Sports News Roundup: Cam Carter, Kansas State hold off Chicago State; No. 21 Wisconsin's second-half surge sinks Iowa and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

No. 18 Baylor opens new arena with win over Cornell

Ja'Kobe Walter poured in four 3-pointers as part of his 23 points to help No. 18 Baylor run away from upset-minded Cornell 98-79 on Tuesday in Waco, Texas, in the game ever played in the new Foster Pavilion. The Bears (11-2) finished their nonconference schedule unbeaten at home, building a 16-point lead at halftime that whittled to just seven midway through the second half. Baylor then ran away with the game in the final minutes, pushing their advantage to as many as 23 with 51 seconds remaining.

Andrei Svechnikov fuels Hurricanes' rout of Rangers

Andrei Svechnikov scored twice, Pyotr Kochetkov made 28 saves and the Carolina Hurricanes cruised to a 6-1 rout of the host New York Rangers on Tuesday night. The Hurricanes won their season-best fourth straight game and improved to 7-1-3 in their past 11 games by taking the lead early with their power play.

No. 8 North Carolina turns away Pittsburgh

Armando Bacot had 16 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 8 North Carolina top host Pittsburgh 70-57 on Tuesday. RJ Davis added 15 points and four assists for the Tar Heels while Cormac Ryan and Seth Trimble each scored 10 points.

No. 5 Tennessee ends break with rout of Norfolk St.

Zakai Zeigler scored 17 points and hit five of Tennessee's 12 3-pointers Tuesday night as the No. 5 Volunteers returned from a lengthy holiday break to rout Norfolk State 87-50 in Knoxville, Tenn. Dalton Knecht added 15, 13 of those in the first half, and Tobe Awaka came off the bench to chip in 10 points for the Volunteers (10-3). Twelve players scored for Tennessee, which moved the ball well, drawing 23 assists on 30 made buckets.

Red-hot Jets take down another East foe as Lightning fall

Neal Pionk and Alex Iafallo tallied in Winnipeg's two-goal second period, and the red-hot Jets continued their dominance over the Eastern Conference, beating the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Tuesday night. In sweeping the two-game season series from the Lightning, Winnipeg improved to 11-1-2 in its past 14 matches and stretched its season-long point streak to nine games (7-0-2).

Creighton heats up in second half to throttle Georgetown

Trey Alexander tallied 25 points and five assists, leading hot-shooting Creighton to a 77-60 Big East victory over Georgetown Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Baylor Scheierman contributed 18 points and 12 rebounds for Creighton (10-4, 1-2) which broke out of a slump after losing three of its previous four games.

ATP roundup: Rafael Nadal returns with Brisbane win

Spain's Rafael Nadal defeated Austria's Dominic Thiem 7-5, 6-1 at the Brisbane International in Australia on Tuesday for his first win in nearly 12 months. The 22-time grand slam winner, sidelined since the 2023 Australian Open due to injuries and hip surgery, never faced a break point in the 89-minute match. Nadal, 37, will face Australia's Jason Kubler in the second round.

No. 21 Wisconsin's second-half surge sinks Iowa

Tyler Wahl had 19 points and AJ Storr added 16 as No. 21 Wisconsin pulled away in the second half for an 83-72 victory over visiting Iowa in Big Ten play Tuesday night. Max Klesmit added 15 points and Steven Crowl had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Badgers (10-3, 2-0), who were tied 32-32 with the Hawkeyes the break.

Cam Carter, Kansas State hold off Chicago State

Cam Carter scored 19 points to lead Kansas State past Chicago State, 62-55, on Tuesday night in Manhattan, Kan. The Wildcats never led by double digits, but they outscored the Cougars 35-25 in the second half to pick up their second straight win.

Steelers QB Kenny Pickett denies refusing backup role

Kenny Pickett denied he refused to play the backup role to quarterback Mason Rudolph and declared such reports disappointing and without merit. Pickett clarified that the decision to sit came largely from medical personnel assessing his readiness four weeks removed from "tightrope" surgery to accelerate recovery from a high-ankle sprain against Arizona in Week 13. Mitch Trubisky started the next two games, both losses, before Steelers coach Mike Tomlin handed the ball to Rudolph, who is 2-0 as the starter.