Aday Mara's 3-point practice pays off in No. 2 Michigan's win over Ohio State

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Aday Mara's 3-point practice pays off in No. 2 Michigan's win over Ohio State

2026-02-09 06:03 Last Updated At：13:16

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Aday Mara’s practice shooting 3-pointers finally paid off.

Michigan’s 7-foot-3 center made the first two 3s of his collegiate career on Sunday during the second-ranked Wolverines' 82-61 victory over Ohio State.

Mara, a junior from Spain, didn’t attempt a shot beyond the arc in his first two years at UCLA. He missed his first four long-distance shots in Michigan’s first 22 games before finally connecting.

“I’ve been practicing. I don’t want to rush or take bad shots,” said Mara, who had a career-high 24 points. “I saw that I was open and just shot it.”

Mara joins Purdue’s Daniel Jacobsen and Missouri’s Trent Burns as players at least 7-foot-3 to make a 3-pointer in a Division I game this season, according to Sportradar.

However, Mara is only the fourth Division I player at that height since 2002-03 to have at least two in a game. Connor Vanover was the last to do it, with two for Oral Roberts against San Diego State on Feb. 25, 2023.

Vanover, who also played at California, Arkansas and Missouri, made multiple 3s 28 times over his career. Bol Bol did it four times at Oregon, and Matt Haarms twice with Purdue.

Mara missed his first 3-point shot less than five minutes into the game but then made one from the right wing with 6:14 left in the first half to give Michigan a 29-24 lead as Christoph Tilly defended too late.

“Every NBA scout just took note of that one. Holy cow,” CBS Sports analyst Bruce Pearl said after Mara’s shot.

Mara extended Michigan’s lead to 38-28 two minutes later on a 3-point jumper from the top of the key.

“We’ve spent a lot of time with him working on his 3s. We want that to be a part of his game going forward,” coach Dusty May said. “Sometimes if you just give a guy a little bit of ice cream, then he will eat the broccoli and the protein to get to that point.”

May noted there were times when Mara might have practiced too much. Before home games, May looked up at a monitor in the locker room and saw Mara practicing only 3-pointers.

“I wish there was a little more variety in his pregame routine, but that’s his time, and it paid off for us. Those 3-pointers were big today,” May said.

Mara went 11 of 16 from the floor in 26 minutes, and had six rebounds and two blocked shots.

If Mara continues to show a long-range shooting touch, it could make Michigan more of a threat in the postseason.

“He does so many things well. We want them (shooting 3-pointers) at the right time, and each game dictates something different,” May said. “I was more impressed with his rim protection and with the way he was running the floor, and he puts pressure on the rim. The big guy has come a long way.”

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Seahawks ride their 'Dark Side' defense to a Super Bowl title, pounding the Patriots 29-13

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Defense won this championship.

Devon Witherspoon, Derick Hall, Byron Murphy and the rest of Mike Macdonald’s ferocious unit pummeled Drake Maye, and the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 on Sunday to win the franchise’s second Super Bowl.

Sam Darnold threw a touchdown pass to AJ Barner, Kenneth Walker III ran for 135 yards and Jason Myers set a Super Bowl record by making all five of his field-goal tries.

Walker became the first running back to win the Super Bowl MVP award since Terrell Davis 28 years ago.

Uchenna Nwosu punctuated a punishing defensive performance by snagging Maye’s pass in the air after Witherspoon hit his arm and ran it back 45 yards for a pick-6.

“It’s a one-of-a-kind feeling, bro,” Witherspoon said. “You talk about a group of guys who battle every day, who believe in each other and believe in their coach, you can’t describe this group no better. It’s just a one-of-a-kind feeling. I was just so happy to battle with these guys. We went through a lot, but we believed. All of you all doubters out there who said all that other stuff, you all don’t know what’s going on in this building. We’re one of one over here.”

Seattle’s “Dark Side” defense helped Darnold become the first quarterback in the 2018 draft class to win a Super Bowl, ahead of Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson.

“To do this with this team, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Darnold said. “So proud of our guys, our defense. I mean, I can’t say enough great things about our defense, our special teams.”

Labeled a bust, dumped by two teams and considered expendable by two others, Darnold proved his doubters wrong while helping the Seahawks go 17-3.

After leading the NFL with 20 turnovers in the regular season, Darnold didn’t have any in three playoff games. He wasn’t particularly sharp against a solid Patriots defense but protected the ball and made enough plays, finishing 19 of 38 for 202 yards.

“I know we won the Super Bowl, but we could have been a little bit better on offense, but I don’t care about that right now,” Darnold said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling, man. I’m just so happy for the guys in the locker room and the coaches that put in so much effort throughout the whole season.”

The Seahawks sacked Maye six times, including two apiece by Hall and Murphy. Hall’s strip-sack late in the third quarter set up a short field and Darnold connected with Barner on 16-yard scoring toss to make it 19-0.

Julian Love’s interception set up another field goal that made it 22-7 with 5:35 left.

The Patriots (17-4) punted on the first eight drives, excluding a kneel-down to end the first half.

“We had a really good year, one that I’m proud of,” New England coach Mike Vrabel said. “But this game wasn’t a reflection of that. We were outcoached and outplayed.”

Down 19-0, Maye and the Patriots' offense finally got going. He hit Mack Hollins over the middle in traffic for 24 yards and then lofted a perfect 35-yard TD pass to Hollins down the left side to cut the deficit to 19-7.

Tom Brady once led Bill Belichick’s Patriots to the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, when New England rallied from a 28-3 deficit against Atlanta for a 34-28 overtime victory.

But Maye, who was runner-up to Matthew Stafford for the AP NFL MVP award in the closest race in two decades, didn’t come close. He had a chance to get it closer, but his ill-advised pass into triple coverage was picked by Love and the Patriots trailed by 15 when they got the ball back with 5:35 left.

Then came Nwosu’s touchdown, a fitting way to cap an overwhelming effort by the NFL’s stingiest defense.

“Definitely hurts. They played better than us tonight,” Maye said.

Maye’s 7-yard TD pass to Rhamondre Stevenson late in the game only made the margin smaller.

The Seahawks took a 3-0 lead on Myers’ 33-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive. Myers connected from 39 and 41 yards to extend the lead to 9-0 at halftime. He was good from 41 on Seattle’s first drive of the third quarter to make it 12-0.

Cornerback Christian Gonzalez made two outstanding plays to prevent potential touchdowns in the second quarter. He raced back and leaped in the air to slap away a deep pass to Rashid Shaheed that could have been a 76-yard TD.

On Seattle’s last drive in the first half, Gonzalez knocked down a pass to All-Pro wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba that would have been a 23-yard TD.

Rylie Mills pushed left guard Jared Wilson into Maye and took both of them down on one of Seattle’s sacks.

Bad Bunny headlined a visually stunning halftime performance that also featured appearances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. The Grammy-winning Puerto Rican artist entirely in Spanish.

The Patriots failed to win the franchise’s seventh Super Bowl, which would have set an NFL record. They’re tied with the Steelers with six championships.

Vrabel, the AP NFL Coach of the Year, was aiming to become the fifth person to win a Super Bowl as a player and head coach and the first to do both with the same team.

The 23-year-old Maye was trying to become the youngest QB to win a Lombardi Trophy. Ben Roethlisberger still holds that mark.

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