The Spartans currently sit two games back of first place in the SSC standings and knew they needed to handle business on the road before coming home. With this contest featuring the two leading scorers in the Sunshine State Conference (Jennings – Barry, Piller – Tampa), fans knew they were in for a fast paced high scoring matchup.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final Score: #24 Tampa 69, Barry 62
Records: #24 Tampa 16-4 (8-2 SSC), Barry 12-6 (5-5 SSC)
Location: Health & Sports Center I Miami Shores, Fla.
All-time series: This was the 84th all-time meeting between these two programs. Tampa now leads the series 59-25 with tonight’s victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
FIRST HALF: This contest started out fast with Barry hitting a three on their first possession of the game. Audrey Ramsey got the Spartans on the board with a nice floater after driving the lane. Barry hit another three in the opening minutes but after both teams traded finishes at the rim, the Buccaneers led 10-6 after the first five minutes. Sariana Rodrguez and Zoe Piller both hit tough lays through contact to help Tampa close the gap but the Spartans were in need of a spark. Kath Van Bennekom would pack a punch off the bench as she made an immediate impact. The Dutch International hit a three to pull Tampa within one before recording two steals, going coast to coast on one of them for a bucket. Kath Van Bennekom also dished out a nice assist to Vivian Jende for a layup and the first Tampa lead of the game at 15-14. Audrey Ramsey hit a pair of free throws to give Tampa a 17-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter did not start in favor of the Spartans. Barry opened the quarter with a 7-0 run by hitting more contested threes and took a 21-17 lead. However, Tampa answered in an enormous way, going on their own 14-0 to retake the lead and extend it to double-digits. Olivia Davis knocked down multiple threes and the Spartans played lockdown defense for this run of over five minutes. With two minutes remaining Barry re-found their offense and were able to dig themselves out of a ten point hole and make this contest a two point game.
Score: #24 Tampa 31, Barry 29
SECOND HALF: The second half started with the same pace and intensity as both teams traded baskets for the first few minutes. Barry got on the board first and tied the game up at 31 but with the score later tied at 35, they went on their first big run of the half. Over the course of four minutes, the Spartans could not get anything to fall and quickly were on the receiving end of a 8-0 run. An Olivia Davis free throw put an end to the Tampa drought but with under two minutes, Spartans were still down 45-38. After some back and forth in the final minute, Sariana Rodriguez found her way to the line for a three point play after a tough lay through contact. This helped Tampa close the gap to just six heading into the final quarter of play. Down 48-42 with ten minutes left, the Spartans knew they had zero time to waste. Zoe Piller got right to work for the Spartans by hitting a turnaround lay on the lower block to cut the lead to four. Olivia Davis on the next possession was able to find her way to the line for two huge free throws to cut the lead to 48-46 Barry. Both teams traded baskets over the course of several hard fought minutes but with six minutes to go the Barry lead was back up to seven. The Spartans once again answered with Sariana Rodriguez and Zoe Piller hitting back to back layups to pull the game to 57-55. Down by two with three minutes left in the game, Zoe Piller finished another tough shot at the rim to tie the game up at 57. The Spartans continued to get stops and after Audrey Ramsey floater, Tampa had their first lead since early in the third quarter. With two minutes on the clock, Kath Van Bennekom forced a Barry turnover that led to an easy Zoe Piller layup and the Spartans led 61-57 with a minute and half left. Kath Van Bennekom put the nail in the coffin with a nice one handed lay fading away from the basket to put the Spartans up seven. Multiple Spartans went on to hit the free throws needed to close out this contest and head back home with a win.
Final: #24 Tampa 69, Barry 62
INSIDE THE STATS:
All eight Spartans who played recorded a made basket
Spartans as a team shot the ball with elite efficiency, finishing with a 48.0%
FILE – Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) waves after the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game against the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. Kelce will bring his highly successful music festival called Kelce Jam back to Kansas City. The second annual one-day event held on May 18 will be hosted by the superstar tight end of the Chiefs and headlined by Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, Diplo and local legend Tech N9ne. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
RANT SPORTS – As Super Bowl LIX Beckons, Football Fans Gravitate to Key Stats and Storylines
On February 9, 2025, the NFC and AFC Conference Champions will meet at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, for Super Bowl LIX. Football fans have been piling into the action all season to make their picks and predictions for the winner.
As Super Bowl Sunday beckons, there will be a tsunami of interest in the many different forms of football betting. Last year, the Super Bowl set records for American wagering, with some $23 billion bet. This year, seeing the popularity of the big game, platforms are going all out to appeal to this mass of betting interest.
So, there are plenty of offers bouncing around and unique ways to bet on the outcomes of Super Bowl LIX. Keep reading to explore these novel options and discover some stats to keep in mind for the potential Super Bowl contenders this year.
A Diverse Landscape for Super Bowl Fans
Every year, betting lines light up with a whole range of quirky selections. For the Super Bowl, prop markets are always a point of interest – and not just for the player lines. The length of the national anthem, style of the halftime performer’s attire, and the color of the winning team’s Gatorade douse are all in the odds.
