Ty Jerome scored 13 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:34 remaining, and No. 1 seed Virginia reached its second regional final in four years with a 53-49 victory over No. 12 Oregon in the NCAA South Region. Points were hard to come by for both schools, especially for the Cavaliers on a night they shot just 36 percent and matched a season low in scoring.
But Virginia got baskets when needed to outlast the Ducks, with Jerome's 3 the biggest. Virginia will face Purdue in the South final.
Texas Tech is in a regional final for the second straight year after defeating Michigan 63-44 in the second West Region semifinal in Anaheim, California. Jarrett Culver scored 22 points and Davide Moretti added 15 as the Red Raiders knocked out last year's national runner-up.
Purdue is in the South Region final after outlasting Tennessee 99-94 in overtime. Carsen Edwards made two of three free throws with 1.7 seconds remaining in regulation to force OT for the Boilermakers. He followed with six more in the extra session, including a free throw with 6 seconds left to seal the game.
Gonzaga is in the Elite Eight. The Bulldogs beat Florida State 72-58, holding off the Seminoles and advancing to face either Michigan or Texas Tech in the regional final. Rui Hachimura scored 17 points, one of four Gonzaga players with at least 14. Trent Forrest scored 20 for Florida State.
The remainder of the Sweet 16 squares off today, with No. 2 Michigan State facing No. 3 LSU at about 7:10 p.m., No. 1 North Carolina playing No. 5 Auburn at about 7:30 p.m., No. 1 Duke challenging No. 4 Virginia Tech at about 9:40 p.m., and No. 2 Kentucky taking on No. 3 Houston at about 10 p.m.
And the regionals of the women’s NCAA Tournament comes to Albany’s Times Union Center today, where No. 2 UConn takes on No. 6 UCLA at 7 p.m, and No. 1 Louisville plays No. 4 Oregon State at 9:30 p.m.
NBA
Joel Embiid had 39 points, 13 rebounds and six assists to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 123-110 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. JJ Redick scored 18 points and Ben Simmons had 16 points and eight assists for the 76ers, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Joe Harris scored 22 points and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 19 for Brooklyn.
Pascal Siakam scored 31 points and the Toronto Raptors routed the New York Knicks for the second time in 11 nights, winning 117-92 to sweep the season series. Toronto rested Kawhi Leonard.
In other Thursday NBA action, Wayne Ellington scored 17 of his 25 points in the third quarter and the Detroit Pistons defeated the Orlando Magic 115-98 in a matchup of teams battling for Eastern Conference playoff positions. Blake Griffin had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Detroit. Andre Drummond had 18 points and 18 rebounds, and Ish Smith scored 15 points off the bench. Aaron Gordon scored 20 points for Orlando.
James Harden scored 38 points and the Houston Rockets used a huge second quarter to build the lead and get an easy 112-85 win over the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets, who entered the day just a half-game behind the first-place Golden State Warriors, got 20 points from Jamal Murray as they lost for the second time in three games.
DeMar DeRozan had 25 points and the San Antonio Spurs celebrated Manu Ginobili's number retirement ceremony by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 116-110. Collin Sexton had 24 points for Cleveland and Kevin Love added 18.
Goran Dragic had 23 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his second career triple-double, Dwyane Wade capped the win with a steal and score in the final seconds and the Heat moved back into eighth place in the Eastern Conference by topping the Dallas Mavericks 105-99. Dragic outdueled Luka Doncic in the first head-to-head meeting between the only two Slovenians currently in the NBA.
Julius Randle capped a 34-point and 11-rebound night with a driving left-handed bank shot between two defenders with eight seconds left to help the New Orleans Pelicans beat Sacramento 121-118. Buddy Hield scored 27 points for the Kings. But Hield's 3-point attempt for the tie in the final seconds rimmed out. The result places Sacramento on the brink of mathematical elimination from playoff contention.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 34 points and grabbed nine rebounds before leaving with an apparent lower leg injury in the Milwaukee Bucks' 128-118 victory over the Clippers that snapped Los Angeles' six-game winning streak. Antetokounmpo went to the floor and held his right ankle after dunking the ball with 7:46 left in the game, and he immediately went to the bench and didn't return. Khris Middleton had a season-high 39 points as Milwaukee won its fourth straight.
