Weekly Update January 26, 2026

Basketball – NBA: This week’s games. Standings.

Basketball – NCAAM: This week’s upsets. Purdue loses twice.

Football – NCAAF: Indiana are the National Champions in football!

Football – NFL: Championship games were close!

Golf: Scheffler continues. Reed wins LIV. Brooks is back.

Olympic Sports: Milan Team USA named.

Tennis: Australian open Quarterfinals are set! American ladies are crushing it!

Quick Headlines: Football. Skiing. T&F.

Basketball-NBA:

• This week’s games: The Mavericks had a up and down game scoring 44 points in the 2Q and then 19 in the 3Q but still managed to beat the Knicks by 17 on Monday. Dallas would go on to beat the warriors on Thurs as well and that was with Steph putting up 38. The Jazz upset the TWolves on Ties in a close one. Utah would rally to come back in the 4Q scoring 43 to win by 5. The Hornets manhandled the Magic 124-97 on Thurs. The Suns only managed 12 points in the 4Q to hand the game over to the Hawks. That was on Friday. That same night, the Pelicans got their 11^th win with a 6-point win over the Grizzlies and the Celtics needed OT to beat the Nets. The Celtics mustve been tired from that game though as they lost the next night to the Bulls. The Pelicans would also win on Sunday beating the Spurs 104-95. Wemby did not have a good night only scoring 16 points but he did have 16 rebounds.
• SGA was the high scorer of the week with 40 points in the Thunders defeat of the Bucks on Wed. That was until his performance on Friday when he put up 47 points. However in a week that seemed to be pedestrian in upsets, the most unlikely happened in that game. The 10 win Pacers knotched their 11^th with a 3-point thriller over the Thunder and yes with SGA’s 47. The Thunder tallied their 10^th loss on Sunday to the Rockets. That is Houston’s 4^th straight win and the Thunder’s second loss this week!
• An update on the standings this week: in the East, the Pistons sit at the top with 33 wins. Then its crowded in 2^nd with the Celtics, Raptors, Kicks and Cavs all sitting there within 2 wins of each other. The Wizards bring up the bottom with only 10 wins so far this season. In the West, the Thunder continue to be the top despite the 2-loss week. They have 37 wins followed by the Spurs and Nuggets who both have 31. The Kings and Pelicans both have 12 at the bottom.

Basketball – NCAA:

• This week’s games:
  • There was a 9 game win streak broken for Clemson with NC States OT win. Turnovers were a huge issue for Clemson. The tigers allowed 13 almost double what NC State had for the game. 25 Miami OH needed OT but they remain undefeated after a scare on Tues. Vandy lost their 3rd consecutive game the same night. This one to 20 Arkansas and it as a rout. 93-68 razorbacks. UCLA upset 4 Purdue with a 3 in the final 8 seconds to take the lead. The two teams were tied at half although Purdue seemed to be in control for the majority. It flipped in the 2H.
  • No upsets on Wed or Fri. No raked teams in action on Thurs.
  • games were all over the place due to weather on Sat. 3 freshman scored 40+. 22 UNC took down 14 UVA 85-80. Unranked Texas took down another ranked team in 21 Georgia. UGA led at half but the longhorns went OFF with 57 points in the 2nd to in by 20! 12 Texas tech got revenge on 6 Houston. TT dropped 55 in first 20 min. Flemming gets 42 and Houston looked like they were going to get the win. 4 Purdue took their 2nd loss of the week and only 3rd of the season. Mainly because Wagler (wah-glur) of the Illini went off with 46 points alone! . Most points against top 5 ranked teams ever!! Illinois Tied school record with 18 3 pointers. Dybansa drops 43. Auburn always seems to get a win when they desperately need one. This week it was against 16 Florida who had been on the up and up. Speaking of needing one, unranked Tennessee got their first big win with an upset of 17 Alabama. That was with Bediako playing as well! Vols win by 6.

 

• Speaking of Bediako. You will hear this name a lot as it is quite controversial what happened here. Bediako played for Alabama then went pro in the NBA and signed a contract. Typically the player is only allowed to come back to the NCAA if they (school and player) can prove that they only made enough money to cover living expenses. Baylor’s player from the G-League didn’t ever sign a contract. However Bediako did and made money and is STILL allowed to come back to play. This is shifting the space of college athletics so don’t expect this to be the last we have heard on the subject.

