WSJM Sports March 24, 2023
NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament
Yesterday
#3 Kansas State 98, #7 Michigan State 93 (OT)
#4 UConn 88, #8 Arkansas 65
#9 Florida Atlantic 62, #4 Tennessee 55
#3 Gonzaga 79, #2 UCLA 76
Today
#1 Alabama vs #5 San Diego State (at Louisville, KY) 6:30 pm
#1 Houston vs #5 Miami (at Kansas City, MO) 7:15 pm
#6 Creighton vs #15 Princeton (at Louisville, KY) 9 pm
#2 Texas vs #3 Xavier (at Kansas City, MO) 9:45 pm
#3 Kansas State Knocks Off #7 Michigan State In Overtime
Third-seeded Kansas State is moving on to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament after taking down seventh-seeded Michigan State 98-93 in overtime. The Spartans trailed by two points with six seconds left in the game until Tyson Walker made a layup to even the score. Ismael Massoud netted a late basket to put the Wildcats up three in OT while Markquis Nowell scored a bucket off a Michigan State turnover to seal the win. Nowell finished with 20 points and broke the NCAA assist record with 19. AJ Hoggard scored 25 points for Michigan State, which ends its season 21-and-13. Kansas State will play number-9 Florida Atlantic as the tournament continues at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
Michigan’s Jett Howard Going Pro
Michigan freshman guard Jett Howard is going pro. Howard, the son of Wolverines head coach and former NBA player Juwan Howard, announced Thursday he will leave the program and enter the 2023 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-8 wing is projected as a mid-to-late first round pick.
NBA
Tonight
Indiana Pacers @ Boston Celtics 7 pm
Detroit Pistons @ Toronto Raptors 7:30 pm
Chicago Bulls @ Portland Trail Blazers 10 pm
Pistons Visit Toronto Tonight
The Pistons are in Toronto to take on the Raptors tonight. Detroit has dropped four in-a-row and 15 of its last 16 overall following Tuesday’s setback in Atlanta. The Pistons remain last in the NBA at 16-and-57.
Bulls Visit Portland
The Bulls begin a three-game road trip with a contest against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center tonight. The Bulls had their three-game winning streak snapped during a 116-91 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night. Chicago is in tenth-place in the Eastern Conference with a 34-and-38 record.
NHL
Last night
St. Louis Blues 4, Detroit Red Wings 3
Washington Capitals 6, Chicago Blackhawks 1
Strong Second Period Gives Blues Win Over Detroit
The St. Louis Blues scored three goals in the second period during a 4-3 win over the Red Wings in Detroit. Simon Edvinsson and Jake Walman both scored for the Red Wings in the first two minutes of the game, but St. Louis stormed back with four consecutive goals to take the lead for good. Alexey Toropchenko scored in the first period, while Brayden Schenn, Sammy Blais, and Jake Neighbours all lit the lamp in the second. The Blues are on a four-game point streak. Alex Chiasson also scored for Detroit. The Red Wings have dropped four of five.
Capitals Score Two Goals Each Period To Bury Blackhawks
The Capitals scored a pair of goals in every period to beat the Blackhawks 6-1 in DC. Connor Sheary and Anthony Mantha scored 18 seconds apart from each other in the first period while Nic Dowd and Nicklas Backstrom lit the lamp in the second. John Carlson scored in his first game back from injury while Alex Ovechkin netted his 41st of the season to seal the win. Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves for Washington, which improved to 34-31-and-8 on the season. The Caps are still outside of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Nikita Zaitsev scored the lone goal for Chicago, which has lost three straight games.
MLB
Yesterday
Philadelphia Phillies 4, Detroit Tigers (ss) 1
Detroit Tigers (ss) 8, Baltimore Orioles 8 (Tie)
Chicago Cubs 11, Arizona Diamondbacks (ss) 1
San Francisco Giants (ss) 6, Chicago White Sox 3
Today
Texas Rangers @ Chicago Cubs (ss) 4 pm
Chicago White Sox @ Oakland A’s 4 pm
Pittsburgh Pirates @ Detroit Tigers 6 pm
Chicago Cubs (ss) @ Cleveland Guardians 9 pm
Tigers Lose To Phillies; Tie O’s
The Tigers took a loss and settled for a tie in their split-squad games yesterday. Part of the team fell to the Phillies 4-1, while the rest of the squad battled the Orioles to an 8-8 tie after putting up three runs in the ninth inning. Nick Maton smacked a three-run homer to lead the offense. The Tigers host the Pirates tonight.
Cubs Dominate D-Backs
The Cubs scored eight runs over the final two innings of their 11-1 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks in Spring Training yesterday. Haydn McGeary drove in three runs during the victory. Hayden Wesneski struck out five and gave up just one unearned run on four hits in five innings of work. The Cubs are 14-and-10 in exhibition play, and they have a pair of split-squad games against the Rangers and Guardians today.
White Sox Fall To Giants
The White Sox lost to the San Francisco Giants 6-3 in Spring Training yesterday. Seby Zavala and Romy Gonzalez both went deep in the losing effort. Michael Kopech was tagged with the loss after surrendering five runs on seven hits in three innings. The Southsiders dropped to 10-and-12 in exhibition play, and they take on the A’s today.
NASCAR
NASCAR Cup Series Starts First Road Course This Weekend
The NASCAR Cup Series field is in Austin this weekend for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. The first road course this season will pit drivers against each other at the Circuit of the Americas. Joey Logano is looking to build on his Ambetter Health 400 win last weekend as he sits atop the standings. Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski round out the top five. Chastain won last year’s race while Bell came in third place. The green flag waves from Austin Sunday afternoon.
Boys basketball
State Semifinals at MSU
Yesterday
DIVISION 3
Flint Beecher 64, Ecorse 54
Traverse City St Francis 46, Brandywine 36
DIVISION 4
Munising 55, Marine City Cardinal Mooney 44
Wyoming Tri-unity Christian 54, Frankfort 37
Today
DIVISION 1
Detroit Cass Tech vs Grand Blanc – Noon
Orchard Lake St Mary’s vs Muskegon – 2 pm
DIVISION 2
Saginaw vs Ferndale – 5:30 pm
GR South Christian vs Romulus Summit Academy North – 7:30 pm
