SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The Royals are being “open-minded” when it comes to whether&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mlb.com/prospects/top100/bobby-witt-jr-677951" target="_blank">No. 7 overall prospect</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mlb.com/player/677951" target="_blank">Bobby Witt Jr.</a>&nbsp;should break camp with the big league team, general manager Dayton Moore said Tuesday.

In an interview on Fantasy Alarm before the Royals’&nbsp;13-0 loss&nbsp;to the Mariners at Surprise Stadium on Tuesday night, Moore told show host Jim Bowden that Witt could make the Opening Day roster as the 20-year-old infielder has impressed in every facet of the game this Spring Training -- including earning the respect of his older and veteran teammates in the clubhouse.

“He can,” Moore told Bowden when he put forth the idea. “I think we’re going to be very open-minded. When we came to Spring Training, we wanted to make sure we send a pretty clear message where we didn’t put unrealistic expectations on the player and just kind of let him go out and play. Try not to create just kind of an aura around him in that clubhouse with a team that -- we have some young players, but we’ve got some veterans as well. You do not want to create an uncomfortable situation for him. So we were careful with our messaging, but he’s come in here and just done a tremendous job. He’s earned the respect of all his teammates, and now that he’s been able to do that, I’m very much open-minded of him being on this team as we break this camp.”

Moore emphasized that there are still two weeks of Cactus League games to go, but where Witt has appeared in games and on the backfields is an indication of where he stands among club officials and the coaching staff. Witt has hit leadoff or second when he starts, maximizing his at-bats against Major League pitchers at the beginning of games. He’s played second base with shortstop Adalberto Mondesi as his middle-infield partner, and Witt does drill work on the backfields with the other big league infielders.

“There’s still two weeks to go,” Moore said. “[Royals manager Mike Matheny] is going to continue to challenge him, keep him in the lineup and look for matchups where he’s facing the best pitching possible, and we’ll make a decision when the time comes. I’m not going to make an advanced decision now, but we’re just going to let the player tell us.

“Right now, we don’t have to pick our roster. But the fact that Bobby Witt is still in camp and Mike continues to play him, and the most important thing is we all know he’s earned the respect -- a young talented player with a lot of hype around him who’s earned the respect of his teammates. And now that that is happening, I’m certainly going to be very open-minded about him being on this team once we break camp.”

Witt, selected No. 2 overall in the 2019 MLB Draft, has not played above rookie ball in the Minors, but he stood out at the alternate training site last summer, when he looked as though he hadn’t lost a step despite not having a Minor League season in 2020. The Royals knew when they drafted the son of Bobby Witt, who pitched in the Majors for 16 seasons, that they had a special talent. As Witt Jr. has developed, the question that surrounds him is more about when the right time to promote him is and where he’ll play when he gets to Kansas City.

Moore said that Witt can play all over the diamond, including shortstop, second base and center field. With Mondesi entrenched as the Royals' everyday shortstop, Witt could find the most time at second base if he does debut this year.

“I think that he could be an elite defender really anywhere on the diamond,” Moore said. “We could put him in center field and he could cover Kauffman Stadium. Of course, we’ve got a terrific young shortstop in Adalberto Mondesi. But [Witt] definitely would be able to perform very well there. He’s just a special talent, and it’s been a joy watching him compete this spring.”

Around the horn • The Royals optioned reliever Tyler Zuber and catcher Sebastian Rivero to Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday, cutting the number of players in Major League camp to 40, including 13 non-roster invites.

• Left fielder Andrew Benintendi is making progress after back soreness pushed him out of the lineup on Monday. Benintendi took batting practice Tuesday before the Royals’ game, and neither he nor the club is concerned about the soreness. He’ll take advantage of a few days off before getting back in the lineup.

• Royals starter Brad Keller allowed five earned runs in three innings Tuesday, with the Mariners knocking him for six hits and picking up three walks. Keller struggled with his fastball command and didn’t have a feel for his slider until the end of the outing, which was around 80 pitches.

“It was just frustrating because I need to make an adjustment quicker, and I was out there searching for it way too long and falling behind guys,” Keller said. “I need to be better at getting back on top of the ball and drowning the ball down in the zone for strikes. Just get back into the zone.”

• The Royals couldn’t bounce back after Keller exited and were knocked around, with three errors and three home runs allowed in Kansas City’s fourth loss of the exhibition season. Right-hander Brad Brach allowed five runs in 1/3 innings, while the Royals' offense recorded just three hits -- only one coming after the second inning.

“Sometimes you just use one of these as one of those reminders of how we do not like this feeling,” Matheny said. “It’s Spring Training, and we talk about not making too big of a deal about rolling off a bunch of wins -- you know what, I’ll make a big deal out of them, and I’m also going to make a big deal of how bad it feels to get embarrassed out there, and that’s what happened.”

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The Royals are being “open-minded” when it comes to whether&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mlb.com/prospects/top100/bobby-witt-jr-677951" target="_blank">No. 7 overall prospect</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mlb.com/player/677951" target="_blank">Bobby Witt Jr.</a>&nbsp;should break camp with the big league team, general manager Dayton Moore said Tuesday.In an interview on Fantasy Alarm before the Royals’&nbsp;13-0 loss&nbsp;to the Mariners at Surprise Stadium on Tuesday night, Moore told show host Jim Bowden that Witt could make the Opening Day roster as the 20-year-old infielder has impressed in every facet of the game this Spring Training -- including earning the respect of his older and veteran teammates in the clubhouse.“He can,” Moore told Bowden when he put forth the idea. “I think we’re going to be very open-minded. When we came to Spring Training, we wanted to make sure we send a pretty clear message where we didn’t put unrealistic expectations on the player and just kind of let him go out and play. Try not to create just kind of an aura around him in that clubhouse with a team that -- we have some young players, but we’ve got some veterans as well. You do not want to create an uncomfortable situation for him. So we were careful with our messaging, but he’s come in here and just done a tremendous job. He’s earned the respect of all his teammates, and now that he’s been able to do that, I’m very much open-minded of him being on this team as we break this camp.”Moore emphasized that there are still two weeks of Cactus League games to go, but where Witt has appeared in games and on the backfields is an indication of where he stands among club officials and the coaching staff. Witt has hit leadoff or second when he starts, maximizing his at-bats against Major League pitchers at the beginning of games. He’s played second base with shortstop Adalberto Mondesi as his middle-infield partner, and Witt does drill work on the backfields with the other big league infielders.“There’s still two weeks to go,” Moore said. “[Royals manager Mike Matheny] is going to continue to challenge him, keep him in the lineup and look for matchups where he’s facing the best pitching possible, and we’ll make a decision when the time comes. I’m not going to make an advanced decision now, but we’re just going to let the player tell us.“Right now, we don’t have to pick our roster. But the fact that Bobby Witt is still in camp and Mike continues to play him, and the most important thing is we all know he’s earned the respect -- a young talented player with a lot of hype around him who’s earned the respect of his teammates. And now that that is happening, I’m certainly going to be very open-minded about him being on this team once we break camp.”<figure>
 <img src="https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/private/ar_16:9,g_auto,q_auto:good,w_1024,c_fill,f_jpg,dpr_3.0/mlb/tgdpd1rimje5g7gchu1o" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Jim Callis on Royals' prospects</h2>Witt, selected No. 2 overall in the 2019 MLB Draft, has not played above rookie ball in the Minors, but he stood out at the alternate training site last summer, when he looked as though he hadn’t lost a step despite not having a Minor League season in 2020. The Royals knew when they drafted the son of Bobby Witt, who pitched in the Majors for 16 seasons, that they had a special talent. As Witt Jr. has developed, the question that surrounds him is more about when the right time to promote him is and where he’ll play when he gets to Kansas City.Moore said that Witt can play all over the diamond, including shortstop, second base and center field. With Mondesi entrenched as the Royals' everyday shortstop, Witt could find the most time at second base if he does debut this year.“I think that he could be an elite defender really anywhere on the diamond,” Moore said. “We could put him in center field and he could cover Kauffman Stadium. Of course, we’ve got a terrific young shortstop in Adalberto Mondesi. But [Witt] definitely would be able to perform very well there. He’s just a special talent, and it’s been a joy watching him compete this spring.”Around the horn • The Royals optioned reliever Tyler Zuber and catcher Sebastian Rivero to Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday, cutting the number of players in Major League camp to 40, including 13 non-roster invites.• Left fielder Andrew Benintendi is making progress after back soreness pushed him out of the lineup on Monday. Benintendi took batting practice Tuesday before the Royals’ game, and neither he nor the club is concerned about the soreness. He’ll take advantage of a few days off before getting back in the lineup.• Royals starter Brad Keller allowed five earned runs in three innings Tuesday, with the Mariners knocking him for six hits and picking up three walks. Keller struggled with his fastball command and didn’t have a feel for his slider until the end of the outing, which was around 80 pitches.“It was just frustrating because I need to make an adjustment quicker, and I was out there searching for it way too long and falling behind guys,” Keller said. “I need to be better at getting back on top of the ball and drowning the ball down in the zone for strikes. Just get back into the zone.”• The Royals couldn’t bounce back after Keller exited and were knocked around, with three errors and three home runs allowed in Kansas City’s fourth loss of the exhibition season. Right-hander Brad Brach allowed five runs in 1/3 innings, while the Royals' offense recorded just three hits -- only one coming after the second inning.“Sometimes you just use one of these as one of those reminders of how we do not like this feeling,” Matheny said. “It’s Spring Training, and we talk about not making too big of a deal about rolling off a bunch of wins -- you know what, I’ll make a big deal out of them, and I’m also going to make a big deal of how bad it feels to get embarrassed out there, and that’s what happened.”

KC 'open-minded' on Witt Jr. making roster

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

UNDATED (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have gotten in the habit the past couple years of plugging their biggest holes by trading for big-name bats that just happen to have had a whole lot of success against them. Two years ago it was Paul Goldschmidt, and this past offseason it was Nolen Arenado. Now, those two sluggers are set to anchor a much more dangerous lineup and support a strong cast of starters and one of the best bullpens in baseball as the Cardinals seek take aim at the Chicago Cubs and the rest of the NL Central.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA Tournament always seems to put a premium on guard play, and that may be even more important during this most bizarre of tournaments. So here's a look at other backcourt wizards looking to make their mark on March, highlighted by UConn star James Bouknight and Iowa floor leader Jordan Bohannon.

UNDATED (AP) — Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard anticipates a quick search to find a new men's basketball coach after the firing of Steve Prohm. Pollard released a 10-minute video in which he discusses the reasons for letting Prohm go and the course forward. Iowa State was 2-22 overall and 0-18 in Big 12 play. It was the lowest win total since 1924-25 and the first winless conference season since 1936-37. Pollard also knocked down speculation that a donor or group of donors volunteered to pay Prohm's $5 million buyout.

UNDATED (AP) — The Utah Jazz hope they've pulled out of their first tailspin of the season by winning in Boston.

Donovan Mitchell had eight of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to send the Jazz past the Celtics, 117-109. Jordan Clarkson added 20 points off the bench for Utah, which hit 19 3-pointers and won for just the third time in seven games since a 26-6 start.

Mike Conley had 17 points and Rudy Gobert finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds to help the Jazz sweep the season series between the teams.

Boston led by as many as 11 in the first half before fading down the stretch. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 29 points and Jaylen Brown added 28. 

— Tobias Harris scored 30 points, Seth Curry had 20 and the 76ers beat the Knicks, 99-96 for their sixth straight win. The Sixers lead the East and are a full game ahead of the Nets. Harris got hot in the final minutes and scored seven straight points, including the tying bucket from 3-feet out and a go-ahead layup that made it 96-92.

— The Heat won for the 11th time in 12 games as Jimmy Butler had 28 points and 12 rebounds in a 113-98 downing of the Cavaliers. Bam Adebayo returned from a knee issue and finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Kelly Olynyk scored 17 points and Tyler Herro had 15 in just Miami's third game in which it led the entire fourth quarter.

— LeBron James had 25 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in his 99th career triple-double, leading the Lakers to a 137-121 victory over the Timberwolves. Montrezl Harrell scored 25 points as the defending NBA champions picked up their third straight victory on the second night of a back-to-back set. Dennis Schröder had 16 points and seven assists, while Kyle Kuzma and Talen Horton-Tucker also scored 16 apiece.

— Damian Lillard poured in 50 points and had 10 assists in the Trail Blazers' comeback win over the Pelicans, 125-124. Lillard finished with six 3-pointers and made two clutch free throws with 1.2 seconds left in his fifth game with at least 40 points this season. Brandon Ingram scored 30 points and Zion Williamson added 28 for the Pelicans. 

— Danilo Gallinari scored 20 of his 29 points in the first half of the Hawks' sixth win in a row, 119-107 over the Rockets. Gallinari hit 5 of 8 from 3-point range and has scored at least 20 points in four of his last five games after reaching that mark just twice in his first 23 contests this season. John Collins scored 20 points, and Trae Young had 13 points and 14 assists. Houston lost its 17th straight game, tying the franchise record by the San Diego Rockets in the team's inaugural 1967-68 season.