In NBA news, Los Angeles Lakers guard Josh Hart will miss the rest of the season with a right knee injury. The second-year pro has missed four straight games and five of the last seven with right knee tendinitis. He had an ultrasonic debridement procedure on his right knee patellar tendon on Thursday morning. The Lakers will miss the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. Hart is expected to return to basketball activities in about 12 weeks. Hart is averaging 7.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
The Utah Jazz say guard Dante Exum underwent surgery to repair a partially torn patellar tendon in his right knee and will be sidelined indefinitely. Exum had the procedure Wednesday in Los Angeles. The 23-year-old appeared in 42 games this season, averaging 6.9 points and 2.6 assists. The fifth overall pick in 2014, Exum missed all but 14 games in 2017-18 after suffering a preseason shoulder injury. He also missed the 2015-16 season with a knee injury.
The NBA is going to play a regular-season game in Paris for the first time next year. The league says Charlotte and Milwaukee will play there on Jan. 24. Paris has played host to preseason games before. Having Charlotte involved makes sense because the Hornets feature French national-teamers Tony Parker and Nicolas Batum.
MLB
Luke Voit hit a first-inning homer, Masahiro Tanaka finally got an opening day victory in his fourth try and the New York Yankees started the season with a 7-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Voit smashed a three-run shot off Andrew Cashner, and Greg Bird added a solo homer in the eighth, the first big flies for New York a year after clubbing a record 267 en route to 100 wins.
Robinson Cano homered in his debut at-bat for the Mets, then added a late RBI single, and Jacob deGrom outpitched Max Scherzer as New York edged the Washington Nationals 2-0 in the opener for both teams. A day after signing a $137.5 million, five-year contract, deGrom compiled 10 strikeouts with one walk and five hits in six innings, setting a major league record with his 30th consecutive start allowing three runs or fewer.
Tim Beckham hit two of Seattle's three home runs off Boston ace Chris Sale, and the Mariners improved to 3-0 with a 12-4 win over the World Series champion Red Sox. The Mariners followed up their two wins over Oakland last week in Japan by rattling Sale and knocking out the lefty that had dominated Seattle in the past.
In other MLB games, Kyle Freeland allowed two hits and one run in seven innings in his first opening day start, and the Colorado Rockies beat the sloppy Miami Marlins 6-3. Freeland, who had a breakout 17-win season in 2018, retired the first 11 batters before Starlin Castro lined a single. The only other hit the left-hander allowed was a pinch-hit home run by J.T Riddle leading off the sixth inning.
Brad Keller pitched two-hit ball over seven shutout innings, Adalberto Mondesi tripled twice and the Kansas Royals held off the Chicago White Sox 5-3 after the start of their season opener was delayed nearly two hours by rain. Eloy Jimenez went 0 for 3 with an RBI in his major league debut for Chicago after signing a $43 million, six-year contract.
Joc Pederson and Enrique Hernandez each hit two of the Dodgers' eight home runs in a 12-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The eight homers set a major league record for opening day and tied the franchise record for any game. Adam Jones and Christian Walker went deep for the Diamondbacks.
Jordan Zimmermann took a perfect game into the seventh inning, Christian Stewart hit a two-run homer in the 10th and the Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 on opening day. Zimmermann, who pitched a no-hitter for Washington on the final day of the 2014 season, came close to bookending it.
Javier Baez homered twice, Jon Lester pitched six solid innings and the Chicago Cubs opened the season with a 12-4 win at Texas. The loss spoiled the debut of new Rangers manager Chris Woodward. Kris Bryant added a two-run homer for the Cubs.
Manny Machado went hitless in his first game with the San Diego Padres and Fernando Tatis Jr. singled twice in his big league debut, a 2-0 opening win over the San Francisco Giants. The Padres signaled their intentions to move beyond the rebuilding stage when they signed Machado to a $300 million, 10-year contract.
Reigning homer run champion Khris Davis went deep for the second time this season, Marcus Semien added a solo shot and the Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-0 on for their first win after a pair of losses to Seattle last week in Japan. Mike Trout singled and walked going 1 for 3 in his first game since signing a $426.5 million, 12-year contract, and manager Brad Ausmus lost his Angels debut after taking over for Mike Scioscia.
Justin Verlander outpitched Blake Snell in a rare opening day matchup between a reigning Cy Young winner and the runner-up for the award, helping the Houston Astros begin the season with a 5-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. George Springer homered on opening day for the third straight year. Michael Brantley and Jose Altuve also homered for the Astros.
Derek Dietrich's three-run homer in the seventh inning rallied the new-look Reds to a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, an encouraging start for a Cincinnati team looking to escape last place. Playing their first game under manager David Bell, the Reds got starring performances from two players signed for backup roles last month.
Bryce Harper struck out twice in green Phanatic cleats in his $330 million debut and bowed to thousands of fans in No. 3 jerseys who gave him rousing standing ovations in the Philadelphia Phillies' 10-4 win over the Atlanta Braves. Harper went 0 for 3 with one intentional walk. He was intentionally walked to load the bases and Rhys Hoskins hit a grand slam.
