No. 6 Duke rallies past Georgia Tech to win ACC opener

Freshman phenom Cameron Boozer totaled a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds for No. 6 Duke, which fought off Georgia Tech for an 85-79 victory in both teams' Atlantic Coast Conference opener on Wednesday in Durham, N.C.

Isaiah Evans added 17 points, while Cayden Boozer scored 13 for Duke (12-1, 1-0 ACC), which rebounded from its first loss of the season - an 82-81 loss to then-No. 19 Texas Tech on Dec. 20. Caleb Foster had 12 points and Patrick Ngongba II tallied 11 points and nine boards for the Blue Devils, who trailed by four at halftime.

Kowacie Reeves Jr. tied his career high with 23 points to lead Georgia Tech (9-5, 0-1), which fell to 0-4 against major-conference opponents. Jaeden Mustaf scored 11, while Lamar Washington and Chas Kelley III had 10 points apiece for the Yellow Jackets, who were outrebounded 42-28.

Duke trailed by seven with 18:38 left after Reeves' 3-pointer gave Georgia Tech a 50-43 lead. Evans and Cayden Boozer's baskets then began the Blue Devils' 9-2 run, pulling even at 52 with 16:24 remaining.

Duke held the Yellow Jackets without a field goal for nearly seven minutes, before Kelley's triple trimmed the deficit to two at the 10:44 mark.

The Blue Devils' lead grew to seven on Foster's 3-pointer with 8:14 left. Nearly four minutes later, Mustaf's trey pulled Georgia Tech within two.

Akai Fleming and Ngongba traded a pair of free throws, as Duke grabbed a 78-75 lead with 3:04 remaining. Cayden Boozer's mid-range jumper with 1:28 left gave the Blue Devils a five-point cushion.

Behind by six, Georgia Tech sliced its deficit in half on Reeves' 3-pointer with 39 seconds remaining.

Cameron Boozer made two foul shots, before Washington split a pair for Georgia Tech. Evans then calmly drilled his two free throws to seal the win.

After Fleming and Washington's back-to-back 3-pointers gave Georgia Tech a 9-3 lead, Evans' trey began a 7-0 Duke run.

Leading by a point, Georgia Tech pushed its advantage to five after Mouhamed Sylla's consecutive baskets put the visitors ahead 29-24 with 8:10 left in the first half.

Foster's second 3-pointer of the opening half gave Duke a 37-35 edge, but Mustaf's jumper and Kelley's personal 4-0 run returned the lead to the Yellow Jackets with 47 seconds remaining.

From there, Cameron Boozer's layup was answered by Reeves' mid-range jumper to close out the first half with Georgia Tech ahead 43-39.

--Field Level Media

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January 01, 2026

No. 6 Duke rallies past Georgia Tech to win ACC opener

Freshman phenom Cameron Boozer totaled a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds for No. 6 Duke, which fought off Georgi...

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Alex Karaban helps No. 4 UConn rout Xavier

Alex Karaban scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead No. 4 UConn to a 90-67 Big East win over Xavier on Wednesday in Cincinnati.

Braylon Mullins amassed 17 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Huskies (13-1, 3-0 Big East).

Malik Messina-Moore led the Musketeers (9-5, 1-2) with 16 points.

Solo Ball came back after missing one game with a wrist injury to score 17 points for the Huskies, who outshot the Musketeers 53.2% (33-of-62) to 42.9% (24-of-56).

The Huskies dominated from the 3-point arc, hitting 13 of 28 (46.4%). The Musketeers struggled from long distance all night and were just 4 of 18 (22.2%) on 3-point attempts.

Xavier was able to get within 13 early in the second half when Roddie Anderson III laid in two of his 15 points to make it 53-40.

UConn answered with a 13-2 run with Ball hitting a 3-pointer to start the run and finishing it with a three-point play off a layup for a 66-42 UConn lead with 12:21 left.

The Huskies used a 17-2 run midway through the first half to build a 43-28 lead at the break.

UConn led 16-6 when Mullins hit a 3-pointer and Karaban scored five straight points with a layup and then a three-point play off a layup for a 24-6 lead with 12:39 left.

Tarris Reed Jr. went on an eight-point run of his own two minutes later with a three-point play off a dunk and a layup on the next possession to make it 30-6.

After Pape N'Diaye scored on a layup to stop the scoreless drought, Reed collected a second three-point play off a dunk for a 33-8 UConn lead.

Xavier had five of seven first-half turnovers during the run.

The Musketeers were able to outscore the Huskies 14-10 the rest of the way with Anderson scoring nine of points.

UConn was in command at that point, however, hitting 48.4% of its first-half shots (15-of-31), including 6-of-16 from the 3-point line.

The Musketeers only shot 37.5% from the floor (12-of-32) and missed all 10 of the 3-point shots they took.

UConn outrebounded Xavier 24-15 in the first half.

The Huskies jumped in front right away, hitting 6 of 12 shots to start the game. An early 7-0 run gave the Huskies a quick 12-point lead.

--Field Level Media

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January 01, 2026

Alex Karaban helps No. 4 UConn rout Xavier

Alex Karaban scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead No. 4 UConn to a 90-67 Big East win over Xavier on ...

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Spurs' Victor Wembanyama downplays knee injury

San Antonio star center Victor Wembanyama hyperextended his left knee in the Spurs' home victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday, but he doesn't expect to miss any additional time.

Wembanyama came down awkwardly with 10:32 to play in the game as he attempted to secure an offensive rebound. He stayed down until teammate Stephon Castle helped him up, then hobbled straight to the locker room while giving fans reassurance and saying, "I'm fine. I'm fine."

He later came back to the bench but didn't return to action.

