The Cavaliers have claimed the NCAA men's basketball title by outlasting Texas Tech, 85-77 in overtime. It's the first national championship in men's hoops for the Cavaliers and comes one year after they became the first team to lose to a No. 16 seed in the tournament.
Virginia blew a 10-point lead midway through the first half and again late in the second before preventing the Red Raiders from earning their first title. De'Andre Hunter led the charge for the Cavaliers, finishing with 27 points despite going scoreless in the first 18 ½ minutes. The sophomore made the game-tying 3 with 12.1 seconds left in regulation, then nailed another with 2:07 left in the extra period to give the Cavs the lead for good. Kyle Guy scored 14 of his 24 points after halftime, while Ty Jerome finished with 16. They also helped the Cavaliers shoot 12-for-12 from the line in overtime. Brandone Francis led the Red Raiders with 17 points, two more than Jarrett Culver and Davide Moretti.
In college basketball news, Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes will be back with the Volunteers next season. Athletic director Phillip Fulmer issued a statement Monday following reports that linked Barnes to the coaching vacancy at UCLA. Barnes has gone 88-50 in four seasons at Tennessee. The Vols went 31-6 this year and advanced to the Sweet 16 before falling to Purdue.
Kansas forward Dedric Lawson will skip his senior year and enter the NBA draft, the latest move in what should be a significant overhaul of the Jayhawks' roster for next season. Lawson transferred from Memphis and sat out last season, then led the Big 12 with 19.4 points and 10.3 rebounds this past season.
Purdue junior guard Carsen Edwards is entering the NBA draft and hiring his agent. He averaged 24.3 points during the regular season and 34.8 in four NCAA Tournament games.
Alabama freshman point guard Kira Lewis Jr. says he's staying put after considering a transfer. Lewis led the team in scoring, assists and minutes this season, averaging 13.5 points.
Maryland forward Jalen Smith will return for his sophomore year after providing 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in 33 games this season.
MLB
The Astros picked up their fourth straight win as Jose Altuve hit a long home run and Carlos Correa delivered a broken-bat RBI infield single in the eighth inning of a 4-3 triumph over the Yankees. Houston trailed 3-1 in the seventh until Robinson Chirinos doubled home a pair. The Astros rallied after Masahiro Tanaka held them to a run and three hits over six frames.
The Phillies were 4-3 winners over the Nationals as Rhys Hoskins socked two solo homers, Odubel Herrera hit a two-run shot to help the Phils improve to 7-2. Philadelphia starter Vince Velasquez made his season debut and allowed two runs and four hits in five innings of a no-decision. Kurt Suzuki and Brian Dozier went deep for Washington.
Elsewhere in the majors, Chris Davis has just set a major league record he never wanted. The two-time American League home run champ has established a major league mark for most consecutive hitless at-bats for a position player by going 0-for-5 in the Baltimore Orioles' 12-4 rout of Oakland. Davis went 0-for-5, leaving him 0-for-28 this season and 0 for 49 since hitting a double early in a game last Sept. 14. The previous longest drought by a non-pitcher was 46 at-bats, by Dodgers infielder Eugenio Vélez. Davis is in the fourth season of a seven-year, $161 million contract he signed after hitting a league-leading 47 home runs in 2015. Jonathan Villar homered and had four RBIs, while teammate Trey Mancini went 3 for 3 with a homer for the Birds. Cedric Mullins tripled twice and drove in three in front of 6,585, the lowest attendance figure in Camden Yards history other than the 2015 game that was closed to the public.
Edwin Encarnacion became the first Mariner in 17 years to homer twice in the same inning, doing it during an eight-run sixth that highlighted a 12-5 rout of the Royals. Daniel Vogelbach, Jay Bruce and Dylan Moore also went deep for the Mariners, who have scored at least five runs in 11 of their first 12 games. Whit Merrifield extended his hitting streak to 29 games, one off the Kansas City record set by George Brett in 1980.
Mike Trout made a leaping catch to steal a potential homer from Christian Yelich in the Angels' fourth straight victory, 5-2 over the Brewers. Tommy La Stella and Justin Bour each hit a two-run homer and Andrelton Simmons also went deep as Los Angeles handed Milwaukee its second loss in three games since a 7-1 start. Trevor Cahill pitched six innings of five-hit ball in his home debut for the Angels.
The Dodgers' five-game winning streak is over after Marcell Ozuna homered and the Cardinals scored twice in the seventh to beat Los Angeles, 4-3. St. Louis trailed 3-2 in the seventh until Jose Martinez hit an RBI single and Paul Goldschmidt scored on a wild pitch. The Dodgers failed to homer for the first time this season after slamming 24 in their first 10 games.