— Zach LaVine scored 40 points on 15-for-20 shooting, and Lauri Markkanen added 22 as the Bulls ripped the Thunder, 123-102. LaVine was unstoppable from in-close and long-range in stretches, and finished with seven 3-pointers on 12 attempts. Thaddeus Young had 17 points and nine rebounds as the Bulls shot at 51.1 % 

UNDATED (AP) — Toronto Raptors Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, Malachi Flynn and Patrick McCaw were back with the team for practice Tuesday after missing more than two weeks for virus-related reasons. 

Siakam, Flynn and McCaw are questionable to play Wednesday in Detroit. VanVleet and OG Anunoby are likely to remain out until at least Friday's home game in Tampa, Florida against Utah.

VanVleet revealed that he tested positive for the virus, adding that the symptoms gave him some problems.

NCAA officials out of tourney due to pandemic

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — One referee scheduled to work the NCAA men's basketball tournament has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him and five others who went out to dinner with him out of the tournament. 

Their excursion ran counter to a protocol that called on all players and staff to eat at their NCAA hotels, but because the refs' rooms weren't ready and there was no food available, they were given a pass. It resulted in a big shake-up of the officiating corps for the games, 52 of which take place Thursday through next Monday at different arenas in Indianapolis, Bloomington and Purdue.

UNDATED (AP) — Richard Pitino is the new men's basketball coach at New Mexico, hours after Minnesota finalized his firing following eight seasons on the job.

The 38-year-old Pitino succeeds Paul Weir, who went 58-63 in four seasons for the Lobos.

Pitino went just 54-96 in Big Ten Conference play with only three finishes in the rugged league higher than 10th place. He took the Gophers to the NCAA Tournament twice and went there five other times as an assistant at Louisville and Florida.

UNDATED (AP) — Utah has dismissed basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak after 10 seasons and a 183-139 record.

Krystkowiak took over the program in 2011 and led Utah to two NCAA Tournament appearances. The Utes won 27 games in 2015-16 with a squad that included Jakob Poeltl and Kyle Kuzma. The Utes finished 12-13 this season.

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — George Mason has fired men's basketball coach Dave Paulsen after six seasons in which the team never went to the NCAA or NIT tournaments. The Patriots had four winning seasons under Paulsen and went 95-91 with a 47-57 record in Atlantic 10 Conference play. The Patriots were 13-9 this past season and lost in the quarterfinals of the A10 tournament. 

Gonzaga, Baylor dominate AP All-America teams

UNDATED (AP) — The Associated Press has released its men's All-America team and it is dominated by Gonzaga and Baylor. 

Both teams were atop the rankings most of the season. Gonzaga's Corey Kispert and Baylor's Jared Butler are on the first team. They are joined by unanimous pick Luka Garza of Iowa, Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois and dynamic freshman Cade Cunningham of Oklahoma State. Gonzaga's Drew Timme and Jalen Suggs are also second-team All-Americans. Baylor's Davion Mitchell made the third team.

Report: James becomes partner in group that owns Red Sox

BOSTON (AP) — LeBron James reportedly owns a piece of Xander Bogaerts.

The Boston Globe first reported that the Los Angeles Lakers All-Star forward has reportedly become a partner in Fenway Sports Group, making him a part-owner of the Boston Red Sox. Fenway Sports Group is the parent company of the Red Sox as well as the Liverpool Football Club of the English Premier League and the Roush Fenway Racing NASCAR team. James has had a relationship with FSG since 2011, when he signed a marketing deal in exchange for an ownership stake in Liverpool.

— Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun likely will start the regular season on the injured list because of a lingering groin injury. Calhoun was limited to 29 games during the shortened 2020 regular season because of a hamstring injury. That was after he had recovered from a broken jaw sustained when he was hit in the face by a fastball during a spring training game last March.

— Infielder Maikel Franco and the Baltimore Orioles have finalized an $800,000, one-year contract. Franco hit .278 with 16 doubles, eight homers and a team-high 38 RBIs for the Kansas City during last year's pandemic-shortened season. Franco has a .253 average with 110 homers and 381 RBIs in seven major league seasons with Philadelphia and the Royals. 

—The Seattle Mariners lost a potential arm out of the bullpen after Roenis Elias was scheduled to undergo surgery for an elbow injury suffered during spring training in Arizona. Manager Scott Servais says multiple doctors looked at the injury following an initial MRI and all seem to agree surgery will be the best course. Elias was a non-roster invitee to spring training. He did not pitch in the majors last year due to a flexor strain. 

QB Fitzpatrick headed to Washington, Saints keep Winston, Titans rebuild rush

UNDATED (AP) — A person with direct knowledge of the move tells The Associated Press that Washington has agreed to sign veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. 

The 38-year-old gives Washington more experience at football's most important position after it released Alex Smith. The team now has Fitzpatrick, journeyman-turned-playoff standout Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen under contract at quarterback. 

Washington also has the 19th pick in the draft and could use one of its first few selections on a QB of the future. 

— Quarterback Jacoby Brissett agreed Tuesday to a $7.5 million, one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins, where he'll replace Ryan Fitzpatrick as the backup to Tua Tagovailoa. The five-year veteran was the backup for the Indianapolis Colts last year. He went 7-8 as a starter with them in 2019, and was 4-11 as their starter in 2017.

— The New Orleans Saints are bringing back quarterback Jameis Winston on a one-year contract. The move comes after Drew Brees' decision over the weekend to retire. It provides Winston a chance to compete with Taysom Hill to be New Orleans' next starter under center. Winston entered the NFL with high expectations after winning the 2013 Heisman Trophy and being selected first overall by Tampa Bay in the 2015 NFL draft. But the Buccaneers replaced him last year with Tom Brady and Winston joined the Saints as a backup.

— The Denver Broncos have exercised their $7 million guaranteed option on superstar linebacker Von Miller. The move engages the final season of Miller's six-year, $114.5 million contract he signed in the aftermath of his Super Bowl 50 MVP performance. 

— The Baltimore Ravens agreed to a four-year contract with linebacker Tyus Bowser and a three-year deal with defensive lineman Derek Wolfe before they became free agents. A person familiar with the deal said that Wolfe's new contract is worth $12 million. Bowser's contract is worth a reported $22 million. 

— The Dallas Cowboys are bringing back one of their special teams aces in cornerback C.J. Goodwin and adding veteran Ty Nsekhe as a backup tackle as their quiet opening to free agency continues. Agent Drew Rosenhaus says Goodwin has agreed on a $3.5 million, two-year contract. Nsekhe's agency says the 35-year-old has accepted a one-year deal. 

—The Carolina Panthers addressed their offensive line by agreeing to terms with free agent offensive linemen Pat Elflein and Cameron Erving. Elflein received a three-year, $13.5 million deal with $6 million guaranteed, while Erving agreed to a two-year, $10 million contract with $8 million guaranteed.

—The Tennessee Titans are releasing a pair of starters in cornerback Adoree Jackson and right tackle Dennis Kelly to clear salary cap space. Kelly signed a three-year, $21 million deal a year ago. A knee injury just before the start of the season limited Jackson to three games in 2020. 

— The Tennessee Titans have agreed to terms with linebacker Bud Dupree and defensive lineman Denico Autry. The 6-foot-4, 269 Dupree has 39 1/2 career sacks, and he had eight in 11 games last season for Pittsburgh before an injured right knee ended his season. Autry has 30 1/2 career sacks, 7 1/2 sacks of those last season for Indianapolis. 

— The Patriots have agreed to terms on a three-year, $22.5 million contract with free agent receiver Kendrick Bourne. His agent says the deal is for three years and $22.5 million. Bourne is coming off his best season in 2020, catching 49 passes for 667 yards for San Francisco. 

— The Jacksonville Jaguars and former Seattle cornerback Shaquill Griffin have agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $44.5 million. The deal includes $29 million guaranteed. Griffin will be an immediate starter opposite CJ Henderson and could help the Jaguars have one of the league's best coverage tandems.

— The Chicago Bears and defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. have agreed to a three-year contract extension through 2023. Edwards had a career-high four sacks and seven quarterback hits after signing with Chicago prior to last season. 

— The Las Vegas Raiders are planning to release star center Rodney Hudson as part of a major overhaul of the team's offensive line. A person familiar with the move says Hudson will be released with two years left on his current contract. The Raiders have also agreed to trade right tackle Trent Brown to New England and cut left guard Richie Incognito. 

— The Cleveland Browns plan to sign free agent defensive end Takkarist McKinley. A first-round pick for Atlanta in 2017, McKinley has agreed to a one-year, $4 million contract.

UNDATED (AP) — Alex Ovechkin continues to climb up the NHL career scoring lists.

Ovechkin moved up to sixth on the all-time goals list while helping the Capitals beat the Islanders, 3-1. He climbed ahead of Phil Esposito with his 718th goal, a power-play tally that gave the Caps a 2-0 lead in the second period.

Ovechkin also set up TJ Oshie's goal, and Nicklas Backstrom scored as Washington won its sixth in a row.

Oliver Wahlstrom netted a power-play goal for the Isles, who had won nine in a row and collected points in 12 straight games.

The outcome leaves the Caps and Isles tied atop the East Division, with Washington owning a game in hand.

— Dan Vladar (vlah-DAHR') was a winner in his first NHL start as he made 34 saves in the Bruins' 2-1 victory at Pittsburgh. The Bruins needed Trent Frederic's goal 7:07 into the third period to win for just the second time in six games. Vladar blanked the Pens after Brandon Tanev beat him late in the first period. The Penguins ended a six-game winning streak and stayed five points off the East Division lead, with Boston another three points back.

— Brayden Point had a goal and an assist, then added the deciding shootout score as the Lightning knocked off the Stars, 4-3. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 24 saves in winning his ninth straight game. Mathieu Joseph and Steven Stamkos also scored in regulation for Tampa Bay, which vaulted from third place to first in the Central Division. Vasilevskiy finally allowed a goal after shutting out the Stars in his three previous outings against them.

— Adam Erne scored twice and Jonathan Bernier made 35 saves as the Red Wings earned a 4-2 victory and snapped the Hurricanes' eight-game winning streak. Robby Fabbri broke a tie midway through the second period, sending rebuilding Detroit to just its ninth win in 30 games. The Hurricanes entered the game only one point shy of the NHL leaders.

— Kaapo Kahkonen made 31 saves in his second shutout of the season as the Minnesota Wild topped the Arizona Coyotes 3-0. Ryan Hartman, Mats Zuccarello and Jared Spurgeon scored for the Wild. Kahkonen won his ninth straight start during a standout rookie season. Minnesota swept three consecutive home games against Arizona and extended its home winning streak to eight, the longest in the NHL this year.

— Nathan MacKinnon and Samuel Girard scored 2:23 apart early in the third period while the Avalanche rallied for six unanswered goals to beat the Anaheim Ducks 8-4. Nazem Kadri had two goals and two assists for Colorado. Philipp Grubauer stopped 15 shots after replacing Hunter Miska, who allowed four goals on seven shots.

— Miles Wood's third-period power-play goal helped propel the Devils to a 3-2 win against the visiting Sabres. Yegor Sharangovich and Sami Vatanen also scored as the Devils ended an eleven-game home losing streak. Tobias Rieder and Jeff Skinner scored, but the Sabres extended a losing streak of their own to 12 games.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier is expected to miss three weeks following surgery Monday to repair a frontal sinus fracture.

Hischier was injured in a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Feb. 27, when he was struck in the visor by a deflected puck. 

Hischier has scored two goals and three points in five games this season, missing the first 11 contests due to a foot injury.

UNDATED (AP) — Tiger Woods is back at home in Florida to resume his recovery from career-threatening leg injuries he suffered when his SUV ran off a road and down a hill in the Los Angeles suburbs last month.

Woods was injured Feb. 23, two days after the Genesis Invitational at Riviera. Authorities said his SUV crashed into a median, rolled over and ended up on its side near a steep road known for wrecks.

He had a lengthy surgery that day at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for shattered tibia and fibula bones of his lower right leg in multiple locations. 

Study: NCAA Tourney teams still have racial graduation gap

UNDATED (AP) — A diversity report found that a significant graduation gap continues to exist between white and Black basketball players on teams competing in this year's NCAA Tournament, particularly on the men's side. 

The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at Central Florida examined the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for the teams competing in the upcoming NCAA Tournament and found that white male student-athletes graduated at a rate 13.5 percentage points higher than Black male student-athletes. 

White players on average had a GSR of 93.8%, compared to 80.3% for Black players. The gap was slightly lower on the women's side with white players recording a graduation rate of 97.9% compared to 91.8% for Black players.

