UConn advanced to the Sweet 16 after outdueling UCF on Monday. With the 52-47 win, the Huskies reach their NCAA record 28th consecutive Sweet 16.

In the next round, the Huskies will face Indiana, which edged Princeton in its own Round of 32 contest, at 2 p.m. ET Saturday with a spot in the Elite Eight on the line.

UConn eked out the win despite scoring the fewest points in an NCAA Tournament victory in program history. The Huskies shot a season-low 29.2 percent from the field, while UCF shot 34.8 percent.

The Knights jumped out to an eight-point lead early. UConn responded and held a 12-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Knights pulled within three with less than a minute to go.

“Given the kind of season we’ve had, I thought I’d pretty much seen it all,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “But this was a rather new experience for me. It was what we thought it would be. It was going to be really difficult. It was going to be really ugly looking, and it was.

“And we could have just as easily let that game get away from us and we didn’t. There’s something to be said for that, that you can win a game that you probably would look back and say, ‘I’m not sure how we won that game, but we did.’”

The Huskies were just 2-of-12 on layup attempts, which left the door open for UCF. The Knights, though, struggled with free-throw shooting, going 10-for-20.

Foul trouble was also a factor, as three players — Olivia Nelson-Ododoa and Aaliyah Edwards from UConn and Alisha Lewis from UCF — fouled out before the end of the night. Two other UCF players committed four fouls, including UCF’s Brittney Smith, who had 11 points and five rebounds. Diamond Battles led the Knights with 12 points.

UConn’s Azzi Fudd led all scorers with 16 points, three steals and two blocks, while her teammate Christyn Williams added 12 points.

“We just tried to throw the first punch and keep punching them,” Williams said. “We didn’t have our best game today, but I’m really proud of our team. We grinded it out. It was very ugly, but we got the dub and that’s all that matters.”

Fudd said after the game that the “adversity we faced off the court” in addition to the Huskies’ tough schedule during the season helped them triumph on Monday. She also praised the sold-out crowd of 10,167 fans at Gampel Pavilion.

“The atmosphere was amazing,” said Fudd. “That’s definitely something I’ve never experienced to this kind of level. That made the game a lot of fun. I think that also helped with our momentum.”

No. 1 NC State 89, No. 9 Kansas State 57

Kayla Jones led all scorers with 18 points and five rebounds as Raina Perez and Diamond Johnson contributed 15 points apiece to lead the Wolfpack over the Wildcats.

No. 3 Michigan 64, No. 11 Villanova 49

Senior Naz Hillmon recorded her 50th career double-double with 27 points, 11 rebounds and five steals, while Leigha Brown added 20 points to help the Wolverines advance past Villanova and to the Sweet 16.

No. 5 Notre Dame 108, No. 4 Oklahoma 64

Four Irish players scored in double digits, including three with at least 20 points, to topple Oklahoma. Notre Dame senior Dara Mabrey led all scorers with 29 points, six rebounds and three assists.

No. 4 Tennessee 70, No. 12 Belmont 67

Tennessee narrowly escaped Belmont after Bruins guard Destinee Wells broke out for 22 points, six rebounds and four assists. The Volunteers were led by Alexus Dye, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds.

No. 6 Ohio State 79, No. 3 LSU 64

Ohio State took care of business behind a 23-point, eight-assist performance from Jacy Sheldon to upset the Tigers. LSU guard Khayla Pointer wasn’t going to go down without a fight, contributing 32 points and four assists in the loss.

No. 5 UNC 63, No. 4 Arizona 45

Arizona’s attempt to reach back-to-back title games is over. The Tar Heels were led by Kennedy Todd-Williams, who had 19 points and seven rebounds; Alyssa Utsby added 12 points and 12 rebounds in the win.

The Sweet 16 field features four teams each from the ACC and the Big Ten. The SEC, Big 12 and Big East each have two teams remaining. Stanford is the lone Pac-12 team left, while the Summit League has South Dakota in the tournament’s third round.

Nike is sending Team USA to Italy in style, with the sportswear giant's ACG (All Conditions Gear) brand releasing the designs for a special 2026 Winter Olympics collection this week.

Branded with Nike ACG badges alongside Team USA patches, this year's collection builds off a traditional red, white, and navy color scheme to outfit the country's Olympic and Paralympic athletes, as well as fans, ahead of the 2026 Games' February 6th opening ceremony in Milan.

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The designs include a long-sleeved T-shirt displaying an animated, winter sports-bound bald eagle and a zipped fleece sherpa and Therma-Fit skirt, both emblazoned with a bald eagle soaring over mountains.

Additionally, the collection boasts multiple T-shirts, long-sleeved sweat-wicking shirts, Polartec® jackets, and accessories including a baseball cap and winter beanie.

Nike is just one of many major brands outfitting Team USA for this year's competition, with the athletic corporation joining J.Crew in inviting fans to gear up for the Games after the fashion retailer dropped its own Winter Olympics capsule collection earlier this month.

