Conference basketball tournaments continue as teams try to earn automatic berths in the NCAA tourney.
The only ranked team in action on Wednesday was No. 25 Oklahoma, which held off Iowa State, 79-73 in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament.
Austin Reaves scored 11 of his 21 points in the closing minutes, helping the Sooners answer the Cyclones' late run.
De’Vion Harmon added 18 points and Elijah Harkless had 12 for Oklahoma, which had a 19-point lead cut to 75-71 in the closing seconds.
Also in the Big 12:
Nijel Pack hit five 3-pointers and scored 23 points and ninth-seeded Kansas State used a pair of big runs to beat eighth-seeded TCU 71-50 in the first round.
Over in the Big Ten, Jamari Wheeler scored a career-high 19 points, and No. 11 seed Penn State pulled away inside the last four minutes to beat No. 14 seed Nebraska 72-66.
Also in the Big Ten, Tre Williams scored 14 points and Jamal Mashburn Jr. 11 and Minnesota snapped a seven-game skid with a 51-46 win over Northwestern
In the ACC, Buddy Boeheim hit six of Syracuse’s 14 3-pointers and finished with 27 points as the Orange beat North Carolina State, 89-68 in the second round.
In other ACC action:
Big men Armando Bacot and freshmen Day’Ron Sharpe and Walker Kessler each had a double-double and North Carolina dominated inside in its 101-59 win over Notre Dame.
Isaiah Wong scored 20 points for the second straight game and Miami became the first No. 13 seed to ever reach the quarterfinals in the ACC tournament, upsetting No. 5 Clemson 67-64.
Freshman Mark Williams set season highs with 23 points and 19 rebounds for his second double-double to lead 10th seed Duke to a 70-56 win against Louisville, putting the Blue Devils in the ACC quarters.
In Big East Action, Qudus Wahab had 19 points and seven rebounds and Georgetown limited Marquette to 14 first-half points in posting a 68-49 victory in the opening game of the tournament.
In other Big East battles:
Javon Freeman-Liberty and Charlie Moore each scored 21 points as DePaul surprised Providence 70-62.
Chuck Harris was clutch for Butler, drilling a straightaway 3-pointer and then sinking the game-winning free throws with three seconds left in overtime as the tenth-seeded Bulldogs ousted Xavier 70-69.
MAAC
Two upsets marked the MAAC tournament yesterday where number 9 Iona beat number 1 Siena 55-52, and number 7 Fairfield beats number 2 Monmouth 79-60. Meanwhile, today, number 3 St. Peter’s will face number 11 Rider this evening at 5 p.m., and number 4 Marist takes on number 5 Niagara at 7:30 p.m.
ATLANTIC 10 WOMEN
In women’s basketball yesterday at the Atlantic 10 Tournament number 12 beat 13 St. Bonaventure 69-61.
NBA-SCHEDULE
The Dallas Mavericks are looking like a stronger team as Luka Doncic (DAHN'-chihch) gets used to playing with Kristaps Porzingis (KRIHS'-tahps pohr-ZIHN'-gihs).
Doncic had a triple-double and the Mavericks closed on a 17-4 run to beat the Spurs, 115-104.
Doncic finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his 33rd career triple double.
Porzingis chipped in 28 points and 14 boards for Dallas, which trailed 59-52 at halftime.
DeMar DeRozan had 30 points, 11 assists and four steals in the Spurs’ first game since announcing that LaMarcus Aldridge would no longer be with the team by mutual agreement.
In Wednesday's other NBA game:
Jonas Valanciunas scored a season-high 29 points and matched his season best with 20 rebounds to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 127-112 victory over the Washington Wizards. Ja Morant added 21 points and 10 assists for Memphis, while rookie Desmond Bane finished with a season-high 20 points, going 5 of 8 from 3-point range. Bradley Beal scored 21 points for the Wizards but was 6 of 22 from the field, including only 1 of 8 from 3-point range.
NBA-NETS-DURANT
Kevin Durant will remain out for the rest of this week and it is unclear when he will return to the Brooklyn Nets lineup, meaning he will miss more than a month with a strained left hamstring.
Blake Griffin also will be sidelined when the Nets open the second half Thursday against Boston, though he stressed he’s not injured. He and the Nets think it’s smart to take their time increasing his workload after signing Monday.
Durant hasn’t played since Feb. 13 at Golden State. The Nets hoped at first the injury wouldn’t be serious, but announced on Feb. 26 that a follow-up MRI showed a clearer picture of the injury and would keep Durant sidelined through the All-Star break.
