COLLEGE BASKETBALL
No. 3 Utah will face off against fourth-seeded Penn State in the NIT Championship Thursday.
Justin Bibbins scored 19 points as Utah advanced to the title game by downing sixth-seeded Western Kentucky, 69-64. Sedrick Barefield added 14 points and David Collette added 13 with seven rebounds as the Utes improved to 23-11.
Penn State whipped Mississippi State, 75-60. Tony Carr scored 21 points and Shep Garner added 18 while breaking a school record for career 3-pointers.
In other college round ball news:
The AP All-America First Team has three freshmen on the squad for the first time in its 70-year history.
Oklahoma's Trae Young, Deandre Ayton of Arizona and Duke's Marvin Bagley III were all named first-teamers in the AP All-America squad announced on Tuesday. Young led the nation in scoring and assists in his lone season in Norman.
They were joined by Villanova's Jalen Brunson and Kansas guard Devonte' Graham on the team selected by the same 65-member national media panel that selects the weekly AP Top 25.
A person familiar with the situation says Louisville is hiring Xavier's Chris Mack as the Cardinals' new men's basketball coach. Mack was 215-97 with eight NCAA Tournament appearances in nine years at his alma mater, including a 29-6 mark and the school's first-ever No. 1 tournament seeding this season. He is now in charge of guiding the program back to national contention after a turbulent season in which the Cardinals were linked to a federal investigation and eventually missed the NCAA Tournament.
Jeff Capel has replaced Kevin Stallings as Pittsburgh's head coach and inherits a program that was 8-24 this season and 0-18 in the ACC. Capel spent the last seven seasons as an assistant under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke after head coaching stints at VCU and Oklahoma, where he took both schools to the NCAA Tournament.
Tim Miles will be back for a seventh season as Nebraska's head coach. Miles is 97-97 with one NCAA Tournament appearance in six years. The Cornhuskers went 22-11 this season, finishing tied with Final Four-bound Michigan for fourth place in the Big Ten.
UNLV center Brandon McCoy is leaving school early for the NBA draft. McCoy was the Mountain West freshman of the year this season after averaging 16.9 points and 10.3 rebounds a game.
Florida leading scorer Jalen Hudson plans to enter the NBA draft, although he said in his announcement that he won't hire an agent at this time. The 6-foot-6 Hudson averaged 15.5 points in his first season with the Gators.
Arizona sophomore guard Rawle Alkins has declared for the NBA draft and will hire an agent. Alkins was Arizona's third-leading scorer at 13.1 points while serving as the Wildcats' emotional leader this season.
Former Raptors coach Darrell Walker has been hired as the coach at Arkansas-Little Rock. Walker's hiring follows the firing of former coach Wes Flanigan this month after a school-record 25 losses by the Trojans.
NBA
The San Antonio Spurs can probably deal with Tuesday's loss to the Washington Wizards, but the loss of LaMarcus Aldridge would be another story.
Aldridge scored 13 points before he limped off with a left knee injury late in the second quarter of the Spurs' 116-106 setback at Washington. He did not return to the bench after halftime and is scheduled to undergo an MRI.
Aldridge is the biggest reason the Spurs have stayed afloat without Kawhi (kah-WY') Leonard most of this season.
Markieff Morris scored 15 points on 7 of 7 shooting in just 17 minutes to help the Wizards halt a three-game skid. Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Otto Porter Jr. added 14 points for the Southeast Division leaders.
Both teams are sixth in their respective conferences.
Checking out Tuesday's other NBA action:
The Rockets have another double-digit winning streak after Eric Gordon tied a career high with eight 3-pointers while scoring 31 points in a 118-86 laugher over the Bulls. Trevor Ariza added 21 points while James Harden was given the night off.
The Trail Blazers pulled out a 107-103 win at New Orleans behind Damian Lillard's 41 points. Lilliard provided 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Northwest Division leaders won for the 15th time in 17 games despite a rough outing from CJ McCallum, who finished with seven points on 3 of 19 shooting.
DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas and Fred VanVleet scored 15 points apiece and Jakob Poetl delivered all 12 of his points in the fourth quarter of the Raptors' 114-110 win against the Nuggets. The Raptors went on a 13-2 run to erase an eight-point, fourth-quarter deficit before moving 3 ½ games ahead of Boston for the Eastern Conference lead.
Victor Oladipo contributed 24 points and the Pacers pulled within a half-game of Cleveland for the third seed in the East by silencing the Warriors, 92-81. Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic scored 17 points apiece for playoff-bound Indiana. The Warriors again played without four starters and have suffered back-to-back losses for only the ninth time in four years under head coach Steve Kerr.
The Heat held the Cavaliers to a season low for points in a 98-79 rout at Miami. Kelly Olynyk scored 19 points and Dwyane Wade add 12, along with a pair of blocks on former teammate LeBron James.
Tobias Harris scored 19 points and the Clippers hit six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter of a 105-98 comeback over the Bucks. Los Angeles trailed by five before a 13-0 run in the final period, helping them get within 1 ½ games of Minnesota for the final Western Conference playoff berth.
Harrison Barnes had 20 points, six assists and five rebounds as the Mavericks won at Sacramento, 103-97 to halt a five-game losing streak. Protesters forced a lockdown of Golden1 Center for the second time in six days as they demonstrated in protest of the March 18 fatal police shooting of Stephon Clark.
NFL
NFL owners have redefined a few rules at their meetings in Orlando, and there's a catch to it.
The league has redefined the catch rule to eliminate confusion and controversy about receptions. There are basically three elements defining a catch: having control of the ball; getting two feet down or another body part; making a football move, such as taking a third step or extending the ball.
Falcons chairman and committee chairman Rick McKay says the committee cited overturned receptions by tight ends James and Miller last season among the dozens of plays they reviewed "dozens of times." Packers coach Mike McCarthy says the third step recommendation was excellent and cleans up a majority of receptions that were in question.
In another rule modification, using the crown of the helmet to initiate any hit will result in a 15-yard penalty.
In other NFL news:
Colts coach Frank Reich says quarterback Andrew Luck has begun to throw as part of the rehab for his surgically repaired shoulder. Luck missed the entire 2017 season because of the injury. Reich said he hasn't seen Luck in action yet, but the franchise quarterback is clearly making progress after spending time in California working with quarterback mechanics gurus Tom House and Adam Dedeaux (DAY'-doh).
The Seahawks have released quarterback Trevone Boykin shortly after his girlfriend alleged in a television interview that he physically assaulted her. She alleges Boykin broke her jaw last week in a Dallas suburb.
The Titans have agreed to terms on a deal with quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who is expected to replace Matt Cassel as Marcus Mariota's backup. The Titans announced March 9 they intend to release Cassel.
Giants coach Pat Shurmur says he expects Odell Beckham Jr. to attend offseason workouts when they start in April. Trade rumors are surrounding the controversial star receiver and there has been strong speculation Beckham will hold out during training camp because he doesn't want to play the fifth and final year of his rookie deal without a new contract.
Attorneys for a Guatemalan man living illegally in the U.S have ended their effort to have his confession thrown out in a suspected drunken-driving crash that killed Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and his Uber driver. Investigators said in a probable cause affidavit that Manuel Orrego-Savala admitted to the trooper that he was driving the pickup truck involved in the crash.
NHL
The Boston Bruins pulled within a point of Tampa Bay for the NHL's Atlantic Division lead, while the Nashville Predators stayed five points ahead of Winnipeg in the Central Division.
The Bruins picked up a point with a 5-4 shootout loss at Winnipeg. Brandon Tanev recorded his first career hat trick before Patrik Laine delivered the deciding goal in the fourth round.
Torey Krug had a goal and an assist for Boston, which scored three times on the power play but failed to pull even with Tampa Bay in the standings.
The Predators clinched home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs as Kyle Turris supplied the only shootout goal in a 2-1 verdict over the Wild. Roman Josi put Nashville ahead 2:51 into the game, and the lead held up until Eric Staal's 40th goal of the season tied it with 3:15 remaining in regulation.
The Predators have a league-leading 109 points, three more than the Lightning.
The Wild ran their point streak to six games, but their lead over St. Louis dropped to three points for third place in the Central.
