Jerome Tang wanted to challenge the Kansas State men’s basketball team in its first true road game of the season, so he scheduled a trip to historic Assembly Hall for a matchup with Indiana.

A challenge is exactly what the Wildcats got on Tuesday in Bloomington, Ind.

Indiana played at a higher level than any other opponent K-State has seen ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The Wolverines wanted it all.

A shot at a bigger NIL payday and a tournament title. Revenge for last season’s Sweet 16 loss. Their first win over a ranked opponent this season.

No. 7 Michigan got it all against No. 21 Auburn by riding a dominant first half to a 102-72 blowout win at the Players Era on Tuesday at Michelob Ultra ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — When Mark Pope and John Pelphrey crossed paths at a charitable event last summer, the current Kentucky coach asked the former UK forward if he wanted to bring his Tennessee Tech team to Rupp Arena this season to face the Wildcats.

Given that there may be no mortal walking the earth who loves Rupp Arena more than Pelphrey, the...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers were partaking in a normal basketball game Tuesday night inside Xfinity Mobile Arena until they suddenly weren’t.

Orlando led Philadelphia by 24 points with less than a minute left in the second quarter when Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. and Sixers center Andre Drummond got into it ...Read more

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Just last week, North Carolina men’s basketball held a players-only meeting to address what they felt was a lackluster performance against Navy.

By halftime on Tuesday night — this time facing St. Bonaventure in Fort Myers, Fla. — it appeared the Tar Heels might be heading for another postgame accountability talk. A ...Read more

Redshirt-sophomore guard Jamari McDowell’s body hit the court hard inside MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Syracuse forward William Kyle III had pushed aside the Kansas guard to collect an offensive rebound. He caught the ball and turned the second-chance opportunity into a wide-open dunk.

In a game in which both teams were missing their...Read more

FORT MYERS, Fla. — For a couple of minutes, the greater part of the crowd inside Suncoast Credit Union Arena feared that Michigan State phenom Coen Carr might have hurt himself just when things were getting good.

The explosive dynamo, a focal point of the Spartans, writhed in pain after injuring himself defending 12 minutes into the first ...Read more

Feast Week started for N.C. State with a big red wreck in a Game 1 blowout to open the Maui Invitational. It rebounded in a big way on its second game of the tournament Tuesday, looking more like itself in an 81-70 win over Boise State.

Basketball teams regularly refer to the sport as a “game of runs,” and N.C. State’s game against Boise...Read more

INDIANAPOLIS — The Detroit Pistons survived a fourth-quarter rally from the Indiana Pacers to take a 122-117 victory, Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. With the win, the Pistons extended their winning streak to 13, tying the all-time franchise record.

The Pistons once led by 19 points, but the Pacers would not go away. Isaiah Jackson ...Read more

MIAMI — The consistency of Norman Powell was missing, with the Miami Heat scoring leader again sidelined by a groin issue.

But Tyler Herro was there to step in, with his own steadying presence, in this case a run of nine consecutive made shots ... and later the winning basket.

No, this 106-102 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on the second ...Read more

NEW YORK — The New York Knicks’ road struggles don’t seem to apply when the trip is only across the river. Barclays Center once again felt like a second home Monday night, packed with Knicks fans and MSG-style vendors lining the outdoor plaza. And once again, the visitors made themselves comfortable, beating the Brooklyn Nets 113-100 in ...Read more

The Denver Nuggets have lost their last two home games, but they’ve won six in a row on the road after a 125-115 victory at the Memphis Grizzlies Monday night.

Here are three takeaways as Denver improved to 13-4 going into a three-day break:

Watson: 3-and-D?

That’s not how Watson has been known in his first three NBA seasons. But it ...Read more

Before the season, Kansas fans joked — or perhaps hoped, with the loftiest of ideals — that big man Flory Bidunga and freshman phenom Darryn Peterson would become KU’s iteration of Shaq and Kobe.

The comparison wasn’t quite rooted in reality given how dominant Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal were, winning multiple NBA championships ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — As expected, the Kentucky Wildcats took a tumble in the latest men’s college basketball Top 25 rankings.

The new Associated Press poll was released Monday afternoon, and the Cats dropped seven spots to the No. 19 position in the rankings. The latest fall came six days after Mark Pope’s team was embarrassed in Madison ...Read more

SALT LAKE CITY — The Los Angeles Lakers won their fourth consecutive game Sunday, holding off the Utah Jazz 108-106 in Delta Center behind 33 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists from Luka Doncic.

The Lakers (12-4) nearly squandered a 10-point lead in the final six minutes and 36 seconds, allowing the Jazz to cut the lead to one with 41.3 ...Read more

BOSTON — A long-term injury to Neemias Queta could spell trouble for the Boston Celtics.

But for at least one night, Boston didn’t need its No. 1 center.

The Celtics lost Queta, a standout in his first season as an NBA starter, to an ankle sprain midway through the first quarter Sunday but were able to secure a victory over the undermanned...Read more