Volume 26:9

UConn Undefeated… Again

The Connecticut Huskies Women’s basketball team finished the regular season undefeated for the 11th time in program history. The defending champs are riding a 47-game win streak into the into the Big East conference tournament dating back to last season. This year, UConn has played nothing but dominating basketball. One game to highlight this is when UConn faced out-of-conference rival Tennessee. The Lady Vols were the last team to beat UConn, so the Huskies were out for revenge. Despite being tied at halftime, Connectiuct still earned a 30-point victory, thanks to outscoring the Lady Vols 54-24 in the second half. Sarah Strong led the team this season in four stats. She has averaged 18.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.2 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. The Huskies have the Big East tournament next, which they are favored to win, as they try to stay undefeated.

Redhawks Undefeated, Too

In Men’s Basketball, there is also a team that finished the regular season undefeated. But it is a team no one expected. The Miami (OH) Redhawks finished the regular season 31-0. However, it came with its fair share of scares. Miami cruised to 3-0 early in the season before beating Mercyhurst by only five points. They then dominated their way to 9-0 but then barely survived against UNC Asheville with a three-point victory. Miami racked up another five straight wins as MAC play got underway, bringing a 15-0 record into a game against Akron. Akron tested Miami, taking them to the wire until the Redhawks escaped with a 76-73 win. At 19-0, the Redhawks then won a pair of close shootouts against Buffalo and Kent State to improve to 21-0. They survived against UMass with their closest win so far, as they escaped with only a two-point win. Then they crushed Northern Illinois before beating Buffalo by two points. Five more easy wins improved them to 28-0. Next, they beat Western Michigan and Toledo to get to 30-0 with a game against rivals Ohio University to complete the undefeated regular season. Ohio took Miami to overtime tied at 100 points. Ohio took a 108-107 lead with 22 seconds left. Miami scored three free throws after a foul and Ohio missed a buzzer beater three-point attempt. That was all she wrote! The Redhawks finished their regular season at 31-0, the first team to do it since Gonzaga in the 2020-2021 season.

Tatum Returns for Celtics End of Season Run 

Ten months ago in the NBA Playoffs, Boston Celtics All-NBA star G/F Jayson Tatum tore his achilles during a game. Tatum was expected to be out the entire 2025-26 season. Instead, he returned last night with over a month left in the regular season. He didn’t return to a standings bottom-dweller that many expected the Celtics to be without him. Fellow G/F Jaylen Brown broke out this season, landing himself in the league’s MVP conversation. Tatum’s started off slow, as he initially shot 0-6 from the field. His scoring picked up with a putback dunk. Then on the very next possession, he knocked down his first three-pointer of the season. He finished the game with a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double and also added seven assists in the Celtics 120-100 win. Boston is now 42-21 and second in the East. Tatum’s return bolsters the C’s stake as one of the NBA’s favorites to win the championship.

Crosby Blockbuster Highlights NFL Trades

A blockbuster trade in the NFL came out just yesterday evening. Five-time Pro Bowler Maxx Crosby is leaving Las Vegas to join the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens gave up 2026 and 2027 first-round draft picks to get Crosby. This means the Raiders will have the first and 14th overall picks in the upcoming draft next month. Crosby was unhappy to be on Las Vegas, so it seems like a win-win for everyone.

There was another blockbuster trade this past week. The Chiefs traded cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Rams for the 29th pick in this year’s draft, as well as 5th and 6th round picks this year and a 2027 third-round selection. This trade strengthens an already strong Rams secondary and makes Los Angeles even more dangerous all around.

But wait– there was a third blockbuster this week. Josh Allen finally got a new top tier wide receiver. The Bills gave up a 2026 second round pick to obtain WR DJ Moore and a 5th round pick from the Chicago Bears. This makes the super weak Bills wide receiver core much stronger.

These trades will not be officially processed until the new NFL season begins at 4:00pm on Wednesday, March 11th.

NHL Playoff Race

The NHL season has 82 games and every team has played just around 60 games. So with about 20 games left, how does the playoff picture look? Keep in mind, in the NHL, the top three teams in each division and the next two teams with the most points in each conference make the playoffs.

