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Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball may need arthroscopic surgery on his left knee for a meniscus tear, and a decision on the procedure is expected to come this week, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

The scope would sideline Ball for four to six weeks, sources said.

The Bulls and Ball’s agent — Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul — are discussing options with doctors, but the procedure looms if a recent change in nonsurgical treatment won’t allow Ball to play through what’s described as a slight meniscus tear, sources said.

Ball has missed the past three games with what the Bulls initially deemed was a bone bruise. The team had already ruled him out for its upcoming three-game road trip because his knee was not recovering well from the initial treatment.

Bulls coach Billy Donovan on Wednesday night said Ball had changed treatments on the knee, and that doctors were waiting to see how Ball responded to the new treatment.

“We haven’t gotten to that point,” Donovan said when asked if surgery was an option. “I think the biggest thing right now is what are the steps that we can do to get him back and get him healthy.”

Ball had a procedure for a meniscus tear on the same knee in July 2018 and returned for the start of training camp with the Los Angeles Lakers.

He is averaging 13 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 35 games in his first season in Chicago.

ESPN’s Jamal Collier contributed to this report.

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Bob McKillop just wouldn’t have handled it well. Or maybe, his presence would have changed everything. We’ll never know.

In the spring of 1972, following a stellar college basketball career at East Carolina and Hofstra, the 6-foot-1 guard defied the odds and signed a free-agent deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. On the cusp of realizing his dream of playing in the NBA, McKillop never made it out of training camp. It might have been a blessing.

2dJoe Lunardi

3dJeff Borzello

8dJohn Gasaway

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“I was cut from one of the worst teams in NBA history,” McKillop has long joked about the 1972-73 Sixers team that finished 9-73, four-thousandths of a percentage point off the most fruitless season of all time.

Plan B was coaching, which McKillop took up that fall at Holy Trinity High School on New York’s Long Island. In six years, he went 86-25. After spending the 1978-79 season as an assistant in the college ranks, McKillop felt a different high school head-coaching opportunity was a better fit than his job at Davidson College. So back to New York he went to take over at Long Island Lutheran High School, where he promptly turned LuHi into a Goliath, winning five New York state titles in 10 years.

Longtime Davidson coach Bob McKillop might have one of his best Wildcats teams in 2021-22. Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

A return to Davidson in 1989 followed, this time as the man tasked with rebuilding the Wildcats program, and with the exception of some lean years early on, all McKillop has done, once again, is win.

A total of 622 times, to be exact, following Tuesday’s dramatic victory at VCU. It was the Cats’ 14th consecutive win, tied with Auburn for the longest active streak in Division I. At 71 years old, McKillop is in his 33rd season at Davidson, the fourth-longest-tenured active coach at one school in Division I behind only Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Oakland’s Greg Kampe. McKillop is 18th on the all-time win list among active Division I coaches and barring any postponements will coach in his 1,000th game on Jan. 29 against visiting La Salle, on the court that bears his name.

Of course McKillop’s most famous ex-pupil is Steph Curry.

Liberty’s Ritchie McKay coached Steph’s brother, Seth Curry, for one season, and now McKay has himself another undersized scoring machine with unlimited range.

“He’s not Steph,” McKay said, “but he does for our team what Steph does for his.”

He is Darius McGhee, a 5-foot-8 senior guard, who set a school record, an Atlantic Sun record and a Division I individual high this season with a 48-point explosion in Saturday’s road win over FGCU.

“Just pursuant. The entire game,” McGhee said of his relentless effort. “It’s great when you feel like you’re making the correct reads and seeing the ball go in, but it’s even better when we’re all in sync.”

The reigning ASUN player of the year pumped in 37 of his 48 points after halftime, including a personal 13-0 run to open the second half, turning a 40-31 deficit into a 44-40 lead. After Liberty fell behind again 52-51 midway through the second half, McGhee scored eight consecutive points in less than two minutes to give the Flames a lead they would never relinquish.

Liberty’s Darius McGhee has been among the nation’s most dangerous scorers this season. Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images

“Some of the shots he made, I was just like, ‘Wow,'” said McKay, who has been on the college sidelines for nearly 35 years. “I’m coaching the game and literally enjoying watching him. I found myself amazed.”

McGhee reluctantly admits he had four 50-point games in high school but doesn’t exactly remember his career high: “It may be 54 or 57. I’m not one of those guys who gets caught up in the numbers.”

We will.

