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 <figcaption>Early Morning Sports with Rob Dreher for March 18th, 2024.</figcaption>
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🎧 LISTEN: 🏀 Both HutchCC Men and Women punch tickets to NJCAA 🏀 KU Men and Women seeded in NCAA    

MANHATTAN, Kansas –&nbsp;Following one of the best seasons in program history, Kansas State women's basketball was rewarded with an at-large bid and to host the first and second rounds in Manhattan at Bramlage Coliseum for the 2024 NCAA Tournament during Sunday night's NCAA Women's Basketball Selection Show on ESPN. This is the program's 18th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and the fifth under the direction of head coach&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/jeff-mittie/2161">Jeff Mittie</a>.

Tickets for K-State's first round matchup with Portland are available now at kstatesports.com/tickets. The K-State Athletics Ticket Office opens on Monday at 8:30 a.m., and orders can also be made by calling the K-State Ticket Office at (800) 221-CATS or stopping by the ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum. All ticket orders will be distributed as a digital ticket.

K-State (25-7, 13-5 Big 12) was chosen as a No. 4 seed in the Albany 2 regional and will be opposed by No. 13 seed Portland (21-12, 10-6 WCC). The game will be played on Friday with a time and broadcast information announced on Monday. The contest will be available on the K-State Sports Network, including the flagship stations Sunny 102.5 and 1350 KMAN and free live audio on kstatesports.com and on the K-State Sports app.

K-State and Portland will meet for the first time. The last time the Wildcats faced a member of the West Coast Conference came on December 29, 2007, at Loyola Marymount, a 70-47 K-State win.

The winner of the Kansas State-Portland game will play the winner of the No. 5 Colorado-No. 12 Drake matchup on Monday, March 25. The top four seeds in the Albany 2 region are: No. 1 Iowa (29-4), No. 2 UCLA (25-6), No. 3 LSU (28-5) and No. 4 Kansas State.

K-State is 14-17 in its previous 17 NCAA Tournament bids. The Wildcats took part in the 2022 NCAA Tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina, as K-State entered the tournament as the No. 9 seed in the Bridgeport region. K-State defeated the No. 8 seed Washington State, 50-40, in the first round and fell to top-seed NC State, 89-57, in the second round.

Under Mittie's guidance in his 10th season, Kansas State has registered the program's most wins since the 2008-09 season. K-State recorded 13 Big 12 wins for the fourth time since the formation of the league in 1996-97.

After being slated for a fourth-place finish by the Big 12 Conference coaches in the preseason poll, K-State carded a third-place finish in the conference standings which marks the 19th season the Wildcats have finished above its preseason predicted finish.

On the floor this season, Kansas State features 2024 All-America candidate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/ayoka-lee/11193">Ayoka Lee</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/serena-sundell/11197">Serena Sundell</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/gabby-gregory/11191">Gabby Gregory</a>.

Lee, a 2024 2024 John R. Wooden Award National Ballot top-15 candidate, has had a strong 2023-24 as she is averaging 20.1 points on a .622 field goal percentage, 8.4 rebounds and 2.73 blocked shots. She ranks sixth in the nation and leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage. Lee is second in the Big 12 in scoring average, second in the league and ninth in the nation for blocks per game and third in the Big 12 for rebounding average.

Lee, a Lisa Leslie Award Top 10 finalist, has recorded 13 games this season with 20 or more points including her second career 20-20 double-double with 24 points, 21 rebounds and five blocked shots against Oral Roberts.

This season, Lee has led the Big 12's top defense with 20 games of two or more blocked shots including a season-high seven at UCF on Jan. 6 and at Iowa State on Feb. 14. The 2024 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist has also collected two or more steals in six games.

In her career, Lee ranks third in school history for points scored with 2,163, holds the school record for career rebounds with 1,098, the school record holder for career blocks with 303 and owns the school record for career double-doubles with 59. She is the first player in program history with 300 or more career blocks and 100 or more career steals.

Sundell is second on the team in scoring with 12.0 points per game on a career-best .536 field goal percentage. She leads the Big 12 for total assists (174) and assists per game (5.4 apg). The All-American candidate was second for Big 12-only games with 5.7 assists per game, she ranks fourth in league-only games for field goal percentage (.539) and is 12th in conference play for scoring (13.82 ppg).With her points (384) and assists (174) totals this season, Sundell is the first player in program history and the third Big 12 player since at least 2009-10 to record three seasons with 350 or more points and 150 or more assists.

In her career, Sundell is fifth in school history for career assists with 534 and is second in program history for career assists per game (5.29 apg). She ranks tied for 24th on the K-State career scoring list with 1,234 points. She is the only player in school history with 1,000 or more career points, 500 or more career assists and 50 or more career blocked shots.

Gregory has averaged just under 10 points per game this season (8.9) and established a career-high for assists with 113 (3.5 apg). When combined with Sundell's 174 assists, the tandem ranks third in school history for combined assists in a season. Gregory ranks 11th in the Big 12 in assists per game and is fifth in the league in assist-turnover ratio (1.92).&nbsp;

In her two seasons at K-State, Gregory is the first player to transfer to K-State and then reach the 1,000- and 1,500-point marks in her collegiate career. Gregory has scored in double figures in 42 games at K-State. She also ranks fifth in program history for career free throw percentage (.801).&nbsp;

Portland enters the NCAA Tournament with wins in four straight games, including three consecutive in the West Coast Conference tournament to win the league's automatic bid into the field. This will be the seventh NCAA Tournament appearance for the Pilots and the second straight after making the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

On the floor, Portland is led by the trio of Emme Shearer, Maisie Burnham and Kennedy Dickie. Shearer leads the squad in scoring at 12.2 points per game on a .486 field goal percentage, while Burnham is second on the team at 11.6 points and Shearer is averaging 10.5 per game. Dickie and Burnham were named to the WCC All-Tournament Team, while Dickie collected most outstanding player honors for the event.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710763003924.png" alt="Photo Courtesy Kansas State Athletics" />
 <figcaption>Photo Courtesy Kansas State Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure>Courtesy Kansas State AthleticsMANHATTAN, Kansas –&nbsp;Following one of the best seasons in program history, Kansas State women's basketball was rewarded with an at-large bid and to host the first and second rounds in Manhattan at Bramlage Coliseum for the 2024 NCAA Tournament during Sunday night's NCAA Women's Basketball Selection Show on ESPN. This is the program's 18th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and the fifth under the direction of head coach&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/jeff-mittie/2161">Jeff Mittie</a>.Tickets for K-State's first round matchup with Portland are available now at kstatesports.com/tickets. The K-State Athletics Ticket Office opens on Monday at 8:30 a.m., and orders can also be made by calling the K-State Ticket Office at (800) 221-CATS or stopping by the ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum. All ticket orders will be distributed as a digital ticket.K-State (25-7, 13-5 Big 12) was chosen as a No. 4 seed in the Albany 2 regional and will be opposed by No. 13 seed Portland (21-12, 10-6 WCC). The game will be played on Friday with a time and broadcast information announced on Monday. The contest will be available on the K-State Sports Network, including the flagship stations Sunny 102.5 and 1350 KMAN and free live audio on kstatesports.com and on the K-State Sports app.K-State and Portland will meet for the first time. The last time the Wildcats faced a member of the West Coast Conference came on December 29, 2007, at Loyola Marymount, a 70-47 K-State win.The winner of the Kansas State-Portland game will play the winner of the No. 5 Colorado-No. 12 Drake matchup on Monday, March 25. The top four seeds in the Albany 2 region are: No. 1 Iowa (29-4), No. 2 UCLA (25-6), No. 3 LSU (28-5) and No. 4 Kansas State.K-State is 14-17 in its previous 17 NCAA Tournament bids. The Wildcats took part in the 2022 NCAA Tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina, as K-State entered the tournament as the No. 9 seed in the Bridgeport region. K-State defeated the No. 8 seed Washington State, 50-40, in the first round and fell to top-seed NC State, 89-57, in the second round.Under Mittie's guidance in his 10th season, Kansas State has registered the program's most wins since the 2008-09 season. K-State recorded 13 Big 12 wins for the fourth time since the formation of the league in 1996-97.After being slated for a fourth-place finish by the Big 12 Conference coaches in the preseason poll, K-State carded a third-place finish in the conference standings which marks the 19th season the Wildcats have finished above its preseason predicted finish.On the floor this season, Kansas State features 2024 All-America candidate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/ayoka-lee/11193">Ayoka Lee</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/serena-sundell/11197">Serena Sundell</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/gabby-gregory/11191">Gabby Gregory</a>.Lee, a 2024 2024 John R. Wooden Award National Ballot top-15 candidate, has had a strong 2023-24 as she is averaging 20.1 points on a .622 field goal percentage, 8.4 rebounds and 2.73 blocked shots. She ranks sixth in the nation and leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage. Lee is second in the Big 12 in scoring average, second in the league and ninth in the nation for blocks per game and third in the Big 12 for rebounding average.Lee, a Lisa Leslie Award Top 10 finalist, has recorded 13 games this season with 20 or more points including her second career 20-20 double-double with 24 points, 21 rebounds and five blocked shots against Oral Roberts.This season, Lee has led the Big 12's top defense with 20 games of two or more blocked shots including a season-high seven at UCF on Jan. 6 and at Iowa State on Feb. 14. The 2024 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist has also collected two or more steals in six games.In her career, Lee ranks third in school history for points scored with 2,163, holds the school record for career rebounds with 1,098, the school record holder for career blocks with 303 and owns the school record for career double-doubles with 59. She is the first player in program history with 300 or more career blocks and 100 or more career steals.Sundell is second on the team in scoring with 12.0 points per game on a career-best .536 field goal percentage. She leads the Big 12 for total assists (174) and assists per game (5.4 apg). The All-American candidate was second for Big 12-only games with 5.7 assists per game, she ranks fourth in league-only games for field goal percentage (.539) and is 12th in conference play for scoring (13.82 ppg).With her points (384) and assists (174) totals this season, Sundell is the first player in program history and the third Big 12 player since at least 2009-10 to record three seasons with 350 or more points and 150 or more assists.In her career, Sundell is fifth in school history for career assists with 534 and is second in program history for career assists per game (5.29 apg). She ranks tied for 24th on the K-State career scoring list with 1,234 points. She is the only player in school history with 1,000 or more career points, 500 or more career assists and 50 or more career blocked shots.Gregory has averaged just under 10 points per game this season (8.9) and established a career-high for assists with 113 (3.5 apg). When combined with Sundell's 174 assists, the tandem ranks third in school history for combined assists in a season. Gregory ranks 11th in the Big 12 in assists per game and is fifth in the league in assist-turnover ratio (1.92).&nbsp;In her two seasons at K-State, Gregory is the first player to transfer to K-State and then reach the 1,000- and 1,500-point marks in her collegiate career. Gregory has scored in double figures in 42 games at K-State. She also ranks fifth in program history for career free throw percentage (.801).&nbsp;Portland enters the NCAA Tournament with wins in four straight games, including three consecutive in the West Coast Conference tournament to win the league's automatic bid into the field. This will be the seventh NCAA Tournament appearance for the Pilots and the second straight after making the 2023 NCAA Tournament.On the floor, Portland is led by the trio of Emme Shearer, Maisie Burnham and Kennedy Dickie. Shearer leads the squad in scoring at 12.2 points per game on a .486 field goal percentage, while Burnham is second on the team at 11.6 points and Shearer is averaging 10.5 per game. Dickie and Burnham were named to the WCC All-Tournament Team, while Dickie collected most outstanding player honors for the event.

🏀 WBB: K-State will host first two rounds of NCAA Tournament

AP Sports Summary for Monday, March 18th, 2024.

March Madness is here. UConn, Purdue, Houston and North Carolina get top seeding in NCAA Tournament

Defending champion Connecticut, along with Houston, Purdue and North Carolina are the top seeds in a March Madness bracket that started going haywire even before the pairings came out. Of the four top seeds, only UConn heads into the tournament coming off a win. That played into the Huskies receiving the No. 1 overall seed. The other three top seeds lost in their conference tournaments.

South Carolina, Iowa, USC and Texas are the top seeds in the women's NCAA Tournament

South Carolina is the the top overall seed in the women's NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks are looking to become the 10th women's basketball team to go undefeated for an entire season. Caitlin Clark and Iowa also received a No. 1 seed. Both schools are in the Albany Region and wouldn't potentially face off until the national championship game. Iowa knocked South Carolina out last season in the Final Four. USC and Texas earned the other No. 1 seeds. Tennessee continued its streak of making the tournament every season since it began in 1982.

