THE INDIANA SRN “SPORTSPAGE” TUESDAY MARCH 17, 2026

“THE SCOREBOARD”

INDIANA BOYS BASKETBALL SEMI-STATE

CLASS 4A

ELKHART (NORTH SIDE GYMNASIUM) 

10 AM ET | G1: NORTHRIDGE (25-1) VS. HOMESTEAD (20-6)

12 PM ET | G2: CROWN POINT (23-1) VS. FORT WAYNE SNIDER (20-7)

8 PM ET | CHAMPIONSHIP: G1 WINNER VS. G2 WINNER

NEW CASTLE (NEW CASTLE FIELDHOUSE) 

10 AM ET | G1: MT. VERNON (FORTVILLE) (25-3) VS. DECATUR CENTRAL (20-6)

12 PM ET | G2: NEW ALBANY (22-5) VS. TERRE HAUTE NORTH VIGO (24-3)

8 PM ET | CHAMPIONSHIP: G1 WINNER VS. G2 WINNER 

CLASS 3A

LOGANSPORT (BERRY BOWL) 

10 AM ET | G1: NEW HAVEN (20-7) VS. DELTA (16-10)

12 PM ET | G2: COLUMBIA CITY (23-4) VS. EAST CHICAGO CENTRAL (15-12)

8 PM ET | CHAMPIONSHIP: G1 WINNER VS. G2 WINNER

SEYMOUR (LLOYD E. SCOTT GYMNASIUM)

10 AM ET | G1: RONCALLI (18-7) VS. SILVER CREEK (28-1)

12 PM ET | G2: INDIANAPOLIS CATHEDRAL (22-5) VS. PRINCETON COMMUNITY (23-3)

8 PM ET | CHAMPIONSHIP: G1 WINNER VS. G2 WINNER

CLASS 2A

MUNCIE CENTRAL (MUNCIE FIELDHOUSE) 

10 AM ET | G1: FORT WAYNE BISHOP LUERS (15-11) VS. OAK HILL (25-1)

12 PM ET | G2: WESTVIEW (25-1) VS. LAPEL (21-5) 

8 PM ET | CHAMPIONSHIP: G1 WINNER VS. G2 WINNER

SOUTHPORT (SOUTHPORT FIELDHOUSE) 

10 AM ET | G1: PARKE HERITAGE (24-4) VS. TRRITON CENTRAL (23-3)

12 PM ET | G2: LINTON-STOCKTON (24-4) VS. AUSTIN (17-8)

8 PM ET | CHAMPIONSHIP: G1 WINNER VS. G2 WINNER

CLASS 1A

LAFAYETTE JEFFERSON (MARION CRAWLEY CENTER) 

10 AM ET | G1: MONROE CENTRAL (21-4) VS. NORTH VERMILLION (16-11)

12 PM ET | G2: TRI-COUNTY (16-10) VS. TRITON (23-3)

8 PM ET | CHAMPIONSHIP: G1 WINNER VS. G2 WINNER

WASHINGTON (HATCHET HOUSE) 

10 AM ET | G1: BARR-REEVE (25-1) VS. LIBERTY CHRISTIAN (19-7)

12 PM ET | G2: BLOOMFIELD (19-8) VS. HAUSER (25-2)

8 PM ET | CHAMPIONSHIP: G1 WINNER VS. G2 WINNER

===============================================================

AP MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL POLL

1. DUKE 32-2
2. ARIZONA 32-2
3. MICHIGAN 31-3
4. FLORIDA 26-7
5. HOUSTON 28-6
6. IOWA STATE 27-7
7. UCONN 29-5
8. PURDUE 27-8
9. VIRGINIA 29-5
10. ST. JOHN’S 28-6
11. MICHIGAN STATE 25-7
12. GONZAGA 30-3
13. ILLINOIS 24-8
14. ARKANSAS 26-8
15. NEBRASKA 26-6
16. VANDERBILT 26-8
17. KANSAS 23-10
18. ALABAMA 23-9
19. WISCONSIN 24-10
20. TEXAS TECH 22-10
21. NORTH CAROLINA 24-8
22. ST. MARY’S 27-5
23. LOUISVILLE 23-10
24. TENNESSEE 22-11
25. MIAMI FL. 25-8

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:

MIAMI (OHIO) 100, BYU 62, UCLA 38, UTAH ST. 28, TCU 17, HIGH POINT 14, VCU 12, CLEMSON 9, OHIO ST. 5, KENTUCKY 4, SAINT LOUIS 3, AKRON 3, SANTA CLARA 2, MCNEESE ST. 1.

==================================================================

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCORES

==================================================================

NCAA TOURNAMENT MEN’S SCHEDULE

ALL TIMES EASTERN

FIRST FOUR

TUESDAY, MARCH 17 AT DAYTON, OHIO

NO. 16 UMBC VS. NO. 16 HOWARD, 6:40 P.M.
NO. 11 TEXAS VS. NO. 11 NORTH CAROLINA STATE, 9:15 P.M.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18 AT DAYTON, OHIO
NO. 16 PRAIRIE VIEW A&M VS. NO. 16 LEHIGH, 6:40 P.M.
NO. 11 MIAMI (OHIO) VS. NO. 11 SMU, 9:15 P.M.

THURSDAY, MARCH 19

EAST REGION, FIRST ROUND

NO. 9 TCU VS. NO. 8 OHIO STATE, 12:15 P.M., GREENVILLE, S.C.
NO. 11 SOUTH FLORIDA VS. NO. 6 LOUISVILLE, 1:30 P.M., BUFFALO, N.Y.
NO. 16 SIENA VS. NO. 1 DUKE, 2:50 P.M., GREENVILLE, S.C.
NO. 14 NORTH DAKOTA STATE VS. NO. 3 MICHIGAN STATE, 4:05 P.M., BUFFALO, N.Y.

SOUTH REGION, FIRST ROUND

NO. 13 TROY VS. NO. 4 NEBRASKA, 12:40 P.M., OKLAHOMA CITY
NO. 12 MCNEESE VS. NO. 5 VANDERBILT, 3:15 P.M., OKLAHOMA CITY
NO. 11 VCU VS. NO. 6 NORTH CAROLINA, 6:50 P.M., GREENVILLE, S.C.
NO. 10 TEXAS A&M VS. NO. 7 SAINT MARY’S, 7:35 P.M., OKLAHOMA CITY
NO. 14 PENN VS. NO. 3 ILLINOIS, 9:25 P.M., GREENVILLE, S.C.
NO. 15 IDAHO VS. NO. 2 HOUSTON, 10:10 P.M., OKLAHOMA CITY

MIDWEST REGION, FIRST ROUND

NO. 1 MICHIGAN VS. WINNER, HOWARD/UMBC, 7:10 P.M., BUFFALO, N.Y.
NO. 9 SAINT LOUIS VS. NO. 8 GEORGIA, 9:45 P.M., BUFFALO, N.Y.

WEST REGION, FIRST ROUND

NO. 12 HIGH POINT VS. NO. 5 WISCONSIN, 1:50 P.M., PORTLAND, ORE.
NO. 13 HAWAII VS. NO. 4 ARKANSAS, 4:25 P.M., PORTLAND, ORE.
NO. 6 BYU VS. WINNER, NC STATE/TEXAS, 7:25 P.M., PORTLAND, ORE.
NO. 14 KENNESAW STATE VS. NO. 3 GONZAGA, 10 P.M., PORTLAND, ORE.

FRIDAY, MARCH 20

EAST REGION, FIRST ROUND

NO. 12 NORTHERN IOWA VS. NO. 5 ST. JOHN’S, 7:10 P.M., SAN DIEGO
NO. 10 UCF VS. NO. 7 UCLA, 7:25 P.M., PHILADELPHIA
NO. 13 CAL BAPTIST VS. NO. 4 KANSAS, 9:45 P.M., SAN DIEGO
NO. 15 FURMAN VS. NO. 2 UCONN, 10 P.M., PHILADELPHIA

SOUTH REGION, FIRST ROUND

NO. 9 IOWA VS. NO. 8 CLEMSON, 6:50 P.M., TAMPA, FLA.
NO. 1 FLORIDA VS. WINNER, PRAIRIE VIEW A&M/LEHIGH, 9:25 P.M., TAMPA, FLA.

MIDWEST REGION, FIRST ROUND

NO. 10 SANTA CLARA VS. NO. 7 KENTUCKY, 12:15 P.M., ST. LOUIS
NO. 12 AKRON VS. NO. 5 TEXAS TECH, 12:40 P.M., TAMPA, FLA.
NO. 14 WRIGHT STATE VS. NO. 3 VIRGINIA, 1:50 P.M., PHILADELPHIA
NO. 15 TENNESSEE STATE VS. NO. 2 IOWA STATE, 2:50 P.M., ST. LOUIS
NO. 13 HOFSTRA VS. NO. 4 ALABAMA, 3:15 P.M., TAMPA, FLA.
NO. 6 TENNESSEE VS. WINNER, MIAMI (OHIO)/SMU, 4:25 P.M., PHILADELPHIA

WEST REGION, FIRST ROUND

NO. 16 LONG ISLAND VS. NO. 1 ARIZONA, 1:35 P.M., SAN DIEGO
NO. 9 UTAH STATE VS. NO. 8 VILLANOVA, 4:10 P.M., SAN DIEGO
NO. 15 QUEENS VS. NO. 2 PURDUE, 7:35 P.M., ST. LOUIS
NO. 10 MISSOURI VS. NO. 7 MIAMI, 10:10 P.M., ST. LOUIS

==============================================================

MEN’S NIT SCHEDULE

ROUND 1: TUESDAY, MARCH 17

GAME  TIME (ET)                                       TV/LIVE STREAM

GEORGE MASON VS. LIBERTY           6 P.M.  ESPN2, ESPN APP, FUBO

YALE VS. UNCW                                        7 P.M.  ESPN APP

WICHITA STATE VS. WYOMING          7 P.M.  ESPNU, ESPN APP, FUBO

OKLAHOMA STATE VS. DAVIDSON  8 P.M.  ESPN2, ESPN APP, FUBO

TULSA VS. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN          9 P.M.  ESPNU, ESPN APP, FUBO

SEATTLE U VS. ST. THOMAS (MINN.) 10 P.M.            ESPN APP

AUBURN VS. SOUTH ALABAMA         10 P.M.               ESPN2, ESPN APP, FUBO

UC IRVINE VS. UNLV 11 P.M.               ESPNU, ESPN APP, FUBO

ROUND 1: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18

GAME  TIME (ET)                                  TV/LIVE STREAM

WAKE FOREST VS. NAVY                       7 P.M.  ESPNU, ESPN APP, FUBO

ILLINOIS STATE VS. KENT STATE        8 P.M.  ESPN APP

UTAH VALLEY VS. GEORGE WASHINGTON 8 P.M.  ESPN APP

DAYTON VS. BRADLEY                           9 P.M.  ESPNU, ESPN APP, FUBO

NEW MEXICO VS. SAM HOUSTON   9 P.M.  ESPN APP

NEVADA VS. MURRAY STATE                10 P.M.  ESPN APP

COLORADO STATE VS. SAINT JOSEPH’S      11 P.M. ESPNU, ESPN APP, FUBO

CALIFORNIA VS. UIC                               11 P.M. ESPN2, ESPN APP, FUBO

==================================================================

AP WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POLL

1. UCONN (34-0)

2. UCLA (31-1)

3. TEXAS (31-3)

4. SOUTH CAROLINA (31-3)

5. LSU (27-5)

6. VANDERBILT (27-4)

7. IOWA (26-6)

8. DUKE (24-8)

9. MICHIGAN (25-6)

10. OKLAHOMA (24-7

11. WEST VIRGINIA (27-6)

12. OHIO STATE (26-7)

13. LOUISVILLE (27-7)

14. TCU (29-5)

15. NORTH CAROLINA (26-7)

16. KENTUCKY (23-10)

17. MARYLAND (23-8)

18. MINNESOTA (22-8)

19. OLE MISS (23-11)

20. MICHIGAN STATE (22-8)

21. BAYLOR (24-8)

22. NOTRE DAME (22-10)

23. PRINCETON (26-3)

24. GEORGIA (22-9)

25. TEXAS TECH (25-7)

===============================================================

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCORES

===============================================================

NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

ALL TIMES ET

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18 (FIRST FOUR)

7 P.M. | (11) NEBRASKA VS. (11) RICHMOND | ESPN2

9 P.M. | (16) MISSOURI STATE VS. (16) SFA | ESPN2

THURSDAY, MARCH 19 (FIRST FOUR)

7 P.M. | (16) SOUTHERN U. VS. (16) SAMFORD | ESPN2

9 P.M. | (10) VIRGINIA VS. (10) ARIZONA STATE | ESPN2

FRIDAY, MARCH 20 (FIRST ROUND/ROUND OF 64)

11:30 A.M. | (3) DUKE VS. (14) COL. OF CHARLESTON | ESPN2

12 P.M. | (3) TCU VS. (14) UC SAN DIEGO | ESPN

1:30 P.M. | (8) OREGON VS. (9) VIRGINIA TECH | ESPN2

2 P.M. | (6) BAYLOR VS. TBD | ESPN

2:30 P.M. | (6) WASHINGTON VS. (11) SOUTH DAKOTA STATE | ESPNEWS

3 P.M. | (5) MARYLAND VS. (12) MURRAY STATE | ESPNU

3:30 P.M. | (5) OLE MISS VS. (12) GONZAGA | ESPN2

4 P.M. | (1) TEXAS VS. TBD | ESPN

5:30 P.M. | (2) MICHIGAN VS. (15) HOLY CROSS | ESPN2

5:30 P.M. | (4) NORTH CAROLINA VS. (13) WESTERN ILLINOIS | ESPNEWS

6 P.M. | (2) LSU VS. (15) JACKSONVILLE | ESPN

6 P.M. | (4) MINNESOTA VS. (13) GREEN BAY | ESPNU

7:30 P.M. | (5) MICHIGAN STATE VS. (12) COLORADO STATE | ESPNEWS

8 P.M. | (7) NC STATE VS. (10) TENNESSEE | ESPN

8:30 P.M. | (7) TEXAS TECH VS. (10) VILLANOVA | ESPNU

10 P.M. | (4) OKLAHOMA VS. (13) IDAHO | ESPN

SATURDAY, MARCH 21 (FIRST ROUND/ROUND OF 64)

11:30 A.M. | (3) OHIO STATE VS. (14) HOWARD | ESPN2

12 P.M. | (3) LOUISVILLE VS. (14) VERMONT | ESPN

1 P.M. | (1) SOUTH CAROLINA VS. TBD | ABC

1:30 P.M. | (7) GEORGIA VS. TBD | ESPN2

2 P.M. | (6) NOTRE DAME VS. (11) FAIRFIELD | ESPN

2:30 P.M. | (6) ALABAMA VS. (11) RHODE ISLAND | ESPNEWS

2:30 P.M. | (5) KENTUCKY VS. (12) JAMES MADISON | ESPNU

3 P.M. | (1) UCONN VS. (16) UTSA | ABC

3:30 P.M. | (8) CLEMSON VS. (9) SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA | ESPN2

4 P.M. | (2) IOWA VS. (15) FDU | ESPN

5 P.M. | (4) WEST VIRGINIA VS. (13) MIAMI (OHIO) | ESPNU

5:30 P.M. | (8) IOWA STATE VS. (9) SYRACUSE | ESPN2

7 P.M. | (2) VANDERBILT VS. (15) HIGH POINT | ESPNEWS

7:30 P.M. | (8) OKLAHOMA STATE VS. (9) PRINCETON | ESPN2

9:30 P.M. | (7) ILLINOIS VS. (10) COLORADO | ESPN2

10 P.M. | (1) UCLA VS. (16) CALIFORNIA BAPTIST | ESPN

==============================================================

USA TODAY BASEBALL COACHES POLL

1            UCLA (17-2)                                  746       1            26

2            TEXAS (18-1)                                 720       2            4

3            GEORGIA TECH (17-3)            687       4            0

4            AUBURN (17-2)                           644       5            0

5            GEORGIA (17-4)                         564       8            0

6            MISSISSIPPI STATE (16-4)      556       3            0

7            ARKANSAS (14-6)                      540       6            0

8            OKLAHOMA (17-3)                    501       11          0

9            FLORIDA STATE (16-3)             455       15          0

10          NORTH CAROLINA (17-3)      409       14          0

11          SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (19-1) 400              19          0

12          VIRGINIA (16-4)                          399       16          0

13          NORTH CAROLINA STATE (16-4) 394             10          0

14          FLORIDA (18-3)                           351       18          0

15          SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI (16-4) 340               7            0

16          OREGON STATE (14-4)            327       17          0

17          CLEMSON (16-4)                       305       9            0

18          KENTUCKY (18-2)                      295       22          0

19          OREGON (17-3)                          187       26          0

20          COASTAL CAROLINA (13-6)  133       25          0

21          TEXAS A&M (16-3)                     125       20          0

22          WEST VIRGINIA (13-4)             115       28          0

23          TENNESSEE (14-6)                    112       21          0

24          MISSISSIPPI (16-5)                    89          24          0

25          WAKE FOREST (15-5)                87          12          0

DROPPED OUT: NO. 13 LSU (14-7); NO. 23 TCU (11-8).

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: LSU (14-7) 70; ALABAMA (15-6) 48; ARIZONA STATE (14-5) 36; VANDERBILT (13-8) 21; LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE (15-5) 18; LOUISVILLE (14-6) 13; UC SANTA BARBARA (14-4) 12; TCU (11-8) 10; KANSAS STATE (15-5) 9; ARKANSAS STATE (15-6) 6; CALIFORNIA BAPTIST (17-4) 5; JACKSONVILLE STATE (17-3) 5; SOUTH FLORIDA (17-3) 5; MERCER (17-3) 3; NEBRASKA (14-5) 3; CINCINNATI (15-6) 2; CAL POLY (12-7) 1; TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO (15-5) 1; TEXAS TECH (13-6) 1.

==============================================================

D1 COLLEGE BASEBALL RANKINGS

1. UCLA 17-2
2. TEXAS 18-1
3. GEORGIA TECH 17-3
4. ARKANSAS 14-6
5. AUBURN 17-2
6. MISSISSIPPI STATE 16-4
7. GEORGIA 17-4
8. OKLAHOMA 17-3
9. VIRGINIA 16-4
10. NC STATE 16-4
11. FLORIDA STATE 16-3
12. SOUTHERN MISS 16-4
13. USC 19-1
14. NORTH CAROLINA 17-3
15. KENTUCKY 18-2
16. COASTAL CAROLINA 13-6
17. OREGON STATE 14-4
18. FLORIDA 18-3
19. CLEMSON 16-4
20. WEST VIRGINIA 13-4
21. OREGON 17-3
22. TENNESSEE 14-6
23. TEXAS A&M 16-3
24. WAKE FOREST 15-5
25. LOUISIANA 15-5

===================================================================

COLLEGE BASEBALL SCORES

==============================================================

COLLEGE SOFTBALL SCORES

#20 LSU 7 #18 TEXAS A&M 2

==============================================================

MEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY SCORES

==============================================================

MEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL RANKINGS

1. UCLA 18-0
2. LONG BEACH STATE 14-2
3. HAWAII 17-3
4. USC 10-3
5. UC IRVINE 13-3
6. PEPPERDINE 13-4
7. LOYOLA CHICAGO 13-5
8. UC SANTA BARBARA 10-7
9. BALL STATE 17-3
10. BYU 15-6
11. LINDENWOOD 15-3
12. MCKENDREE 12-7
13. UC SAN DIEGO 11-7
14. STANFORD 9-8
15. LEWIS 13-9
16. PENN STATE 11-7
17. CNSU 11-6
18. OHIO STATE 10-9
19. PURDUE FT. WAYNE 9-7
20. NJIT 12-6

=====================================================================

MEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL SCORES

================================================================

DIVISION 1 MEN’S LAX RANKINGS

1. NOTRE DAME 6-0
2. RICHMOND 7-0
3. PRINCETON 5-1
4. HARVARD 6-0
5. NORTH CAROLINA 7-1
6. DUKE 7-0
7. OHIO STATE 7-1
8. SYRACUSE 6-2
9. PENN STATE 4-3
10. CORNELL 4-2
11. MARYLAND 3-3
12. JOHNS HOPKINS 5-2
13. GEORGETOWN 2-3
14. DENVER 4-2
15. BOSTON 5-2
16. ARMY 6-2
17. RUTGERS 7-2
18. ST. JOSEPH’S 4-2
19. PENN 3-4
20. TOWSON 4-3

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: YALE, MASSACHUSETTS, UTAH, VIRGINIA, JACKSONVILLE, NAVY, SACRED HEART

================================================================

DIVISION 1 MEN’S LAX SCORES

#8 SYRACUSE 13 #14 DENVER 12

=================================================================

DIVISION 1 WOMEN’S LAX RANKINGS

1. STANFORD 9-0
2. NAVY 8-0
3. MARYLAND 8-0
4. STONY BROOK 6-2
5. NORTH CAROLINA 8-0
6. MICHIGAN 6-2
7. SYRACUSE 5-3
8. JOHNS HOPKINS 8-1
9. YALE 7-0
10. PENN STATE 9-1
11. COLORADO 5-2
12. RUTGERS 5-4
13. NORTHWESTERN 5-3
14. FLORIDA 6-2
15. RICHMOND 5-2
16. VILLANOVA 5-2
17. JACKSONVILLE 4-2
18. DENVER 7-1
19. LOYOLA MARYLAND 4-4
20. VIRGINIA 5-5
21. JAMES MADISON 4-4
22. DUKE 6-3
23. USC 6-4
24. SOUTH FLORIDA 5-2
25. UCONN 3-4

================================================================

DIVISION 1 WOMEN’S LAX SCORES

=================================================================

NBA SCORES

ATLANTA 124 ORLANDO 112

GOLDEN STATE 125 WASHINGTON 117

PORTLAND 114 BROOKLYN 95

BOSTON 120 PHOENIX 112

NEW ORLEANS 129 DALLAS 111

CHICAGO 132 MEMPHIS 107

LA LAKERS 100 HOUSTON 92

SAN ANTONIO 119 LA CLIPPERS 115

==================================================================

NBA G-LEAGUE SCORES

IOWA 132 SALT LAKE CITY 106

WINDY CITY 116 WISCONSIN 115

TEXAS 116 SAN DIEGO 108

BIRMINGHAM 144 MAINE 143

==================================================================

NHL SCORES

DETROIT 5 CALGARY 2

NEW JERSEY 4 BOSTON 3 OT

LOS ANGELES 4 NY RANGERS 1

UTAH 6 DALLAS 3

PITTSBURGH 7 COLORADO 2

==================================================================

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

BOSTON – BALTIMORE CANCELED

MINNESOTA 5 PITTSBURGH 1

DETROIT 13 PHILADELPHIA 6

ATLANTA 11 TAMPA BAY 2

TORONTO 5 MIAMI 4

LAS VEGAS 3 LA ANGELS 0

MILWAUKEE 24 LA DODGERS 9

ARIZONA 11 CINCINNATI 6

SAN DIEGO 3 SAN FRANCISCO 1

WASHINGTON 12 NY METS 6

TEXAS 3 CHICAGO WHITE SOX 2

CHICAGO CUBS 5 CLEVELAND 2

==================================================================

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC SCORES

VENEZUELA 4 ITALY 2

=================================================================

WOMEN’S PRO VOLLEYBALL SCORES

==================================================================

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

=================================================================

NATIONAL SPORTS NEWS RELEASES

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

LEAGUE TOURNAMENTS CAN BE A LONG GRIND. THAT COULD IMPACT WHICH TEAMS ADVANCE IN MARCH MADNESS

Purdue had just battled through the Big Ten Tournament, beating three straight NCAA Tournament teams – the last a No. 1 seed in Michigan – to claim a grinding championship in Chicago.