Ronald Acuna Jr. homered and Dansby Swanson collected three RBIs in the Braves' 8-6 victory at Colorado. Nick Markakis added three hits and two RBIs as Atlanta won for the first time in four road games. Pinch-hitter Mark Reynolds and Trevor Story homered for the Rockies, who have lost eight of nine.
Blake Snell allowed a run and six hits while striking out 11 over six innings of the Rays' 5-1 victory over the White Sox in Chicago. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner has fanned 24 batters over his last two starts, yielding one run and six hits over 13 innings. Avisail Garcia had two hits and an RBI to help Tampa Bay improve to 8-3, its best start since 2010.
Kyle Schwarber belted a two-run homer and the Cubs' relievers tossed four-hit ball over seven innings of a 10-0 pounding of Pittsburgh. The Chicago bullpen had an 8.37 ERA this season before Brad Brach, Brandon Kintzler, Randy Rosario and Pedro Strop combined for seven innings of four-hit ball after Jon Lester was removed due to tightness in his left hamstring. The Pirates had won four in a row before committing four errors, three by shortstop Kevin Newman.
Pinch-hitter Franmil Reyes connected for a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh to complete the Padres' rally in a 6-5 win against the Giants. Fernando Tatis Jr. also hit a two-run homer and Wil Myers had a solo shot for the Padres. Kevin Pillar hit his first career grand slam in the fourth but Madison Bumgarner and the Giants' bullpen couldn't hold a 5-0 lead.
In MLB news, the Red Sox will receive their 2018 World Series rings at their home opener in Boston today. The team challenges the Blue Jays for the first game of a two-game series at about 2 p.m.
Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez plans to use struggling reliever Trevor Rosenthal in "lower pressure situations" until the former All-Star closer has some success. Rosenthal is the first pitcher since 1995 to fail to retire any of the first nine batters he faced in a season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He hit a batter, threw two wild pitches and issued a walk in the eighth inning of Sunday's 12-9 win over the Mets. Should he retire a batter before allowing his next run, his ERA will drop from infinity to 189.00. Rosenthal had 93 saves for the Cardinals in 2015-16. He's coming back from Tommy John surgery, which caused him to miss the 2018 season.
Yankees ace Luis Severino is returning to New York to have more tests on his injured right shoulder. Severino was supposed to start on opening day but has been out since he was scratched with right shoulder inflammation from what would have been his first spring training appearance on March 5. The right-hander played long toss on Saturday and felt fine, but manager Aaron Boone says he "didn't feel as great" on Monday after playing catch.
The Trump administration is moving to end a deal allowing Cuban baseball players to sign contracts directly with Major League Baseball organizations, a change that appears to once again require Cuban players to cut ties with their national program first. The Treasury Department told MLB lawyers in a letter that it is reversing an Obama administration rule allowing the major leagues to pay the Cuban Baseball Federation a release fee equal to a percentage of a Cuban player's signing bonus.
NHL
The Devils have given executive vice president/general manager Ray Shero a new multi-year contract despite a disappointing season that saw the team finish with the NHL's third-worst record. The Devils just completed a 31-40-110 campaign, one year after making the playoffs for the first time since reaching the 2012 Stanley Cup finals.
Sabres forward Jeff Skinner says he won't rush his decision on whether to re-sign with Buffalo or pursue free agency after his career-best 40-goal-season. He says that although he loves playing in Buffalo, he wants time to make a decision on returning. Buffalo missed the playoffs for an eighth consecutive season.
In other NHL news, the Florida Panthers took no time in naming a new head coach. About 24 hours to be exact. The Panthers have hired Joel Quenneville, who won three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks from 2010-15 before being dismissed 15 games into this season. The hiring also reunites him with Panthers general manager Dale Tallon, who brought Quenneville to Chicago. Quenneville replaces Bob Boughner, who was fired Sunday after two seasons.
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill will lead the U.S. at the men's world hockey championship next month in Slovakia. USA Hockey announced that Blashill would be back to coach the team for a third straight year. The Americans finished third last year and fifth in 2017.
Wild forward J.T. Brown was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication in Dallas before the Wild's season finale. Police reports indicate the incident happened early Saturday.
NFL
Receiver Ricardo Louis has agreed to terms on a one-year contract with his hometown team, the Miami Dolphins. Louis missed the 2018 season following neck surgery and was released last week by the Cleveland Browns. They made him a fourth-round draft pick in 2016, and he made 45 catches for 562 yards and no scores in his first two NFL seasons. Louis was born in Miami and played in high school at Miami Beach before attending Auburn.
SOCCER
Pele has left a Paris hospital after being treated for a urinary infection. The 78-year-old Pele has been frequently hospitalized in the last few years for kidney and prostate procedures and was under care in the French capital since last Wednesday. The soccer great said in statement he will be back home in Brazil "ready to work again."
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