<h2>Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press</h2>UNDATED (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have gotten in the habit the past couple years of plugging their biggest holes by trading for big-name bats that just happen to have had a whole lot of success against them. Two years ago it was Paul Goldschmidt, and this past offseason it was Nolen Arenado. Now, those two sluggers are set to anchor a much more dangerous lineup and support a strong cast of starters and one of the best bullpens in baseball as the Cardinals seek take aim at the Chicago Cubs and the rest of the NL Central.INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA Tournament always seems to put a premium on guard play, and that may be even more important during this most bizarre of tournaments. So here's a look at other backcourt wizards looking to make their mark on March, highlighted by UConn star James Bouknight and Iowa floor leader Jordan Bohannon.UNDATED (AP) — Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard anticipates a quick search to find a new men's basketball coach after the firing of Steve Prohm. Pollard released a 10-minute video in which he discusses the reasons for letting Prohm go and the course forward. Iowa State was 2-22 overall and 0-18 in Big 12 play. It was the lowest win total since 1924-25 and the first winless conference season since 1936-37. Pollard also knocked down speculation that a donor or group of donors volunteered to pay Prohm's $5 million buyout.<h2>Update on the latest sports</h2>NBA-SCHEDULEJazz knock off CelticsUNDATED (AP) — The Utah Jazz hope they've pulled out of their first tailspin of the season by winning in Boston.Donovan Mitchell had eight of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to send the Jazz past the Celtics, 117-109. Jordan Clarkson added 20 points off the bench for Utah, which hit 19 3-pointers and won for just the third time in seven games since a 26-6 start.Mike Conley had 17 points and Rudy Gobert finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds to help the Jazz sweep the season series between the teams.Boston led by as many as 11 in the first half before fading down the stretch. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 29 points and Jaylen Brown added 28. Checking out Tuesday's other NBA action:— Tobias Harris scored 30 points, Seth Curry had 20 and the 76ers beat the Knicks, 99-96 for their sixth straight win. The Sixers lead the East and are a full game ahead of the Nets. Harris got hot in the final minutes and scored seven straight points, including the tying bucket from 3-feet out and a go-ahead layup that made it 96-92.— The Heat won for the 11th time in 12 games as Jimmy Butler had 28 points and 12 rebounds in a 113-98 downing of the Cavaliers. Bam Adebayo returned from a knee issue and finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Kelly Olynyk scored 17 points and Tyler Herro had 15 in just Miami's third game in which it led the entire fourth quarter.— LeBron James had 25 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in his 99th career triple-double, leading the Lakers to a 137-121 victory over the Timberwolves. Montrezl Harrell scored 25 points as the defending NBA champions picked up their third straight victory on the second night of a back-to-back set. Dennis Schröder had 16 points and seven assists, while Kyle Kuzma and Talen Horton-Tucker also scored 16 apiece.— Damian Lillard poured in 50 points and had 10 assists in the Trail Blazers' comeback win over the Pelicans, 125-124. Lillard finished with six 3-pointers and made two clutch free throws with 1.2 seconds left in his fifth game with at least 40 points this season. Brandon Ingram scored 30 points and Zion Williamson added 28 for the Pelicans. — Danilo Gallinari scored 20 of his 29 points in the first half of the Hawks' sixth win in a row, 119-107 over the Rockets. Gallinari hit 5 of 8 from 3-point range and has scored at least 20 points in four of his last five games after reaching that mark just twice in his first 23 contests this season. John Collins scored 20 points, and Trae Young had 13 points and 14 assists. Houston lost its 17th straight game, tying the franchise record by the San Diego Rockets in the team's inaugural 1967-68 season.— Zach LaVine scored 40 points on 15-for-20 shooting, and Lauri Markkanen added 22 as the Bulls ripped the Thunder, 123-102. LaVine was unstoppable from in-close and long-range in stretches, and finished with seven 3-pointers on 12 attempts. Thaddeus Young had 17 points and nine rebounds as the Bulls shot at 51.1 % NBA-PANDEMIC-RAPTORSRaptors closer to full strengthUNDATED (AP) — Toronto Raptors Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, Malachi Flynn and Patrick McCaw were back with the team for practice Tuesday after missing more than two weeks for virus-related reasons. Siakam, Flynn and McCaw are questionable to play Wednesday in Detroit. VanVleet and OG Anunoby are likely to remain out until at least Friday's home game in Tampa, Florida against Utah.VanVleet revealed that he tested positive for the virus, adding that the symptoms gave him some problems.COLLEGE BASKETBALL-COVID-NCAA OFFICIALSNCAA officials out of tourney due to pandemicINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — One referee scheduled to work the NCAA men's basketball tournament has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him and five others who went out to dinner with him out of the tournament. Their excursion ran counter to a protocol that called on all players and staff to eat at their NCAA hotels, but because the refs' rooms weren't ready and there was no food available, they were given a pass. It resulted in a big shake-up of the officiating corps for the games, 52 of which take place Thursday through next Monday at different arenas in Indianapolis, Bloomington and Purdue.NEW MEXICO-PITINOLobos hire PitinoUNDATED (AP) — Richard Pitino is the new men's basketball coach at New Mexico, hours after Minnesota finalized his firing following eight seasons on the job.The 38-year-old Pitino succeeds Paul Weir, who went 58-63 in four seasons for the Lobos.Pitino went just 54-96 in Big Ten Conference play with only three finishes in the rugged league higher than 10th place. He took the Gophers to the NCAA Tournament twice and went there five other times as an assistant at Louisville and Florida.COLLEGE BASKETBALL-UTAHKrystowiak fired by UtesUNDATED (AP) — Utah has dismissed basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak after 10 seasons and a 183-139 record.Krystkowiak took over the program in 2011 and led Utah to two NCAA Tournament appearances. The Utes won 27 games in 2015-16 with a squad that included Jakob Poeltl and Kyle Kuzma. The Utes finished 12-13 this season.COLLEGE BASKETBALL-GEORGE MASONGeorge Mason fires hoops coachFAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — George Mason has fired men's basketball coach Dave Paulsen after six seasons in which the team never went to the NCAA or NIT tournaments. The Patriots had four winning seasons under Paulsen and went 95-91 with a 47-57 record in Atlantic 10 Conference play. The Patriots were 13-9 this past season and lost in the quarterfinals of the A10 tournament. COLLEGE BASKETBALL-ALL AMERICA TEAMGonzaga, Baylor dominate AP All-America teamsUNDATED (AP) — The Associated Press has released its men's All-America team and it is dominated by Gonzaga and Baylor. Both teams were atop the rankings most of the season. Gonzaga's Corey Kispert and Baylor's Jared Butler are on the first team. They are joined by unanimous pick Luka Garza of Iowa, Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois and dynamic freshman Cade Cunningham of Oklahoma State. Gonzaga's Drew Timme and Jalen Suggs are also second-team All-Americans. Baylor's Davion Mitchell made the third team.MLB-RED SOX-LEBRON JAMESReport: James becomes partner in group that owns Red SoxBOSTON (AP) — LeBron James reportedly owns a piece of Xander Bogaerts.The Boston Globe first reported that the Los Angeles Lakers All-Star forward has reportedly become a partner in Fenway Sports Group, making him a part-owner of the Boston Red Sox. Fenway Sports Group is the parent company of the Red Sox as well as the Liverpool Football Club of the English Premier League and the Roush Fenway Racing NASCAR team. James has had a relationship with FSG since 2011, when he signed a marketing deal in exchange for an ownership stake in Liverpool.Elsewhere in the majors:— Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun likely will start the regular season on the injured list because of a lingering groin injury. Calhoun was limited to 29 games during the shortened 2020 regular season because of a hamstring injury. That was after he had recovered from a broken jaw sustained when he was hit in the face by a fastball during a spring training game last March.— Infielder Maikel Franco and the Baltimore Orioles have finalized an $800,000, one-year contract. Franco hit .278 with 16 doubles, eight homers and a team-high 38 RBIs for the Kansas City during last year's pandemic-shortened season. Franco has a .253 average with 110 homers and 381 RBIs in seven major league seasons with Philadelphia and the Royals. —The Seattle Mariners lost a potential arm out of the bullpen after Roenis Elias was scheduled to undergo surgery for an elbow injury suffered during spring training in Arizona. Manager Scott Servais says multiple doctors looked at the injury following an initial MRI and all seem to agree surgery will be the best course. Elias was a non-roster invitee to spring training. He did not pitch in the majors last year due to a flexor strain. NFL-FREE AGENCYQB Fitzpatrick headed to Washington, Saints keep Winston, Titans rebuild rushUNDATED (AP) — A person with direct knowledge of the move tells The Associated Press that Washington has agreed to sign veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The 38-year-old gives Washington more experience at football's most important position after it released Alex Smith. The team now has Fitzpatrick, journeyman-turned-playoff standout Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen under contract at quarterback. Washington also has the 19th pick in the draft and could use one of its first few selections on a QB of the future. In other moves:— Quarterback Jacoby Brissett agreed Tuesday to a $7.5 million, one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins, where he'll replace Ryan Fitzpatrick as the backup to Tua Tagovailoa. The five-year veteran was the backup for the Indianapolis Colts last year. He went 7-8 as a starter with them in 2019, and was 4-11 as their starter in 2017.— The New Orleans Saints are bringing back quarterback Jameis Winston on a one-year contract. The move comes after Drew Brees' decision over the weekend to retire. It provides Winston a chance to compete with Taysom Hill to be New Orleans' next starter under center. Winston entered the NFL with high expectations after winning the 2013 Heisman Trophy and being selected first overall by Tampa Bay in the 2015 NFL draft. But the Buccaneers replaced him last year with Tom Brady and Winston joined the Saints as a backup.— The Denver Broncos have exercised their $7 million guaranteed option on superstar linebacker Von Miller. The move engages the final season of Miller's six-year, $114.5 million contract he signed in the aftermath of his Super Bowl 50 MVP performance. — The Baltimore Ravens agreed to a four-year contract with linebacker Tyus Bowser and a three-year deal with defensive lineman Derek Wolfe before they became free agents. A person familiar with the deal said that Wolfe's new contract is worth $12 million. Bowser's contract is worth a reported $22 million. — The Dallas Cowboys are bringing back one of their special teams aces in cornerback C.J. Goodwin and adding veteran Ty Nsekhe as a backup tackle as their quiet opening to free agency continues. Agent Drew Rosenhaus says Goodwin has agreed on a $3.5 million, two-year contract. Nsekhe's agency says the 35-year-old has accepted a one-year deal. —The Carolina Panthers addressed their offensive line by agreeing to terms with free agent offensive linemen Pat Elflein and Cameron Erving. Elflein received a three-year, $13.5 million deal with $6 million guaranteed, while Erving agreed to a two-year, $10 million contract with $8 million guaranteed.—The Tennessee Titans are releasing a pair of starters in cornerback Adoree Jackson and right tackle Dennis Kelly to clear salary cap space. Kelly signed a three-year, $21 million deal a year ago. A knee injury just before the start of the season limited Jackson to three games in 2020. — The Tennessee Titans have agreed to terms with linebacker Bud Dupree and defensive lineman Denico Autry. The 6-foot-4, 269 Dupree has 39 1/2 career sacks, and he had eight in 11 games last season for Pittsburgh before an injured right knee ended his season. Autry has 30 1/2 career sacks, 7 1/2 sacks of those last season for Indianapolis. — The Patriots have agreed to terms on a three-year, $22.5 million contract with free agent receiver Kendrick Bourne. His agent says the deal is for three years and $22.5 million. Bourne is coming off his best season in 2020, catching 49 passes for 667 yards for San Francisco. — The Jacksonville Jaguars and former Seattle cornerback Shaquill Griffin have agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $44.5 million. The deal includes $29 million guaranteed. Griffin will be an immediate starter opposite CJ Henderson and could help the Jaguars have one of the league's best coverage tandems.— The Chicago Bears and defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. have agreed to a three-year contract extension through 2023. Edwards had a career-high four sacks and seven quarterback hits after signing with Chicago prior to last season. — The Las Vegas Raiders are planning to release star center Rodney Hudson as part of a major overhaul of the team's offensive line. A person familiar with the move says Hudson will be released with two years left on his current contract. The Raiders have also agreed to trade right tackle Trent Brown to New England and cut left guard Richie Incognito. — The Cleveland Browns plan to sign free agent defensive end Takkarist McKinley. A first-round pick for Atlanta in 2017, McKinley has agreed to a one-year, $4 million contract.NHL-SCHEDULEOvi passes Espo, Caps beat IslesUNDATED (AP) — Alex Ovechkin continues to climb up the NHL career scoring lists.Ovechkin moved up to sixth on the all-time goals list while helping the Capitals beat the Islanders, 3-1. He climbed ahead of Phil Esposito with his 718th goal, a power-play tally that gave the Caps a 2-0 lead in the second period.Ovechkin also set up TJ Oshie's goal, and Nicklas Backstrom scored as Washington won its sixth in a row.Oliver Wahlstrom netted a power-play goal for the Isles, who had won nine in a row and collected points in 12 straight games.The outcome leaves the Caps and Isles tied atop the East Division, with Washington owning a game in hand.Elsewhere on NHL ice:— Dan Vladar (vlah-DAHR') was a winner in his first NHL start as he made 34 saves in the Bruins' 2-1 victory at Pittsburgh. The Bruins needed Trent Frederic's goal 7:07 into the third period to win for just the second time in six games. Vladar blanked the Pens after Brandon Tanev beat him late in the first period. The Penguins ended a six-game winning streak and stayed five points off the East Division lead, with Boston another three points back.— Brayden Point had a goal and an assist, then added the deciding shootout score as the Lightning knocked off the Stars, 4-3. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 24 saves in winning his ninth straight game. Mathieu Joseph and Steven Stamkos also scored in regulation for Tampa Bay, which vaulted from third place to first in the Central Division. Vasilevskiy finally allowed a goal after shutting out the Stars in his three previous outings against them.— Adam Erne scored twice and Jonathan Bernier made 35 saves as the Red Wings earned a 4-2 victory and snapped the Hurricanes' eight-game winning streak. Robby Fabbri broke a tie midway through the second period, sending rebuilding Detroit to just its ninth win in 30 games. The Hurricanes entered the game only one point shy of the NHL leaders.— Kaapo Kahkonen made 31 saves in his second shutout of the season as the Minnesota Wild topped the Arizona Coyotes 3-0. Ryan Hartman, Mats Zuccarello and Jared Spurgeon scored for the Wild. Kahkonen won his ninth straight start during a standout rookie season. Minnesota swept three consecutive home games against Arizona and extended its home winning streak to eight, the longest in the NHL this year.— Nathan MacKinnon and Samuel Girard scored 2:23 apart early in the third period while the Avalanche rallied for six unanswered goals to beat the Anaheim Ducks 8-4. Nazem Kadri had two goals and two assists for Colorado. Philipp Grubauer stopped 15 shots after replacing Hunter Miska, who allowed four goals on seven shots.— Miles Wood's third-period power-play goal helped propel the Devils to a 3-2 win against the visiting Sabres. Yegor Sharangovich and Sami Vatanen also scored as the Devils ended an eleven-game home losing streak. Tobias Rieder and Jeff Skinner scored, but the Sabres extended a losing streak of their own to 12 games.NHL-DEVILS-HISCHIERDevils captain out about 3 weeksNEWARK, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier is expected to miss three weeks following surgery Monday to repair a frontal sinus fracture.Hischier was injured in a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Feb. 27, when he was struck in the visor by a deflected puck. Hischier has scored two goals and three points in five games this season, missing the first 11 contests due to a foot injury.GOLF-WOODS ACCIDENTWoods home 3 weeks after surgeryUNDATED (AP) — Tiger Woods is back at home in Florida to resume his recovery from career-threatening leg injuries he suffered when his SUV ran off a road and down a hill in the Los Angeles suburbs last month.Woods was injured Feb. 23, two days after the Genesis Invitational at Riviera. Authorities said his SUV crashed into a median, rolled over and ended up on its side near a steep road known for wrecks.He had a lengthy surgery that day at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for shattered tibia and fibula bones of his lower right leg in multiple locations. NCAA TOURNAMENT-GRADUATION RATES STUDYStudy: NCAA Tourney teams still have racial graduation gapUNDATED (AP) — A diversity report found that a significant graduation gap continues to exist between white and Black basketball players on teams competing in this year's NCAA Tournament, particularly on the men's side. The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at Central Florida examined the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for the teams competing in the upcoming NCAA Tournament and found that white male student-athletes graduated at a rate 13.5 percentage points higher than Black male student-athletes. White players on average had a GSR of 93.8%, compared to 80.3% for Black players. The gap was slightly lower on the women's side with white players recording a graduation rate of 97.9% compared to 91.8% for Black players.