“Obviously playing four games in four days is something we haven’t done before,” longtime coach Matt Painter said.

Yet there wasn’t time for the Boilermakers to even change out of their jerseys, much less think about recharging and recovering, before seeing their names in the March Madness bracket.

League tournaments are over, but could have a lingering impact and offer an indication of what teams are positioned for tournament success. Roughly half of all Final Four teams and eventual champions since the expansion to 64 teams in 1985 won league titles; no team has won it all without reaching at least the semifinals of their conference tournament.

There is a short window to regroup, too. Most teams coming off playing at least four games in four days haven’t survived the tournament’s first weekend.

Yet there are unforgettable stories like Casey Morsell’s N.C. State team two years ago, illustrating how the spectacle of March Madness captures the imagination every year. That team unexpectedly became only the second to win a league title with five games in five days before carrying that surge all the way to the sport’s biggest stage at the Final Four.

“We had to really make it happen,” the former Wolfpack guard said, “but with that, you have these miles that you’re kind of adding up.”

Springboard or burden?

For decades, college basketball’s major conferences generally had teams playing three games in three days in league tournaments. That was before waves of realignment began roughly two decades ago, gradually leading to sprawling leagues. Among power conferences in men’s basketball, the Big East is the smallest at 11 schools; the Big Ten has 18.

That has led to longer regular-season schedules followed by tougher tournament grinds, particularly for those without multi-round byes awarded to top seeds.

Going back to 2005, 33 teams have entered March Madness having played at least four games in four days in the top leagues: the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Southeastern.

Roughly two-thirds (21) fell in the NCAA opening weekend of those 20 tournaments, with 13 failing to win even a game. Six ultimately reached the Final Four, while the Kemba Walker-led UConn team in 2011 is the lone national champion after its own five-games-in-five-days run through the Big East.

Many teams in those positions needed long runs to snag at-large NCAA bid. Or they had to win their league’s automatic bid to reach the Big Dance at all and weren’t expected to make deep runs.

But top-16 overall seeds haven’t been immune, either.

Regional No. 2 seeds like Duke in 2017, North Carolina in 2018 and Ohio State in 2021; or regional 3-seeds like Georgetown in 2010 and Wisconsin last year are among those with an opening-weekend exit after playing four games in four days in league tournaments.

Seeding aside, the challenge is the same: pivot quickly.

“We’re pouring it all out. We’re doing everything we can to win every game,” said Clemson coach Brad Brownell, whose Tigers are an 8-seed in the NCAAs after playing three of a possible four games in the ACC Tournament. “I mean, that’s what competitors do. You figure it out later, what’s next.”

Carrying momentum

Badgers coach Greg Gard knows that’s tricky, though. His previous two teams each won three Big Ten Tournament games before falling in the title game. Each lost early in the NCAAs to a lower-seeded opponent: a first-round loss to 12-seed James Madison in 2024, followed by a second-round loss to 6-seed BYU last year.

“Obviously you want to continue to advance and win, and there’s a trophy at stake and they’re keeping score,” Gard said during the Big Ten Tournament before earning the West Region’s No. 5 seed. “But just like any other experience, you have to build upon it and use it to your advantage as you walk forward.”

In the Big 12, the depth of top teams forced Iowa State to face a four-game road to win the league tourney. The Cyclones beat Arizona State and NCAA-bound Texas Tech before falling to Arizona on a late shot in the semifinals. Now they’re the Midwest Region’s 2-seed, coming after being a No. 1 seed in the selection committee’s preliminary rankings last month.

“You dream about having the opportunity to be playing such meaningful games in March, and how special that truly is,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “So I want our guys to be in the moment. I want our guys to absorb all of it, soak it all in.”

Regrouping quickly

Morsell said he will never forget the euphoria that came as N.C. State completed its wild ACC Tournament run in 2024, coming amid uncertainty about the job security of then-coach Kevin Keatts.

“Literally just everything changed so fast,” Morsell said.

That included the time to get ready for a March Madness run that brought the Wolfpack to Pittsburgh, Dallas and Glendale, Arizona. Along the way, the team leaned on walkthroughs, shootarounds and film study to avoid putting additional wear on tired legs. Everyone was focused on recovery, including Morsell, who relied on massages and electrical-stimulation treatments.

“Everybody has little things going on, the whole team,” Morsell said. “You kind of have that moment to refresh, regroup. But you’ve definitely got to prioritize (physical therapy) to bring yourself back to normal. That’s a big important week, especially if you play five games.

“Especially if you played like over 20 minutes each game, you’re going to feel something,” Morsell added with a chuckle.

The approach worked, with the Wolfpack reaching the program’s first Final Four since the late Jim Valvano’s “Cardiac Pack” won the 1983 NCAA title.

This year, Purdue is the only tournament team from a major conference coming off a four-games-in-four-days run. The West Region’s 2-seed has a four-day window ahead of its NCAA opener against Queens in St. Louis.

“In the moment, you can’t really think too much about it,” Morsell said. “You just have to go because the next game is right around the corner.”

PICKING THE NCAA MEN’S BRACKET: MICHIGAN BEATS DUKE FOR THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

There was a time when the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament was wildly unpredictable.

Hard as it may seem to believe, there was one season where a No. 4 seed, two No. 5 seeds and a No. 9 seed all reached the Final Four. And a year later, a No. 11 seed got to the national semifinals as well.

Ah, 2023 and 2024 feel so long ago.

Last year’s tournament, for those who love upsets, was a complete and utter dud. Excluding the First Four games, teams seeded No. 11 through No. 16 went 3-24. The regional finals had three No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups, and the other was No. 1 vs. No. 3.

The result? For the first time since 2008, all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four and Florida went on to capture the national championship.

This likely meant those who spend little time agonizing over their brackets — you know, the types who just pick the higher seeds the whole way through and fill the entire thing out in about a minute and a half — probably did well last year.

We have sad news to report: They might do well this year, too.

The top seeds this season are Florida, Duke, Michigan and Arizona. It would be a sensational Final Four if they all got to the national semifinals. But can history repeat itself and four No. 1 seeds get there for the second straight year?

Time to find out.

Key tips

— One of the oddest stat nuggets ever: No team seeded No. 5 has ever won the NBA title, the NCAA men’s title or the NCAA women’s title. In this field, St. John’s, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin and Texas Tech surely did not want to hear that. (Also, did the tournament committee even watch the Big East final between St. John’s and Connecticut?)

— We point this out every year, but as a general reminder: Teams with 10 or more losses coming into the tournament have gone on to win the title only three times (N.C. State in 1983, Villanova in 1985 and Kansas in 1988.) That stat alone would knock out about half of this year’s field.

— Watch the travel. It’s not easy to get ready for a first-round game on short notice. Those teams that have long, long trips (St. John’s to San Diego, UCLA to Philadelphia, Villanova to San Diego. etc., trips that all are just a bit shorter than Hawaii’s 2,600-mile flight to Portland for Round 1) might look a little rusty to start.

— Always root for the fun matchup. UConn vs. UCF in Round 2? For those who followed college football’s short-lived Civil ConFLiCT game (a totally made-up thing by UConn when it decided, for reasons that still puzzle basically everybody, that UCF was its football rival), how can you not want to see this matchup?

— The last preseason No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 to cut down the nets in the men’s tournament was North Carolina in 2009. Purdue was the preseason No. 1 this year, so … apologies to the Boilermakers, but history says what it says.

The Miami issues

If you’re Miami, you shouldn’t be happy right now. Doesn’t matter which Miami you are, either.

Miami (the Ohio one) gets a First Four game after going undefeated until its conference tournament. And Miami (the Florida one) is the “home” team … in St. Louis … against Missouri.

Of course, Miami was also the “road” team in the College Football Playoff title game in its home stadium against Indiana. So, it all evens out. Or something.

First round winners

East: Duke, TCU, St. John’s, Kansas, USF, Michigan State, UCF, UConn.

South: Florida, Clemson, McNeese, Nebraska, North Carolina, Penn (by far, our biggest upset pick), Texas A&M, Houston.

West: Arizona, Villanova, Wisconsin, Arkansas, BYU, Gonzaga, Miami, Purdue.

Midwest: Michigan, Saint Louis, Texas Tech, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, Santa Clara, Iowa State.

Second round winners

East: Duke, St. John’s, Michigan State, UConn.

South: Florida, Nebraska, North Carolina, Houston.

West: Arizona, Arkansas, BYU, Purdue.

Midwest: Michigan, Texas Tech, Virginia, Iowa State.

Regional finalists

East: Duke, Michigan State.

South: Florida, Houston.

West: Arizona, Purdue.

Midwest: Michigan, Virginia.

Final Four

Duke, Florida, Arizona, Michigan. All the top seeds get there, again.

Duke beats Florida. Michigan beats Arizona.

They played a classic last month and Duke won it. The Blue Devils beat Michigan for the 1992 national title as well. But this time, Go Blue over Blue Devils. Michigan wins it all.

REPORTS: NORTHERN ILLINOIS HIRING MATT MAJKRZAK AS COACH

Northern Illinois is hiring Northern Michigan’s Matt Majkrzak to be the next head coach of the Huskies, multiple outlets reported Monday.

Majkrzak compiled a 136-73 record over seven seasons at the school in Marquette, Mich., guiding the Wildcats to four consecutive Division II NCAA Tournaments.

The two-time Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year’s season ended Sunday with an 86-68 loss to Walsh in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Majkrzak replaces Rashon Burno, who was fired on March 7 following a 9-21 season.

Northern Illinois is joining the Horizon League for most of its sports later this year following 29 seasons in the Mid-American Conference.

The Huskies haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 1996 when they were members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, which was the former name for the Horizon League.

MARCH MADNESS NO. 1 SEED FLORIDA BRUSHES OFF SEC TOURNEY LOSS AND EYES A NATIONAL TITLE REPEAT

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Nothing will convince Florida coach Todd Golden that losing in the Southeastern Conference Tournament was a positive.

Not even six consecutive wins and another national title.

“I get it, but I’m not with it,” Golden said Monday. “We’re going to definitely learn from it. We’re going to use it to our advantage, for sure, but I’m never going to be like, ‘Oh, man, I’m glad we lost.’”

The Gators (26-7) landed a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament despite getting thumped by Vanderbilt in the semifinals of the league tourney. Florida got punched in the mouth early and never responded, a disappointing — some might call it eye-opening — showing before the Big Dance.

Golden is hoping the 17-point setback serves as a wake-up call for a team that had won 12 in a row up to that point. The defending national champion Gators open their repeat bid Friday night in nearby Tampa against the winner of a play-in game between Lehigh and Prairie View A&M.

“When you do lose, you can really drill down on some areas that you need to improve on,” Golden said. “When you’re winning, I think that’s more difficult. It’s more difficult to teach. It’s more difficult to hold accountable. But now we don’t have that issue off a loss and hopefully we respond the same way that we did after we lost to Auburn on January 24th.”

The Gators looked downright unstoppable during their streak that included an average margin of victory of 20.5 points. But they seemed off against the Commodores, missing 10 layups, turning the ball over 14 times and allowing wide-open looks from 3-point range.

Was it a blip? A bad matchup? Or maybe something more foreboding?

Golden insists it was a one-off performance, not a sign of something being wrong or a blueprint for how to beat the best rebounding team in the country.

“The great thing for us is we have already been an iteration of ourselves that we need to be to make a deep run,” he said. “That’s what we’ve been over the last two months. So we need to get back on track to what we were.

“We have been playing like the No. 2 team in America since January (6th). We know what we’re capable of. We know what that looks like. We just have to go back out and do it.”

The Gators have responded all season, whether it was stringing together wins after losses or answering questions about perceived flaws: Can they close out tight games? Yes. Are they good enough from 3-point range? For sure. Do they have consistent contributors off the bench? No doubt.

Florida started the season 5-4 and was unranked by January. But the Gators have since figured out how to mesh dual point guards Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee, how to get more shots for sixth man Urban Klavzar and how to best utilize the most dominant frontcourt in school history, a lineup that features Rueben Chinyelu, Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh.

The group was good enough to go toe-to-toe with Arizona, Duke and UConn early and good enough to reel off 12 straight in SEC play late. Now is it good enough to repeat?

“We want to bring the fight to everybody,” Golden said. “We do that more often than not. We talk a lot to our team about being the mentally and physically tougher team. … Vandy got us because they ran to the fight quicker than we did.

“We can’t allow anybody else to dictate how we play. It’s really important that we take pride in that and take the accountability that it’s on us and not on anybody else.”

YAXEL LENDEBORG TELLS AP KENTUCKY OFFERED HIM $7 TO 9 MILLION BEFORE HE CHOSE MICHIGAN

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg has made more money than he ever dreamed was possible entering March Madness, allowing him to pay his mother’s bills and buy her a new ride.

Lendeborg, though, could be even richer.

Michigan’s 6-foot-9, 240-pound point forward was the top prospect in the transfer portal last year and Kentucky was prepared to make him the highest-paid player in college basketball.

“They started the number with $7 to 9 (million),” Lendeborg said in an interview with The Associated Press. “They were pretty much going off on the route like we’ll pay him anything to get here.”

Instead, he chose to play for Dusty May and the Wolverines even though the former UAB star said he would have earned about three times more money if he suited up for Mark Pope and the Wildcats.

“I was raised without it and I went my my whole life without it,” Lendeborg said. “Anything was going to make me super, super happy at the time.

“I was thinking long term. What if I mess up my career because I chased the money instead of a future? Another big reason why I went with Dusty was he didn’t talk about money at all. It was all about making me better and helping me achieve my goals.”

It has certainly worked out so far for him — and Michigan.

He was named the Big Ten Player of the Year as the top player for the one-seeded Wolverines, who will open the NCAA Tournament on Thursday and have a shot to end it with the school’s second national championship and first since 1989.

The 23-year-old Lendeborg seems to be an example of what’s potentially positive about the transfer portal, which created a path for him to level up after stops at a mid-major program in Alabama and a junior college in Arizona.

While anyone who has paid attention to college basketball this season has seen him shine, they may not know his unlikely journey.

Or, the heartache that motivates him every day.

Lendeborg was born in Puerto Rico, moved to the Dominican Republic and then Ohio before spending the second half of his childhood in New Jersey.

Baseball was his favorite sport growing up, but he was more interested in video games than school until his mother’s heart-to-heart talk changed the trajectory of his life.

Yissel Raposo told him that he was going to take 10 community college classes in one year to graduate from high school. He followed her instructions and rallied enough academically during his senior year to play organized basketball for the time over the final 11 games of the season.

His mother then successfully lobbied to land him a spot at Arizona Western. And after three years at the junior college, including a COVID-shortened season, he transferred to UAB and flourished.

Lendeborg joined Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird last year as the two Division I basketball players to have 600 points, 400 rebounds and 150 assists in a season.

Leading a talented squad with an influx of transfers, his statistics were not as spectacular this season. He averages a team-high 14.6 points and is second on the team with seven rebounds and three-plus assists per game.

“If he’s on the court, he’s giving you leverage,” May said.

After Lendeborg scored a total of 53 points in two wins over rival Michigan State, coach Tom Izzo said Lendeborg lived up to his billing.

“He handled it, he passed it, he shot it,” Izzo said.

Off the court, Lendeborg also has been influential and impactful on an unselfish team. In warmups, he often wears his teammates’ jerseys to show them some love.

“The thing that’s been most impressive about Yaxel is how great of a teammate he is, and how much he’s embraced our culture and the way things are done here,” May said.

Even though Lendeborg can afford to fly his mother to every game, she has been able to attend just a handful because she was diagnosed with appendix cancer just before the season started.

“She’s doing great,” he said. “She has three more sets of chemo left, and then she’s going to be done with that treatment.”

Lendeborg will never forget, or take for granted, his mother’s tough love that turned his life around.

“A lot of times when I think about it, I do get emotional,” he said softly, sitting in a Crisler Center seat under Michigan’s 1989 national championship banner. “I’ve always felt like I didn’t belong, especially in the spotlight. It’s been a dream.”

It is, however, a reality his mother envisioned.

“Yaxel never believed in himself growing up,” she said Monday in a telephone interview. “I always talked to him in a positive way, telling him he was talented and he could make it in basketball.

“I feel so happy and proud that now he knows he is good, too.”

ALABAMA G ADEN HOLLOWAY ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGE

Alabama starting guard Aden Holloway was arrested on drug possession charges on Monday, four days before the fourth-seeded Crimson Tide play their NCAA Tournament opener.

A spokesperson for the Tuscaloosa (Ala.) police department told 247Sports that the 21-year-old junior was charged with first-degree possession of marijuana after the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force seized more than a pound of weed, paraphernalia and cash from his residence.

Holloway was taken to the Tuscaloosa County jail with a bond set at $5,000.

Alabama has not yet commented on Holloway’s arrest or his status with the team.

Holloway is the No. 2 scorer for the Crimson Tide (23-9), averaging 16.8 points, 3.8 assists and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 43.8% from 3-point range in 28 games (27 starts) this season. He played his first season at Auburn in 2023-24 before transferring to Alabama.

Alabama, a 4 seed, will face 13th-seeded Hofstra (24-10) on Friday at 3:15 p.m. ET in Tampa, Fla., in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region.

======================================================================

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

PICKING THE NCAA WOMEN’S BRACKET: UCONN BEATS TEXAS FOR ANOTHER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

For those who will be entering an NCAA women’s college basketball tournament bracket pool this year, let’s begin with the ending:

You’re probably going to pick Connecticut to win March Madness.

And almost everybody else in the pool will, too.

Do not overthink this. If you’re a fan of South Carolina, UCLA or Texas — obviously, excellent teams — then go ahead and pick one of those schools to win the national championship. If it happens, you’ll have a great chance to win the pool because everybody else will have picked UConn.

Here’s the trick to winning a women’s tournament pool: You’ve got to win the first weekend. It’s what separates those who get to brag from those who don’t.

By Week 2, the brackets will mostly look the same. It’s rare that a team seeded lower than No. 8 reaches the Sweet 16; only three such teams in the last five years (Miami in 2023, Creighton and South Dakota in 2022) have gotten there.

To win, find those early upsets. There are three No. 11 seeds that seem like they could fit the bill.

Let’s start with Fairfield. The Stags, champions of the Metro Atlantic, are 28-4. Sure, drawing Hannah Hidalgo and Notre Dame in Round 1 won’t be easy, but if the Irish are off their game even a tiny bit this one will get interesting.

Next, Rhode Island. Also 28-4, the Atlantic 10 champions face Alabama in Round 1. The Rams do not let you score.

And now, South Dakota State. It takes on Washington in Round 1.

The Jackrabbits — come on, you have to love that name — gave Texas a relatively tough game in December and star forward Brooklyn Meyer is a problem. She’s the best player in the country that you’ve probably never heard of.

And if you want a live longshot or two (or four), take a look at these teams: Fairleigh Dickinson has won 22 in a row, Idaho 18 in a row, Murray State 15 in a row and Howard 14 in a row.

Key tips

— There have been 43 previous NCAA women’s tournaments. The champions by seed: 32 were No. 1 seeds, eight were No. 2 seeds and three were No. 3 seeds.

No. 4 through No. 16 seeds need not apply. If you’d like to pick your alma mater (and it’s not a 1, 2 or 3 seed) to win it all, consider your bracket entry fee a charitable donation and don’t bother looking at the final results.

— At least one No. 1 seed will get to the final.

There have been only three title games without a No. 1 seed: North Carolina (3) vs. Louisiana Tech (4) in 1994, Texas A&M (2) vs. Notre Dame (2) in 2011, and LSU (3) vs. Iowa (2) in 2023.

