah Smith for a 56 yard pass inside the 10. Even though Ohio St would only get a FG, it was the nail in the coffin for the Irish. Ohio State would win their first title since 2014 34-23. It is fitting that Ohio St would win the first year of the 12 team format as they won the debut 4-team CFP as well.

Football – NFL:

• The NFC Championship game had the most points ever scored in this game. The Eagles only had 1 Q with single digits scored. The Eagles started off strong with the first offensive play of the game was a 60 yard TD run by Saquon Barkley. 4 plays later the Commanders fumbled and the Eagles scored again. That would happen twice in the 1H. There was not a single punt in the 1H either although the Eagles missed a FG. The 2H didn’t get much better for Washington who had 2 more turnovers which led to two more Phili TDs. The Eagles piled on in the 4Q, scoring 21. Final score 55-23 and the Commanders Cinderella story comes to an end. The Eagles return to the SB since 2022.

• The AFC Championship game was much closer. The 1^st possession for the Bills was a 3&out while the Chiefs worked their way down the field easily with the run game. But the tide started to turn when the Chiefs fumbled with a Bills recovery in the 2Q. They would score a TD on that turnover. The teams were in lock step though. Going into halftime, the Chiefs were leading 21-16. The only points scored in the 3Q was a TD by Buffalo with a failed two-point conversion. It certainly felt like the momentum was changing as the Chiefs went 3&out after that Bills TD. But disaster struck after the Bills didn’t get a 4^th&1 and turned the ball over on downs at the KC 41. That was the flip Mahomes needed. It would only take the Chiefs 5 plays to score. KC 29-22. The Bills would then need a 4^th&goal to score another TD but would tie it up at 29s with 6:15 to go. The Chiefs would get a chip shot FG but the Bills would have 3:33 left to try to win the game. They would not get it, advancing just 17 yards before turning the ball over. The Chiefs would stick the dagger in with a fresh set of downs and no Bills TOs left with 1:35 left. The Chiefs are going for the 3-peat, or as Tony Romo said the Chief-peat.
• The Super Bowl LIX is set! Feb 9^th in NOLA at 5:30pm on FOX. There has not been a 3-peat in professional sports since the Lakers did it in the NBA in 2000-2002 with Kobe Bryant RIP.

• Coaching carousel:
  • Cowboys hired Brian Schottenheimer
  • Raiders hired Pete Carroll
  • Bears hired Ben Johnson as thier new HC

Golf:

• Harrison English took his first PGA Tour title since becoming a dad this Sunday at the Farmers Insurance Open. It was his 5^th PGA Tour title of his career but it has been since 2021. It looked a little precarious s he shot a closing round 73 and Sam Stevens came back from 6 shots back off the lead to challenge English for it. English put himself at the top of the leaderboard on Friday with the easiest weather of the weekend and a bunch of birdies.

Olympic Sports:

• Ilia Malinin completed 6 of his 7 quads at Nationals in Kansas this weekend including a quad axel, the move that only he has competed so far. If he had landed all of them, he would’ve been the first to land 7 in a competition and he was close. He received 333.31 points which was enough to take the title, his 3^rd. Madison Chock and Evan Bates won their 4^th consecutive ice dance title at Nationals. Amber Glenn won her 2^nd nationals title on Friday. Worlds is in March.

• The USA took 1, 2 in the women’s monobob race led by who else by Elana Meyers Taylor. GER, the powerhouse in this sport, took 3^rd. The women took 1^st and 3^rd the day before! GER is looking to extend their 26 year streak on top of the WC podium but AUT Medeleine Egle is making it difficult, she won her 4^th luge WC race this weekend.
• SUI Lara Gut-Behrami won her 46^th WC title in the Super G, that puts her 5^th on the women’s list ever. Vonn took 13^th in this race.
• ITA Davide Ghiotto not only won the 10k in the Speed Skating WC event in Calgary but he did it in world record fashion. That beat the old mark by 5 seconds.