Eastern Conference

The Atlantic division is a mess. The Toronto Maple Leafs, who finished first in the Atlantic Division last year, and the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are tied for last place in the division. The Buffalo Sabres, who finished seventh out of eight teams last year, are tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the division. The Detroit Red Wings are third in the Atlantic, but have played two more games then the Montreal Canadiens, who are one point behind them and the Boston Bruins, who are four points behind them.

Meanwhile in the Metropolitan Division, the Carolina Hurricanes are running away with the division and the conference, as they are 11 points ahead of the second place Pittsburgh Penguins and six points ahead of the Lightning and Sabres. Speaking of the Penguins, they are tied with the New York Islanders and three points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets sit one point behind the Boston Bruins for what would be the last wild card spot in the conference.

Western Conference

The Western Conference picture is much clearer. In the Central Division, the Colorado Avalanche lead the NHL with 93 points and they are seven points ahead of the Dallas Stars, who are at 86 points. The Minnesota Wild round out the top of the Central with 84 points.

The Anahiem Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights are battling for first place in the Pacific Division. The Wild Card Race is where things get intresting. The Utah Mammoth are three points up for the first wild card spot on the Seattle Kraken. But the Kraken trail third place in the Pacific Division, the Edmonton Oilers, by only one point. The Kraken have played two less games then the Oilers. The San Jose Sharks are behind the Oilers by three points and have played three less games then them. The Los Angeles Kings have played two less games then the Oilers and are only four points behind. Back in the Central Division, the Nashville Predators have the same amount of points as the Los Angeles Kings but have played one more game. I like showing this wild card race visually through a graph. It has been a very tight race, as we can see.

NBA Playoff Race

Just to refresh, the NBA playoffs is a 16-team tournament. The #7-10 teams in each conference play in the Play-in tournament to decide who becomes the #7 and #8 seeds in each conference. The standard playoff bracket begins once that is determined.

So who is in position for the playoffs and the play-ins? In the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons are four games ahead of the Boston Celtics for first place. The New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers also have some cushion between them and the Play-in tournament. But for the 5th place Toronto Raptors and 6th place Philadelphia 76ers, there is no such cushion. The 76ers are tied with the 7th place Miami Heat and one game behind Toronto. The Orlando Magic are only half a game behind the Heat. The Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets are a few games behind Orlando, but have 4.5 games of room between them and the 11th place Milwaukee Bucks.

In the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder are up 2.5 games on the San Antonio Spurs at the top of the conference. Six games behind the Spurs are the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are only half a game ahead of the Houston Rockets. The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers are 5th and 6th. The Lakers are two games ahead of the Phoenix Suns, who are in 7th. Phoenix is well ahead of the Golden State Warriors, who have a two-game advantage on the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers are one game ahead of the 10th place Portland Trail Blazers. Portland has 5.5 games of cushion on the 11th place Memphis Grizzlies.

NFL Draft Combine

I went to the NFL Draft Combine and watched the Running Backs, Wide Recivers, and Quarterbacks on their work out day. I’m writing this scouting report about some of the best performances I saw.

Kaytron Allen: Penn State, RB

Great, steady footwork

Jeremiyah Love: Notre Dame, RB

All around great performance

Great receiving back

Seth Mcgowan: Kentucky, RB

Very athletic

Good jumper

Jadarian Price: Notre Dame, RB

Good receiving

Great footwork

Mike Washington Jr: Arkansas, RB

Very athletic

Very fast

Great jumper

Drew Allar: Penn State, QB

Good accuracy

Good power

Taylen Green: Arkansas, QB

Extremely Athletic (Broke QB records for 40 yard dash, broad jump, and vertical jump)

Skyler Bell: Connecticut, WR

Good hands

Good route running

Deion Burks: Oklahoma, WR

Very fast

Great jumper

Jeff Caldwell: Cincinnati, WR

Very fast

Great jumper

*Burks and Caldwell only participated in the mesurables and scored some of the best scores for WRs in each one

Garrett Nussmeier: LSU, QB

Strong arm

Accurate downfield

Diego Pavia: Vanderbilt, QB

Extremely accurate

Zavion Thomas: LSU, WR

4:28 40-yard dash

Brenen Thompson

4:26 40-yard dash