The Precedent Daily: Saturday, October 31, 2026

Houston's unbeaten start ends in Dallas, Golden State erases a big early hole against the Lakers, and Calgary beats a top-10 Seattle team before a full Saturday of college football.

Every league's Ratings on one page, and how The Precedent's Rating works: theprecedentmedia.com/ratings

Friday's top five

1. Dallas handed No. 1 Houston its first loss and climbed to second. The Mavericks, sixth in The Precedent's Rating yesterday, trailed by eight entering the fourth quarter and won it 40-27 for a 116-111 win. Kyrie Irving's pull-up jumper with 2:08 left gave Dallas the lead for good. Dallas's own win counted, and the winning percentage of the teams it has played rose from .600 to .618. Houston, now 5-1, stays first, and Memphis, at 5-0, is the NBA's last unbeaten team.
2. Golden State came all the way back against the Lakers. The Lakers led 38-15 after the first quarter. The Warriors had it tied by halftime, took over in the third and won 112-95, with Stephen Curry scoring 31 on eight 3-pointers. Golden State moved from 14th to seventh, its record now 3-3. The Lakers slipped from 10th to 13th.
3. Calgary beat Seattle 6-2, the NHL's upset of the day by Rating. The Flames, 23rd yesterday, broke open a 1-1 game with three goals in the second period against No. 5 Seattle. Matt Coronato had a goal and three assists. Seattle fell to ninth, Calgary rose to 20th.
4. Philadelphia beat New York and still slipped. The 76ers let a nine-point lead after three quarters get away, then LeBron James hit a fadeaway with 1:10 left to put them back in front for a 98-93 win. Philadelphia is 5-1, level with Detroit for the East's best record, but fell from fourth to sixth: the teams it has played now have a combined .441 winning percentage, down from .480.
5. Tulane won in overtime at Charlotte. Down 10 at halftime against a 1-7 Charlotte team, the Green Wave shut the 49ers out in the third quarter, forced overtime in the fourth and won it with the only touchdown of the extra period. Tulane moved from 65th to 58th.

NBA

Chart of the Day

Boston is 4-1, fifth in the NBA by winning percentage, but 15th in The Precedent's Rating, the widest gap in the league. Memphis is the only unbeaten team and first by record, yet eighth in the Rating, while 3-3 Golden State sits seventh.

Full NBA Ratings →

Houston is still No. 1 in The Precedent's Rating at 5-1 after its 116-111 loss at Dallas, and Dallas jumped from sixth to second at 4-2. The Rockets led entering the fourth quarter, but the Mavericks' 40-point fourth turned it.

Orlando's 121-114 win at Toronto was the NBA's biggest upset by Rating, No. 24 over No. 12. The Magic led entering the fourth and held on, moving up to 19th, while Toronto dropped to 14th. Detroit pulled away from winless Brooklyn in the third quarter, 36-17, won 110-94 and is third, one spot lower than yesterday. Brooklyn is 0-5.

Boston won its fourth straight, 125-111 over Chicago, and had it decided in a 44-25 first quarter. The Celtics still fell from 12th to 15th: Chicago is 1-5, and the teams Boston has played now have a combined .310 winning percentage, down from .368. Minnesota beat the LA Clippers 127-101 and rose from 15th to 12th, Denver won 127-120 at Phoenix, Miami beat Indiana 145-125, and Washington pulled away from Charlotte in the third quarter for a 95-79 win.

Friday's results

Ranks are The Precedent's Rating, yesterday → today.

Biggest upsets by Rating

Rating Top 10

Teams tied on Rating share a rank. SOS = average Rating of the opponents played.

Full NBA Ratings →

Biggest risers

Biggest fallers

Rating vs record

Record rank is by winning percentage. The gap comes from the records of the teams each has played.

Full NBA standings →

NHL

Calgary's 6-2 win over Seattle was the night's upset by Rating, No. 23 over No. 5. The Flames scored three times in the second period to take control. Calgary is 6-7, Seattle 8-6.

New Jersey scored the last three goals at Vegas to win 5-2 and jumped from 10th to sixth. The Devils are 9-5 and second in the Metropolitan Division. Florida beat Winnipeg 5-2 for its third straight win and moved from 18th to 15th; the Jets have lost four in a row. Utah and Washington, both idle, still share first place in The Precedent's Rating.

Friday's results

Ranks are The Precedent's Rating, yesterday → today. In The Precedent's Rating, an overtime or shootout winner gets a win and the other team a loss, so records here are W-L.

Biggest upsets by Rating

Rating Top 10

Teams tied on Rating share a rank. SOS = average Rating of the opponents played.

Full NHL Ratings →

Biggest risers

Biggest fallers

Rating vs record

Record rank is by winning percentage. The gap comes from the records of the teams each has played.

Full NHL standings and playoff picture →

College Football

Friday night had no team from The Precedent's top 25. Baylor won 41-9 at UCF and was in control from the first quarter. The Bears rose from 81st to 70th, and UCF fell from 45th to 61st. Sacramento State trailed Kent State at halftime, then scored the last 25 points to win 31-10.

Tulane's win helped teams it has played: UTSA moved from 25th to 22nd without playing. Miami (FL), Utah and UCLA are the three unbeaten teams left, all 7-0, and all three play today.

Biggest upsets by Rating

Rating Top 25

Teams tied on Rating share a rank. SOS = average Rating of the opponents played.

Full College Football Ratings →

Biggest risers

Biggest fallers

Unbeaten tracker

Full College Football standings →

Coming up today

College Football · 17 games with a top-25 team

No. 1 Indiana hosts Minnesota at 2:30 PM on CBS, and the three unbeaten teams are all on the field: Utah (7-0, 15th) at No. 9 Cincinnati at 2:45 PM on ESPN, UCLA (7-0) against Nevada at 3:15 PM on BTN, and Miami (FL) (7-0, third) at North Carolina at 6:30 PM on ABC. Florida, 11th in The Precedent's Rating, meets 13th-ranked Georgia in Atlanta at 2:30 PM on ABC. No. 2 Texas hosts Mississippi State at 6:30 PM, and Ohio State (10th) visits USC (20th) at the same time on NBC.

NBA · 7 games

The top-10 game of the night is No. 4 Oklahoma City at No. 1 Houston at 7:30 PM on NBA TV, the Rockets' first game since their first loss. Memphis puts the league's last unbeaten record, 5-0, on the line against winless Sacramento at 7:00 PM, and Minnesota visits San Antonio at the same hour.

NHL · 10 games

Edmonton, third in The Precedent's Rating, plays at the NY Islanders at 1:00 PM, while No. 4 Tampa Bay visits Nashville at the same time. Boston hosts Chicago at noon.

Premier League · 8 matches

Two top-10 meetings: Brighton and Hove Albion, fourth in The Precedent's Rating, visits third-place Manchester City (7-0-1) at 10:00 AM on Peacock, and Leeds United plays at Bournemouth at the same time. Manchester United opens the day at Chelsea at 7:30 AM.

MLS · 9 matches

FC Dallas, fifth in The Precedent's Rating, visits last-place Sporting Kansas City at 2:00 PM, and No. 6 Chicago Fire FC closes the day at Colorado at 8:30 PM. Charlotte FC hosts Orlando City at noon, and St. Louis CITY SC hosts San Diego FC at 2:00 PM.