Luka Dončić lifts Lakers; Duke, St. John’s men get big wins; No. 1 Notre Dame women fall in 2OT

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Good morning to all, but especially to …

THE NO. 3 DUKE BLUE DEVILS AND THE NO. 10 ST. JOHN’S RED STORM …

Madison Square Garden is where the stars come out, and with Selection Sunday just under three weeks away, No. 3 Duke and No. 10 St. John’s are shining bright. The Blue Devils and the Red Storm delivered statement performances over the weekend fit for the Mecca of Basketball.

Let’s start with the Blue Devils, who walloped Illinois, 110-67, Saturday night, the worst loss in Illini program history. The Blue Devils got seven double-digit scorers, led by Isaiah Evans‘ 17. Cooper Flagg was right behind him with 16. Duke shot 56% from the floor and 52% from 3.

The No. 3 ranking is nice, but it undersells the Blue Devils, Matt Norlander says.

• Norlander: “At its best, Duke could be historically great. It’s pushing to be a top-three all time KenPom team, meaning its efficiency is nearing the best of the best in the modern era. Saturday was the warning shot to the rest of college basketball. It only took until Year 3, but Duke is already back to that familiar place. For the first time under Jon Scheyer, the Blue Devils are a Goliath of college basketball again.”

One day later, it was the Johnnies’ turn, beating UConn, 89-75. Zuby Ejiofor and Kadary Richmond had 18 points apiece for the Red Storm, which entered the day as one of the country’s worst 3-point teams (30%) but drilled 8 of 19 attempts (42%) from deep. The Red Storm — and not the two-time reigning champ Huskies — run the Big East, Matt says.

• Norlander: “When St. John’s pulled out a come-from-behind road victory at UConn 16 days ago, it signaled a potential changing of the guard in the Big East. Sunday was the formal transition for the 10th-ranked Red Storm, who got their 25th win of the season. Rick Pitino needed all of two seasons to flip a program that had floundered for most of its existence this century.”

As for other notable results …

• Mark Sears (30 points) continued his strong play of late as No. 4 Alabama beat No. 17 Kentucky, 96-83. It was a big bounce-back win for the Crimson Tide, who were among our weekend winners.
• Chaz Lanier scored 30 points (with eight 3s) to lead No. 6 Tennessee to an impressive 77-69 road win over No. 7 Texas A&M.
• No. 5 Houston beat shorthanded No. 8 Iowa State, 68-59, behind 28 points from LJ Cryer. 
• No. 14 Michigan State beat No. 12 Michigan, 75-62, to take the Big Ten lead, with Jase Richardson emerging as a force.

Here’s more:

• Projecting today’s Top 25 
  
• Several bubble teams got big wins. That includes BYU, which got help from the refs … and hate from No. 19 Arizona fans.
• Oklahoma also got a big win, but one of its players lost some teeth.
• UCLA honored Bill Walton.
• Miami is targeting Duke assistant Jai Lucas for its coaching vacancy.
• Andre Curbelo was dismissed from Southern Miss.
• Alex Rodriguez — yes, that A-Rod — hit a halfcourt shot to win a Bucknell student $10,000.

… AND THE NO. 13 NC STATE WOLFPACK

Not to be outdone, women’s basketball produced its best game of the season … and one of the best regular-season games in recent memory. No. 13 NC State upset No. 1 Notre Dame, 104-95, in an instant-classic double-overtime battle.

• It’s NC State’s first win over a No. 1 team since 2021, but this isn’t just any No. 1 team. Notre Dame entered on a 19-game winning streak and a perfect 15-0 record in ACC play.
• But the Wolfpack would not be denied. After a miraculous 3-pointer from Fighting Irish standout Sonia Citron forced overtime, Aziaha James nailed a midrange jumper to force double overtime.
• From there, the hosts dominated, with the highlight being a behind-the-back move from James that got everyone — including Magic Johnson — out of their seats. All five Wolfpack starters scored in double digits, led by a career-high 33 points from Zoe Brooks.