The lowest-seeded teams to make a final: Western Kentucky (1992), Louisiana Tech (1994), Rutgers (2007) and Syracuse (2016) as No. 4 seeds, and Louisville (2013) as a No. 5 seed.

We have to talk UConn

Before we get to the picks, take a second to appreciate what UConn has done this season.

A perfect 34-0 so far, six wins away from the 40-win perfect season, a 50-game winning streak going back to last season’s title run.

UConn has gone 70-3 in superstar forward Sarah Strong’s games with the Huskies, including a staggering 48-1 at home or on neutral courts. A potential UConn-Iowa State game — Strong vs. Audi Crooks — in Round 2 would be appointment television.

Azzi Fudd is deadly from 3-point land when open and not much worse when she isn’t. And KK Arnold remains vastly underrated; she’s only gone 103-9 in her UConn career.

First round winners

Fort Worth 1: UConn, Iowa State, Maryland, North Carolina, Fairfield, Ohio State, Colorado, Vanderbilt.

Sacramento 2: UCLA, Princeton, Gonzaga, Minnesota, Baylor, Duke, Villanova, LSU.

Fort Worth 3: Texas, Virginia Tech, Kentucky, West Virginia, Rhode Island, Louisville, Tennessee, Michigan.

Sacramento 4: South Carolina, Clemson, Michigan State, Oklahoma, South Dakota State, TCU, Georgia, Iowa.

Second round winners

Fort Worth 1: UConn, Maryland, Ohio State, Vanderbilt.

Sacramento 2: UCLA, Minnesota, Baylor, LSU.

Fort Worth 3: Texas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan.

Sacramento 4: South Carolina, Oklahoma, TCU, Iowa.

Regional finalists

Fort Worth 1: UConn, Vanderbilt.

Sacramento 2: UCLA, LSU.

Fort Worth 3: Texas, Louisville.

Sacramento 3: South Carolina, Iowa.

Final Four

UConn, UCLA, Texas, South Carolina. (Yes, the four No. 1 seeds.)

UConn beats South Carolina. Texas beats UCLA.

And in the end, it’s UConn over Texas for the national title.

SEAN MILLER BACK TO DAYTON AS TEXAS, NC STATE SPAR FOR THE 11

Tumbling to the finish line and nearly out of the bracket, Texas and North Carolina State are not yet in the NCAA Tournament field of 64.

But the chance for a revival is there for the Longhorns (18-14) and Wolfpack (20-13) when they meet for the second time this season in the First Four on Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio.

The winner hops a plane as the West Region No. 11 seed, heading to Portland with No. 6 BYU (23-11) awaiting in the first-round matchup on Thursday.

Miller won this game last year as head coach at Xavier when he knocked out Texas. Then he was hired to lead the Longhorns two weeks later.

Texas knocked off NC State 102-97 in the Maui Invitational in November. Neither coach expects to spend much time revisiting that game considering the recent issues on both sides that brought them to the verge of being held out of the field entirely.

“Now it’s our time to see if we can do something with this opportunity, more than we’ve done during the regular season,” NC State coach Will Wade said.

Wade has openly questioned the discipline and effort of his team. NC State lost seven of its last nine games, going from comfortably in the field to playing on the first night of the tournament.

Texas enters the tournament with losses in five of its last six games. The two most recent losses were to teams who didn’t make the field, Oklahoma and Ole Miss.

“We had two full days of being able to take a deep breath, get away from each other, get our legs and mind right,” Miller said. “And then we also had an opportunity to have two really good days of practice and get back in the gym, where you learn where we’re at.”

Texas won the Nov. 26 meeting in the fifth-place game of the Maui Invitational. There were only 13 total turnovers in that game, with Texas’ 28-for-33 shooting on free throws making a difference.

“It was an up-and-down game, and it was a third game in three days for both of us,” Wade said.

Jordan Pope’s 28 points led Texas in the first meeting, with the Longhorns shooting 55.8% from the field — including 16 for 32 on 3-pointers. NC State had three players — Quadir Copeland (28 points), Ven-Allen Lubin (23) and Paul McNeil Jr. (20) — reach the 20-point mark in that game.

“When they play well, they have great firepower, great scoring punch,” Miller said. “They’re familiar with us, and we’re familiar with them. I don’t think that’s any advantage to us or them.”

There should be no lack of motivation from the Wolfpack.

“It’s a team that we lost to earlier in the year, certainly our guys will have their full attention,” Wade said. “It’s an NCAA Tournament game. We should have everybody’s full attention for an NCAA Tournament game.”

Since NC State lost to Virginia in Thursday’s Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals, the Wolfpack had two days off without practice. Wade said he chose for a regular type of practice Sunday because he felt there was about a 30% chance the Wolfpack might end up in the First Four.

NC State topped Pitt in Wednesday’s ACC tournament second round.

“We’ve got to clean up the details and the discipline to go with that, and that’s going to be the challenge to do that quickly before Tuesday,” Wade said.

Texas met three ACC teams across the first month of the season, losing to Duke and Virginia and topping NC State. NC State went 0-4 against those opponents, with two of the losses in March.

Junior Dailyn Swain, the SEC Newcomer of the Year, leads Texas in scoring (17.8 points per game), rebounding (7.5 rpg), assists (108), steals (55) and minutes (32.2 per game).

OKLAHOMA HEADLINES 8-TEAM COLLEGE BASKETBALL CROWN FIELD

Oklahoma, the top team excluded from the NCAA Tournament field, accepted an invite Monday to play in the second edition of the College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas.

Oklahoma will face Colorado in the first game April 1. Baylor, Creighton, Minnesota, Rutgers, Stanford and West Virginia also said yes to the nascent, Fox Sports-driven consolation tournament.

The bracket was revealed Monday, with two pairs of quarterfinal games slated for April 1 and 2 at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The semifinals and final will be played April 4 and 5 at T-Mobile Arena, home of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights.

The Crown was reduced from 16 teams to eight after its debut year saw Nebraska take home the title and a $300,000 NIL package. Runner-up UCF won $100,000 while semifinalists Boise State and Villanova received $50,000 apiece.

Several teams declined to be considered for the field. The tournament had stated criteria of giving automatic bids to the top two teams not in the NCAA field from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East conferences — each of which have a partnership with Fox — based on their final NET rankings.

Higher-profile teams such as Indiana, Cincinnati and Seton Hall — the top available teams from their respective conferences — declined. San Diego State of the Mountain West also reportedly turned down consideration from the Crown or NIT.

Rutgers (14-19) has the lowest NET of any team in the field, at No. 134.

Oklahoma (19-15) won six straight games late in the season to make a push for NCAA Tournament inclusion before falling to eventual champion Arkansas in the SEC tournament quarterfinals.

=====================================================================

NBA

NBA ROUNDUP: HAWKS WIN 10TH STRAIGHT, HALT MAGIC’S WINNING STREAK

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored a career-high 41 points and the Atlanta Hawks won their 10th consecutive game, a 124-112 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic on Monday.

Atlanta owns the longest active winning streak in the NBA and the club’s longest winning streak since its franchise-record 19-game run in the 2014-15 season. The result ended Orlando’s seven-game winning streak.

Atlanta, 11-1 since the All-Star break, moved into a tie for eighth with the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference.

Alexander-Walker shot 12-for-22 from the floor, sinking a career-high nine 3-pointers (on 15 attempts), for his 36th 20-point game of the season. He also had seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Jalen Johnson earned his 13th triple-double of the season with 24 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists.

Orlando got 18 points and 10 rebounds from Paolo Banchero, 18 points from Desmond Bane and 17 points from Wendell Carter Jr.

Lakers 100, Rockets 92

Luka Doncic scored a game-high 36 points as visiting Los Angeles claimed a victory over Houston.

The Lakers evened the season series with the Rockets ahead of the third and final meeting between the teams on Wednesday in Houston. Los Angeles also extended its lead over Houston for the third seed in the Western Conference to 1 1/2 games. LeBron James added 18 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Lakers.

Jabari Smith Jr. (22 points, eight rebounds) pushed the Rockets to an 88-85 lead before Houston came undone. The Lakers aggressively double-teamed Kevin Durant (18 points, seven turnovers), and the Rockets could not adjust. Houston scored only 12 points in the fourth period.

Spurs 119, Clippers 115

Victor Wembanyama scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, Stephon Castle added 23 points and eight assists and San Antonio continued its late-season surge with a victory over Los Angeles at Inglewood, Calif.

Devin Vassell put up 20 points and De’Aaron Fox added 18 as the Spurs improved to an NBA-best 18-2 since the start of February. San Antonio took charge in the second quarter, when it outscored Los Angeles 37-15.

Darius Garland totaled 25 points and 10 assists as the Clippers played without leading scorer Kawhi Leonard, who sprained his left ankle in a loss to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. Jordan Miller added a career-high-tying 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds.

Trail Blazers 114, Nets 95

Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara scored 18 points apiece as Portland never trailed in a victory over Brooklyn in New York.

Camara made 7 of 9 shots after shooting 5 of 20 in his previous two games. Scoot Henderson added 16 off the bench while Donovan Clingan collected 14 and 11 rebounds for his 29th double-double this season. Kris Murray contributed 14 points while Jerami Grant had 12 points for the Blazers.

With top scorer Michael Porter Jr. (ankle) and others out, rookie Chaney Johnson led the Nets with 17 points. Tyson Etienne and rookie Ben Saraf added 15 apiece as the Nets continued playing younger players in the fourth.

Bulls 132, Grizzlies 107

Matas Buzelis scored 18 of his 29 points in the third quarter and Josh Giddey contributed 16 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists to boost host Chicago to a victory against Memphis.

Giddey has a triple-double in five of the seven games in which he has played in March. Tre Jones (17 points), Rob Dillingham (15), Jalen Smith (13), Guerschon Yabusele (13) and Leonard Miller (10) also scored in double figures for Chicago.

Memphis lost for a season-high eighth straight time. Cedric Coward led the Grizzlies with 17 points. Taylor Hendricks and Jaylen Wells scored 16 points apiece.

Celtics 120, Suns 112

Jaylen Brown had 41 points, seven rebounds and six assists to lead Boston to a victory over visiting Phoenix.

Brown finished 19 of 21 from the free-throw line, with the makes and attempts both career-best figures. The Celtics received 21 points from both Jayson Tatum and Derrick White, while Payton Pritchard added 19.

Devin Booker led the Suns with 40 points, and Jalen Green added 21. Phoenix had a 110-106 lead with 4:46 to play but didn’t make another field goal.

Warriors 125, Wizards 117

Kristaps Porzingis returned to one of his former homes to score 30 points in 26 minutes, De’Anthony Melton chipped in with 27 and Golden State handed host Washington its 12th consecutive loss.

Gui Santos added 18 points for the Warriors, who used 50.5% shooting from the field as the driving force in erasing a five-game losing streak in coach Steve Kerr’s 600th regular-season win.

Trae Young had 21 points and five assists in 21 minutes for the Wizards before sustaining a bruised right quad in the third quarter. He did not return. Washington’s Bilal Coulibaly and Will Riley each added 21 points.

Pelicans 129, Mavericks 111

Zion Williamson scored 27 points and Saddiq Bey added 23 as New Orleans beat visiting Dallas for its third win in four games.

Trey Murphy III and Jeremiah Fears contributed 17 points each for the Pelicans. New Orleans’ Yves Missi pulled in 10 boards and tied his career high with five blocks as he returned to the starting lineup. He took the spot of Dejounte Murray, who sat out due to illness.

Naji Marshall posted 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Dallas, which took its 10th loss in 12 games. Cooper Flagg had 21 points, eight assists and seven boards, and P.J. Washington added 18 points.

EXPANSION PLANS IN SEATTLE, VEGAS REPORTEDLY ON NBA DOCKET THIS MONTH

NBA expansion plans are on the league agenda this month with discussions centering on valuations for franchises in Seattle and Las Vegas, according to multiple reports Monday.

The NBA Board of Governors has had open dialogue about returning to Seattle, where the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise called home as the SuperSonics from 1967-2008.

For an expansion plan to advance, 23 of 30 team governors must vote in favor of the proposal.

ESPN reported the new franchises could be ready to begin play by 2028 and valuations are projected at more than $7 billion.

NBA events are held in Las Vegas, including the annual Summer League, but no NBA franchise has ever anchored in Nevada.

The league last expanded in 2004, and realignment might be necessary to accommodate two new franchises. A current Western Conference team — Minnesota, Memphis and New Orleans are logical solutions — could be placed in the East to make the transition to 32 teams work.

======================================================================

WNBA

WNBA COMMISH: ‘WE’RE GOING TO KEEP MAKING PROGRESS’

Another marathon negotiating session between the WNBA and union leaders ended early Monday morning after making progress toward a “historic” deal, commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.

“We are going to keep going. We’re going to get this deal done,” Engelbert said. “And, you know, it’s going to be historic.”

The sides are expected to resume talks later Monday, the seventh straight day of discussions about a new collective bargaining agreement. The previous session began Sunday afternoon and ended about 3 a.m. ET on Monday.

“We’re working as hard as we can to get it done as quickly as possible,” Engelbert said. “It’s complex. There’s a lot. There’s a lot of system elements. There’s a lot of structure elements. … This is a big, big league and we want to do everything we can for the players. So, we’re going to keep making progress.”

Union president Nneka Ogwumike has said that the key sticking points are revenue sharing and housing.

“It’s very important for us to nail those two things down,” Ogwumike said this weekend between sessions. “… So we want to make sure that we can get that.”

The WNBPA originally asked for 40% of gross revenue, a figure that had dropped to 26% by last week. The league originally offered more than 70% of net revenue.

“We’ve talked a lot about revenue share, which that’s obviously going to be, I don’t even really like calling it the elephant in the room. Like it’s there, you know, like we’re going to talk about it,” Ogwumike said. “But housing is big, you know, and housing is really big. And I think that perhaps people understanding this negotiation or learning about it has really shown how meaningful something like a housing benefit is, especially for the women in the W.”

The regular season is scheduled to start on May 8, with training camp set to open on April 19 and preseason games starting on April 25.

The league also needs to schedule a college draft as well as an expansion draft for the new franchises in Portland and Toronto, and nearly 80% of the league’s players are free agents.

=====================================================================

NFL

JETS AGREE TO TRADE QUARTERBACK JUSTIN FIELDS TO CHIEFS TO SERVE AS MAHOMES’ BACKUP, AP SOURCE SAYS

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Jets have agreed to a trade that will send quarterback Justin Fields to the Kansas City Chiefs, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Monday.

The Jets will receive a sixth-round draft pick in 2027 for Fields and pick up $7 million of his guaranteed $10 million salary for this upcoming season, the person told the AP on condition of anonymity because the teams didn’t announce the trade.

The deal, first reported by ESPN, is pending a physical.

The 27-year-old Fields signed a two-year, $40 million deal — with $30 million guaranteed — with New York last March and was the starter for most of the season until he was benched in favor of Tyrod Taylor in Week 12 in November. He didn’t play another game for the Jets, ending the season by being placed on injured reserve in late December with a knee injury.

Fields went 2-7 as the Jets’ starter with seven touchdowns and only one interception for 1,259 yards. He threw for fewer than 55 yards in four games, including a season-low 27 in a loss to Buffalo in Week 2.

The Chiefs were searching for a veteran backup quarterback capable of filling in if two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes, who is rehabbing after tearing knee ligaments late in the season, is not ready for the start of the season.

With the Jets’ trade for Geno Smith last week, it appeared Fields’ days with the team were numbered, whether by being released or traded. New York held onto Fields through the start of free agency and general manager Darren Mougey found a taker in Kansas City.

Fields was the No. 11 overall pick by Chicago in the 2021 draft and the Bears moved on after three seasons and traded him to Pittsburgh in 2024. With Russell Wilson dealing with a calf injury, Fields opened the season as the Steelers’ starter and had five touchdown passes and five TD runs with just one interception while leading the Steelers to a 4-2 start.

But with Wilson healthy again, Pittsburgh turned back to the veteran and Fields was sent to the bench.

After he was signed by the Jets last offseason to replace the released Aaron Rodgers, Fields insisted he was confident he could be a productive NFL starter. But it didn’t happen in New York.

After the Jets started 0-7 during what would be a 3-14 first season under Aaron Glenn, owner Woody Johnson blamed poor quarterback play by Fields as a primary reason for the team’s struggles.

“The defense is pretty good. If we can just complete a pass, it would look good,” Johnson said at the NFL’s fall owners meetings last October. “We’ve got to complete some passes. You’ve got to convince them that you can do something. Otherwise it’s hard to have a game that you can win.”

For his career, Fields is 16-37 as a starter and has thrown for 9,039 yards and 52 touchdowns with 32 interceptions. He has also run for 2,892 yards and 23 scores.

======================================================================

NHL

NHL ROUNDUP: MAMMOTH SCORE 4 IN 3RD TO END STARS’ 15-GAME POINT STREAK

Kailer Yamamoto scored the eventual game-winning goal as the visiting Utah Mammoth doubled up the Dallas Stars 6-3 on Monday night.

Clayton Keller, Nate Schmidt, Jack McBain, Michael Carcone and Lawson Crouse also scored for the Mammoth, who snapped a four-game winless skid (1-2-2). Vitek Vanecek made 27 saves.

Sam Steel, Wyatt Johnston and Adam Erne scored for the Stars, who saw their franchise-tying 15-game stretch without a regulation loss (14-0-1) end. Casey DeSmith stopped 16 shots.

Kings 4, Rangers 1

Alex Laferriere had a goal and two assists for visiting Los Angeles in a win against New York.

Mikey Anderson posted a goal and an assist, Drew Doughty and Trevor Moore also scored, Quinton Byfield notched two assists and Darcy Kuemper made 21 saves for the Kings in the finale of the five-game road trip (3-1-1).

Artemi Panarin made his first return to New York following his trade to Los Angeles from the Rangers on Feb. 4, and he had the secondary assist on Doughty’s goal. Vincent Trocheck scored and Igor Shesterkin made 22 saves for the Rangers, who had won a season-high four in a row.

Red Wings 5, Flames 2

Patrick Kane scored twice and Alex DeBrincat collected three assists as host Detroit rolled to a victory over Calgary, ending a three-game losing streak.

Emmitt Finnie and Dominik Shine also scored for the Red Wings, who held onto an Eastern Conference wild-card spot with one month remaining in the season. Detroit goaltender John Gibson made 25 saves, and J.T. Compher collected two assists.

Matt Coronato collected one goal and one assist and Morgan Frost added a goal for the Flames, who completed a 1-4-0 road trip and sit second from the bottom of the league standings. Calgary goalie Dustin Wolf stopped 20 shots.

Devils 4, Bruins 3 (OT)

Paul Cotter scored with seven seconds remaining in overtime to give New Jersey a win over Boston in Newark, N.J.

Cotter scored another goal in regulation, while Jack Hughes had three assists for New Jersey and surpassed the 400-point career milestone. Connor Brown had a goal and an assist, and Jesper Bratt also scored for the Devils. Jacob Markstrom stopped 19 of 22 shots to earn his 20th win in 38 games this season.

David Pastrnak had two goals and Pavel Zacha also tallied for the Bruins. Goalie Joonas Korpisalo stopped 30 of 34 shots.

=====================================================================

BASEBALL

SPRING TRAINING ROUNDUP: CHRIS SALE COMPLETES SIX INNINGS AS BRAVES ROUT RAYS

Chris Sale pounded the strike zone and completed six innings as the host Atlanta Braves routed the Tampa Bay Rays, 11-2, on Monday in North Port, Fla.

The rangy southpaw, who just signed a contract extension through 2027, allowed five hits, did not walk a batter and fanned three. Sale threw 53 of his 75 pitches for strikes and only permitted one run, a solo homer by Nick Fortes with one out in the sixth.

The Braves scored four runs in the second and led 8-0 after five innings. Eli White, who hit a career-best 10 home runs in 2025, connected for a two-run blast in the fourth after singling in the second. He is hitting .414 this spring. Mike Yastrzemski went 3-for-4 with two runs and raised his batting average to .448, while Drake Baldwin slugged a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth.

Rays starting pitcher Nick Martinez, who was signed to a one-year, $13 million deal last month, was hit hard, allowing seven runs and 10 hits in four innings. The versatile 35-year old now has a 9.90 ERA this spring.

Blue Jays 5, Marlins 4 (6)

George Springer led off the game with a home run and Toronto tacked on four runs in the third inning to edge host Miami in a rain-shortened game called in the bottom of the sixth in Jupiter, Fla.

Daulton Varsho keyed the four-run outburst with a two-run double down the right-field line. It was the fifth double of the spring for the veteran outfielder, who is hitting .432 in Florida.

Two Marlins went deep — Otto Lopez hit a solo homer in the first and Daniel Johnson connected for a solo shot in the fifth. Janson Junk, who emerged as a reliable starter for Miami in 2025, allowed four runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts in two innings.

Twins 5, Pirates 1

In only his second start of the spring, likely Opening Day starter Joe Ryan completed four innings as Minnesota defeated visiting in Fort Myers, Fla.

Ryan gave up one run on five hits and one walk, but fanned six Pirates in a 68-pitch effort. Luke Keaschall broke a 1-1 tie with a three-run home run in the third inning and, two batters later, Victor Caratini blasted a solo shot.

Pirates starter Noah Davis, who pitched four games with Boston in 2025, allowed all five Twins’ runs in four innings. Henry Davis contributed a run-scoring single in the top of the third for Pittsburgh.

Tigers 13, Phillies 6

Top prospect Kevin McGonigle blasted a three-run home run to highlight a seven-run Detroit first inning and the hosts cruised to victory over Philadelphia in Lakeland, Fla.

Spencer Torkelson hit a solo shot in the second inning and Jahmai Jones (2-for-4, 5 RBIs) added a bases-clearing double in the third. Starter Jack Flaherty allowed five runs and five hits in five innings.