In daily fantasy sports betting, the lines can also see a bit more variation. With some platforms, you’ll be able to bundle in these once-a-year kind of props. Many will also offer boosts on certain players hitting or missing their under-over lines. Others are adapting the formula entirely for the big game.
At Sleeper, the emphasis is on collaborating with your squad to make top fantasy picks. You’ll all get to select the DFS player lines that you think will happen, bundle them into a picks list, and watch the stats move in real time. With the Super Bowl fast approaching, savvy DFS teams will be claiming a Sleeper promo for NFL betting like this.
With the offer, each player will get a $55 bonus cash offer after playing $5. So, naturally, many teams will open an account, make the $10 deposit, play $5 on an upcoming game of the NFL, NBA, or anything else, and then get their 11 $5 bonus wagers to use on the big game.
What to Keep in Mind for the Super Bowl
On the NFC side, coming into the Conference Championships, Jayden Daniels absolutely had the upper hand on the Eagles’ QB, who’d suffered a concussion and then a leg injury. However, the Philadelphia defense ranked as the best in the NFL by quite some margin, only allowing 278.4 yards on average. It was Philadelphia that romped to an easy 55-23 victory.
Over in AFC territory, the Super Bowl machine that are the Kansas City Chiefs might have a shot at history with the unheard-of three-peat, after their 32-29 win over the Bills. There’s also Travis Kelce’s shot at unseating one of Jerry Rice’s long-standing records. With just three receptions in the big game, Kelce would overtake Rice’s haul of 33 takes at the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl LIX promises to be a fascinating game, with a second matchup of these two teams in three years. That contest came down to the final seconds, but who will win this one?
The bigger question here is, where will fans be placing their bets for the colossal event?
William Byron (24) and Kyle Busch (18) race into turn one during the NASCAR Cup series auto race in Richmond, Va., Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
RANT SPORTS – NASCAR likes to open with a short track exhibition
A week before heading to Daytona for the 2025 NASCAR season, they will kick off the year with an exhibition race on Saturday night under the lights. The event, known as The Cookout will take place at Bowman Gray Stadium, a NASCAR-sanctioned quarter-mile asphalt flat oval short track and a historic football stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The race, also known as The Clash, will mark the debut for several new drivers. Two of the top young talents making their NASCAR Cup Series debuts are Tim Brown for Rick Racing and Burt Myers for Team Amerivet.
This race also features the Front Row Motorsports debut for Noah Gragson and the return of Zane Smith that team. Additionally, Todd Gilliland will be driving the flagship No. 38 after three seasons in the No. 34. Furthermore, Josh Berry iin the iconic Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford.
Some familiar names with new and full season rides
AJ Allmendinger has returned to Kaulig Racing full-time, while Riley Herbst has joined 23XI Racing. Cole Custer is back now full time at the Haas Factory Team. Cody Ware is also time in the family-owned No. 51.
Ryan Preece is debuting for RFK Racing and Michael McDowell has moved to Spire Motorsports. Shane Van Gisbergen is racing full-time in Cup for Trackhouse Racing
Here is the full list of cars the teams
1 | Ross Chastain | Phil Surgen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet
2 | Austin Cindric | Brian Wilson | Team Penske | Ford
3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Boswell | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet
4 | Noah Gragson | Drew Blickensderfer | Front Row Motorsports | Ford
24 | William Byron | Rudy Fugle | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet
34 | Todd Gilliland | Chris Lawson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford
35 | Riley Herbst | Davin Restivo | 23XI Racing | Toyota
38 | Zane Smith | Ryan Bergentry | Front Row Motorsports | Ford
41 | Cole Custer | Aaron Kramer | Haas Factory Team | Ford
42| John Hunter Nemechek | Travis Mack | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota
43| Erik Jones | Ben Beshore | Legacy Motor Club | Toyot
45 | Tyler Reddick | Billy Scott | 23XI Racing | Toyota
47| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Mike Kelley | HYAK Racing | Ford
48| Alex Bowman | Blake Harris | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet
50 | Burt Myers | Tony Eury Jr. | Team Amerivet | Chevrolet
51 | Justin Haley | Billy Plourde |Rick Ware Racing | Ford
54 | Ty Gibbs | Tyler Allen | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota
60 | Ryan Preece | Derrick Finley | RFK Racing | Ford
66 | Garrett Smithley | Carl Long | Garage 66 | Ford
71 | Michael McDowell | Travis Peterson | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet
77 | Carson Hocevar | Luke Lambert | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet
88 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Stephen Doran | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet
99 | Daniel Suarez | Matt Swiderski | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet
Where to watch and listen to the race
Practice and qualifying is set for 6:10 on FS1 and heat races are set for 8:30 on FS1. The last chance race is set for 6 p.m. on Sunday on FOX and the main event is scheduled for 8 on FOX.