Sports Headlines for Wednesday

Charlotte, NC –&nbsp;Due&nbsp;to&nbsp;COVID-19 and the current&nbsp;health department&nbsp;restrictions in Hutchinson, KS, the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Tournament&nbsp;Committee has announced updated ticketing procedures and policies for this year's&nbsp;event that will be held April 19-24, 2021. To align with&nbsp;current&nbsp;local guidelines,&nbsp;capacity in Hutchinson Sports Arena will be capped at 25 percent&nbsp;and seating assignments&nbsp;will be general admission by section&nbsp;to ensure safety is maintained throughout the duration of the tournament.&nbsp;

The 2021&nbsp;tournament will require a separate ticketing process to&nbsp;ensure&nbsp;fair opportunities to purchase&nbsp;tickets&nbsp;for all fans. With the current&nbsp;local&nbsp;restrictions,&nbsp;the&nbsp;number of existing all-session ticket holders would exceed the&nbsp;allowed&nbsp;capacity in&nbsp;the arena. Current all-session ticket holders have received correspondence regarding their options to rollover&nbsp;their already purchased tickets to the 2022 tournament and&nbsp;have been provided a&nbsp;presale opportunity to purchase tickets for the&nbsp;upcoming&nbsp;2021 tournament.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Following this presale period for current all-session ticket holders, all-session tickets will be&nbsp;made&nbsp;available&nbsp;to the public&nbsp;for purchase starting March 21.&nbsp;If any tickets remain,&nbsp;individual&nbsp;session tickets will be made available two weeks before the start of the 2021 tournament.&nbsp;Participating teams will be provided an opportunity to purchase individual session tickets once their teams qualify.&nbsp;All-session prices remain $65 for each ticket&nbsp;and parking will be sold separate&nbsp;from the online ticketing system.&nbsp;

"We are proud of the rich tradition and first-class experience that exist in Hutchinson for the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Tournament," stated Ron Chadwick, Tournament Chairman. "The committee has&nbsp;made these adjustments in order to still provide the best tournament possible under local safety restrictions."&nbsp;

Tickets for the 2021 tournament&nbsp;will be available for purchase on a first come, first served basis, and&nbsp;will be general admission by section in the&nbsp;arena.&nbsp;2021 tournament tickets will be sold online&nbsp;at njcaa.org/tickets&nbsp;and will be available to download on a mobile device or&nbsp;print-at-home immediately after purchase.&nbsp;Touchless ticketing and digital scanning of tickets will allow for a safer fan experience when attending the tournament.&nbsp;

"The NJCAA always appreciates the community support in Hutchinson and the work of our local partners but this year, everyone has gone above and beyond in the face of adversity," stated Brian Luckett, NJCAA Vice President for External Affairs and Development. "While COVID-19 has forced the tournament committee to expedite some of the&nbsp;already planned&nbsp;updates to tournament operations, we look forward to the DI Men's Basketball Championship coming out of the pandemic stronger for the future with these new&nbsp;initiatives."&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/3/1615903564278.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Charlotte, NC –&nbsp;Due&nbsp;to&nbsp;COVID-19 and the current&nbsp;health department&nbsp;restrictions in Hutchinson, KS, the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Tournament&nbsp;Committee has announced updated ticketing procedures and policies for this year's&nbsp;event that will be held April 19-24, 2021. To align with&nbsp;current&nbsp;local guidelines,&nbsp;capacity in Hutchinson Sports Arena will be capped at 25 percent&nbsp;and seating assignments&nbsp;will be general admission by section&nbsp;to ensure safety is maintained throughout the duration of the tournament.&nbsp;The 2021&nbsp;tournament will require a separate ticketing process to&nbsp;ensure&nbsp;fair opportunities to purchase&nbsp;tickets&nbsp;for all fans. With the current&nbsp;local&nbsp;restrictions,&nbsp;the&nbsp;number of existing all-session ticket holders would exceed the&nbsp;allowed&nbsp;capacity in&nbsp;the arena. Current all-session ticket holders have received correspondence regarding their options to rollover&nbsp;their already purchased tickets to the 2022 tournament and&nbsp;have been provided a&nbsp;presale opportunity to purchase tickets for the&nbsp;upcoming&nbsp;2021 tournament.&nbsp;&nbsp;Following this presale period for current all-session ticket holders, all-session tickets will be&nbsp;made&nbsp;available&nbsp;to the public&nbsp;for purchase starting March 21.&nbsp;If any tickets remain,&nbsp;individual&nbsp;session tickets will be made available two weeks before the start of the 2021 tournament.&nbsp;Participating teams will be provided an opportunity to purchase individual session tickets once their teams qualify.&nbsp;All-session prices remain $65 for each ticket&nbsp;and parking will be sold separate&nbsp;from the online ticketing system.&nbsp;"We are proud of the rich tradition and first-class experience that exist in Hutchinson for the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Tournament," stated Ron Chadwick, Tournament Chairman. "The committee has&nbsp;made these adjustments in order to still provide the best tournament possible under local safety restrictions."&nbsp;Tickets for the 2021 tournament&nbsp;will be available for purchase on a first come, first served basis, and&nbsp;will be general admission by section in the&nbsp;arena.&nbsp;2021 tournament tickets will be sold online&nbsp;at njcaa.org/tickets&nbsp;and will be available to download on a mobile device or&nbsp;print-at-home immediately after purchase.&nbsp;Touchless ticketing and digital scanning of tickets will allow for a safer fan experience when attending the tournament.&nbsp;"The NJCAA always appreciates the community support in Hutchinson and the work of our local partners but this year, everyone has gone above and beyond in the face of adversity," stated Brian Luckett, NJCAA Vice President for External Affairs and Development. "While COVID-19 has forced the tournament committee to expedite some of the&nbsp;already planned&nbsp;updates to tournament operations, we look forward to the DI Men's Basketball Championship coming out of the pandemic stronger for the future with these new&nbsp;initiatives."&nbsp;

NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Tournament announces updates to ticketing

AUDIO: Eagle Radio Sports for Tuesday

DODGE CITY – In a game filled with potential knee-buckling runs, the Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team delivered the final blow to Dodge City in overtime Monday night.

After&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/bios/baker_josh_lpkm">Josh Baker</a>&nbsp;hit two free throws with 9.1 seconds to play to force overtime, the Blue Dragons rattled the Conquistadors with a 9-0 run to start the extra session. The No. 25-ranked Dragons dominated overtime and took complete command of the Jayhawk West title chase after a 100-89 victory at the Student Activities Center to complete the season sweep of Dodge City.

Now 12-3 overall, the Blue Dragons own a three-game lead over Dodge City in the Jayhawk West at 11-3. The Conquistadors fall to 8-6. The Dragons own a 3.5 game lead over third-place Barton, which was upset by Seward County on Monday in Great Bend.

For the third time this season, the Blue Dragons had to rally from a halftime deficit. Dodge City used a 12-3 run to close the first half and lead Hutchinson 48-39 at halftime.

The Dragons still trailed 81-74 with 5 minutes to play in regulation and finally started to chip away and got the game tied at 83 on a&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/bios/mayers_matt_jfk4">Matt Mayers</a>&nbsp;bucket with 1:34 to play. Dodge City's Tyler Stallworth answered with 1:11 to play with an inside hoop with 1:11 to go in regulation for an 85-83 Dodge City lead.

The Dragons didn't score on its next possession, but&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/bios/bujdoso_isaiah_t7bk">Isaiah Bujdoso</a>&nbsp;tied up Dodge's Walyn Napper with the possession arrow pointing toward the Blue Dragons with 19 seconds left. Baker was fouled with 9.1 seconds to play and he calmly hit two free throws to tie the game at 85. Napper left a potential game-winning layup short of the front rim to close regulation.

The Blue Dragons took over in overtime. Mayers completed a three-point play and nailed another baseline jumper for the first five points of OT to give Hutchinson a 90-85 lead. Bujdoso then knocked down back-to-back short jumpers for a 9-0 run to start overtime and lead 94-85 with 3 minutes to play. Baker then delivered the dagger with a 3-pointer from the right corner to give the Dragons a 96-86 lead with 2:31 to play.

Hutchinson outscored Dodge City 15-4 in overtime, hitting 6 of 11 shots and holding Dodge City to 1 of 9 shooting.

Hutchinson is now 22-6 in overtime games in the Steve Eck era.

Baker scored a career-high 31 points to lead the Blue Dragons. Baker knocked down five 3-pointers and was a perfect 10 for 10 from the free-throw line. Baker added five assists.

Mayers scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half and overtime and needed the extra session to post his ninth-straight and 11th career double-double with 11 rebounds.

<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/bios/kuath_majok_xrls">Majok Kuath</a>&nbsp;had 14 points and seven rebounds. Bujdoso had eight points with seven rebounds and a career-high 10 assists.&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/bios/robinson_chris_q1cl">Chris Robinson</a>&nbsp;had 10 points and six rebounds.

The Blue Dragons shot 44.7 percent for the game (34 of 76), going 6 of 16 from 3-point range and 26 of 38 from the foul line. The Dragons owned a 44-42 rebounding advantage and limited their turnovers to only nine.

Napper, who had 39 points in the first game against Hutchinson, had a game-high 25 to lead the Conquistadors on Monday. Emmanuel Jones had 19 points and Mike Marsh had 15.

Dodge City shot 48.5 percent for the game (33 of 68), hitting 9 of 26 from distance and 14 of 22 from the foul line. The Conquistadors had 18 turnovers, which Hutch parlayed into an 18-8 scoring advantage off turnovers.

Hutchinson plays host to Northwest Kansas Tech on Wednesday in the Sports Arena.