Phillies’ minor leaguer Charles King was touched up for 10 earned runs in 1 2/3 innings. Felix Reyes and Otto Kemp hit three-run homers for all of the Philadelphia offense.

Red Sox, Orioles, cancelled

The scheduled evening game between Boston and Baltimore was cancelled due to impending weather in Sarasota, Fla. There will be no make-up date.

NEW UNION HEAD SAYS 2027 MLB WORK STOPPAGE COULD DISRUPT PLANS FOR BIG LEAGUERS AT 2028 OLYMPICS

MIAMI (AP) — A work stoppage that leads to canceled games during the 2027 Major League Baseball season could disrupt plans under discussion to have big league players participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The Major League Baseball Players Association is negotiating with Major League Baseball, the IOC, the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the World Baseball Softball Confederation on the six-nation baseball event, scheduled for Dodger Stadium from July 15-20 during what could be an extended All-Star break.

MLB and the union also are preparing for the start of bargaining in April or May for a labor contract to replaced the current five-year agreement that expires Dec. 1. A management lockout is expected to start Dec. 2.

“It can be on a separate track, but I’m sure it will come up in the course of negotiations,” new acting union head Bruce Meyer said Sunday night at the World Baseball Classic. “If we’re in a situation where games are being missed in ’27, that could have an impact on playing the Olympics after that.”

Meyer said a lost 2027 season would eliminate big leaguers from the 2028 Olympics.

“If we don’t have a season, we’re not going to play in the Olympics,” he said.

MLB has not lost regular-season games due to a labor dispute since 1995.

Insurance and player accommodations remain issues that must be resolved for MLB players to appear at the Olympics. At the WBC, costs are split proportionally among the shareholders — MLB and the union have equal stakes that are the most, and the WBSC, Nippon Professional Baseball and the Korea Baseball Organization also own minority shares.

“The federations involved, the IOC, we still have a lot of issues to work out with the league,” Meyer said. “Pretty much everything other than the qualifying — issues like insurance, transportation, and a whole variety of issues. … Housing, lodging, security is all still under discussion.”

Players during the regular season are entitled to “first-class jet air and hotel accommodations,” according to their labor contract, and they likely would not want to stay in dormitory-type rooms commonly used at Olympics.

For players not in the Olympics, discussions are exploring the possibility of having teams play exhibition games against each other or minor league affiliates.

Meyer spoke on the field at the Miami Marlins’ loanDepot park before the U.S. played the Dominican Republic for a berth in Tuesday’s WBC final against Venezuela or Italy.

A crowd of 34,548 attended Venezuela’s 8-5 upset win over Japan in a quarterfinal Saturday night. The Marlins drew 1.16 million at home last year, 28th among the 30 teams, and drew 29 crowds of less than 10,000.

“In this market, in Miami, you can see the the fan interest in baseball, which unfortunately is perhaps not maximized by the franchise here,” Meyer said.

MLB and the union are discussing the possibility of having exhibition games during an extended 2028 break for those players not at the Olympics.

The Dominican Republic and Venezuela have qualified along with the host U.S. and one team from Asia and one team from Europe/Oceania can qualify from this November’s WBSC Premier 12 tournament.

A final qualifying tournament will be played no later than March 2028 that includes the top two non-yet-qualified teams from the latest Asia Championship, the top two non-yet-qualified teams from the latest European Championship, the highest-placed non-yet-qualified team from the latest Africa Championship and the highest-placed non-yet-qualified team from the latest Oceania Championship.

Meyer was promoted to acting union head last month following the forced resignation of Tony Clark, a former All-Star first baseman who had led players since 2013. An investigation by the union’s outside counsel discovered evidence that Clark had an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, a union employee since 2023.

VENEZUELA OVERTAKES ITALY, SETS UP WBC FINAL VS. USA

Maikel Garcia hit a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning for Team Venezuela, which advanced to the World Baseball Classic championship game by beating Team Italy 4-2 on Monday in Miami.

Venezuela, which pieced together four straight two-out hits in a three-run seventh, will play the United States for the title Tuesday night in Miami. The United States beat the Dominican Republic 2-1 on Sunday in the first semifinal.

Venezuela is seeking its first championship while the United States is aiming for its second crown. Both teams went 3-1 in pool play before winning their first two games in the knockout rounds.

The loss was the first of the WBC for Italy, which made a Cinderella run to the semifinals by going 4-0 in Pool B play before beating Puerto Rico 8-6 in a quarterfinal at Houston on Saturday.

Italy, which took a 2-0 lead in the second when J.J. D’Orazio drew a bases-loaded walk and Dante Nori hit into a run-scoring groundout, was eight outs away from another upset when Venezuela rallied against losing pitcher Michael Lorenzen.

Gleyber Torres worked a leadoff walk in the seventh before Lorenzen whiffed Wilyer Abreu and William Contreras. Venezuela pulled off a hit-and-run in which Jackson Chourio singled pinch runner Andres Gimenez to third.

Ronald Acuna Jr. followed with a grounder to the third base side of short, where Sam Antonacci picked the ball cleanly but bounced the throw to first as Acuna Jr. arrived safely and Torres scored.

Garcia delivered the go-ahead single to left, scoring Chourio, before Luis Arraez provided insurance by singling home Acuna.

Angel Zerpa earned the win by getting got the final two outs of the sixth. Eduard Bazardo and Andres Machado threw a perfect inning apiece before Daniel Palencia earned his second save by striking out two in a 1-2-3 ninth.

Venezuela starting pitcher Keider Montero gave up the two runs in 1 1/3 innings.

Garcia and Torres had two hits apiece for Venezuela.

Italy starter Aaron Nola allowed one run in four innings. Zach Dezenzo had two hits for Italy.

AARON JUDGE HAILS WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC CROWDS AS ‘BIGGER AND BETTER THAN THE WORLD SERIES’

MIAMI (AP) — On a night when All-Stars and future Hall of Famers thrilled fans and each other until the final out, Aaron Judge proclaimed the World Baseball Classic had grown into the sport’s biggest event.

“The World Series I was in, the crowd here, the crowd we had when we played against Mexico, it’s bigger and better than the World Series,” the U.S. captain said after a 2-1 semifinal win over the Dominican Republic that came down to Sunday night’s final pitch. “The passion that these fans have, representing their country, representing some of their favorite players, there’s nothing like it.”

American tradition emphasizing understatement on a team led by Judge and Bryce Harper was showcased against Latin flair on a side featuring Juan Soto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. When Junior Caminero homered against Paul Skenes to put the Dominicans ahead in the second inning, he celebrated with an overhand bat flip.

In the sixth tournament of an event that started in 2006, the game featured starting lineups featuring 17 All-Stars totaling 56 selections among the 20 starters. They had won five MVP awards, one Cy Young, five Rookies of the Year and three batting titles.

Before a crowd of 36,337 at IoanDepot park, the U.S. overcame the deficit on fourth-inning home runs by Gunnar Henderson off Luis Severino and Roman Anthony against Gregory Soto.

Anthony, at 21 the youngest American player, had bought a ticket for the 2023 WBC final in Miami and watched from the seats as Japan beat the U.S. 3-2.

“Coming to the WBC here, you dream of representing this country and being here the next time around,” Anthony said.

American relievers allowed two hits over 4 2/3 scoreless innings, capped by Mason Miller topping 100 mph with 13 of 22 pitches. Miller’s last appeared to be low for ball four to Geraldo Perdomo but plate umpire Cory Blaser emphatically signaled strike three.

“Just a game we’ll remember forever, right?” U.S. manager Mark DeRosa said. “We understood this was going to be a talked-about game, probably one of the most watched games of all time.”

Dynamic defense was commonplace.

With the U.S. trailing by a run in the third, Judge threw a 95.7 mph strike from right field to third base to cut down Fernando Tatis Jr. for the inning’s final out. Judge then made a diving backland catch to rob Soto, his former New York Yankees teammate, in the fourth.

Julio Rodríguez denied Judge a home run with a leaping catch at the center-field wall in the fifth, 407 feet from the plate.

“I was like, OK, maybe we got a shot here,” Judge recalled. “But hit it to a guy like J-Rod, who’s one of the best if not the best center fielder in the game, he’s going make exciting plays like that in big moments.”

Shortstop Bobby Witt ranged to the right field side of the infield to snag Soto’s slow bouncer in the fifth, scrambled to back to touch second base and made an off-balance throw to first for an inning-ending double play. One inning later, Witt threw out Manny Machado at first from the outfield grass.

Pitching moments were memorable, too.

Dominican starter Luis Severino stranded runners at second and third in the third inning when he struck out Judge and Kyle Schwarber, and Skenes escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fourth when Austin Wells flied out.

Wells doubled with one out in the seventh and the relatively slow-footed catcher was held at third on Perdomo’s single to Crow-Armstrong in center. David Bednar then struck out Tatis Jr. and Ketel Marte on breaking balls below the strike zone.

Before Miller got the strike three call in the ninth, Perdomo had fouled off a pair of full-count pitches.

“The whole world saw in two teams some of the best players in the game,” said Dominican manager Albert Pujols, a likely future Hall of Famer.

Rosters included 18 of the 41 players who received MVP votes last year.

Judge gave a postgame speech to teammates, looking ahead to Tuesday’s championship against Venezuela or Italy. He had perceived a special night Sunday from the start.

“You get chills standing there on the line, hearing them announce all the names,” he said. “It was like an All-Star team they got over there.”

MLB TEST OF ROBOT UMPIRES FOR CHECKED SWING CALLS MOVING UP TO TRIPLE-A

MIAMI (AP) — Major League Baseball’s experiment of a robot umpire technology system allowing challenges to checked swing calls is moving up from Class A to Triple-A.

MLB will also test moving second base slightly to position it entirely within the infield, which would reduce by 9 inches the distance between first and second, and between second and third, according to a memorandum sent to teams last week.

It will try out reducing permissible disengagements by pitchers from two to one per plate appearance and stricter limits on batter timeouts and resetting the pitch clock for issues with PitchCom, the electronic signaling device that has been used since 2023.

There will also be a test allowing starting pitchers to re-enter games in the lowest level of the minor leagues. It’s not expected this test will lead to MLB implementation, but it’s being considered for the minors to improve development and player health by allowing more flexible workload management.

MLB’s Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System, the so-called robot umpire, launches when the season starts March 25 following tests that started in the minors in 2019. A batter, catcher or pitcher can appeal a ball/strike call by the human umpire under a system in which each team has two challenges and keeps its challenge if successful. Additional challenges become available to teams in extra innings.

An experiment began last May 20 in the Class A Florida State League allowing challenges to checked swing calls, and the test was extended to the Arizona Fall League.

Starting on May 5, the checked swing test will take expand to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in additional to the FSL.

“The batter, pitcher or catcher may also appeal the umpire’s decision regarding whether the batter swung at a pitch,” according to the memo from MLB vice president of on-field strategy Joe Martinez to general managers and other club executives. “A swing will be considered to have occurred if the maximum angle between the bat head and the bat handle exceeds 45 degrees.”

Martinez said the strikeout rate was cut by 3% during last year’s testing.

In addition, umpires at games in the Triple-A International League will be instructed to apply the 45-degree threshold for determining swings starting May 5. The Official Baseball Rules do not specify a standard for checked swings, stating only: “A strike is a legal pitch when so called by the umpire, which is struck at by the batter and is missed.”

Since 1976, the rules have said: “The manager or the catcher may request the plate umpire to ask his partner for help on a half swing when the plate umpire calls the pitch a ball, but not when the pitch is called a strike.”

Starting pitchers will be allowed to re-enter a game after being removed at the Arizona Complex League, Florida Complex League and Dominican Summer League. A removed starting pitcher is eligible to return if he threw at least 25 pitches during the inning he was removed, can return only at the start of an inning and may re-enter only once.

MLB enlarged bases to 18-inch squares from 15 in 2023, a change the led to more stolen bases because of a decreased distance of 4 1/2 inches between first and second, and second and third.

Second base has been centered on the exact spot of second, but the experiment in the International League will place it “entirely within the perimeter of the infield diamond during the second half” of the season.

Citing an increase in the average time of a nine-inning game from 2 hours, 36 minutes in 2024 to 2:38 last year and a decrease in stole base attempt success rate from 80.2% in 2023 to 77.8% last year, MLB will experiment with changes to pitch clock rules.

Teams at Triple-A will be assessed a mound visit if play is stopped for a PitchCom problem, and if a team is out of visits an automatic ball will be charged.

At all levels, the clock will not stop when a catcher leaves the catcher’s box to give defensive signals, and players other than the pitcher and coaches must leave the mound before the clock on mound visits runs out. A violation would result in an automatic ball.

At High A, batters will not be allowed to request time if the bases are empty and in Class A no timeouts will be allowed. Exceptions will be allowed for brush backs, possible injuries or equipment problems.

Allowed disengagements by pitchers from the rubber will be lowered from two to one at Double-A.

MLB FREE AGENCY: 2-TIME CY YOUNG WINNER TARIK SKUBAL COULD SET MORE CONTRACT RECORDS NEXT OFFSEASON

Tarik Skubal has won back-to-back AL Cy Young Awards and will make $32 million this season after winning his salary arbitration hearing. Detroit’s ace left-hander could next set more contract records for a pitcher in free agency.

Skubal could become a free agent for the first time after the World Series next fall, along with players like two-time All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta, second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. and 31-year-old slugger Randy Arozarena. Trevor Rogers and Kris Bubic, both 28-year-old left-handed starters who have been All-Stars, could also be among that group.

But they will go into that offseason amid the backdrop of another potential lockout. The sport’s collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1 and MLB appears on track to propose a salary cap, so it’s uncertain how that will affect the next free agency class.

When the last CBA expired at that same point after the 2021 season, owners locked out players for 99 days, but there were some big deals completed in the days and hours before baseball’s first work stoppage in a quarter-century. Those included AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray on a $115 million, five-year contract with Seattle, Marcus Stroman’s $71 million, three-year deal with the Chicago Cubs and a half-billion dollar middle infield for the Texas Rangers: shortstop Corey Seager ($325 million, 10 years) and second baseman Marcus Semien ($175 million, seven years).

Here are some of the players who could be free agents after the 2026 season:

LHP Tarik Skubal, Tigers

Skubal, who will turn 30 in November, was 31-10 with a 2.30 ERA over 62 starts in his two Cy Young seasons, and is 54-37 with a 3.08 ERA in six years overall. He won a record arbitration case in February against the Tigers, who had offered $19 million. He was 13-6 with an AL-best 2.21 ERA in 31 starts last year, when he struck out 241 and walked 33 in 195 1/3 innings. The biggest contract for a pitcher is the $325 million, 12-year deal Yoshinobu Yamamoto got from the Los Angeles Dodgers two years ago. The highest average salary was $43.3 million, which three-time Cy Young winners Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer got in free-agent deals with the New York Mets before both got traded at the 2023 deadline.

RHP Freddy Peralta, Mets

Peralta led the National League with 17 wins and had 204 strikeouts last season, the last of his eight with Milwaukee before being traded to the Mets, who tabbed him their starter for opening day. He turns 30 in June and is 54-34 with a 3.30 ERA over five seasons as a full-time starter. He signed a five-year pre-arbitration deal in 2020 that included club options for 2025 and 2026.

2B Jazz Chisholm Jr., Yankees

The 28-year-old Chisholm was an All-Star again last season, for the first time since he was the primary second baseman for Miami in 2022. The Marlins then put him in center field until trading him at the deadline in 2024 to the Yankees, who moved him back to the infield. He hit .242 with 31 homers, 80 RBIs and 31 stolen bases last season.

OF Randy Arozarena, Mariners

Arozarena, the 2020 AL Championship Series MVP with Tampa Bay even before being the 2021 AL Rookie of the Year, hit a career-best 27 homers with 76 RBIs and 31 stolen bases last year in his first full season with Seattle, which acquired the two-time All-Star from Cuba at the 2024 trade deadline.

LHP Trevor Rogers, Oriole

s

The 13th overall pick by Miami in the 2017 amateur draft, Rogers made his big league debut with the Marlins in 2020, got traded to Baltimore at the 2024 deadline and sent to the minors less than a month later. Now he is set to start the season opener for the Orioles. He missed two months last season with a right kneecap issue before going 9-3 with a 1.81 ERA in 18 starts.

LHP Kris Bubic, Royals

Bubic was an All-Star last year but made only one more start for the Royals after the Midsummer Classic because of a strained rotator cuff. He was 8-7 with a 2.55 ERA.

INF Luis Arráez, Giants

The three-time NL batting champion while finishing each of those seasons with a different team, signed a $12 million, one-year deal with San Francisco after becoming a free agent for the first time. The 28-year-old Arráez is a .317 career hitter with only 215 strikeouts in 3,533 career plate appearances. He had 584 hits, 460 of them singles, the past three seasons.

Some players with options

Third baseman Bo Bichette, who joined the Mets this offseason on a $126 million, three-year free-agent deal, can opt out after this season. So can 30-year-old right-hander Michael King, who after becoming a free agent for the first time last offseason, signed a $75 million, three-year contract to stay with the San Diego Padres.

Team options

Among the players who could become free agents if club options aren’t exercised for 2027 are second baseman Ozzie Albies and outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. from the Atlanta Braves, Mets center fielder Luis Robert Jr., and Houston third baseman Isaac Paredes. First baseman Yandy Diaz, the 2023 AL batting champion and a .290 career hitter, has a vesting club option with Tampa Bay.

Some former Cy Young winners

Ray, traded to San Francisco two years ago, is going into the final year of his deal signed before the lockout. The 34-year-old Ray is 88-81 with a 3.94 ERA in his 12 big league seasons with stops also in Detroit, Arizona and Toronto, the team he was with in 2021 for his Cy Young season.

Right-hander Shane Bieber, the 2020 AL Cy Young winner with Cleveland, started only twice in 2024 before Tommy John surgery and becoming a first-time free agent. He got a new deal with the Guardians that had a $16 million player option for this season, which is for Toronto after being traded last July and making seven starts. The 30-year-old Bieber is 66-34 with a 3.24 ERA in 143 career games.

Sandy Alcantara, the 2022 NL Cy Young winner who is also 30, is set to make his franchise-record sixth opening day start for the Marlins. He missed the 2024 season after Tommy John surgery. He initially struggled in his return last year, but went 7-3 with a 3.13 ERA over his last 12 starts. Miami has a $21 million club option for 2027.

PHILLIES OF JOHAN ROJAS BANNED 80 GAMES FOR FAILED PED TEST

Major League Baseball suspended Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Johan Rojas for 80 games Monday for violating the league’s joint drug prevention and treatment program.

Rojas tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance Boldenone, MLB said in a statement.

Rojas’ suspension kicks in at the start of the regular season. The Phillies open at home against the Texas Rangers on March 26. Their 81st game is scheduled for June 25 at the Washington Nationals.

“The Phillies fully support Major League Baseball’s Joint Prevention and Treatment Program and are disappointed to hear today’s news of Johan’s violation,” the Phillies said in a statement.

Rojas, 25, was entering his fourth season in MLB, all with Philadelphia. He appeared in 71 games in 2025 and batted .224 with one home run, 18 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. In 250 career games, Rojas has amassed six homers, 73 RBIs and 51 stolen bases while batting .252.

SHOHEI OHTANI READY TO REJOIN DODGERS ROTATION, COULD PITCH THIS WEEK

One spring training appearance is all the Los Angeles Dodgers have witnessed of Shohei Ohtani’s ramp-up for the start of the regular season next week.

Ohtani had one hit in three at-bats in the only game he played with the Dodgers this spring before joining Japan for the World Baseball Classic. He was not available to pitch for Japan, which lost to Venezuela in the quarterfinals on Saturday to the surprise of Ohtani and the Dodgers.

Now, with Ohtani back in camp earlier than expected, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said there’s a strong chance Ohtani will pitch in a game this week or early next week.

“Last year, we had the plan to start from one inning to keep him with us active and playing. I think this year, we’re certainly north of that,” Roberts said. “I don’t see how we won’t be able to get three or four innings from him in a Major League game. So that’s certainly a better jumping-off point than last year. We’ll see how it goes.”

Ohtani threw a four-inning simulated game last week in Miami with Japan. He’s not starting from scratch, which is why the Dodgers are comfortable planning for him to begin the regular season as part of the starting rotation, Roberts said.

Ohtani made 14 regular-season and four playoff starts for the Dodgers in 2025. After amassing 62 strikeouts and a 2.87 ERA in 47 innings during the regular season, he posted a 2-1 record with a 4.43 ERA and 28 strikeouts over 20 1/3 postseason innings. He did not pitch for the Dodgers in 2024 after undergoing surgery to fix an injured ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

WORLD SERIES HERO YOSHINOBU YAMAMOTO TO START DODGERS’ OPENER

World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be the Opening Day starter when the Los Angeles Dodgers kick off the season against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on March 26.

It will be the second straight Opening Day start for the right-handed Yamamoto, who was sensational in the 2025 postseason while helping Los Angeles win the World Series.

“It is a pretty easy decision, considering that it’s an honor to be the Opening Day starter,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Monday. “He started for us last year on the road. But for him to get that start on Opening Day at home, I think it’s going to be special.”

The Dodgers will be gunning to become the first team since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees to win three straight World Series crowns.

Yamamoto, 27, won three games in the 2025 World Series when Los Angeles beat the Toronto Blue Jays in a thrilling seven-game series.

He pitched a complete game 4-hitter as the Dodgers won Game 2, then tossed six innings in Game 6 as Los Angeles tied the series at three games apiece. On no rest, Yamamoto entered Game 7 in relief and pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings for another victory in the 11-inning finale.

Overall, Yamamoto went 5-1 with a 1.45 ERA in six appearances (five starts) in the 2025 postseason.

