Virginia
Cryer scores 20, No. 3 Houston stays unbeaten with 89-55 win over West Virginia
HOUSTON (AP) — L.J. Cryer scored 20 points, Damian Dunn added 14 points and No. 3 Houston improved to 14-0 with an 89-55 win over West Virginia in the Cougars’ inaugural Big 12 contest on Saturday.
Cryer scored 16 points in the first half on 6-of-7 shooting, including four 3-pointers, as Houston shot 58% as a team and took a 48-22 lead into halftime. Cryer has scored at least 20 points in five games this season.
“We focused on defense, and I felt like we were going to get out into transition and get easier shots,” Cryer said. “Just being locked in on defense will make you dialed in on offense. I felt like because I was defensive focused today that’s why the ball was going in.”
Ja’Vier Francis had 13 points and five rebounds, and Jamal Shead had eight points and 11 assists for Houston, which shot 53% overall, including 9 of 18 on 3-pointers.
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said the first Big 12 conference game didn’t feel any different to him.
“We wanted to win for sure, and there’s an excitement about playing our first conference game,” Sampson said. “Now we go play our second one. I don’t spend a lot of time with the hoopla stuff.”
Houston extended its home winning streak to 14 games. The Cougars improved to 14-0 for the third time in school history, joining the 1967-68 and 2018-19 teams.
The Cougars forced 12 turnovers and turned them into 14 points. Houston also had a 48-20 advantage in points in the paint.
“We had a really good plan against their zone,” Sampson said. “We knew exactly how we wanted to attack their man-to-man (defense), and then, when they went zone, we just flowed right into what we had worked on. Our kids are unselfish. Everybody understands their role, buys into it and accepts it. Our defense got us going early, and we fed off that.”
Patrick Suemnick had 12 points and five rebounds and Noah Farrakhan added nine points for West Virginia (5-9, 0-1 Big 12). The Mountaineers shot 32% and were 4 of 23 on 3-pointers.
RaeQuan Battle, who had led the Mountaineers with 27 points per game, finished with four points on 1-of-9 shooting.
“That was an impressive performance defensively,” West Virginia interim coach Josh Eilert said of Houston. “I thought we could maybe create some advantages in the game play, but they did a masterful job defensively in their game plan in terms of what they did to us and what they took us out of.”
BIG PICTURE
West Virginia: The 22 first half points were the fewest points the Mountaineers have scored in a first half this season and tied for the fewest points they have scored in any half this season.
Houston: J’Wan Roberts returned after missing the last game Dec. 30 against Penn with a knee injury. He scored nine points. … Entering Saturday, Houston joined No. 19 James Madison and No. 22 Mississippi as the only remaining undefeated teams.
UP NEXT
West Virginia: Hosts Kansas State on Tuesday.
Houston: Travels to Iowa State on Tuesday.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Virginia
Virginia Tech fans react to James Franklin hire
BLACKBURG, Va. (WDBJ) – The James Franklin era at Virginia Tech has begun, and expectations couldn’t be higher.
“VT football is saved. I’m excited,“ a Virginia Tech fan said.
“I mean, I think he’s gonna bring a lot to the future,” said another.
“We are so back! I was afraid it’s gonna be a long four years here. Not anymore. It’s gonna be great.”
At Penn State, Franklin led the Nittany Lions to 104 wins, a 2016 Big Ten Championship, and a 2024 College Football Playoff semi-finals appearance.
All of those accomplishments are injecting hope into Virginia Tech fans who have only seen one 10 win season since legendary coach Frank Beamer retired after the 2015 season.
“I’m hoping that he just brings everything that he had once before brings us a winning program gets us what we want maybe a natty,” Freshman Colin Hebeo said.
Franklin replaces Brent Pry who was his defensive coordinator at Penn State from 2016 until he left to become the Hokies head coach in 2022.
After starting the season 0-3, Pry was relieved of his duties, now that Franklin is taking over, fans expect him to turn back the clock to when Virginia Tech was a national powerhouse.
“I want him to bring back what the old Virginia Tech football is like, That’s just straight hype and then like everybody is always got the energy going and we’re winning games make crazy plays, I just want to see that happen again,” Freshman JD Kwitkwoksi said.
Franklin is the most high profile coach the Hokies have had since Frank Beamer, and fans are hoping the big name will bring respect to a team who used to dominate the college world.
“I like it cause it’ll at least make us like not a laughingstock Like we’re not gonna we’re not just gonna go into every game thing. We’re gonna lose like we actually have a chance now,” Freshman Jake Woodworth said.
Franklin will have the backing of the university as the board of visitors approved $229.2 million to the university’s athletic funding over the next four years.
Copyright 2025 WDBJ. All rights reserved.
Virginia
After years of vetoes, Virginia poised to launch adult-use cannabis market
Virginia
30 notes to remember from FSU football’s 34-14 victory against Virginia Tech
The Florida State Seminoles recorded their second ACC victory of the season in the middle of November. On Saturday night, FSU took down Virginia Tech, 34-14.
The Seminoles outscored the Hokies 24-7 in the second half, overcoming a 7-3 deficit in the second quarter to win by 20 points.
READ MORE: FSU football ends home slate on high note with 34-14 win over Virginia Tech
Here are 30 notes surrounding various data-points from the game.
