MARCH MADNESS
SOUTH
Jack Gohlke made 10 3-pointers and 14th-seeded Oakland delivered the first true shock of this year’s March Madness, beating third-seeded Kentucky 80-76 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Grizzlies sent the Wildcats and coach John Calipari to another early March exit behind Gohlke and some late shot-making by his teammates. The graduate transfer finished with 32 points. Antonio Reeves led Kentucky with 27 points. The Wildcats fell to 1-4 in their last five NCAA Tournament games. Oakland picked up the second NCAA Tournament win in school history.
Kentucky and coach John Calipari didn't get through the first round of the NCAA Tournament again. For the second time in three years, the Wildcats were bounced by a double-digit seed. Oakland's Jack Gohlke made 10 3-pointers and Oakland shocked Kentucky 80-76 in the opening round of the Midwest Region at Pittsburgh. Two years ago, Saint Peter's knocked out the Wildcats. Calipari has lost four of his past five NCAA Tournament games. While his legacy as one of his era's greatest coaches is secure, he's far removed from his early-2010s heyday, when he took Kentucky to four Final Fours in five years and won the 2012 national title.
Ben Middlebrooks scored a career-high 21 points and 11th-seeded North Carolina State surged past sixth-seeded Texas Tech 80-67 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Wolfpack, who won five games in five days in the ACC Tournament, won their first March Madness game in nine years behind Middlebrooks’ boost off the bench and another bruising performance by center DJ Burns Jr. The 6-foot-9, 275-pound Burns finished with 16 points. Mo Diarra had 17 points and 12 rebounds for N.C. State, and DJ Horne also scored 16. The Wolfpack play Oakland in the South Region on Saturday. Joe Toussaint led the Red Raiders with 16 points.
MIDWEST
Max Abmas and Dylan Disu each scored 12 points, and No. 7 seed Texas held Colorado State to 11 points in the first half en route to a 56-44 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns will play second-seeded Tennessee Saturday night. Isaiah Stevens and Joel Scott had 10 points apiece for the Rams, who shot 29% from the field. Colorado State, which held Virginia to 14 first-half points in the First Four game on Tuesday, jumped out to an 8-2 lead before the wheels came off. The Rams missed 18 of their next 19 shots and scored just three points over the final 15 1/2 minutes of the first half.
Dalton Knecht scored 23 points and Tennessee shot 64% in the first half to build a huge lead before beating Saint Peter’s 83-49 on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Jonas Aidoo added 13 of his 15 points by halftime for the Midwest Region’s No. 2 seed. Tennessee quickly erased any chance of another improbable March Madness run for the 15th-seeded Peacocks. That included going up by 29 points before halftime. Latrell Reid scored 17 to lead Saint Peter’s, which reached the Elite Eight in 2022. The Vols next play coach Rick Barnes' former Texas program.
Graham Ike scored 16 points and Anton Watson added 13 to power fifth-seeded Gonzaga over No. 12 seed McNeese State 86-65 in the Midwest Region. Ben Gregg tallied 12 points and Nolan Hickman had 11 on Thursday for the hot-shooting Bulldogs, who spoiled McNeese State’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 22 years. Gonzaga, which shot 52 percent from the field and 48 percent from 3-point range, feels right at home in Salt Lake City, playing here more than any other site over the years and posting a 9-3 record.Christian Shumate and Shahada Wells had 19 for the Cowboys. The Bulldogs face 4-seed Kansas Saturday.
Kansas got a kind whistle at the end and Nicolas Timberlake made both his free throws to help the Jayhawks hold off Samford for a 93-89 victory in the NCAA Tournament. The 13th-seeded Bulldogs were trapping after trimming a 22-point deficit to one when Timberlake got the ball as he was streaking alone toward the basket. Timberlake went to dunk and Samford’s A.J. Staton-McCray came from behind and blocked the shot, touching nothing but ball. The whistle blew and Timberlake calmly made both free throws to give KU a three-point lead. The Jayhawks will play Gonzaga on in the second round of the Midwest Regional.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 23 points and Trey Alexander had 19 as Creighton, which came within seconds of making the Final Four a year ago, opened the NCAA Tournament with a 77-60 win over Akron in the Midwest Region. The third-seeded Bluejays got all they could handle in the first half from the 14th-seeded Zips, who came in as a 10 1/2-point underdog. However, Creighton flexed its Big East muscles after halftime and pulled away. This was the start Creighton was hoping for. A year ago, the Bluejays’ season ended with a heartbreaking 57-56 loss to San Diego State in the South Region final. Akron’s Enrique Freeman finished with 21 points and 14 boards for his 31st double-double, tying him with Navy great David Robinson for the single-season NCAA record.
