Titans, Falcons Kick Off Wild Card Weekend With Road Wins
The Wild Card Weekend is the most underrated weekend in the NFL postseason, as teams on multiple occasions have gone on from Wild Card weekend to the Super Bowl. It began with the Tennessee Titans doing the improbable in Kansas City on Saturday. Marcus Mariota threw three second-half touchdowns to help the Titans rally from a 21-3 deficit for a 22-21 win, advancing to the Divisional Round. The Chiefs have had history of doing this in the past, as they blew a 38-10 lead against the Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card round in 2013. The win for the Titans was their first in the postseason in 14 years, as Mariota found Eric Decker for the game-winning touchdown with over six minutes to go in regulation. Derrick Henry ran for a career-high 156 yards and a touchdown, helping hold the Chiefs without a home playoff win since January 1994. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Falcons ended the Los Angeles Rams' season with a 26-13 win at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday night. Matt Ryan found Julio Jones for an 8-yard score late in the fourth, pulling away from the Rams. Los Angeles tried to make things interesting, but a late touchdown was overturned to an incomplete pass, while a fourth-and-goal play was incomplete, despite replay showing that it could've been a holding penalty against Atlanta. Ryan threw for 218 yards in the win, after the Falcons clinched a spot with a win over the Carolina Panthers in the final week of the regular season. They are looking to return to the Super Bowl after blowing a 28-3 lead against the New England Patriots in last year's big game. Jarred Goff threw for 259 yards and a touchdown, while Robert Woods caught nine passes for 142 yards, and Todd Gurley ran for 100 yards in the Rams' loss. The Falcons move on to visit the top-seeded Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round, where they are favored to win. The Titans will face either the Steelers or Patriots, depending on the result of Sunday's Wild Card matchup.
Duke, Xavier Fall in Top-5 Upsets
The college basketball AP Polls took a big hit in numerous different ways on Saturday, headlined by two top-5 upsets on the hardwood. First, second-ranked Duke fell to 1-2 in conference play with a 96-85 loss to NC State on the road. Omer Yurtseven had 16 points to lead the Wolfpack, who were out-shot by the Blue Devils, 51 percent-50 percent, but turned the ball over six less times and had more success from three-point range. Torin Dorn hit two huge three-pointers down the stretch to keep his team ahead, en route to their first ACC win. They shot 55 percent in the second half after erasing an 11-point deficit in the first half to lead by two at the break. NC State was coming off a 30-point loss to Notre Dame and a 16-point loss to Clemson, but had six players in double figures in their 11th win of the year. Marvin Bagley III had 31 points and 10 rebounds in the second upset loss of the season for Duke. Meanwhile, fifth-ranked Xavier saw their 10-game win streak come to an end with an 81-72 loss to Providence on Saturday afternoon. Kyron Cartwright had 19 points, nine assists, and four steals to pace the Friars, who shot 40 percent from beyond the arc in the win. It was their 11th win overall, second in conference play, and first over a ranked team this year. Rodney Bullock finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and two blocked shots for the Friars, who held the Musketeers' leading scorer, Trevon Bluiett, to just 12 points. Xavier was led by Kerem Kanter's 24 points and 12 rebounds in their second loss of the season. Providence enjoyed their 11th win over a top-5 team in program history, and first since taking down No. 4 Villanova two years ago.
West Virginia, Kansas Earn Key Ranked Victories
There were two key matchups that took place in the college basketball world on Saturday that would put one team ahead of the other early on in conference play. First, No. 6 West Virginia got past No. 7 Oklahoma at home, 89-76, behind Teddy Allen's 20 points off the bench. Sagaba Konate had 14 of his 16 points in the second half for the Mountaineers, who forced 17 turnovers from the Sooners. That was led by star, Trae Young, who had eight of them to go along with his 29 points and five assists. Allen's 20 points came in just 24 minutes of play and was the second straight game and third time this season that he had at least 20 points as a reserve, helping them overcome just 7-of-26 shooting from three-point range. Lamont West and Jevon Carter had 17 points apiece, as they improved to 14-1 overall and 3-0 in Big 12 play. Meanwhile, the 10th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks overcame another tough home loss earlier in the week with an 88-84 win over No. 16 TCU. Devonte Graham scored 28 points and hit eight straight free throws, as the Jayhawks finished 50 percent from the floor, including 55 percent from three-point range to stay ahead of their conference rivals. They led by eight at the half, but Vladimir Brodziansky scored eight straight points to tie the game late. Marcus Garrett had the tie-breaking free throws before Graham took over at the charity strike. Svi Mykhailiuk had 20 points to help Kansas avoid their first 1-2 conference start since 1990-1991. The Horned Frogs dropped to 1-2 in Big 12 play and 13-2 overall, as they could not repeat their upset over then No. 1 Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament last March.