Coach Steve Nash said Wednesday that Durant will have another scan of the injury next week.
In other NBA news:
Golden State Warriors rookie big man James Wiseman missed a mandatory COVID-19 test during All-Star break weekend and had to be held out of practice when the team reconvened Wednesday night. Wiseman’s status remained unclear for a road game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night. The No. 2 overall draft pick last year out of Memphis, Wiseman is averaging 11.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 20.8 minutes.
MLB-NEWS
The Texas Rangers could be the first team to return to full attendance capacity. The team hopes to have a full house for its home opener next month after debuting a new 40,518-seat stadium without fans in the stands for its games last season.
An order by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott took effect Wednesday allowing businesses to operate at 100% if they choose.
In other MLB news:
The Cincinnati Reds say star first baseman Joey Votto is out for an indefinite period after testing positive for COVID-19 at spring training. The 36-year-old Votto has played in four spring training games, going 4 for 9 at the plate. Last season he hit .226 in 54 games, with 11 home runs and 22 RBIs.
Houston Astros top prospect right-hander Forrest Whitley will have Tommy John surgery. Manager Dusty Baker says Whitley was diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on Sunday after experiencing discomfort during a live batting practice session last week. He received a second opinion before opting for the surgery this week.
New York Yankees left-handed Zack Britton is scheduled for surgery Monday to remove a bone chip from his pitching elbow and seems likely to be out until at least May. Left-hander Aroldis Chapman is the Yankees’ closer, and manager Aaron Boone said he will mix and match ahead of him with right-hander Chad Green, side-arming right-hander Darren O’Day, left-hander Justin Wilson and right-hander Esteban Loaisiga.
New Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco is uncertain to be ready for the start of the season after elbow soreness forced him to stop throwing. Carrasco is in remission from leukemia and had the novel coronavirus vaccine. Carrasco will take a few days off without throwing and the Mets hope he can resume throwing by the end of next week.
A 24-year-old sports gambler Benjamin Tucker Patz faces up to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty of sending threatening social media messages to players with the Tampa Bay Rays after the Rays lost to the White Sox in 2019. A criminal complaint says Patz made numerous violent threats against athletes and their family members through anonymous Instagram accounts.
NFL-NEWS
The NFL’s salary cap will be $182.5 million per team in the upcoming season, a drop of 8% from 2020.
The league’s loss of revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic caused the first decrease in the cap since 2011, which followed an uncapped season. Free agency begins next Wednesday, though the “legal tampering” period starts Monday. The NFL is close to agreement on extensions of its broadcast contracts, but those deals won’t affect the 2021 season.
In other NFL news:
The New Orleans Saints have informed receiver Emmanuel Sanders and linebacker Kwon Alexander they’ll be released in moves that will save the club nearly $20 million against the NFL’s salary cap, a person familiar with the situation said. Following the releases of Sanders and Alexander, the Saints were projected to remain about $32 million above the salary with about a week to get below it. Sanders had 61 catches for 726 yards last season.
The Dallas Cowboys have been awarded the maximum four compensatory picks in April’s NFL draft, while the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers will get three apiece. The NFL announced today that there will be 32 such picks this year. Carolina, Chicago, Kansas City, the Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota, New England, New Orleans and Philadelphia get two apiece. Baltimore, the Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Tampa Bay and Tennessee will have one each. Compensatory selections are awarded to a team losing more or better compensatory free agents than it acquires in the previous year.
The Buffalo Bills have released receiver John Brown and defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson in moves made to free up much-needed space under the newly announced salary cap. Brown had one year remaining on a three-year, $27 million contract and Jefferson had one year left on the two-year, $13.5 million contract.
The Carolina Panthers have restructured the contracts of running back Christian McCaffrey and linebacker Shaq Thompson, freeing up an additional $11 million in salary-cap space. The moves leave the Panthers about $30 million under the cap, but the team has $17 million of that pegged to sign draft picks and to have on hand for the start of the season in case additional moves need to be made.
The New York Giants released starting guard Kevin Zeitler on Wednesday, a day after franchising defensive lineman Leonard Williams in a move that will cost the team at least $19.3 million. Zeitler, who turned 31 Monday, started 85 straight games before missing a start Dec. 15, 2019 with an ankle injury. Zeitler was scheduled to make $12 million and have a cap hit of $14.2 million in 2021.
The Cincinnati Bengals have signed backup quarterback Brandon Allen to a one-year contract. Allen, who was signed by the team as a free agent in August, ended up starting five games last season after Joe Burrow suffered a knee injury. Allen completed 90 of 142 passes for 925 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions.