In other NHL finals:
The Red Wings had dropped 13 of their previous 14 games before Luke Glendening scored twice in a 5-2 win against the Penguins. The game was tied 1-1 until Frans Nielsen and Glendening tallied 41 seconds apart late in the second period. Darren Helm had a goal and two assists for the Red Wings, who kept the Penguins five points behind the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals.
The Blue Jackets won for the 11th time in 12 games as Thomas Vanek notched his 11th career hat trick and had an assist in a 7-3 rout at Edmonton. Columbus scored the last seven goals and moved one point ahead of Philadelphia for third place in the Metropolitan Division, six points behind Washington.
The Flyers absorbed a 3-2 loss at Dallas on Alexander Radulov's goal 40 seconds into overtime. Radek Faksa and Brett Ritchie also scored as the Stars ended an eight-game losing streak.
Stefan Noesen's goal with 1:33 remaining lifted the Devils past the Hurricanes, 4-3, putting New Jersey three points ahead of Florida for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth. Kyle Palmeiri provided two goals and an assist, including the tying tally on a power play midway through the third period of the Devils' third straight win.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored the tying and winning goals as the Blues won for the sixth straight game, 3-2 over San Jose in OT. Oskar Sundqvist scored his first goal in 37 games this season to help St. Louis move into a tie with the Kings and Ducks for the last two playoff berths in the West.
Brandon Sutter's two goals and one assist carried the Canucks past the Ducks, 4-1, leaving Anaheim in a third-place tie with Los Angeles in the Pacific Division. Alex Biega got his first goal in over three years as Vancouver handed Anaheim its first regulation loss in seven games.
The Islanders had dropped six of seven before pulling out a 4-3 win at Ottawa on Andrew Ladd's goal with 2:03 to play. Anders Lee opened the scoring to get within one goal of becoming the first Islander to score 40 since Jason Blake in 2006-07.
MLB
Infielder Ketel Marte and the Arizona Diamondbacks have finalized a five-year, $24 million contract. The deal contains a pair of club options that could make the agreement worth $46 million over seven seasons.
The switch-hitter and middle infielder was obtained from Seattle after the 2016 season and filled in when shortstops Nick Ahmed and Chris Owings were hurt last year. He batted .260 with five homers and 18 RBIs in 73 games, then went 7- for-17 at the plate in four postseason games.
In other MLB news:
The Mariners are monitoring Ichiro Suzuki's strained right calf to determine whether he'll be on the opening day roster or the disabled list. He is hitless in 10 at-bats with two walks and five strikeouts since signing on March 7.
The Mariners are expected to sign outfielder Jayson Werth to a minor league contract, a deal contingent on a successful physical. Werth played in 70 games last year for Washington and hit .226 with 10 homers and 29 RBIs.
The Nationals will open the season without All-Star second baseman Daniel Murphy and reliever Joaquin Benoit, each of whom have been placed on the disabled list. Murphy is recovering from offseason surgery on his right knee, and Benoit came down with a strained right forearm after signing with the Nats as a free agent. The Nationals also put righty Koda Glover on the 60-day DL and selected the contract of catcher Miguel Montero.
Twins right-hander Phil Hughes will begin the season on the disabled list with a strained left oblique. Manager Paul Molitor says Hughes is still in the mix to pitch April 11, the first time the club will need a fifth starter.
The Rays have obtained utilityman Rob Refsnyder from the Indians for $90,000. The 27-year-old has spent parts of three major league seasons with the Yankees and Blue Jays, batting .233 with 14 doubles, two homers and 17 RBIs.
The Oakland Athletics have offered to take over paying $136 million in debt to take ownership of the Coliseum site, where they can build their long-needed, baseball-only stadium. A's President Dave Kaval recently made the offer to officials of Oakland and Alameda County, who operate the Coliseum, as the team seeks a site for a new stadium in Oakland after being turned down for its first choice in December.
TENNIS
Rafael Nadal is set to make his return from injury after being included on Spain's team for the Davis Cup quarterfinals against Germany next month.
Nadal hasn't played since January, when a muscle injury in his left leg forced him to retire in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
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