Sports
67 points and a ‘transfer portal’ surprise: Nonconference hoops superlatives
Conference play is finally here in college basketball.
After many long months apart, rival teams will visit each other to the sounds of rowdy student sections jumping on the bleachers. But it follows a nonconference schedule that treated fans to many defining and humorous takeaways.
As we shift our focus to conference play, let’s revisit some nontraditional superlatives — both on and off the court — that stood out from earlier this season.

Most likely to make an NBA court home
When BYU landed the No. 1 high school prospect in the Class of 2025, it had just completed its second season as a member of the Big 12 — a move that brought the program to a bigger stage. The addition of Dybantsa intensified the spotlight.
In July, when the Cougars released their nonconference schedule, it was revealed that they would play on three NBA courts — and Dybantsa rose to the occasion in all of those games.
Dybantsa and BYU first played No. 3 UConn at TD Garden in Boston, home of the Celtics, where the freshman erupted for 25 points and 6 rebounds in an 86-84 loss. BYU bounced back against No. 23 Wisconsin at the Delta Center, home of the Utah Jazz, with Dybantsa collecting 18 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in a 98-70 win.
He delivered another big performance on the Jazz floor against California Baptist, where he dropped 22 points in a 91-60 win before completing his NBA arena tour at the Jimmy V Classic against Clemson at Madison Square Garden, with 28 points, 9 rebounds and and 6 assists in a 67-64 victory.
Most valuable number
67
It got loud in arenas, and we mean loud because of one particular number: 67. The trend, which was popularized on TikTok, sent young students into a frenzy every time a team’s points landed on 67. Young audiences pierced the ears of players, coaches and other spectators at LSU, Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Auburn games, just to name a few.
0:34
Fans go wild after Oklahoma State scores 67 points
Lena Girardi gets a steal and makes the layup to increase Oklahoma State’s score to 67, and the fans celebrate in the crowd.
And the trend seems to be here to stay … at least for a while.
Most likely to make their parents’ commute easy
Cameron Boozer and Cayden Boozer
The Boozer brothers, sons of two-time NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, have played together their entire lives. From teaming up on the AAU circuit with Nightrydas Elite to prep basketball at Christopher Columbus High in Miami, the twin brothers followed their father’s footsteps in taking their college talents to Duke.
In nonconference play for the Blue Devils, Cameron averaged 23.3 points, 10 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.7 steals, while Cayden averaged 7.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1 steal.
It’s safe to say that Carlos is happy to have his boys close to home.
Unmatched social media presence
Richard Pitino
One thing about the Xavier coach: He keeps it honest with his fans on social media. At the start of the season, Pitino lightheartedly trolled his father, St. John’s coach Rick Pitino.
Just spent 30 minutes trying to explain to @RealPitino how to download Amazon Prime on his iPad. Confidence is sky high that Xavier will get the sweep this year.
— Richard Pitino (@XUCoachPitino) October 31, 2025
As the season progressed, he would share a postgame report card with thoughts on the student section, uniforms, cheerleaders, his team’s performance and even the national anthem singer. For the most part, every category earned an A grade. But he kept it authentic at times with his true thoughts on Xavier’s performance, sometimes giving the team a C for rebounding, or an F for its defense.
Post Game Grades
Anthem Girl- A plus
Student Section- A plus
Grey Unis- A, Big fan!
Offense- B minus, 20 assists!
Defense- F minus
Rebounding- C, Filip 12 rebounds!
— Richard Pitino (@XUCoachPitino) November 7, 2025
When the Musketeers lost 87-68 to Santa Clara, Pitino took ownership of the loss on social media.
Monday night was on me. I will be better. We will be better. Tough one Friday night at Iowa!
— Richard Pitino (@XUCoachPitino) November 12, 2025
Most unconventional ‘transfer portal’ return
Amir Khan
During McNeese’s Cinderella run in last March, team manager Amir Khan went viral for his antics. He would lead the team out of the locker room with a huge boombox around his neck. It led to his nickname, “Aura,” and 20 NIL deals.
Read more: How a McNeese manager became a centerpiece in its March moment
But in the midst of McNeese’s run in the NCAA tournament, coach Will Wade came to an agreement to become the lead man at NC State. Into the “transfer portal” Khan went, following Wade to Raleigh.
However, Khan appeared back in blue and gold in early December after transferring back to McNeese in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which is also his hometown.
“I just wanted to be back home,” he said. “I think NC State was amazing. I loved the city, loved the campus, loved the players on the team. There was no animosity whatsoever. I just wanted to be back with McNeese. It means a lot more to me to work for McNeese.”
Sports
Michigan’s Richard repeats as NCAA men’s all-around champion
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Michigan’s Fred Richard won his second straight all-around individual crown Saturday night, and Cooper Kim and Jun Iwai each won individual titles to lead Stanford to its sixth NCAA men’s gymnastics championship since 2019.
Richard took home silver in the floor and parallel bars as he ran away with his third all-around individual national championship with a score of 83.598. Nebraska’s Max Odden (78.698) was second, 0.432 ahead of third-place Kristian Grahovski of Ohio State.
Stanford had 329.825 points, second-place Oklahoma finished with 328.495 and Michigan — the defending national champion — was third with 324.857. Asher Hong (14.300) took silver and Nick Kuebler (14.166) bronze on the rings in the final rotation to seal it for the Cardinal. Asher Cohen finished with a 14.500 to become the first Nebraska gymnast to win the rings since Jim Hartung in 1982.
Stanford claimed the program’s 11th national gymnastics championship; the Cardinal have won at least one NCAA team title for 50 straight seasons, since the men’s water polo team beat UCLA 13-12 for the national championship on Nov. 28, 1976. The next longest active streak is North Carolina’s seven straight years with at least one team title.
Iwai had a 14.433 on the vault, tied with Nebraska’s Tyler Flores for first. Landen Blixt of Michigan was third (14.366).
