No. 3 Michigan beats No. 10 Illinois 84-70, clinches Big Ten regular-season title

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Morez Johnson Jr. had 19 points and 11 rebounds against his former team as No. 3 Michigan defeated No. 10 Illinois 84-70 on Friday night and clinched Big Ten regular-season title.

Johnson, who played for the Illini last season after verbally committing three years earlier, was booed throughout the game by Illinois fans.

Aday Mara had 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting and Yaxel Lendeberg finished with 16 points and seven rebounds for the Wolverines (27-2, 17-1), who are 10-0 on the road and have won 23 games by 10 or more points.

The Wolverines won their first outright conference regular-season title since 2014, when they also clinched with a win at Illinois.

Michigan's 17 conference victories are the most in school history.

Keaton Wagler scored 23 points for the Illini (22-7, 13-5), who have lost four of six, including three in overtime. Wagler scored in double figures for the 21st straight game.

Kylan Boswell scored 15 points and David Mirkovic had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Illini, who entered the game as the Big Ten's top 3-point shooting team. Illinois was just 9 of 29 from distance against Michigan.

Michigan led 38-31 at halftime behind Johnson's 13 points.

Down 16-11 after a four-point play by Wagler, the Wolverines responded with an 11-point run capped by a 3 by Johnson and never trailed again. They led by as many as 21 points in the second half.

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NO. 21 MIAMI (OHIO) 69, WESTERN MICHIGAN 67

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Trey Perry scored on a driving layup with a second remaining and Miami of Ohio rallied to beat Western Michigan to remain the only unbeaten Division I team.

The RedHawks (16-0 Mid-American Conference) remain the only undefeated team in Division I men's basketball. Miami extended the best start in program history and added to its school record for wins in a season. Miami also boasts the best start and longest win streak in MAC annals.

Peter Suder scored 18 points for the RedHawks before fouling out with just over seven minutes remaining. Almar Atlason added 16 points, Perry finished with 14 and Eian Elmer 10.

Jayden Brewer led Western Michigan (10-19, 4-12) with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Justice Williams and EJ Ryans each added 14 points.

Miami is used to playing close games and won for the seventh time this season by less than six points.

The RedHawks trailed by four points, 30-26, at the half and fell behind by eight points twice early in the second half before tying the game at 49-all with 11:02 remaining.

Western Michigan ran off eight straight points for a 57-49 advantage with 8:40 remaining and led by nine (59-50) with 6:38 left before Miami chipped away and moved ahead 66-65 on a layup by Antwone Woolfolk with 14 seconds left.

Elmer's free throw with 37 seconds remaining gave the RedHawks a 67-65 edge, but Western Michigan tied it with 11 seconds left on a basket by Williams before Perry made the game winner.

byAdministrator

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3/01/2026 08:04:00 AM

No. 3 Michigan beats No. 10 Illinois 84-70, clinches Big Ten regular-season title

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Morez Johnson Jr. had 19 points and 11 rebounds against his former team as No. 3 Michigan defeated...

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Nikola Jokić angrily confronts Lu Dort for tripping him as tempers flare in Nuggets-Thunder

Nikola Jokić had something to say to Lu Dort on Friday.

A skirmish broke out in the fourth quarter of the Oklahoma City Thunder's clash with the Denver Nuggets, when the Thunder guard appeared to intentionally trip the three-time MVP. At the very least, it was a hip check with an outstretched leg.

Jokić took exception to the contact and angrily confronted Dort, who is well known for being one of the NBA's most, ahem, physical players. Dort's teammate, Jaylin Williams, then confronted Jokić, and the two got physical as players and coaches from both sides quickly rushed to midcourt.

It took a while, but the two were eventually pried loose from each other.

The end result of the incident was Dort being ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul, while Jokić and Williams were hit with offsetting technical fouls.

Further replay showed a side of Jokić that was frankly terrifying.

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The incident was part of a thriller between two teams that could be seeing each other in the NBA playoffs. The game went to overtime after Jokić tied the game with 38 seconds left in regulation.

The extra five minutes wound up being one-sided in favor of the Thunder, who shut down the Nuggets for a 127-121 win.

Jokić finished the game with 23 points on 9-of-25 shooting, 17 rebounds and 14 assists, while Jamal Murray led all scorers in scoring with 39 points. Only two other Nuggets scored more than seven points.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander,making his return from an abdominal strain, led the Thunder with 36 points and 9 assists in 34 minutes, while Chet Holmgren had 15 points, 21 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Denver had led the game by as many as 16 points in the first quarter, but OKC came back and triumphed despite Gilgeous-Alexander missing all of overtime due to a minutes restriction. OKC's depth ended up being the difference, with players like Williams, Alex Caruso and Jared McCain all making key plays over the course of the game.

The win keeps the 46-15 Thunder two games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs for the best record in the West, while the Nuggets are tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves for fourth place at 37-23.

byAdministrator

in

3/01/2026 08:04:00 AM

Nikola Jokić angrily confronts Lu Dort for tripping him as tempers flare in Nuggets-Thunder

Nikola Jokić had something to say to Lu Dort on Friday. A skirmish broke out in the fourth quarter of the Okla...

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There's been a change to F1's engine rules and it could mostly impact Mercedes

LONDON (AP) —Formula One's governing body has reached a compromise with manufacturers that changes the way the compression ratio will be measured midway through this season and in the 2027 season.

Bahrain F1 Auto Racing

New engine rules set out a compression ratio of 16:1 — a measurement of how tightly the pistons squeeze the mixture of fuel and air before it ignites, and therefore how much power can be generated.