After the Spurs rallied for a 134-132 win, Wembanyama said he would have tests done on Thursday, but, "I expect to be back the next game."

He added, according to ESPN, "I was confident. I was this close to coming back in the game. (They) had to hold me back. It was just a hyperextension, so it should be minimal. We've got to do everything tomorrow still to check that everything's OK."

San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said following the game, "I have no idea what to say, but it was good to see him walk back out and be able to finish the game on the bench with his teammates."

Wembanyama amassed 31 points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes before leaving the game with the Spurs down 102-96.

In 21 games this season, Wembanyama is averaging 24.3 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists. He was sidelined for 12 games from Nov. 16-Dec. 10 due to a left calf strain. Upon his return, he spent six games coming off the bench on a minutes restriction before rejoining the starting lineup last weekend.

--Field Level Media

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January 01, 2026

Spurs' Victor Wembanyama downplays knee injury

San Antonio star center Victor Wembanyama hyperextended his left knee in the Spurs' home victory over the New Yo...

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Pick-6 helps No. 10 Miami KO No. 2 Ohio State, advance to CFP semis

Carson Beck was able to avoid the question as well as he was able to sidestep any Ohio State pass rush when he was asked by ESPN's Scott Van Pelt who he would prefer to play in the College Football Playoff semifinal -- Ole Miss or Georgia -- who play in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday.

The obvious answer to the matchup, of course, is Georgia, where Beck was the starting quarterback in the 2023 and '24 seasons.

Beck isn't there anymore and on Wednesday in Arlington, Texas, he led No. 10 seed Miami to a 24-14 upset of No. 2 Ohio State in a semifinal in the Cotton Bowl.

"When you look at the college football playoff bracket when it came out, it's hard not to look forward to the games," he said. "You see the two teams that we could end up playing and I'm super excited for this team and the opportunity to play in the semifinals, and whichever team is able to win that game, we'll go on and prepare and we'll make the most of it."

A perfect non-bulletin board answer, much like the near-perfect first half that staked the Hurricanes to a 14-0 halftime lead against the defending national champion Buckeyes (12-2).

"We still have a long ways to go, but certainly a lot of progress in the last couple of I'd say, the last five, six games or so, and looking forward to getting better and having an opportunity here in about a week," Miami coach Mario Cristobal said.

The Hurricanes (12-2) overcame a home loss to Louisville and an overtime defeat at SMU to be selected to the CFP for the first time despite criticism they didn't belong.

Now, they'll get an opportunity to improve on their 6-0 record against ranked opponents this season.

"I'm so grateful and so thankful for this team, my teammates, the coaches," Beck said. "The way that we've persevered and fought through adversity this entire year, nothing has been easy about this year. You know, we've been doubted, we've been counted out countless times and time again. We come back and we fight and we push and we work and we just get it done when it matters."

The Hurricanes took the two TD lead on the strength of a 9-yard touchdown catch by Mark Fletcher Jr. and a 72-yard pick-6 by Keionte Scott. Fletcher also ran for 90 yards in the game.

Beck was 19 of 26 for 138 yards and TD.

In the two years of the CFP 12-team playoff, all five teams to receive first-round byes have lost. Miami defeated Texas A&M 10-3 in College Station, Texas, in a first-round semifinal on Dec. 20. The Buckeyes had last played Dec. 6 in a 13-10 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game.

"I felt like it took us a while to get into the rhythm of the game," Ohio State coach Ryn Day said. " I thought we did (that) coming out of the second half, and by then it was going to take a very, very efficient second half to win the game, being down 14 nothing.

"And when you have a start the way that we did, you put yourself at risk of having to be, really, darn near perfect in the second half to go win the game. So, we put ourselves behind the eight ball."

The Buckeyes cut the deficit to 14-7 midway through the third quarter on a 1-yard run by Bo Jackson to cap an 11-play, 82-yard drive, but Carter Davis nailed a 49-yard field goal to make it 17-7 with 3:01 to go in the third.

A Jeremiah Smith 14-yard TD catch on a pass from Julian Sayin made it 17-14 with 13:28 to go. However, the Hurricanes marched 70 yards to wrap it up when CharMar Brown ran in from the 5 with 55 seconds left.

Sayin completed 22 of 35 passes for 287 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions while Smith made seven catches for 157 yards.

"We just started executing better the second half," Sayin said. "But ultimately, it wasn't good enough. Didn't put enough up enough points and it starts with me."

--Field Level Media

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December 31, 2025

Pick-6 helps No. 10 Miami KO No. 2 Ohio State, advance to CFP semis

Carson Beck was able to avoid the question as well as he was able to sidestep any Ohio State pass rush when he was a...

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Flames beat Flyers 5-1 for 4th straight home victory

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Dustin Wolf made 25 saves, Mikael Backlund scored his 10th goal and the Calgary Flames beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-1 on Wednesday night.

Morgan Frost, Jonathan Huberdeau, Rasmus Andersson and Connor Zary also scored, and MacKenzie Weegar and Matt Coronato each had two assists.

The Flames have won five straight and 10-1-1 in their last 12 at home. They are 18-18-4 overall. Wolf has won eight in a row a home.

Up 2-1, Calgary got a two-man advantage midway through the second period. Zary set up Andersson for a one-timer with 18 seconds left on the power play.

Travis Konecny scored for Philadelphia, and Sam Ersson stopped 20 shots. the Flyers dropped to 20-12-7.

Flyers: At Edmonton on Saturday in the finale of a five-game trip.

Flames: Host Nashville on Saturday in the fourth game of a five-game homestand.

AP NHL:https://apnews.com/NHL

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December 31, 2025

Flames beat Flyers 5-1 for 4th straight home victory

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Dustin Wolf made 25 saves, Mikael Backlund scored his 10th goal and the Calgary Flames beat the ...

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