How to purchase items from the Nike ACG x Team USA collection

The Nike ACG x Team USA line will hit shelves on Friday, January 23rd, with fans able to snag pieces prior to the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The collection will be available for purchase via nike.com.

Stars of the 2025 Euro stole the EA FC 26 spotlight this week, as the video game giant's fan-voted 2026 Team of the Year recognized some of international soccer's top achievers on Thursday.

Champions England fielded four honorees as forward Alessia Russo joined a trio of Lioness defenders — Leah Williamson, Millie Bright, and Team of the Year captain Lucy Bronze — on the 11-player list.

"Being named the first-ever Women's EA Sports FC TOTY Captain is an honour," Bronze said in a statement. "2025 was an amazing year — winning the Euros again and picking up my first BWSL with Chelsea — so much of that success is thanks to our fans, and it's great to see them recognize my efforts with this award."

The rest of the EA FC 26 Team of the Year also favored European titans, as Euro runners-up and Nations League winners Spain also saw a quartet of players make the roster. La Roja fully owned the Team of Year midfield as stars Aitana Bonmatí, Mariona Caldentey, and Alexia Putellas joined forward Clàudia Pina on Thursday's lineup.

Rounding out the squad were three other European club standouts as EA FC 26 also tapped Chliean goalkeeper Christiane Endler (OL Lyonnes), French defender Selma Bacha (OL Lyonnes), and Polish forward Ewa Pajor (FC Barcelona).

The first Grand Slam of 2026 has arrived, as the main draw of the Australian Open hits the court on Saturday evening, promising some early-round fireworks.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka enters as the tournament favorite, though the rest of the WTA Top 10 promises to give her a run for her money — as No. 2 Iga Świątek chases the only major tournament title still eluding her.

Meanwhile, No. 9 Madison Keys will attempt to defend her 2025 crown, as fellow US products No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, and No. 6 Jessica Pegula also locked down top seeds.

Another US superstar will return this weekend, with 45-year-old Venus Williams following up her impressive 2025 performances by accepting a wild-card entry to her first Australian Open in five years.

"Even though I've been on tour for a long time, this is also still my first experience as [reigning champion]," Keys said. "I'm really just trying to soak in all of the really cool fun parts."

How to watch the 2026 Australian Open

The 2026 Australian Open begins at 7 PM ET on Saturday, with Williams as well as top-seed Sabalenka and world No. 7 Jasmine Paolini set to face their first opponents on the first day of the Slam's main draw.

The second day of first-round matches will see the rest of the WTA elite in action, as No. 2 Świątek, No. 3 Gauff, No. 4 Anisimova, No. 6 Pegula, and No. 9 Keys — as well as No. 5 Elena Rybakina, No. 8 Mirra Andreeva, and No. 10 Belinda Bencic — will hit the hardcourt in Melbourne starting at 7 PM ET on Sunday.

All matches in the 2026 Australian Open — from the first round through the women's final on Saturday, January 31st — will air live across ESPN platforms.

Monday's NCAA basketball action will put two of the nation's top guards to the test, as No. 10 TCU faces No. 14 Ohio State in Newark, New Jersey's Coretta Scott King Classic — part of a stacked MLK Day slate.

Buckeye sophomore Jaloni Cambridge is on a tear in this season, averaging 21.8 points per game — good for No. 10 in the country — and tallying 102 points, 20 rebounds, and 20 assists across Ohio State's last three games.

At the same time, TCU has seen similar stylings from Notre Dame transfer Olivia Miles, with the senior putting up a career-high 19.2 points per game while sitting at No. 9 in the nation behind her 7.3 assists average for the Horned Frogs.

Even more, Miles is lapping her collegiate cohort in triple doubles on the season, posting four of the elite stat-sheet performances while all other NCAA players have a maximum of one.

Both teams are meeting expectations head-on this season, impressing following 2025 NCAA tournament exits that spurred significant offseason roster changes.

Ohio State star forward Cotie McMahon transferred to Ole Miss after the Buckeyes' second-round ousting, while TCU graduated standout starting guard Hailey Van Lith and center Sedona Prince.

With Miles and Cambridge leading the charge, however, both squads are flourishing: TCU faltered just once in their 2025/26 campaign so far — a January 3rd overtime loss to unranked Utah — while Ohio State's two season losses came at the hands of titans No. 1 UConn and No. 3 UCLA.

"Ultimately, [TCU forward] Marta [Suarez] and Miles are two of the best players in college basketball," Horned Frogs head coach Mark Campbell said after Sunday's win over Arizona State. "But for our team to reach our full potential, we need these other players to show great growth. And I think we have."

How to watch TCU vs. Ohio State basketball on Monday

The No. 10 Horned Frogs will take on the No. 14 Buckeyes at 12 PM ET on Monday, airing live on FOX.