The only rule for filling out your March Madness bracket this year: Don't take it for granted

UConn is the betting favorite to win a second straight national title, but repeating is not easy. Houston has now been tested by a power-conference schedule after joining the Big 12. Purdue will be eager to put aside last year's loss to 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson. Here's a quick early prediction: UConn, Houston, Gonzaga and longshot Michigan State reach the Final Four. Then Houston denies UConn a repeat in the championship game.

Scheffler goes back-to-back in Players Championship in Sunday thriller at Sawgrass

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler has become the first player in the 50 years of The Players Championship to win back-to-back. This was the hardest. Not only was he dealing with neck pain all week, he started the final round five shots behind. Scheffler closed with a 64. That matches the lowest final round by a winner. He also tied a Players Championship record with a five-shot comeback. U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, British Open champion Brian Harman and Xander Schauffele all finished one shot behind. All of them had their chances over the final three holes to force a playoff.

Alcaraz defeats Medvedev to defend his Indian Wells title. Swiatek beats Sakkari for women's title

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz defeated Daniil Medvedev for the second straight year in the BNP Paribas Open final. The Spaniard won his first title since taking Wimbledon last year. Alcaraz is the first man to defend at Indian Wells since Novak Djokovic won three in a row from 2014-16. Iga Swiatek beat Maria Sakkari in just over an hour to win the women's title. Swiatek lost just 21 games in six matches during the 12-day tournament. Swiatek earned her 20th match win of the year, which leads the WTA Tour. It was a repeat of the 2022 final, in which Swiatek also beat Sakkari.

Joey Votto homers on 1st pitch in 1st spring training game with hometown Toronto Blue Jays

Joey Votto sure knows how to make an instant impression, going deep on the first pitch he faced as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. Votto lined a 392-foot homer to left-center off Philadelphia ace Zack Wheeler in his inaugural spring training game with Toronto. Granted, there was some debate about whether the ball went out, and Votto momentarily stopped at second base. But the umpires ruled it a homer and he continued on his way home. Home is what led Votto to Toronto in the first place, agreeing to a minor league contract with his hometown Blue Jays after spending 17 seasons with the Reds.

Denny Hamlin wins tire-management NASCAR race at Bristol, his 4th victory at the famed bullring

Denny Hamlin has won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway after passing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the final laps. It's his fourth victory at the famed short track. Hamlin also won at NASCAR's bullring last September. This one was much different. Tire issues hampered most everyone all afternoon as only five cars finished on the lead lap — the first time that has happened in the Cup Series in 20 years. The Gibbs cars were the class of the field.

Wembanyama, Spurs confirm that they're headed to France next season

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Victor Wembanyama sounds like he expects to be playing an NBA game — or two, perhaps — in his native France next season. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich confirmed Sunday night that the Spurs are heading to Paris next season, something that former Spurs guard Tony Parker revealed to French reporters several weeks ago. "We're going there," Popovich said. The comment about Paris came after San Antonio topped Brooklyn in Austin, in what was a home game for the Spurs. The NBA hasn't announced which teams will be playing in Paris next season.

PGA Tour player directors prepare for meeting with Saudi leader of LIV Golf

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Players on the PGA Tour board are preparing to meet with the Saudi leader backing LIV Golf. Rory McIlroy says such a meeting with Yasir Al-Rumayyan should have happened long ago. Al-Rumayyan is governor of the Public Investment Fund, which backs LIV Golf. Details remain vague on a planned meeting Monday, including the location and who will be involved. Also unclear is what will be on the table. Patrick Cantlay is one of the six player directors on the board. He doesn't anything too substantive. McIlroy is drawing distinctions between Al-Rumayyan and disruptive nature of LIV operators like Greg Norman.

Mets owner Steven Cohen doesn't expect long-term deal with star Pete Alonso before season ends

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — New York Mets owner Steve Cohen doesn't expect to sign a long-term contract with star first baseman Pete Alonso before the end of the season. Alonso has a $20.5 million, one-year contract and can become a free agent after the World Series. Cohen says: "We haven't had any discussion and I think at this point, for Pete, it's best for him to go and have a great year and not be distracted." Alonso has a .251 batting average with 192 homers, 498 RBIs and a .870 OPS in five major league seasons.

Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1701494597443.png" alt="Sports Headlines and News for Monday, March 18th, 2024." />
 <figcaption>Sports Headlines and News for Monday, March 18th, 2024.</figcaption>
 </figure><div><iframe title="March 18th, 2024 Early Morning Sports" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=5yrd5-15b1c24-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=60a0c8&font-color=&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>AP Sports Summary for Monday, March 18th, 2024.March Madness is here. UConn, Purdue, Houston and North Carolina get top seeding in NCAA TournamentDefending champion Connecticut, along with Houston, Purdue and North Carolina are the top seeds in a March Madness bracket that started going haywire even before the pairings came out. Of the four top seeds, only UConn heads into the tournament coming off a win. That played into the Huskies receiving the No. 1 overall seed. The other three top seeds lost in their conference tournaments.South Carolina, Iowa, USC and Texas are the top seeds in the women's NCAA TournamentSouth Carolina is the the top overall seed in the women's NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks are looking to become the 10th women's basketball team to go undefeated for an entire season. Caitlin Clark and Iowa also received a No. 1 seed. Both schools are in the Albany Region and wouldn't potentially face off until the national championship game. Iowa knocked South Carolina out last season in the Final Four. USC and Texas earned the other No. 1 seeds. Tennessee continued its streak of making the tournament every season since it began in 1982.The only rule for filling out your March Madness bracket this year: Don't take it for grantedUConn is the betting favorite to win a second straight national title, but repeating is not easy. Houston has now been tested by a power-conference schedule after joining the Big 12. Purdue will be eager to put aside last year's loss to 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson. Here's a quick early prediction: UConn, Houston, Gonzaga and longshot Michigan State reach the Final Four. Then Houston denies UConn a repeat in the championship game.Scheffler goes back-to-back in Players Championship in Sunday thriller at SawgrassPONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler has become the first player in the 50 years of The Players Championship to win back-to-back. This was the hardest. Not only was he dealing with neck pain all week, he started the final round five shots behind. Scheffler closed with a 64. That matches the lowest final round by a winner. He also tied a Players Championship record with a five-shot comeback. U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, British Open champion Brian Harman and Xander Schauffele all finished one shot behind. All of them had their chances over the final three holes to force a playoff.Alcaraz defeats Medvedev to defend his Indian Wells title. Swiatek beats Sakkari for women's titleINDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz defeated Daniil Medvedev for the second straight year in the BNP Paribas Open final. The Spaniard won his first title since taking Wimbledon last year. Alcaraz is the first man to defend at Indian Wells since Novak Djokovic won three in a row from 2014-16. Iga Swiatek beat Maria Sakkari in just over an hour to win the women's title. Swiatek lost just 21 games in six matches during the 12-day tournament. Swiatek earned her 20th match win of the year, which leads the WTA Tour. It was a repeat of the 2022 final, in which Swiatek also beat Sakkari.Joey Votto homers on 1st pitch in 1st spring training game with hometown Toronto Blue JaysJoey Votto sure knows how to make an instant impression, going deep on the first pitch he faced as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. Votto lined a 392-foot homer to left-center off Philadelphia ace Zack Wheeler in his inaugural spring training game with Toronto. Granted, there was some debate about whether the ball went out, and Votto momentarily stopped at second base. But the umpires ruled it a homer and he continued on his way home. Home is what led Votto to Toronto in the first place, agreeing to a minor league contract with his hometown Blue Jays after spending 17 seasons with the Reds.Denny Hamlin wins tire-management NASCAR race at Bristol, his 4th victory at the famed bullringDenny Hamlin has won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway after passing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the final laps. It's his fourth victory at the famed short track. Hamlin also won at NASCAR's bullring last September. This one was much different. Tire issues hampered most everyone all afternoon as only five cars finished on the lead lap — the first time that has happened in the Cup Series in 20 years. The Gibbs cars were the class of the field.Wembanyama, Spurs confirm that they're headed to France next seasonAUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Victor Wembanyama sounds like he expects to be playing an NBA game — or two, perhaps — in his native France next season. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich confirmed Sunday night that the Spurs are heading to Paris next season, something that former Spurs guard Tony Parker revealed to French reporters several weeks ago. "We're going there," Popovich said. The comment about Paris came after San Antonio topped Brooklyn in Austin, in what was a home game for the Spurs. The NBA hasn't announced which teams will be playing in Paris next season.PGA Tour player directors prepare for meeting with Saudi leader of LIV GolfPONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Players on the PGA Tour board are preparing to meet with the Saudi leader backing LIV Golf. Rory McIlroy says such a meeting with Yasir Al-Rumayyan should have happened long ago. Al-Rumayyan is governor of the Public Investment Fund, which backs LIV Golf. Details remain vague on a planned meeting Monday, including the location and who will be involved. Also unclear is what will be on the table. Patrick Cantlay is one of the six player directors on the board. He doesn't anything too substantive. McIlroy is drawing distinctions between Al-Rumayyan and disruptive nature of LIV operators like Greg Norman.Mets owner Steven Cohen doesn't expect long-term deal with star Pete Alonso before season endsPORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — New York Mets owner Steve Cohen doesn't expect to sign a long-term contract with star first baseman Pete Alonso before the end of the season. Alonso has a $20.5 million, one-year contract and can become a free agent after the World Series. Cohen says: "We haven't had any discussion and I think at this point, for Pete, it's best for him to go and have a great year and not be distracted." Alonso has a .251 batting average with 192 homers, 498 RBIs and a .870 OPS in five major league seasons.AP-ScorecardHere are the scores from yesterday's sports events:___INTERLEAGUEFinal	Pittsburgh	8	Tampa Bay	4	Final	Baltimore	8	Atlanta	2	Final	St. Louis	10	Houston	6	Final	Arizona	2	L.A. Angels	0	Final	Chicago Cubs	8	Texas	6	Final	Arizona	5	Seattle	4	Final	Cleveland	4	Cincinnati	2	Final	Milwaukee	6	Kansas City	4	Final	San Diego	1	Korea	0	Final	Boston	3	Atlanta	3	Final	Toronto	5	Philadelphia	5	Final	San Diego	5	LG Twins	4	___AMERICAN LEAGUEFinal	Toronto	9	Minnesota	4	Final	Boston	12	N.Y. Yankees	6	Final	Baltimore	4	Detroit	4	Final	Chicago White Sox	3	Oakland	3	___NATIONAL LEAGUEFinal	N.Y. Mets	7	Miami	6	Final	Washington	9	N.Y. Mets	8	Final	Colorado	5	San Francisco	3	___NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATIONFinal	Milwaukee	140	Phoenix	129	Final	Miami	104	Detroit	101	Final	Dallas	107	Denver	105	Final	Orlando	111	Toronto	96	Final	Boston	130	Washington	104	Final OT	San Antonio	122	Brooklyn	115	Final	Atlanta	110	L.A. Clippers	93	___NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUEFinal	N-Y Rangers	5	N-Y Islanders	2	Final	Vegas	3	New Jersey	1	Final	Carolina	7	Ottawa	2	Final	Chicago	5	San Jose	2	Final	Winnipeg	6	Columbus	1	Final	Pittsburgh	6	Detroit	3	Final	St. Louis	4	Anaheim	2	___TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALLFinal	(12)Auburn	86	Florida	67	Final	(13)Illinois	93	Wisconsin	87	___MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCERFinal	Cincinnati	2	New England	1	Final	Atlanta	2	Orlando City	0	___TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE___INTERLEAGUE		Korea	at	L-A Dodgers	6 a.m.			Atlanta	at	Tampa Bay	1:05 p.m.			Philadelphia	at	N-Y Yankees	1:05 p.m.			Houston	at	Miami	1:10 p.m.			L-A Angels	at	Milwaukee	4:10 p.m.			Oakland	at	Arizona	4:10 p.m.			Washington	at	Houston	6:05 p.m.	___AMERICAN LEAGUE		Boston	at	Minnesota	1:05 p.m.			Cleveland	at	Chi White Sox	4:05 p.m.			Seattle	at	Texas	4:05 p.m.	___NATIONAL LEAGUE		Pittsburgh	at	Philadelphia	1:05 p.m.			San Francisco	at	Cincinnati	9:05 p.m.	___NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION		Cleveland	at	Indiana	7 p.m.			Detroit	at	Boston	7:30 p.m.			Miami	at	Philadelphia	7:30 p.m.			Portland	at	Chicago	8 p.m.			Minnesota	at	Utah	9 p.m.			Memphis	at	Sacramento	10 p.m.			New York	at	Golden State	10 p.m.			Atlanta	at	L.A. Lakers	10:30 p.m.	___NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE		Washington	at	Calgary	8:30 p.m.			Buffalo	at	Seattle	10 p.m.	___

📢📰 Sports Headlines for Monday

<a href="https://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live/bracket">FULL BRACKET</a>

LAWRENCE, Kan. –&nbsp;Kansas enters the 2024 NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament, marking its 51st&nbsp;all-time appearance.