The Wild Card Weekend is the most underrated weekend in the NFL postseason, as teams on multiple occasions have gone on from Wild Card weekend to the Super Bowl. It began with the Tennessee Titans doing the improbable in Kansas City on Saturday. Marcus Mariota threw three second-half touchdowns to help the Titans rally from a 21-3 deficit for a 22-21 win, advancing to the Divisional Round. The Chiefs have had history of doing this in the past, as they blew a 38-10 lead against the Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card round in 2013. The win for the Titans was their first in the postseason in 14 years, as Mariota found Eric Decker for the game-winning touchdown with over six minutes to go in regulation. Derrick Henry ran for a career-high 156 yards and a touchdown, helping hold the Chiefs without a home playoff win since January 1994. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Falcons ended the Los Angeles Rams' season with a 26-13 win at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday night. Matt Ryan found Julio Jones for an 8-yard score late in the fourth, pulling away from the Rams. Los Angeles tried to make things interesting, but a late touchdown was overturned to an incomplete pass, while a fourth-and-goal play was incomplete, despite replay showing that it could've been a holding penalty against Atlanta. Ryan threw for 218 yards in the win, after the Falcons clinched a spot with a win over the Carolina Panthers in the final week of the regular season. They are looking to return to the Super Bowl after blowing a 28-3 lead against the New England Patriots in last year's big game. Jarred Goff threw for 259 yards and a touchdown, while Robert Woods caught nine passes for 142 yards, and Todd Gurley ran for 100 yards in the Rams' loss. The Falcons move on to visit the top-seeded Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round, where they are favored to win. The Titans will face either the Steelers or Patriots, depending on the result of Sunday's Wild Card matchup.
Duke, Xavier Fall in Top-5 Upsets
The college basketball AP Polls took a big hit in numerous different ways on Saturday, headlined by two top-5 upsets on the hardwood. First, second-ranked Duke fell to 1-2 in conference play with a 96-85 loss to NC State on the road. Omer Yurtseven had 16 points to lead the Wolfpack, who were out-shot by the Blue Devils, 51 percent-50 percent, but turned the ball over six less times and had more success from three-point range. Torin Dorn hit two huge three-pointers down the stretch to keep his team ahead, en route to their first ACC win. They shot 55 percent in the second half after erasing an 11-point deficit in the first half to lead by two at the break. NC State was coming off a 30-point loss to Notre Dame and a 16-point loss to Clemson, but had six players in double figures in their 11th win of the year. Marvin Bagley III had 31 points and 10 rebounds in the second upset loss of the season for Duke. Meanwhile, fifth-ranked Xavier saw their 10-game win streak come to an end with an 81-72 loss to Providence on Saturday afternoon. Kyron Cartwright had 19 points, nine assists, and four steals to pace the Friars, who shot 40 percent from beyond the arc in the win. It was their 11th win overall, second in conference play, and first over a ranked team this year. Rodney Bullock finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and two blocked shots for the Friars, who held the Musketeers' leading scorer, Trevon Bluiett, to just 12 points. Xavier was led by Kerem Kanter's 24 points and 12 rebounds in their second loss of the season. Providence enjoyed their 11th win over a top-5 team in program history, and first since taking down No. 4 Villanova two years ago.
West Virginia, Kansas Earn Key Ranked Victories
There were two key matchups that took place in the college basketball world on Saturday that would put one team ahead of the other early on in conference play. First, No. 6 West Virginia got past No. 7 Oklahoma at home, 89-76, behind Teddy Allen's 20 points off the bench. Sagaba Konate had 14 of his 16 points in the second half for the Mountaineers, who forced 17 turnovers from the Sooners. That was led by star, Trae Young, who had eight of them to go along with his 29 points and five assists. Allen's 20 points came in just 24 minutes of play and was the second straight game and third time this season that he had at least 20 points as a reserve, helping them overcome just 7-of-26 shooting from three-point range. Lamont West and Jevon Carter had 17 points apiece, as they improved to 14-1 overall and 3-0 in Big 12 play. Meanwhile, the 10th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks overcame another tough home loss earlier in the week with an 88-84 win over No. 16 TCU. Devonte Graham scored 28 points and hit eight straight free throws, as the Jayhawks finished 50 percent from the floor, including 55 percent from three-point range to stay ahead of their conference rivals. They led by eight at the half, but Vladimir Brodziansky scored eight straight points to tie the game late. Marcus Garrett had the tie-breaking free throws before Graham took over at the charity strike. Svi Mykhailiuk had 20 points to help Kansas avoid their first 1-2 conference start since 1990-1991. The Horned Frogs dropped to 1-2 in Big 12 play and 13-2 overall, as they could not repeat their upset over then No. 1 Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament last March.