Honorable mentions

• Alex Ovechkin scored a hat trick and is 13 goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky‘s NHL record.
• The NFL Draft Combine begins today, though on-field work doesn’t begin until Thursday. Here’s who’s set to impress.
• In spring training action, Juan Soto homered in his first at-bat with the Mets, and Sandy Alcantara hit 99 mph in his first appearance since 2023 Tommy John surgery.
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — slated to be a free agent next offseason — says he would consider the Yankees despite his past comments.
• Bradley Beal is back in the Suns‘ starting lineup.
• The USWNT beat Australia, 2-1, to remain undefeated in the SheBelieves Cup.
• Josh Sargent just keeps scoring for Norwich as he hopes for a return to the USMNT.
• Dmitry Bivol beat Artur Beterbiev to become the undisputed light heavyweight champion. Expect them to complete the trilogy, Brent Brookhouse writes.
• Brian Campbell won the Mexico Open.
• A crash on the last lap helped Christopher Bell win the Ambetter Health 400.

Not so honorable mentions

• The Knicks just can’t hang with the NBA’s best. At least Mitchell Robinson might be back soon.
• Shedeur Sanders won’t throw at the combine.
• Two Fresno State men’s basketball players missed Saturday’s game against Air Force due to “eligibility issues” amid an investigation into alleged betting activity.
• Charlie McAvoy and Matthew Tkachuk emerged from the 4 Nations Face-Off with injuries.
• Lionel Messi and Inter Miami were held to a draw in their MLS season opener.

Luka Dončić stars as Lakers blow out Nuggets

It may have taken a little bit longer than expected — especially considering his historically high standards — but Luka Dončić delivered his first huge game for the Lakers, who blew out the Nuggets, 123-100, on Saturday.

Dončić had 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in the win after averaging just 14.7 points in his first three games with Los Angeles. But it wasn’t just the numbers that were different. It was the fire. JJ Redick challenged Dončić to “have a ‘blackout episode’ tonight where he screams at no one in particular,” and he did just that with a barrage of signature stepback 3s and ensuing screams, just as Redick prescribed.

LeBron James — the beneficiary of several beautiful Dončić passes — described their growing relationship in football terms.

The Lakers are up to fourth in the Western Conference, and, having halted Denver’s nine-game winning streak, showed they can be a contender, Jack Maloney writes.

• Maloney: “The win … was perhaps the ideal version of this new Lakers team. They were able to keep at least one of James or Dončić on the floor at all times to run the show, and got great games from both of them. … Things won’t always work this well, but it’s clear the Lakers can play with anyone and should only get better in the coming weeks as Dončić gets back into basketball shape after missing nearly two months and acclimates to his new surroundings.”

Jimmy Butler is also acclimating well to his new team, the Warriors, and in his home debut, Butler showed he has revitalized Golden State’s season, Colin Ward-Henninger writes.

Rams allow teams to talk with Matthew Stafford: Where could he land?

Matthew Stafford plans to play next season. It’s uncertain where. The Rams gave Stafford’s agent permission to discuss contract terms with other teams as Stafford seeks a new contract and Los Angeles is reticent to give him one.

The Rams are in a bit of an odd spot. After loading up for a Super Bowl and winning it three seasons ago, they struggled badly the following year, the result of many win-now moves. But after hitting on draft picks the past couple of years, Los Angeles has been able to both win now and cultivate a strong young core, led by Puka Nacua.

I’d love to see them try to run it back one more time — this was the only team that hung with the Eagles in the playoffs, after all — but earlier this month, Cooper Kupp announced the team intends to trade him, news that saddened Stafford and confused Stafford’s wife. And now we’re here.

Jordan Dajani examined potential Stafford landing spots if he leaves Los Angeles.

Gregg Popovich not expected to return this season, future uncertain

Gregg Popovich is not expected to return to the Spurs this season as he continues to recover from a mild stroke suffered in November, and his longterm future is uncertain, per reports.

• Popovich, 76, had a stroke Nov. 2. He was initially ruled out with an unspecified illness, and Mitch Johnson began serving as interim coach.
• Nov. 13, San Antonio confirmed Popovich had a mild stroke.
• Dec. 16, Popovich released a statement thanking those who were supporting him and expressed a desire to return to coaching.

The Spurs’ coach since 1996, Popovich has 1,390 wins — most in NBA history — five NBA titles and three Coach of the Year awards. San Antonio, which recently lost Victor Wembanyama for the season due to deep vein thrombosis, has missed the playoffs each of the last five seasons. The 12th-place Spurs are two spots away from the last position for the Western Conference Play-In Tournament.

What we’re watching Monday

No. 19 Baylor at No. 12 Kansas State (W), 7 p.m. on ESPN2
Unrivaled, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
Timberwolves at Thunder, 8 p.m. on NBA TV
No. 5 Houston at No. 9 Texas Tech (M), 9 p.m. on ESPN