 

Football – NCAAF:

• The Championship game was a great one! it was a defensive battle in the 1H with only IU managing 10 points in the 1H. Miami just couldn’t get anything going with the longest drive coming at the end of the half ending in a missed FG. But Miami didn’t make it here on luck. The Canes only needed two plays to start the 2H with a 57-yard TD run and now we had a game. Miami handed Indiana a blocked punt that was returned for a TD at the end of the 3Q but the Hurricanes rallied to score on the next drive (14-17 IU). IU QB Fernando Mendoza seemed to come back to earth a little bit in this game until his Heisman moment play in the 4Q to win the game. On a 5-minute 12 play drive that would come down to 4^th & 4, Mendoza would run it in 12 yards for a TD. He literally put his body on the line getting absolutely dominated as he crossed the goal line. And you thought ok that’s game, IU has it up 24-14. But Beck has played a lot of football and he took the Canes 91 yards in 8 plays (and 2:34min) to score 24-21 IU. Indiana would put the nail in the coffin though on the next drive, taking 5 precious minutes off the clock ending in a FG. And while Miami was trying to march down the field and managed to get on the other side of the 50, Beck throws an INT to seal it. Indiana wins their first national championship! A truly Cinderella story – if Cinderella beat the crap out of every other competitor and truly deserved it!

Football – NFL:

• AFC Championship game: The Broncos were without Bo Nix after he got injured in last week’s win and they could’ve used him (although Stidham didn’t do poorly). This game was snowy and crazy. Hope you took the under in this one (41.5 and it cashed with the total only getting 17). The Broncos put together the longest drive of the 1H with 59 yards in their TD in the 1Q to take the lead. However they would also have a fumble in the 2^nd which led to a 2-play TD by the Pats to tie it back up. Both teams missed FGs before halftime. The Pats would come back from half and go 63 yards to get a successful FG and take the lead. They would miss another at the end of the 3^rd. The Broncos went to tie it up with another FG with a 45 yarder and only 4:46 left on the clock but would again miss it! Technically it was blocked. The Pats would do nothing but gain 1 yard in 3 plays and give it right back but Stidham would throw an INT to seal it and the Pats are going back to the Super Bowl.

 

• NFC Championship game: This game was a much better one! The Seahawks drew first blood with a TD in the first 5ish min of the game. Both teams then traded FGs twice. The Rams would score their first TD off an 87 yard drive. Seattle would answer right before halftime to take the 17-13 lead going into the locker room. The 2H did not bode well for LA. The Rams held the Seahawks to only 7 yards on their opening drive but then they muffed the punt and set up Seattle for the TD on the next play from the 17. However the Rams would only need 4 plays to answer with their own TD, Seattle took 9 to score 7 and then LA took another 5 to score again. So the score was 31-27 Seahawks heading into the final 15 min of game time. LA shutdown Seattles drive and then went 84 yards taking 7:24 off the clock and getting to the 6 yard line before they would throw an incomplete pass on 4th&4. So Seattle had the ball on the 6, wouldn’t score and gives the ball back to LA but only with 25 seconds on the clock. After a 21 yard pass, the clock would run out at the 49 yard line. Seahawks win.
• So the Super Bowl is set: Patriots vs Seahawks. Seattle hasn’t won the game since 2013 vs the Pats in 2018. Set your calendars. Super Bowl 60 is on Feb 8^th.