Kansas will play Samford in the first round on Thursday, March 16, at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tip-off is set for 8:55 p.m. CT on TBS.

Playing as the No. 4 seed for the 14th&nbsp;time in program history, Kansas enters the NCAA Tournament with a 22-10 overall record, including a 10-8 Big 12 mark which finished fifth in the Big 12 in 2023-24. The Jayhawks are 8-5 as a No. 4 seed all-time, including 6-1 against No. 13 seeds.

Kansas will play in the NCAA Midwest Region for the second time in three seasons. Kansas is 45-5 in the NCAA Tournament First Round all-time, while it will be the first-ever meeting between Kansas and Samford. Kansas holds a 111-49 record in the NCAA Tournament all-time.

Kansas will take on Samford, winners of the Southern Conference Tournament (SoCon) with a 76-69 win over East Tennessee State University on March 11. Samford enters the NCAA Tournament with a 29-5 overall record and 15-3 record in conference play. It’s Sanford’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000.

Samford, located in Birmingham, Alabama, is under fourth-year head coach Bucky McMillan, who holds a 77-40 record over his career. McMillan was named the SoCon Coach of the Year after leading Samford to a program-record 29-win season in 2023-2024.

Samford is led by First-Team All-SoCon forward Achor Achor, who averaged 15.8 points per game on 60% from the field and 45% from beyond the arc. Samford enters Thursday’s game after winning four-straight games with its last loss coming to Wofford on Feb. 28.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710725747807.png" alt="Photo Courtesy Kansas Athletics" />
 <figcaption>Photo Courtesy Kansas Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live/bracket">FULL BRACKET</a>Courtesy of Kansas AthleticsLAWRENCE, Kan. –&nbsp;Kansas enters the 2024 NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament, marking its 51st&nbsp;all-time appearance.Kansas will play Samford in the first round on Thursday, March 16, at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tip-off is set for 8:55 p.m. CT on TBS.Playing as the No. 4 seed for the 14th&nbsp;time in program history, Kansas enters the NCAA Tournament with a 22-10 overall record, including a 10-8 Big 12 mark which finished fifth in the Big 12 in 2023-24. The Jayhawks are 8-5 as a No. 4 seed all-time, including 6-1 against No. 13 seeds.Kansas will play in the NCAA Midwest Region for the second time in three seasons. Kansas is 45-5 in the NCAA Tournament First Round all-time, while it will be the first-ever meeting between Kansas and Samford. Kansas holds a 111-49 record in the NCAA Tournament all-time.Kansas will take on Samford, winners of the Southern Conference Tournament (SoCon) with a 76-69 win over East Tennessee State University on March 11. Samford enters the NCAA Tournament with a 29-5 overall record and 15-3 record in conference play. It’s Sanford’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000.Samford, located in Birmingham, Alabama, is under fourth-year head coach Bucky McMillan, who holds a 77-40 record over his career. McMillan was named the SoCon Coach of the Year after leading Samford to a program-record 29-win season in 2023-2024.Samford is led by First-Team All-SoCon forward Achor Achor, who averaged 15.8 points per game on 60% from the field and 45% from beyond the arc. Samford enters Thursday’s game after winning four-straight games with its last loss coming to Wofford on Feb. 28.

🏀 MBB: KU selected as No. 4 seed in Salt Lake City

<a href="https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/basketball-women/d1/2024">FULL BRACKET</a>

LAWRENCE, Kan. –&nbsp;The Kansas Jayhawks will appear in NCAA Tournament for the second time in the past three seasons after earning an at-large berth to the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Jayhawks are the No. 8 seed in the Portland Region and will head to Los Angeles to face No. 9 seed Michigan.

Kansas enters the postseason with a 19-12 record after facing the No. 10 NET strength of schedule in the country this season. The Jayhawks finished seventh in the Big 12 with an 11-7 league record and defeated three top 25 teams in league play in No. 4 Baylor (87-66), No. 10 Kansas State (58-55) and No. 20 Oklahoma (83-74). In the postseason, Kansas earned its first Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship victory since 2019, defeating BYU 77-53 before falling to No. 6 Texas in the quarterfinals.

Head Coach Brandon Schneider leads the Jayhawks into the NCAA Tournament for the second time, after previously earning a No. 8 seed and going 1-1 in the event in 2022. Kansas claimed the program’s largest margin of victory in an NCAA Tournament game, defeating ninth-seeded Georgia Tech 77-58 before falling to top-seed and No. 2 Stanford in the second round. Last season, Kansas was one of the First Four Out of the NCAA Tournament, and the Jayhawks won six-straight games at Allen Fieldhouse to win the 2023 WNIT Championship.

Kansas is led by four players who earned a spot on the 2023-24 All-Big 12 Women’s Basketball team. Super-senior center Taiyanna Jackson and freshman guard S’Mya Nichols earned a spot on the All-Big 12 First Team, while super-senior guards Zakiyah Franklin and Holly Kersgieter both received honorable mention. Jackson was also selected to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team for the third-straight season, while Nichols also received a spot on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.

This will be the 15th all-time appearance for Kansas women’s basketball in March Madness, and first since 2022. Prior to that, the Jayhawks went a decade without an appearance after advancing to the Sweet Sixteen in both 2012 and 2013. Kansas first qualified for the tournament in 1987 and 1988 before making nine-straight appearances from 1992-2000.

Michigan enters the 2024 NCAA Tournament with a 20-13 overall record and a 9-9 record in Big Ten play after the Wolverines saw their run in the Big Ten Tournament end to No. 3 Iowa on March 9, 95-68. Michigan has made the NCAA Tournament in six-straight seasons, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2021-22 and a Sweet Sixteen appearance a year prior in 2020-21.

Kansas’ first round matchup with Michigan will be the third meeting in program history between the two schools, including the first since 2010. The Jayhawks won the first meeting in 2009, 77-66 in Lawrence, while Michigan won in Ann Arbor in 2010, 75-67.

The winner of (8) Kansas and (9) Michigan will take on the winner of (1) USC and (16) Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi in the NCAA Tournament Second Round.

Following the first weekend of games, the 16 advancing teams will move on to play in regionals at MVP Arena in Albany, New York, and Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on March 9-April 1. The 2024 Final Four will be played on April 5th and 7th at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.

The game time and television information for the first-round matchup will be announced at a later time.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710725659654.png" alt="Photo Courtesy Kansas Athletics" />
 <figcaption>Photo Courtesy Kansas Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/basketball-women/d1/2024">FULL BRACKET</a>Courtesy of Kansas AthleticsLAWRENCE, Kan. –&nbsp;The Kansas Jayhawks will appear in NCAA Tournament for the second time in the past three seasons after earning an at-large berth to the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Jayhawks are the No. 8 seed in the Portland Region and will head to Los Angeles to face No. 9 seed Michigan.Kansas enters the postseason with a 19-12 record after facing the No. 10 NET strength of schedule in the country this season. The Jayhawks finished seventh in the Big 12 with an 11-7 league record and defeated three top 25 teams in league play in No. 4 Baylor (87-66), No. 10 Kansas State (58-55) and No. 20 Oklahoma (83-74). In the postseason, Kansas earned its first Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship victory since 2019, defeating BYU 77-53 before falling to No. 6 Texas in the quarterfinals.Head Coach Brandon Schneider leads the Jayhawks into the NCAA Tournament for the second time, after previously earning a No. 8 seed and going 1-1 in the event in 2022. Kansas claimed the program’s largest margin of victory in an NCAA Tournament game, defeating ninth-seeded Georgia Tech 77-58 before falling to top-seed and No. 2 Stanford in the second round. Last season, Kansas was one of the First Four Out of the NCAA Tournament, and the Jayhawks won six-straight games at Allen Fieldhouse to win the 2023 WNIT Championship.Kansas is led by four players who earned a spot on the 2023-24 All-Big 12 Women’s Basketball team. Super-senior center Taiyanna Jackson and freshman guard S’Mya Nichols earned a spot on the All-Big 12 First Team, while super-senior guards Zakiyah Franklin and Holly Kersgieter both received honorable mention. Jackson was also selected to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team for the third-straight season, while Nichols also received a spot on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.This will be the 15th all-time appearance for Kansas women’s basketball in March Madness, and first since 2022. Prior to that, the Jayhawks went a decade without an appearance after advancing to the Sweet Sixteen in both 2012 and 2013. Kansas first qualified for the tournament in 1987 and 1988 before making nine-straight appearances from 1992-2000.Michigan enters the 2024 NCAA Tournament with a 20-13 overall record and a 9-9 record in Big Ten play after the Wolverines saw their run in the Big Ten Tournament end to No. 3 Iowa on March 9, 95-68. Michigan has made the NCAA Tournament in six-straight seasons, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2021-22 and a Sweet Sixteen appearance a year prior in 2020-21.Kansas’ first round matchup with Michigan will be the third meeting in program history between the two schools, including the first since 2010. The Jayhawks won the first meeting in 2009, 77-66 in Lawrence, while Michigan won in Ann Arbor in 2010, 75-67.The winner of (8) Kansas and (9) Michigan will take on the winner of (1) USC and (16) Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi in the NCAA Tournament Second Round.Following the first weekend of games, the 16 advancing teams will move on to play in regionals at MVP Arena in Albany, New York, and Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on March 9-April 1. The 2024 Final Four will be played on April 5th and 7th at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.The game time and television information for the first-round matchup will be announced at a later time.

🏀 WBB: KU selected as No. 8 seed for NCAA Tournament

<a href="https://d2o2figo6ddd0g.cloudfront.net/m/e/u4qdf87bah1ug0/2023-24_DI_WBB_Champ_-_Bracket_v2.pdf">CLICK FOR FULL TOURNAMENT BRACKET</a>

Running the table through the regular season and winning the Region 6 Tournament, the Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team earned the No. 1 overall seed for the 2024 NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament on Sunday evening.

The 33-0 Blue Dragons will receive an opening-round bye and will play the winner of the Cochise/Chattanooga State winner at 3:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, March 27 at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyoming.

The tournament begins on Tuesday, March 26 in Casper.

Hutchinson, Wabash Valley, Northwest Florida State and Collin are the Top 4 overall seeds in this year's tournament.

The Blue Dragons enter a national tournament undefeated for the fourth time in program history, joining the 1977, 2012 and 2014 teams to accomplish that feat.

The Blue Dragons are making their 12th overall national tournament appearance and 11th with head coach John Ontjes on the bench. The Blue Dragons make their first tournament appearance since the 2022 season.

The Blue Dragons are 20-12 all-time in NJCAA Tournament play. The Blue Dragons have never played either Cochise or Chattanooga State.

The Dragons earn their first first-round bye since the 2018 seasons. The Dragons won their opening-round games in 2019 and 2022.

Hutchinson has finished as national runner up three times (2012, 2014 and 2015) and third place in 2013. The last time the Dragons played in the national semifinals was 2019.

Dodge City was the only other Jayhawk Conference team to earn a spot in the field as an at-large team with the No. 18 overall seed.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710724976066.jpeg" alt="The KJCCC and Region 6 champion Blue Dragon women's basketball team find out it is the No. 1 overall seed for the NJCAA Tournament, which begins on March 26 in Casper, Wyoming. (Andrew Carpenter/Digital Fox Photography)" />
 <figcaption>The KJCCC and Region 6 champion Blue Dragon women's basketball team find out it is the No. 1 overall seed for the NJCAA Tournament, which begins on March 26 in Casper, Wyoming. (Andrew Carpenter/Digital Fox Photography)</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://d2o2figo6ddd0g.cloudfront.net/m/e/u4qdf87bah1ug0/2023-24_DI_WBB_Champ_-_Bracket_v2.pdf">CLICK FOR FULL TOURNAMENT BRACKET</a>Courtesy of HutchCC AthleticsRunning the table through the regular season and winning the Region 6 Tournament, the Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team earned the No. 1 overall seed for the 2024 NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament on Sunday evening.The 33-0 Blue Dragons will receive an opening-round bye and will play the winner of the Cochise/Chattanooga State winner at 3:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, March 27 at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyoming.The tournament begins on Tuesday, March 26 in Casper.Hutchinson, Wabash Valley, Northwest Florida State and Collin are the Top 4 overall seeds in this year's tournament.The Blue Dragons enter a national tournament undefeated for the fourth time in program history, joining the 1977, 2012 and 2014 teams to accomplish that feat.The Blue Dragons are making their 12th overall national tournament appearance and 11th with head coach John Ontjes on the bench. The Blue Dragons make their first tournament appearance since the 2022 season.The Blue Dragons are 20-12 all-time in NJCAA Tournament play. The Blue Dragons have never played either Cochise or Chattanooga State.The Dragons earn their first first-round bye since the 2018 seasons. The Dragons won their opening-round games in 2019 and 2022.Hutchinson has finished as national runner up three times (2012, 2014 and 2015) and third place in 2013. The last time the Dragons played in the national semifinals was 2019.Dodge City was the only other Jayhawk Conference team to earn a spot in the field as an at-large team with the No. 18 overall seed.

