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UCLA survives collapse in final minutes to eke out win over Northwestern

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UCLA survives collapse in final minutes to eke out win over Northwestern

It was a frighteningly familiar tale for UCLA.

From fully locked in and comfortably ahead to being on the verge of collapse.

What had been a 14-point lead over Northwestern with a little more than two minutes left Monday night was down to one with 21 seconds to go after Bruins forward Tyler Bilodeau was triple-teamed and called for traveling, eventually leading to a backdoor layup for the Wildcats.

It was another late-game blunder in a series of turnovers, missed free throws and empty possessions that seemed so recognizable.

This was the same scenario that had unfolded earlier this season during losses to North Carolina and Minnesota, as well as victories over Indiana and Oregon that were a lot more harrowing than they needed to be.

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What is it about these Bruins that tends to go so wrong in the final minutes?

“My buddy, Scott Van Pelt, likes having us on ‘Bad Beats,’” UCLA coach Mick Cronin cracked in one corner of Welsh-Ryan Arena, alluding to the ESPN segment devoted to epic meltdowns that lead to betting losses. “So I’m trying to get on that show.”

Cronin could joke about the circumstances given the way things turned out. His Bruins shrugged off their self-inflicted misfortune to hold on for a 73-69 victory after another breathless finish.

The critical sequence came after Northwestern fouled UCLA’s Skyy Clark, who made one of two free throws to extend his team’s advantage to two points with 21 seconds remaining.

Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli drove toward the basket before losing the ball as he tried to squeeze between William Kyle III and Eric Dailey Jr., the crowd screaming for a foul that never came. Instead, Kyle grabbed the ball and passed to Kobe Johnson, whose outlet pass to Dailey left the Wildcats no choice but to intentionally foul him with 8.4 seconds left.

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Dailey made both free throws and the Bruins (21-9 overall, 12-7 Big Ten) prevailed on a night that it looked like Aday Mara was going to be the big story.

Entering the game after Bilodeau picked up his third foul early in the second half, Mara changed everything. In a savvy move, Mara’s teammates repeatedly got him the ball near the basket, leading to five consecutive points on a layup, a jump hook and a free throw after the 7-foot-3 sophomore was hacked as a result of the Wildcats being unable to stop him any other way.

“The times they looked at me and they passed me the ball,” Mara said of his teammates, “it was easy because I was under the rim. Just turn and score, get fouled, you know?”

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At first, a few pockets of UCLA fans showed their appreciation for the big man.

Then nearly the entire crowd did.

Fans of both teams unleashed audible astonishment when Mara threw down his second dunk.

“When you see a 7-3 guy do that,” Bilodeau said of the murmurs, “it’s great.”

Mara went on to log a double-double in only 16 minutes, finishing with 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks while making his latest case for more playing time.

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“When he’s in there, he’s the best offensive player we have,” Cronin said, noting that Mara needed to continue to work on his conditioning because he was exhausted by the time he left the game. “You can’t stop him one on one and he’s our best passer, so get it to him close to the rim and let him do his thing.”

Bilodeau (19 points) sustained his team’s momentum when he returned, grabbing an offensive rebound that led to a jump hook. It was a theme for the Bruins, who grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and outrebounded Northwestern (16-14, 7-12) by 14. A change in how the Bruins defended the pick and roll by better containing the ballhandler helped hold the Wildcats to a point-a-minute pace until the final two minutes.

That’s when the Bruins, leading 68-54, started running a basketball version of the fade route.

Among the lowlights were two bad passes by point guard Dylan Andrews that became turnovers, a Clark shot that was blocked — leading to a dunk at the other end — and a missed front end of a one-and-one free-throw situation by Andrews.

UCLA was still ahead by three points when the Wildcats converged on Bilodeau, who later told Cronin he was trying to heed his advice to call a timeout. Instead, he was called for traveling.

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Cronin blamed himself for his players’ failures in the final minutes.

