The Liberty made the obvious choice with the first overall pick of Friday's WNBA Draft, selecting two-time Wooden Award winner Sabrina Ionescu from the University of Oregon. 

Ionescu leaves Oregon as one of the most awarded players in the history of college basketball. The NCAA's all-time leader in triple-doubles and the first player in the history of college basketball with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists, Ionescu is a three-time Pac-12 Player of the Year, as well as the AP, USBWA and Naismith Player of the Year in 2020. 

She finished her four seasons with the Ducks with career averages of 18.0 points, 7.7 assists, and 7.3 rebounds. 

It appears the writing is on the wall for the New York Liberty and their first overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft, which occurs Friday. 

Oregon Ducks star Sabrina Ionescu is the top candidate to land in New York when the Liberty are on the clock. In fact, it really might be all but set in stone. 

But she'll have to wait for that moment like everyone else. Before the draft kicks off, though, Ionescu spoke with SNY's Maria Marino via conference call to discuss the prospect of playing in New York. Not only does she view it as a great opportunity to develop her skills in the Big Apple, but she would also focus on building her brand for women's basketball, too. 

Rutgers basketball made big strides this past season, and that continued with their latest recruit. 

Cliff Omoruyi, ESPN's No. 49 high school basketball prospect, announced via Twitter that he will be committing to the university for next season. He's the highest-ranked recruit for the Scarlet Knights since 2008, when Mike Rosario joined the team. 

CLICK BELOW TO SEE THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Seton Hall's Myles Powell, along with every other player in college basketball, had his season cut short due to the coronavirus outbreak, but Powell could still be taking home some illustrious hardware.

On Tuesday, Powell was announced as one of five finalists for this year's Naismith Trophy, presented to the most outstanding men's college basketball player in the nation. 

Powell joins Kansas' Udoka Azubuike, Oregon's Payton Pritchard, Iowa's Luka Garza, and Dayton's Obi Toppin as finalists for one of the most prestigious trophies in college sports. 

As St. John's prepared to play Creighton in the second round of the men's Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden, most other NCAA tournaments were being cancelled due to coronavirus. Despite what was going on elsewhere, St. John's and Creighton tipped off. But they didn't finish.

At halftime of a game that St. John's led, 38-35, the game and the remainder of the tournament were cancelled.

Before the cancellation, it was a strange scene at the Garden as the teams played in front of only team personnel and a limited amount of family members of the players.

With most conference tournaments now cancelled, the NCAA Tournament has now been cancelled as well.

The Big East Tournament tipped off Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, where St. John's won 75-62 over Georgetown in the opening round, closing the game on a 23-0 run.

Paced by LJ Figueroa's game-high 22 points and Marcellus Earlington's double-double on 19 points and 10 rebounds, the ninth-seeded Red Storm (17-15) prevailed past the eighth-seeded Hoyas (15-17).

As SJU surges into the quarterfinals against top-seeded Creighton (24-7), doing so without fans at MSG due to COVID-19 outbreak concerns, head coach Mike Anderson puts the 13-point triumph into perspective with SNY contributor Vin Parise.

Rutgers last made the NCAA Tournament in 1991, a streak which was expected to continue when the Scarlet Knights were picked to finish 12th in the Big 10 preseason polls.

But head coach Steve Pikiell, in his fourth season with Rutgers, has led his team to a 20-11 overall record, and an 11-9 record in the conference. They're seeded eighth in the conference tournament and are firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble. They'll face Michigan on Thursday with a chance to bolster their all-important resume.

"I really liked this team right from the beginning of the year," Pikiell said Monday on SNY's GEICO Sportsnite. "We had a few new players that we had to blend in, but we were very lucky.

"We went to Spain this summer. That gave us a great jump start on the season. We talked about guys sacrificing. We talked about playing hard. We talked about proving the people wrong that had picked us 12th [in the conference]. They went about doing it. They have a lot of special qualities. Everyone has helped us win games." 

Seton Hall gave it their best effort, mounting a late comeback, but ultimately the No. 8 Pirates came up short against Villanova at Prudential Center, falling to the No. 14 Wildcats 79-77.

After the game, senior Myles Powell and head coach Kevin Willard discussed the tough loss, which came on the team's Senior Night.

"We're a team that's not going to give up. We fought until we see zeros on the clock," said Powell. "We still had a chance to win the game, but … I just wish it could have turned out a little better. 