As of Thursday, McGhee is fourth in Division I in scoring at 23.0 points per game and is the only Division I player this season with multiple 40-point games. (McGhee netted 41 points against Stanford in Honolulu in December.)

“What kind of scorer is he?” McKay said. “Any kind he wants to be.”

Other mid-major mastery:

Teddy Allen matched a career high with 41 points on Saturday in New Mexico State’s 77-63 win over Abilene Christian. “Teddy Buckets” scored 41 as a Nebraska Cornhusker last season, becoming just the third player this century with 40-point games at two different schools (Curtis Cobb III and Joe Knight).

Kennesaw State’s 77-49 win at Stetson on Saturday snapped the Owls’ 49-game road losing streak, longest in Division I. KSU hadn’t won a road game since Feb. 15, 2018.

Missouri State standout Isiaih Mosley made it three straight games with 30-plus points when he went for 32 in a road win on Saturday versus Valparaiso. Mosley is the first Missouri Valley Conference player to do so in more than 25 years.

For the first time in 689 days, McNeese played a game inside the Legacy Center, after the Cowboys’ home arena was damaged by Hurricane Laura in 2020. Junior guard Zach Scott posted a career-high 24 points, including an unforgettable, game-winning 3 with 0.4 seconds, in a 78-75 decision over Houston Baptist.

South Dakota State sophomore Baylor Scheierman remains the only Division I player to lead his conference (Summit League) in both rebounding (8.8 RPG) and assists (4.1 APG).

A citation is in order for VMI senior center Jake Stephens, who followed up a career-high 34-point effort in a Thursday loss at Mercer with a 21-rebound performance on Saturday in a win over The Citadel.

File the same paperwork for Air Force freshman Ethan Taylor, who went for 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on Saturday in a loss to Nevada for the first triple-double in Academy history.

KC’s Mid-Major Top 10 for this week:

ESPN Stats and Info

Last week: 1

For the third consecutive week, the Ramblers occupy the top spot following road wins over Indiana State and Evansville, and that other poll could no longer ignore the elephant in the room. Loyola cracked the AP Top 25 for the first time all season, coming in at No. 22. In doing so, coach Drew Valentine became the youngest head coach (30) to lead his team into the AP poll since Cal’s Todd Bozeman (29) in November 1993. (Having Jason Kidd helped.) You have no one to blame but yourself if you miss Saturday’s home showdown with Missouri State.

Next up: vs. Missouri State (Saturday)

Last week: 4

Friday’s battle with Richmond inside the Robins Center was a gift from the mid-major gods. Michael Jones was unconscious, connecting on 8 of 9 3s, including the game winner with 3 seconds to play in an electrifying 87-84 decision. The Wildcats chased that with a stirring, come-from-behind win on Tuesday at VCU, holding the Rams to two points over the final 5:23. Davidson is now 15-2 and 5-0 in Atlantic 10 play and off to its best start since the 1969-70 season.

Next up: at Fordham (Saturday)

Last week: 2

There’s no sugarcoating what happened to the Cougars on Thursday in Spokane, Washington. Gonzaga happened. The new AP No. 1 team shot 69%, made 11 3s, got 30 points from national player of the year candidate Drew Timme and hung 110 on BYU in a 26-point win. Yikes. But 48 hours later, Mark Pope’s squad got back inside the octagon and beat last week’s No. 6-ranked team, San Francisco, 71-69 in the Dons’ gym. Talk about a good chin. After a few days of raw steak on the eyes to reduce swelling, BYU returns to action Thursday against middleweight contender San Diego.

Next up: vs. San Diego (Thursday)

Last week: 3

The Committee lost sleep over this move. Dropping a team two spots after it didn’t play (through no fault of its own) was excruciating but warranted. Tuesday’s run with UNLV was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns within the Aztecs’ program, giving coach Brian Dutcher’s team just two games since the calendar flipped to 2022. That said, it’s about to get real. SDSU is home to our No. 9 team Boise State this weekend, Monday is the rescheduled game with UNLV and Wednesday is a road test at Utah State. Three games in five days. Saddle up.

Next up: vs. Boise State (Saturday)

Last week: 7

The Rams have stabilized after that 30-point loss at San Diego State. Coach Niko Medved’s squad won by 36 at San Jose State on Saturday, then scratched out a hard-fought home win over New Mexico on Wednesday night. CSU still has just one loss, to go with a Quad 1 win (Saint Mary’s) and a 3-0 record in Quad 2 games (Creighton, Mississippi State and Utah State.) David Roddy remains a top contender for Mountain West Player of the Year.