In the regular season, Yamamoto went 12-8 with a 2.49 ERA in 30 starts and finished third in National League Cy Young voting. He also was tabbed to the NL All-Star team.

Yamamoto enters the third season of a 12-year, $325 million contract. He is 19-10 with a 2.66 ERA in 48 starts in two seasons with the Dodgers and a stellar 7-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 10 postseason appearances (nine starts).

=====================================================================

COLLEGE BASEBALL

COLLEGE BASEBALL NOTEBOOK: BEST IN THE WEST ARE FLEXING WITH TORRID STARTS TO THE SEASON

West Coast college baseball aficionados are puffing out their collective chests one month into the season, and they have good cause. UCLA, Southern California and Oregon have combined to win 53 of their first 59 games.

Before the sport’s epicenter moved to the Southeastern Conference in the 1990s, the power resided west of the Rockies. Since Oregon State won the 2018 national championship, no other team from the West has reached the finals over eight College World Series.

The crumbling of the Pac-12 and defections of UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten shook up traditionalists. For them, the fast starts by the Bruins, Trojans and Ducks are good tonic.

UCLA (17-2, 6-0) is the consensus No. 1 team, out to its best conference start since 1977 and has won 11 straight games for its longest streak since 2020. The Bruins also have the projected No. 1 pick in the MLB amateur draft in shortstop Roch Cholowsky, a rising star in slugger Will Gasparino and an ace in San Diego transfer Logan Reddemann.

USC (19-1, 5-1) set a program record with its 19-0 start, the Trojans’ longest win streak since 1955. The loss, 2-1 at Northwestern, came Saturday as it was snowing in Evanston, Illinois.

The Trojans have been nails on the mound and in the field. They lead the nation with a 1.61 ERA and 4.79 hits allowed per nine innings and are tied for first with five shutouts. Grant Govel has allowed one earned run in 33 innings (0.27) and Mason Edwards has given up one in 30 innings (0.30) and is second nationally with 52 strikeouts.

The Ducks (17-3, 5-1) have won six straight after freshman Angel Laya’s base hit in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday produced a 7-6 walk-off win over Indiana. Oregon looks like a complete team, with Drew Smith batting .450 and slugging .900 and Will Sanford leading a strong pitching staff with a 3-0 record and 1.37 ERA over 26 1/3 innings.

In the polls

UCLA, Texas and Georgia Tech are the top three teams by D1Baseball.com, Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

The Bruins run-ruled UC Irvine and swept Michigan at home last week. Texas (18-1) beat Texas State to improve to 16-0 and then took its first loss in the opener of its home series against Mississippi, 9-8 in 11 innings. The Longhorns won the next two to take the series. Georgia Tech (17-3) run-ruled West Georgia and took two of three at Clemson.

Unpleasant surprise for LSU

The LSU Tigers (14-7, 1-2 SEC) entered the season as defending national champions and a co-No. 1 in the preseason Top 25s, and now they aren’t even ranked.

Following a 8-0 start, the Tigers have lost seven of 13. Since losing to McNeese State on Feb. 24, LSU has dropped games to Northeastern and Louisiana-Lafayette and lost series against Sacramento State and Vanderbilt.

“Our guys take a lot of pride in this,” coach Jay Johnson said, “and they haven’t played as well as they want to, and there are some negative feelings that come along with those things. You have to get past being embarrassed or afraid to fail, and I thought there were some good steps in that direction this week.”

Jake Brown is mashing with a .419 batting average, 11 homers and 37 RBIs, but the Tigers are last in the SEC in ERA (5.24) and fielding (.964).

Cleanup spot

Notre Dame’s Noah Coy and Davis Johnson each hit grand slams in a 10-run fourth inning that led to a 14-11 win at Louisville on Friday. The Irish dropped the next two games in the series. … North Carolina has won five in a row after taking three from California for its first road sweep in two years. … Here’s something you don’t see often in the transfer portal era: Indiana’s entire starting lineup and starting pitcher in Sunday’s game at Oregon were recruited by the Hoosiers out of high school, a first in coach Jeff Mercer’s eight seasons. … West Virginia’s Maxx Yehl threw eight shutout innings in an 8-0 win over Baylor, and his 12 strikeouts were most on the road by a Mountaineers pitcher since 2019.

=======================================================================

GOLF NEWS

GOLF GLANCE: PGA WRAPS FLORIDA SWING; LPGA RETURNS TO U.S.; LIV MAKES SOUTH AFRICA DEBUT

The PGA Tour concludes its Florida Swing at Innisbrook, the LPGA Tour returns to the United States and LIV Golf makes is South Africa debut among a busy slate of golf events around the globe this week.

PGA TOUR
THIS WEEK: Valspar Championship, Palm Harbor, Fla. (March 19-22)
Course: Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, Copperhead Course (Par 71, 7,352 Yards)
Purse: $9.2M (Winner: $1.638M)
Defending Champion: Viktor Hovland
FedEx Cup Leader: Jacob Bridgeman
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 7:45 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @ValsparChamp
NOTES: The field includes seven of the top 20 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, led by No. 7 Xander Schauffele. … Hovland seeks to become the third player to successfully defend at the Valspar. … With Brooks Koepka playing via the Returning Member Program, the field was expanded to 135 players to round out threesomes with the additions of Seamus Power and Matt Kuchar. … Keith Mitchell, Robert MacIntyre, Sudarshan Yellamaraju and William Mouw withdrew this week. They were replaced by Doug Ghim, Andrew Putnam, Kris Ventura and Justin Lower. … Vijay Singh holds the tournament scoring record of 266 set in 2004. … Blades Brown, 18, is in the field courtesy of his third-place finish at the Puerto Rico Open. Luke Clanton is also playing this week after his T5 in Puerto Rico. … Sponsor exemptions include 2017 champion Adam Hadwin, who lost his full-time PGA Tour card last season.
BEST BETS: Schauffele (+1050 at DraftKings) is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 7. He was in contention at The Players despite a 72 on Saturday caused largely by his struggles off the tee. … Matt Fitzpatrick (+1450) is coming off a runner-up at TPC Sawgrass, where he was tied for the lead before a bogey on the 72nd hole. … Hovland (+1900) claimed his seventh career victory here and enters with consecutive T13s the past two weeks. … Akshay Bhatia followed up his win at Bay Hill with a T13 at TPC Sawgrass. … Justin Thomas (+2250) structured his schedule to make sure that his return from back surgery allowed him to play at Innisbrook, where he said he feels like he has a chance to win every year. Thomas finished second last year … Bridgeman (+2250) continue to build on his breakout year with a T5 last week.
Last Tournament: The Players Championship (Cameron Young)
Next Tournament: Texas Children’s Houston Open, March 26-29

LPGA TOUR
THIS WEEK: Fortinet Founders Cup, Menlo Park, Calif., March 19-22
Course: Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club (Par 72, 6,542 Yards)
Purse: $3M (Winner: $300,000)
Defending Champion: Yealimi Noh
HOW TO FOLLOW:
TV: Thursday-Sunday: 6-9 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
X: @LPGA
NOTES: The tour returns to the United States following a three-event Asia Swing. … The event began in 2011, with the most recent iteration seeing Noh beat former World No. 1 Jin Young Ko by four strokes at Bradenton Country Club last year for her first career LPGA Tour victory. … This week marks the 25th anniversary of the first 59 shot in LPGA Tour history by 72-time winner Annika Sorenstam at Moon Valley Country Club.
Race to CME Globe Leader: Jeeno Thitikul
Last Tournament: Blue Bay LPGA (Mi Hyang Lee)
Next Tournament: Ford Championship, Phoenix, March 26-29

LIV GOLF LEAGUE
THIS WEEK: LIV Golf South Africa, Steyn City, March 19-22
Course: The Club at Steyn City (Par 71, 7,557 Yards)
Purses: Individual: $30M (Winner: $4M); Team: $10M (Winners: $3M)
Defending Champions: Inaugural Event
2026 Season Leaders: Individual: Jon Rahm; Team: Ripper GC
HOW TO WATCH
TV: Wednesday-Thursday: 6-8 a.m. ET (FS1), 8-11 a.m. (FS2); Friday: 6-11 a.m. (FOX); Sunday: 6-11 a.m. (FS1)
NOTES: This marks LIV Golf’s first event in South Africa and is the fifth of 14 events this season. … Phil Mickelson will make his 2026 debut after missing the first four events due to an undisclosed personal reason. … The daily shotgun start includes 13 teams and 57 total players, including five wild cards. … Bryson DeChambeau climbed eight spots to No. 33 in the Official World Golf Ranking with his victory in Singapore. This is the final event for Thomas Detry (No. 63) and Elvis Smylie (No. 74) have one LIV Golf event remaining to climb into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking and earn a spot in the Masters. … The field includes the all-South African team of Southern Guards GC comprised of captain Louis Oosthuizen, Dean Burmester, Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel.
Last Event: LIV Golf Singapore (Individual: DeChambeau; Team: 4Aces GC)
Next Event: LIV Golf Mexico City, April 16-19

DP WORLD TOUR
THIS WEEK: Hainan Classic, Hainan Island, China, March 19-22
Course: Mission Hills Resort Haikou (Par 72, 7,637 Yards)
Purse: $2.25M
Defending Champion: Marco Penge
Race to Dubai Leader: Patrick Reed
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: TBA
X: @DPWorldTour
NOTES: The is the start of the four-event Asia Swing, with DP World Tour members competing for a total prize fund of $10.6 million. … The first 36 holes will be staged across both the Blackstone and Vintage courses, with professionals playing alongside an amateur in each team. The final two rounds will be contested on the Blackstone course. … The player who finishes first in the Asia Swing will earn a place in all events in Phase Two of the DP World Tour season, the Back 9 and a $200,000 bonus. Japan’s Keita Nakajima won last year’s Asia Swing. … The three leading DP World Tour members will qualify for the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club from May 14-17.
Last Tournament: Joburg Open (David Puig)
Next Tournament: Hero Indian Open, New Delhi, March 26-29

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
THIS WEEK: Cologuard Classic, Tucson, Ariz., March 20-22
Course: La Paloma Country Club (Par 71, 6,856 Yards)
Purse: $2.2M (Winner: $330,000)
Defending Champion: Steven Alker
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Stewart Cink
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Friday: 4-7 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel)
X: @ChampionsTour
NOTES: This is the fourth of 28 events on the 2026 schedule and will be held at La Paloma for the third time. The tournament uses a composite route that includes holes from all three of the property’s courses. … The 78-player field will compete over three days, with the forecast calling for temperatures to exceed 100 degrees in Tucson. … Zach Johnson is coming off a victory in his Champions Tour debut and aims to join Phil Mickelson as the only players to win each of their first two Champions events. … Alker is seeking to become the first player to successfully defend his title at the Cologuard Classic.
Last Tournament: James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational (Johnson)
Next Tournament: Hoag Classic, Newport Beach, Calif., March 27-29

======================================================================

INDIANA SPORTS TEAM RELEASES

INDIANA HS BOYS BASKETBALL

CLASS 1A SEMI-STATE PREVIEW

The road to Gainbridge Fieldhouse continues as the IHSAA Boys Basketball Semi-State takes place Saturday with eight teams fighting for a state finals berth.

IndianaSRN brings you the preview and breakdown.

Class 1A Semi-State

Lafayette Jefferson – Saturday

Game 1 – 10:00 AM

Monroe Central vs North Vermillion

Monroe Central Golden Bears

Record: 21-4

Strong defensive team that forces turnovers and controls tempo.

Balanced scoring and experience from a deep tournament run.

Keys for Monroe Central

Push the pace early

Control rebounds

Limit transition points

North Vermillion Falcons

Record: 16-11

Battle-tested team that has pulled off tournament upsets.

Physical defense and strong half-court offense.

Keys for North Vermillion

Slow the game down

Win the turnover battle

Hit perimeter shots

Game Outlook

Monroe Central enters as the favorite, but North Vermillion has shown the ability to surprise teams in tournament play.

Game 2 – 12:00 PM

Tri-County vs Triton

Tri-County Cavaliers

Record: 16-10

Tough defensive squad that plays extremely hard.

Survived a difficult sectional and regional path.

Keys for Tri-County

Defensive pressure

Control tempo

Convert second-chance opportunities

Triton Trojans

Record: 23-3

One of the hottest teams left in Class 1A.

Efficient offense and strong shooting.

Keys for Triton

Push pace

Win the three-point battle

Keep turnovers low

Game Outlook

Triton’s offense may be the difference, but Tri-County’s defense could make this a grind-it-out semifinal.

Class 1A Semi-State

Washington – Saturday

Game 1 – 10:00 AM

Barr-Reeve vs Liberty Christian

Barr-Reeve Vikings

Record: 25-1

One of the top teams in the entire state regardless of class.

Strong basketball tradition and tournament experience.

Keys for Barr-Reeve

Inside scoring dominance

Ball movement

Defensive pressure

Liberty Christian Lions

Record: 19-7

Athletic team that can score quickly.

Known for aggressive defense and transition offense.

Game Outlook

Barr-Reeve enters as a favorite, but Liberty Christian has the athleticism to create problems.

Game 2 – 12:00 PM

Bloomfield vs Hauser

Bloomfield Cardinals

Record: 19-8

A gritty team that has battled through a tough path to semi-state.

Physical defense and strong rebounding.

Keys for Bloomfield

Control the boards

Limit turnovers

Play physical

Hauser Jets

Record: 25-2

One of the best records in Class 1A.

Fast-paced offense with excellent perimeter shooting.

Keys for Hauser

Push tempo

Shoot the three well

Defensive intensity

Game Outlook

This could be the most evenly matched game of the day.

IndianaSRN Coverage

Follow IndianaSRN Sports every day for:

Tournament highlights

Game previews

Semi-State breakdowns

State Finals coverage

 Next Preview:

Class 2A Semi-State Breakdown – Wednesday on IndianaSRN Sports

WILLIAMS RESIGNS AT RITTER

Ritter Boys Basketball Coach Derrick Williams has stepped down. Ritter saw their season end in the Greenfield-Central Regional Saturday in a 57-51 loss to Triton Central. Assistant Steven Lopez will take over for Williams.

FISHERS COACH LEAVING FOR IOWA

Garrett Winegar is leaving the Fishers boys basketball program to join the staff at Iowa United Prep. Winegar led Fishers to an 83-3 record over the last seasons. Iowa United Prep, is based out of Des Moines which plays in the Nike EYBL Scholastic circuit.

BUCKLEY RESIGNS AT NOBLESVILLE

Millers Girls Coach Donna Buckley has stepped down at Noblesville after 18 seasons. Buckley went 275-148, with four sectional titles, and a semi-state runner-up in the 2023-24 season. In a statement, Buckley said it was “a privilege” to coach at Noblesville and “an honor to work with hundreds of incredible student-athletes, parents, coaches, custodial staff and community members.”

======================================================================

COLTS FOOTBALL

COLTS SIGN FREE AGENT S JUANYEH THOMAS

The Colts on Monday signed free agenty safety Juanyeh Thomas.

The 6-foot-3, 217 pound Thomas spent the first three seasons of his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys. Over 36 games (four starts), Thomas totaled five pass break-ups, 62 tackles, and one forced fumble.

Thomas primarly has played special teams (706 career snaps), but played a career high 266 snaps on defense for the Cowboys last season despite appearing in only seven games.

The 25-year-old Thomas initially joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent from Georgia Tech in 2023. His brother, Azareye’h, is a cornerback with the New York Jets who was a third-round pick in 2025.

====================================================================

INDIANA PACERS

GAME PREVIEW: PACERS AT KNICKS

The Pacers (15-53) will take the floor at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday against Jalen Brunson and the Knicks (44-25). It will be the second meeting in five days between Indiana and New York, as the Knicks won 101-92 on Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Blue & Gold have lost 13 straight games — tied for the longest losing streak in franchise history — after falling on Sunday in Milwaukee, 134-123. The Pacers did not have leading scorers Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard against the Bucks.

Aaron Nesmith stepped up in their absence, scoring a career-high 32 points while going 10-for-14 from the field and 7-for-10 from 3-point range. Jay Huff added 16 points off the bench, while Jarace Walker tallied 14 points, eight boards, and six assists.

Indiana made a season-high 21 3-pointers, but couldn’t slow down the Bucks, who shot 54.4 percent from the field and went 23-for-44 (52.3 percent) from 3-point range. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists in just 23 minutes before exiting late in the third quarter with an ankle injury, while Bobby Portis tallied 29 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

The Knicks are coming off a 110-107 win over the Warriors on Sunday in New York. All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson scored 30 points and dished out nine assists, while All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns returned from injury and recorded a double-double with 17 points and 12 assists.

Brunson scored 23 of his 29 points in the first half of Friday’s victory over the Pacers. OG Anunoby scored 25, while Mitchell Robinson pulled down 22 rebounds — nine on the offensive glass — with Towns sidelined.

Projected Starters

Pacers: G – T.J. McConnell, G – Aaron Nesmith, F – Jarace Walker, F – Jalen Slawson, C – Ivica Zubac

Knicks: G – Jalen Brunson, G – Mikal Bridges, F – Josh Hart, F – OG Anunoby, C – Karl-Anthony Towns

Injury Report

Pacers: Quenton Jackson – questionable (right calf strain), T.J. McConnell – questionable (sore right hamstring), Andrew Nembhard – questionable (right calf contusion), Aaron Nesmith – questionable (right ankle injury management), Ben Sheppard – questionable (left ankle sprain), Obi Toppin – questionable (right foot injury management), Ivica Zubac – questionable (left ankle sprain), Pascal Siakam – doubtful (right knee sprain), Tyrese Haliburton – out (right Achilles tear), Johnny Furphy – out (right ACL tear)

Knicks: Miles McBride – out (pelvic core muscle surgery)

Last Meeting

March 13, 2026: The Pacers hung tough with the Knicks until late in the fourth quarter, but New York ultimately prevailed at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, 101-92.

Third-year forward Jarace Walker led four Pacers in double figures in the loss, tallying 18 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. Aaron Nesmith added 12 points and T.J. McConnell contributed 10 points and six assists off the bench.

New Pacers center Ivica Zubac — playing in just his second game for the Blue & Gold — finished with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting, eight rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 29 minutes.

Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 29 points on 11-of-25 shooting and also dished out nine assists. OG Anunoby added 25 points, eight boards, and five assists for the Knicks, while Mitchell Robinson had 12 points and 22 rebounds starting at center in place of injured All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns.

Noteworthy

New York leads the season series with the Pacers, 2-1. With a victory on Tuesday, the Knicks would win the regular season series with Indiana for the third straight year and the fifth time in the last seven years.

This is the Pacers’ second 13-game losing streak this season. Prior to this year, Indiana had never lost more than 12 consecutive games.

The Pacers and Knicks have met nine times in the playoffs. Indiana is 6-3 in those series and has won the last four series, including victories over New York in the 2024 Eastern Conference semifinals and the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals.

Broadcast Information (Where to Watch and Listen to Pacers Games >>)

TV: FanDuel Sports Network – Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Pat Boylan (studio host)

======================================================================

INDY FUEL

FUEL HOST GRIZZLIES IN FIRST OF THREE-GAME SET

FISHERS– The Fuel will take on the Utah Grizzlies on Friday night in the first of three matchups against them they will host this weekend. Looking to hold onto their place in the Central division standings, three wins against an out-of-division team will be imperative.

LAST TIME OUT

The last time these two teams met was last season on November 30, 2024 when the Fuel completed a series sweep against them, after facing them in Utah for three games during Thanksgiving week. Indy defeated them 4-2, 4-3, and then 4-1 in that final game. Kevin Lombardi scored two for Indy that game, while Cam Hausinger and Colin Bilek, who are both no longer in Indy, scored the other two. 

SCOUTING REPORT

The Utah Grizzlies come into this game with a 23-28-8-1 record and in sixth place in the Mountain division. Scoring leader, Danny Dzhaniyev has 23 goals and 40 assists so far this season. Reed Lebster follows closely behind with ten less points, but 30 goals and 23 assists. Third on their team in points is defenseman Aiden Hansen-Bukata, with 39 (35 of those being assists).

=====================================================================

INDIANA ATHLETICS

DOLSON NAMED 2026 NACDA ATHLETICS DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics announced today that Indiana University Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Dolson has been named a winner of the 2026 NACDA Athletics Director of the Year Award.

Dolson was honored in the Division I FBS category and becomes the first IU athletic director to win the award, which was first presented in 1999. Dolson will be recognized alongside the other honorees at the NACDA Convention in Las Vegas on June 9.

Dolson is in his sixth year as Indiana University’s Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, having previously served 11 years as the department’s Deputy Director of Athletics and Chief Operating Officer. Although his tenure has coincided with seismic shifts in the collegiate landscape—including the COVID-19 pandemic, the emergence of NIL, the evolution of the Transfer Portal, and the complexities of Revenue Sharing—Dolson has successfully navigated these challenges to lead the department through an era of unprecedented athletic and academic success.

The crown jewel of these achievements is the historic ascent of the IU Football program, which recently completed a perfect 16-0 season to capture the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship. Dolson hired the architect of this resurgence, Curt Cignetti, following the 2023 season; since then, the program has posted a 27-2 record, including a dominant 17-1 mark in Big Ten play. After a 2024 campaign that saw the Hoosiers earn their first-ever Playoff berth, the 2025 season exceeded all expectations. In addition to the national title, IU captured its first Big Ten championship in 58 years, and quarterback Fernando Mendoza became the program’s first-ever Heisman Trophy winner.

Beyond the gridiron, Hoosier programs and student-athletes have thrived individually under Dolson’s leadership. During the 2024-25 academic year, six different student-athletes captured individual NCAA championships, marking the highest single-season total in school history. And during his five-plus years at the helm of the department, 13 of IU’s 24 programs have earned first- or second-place Big Ten finishes.

