By Greg Halbleib

Illinois State men’s basketball broke out to an early lead and never trailed in a 75-57 win over Fort Wayne in the Redbirds’ home opener. Deontae Hawkins led the Birds with 24 points. ISU travels to TCU in Texas for a contest Monday at 5 p.m..

The Missouri Valley Conference went three-for-three on the night on the men’s side as Wichita State cruised past Tulsa 80-53 and Southern Illinois held off Missouri Southern 85-64.

Butler beat Northwestern 70-68 on a last-second shot while Indiana and Minnesota picked up easy wins.

Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer was the easy choice to win the National League Cy Young Award, while Rick Porcello of the Red Sox won a close vote for the American League honor.

The New Orleans Saints visit the Carolina Panthers in the Thursday night NFL game.

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