NCAAMBB – 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament – Indianapolis
Elite 8
Last Night
#11 UCLA 51, #1 Michigan 49
#1 Gonzaga 85, #6 USC 66
UCLA 51, Michigan 49 – Juzang sends No. 11 seed UCLA past Michigan to Final Four
Johnny Juzang poured in 28 points while playing most of the second half on an injured ankle, and UCLA survived a series of misses by top-seeded Michigan in the closing seconds to hold on for a 51-49 victory that made the Bruins the fifth No. 11 seed ever to reach the Final Four. The game ended when Michigan forward Franz Wagner missed an open look from the 3-point line at the buzzer, the last in a series of misses that would have allowed the Wolverines to escape. Hunter Dickinson led the Wolverines (23-5) with 11 points, but nothing came easy for the Big Ten freshman of the year — or anyone else in maize and blue. They were 3 of 11 beyond the arc, shot 39% overall and couldn’t make the shot at the end.
Gonzaga 85, USC 66 – Quite a show: Zags stay undefeated with 85-66 win over USC
Gonzaga got on a roll and put on a show, moving to 30-0 on the season and cruising into the Final Four with an 85-66 victory against Southern California. Drew Timme scored 23 points to help the top-seeded and top-ranked Bulldogs become the third team to bring an undefeated record into the Final Four since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The last team to go undefeated was Indiana in 1976. On Saturday in the national semifinals, the Bulldogs will face UCLA.
NCAAWBB – 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament – San Antonio
Elite 8
Last Night
#1 South Carolina 62, #6 Texas 34
#1 Stanford 78, #2 Louisville 63
NCAA – Ball in their court: Justices take on NCAA restrictions
With the March Madness basketball tournament ongoing, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case about how colleges can reward athletes who play Division I basketball and football. The NCAA says if the former college students who brought the case win, it could erase the distinction between professional and college sports. Under current NCAA rules, students can’t be paid, and the scholarship money colleges can offer is capped at the cost of attending the school. The NCAA defends its rules as necessary to preserving the amateur nature of college sports. Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing likely will result in a decision by summer.
NCAA – WBCA sends letter to Emmert asking for independent review
The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association sent a letter to NCAA President Mark Emmert saying the external review he proposed to look into potential gender equity issues wasn’t good enough. In the letter, obtained by The Associated Press, the WBCA asked for a “Commission on Gender Inequity in College Sports” led by people chosen by both the WBCA and NCAA. Emmert told The Associated Press in an interview Friday that it was hiring a law firm to review potential gender equity issues in all men’s and women’s championship events, but basketball would be a key focus.
NCAA – NCAA President to meet with protesting basketball players
NCAA President Mark Emmert is planning to meet this week with a group of basketball players who used a social media campaign at the start of March Madness to protest rules banning athletes from earning money from their names, images and likenesses. Emmert is scheduled to hold a video conference call with Michigan’s Isaiah Livers, Iowa’s Jordan Bohannon and Rutgers’ Geo Baker on Thursday ay 9 a.m. EDT, a spokesman for the players said. The three players used the Twitter hashtag #NotNCAAProperty to raise awareness of what they believe are inequities in college sports two days before the men’s basketball tournament started in Indianapolis.
NHL – National Hockey League
Tonight
Florida Panthers 4, Detroit Red Wings 1
Chicago Blackhawks 2, Carolina Hurricanes 1
Panthers 4, Red Wings 1 – Verhaeghe paces Panthers over Red Wings, 4-1
Carter Verhaeghe scored two goals to lift the Florida Panthers over the Detroit Red Wings 4-1. Brett Connolly scored his 100th NHL goal and Jonathan Huberdeau also scored a goal for the Panthers, who have won three straight. Sergei Bobrovsky made 35 saves. Filip Zadina scored for the Red Wings. Calvin Pickard allowed three goals on eight shots before being replaced by Thomas Greiss, who stopped 24 shots. The Red Wings have lost six consecutive road games.
Blackhawks 2, Hurricanes 1 – Strome, DeBrincat score, Blackhawks cool off Canes 2-1
Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat scored in a 3:33 span early in the second period, Kevin Lankinen made 31 saves and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1. Chicago ended Carolina’s three-game winning streak and handed the Hurricanes their second regulation loss in 15 games (11-2-2) despite being outshot 32-16. Andrei Svechnikov scored for Carolina, which missed a chance to leapfrog both Tampa Bay and Florida into first place in the Central Division. The Blackhawks snapped a two-game slide and won for just the third time in nine games (3-6-0).
NBA – National Basketball Association
Tonight
Portland Trailblazers at Detroit Pistons, 7:00 p.m.
Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers, 7:00 p.m.
Chicago Bulls at Phoenix Suns, 10:00 p.m.
MLB – Spring Training
Yesterday
Tampa Bay Rays 5, Detroit Tigers 0 – F/7
Colorado Rockets 2, Chicago White Sox 1 – F/7
Chicago Cubs (off)
Today
No games today, end spring training.