Next up: at Air Force (Saturday)

Last week: 8

The Gaels got back on the horse following a clunker on Saturday at BYU, with a 77-62 win on Thursday at Pepperdine. Coach Randy Bennett’s team might lack sex appeal, but the Gaels sure have a great personality. Three of SMC’s four losses have come at the hands of teams ranked in this very Top 10 (Colorado State, San Diego State and BYU), and the other was to Wisconsin. Wins over Notre Dame, Oregon, Utah State and Missouri State bolster this r?sum?.

Next up: vs. Santa Clara (Thursday)

Last week: Unranked

Former Racer Ja Morant has taken home two of the past three NBA Western Conference Player of the Week honors, but there’s no recognition on par with a spot in KC’s Mid-Major Top 10. Coach Matt McMahon’s team sandwiched dominant victories over Tennessee State (Thursday) and Eastern Illinois (Monday) around an eye-opening 22-point road win over our No. 5-ranked Belmont Bruins on Saturday. Justice Hill erupted for a career-high 36 points in Belmont game, establishing an OVC season high in the process.

Next up: vs. UT Martin (Saturday)

Last week: Unranked

There’s simply no more ignoring the season the Blazers are having. Jordan Walker went for 20 points in an 84-56 thumping of FIU then established a career high with 27 points in an 11-point victory over Florida Atlantic. Coach Andy Kennedy’s team has two Quadrant 1 wins (at Saint Louis and at North Texas), and if not for a puzzling road loss versus Rice, it might be ranked even higher. Missing Saturday’s visit to Louisiana Tech will be seen as an affront to The Committee and an offense to your own self-dignity.

Next up: at Louisiana Tech (Saturday)

Last week: Unranked

Make it 10 straight W’s for the Broncos, who knocked off New Mexico and Air Force this past week. It’s now the second-longest win streak in program history, and only Davidson and Auburn have longer active win streaks in Division I. Coach Leon Rice’s squad ranks 22nd nationally in defensive efficiency and has held 10 teams to under 60 points. But beware of the road ahead. Boise State faces Utah State, San Diego State, Wyoming and Fresno State over the next nine days.

Next up: at San Diego State (Saturday)

Last week: 10

Saturday’s run at Central Michigan was postponed, so the Bobcats’ lone game of the week was Tuesday at Miami (Ohio), and they did not disappoint. Ben Vander Plas posted a season-high 23 points and helped Ohio extend its win streak to nine games in an 86-63 decision in Round 1 of the “Battle of the Bricks.” Friday’s clash with Toledo might be the biggest game at the Convocation Center all season.

Next up: vs. Toledo (Friday)

Others receiving votes: San Francisco, Wyoming, Belmont, New Mexico State, Louisiana Tech

Dropped out: Belmont (No. 5), San Francisco (No. 6), St. Bonaventure (No. 9)

ESPN Stats & Information researcher Jared Berson contributed to this article

Follow KC on Instagram: @kevinconnorsespn & Twitter: @kevconnorsespn

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Pat Brickhouse thoroughly enjoyed being the life of the party.

And she had many opportunities to showcase her big personality.

She ran a public relations firm that promoted Chicago bars and restaurants. And she was married to the late Chicago legend Jack Brickhouse, who announced Cubs games for decades before the microphone was handed to Harry Caray.

Mrs. Brickhouse died Monday in Scottsdale, Arizona, from natural causes, according to the family. She was 91.

“She was a pistol, and I mean that in the best sense. She loved to party,” said friend and former Sun-Times entertainment columnist Bill Zwecker.

“She drove around in one of those big old monster Cadillacs. And she just adored Jack and loved their connection to the Cubs and was very protective of his legacy,” Zwecker said.

“There were times when she felt her husband’s memory was being passed over due to the outsized fame of his successor and friend, Harry Caray,” said David Fletcher, the founder of an online museum dedicated to Chicago baseball and close friend of Pat Brickhouse.

“Pat was thrilled when the Cubs invited her to throw out the first pitch on Jack Brickhouse bobblehead day in 2014, and later when they named a tavern after her husband just outside the ballpark,” Fletcher said.

The unveiling of a statue of her husband along Michigan Avenue in 2000 was also a special moment for her, and one she worked tirelessly to make happen, friends said.