Tennis:

• The Australian Open:
  • On the men’s side: USA Shelton beat Sonego in a 4 hour long match to beat the final unranked player left in the Quarterfinals. The other American, Paul fell to Zverev in a close 4 set match. Djokovic played #3 Alcaraz in a classic matchup! After dropping the first set, Novak comeback to win the next 3 to advance. However, he would medically retire in the Semifinals against Zverev after just the 1^st. Sinner would easily beat USA Shelton in straight sets to set up a #1 vs #2 matchup in the final. ITA Sinner captured his second straight Australian Open title in straight sets. He won the last 21 sets of the tournament.

• • On the women’s side: the USA had 3 women make the Quarterfinals, Coco Gauff, Madisen Keys and Emma Navarro. Navarro fell in Quarters to #2 Iga Swaitek easily 1-6, 2-6. Gauff lost to ESP Badosa also in straight sets although closer (5-7, 4-6). Keys needed 3 sets but managed to come back to beat UKR Svitolina. She then had a battle to beat the heavily favorite Swiatek. But Iga dropped the middle set 1-6 which set up a winner take all 3^rd set where Keys pulled it out in tie breakers. After that marathon, she had to face #1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Keys won the first set, dropped the 2^nd and beat the BLR 7-5 in the final set to win her first GS title. She went pro as a 14 year old and won her first GS as a 30 year old! Talk about paying your dues. She had to beat #1 and #2 to do it!

What to watch this week

Basketball – NBA:

• Tues 1/28
  • Lakers at 76ers @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Bucks at Trail Blazers @ 9pm on TNT
• Wed 1/29
  • Nuggets at Knicks @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • Thunder at Warriors @ 9pm on ESPN
• Thurs 1/30
  • Hawks at Cavaliers @ 6pm on TNT
  • Rockets at Grizzlies @ 8:30pm on TNT
• Fri 1/31
  • Nuggets at 76ers @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • Suns at Warriors @ 9pm on ESPN
• Sat 2/1
  • Lakers at Knicks @ 7:30pm on ABC
• Sun 2/2
  • Celtics at 76ers @ 5pm on ESPN
  • Grizzlies at Bucks @ 7:30pm on ESPN

NCAAM: (only ranked teams and on normal TV)

• Mon 1/27
  • Penn St at 21. Michigan @ 5:30pm on BTN
  • NC St at 2 Duke @ 7:30pm on ESPN
  • 3. Iowa St at Arizona @ 9:30pm on ESPN
• Tues 1/28
  • 20. St. John’s at Georgetown @ 5:30pm on FS1
  • 9. Kentucky at 6. Tennessee @ 6pm on ESPN
  • Wake Forest at 25. Louisville @ 6pm on ACC
  • Minnesota at 8. Michigan St @ 7pm on Peacock
  • 10. Marquette at Butler @ 7:30pm on FS1
  • Oklahoma at 13. Texas A&M @ 8pm on SEC
• Wed 1/29
  • 1. Auburn at LSU @ 6pm on SEC
  • 7. Houston at 23. West Virginia @ 6pm on ESPN+
  • 18. Wisconsin at Maryland @ 6pm on BTN
  • 4. Alabama at 14. Mississippi ST @ 8pm on SEC
  • Texas at 16. Ole Miss @ 8pm on ESPN2
• Thurs 1/30
  • 24. Memphis at Tulane @ 8pm on ESPN2
  • 15. Oregon at UCLA @ 9:30pm on FS1
• Fri 1/31
  • Indiana at 11. Purdue @ 8pm on FOX
• Sat 2/1
  • 5. Florida at 6. Tennessee @ 11am on ESPN
  • Providence at 20. St. John’s @ 11am on CBSN
  • 22. Mizzou at 14. Mississippi St @ 12pm on SEC
  • 1. Auburn at 16. Ole Miss @ 1pm on ESPN
  • K ST at 3. Iowa ST @ 1pm on ESPN2
  • 18. Wisconsin at Northwestern @ 1pm on FS1
  • 21. Michigan at Rutgers @ 2:30pm on FOX
  • 25. Louisville at GT @ 2:45pm on CW
  • Georgia at 4. Alabama @ 3pm on ESPN2
  • 12. Kansas at Baylor @ 3pm on ESPN
  • 8. Michigan St at USC @ 3:30pm on Peacock
  • Texas Tech at 7. Houston @ 5pm on ESPN2
  • UNC at 2. Duke @ 5:30pm on ESPN
  • 19. UConn at 10. Marquette @ 7pm on FOX
  • 13. Texas A&M at South Carolina @ 7:30pm on SEC
  • Arkansas at 9. Kentucky @ 8pm on ESPN
• Sun 2/2
  • Ohi St at 17. Illinois @ 12pm on CBS
  • Nebraska at 15. Oregon @ 6:30pm on BTN

