NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Detroit Pistons 113, Brooklyn Nets 98
Indiana Pacers 129, Chicago Bulls 113
Pistons 113, Nets 98 – Malik Beasley scores 23 and Pistons win 5th straight, 113-98 over Nets
Malik Beasley scored 23 points, Cade Cunningham had 13 points and the Detroit Pistons won their fifth straight game, 113-98 over the Brooklyn Nets. Detroit’s bench outscored Brooklyn’s 50-20, led by reserves Simone Fontecchio with 17 points and Marcus Sasser, who added 15 points. Detroit has won eight of its last nine games to climb above .500 at 19-18. Noah Clowney finished with a game-high 29 points, and Tyrese Martin scored 12 points and had 10 rebounds for the Nets, who dropped their third straight and seventh in a row at Barclays Center.
Pacers 129, Bulls 113 – Pascal Siakam scores 26 points in the Pacers’ 129-113 victory over the Bulls
Pascal Siakam scored 26 points, Thomas Bryant added a season-high 22 and two-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton had 16 points and 13 assists in the Indiana Pacers’ 129-113 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night. Siakam made 11 of 17 shots from the field to help Indiana win its fourth straight, all by 10 or more points. Bryant had eight rebounds as the Pacers continued climbing the Eastern Conference standing with their 10 win in 13 games. Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 31 points. Coby White had 19 points and five assists as Chicago lost for the first time in three games and just the second time in six.
Tonight
Golden State Warriors at Detroit Pistons, 7:00 p.m.
NCAAFB – College Football
College Football Playoff Semifinals
Tonight
(7) Notre Dame vs. (6) Penn State, 7:30 p.m. Sports Radio 96.1/Sunny 101.5 6:30
Capital One Orange Bowl, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL
NCAAFB – Penn State coach James Franklin calls for college football to have uniformity
The Big Ten plays nine conference games in football. So does the Big 12. The Southeastern Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference are among those playing eight-game league schedules. The Mountain West played a seven-game league slate. Notre Dame doesn’t have a league. Enough, Penn State coach James Franklin says. Franklin said Wednesday on the eve of his team’s matchup with Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Orange Bowl that the sport needs uniformity.
NCAAFB – CFP title game, on the line when Notre Dame and Penn State meet
It’s been a long time since either Notre Dame or Penn State reached college football’s mountaintop as national champions. It was 1988 for the Fighting Irish, 1986 for the Nittany Lions. There’s been good seasons and bad seasons in the three-plus decades that have followed, coaching changes and a complete overhaul of what the sport looks like. Yet here they are — back again, on the doorstep of a title shot. The 13-1 Irish and 13-2 Nittany Lions face off in the Orange Bowl on Thursday night, the first of two College Football Playoff semifinal games. The winner advances to the Jan. 20 title game.
NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Chicago Blackhawks 3, Colorado Avalanche 1
Blackhawks 3, Avalanche 1 – Connor Bedard scores as Blackhawks top Avalanche 3-1
Connor Bedard had a goal and an assist, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1. Frank Nazar and Ilya Mikheyev also scored for Chicago, which had lost six of seven. Petr Mrazek made 35 saves. Bedard made it 3-1 when he beat Trent Miner for his 11th goal 11:54 into the third period. The 19-year-old center has four goals and seven assists during an eight-game point streak. Juuso Parssinen scored for Colorado in the opener of a three-game trip. Miner stopped 17 shots in his first career start.
NCAAMBB – Men’s College Basketball
Last Night
NC State 66, Notre Dame 65
NC State 66, Notre Dame 65 – Hill, Middlebrooks lead last-minute rally and N.C. State edges Notre Dame 66-65
Ben Middlebrooks made the go-ahead free throw with 11 seconds left to cap N.C. State’s rally from a late seven-point deficit and the Wolfpack defeated Notre Dame 66-65. Marcus Hill’s layup with 1:07 remaining tied the score and Middlebrooks made 1 of 2 free throws nearly a minute later to put the Wolfpack ahead for the first time since 7:40 remained in the second half. Notre Dame’s Markus Burton missed a jumper and Hill rebounded as time ran out. A 3-pointer by Braeden Shrewsberry gave Notre Dame a seven-point lead with 3 1/2 minutes remaining but the Fighting Irish managed only two points the rest of the way.
Tonight
Washington at (16) Michigan State, 8:00 p.m. Cosy Classic Hits 103.7 7:00
NCAAMBB – UCLA’s Mick Cronin calls his players ‘soft’ and ‘delusional’
UCLA coach Mick Cronin ripped into his players following the 22nd-ranked Bruins’ third loss in four games, saying they don’t give enough effort and lack toughness. UCLA, which won 10 of its first 11 games and started 2-0 in the Big Ten, has dropped two straight following Tuesday night’s 94-75 home loss to No. 24 Michigan. The Bruins lost 66-58 at Nebraska on Saturday. Cronin says “I have the most energy of anybody in practice every day. I’m upset with everybody in that locker room, my assistant coaches and my players." Cronin says his team is “too soft to play hard enough.”