The XFL's opening weekend has been a successful one, and the New York Guardians can agree after their 23-3 win over the Tampa Bay Vipers at MetLife Stadium for their first win of the new season.

Takeaways from Sunday's game

1) Former Raiders QB Matt McGloin leads the Guardians' offense and he did a great job setting the tone early with a touchdown on the opening drive that he capped off with a fourth-down rush up the middle for a one-yard score. Overall, he finished his afternoon with a 15-for-29 line for 182 yards and one touchdown. 

On Saturday, No. 12 Seton Hall beat No. 10 Villanova 70-64 on the road to improve to 10-1 in Big East Conference play.

After the win, head coach Kevin Willard praised senior guard Myles Powell for his leadership.

"It just shows you what type of player and person Myles Powell is," Willard said. " The whole time, he was calling plays, he was telling the guys what to do. It's just the type of leadership that he has. He has such great leadership at all times."

St. John's largest lead of 17 points disappeared in Sunday's 73-72 loss to Georgetown, and head coach Mike Anderson saw one common theme that contributed to the Red Storm's second-half collapse against the Hoyas.

After St. John's (13-10, 2-8 Big East) took a 38-29 lead over Georgetown (13-9, 3-6) into the locker room at Madison Square Garden, the Red Storm got sloppy. All 12 of St John's turnovers came in the second half, which gave the Hoyas chances down the stretch.

"You say you know you want to take care of the home court," Anderson said. "I thought, (in) the first half, we played pretty good basketball and we had zero turnovers. But if you said, 'Coach, what was the narrative of the game?' And you can see it -- we end up with 12 turnovers. They made some plays going down the stretch. Well, we didn't make those plays."

No. 25 Rutgers and Michigan faced off at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, in what probably felt like a home game for the New Jersey based Scarlet Knights, but that atmosphere wasn't enough, as the Wolverines walked away with a 69-63 win.

Despite it feeling like a home game, Rutgers might be thankful that it actually wasn't one -- considering the outcome. The Scarlet Knights are a perfect 15-0 at the RAC and are hoping to keep that record intact as they push for their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1991.

Saturday night's finish certainly did not help those chances -- Rutgers shot a poor 32.5 percent from the field and an even worse 25 percent from three-point range.

No. 10 Seton Hall got dealt a shocking ending to their weekend on Saturday, as Xavier came into the Prudential Center and upset the Pirates 74-62 on their home floor.

A big part of Xavier's game came on the boards, as the Musketeers outrebounded Seton Hall 51-22, including 14 offensive boards to the Pirates' five.

"We got down early, we started scrambling a little bit and when you scramble against good, big, physical teams, you're going to give up offensive rebounds," head coach Kevin Willard said after the game.

With Xavier ending Seton Hall's 10 game winning streak, the No. 10 Pirates should expect a drop down in the national rankings this upcoming week.

St. John's dropped Tuesday's game against the No. 8 Villanova Wildcats 79-59 at Madison Square Garden.

After the game, head coach Mike Anderson and guard Rasheem Dunn reacted to the 20-point loss, saying that the Red Storm simply didn't play up to their own expectations.

"One of the things that we always talk about is just trying to be consistent in how we play, and let's give Villanova some credit. They came out knocking some shots," said Anderson. "We got off to a pretty good start, and then of course I thought they settled it.

"Their experience, I think, showed."

A few months ago, Sacred Heart senior forward Jason Cotton said in 50 years he had hoped he could look back on his collegiate career with the Pioneers crowned as champions of the inaugural Connecticut Ice Festival.

Cotton's dream came true Sunday, and he earned Connecticut Ice MVP for his goal and assist in Sacred Heart's 4-1 win over Quinnipiac at Webster Bank Arena.

"Overall, I think going home tonight and just thinking about it -- it's going to be a lifetime memory," Cotton said.

Check out our recap of all the exciting action for Day Three of Connecticut Ice!

Sunday's slate featured the state's four NCAA Division I Men's College hockey teams battling it out, as Yale defeated UConn 6-2 in the consolation game and Sacred Heart won it all in a 4-1 victory over Quinnipiac.

So, as the Pioneers hoist the CT Ice trophy, here's what went down on the final day...

Sacred Heart is the first Connecticut Ice winner following a 4-1 victory over No. 17 Quinnipiac at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. on Sunday. 