🏀 WBB: Hutchinson earns No. 1 overall seed in NJCAA Tournament

<a href="https://d2o2figo6ddd0g.cloudfront.net/f/e/4ulnpccodhk0gu/2023-24_DI_MBB_Championship_Bracket_-_v1.pdf">CLICK FOR FULL TOURNAMENT BRACKET</a>

With only two teams left to be announced on Sunday's NJCAA Tournament selection show, the Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team started to get a bit nervous waiting for the Blue Dragons' name to be called.

Finally, a huge roar was heard in the Club 1928 Room at the Sports Arena during the team's watch as the Blue Dragons found out they will be the No. 11 seed as an at-large selection for the 2024 NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, which begins on March 24 at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons' 2024 resume had a 27-6 overall record and a third-place finish in the Jayhawk Conference with a 20-4 mark. The Dragons were Region 6 Tournament runner-up, losing to the nation's top seed in Barton in Saturday's championship game.

Hutchinson will play USC-Salkehatchie in an opening-round game at 12:15 p.m. on Monday, March 25. The winner of that game will play No. 6-seed Chipola in the second round at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26.

The Blue Dragons will be making their 24th overall appearance in program history, their seventh straight as an at-large selection. Hutchinson, which won national championships in 1988, 1994 and 2017 – the 2017 title was won as an at-large selection – is 51-27 overall in NJCAA Tournament play.

Hutchinson returns to the tournament after missing the field last season. This is the second time in head coach Tommy DeSalme's first three seasons to earn a national championship berth.

Hutchinson and USC-Salkehatchie will be playing for the first time ever.

USC-Salkehatchie is making its third tournament appearance in that program's history.

Three Jayhawk Conference teams earned spots in the 2024 field. Barton is the No. 1 overall seed and Cowley earned the No. 10 overall seed.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710724859376.jpeg" alt="The Blue Dragon men's basketball team reacts after finding out it was selected as an at-large selection for the 2024 NJCAA Tournament at at watch party on Sunday at the Sports Arena. (Andrew Carpenter/Digital Fox Photography)" />
 <figcaption>The Blue Dragon men's basketball team reacts after finding out it was selected as an at-large selection for the 2024 NJCAA Tournament at at watch party on Sunday at the Sports Arena. (Andrew Carpenter/Digital Fox Photography)</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://d2o2figo6ddd0g.cloudfront.net/f/e/4ulnpccodhk0gu/2023-24_DI_MBB_Championship_Bracket_-_v1.pdf">CLICK FOR FULL TOURNAMENT BRACKET</a>Courtesy of HutchCCWith only two teams left to be announced on Sunday's NJCAA Tournament selection show, the Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team started to get a bit nervous waiting for the Blue Dragons' name to be called.Finally, a huge roar was heard in the Club 1928 Room at the Sports Arena during the team's watch as the Blue Dragons found out they will be the No. 11 seed as an at-large selection for the 2024 NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, which begins on March 24 at the Sports Arena.The Blue Dragons' 2024 resume had a 27-6 overall record and a third-place finish in the Jayhawk Conference with a 20-4 mark. The Dragons were Region 6 Tournament runner-up, losing to the nation's top seed in Barton in Saturday's championship game.Hutchinson will play USC-Salkehatchie in an opening-round game at 12:15 p.m. on Monday, March 25. The winner of that game will play No. 6-seed Chipola in the second round at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26.The Blue Dragons will be making their 24th overall appearance in program history, their seventh straight as an at-large selection. Hutchinson, which won national championships in 1988, 1994 and 2017 – the 2017 title was won as an at-large selection – is 51-27 overall in NJCAA Tournament play.Hutchinson returns to the tournament after missing the field last season. This is the second time in head coach Tommy DeSalme's first three seasons to earn a national championship berth.Hutchinson and USC-Salkehatchie will be playing for the first time ever.USC-Salkehatchie is making its third tournament appearance in that program's history.Three Jayhawk Conference teams earned spots in the 2024 field. Barton is the No. 1 overall seed and Cowley earned the No. 10 overall seed.

🏀 MBB: Blue Dragons earn at-large bid in NJCAA Tournament

The 2024 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/njcaabasketball?__eep__=6&amp;__cft__[0]=AZX1RnU6En70N9rIds4C6TLVRAUjTK4E5tKic6efv8zxvfP-it_CyvjXNABDXEq8YlU_bijicR3PUyalh5I7ZtSQA76Yg6REHWG6P0-Ah7YQQFjeNrlml0gT53tK6VCNT9sr1RC2R5n4LfD8ozszSPTY3SSkKOOo9TvXqCeitc5kBSRlUyEqE1AZgkOBOrV1-9w3QGhlPgWu3rQ-4B91ZJma&amp;__tn__=*NK-y-R">#NJCAABasketball</a> DI Men's Selection Show

Tune into the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/njcaanetwork?__cft__[0]=AZX1RnU6En70N9rIds4C6TLVRAUjTK4E5tKic6efv8zxvfP-it_CyvjXNABDXEq8YlU_bijicR3PUyalh5I7ZtSQA76Yg6REHWG6P0-Ah7YQQFjeNrlml0gT53tK6VCNT9sr1RC2R5n4LfD8ozszSPTY3SSkKOOo9TvXqCeitc5kBSRlUyEqE1AZgkOBOrV1-9w3QGhlPgWu3rQ-4B91ZJma&amp;__tn__=-]K-y-R">NJCAA Network</a> at 6:00 PM CT today as the full 24-team bracket for Hutch is revealed!

<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/road2hutch?__eep__=6&amp;__cft__[0]=AZX1RnU6En70N9rIds4C6TLVRAUjTK4E5tKic6efv8zxvfP-it_CyvjXNABDXEq8YlU_bijicR3PUyalh5I7ZtSQA76Yg6REHWG6P0-Ah7YQQFjeNrlml0gT53tK6VCNT9sr1RC2R5n4LfD8ozszSPTY3SSkKOOo9TvXqCeitc5kBSRlUyEqE1AZgkOBOrV1-9w3QGhlPgWu3rQ-4B91ZJma&amp;__tn__=*NK-y-R">#Road2Hutch</a> | CLICK HERE&nbsp;<a href="http://njcaa.org/network?fbclid=IwAR3biwdPQzvgYSZrwkmmEm99rmj4eA-IyTqqDVE59ora6QHJG1KJDE6TLPc" target="_blank">njcaa.org/network</a>

The 2024&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/njcaabasketball?__eep__=6&amp;__cft__[0]=AZX1RnU6En70N9rIds4C6TLVRAUjTK4E5tKic6efv8zxvfP-it_CyvjXNABDXEq8YlU_bijicR3PUyalh5I7ZtSQA76Yg6REHWG6P0-Ah7YQQFjeNrlml0gT53tK6VCNT9sr1RC2R5n4LfD8ozszSPTY3SSkKOOo9TvXqCeitc5kBSRlUyEqE1AZgkOBOrV1-9w3QGhlPgWu3rQ-4B91ZJma&amp;__tn__=*NK-y-R">#NJCAABasketball</a>&nbsp;DI Women's Selection Show

The 2024 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/njcaabasketball?__eep__=6&amp;__cft__[0]=AZUUtd7O5omeEWREq3i6vhRiVlvQ3Pbe6UecivtRGGx3m-btMZWfhw5-HWABu2Q_Q-gD8hJEq4FTNek05k9_4Ot7imeDk5oGc0IR9rozhC1tdpW-9FraeiXXLMeTr4HrSPyvKjGs4veHe11JB7b3OcnnalwL_CR2H-J6rkYs7rc90MdeIpj_S9JbUcjoIAVfPQ8&amp;__tn__=*NK-R">#NJCAABasketball</a> DI Women's Selection Show

Tune into the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/njcaanetwork?__cft__[0]=AZUUtd7O5omeEWREq3i6vhRiVlvQ3Pbe6UecivtRGGx3m-btMZWfhw5-HWABu2Q_Q-gD8hJEq4FTNek05k9_4Ot7imeDk5oGc0IR9rozhC1tdpW-9FraeiXXLMeTr4HrSPyvKjGs4veHe11JB7b3OcnnalwL_CR2H-J6rkYs7rc90MdeIpj_S9JbUcjoIAVfPQ8&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">NJCAA Network</a> at 7:00 PM CT today as at-large selections and tournament seeding for Casper are announced!