DODGE CITY – In a game filled with potential knee-buckling runs, the Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team delivered the final blow to Dodge City in overtime Monday night.After&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/bios/baker_josh_lpkm">Josh Baker</a>&nbsp;hit two free throws with 9.1 seconds to play to force overtime, the Blue Dragons rattled the Conquistadors with a 9-0 run to start the extra session. The No. 25-ranked Dragons dominated overtime and took complete command of the Jayhawk West title chase after a 100-89 victory at the Student Activities Center to complete the season sweep of Dodge City.Now 12-3 overall, the Blue Dragons own a three-game lead over Dodge City in the Jayhawk West at 11-3. The Conquistadors fall to 8-6. The Dragons own a 3.5 game lead over third-place Barton, which was upset by Seward County on Monday in Great Bend.For the third time this season, the Blue Dragons had to rally from a halftime deficit. Dodge City used a 12-3 run to close the first half and lead Hutchinson 48-39 at halftime.The Dragons still trailed 81-74 with 5 minutes to play in regulation and finally started to chip away and got the game tied at 83 on a&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/bios/mayers_matt_jfk4">Matt Mayers</a>&nbsp;bucket with 1:34 to play. Dodge City's Tyler Stallworth answered with 1:11 to play with an inside hoop with 1:11 to go in regulation for an 85-83 Dodge City lead.The Dragons didn't score on its next possession, but&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/bios/bujdoso_isaiah_t7bk">Isaiah Bujdoso</a>&nbsp;tied up Dodge's Walyn Napper with the possession arrow pointing toward the Blue Dragons with 19 seconds left. Baker was fouled with 9.1 seconds to play and he calmly hit two free throws to tie the game at 85. Napper left a potential game-winning layup short of the front rim to close regulation.The Blue Dragons took over in overtime. Mayers completed a three-point play and nailed another baseline jumper for the first five points of OT to give Hutchinson a 90-85 lead. Bujdoso then knocked down back-to-back short jumpers for a 9-0 run to start overtime and lead 94-85 with 3 minutes to play. Baker then delivered the dagger with a 3-pointer from the right corner to give the Dragons a 96-86 lead with 2:31 to play.Hutchinson outscored Dodge City 15-4 in overtime, hitting 6 of 11 shots and holding Dodge City to 1 of 9 shooting.Hutchinson is now 22-6 in overtime games in the Steve Eck era.Baker scored a career-high 31 points to lead the Blue Dragons. Baker knocked down five 3-pointers and was a perfect 10 for 10 from the free-throw line. Baker added five assists.Mayers scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half and overtime and needed the extra session to post his ninth-straight and 11th career double-double with 11 rebounds.<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/bios/kuath_majok_xrls">Majok Kuath</a>&nbsp;had 14 points and seven rebounds. Bujdoso had eight points with seven rebounds and a career-high 10 assists.&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/bios/robinson_chris_q1cl">Chris Robinson</a>&nbsp;had 10 points and six rebounds.The Blue Dragons shot 44.7 percent for the game (34 of 76), going 6 of 16 from 3-point range and 26 of 38 from the foul line. The Dragons owned a 44-42 rebounding advantage and limited their turnovers to only nine.Napper, who had 39 points in the first game against Hutchinson, had a game-high 25 to lead the Conquistadors on Monday. Emmanuel Jones had 19 points and Mike Marsh had 15.Dodge City shot 48.5 percent for the game (33 of 68), hitting 9 of 26 from distance and 14 of 22 from the foul line. The Conquistadors had 18 turnovers, which Hutch parlayed into an 18-8 scoring advantage off turnovers.Hutchinson plays host to Northwest Kansas Tech on Wednesday in the Sports Arena.

🏀 Blue Dragon Men prevail in OT, now lead West by 3 games

By STEVE CARPENTER - Hutchinson CC Sports Information

DODGE CITY – The No. 22-ranked Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team found its offensive touch Monday night to maintain its slim Jayhawk West lead.

The Blue Dragons broke the 80-point mark for the first time since February 22 (8 games), using the offense to outscored Dodge City by 27 points over the final 23 minutes of the game to rout the Conquistadors 82-50 in a Jayhawk West contest at the DC3 Student Activities Center.

Hutchinson improved to 13-3 overall and maintained a slim one-half game lead over Barton, which routed Seward County on Monday in Great Bend. Dodge City dropped to 4-12 overall and 3-12 in the Jayhawk West.

Hutchinson led 29-25 with 2:30 to play in the second quarter.&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/suttington_ishante_gbs8">Ishante Suttington</a>&nbsp;scored with a drive to the hoop with 2:12 to play in the quarter.&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/gore_lojong_i68o">Lojong Gore</a>&nbsp;then scored on back-to-back possessions and&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/alford_tor-e_j660">Tor'e Alford</a>&nbsp;scored with 1 second to play in the half to cap a quick 8-0 run and extend a four-point margin into a 37-25 lead at halftime.

The Blue Dragons extended the run to 15-2 when Suttington's free throws with 7:37 to play gave the Blue Dragons a 44-27 lead.

Dodge City pulled within 49-38 with 3 minutes to play in the third quarter, but the Dragons used 3-point goals by&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/ervin_kalyn_foze">Kalyn Ervin</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/ogle_kate_kntm">Kate Ogle</a>&nbsp;and six points from Gore in a quarter-closing 12-2 run to take a 61-40 lead into the four quarter.

Gore and Ogle led the Blue Dragons with 19 points each. Gore's 19 points was a career high point total. She was 7 of 11 shooting, which included a career single-game best two 3-pointers. Gore added seven rebounds.

Ogle had a perfect shooting night going 7 of 7 from the field, including two 3-pointers and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line. She had four rebounds and a pair of steals.

Suttington tied a career high with 16 points. She had five rebounds and four assists. K.K. Adams had 10 points. Alford returned to the line-up to score nine points, but had seven assists and four steals.

The Blue Dragons shot better than 45 percent for the first time since the Cowley game on February 22, shooting 48.4 percent from the field (30 of 62). Six different Hutchinson players had 3-pointers as the Blue Dragons hit 11 of 32 from 3-point range. Hutchinson was 11 of 17 from the free-throw line. For the second-straight game against Dodge City, the Blue Dragons were out-rebounded, this time 41-36. The Dragons had 13 turnovers to Dodge City's 22.

Emery Maze led the Conquistadors with 13 points. Xenia Cavale had nine points.

The Blue Dragons limited the Conquistadors to 29.0 percent shooting (16 of 62) – this is the fifth time this season the Dragons have held an opponent to less than 30 percent shooting. Dodge City was 5 of 19 from 3-point range and 9 of 14 from the foul line.

The Blue Dragons begin a two-game homestand on Wednesday against Northwest Tech in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff in the Sports Arena.

By STEVE CARPENTER - Hutchinson CC Sports InformationDODGE CITY – The No. 22-ranked Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team found its offensive touch Monday night to maintain its slim Jayhawk West lead.The Blue Dragons broke the 80-point mark for the first time since February 22 (8 games), using the offense to outscored Dodge City by 27 points over the final 23 minutes of the game to rout the Conquistadors 82-50 in a Jayhawk West contest at the DC3 Student Activities Center.Hutchinson improved to 13-3 overall and maintained a slim one-half game lead over Barton, which routed Seward County on Monday in Great Bend. Dodge City dropped to 4-12 overall and 3-12 in the Jayhawk West.Hutchinson led 29-25 with 2:30 to play in the second quarter.&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/suttington_ishante_gbs8">Ishante Suttington</a>&nbsp;scored with a drive to the hoop with 2:12 to play in the quarter.&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/gore_lojong_i68o">Lojong Gore</a>&nbsp;then scored on back-to-back possessions and&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/alford_tor-e_j660">Tor'e Alford</a>&nbsp;scored with 1 second to play in the half to cap a quick 8-0 run and extend a four-point margin into a 37-25 lead at halftime.The Blue Dragons extended the run to 15-2 when Suttington's free throws with 7:37 to play gave the Blue Dragons a 44-27 lead.Dodge City pulled within 49-38 with 3 minutes to play in the third quarter, but the Dragons used 3-point goals by&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/ervin_kalyn_foze">Kalyn Ervin</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/bios/ogle_kate_kntm">Kate Ogle</a>&nbsp;and six points from Gore in a quarter-closing 12-2 run to take a 61-40 lead into the four quarter.Gore and Ogle led the Blue Dragons with 19 points each. Gore's 19 points was a career high point total. She was 7 of 11 shooting, which included a career single-game best two 3-pointers. Gore added seven rebounds.Ogle had a perfect shooting night going 7 of 7 from the field, including two 3-pointers and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line. She had four rebounds and a pair of steals.Suttington tied a career high with 16 points. She had five rebounds and four assists. K.K. Adams had 10 points. Alford returned to the line-up to score nine points, but had seven assists and four steals.The Blue Dragons shot better than 45 percent for the first time since the Cowley game on February 22, shooting 48.4 percent from the field (30 of 62). Six different Hutchinson players had 3-pointers as the Blue Dragons hit 11 of 32 from 3-point range. Hutchinson was 11 of 17 from the free-throw line. For the second-straight game against Dodge City, the Blue Dragons were out-rebounded, this time 41-36. The Dragons had 13 turnovers to Dodge City's 22.Emery Maze led the Conquistadors with 13 points. Xenia Cavale had nine points.The Blue Dragons limited the Conquistadors to 29.0 percent shooting (16 of 62) – this is the fifth time this season the Dragons have held an opponent to less than 30 percent shooting. Dodge City was 5 of 19 from 3-point range and 9 of 14 from the foul line.The Blue Dragons begin a two-game homestand on Wednesday against Northwest Tech in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff in the Sports Arena.

🏀 Blue Dragon WBB offense returns to form against Dodge City

WICHITA, Kan. –&nbsp;On April 10, 2021, the Wichita State baseball program will open Riverfront Stadium in downtown Wichita for a conference matchup with Houston. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.&nbsp; "To be the first team to play in this stadium is an honor and a privilege," said Wichita State head coach&nbsp;<a href="https://goshockers.com/coaches.aspx?rc=905">Eric Wedge</a>. "This is fantastic for the city, fantastic for Wichita State and fantastic for the Wind Surge." It will be the first game in the new, state-of-the-art stadium that was completed in March 2020. The Wichita Wind Surge, then a Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, was scheduled to open play in spring 2020, but the minor league season was canceled due to COVID-19. The Wind Surge, now a Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, will open at home on May 11, 2021. "On behalf of the entire Wind Surge organization and the city of Wichita, we are beyond thrilled to be opening Riverfront Stadium for this great community," said Jared Forma, SVP/GM of the Wind Surge.&nbsp;"We could not have hoped for a more fitting partner to open this gorgeous stadium than Wichita State.&nbsp;&nbsp;Eric and his staff run a truly first-class program and we are so excited to welcome them to Riverfront Stadium.&nbsp;April 10 will be one of those magical days Lou Schwechheimer dreamt of when we broke ground roughly two years ago!" Wichita State baseball season ticket holders and Wichita Wind Surge season ticket holders will have an opportunity to buy tickets before the general public. Ticket details will be announced at a later date. Stadium capacity will be limited due to COVID-19 guidelines. &nbsp; This game will become an annual tradition for Wichita State baseball similar to the men's basketball program playing at INTRUST Bank Arena every season. "We are excited to be the first event in Wichita's new downtown stadium," Wichita State Director of Athletics&nbsp;<a href="https://goshockers.com/staff.aspx?staff=10">Darron Boatright</a>&nbsp;said. "We look forward to growing our partnership with the Wind Surge and having a game downtown every year." The Wichita State baseball program played regularly downtown at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Overall the Shockers hold a 47-19 record downtown, all at Lawrence-Dumont. The last time the Shockers played downtown was March 21, 2000, a 6-5 win over Missouri. "We are honored to be part of the inaugural game in the brand-new Riverfront Stadium," said Dr. Rick Muma, interim president of Wichita State. "The state-of-the-art facility is a symbol of the community's progress, and Wichita State is thrilled to be part of Wichita's story of prosperity."&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

WICHITA, Kan. –&nbsp;On April 10, 2021, the Wichita State baseball program will open Riverfront Stadium in downtown Wichita for a conference matchup with Houston. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.&nbsp; "To be the first team to play in this stadium is an honor and a privilege," said Wichita State head coach&nbsp;<a href="https://goshockers.com/coaches.aspx?rc=905">Eric Wedge</a>. "This is fantastic for the city, fantastic for Wichita State and fantastic for the Wind Surge." It will be the first game in the new, state-of-the-art stadium that was completed in March 2020. The Wichita Wind Surge, then a Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, was scheduled to open play in spring 2020, but the minor league season was canceled due to COVID-19. The Wind Surge, now a Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, will open at home on May 11, 2021. "On behalf of the entire Wind Surge organization and the city of Wichita, we are beyond thrilled to be opening Riverfront Stadium for this great community," said Jared Forma, SVP/GM of the Wind Surge.&nbsp;"We could not have hoped for a more fitting partner to open this gorgeous stadium than Wichita State.&nbsp;&nbsp;Eric and his staff run a truly first-class program and we are so excited to welcome them to Riverfront Stadium.&nbsp;April 10 will be one of those magical days Lou Schwechheimer dreamt of when we broke ground roughly two years ago!" Wichita State baseball season ticket holders and Wichita Wind Surge season ticket holders will have an opportunity to buy tickets before the general public. Ticket details will be announced at a later date. Stadium capacity will be limited due to COVID-19 guidelines. &nbsp; This game will become an annual tradition for Wichita State baseball similar to the men's basketball program playing at INTRUST Bank Arena every season. "We are excited to be the first event in Wichita's new downtown stadium," Wichita State Director of Athletics&nbsp;<a href="https://goshockers.com/staff.aspx?staff=10">Darron Boatright</a>&nbsp;said. "We look forward to growing our partnership with the Wind Surge and having a game downtown every year." The Wichita State baseball program played regularly downtown at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Overall the Shockers hold a 47-19 record downtown, all at Lawrence-Dumont. The last time the Shockers played downtown was March 21, 2000, a 6-5 win over Missouri. "We are honored to be part of the inaugural game in the brand-new Riverfront Stadium," said Dr. Rick Muma, interim president of Wichita State. "The state-of-the-art facility is a symbol of the community's progress, and Wichita State is thrilled to be part of Wichita's story of prosperity."&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