Milwaukee center fielder Lorenzo Cain soared above the wall to rob Jose Martinez of a tying home run for the final out, lifting Christian Yelich and the Brewers over the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 in an opener.
In MLB news, Clayton Kershaw has been placed on the Los Angeles Dodgers' injured list, officially ending his franchise-record streak of eight consecutive opening day starts. The Dodgers announced the move Thursday before they faced Arizona. The move is retroactive to Monday, allowing Kershaw to return by April 4. Kershaw developed inflammation in his left shoulder early in spring training, but the Dodgers waited nearly a month to determine whether Kershaw could be ready for opening day. The 31-year-old ace has missed playing time in each of the past three seasons due to injuries.
Oakland has acquired first baseman Kendrys Morales from Toronto, which will give the Athletics $11,445,000 to cover near all of his $12 million salary. The A's sent the Blue Jays minor league infielder Jesus Lopez and $1 million in international signing bonus pool allocation. The addition of the 35-year-old Morales gives the A's a replacement for injured first baseman Matt Olson.
The new No. 3 is the new No. 1. Major League Baseball says that Bryce Harper has the sport's top-selling jersey, ending a two-year reign for Aaron Judge's No. 99. Harper signed a $330 million, 13-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies this spring, and his new No. 3 jersey set professional sports records for sales in 24 and 48 hours, according to online retailer Fanatics. His fresh get-up has been the top-selling jersey on MLB.com since Jan. 1, 2019.
NHL
Tyler Bertuzzi had two goals, including the winner in overtime, to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. Dylan Larkin also had two goals for Detroit, and Filip Hronek also scored. Jimmy Howard made 35 saves as Detroit won for the sixth time in seven games.
Casey Cizikas and Jordan Eberle scored 33 seconds apart in the final two minutes of the third period to lift the New York Islanders to a 5-4 comeback win over the Winnipeg Jets.
Nic Dowd scored on a deflection with 4:56 remaining, and the Washington Capitals clinched a playoff berth with a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. Brett Connolly and Jakub Vrana scored and Braden Holtby made 24 saves. They helped the reigning Stanley Cup champions reach the 100-point mark for the fifth straight year and wrap up their 11th spot in the playoffs in 12 seasons.
In other Thursday night ice action, Tanner Pearson scored in the fourth round of the shootout and the Vancouver Canucks kept their faint playoff hopes alive, beating the Los Angeles Kings 3-2. The win snapped a three-game losing skid for the Canucks.
Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice and the Florida Panthers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night in a matchup of teams eliminated from playoff contention.
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, Sergei Bobrovsky had 28 saves and the Columbus Blue Jackets moved into an Eastern Division wild-card spot with a 6-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
In NHL news, the Buffalo Sabres have demoted center Tage Thompson to the minors. Thompson is being sent down to AHL Rochester while in the midst of a 23-game goal drought. The 22-year-old has just seven goals and five assists for 12 points in 65 games this season. Buffalo acquired the 2016 first-round draft pick in a multiplayer trade that sent center Ryan O'Reilly to the St. Louis Blues in July. Thompson's demotion on Thursday comes a day after Buffalo called up rookie forward Victor Olofsson. Olofsson is leading Rochester with 60 points. He has an opportunity to make his NHL debut Thursday, when Buffalo hosts Detroit.
The NHL has announced its third partnership with a sports gambling operator, a deal with William Hill. The league previously into entered deals with FanDuel and MGM. All three companies have been designated as "official sports betting partners" of the NHL. Sports betting is now legal in eight states, and William Hill runs sports books in Nevada, Mississippi, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
NFL
Attorneys for New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft want a Florida judge to block prosecutors from using secretly taken video that police say shows him engaging in paid sex acts with female massage parlor employees. Kraft's attorneys challenged in court documents filed Thursday the warrant allowing Jupiter police officers to hide video cameras in the Orchids of Asia Day Spa.
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Rutgers coach Greg Schiano has stepped down as defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, less than two months after taking the job. The Patriots never announced his hiring but confirmed his departure by posting statements from Schiano and coach Bill Belichick on the team's website. Schiano said he needs to "spend more time on my faith and family."
The Cowboys have agreed to acquire defensive end Robert Quinn from the Miami Dolphins for a sixth-round draft pick in a trade that would bolster the Dallas pass rush while the club works on a long-term contract for DeMarcus Lawrence. The deal also gives the Cowboys another option while they wait to see if Randy Gregory will play in 2019 after his fourth substance-abuse suspension.
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