AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Kyla Oldacre had a career-best 18 rebounds along with five blocks and 10 points and No. 4 Texas routed Texas A&M 80-35 on Sunday to end a a two-game losing streak.

Texas (19-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) pulled away for its 37th straight home winby outscoring A&M 23-3 in the third quarter. The Aggies (8-6, 1-4) made their only basket from the field with 10 seconds remaining after missing their first 13 shots of the quarter and committing seven turnovers. Rori Harmon scored 10 points in the quarter.

Freshman Aaliyah Crump, returning after missing 15 games with a foot injury, led the Longhorns with 12 points to go with six rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes as a sub. Crump, one of the top-rated recruits in the country, averaged 13.2 points in five games as a starter before the injury.

Madison Booker had 10 points, six assists and four of the Longhorns’ 14 steals. Harmon made two steals and needs seven to break the Longhorns’ career record set by Linda Waggoner in 1980. Harmon, a senior, already set the career assists mark at Texas this season.

Janae Kent scored 16 points for the Aggies, who shot just 17% and committed 25 turnovers against the Longhorns’ pressure defense, full court and half. Texas outscored A&M 48-10 in the paint.

The Longhorns did show a deficiency. They missed 17 of 18 3-pointers after hitting just 1 of 9 in a 68-65 loss at No. 2 South Carolina on Thursday night.

Texas led 34-24 after an inefficient first half for both teams. The Longhorns shot 37.5%, missing on all 10 of their 3-point attempts. The Aggies shot 26% and committed 14 turnovers, eight of them steals by Texas.

Up next

Texas A&M: Hosts No. 6 LSU on Thursday night.

Texas: At Arkansas on Sunday.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gabriela Jaquez scored 22 points, and No. 3 UCLA pulled away in a dominant third quarter to beat 12th-ranked Maryland 97-67 on Sunday.

The Bruins (17-1, 7-0 Big Ten) won their 11th in a row since their only loss to then-No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26. During that stretch, they’ve won by a whopping 33.7-point margin, with their only close game being a seven-point win at then-No. 19 Ohio State.

Oluchi Okananwa led the Terrapins with 25 points and Saylor Poffenbarger added 15. Maryland (17-3, 5-3) split its trip to Los Angeles, winning by seven points at USC on Thursday.

The Bruins stretched a 12-point halftime lead into a 73-47 advantage in the third, outscoring the Terps 26-10. After making five 3-pointers in the second quarter, the Bruins had two in the third. They used scoring runs of 10-4 and 14-4 while limiting the Terps to just three field goals.

UCLA had its third-best 3-point shooting performance of the season, making 13 of 23 for 56%. Charlisse Leger-Walker and Gianna Kneepkens had four each.

Leger-Walker had 17 points and nine rebounds and Kneepkens added 16 points despite four fouls. Lauren Betts finished with 11 points and five rebounds after resting in the fourth. She jumped off the bench and raised her arms when younger sister Sienna hit a 3-pointer.

Up next

Maryland: Hosts No. 11 Iowa on Thursday in the opener of a three-game homestand.

UCLA: Hosts Purdue on Wednesday.

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Houston Rockets vs. New Orleans Pelicans

January 18, 2026

Location: Toyota Center — Houston, Texas

TV: Space City Home Network

Radio:KBME Sports Talk 790

Online: Rockets App, SCHN+

Time: 6pm CST

Probable Starting Lineups

Rockets: Amen Thompson, Josh Okogie, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun

Pelicans: Jeremiah Fears, Trey Murphy III, Saddiq Bey, Zion Williamson, Derik Queen

Unlike their last back-to-back, this one could actually have matchups factored into decisions here.

The Sixers released their injury report ahead of their home contest against the Indiana Pacers Monday. Nothing on it is too shocking with Joel Embiid and Paul George both listed as questionable with left knee injury management.

Despite it being a downgrade, both have been listed as probable for the past several games, this just boils down to this Pacers matchup being the front end of a back-to-back as they’re set to take on the Phoenix Suns Tuesday at home as well.