NCAAW: (ranked on TV only)

• Mon 1/27
  • 2. South Carolina at 17. Tennessee @ 6pm on ESPN2
• Thurs 1/30
  • Oregon at 21. Michigan ST @ 5pm on BTN
  • 15. Oklahoma at 5. LSU @ 6pm on ESPN2
  • 22. Alabama at 11. Kentucky @ 6pm on SEC
  • Iowa St at 10. K St @ 7:30pm on ESPN
  • Mizzou at 7. Texas @ 8pm on SEC
  • 23. Minnesota at 4. USC @ 9pm on Peacock
  • 13. UNC at 22. Cal @ 9pm on ACC+
• Sat 2/1
  • Oklahoma ST at 16. West Virginia @ 11am on ESPNU
• Sun 2/2
  • Auburn at 2. South Carolina @ 11am on SECF
  • 3. Notre Dame at Louisville @ 11am on ESPN2
  • 4. USC at Iowa @ 12:30pm on FOX
  • Mississippi ST at 5. LSU @ 1pm on SEC
  • 18. GT at Miami @ 1pm on ACC
  • 23. Minnesota at 1. UCLA @ 2pm on BTN
  • 13. UNC at Stanford @ 2pm on CW
  • 11. Kentucky at 15. Oklahoma @ 3pm on SEC
  • Washington at 12. Ohio St @ 4pm on BTN
  • 7. Texas at Texas A&M @ 5pm on SEC

Football – NFL:

• Sun 2/2
  • Pro Bowl: AFC at NFC @ 2pm on ESPN & ABC

Golf:

• Mon 1/27
  • TGL: Jupiter vs Boston @ 5:30pm on ESPN
• Thurs 1/30
  • AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am – Round 1 @ 2pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 1/31
  • AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am – Round 2 @ 2pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 2/1
  • AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am – Round 3
    • @ 12pm on Golf Channel
    • @ 2pm on CBS
• Sun 2/2
  • AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am – Final Round
    • @ 12pm on Golf Channel
    • @ 2pm on CBS

Hockey:

• Tues 1/28
  • Avalanche at Islanders @ 6:30pm on hulu
  • Stars at Golden Knights @ 9pm on hulu
• Wed 1/29
  • Flyers at Devils @ 6pm on TNT
  • Penguins at Utah @ 8:30pm on TNT
• Thurs 1/30
  • Islanders at Flyers @ 6:30pm on hulu
  • Sharks at Kraken @ 9:30pm on ESPN
• Sat 2/1
  • Blackhawks at Panthers @ 12pm on ABC
  • Rangers at Bruins @ 2:30pm on ABC

Olympic Sports:

• Fri 1/31
  • NCAA Gymnastics: 14. Alabama vs 12. UGA @ 6pm on SEC
  • NCAA Gymnastics: 9. Mizzou vs 3. LSU @ 7:30pm on SEC
  • NCAA Gymnastics: 13. Arkansas vs 1. Oklahoma @ 8pm on ESPN2
• Sat 2/1
  • NCAA Gymnastics: Michigan St vs UCLA @ 10:30pm on FS1
• Sun 2/2
  • NCAA Gymnastics: 8. Cal vs 21. NC St @ 3pm on ACC

Soccer:

• Sat 2/1
  • Premier League: Nottingham Forest vs Brighton @ 6:30am on USA
  • Premier League: Bournemouth vs Liverpool @ 9am on USA
• Sun 2/2
  • Premier League: Brentford vs Tottenham @ 8am on USA