The couple married in 1980. Each had been married previously.

“They were sort of made for each other,” said Bruce DuMont, a friend and former head of Museum of Broadcast Communications. “They were kindred spirits that liked parties and getting out on the social circuit.”

The couple was good friends with late Sun-Times entertainment columnist Irv Kupcinet and his wife, Essee.

Harry Caray’s widow, Dutchie Caray, said the two legendary broadcasters were good friends.

“We were out in Palm Springs and they challenged Harry and I to a tennis match. I hate to say this, but we won,” she said.

Brian Bernardoni, a lobbyist who lives in Chicago, said he befriended Mrs. Brickhouse 20 years ago after explaining how her husband’s broadcasts basically served as his babysitter when he was a kid living on the Southwest Side.

“I thanked her because her husband and the Cubs kept me out of trouble. I was a latchkey kid,” said Bernardoni, 53.

“It touched her. We became drinking pals. She gave a toast at my wedding,” he said.

“She was vivacious. I don’t think there was a steak joint downtown that didn’t know her when she walked in. She couldn’t have been more than 98 pounds but she just had a strut,” Bernardoni said.

She was raised in Omaha, Nebraska, and graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in music education before starting a career as a publicist.

Mrs. Brickhouse, a fashionista, lived in a condo along Lake Shore Drive, just a few blocks east of Wrigley Field, before moving to Arizona about seven years ago, friends said.

She is survived by three children from her first marriage, Stephen, Sharon and Douglas Ettelson, as well as five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

“She met three U.S. presidents and a pope,” her son Douglas Ettelson said. “She did like to party and meet people and have a good time. That song ‘Brick House’ by the Commodores tickled her.”

Family asks anyone who wishes to share thoughts or photos or light a virtual candle to visit www.sinaimortuary.net.

Services have been held.

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Bob McKillop just wouldn’t have handled it well. Or maybe, his presence would have changed everything. We’ll never know.

In the spring of 1972, following a stellar college basketball career at East Carolina and Hofstra, the 6-foot-1 guard defied the odds and signed a free-agent deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. On the cusp of realizing his dream of playing in the NBA, McKillop never made it out of training camp. It might have been a blessing.

2dJoe Lunardi

3dJeff Borzello

8dJohn Gasaway

2 Related

“I was cut from one of the worst teams in NBA history,” McKillop has long joked about the 1972-73 Sixers team that finished 9-73, four-thousandths of a percentage point off the most fruitless season of all time.

Plan B was coaching, which McKillop took up that fall at Holy Trinity High School on New York’s Long Island. In six years, he went 86-25. After spending the 1978-79 season as an assistant in the college ranks, McKillop felt a different high school head-coaching opportunity was a better fit than his job at Davidson College. So back to New York he went to take over at Long Island Lutheran High School, where he promptly turned LuHi into a Goliath, winning five New York state titles in 10 years.

Longtime Davidson coach Bob McKillop might have one of his best Wildcats teams in 2021-22. Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

A return to Davidson in 1989 followed, this time as the man tasked with rebuilding the Wildcats program, and with the exception of some lean years early on, all McKillop has done, once again, is win.

A total of 622 times, to be exact, following Tuesday’s dramatic victory at VCU. It was the Cats’ 14th consecutive win, tied with Auburn for the longest active streak in Division I. At 71 years old, McKillop is in his 33rd season at Davidson, the fourth-longest-tenured active coach at one school in Division I behind only Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Oakland’s Greg Kampe. McKillop is 18th on the all-time win list among active Division I coaches and barring any postponements will coach in his 1,000th game on Jan. 29 against visiting La Salle, on the court that bears his name.

Of course McKillop’s most famous ex-pupil is Steph Curry.

Liberty’s Ritchie McKay coached Steph’s brother, Seth Curry, for one season, and now McKay has himself another undersized scoring machine with unlimited range.

“He’s not Steph,” McKay said, “but he does for our team what Steph does for his.”

He is Darius McGhee, a 5-foot-8 senior guard, who set a school record, an Atlantic Sun record and a Division I individual high this season with a 48-point explosion in Saturday’s road win over FGCU.

“Just pursuant. The entire game,” McGhee said of his relentless effort. “It’s great when you feel like you’re making the correct reads and seeing the ball go in, but it’s even better when we’re all in sync.”