The two of them have both played in nine of Philly’s last 10 games, the only one missed also being a back-to-back last week in Toronto. Both of those legs were against the Raptors, so it didn’t really matter which one of the two they sat out. With the Suns being a notably tougher matchup than the 10-win Pacers, there’s actually a decision to make there if George and Embiid can only be available for one of those games.

Neither of the two have played both games of a back-to-back this season, but it’s worth noting that George was a very late scratch in that first game against the Raptors. Perhaps playing in both legs may be something he’s looking to do soon.

After being assigned to the G-League over the weekend, Jared McCain is listed as doubtful. Funnily enough, it was the Pacers G-League affiliate, the Noblesville Bloom, McCain played against in his first game with the Blue Coats since being sent down again. He didn’t exactly light the world on fire either, going for 15 points on 18 shots in six turnovers playing 30 minutes in a Coats loss.

The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder have been by far the most impressive team this season. Their +14 net rating is over five points better than their closest competitor. It’s why they started the season on a 70-win pace.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, on the other hand, have been one of the most disappointing teams this season. They’ve taken a noticeable step back from where they were last year, as they’ve already surpassed their loss total for all of last season.

Despite how differently things have gone for both the Cavs and Thunder, they enter this game playing at a pretty similar level.

Oklahoma City has cooled off dramatically in recent weeks. They’ve lost three of their last eight and dropped their previous outing to the Miami Heat. Their offense has struggled recently, as they have the 14th-ranked offense over the past two weeks.

The Cavs are heating up. They’ve won three out of four with impressive wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves and two straight good showings against the Philadelphia 76ers. Cleveland’s offense is also coming into form as they’ve posted the fourth-best offensive rating over the last two weeks (120.4). Things are starting to look up.

This game should provide a good measuring stick for where the Cavs are right now, even though both will be without key starters. The Thunder will be without Jalen Williams, and the Cavs will be without Darius Garland.

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (24-19) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (35-8)

Where: Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH

When: Monday, Jan. 19 at 2:30 PM

TV: NBC, Peacock

Point spread: Thunder -6.5

Cavs injury report: Darius Garland – OUT (toe), Sam Merrill – OUT (hand), Dean Wade – PROBABLE (knee), Max Strus – OUT (foot), Chris Livingston – OUT (G League), Luke Travers – OUT (G League)

Thunder injury report: Jalen Williams – OUT (hamstring), Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (right soleus), Thomas Sorber – OUT (ACL), Nikola Topic – OUT (surgical recovery), Brooks Barnhizer – DOUBTFUL (G League)

Cavs expectedstarting lineup: Craig Porter Jr., Donovan Mitchell, Jaylon Tyson, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Thunder expected starting lineup: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Lu Dort, Jaylin Williams, Chet Holmgren

Previous matchup: The Thunder defeated the Cavs by 20 a year ago.

Here’s a look at both teams’ impact stats via Cleaning the Glass.

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Kharyssa Richardson scored a career-high 23 points, Favour Nwaedozi had 21 rebounds and Mississippi State took advantage of No. 7 Kentucky’s shooting woes to beat the Wildcats 71-59 on Sunday.

Kentucky shot 32% from the field, making only 5 of 29 3-point tries.

Down 33-30 at the half, the Bulldogs (15-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) outscored the Wildcats (17-3, 4-2) 18-11 in the third quarter and pulled away tio snap a four-game losing streak. Mississippi State had a 15-2 run, highlighted by two 3-pointers from Traynna Crisp and a five-point spurt from Richardson.

Nwaedozi led Mississippi State to a 52-35 rebounding edge and had 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Richardson had seven rebounds. Crisp had 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range.

Tonie Morgan led Kentucky with 15 points and seven assists. Asia Boone and Amiela Hassett had 11 points each, and Clara Strack had 10 points and 15 rebounds. Strack was 3 of 16 from the field.