Jermaine Couisnard scored a career-high 40 points to haunt South Carolina — his former school — while leading Oregon to a 87-73 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region on Thursday. Couisnard spent three years at South Carolina before transferring following the 2022 season. He made five 3-pointers and went 14 of 22 from the field to pace the 11th-seeded Ducks. Oregon advanced to the second round to face No. 3 seed Creighton. That matchup will have a family feel as it will reunite Ducks coach Dana Altman and Creighton, where he spent 16 years and built the Nebraska school into one of the nation’s best maid-major programs. The Ducks improved to 8-0 in first-round NCAA Tournament games under him.
The Bluejays and Ducks face off at 9:40 tomorrow night.
EAST
at CHI Health Center Omaha
Dae Dae Grant scored 19 points to help No. 11 seed Duquesne keep retiring coach Keith Dambrot working a little bit longer with a 71-67 victory against sixth-seeded BYU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Grant made four free throws in the final 10 seconds to help hold on after Duquesne blew a 14-point lead in the second half. Jakub Necas added 12 points and Jimmy Clark III had 11 for the Atlantic 10 Tournament champs celebrated their return to the tourney after 47 years with their first win there since 1969. They will play No. 3 seed Illinois on Saturday after the Illini rolled past No. 14 seed Morehead State. Jaxson Robinson had 25 points for the Cougars, who have lost five straight in the NCAA tourney.
Marcus Domask posted the NCAA Tournament’s first triple-double since 2019 and Terrence Shannon scored 26 points, helping No. 3 seed Illinois pull away from No. 14 Morehead State for an 85-69 first-round win. Domask had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in his first career triple-double. Dain Dainja scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as the Illini shook off the pesky Eagles. Next up for Illinois is No. 11 seed Duquesne on Saturday. Riley Minix led the Eagles with 27 points. Jordan Lathon added 23 points.
Milan Momcilovic had 19 points, Tamin Lipsey added 17 with seven assists, and second-seeded Iowa State beat 15-seed South Dakota State 82-65 in the NCAA Tournament. Big 12 tourney MVP Keshon Gilbert added 15 points for the Cyclones, who avenged a first-round loss to Pittsburgh last year and advanced to play seventh-seeded Washington State in the East Region. Zeke Mayo led the way with 19 points and William Kyle III had 14 for South Dakota State, the champs of the Summit League. They trailed just 40-33 at halftime but allowed Iowa State to go on a 14-5 run out of the locker room to put the game away.
Isaac Jones had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Isaiah Watts’ first 3-pointer in three games gave Washington State the lead with 1:51 left and the seventh-seeded Cougars beat No. 10 Drake 66-61 in the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars shot just 29.6% while trailing most of the second half, but Drake’s season-worst 6-of-14 performance at the free-throw line helped them to win in their first tournament appearance since 2008. WSU will play Saturday against No. 2 Iowa State, which beat South Dakota State 82-65. Atin Wright had 20 points to lead Drake.
WEST
Arizona scored 16 straight points over a five-minute stretch to pull away for an 85-65 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and snuff out coach Dan Monson’s tenure at Long Beach State. Kylan Boswell had 20 points for the second-seeded Wildcats, who made 13 3-pointers, the program record for March Madness. Arizona trailed 35-34 with less than three minutes left in the first half. Two free throws and a 3-pointer by Caleb Love started the Wildcats' onslaught before halftime. Love finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Aboubacar Traore and A.J. George led the Beach with 14 points each.
DaRon Holmes II and seventh-seeded Dayton staged a huge March Madness rally, closing with a 24-4 run to erase a 17-point deficit and beat 10th-seeded Nevada 63-60 in the West Region. Holmes, the Atlantic 10 player of the year, finished with 18 points, including a three-point play with 2:01 remaining that gave Dayton its first lead since the first half. Koby Brea scored 15 points for the Flyers, including three 3-pointers during a 17-0 run that tied the game. Dayton won in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 and will face Arizona on Saturday. Jarrod Lucas scored 17 points for Nevada.