On a national level, Dolson continues to be a prominent voice in collegiate sports leadership. Earlier this month, he was one of four athletic directors selected to attend a White House roundtable discussion regarding the future of college athletics. He also recently concluded a two-year term as Chairperson of the Big Ten Athletic Directors Group and was appointed to the NCAA Division I Baseball Selection Committee in early 2024.

A native of Michigan City, Indiana, Dolson earned his bachelor’s degree in management from the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, where he was honored as the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award winner. His deep roots with the university began as a four-year student manager for the men’s basketball team, serving as head manager in 1988. Dolson and his wife, Heidi, have five children: Kristen and Nick Dolson; and Luke, Sam, and Zach Wisen.

=====================================================================

INDIANA SWIMMING

NO. 6 INDIANA TAKES TALENTED SQUAD TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

ATLANTA – Looking to sustain its momentum from a program-record fourth place national finish last season, No. 6-ranked Indiana travels to the 2026 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships this week in Atlanta.

The four-day meet will run Wednesday (March 18) through Saturday (March 21) inside the McCauley Aquatic Center. Final sessions will kick off at 6 p.m. ET each night, preceded by preliminary heats each morning starting at 10 a.m. ET. Fans can stream the competition via the ESPN+ digital platform.

FORMAT CHANGES

The 2026 championships include three major format changes.

First, the championships will not include ‘B’ finals. Athletes that place ninth through 16th from preliminaries will still earn second-team All-American status but will not have a second swim, retaining the placement they earned in the morning.

Second, relay and 1,650-yard freestyle timed finals will occur during the preliminary session. Only the fastest heats of those events will swim in the evening.

Third, the diving championship finals will split in two parts during the evening session. Each of the three final nights will follow this order: two swimming events, first three rounds of diving, two swimming events, final three rounds of diving, relay.

SENIORS’ FINAL STAND

Mya DeWitt and Kristina Paegle represent a senior class that has delivered nothing but historic team success as part of program record finishes each previous year – seventh in 2023, seventh in 2024 and fourth in 2025.

Paegle has totaled 20 All-American honors during her career and can surpass former teammate Anna Peplowski (21) for most by a Hoosier woman this week. Paegle will swim the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle and likely feature on multiple relays.

THE FUTURE IS HERE

Indiana had the highest-scoring freshman class at Big Ten Championships by far, and four Hoosier rookies will look to make their marks at the national meet.

Despite swimming in three meets for Indiana this season, Alex Shackell owns the program records in the 100-yard butterfly (49.95) and 200-yard butterfly (1:50.71). She comes into the week as the No. 3 seed in both events.

Liberty Clark has the No. 3 seed in the 200-yard freestyle as well as the No. 5 seed in the 100-yard freestyle and No. 9 seed in the 50-yard freestyle. Clark has set program records in the 50 free (21.47) and 100 free (46.22). Her best 200 free time (1:40.84) sits just 34 hundredths off Anna Peplowski’s record that won the NCAA title last season.

Clark and Shackell were the top freshman scorers at Big Tens, and Grace Hoeper ranked fourth. Hoeper will join Clark in those freestyle events and will likely feature in all three freestyle relays. Kaylee Bishop will make her NCAA debut in the platform diving event.

JUNIOR JUICE

Indiana returns its second-highest scoring athlete from the 2025 championships in junior Miranda Grana, who earned a bronze medal in the 100-yard backstroke (49.62), fourth place in the 100-yard butterfly (50.01) and ninth in the 200-yard backstroke (1:48.73). Grana ranks top six in each event coming into the week.

Classmate Macky Hodges will look to build on her momentum from Big Ten Championships, where she posted personal best times in two of the three events she will swim this week. Hodges was the conference bronze medalist in the 200-yard backstroke, placed sixth in the 200-yard IM and ninth in the 400 IM (4:09.12).

POINTS ON THE BOARDS

Atlanta last hosted the NCAA Championships in 2022. That year, Tarrin Gilliland won her second consecutive NCAA platform championship. Indiana men and women have combined for seven platform titles in the last five seasons.

Four divers qualified for the national meet after the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships last week, led by juniors Ella Roselli and Lily Witte. Roselli will compete in all three events after reaching the A final in each at the conference meet.

HOOSIER RELAYS

Indiana qualified all five relays, four of which will swim the evening session. Clark, Shackell, Paegle and Hoeper made up Indiana’s Big Ten-record breaking 400-yard freestyle relay that won the conference title with a time of 3:07.72. That performance gave them the No. 3 seed in what will be the final race of this week’s championships.

MEET INFO

Wednesday, March 18 – Saturday, March 21 • 10 a.m. ET (prelims), 6 p.m. (finals)

McAuley Aquatic Center • Atlanta, Ga.

Live Results (Swimming): https://bit.ly/4rBP1N7/Meet Mobile (App)

Live Results (Diving): divemeets.com

Live Stream: ESPN+

SCHEDULED EVENTS (Finals)

Wednesday (6 p.m. ET) – 1,650 freestyle, 200 medley relay, 800 freestyle relay

Thursday (6 p.m. ET) – 100 butterfly, 400 IM, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 200 freestyle relay, 1-meter springboard

Friday (6 p.m. ET) – 100 backstroke, 200 breaststroke, 500 freestyle, 50 freestyle, 400 medley relay, 3-meter springboard

Saturday (6 p.m. ET) – 200 IM, 100 freestyle, 200 butterfly, 200 backstroke, 400 freestyle relay, platform

INDIANA SWIMMING AND DIVING QUALIFIERS

2026 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships

Kaylee Bishop – platform

Mary Kate Cavanaugh – platform

Liberty Clark – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle

Mya DeWitt – 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke

Miranda Grana – 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke, 100 butterfly

Macky Hodges – 200 backstroke, 200 IM, 400 IM

Grace Hoeper – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle

Jonette Laegreid – Relay alternate

Kristina Paegle – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle

Ella Roselli – 1-meter, 3-meter, platform

Alex Shackell – 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly

Reese Tiltmann – 200 breaststroke, 200 IM, 400 IM

Lily Witte – 1-meter, 3-meter

200 freestyle relay

400 freestyle relay

800 freestyle relay

200 medley relay

400 freestyle relay

=====================================================================

INDIANA BASEBALL

BASEBALL CENTRAL: VANDERBILT

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The final game of a four-game road trip will take the Indiana Baseball team (7-12, 1-5 B1G) to Nashville for a midweek contest against national-powerhouse Vanderbilt. After being swept in a tight three-game Big Ten series at Oregon, the Hoosiers will be looking to take a win back home to Bloomington. IU resumes conference play against Minnesota at Bart Kaufman Field this weekend (March 20-22).

Even in a trio of losses, IU’s pitching staff threw the ball well against a potent Oregon offense. The Hoosiers allowed just 15 runs over three games, keeping the Ducks to seven-or-fewer runs in each contest. IU’s three starters combined to throw 12 innings while allowing only six runs. Sophomore southpaw Brayton Thomas recorded a career-high five strikeouts in four solid frames on Sunday.

IU will look to get its offense going this week, beginning in the midweek contest against Vanderbilt. The Hoosiers managed just nine runs on the weekend, six of those coming in the series finale. IU didn’t score after the fourth inning in any of the three games. Only sophomore outfielder Cole Decker (.333) and freshman second baseman (.300) hit .300 or better on the weekend.

Tuesday’s game at Vanderbilt is the second of six true road games in the midweek. On the year, IU has already played 11 (3-8) true road contests. A win over the Commodores would be the first victory against an SEC foe since beating Kentucky in the 2023 Lexington Regional. First pitch is currently set for 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT.

Gameday Info

at Vanderbilt (Tuesday, March 17th – 3 p.m. ET)

Live Video: bit.ly/4bJTB78

Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio

Live Stats: bit.ly/46VZA6j

Probable Starters

Indiana vs. Vanderbilt

• Tuesday: LHP Conner Linn, Gr. (1-0, 9.28 ERA)

Leading Off

HANLEY HISTORY: Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley has 98 career hits after a pair of base knocks on Sunday at Oregon. He is closing in on his 100th all-time college hit in under 80 games at this level. Hanley has started all 75 possible games of his time in Bloomington entering Tuesday.

MORE FROM MASTALSKI: Freshman right-handed pitcher Ivan Mastalski has been a pleasant surprise out of the bullpen in 2026. He’s gone 2.0 innings in four-straight outings. In that stretch, he’s allowed just one earned run. The Indiana native has eight strikeouts to two walks in that run of form.

UNDERCLASSMEN GALORE: On IU’s Sunday lineup card in Oregon, eight of the nine position players were freshmen or sophomores. The only upperclassmen was junior catcher T.J. Schuyler. All nine of those players were recruited out of high school to Bloomington by head coach Jeff Mercer.

BREAKOUT YEAR: Sophomore outfielder Caleb Koskie is enjoying a breakout campaign in his second year of college baseball. He has nearly doubled his hit total (15) from last season (nine). The Minnesota native is second on the team with a .326 batting average.

TAKING BASES: Between walks (12) and hit-by-pitches (six), sophomore third baseman Will Moore has taken more free passes than he has strikeouts (16) this season. He leads the team in on-base percentage and has also recorded 17 base knocks in the early part of the year.

HOLDING STEADY: IU’s pitching staff – albeit bitten by the injury bug – has held up nicely through the first month of the year. The Hoosiers have allowed fewer than six runs in 11 different contests. However, IU is trying to improve its 7-4 record in that category.

Scouting the Opponent

Vanderbilt

• The Commodores have gotten off to a slow start by their standards but are still 13-8 after opening up SEC play with a series victory over LSU. Vanderbilt has gone 12-3 on the year at Hawkins Field and has lost just one midweek contest on the season.                    

• Infielder Brodie Johnston and outfielder Braden Holcomb provide the punch for a potent Vanderbilt offense. The two have combined for 18 home runs and 54 RBIs in the first 21 games. After moving the fences in at its home field, Vanderbilt has seen the long ball numbers (52) rise.

• Vanderbilt always has a strong pitching staff but will have to go deep into the bullpen following a lengthy weekend against LSU. Luke Guth (3.27 ERA) and Brennan Seiber (4.11 ERA) have been go to options in relief. The Commodores have 213 strikeouts and just 94 walks on the year.

Inside the Series

Vanderbilt

• Despite being two of the better programs in the area, these two sides have only played 15 times. That includes matchups in the NCAA Tournament in 2009 and 2015.

This will be just the second meeting in the Jeff Mercer era. He took his team down to Nashville in 2024 after a nine-year hiatus between games. The Commodores have never made a trip to Bloomington for a baseball game in this century.

======================================================================

PURDUE WRESTLING

#19 PURDUE PREPPED FOR NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — No. 19 Purdue Wrestling will close its season with four Boilermakers set to compete at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland on March 19-21.

Purdue’s four national qualifiers all earned podium finishes at the Big Ten Conference Championships to clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament.

The first of six sessions will begin at noon ET on Thursday inside Rocket Arena. All sessions will be available to watch on the ESPN family of channels as designated below.

All times listed in Eastern | All sessions also on ESPN+

Thursday, March 19

• 12 p.m.: Session 1 (First Round) – ESPN2
• 7 p.m.: Session 2 (Second Round, Consolation Matches) – ESPN

Friday, March 20

• 12 p.m.: Session 3 (Quarterfinals, Consolation Matches) – ESPNU
• 8 p.m.: Session 4 (Semifinals, Consolation Matches) – ESPN2

Saturday, March 21

• 11 a.m.: Session 5 (Medal Matches) – ESPNU
• 6:30 p.m.: Session 6 (Finals) – ESPN

Stats and live scoring will be available on TrackWrestling. To keep up with the Boilermakers, follow @PurdueWrestling on X/Twitter for match-by-match updates and mat assignments.

The four Boilermakers will vie for Purdue’s first individual national championship since Charles Jones won the fourth in school history on the heels of a 33-0 season in 1992.

PURDUE WRESTLING NCAA CHAMPIONS

BLAZE OF GLORY

After a 22-1 junior season, Blaze holds a career-high No. 2 seed at nationals. He is one of just four Boilermakers since 1963 to earn a top-two seed in the NCAA tournament, joining Jones (No. 2 in 1992), Chris Fleeger (No. 1 in 2003) and Matt Ramos (No. 2 in 2025).

As mentioned, Jones won the national title that year. Fleeger finished as the NCAA runner-up and Ramos placed fourth to become a two-time All-American.

Purdue’s highest seed, Blaze took another giant leap forward this season competing at 165 for the first time after wrestling at 157 his first two years. Last season, Blaze was one of the biggest breakout stars in the nation, blitzing to the NCAA Finals as the No. 8 seed to become Purdue’s youngest national finalist since at least 1950.

A native of Perrysburg, Ohio, Blaze will aim for the top of the podium this time around competing in his home state. He posted just the fourth undefeated regular season by a Boilermaker in the past 50 years and has given up only one takedown in 23 matches.

Blaze won bronze at the Big Ten Championships for the second straight season, becoming the first Boiler with consecutive top-three conference finishes since Devin Schroder (2020-21) and the first to do so in different weight classes since Dave Walter (1989-90).

TAKEDOWNS, TAKEDOWNS, TAKEDOWNS

Competing in his third full season of varsity action, redshirt junior Brody Baumann (No. 22 at 174) has been one of the most prolific offensive wrestlers on the team. He leads Purdue with 63 takedowns after tallying the second-most trailing only Ramos last season (68).

Behind Blaze, Baumann has been the second-highest scoring Boilermaker with 235 match points this season.

Hailing from Evansville, Ind., Baumann is one of just three NCAA qualifiers from the state of Indiana who also qualified each of the past two years, joining Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) and Evan Bates (Missouri).

Baumann scores his match points in bunches early on; he leads the team with 117 first-period points and paces Purdue with three 2-point nearfalls.

The Evansville grappler holds a career-high No. 22 seed this season after being No. 26 in 2025 and No. 32 in 2024.

BLAKE “SCORE”-MAN

Head coach Tony Ersland is not known to dip into the transfer portal often, but Blake Boarman (No. 24, 133) from Chattanooga and fellow starter Gavin Brown (149) of Ohio State were exceptions this season. Ersland’s investment in Boarman has paid dividends at the low end of the lineup, as the four-year Chattanooga wrestler was one of just four Boilers to start all 16 duals.

Boarman qualified for nationals last year as a No. 20 seed and took a big step up in competition in the Big Ten this season. Also from Evansville and a former high school teammate of Baumann, Boarman showed what he was truly capable of when he took No. 1 Lucas Byrd down to the wire in a 5-4 dual decision, scoring the only takedown but losing on stall calls.

But Boarman faced Byrd again in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament and got the better of him, scoring two takedowns for a 7-3 decision to pull off a shocking upset as the No. 10 seed to clinch his spot in Cleveland.

Boarman will look to show more consistency in his final tournament, but at his peak he has proven a tough out for anyone of any skill level.

THE MUSTACHED MENACE

Competing in his fourth and final Big Ten tournament, longtime Boilermaker stalwart Ben Vanadia (No. 26 at 197) finally got it done with an eighth-place finish, becoming a first-time Big Ten placewinner and first-time NCAA qualifier in his final season.

Vanadia was arguably a snub last season for the national tournament after turning in a 19-12 record with 10 dual wins. But he will now make his last ride in his home state of Ohio less than 10 minutes from his childhood home.

With a season record of 15-10, Vanadia has missed some time but wrestled sharp when competing at full strength. He opened the season on a 13-4 run before opening a grueling Big Ten slate where he faced nothing but ranked opponents. In fact, Vanadia hasn’t wrestled an unranked foe since the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite on Dec. 6.

Vanadia’s biggest win of the season came in a dominant 18-5 major decision over No. 15 Branson John. He wrestled his final dual match on Feb. 1 before returning at the Big Ten tournament over a month later, where he won the only match he competed in (7-2 decision over No. 23 Kael Wisler) and forfeited the rest, knowing his spot at nationals was secure.

BRACKET MATCHUPS

133 | #24 Blake Boarman – R-Sr.
Round of 32: #9 Dominick Serrano (UNCO)
Round of 16 (if advanced): #8 Markel Baker (NIU) OR #25 Will Betancourt

165 | #2 Joey Blaze – Jr.
Round of 32: #31 Jared Keslar (PITT)
Round of 16 (if advanced): #15 Connor Euton (ISU) OR #18 Gunner Filipowicz (ARMY)

174 | #22 Brody Baumann – R-Jr.
Round of 32: #11 MJ Gaitan (ISU)
Round of 16 (if advanced): #6 Matty Singleton (NCST) OR #27 Collin Carrigan (UNC)

197 | #26 Ben Vanadia – R-Sr.
Round of 32: #7 Cody Merrill (OKST)
Round of 16 (if advanced): #10 Mac Stout (PITT) OR #23 Mikey Squires (BING)

====================================================================

NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

HIDALGO SELECTED AS DAWN STALEY AWARD FINALIST

PHILADELPHIA — Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo has been named one of five finalists for the Dawn Staley Award.

The Dawn Staley Award is given annually to a player who exemplifies the skills that Dawn possessed throughout her career, ball handling, scoring, her ability to distribute the basketball and her will to win. Since the inception of the award in 2013, all winners have been drafted in the WNBA.

Hidalgo is joined by Raven Johnson (South Carolina), Jaloni Cambridge (Ohio State), Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt) and Azzi Fudd (UConn) as finalists for the award.

The junior has already been named the ACC Player of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the Year following her stellar regular season.

The Merchantville, New Jersey, native is averaging 25.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.4 steals and 5.3 assists per game. Hidalgo is the only women’s player at the DI level since the 1999-00 season to average at least 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals in a game.

The junior has turned in many incredible performances this season while breaking records along the way. Hidalgo set the all-time record for steals in a game and the program’s single-game scoring record against Akron, finishing with 44 points and 16 rebounds. She has the career program scoring records for 30-point games (18), 20-point games (76) and consecutive games in double figures (99).

Hidalgo broke the program’s record for career steals (452) and season steals (173). The standout became the fastest player in ACC and program history to reach 2,000 career points, accomplishing the feat in 86 games.

In the final game of the regular season, Hidalgo recorded 30 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals in a road win over No. 10 Louisville, becoming the first ACC player to have 30 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals in a game since 2001.

Hidalgo had a stretch to close out the regular season and begin ACC Tournament play with a career-high six straight 25+ point games, which is the most among all ACC players this century.

Hidalgo and the Fighting Irish will take on Fairfield in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 21 inside Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The game will air on ESPN.

==================================================================

NOTRE DAME MEN’S GOLF

MODLESKI WINS INDIVIDUAL TITLE; TEAM TAKES FOURTH AT SCHENKEL INVITATIONAL

STATESBORO, Ga. — An individual champion in junior Jacob Modleski led the way to a fourth-place team finish for the Notre Dame men’s golf team at the annual Schenkel Invitational over the weekend. The men finished minus-15 over the three-round affair as they scored a stroke count of 849 to close out the tournament.

Modelski’s first place finish was his first since the ACC title last season, and his third top-five finish of the 2025-26 season. The Noblesville, Indiana, native finished the tournament with a 56-hole total of 203(-13). After opening the Invitational up with a score of 71(-1) in the first round, he registered a team-low score of 65(-7) in the second round to head into the final day in sixth place. A birdie on Hole 17 helped catapult him five spots in the third round to clinch the individual championship with a final day score of 67(-5).

Nate Stevens placed second for the Irish squad as he finished in the top-20 with a score of 214(-2), good for 19th overall. The senior opened the tournament with a personal low score of 69(-3) before posting an even-par score in round two. He closed out the Invitational with a mark of 73(+1) to finish the competition two under.

Liam Pasternak and Calen Sanderson tied for 33rd overall as the pair each finished the tournament a plus-one with a score of 217. Pasternak’s third round score of 70(-2) saw him jump 23 spots in the individual standings as the freshman bounced back from his opening round start of 77(+5). His back-to-back scores of 70(-2) capped off his weekend for the 217(+1) final score.

Sanderson opened the tournament with a first round score of 70(-2) before hitting an even-72 in round two. His final round saw him score 75(+3) to tie with Pasternak at 33rd overall.

Mike Qiu rounded out the Irish team competitors at the annual event, posting a three-round total of 224(+8) for 67th overall. The sophomore started the tournament with a score of 75(+3) before posting a score of 73(+1) in the second round. His 76(+4) score in the final round completed the tournament.

The Irish will have a short hiatus before returning to the course for the annual Augusta Haskins Award Invitational in Augusta, Georgia, set for April 4-5.

==================================================================

BUTLER MEN’S BASKETBALL

BUTLER MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH THAD MATTA TO RETIRE

Butler University Men’s Basketball Coach Thad Matta announced this morning that he is retiring from coaching but will remain with the University as Special Assistant to the President and Athletic Director. A national search for a new head coach is underway.

“After taking some time to reflect following the end of the season, I have decided that the time has come for me to step away from the sidelines,” said Matta. “The love my wife, my daughters and I have for Butler is what brought us back four years ago, and it feels especially meaningful that I conclude my coaching career here. Butler has always meant more to us than just basketball—and that connection is why I’m grateful to continue working with the University and offering my help in any way I can. My commitment to Butler and to the future of this program remains as strong as ever. I want this program to compete at the highest levels of the BIG EAST and national landscape, and I am excited to be part of what we continue to build here.

“I want to sincerely thank (President) Jim Danko, (Vice President and Athletic Director) Grant Leiendecker, and (former Athletic Director) Barry Collier for their trust, leadership, and friendship. To our players, coaches, and staff, past and present, thank you for everything you’ve poured into this program and for living The Butler Way.  To our fans and the countless people who support us, you are what makes this place so special.

