Cooper Flagg and Duke's big night, plus the best Chinese hockey prospect ever

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Good morning! Dunk something today for Ja Morant.

While You Were Sleeping: Upsets!

Three quick basketball stories to get to this morning. First, upsets in men’s college hoops: 

• Unranked Creighton steamrolled No. 1 Kansas 76-63, about as big of a surprise as regular-season hoops can offer. It was the Jayhawks’ first loss of the year.
• No. 9 Duke skated by No. 2 Auburn, which had been undefeated with two wins over top-five teams already, 84-78 at Cameron Indoor. It’s the current signature win for these Blue Devils. Star freshman Cooper Flagg had 22 points and 11 rebounds.

There were also upset feelings on the NBA hardwood:

• The Lakers are a disaster right now, having fallen from a 10-4 start to 12-10 after their 41-point loss to the 10-10 Heat last night. The eye test is even worse than their record, though. In their last seven games, they have also lost by 29, 27 and 25. Jovan Buha illustrated how bad things were before last night’s defeat, and the lesson still sticks.

Let’s move on:

Hi, My Name Is: The best Chinese NHL prospect ever?

Haoxi Simon Wang is many things at once. A student living in Canada, playing hockey and making friends, he also happens to be a legitimate NHL prospect — and likely the best to ever come from China. He’s just 17, too.

Scott Wheeler penned an excellent profile yesterday, which I think deserves a closer look. The facets of Wang’s story I found astounding: 

• Wang grew up in China and started playing hockey for fun at just 4 years old. Interest in hockey back then was scant in China. He and his mother, Willa — more on her in a second — had to travel across the giant city of Beijing just to find a rink. Wang was hooked, though.
  
• In 2015, Beijing won a bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, and investment in ice sports ramped up. Willa, spurred by her son’s interest, won some of that seed money and opened a rink. She now owns multiple youth teams in China, and the sport has exploded across the country.
  
• Wang got serious about hockey in 2019 and moved to Toronto, where his game blossomed. He compared hockey in Beijing to just “skating around,” and said he really learned the game in Canada. 

Now? He’s 6-foot-5 and on the radar of NHL scouts. An elite defenseman for his age, Wang is heading to Boston University to play college hockey. He’s projected as a second- or third-round pick in next year’s NHL Draft. If taken in that range, he will be the highest-drafted Chinese prospect ever. 

It’s a remarkable story. Scott has much more detail in the full story, which is worth your time today.

News to Know

Loyd requests trade
Drama in Seattle: Jewell Loyd, All-Star guard for the Storm, has requested a trade from the franchise, a source confirmed to The Athletic last night. It comes directly after the franchise announced the end of a workplace misconduct investigation, which found no wrongdoing by the team. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Loyd had filed the initial complaint that triggered the inquiry, and its result is why Loyd wants out. More context here.

UCF asks about Riley
Filed under “bold”: In the wake of football head coach Gus Malzahn’s departure, UCF has inquired about the availability of Lincoln Riley. At USC, Riley makes around $10 million per year, while UCF paid Malzahn around $4 million — and that’s not even factoring in the status difference between the two programs. Riley is in a rut at USC, where his teams have regressed since he arrived in 2022, but he has expressed no interest in a move like this. Our whole report is worth a read.

Arnold to transfer
Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold, a former five-star recruit, is entering the transfer portal, a source confirmed to The Athletic, days after a hectic season for the Sooners ended. Arnold was clearly not swayed by the hire of new Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ryan Arbuckle. It’s fair to wonder if Washington State quarterback John Mateer will follow Arbuckle, who served as Wazzu’s OC this year, to Norman. Get the full scoop here.

Ravens suspend Johnson
Baltimore wideout Diontae Johnson will miss the team’s Week 15 game against the Giants after the receiver — acquired earlier this season from Carolina — refused to enter the game during the Ravens’ loss to the Eagles on Sunday. Johnson has been frustrated with his lack of playing time since arriving in Baltimore, but I cannot imagine how the relationship could be repaired from here. More details on the pickle here.

More news

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Watch, Listen and Play

📺 NFL: Packers at Lions
8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video
A massive NFC North matchup here, and despite 11-1 Detroit’s dominance this season, two teams — the Eagles (10-2) and Vikings (10-2) — are within range of the NFC’s No. 1 seed. See the full playoff scenarios here.

📺 NCAAW: No. 8 Duke at No. 3 South Carolina
9 p.m. ET on ESPN
The defending-champ Gamecocks are not invincible, as evidenced by a loss to UCLA two weeks ago, but the first of their two straight games against top-10 opponents is absolutely still a draw.

Get tickets to games like these here.

🎧 “The Athletic FC” on what it’s like to be David Ornstein during the transfer window.

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Pulse Picks

Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images

The Steelers and talented wide receiver George Pickens are at a crossroads. Does the team bet on his maturity? Or allow one of the league’s best wideouts to walk? Mike DeFabo has an excellent breakdown of what’s ahead. 

Harman Dayal looked at the NHL’s five most surprising breakout teams and tried to decide who’s for real and who’s masquerading. 

Dom Luszczyszyn also ranked the 4 Nations rosters. It’s America’s tournament to lose. 

MLB’s Winter Meetings start Monday, and Jim Bowden has seven trades he’d like to see done before they close. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is sneakily becoming one of the NBA’s all-time scorers, as Marcus Thompson II explains. 

I thought Jeff Gluck’s column on the state of racing was fantastic. Drivers in both F1 and NASCAR just want to be heard — but only one series is listening. 

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Dane Brugler’s NFL mock draft. Never fails. 

Most-read on the website yesterday: Dan Pompei’s excellent story on Lions lineman Penei Sewell, which we featured yesterday.

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(Top photo: Rob Kinnan /  Imagn Images)