Up next

Kentucky: At Tennessee on Thursday night.

Mississippi State: At Alabama on Saturday.

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CHAMPAGNE, Ill. (AP) — Berry Wallace scored a career-high 29 points, 12 in the fourth quarter, and No. 25 Illinois held off a fourth-quarter rally to defeat Northwestern 74-71 on Sunday.

Illinois took the lead for good with 2 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter and led 58-51 heading to the fourth. Although Illinois remained in front, Northwestern cut it to one on a 3-pointer by Xamiya Walton with seven minutes to go and again on a layup by Casey Harter with 2:15 remaining.

At that point, Wallace scored in the paint for a 73-70 lead, then Tayla Thomas hit one free throw to get Northwestern within 73-71. Both teams came up empty on their next two possessions before Cearah Parchment made a free throw for a 74-71 lead with nine seconds left. Northwestern’s Caroline Lau missed a potential tying 3-pointer with one second left.

Parchment had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the fourth double-double of her freshman season. Aaliyah Guyton had 13 points for the Illini (15-4, 5-3 Big Ten).

Grace Sullivan scored 21 points, Walton 19, Harter 13 and Lau 12 for Northwestern (8-11, 2-6). The rest of the Wildcats managed six points — all by Thomas.

There were four ties and seven lead changes in the first half. Illinois scored the last 12 points of the second quarter to erase a five-point deficit and the Illini led 40-33 at halftime.

Illinois outscored the Wildcats 11-2 in a 3 1/2-minute stretch of the third quarter, building a 58-43 lead. Three-pointers by Harter and Walton helped Northwestern get within 58-51 heading to the fourth.

There were only 13 turnovers in the game, five by Northwestern and eight by Illinois.

Illinois was won seven straight in the series after losing the previous 14.

Up next

Illinois: The Illini play Saturday at No. 24 Nebraska.

Northwestern: The Wildcats host No. 3 UCLA next Sunday.

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For the last two months, there has been a song looping in my head whenever Jalen Green comes up. Richard Marx, softly crooning in the background, whispering a promise into the void.

Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you

I have been right here waiting. And I hope my heart don’t break. It feels painfully appropriate at this point, equal parts hope, patience, and checking the injury report daily.

We know we are getting close. Suns head coach Jordan Ott said yesterday that Jalen Green got in another five-on-five run after morning shootaround. “Everything seemed to be good,” Coach Ott stated. “So we’ll see. Still going in the right direction.”

That is the kind of update that makes you sit up a little straighter. Not fireworks. Not a declaration. But enough to tell you the wheels are turning, and the return is no longer theoretical.

So…will Green suit up in Brooklyn on Monday night? Questionable.

The last time we saw him was on November 8 against the Clippers. He made it 6:48 into that game, but was then gone in the first quarter after re-aggravating the hamstring that already cost him the first 8 games of the season. It felt cruel. It also felt very Suns.

Before that night, Green had played in 192 consecutive games, playoffs included, without missing time. Then he arrives in Phoenix and the basketball gods get weird. To the team’s credit, they have been careful with it. This is a player built on speed. If you are running on a flat tire, you are not helping anyone.

We still do not know the exact severity. A grade two hamstring usually means 3 to 6 weeks. A grade three can stretch into months and even flirt with surgery. This one lingered long enough to make you wonder. Whatever it was, the Suns chose patience, and with a player like Green, that is the only move that makes sense.

But alas, the designation finally changed. That alone feels like progress. It does not guarantee anything, and it does not mean he is ready to roll, but it is a step forward. He is not listed as probable yet, but for the first time in a while, the door is actually open. He could see the floor again.

And the timing matters. Brooklyn is young, energetic, but they are not going to apply the same defensive pressure Phoenix saw from Detroit, Miami, or New York on this trip. That makes this a softer landing spot, if there is such a thing in the NBA.

So here we are. The questionable stage. Actual movement. Real momentum. Now we wait another day to see if Jalen Green finally suits up and plays basketball for Phoenix again.