<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/road2casper?__eep__=6&amp;__cft__[0]=AZUUtd7O5omeEWREq3i6vhRiVlvQ3Pbe6UecivtRGGx3m-btMZWfhw5-HWABu2Q_Q-gD8hJEq4FTNek05k9_4Ot7imeDk5oGc0IR9rozhC1tdpW-9FraeiXXLMeTr4HrSPyvKjGs4veHe11JB7b3OcnnalwL_CR2H-J6rkYs7rc90MdeIpj_S9JbUcjoIAVfPQ8&amp;__tn__=*NK-R">#Road2Casper</a> | CLICK HERE &nbsp;<a href="http://njcaa.org/network?fbclid=IwAR0ZX4PVMuaSN2HFv8fAU-9BIN6B1s2EuGJ9ruk_9hUNrRgxhLQWSwS8vIE" target="_blank">njcaa.org/network</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/11/1701116844926.png" alt="njcaa basketball selection shows on njcaa.tv" />
 <figcaption>njcaa basketball selection shows on njcaa.tv</figcaption>
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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710713645552.jpeg" alt=" " />
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 </figure> The 2024 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/njcaabasketball?__eep__=6&amp;__cft__[0]=AZX1RnU6En70N9rIds4C6TLVRAUjTK4E5tKic6efv8zxvfP-it_CyvjXNABDXEq8YlU_bijicR3PUyalh5I7ZtSQA76Yg6REHWG6P0-Ah7YQQFjeNrlml0gT53tK6VCNT9sr1RC2R5n4LfD8ozszSPTY3SSkKOOo9TvXqCeitc5kBSRlUyEqE1AZgkOBOrV1-9w3QGhlPgWu3rQ-4B91ZJma&amp;__tn__=*NK-y-R">#NJCAABasketball</a> DI Men's Selection Show Tune into the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/njcaanetwork?__cft__[0]=AZX1RnU6En70N9rIds4C6TLVRAUjTK4E5tKic6efv8zxvfP-it_CyvjXNABDXEq8YlU_bijicR3PUyalh5I7ZtSQA76Yg6REHWG6P0-Ah7YQQFjeNrlml0gT53tK6VCNT9sr1RC2R5n4LfD8ozszSPTY3SSkKOOo9TvXqCeitc5kBSRlUyEqE1AZgkOBOrV1-9w3QGhlPgWu3rQ-4B91ZJma&amp;__tn__=-]K-y-R">NJCAA Network</a> at 6:00 PM CT today as the full 24-team bracket for Hutch is revealed!<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/road2hutch?__eep__=6&amp;__cft__[0]=AZX1RnU6En70N9rIds4C6TLVRAUjTK4E5tKic6efv8zxvfP-it_CyvjXNABDXEq8YlU_bijicR3PUyalh5I7ZtSQA76Yg6REHWG6P0-Ah7YQQFjeNrlml0gT53tK6VCNT9sr1RC2R5n4LfD8ozszSPTY3SSkKOOo9TvXqCeitc5kBSRlUyEqE1AZgkOBOrV1-9w3QGhlPgWu3rQ-4B91ZJma&amp;__tn__=*NK-y-R">#Road2Hutch</a> | CLICK HERE&nbsp;<a href="http://njcaa.org/network?fbclid=IwAR3biwdPQzvgYSZrwkmmEm99rmj4eA-IyTqqDVE59ora6QHJG1KJDE6TLPc" target="_blank">njcaa.org/network</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710713886700.jpeg" alt="The 2024&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/njcaabasketball?__eep__=6&amp;__cft__[0]=AZX1RnU6En70N9rIds4C6TLVRAUjTK4E5tKic6efv8zxvfP-it_CyvjXNABDXEq8YlU_bijicR3PUyalh5I7ZtSQA76Yg6REHWG6P0-Ah7YQQFjeNrlml0gT53tK6VCNT9sr1RC2R5n4LfD8ozszSPTY3SSkKOOo9TvXqCeitc5kBSRlUyEqE1AZgkOBOrV1-9w3QGhlPgWu3rQ-4B91ZJma&amp;__tn__=*NK-y-R">#NJCAABasketball</a>&nbsp;DI Women's Selection Show " />
 <figcaption>The 2024&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/njcaabasketball?__eep__=6&amp;__cft__[0]=AZX1RnU6En70N9rIds4C6TLVRAUjTK4E5tKic6efv8zxvfP-it_CyvjXNABDXEq8YlU_bijicR3PUyalh5I7ZtSQA76Yg6REHWG6P0-Ah7YQQFjeNrlml0gT53tK6VCNT9sr1RC2R5n4LfD8ozszSPTY3SSkKOOo9TvXqCeitc5kBSRlUyEqE1AZgkOBOrV1-9w3QGhlPgWu3rQ-4B91ZJma&amp;__tn__=*NK-y-R">#NJCAABasketball</a>&nbsp;DI Women's Selection Show </figcaption>
 </figure>The 2024&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/njcaabasketball?__eep__=6&amp;__cft__[0]=AZX1RnU6En70N9rIds4C6TLVRAUjTK4E5tKic6efv8zxvfP-it_CyvjXNABDXEq8YlU_bijicR3PUyalh5I7ZtSQA76Yg6REHWG6P0-Ah7YQQFjeNrlml0gT53tK6VCNT9sr1RC2R5n4LfD8ozszSPTY3SSkKOOo9TvXqCeitc5kBSRlUyEqE1AZgkOBOrV1-9w3QGhlPgWu3rQ-4B91ZJma&amp;__tn__=*NK-y-R">#NJCAABasketball</a>&nbsp;DI Women's Selection ShowThe 2024 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/njcaabasketball?__eep__=6&amp;__cft__[0]=AZUUtd7O5omeEWREq3i6vhRiVlvQ3Pbe6UecivtRGGx3m-btMZWfhw5-HWABu2Q_Q-gD8hJEq4FTNek05k9_4Ot7imeDk5oGc0IR9rozhC1tdpW-9FraeiXXLMeTr4HrSPyvKjGs4veHe11JB7b3OcnnalwL_CR2H-J6rkYs7rc90MdeIpj_S9JbUcjoIAVfPQ8&amp;__tn__=*NK-R">#NJCAABasketball</a> DI Women's Selection Show Tune into the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/njcaanetwork?__cft__[0]=AZUUtd7O5omeEWREq3i6vhRiVlvQ3Pbe6UecivtRGGx3m-btMZWfhw5-HWABu2Q_Q-gD8hJEq4FTNek05k9_4Ot7imeDk5oGc0IR9rozhC1tdpW-9FraeiXXLMeTr4HrSPyvKjGs4veHe11JB7b3OcnnalwL_CR2H-J6rkYs7rc90MdeIpj_S9JbUcjoIAVfPQ8&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">NJCAA Network</a> at 7:00 PM CT today as at-large selections and tournament seeding for Casper are announced!<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/road2casper?__eep__=6&amp;__cft__[0]=AZUUtd7O5omeEWREq3i6vhRiVlvQ3Pbe6UecivtRGGx3m-btMZWfhw5-HWABu2Q_Q-gD8hJEq4FTNek05k9_4Ot7imeDk5oGc0IR9rozhC1tdpW-9FraeiXXLMeTr4HrSPyvKjGs4veHe11JB7b3OcnnalwL_CR2H-J6rkYs7rc90MdeIpj_S9JbUcjoIAVfPQ8&amp;__tn__=*NK-R">#Road2Casper</a> | CLICK HERE &nbsp;<a href="http://njcaa.org/network?fbclid=IwAR0ZX4PVMuaSN2HFv8fAU-9BIN6B1s2EuGJ9ruk_9hUNrRgxhLQWSwS8vIE" target="_blank">njcaa.org/network</a>

🏀 NJCAA Basketball D1 selection shows to stream tonight

AP Sports Summary for Sunday, March 17th, 2024.

Bears trade Justin Fields to Steelers, clear way to take a QB such as Caleb Williams with No. 1 pick

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bears traded quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers a 2025 sixth-round draft pick that could potentially become a fourth-rounder this year in return. The move is a strong signal the Bears will draft a QB — perhaps USC's Caleb Williams — with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Fields figures to back up Russell Wilson, who signed a one-year deal with Pittsburgh on Friday.

No. 7 Iowa State blitzes No. 1 Houston in second half, wins Big 12 tourney title 69-41

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Milan Momcilovic had 18 points and Keshon Gilbert scored 16 as No. 7 Iowa State used a big second-half to rout No. 1 Houston 69-41 in the Big 12 Tournament final. The Cyclones won their sixth championship in six appearances in the title game. Iowa State came out of the locker room on an 18-3 run to turn a seven-point lead at halftime into a blowout. The Cyclones wound up outscoring the regular-season Big 12 champs 39-18 in the second half. Jamal Shead had 10 points on 3-for-17 shooting to lead Houston, which had likely already wrapped up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament next week.

No. 2 UConn beats No. 10 Marquette 73-57 to win 1st Big East Tournament title since 2011

NEW YORK (AP) — Donovan Clingan had 22 points and a career-best 16 rebounds, Jaylin Stewart gave No. 2 UConn an unexpected boost with three second-half 3-pointers during a decisive surge and the Huskies beat No. 10 Marquette 73-57 to win the Big East Tournament championship. Tournament MVP Tristen Newton added 13 points and 10 assists as the top-seeded Huskies won their eighth title, matching Georgetown for the most in conference history. It was their first since 2011, when Kemba Walker led UConn to five wins in five days — and then a national title. Kam Jones led the third-seeded Golden Eagles, the defending tournament champions, with 13 points and eight rebounds.

Bad news for the bubble: NC State and Oregon swipe bids as wild tournament results continue

WASHINGTON (AP) — Conference tournament season took an even more chaotic turn — and that's bad news for at least a couple teams on the bubble. North Carolina State's thrilling five-wins-in-five-days march through the ACC Tournament pushed one borderline team out of the NCAA Tournament. The Wolfpack were a classic bid thief, snatching their league's automatic bid as the conference's No. 10 seed. And the night wasn't over yet. Shortly after N.C. State's confetti-filled celebration in Washington began, Oregon beat Colorado 75-68 to win the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. That meant another bubble team would be bumped.

Curry scores 31 in return as Warriors defeat Lakers 128-121 despite 40 points from James

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 31 points in his return to Golden State's lineup, Klay Thompson added 26 off the bench and the Warriors beat the Los Angeles Lakers 128-121 on Saturday night in a pivotal Western Conference matchup. LeBron James had 40 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Lakers, who had to play without Anthony Davis for the final three quarters after he suffered an eye injury. The Warriors won a game that dragged to the finish because of a pair of replay reviews — one that overturned an apparent 3-pointer by James — then a malfunctioning clock.

Xander Schauffele overcomes a 4-shot deficit to take the lead at The Players Championship

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Xander Schauffele started the day with a four-shot deficit. He had to settle for a one-shot lead over U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark at The Players Championship. Schauffele delivered another bogey-free round and shot 65. Clark was still tied until hitting some 20 yards short of the island on the par-3 17th and escaping with bogey. He shot 70. Right behind them is British Open champion Brian Harman. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler is among six players within five shots of the lead on a TPC Sawgrass course where anything can happen. No one has ever won back-to-back in The Players.

NC State beats No. 4 North Carolina to win the ACC Tournament and earn an automatic NCAA bid

WASHINGTON (AP) — North Carolina State is heading back to the NCAA Tournament after beating fourth-ranked North Carolina 84-76 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title game. DJ Horne scored 29 points and big man DJ Burns had 20 including the first 3-pointer of his college career to pull off the upset. ACC player of the year RJ Davis had a game-high 30 in defeat for the Tar Heels. UNC had already likely secured an NCAA No. 1 seed by making it to the final. N.C. State snatching an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament means trouble for other teams who are on the at-large bubble.

Wisconsin battles to 76-75 OT win over No. 3 Purdue, securing spot in Big Ten championship game

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Max Klesmit made a runner in the lane with 4.8 seconds to play in overtime and Wisconsin beat Big Ten Tournament top-seed Purdue 76-75 for a spot in the conference championship game. Klesmit's clutch shot followed his teammate Chucky Hepburn's in regulation, when Hepburn made a layup as time expired to force overtime. Hepburn finished with 22 points on Saturday. AJ Storr had 20 points and Klesmit had 12 points, five assists and five rebounds for fifth-seeded Wisconsin. Zach Edey led No. 3 Purdue with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Edey surpassed Rick Mount's school record of 2,323 career points.

KC Current hold off Portland for a 5-4 victory in their new stadium

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Vanessa DiBernardo scored the first goal for Kansas City in its new stadium and the Current held off the Portland Thorns 5-4 in the regular-season opener for the National Women's Soccer League. Debinha's rebound shot deflected off Thorns goalkeeper Shelby Hogan and fell to DiBernardo, who scored in the 22nd minute. Rookie Ellie Wheeler scored moments later and the Current built a 3-1 lead by halftime. Bia Zaneratto, Kristen Hamilton and Alex Pfeiffer added goals for the Current. Sophia Smith and Janine Beckie each had a pair of goals for the Thorns.

It's March Madness and more people than ever can legally bet on basketball games

As March Madness gets underway, more people than ever now can legally bet on sports. North Carolina became the latest state to allow online sports betting last week. A total of 38 states and the District of Columbia now allow some form of sports betting. That's up from just one state, Nevada, where people could legally wager on games before a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for expansion. The American Gaming Association estimates $2.7 billion will be bet on the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments through legal sports betting operators.