Five things to know from Sunday's game

1) Jason Cotton has been the star player for the Pioneers this season, and he continued that with a clutch goal in the second period that helped SHU pull away from the Bobcats. It was his 17th on the season, and after recording an assist as well to go along with a solid first night in the win over Yale on Saturday, Cotton was named the Connecticut Ice MVP. 

After a demoralizing loss last night, the Yale Bulldogs bounced back with a 3-2 win in the Connecticut Ice consolation game against the UConn Huskies.

"I thought it was a great college hockey game," Yale head coach Keith Allain said. "UConn's a great team and they pushed us to the absolute limit."

In Yale's loss to Sacred Heart last night, Yale goaltender Corbin Kaczperski had five saves. However, Kaczperski was able to salvage that performance with 42 saves against UConn.

Check out our recap of all the exciting action for Day One of Connecticut Ice!

Friday's slate featured the Mites Jamboree for 6-8-year olds, the Girls High School Showcase, and the Prep Showcase Game.

Connecticut Ice continues on Saturday with the state's four NCAA Division I Men's College hockey teams battling it out for the CT Ice Trophy.

The Sacred Heart Pioneers dominated on all cylinders during their 6-2 win over the Yale Bulldogs -- advancing to the inaugural Connecticut Ice championship game against Quinnipiac. 

"I think we have so much depth," Sacred Heart forward Jason Cotton said. "We have so many guys who aren't in the lineup, who bring so much to practice every day and, you know, we have so much depth upfront and in the back."

That depth has propelled Sacred Heart to becoming a first-place team in Atlantic Hockey for a majority of this season. Earlier this season, the Pioneers cracked the USCHO Top 20 poll for the first time in their history.

Sacred Heart scored four goals in the first period and went on to beat Yale 6-2 to advance to the Connecticut Ice final against Quinnipiac on Sunday.

Five things to know from Saturday's game

1) The first period belonged to the Pioneers, as Sacred Heart dominated the first 20 minutes. Sacred Heart put 13 shots on goal in the period, and four of them found the back of the net. Jason Cotton got things started with a power play tally, his 16th goal of the season. Two minutes later, Vito Bavaro scored his 15th of the year to double the lead. Later in the period, with Yale on the power play and looking to get back in the game, Matt Tugnutt scored a shorthanded goal, keeping all the momentum in the Pioneers' favor. Austin Magera then added another goal, making it a 4-0 lead at the first intermission.

Check out our recap of all the exciting action for Day One of Connecticut Ice!

Friday's slate featured the Mites Jamboree for 6-8-year olds, the Girls High School Showcase, and the Prep Showcase Game.

Connecticut Ice continues on Saturday with the state's four NCAA Division I Men's College hockey teams battling it out for the CT Ice Trophy.

Seton Hall, the 10th ranked team in the country, knocked off Providence 73-64 on Wednesday night.

With the victory, the Pirates improved to 7-0 in Big East play, the only perfect record in the conference.

Myles Powell scored 14 points in the victory, while Romaro Gill led the Pirates with 17 points.

No. 10 Seton Hall entered the season ranked No. 12 in the nation, but they wouldn't stay there for long.

After losses to then-No. 3 Michigan State and then-No. 11 Oregon put the Pirates at a 6-2 record through the first five weeks of play, Seton Hall fell all the way out of the rankings with back-to-back losses to Iowa State and Rutgers.

Rutgers men's basketball has been on a tear recently, and the AP Top 25 poll has awarded them for their efforts. 

In the latest rankings, the Scarlet Knights have come in at No. 24 following their 64-56 win over Minnesota on Sunday. According to CBS' Gary Parrish, it is the first time since 1979 that Rutgers has been in an AP ranking. 

Led by fourth-year head coach Steve Pikiell, Rutgers has won eight of their last 10 games, which comes to a 14-4 record. They are also third in the Big Ten behind Michigan State and Illinois, while owning a perfect 13-0 home record at the RAC. 

Rutgers improved to 14-4 on Sunday after beating Minnesota 64-56, and could now become ranked for the first time since 1979.

Head coach Steve Pikiell has the Scarlet Knights tied for second place in the Big Ten, and talked about how the team gave an all around effort in their win on Sunday.

"A great team win... this team sacrifices, they play together, they play the right way," Pikiell said. "They were rewarded today against a good Minnesota team... when you're playing good teams, you better be doing some things well."

Seton Hall and St. John's played a thrilling game at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, with the Pirates holding on for an 82-79 win.