The regulations include a test to stop teams exceeding 16:1, but the checks happen at "ambient temperature." Some rival teams have suggested Mercedes found a way for components to behave differently when they heat up during use, beating the test, though Mercedes says its engine is fully legal.

The compromise announced Saturday means the compression ratio will be controlled in both hot and cold conditions from June 1 and only when hot from the 2027 season thereafter.

There are seven F1 races before the June 1 test.

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"The regulations introduced for 2026 represent one of the biggest changes in recent memory," the FIA said. "All parties acknowledge that with the introduction of such significant regulatory changes, there are collective learnings to be taken from pre-season testing and the initial rounds of the 2026 championship.

"Further evaluation and technical checks on energy management matters are ongoing."

Mercedes also supplies McLaren, Alpine and Williams.

AP auto racing:https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

byAdministrator

in

3/01/2026 08:04:00 AM

There's been a change to F1's engine rules and it could mostly impact Mercedes

LONDON (AP) —Formula One's governing body has reached a compromise with manufacturers that changes the way the compre...

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Kreider beats Hellebuyck in OT to lift the Ducks past the Jets, 5-4

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Chris Kreider beat Connor Hellebuyck off a rebound at 4:47 of overtime to give the Anaheim Ducks a 5-4 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night.

Jets Ducks Hockey

Beckett Sennecke kept the puck and shot on a two-on-one break, with Kreider backhanding the loose puck in at the side of the net.

After Leo Carlsson, Pavel Mintyukov and Ryan Poehling scored third-period goals to give Anaheim a 4-3 lead, Winnipeg's Kyle Connor tied it with 1:22 left and Hellebuyck off for an extra attacker.

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Hellebuyck made 35 saves in his first game since backstopping the United States to Olympic gold.

Jacob Trouba also scored for Anaheim, Sennecke had three assists and Lukas Dostal made 29 saves. The Ducks have won seven in a row at home and 11 of 13 overall.

Anaheim won two nights after returning from the break to beat Edmonton at home for coach Joel Quenneville's 1,000th NHL victory. The Ducks have five games left on a nine-game homestand.

Winnipeg rookie defenseman Elias Salomonsson had his first NHL goal and Alex Iafallo and Gabriel Vilardi also scored. Well back in the race for a playoff spot, Winnipeg has a game left on three-game trip before an eight-game homestand.

Up next

Jets: At San Jose on Sunday.Ducks: Host Calgary on Sunday.___AP NHL:https://apnews.com/hub/nhla

Jets: At San Jose on Sunday.

Ducks: Host Calgary on Sunday.

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

byAdministrator

in

3/01/2026 12:04:00 AM

Kreider beats Hellebuyck in OT to lift the Ducks past the Jets, 5-4

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Chris Kreider beat Connor Hellebuyck off a rebound at 4:47 of overtime to give the Anaheim Ducks a...

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Australians Green and Lee move into the lead after 3 rounds of LPGA Singapore

SINGAPORE (AP) — Australians Hannah Green and Minjee Lee moved to the top of the leaderboard Saturday to lead by one stroke after three rounds of the HSBC Women's World Championship.

Singapore LPGA Golf

Green, the2019 Women's PGA Championship winnerand who won the Singapore tournament in 2024, shot a 4-under 68 and three-time major winner Lee 69 to post three-round totals of 11-under 205 at the SentosaGolfClub.

American Angel Yin (68) and Haeran Ryu (70) of South Korea were tied for third in the LPGA tournament.

With the final group on the eighth hole, six players were tied for the lead at 9-under. Yin took the lead for first time with a birdie from off the green on the 10th, displacing her fellow American Auston Kim, who had led after the first two rounds.

Kim had back-to-back bogeys on the seventh and eighth to fall out of the lead, but it could have been worse. After seeing her ball plugged in hazard off the green on the eighth hole and having to return to the fairway to hit her fifth shot, she sank a 20-foot putt for bogey to minimize the damage.

Kim finished with a 73 and was tied for sixth at 8-under, three behind Green andLee.

"Definitely, there are a lot of birdies to be made but it's very easy to make bogey," Green said. "So I think just limiting as many of those as possible.

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"I've been hitting the ball into the greens, so if I can continue to do that, and even though I'm playing with Minjee, we are good friends, I don't want to get too caught up in what her scores are."

Yin said the margins were close in the third round.

"Good golf and good luck. Honestly there's nothing much you can do to it," Yin said. "There's a lot of instances today where it was like one hole, I made this unbelievable up-and-down. That's skill and luck to me. So get lucky and get good."

Lee won her first major in 2021 at the Evian Championship, her second at the U.S. Women's Open in 2022 andher thirdat last year's Women's PGA Championship.

Top-ranked Jeeno Thitikul, who wonlast week's tournamentin her native Thailand, shot 70 Saturday that left her at 3-under. She was tied with defending championLydia Koand Brooke Henderson, who each shot 71, all eight strokes behind the leading Australians.

The 72-player, no-cut tournament is the second of three stops on the LPGA's early year Asian swing, with the final one next week at Hainan Island, China.

AP golf:https://apnews.com/hub/golf

byAdministrator

in

3/01/2026 12:04:00 AM

Australians Green and Lee move into the lead after 3 rounds of LPGA Singapore

SINGAPORE (AP) — Australians Hannah Green and Minjee Lee moved to the top of the leaderboard Saturday to lead by one stro...

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