Antoine Davis, a fifth-year senior at Detroit Mercy, has scored 3,604 career points entering tonight's first-round game against Purdue Fort Wayne in the Horizon League tournament.

Why it matters: He's just 64 points away from breaking Pete Maravich's 53-year-old NCAA career scoring record (3,667 points), long thought to be one of college basketball's most unbreakable marks.

The intrigue: Tonight is the final guaranteed game of the Titans' season, as they're 13-18 and nowhere near the NCAA Tournament bubble.

• They'll need a win to extend the season and give Davis — averaging an NCAA-best 28.1 points per game — a real shot at history.

The backdrop: Anyone coming this close to such a vaunted record is remarkable, but the wiry Alabama native with unlimited range wasn't even a highly touted recruit — just a skinny kid (6'1, 165 lbs.) who knew he'd have to outwork everyone to get noticed.

• That work ethic came from his father, Mike, who happens to be the coach at Detroit Mercy. And who, as fate would have it, began Antoine's training by making him watch Maravich's famous instructional videos.
• Antoine's training ratcheted up in 2012 when Mike became head coach at Texas Southern in Houston. There, Antoine completed grueling workouts with former NBA player and current Rockets assistant John Lucas. He also scrimmaged with — and routinely torched — Mike's college team.
• He initially signed with the University of Houston, but ultimately decided to follow his father to Detroit: They both started there the same season (2018-19), and with Mike inheriting a 24-loss team, he gave Antoine free rein of the offense from day one.

Between the lines: The fact that Maravich's record has stood this long is all the more impressive given two huge disadvantages he faced: fewer years and no three-pointers.

• Freshman weren't allowed on varsity back then, so Maravich amassed his staggering sum in just three seasons (83 games). Davis has played five seasons (142 games) thanks to the COVID eligibility waiver.
• Three-pointers wouldn't come to the NCAA until 1986, meaning Maravich — an all-time great long-range shooter — missed out on countless points. Davis, meanwhile, literally broke the NCAA's all-time three-point record earlier this year.

The bottom line: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA scoring record fell just three weeks ago. Will the Pistol's record follow?

Go deeper: Davis reflects on career as he nears record (USA Today)

Novak Djokovic earned the No. 1 ranking on Monday for the 378th week of his career, passing Steffi Graf for the most all-time by any player, man or woman.

"It's surreal to be that many weeks No. 1 ... Just being amongst these legendary names is flattering. I'm proud of it."

The top 5:

1. Djokovic: 378 weeks
2. Graf: 377
3. Martina Navratilova: 332
4. Serena Williams: 319
5. Roger Federer: 310

The backdrop: He returned to the top spot five weeks ago after winning the Australian Open, tying Rafael Nadal's all-time men's mark of 22 majors. It was his first time back at No. 1 since last June.

The big picture: Djokovic first reached No. 1 at age 24 on July 4, 2011, the day after beating Nadal in the Wimbledon final for his third grand slam, and first at the All England Club.

• It was actually Nadal's spot that he took atop the list that day, and since then the Spaniard has spent "only" 107 weeks at No. 1 (of 209 total), compared to Djokovic's 378.
• Federer, who amassed most of his 310 weeks at the top in the 2000s — including a record 237 consecutive weeks from 2004-08 — has been No. 1 for just 25 weeks since Djokovic debuted there.

What to watch: Djokovic's first test after setting this record is the Dubai Championships, in which he'll face qualifier Tomáš Macháč today in the round of 32.

Lionel Messi and Alexia Putellas were named FIFA's best men's and women's players at Monday's ceremony in Paris — the seventh annual edition of these awards.

• Messi (PSG, Argentina) beat out Kylian Mbappé (PSG, France) and Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France), joining Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski as two-time men's winners.
• Putellas (Barcelona, Spain) won for the second straight year, beating out Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave, USWNT) and Beth Mead (Arsenal, England) to become the first two-time women's winner.

The other awards: Argentina swept the men's awards after winning the World Cup, and England won two of three on the women's side after winning the Euros.

• Men's goalkeeper: Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa, Argentina)
• Women's goalkeeper: Mary Earps (Man United, England)
• Men's coach: Lionel Scaloni (Argentina)
• Women's coach: Sarina Wiegman (England)
• Puskás Award (best goal): Marcin Oleksy … The Polish amputee won for this stunning bicycle kick.

Plus … The men's and women's "World 11" — honorary All-Star teams voted on by thousands of players worldwide — were also revealed.

• Men's: Thibaut Courtois, GK (Real Madrid, Belgium); Achraf Hakimi, D (PSG, Morocco); João Cancelo, D (Bayern, Portugal); Virgil van Dijk, D (Liverpool, Netherlands); Kevin De Bruyne, M (Man City, Belgium); Luka Modrić, M (Real Madrid, Croatia); Casemiro, M (Man United, Brazil); Erling Haaland, F (Man City, Norway); Messi, F; Mbappé, F; Benzema, F
• Women's: Christiane Endler, GK (Lyon, Chile); Lucy Bronze, D (Barcelona, England); Mapi León, D (Barcelona, Spain); Leah Williamson, D (Arsenal, England); Wendie Renard, D (Lyon, France); Putellas, M; Keira Walsh, M (Barcelona, England); Lena Oberdorf, M (Wolfsburg, Germany); Sam Kerr, F (Chelsea, Australia); Mead, F; Morgan, F

🏀 Bucks sale: Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry is selling his 25% stake in the team to Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, pending league approval. The deal values the franchise at $3.5 billion, second only to the Suns ($4 billion) among NBA teams.