⚾ Wichita State to Open Riverfront Stadium

When Wichita State takes the court for the NCAA First Four it will rekindle one of its oldest rivalries. Thursday marks the first time since Feb. 1, 2017 that the Shockers have faced the Drake Bulldogs. A four-year hiatus isn't all that long in the grand scheme of things, but consider the context. WSU and Drake played a home-and-home series in all but two seasons during a 72-year stretch that began in 1945-46 when the Shockers joined the Missouri Valley Conference. The exceptions were 1972-73 and 1973-74 when the league temporarily shifted to an unbalanced format and the teams scaled back to a single matchup. WSU has faced Drake more times than any other opponent – 151 to be exact -- in a series that dates back to 1937. The Shockers won 104 of those games, including 11-straight and 15 of the last 17, before making their move to the American Athletic Conference in the summer of 2017. In honor of its revival, here's a look at some of WSU's biggest series wins: Jan. 2, 1958 (Wichita, Kan.) – WSU 74, Drake 69 Down 15 points with 11:50 to play, WSU outscored the Bulldogs 32-16 over the next 9:25 to take a one-point lead with 2:25 to play, then expanded it with six consecutive free throws. Mar. 6, 1964 (Lawrence, Kan.) – WSU 58, Drake 50 After the Shockers and Bulldogs finished with identical 10-2 conference records, WU won a neutral court tiebreaker at Allen Fieldhouse to claim its first-ever MVC Championship and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Feb. 1, 1967 (Des Moines, Iowa) – WSU 71, Drake 60 After struggling to get to Des Moines due to a blizzard, an apparently tired Shocker team trailed 60-56 with 3:50 to play before finishing the game on a 15-0 run. Jan. 20, 1973 (Des Moines, Iowa) – WSU 93, Drake 80 Richard Morsden and Bob Wilson became the first Shocker teammates to score 30+ points in a game, finishing with 33 and 30 respectively. It's happened only one other time since then (1980). Mar. 6, 1976 (Des Moines, Iowa) – WSU 75, Drake 69 Needing a win in its season finale to guarantee itself a piece of its first MVC crown since '65, WSU took care of business at Drake and won the title outright when SIU stumbled in overtime at New Mexico St. Feb. 15, 1979 (Wichita, Kan.) – WSU 125, Drake 96 In the first year of the MTXE Era, Cheese Johnson (26 points) and Ray Shirley (21) led a group of six double-figure scorers, and the Shockers set arena and program team records for both points (125) and assists (42). Feb. 18, 1980 (Des Moines, Iowa) – WSU 117, Drake 104 Drake junior Lewis Lloyd put a show with 31 points and 19 rebounds, but a pair of Shocker freshmen also had 30-point nights of their own. Behind Cliff Levingston (34) and Antoine Carr (32), WSU set a school record for most points in a road game (117). Jan. 24, 1981 (Des Moines, Iowa) – WSU 89, Drake 88 Drake's Lloyd (43 points, 12 rebounds) outscored WSU's Levingston (28 points, 18 rebounds), but the Shockers shot 58 percent in the second half to pull out an 89-88 victory. Two weeks later in Wichita, Lloyd went for another 34, but the Shockers won again by 12. Feb. 2, 1995 (Wichita, Kan.) – WSU 62, Drake 60 L.D. Swanson delivered the last of his three buzzer-beaters in the 1994-95 season, draining a short jumper with no time on the clock to snap a 60-60 tie. Feb. 22, 2006 (Des Moines, Iowa) – WSU 60, Drake 58 Paul Miller's tip-in with 3 seconds to play won the game and clinched a share of the MVC regular season title, ending a 23-year conference championship drought. Jan. 25, 2015 (Wichita, Kan.) -- #14 WSU 74, Drake 40 Tekele Cotton participated in his 108th career victory to became the winningest player in Shocker history, passing up Demetric Williams. The win was also WSU's 100th in the series against Drake.

When Wichita State takes the court for the NCAA First Four it will rekindle one of its oldest rivalries. Thursday marks the first time since Feb. 1, 2017 that the Shockers have faced the Drake Bulldogs. A four-year hiatus isn't all that long in the grand scheme of things, but consider the context. WSU and Drake played a home-and-home series in all but two seasons during a 72-year stretch that began in 1945-46 when the Shockers joined the Missouri Valley Conference. The exceptions were 1972-73 and 1973-74 when the league temporarily shifted to an unbalanced format and the teams scaled back to a single matchup. WSU has faced Drake more times than any other opponent – 151 to be exact -- in a series that dates back to 1937. The Shockers won 104 of those games, including 11-straight and 15 of the last 17, before making their move to the American Athletic Conference in the summer of 2017. In honor of its revival, here's a look at some of WSU's biggest series wins: Jan. 2, 1958 (Wichita, Kan.) – WSU 74, Drake 69 Down 15 points with 11:50 to play, WSU outscored the Bulldogs 32-16 over the next 9:25 to take a one-point lead with 2:25 to play, then expanded it with six consecutive free throws. Mar. 6, 1964 (Lawrence, Kan.) – WSU 58, Drake 50 After the Shockers and Bulldogs finished with identical 10-2 conference records, WU won a neutral court tiebreaker at Allen Fieldhouse to claim its first-ever MVC Championship and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Feb. 1, 1967 (Des Moines, Iowa) – WSU 71, Drake 60 After struggling to get to Des Moines due to a blizzard, an apparently tired Shocker team trailed 60-56 with 3:50 to play before finishing the game on a 15-0 run. Jan. 20, 1973 (Des Moines, Iowa) – WSU 93, Drake 80 Richard Morsden and Bob Wilson became the first Shocker teammates to score 30+ points in a game, finishing with 33 and 30 respectively. It's happened only one other time since then (1980). Mar. 6, 1976 (Des Moines, Iowa) – WSU 75, Drake 69 Needing a win in its season finale to guarantee itself a piece of its first MVC crown since '65, WSU took care of business at Drake and won the title outright when SIU stumbled in overtime at New Mexico St. Feb. 15, 1979 (Wichita, Kan.) – WSU 125, Drake 96 In the first year of the MTXE Era, Cheese Johnson (26 points) and Ray Shirley (21) led a group of six double-figure scorers, and the Shockers set arena and program team records for both points (125) and assists (42). Feb. 18, 1980 (Des Moines, Iowa) – WSU 117, Drake 104 Drake junior Lewis Lloyd put a show with 31 points and 19 rebounds, but a pair of Shocker freshmen also had 30-point nights of their own. Behind Cliff Levingston (34) and Antoine Carr (32), WSU set a school record for most points in a road game (117). Jan. 24, 1981 (Des Moines, Iowa) – WSU 89, Drake 88 Drake's Lloyd (43 points, 12 rebounds) outscored WSU's Levingston (28 points, 18 rebounds), but the Shockers shot 58 percent in the second half to pull out an 89-88 victory. Two weeks later in Wichita, Lloyd went for another 34, but the Shockers won again by 12. Feb. 2, 1995 (Wichita, Kan.) – WSU 62, Drake 60 L.D. Swanson delivered the last of his three buzzer-beaters in the 1994-95 season, draining a short jumper with no time on the clock to snap a 60-60 tie. Feb. 22, 2006 (Des Moines, Iowa) – WSU 60, Drake 58 Paul Miller's tip-in with 3 seconds to play won the game and clinched a share of the MVC regular season title, ending a 23-year conference championship drought. Jan. 25, 2015 (Wichita, Kan.) -- #14 WSU 74, Drake 40 Tekele Cotton participated in his 108th career victory to became the winningest player in Shocker history, passing up Demetric Williams. The win was also WSU's 100th in the series against Drake.<h2>Related Stories</h2><ul>
 <li>03.14.21&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://goshockers.com/news/2021/3/14/mens-basketball-quotables-selection-sunday.aspx">Quotables: Selection Sunday</a></li><li>03.14.21&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://goshockers.com/news/2021/3/14/mens-basketball-shockers-return-to-the-ncaa-tournament.aspx">Shockers Return to the NCAA Tournament</a></li><li>03.13.21&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://goshockers.com/news/2021/3/13/mens-basketball-wichita-state-drops-semifinal-matchup-with-cincinnati.aspx">Wichita State Drops Semifinal Matchup with Cincinnati</a></li><li>03.12.21&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://goshockers.com/news/2021/3/12/mens-basketball-shockers-meet-cincinnati-on-semifinal-saturday-in-fort-worth.aspx">Shockers Meet Cincinnati on&nbsp;</a></li>
 </ul>

🏀 Shockers' first four opponent is no stranger

DODGE CITY – The Hutchinson Community College volleyball hasn't fared well lately in five-set matches.

Leading Dodge City 2-1, but down 23-16 in the fourth, the Blue Dragons looked destined to play a third five-set match in the span of five matches.

Hutchinson averted that scenario by scoring the final nine points of the fourth set to defeat Dodge City 25-18, 22-25, 25-20, 25-23 in a Jayhawk West matchup at the DC3 Student Activities Center.

The Blue Dragons swept the season series from the Conquistadors and improved to 17-7 overall and 10-4 in the Jayhawk West. Hutchinson plays host to Seward County on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Sports Arena in the final regular-season home match. Dodge City falls to 7-13 overall and 4-9 in the league.

Hutchinson swept Dodge City in the first match of the season on February 11 in 1 hour and 3 minutes. Far surpassing that elapsed match time on Monday, Dodge City was two points away from forcing a fifth set, leading the Blue Dragons 23-16 in the fourth.

The improbable comeback started with&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wvball/2020-21/bios/murrell_shelby_tlgr">Shelby Murrell</a>&nbsp;connecting on a slide to make it 23-17. Murrell and&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wvball/2020-21/bios/thorne_jenna_xncq">Jenna Thorne</a>&nbsp;doubled up for a block and&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wvball/2020-21/bios/price_chloe_rbgs">Chloe Price</a>&nbsp;scored an ace to make it 23-19 and prompt a Dodge City timeout. Kills from Thorne and&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wvball/2020-21/bios/lane_kenna_obyd">Kenna Lane</a>&nbsp;with a second Price ace pulled the Dragons within 23-22. Dodge City was then called for a net violation to knot the set at 23.

Lane, who had a huge fourth set off the bench, drilled her sixth kill of the set, going cross-court and the Dragons led 24-23. After Dodge City's second timeout, Price finished off the 9-0 run with an ace to close out the match.

The Blue Dragons hit .253 for the match. Price, who posted her 10th double-double of the season, set a balanced attack with five players notching eight or more kills. Price had 44 assists and 11 digs to go along with four kills and three total blocks.

Thorne had a team-high 14 kills on .214 hitting against Dodge City. She posted her team-high 16th double-double with 13 digs and she added three ace serves.

<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wvball/2020-21/bios/briggs_shadee_xm04">Shadee Briggs</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wvball/2020-21/bios/head_kristina_5dlc">Kristina Head</a>&nbsp;also reached double figures in kills. Briggs finished with 11 kills and hit .200 on 40 swings. Head hit .303 with 10 kills and three total blocks. Murrell returned to the lineup after a seven-match absence because of injury and tallied eight kills and four total blocks.

Lane hit a season-high .437 on eight kills over the third and fourth sets to spark the Blue Dragons

Libero&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wvball/2020-21/bios/reeder_shelby_zpe9">Shelby Reeder</a>&nbsp;had 25 digs to lead an 84-dig effort by the Blue Dragons. Reeder now has 13 matches of 20 or more digs this season,

Hillary English finished with a match-high 21 points to lead the Conquistadors. Loren Rodriguez had 12 kills.

By Hutchinson CC Sports InformationDODGE CITY – The Hutchinson Community College volleyball hasn't fared well lately in five-set matches.Leading Dodge City 2-1, but down 23-16 in the fourth, the Blue Dragons looked destined to play a third five-set match in the span of five matches.Hutchinson averted that scenario by scoring the final nine points of the fourth set to defeat Dodge City 25-18, 22-25, 25-20, 25-23 in a Jayhawk West matchup at the DC3 Student Activities Center.The Blue Dragons swept the season series from the Conquistadors and improved to 17-7 overall and 10-4 in the Jayhawk West. Hutchinson plays host to Seward County on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Sports Arena in the final regular-season home match. Dodge City falls to 7-13 overall and 4-9 in the league.Hutchinson swept Dodge City in the first match of the season on February 11 in 1 hour and 3 minutes. Far surpassing that elapsed match time on Monday, Dodge City was two points away from forcing a fifth set, leading the Blue Dragons 23-16 in the fourth.The improbable comeback started with&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wvball/2020-21/bios/murrell_shelby_tlgr">Shelby Murrell</a>&nbsp;connecting on a slide to make it 23-17. Murrell and&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wvball/2020-21/bios/thorne_jenna_xncq">Jenna Thorne</a>&nbsp;doubled up for a block and&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wvball/2020-21/bios/price_chloe_rbgs">Chloe Price</a>&nbsp;scored an ace to make it 23-19 and prompt a Dodge City timeout. Kills from Thorne and&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wvball/2020-21/bios/lane_kenna_obyd">Kenna Lane</a>&nbsp;with a second Price ace pulled the Dragons within 23-22. Dodge City was then called for a net violation to knot the set at 23.Lane, who had a huge fourth set off the bench, drilled her sixth kill of the set, going cross-court and the Dragons led 24-23. After Dodge City's second timeout, Price finished off the 9-0 run with an ace to close out the match.The Blue Dragons hit .253 for the match. Price, who posted her 10th double-double of the season, set a balanced attack with five players notching eight or more kills. Price had 44 assists and 11 digs to go along with four kills and three total blocks.Thorne had a team-high 14 kills on .214 hitting against Dodge City. She posted her team-high 16th double-double with 13 digs and she added three ace serves.<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wvball/2020-21/bios/briggs_shadee_xm04">Shadee Briggs</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wvball/2020-21/bios/head_kristina_5dlc">Kristina Head</a>&nbsp;also reached double figures in kills. Briggs finished with 11 kills and hit .200 on 40 swings. Head hit .303 with 10 kills and three total blocks. Murrell returned to the lineup after a seven-match absence because of injury and tallied eight kills and four total blocks.Lane hit a season-high .437 on eight kills over the third and fourth sets to spark the Blue DragonsLibero&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/wvball/2020-21/bios/reeder_shelby_zpe9">Shelby Reeder</a>&nbsp;had 25 digs to lead an 84-dig effort by the Blue Dragons. Reeder now has 13 matches of 20 or more digs this season,Hillary English finished with a match-high 21 points to lead the Conquistadors. Loren Rodriguez had 12 kills.

