AP Sports Summary for early Monday Morning.
Final Four newcomers: Grab your name tag at the door
Everyone's heard of UConn. The rest of the participants in next weekend's Final Four may need name tags. When they travel to Houston to play for the national title, Florida Atlantic, San Diego State and Miami will all be making their first appearances at the Final Four. It's the first time since 1970 that three first-timers all showed up in the same year. There will be no No. 1 seed at the Final Four for the first time since 2011. Instead, there will be a 9 seed in Florida Atlantic, two 5s in SDSU and Miami, and a 4 seed in UConn, which opens as an overwhelming favorite.
Miller, Wong rally Miami past Texas 88-81 for 1st Final Four
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jordan Miller scored 27 points and made a series of crucial foul shots down the stretch as Miami rallied to an 88-81 victory over Texas for a spot in the Final Four. Miller finished 7 of 7 from the field and 13 of 13 from the foul line, while Isaiah Wong scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half for the Hurricanes. They are headed to NRG Stadium in Houston for a date with UConn on Saturday night. Two more first-time Final Four participants, San Diego State and Florida Atlantic, will play in the other national semifinal. Marcus Carr had 17 points to lead the Longhorns.
San Diego State muscles past Creighton, makes 1st Final Four
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Darrion Trammell converted a go-ahead free throw after he was fouled on a floater with 1.2 seconds left, and San Diego State muscled its way into its first Final Four, grinding out a 57-56 victory over Creighton in the South Region final. Lamont Butler scored 18 points and Trammell had 12 for the fifth-seeded Aztecs (31-6), who slowed down the high-scoring, sixth-seeded Bluejays (24-13) and became the first Mountain West Conference team to reach the national semifinals. The experienced Aztecs, in their sixth season under coach Brian Dutcher, will play Florida Atlantic on Saturday in Houston for a spot in the national title game.
Caitlin Clark leads Iowa to first Final Four since 1993
SEATTLE (AP) — Caitlin Clark put on a show with 41 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to help No. 2 seed Iowa beat fifth-seeded Louisville 97-83 and send the the Hawkeyes to their first women's Final Four in 30 years. The unanimous first-team All-American was as dominant as she's been all season in getting the Hawkeyes to Dallas for the women's NCAA Tournament national semifinals on Friday night. The Seattle 4 Region champion will face the winner of the Greenville 1 region that has South Carolina playing Maryland on Monday night. Iowa (30-6) hadn't been to the Final Four since Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer led the team to its lone appearance in 1993. Clark had the 11th triple-double of her career and the 19th in NCAA Tournament history.
Reese, LSU women push past Miami 54-42 to reach Final Four
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Angel Reese had 18 rebounds and LSU returned to the women's Final Four for the first time in 15 years by beating Miami 54-42. The victory concludes a rapid rise for the Tigers under second-year coach Kim Mulkey, who won three NCAA titles at Baylor. Alexis Morris scored 21 points and Reese added 13 for the third-seeded Tigers, who asserted control of a grinding, defense-first game. LSU shot 30.2% and went 1 for 12 from 3-point range, including misses on its first nine attempts. But Miami was even worse from 3, missing all 15 tries. Reese was named the most outstanding player of the Greenville 2 Region. Jasmyne Roberts scored 22 points for Miami.
LeBron James returns for season-ending push with Lakers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James says two doctors recommended season-ending surgery on a torn tendon in his right foot, but he has decided to finish out the season on the court with the Los Angeles Lakers. James returned to the Lakers on Sunday after a monthlong absence with what he revealed was a significant tendon injury. He wasn't in the starting lineup for only the second time in his 20-year NBA career, but he still led the Lakers with 19 points in their 118-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls. James returned with eight games left in the Lakers' regular season as they attempt to avoid missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
Sam Burns wins final Match Play in rout over Cameron Young
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Sam Burns is the final winner of the Dell Match Play, and it was a dud of an ending. After so much excitement over four days at Austin Country Club, Burns beat Cameron Young in just 13 holes. The 6-and-5 victory is the second-largest margin over 18 holes in this tournament. There wasn't much Young could do against a guy who made eight birdies over his last 10 holes. The big excitement was Sunday morning. Burns narrowly escaped defending champion Scottie Scheffler in 21 holes. Young was 2 down to Rory McIlroy when he rallied to win in 19 holes.
Top prospect Volpe, 21, wins Yankees' starting shortstop job
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Anthony Volpe grew up watching Derek Jeter star at shortstop for the New York Yankees. Now, the 21-year-old is getting the chance to be the Yankees' opening day shortstop Thursday against the San Francisco Giants. The Yankees announced after a 6-2 win over Toronto that Volpe had won the spot. Volpe was able to share the news with his parents and other family members near the Yankees' dugout and said it is something he will never forget. Volpe, who grew up a Yankees fan, lived in Manhattan as a child before moving to New Jersey. Jeter was his favorite player.
FAU's Final Four run fueled by sacrifice; 'No ego, no pride'
NEW YORK (AP) — Florida Atlantic has defied expectation and description all season. The winningest team in Division I, but the lowest seed left in the NCAA Tournament, is heading to the Final Four with a squad that is greater than the sum of its interchangeable parts. To win four tournament games so far, each by single digits, has taken contributions from up and down FAU's roster. The Owls have had three different leading scorers, three different leading rebounders and three different leaders in assists.
UConn's return to prominence has been a family affair
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Dan Hurley got choked up when asked about his dad on the eve of UConn's Sweet 16 game. Tears flowed again before the Huskies' Elite Eight game, this time from thinking about what he considers his other family. Now Hurley will get to coach them at least one more game, next week in Houston. UConn has blitzed its way through the bracket so far, winning each of its four NCAA Tournament games by at least 15 points. The Huskies turned what was supposed to a dream Elite Eight game into a nightmare for Gonzaga to earn their first Final Four trip since winning the 2014 national title.