With the victory, the Pirates improved to a perfect 6-0 in the Big East, while St. John's fell to 1-5 in the conference.

"We were really struggling to score in the first half and they were doing a great job," Pirates head coach Kevin Willard said after the game. "I think in the second half we were able - with turning them over a few times for easy buckets, I thought that kind of got everybody into a good rhythm and was able to kind of relax everybody a good bit and get us going into a good offensive rhythm."

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Myles Powell scored 19 of his 29 points in the second half and Romaro Gill matched his career high with 17 points to lead No. 18 Seton Hall back from a 10-point halftime deficit for a 78-70 victory at No. 5 Butler on Wednesday night.

The Pirates (13-4, 5-0 Big East) closed the game on a 13-4 run to win their seventh in a row. They are the only conference team still unbeaten in league play.

Quincy McKnight had 11 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds.

Hockey is more than just a game in Connecticut, and later this month, the state's four NCAA Division I men's hockey programs -- UConn, Yale, Sacred Heart, and Quinnipiac -- will battle at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. to determine who will take the throne.

Connecticut Ice is a three-day festival, Jan. 24 - 26, that will showcase youth and amateur hockey from across the state and include the Collegiate Cup - the two-round, four-game tournament for state bragging rights.

For more information on Connecticut Ice, click here. And to buy tickets, click here.

Here's what you need to know about the first-round matchups…

You may not know how to pronounce Quinnipiac, but any college hockey fan knows the program has been a national powerhouse in the sport for a while.

The Bobcats are led by head coach Ran Pecknold, who has been at the helm for 26 seasons. Entering the year, Pecknold posted 511 career wins, the third most for active Division I coaches. Quinnipiac has had a winning season 21 out of the last 22 years, including Frozen Four berths in 2013 and '16.

Last season, Quinnipiac claimed its fourth Cleary Cup (ECAC Hockey regular-season championship) before falling 3-1 to Minnesota Duluth in the NCAA Tournament's Midwest Regional Final. The 26-10-2 overall record was driven by NCAA statistical goaltender champion Andrew Shortridge and Hobey Baker finalist Chase Priskie. Both have gone on to sign NHL contracts, respectively -- Shortridge with the San Jose Sharks and Priskie with the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Yale Bulldogs are one year removed from snatching a series win in the ECAC Hockey playoffs, but the tides have turned this season for the country's oldest collegiate hockey program.

The team is in ninth place in the ECAC Hockey standings, with a 5-10 record heading into their matchup against Union on Friday night. However, Yale can never be counted out due to the culture installed by head coach Keith Allain.

In 13 full seasons, Allain has coached Yale to a 235-159-42 record, six NCAA Tournament berths, and a national title in 2013 defeating Quinnipiac -- a team whose home ice is eight miles up the road from Yale's. 

Sitting in first place in the Atlantic Conference, Sacred Heart Pioneers have made their mark in college hockey this season, cracking the USCHO Top 20 poll for the first time in the program's history.

A new decade feels like a new beginning for this program. It hasn't been smooth sailing up to this point for Sacred Heart, which is the only Connecticut team to be nationally ranked this season.

The team started as a Division III program before the MAAC was formed as a Division I hockey conference. MAAC ice hockey folded after the 2002-03 season and the following season the remaining nine MAAC ice hockey programs formed Atlantic Hockey. 

St. Johns picked up a big win over DePaul on Saturday, defeating the Blue Demons at home 74-67 to secure their first Big East victory of the season.

The Red Storm jumped out of a two-way tie with the Blue Demons at the bottom of the conference with the win, and managed to hand DePaul just their fourth loss of the season.

St. Johns is now 1-3 in conference play this season.

We're getting to know players from UConn, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart and Yale ahead of SNY's Connecticut Ice tournament on Jan. 25-26.

Name: Jason Cotton

School: Sacred Heart

We're getting to know players from UConn, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart and Yale ahead of SNY's Connecticut Ice tournament on Jan. 25-26.

Name: Jack St. Ivany

School: Yale

We're getting to know players from UConn, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart and Yale ahead of SNY's Connecticut Ice tournament on Jan. 25-26.

Name: Peter DiLiberatore

School: Quinnipiac

Despite being without their two leading scorers, Seton Hall was able to upset Maryland, the No. 7 team in the country, with a 52-48 victory on Thursday night.

