Arizona
Jordan Burks’ clutch plays enable UCF to edge Arizona State
January 28 – Jordan Burks hit a go-ahead 3-pointer and forced a turnover in the final 34 seconds as UCF rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to pull off a 79-76 Big 12 win over Arizona State on Tuesday night in Orlando, Fla.
Riley Kugel paced the Knights (16-4, 4-3 Big 12) with 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Burks added 15 points and three steals while Jamichael Stillwell posted 14 points.
Maurice Odum produced 18 points and six assists for the Sun Devils (11-10, 2-6), who never trailed in the second half until 1:11 to go. Anthony Johnson added 12 points and Bryce Ford had 11.
UCF took its first lead of the second half on Carmelo Pacheco’s 3-pointer with 1:11 to go. Odum answered with a pair of free throws to regain a 1-point edge.
Burks then took a diagonal feed from Kugel and canned the wide-open 3-pointer for a 78-76 lead. After Burks swiped an Odum pass, Themus Fulks tacked on a free throw. Ford’s deep ball at the buzzer was errant to give the Knights the comeback victory.
UCF shot 45% from the floor and held a 40-28 advantage in rebounding. The Sun Devils hit 47% from the field and made 10 of 23 (43%) from deep.
UCF sprinted to a 9-2 lead behind Bol’s layup and dunk, but the Sun Devils battled back and grabbed a 12-11 lead on Johnson’s 27-footer three minutes later.
Nearing the 10-minute mark, Kugel faked a defender, drove to his right and threw down a vicious dunk for a 16-14 lead to bring the UCF crowd to life as part of a 7-0 run.
Allen Mukeba’s tomahawk dunk on a 3-point play put the Sun Devils up 24-22 at the 6:13 mark. Odom’s deep ball at 5:34 gave the visitors their largest lead at 27-22 on the way to a 39-35 lead at the break.
The second half was played tightly over the first eight minutes, with the Sun Devils holding a slim lead that extended to five, 52-47, on Andrija Grbovic’s trey at 11:22.
Grbovic stroked another 3-pointer and Noah Meeusen converted three free throws. Odum’s 3-pointer with 8:26 capped a 9-0 run that pushed the lead to 61-51.
With 6:09 remaining, the lead grew to 70-58 on Massamba Diop’s two freebies — Arizona State’s largest advantage — but the Knights mounted a charge and tied it with 2:39 left on Fulks’ pair of free throws that wrapped an 11-0 run.
–Field Level Media
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Cardinals’ Burch shares what he learned as a rookie in 2025
Arizona Cardinals second-year player Jordan Burch says his defensive line teammates have formed a bond heading into the 2026 NFL season.
Last year in early July, Cardinals edge rusher Jordan Burch was a rookie third-round draft pick out of Oregon who was looking forward to his first NFL training camp and eventual first season.
That rookie year is behind him now, and Burch has identified what he needs to improve on heading into his second season. He said he now knows what to expect and look for, and after talking with outside linebackers coach Matt Feeney, Burch built an offseason plan with which he was comfortable.
“I don’t think anything was like a surprise,” Burch said on Thursday, July 9, at the Cardinals’ Tempe headquarters. “I kind of know what to prep for, so this offseason I can look at my old plays, and then I can call my coach and tell him, from last year to this year, what does he want to see on the field.”
Burch seeks to improve his pass rush. He played in all 17 games last season and had five solo tackles with a sack, and also broke up three passes.
Much of his position was dropping into pass coverage, so Burch looks to recognize pass catchers’ routes better in 2026. He gets help from veteran Josh Sweat, who is there to answer questions about the position they share.
“Every week, every game going against somebody good,” Burch said about takeaways from last season. “The talent of the quarterbacks. We’re playing the Rams, how quickly they get the ball out.”
Burch looks forward to building a stronger bond with his teammates, having invited some of them for dinner or to watch TV. He said he was happy with his progress as a player throughout last season.
The Cardinals open training camp Wednesday, July 22, at State Farm Stadium. It’s a week earlier than most teams because Arizona plays the Carolina Panthers in the Aug. 6 Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.
Cardinals legend Larry Fitzgerald will be among those inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Aug. 8.
A new study has ranked Arizona as one of the worst states to move to for two years in a row, largely due to what it calls a poor quality of life.
The study conducted by Consumer Affairs analyzed the best states to move to in the United States, putting Arizona at the bottom of the list.
Before Arizonans get too defensive about the Grand Canyon State, Consumer Affairs used factors such as affordability, safety, economic strength and education to measure each state, leaving out factors like entertainment, retirement benefits and other considerations that may be important to people living here.
Popular states such as California and New York also landed at the bottom of the list due to their lack of affordability, even though they both have some of the best health care and education in the nation, Consumer Affairs noted.
Here’s why the study says you shouldn’t move to Arizona. Do you agree?
Why you shouldn’t move to Arizona
Arizona ranked No. 10 out of the worst states to move to, scoring especially poorly in quality of life.
Quality of life was measured by the state’s Social Progress Index, average air quality, weather, environmental protection and number of national parks. Due to Arizona’s extreme summers and Phoenix’s consistently poor air quality, it’s easy to see why Arizona ranked No. 44 in quality of life out of 50 states, even though the Grand Canyon is one of the most popular national parks in the nation.
However, Arizona also ranked poorly in other categories, sitting at No. 42 in health care and education, No. 41 in safety and No. 34 in affordability out of 50 states.
There was one category Arizona did impressively well in, ranking No. 5 in economic strength even as one of the youngest states in the country. Still, Arizona’s economic power wasn’t enough to boost its ranking.
Top 10 worst states to move to
Arizona wasn’t alone; some of the biggest states in the country were also considered the worst states to move to in 2026.
- New Mexico
- Louisiana
- California
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Nevada
- Alaska
- Mississippi
- Oregon
- Arizona
Top 10 best states to move to
- Utah
- New Hampshire
- Idaho
- Minnesota
- Massachusetts
- Maine
- North Dakota
- Pennsylvania
- Iowa
- South Dakota
PHOENIX — Arizona’s ACA marketplace enrollment fell from 363,000 to just over 255,000 in a single year — a nearly 30% decline and the third-largest annual drop in the country.
Rising premiums and expired tax credits are driving the trend, with the average benchmark plan premium in Arizona now at $532 — up 30% from 2025.
In the player above, ABC15 Data Analyst Garrett Archer takes a look inside the numbers on how healthcare premiums are impacting health insurance enrollment.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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