“I think it’s on me — I’ve got to coach them better, at the end of the day,” Cronin said. “You’ve got to get the ball in, you’ve got to be strong with the ball. It was our possession and we had three timeouts, so you have no reason to be in a hurry — just keep calling a timeout or take the jump ball and they don’t do it, I’ve got to coach them better.”

Cronin was in a reflective mood afterward, saying his team hasn’t played hard enough defensively for stretches of Big Ten play. With only the crosstown rivalry game left before the conference tournament, Cronin knows that has to change if UCLA wants to get to where it wants to go this month.

“We haven’t been consistent and that’s on me, that’s totally on me,” Cronin said. “It’s my job to try to get us there because if not, we’re going home — everybody that’s not is going home early.”

They were happy to be headed home late Monday, their bus ride to the airport pushing midnight but not their patience after they made the plays they needed.

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“Every game, you gotta win by one point,” Mara said with a smile, “so it’s fun.”

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Auburn fans shower officials with debris after wild buzzer-beater gets overturned

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Auburn fans shower officials with debris after wild buzzer-beater gets overturned

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A chaotic scene unfolded at Auburn University on Tuesday night as a wild buzzer-beater was waved off well after the Tigers had celebrated on their own court.

With 0.6 seconds remaining and Auburn trailing 90-88, KeShawn Murphy, somehow left wide open, caught an inbounds pass and nailed a long 3-pointer for what was thought to be the game-winner.

However, officials went to the scorer’s table to review the play, which was awfully close.

 

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Auburn Tigers players watch the replay of a possible game-winning shot that was called back as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Jake Crandall/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Ultimately, officials ruled that the shot had not gone off in time, ending the Tigers’ celebration and prompting one from Texas A&M.

The officials quickly made themselves public enemy number one and were showered with debris from fans on their way off the court. At least one referee needed his head to be covered.

One fan sitting courtside even turned his back and threw his drink over his shoulder aimed at an official.

“They didn’t say a word. They just said it was no good and ran off the floor. I probably wouldn’t want to talk to me in that moment, anyway,” Auburn head coach Steven Pearl, who took over for his dad, Bruce this season, said after the game. “So, I get why they’d run away from me. Just from the angles that I saw, it looked like it was off his fingers. But that was just, I don’t have all the same angles they have.”

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Texas A&M Aggies players celebrate victory as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Jake Crandall/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

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It is now six losses in their last 10 games for the Tigers after starting 5-1. They lost in the Final Four last year to Florida, who won the national championship over Houston.

Auburn (9-6, 0-2) led 47-37 at halftime and extended the margin to 61-45 with 12:29 remaining.

KeShawn Murphy of the Auburn Tigers reacts after officials ruled that his last-second shot did not beat the shot clock to win the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena on Jan. 6, 2026 in Auburn, Alabama. (Stew Milne/Getty Images)

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Texas A&M answered with a steady run fueled by outside shooting, taking its first lead at 8:42 when Pop Isaacs buried a 3-pointer. The Aggies followed with back-to-back triples from Isaacs to open a five-point cushion that they would not relinquish, by the skin of their teeth.

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Former NFL player Jordan Shipley is in critical condition after accident on his ranch

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Former NFL player Jordan Shipley is in critical condition after accident on his ranch

Two-time All-American wide receiver and prominent Outdoors Channel host Jordan Shipley is in critical condition after an accident on his ranch in Texas, his family said in a statement.

Shipley, 40, was described as stable after remaining hospitalized Tuesday night in Austin. The statement said a machine that he was operating near his hometown of Burnet caught fire. The former Texas great suffered “severe burns on his body.”

Shipley abruptly retired in 2012 after three NFL seasons primarily because of persistent concussion issues and chronic knee problems. He quickly transitioned to television shows that showcased his passion for deer hunting, co-hosting “The Bucks of Tecomate” and “Tecomate Whitetail Nation.”

“It was not hard at all,” Shipley said at the time of retiring at 27. “Only because I never saw myself as a football player first. Don’t get me wrong, I worked my tail off for football and I loved it but never saw that as my whole identity because I had such a big background in outdoors. Really, with this opportunity I had I was actually pretty excited about moving forward.”