Final	San Francisco	11	Chicago White Sox	7	

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1701494597443.png" alt="Sports Headlines and News for Sunday, March 17th, 2024." />
 <figcaption>Sports Headlines and News for Sunday, March 17th, 2024.</figcaption>
 </figure>AP Sports Summary for Sunday, March 17th, 2024.Bears trade Justin Fields to Steelers, clear way to take a QB such as Caleb Williams with No. 1 pickCHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bears traded quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers a 2025 sixth-round draft pick that could potentially become a fourth-rounder this year in return. The move is a strong signal the Bears will draft a QB — perhaps USC's Caleb Williams — with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Fields figures to back up Russell Wilson, who signed a one-year deal with Pittsburgh on Friday.No. 7 Iowa State blitzes No. 1 Houston in second half, wins Big 12 tourney title 69-41KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Milan Momcilovic had 18 points and Keshon Gilbert scored 16 as No. 7 Iowa State used a big second-half to rout No. 1 Houston 69-41 in the Big 12 Tournament final. The Cyclones won their sixth championship in six appearances in the title game. Iowa State came out of the locker room on an 18-3 run to turn a seven-point lead at halftime into a blowout. The Cyclones wound up outscoring the regular-season Big 12 champs 39-18 in the second half. Jamal Shead had 10 points on 3-for-17 shooting to lead Houston, which had likely already wrapped up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament next week.No. 2 UConn beats No. 10 Marquette 73-57 to win 1st Big East Tournament title since 2011NEW YORK (AP) — Donovan Clingan had 22 points and a career-best 16 rebounds, Jaylin Stewart gave No. 2 UConn an unexpected boost with three second-half 3-pointers during a decisive surge and the Huskies beat No. 10 Marquette 73-57 to win the Big East Tournament championship. Tournament MVP Tristen Newton added 13 points and 10 assists as the top-seeded Huskies won their eighth title, matching Georgetown for the most in conference history. It was their first since 2011, when Kemba Walker led UConn to five wins in five days — and then a national title. Kam Jones led the third-seeded Golden Eagles, the defending tournament champions, with 13 points and eight rebounds.Bad news for the bubble: NC State and Oregon swipe bids as wild tournament results continueWASHINGTON (AP) — Conference tournament season took an even more chaotic turn — and that's bad news for at least a couple teams on the bubble. North Carolina State's thrilling five-wins-in-five-days march through the ACC Tournament pushed one borderline team out of the NCAA Tournament. The Wolfpack were a classic bid thief, snatching their league's automatic bid as the conference's No. 10 seed. And the night wasn't over yet. Shortly after N.C. State's confetti-filled celebration in Washington began, Oregon beat Colorado 75-68 to win the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. That meant another bubble team would be bumped.Curry scores 31 in return as Warriors defeat Lakers 128-121 despite 40 points from JamesLOS ANGELES (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 31 points in his return to Golden State's lineup, Klay Thompson added 26 off the bench and the Warriors beat the Los Angeles Lakers 128-121 on Saturday night in a pivotal Western Conference matchup. LeBron James had 40 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Lakers, who had to play without Anthony Davis for the final three quarters after he suffered an eye injury. The Warriors won a game that dragged to the finish because of a pair of replay reviews — one that overturned an apparent 3-pointer by James — then a malfunctioning clock.Xander Schauffele overcomes a 4-shot deficit to take the lead at The Players ChampionshipPONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Xander Schauffele started the day with a four-shot deficit. He had to settle for a one-shot lead over U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark at The Players Championship. Schauffele delivered another bogey-free round and shot 65. Clark was still tied until hitting some 20 yards short of the island on the par-3 17th and escaping with bogey. He shot 70. Right behind them is British Open champion Brian Harman. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler is among six players within five shots of the lead on a TPC Sawgrass course where anything can happen. No one has ever won back-to-back in The Players.NC State beats No. 4 North Carolina to win the ACC Tournament and earn an automatic NCAA bidWASHINGTON (AP) — North Carolina State is heading back to the NCAA Tournament after beating fourth-ranked North Carolina 84-76 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title game. DJ Horne scored 29 points and big man DJ Burns had 20 including the first 3-pointer of his college career to pull off the upset. ACC player of the year RJ Davis had a game-high 30 in defeat for the Tar Heels. UNC had already likely secured an NCAA No. 1 seed by making it to the final. N.C. State snatching an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament means trouble for other teams who are on the at-large bubble.Wisconsin battles to 76-75 OT win over No. 3 Purdue, securing spot in Big Ten championship gameMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Max Klesmit made a runner in the lane with 4.8 seconds to play in overtime and Wisconsin beat Big Ten Tournament top-seed Purdue 76-75 for a spot in the conference championship game. Klesmit's clutch shot followed his teammate Chucky Hepburn's in regulation, when Hepburn made a layup as time expired to force overtime. Hepburn finished with 22 points on Saturday. AJ Storr had 20 points and Klesmit had 12 points, five assists and five rebounds for fifth-seeded Wisconsin. Zach Edey led No. 3 Purdue with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Edey surpassed Rick Mount's school record of 2,323 career points.KC Current hold off Portland for a 5-4 victory in their new stadiumKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Vanessa DiBernardo scored the first goal for Kansas City in its new stadium and the Current held off the Portland Thorns 5-4 in the regular-season opener for the National Women's Soccer League. Debinha's rebound shot deflected off Thorns goalkeeper Shelby Hogan and fell to DiBernardo, who scored in the 22nd minute. Rookie Ellie Wheeler scored moments later and the Current built a 3-1 lead by halftime. Bia Zaneratto, Kristen Hamilton and Alex Pfeiffer added goals for the Current. Sophia Smith and Janine Beckie each had a pair of goals for the Thorns.It's March Madness and more people than ever can legally bet on basketball gamesAs March Madness gets underway, more people than ever now can legally bet on sports. North Carolina became the latest state to allow online sports betting last week. A total of 38 states and the District of Columbia now allow some form of sports betting. That's up from just one state, Nevada, where people could legally wager on games before a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for expansion. The American Gaming Association estimates $2.7 billion will be bet on the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments through legal sports betting operators.AP-ScorecardHere are the scores from yesterday's sports events:___INTERLEAGUEFinal	Milwaukee	5	Texas	1	Final	Chicago Cubs	7	Kansas City	6	Final	Arizona	5	Texas	4	Final	Chicago Cubs	4	L.A. Angels	3	Final	San Francisco	6	Cleveland	0	Final	Detroit	6	Pittsburgh	4	Final	San Francisco	11	Chicago White Sox	7	Final	Seattle	11	Cincinnati	7	Final	Milwaukee	11	Oakland	4	Final	Colorado	11	Oakland	9	Final	N.Y. Mets	6	Houston	1	Final	L.A. Dodgers	14	Kiwoom Heroes	3	___AMERICAN LEAGUEFinal	Baltimore	5	Boston	4	Final	Minnesota	6	Tampa Bay	5	Final	N.Y. Yankees	10	Toronto	9	Final	Seattle	8	Chicago White Sox	2	___NATIONAL LEAGUEFinal	St. Louis	8	Washington	5	Final	Pittsburgh	4	Atlanta	2	Final	Philadelphia	3	Miami	3	___NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATIONFinal	Houston	117	Cleveland	103	Final	New Orleans	126	Portland	107	Final	Indiana	121	Brooklyn	100	Final	Philadelphia	109	Charlotte	98	Final	Chicago	127	Washington	98	Final	Oklahoma City	118	Memphis	112	Final	Golden State	128	L.A. Lakers	121	Final	Minnesota	119	Utah	100	Final	New York	98	Sacramento	91	___NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUEFinal	Detroit	4	Buffalo	1	Final OT	Ottawa	4	N-Y Islanders	3	Final	N-Y Rangers	7	Pittsburgh	4	Final	Arizona	4	New Jersey	1	Final	Tampa Bay	5	Florida	3	Final	Columbus	4	San Jose	2	Final	Calgary	5	Montreal	2	Final	Boston	6	Philadelphia	5	Final SO	Carolina	5	Toronto	4	Final	Dallas	4	Los Angeles	1	Final SO	St. Louis	3	Minnesota	2	Final	Washington	2	Vancouver	1	Final	Nashville	4	Seattle	1	Final OT	Colorado	3	Edmonton	2	___TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALLFinal	(7)Iowa St.	69	(1)Houston	41	Final	(2)UConn	73	(10)Marquette	57	Final	Wisconsin	76	(3)Purdue	75	Final	NC State	84	(4)North Carolina	76	Final	(12)Auburn	73	Mississippi St.	66	Final	(13)Illinois	98	Nebraska	87	___MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCERFinal	Chicago	4	CF Montréal	3	Final	Miami	3	D.C. United	1	Final tie	Colorado	1	Seattle	1	Final	Columbus	3	New York	0	Final	New York City FC	2	Toronto FC	1	Final tie	Philadelphia	2	Austin FC	2	Final	Vancouver	3	FC Dallas	1	Final	Houston	1	Portland	0	Final	Sporting Kansas City	2	San Jose	1	Final	Minnesota	2	Los Angeles FC	0	Final	Nashville	2	Charlotte FC	1	Final tie	St Louis City	3	LA Galaxy	3	___TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE___INTERLEAGUE		Korea	at	San Diego	6 a.m.			Boston	at	Atlanta	1:05 p.m.			Atlanta	at	Baltimore	1:05 p.m.			Toronto	at	Philadelphia	1:05 p.m.			Tampa Bay	at	Pittsburgh	1:05 p.m.			Houston	at	St. Louis	1:05 p.m.			Texas	at	Chi Cubs	4:05 p.m.			L-A Angels	at	Arizona	4:10 p.m.			Arizona	at	Seattle	4:10 p.m.			Cincinnati	at	Cleveland	7:05 p.m.			Milwaukee	at	Kansas City	7:05 p.m.			San Diego	at	LG Twins	11 p.m.	___AMERICAN LEAGUE		N-Y Yankees	at	Boston	1:05 p.m.			Baltimore	at	Detroit	1:05 p.m.			Minnesota	at	Toronto	1:07 p.m.			Chi White Sox	at	Oakland	4:05 p.m.	___NATIONAL LEAGUE		N-Y Mets	at	Washington	1:05 p.m.			Miami	at	N-Y Mets	1:10 p.m.			Colorado	at	San Francisco	4:05 p.m.	___NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION		Phoenix	at	Milwaukee	1 p.m.			Miami	at	Detroit	3 p.m.			Denver	at	Dallas	3:30 p.m.			Boston	at	Washington	6 p.m.			Toronto	at	Orlando	6 p.m.			Brooklyn	at	San Antonio	7 p.m.			Atlanta	at	L.A. Clippers	9:30 p.m.	___NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE		N-Y Islanders	at	N-Y Rangers	1 p.m.			New Jersey	at	Vegas	3:30 p.m.			Carolina	at	Ottawa	6 p.m.			Detroit	at	Pittsburgh	6 p.m.			San Jose	at	Chicago	6 p.m.			Winnipeg	at	Columbus	6 p.m.			Anaheim	at	St. Louis	7 p.m.	___TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL		Florida	at	(12)Auburn	1 p.m.			Wisconsin	at	(13)Illinois	3:30 p.m.	___MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER		Cincinnati	at	New England	2 p.m.			Orlando City	at	Atlanta	7 p.m.	___

📢📰 Sports Headlines for Sunday

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The No. 16 Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team had no answer for No. 1 Barton, falling 74-57 in the Region VI Tournament championship game on Saturday evening.&nbsp;

Hutchinson is now 26-6 overall and will await the NJCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday evening to see if its season will continue as an at-large bid.

Barton showed why it is the No. 1 team in the country, building a 40-23 lead at halftime.

The Cougars kept the foot down to start the second half, opening the half on a 15-3 run and building a 29-point lead, 55-26.

The Blue Dragons showed they weren't going to go down quietly. Hutchinson went on a 12-4 run to pull within 59-38 with just over 12 minutes to play.

Hutchinson pulled within 12 with 5:58 to play following a Kernan Bundy turnaround jumper to cap a 13-0 Blue Dragon run.

The Blue Dragons then got within 10, 65-55 after a Kobe Smith shot, but HutchCC never got any closer than that.

Barton finished the game on a 7-2 run to pull away and claim the region title.

Hutchinson was led by Valentino Simon and Kam Thomas each with 13 points, while Kernan Bundy had 11.

Barton was led by Hutchinson native, Myles Thompson with 24 points and nine rebounds.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710633770205.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The No. 16 Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team had no answer for No. 1 Barton, falling 74-57 in the Region VI Tournament championship game on Saturday evening.&nbsp;Hutchinson is now 26-6 overall and will await the NJCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday evening to see if its season will continue as an at-large bid.Barton showed why it is the No. 1 team in the country, building a 40-23 lead at halftime.The Cougars kept the foot down to start the second half, opening the half on a 15-3 run and building a 29-point lead, 55-26.The Blue Dragons showed they weren't going to go down quietly. Hutchinson went on a 12-4 run to pull within 59-38 with just over 12 minutes to play.Hutchinson pulled within 12 with 5:58 to play following a Kernan Bundy turnaround jumper to cap a 13-0 Blue Dragon run.The Blue Dragons then got within 10, 65-55 after a Kobe Smith shot, but HutchCC never got any closer than that.Barton finished the game on a 7-2 run to pull away and claim the region title.Hutchinson was led by Valentino Simon and Kam Thomas each with 13 points, while Kernan Bundy had 11.Barton was led by Hutchinson native, Myles Thompson with 24 points and nine rebounds.

🏀 MBB: Blue Dragon comeback bid falls short in region title game

<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2023-24/boxscores/20240316_0upw.xml?view=boxscore">BOX SCORE</a>

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The No. 1 Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team claimed its ninth Region VI title in program history with a 54-52 win over Butler on Saturday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons earn the automatic bid to the NJCAA DI women's basketball national tournament held in Casper, Wyoming March 26-April 1.

Hutchinson will head to the national tournament with a 33-0 overall record.

Kiki Smith scored the go-ahead layup with 5.6 seconds to go, giving the Blue Dragons the 54-52 lead.&nbsp;

Butler, after a missed Smith free throw called a timeout and advanced the ball into the Grizzly front court. Maycee James' shot attempt fell short and was rebounded by the Blue Dragons to seal the victory.

Hutchinson built a 27-23 lead at halftime, but saw the Grizzlies come back in the second half and hold a four point lead in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

The final period featured both teams trading leads back and forth, in total there were six ties and six lead changes. Hutchinson led by as many as seven in the first half, while the four-point lead was the largest Butler had.

Hailey Jackson finished with a game-high 15 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter. Smith had 13, while Monae Duffy finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.

Butler was led by Randi Harding with 14 points, while Freddie Wallace had 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Blue Dragons will now await their NJCAA Tournament seed, which will be announced in the NJCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday at 7 p.m.

