UNDATED (AP) — Alabama is the overall top seed in the NCAA Tournament after cruising through the end of a season clouded by a murder case. Kansas, Houston and Purdue grabbed the other top seeds. Action in the 68-team tournament begins Tuesday with two games in the First Four. March Madness gets into full swing Thursday and Friday with 32 games spread over eight cities. The Final Four is set for April 1 and 3 at NRG Stadium in Houston.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Houston has received the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region for the NCAA Tournament. The selection committee rewarded the Cougars at the expense of Kansas, which had been hoping its national title defense would include a stop in Kansas City, Missouri, just down the road from its campus in Lawrence. Texas earned the No. 2 seed after routing the Jayhawks in the Big 12 finals. Xavier is the No. 3 seed and Indiana the fourth.
UNDATED (AP) — Kansas is the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s West Region and will have coach Bill Self back on the sideline. Self missed the Big 12 Tournament after undergoing a heart procedure, but the school has announced he will return to lead the third-ranked Jayhawks against Howard in Des Moines, Iowa on Thursday. Kansas won its first two games at the Big 12 Tournament without Self before losing 76-56 to No. 7 Texas in the title game. The stacked West Region includes No. 2 UCLA, No. 9 Gonzaga, No. 11 UConn, No. 16 Saint Mary’s and No. 22 TCU.
UNDATED (AP) — South Carolina is six wins away from becoming the 10th women’s basketball team to go undefeated for an entire season, and the Gamecocks will enter the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed. Dawn Staley’s squad has been challenged a few times this year but has always pulled through. The defending national champions will play Norfolk State in the first round of the tournament. The other No. 1 seeds are Indiana, Virginia Tech and Stanford. The tournament begins Wednesday with four First Four games and the full madness starts Friday.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Ashley Joens scored 28 points to lead Iowa State to a 62-51 victory over No. 15 Texas in the Big 12 Conference Tournament championship game in front of a predominantly pro-Iowa State crowd. The Cyclones won their third Big 12 postseason title and their first since 2001, which comes with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Joens, the 2022-23 Big 12 Player of the Year, also had 10 rebounds. She was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Texas was led by Shaylee Gonzales and Taylor Jones with 12 points each.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Two people with knowledge of the deal say the Miami Dolphins are acquiring All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams. Los Angeles will get Miami’s third-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft and tight end Hunter Long for Ramsey. Both people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither team had announced the deal. Ramsey had 77 tackles and four interceptions during the Rams’ Super Bowl-winning 2021 season. Last season, he had a career-high 88 tackles and four interceptions.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler is back to No. 1 in the world thanks to a masterful performance at The Players Championship. Scheffler ran off five straight birdies around the turn at the TPC Sawgrass. He extended his lead to six shots at one point. Scheffler left all the drama to everyone else. He closed with a 69 to become only the third winner at Sawgrass with all four rounds in the 60s. The five-shot win was the largest in 17 years at The Players Championship. Tyrrell Hatton birdied his last five holes for a 65 to finish alone in second place.
AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — William Byron won his second straight NASCAR Cup Series race, taking advantage of a pair of late cautions to give Hendrick Motorsports a victory in overtime at Phoenix Raceway. Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet got a great start in overtime with two laps left, and just like he did a week earlier at Las Vegas, he overtook teammate Kyle Larson for the win. He also had to hold off Ryan Blaney, who finished second, while Tyler Reddick was third. Byron denied Kevin Harvick a chance to win his 10th race in Phoenix.
SUNDAY SCORES
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final Memphis 75 (1)Houston 65
Final (4)Alabama 82 (18)Texas A&M 63
Final (5)Purdue 67 Penn St. 65
INTERLEAGUE
Final Houston 5 Miami 1
Final Tampa Bay 10 N.Y. Mets 4
Final Toronto 8 Philadelphia 3
Final San Francisco 4 Oakland 3
Final Oakland 8 San Diego 6
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Baltimore 6 Boston 4
Final Detroit 8 Minnesota 7
Final Kansas City 7 Cleveland 6
Final Seattle 11 Texas 10
Final N.Y. Yankees 3 Boston 3
Final L.A. Angels 1 Chicago White Sox 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final St. Louis 5 Washington 1
Final Atlanta 11 Pittsburgh 3
Final Milwaukee 5 Chicago Cubs 3
Final L.A. Dodgers 8 Cincinnati 1
Final Arizona 10 Colorado 9
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Cleveland 114 Charlotte 108
Final Philadelphia 112 Washington 93
Final Oklahoma City 102 San Antonio 90
Final New Orleans 127 Portland 110
Final New York 112 L.A. Lakers 108
Final Brooklyn 122 Denver 120
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Detroit 5 Boston 3
Final OT Pittsburgh 3 N-Y Rangers 2
Final New Jersey 3 Carolina 0
Final Vegas 5 St. Louis 3
Final Winnipeg 3 Tampa Bay 2
Final Calgary 5 Ottawa 1
Final OT Nashville 5 Anaheim 4
Final OT Arizona 5 Minnesota 4