🏀 LeBron to miss time: The Lakers fear that LeBron James could miss several weeks with the right foot injury he sustained during Sunday's comeback win. L.A., which is one game out of the play-in tournament, is 5-9 without LeBron this season (24-23 with him).

⚽️ Bontis steps down: Nick Bontis, the president of Canada Soccer, stepped down on Monday, hours after receiving a letter from the leaders of Canada's regional soccer federations requesting his resignation. The move comes in the midst of the women's team's equal pay dispute with Canada Soccer.

🍿 "Ted Lasso" trailer: Apple released the official trailer for Season 3 of "Ted Lasso" on Monday, 16 days ahead of its March 15 premiere.

Source: Giphy

Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan was never very good at free throws until he heeded advice from his coach that would make any driver's ed instructor cringe: Use one hand.

State of play: Sochan, 19, shot just 45.8% from the line (11 for 24) in his first 23 games this season, even worse than the 58.9% mark he'd put up in his lone season at Baylor before the Spurs took him at No. 9 overall last year.

• But on Dec. 19, coaches instructed him to use just one hand at the charity stripe, forcing him to focus on keeping his elbow straight. The experiment has worked wonders.
• In 26 games since the change, he's shot 77.5% (55 for 71), including 85% over his last eight games.

Between the lines: The focus on his form has helped more than just his free throws: His three-point accuracy has nearly doubled from 17.4% in those first 23 games to 32.3% in his last 26.

What to watch: Sochan's odd but improved form will be on display tonight when the Spurs and their franchise-record 16-game losing streak visit the Jazz.

Erik Sowinski is an elite middle-distance runner and one of the most sought-after race participants in the world. His specialty? Never finishing.

State of play: Sowinksi, 33, is a professional pace-setter — or "rabbit," in track parlance — flying around the world to prestigious events to help others run their best race.

• Most recently, the former five-time All-American paced the indoor mile at the Millrose Games in New York City earlier this month.
• He ran a brisk 1:52.99 in the first 800 meters — his signature event, having won bronze at the 2016 world indoor championships — before dropping out and ceding the track to the competitors to finish the race.
• The winner, 23-year-old Yared Nuguse, ended up smashing the American record by two seconds, finishing with a time of 3:47.38.

Fun fact: That's not the first time Sowinski has helped make indoor mile history: Nuguse's time was just shy of the world record (3:47.01), which was set in March 2019 at the first race Sowinski ever paced.

What they're saying: "It's so much easier to run behind someone to take the edge off mentally and physically," Olympic marathoner Mark Coogan told NYT.

• "If you have a good pacer, you can try to relax for as long as possible before you have to take the race on yourself."

Three champion wakeboarders built an obstacle course on a frozen lake in the small Swedish town of Jokkmokk, 630 miles north of Stockholm. After months of preparation, the Red Bull-sponsored athletes finally got to enjoy the fruits of their labor a couple of weeks ago.

The trio spent months planning the site, which took a crew nearly two weeks to build out as they had to remove 518 tons of ice that was nearly 3 feet thick.

The temperature got as low as minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit, which meant their wetsuits and bindings routinely froze through.

Obstacles included multiple grinding rails, jumps and this 16-foot diameter igloo that could be both leapt over or ridden through.

❄️ Watch: Frozen Lake Wake (YouTube)

Tonight's NBA doubleheader on TNT provides a perfect illustration of how wild the Western Conference stretch run will be, with all four teams separated by just eight games — and 10 spots in the standings.

• 7:30pm ET: Lakers at Grizzlies ... L.A. (29-32) has won three straight and sits just one game out of the play-in tournament; Memphis (36-23) is the same 5.5 games behind the top-seeded Nuggets (43-19) as it is ahead of the sixth-seeded Mavericks (32-30).
• 10pm: Timberwolves at Clippers ... Minnesota (31-32) is only a half-game from falling out of the play-in tournament, but also just two games behind L.A. (33-30) in fifth.

More to watch:

• ⚾️ Spring training: Astros at Mets (1pm, ESPN); Reds at Dodgers (3pm, MLB); Red Sox at Marlins (6:40pm, MLB)
• 🏀 NCAAM: Iowa at No. 15 Indiana (7pm, ESPN2); Texas Tech at No. 3 Kansas (9pm, ESPN); Arkansas at No. 12 Tennessee (9pm, ESPN2); No. 18 San Diego State at Boise State (9pm, CBSSN)
• 🏒 NHL: Panthers at Lightning (7pm, ESPN+); Kings at Jets (8pm, ESPN+)
• ⛳️ Women's golf: Darius Rucker Intercollegiate (2:30p, Golf) ... Day 2 of 3.

The Washington Commanders released Carson Wentz on Monday, parting ways with 2016's No. 2 overall draft pick after just one season.

• Question: Who was the No. 1 pick that year?
• Hint: No longer plays for the team that drafted him.

Answer at the bottom.

Max Scherzer said on Sunday that he loves the new pitch clock rules because it flips the dynamic of each at-bat, giving the pitcher more control.

"Really, the power the pitcher has now — I can totally dictate pace. ... I love it."

The bottom line: The Mets ace and three-time Cy Young who's struck out the 13th-most batters in MLB history thinks he has more power and control now than ever before. Good luck, hitters.