Sean Boston will be making the trip to Casper to broadcast each and every HutchCC game in the national tournament on KHMY-FM (93.1).

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710627847695.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2023-24/boxscores/20240316_0upw.xml?view=boxscore">BOX SCORE</a>HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The No. 1 Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team claimed its ninth Region VI title in program history with a 54-52 win over Butler on Saturday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.The Blue Dragons earn the automatic bid to the NJCAA DI women's basketball national tournament held in Casper, Wyoming March 26-April 1.Hutchinson will head to the national tournament with a 33-0 overall record.Kiki Smith scored the go-ahead layup with 5.6 seconds to go, giving the Blue Dragons the 54-52 lead.&nbsp;Butler, after a missed Smith free throw called a timeout and advanced the ball into the Grizzly front court. Maycee James' shot attempt fell short and was rebounded by the Blue Dragons to seal the victory.Hutchinson built a 27-23 lead at halftime, but saw the Grizzlies come back in the second half and hold a four point lead in the first minute of the fourth quarter.The final period featured both teams trading leads back and forth, in total there were six ties and six lead changes. Hutchinson led by as many as seven in the first half, while the four-point lead was the largest Butler had.Hailey Jackson finished with a game-high 15 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter. Smith had 13, while Monae Duffy finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.Butler was led by Randi Harding with 14 points, while Freddie Wallace had 11 points and nine rebounds.The Blue Dragons will now await their NJCAA Tournament seed, which will be announced in the NJCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday at 7 p.m.Sean Boston will be making the trip to Casper to broadcast each and every HutchCC game in the national tournament on KHMY-FM (93.1).

🏀 WBB: Blue Dragons claim region title and remain unbeaten

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The No. 16 Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team plays No. 1 Barton in the Region VI Tournament championship game at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.

You can listen to the game on KHUT-FM (102.9) and KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5). You can also listen by <a href="https://streamdb5web.securenetsystems.net/v5/KHUT">clicking here</a>.

Glen Grunwald (play-by-play) and Dan Naccarato (color) will have the call.

There will also be a live video stream available to purchase through the KJCCC Sports Network by <a href="https://www.kjcccsports.net/?B=1002959">clicking here</a>.

The winner of the championship game earns an automatic bid to the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball National Tournament, March 24-30 in Hutchinson.

Region VI Men's First Round Games (8) Coffeyville 88, (9) Pratt 77 (5) Cloud County 79, (12) Colby 54 (6) Garden City 78, (11) Seward County 65 (7) NW Tech 85, (10) Dodge City 74&nbsp;&nbsp;

Region VI Men's Quarterfinal Games (1) Barton 83, (8) Coffeyville 72 (2) Cowley 87, (7) NW Tech 69 (3) Hutchinson 88, (6) Garden City 87 (OT) (4) Butler 77, (5) Cloud County 69

Region VI Men's Semifinal Games (1) Barton 79, (4) Butler 76 (3) Hutchinson 89,&nbsp;(2) Cowley 83

Region VI Men's Championship Game 5 p.m. - (1) Barton vs. (3) Hutchinson

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710423202921.jpeg" alt="Hutchinson Sports Arena/Sean Boston" />
 <figcaption>Hutchinson Sports Arena/Sean Boston</figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The No. 16 Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team plays No. 1 Barton in the Region VI Tournament championship game at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.You can listen to the game on KHUT-FM (102.9) and KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5). You can also listen by <a href="https://streamdb5web.securenetsystems.net/v5/KHUT">clicking here</a>.Glen Grunwald (play-by-play) and Dan Naccarato (color) will have the call.There will also be a live video stream available to purchase through the KJCCC Sports Network by <a href="https://www.kjcccsports.net/?B=1002959">clicking here</a>.The winner of the championship game earns an automatic bid to the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball National Tournament, March 24-30 in Hutchinson.Region VI Men's First Round Games (8) Coffeyville 88, (9) Pratt 77 (5) Cloud County 79, (12) Colby 54 (6) Garden City 78, (11) Seward County 65 (7) NW Tech 85, (10) Dodge City 74&nbsp;&nbsp;Region VI Men's Quarterfinal Games (1) Barton 83, (8) Coffeyville 72 (2) Cowley 87, (7) NW Tech 69 (3) Hutchinson 88, (6) Garden City 87 (OT) (4) Butler 77, (5) Cloud County 69Region VI Men's Semifinal Games (1) Barton 79, (4) Butler 76 (3) Hutchinson 89,&nbsp;(2) Cowley 83Region VI Men's Championship Game 5 p.m. - (1) Barton vs. (3) Hutchinson

🎧 LISTEN: No. 16 HutchCC men vs. No. 1 Barton in Region VI championship game

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The No. 1 Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team plays the Butler Grizzlies in the Region VI Tournament championship game at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Sean Boston (play-by-play) and Dan Naccarato (color) will have the call.

There will also be a live video stream available to purchase through the KJCCC Sports Network by <a href="https://www.kjcccsports.net/?B=1002957">clicking here</a>.

The winner of the championship game earns an automatic bid to the NJCAA DI Women's Basketball National Tournament, March 26-April 1 in Casper, Wyoming.

Region VI Women's First Round Games (9) Cloud County 73, (8) Cowley 67 (5) Coffeyville 67, (12) Colby 52 (7) Garden City 78, (10) Independence 71 (6) Seward County 56, (11) Pratt 50&nbsp;&nbsp;

Region VI Women's Quarterfinal Games (1) Hutchinson 90, (9) Cloud County 56 (2) Dodge City 92, (7) Garden City 57 (3) Butler 75, (6) Seward County 58 (4) Barton 67, (5) Coffeyville 43

Region VI Women's Semifinal Games (1) Hutchinson 49, (4) Barton 39 (3) Butler 65, (2) Dodge City 52&nbsp;

Region VI Women's Championship Game 3 p.m. - (1) Hutchinson vs. (3) Butler

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710423202921.jpeg" alt="Hutchinson Sports Arena/Sean Boston" />
 <figcaption>Hutchinson Sports Arena/Sean Boston</figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The No. 1 Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team plays the Butler Grizzlies in the Region VI Tournament championship game at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.You can listen to the game on KHUT-FM (102.9) and KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5). You can also listen by <a href="https://streamdb5web.securenetsystems.net/v5/KHUT">clicking here</a>.Sean Boston (play-by-play) and Dan Naccarato (color) will have the call.There will also be a live video stream available to purchase through the KJCCC Sports Network by <a href="https://www.kjcccsports.net/?B=1002957">clicking here</a>.The winner of the championship game earns an automatic bid to the NJCAA DI Women's Basketball National Tournament, March 26-April 1 in Casper, Wyoming.Region VI Women's First Round Games (9) Cloud County 73, (8) Cowley 67 (5) Coffeyville 67, (12) Colby 52 (7) Garden City 78, (10) Independence 71 (6) Seward County 56, (11) Pratt 50&nbsp;&nbsp;Region VI Women's Quarterfinal Games (1) Hutchinson 90, (9) Cloud County 56 (2) Dodge City 92, (7) Garden City 57 (3) Butler 75, (6) Seward County 58 (4) Barton 67, (5) Coffeyville 43Region VI Women's Semifinal Games (1) Hutchinson 49, (4) Barton 39 (3) Butler 65, (2) Dodge City 52&nbsp;Region VI Women's Championship Game 3 p.m. - (1) Hutchinson vs. (3) Butler

🎧 LISTEN: No. 1 HutchCC women vs. Butler in Region VI championship game

AP Sports Summary for Friday, March 16th, 2024.

Aaron Donald announces his retirement after a standout 10-year career with the Rams

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Defensive lineman Aaron Donald has announced his retirement after a standout 10-year career with the Los Angeles Rams. The three-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year made his surprising announcement on social media. Donald spent his entire career with the Rams, who drafted him in the first round in 2014. He was selected for 10 Pro Bowls and eight All-Pro first teams, and he won the award as the league's top defensive player in 2017, 2018 and 2020. He was the cornerstone of every Rams defense during his career, drawing habitual double-teams away from his teammates and still racking up 111 total sacks.

Conferences and Notre Dame agree on 6-year deal to continue College Football Playoff through 2031

The nine Bowl Subdivision conferences and Notre Dame have reached an agreement on a six-year deal to continue the College Football Playoff through the 2031 season. The move establishes a revenue-sharing plan and allows the CFP to finalize a new media rights agreement. Executive Director Bill Hancock says the agreement doesn't lock in a format for the CFP for 2026 and beyond. The playoff is expanding this season from four teams to 12, but that number could grow after the current contract with ESPN expires after the 2025 season. The new deal guarantees playoff access for at least five conferences through 2031.

Wyndham Clark sets a big target at The Players Championship. Scheffler coping with pain in his neck

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Wyndham Clark is leading The Players Championship by four shots after another 65. The big concern was for Scottie Scheffler. The No. 1 player in the world felt pain in his neck area on his second hole of the day and was trying to just finish the round. Scheffler shot 69 and was six back. It was his 25th consecutive round under par. Scheffler had treatment on the course and after his round. Clark is tough even in the best of circumstances. The U.S. Open champion opened his second nine with four straight birdies and shot 30.

Sakkari outlasts Gauff in 3 sets of rain-delayed semi at Indian Wells. She plays Swiatek for title.

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Maria Sakkari outlasted Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 after blowing three match points in the second set of their rain-delayed semifinal at the BNP Paribas Open. Sakkari advanced to Sunday's final against top-ranked Iga Swiatek. She routed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 6-1 in the other semi. Swiatek has beaten Sakkari in three of their five meetings. There were delays of 20 minutes and two hours in the Sakkari-Gauff match. An hour and 10 minutes after holding three match points, Sakkari earned her fourth with a forehand winner. She closed out the match on Gauff's forehand error.

Baseball superstar Ohtani and his wife arrive in South Korea for Dodgers-Padres MLB opener

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Shohei Ohtani and his wife have arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates ahead of their season-opening Major League Baseball games against the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon international airport west of Seoul. His wife Mamiko Tanaka walked behind him. Before departing for South Korea, Ohtani revealed the identify of his wife by posting a photo of him and Tanaka, an ex-professional basketball player, on his Instagram account.

Jokic scores 31, Nuggets top Spurs 117-106 in front of record crowd in Texas' capital city

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Nikola Jokic scored 31 points and the Denver Nuggets beat San Antonio 117-106 on Friday night in a game played in the Texas capital as the Spurs drew a record crowd in their bid to broaden their regional fan base. Jamal Murray added 15 points and 10 assists for Denver, which won its fifth straight game and for the 11th time in 12 games to remain atop the Western Conference standings. Jeremy Sochan scored 19 points and Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama each had 17 points for San Antonio, which lost its third straight. The game proved a popular choice as the Spurs set the attendance record for a sporting event at the Moody Center with 16,223 on Friday.

Antelope Valley was the college basketball team without a college. Its season has come to an end

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Antelope Valley men's basketball team is done after one of the stranger seasons in recent memory. The Pioneers lost in the first round of the NAIA men's national tournament and finished with a 26-5 record. The private university in Lancaster, California, announced it was closing on March 6 because of financial difficulties, which potentially could have ended the basketball team's season early. But men's basketball coach Jordan Mast started a GoFundMe page that raised nearly $50,000, which contributed to travel costs to finish out their season.

Cryer helps No. 1 Houston ride big second half to 82-59 rout of No. 25 Texas Tech in Big 12 tourney

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — L.J. Cryer hit six 3-pointers and scored 20 points as top-ranked Houston used a big second half to rout No. 25 Texas Tech 82-59 in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. The Cougars will play seventh-ranked Iowa State for the title on Saturday night. Houston went most of the way without big man J'Wan Roberts, who hurt his leg early in the game and only played a few minutes in each half. It hardly mattered as the Cougars used a 17-0 second-half run to pull away. Chance McMillian had 15 points and Joe Toussaint had 10 for Texas Tech.

Newton leads No. 2 UConn past St. John's 95-90 and into first Big East title game since 2011

NEW YORK (AP) — Tristen Newton had 25 points and nine assists as No. 2 UConn advanced to the Big East championship game with a rollicking 95-90 victory over St. John's at Madison Square Garden. Cam Spencer added 20 points and nine assists for the top-seeded Huskies, who will face 10th-ranked Marquette on Saturday night. It's the 11th appearance in the Big East final for Connecticut and first since Kemba Walker carried the team to its most recent title in 2011. UConn had been 0-3 in conference semifinals since rejoining the league for the 2020-21 season. Daniss Jenkins scored 27 for fifth-seeded St. John's.