Tyson Walker scored 19 points and Michigan State coach Tom Izzo picked up his 20th win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as his ninth-seeded Spartans beat eighth-seeded Mississippi State 69-51. Michigan State improved to 20-6 in March Madness openers under Izzo, who is making his 26th straight NCAA Tournament appearance — an NCAA Division I record for a coach at one school. Jaden Akins added 15 points and seven rebounds and Malik Hall scored 10 points for the Spartans. Freshman Josh Hubbard scored 15 points for the Bulldogs, who haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2021.
Armando Bacot had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and No. 1 seed North Carolina beat 16th-seeded Wagner 90-62 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Jae’Lyn Withers had a season-high 16 points and matched his best rebounding work with 10 boards for the West Region’s headliner. RJ Davis added 17 of his 22 points after halftime for the Tar Heels, who next face Michigan State and Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo. Melvin Council Jr. and Julian Brown each had 18 points for the 16th-seeded Seahawks, who played with just seven available scholarship players.
Florida Atlantic's Dusty May has been dealing with the chatter and speculation about where he might coach next since last season, when he led the Owls on a surprising Final Four run. He says it can be a distraction. But coaches need to compartmentalize. Never more so than during NCAA Tournament time. The 47-year-old May is one of the hottest commodities in coaching. His name is been linked to openings at Louisville, Ohio State, Michigan and Vanderbilt. And his eight-seeded Owls start NCAA play Friday in New York against ninth-seeded Northwestern.
WOMEN’S MARCH MADNESS
Freshman Jada Williams had 17 points, Helena Pueyo scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half and Arizona earned its fourth straight opening win in the NCAA Tournament over Auburn on Thursday night in the First Four.
Arizona (18-15) will move into the bracket as the No. 11 seed and will face sixth-seeded Syracuse on Saturday. The Wildcats improved to 8-3 in NCAA Tournament games under coach Adia Barnes.
Senior Cara McCormack set career highs with 23 points and seven 3-pointers, Bronagh Power-Cassidy added 15 points and Holy Cross secured its second NCAA Tournament win in program history, routing UT Martin in the First Four.
Holy Cross (21-12) has won five straight games and seven of its last nine, including the Patriot League Tournament championship for the second straight season. The Crusaders, in their 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, will move on and face top-seeded Iowa on Saturday on ABC.
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Michael Porter Jr. had a sensational shooting night on his way to 31 points, Nikola Jokic notched his 22nd triple-double of the season and the Denver Nuggets held off the New York Knicks for a 113-100 win. Jokic finished with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists as the reigning champion Nuggets improved to 13-2 since the All-Star break. Porter was 13 of 16 from the field and 2 of 2 from the free-throw line. Porter also had three 3-pointers to give him 193 for the season and break Dale Ellis’ single-season team mark set in 1996-97. Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and Isaiah Hartenstein had 20 for the Knicks.
Damian Lillard had 30 points and 12 assists and made two late steals as the Milwaukee Bucks capitalized on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s return to beat the Brooklyn Nets 115-108 on Thursday night. Antetokounmpo had 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists after missing two games because of an issue with his left hamstring. The Bucks rested Khris Middleton a night after he played 33 minutes in a 122-119 loss at Boston, as they continue to manage his workload in his recovery from a sprained left ankle. Mikal Bridges scored 24 points, Nic Claxton had 22 and Cam Thomas 21 for the Nets. They made a big second-half comeback but still lost their fifth straight.
Paolo Banchero had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for his second career triple-double, overcoming early shooting woes to help the Orlando Magic beat the New Orleans Pelicans 121-106 on Thursday night.
Kyle Kuzma scored 31 points and the Washington Wizards snapped a five-game losing streak with a 109-102 win over the Sacramento Kings. Deni Avdija added 17 points and Corey Kispert scored 15, sending Sacramento to their first loss in the last five meetings in Washington. Jordan Poole scored 14 for the Wizards. De’Aaron Fox had 25 points and Malik Monk scored 20 to lead the Kings, who fell to 16-8 in back-to-back games. Domantas Sabonis had 14 points and 14 rebounds for his 52nd consecutive double-double.
Jalen Green scored 26 points, Dillon Brooks had 23 before he was ejected from the game and the Rockets won their seventh straight, 127-117 over the Chicago Bulls. Houston has gone 9-1 in March and is now just 2 1/2 games behind Golden State for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. The Rockets’ seven-game winning streak is their longest since 2021. Ayo Dosunmu led Chicago with 35 points on 13-of-18 shooting. Nikola Vučević scored 16 points. Brooks and Chicago's DeMar DeRozan were ejected after a third-quarter scuffle.