NCAAWBB – Women’s College Basketball
Last Night
(9) Ohio State 84, (25) Michigan 77
Nebraska 85, (21) Michigan State, 80
Western Michigan 66, Ohio 49
Central Michigan 47, Miami (OH) 46
Ball State 101, Eastern Michigan 69
OSU 84, Michigan 77 – Jaloni Cambridge 29 points, helps No. 9 Ohio State beat No. 25 Michigan 84-77
Jaloni Cambridge scored 22 of 29 points in the second half, leading No. 9 Ohio State in a comeback 84-77 win against No. 25 Michigan on Wednesday night. The Buckeyes are off to their best start since opening 19-0 two years ago. The Wolverines led by 16 points in the first half and were ahead after each of the first three quarters, but could not hold on for their first win over a top-10 team in five attempts this season. Ohio State’s Chance Gray scored 16 and Cotie McMahon had 13 points.
Nebraska 85, MSU 80 – Markowski scores 28, Nebraska women top No. 21 Michigan State 85-80
Alexis Markowski scored a career-high 28 points and Nebraska got its first win over a ranked team, topping No. 20 Michigan State 85-80. The Cornhuskers made 11 of 16 free throws in the fourth quarter, 17 of 24 in the second half and 28 of 35 for the game while the Spartans were 14 of 19 for the game and had three players foul out.Nebraska won two straight home games after losing three straight road games to ranked teams. Julia Ayrault scored 21 points for the Spartans, who have lost three of four since setting the school record with a 11-0 start. Michigan State scored the first 11 points of the game and led 21-15 after one quarter. Nebraska had a 15-0 run in the second quarter and led 43-33 at the half.
Tonight
Wake Forest at (3) Notre Dame, 5:00 p.m. Live 99.9 4:45
NFL – Bears interview Mike Vrabel for their head coaching job
The Chicago Bears interviewed former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel for their head coaching job. Vrabel led Tennessee to a 54-45 record and three playoff appearances from 2018 to 2023. The 2019 team advanced to the AFC championship game, losing to Patrick Mahomes and the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Tennessee combined to go 23-10 the next two seasons while capturing back-to-back AFC South championships, only to finish 7-10 in 2022 and 6-11 in 2023. The Bears are counting on the next coach to help Caleb Williams develop into a franchise quarterback and lift a team that finished last in the NFC North at 5-12. Chicago fired Matt Eberflus on Nov. 29 with the team in the middle of a 10-game losing streak. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Raiders have requested interviews from Detroit’s Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. Glenn is the Lions’ defensive coordinator and Johnson holds the same position on the offensive side.
MCCAA – Michigan Community College Athletic Association
Last Night
Women’s Basketball
Lake Michigan College 73, North Central Michigan 55
Men’s Basketball
Lake Michigan College 96, North Central Michigan 75
MHSAA – Michigan High School Athletic Association
Last Night
Girls Basketball
Gobles 49, Hartford 21
Marcellus 35, Burr Oak 26
Coldwater 49, Kalamazoo Central 36
Wrestling
Battle Creek Lakeview, Gull Lake, Lakeshore at St. Joseph
- St. Joseph 72, Battle Creek Lakeview 9
- St. Joseph 54, Gull Lake 18
- Lakeshore 78, Battle Creek Lakeview 6
- Lakeshore 41, Gull Lake 29
Tonight
Boys Basketball
SMAC
Battle Creek Central at Lakeshore, 7:00 p.m. News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM
Portage Northern at St. Joseph, 7:00 p.m.
Portage Central at Mattawan, 7:00 p.m.
Gull Lake at Kalamazoo Central, 7:00 p.m.
Lakeland
Benton Harbor at Berrien Springs, 7:00 p.m.
Dowagiac at Buchanan, 7:30 p.m.
SAC
Bridgman at South Haven, 7:30 p.m.
Southwest 10
Comstock at Centreville, 7:30 p.m.
Lawrence at Decatur, 7:30 p.m.
Cassopolis at Hartford, 7:30 p.m.
Bloomingdale at White Pigeon, 7:30 p.m.
Non-Conference
Granger Christian (IN) at Countryside, 7:00 p.m.
New Buffalo at Brandywine, 6:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix vs. Cadillac, 1:45 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena-Detroit
Girls Basketball
Southwest 10
Marcellus at Bangor, 7:30 p.m.
Decatur at Lawrence, 7:30 p.m.
Non-Conference
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix vs. Cadillac, 12:00 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena-Detroit
Howardsville Chr. at Athens Factoryville Christian, 6:00 p.m.
Boys Swimming and Diving
St. Joseph at Battle Creek Lakeview, 6:00 p.m.