Broncos running back Melvin Gordon will likely avoid NFL discipline after his drunken driving charge was dismissed and he pleaded guilty in Denver County Court to lesser charges of excessive speeding and reckless driving. Gordon was arrested Oct. 13 in downtown Denver when he was clocked going 71 mph in a 35 mph zone. Gordon is entering the second season of the two-year, $16 million free agent contract he signed a year ago.
The Minnesota Vikings made their costliest move yet for salary cap compliance Wednesday by terminating the contract of left tackle Riley Reiff with one year remaining. Though Reiff plays a critical position and 2020 was by most measures the best of his four seasons with the Vikings, cutting him will trim $11.75 million off the team’s cap charges. They’ll carry $3.2 million in dead money.
NHL-ESPN
The National Hockey League and ESPN are together again. The two sides announced a seven-year agreement beginning next season that includes four Stanley Cup Finals, the NHL All-Star Game and comprehensive streaming rights. ESPN has a long history with the league but hasn’t aired games since 2004. Under the new agreement, the Stanley Cup Final will air on ABC in four of the seven years, beginning next season. It also includes 25 regular-season games, with the likely breakdown being 15 on ESPN and 10 on ABC. ESPN and ABC will also have first choice of which conference final series to air.
NHL-SCHEDULE
The Minnesota Wild remain hot since splitting their first 12 games of the season.
Joel Eriksson Ek recorded his second career two-goal game and Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 24 shots as the Wild held off the Golden Knights, 4-3.
Kahkonen won his eighth straight start by overcoming Dylan Coghlan’s hat trick.
Coghlan had never scored an NHL goal until the first period. He added two more in the last six minutes after the Wild grabbed a 4-1 lead.
Kirill Kaprizov (kah-REEL’ kah-PREE’-zahv) scored for Minnesota’s league-worst power play, snapping a 1-1 deadlock early in the third.
The Wild are 9-2-1 in their last 12 games.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
Gabriel Landeskog scored on a wrist shot 4:22 into overtime to send the Colorado Avalanche past the Arizona Coyotes 2-1. The Avalanche went 1-1 during the two-game series with Arizona in Denver even though they outshot the Coyotes by an 81-28 margin. Colorado limited the Coyotes to 14 shots on Wednesday. It’s the 14th straight game the Avalanche have allowed fewer than 30 shots, which tied a franchise record.
Adrian Kempe scored two goals and Troy Grosenick made 33 saves in his first NHL appearance in nearly 6 1/2 years, leading the Los Angeles Kings past the Anaheim Ducks 5-1. Captain Anze Kopitar, Andreas Anthanasiou and Alex Iafallo also scored for the Kings, who beat Anaheim for the first time in three tries this season. Sam Steel scored and John Gibson stopped 32 shots for the Ducks, whose 6-5 win over the Kings on Monday was their second straight following a nine-game winless streak.
Leon Draisaitl had a five-point game as the Oilers hammered the Senators, 7-1. Draisaitl registered his third career hat trick and had two assists in Edmonton’s third straight win. Connor McDavid added a goal and two assists to help the Oilers improve to 6-0 against the Senators this season. Darnell Nurse opened the scoring 3:52 into the game, starting a flurry in which the Oilers scored four times in less than 10 minutes.
NHL-COYOTES-KUEMPER
The Arizona Coyotes could be without top goalie Darcy Kuemper for a significant amount of time due to a lower-body injury.
Kuemper was injured in Monday’s game against Colorado. The team said Wednesday he is listed as week to week.
Kuemper, who missed three games earlier this season with a lower-body injury, went down to a knee in the third period against the Avalanche. He asked the officials to stop the game and skated off to the locker room.
NCAA-TRANGENDER ATHLETES
More than 500 college athletes have signed a letter to the NCAA Board of Governors asking the organization to refuse to schedule championships in states that have banned transgender participation in sports.
The move follows a wave of legislative efforts across the country aimed at transgender athletes.
The letter to the NCAA asks the board to uphold the organization’s nondiscrimination policy, citing the decision to move championships out of North Carolina in 2016 in response to House Bill 2, which legislated transgender use of public restrooms.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-LONG FIRED
The Associated Press has learned that Kansas has fired athletic director Jeff Long less than two days after mutually parting with Les Miles amid sexual allegations dating to the football coach’s time at LSU.
Kurt Watson will serve as the interim athletic director as the school begins searching for both a new AD and new football coach.
It was Long who had hired Miles, his friend of more than 30 years, despite question marks in the coach’s background that ultimately led to his firing Monday night.