🏐 Blue Dragon Volleyball avoids 5th set with improbable finish in Dodge City

SURPRISE, AZ (March 15, 2021) – The Kansas City Royals announced three additional roster moves ahead of today’s game against the San Francisco Giants. The Club has optioned infielders Lucius Fox and Kelvin Gutierrez, and outfielder Nick Heath to Triple-A Omaha.

Following today’s moves, 42 players remain in Major League Camp, including 13 non-roster invitees.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1614096921260.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>SURPRISE, AZ (March 15, 2021) – The Kansas City Royals announced three additional roster moves ahead of today’s game against the San Francisco Giants. The Club has optioned infielders Lucius Fox and Kelvin Gutierrez, and outfielder Nick Heath to Triple-A Omaha.Following today’s moves, 42 players remain in Major League Camp, including 13 non-roster invitees.

Royals option three to AAA before Monday tilt

AUDIO: Eagle Radio Sports for Monday

Hutchinson Girl's Basketball lands three players&nbsp; on All-League honors.

Hutchinson Girl's Basketball lands three players&nbsp; on All-League honors.<ul>
 <li>Senior Ziya Simms - 2nd Team All-League</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Junior Harlie Wilson - 2nd Team All-League</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Sophomore Mya Thompson - Honorable Mention</li>
 </ul>

AVCT L Girl's Division 1 honors

AVCT League Division 1 has released it's Boy's Basketball All-League teams for the 20-21 season.

Hutchinson Senior Myles Thompson was named to the 1st Team.

MVP for the league was Sterling Chapman - Campus

AVCT League Division 1 has released it's Boy's Basketball All-League teams for the 20-21 season.Hutchinson Senior Myles Thompson was named to the 1st Team.MVP for the league was Sterling Chapman - Campus1st Team<ul>
 <li>Sterling Chapman - Campus</li><li>Kyle Grill - Maize</li><li>Jacob Hanna - Maize</li><li>Josh Jordan - Maize South</li><li>Stevie Strong - Campus</li><li>Myles Thompson - Hutchinson</li>
 </ul>2nd Team<ul>
 <li>Jaxon Brackeen - Newton</li><li>Javon Buchanan - Maize South</li><li>Avery Johnson - Maize</li><li>Devon Junghans - Salina South</li><li>Isaac Ray - Derby</li><li>Fontaine Williams - Derby</li>
 </ul>Honorable Mention<ul>
 <li>Isaiah Atwater - Maize South</li><li>Winston Bing - Maize</li><li>Blake Chadwick - Derby</li><li>Jameer Clemons - Derby</li><li>Elijah Edwards - Newton</li><li>Jaden Hall - Campus</li><li>AJ Johnson - Salina South</li><li>Colin Schreiber - Salina South'</li><li>Dylan Petz - Newton</li><li>Parker Scott - Maize South</li><li>Zion Young - Campus</li>
 </ul>

🏀 AVCT League releases All-League honors

UNDATED (AP) — Gonzaga will be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament in its bid to complete the first undefeated season in 35 years. The Bulldogs are in the West Region and will open against the First Four winner between Norfolk State and Appalachian State. Gonzaga has an opportunity to match the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers, the last team to finish a season undefeated. If it gets past the opener in Indianapolis, Gonzaga will face the winner of the game between No. 8 seed Oklahoma and No. 9 Missouri. The next three seeds are teams the Zags beat earlier this season: No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Kansas and No. 4 Virginia.

UNDATED (AP) — Virginia has a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Whether the Cavaliers can get to Indianapolis with enough available players is to be determined. Virginia was forced to withdraw from the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament last week after a positive test for COVID-19. Coach Tony Bennett says most of his players are in quarantine. While the other 67 teams are expected to arrive in Indianapolis by Monday, the plan for Virginia is to travel on Friday for its first round game against Ohio on Saturday night. The Cavaliers will be forced to prepare for the game mostly with Zoom meetings.

MOLINE, Ill. (AP) — Gabi Haack hit six 3-pointers and scored 22 points to lead Bradley to its first NCAA Tournament with a 78-70 win over Drake in the championship game of the reconfigured Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Haack had a pair of 3-pointers in a 14-2 run in the fourth quarter that gave the fifth-seeded Braves a 76-66 lead with 2:37 to play. Drake, the second seed, was 2 for 6 with four turnovers in the last seven minutes. Bradley was scheduled to play league champion and 17th-ranked Missouri State in the semifinals on Saturday but the Bears, probably an NCAA Tournament lock with a 21-2 record, pulled out over a positive COVID-19 test in the Bradley party. Grace Berg scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Drake.

UNDATED (AP) — Gonzaga, Illinois, Baylor and Michigan are the No. 1 seeds in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, which begins first-round play on Friday.

The Bulldogs have claimed the No. 1 overall seed and will head the West Regional. The Zags are the only unbeaten team in men's Division I hoops and are trying to become the first squad to run the table on its entire schedule since Indiana in 1976.

Iowa has the second seed in the West, followed by Kansas and Virginia. Gonzaga beat each of those teams by double-digits during the regular season, including a 23-point rout of the defending-champion Cavaliers.

Baylor tops the South bracket and heads into the tourney with just two losses, including a setback in the Big 12 semifinals. The Bears spent most of the season as the No. 2 team in The Associated Press poll.

Ohio State is No. 2 in the South, just ahead of Arkansas and Purdue.

Big Ten rivals Illinois and Michigan took the other top seeds after competing in what arguably was the best and deepest conference. The Illini head the Midwest Region after winning the conference tournament, part of an eight-game winning streak. The Wolverines are tops in the East Region and own just four losses, although two of those defeats have come in their last three games.

Houston earned the No. 2 seed in the Midwest and is followed by Big 12 standouts West Virginia and Oklahoma State. Alabama, Texas and Florida State round out the top four seeds in the East.

Kansas and Virginia made it into the bracket released by the NCAA selection committee after being hit with COVID-19 breakouts during their conference tournaments. Kansas coach Bill Self says three Jayhawks players will not travel with the team to Indianapolis for the NCAA Tournament because of COVID-19. 

Louisville, Colorado State, St. Louis and Mississippi have been put on stand-by. They could find their way into the bracket if a team in the field notifies the NCAA by Tuesday night that it must withdraw because of health concerns.

No. 3 Illinois tops No. 9 Ohio State in OT for Big Ten title

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu (EYE'-oh doh-SOO'-moo) both scored 16 points, both grabbed nine rebounds and both made key plays in overtime to give No. 3 Illinois a 91-88 victory over No. 9 Ohio State for its first Big Ten Tournament title since 2005.

Cockburn made the go-ahead free throw with 1:39 to play, Dosunmu made a 15-footer with 50 seconds to go and the Illini sealed it at the free-throw line. Illinois has won seven straight overall, six in a row over top-10 foes and 14 of its last 15 overall to claim the conference's automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Herbert Jones drove for a go-ahead layup with 19.5 seconds and No. 6 Alabama won the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the first time since 1991, holding off a late flurry to edge LSU 80-79. 

Alabama, the reigning national champion in football, won its seventh tournament title overall, second in the SEC only to Kentucky's 31. The Crimson Tide hadn't even reached this game since 2002.

Alabama is 24-6. LSU missed a couple of chances in the final seconds and fell to 18-9.

No. 7 Houston takes AAC tourney with 91-54 win over Cincy

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — In the American Athletic Conference championship seventh-ranked Houston has its first conference tournament title since 2010 back when it was still in Conference USA. Quentin Grimes scored 21 points with five 3-pointers and Marcus Sasser had 16 points as the Cougars beat Cincinnati 91-54. The Cougars were already a lock for their 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance before leading the entire game. 

St. Bonaventure wins A-10 tourney beating VCU for NCAA bid

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Kyle Lofton scored 23 points and Osun Osunniyi scored 14 points with 12 rebounds and St. Bonaventure beat VCU 74-65 in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament to clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

The Bonnies' Alejandro Vasquez buried a 3-pointer with 11:36 before halftime to break a tie at 12 and St. Bonaventure led the rest of the way. 

Colgate wins Patriot League title, heads to NCAA Tournament

HAMILTON, N.Y. (AP) — Tucker Richardson scored 17 points and Jordan Burns and Jack Ferguson had 16 each to lead Colgate to a 85-72 win over Loyola of Maryland for the Patriot League tournament championship. Colgate advances to its fourth NCAA Tournament and will make its second straight appearance.

The top-seeded Raiders, in their fourth straight Patriot title game, led the entire way in extending their program-record win streak to 13. 

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saints record-setting quarterback Drew Brees has decided to retire after 20 NFL seasons, including his last 15 with New Orleans. It comes after Brees won nine of 12 regular-season starts while completing 70.5% of his passes in 2020.

He came back from multiple rib fractures and won a wild-card round playoff game before New Orleans' season ended with a divisional-round playoff loss Tampa Bay. 

Brees is the NFL's all-time leader in yards passing with 80,358. His 571 career touchdown passes rank second behind Tom Brady's 581.

— Aaron Jones is staying with Packers on a 4-year, $48 million deal that includes a $13 million signing bonus, according to his agent. Jones rushed for 1,104 yards and nine touchdowns and also caught 47 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns last season. That came after a 2019 season in which he had 16 touchdown runs and three touchdown catches. Jones and Jim Brown are the only players in NFL history to rush for at least 3,000 yards and 35 touchdowns while averaging at least 5 yards per carry over their first four seasons.