No. 9 seed Mississippi State stuns 5th-ranked Tennessee in SEC quarterfinals 73-56

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Cameron Matthews and Josh Hubbard each scored 18 points and ninth-seeded Mississippi State simply dominated fifth-ranked Tennessee 73-56 in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals. The victory should push the Bulldogs firmly off the NCAA Tournament bubble with their second win over the SEC's regular season champions. They will play in the semifinals Saturday for the first time since winning this event in 2009. The Bulldogs held AP SEC Player of the Year Dalton Knecht to 14 points. Tennessee hurt its hopes for the first No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament in program history with a second straight loss.

		Kansas City	at	Cincinnati	4:05 p.m.	(Canceled)

		San Francisco	at	Oakland	4:05 p.m.	(Canceled)

Final	Chicago White Sox	3	Chicago Cubs	2	

		Seattle	at	L-A Angels	4:10 p.m.	(Canceled)

		Arizona	at	Milwaukee	4:10 p.m.	(Canceled)

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1701494597443.png" alt="Sports Headlines and News for Saturday, March 16th, 2024." />
 <figcaption>Sports Headlines and News for Saturday, March 16th, 2024.</figcaption>
 </figure>AP Sports Summary for Friday, March 16th, 2024.Aaron Donald announces his retirement after a standout 10-year career with the RamsLOS ANGELES (AP) — Defensive lineman Aaron Donald has announced his retirement after a standout 10-year career with the Los Angeles Rams. The three-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year made his surprising announcement on social media. Donald spent his entire career with the Rams, who drafted him in the first round in 2014. He was selected for 10 Pro Bowls and eight All-Pro first teams, and he won the award as the league's top defensive player in 2017, 2018 and 2020. He was the cornerstone of every Rams defense during his career, drawing habitual double-teams away from his teammates and still racking up 111 total sacks.Conferences and Notre Dame agree on 6-year deal to continue College Football Playoff through 2031The nine Bowl Subdivision conferences and Notre Dame have reached an agreement on a six-year deal to continue the College Football Playoff through the 2031 season. The move establishes a revenue-sharing plan and allows the CFP to finalize a new media rights agreement. Executive Director Bill Hancock says the agreement doesn't lock in a format for the CFP for 2026 and beyond. The playoff is expanding this season from four teams to 12, but that number could grow after the current contract with ESPN expires after the 2025 season. The new deal guarantees playoff access for at least five conferences through 2031.Wyndham Clark sets a big target at The Players Championship. Scheffler coping with pain in his neckPONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Wyndham Clark is leading The Players Championship by four shots after another 65. The big concern was for Scottie Scheffler. The No. 1 player in the world felt pain in his neck area on his second hole of the day and was trying to just finish the round. Scheffler shot 69 and was six back. It was his 25th consecutive round under par. Scheffler had treatment on the course and after his round. Clark is tough even in the best of circumstances. The U.S. Open champion opened his second nine with four straight birdies and shot 30.Sakkari outlasts Gauff in 3 sets of rain-delayed semi at Indian Wells. She plays Swiatek for title.INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Maria Sakkari outlasted Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 after blowing three match points in the second set of their rain-delayed semifinal at the BNP Paribas Open. Sakkari advanced to Sunday's final against top-ranked Iga Swiatek. She routed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 6-1 in the other semi. Swiatek has beaten Sakkari in three of their five meetings. There were delays of 20 minutes and two hours in the Sakkari-Gauff match. An hour and 10 minutes after holding three match points, Sakkari earned her fourth with a forehand winner. She closed out the match on Gauff's forehand error.Baseball superstar Ohtani and his wife arrive in South Korea for Dodgers-Padres MLB openerSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Shohei Ohtani and his wife have arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates ahead of their season-opening Major League Baseball games against the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon international airport west of Seoul. His wife Mamiko Tanaka walked behind him. Before departing for South Korea, Ohtani revealed the identify of his wife by posting a photo of him and Tanaka, an ex-professional basketball player, on his Instagram account.Jokic scores 31, Nuggets top Spurs 117-106 in front of record crowd in Texas' capital cityAUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Nikola Jokic scored 31 points and the Denver Nuggets beat San Antonio 117-106 on Friday night in a game played in the Texas capital as the Spurs drew a record crowd in their bid to broaden their regional fan base. Jamal Murray added 15 points and 10 assists for Denver, which won its fifth straight game and for the 11th time in 12 games to remain atop the Western Conference standings. Jeremy Sochan scored 19 points and Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama each had 17 points for San Antonio, which lost its third straight. The game proved a popular choice as the Spurs set the attendance record for a sporting event at the Moody Center with 16,223 on Friday.Antelope Valley was the college basketball team without a college. Its season has come to an endGLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Antelope Valley men's basketball team is done after one of the stranger seasons in recent memory. The Pioneers lost in the first round of the NAIA men's national tournament and finished with a 26-5 record. The private university in Lancaster, California, announced it was closing on March 6 because of financial difficulties, which potentially could have ended the basketball team's season early. But men's basketball coach Jordan Mast started a GoFundMe page that raised nearly $50,000, which contributed to travel costs to finish out their season.Cryer helps No. 1 Houston ride big second half to 82-59 rout of No. 25 Texas Tech in Big 12 tourneyKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — L.J. Cryer hit six 3-pointers and scored 20 points as top-ranked Houston used a big second half to rout No. 25 Texas Tech 82-59 in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. The Cougars will play seventh-ranked Iowa State for the title on Saturday night. Houston went most of the way without big man J'Wan Roberts, who hurt his leg early in the game and only played a few minutes in each half. It hardly mattered as the Cougars used a 17-0 second-half run to pull away. Chance McMillian had 15 points and Joe Toussaint had 10 for Texas Tech.Newton leads No. 2 UConn past St. John's 95-90 and into first Big East title game since 2011NEW YORK (AP) — Tristen Newton had 25 points and nine assists as No. 2 UConn advanced to the Big East championship game with a rollicking 95-90 victory over St. John's at Madison Square Garden. Cam Spencer added 20 points and nine assists for the top-seeded Huskies, who will face 10th-ranked Marquette on Saturday night. It's the 11th appearance in the Big East final for Connecticut and first since Kemba Walker carried the team to its most recent title in 2011. UConn had been 0-3 in conference semifinals since rejoining the league for the 2020-21 season. Daniss Jenkins scored 27 for fifth-seeded St. John's.No. 9 seed Mississippi State stuns 5th-ranked Tennessee in SEC quarterfinals 73-56NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Cameron Matthews and Josh Hubbard each scored 18 points and ninth-seeded Mississippi State simply dominated fifth-ranked Tennessee 73-56 in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals. The victory should push the Bulldogs firmly off the NCAA Tournament bubble with their second win over the SEC's regular season champions. They will play in the semifinals Saturday for the first time since winning this event in 2009. The Bulldogs held AP SEC Player of the Year Dalton Knecht to 14 points. Tennessee hurt its hopes for the first No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament in program history with a second straight loss.AP-ScorecardHere are the scores from yesterday's sports events:___INTERLEAGUE		Kansas City	at	Cincinnati	4:05 p.m.	(Canceled)		San Francisco	at	Oakland	4:05 p.m.	(Canceled)		Texas	at	Colorado	4:10 p.m.	(Canceled)Final	Detroit	6	Atlanta	1	Final	Chicago White Sox	3	Chicago Cubs	2	Final	Houston	5	Philadelphia	3	Final	Pittsburgh	6	N.Y. Yankees	2	___AMERICAN LEAGUE		Seattle	at	L-A Angels	4:10 p.m.	(Canceled)Final	Tampa Bay	7	Baltimore	2	Final	Detroit	9	Toronto	6	Final	Cleveland	6	Kansas City	1	Final	Boston	8	Minnesota	5	___NATIONAL LEAGUE		Arizona	at	Milwaukee	4:10 p.m.	(Canceled)Final	Washington	7	N.Y. Mets	3	Final	Miami	8	St. Louis	4	___NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATIONFinal	Miami	108	Detroit	95	Final	Phoenix	107	Charlotte	96	Final	Orlando	113	Toronto	103	Final	New Orleans	112	L.A. Clippers	104	Final	Denver	117	San Antonio	106	Final	Utah	124	Atlanta	122	___NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUEFinal	Winnipeg	6	Anaheim	0	Final	Los Angeles	5	Chicago	0	___TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALLFinal	(1)Houston	82	(25)Texas Tech	59	Final	(2)UConn	95	St. John's	90	Final	(3)Purdue	67	Michigan St.	62	Final	(4)North Carolina	72	Pittsburgh	65	Final	Mississippi St.	73	(5)Tennessee	56	Final	Oregon	67	(6)Arizona	59	Final	(7)Iowa St.	76	(14)Baylor	62	Final	Texas A&amp;M	97	(9)Kentucky	87	Final	(10)Marquette	79	Providence	68	Final	(12)Auburn	86	(15)South Carolina	55	Final	(13)Illinois	77	Ohio St.	74	Final	San Diego St.	86	(18)Utah St.	70	Final	Florida	102	(19)Alabama	88	Final	Colorado	58	(22)Washington St.	52	___TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE___INTERLEAGUE		Kansas City	at	Chi Cubs	4:05 p.m.			San Francisco	at	Chi White Sox	4:05 p.m.			Seattle	at	Cincinnati	4:05 p.m.			Milwaukee	at	Oakland	4:05 p.m.			Detroit	at	Pittsburgh	4:05 p.m.			Cleveland	at	San Francisco	4:05 p.m.			Arizona	at	Texas	4:05 p.m.			Oakland	at	Colorado	4:10 p.m.			Chi Cubs	at	L-A Angels	4:10 p.m.			Texas	at	Milwaukee	4:10 p.m.			N-Y Mets	at	Houston	6:05 p.m.			L-A Dodgers	at	Kiwoom Heroes	11 p.m.	___AMERICAN LEAGUE		Boston	at	Baltimore	1:05 p.m.			Tampa Bay	at	Minnesota	1:05 p.m.			Toronto	at	N-Y Yankees	1:05 p.m.			Chi White Sox	at	Seattle	4:10 p.m.	___NATIONAL LEAGUE		St. Louis	at	Washington	12:05 p.m.			Philadelphia	at	Miami	1:10 p.m.			Pittsburgh	at	Atlanta	6:05 p.m.	___NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION		Cleveland	at	Houston	5 p.m.			Brooklyn	at	Indiana	7 p.m.			Charlotte	at	Philadelphia	7 p.m.			Portland	at	New Orleans	7 p.m.			Oklahoma City	at	Memphis	8 p.m.			Washington	at	Chicago	8 p.m.			Golden State	at	L.A. Lakers	8:30 p.m.			Minnesota	at	Utah	9:30 p.m.			New York	at	Sacramento	10 p.m.	___NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE		Buffalo	at	Detroit	12:30 p.m.			Ottawa	at	N-Y Islanders	12:30 p.m.			N-Y Rangers	at	Pittsburgh	3 p.m.			New Jersey	at	Arizona	5 p.m.			Tampa Bay	at	Florida	6 p.m.			Carolina	at	Toronto	7 p.m.			Montreal	at	Calgary	7 p.m.			Philadelphia	at	Boston	7 p.m.			San Jose	at	Columbus	7 p.m.			Los Angeles	at	Dallas	8 p.m.			Minnesota	at	St. Louis	8 p.m.			Colorado	at	Edmonton	10 p.m.			Nashville	at	Seattle	10 p.m.			Washington	at	Vancouver	10 p.m.	___TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL		(7)Iowa St.	at	(1)Houston	6 p.m.			(10)Marquette	at	(2)UConn	6:30 p.m.			Wisconsin	at	(3)Purdue	1 p.m.			NC State	at	(4)North Carolina	8:30 p.m.			Mississippi St.	at	(12)Auburn	1 p.m.			Nebraska	at	(13)Illinois	3:30 p.m.	___MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER		CF Montréal	at	Chicago	2 p.m.			Miami	at	D.C. United	2 p.m.			Colorado	at	Seattle	3:30 p.m.			New York	at	Columbus	7:30 p.m.			Toronto FC	at	New York City FC	7:30 p.m.			Philadelphia	at	Austin FC	8:30 p.m.			Vancouver	at	FC Dallas	8:30 p.m.			Portland	at	Houston	8:30 p.m.			San Jose	at	Sporting Kansas City	8:30 p.m.			Los Angeles FC	at	Minnesota	8:30 p.m.			Charlotte FC	at	Nashville	8:30 p.m.			St Louis City	at	LA Galaxy	10:30 p.m.	___