Golf:

• Another year and yet the same result. Scottie Scheffler once again sits at the top of the leaderboard of another golf tournament. He won the Amex this weekend by 4 strokes over Jason Day who tied Scheffler’s 63 to start the tournament. Hard to lose when you shoot -6 and make a birdie on half the holes.
• Patrick Reed won the LIV golf debut in Dubai this weekend. Not anything too notable as Reed has now won 12xs globally. However he did announce that he is a free agent and hasn’t solidified his contract with the LIV this season. Odd… and remember Brooks Koepka is teeing it up on the PGA Tour this weekend at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Tennis:

• We are in the Quarterfinals of the Australian Open! On the men’s side, two Americans remain. #25 Tien and #8 Shelton and they are on opposite sides of the bracket. That being said both are underdogs on their respective sides. Tien is the lowest ranked player left after defeating #11 Medvedev in straight sets in the 4^th The usual suspects are still in Djokovic, Zverev and Alcaraz. The Americans are prevalent on the women’s side. There are 4 remaining of the final 8 competitors. Jovic takes on Sabalenka tonight. She beat #7 ITA Paolini in the 3^rd round. Coco Gauff will square off with 12 Svitolina. Then there is an all-American quarterfinal between Pegula and Anisomova which sucks because they are #4 and #6. POL Swaitek is still in as well and she will play Rybakina to advance to the semis.

 

Quick Highlights:

• The US Olympic team has been named and it contains 232 athletes (117 men and 115 women). The ages range from 15 (Freeskier) to a 54 year old curler. Opening ceremonies is set for next week on Feb 6^th!
• Football: Transfer portal is now closed (except for Miami and Indiana who played in the championship game). Check out if your fav player moved.
• Skiing: Mikaela Shiffrin won the 25/26 FIS world Cup slalom title for the 9^th
• T&F: 2 world records were set this weekend at the indoor meet in NY. Hobbs Kessler broke the 2000m record which had stood for 18 years. While Josh Hoey broke the indoor 800m with a time of 1:42.5.

 

What to watch this week

Basketball-NBA:

• Tues 1/27
  • Bucks at 76ers @ 7pm on NBC
  • Clippers at Jazz @ 9pm on NBC
• Wed 1/28
  • Lakers at Cavs @ 6pm on ESPN
  • Spurs at Rockets @ 8:30pm on ESPN
• Thurs 1/29
  • Bucks at Wizards @ 6pm on Prime
  • Thunder at TWolves @ 8:30pm on Prime
• Fri 1/30
  • Raptors at magic @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • Pistons at Warriors @ 9pm on ESPN
• Sat 1/31
  • Spurs at Hornets @ 2pm on Prime
  • Mavericks at Rockets @ 7:30pm on ABC
• Sun 2/1
  • Bucks at Celtics @ 2:30pm on ESPN
  • Lakers at Knicks @ 6pm on NBC
  • Thunder at Nuggets @ 8:30pm on NBC

Basketball-NCAAM:

• Mon 1/26
  • 20. Louisville vs 4. Duke @ 6pm on ESPN
  • 1. Arizona vs 13. BYU @ 8pm on ESPN
• Tues 1/27
  • 7. Michigan St at Rutgers @ 5:30pm on FS1
  • 5. Nebraska at 3. Michigan @ 6pm on Peacock
  • 15. Arkansas at Oklahoma @ 6pm on ESPN
  • 17. UVA vs Notre Dame @ 6pm on ESPN2
  • Providence at 2. UConn @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Mizzou at 23. Alabama @ 7pm on SEC
  • 12. Purdue at Indiana @ 8pm on Peacock
  • Kentucky at 18. Vanderbilt @ 8pm on ESPN
  • UMass at Miami OH @ 8pm on ESPNU
• Wed 1/28
  • Butler at 25. St. Johns @ 6pm on Peacock
  • 10. Houston at TCU @ 8pm on ESPN2
  • 19. Florida at South Carolina @ 8pm on SEC
• Thurs 1/29
  • Colorado at 8. Iowa St @ 6pm on FS1
• Fri 1/30
  • 3. Michigan at 7. Michigan St @ 7pm on FOX
  • Dayton at 21. St. Louis @ 7pm on CBSSN
• Sat 1/31
  • 4. Duke at VT @ 11am on ESPN
  • Cinci at 10. Houston @ 11am on FOX
  • 11. Texas Tech at UCF @ 11am on ESPN2
  • Pitt at 22. Clemson @ 11am on ACC
  • 17. UVA at Boston College @ 12:30pm on CW
  • 1. Arizona at Arizona St @ 1pm on TNT
  • 16. UNC at GT @ 1pm on ACC
  • SMU at 20. Louisville @ 1pm on ESPN
  • 13. BYU at 14. Kansas @ 3:30pm on ESPN
  • Kentucky at 15. Arkansas @ 5:30pm on ESPN
  • 2. UConn at Creighton @ 7pm on FOX
  • 18. Vanderbilt at Ole Miss @ 7:30pm on SEC
  • Saint Marys at 6. Gonzaga @ 9:30pm on ESPN
• Sun 2/1
  • 23. Alabama at 19. Florida @ 12pm on ABC
  • 8. Iowa st at K St @ 1pm on FOX
  • 9. Illinois at 5. Nebraska @ 3pm on FS1

