Roundup: James Harden drops 51 on Sacramento

Former Fork James Harden scored a career-high 51 points Wednesday night as the Houston Rockets defeated the Sacramento Kings. Dude appears to be neck-and-neck with Steph Curry and Russell Westbrook for MVP. Also, Shaquielle McKissic is participating in the NCAA slam dunk contest Thursday at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Arizona basketball’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has denied reports that he’s turning pro. Doesn’t mean he isn’t turning pro; just that he hasn’t made an official decision yet.

Stanford men’s basketball faces Miami in the NIT finals Thursday night (6 p.m. PT, ESPN), and Todd Lichti followed Chasson Randle breaking his scoring record from Australia, where he lives with his family and runs a wine distribution business.

UCLA women’s basketball beat Michigan Wednesday night to advance to the WNIT finals, besting the Wolverines 69-65. Kari Korver led the Bruins with 21 points and has now hit 73 three-pointers on the season, a UCLA single-season record. UCLA will face West Virginia Saturday (noon PT) for the championship.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will appear on “Celebrity Jeopardy.” The former Golden Bear’s appearance will air May 12.

Connor Halliday and Vince Mayle performed at Washington State’s Pro Day on Wednesday, and Jacob Thorpe gives us a little recap of the proceedings. Xavier Cooper also had a private workout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

You wanna know what USC quarterback Cody Kessler is excited about this spring? Click on this Kyle Bonagura-produced link, and you’ll find out.

Ted Miller believes that Gary Andersen is wasting no time putting his footprint on Oregon State. He wants to name a starting quarterback sooner rather than later.

Andrew Greif features Oregon offensive lineman Jake Pisarcik, a guy who is in the running to replace Hroniss Grasu as the starting center (you might also see him at guard too).

The battle for the starting right tackle job at Utah has intensified, writes Carter Williams of the Deseret News. Freshman Jackson Barton and junior Sam Tevi are the names to follow there.

Colorado basketball coach Tad Boyle expects more of himself and his players, saying he thought he was too easy on his 2014-15 group of guys.

Washington’s Jennifer Yang was named Pac-12 Women’s Golfer of the Month for March, the conference announced Wednesday. The Huskies are the top dawgs in the nation.