MLB – Tigers reassign Núñez, Peralta and several others
The Detroit Tigers have reassigned infielder Renato Núñez to the team’s alternate training site and reassigned right-hander Wily Peralta to minor league camp. The Tigers also announced that they have reassigned left-hander Ian Krol, right-hander Erasmo Ramírez and catchers Dustin Garneau and Eric Haase to the alternate training site in Toledo, Ohio. Nuñez hit 31 home runs for Baltimore in 2019, then batted .256 with 12 homers in the shortened 2020 season. He was released by the Orioles after last season and agreed to a minor league deal with the Tigers. Peralta also joined the Tigers on a minor league deal.
MLB – White Sox slugger Jiménez has surgery for torn pectoral
Chicago White Sox outfielder Eloy Jiménez was having surgery Tuesday to repair a ruptured left pectoral tendon, and general manager Rick Hahn says the slugger still is expected to miss five to six months. Hahn says the timeline hasn’t changed, though he left the door open for Jiménez to return sooner. Jiménez was hurt last week in a spring training game against Oakland when he tried to make a leaping grab at the wall on a home run ball. The injury led to more questions about whether he is better suited for designated hitter than left field, where he has gotten hurt a couple times since his big league debut in 2019.
MLB – Jays plan more home games for Florida
Toronto Blue Jays will play their third homestand of the season at their spring training ballpark in Dunedin, Fliorida, because of COVID-19 restrictions. Toronto had already announced that its first two homestands will be at TD Ballpark, and now it’s added 10 games from May 14-24 against Philadelphia, Boston and Tampa Bay. Twenty-two of 81 home games have been switched to Florida from the Rogers Center. Toronto hopes to return home at some point in 2021. The TD Ballpark seats about 8,500 fans and had a major renovation in 2019-20. The Blue Jays intend to limit capacity to 15%.
NFL – NFL season will be 17 games
The NFL is increasing the regular season to 17 games and reducing the preseason to three games. Team owners on Tuesday approved the 17th game, marking the first time in 43 years the regular season has been increased. It went from 14 to 16 games in 1978. The Super Bowl now will move back a week to Feb. 13, which places it directly in the middle of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Coincidentally, NBC has the broadcast rights to both. Each extra NFL game will be an interconference matchup based on where teams finished in the previous season. AFC teams will be hosting the 17th game in 2021.
MCCAA – Junior College Athletics
Yesterday
Baseball
Lake Michigan College 17, Cornerstone University JV 1 – Game 1
Lake Michigan College 34, Cornerstone University JV 2 – Game 2 (5 innings)
Softball
Lake Michigan College 5, Glen Oaks Community College 2 – Game 1
Lake Michigan College 11, Glen Oaks Community College 1 – Game 2
MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Basketball – Regional Semifinals
Division 2 at Benton Harbor
Hopkins 51, Parchment 45
Benton Harbor 61, Lakeshore 56
- The Tigers survived a fierce comeback bid by Lakeshore to advance to the Regional Finals. Benton Harbor led by as many as 17, lakeshore battled back, but the rally attempt came up just five points short. Kentrell Pullian scored a game high 28 points for the Tigers, Chris Moore added 14. Gavin Foster scored 16 in the loss for the Lancers. Benton Harbor will face Hopkins Thursday night for the Regional title.
Division 3 at Bronson
Kalamazoo Christian 59, Centreville 52
Schoolcraft 48, Lawton 33
Division 4 at Niles
Howardsville Christian 53, New Buffalo 49
Wyoming Tri-Unity 2, Holland Calvary 0 (forfeit)
Division 1 at Grand Haven
East Lansing 63, Holt 56
Coldwater 67, Portage Central 54
Boys Wrestling
Division 2 at Wings Event Center – Kalamazoo
Quarterfinals
Allendale 36, Lakeshore 26
Girls Soccer
Lakeshore 6, Edwardsburg 0
Three Rivers 5, Coldwater 2
Baseball
Niles 10, Paw Paw 0
Softball
South Haven 5, Zeeland West 4
Today
Girls Basketball – Regional Finals
Division 1 at Gull Lake
East Lansing vs. Kalamazoo Central, 6:00 p.m.
Division 2 at Edwardsburg
Edwardsburg vs. Wayland, 7:00 p.m.
Division 3 at Watervliet
Schoolcraft vs. Gobles, 7:00 p.m.
Division 4 at Mendon
Martin vs. Colon, 6:00 p.m.
Girls Soccer
Mattawan at Paw Paw, 5:00 p.m.
Coloma at Hartford, 4:30 p.m.
Allegan at Unity Christian, 5:45 p.m.
Otsego at Wayland, 5:30 p.m.
Baseball
Buchanan at Coloma, 4:15 p.m.
Softball
Fennville at Hartford, 4:30 p.m.