“I will always be grateful for the experiences, the relationships, and the memories Butler has given me and my family. I’m proud of what we’ve built together, and I look forward to staying connected and contributing in a new way as the next chapter begins.”

Matta concludes his head coaching career with a 502-223 overall record, winning a combined eight conference regular season championships at Butler, Xavier and Ohio State, advancing to the NCAA Tournament 13 times, and earning two berths in the NCAA Final Four and one appearance in the national championship game. He was named the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year in 2001, his first season as the head coach at Butler. Matta was later named Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year three times while at Ohio State and the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year once while at Xavier.

“It is hard to fully capture in words what the Matta family has meant to Butler University and to our men’s basketball program,” said Leiendecker. “As a student-athlete, two assistant coaching tenures and then twice as head coach at Butler, Thad has given so much to our university and his impact on our student-athletes has been lifechanging. Today is bittersweet in that Thad will no longer be leading our program on the sidelines but we are grateful that he has accepted President Danko and my offer to remain at Butler University to continue to elevate the institution, as his wisdom and experience are invaluable and will help maintain stability in our program.”

During his two head coaching tenures at Butler, he finished with an overall record of 87-77, with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2001 after leading the Bulldogs to a then-school record 24 wins and a Midwestern Collegiate Conference championship. In his second stint as the head coach (2022-2026), the Bulldogs earned a bid to the NIT and to the College Basketball Crown postseason competitions.

“Thad has made the thoughtful decision, together with his family, to step away from coaching and begin a new chapter in his remarkable career,” said Danko. “He has built a Hall of Fame–worthy legacy in college basketball and has been a valued member of our campus community since he first arrived at Butler as a student-athlete in the 1980s. Butler has always been a special part of his story, and we are grateful that he chose to return and finish his coaching career where it all began. We extend our deepest thanks to Coach, his wife Barbara, and their daughters Ali and Emily for the dedication, leadership, and sacrifice they have given to Butler. We are thrilled that the Matta family will remain a part of the Butler community for years to come.”

Matta served as a Butler assistant twice prior to being named head coach of the Bulldogs in 2000. A high school basketball standout at Hoopeston-East Lynn in Hoopeston, Ill., Matta was a two-year starter (and three-year letterwinner) for Butler after transferring from Southern Illinois. He earned a B.S. degree (education) from Butler in 1990.

“We have begun our search for another head coach who aligns with our values, fits with our institution and will lead us to compete among the nation’s elite,” added Leiendecker. “We have such an incredible fan base, a storied tradition, play in an iconic home venue, reside in one of the best basketball states in the nation and compete in a truly elite BIG EAST Conference, and I am confident that we will develop a strong pool of candidates. The future is bright for Butler Basketball and I can’t wait to introduce our new head coach to Bulldog Nation!”

======================================================================

BUTLER SOFTBALL

ALEXANDER, PREISS, AND PETRAN REPRESENT BULLDOGS WITH BIG EAST WEEKLY AWARDS

Butler infielder Makena Alexander has been selected by the BIG EAST as Player of the Week for the second time this season, and fellow infielder Kayla Preiss has been honored as BIG EAST Freshman of the Week. Teammate Katie Petran was recognized on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. All three had notable performances this past weekend when the Bulldogs swept a three-game series at Villanova.

Alexander led Butler at the plate vs. the Wildcats, hitting .667 with two doubles, three home runs, and 10 RBI. She hit two home runs in game two (W, 12-5), contributing four RBI, three runs, and two runs scored. In game three, the junior’s three-run homer in the 10th inning provided the winning margin [W, 12-9 (10)]. On the week, Alexander boasted a 1.583 slugging percentage.

Preiss went 5-for-14 (.357) with two doubles, five RBI, and five run scored in a trio of conference wins over Villanova. The freshman infielder logged at least one run and one RBI in each game of the series. In a closely contested 12-9 (10) victory on Sunday, Preiss contributed three crucial runs and one RBI.

Petran posted a 2-0 record and 1.40 ERA, striking out seven in 10 innings of work. She pitched a complete-game victory over Villanova (W, 6-2) on Friday, striking out five.

Butler is 10-9 in the 2026 campaign and is currently on a four-game winning streak. The Bulldogs host Seton Hall for a BIG EAST series this weekend.

=====================================================================

IU INDY WOMEN’S GOLF

WOMEN’S GOLF CARDS ROUNDS OF 311 AND 308 AT JACKRABBITS INVITATIONAL

BOULDER CITY, Nev. – The IU Indianapolis women’s golf team carded rounds of 311 and 308 as the Jaguars opened play at the Jackrabbits Invitational at Boulder Creek Golf Club on Monday (Mar. 16). Freshman Li (Sherry) Xia paced the Jags with rounds of 75 and 74 and is tied for 25th among the 63-player field.

UNLV leads the team scoring at 8-under 568 while Morehead State is second at 577. The Jaguars are ninth overall at 619, trailing eighth-place CSU Northridge by five shots heading into Tuesday’s finale.

In the morning round, Cassidy Ayres and Xia led the way, each carding rounds of 75. Ayres got off to a hot start, making birdie on two of her first three holes of the day and staying at par for the bulk of the round. A late double bogey and bogey on her final hole pushed her score to 3-over 75. Xia also had a pair of early birdies help buoy her round of 3-over 75.

Freshman Olivia Aronhalt had a team-high three birdies in round one, making all three in a four-hole span, as part of a 6-over 78. Senior Reagan Sohn rounded out the scoring four at 83 and Frauhiger posted a 97. Sophomore Alexa Stuart carded a round of 88 while playing as an individual.

The Jaguars started well in round two as both Xia and Sohn made two early birdies and Aronhalt made birdie on her first hole of the round. Xia stayed under par for the majority of the round before giving back a stroke with a bogey on No. 9 and a double bogey on No. 11 to close at 2-over 74. Sohn closed at 4-over 76 and Aronhalt shot 5-over 77, playing her final four holes of the round to 1-under.

Ayres shot 9-over 81 and Frauhiger finished at 85. Stuart registered a round of 82 in the afternoon 18.

Xia is tied for 25th overall at 5-over 149 and Aronhalt is tied for 41st at 155.

Three players are tied atop the leaderboard at 5-under 139, including the UNLV duo of Foong Zi Yu and Pin Hsi Chen and Morehead State’s Amelia Greenlee.

The Jaguars will wrap up play on Tuesday (Mar. 17), beginning at 8:00 a.m. PST (11 Eastern).

=====================================================================

BALL STATE SWIMMING

PAYTON KELLY SET FOR 2026 NCAA WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIP

MUNCIE, Ind. – Senior Payton Kelly looks to represent the Ball State swimming & diving program this week as she travels to Atlanta, Ga. to conclude her collegiate career at the 2026 NCAA DI Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship. Action at the McAuley Aquatic Center opens Wednesday, March 18 and ends Saturday, March 21. 

Prelims are slated to begin at 10 a.m., followed by finals at 6 p.m. each day. 

Kelly will compete in two events during Friday’s competitions, starting with the 100 backstroke and finishing with the 50 freestyle. She punched her ticket in both events at the Mid-American Conference Swimming and Diving Championships (Feb. 25-28), earning gold in the 100 back (52.07) and 50 free (21.88). Her times in those events rank 44th and 31st, respectively. 

A two-time first team ALL-MAC honoree and the 2026 MAC Most Outstanding Swimmer, Kelly stamped a career-high 20 individual wins throughout the 2025-2026 season. Five of those victories came in the 50 free while four came in the 100 back. 

Live results throughout the week can be found here. Action in Atlanta can also be streamed on ESPN+. 

=====================================================================

BALL STATE MEN’S GOLF

HARRIS LEADS CARDINALS GOLFERS THROUGH TWO ROUNDS IN TALLAHASSEE

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Samuel Harris birdied four holes on his first trip around the par-72 track at Seminole Legacy Golf Club on Sunday, and he leads Ball State with a 4-over par scorecard through two rounds late Monday.

Initially expected to play 18 holes on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in the 21-team Seminole Intercollegiate hosted by Florida State, organizers modified the schedule before play began Sunday to account for storms expected through the day on Monday. Teams completed as many rounds as possible on the opening day of the tournament, before high winds and darkness paused competition Sunday evening. Ball State golfers were through at least 16 holes of the second round before play was suspended. Play resumed Monday after 4 p.m., as teams finished round two and set up a final day of competition on Tuesday.

Harris was among a small handful of players with four or more birdies in the opening round, playing among the tournament’s top contenders through the day’s first 18 holes. He managed just two birdies in round two — one during Sunday’s play and another late Monday. His 29th-place standing and 148 (73-75) over 36 holes is the lowest in the Ball State lineup.

While Harris turned in the Cardinals’ top score in the first round, Brody Sorrell rebounded from a first-round 80 (+8) to shoot 1-over through 18 holes in round two. In between Harris and Sorrell, 64th out of 112 competitors, are Avery Mahoney and Luke Johnston who both shot 4-over 76 in the opening round. Mahoney carded a 3-over par 75 in round two and Johnston repeated his 76.

Tuesday’s final round begins with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.

=======================================================================

INDIANA STATE SOFTBALL

SYCAMORES SET FOR MIDWEEK MATCHUP AGAINST EVANSVILLE

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State hits the road this week as the Sycamores travel to Evansville for a midweek conference matchup against the Purple Aces on Wednesday.

First pitch for the doubleheader is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. Fans can follow the action via live stats on GoSycamores.com, and updates will be provided throughout the game on the team’s official social media channels.

Recapping the Series Against UIC, Indiana State is coming off a successful weekend at Price Field, where they secured a 2-1 series victory over Illinois-Chicago.

After dropping the series opener on Friday, the Sycamores bounced back immediately in the nightcap with a 9-1 run-rule victory.

Emi Jeras led the charge in the game two win, hitting a three-run home run in the first inning and finishing with five RBIs. Lauren Sackett earned the win in the circle, allowing only one run over five innings.

In the Saturday rubber match, Indiana State used an early four-run surge to claim a 9-2 win and the series. Jeras homered for the third time in the series, while Mallory Chavez contributed a team-high three RBIs.

Lauren Sackett earned her second win of the weekend in the finale, pitching a complete 7.0 innings and allowing just one earned run.

Season Spotlight

Emi Jeras has been the standout performer at the plate recently. Following her three-home run weekend against UIC in back-to-back contests.

Lauren Sackett (9-5), after picking up two wins against the Flames, has lowered her ERA to 2.60 and currently leads the Sycamores in innings pitched and strikeouts.

Mallory Chavez showed a disciplined eye and clutch hitting over the weekend, driving in four runs across the last two games, including a bases-loaded walk and a two-run single.

Morgan Goodrich remains a constant threat on the basepaths, recording stolen bases in consecutive games during the UIC series and scoring four runs over the weekend.

Indiana State currently holds a 15-10 overall record and has won two of two conference series of the 2026 season.

About the Purple Aces 

Evansville enters the midweek doubleheader with a 7-16 overall record and a 1-5 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Purple Aces return to Cooper Stadium looking to snap a four-game skid following a weekend series on the road at Belmont. Historically, the matchup between Indiana State and Evansville has been a competitive in-state rivalry often decided by timely hitting and defensive execution.

Up Next 

Following Wednesday’s road trip to Evansville, the Sycamores will remain on the road for a weekend series at Ohio State. Stay tuned to GoSycamores.com for full previews and schedule updates.

====================================================================

INDIANA STATE BASEBALL

INDIANA STATE TO HOST ILLINOIS ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State continues its seven-game home stand this week as the Sycamores welcome Illinois to Bob Warn Field on Wednesday, March 18, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed live via ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.

Recapping The Weekend

Indiana State fell in all three games this past weekend against Gonzaga in their home opening weekend series at Bob Warn Field. The Sycamores fell by scores of 7-4, 7-4, and 23-16, over the three-game series against the Bulldogs.

Mason Roell (.429) was the top Indiana State batter over the weekend with three hits over seven at-bats over two games at the plate. He added a .600 on-base percentage and a .429 slugging percentage, while adding a team-high three stolen bases all coming on Sunday afternoon.

Carter Beck hit .333 from the plate with four extra-base hits over the three game series, including a pair of doubles and two home runs. Beck posted a three-hit game in the Sunday finale including his first multi-homer game of 2026, while adding four runs scored.

Nick Sutherlin came off the bench on Sunday afternoon with a pinch-hit grand slam late in the contest and added a three-run home run on his way to posting a team-high eight RBIs over the series.

Emil Estrella and Caden Miller both homered over the weekend as the Sycamores combined to hit six home runs over the three games, including five on Sunday afternoon.

Four different Sycamores scored at least four runs over the games with Carter Beck, Emil Estrella, Andrew Ortiz, and Eddie Alonso all touching home four times.

Weston Fulk went 3-for-8 over the weekend on his way to posting a .375 batting average with a double and two RBIs.

Indiana State utilized 13 different pitchers on the mound over the weekend series against Gonzaga with Colby Morse and Hunter Small both making multiple appearances.

Ryan Karst went a career-high 4.0 innings allowing one hit while striking out four batters in an extended relief outing on Friday night.

Colby Morse worked 3.0 innings over two appearances allowing two hits and a run while striking out three.

Ty Brooks (5.40 ERA) went at least 5.0 innings for the fifth time in the 2026 season, while Jack Armstrong and Grant Parson both recorded weekend starts.

Indiana State posted a 10.93 ERA as a pitching staff on the mound, while posting 22 strikeouts over 28.0 innings.

Season Spotlight

Mason Roell (.355) leads the team’s hitting efforts over the 2026 season through the first 19 games of the season.

Mason Roell has posted five extra-base hits, including two home runs, two doubles, and a triple, while scoring 14 runs and driving in eight RBIs. He currently leads the team in on-base percentage (.535) and slugging percentage (.677).

Carter Beck remains among the team leaders in batting average (.289), while leading the Sycamores in hits (22), doubles (eight), runs scored (19), while adding three home runs and driving in 14 RBIs.

Caden Miller (.284) enters the game on an 11-game on-base streak and is currently second on the team in RBIs (19), while adding four doubles, a triple, and a pair of home runs on the year.

Nick Sutherlin is the team’s home run (4) and RBIs (21) leader while adding 16 runs scored and five doubles.

Emil Estrella (.269) is also among the team leader in extra-base hits on the season with six doubles, two triples, and three stolen bases, while adding 16 RBIs and 17 runs scored.

Mason Roell and Emil Estrella are tied for the team lead with five stolen bases apiece.

Indiana State leads the Missouri Valley in team doubles (44) and doubles per game (2.32), with Carter Beck leading the MVC individually in doubles with eight.

Two Sycamores have been in the Indiana State starting lineup in all 19 games on the year with Carter Beck and Emil Estrella penciled in every game.

Caden Miller and Nick Sutherlin have also played in all 19 games on the year.

Indiana State’s pitching efforts have been led by Ty Brooks (3-0, 2.53 ERA) on the season as the sophomore right-hander has pitched 32.0 innings with a 22:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .168 opponent batting average.

Jack Armstrong (2-1, 3.72 ERA) has also been among the team’s pitching leaders with 20 strikeouts over 19.1 innings allowing opponents to hit just .189 from the plate.

Colby Morse (2-0, 5.52 ERA) and Hunter Small (0-2, 8.49 ERA) lead Indiana State in total appearances on the mound this season.

Overall, the Sycamores have posted a 7.33 team ERA on the season with a 152:97 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing opponents to hit .282 from the plate.

Sycamores Against Illinois

Indiana State and Illinois have lined up 92 times over their respective program histories with Illinois holding the 48-42-2 all-time advantage over the Sycamores.

Illinois swept the season series against Indiana State last season claiming the 8-6 win on March 18, 2025, in Urbana-Champaign, before recording the 19-8 (7 inn.) win on April 22, 2025 in Terre Haute.

The teams first lined up back on May 12, 1906, in Terre Haute with Illinois claiming the 3-2 win in the inaugural contest.

Indiana State’s last win against the Fighting Illini came at the 2024 Lexington Regional as the Sycamores topped Illinois, 13-2, in an elimination game.

Sycamores Against the Big Ten Conference

Indiana State has an all-time mark of 165-170-5 against the current iteration of the Big Ten Conference.

The Sycamores are 2-1 against the Big Ten this season after taking two of three games against Penn State at the inaugural 2026 Atlantis Collegiate Baseball Series played over February 27-March 1 at the Andre Rodgers National Baseball Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas.

Indiana State is scheduled to continue annual home-and-home series with Illinois, Indiana, and Purdue over the 2026 season.

About the Fighting Illini

Illinois enters the midweek contest with a 10-8 overall record on the season and is coming off a series win over Minnesota after taking two of three from the Golden Gophers this past weekend at Illini Field.

Illinois has added wins over South Florida, VCU, Coastal Carolina, Lindenwood, Michigan State, College of Charleston, and Albany on the year.

Illinois was not ranked among the top six teams recognized in the Big Ten Preseason Poll.

The Fighting Illini put three players on the Big Ten Players to Watch List with Nick Groves (OF), Regan Hall (LHP), and Collin Jennings (OF) all garnering accolades prior to the start of the year.

Outfielder/Left-handed pitcher Brayden Mazzacano was recognized on the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award Watch List as recognized by the College Baseball Foundation earlier this month.

Relievers Zach Bates and Mitch Dye were both honored on the preseason NCBWA Stopped of the Year Award watch list prior to the start of the 2026 season.

AJ Putty (.394) has been the team’s leading hitter through the first part of the season posting team-highs in hits (28), doubles (8), and RBIs (26).

Nick Groves (.339), Michael Farina (.314), and Will Johannes (.306) are all hitting above the .300 mark on the season.

Collin Jennings is tied for the team lead with five home runs, while Will Johannes has four homers and 16 RBIs to his totals.

Illinois is hitting .263 as a team from the plate on the year.

The Illinois pitching staff has utilized 17 different pitchers over the 2026 season and has combined to post a 4.05 ERA over 160.0 innings.

Overall, the Illinois staff has recorded a 136:49 strikeout-to-walk ratio and allowed opponents to hit .225 from the plate.

Indiana State Baseball Season Tickets on Sale Now

Season tickets for the 2026 Indiana State baseball season are now on sale as the Sycamores head into their second season under Head Coach Tracy Archuleta. The Sycamores will play 21 home games inside Bob Warn Field this season, starting on March 4 against Lindenwood.

Reserved chairback season tickets can be purchased for $110. General admission season tickets will go on sale as well with adult ($75), seniors ($55), and youth ($40) tickets also being available for purchase. There will be a $5 surcharge added to those wanting tickets printed.

The Sycamores have teamed up with Pacesetter Sports and the Spirit Shop for the third consecutive season for a season ticket deal. Fans will receive a $50 Pacesetter gift card for each $110 reserved chairback season ticket, $35 gift card for each $75 general admission season ticket, $25 gift card for each $55 senior general admission ticket, and $20 gift card for each $40 youth season ticket sold.

======================================================================

SOUTHERN INDIANA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

2026 POSTSEASON WNIT BRACKET REVEALED, USI WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GETS FIRST-ROUND BYE

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball learned it will have a first-round bye in the 2026 Postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The WNIT, powered by Triple Crown Sports, released the 2026 bracket Monday afternoon.

The WNIT begins with first-round action this week, March 19-21, with the second round to follow on March 22-24.

USI Women’s Basketball (21-10, 14-6 OVC) will take on the winner of the first-round matchup between George Washington University (15-17, 7-11 A-10) and Bradley University (20-12, 13-7 MVC). George Washington and Bradley will Thursday at 5 p.m. CT at George Washington.

The date and time of the second-round game, as well as whether USI will host or travel for it, will be determined later this week.

If USI were to host its second-round game at Liberty Arena, home of the Screaming Eagles, ticket information will be announced later in the week via usiscreamingeagles.com and through the USI Ticket Office.

====================================================================

UINDY MEN’S LAX

MEN’S LACROSSE RECEIVING VOTES IN USILA WEEK NINE POLL

BALTIMORE— Entering the first conference contest of the season, the University of Indianapolis men’s lacrosse team is receiving votes in the United States Intercollegiate Association’s (USILA) Coaches Poll for the sixth week this season.

The Hounds hold a 4-2 record with their only two losses coming from ranked teams. In this past weekend’s win the Hounds put up 18 against Lander in Greenwood, S.C. Mike Rettberg recorded his second-straight game with at least three goals. While Amadeo Miller, Nick Luitwieler, and Connor Magin all recorded three points with two goals and one assist apiece.

Jonah Koehler scooped up a game-high seven groundballs against the Bearcats while going 13-for-22 from the dot on the day.

On the season, Tanner Hahm leads UIndy with 20 points on nine goals and eleven assists over six games, while Matt Pereira leads in goals scored, netting 16 this season. Between the pipes, AJ Preachuk has a save percentage of .582 with 61 saves on the season.

The Greyhounds return to Key Stadium on Saturday, March 21 to face the Rockhurst Hawks at noon.

=======================================================================

UINDY WOMEN’S LAX

WOMEN’S LACROSSE SITS AT #3 AFTER THIRD RANKED WIN

INDIANAPOLIS –  After the UIndy women’s lacrosse team’s third ranked win of 2026 over Regis, the Greyhounds remain at No. 3 in the latest IWLCA National Coaches Poll. 

Reese Fahlke had a strong weekend for the Greyhounds, recording two hat tricks in back-to-back games, making her only the ninth true freshman in program history with back-to-back games with a hat trick. Along with Fahlke the, Sage Da Silva also tallied nine points, while Malaena Michielin added six more points, five goals and one assist in two games this past week. Michielin continues to lead the team with 24 goals and 33 points.

UIndy has a mini bye week coming up, with the team’s next game scheduled for Mar. 29 against D’Youville at Key Stadium for Youth Day.

The complete poll can be found below. 
 