<h2>Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press</h2>UNDATED (AP) — Gonzaga will be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament in its bid to complete the first undefeated season in 35 years. The Bulldogs are in the West Region and will open against the First Four winner between Norfolk State and Appalachian State. Gonzaga has an opportunity to match the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers, the last team to finish a season undefeated. If it gets past the opener in Indianapolis, Gonzaga will face the winner of the game between No. 8 seed Oklahoma and No. 9 Missouri. The next three seeds are teams the Zags beat earlier this season: No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Kansas and No. 4 Virginia.UNDATED (AP) — Virginia has a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Whether the Cavaliers can get to Indianapolis with enough available players is to be determined. Virginia was forced to withdraw from the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament last week after a positive test for COVID-19. Coach Tony Bennett says most of his players are in quarantine. While the other 67 teams are expected to arrive in Indianapolis by Monday, the plan for Virginia is to travel on Friday for its first round game against Ohio on Saturday night. The Cavaliers will be forced to prepare for the game mostly with Zoom meetings.MOLINE, Ill. (AP) — Gabi Haack hit six 3-pointers and scored 22 points to lead Bradley to its first NCAA Tournament with a 78-70 win over Drake in the championship game of the reconfigured Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Haack had a pair of 3-pointers in a 14-2 run in the fourth quarter that gave the fifth-seeded Braves a 76-66 lead with 2:37 to play. Drake, the second seed, was 2 for 6 with four turnovers in the last seven minutes. Bradley was scheduled to play league champion and 17th-ranked Missouri State in the semifinals on Saturday but the Bears, probably an NCAA Tournament lock with a 21-2 record, pulled out over a positive COVID-19 test in the Bradley party. Grace Berg scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Drake.<h2>Update on the latest sports</h2>COLLEGE BASKETBALL-NCAA TOURNAMENTGonzaga is No. 1 overallUNDATED (AP) — Gonzaga, Illinois, Baylor and Michigan are the No. 1 seeds in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, which begins first-round play on Friday.The Bulldogs have claimed the No. 1 overall seed and will head the West Regional. The Zags are the only unbeaten team in men's Division I hoops and are trying to become the first squad to run the table on its entire schedule since Indiana in 1976.Iowa has the second seed in the West, followed by Kansas and Virginia. Gonzaga beat each of those teams by double-digits during the regular season, including a 23-point rout of the defending-champion Cavaliers.Baylor tops the South bracket and heads into the tourney with just two losses, including a setback in the Big 12 semifinals. The Bears spent most of the season as the No. 2 team in The Associated Press poll.Ohio State is No. 2 in the South, just ahead of Arkansas and Purdue.Big Ten rivals Illinois and Michigan took the other top seeds after competing in what arguably was the best and deepest conference. The Illini head the Midwest Region after winning the conference tournament, part of an eight-game winning streak. The Wolverines are tops in the East Region and own just four losses, although two of those defeats have come in their last three games.Houston earned the No. 2 seed in the Midwest and is followed by Big 12 standouts West Virginia and Oklahoma State. Alabama, Texas and Florida State round out the top four seeds in the East.Kansas and Virginia made it into the bracket released by the NCAA selection committee after being hit with COVID-19 breakouts during their conference tournaments. Kansas coach Bill Self says three Jayhawks players will not travel with the team to Indianapolis for the NCAA Tournament because of COVID-19. Louisville, Colorado State, St. Louis and Mississippi have been put on stand-by. They could find their way into the bracket if a team in the field notifies the NCAA by Tuesday night that it must withdraw because of health concerns.COLLEGE BASKETBALL-BIG TENNo. 3 Illinois tops No. 9 Ohio State in OT for Big Ten titleINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu (EYE'-oh doh-SOO'-moo) both scored 16 points, both grabbed nine rebounds and both made key plays in overtime to give No. 3 Illinois a 91-88 victory over No. 9 Ohio State for its first Big Ten Tournament title since 2005.Cockburn made the go-ahead free throw with 1:39 to play, Dosunmu made a 15-footer with 50 seconds to go and the Illini sealed it at the free-throw line. Illinois has won seven straight overall, six in a row over top-10 foes and 14 of its last 15 overall to claim the conference's automatic NCAA Tournament bid.COLLEGE BASKETBALL-SEC CHAMPIONSHIPNo. 6 Alabama edges LSU to win SEC titleNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Herbert Jones drove for a go-ahead layup with 19.5 seconds and No. 6 Alabama won the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the first time since 1991, holding off a late flurry to edge LSU 80-79. Alabama, the reigning national champion in football, won its seventh tournament title overall, second in the SEC only to Kentucky's 31. The Crimson Tide hadn't even reached this game since 2002.Alabama is 24-6. LSU missed a couple of chances in the final seconds and fell to 18-9.COLLEGE BASKETBALL-AACNo. 7 Houston takes AAC tourney with 91-54 win over CincyFORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — In the American Athletic Conference championship seventh-ranked Houston has its first conference tournament title since 2010 back when it was still in Conference USA. Quentin Grimes scored 21 points with five 3-pointers and Marcus Sasser had 16 points as the Cougars beat Cincinnati 91-54. The Cougars were already a lock for their 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance before leading the entire game. COLLEGE BASKETBALL-A10 CHAMPIONSHIPSt. Bonaventure wins A-10 tourney beating VCU for NCAA bidDAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Kyle Lofton scored 23 points and Osun Osunniyi scored 14 points with 12 rebounds and St. Bonaventure beat VCU 74-65 in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament to clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bonnies' Alejandro Vasquez buried a 3-pointer with 11:36 before halftime to break a tie at 12 and St. Bonaventure led the rest of the way. COLLEGE BASKETBALL-PATRIOT CHAMPIONSHIPColgate wins Patriot League title, heads to NCAA TournamentHAMILTON, N.Y. (AP) — Tucker Richardson scored 17 points and Jordan Burns and Jack Ferguson had 16 each to lead Colgate to a 85-72 win over Loyola of Maryland for the Patriot League tournament championship. Colgate advances to its fourth NCAA Tournament and will make its second straight appearance.The top-seeded Raiders, in their fourth straight Patriot title game, led the entire way in extending their program-record win streak to 13. NFL-NEWS-BREES RETIREMENTBrees announces retirement at 42NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saints record-setting quarterback Drew Brees has decided to retire after 20 NFL seasons, including his last 15 with New Orleans. It comes after Brees won nine of 12 regular-season starts while completing 70.5% of his passes in 2020.He came back from multiple rib fractures and won a wild-card round playoff game before New Orleans' season ended with a divisional-round playoff loss Tampa Bay. Brees is the NFL's all-time leader in yards passing with 80,358. His 571 career touchdown passes rank second behind Tom Brady's 581.Elsewhere in the NFL:— Aaron Jones is staying with Packers on a 4-year, $48 million deal that includes a $13 million signing bonus, according to his agent. Jones rushed for 1,104 yards and nine touchdowns and also caught 47 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns last season. That came after a 2019 season in which he had 16 touchdown runs and three touchdown catches. Jones and Jim Brown are the only players in NFL history to rush for at least 3,000 yards and 35 touchdowns while averaging at least 5 yards per carry over their first four seasons.— Benardrick McKinney was traded by the Houston Texans to the Miami Dolphins for Shaq Lawson in a swap of linebackers. McKinney played in only four games last year because of a shoulder injury.— The Buffalo Bills have re-signed offensive lineman Jon Feliciano to a three-year contract. Feliciano's return means the Bills will have all five starting offensive linemen back for a second consecutive year. NBA-SCHEDULEGilgeous-Alexander scores 30 as Thunder top GrizzliesUNDATED (AP) — The Golden State Warriors have ended their longest skid of the season by downing the NBA's No. 1 team.The Warriors had dropped four in a row before Draymond Green recorded his 26th career triple-double with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in a 131-119 downing of the Jazz. Stephen Curry had 32 points with six 3-pointers to go with nine assists.Andrew Wiggins added 28 points as Golden State returned home for a rare Sunday matinee at Chase Center, where the Warriors had played just once over the previous 24 days.Rudy Gobert had 24 points and a career-high 28 rebounds for Utah, which became the league's last team to reach double-digit losses. The Jazz are 28-10 and two games ahead of Philadelphia for the overall lead. The 76ers are taking on the Spurs right now.Checking out Sunday's other NBA action:— Playing in front of home fans for the first time in 368 days, the 76ers stayed atop the Eastern Conference with a 134-99 blowout over the Spurs. Tobias Harris dropped in 23 points and Seth Curry added 21 in the Sixers' first game since losing Joel Embiid to a left knee injury. Ben Simmons returned from a two-game COVID absence and had 14 points with nine assists as Philadelphia moved a game ahead of the Nets in the conference standings.— Jaylen Brown scored 24 points and Jayson Tatum added 23 as the Boston Celtics coasted to a 134-107 win over the Houston Rockets. It's the fifth win in six games for the Celtics, who overwhelmed a team playing with only one of its regular starters in Victor Oladipo. The Rockets have lost 16 in a row, one off the team record set in 1968.— Jimmy Butler scored 29 points and Tyler Herro added 22 off the bench as the Miami Heat rallied from a small fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Orlando Magic 102-97. The Heat won their fourth straight game and for the 10th time in 11 games. All-Star center Nikola Vucevic scored 17 of his 38 points in the third quarter for Orlando, which lost its eighth straight.— Zion Williamson scored 27 points, Brandon Ingram added 23 and the New Orleans Pelicans took their second straight lopsided victory with a 135-115 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers. Lonzo Ball hit five 3s and finished with 20 points for New Orleans, which shot an NBA season-high 65.4% on 81 attempts. Kawhi Leonard scored 23 and Reggie Jackson 18 before both sat out the fourth quarter of the Clippers' fourth loss in five games.— Shai Gilgeous(shay GIHL'-juhs)-Alexander scored 30 points and Aleksej Pokusevski had a career-high 23, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Memphis Grizzlies 128-122. Kenrich Williams added 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting for the Thunder, who trailed by as many as 12. Ja Morant had 22 points and seven assists for Memphis, which lost for the third time in four games.— John Collins scored 22 points and Danilo Gallinari had 20 in the Hawks' fifth consecutive win, 100-82 over the Cavaliers. The Hawks led only 69-66 before opening the final quarter with 12 consecutive points to stretch the advantage to 15 points. Collins set a season high with 13 rebounds and Trae Young scored 14 points.— Anthony Edwards scored a career-high 34 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves held on to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 114-112. Ricky Rubio added 15 points, including eight free throws in the final seconds. Karl-Anthony Towns had 13 points as Minnesota started with just 10 players after rookie Jaden McDaniels was added to the health and safety protocols before the game. — Rookie Patrick Williams had a career-best 23 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to an easy win over the Toronto Raptors, 118-95. Zach LaVine scored 15 to help the Bulls end a two-game slide. Coby White had 13 points and Wendell Carter Jr. added 12 points and 11 rebounds after the two were removed from the starting five for the first time this season.VIRUS OUTBREAK-NBAPelicans say some players, staff received COVID-19 vaccineUNDATED (AP) — Some players and other members of the New Orleans Pelicans organization have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccinations, following changes in the eligibility standards for Louisiana residents.The Pelicans said the vaccines were administered Saturday making them the first NBA team to acknowledge a widescale receipt of the vaccine by members of a club.State officials in Louisiana expanded the list of those who may receive the vaccine last week "to include people who have health conditions that may result in a higher risk of disease" and are over the age of 18. Among the higher risk groups: those with a body mass index of 25 or more, which would technically classify them as overweight. Many of the Pelicans' players fall into that category, despite being NBA players and elite athletes.NHL-SCHEDULECanes beat Wings to move ahead of Bolts, CatsUNDATED (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes are the new leader in the NHL's Central Division, one point ahead of The Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.Dougie Hamilton and Nino Niederreiter provided the Carolina goals and Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves in the Hurricanes' eighth win in a row, 2-1. Hamilton opened the scoring with 4:47 left in the second period and Niederreiter gave the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead early in the third.Anthony Mantha scored his eighth goal of the season for Detroit with just 9.4 seconds left in regulation, spoiling Nedeljkovic's bid for his second career shutout.Carolina improved to 20-6-1.Elsewhere on NHL ice:— The Islanders ran their winning streak to nine games by getting shootout goals from Anthony Beauvillier and Oliver Wahlstrom in a 3-2 verdict over the Devils. Brock Nelson scored for New York with less than two seconds left in the opening period after Kieffer Bellows notched his third goal in two games. The Isles were able to celebrate a win after P.K. Subban's overtime goal was nullified by an offsides call on a replay challenge.— Andre Burakovsky and Nazem Kadri each had a goal and an assist and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-1. Nathan MacKinnon and Joonas Donskoi also scored for the Avalanche, who swept the two-game series with Los Angeles and allowed fewer than 30 shots on goal for the 16th straight game, extending a franchise record. Philipp Grubauer made 27 saves and nearly had another shutout before Kurtis MacDermid ended the bid early in the third period.— The Wild put together a three-goal third period to beat the Coyotes, 4-1. Nick Bonino snapped a 1-1 deadlock about six minutes into the third period, just over five minutes before Kevin Fiala added a power-play goal. Joel Eriksson Ek iced it with an empty-netter as Minnesota picked up its fourth straight win and improved to 11-2-1 in its last 14 games.— Alexander Radulov returned from a 15-game absence and tallied in the third round of the shootout to lift the Dallas Stars over the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1. Jake Oettinger made 29 saves and improved to 3-0-1 against the Blue Jackets this season. Joe Pavelski scored Dallas' lone goal in regulation at 14:28 of the first period, his fourth against Columbus this season.— Drake Batherson scored twice in 53 seconds in the second period of the Ottawa Senators' 4-3 victory over the slumping Toronto Maple Leafs. Brady Tkachuk and Ryan Dzingel also scored for Ottawa, and Joey Daccord made 33 saves for his first NHL victory. The North Division-leading Leafs have dropped two straight and five of six to drop out of the top overall spot in the NHL standings.MLB-YANKEES-BOONEYanks manager Boone feels 'awesome' after getting pacemakerTAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is into his second full week on the bench after having a pacemaker inserted and says he's feeling "awesome."The 48-year-old Boone had the procedure done at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, Florida, on March 3 and was back on the job after missing just three games.PGA-PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIPThomas outlasts Westwood to win Players ChampionshipPONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Justin Thomas found the right time for a near-perfect performance to put a rough start to the year behind him, rallying from three shots behind with bold play to close with a 4-under 68 and win The Players Championship.Thomas becomes only the fourth player to win a major, The Players Championship, the FedEx Cup and a World Golf Championship, and it couldn't have come at a better time.He called it as good as he has ever played tee-to-green, and he needed it to outlast Lee Westwood, a hard-luck runner-up for the second straight week. Westwood birdied the final hole for a 72 to finish one shot behind at 13 under.Bryson DeChambeau and Brian Harman tied for third at minus-12.NASCAR-PHOENIXTruex breaks ice for 2021AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Martin Truex Jr. pulled away in the final laps at Phoenix Raceway for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and 28th overall.Truex beat the four championship finalists from last year. He had failed to advance into the season-ending finale for the first time in four years and could only watch as Chase Elliott beat runner-up Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski for the title at the desert oval. TENNIS-CLIJSTERSClijsters withdraws from Miami and Charleston tournamentsMIAMI (AP) — Four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters (KLY'-sturz) has withdrawn from upcoming tournaments in Miami and Charleston, a setback in her comeback following right knee surgery and a bout with COVID-19. Clijsters says she plans to undergo three to six weeks of pain management treatment and then make decisions regarding her schedule.