Stats To Remember From FSU’s Win Over Virginia Tech
- Florida State won its 600th game in program history Saturday, beating Virginia Tech 34-14 in the home finale at Doak Campbell Stadium. Among schools with 600 all-time wins, FSU (79 seasons) and Appalachian State (96) are the only schools to play fewer than 100 seasons.
- Head coach Mike Norvell improved to 27-9 in November as a head coach, including a 14-5 mark at home. FSU is now 22-2 under Norvell when allowing fewer than 20 points, with a 5-0 record in 2025.
- The Noles improved to 25-13-1 all-time against the Hokies, with a 15-6 mark at Doak.
- Wide receiver Duce Robinson led Florida State with 6 catches for 134 yards and a 50-yard touchdown. Robinson’s five 120-yard receiving games are tied for the national lead and are the most for a Seminole in a season since 2014 (Rashad Greene, five).
- Robinson’s 947 receiving yards rank 18th in FSU single-season history and are the most for a Nole since 2019.
- Robinson’s touchdown was Florida State’s seventh of the season of at least 50 yards.
- Robinson’s catch was his third of at least 50 yards in 2025, 2nd-most in the ACC behind teammate Micahi Danzy’s four. Robinson leads the ACC with 10 30-yard catches.
- Robinson also broke up a pass on Virginia Tech’s hail mary to end the first half. He previously had an interception on a hail mary vs. Penn State while with Southern Cal in 2024.
- Florida State has had a 100-yard receiver in five consecutive games, the Noles longest streak since 2013-14 (five games).
- Quarterback Tommy Castellanos was 12-for-24 for 189 yards and three total touchdowns – one passing and two rushing. His touchdown pass to Robinson was his eighth pass of 50+ yards, most in the ACC and top-5 nationally.
- Castellanos’ eight rushing touchdowns are tied for the team lead and a new FSU’s singleseason record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (Jordan Travis had seven rushing touchdowns each season from 2020-23).
- Castellanos’ three total touchdowns tie his most in a game this season.
- Castellanos will enter the NC State game with 6,006 career passing yards.
- True freshman Mandrell Desir forced a fumble on a 4-yard sack in the third quarter, the first forced fumble of his career. Linebacker Blake Nichelson fell on the ball, his first career fumble recovery and FSU’s second of the season.
- Nichelson added a 3-yard tackle for loss on fourth down in the fourth quarter.
- Desir later teamed up with Omar Graham Jr. for a tackle on 4th down, forcing a turnover on downs. Desir finished with three tackles in the game, while Graham had five tackles and now has 102 for his career.
- Desir leads FSU with 5.0 sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss in 2025. His 5.0 sacks are the most for an FSU true freshman since current New York Giant Brian Burns had 9.5 in 2016; Desir’s 5.0 sacks are the 2nd-most for an FSU true freshman since 2005.
- Safety Ashlynd Barker had five tackles with 1.0 tackles for loss and ranks second on the team with 5.0 TFL for the year.
- Tight end Randy Pittman Jr. rushed for a 1-yard touchdown in the third quarter, his third rushing touchdown of the season. Pittman’s three rushing TDs in a season are the most for a tight end in 2025 and most for an ACC tight end since 2019.
- Pittman’s touchdown followed Nichelson’s fumble recovery; FSU has scored points after 11 of 14 takeaways in 2025, with eight touchdowns.
- Senior cornerback Jerry Wilson’s interception on Virginia Tech’s third play was his 3rd of the season and 8th of his career.
- Wilson’s interception was FSU’s 11th interception of the season and was FSU’s first takeaway on an opening drive since an interception vs. Boston College in 2022.
- Wilson added a 5-yard tackle for loss on 3rd-and-2 on the Hokies’ next drive, his first of the season. Wilson’s TFL forced a Virginia Tech field goal try from 54 yards that was missed short.
- Earl Little Jr. had six tackles and one pass breakup, the second PBU of his career.
- Redshirt senior Stefon Thompson forced a fumble, the fifth of his career and his first since 2023.
- Jaylin Lucas returned consecutive kickoffs for 37 and 39 yards in the second half, FSU’s two longest kickoff returns of the year and Lucas’ longest as a Seminole. Offensively, Lucas added 13 yards on two catches and 10 yards on two runs.
- Kicker Jake Weinberg connected on two field goals to tie a career high. He was 4-for-4 on point-after tries, extending FSU’s streak to 159 straight made PAT.
- Florida State did not punt, the Noles third game without a punt in 2025. Entering the season, FSU did not punt in only four games in school history.
- The three games without a punt are the most in the country this year and match the most in a season since 2007.
- In a pregame ceremony, Florida State recognized 18 seniors: LS Mason Arnold, WR Gavin Blackwell, DB Shyheim Brown, QB Tommy Castellanos, TE Markeston Douglas, OL Gunnar Hansen, LB Elijah Herring, RB Caziah Holmes, DL Darrell Jackson Jr, DL Jaden Jones, OL Richie Leonard IV, OL Adrian Medley, OL Luke Petitbon, OL Micah Pettus, LB Stefon Thompson, WR Squirrel White, RB Roydell Williams and DB Jerry Wilson.
READ MORE: Mike Norvell sickened by FSU football’s loss to Clemson: ‘that comes down to all of us’
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