The reigning ASUN player of the year pumped in 37 of his 48 points after halftime, including a personal 13-0 run to open the second half, turning a 40-31 deficit into a 44-40 lead. After Liberty fell behind again 52-51 midway through the second half, McGhee scored eight consecutive points in less than two minutes to give the Flames a lead they would never relinquish.

Liberty’s Darius McGhee has been among the nation’s most dangerous scorers this season. Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images

“Some of the shots he made, I was just like, ‘Wow,'” said McKay, who has been on the college sidelines for nearly 35 years. “I’m coaching the game and literally enjoying watching him. I found myself amazed.”

McGhee reluctantly admits he had four 50-point games in high school but doesn’t exactly remember his career high: “It may be 54 or 57. I’m not one of those guys who gets caught up in the numbers.”

We will.

As of Thursday, McGhee is fourth in Division I in scoring at 23.0 points per game and is the only Division I player this season with multiple 40-point games. (McGhee netted 41 points against Stanford in Honolulu in December.)

“What kind of scorer is he?” McKay said. “Any kind he wants to be.”

Other mid-major mastery:

Teddy Allen matched a career high with 41 points on Saturday in New Mexico State’s 77-63 win over Abilene Christian. “Teddy Buckets” scored 41 as a Nebraska Cornhusker last season, becoming just the third player this century with 40-point games at two different schools (Curtis Cobb III and Joe Knight).

Kennesaw State’s 77-49 win at Stetson on Saturday snapped the Owls’ 49-game road losing streak, longest in Division I. KSU hadn’t won a road game since Feb. 15, 2018.

Missouri State standout Isiaih Mosley made it three straight games with 30-plus points when he went for 32 in a road win on Saturday versus Valparaiso. Mosley is the first Missouri Valley Conference player to do so in more than 25 years.

For the first time in 689 days, McNeese played a game inside the Legacy Center, after the Cowboys’ home arena was damaged by Hurricane Laura in 2020. Junior guard Zach Scott posted a career-high 24 points, including an unforgettable, game-winning 3 with 0.4 seconds, in a 78-75 decision over Houston Baptist.

South Dakota State sophomore Baylor Scheierman remains the only Division I player to lead his conference (Summit League) in both rebounding (8.8 RPG) and assists (4.1 APG).

A citation is in order for VMI senior center Jake Stephens, who followed up a career-high 34-point effort in a Thursday loss at Mercer with a 21-rebound performance on Saturday in a win over The Citadel.

File the same paperwork for Air Force freshman Ethan Taylor, who went for 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on Saturday in a loss to Nevada for the first triple-double in Academy history.

KC’s Mid-Major Top 10 for this week:

ESPN Stats and Info

Last week: 1

For the third consecutive week, the Ramblers occupy the top spot following road wins over Indiana State and Evansville, and that other poll could no longer ignore the elephant in the room. Loyola cracked the AP Top 25 for the first time all season, coming in at No. 22. In doing so, coach Drew Valentine became the youngest head coach (30) to lead his team into the AP poll since Cal’s Todd Bozeman (29) in November 1993. (Having Jason Kidd helped.) You have no one to blame but yourself if you miss Saturday’s home showdown with Missouri State.

Next up: vs. Missouri State (Saturday)

Last week: 4

Friday’s battle with Richmond inside the Robins Center was a gift from the mid-major gods. Michael Jones was unconscious, connecting on 8 of 9 3s, including the game winner with 3 seconds to play in an electrifying 87-84 decision. The Wildcats chased that with a stirring, come-from-behind win on Tuesday at VCU, holding the Rams to two points over the final 5:23. Davidson is now 15-2 and 5-0 in Atlantic 10 play and off to its best start since the 1969-70 season.

Next up: at Fordham (Saturday)

Last week: 2

There’s no sugarcoating what happened to the Cougars on Thursday in Spokane, Washington. Gonzaga happened. The new AP No. 1 team shot 69%, made 11 3s, got 30 points from national player of the year candidate Drew Timme and hung 110 on BYU in a 26-point win. Yikes. But 48 hours later, Mark Pope’s squad got back inside the octagon and beat last week’s No. 6-ranked team, San Francisco, 71-69 in the Dons’ gym. Talk about a good chin. After a few days of raw steak on the eyes to reduce swelling, BYU returns to action Thursday against middleweight contender San Diego.