Down Myles Powell and Sandro Mamukelashvili, the Pirates were led by Quincy McKnight, who scored 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Fellow guard Anthony Nelson was the only other Pirate to score in double figures, as he finished with 10 points. 

Rutgers football has finally found its new head coach, as Greg Schiano will return to the school.

The two sides have agreed to a 8-year, $32 million deal with $25.2 million guaranteed, according to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic.

Schiano was the head coach at Rutgers from 2001 to 2011, going 68-67 and 5-1 in bowl games. Rutgers had their best season in 2006, going 11-2 and finishing the season ranked No. 12 in the country.

Looking to place some bets for the Week 6 late games? SNY's Place Your Bets crew has you covered.

Will the Los Angeles Chargers struggle at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers and third-string QB Devlin Hodges?

Do the Atlanta Flacons cover the three point spread on the road against the Arizona Cardinals?

St. John's new head basketball coach Mike Anderson spoke about his expectations for this season on Thursday at Big East Media Day, which took place at Madison Square Garden.

"I don't put numbers on it," Anderson said. "As we get prepared, we're trying to win a championship. I hope every team in the country is trying to do that. I know who we are and what we are trying to do... I just want to see a team that's gonna go out each and every day and improve and get better."

The tournament matchups for SNY's inaugural Connecticut Ice Festival have been set. 

Starting on Jan. 25, 2020 at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT, four NCAA Division I hockey programs will face off in the first-of-its-kind weekend hockey festival. Here are the matchups in the two-round, four-game tournament:

World Team Tennis member Venus Williams caught up with SNY's Jonas Schwartz to talk about the impact the New York Empire can have on young tennis players, and how she hopes those younger players continue to make the game better and better.

"When you have love for something, you always want to give your best," Williams said about appearing for the World Team Tennis match. "I don't think there's one person that says I'm okay with losing." 

"It's definitely great to leave the game better than what you came with," Williams added. "I think the next generations will continue the same."

Soccers fans from all around flocked to the Canyon of Heroes on Wednesday morning to cheer on the United States Women's National Team, as they celebrated their 2019 FIFA World Cup Championship.

The ticker tape was flowing from the top of building as Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and the rest of the team floated their way through the streets. 

The floats finally made their way to City Hall where the team thanked the crowd for their unwavering support throughout the tournament, with Rapinoe capping it off in amazing fashion...

For the second time in four years, the U.S. women's national soccer team will have a parade through the Canyon of Heroes.

And this one is going to be special.

The USWNT returned home on Monday with its second consecutive FIFA Women's World Cup championship after beating the Netherlands 2-0 on Sunday in France.

Five-time PGA Tour winner Bryson DeChambeau was in New York City on Monday for this year's Media Day for the Northern Trust, which will kick off the FedEx Cup and be held in Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, NJ in August. 

SNY's Maria Marino catches up with DeChambeau, last year's Norther Trust winner, to talk about how he's played this year and what lies ahead. 

The Climb is the podcast that tells the stories of big names in the New York sports scene, and how they got to the top of their industry. On the latest episode, SNY's Jonas Schwartz sits down with boxing legend Teddy Atlas. Teddy shares stories from growing up in New York to how he got his infamous scar. Atlas also opens up about the struggles of training Mike Tyson on their ascension to the heavyweight title. That and more on this episode of The Climb.

SUBSCRIBE TO 'THE CLIMB' HERE

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Sir Winston came away with the victory at the 151st running of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday afternoon.

Led by jockey Joel Rosario, Sir Winston entered the race with 10-1 odds. In the final turn, Sir Winston took an inside path and weaved towards the outside to charge into the lead, eventually winning the race with an official time of 2:28.30, winning by one length.

War of Will, the winner of this year's Preakness Stakes who had the second-best odds at 7/2 , finished in ninth place.

It's Christmas in June for the Seton Hall Pirates basketball team. 

Myles Powell, the team's best player last season, will be returning to school for his senior season next year. Powell announced the moved on Twitter Wednesday night...

CLICK BELOW TO SEE

Tiger Woods couldn't solve Bethpage Black.

Five weeks after winning the Masters for his 15th career major and first in 11 years, Woods missed the cut at the PGA Championship. He shot 3-over 73 Friday in the second round to finish at 5-over, missing the cut by one stroke. 

Woods had six bogeys and three birdies on Friday, four of those bogeys coming on the back nine. He managed par on his final four holes, but it wasn't enough to get him above the cut line.