Flores, Nathan Roman (14.800 on the parallel bars) and Kelton Christiansen (14.400, high bar) each won individual titles for the second-place Sooners.
Kim scored a 14.466 to win gold on the floor to beat Richard (14.400). Kuebler and Tate Costa of Illinois finished third with 14.166.
Brandon Dang (Illinois) won the pommel horse with a score of 14.700, Michigan’s Aaronson Mansberger was second (14.566) and Colby Aranda of Oklahoma finished third with 14.133 points.
Sports
Mets in free fall after losing 10th straight game
CHICAGO — The New York Mets will have to defy the odds if they plan on making the postseason this year after dropping their 10th consecutive game on Saturday, a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Only three teams in the divisional era (since 1969) have made the postseason after a double-digit losing streak — including last year’s Cleveland Guardians.
“No one is going to feel sorry for us,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after the latest defeat. “We have to keep going. We haven’t been playing good baseball. We have 5½ months ahead. We have the opportunity to write our own story.”
The Mets say they can’t point to any single thing which has led them to their longest April losing streak in franchise history. They certainly aren’t hitting enough, scoring just 18 runs during the streak, the fewest for them over 10 games since June 3-5, 2018.
They’re also making bad pitches, like the one reliever Brooks Raley made to pinch hitter Carson Kelly in the sixth inning Saturday. Kelly deposited Raley’s first pitch cutter into the left-field bleachers for a three-run home run, breaking a 1-1 tie. The Cubs cruised to victory from there.
“We haven’t been able to put together a complete game,” Mendoza said. “It’s either the offense or starting pitching, like not making [that] pitch, not making a play, not getting a big hit. Just having a hard time playing a complete game right now.”
Mendoza’s job is seemingly safe after president of baseball operations David Stearns said Friday he thought his third-year manager was doing a good job and is putting players in a position to succeed. Of course, things can change if the losses continue to pile up for the Mets, who missed the postseason last year after a disastrous second half.
The team is trying not to focus on the negative this early in the season.
“It’s a big boy league,” infielder Marcus Semien said. “There is no time to dwell on tonight. Tomorrow is a new day … It’s as simple as showing up tomorrow with a good attitude. Hopefully other guys see a smile on my face when I show up.”
Semien and Mendoza offered up few solutions to the team’s plight, though getting All-Star Juan Soto back from a calf injury should help. But that won’t happen for a few more days. With DH Jorge Polanco (wrist) on the shelf as well, the Mets will need others to step up.
A late winter overhaul by Stearns led to a positive feeling about the team entering this season. But those additions, like Saturday’s starter Freddy Peralta, haven’t produced enough. Third baseman Mark Vientos did hit a long home run in the loss but New York’s offense was mostly quiet the rest of the day.
Mendoza was asked how he thought Mets fans were feeling right now.
“They have the right to be pissed and frustrated,” he said. “They care. Just like we do. … I understand how they’re feeling. I’d be pissed too, if I was a fan. I’m pissed. They’re pissed.”
The 10-game losing streak is the longest in April since the 2023 White Sox. The loss has the Mets 6½ games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East, an unusually large deficit for this time of year.
“It’s frustrating to lose baseball games and when you lose this many in a row, it compounds,” Semien said. “The game does not own you any wins. You have to go out and get it.”
The Mets rank in the bottom half of the league in most offensive and pitching categories, including home runs. They’ve hit just 15 this season, only ahead of the San Francisco Giants for fewest in the National League. Their starting pitching isn’t much better, ranking 21st in ERA.
The team is hoping Sunday will bring them different results.
“We have to do something to get in the W column,” Semien said. “No one is showing up thinking about how it’s going to happen again. We’re thinking about how we’re going to win.”
Mendoza added: “Were putting ourselves in a hole right now. There is only one way to [get out of] it. Come back tomorrow, ready to go.”
ESPN Research contributed to this report.
Sports
Bron Breakker crushes Seth Rollins with two spears in epic return at WrestleMania 42
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Seth Rollins was supposed to be going up against Gunther at WrestleMania 42 on Saturday night but he wasn’t expecting a freight train to run through him.
Rollins appeared to be in the driver’s seat toward the end of the match. He hit Gunther with a pedigree on the announce table and followed up with a storm. All he had to do was get Gunther back in the ring and finish the job. As the referee tended to Gunther, a wild Bron Breakker appeared.
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Bron Breakker performs during WrestleMania 42 Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 18, 2026. (WWE)
Breakker ran down the side of the entrance ramp at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas at full speed and tore through Rollins with a gnarly spear. He rolled Rollins back in the ring, spat on him and waited for Gunther to finish the job.
Gunther put Rollins in a sleeper hold, forcing “The Revolutionary” to tap out.
WWE STARS REVEAL WHAT MAKES WRESTLEMANIA SO SPECIAL: ‘IT’S THE SUPER BOWL OF PRO WRESTLING’

Gunther has his arm raised by the referee after defeating Seth Rollins during their match on night one of WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Gunther walked to the back as the winner. Breakker was hung around to pick apart the scraps.
Breakker sprinted back down the ramp and hit Rollins with another crushing spear, stunning the crowd.
Breakker has been out of action for a few weeks with an injury, likely costing him a match of some kind at WrestleMania 42. Nevertheless, he still had bad blood with Rollins as their rivalry turned up a notch.

Seth Rollins enters the arena before his match against Gunther on night one of WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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This will not be the last of Breakker and Rollins. On the flip side, Paul Heyman will now owe Gunther a favor. It’ll will be interesting to see how the favor gets cashed in.
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