Men’s Basketball

March 22, 2025

Auburn’s Denver Jones puts Creighton to sleep with and-one dagger

March 22, 2025

Denver Jones sealed 1-seed Auburn’s win over Creighton with a tough finish plus the foul, hitting the ‘night-night’ celebration.

The NFL has taken notice of the Denver Broncos. After defying the odds last season, winning 10 games on the way to a playoff berth, the Broncos followed that up by making several splash free-agent signings in March.

Relative to the NFL’s power rankings around the web, the Broncos have universally climbed. In NFL.com’s post-free agency power rankings, the Broncos climbed just one spot from where they were at season’s end to No. 12. But in Pro Football Focus‘ new NFL power rankings, Denver has cracked the top-10 to check in at No. 8.

“Backed by an exceptional defense that ranked second in EPA allowed per play in 2024, Denver was expected to prioritize offensive upgrades in free agency. Instead, they doubled down on their defensive strength, adding high-upside pieces in Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw. Both spent much of 2024 dealing with injuries, but given the unit’s overall strength, the potential reward outweighs the risk.

“While the addition of Evan Engram provides a boost, the offense is still lacking playmakers. Bo Nix showed promise in his first year, but his continued development could be hindered without more weapons to support him,” Mason Cameron wrote.

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The Broncos have been scouting and meeting with many of the 2025 NFL draft class’ top prospects at tight end and running back. Engram gives Denver a tight end and big slot/joker weapon, but he’s on the wrong side of 30, so the team would be remiss to pass over this incredibly deep class at the position. It wouldn’t surprise me if they drafted two tight ends.

That being said, what Denver’s offense still sorely lacks is a viable running back. The Broncos would be setting up Nix for a sophomore slump if Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime were to headline the running back attack in 2025, so it’s imperative that a starting-caliber option (or two, again) is procured in the draft.

At running back, names like Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton, Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, and Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson have been heavily linked to the Broncos. At tight end, it’s a question of naming which guys haven’t met with or been linked to Denver.

The tight end headliners are Penn State’s Tyler Warren and Michigan’s Colston Loveland. But just beyond them are some absolute studs who check at least one ‘joker’ trait, like Miami’s Elijah Arroyo, Oregon’s Terrance Ferguson, LSU’s Mason Taylor, Texas’ Gunnar Helm, and Bowling Green’s Harold Fannin Jr.

The more the Broncos are able to add to the arsenal around Nix, the higher this team’s outlook will climb. The Broncos already have one of the NFL’s best young quarterbacks and offensive lines. Now it’s about weaponry.

It might sound counterintuitive, but the Broncos did build around Nix by bolstering the defense with two top-tier free-agent signings. However, both Hufanga and Greenlaw fill a roster need at safety and linebacker, respectively.

The Broncos let starting linebacker Cody Barton walk in free agency, and they did it for a reason; he faltered down the stretch when the stakes began to rise. With Barton gone, a big hole on the defense opened up and while Drew Sanders was always going to be the fall-back option, the Broncos were able to go with Plan A in Greenlaw.

Hufanga arrives in a similar situation, except, the guy he’s replacing in the starting lineup is still on the roster. The Broncos gave P.J. Locke a two-year extension a year ago, but after thriving as the No. 3 safety in 2023, he failed to put a stranglehold on the starting job in 2024 with very leaky coverage and inconsistent tackling.

Not only does Hufanga provide an infusion of talent, but he relegates Locke back to a role that plays to his strengths as the No. 3 guy. Alongside fellow starter Brandon Jones, Hufanga gives Denver a much higher defensive ceiling than what it had in Locke.

The caveat with both Greenlaw and Hufanga is health, but that goes without saying. On the other side of the ball, Engram’s arrival comes in the spirit of building the nest around Nix, and it won’t be the last move in that effort.

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The Nuggets got deep fried on Friday in Portland.

Here are three takeaways from Denver’s 128-109 loss at Moda Center:

1. That looked a lot like an effort loss. A Portland team playing without its best big men grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and turned those extra possessions into a 26-10 advantage in second chance points. All five of Portland’s starters grabbed multiple offensive rebounds, while Duop Reath came off the bench and grabbed a team-high four offensive rebounds. Hunter Tyson, who only played the final 4 minutes and 19 seconds, led Denver with three offensive rebounds. Four Trail Blazers grabbed six or more rebounds, while Michael Porter Jr., Christian Braun and Peyton Watson led Denver with five boards apiece.

2. Turnovers were another big issue for the Nuggets, and no player had more issues protecting the ball than Russell Westbrook. The veteran guard started with Nikola Jokic again out of the lineup and committed nine of Denver’s 21 turnovers. Those giveaways led to 25 more Portland points. No other Denver player committed more than three turnovers. Westbrook is at his best when he toes the edge between ultra-aggressive and out of control. There were bright spots, as Westbrook recorded 18 points on 13 shots with four rebounds, four assists and three steals, but the turnovers undid all of that.

3. It was a pretty pedestrian return to the rotation for Jamal Murray. He managed 10 points on as many shots in 35 minutes on the court. On a night Jokic watched the action from the bench in a Prada sweater, Murray had more than enough space to be more aggressive. Instead, Denver’s second-leading scorer took fewer shots than Westbrook (13) and Watson (11), while Porter and Gordon also took 10 shots. Murray grabbed four rebounds, dished out a couple of assists and recorded a couple of steals to supplement his stat line, but the Nuggets needed a more lethal scoring punch in Portland.

TRAIL BLAZERS 128, NUGGETS 109

What happened: The second quarter started in a 30-30 tie. Denver led 59-54 at halftime, but Portland took a six-point lead to the fourth quarter and pulled away in the fourth to drop Denver to 44-27 on the season.

What went right: Aaron Gordon continued to score efficiently since returning from injury. Denver’s starting center with Nikola Jokic out of the lineup for a third consecutive game led the team with 23 points on 10 shots from the field. He also went 10 for 12 on free throws with four assists and three rebounds in 32 minutes of playing time. He’s led the Nuggets in scoring the last three games.

What went wrong: Sure, the Nuggets were without Jokic, but Portland won despite missing Deandre Ayton, Donovan Clingan, Jerami Grant and Anfernee Simons. That wasn’t an issue for Deni Avdija, who dropped 36 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, three steals and a block in the win.

Highlight of the night: Peyton Watson broke a 40-40 tie in impressive fashion early in the second quarter. Watson used a hesitation move to beat Duop Reath down the baseline and took off for a reverse dunk. The only thing that wasn’t smooth was the landing. Watson looked uncomfortable running back down the court but didn’t come out of the game.

Up next: The Nuggets conclude their four-game road trip with a Sunday matinee in Houston.