Although he enjoyed a strong rookie season with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2010 with 52 receptions for 600 yards and three touchdowns, he is best remembered as a record-setting player at Texas.

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Shipley starred as a receiver and a kick returner from 2006 to 2009, setting program single-season records in 2009 with 116 receptions and 1,489 yards. He also remains the career leader for receptions with 248 and ranks second in career receiving yards with 3,191, behind Roy Williams. Shipley also returned four punts or kickoffs for touchdowns.

After being drafted in the third round by the Bengals, he became one of the most popular players with Cincinnati fans, and his No. 11 jersey was worn by thousands. After a debilitating knee injury early in the 2011 season, he was never the same player, and he had short stints with Tampa Bay and Jacksonville before retiring.

According to his family, Jordan was operating a machine at his ranch when it caught fire. He managed to free himself from the machine, but “not before sustaining severe burns on his body in the process.” Jordan was airlifted to the hospital in Austin.

“He was able to get to one of his workers on the ranch, who drove him to a local hospital. He was then care-flighted to Austin, where he remains in critical but stable condition,” the statement said.

Shipley’s younger brother, former Texas wide receiver Jaxon Shipley, 33, asked for prayers in a statement on Instagram: “Please pray for full healing and no infections or other issues on his road to recovery. I don’t want to get into all the details, other than his life was spared today by the grace of God and the sheer will to live. I believe prayer is effective so I’m asking anyone and everyone to lift Jordan up in prayer.”

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Tom Izzo explodes on former Michigan State player in wild scene: ‘What the f— are you doing?’

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Tom Izzo explodes on former Michigan State player in wild scene: ‘What the f— are you doing?’

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Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo has been known to get visibly angry with his players over his years in East Lansing, but what happened Monday night against USC was different.

Izzo let loose his frustration on a former player.

During the Spartans’ blowout over the Trojans, 80-51, Izzo was spotted unloading on former Michigan State center Paul Davis, who played for the team from 2002-06, after he caused a disturbance in the stands.

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Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts to a call during a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena Jan. 2, 2026, in Lincoln, Neb. (Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

Referees pointed out Davis, who was a spectator, from his courtside seat after he was among many in the building who disagreed with a call in the second half. Davis stood up and shouted at referee Jeffrey Anderson.

Anderson responded with a loud whistle, stopping play and pointing at Davis. Then, Anderson went over to Izzo to explain what happened, and the 70-year-old coach went ballistic.

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First, he was motioning toward Davis, and it was clear he asked his former center, “What the f— are you doing?”

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Davis was met by someone asking him to leave his seat, and that’s when Izzo went nuts. He shouted “Get out of here!” at Davis, who appeared to gesture toward Izzo, perhaps in apology for disturbing the game.

Izzo was asked about Davis’ ejection after the game.

“What he said, he should never say anywhere in the world,” Izzo responded when asked what happened. “That ticked me off. So, just because it’s 25, 20 years later, I’m going to have to call him tomorrow and tell him what I thought of it. And you know what he’ll say? ‘I screwed up, coach. I’m sorry.’”

Izzo quickly clarified that what Davis said “wasn’t something racial” and “it wasn’t something sexual.”

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo protests a call that benefited the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center Dec. 2, 2025. (Dale Young/Imagn Images)

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“It was just the wrong thing to say, and I’ll leave it at that.”

Davis later met with reporters Tuesday, apologizing for his actions.

“I’m not up here to make any excuses. I’m up here to take accountability, to own it,” Davis said. It was a mistake that will never happen again. It was a mistake that’s not me, but, unfortunately, last night it was.”

Izzo said Davis was one of his “favorite guys” during his time playing for the Spartans. He had a breakout sophomore campaign with 15.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and two assists per game in 30 starts for Izzo during the 2003-04 season.

Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts during a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena Jan. 2, 2026, in Lincoln, Neb.  (Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

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In his senior year, Davis averaged 17.5 points, a career-high, in 33 games.

He was taken in the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. Davis played just four seasons in the league, his final one with the Washington Wizards.

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