The Phoenix Suns have signed two-time All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas to a 10-day contract. The 35-year-old hasn’t played in the NBA since 2022 but recently appeared in four games with the Salt Lake City Stars in the NBA G League, averaging 32.5 points per game. The Suns, who announced the contract on Wednesday, are searching for some scoring punch off the bench as they make their postseason push. Thomas played 46 games with the Suns during the 2014-15 season, averaging 15.2 points per game. Thomas has a career scoring averaging of 17.7 points in 550 career games with the Kings, Suns, Celtics, Cavaliers, Lakers, Nuggets, Wizards, Pelicans, Mavericks and Hornets.
Devin Booker scored 30 points, Eric Gordon added 21 off the bench and the Phoenix Suns beat the Atlanta Hawks 128-115 on Thursday night. Phoenix won largely thanks to superior long-range shooting, making 22 of 41 3-pointers. Booker hit six 3s while Gordon and Royce O’Neale both added four. Kevin Durant had 19 points and Grayson Allen added 13. Atlanta has lost five of its past six. Dejounte Murray scored 29 points while De’Andre Hunter added 22.
NHL
Artemi Panarin scored three goals to lead the New York Rangers to a 5-2 victory over Boston. Panarin's second came when Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk knocked the puck into the Boston net in the final minute of the second period. It was the Rangers' third victory over Boston in as many tries this season. The Metropolitan Division leaders are within one point of the defending Presidents’ Trophy winners for the best record in the NHL. Adam Fox also scored and Jonathan Quick stopped 24 shots for New York. Panarin and Mika Zibanejad added empty-net goals in the final two minutes. DeBrusk and Justin Brazeau scored for Boston. Jeremy Swayman made 26 saves.
Dylan Larkin had two goals after an eight-game absence, Andrew Copp also scored twice to break a 20-game drought and the Detroit Red Wings beat the slumping New York Islanders 6-3 on Thursday night. Larkin returned from a lower-body injury to score his team-high 27th and 28th goals to help Detroit avenge a 5-3 home loss to the Islanders on Feb. 29. Christian Fischer had a goal and two assists, Patrick Kane also scored and Michael Rasmussen and Alex DeBrincat added two assists apiece. James Reimer made 33 saves in a matchup of teams battling for a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Mike Reilly, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Mathew Barzal scored for New York. The Islanders are 0-5-1 in their last six.
Connor McDavid scored and set up Leon Draisaitl’s winning power-play goal at 3:18 of overtime to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Adam Henrique also scored and Mattias Edholm added two assists as the Oilers won for the eighth times in 11 games (8-1-2). Calvin Pickard had 23 saves. Nick Suzuki and Kaiden Guhle scored in the third period as Montreal rallied from a two-goal deficit to force the overtime. Sam Montembeault made 29 saves for the Canadiens, who have lost three straight games, including two in overtime.
Jack Hughes scored two of the Devils’ three power-play goals, brother Luke Hughes had a career-best three assists and the New Jersey stunned red-hot Winnipeg 4-1 on Thursday night in one of their best performances in a disappointing season. Nico Hischier scored the go-ahead goal on the power play and added two assists. Timo Meier had an empty net goal and two assists, and Jake Allen made 18 saves in winning for the third time in four starts for New Jersey. Nikolaj Ehlers scored a spectacular goal for the Jets, while Laurent Brossoit made 37 saves.
Seth Jarvis scored 1:28 into overtime to keep Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen unbeaten since returning to action in the Hurricanes’ 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night. Jarvis posted his 26th goal to give Carolina its fifth consecutive victory. Andersen made 30 saves to improve to 5-0-0 following a long absence. Jordan Martinook and Jalen Chatfield scored in the second period for the Hurricanes. Scott Laughton and Travis Konecny scored for the Flyers, who have dropped three of four. Samuel Ersson made 30 saves.
