No. 1 Gonzaga keeps rolling
SPO K A N E, WA S H .» Corey Kispert scored 20 points, Joel Ayayi added 16 and top-ranked Gonzaga beat cold-shooting Saint Mary’s 87-65 on Thursday night, extending the nation’s longest winning streak to 25 games over the past two seasons.
Drew Timme scored 12 points to help Gonzaga (21-0, 12-0 West Coast) extend its home winning streak to 48 games. Fans were allowed at a Gonzaga home game for the first time this season and a few dozen family members of players were in the stands.
Judah Brown scored 16 points, and Logan Johnson had 13 for Saint Mary’s (11-7, 2-5). The Gaels are typically one of Gonzaga’s archrivals but are having a down season made worse by prolonged COVID-19 closures.
nO. 3 MiCHiGan 71, RUtGERs 64.
A NN A R B OR, M ICH . » Franz Wagner scored 20 points and Mike Smith added 12 to lift Michigan past Rutgers.
Hunter Dickinson added 10 points for the Wolverines, who won their second straight game since returning from a lengthy layoff after the athletic department paused activities for coronavirus-related reasons. Michigan avoided a slip-up before its showdown at No. 4 Ohio State this weekend.
Jacob Young scored 16 points for Rutgers, which led early but lacked the offensive sharpness necessary to keep up with Michigan. The Scarlet Knights (12-8, 8-8 Big Ten) have never beaten the Wolverines. Michigan (15-1, 10-1) has won all 14 meetings.
nO. 4 OHiO statE 92, pEnn statE 82.
STAT EC OLL EGE , PA . » E.J. Liddell scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half and Ohio State outlasted Penn State.
Duane Washington scored 21 points and C.J. Walker added 13 for the Buckeyes (18-4, 12-4 Big Ten), who used a 15-0 run midway through the second half to take control and win their seventh straight.
Myreon Jones led Penn State with 18 points. Izaiah Brockington and Seth Lundy each scored 12 points and Jamari Wheeler added 11 for the Nittany Lions (7-11, 4-10), who lost their third straight.
WiCHita statE 68, nO. 6 HOUstOn 63.
WICHI TA , K A N . » Tyson Etienne and Alterique Gilbert each scored 16 points and Dexter Dennis had 12 points and a crucial steal in the final seconds, leading Wichita State past Houston.
The Shockers (13-4, 9-2 American Athletic Conference) moved past Houston (17-3, 11-3) and into first place in the league.
DeJeon Jarreau led the Cougars with 16 points.
Ricky Council added 11 points for Wichita State, which had its first home victory against a top-six opponent since beating No. 2 Louisville on Feb. 25, 1967.
nO. 11 iOWa 77, nO. 21 WisCOnsin 62.
M ADISON , WI S . » Luka Garza scored 30 points, Joe Wieskamp had 17 and Iowa pulled away to beat Wisconsin.
Garza raised his nationleading average to 24.7 points. He made 11 of 19 shots, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and grabbed eight rebounds. Freshman Keegan Murray had 12 rebounds for the Hawkeyes (16-6, 10-5 Big Ten).
The NFL informed teams on Thursday that this year’s salary cap floor will be $180 million.
A league executive said their team is projecting a ceiling of $188 million, down $10.2 million from 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Traditionally, the salary cap isn’t announced until close to the start of the league year (mid-March), but providing the floor figure will provide teams with a bookkeeping head-start.
Since the salary cap was introduced in 1994, this is the first time it has decreased.
From 2013-20, the cap went up at least $10 million every year.
At $188 million, the league executive said: “It will be challenging for teams, but manageable. It may be helpful to have a whole new regime that wants to clear up some of the roster anyway.”
Teams with a new general manager/head coach combination are Atlanta (Terry Fontenot/Arthur Smith), Detroit (Brad Holmes/Dan Campbell), Houston (Nick Caserio/David Culley) and Jacksonville (Trent Baalke/Urban Meyer).
The Broncos fall in the middle — general manager George Paton was hired last month, but coach Vic Fangio is back for a third season. Carolina hired a new general manager (Scott Fitterer), but returning coach Matt Rhule has a heavy say in personnel. Teams who retained their general manager but hired a new coach are Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Chargers and the New York Jets.
Adopting the $188 million cap number, the Broncos can carry over $17,788,121 of space according to the NFLPA. That would make the Broncos’ cap $205,888,121 this year.
According to Over The Cap, the Broncos have $166,534,781 in “total liabilities” currently on the books for this year, which equates to $39,353,340 of cap space. Teams usually budget at least $20 million for their draft class, but Paton can make several maneuvers to open up cap space.
If the Broncos cut outside linebacker Von Miller, defensive end Jurrell Casey and backup quarterback Jeff Driskel, it would create $28,459,388 in cap space.
Armed with more than $60 million in cap space, Paton could be equal parts aggressive (hammering out a long-term deal with safety Justin Simmons and trading for a veteran cornerback) and realistic (signing several medium-priced free agents to improve the team’s depth).
K. Peko released. The Broncos released defensive tackle Kyle Peko on Thursday. Peko appeared in nine games for the team since 2016, but sat out ’20 as a high-risk opt-out. He has 13 tackles in 13 career games.