=======================================================================

SMALL INDIANA COLLEGE SPORTS WEB SITES

UINDY ATHLETICS: https://athletics.uindy.edu/

MARIAN ATHLETICS: https://muknights.com/

INDIANA WESLEYAN ATHLETICS: https://iwuwildcats.com/

EARLHAM ATHLETICS: https://goearlham.com/

WABASH ATHLETICS: https://sports.wabash.edu/

FRANKLIN ATHLETICS: https://franklingrizzlies.com/

ROSE-HULMAN ATHLETICS: https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/

ANDERSON ATHLETICS: https://athletics.anderson.edu/landing/index

TRINE ATHLETICS: https://trinethunder.com/landing/index

BETHEL ATHLETICS: https://bupilots.com/

DEPAUW ATHLETICS: https://depauwtigers.com/

HANOVER ATHLETICS: https://athletics.hanover.edu/

MANCHESTER ATHLETICS: https://muspartans.com/

HUNTINGTON ATHLETICS: https://www.huathletics.com/

OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS: https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx

ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS: https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index

IU KOKOMO ATHLETICS: https://iukcougars.com/

IU EAST ATHLETICS: https://www.iueredwolves.com/

IU SOUTH BEND ATHLETICS: https://iusbtitans.com/

PURDUE NORTHWEST ATHLETICS: https://pnwathletics.com/

INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS: https://indianatechwarriors.com/index.aspx

GRACE COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://gclancers.com/

ST. MARY OF THE WOODS ATHLETICS: https://smwcathletics.com/

GOSHEN COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://goleafs.net/

HOLY CROSS ATHLETICS: https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php

TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/

VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index

=========================================================

“SPORTS EXTRA”

TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1899    In Charlotte (NC), the Phillies take the field wearing new sweaters trimmed with green to commemorate St Patrick’s Day. The look is a preview of the team’s uniform colors this season, featuring white suits trimmed in green, a white cap with a green peak, and stockings with two-inch white-and-green stripes.

1907    After yesterday’s alleged vicious attack on the groundskeeper’s wife by Ty Cobb, Tigers owner Frank Navin makes an all-out effort to trade his troubled outfielder. Indian skipper Nap Lajoie turns down a straight swap for former league batting champ Elmer Flick, calling the ‘Georgia Peach’ a problem player.

1936    Twenty-one-year-old Joe DiMaggio makes his Yankee debut in a big way, collecting four hits, including a triple, in an 8-7 exhibition loss to the Cardinals at Miller Huggins Field in St. Petersburg (FL). The two-time American League MVP and future Hall of Fame outfielder will play 13 seasons with the Bronx Bombers, appearing in ten Fall Classics, in which the team wins nine World Championships.

1940    At Plant Field in Tampa, a capacity crowd sees the National League beat the AL in an interleague exhibition All-Star game. The charity contest, which is heard nationally on the Mutual Broadcasting System, raises over $20,000 to help feed, clothe, and house the noncombatant citizens of Finland, whose country was recently attacked in November by the Soviet Union.

1946    In Dayton Beach, the only city that allows him to play, Triple-A Montreal Royals’ infielder Jackie Robinson makes his preseason debut at City Island Ball Park, which the municipality renamed after him in 1990. In the first-ever integrated spring training game, the former Negro League standout goes 0-for-3 against the Dodgers but is encouraged by the crowd’s reception.

1953    The Braves’ spring training game against the Yankees in Bradenton (FL) will prove to be the team’s last full one representing the city of Boston. During the sixth inning of tomorrow’s exhibition contest, the club learns that the National League has approved its move to Milwaukee, unlike the Junior Circuit’s decision two days ago, which denied Bill Veeck permission to move his Browns to Baltimore due to the short time left before Opening Day.

1953    The Milwaukee County Board, which oversees County Stadium, ends its three-year deal with the American Association’s Milwaukee Brewers and offers the newly built venue to their parent team, the Boston Braves, at a reduced rate of $1,000 for the first two years. The city would receive five percent of the gate receipts and most of the ballpark’s concession sales for the first three seasons.

1965    Continuing to break barriers, Jackie Robinson becomes the first black to join a national network broadcasting team when he signs on to announce games with ABC. The Hall of Fame infielder will debut at Fenway Park, teaming with Merle Harmon, the radio voice of the Milwaukee Braves, doing color analysis for the Game of the Week telecast.

1966    Future Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale continue their joint holdout, playing hardball in their negotiations with the Dodgers. The hurlers sign contracts to appear in the movie Warning Shot, starring David Janssen, to show they are serious about retiring from baseball if the team doesn’t agree to their salary demands.

1969    The Braves trade Joe Torre, a spring training holdout publicly feuding with team GM Paul Richards, to the Cardinals for 1967 National League Most Valuable Player Orlando Cepeda. The All-Star catcher/infielder will play six years in St. Louis, compiling a .308 batting average for the Redbirds, including a major league-leading .363 in his 1971 MVP season.

1976    All clubs will comply with Commissioner Kuhn’s orders to open spring training camps as soon as possible, within 48 hours, ending the 17-day work stoppage. The lockout, initiated by the owners over their concerns about free agency and the free-entry draft, will not impact the start of the regular season.

1977    In a decision seen as one of the most influential and precedent-setting cases in American jurisprudence regarding professional sports, a federal court rules in favor of Bowie Kuhn’s decision to void Charlie Finley’s 1976 sale of A’s players. The Oakland owner sued the commissioner for illegal restraint of trade when his deals to send Joe Rudi and Rollie Fingers to the Red Sox for $2 million and Vida Blue to the Yankees for $1.5 million were invalidated “in the best interests of baseball.”

1978    On St. Patrick’s Day, the Reds wear green uniforms, becoming the first team to start a tradition many other clubs will copy. After taking batting practice in their usual garb, Cincinnati, not promoting its green surprise, stuns the Yankees and the spring training crowd by taking the field in their iconic Irish look.

1986    During a Cactus League contest, an official scorer credits Carney Lansford with an unusual two-run inside-the-park homer in the fourth inning of the A’s 5-3 victory over the Indians in Phoenix. The infielder circles the bases when Mel Hall’s shirt gets stuck on the fence, preventing the outfielder from playing the ball, which is barely out of reach. Shortstop Julio Franco, closest to the play, is unable to help because he is so incapacitated with laughter.

1999    The Blue Jays, in a rare dismissal of a manager in spring training, fire Tim Johnson after deciding he had lost all his credibility, replacing him with Jim Fregosi. After claiming he had served in Vietnam in the offseason, the former Toronto skipper reveals he lied about his military service, leading many of his players to lose all respect for him as their field boss.

2001    Joe Randa agrees to a two-year contract extension, keeping him in Kansas City until the 2003 season. The Royals’ third baseman batted .304 and drove in 106 runs for the Royals in 155 games last season.

2005    During 11+ hours of the Committee on Government Reform hearing concerning the use of steroids in major leagues, Mark McGwire refuses to talk about the past and does not deny taking performance-enhancing drugs. Other players testifying included Curt Schilling, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, and former big leaguer Jose Canseco, whose recent book prompted the congressional hearing.

2008    The Dodgers lose to the Astros, 12-10, in their last contest at Dodgertown, the team’s spring training home since 1948. Eighty-one-year-old Carl Erskine, who pitched the first game at Holman Stadium 55 years ago, plays the national anthem on his harmonica before the contest.

2010    Major League Baseball, in a rare spring training ruling, suspends a player for an incident in an exhibition game. Cliff Lee, the Mariners’ much-hyped acquisition, is fined and suspended for the first five games of the regular season after throwing a pitch over the head of Chris Snyder in a Cactus League contest against Arizona.

2020    An Oakland fan named Justin, who tweeted a picture of himself wearing an A’s hat while in a hospital bed after testing positive for the Coronavirus, receives an invitation from team president Dave Kaval to throw out the first pitch on Opening Day at the Coliseum. In his Twitter post, the 39-year-old COVID-19 patient issued a plea to take the pandemic seriously, saying, “Don’t be a moron; stay home!

2023    Brown University’s Olivia Pichardo, appearing as a pinch-hitter with one out in the ninth inning, becomes the first woman to play NCAA Division I baseball. The southpaw-swinging first-year utility player from Queens (NY) grounds out to first base on the first pitch she sees in the team’s 10-1 loss to Bryant University at Murray Stadium in Providence (RI).

=========================================================

TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

On March 17 in …

1871 – National Association of Professional Base-Ball players is organized.

1876 – First recorded high jump over 6 feet (Marshall Jones Brooks).

1877 – Bill Midwinter completes Test Crickets’ first 5-wicket haul, 5-78 versus England.

1897 – British boxer Robert James Fitzsimmons knocks out American James Corbett in 14 rounds for the world heavyweight championship.

1900 – Stanley Cup of hockey: Montréal Shamrocks sweep Halifax Crescents in 2.

1902 – Stanley Cup: Montréal AAA beat Winnipeg Victorias, 2 games to 1.

1906 – Stanley Cup: Montréal Wanderers beat Ottawa Silver Seven, although both winning a game, Montréal outscores Ottawa 12-10.

1908 – Quickest world heavyweight title fight (Tommy Burns knocks out Jem Roche in 88 seconds).

1917 – First exclusively women’s bowling tournament begins in Saint Louis, Missouri.

1918 – US Ladies’ Figure Skating Championship won by Rosemary Beresford.

1918 – US Men’s Figure Skating Championship won by Nathaniel Niles.

1951 – Test Cricket debut of Brian Statham, England versus New Zealand Christchurch.

1953 – Bill Veeck says he will sell his 80 percent of Saint Louis Browns for US$2.475 million.

1955 – NHL hockey player Maurice “Rocket” Richard is suspended, sparks 7-hour riot in Montréal, Québec, Canada.

1961 – New York district attorney arrests professional gamblers who implicate Seton Hall players.

1963 – Bob Cousy plays his last NBA game.

1968 – Kathie Whitworth wins LPGA Saint Petersburg Orange Blossom Golf Open.

1969 – Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Orange Blossom Golf Open.

1970 – Peter O’Malley becomes CEO of Los Angeles Dodgers.

1974 – Jane Blalock wins LPGA Bing Crosby Golf Classic International.

1975 – Valeri Muratov skates world record 1000 metre (1:16.92).

1976 – Malikov skates world record 1000 metre (1:15.76).

1977 – Australia wins cricket Centenary Test by 45 runs, same result as 1877.

1978 – Cincinnati Reds don green uniforms for Saint Patrick’s Day.

1979 – World Ice Dance Championship at Vienna won by N Linichuk and G Karponosov (USSR).

1979 – World Ice Pairs Figure Skating Championship at Vienna won by Tai Babilonia and R Gardner (USA).

1979 – World Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Vienna won by Linda Fratianne (USA).

1979 – World Men’s Figure Skating Championship in Vienna won by Vladimir Kovalev (USSR).

1981 – FC Lisse, Dutch soccer team, forms.

1983 – 70th hat trick in New York Islanders’ history-Mike Bossy.

1985 – Jane Blalock wins LPGA Women’s Kemper Golf Open.

1985 – Matti Nykanen of Finland set a world ski jump record of 623 feet.

1987 – Sunil Gavaskar ends his Test career with an inning of 96 versus Pakistan.

1988 – Highest scoring NCAA basketball game: Loyola-Marymnt 119, Wyoming 115.

1990 – PBA National Championship Won by Jim Pencak.

1991 – Penny Hammel wins Desert Inn LPGA Golf International.

1996 – Aravinda De Silva gets 107 and 3-42 in cricket World Cup victory.

1996 – Liselotte Neumann wins LPGA Ping/Welch’s Golf Championship.

1996 – Mike Tyson beats Frank Bruno in third round to gain Heavyweight title.

1996 – Montreal Canadiens play first game in their new arena.

1996 – Sri Lanka wins the Cricket World Cup by storming to a Seven wicket victory against the tournament favourite Australia.

1998 – USA Women’s Hockey Team beats Canada for first Olympic Gold medal.

2005 – During over 11 hours of the Committee on Government Reform hearing concerning major league player use of steroids, Mark McGwire refuses to talk about the past and does not deny taking performance enhancing drugs.

2009 – Martin Brodeur, goalie for the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, wins his 552nd game, breaking the former NHL record.

2018 – At the Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida, USA, the 66th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring race is held, round 2 of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship series.

Finishing 1st in Prototype class and 1st overall is the Tequila Patron ESM #22 Nissan DPi driven by Pino Derani, Johannesvan Overbeek, and Nocolas Lapierre.

Finishing 1st in GT Le Mans class and 10th overall is the Porsche GT Team #911 Porsche RSR driven by Nick Tandy, Fred Makowiecki, and Patrick Pilet.

Finishing 1st in GT Daytona class and 17th overall is the Paul Miller Racing #48 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 driven by Madison Snow, Bryan Sellers, and Corey Lewis.

2020 – The Euro 2020 and 2020 Copa América association football tournaments are postponed until the summer of 2021 by UEFA and CONMEBOL respectively.

2022 – At T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, NHL regular season game: Vegas Golden Knights beats Florida Panthers by score 5-3.

2022 – At crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, USA, NHL regular season game: Los Angeles Kings beats San Jose Sharks by score 3-0.

2022 – At Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, NHL regular season game: Detroit Red Wings beats Vancouver Canucks by score 1-0.

2022 – At Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, NHL regular season game: Edmonton Oilers beats Buffalo Sabres by score 6-1.

2022 – At Enterprise Center in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA, NHL regular season game: Pittsburgh Penguins beats Saint Louis Blues by score 3-2.

2022 – At Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, USA, NHL regular season game: Washington Capitals beats Columbus Blue Jackets by score 7-2.

2022 – At Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, NHL regular season game: Philadelphia Flyers beats Nashville Predators by score 5-4.

2022 – At Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, NHL regular season game: Dallas Stars beats Montreal Canadiens by score 4-3.

2022 – At Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, NHL regular season game: Toronto Maple Leafs beats Carolina Hurricanes by score 3-2.

2022 – At Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, USA, NHL regular season game: New York Islanders beats New York Rangers by score 2-1.

Births of sports figures on March 17

1872 – Birth of Billy Quaife; cricket player (England batsman 1899-1902).

1902 – Birth of Bobby Jones in Atlanta, Georgia, USA; PGA golfer (Grand Slam 1930).

1912 – Birth of Joe Stydahar; NFL tackle (Chicago Bears).

1914 – Birth of Sammy Baugh in Temple, Texas, USA; NFL hall of famer quarterback (Washington Redskins).

1915 – Birth of William Roycroft in Austria; equestrian three day (Olympics-bronze-1976).

1919 – Birth of Hank Sauer; baseball player (National League Most Valuable Player 1952).

1921 – Birth of Mick Harvey; cricket player (in Newcastle Brother of Neil Test umpire).

1939 – Birth of Shahid Mahmoud; cricket player (opener scored 16 and 9 in only Pakistan Test).

1944 – Birth of Cito Gaston; Major League Baseball manager (Toronto Blue Jays).

1957 – Birth of Robin Cousins in Bristol, England; figure skater (Olympics-gold-1980).

1959 – Birth of Brian Douglas Jones in Auckland, New Zealand; tornado class yachter (Olympics-1996).

1959 – Birth of Danny Ainge; NBA coach (Phoenix Suns).

1962 – Birth of Patrick Thomas Burke in Hollywood, Florida, USA; PGA golfer (1992 BellSouth-6th).

1963 – Birth of Roger Harper; cricket player (Guyana and West Indies off-spinner Extraordinary field).

1964 – Birth of Alex Shoumidoub; NHL goaltender (Belarus, Olympics-1998).

1964 – Birth of Don Griffin; NFL cornerback (Cleveland Browns).

1964 – Birth of Ron Warren Junior; jockey (Bay Meadows).

1965 – Birth of Caitlin Bilodeaux in Boston, Massachusetts, USA; US fencer (Olympics-1992).

1965 – Birth of John Smiley in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, USA; pitcher (Cincinnati Reds).

1966 – Birth of Andrew Hudson; cricket player (South Africa, 163 on debut versus West Indies 1992).

1967 – Birth of Chris Luongo in Detroit, Michigan, USA; NHL defenseman (New York Islanders).

1967 – Birth of Kim Cathrein in Salinas, California, USA; LPGA golfer (1994 Rochester International-24th).

1967 – Birth of Melissa Allen in Portland, Oregon, USA; WPVA volleyball player (Reebok National-13th-1994).

1968 – Birth of Judy Mosley McAfee; WNBA forward (Sacramento Monarchs).

1968 – Birth of Tyrone Hill; NBA forward (Cleveland Cavaliers).

1969 – Birth of Andrew McMarlin in Vienna, Virginia, USA; rower (Olympics-1996).

1969 – Birth of Domenic “Filane” Figliomeni in Terrace Bay, Ontario, Canada; boxer (Olympics-1996).

1970 – Birth of Shannan Mitchem in Decatur, Georgia, USA; female infielder (Colorado Silver Bullets).

1971 – Birth of Katrina Colleton; WNBA guard/forward (Los Angeles Sparks).

1971 – Birth of Tommy Thigpen; WLAF linebacker (Barcelona Dragons).

1972 – Birth of Mia Hamm in Selma, Alabama, USA; soccer forward (Olympics-1996, US Women’s World Cup-1999).

1973 – Birth of Jerome Woods; safety (Kansas City Chiefs).

1974 – Birth of Eric Lane; running back (New York Giants).

1974 – Birth of John Hall; kicker (New York Jets).

Deaths of sports figures on March 17

1965 – Almos Alonzo Stagg, football coach (University of Chicago), dies in California at age 102.

1972 – Manny Martindale, cricket player (10 Tests for West Indies, 34 wickets), dies.

1978 – George Dickinson, cricket player (8 wickets in three Tests for New Zealand), dies.

1979 – Merv Inverarity, cricket player (father of John WA player 1925-40), dies.

1985 – Dattu Phadkar, cricket player (Indian all-rounder, 31 Tests 1947-58), dies.

1988 – Reg Sinfield, cricket player (one Test for England versus Australia 1938), dies.

==========================================================

TV SPORTS TODAY

(All times Eastern)

Schedule subject to change and/or blackouts

Tuesday, March 17

BASEBALL

8 p.m.

FOX — 2026 World Baseball Classic: TBD vs. U.S., Final, Miami

BASKETBALL (WOMEN’S)

4:45 p.m.

TNT — FIBA World Cup Qualifying: Spain vs. U.S., San Juan, Puerto Rico

COLLEGE BASKETBALL (MEN’S)

6 p.m.

Washington Spirit teams up with CVS to bring multiuse soccer field to Southeast DC

ESPN2 — NIT Tournament: Liberty at George Mason, First Round

6:40 p.m.

TRUTV — NCAA Tournament: UMBC vs. Howard, First Four, Dayton, Ohio

7 p.m.

ESPNU — NIT Tournament: Wyoming at Wichita St., First Round

8 p.m.

ESPN2 — NIT Tournament: Davidson at Oklahoma St., First Round

9 p.m.

ESPNU — NIT Tournament: Stephen F. Austin at Tulsa, First Round

9:15 p.m.

TRUTV — NCAA Tournament: Texas vs. NC State, First Four, Dayton, Ohio

10 p.m.

ESPN2 — NIT Tournament: South Alabama at Auburn, First Round

11 p.m.

ESPNU — NIT Tournament: UNLV at UC Irvine, First Round

COLLEGE LACROSSE (WOMEN’S)

4:30 p.m.

ESPNU — Yale at Syracuse

COLLEGE SOFTBALL

Noon

SECN — Cent. Arkansas at Arkansas

6 p.m.

ACCN — UNC-Wilmington at Duke

GOLF

6:30 p.m.

ESPN — TGL Playoffs: Los Angeles Golf Club vs. Atlanta Drive GC, Semifinal

9 p.m.

ESPN — TGL Playoffs: Jupiter Links Golf Club vs. Boston Common Golf, Semifinal

MLB BASEBALL

1 p.m.

MLBN — Spring Training: St. Louis vs. Washington, Palm Beach, Fla.

4 p.m.

MLBN — Spring Training: San Diego vs. Seattle (ss), Peoria, Ariz.

NBA BASKETBALL

8 p.m.

NBC — Regional Coverage: Cleveland at Milwaukee

PEACOCK — Cleveland at Milwaukee

10 p.m.

NBC — Regional Coverage: Philadelphia at Denver

PEACOCK — Philadelphia at Denver

NHL HOCKEY

7:30 p.m.

TNT — Minnesota at Chicago

10 p.m.

TNT — Tampa Bay at Seattle

SOCCER (MEN’S)

1:45 p.m.

CBSSN — UEFA Champions League: Bodø/Glimt at Sporting CP, Round of 16 – Leg 2

3:45 p.m.

CBSSN — English League Championship: Wrexham FC at Watford

7 p.m.

CBSSN — U.S. Open Cup: Portland at Vermont, First Round

9 p.m.

FS1 — CONCACAF Champions League: Los Angeles FC at Alajuelense, Round of 16 – Leg 2

11 p.m.

FS1 — CONCACAF Champions Cup: Monterrey at Cruz Azul, Round of 16 – Leg 2

SOCCER (WOMEN’S)

11:50 a.m.

FS2 — CONCACAF U-17 Qualifier: Mexico vs. Jamaica, Final Round, San Rafael de Alajuela, Costa Rica

2:20 p.m.

FS2 — CONCACAF U-17 Qualifier: U.S. vs. Bermuda, Final Round, San Rafael de Alajuela, Costa Rica

4:50 p.m.

FS2 — CONCACAF U-17 Qualifier: Canada vs. Nicaragua, Final Round, San Rafael de Alajuela, Costa Rica

TENNIS

11 a.m.

TENNIS CHANNEL — Miami-WTA/ATP – Live; ATP/WTA 1st Round

About The Author

troyderengowski61@gmail.com

See author's posts