HARTFORD, Conn. — The long-decided season-opener was over, and Cam Turley of the men’s basketball staff hand-delivered the ball in play as time ran out to the players in the UConn locker room.

“Cam came in and gave us the ball and we thought it was pretty cool,” senior Jayden Ross said, after the Huskies’ 86-46 victory over Gardner-...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky basketball opened the 2026-27 season in dominant fashion, breaking in a roster with nine Wildcats making their UK debut with an 85-57 win over Manhattan.

Sharpshooting Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic led the way with 24 points, hitting 6 of 9 3-pointers. Washington point guard transfer Zoom Diallo, who struggled...Read more

NEW YORK — Rick Pitino has landed his highest-rated high school recruit since taking over at St. John’s, earning a commitment Tuesday from 2027 senior Malachi Jordan.

Jordan, a 6-7 forward from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Prolific Prep, is a top-25 prospect in ESPN and 247Sports’ Class of 2027 rankings.

“I’m a Johnnie,” Jordan said in a...Read more

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Michael Malone has learned to coach more toward the process, not hang his head on every win or loss. Because believe it or not — the mighty North Carolina men’s basketball program against the Southern Conference’s Western Carolina on a day that was supposed to spur a new, promising era for a team with seven national ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Austin Reaves described it as "fun." Luka Doncic called the Lakers' effortless-looking offense as "flowing." And this is still the early stages of development for a team that brought in nine new players.

Through eight games, the Lakers have the most dynamic offense in the NBA. Led by Doncic, the Lakers are second in scoring with...Read more

Gabby Williams‘ phone was blowing up with congratulatory text messages after the former UConn women’s basketball star led the Golden State Valkyries to the WNBA title on Saturday night.

But one felt especially meaningful: From Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.

The former Husky told ESPN about the text, which read: “Stay hungry.”

...Read more

DENVER — The Nuggets have a pile of problems contributing to their clunky 3-3 start. Their soon-to-be $360 million man is at the top of the heap.

The one constant in Denver, the one foundational reality on which every other variable depends, is that Nikola Jokic is one of the best basketball players on earth. That his minutes, if all else ...Read more

NEW YORK — It’s one and done for Chris DeMarco.

The Liberty front office has decided to fire the head coach after just one season with the team, according to ESPN.

“Thank you, Coach DeMarco,” the Liberty posted on social media Tuesday.

The moves come after the team entered the postseason as an eighth seed and got swept by the Atlanta ...Read more

Lakers coach JJ Redick and defensive ace Walker Kessler applauded Luka Doncic for his standout defensive performance in the Lakers’ 131-125 victory over the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.

And Doncic’s response to the accolades?

“Finally,” Doncic said, laughing.

Doncic had five steals. He took three charges. And he ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Draymond Green and Dillon Brooks. The unstoppable force and the immovable object. Should they share enough minutes on the hardwood, these two titans of the technical are bound to clash. And clash, they did.

Green was ejected for the first time this year following a third-quarter brouhaha with Brooks, but the Warriors extended ...Read more

DENVER — Home-court disadvantage remains a trend in the early stages of the Nuggets’ season.

They led for three quarters Monday, but the visiting Trail Blazers slowly whittled down a 14-point deficit until it was a late 9-point lead — and a 118-110 Nuggets loss. Denver (3-3) fell to 1-2 at home, its only win coming in overtime after a 23-...Read more

Playing with heavy legs and a short-handed roster, the Boston Celtics fell to the Houston Rockets 109-93 on Monday.

Boston rested veteran wing Paul George on the second night of a back-to-back and struggled to replicate his impact at both ends of the floor.

Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser shot a combined 9 for 41 ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. – The UConn men’s basketball team rolled to a 86-46 win over Gardner-Webb in its season-opener at PeoplesBank Arena Monday night behind a combined 34 points from Braylon Mullins and Nik Khamenia.

It was the 200th win at UConn for coach Dan Hurley as he begins his ninth season leading the Huskies.

In the first meaningful ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Facing the Wizards in the second game of a back-to-back after falling to the Celtics at home 24 hours earlier, the Magic believed they would be able to correct their mistakes from Sunday’s contest during Monday’s matchup.

Orlando, however, fell short of making proper adjustments and fell to Washington, 103-94, inside Kia ...Read more

NEW YORK — Josh Hart grabbed the rebound and took off.

Moritz Wagner had just missed an open layup that could have helped Brooklyn protect its fourth-quarter lead. Hart saw something better, an opportunity to run. He raced upcourt, found OG Anunoby for a 3-pointer and suddenly the Knicks were back in front.

They weren’t about to give the ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cade Cunningham hit his second 3-pointer at 5:43 in the first quarter. The basket brought Cunningham to 11 points in the period, during which he helped lead the Detroit Pistons to their first 15 points.

At the time, it seemed Cunningham was setting the tone for one of the best scoring performances of his career, but his hot ...Read more

After sitting out Kansas men’s basketball’s exhibition games against Duke and Louisville as he rounded into shape, newcomer Trey Kaufman-Renn was available for duty Monday in the Kansas Jayhawks’ season opener versus Fordham at Allen Fieldhouse.

The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Purdue transfer, cleared by the courts to play courtesy of a ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves improved to 5-3 on the NBA season with a 112-100 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

LaMelo Ball, who was questionable to even play in this game, started out firing on all cylinders, but it took the rest of the team quite a while to catch up with star Anthony Edwards out following knee surgery.

Ball ...Read more

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Michigan Wolverines opened the Mike Boynton Jr. era and began their national title defense on a winning note.

In the season opener against Oakland that wasn’t exactly a work of art and was riddled with whistles after halftime, Michigan took care of business with an 84-68 victory at Crisler Center on Monday.

Trey ...Read more

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Quinnipiac University is known more for its political polls than its basketball teams in November, but the Bobcats came to East Lansing on election eve to open Michigan State’s basketball season at Breslin Center.

This race didn’t take long to call.

Michigan State (1-0) never trailed and stormed out to a 28-point ...Read more