The NCAA Tournament has reached Sweet 16 weekend in the battle for the national championship in men’s basketball. Top seeds Purdue and defending champion Kansas did not make it. This weekend will see games in New York City, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Missouri, and Louisville, Kentucky. The Final Four is in Houston. The semifinals are on April 1, with the championship game on April 3.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kansas State's Markquis Nowell and Michigan State's Tyson Walker honed their game as point guards in New York City. They'll renew their acquaintance at Madison Square Garden in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament's East Regional. New York City isn’t pumping out star basketball players at the same rate it used to but the city is still the breeding ground for tough-minded point guards. Zakai Zeigler is another point guard from the New York area and was key to Tennessee's season. But he's out with a knee injury and will only be able to watch the Volunteers play FAU.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — In a season that saw Texas fire head coach Chris Beard after a felony domestic violence arrest, it has allowed Longhorns freshman reserve guard Arterio Morris to play while awaiting trial on a misdemeanor charge of assaulting an ex-girlfriend. Texas and interim coach Rodney Terry advanced to the program’s first Sweet 16 since 2008 and play Xavier on Friday night. Morris was one of the top recruits in the country last year. He was initially scheduled to stand trial next week before Final Four weekend. It has been delayed until an unspecified date.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Both editions of March Madness have proven to be must-see TV for basketball fans. The first two rounds of the women’s tournament averaged a record 391,000 viewers, a 28% increase over last year. The men’s first round on March 16-17 averaged 9.2 million viewers on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. The March 17 games averaged 9.3 million, making it the most-watched Friday first round.
MIAMI (AP) — This year’s World Baseball Classic left lasting memories, 47 games over two weeks that restored Japan’s supremacy and reinforced Shohei Ohtani’s unmatched ability while expanding the sport’s global footprint. While not a global fixation like soccer’s World Cup, the event has grown though its five editions since launching in 2006. Memories include Ohtani’s strikeout of Mike Trout in Japan's championship victory, Trea Turner’s go-ahead, eighth-inning grand slam against Venezuela, Japan’s walk-off semifinal win and Mexico’s comeback from a four-run deficit against Puerto Rico. Those ended up overshadowing injuries to star players Edwin Díaz and Jose Altuve. Attendance of 1,306,414 was the tournament’s highest, 20% over the 1,086,720 for 40 games in 2017.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese television stuck to its live coverage from Miami for almost two hours after Japan beat the United States 3-2 to win the World Baseball Classic. This was must-see viewing. Shohei Ohtani striking out Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout on a pitch away to end the game was replayed repeatedly between player interviews, beer-sprayed clubhouse interludes, and the tradition of team members tossing the winning manager and players into the air. The country’s top circulating newspaper Yomiuri rolled out a special Wednesday afternoon edition for commuters, usually reserved for serious matters of state, or late-breaking election news. The headline read in Japanese: “Japan, the World's No. 1."
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Keegan Bradley still hasn't won a match in 16 tries over 11 years in the Dell Technologies Match Play. His halve on the opening day sure felt like a win. Bradley rallied from 4 down with five holes to play to earn a draw against Denny McCarthy. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler escaped with a 1-up win over Davis Riley by making a birdie on the last hole. Jon Rahm is the No. 2 seed. He wasn't so fortunate, losing to Rickie Fowler. Matt Kuchar won his 35 match in tournament history. That's one short of the record held by Tiger Woods.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
NIT Quarterfinals
Final Utah Valley St. 74 Cincinnati 68
Final UAB 67 Vanderbilt 59
CBI Championship
Final Charlotte 71 E. Kentucky 68
INTERLEAGUE
Final Washington 5 N.Y. Yankees 2
Final Tampa Bay 6 Philadelphia 2
Final Houston 5 N.Y. Mets 2
Final Atlanta 5 Detroit 3
Final San Francisco 4 Texas 0
Final Chicago Cubs 4 Oakland 2
Final L.A. Angels 10 Colorado 9
Final Seattle 5 L.A. Dodgers 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Toronto 2 Baltimore 1
Final Texas 2 Chicago White Sox 0
Final Kansas City 4 Chicago White Sox 3
Final Minnesota 11 Boston 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Cincinnati 4 San Diego 1
Final St. Louis 0 Miami 0
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Denver 118 Washington 104
Final Indiana 118 Toronto 114
Final Miami 127 New York 120
Final Golden State 127 Dallas 125
Final Milwaukee 130 San Antonio 94
Final Memphis 130 Houston 125
Final Philadelphia 116 Chicago 91
Final Minnesota 125 Atlanta 124
Final Portland 127 Utah 115
Final L.A. Lakers 122 Phoenix 111
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 5 Colorado 2
Final OT Edmonton 4 Arizona 3