Joel Hofer made 37 saves, Jake Neighbours scored twice and the St. Louis Blues beat the Ottawa Senators 5-2 on Thursday night for their fifth victory in six games as they fight for the second and final Western Conference wild-card spot. The Blues moved a point ahead of Minnesota and within two points of Vegas, with the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights holding the final spot. Jordan Kyrou had a goal and two assists, and Brandon Saad and Colton Parayko also scored. Mark Kastelic and Dominik Kubalik scored for Ottawa, and Anton Forsberg stopped 22 shots. The Senators have lost three straight. St. Louis center Zach Dean made his NHL debut. He played junior hockey for the nearby Gatineau Olympiques.
Filip Forsberg scored twice and the Nashville Predators extended their point streak to a franchise-record 16 games with a 3-0 win over the Florida Panthers. Nashville eclipsed its 15-game point streak (14-0-1) set from Feb. 17, 2018, to March 19, 2018. Gustav Nyqvist also scored and Kevin Lankinen made 33 saves as the Predators strengthened their hold on the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Sergei Bobrovsky made 34 saves for the Panthers, who were shut out for the second time in three games.
Defenseman Nikita Zadorov scored twice in the first period, Casey DeSmith made 16 saves and the Western Conference-leading Vancouver Canucks beat the struggling Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Thursday night. Conor Garland and Nils Aman also scored and Ilya Mikheyev had two assists. Vancouver improved to 44-18-8, good for a three-point margin over Winnipeg, Colorado and Dallas. Juraj Slafkovsky scored for Montreal, and Sam Montembeault stopped 21 shots. The Canadiens have lost four in a row to fall to 25-32-12. The Canucks smothered the Canadiens in the final period, allowing just three shots.
Rookie Lukas Dostal got his first NHL shutout, Alex Killorn had his second two-goal game of the season and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 Thursday night to snap a seven-game losing streak. Dostal stopped 29 shots to become the third rookie goalie in franchise history to record a shutout, joining John Gibson (six) and Ilya Bryzgalov (one). Frank Vatrano got his 30th goal of the season at 10:31 of the third period when the Ducks had a two-man advantage. Brett Leason had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who had been outscored 35-7 during their skid. Arvid Soderblom made 21 saves for Chicago, which has dropped three of its last four.
Brayden Point scored two goals, Nikita Kucherov had four assists and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 for their fifth straight win. The Lightning extended their lead for the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference to four points over the Red Wings. Point broke a 1-1 tie with a power play goal 34 seconds into the third period, scoring on the rebound off a shot by Kucherov. Kucherov – who leads the NHL with 122 points – also extended his assist streak to 12 games, the longest in franchise history. William Ecklund had San Jose’s goal.
Keegan Kolesar scored off a rebound with 1:20 left to put Vegas ahead for good in a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night, strengthening the defending champion Golden Knights’ hold on a playoff spot. Jack Eichel and Chandler Stephenson also scored and Logan Thompson made 20 saves. It was the second victory in a row for Thompson, who stopped 40 shots and may have given the Knights’ recent shaky play at goalie some encouragement. Jaden Schwartz scored for the Kraken, and Philipp Grubauer stopped 34 shots. The Knights are four points in front of St. Louis for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Vegas has won four of six games, and the Kraken are 0-5-1 over their past six.
MLB
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well over $1 million.
J.D. Martinez has a new home, agreeing to a $12 million, one-year contract with the New York Mets. A person familiar with the deal confirmed the move to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement was pending a physical. Martinez gets a $2.5 million signing bonus, $2 million this year and $7.5 million in deferred money, payable in $1.5 million installments each Jan. 15 from 2034-38. Martinez hit .271 with 33 homers and 103 RBIs in just 113 games last season for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
SOCCER
Former soccer star Robinho has started serving a nine-year prison sentence in his native Brazil more than 10 years after he was first accused of raping a woman in Italy. The 40-year-old Robinho left his apartment building in the beachfront city of Santos, outside Sao Paulo, in a black police car after losing a bid to remain free pending appeals. A Brazilian high court ruled Wednesday that Robinho must serve his sentence in his home nation as a result of his 2017 rape conviction in Italy.
NFL
A judge says a federal lawsuit against the NFL’s disability plan can proceed to trial. The potential class action on behalf of retired players accuses the league of routinely denying valid injury claims so that it won’t have to make disability payments. The judge said the plan's six-member board will remain as defendants but she’s removed individual board members and Commissioner Roger Goodell. The lawsuit says the disability board favors doctors who are more likely to deny claims. It says one neuropsychologist who was paid more than $800,000 examined 29 former players and found none were disabled. An NFL spokesman didn’t immediately comment on Thursday.
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