Next up: vs. San Diego (Thursday)

Last week: 3

The Committee lost sleep over this move. Dropping a team two spots after it didn’t play (through no fault of its own) was excruciating but warranted. Tuesday’s run with UNLV was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns within the Aztecs’ program, giving coach Brian Dutcher’s team just two games since the calendar flipped to 2022. That said, it’s about to get real. SDSU is home to our No. 9 team Boise State this weekend, Monday is the rescheduled game with UNLV and Wednesday is a road test at Utah State. Three games in five days. Saddle up.

Next up: vs. Boise State (Saturday)

Last week: 7

The Rams have stabilized after that 30-point loss at San Diego State. Coach Niko Medved’s squad won by 36 at San Jose State on Saturday, then scratched out a hard-fought home win over New Mexico on Wednesday night. CSU still has just one loss, to go with a Quad 1 win (Saint Mary’s) and a 3-0 record in Quad 2 games (Creighton, Mississippi State and Utah State.) David Roddy remains a top contender for Mountain West Player of the Year.

Next up: at Air Force (Saturday)

Last week: 8

The Gaels got back on the horse following a clunker on Saturday at BYU, with a 77-62 win on Thursday at Pepperdine. Coach Randy Bennett’s team might lack sex appeal, but the Gaels sure have a great personality. Three of SMC’s four losses have come at the hands of teams ranked in this very Top 10 (Colorado State, San Diego State and BYU), and the other was to Wisconsin. Wins over Notre Dame, Oregon, Utah State and Missouri State bolster this r?sum?.

Next up: vs. Santa Clara (Thursday)

Last week: Unranked

Former Racer Ja Morant has taken home two of the past three NBA Western Conference Player of the Week honors, but there’s no recognition on par with a spot in KC’s Mid-Major Top 10. Coach Matt McMahon’s team sandwiched dominant victories over Tennessee State (Thursday) and Eastern Illinois (Monday) around an eye-opening 22-point road win over our No. 5-ranked Belmont Bruins on Saturday. Justice Hill erupted for a career-high 36 points in Belmont game, establishing an OVC season high in the process.

Next up: vs. UT Martin (Saturday)

Last week: Unranked

There’s simply no more ignoring the season the Blazers are having. Jordan Walker went for 20 points in an 84-56 thumping of FIU then established a career high with 27 points in an 11-point victory over Florida Atlantic. Coach Andy Kennedy’s team has two Quadrant 1 wins (at Saint Louis and at North Texas), and if not for a puzzling road loss versus Rice, it might be ranked even higher. Missing Saturday’s visit to Louisiana Tech will be seen as an affront to The Committee and an offense to your own self-dignity.

Next up: at Louisiana Tech (Saturday)

Last week: Unranked

Make it 10 straight W’s for the Broncos, who knocked off New Mexico and Air Force this past week. It’s now the second-longest win streak in program history, and only Davidson and Auburn have longer active win streaks in Division I. Coach Leon Rice’s squad ranks 22nd nationally in defensive efficiency and has held 10 teams to under 60 points. But beware of the road ahead. Boise State faces Utah State, San Diego State, Wyoming and Fresno State over the next nine days.

Next up: at San Diego State (Saturday)

Last week: 10

Saturday’s run at Central Michigan was postponed, so the Bobcats’ lone game of the week was Tuesday at Miami (Ohio), and they did not disappoint. Ben Vander Plas posted a season-high 23 points and helped Ohio extend its win streak to nine games in an 86-63 decision in Round 1 of the “Battle of the Bricks.” Friday’s clash with Toledo might be the biggest game at the Convocation Center all season.

Next up: vs. Toledo (Friday)

Others receiving votes: San Francisco, Wyoming, Belmont, New Mexico State, Louisiana Tech

Dropped out: Belmont (No. 5), San Francisco (No. 6), St. Bonaventure (No. 9)

ESPN Stats & Information researcher Jared Berson contributed to this article

Follow KC on Instagram: @kevinconnorsespn & Twitter: @kevconnorsespn

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Chicago Bulls guards Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball will not travel with the team for its upcoming road trip while each recovers from his respective knee injury, coach Billy Donovan said prior to Wednesday night’s 117-104 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

It will leave the Bulls without their starting backcourt for at least the next three games. The Bulls begin a three-game road trip on Friday night in Milwaukee and do not return home until next Wednesday against the Toronto Raptors.

Neither LaVine nor Ball has played since Friday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors.

16hBrian Windhorst

3d

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While Donovan said he is encouraged by how well LaVine’s left knee soreness is responding to treatment, he acknowledged Ball’s status is more uncertain.