Basketball – NCAAW:

• Sun 2/1
  • 15. Tennessee at 1. UConn @ 11am on FOX
  • 23. Alabama at 6. LSU @ 11am on SEC
  • 9. Michigan at 13. Michigan St @ 11am
  • 12. TCU at 21. Texas tech @ 1pm on FS1
  • 10. Oklahoma at 4. Texas @ 2pm on ABC
  • 8. Iowa at 2. UCLA @ 3pm

Football – NFL:

• None

Golf:

• Mon 1/26
  • TGL: Boston vs Bay GC @ 6pm on ESPN2
• Thurs 1/29
  • Farmers Insurance Open – Round 1 @ 2pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 1/30
  • Farmers Insurance Open – Round 2 @ 2pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 1/31
  • Farmers Insurance Open – Round 3
    • @ 12pm on Golf Channel
    • @ 2pm on CBS
• Sun 2/1
  • Farmers Insurance Open – Final Round
    • @ 12pm on Golf Channel
    • @ 2pm on CBS
  • LPGA: Hilton Tournament of Champions – Final Round @ 1pm on NBC

Hockey:

• Tues 1/27
  • stars at Blues @ 7pm on hulu
• Wed 1/28
  • Flyers at Blue Jackets @ 6:30pm on TNT
• Thurs 1/29
  • Captials at Red Wings @ 6:30pm on hulu
  • Maple Leafs at Kraken @ 9pm on hulu
• Sat 1/31
  • Avalanche at Red Wings @ 12pm on ABC
  • Rangers at Penguins @ 2:30pm on ABC
• Sun 2/1
  • Bruins at Lightning @ 5:30pm on ESPN
  • Golden Knights at Ducks @ 8:30pm on ESPN

Olympic Sports:

• Fri 1/30
  • Gymnastics – NCAAW: 1. Oklahoma vs Kentucky @ 5pm on SEC
  • Gymnastics – NCAAW: Arkansas vs Florida @ 6:30pm on ESPN2
  • Gymnastics – NCAAW: 2. LSU vs 7. Mizzou @ 6:45pm on SEC
• Sun 2/1
  • Gymnastics – NCAAW: Iowa St vs Denver @ 4pm on ESPN2
  • Gymnastics – NCAAW:  Auburn vs UGA @ 5pm on SEC

Soccer:

• None

Tennis:

• Mon 1/26
  • Women’s Quarterfinals: 1 Sabalenka vs 29 Jovic @ 6:30pm on ESPN2
  • Men’s Quarterfinals: 3 Zverev vs 25 Tien @ 7:30pm on ESPN2
• Tues 1/27
  • Women’s Quarterfinals: 3 Gauff vs 12 Svitolina @ 2am on ESPN
  • Men’s Quarterfinals: 1 Alcaraz vs 6 Minaur @ 2:30am on ESPN
• Wed 1/28
  • Men’s Quarterfinals: 5 Musetti vs 4 Djokovic and 8 Shelton vs 2 Sinner @ TBD on ESPN
  • Women’s Quarterfinals: 6 Pegula vs 4 Anisimova and 5 Rybakina vs 2 Swiatek @ TBD on ESPN2
• Thurs 1/29
  • Women’s Semifinals @ TBD on ESPN
• Fri 1/30
  • Men’s Semifinals @ TBD on ESPN
• Sat 1/31
  • Women’s Final @ 2:30am on ESPN
• Sun 2/1
  • Men’s Finals @ 2:30am on ESPN