Ball missed his third straight game Wednesday with what the Bulls have determined is a bone bruise in his left knee, but he did not respond well to the initial treatment, according to Donovan, who did not have a timetable for his return.

“Now they’ve switched to a different kind of treatment for him and they’ll see how that treatment works out,” Donovan said. “Then there’ll be another step after that if we need to be. Right now it’s more just trying to help him get healthy.

“When he was on the road with us and didn’t play in Boston, there was some treatment he was given, didn’t really respond great to that, met with a doctor, there’s another set of treatments going on right now. Then we’ll probably know more [once] we see how it responds to that.”

Donovan was asked whether surgery was a possibility for Ball — who is averaging 13 points, five rebounds and five assists in 35 games in his first season in Chicago — but he said “we haven’t gotten to that point.”

“A lot is gonna depend on how he responds to the treatment of what he’s getting right now,” Donovan said. “That’s why there’s a reason to get him back as soon as possible from Memphis, because you just don’t want to waste days for any player.”

LaVine has been sidelined since aggravating his knee in the first quarter against the Warriors, but he has been able to get back on the court for some light basketball activities. The Bulls are missing their second-leading scorer in LaVine, who is averaging 24.9 points on 49% shooting in 38 games this season. However, Donovan said they still want him to test out his knee running and jumping before he is cleared to return to the court.

“He has responded well,” Donovan said. “I don’t have a return date for him at this point, but certainly he feels a lot better today than he did coming out of Golden State.”

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Having Alex Caruso back was huge for the Bulls on the defensive end, but as the guard showed in the third quarter, his intangibles are what was really missed while he was out.

There will be a time in the next few weeks when coach Billy Donovan will be summoned and a serious heart-to-heart discussion will take place on what the Bulls need as the Feb. 10 trade deadline draws closer.

The coach knows that’s coming.

“Those guys have been great, always keeping me in the loop of what’s going on,’’ Donovan said of his bosses. “For us right now, so much has been directed at the guys that have been out. It’s been more like really talking about this team, how do we help this group? No question there will be a time that they sit down and talk to me about that stuff. They’ve always been very inclusive with that, but I don’t think there’s anything going on right now where they need to sit down with me. And listen, we talk all the time anyway, but I can’t say we’ve gotten into any details about the trade deadline.’’

First things first — what did Donovan really need Wednesday?

How about a 6-5 foxhole guy who lives for doing the dirty work that wins basketball games. Welcome back, Alex Caruso.

DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 30 points in the 117-104 victory against the Cavaliers, but it was those feisty Caruso intangibles that have been sorely missed over the last month, as the guard battled with hamstring, foot and protocol issues since Dec. 4, He finally made his return just in time to help end the four-game losing streak.

“I’ve always said this when players come back, I have no anticipation or expectation that he will be at the same level he was at before he went out,’’ Donovan said before the game.

Maybe not, but it was a heck of a display in the third quarter.

In a one-minute span, all Caruso did was hit a corner three, draw a second offensive foul on a Jarrett Allen attempted screen, rip off a layup, and then pull the chair out from Kevin Love as the big man was attempting to back him down, forcing a travelling call. And just like that a six-point lead was an 11-point lead.

In 23 minutes, Caruso had just nine points, but finished a ridiculous plus-18 in plus/minus.

Just how important is the Caruso Effect for this team?

Entering the Cavs game, the Bulls (28-15) held opposing teams to 105.7 points per game with Caruso but 113.7 points without him.

The Cavs scored 104.

“I thought he got better as the game went on,’’ Donovan said. “Just his voice out there, communicating with the guys . . . he certainly is really, really good playing the elbows. Alex’s ability to communicate on defense, recognizing what’s coming, makes us better defensively, there’s no question about that.’’

None, especially considering the Bulls finished with 24 points off turnovers.

And what Caruso brings to the table seemed to be contagious, as Coby White had four steals and rookie Ayo Dosunmu had two.

It didn’t hurt that the substitute backcourt also combined to score 34 points, but it was a night for the defense to step up, and it did. DeRozan knew why.

“Everything he brings, energy, leadership, it goes a long way, his voice in the huddles,’’ DeRozan said. “It was great to have him back. We’re a different team.

‘‘It was something we definitely needed. He definitely helped us to get this win. He’s like that one college professor that’s always preaching a thesis . . . that’s AC.’’

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