AP Sports Summary for Monday, April 1st, 2024.
N.C. State and its 2 DJs headed to 1st Final Four since 1983 after 76-64 win over Duke
DALLAS (AP) — Bruising big man DJ Burns Jr. scored a season-high 29 points, DJ Horne had 20 and 11th-seeded North Carolina State reached its first Final Four in four decades, beating Atlantic Coast Conference rival Duke 76-64 in the South Region final. N.C. State is back in the national semifinals for the first time since the late Jim Valvano was sprinting around the court looking for someone to hug after winning the 1983 national title. The Wolfpack will play Zach Edey and Purdue in the national semifinals. Jared McCain scored 32 points for Duke, which fell short of its second Final Four in three seasons.
Zach Edey goes big and sends Purdue to first Final Four since 1980 with a 72-66 win over Tennessee
DETROIT (AP) — Purdue big man Zach Edey went for a career-high 40 points along with 16 rebounds and one big block to muscle the Boilermakers into the program's first Final Four since 1980 with a 72-66 victory over Tennessee. The 7-foot-4 center and the Boilermakers eked out a back-and-forth thriller between the country's top two players, edging out Tennessee's All-American, Dalton Knecht, who finished with 37 points. Top-seeded Purdue set aside last year's grand disappointment -- a first-round loss as a No. 1 seed -- to book the trip to Glendale, Arizona. On Saturday, the Boilermakers will play either Duke or North Carolina State in the national semifinal.
Undefeated South Carolina women advance to Final Four with 70-58 win over Oregon State
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Tessa Johnson scored 15 points, Kamilla Cardoso added 12 and undefeated South Carolina advanced to the Final Four of the women's NCAA Tournament with a 70-58 win over Oregon State. South Carolina made it to the national semifinals unbeaten for the second straight season. The Gamecocks lost to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Final Four last year. This time, with an entirely new starting lineup, coach Dawn Staley has her group on the verge of the school's third national championship. The Gamecocks are 36-0 and will play N.C. State on Friday night in Cleveland. Raegan Beers scored 16 points to lead the Beavers.
Aziaha James makes 7 3s with mismatched 3-point lines, leads NC State past Texas into Final Four
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Aziaha James made a career-high seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points, and third-seeded North Carolina State earned its first trip to the Final Four of the women's NCAA Tournament since 1998, beating top-seeded Texas 76-66. The played with 3-point lines at different distances on opposite ends of the court. River Baldwin added 16 points for N.C. State, which will face unbeaten South Carolina in the national semifinals in Cleveland. Freshman Madison Booker finished with 17 points to lead the Longhorns, who were vying for their first Final Four since 2003. Both coaches were informed about the problem with the 3-point lines before the game but decided to play on.
Women's NCAA Tournament games in Portland played on court with mismatched 3-point lines
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The 3-point line for the women's NCAA Tournament at Moda Center had a discrepancy in distance at each end of the court that went unnoticed through four games over two days before Texas and North Carolina State were informed of the problem ahead of their Elite Eight matchup. The NCAA says in a statement that the teams' coaches agreed to play Sunday's game as scheduled with the mismatched 3-point lines rather than delay it. Four Sweet 16 games on Friday and Saturday were played without any of the participating teams saying anything publicly about a problem with the court. The line at one end was too close to the basket.
LeBron James ties career high with 9 3-pointers, scores 40 points as Lakers beat Nets 116-104
NEW YORK (AP) — LeBron James had one of the best shooting nights of his illustrious career, going 9 for 10 on 3-pointers to tie his career high for makes, and matched a season high with 40 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 116-104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night. James had the sellout crowd at Barclays Center standing on its feet as he put the finishing touches on his 3-point shooting display in the fourth quarter. The Lakers have won five of six, and this victory moved them a season-high nine games over .500 with seven games remaining in the regular season.
Thunder clinch first playoff spot since 2020, beat Knicks on Gilgeous-Alexander's jumper
NEW YORK (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made the go-ahead jumper from the corner with 2.6 seconds left, sending the Oklahoma City Thunder to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 with a 113-112 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday night. Josh Giddey had 16 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for Oklahoma City, which moved back into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference at 52-22 with its second straight win. It was Giddey's third career triple-double — all against the Knicks. He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, when the Thunder outscored the Knicks 38-27.
Newspaper edits its column about LSU-UCLA game after Tigers coach Kim Mulkey blasted it as sexist
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The Los Angeles Times has edited a column it published last week about the LSU women's basketball team ahead of its game against UCLA following criticism from Tigers coach Kim Mulkey, who blasted it as sexist and hurtful. Mulkey defended her players after they were referred to as "villains" and "dirty debutantes" in a piece first published Friday that likened the Sweet 16 game between LSU and UCLA as a battle of good versus evil. The Times removed those references late Saturday as well as one comparing UCLA's team to "milk and cookies." It republished the column with a note that said the original version did not meet the newspaper's standards.
Late caution gives Hamlin a second chance and he beats Gibbs teammate Truex at Richmond Raceway
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Denny Hamlin won the race off pit road with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. after a caution with two laps to go and won in overtime at Richmond Raceway. Truex dominated the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series race and seemed poised to hold off challenges by Joey Logano and Hamlin for the final two laps until Kyle Larson got nudged from behind on the front straightaway and skidded into the infield. Hamlin's victory was his second this season, the fifth of his career and the 53rd of his career.
Players, coaches dismiss criticism of trash talking, say it's part of the game
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — It was the signature moment of last year's national championship game.With victory assured, LSU's Angel Reese pointed to her ring finger and flashed the "you can't see me" gesture (waving her hand in front of her own face) at Iowa's Caitlin Clark, who had made a similar gesture earlier in the tournament.The move sparked a discussion over trash talk in the women's game, which is being renewed as the two stars prepare to face off again Monday in the Albany 2 regional final. Reese said Sunday that she a Clark don't hate each other and that the talk is just part of a competitive game. Clark agrees and said when she trash talks its to fire herself up, not to put down an opponent.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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INTERLEAGUE
Final Chicago Cubs 9 Texas 5
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final L.A. Angels 4 Baltimore 1
Final Toronto 9 Tampa Bay 2
Final Kansas City 11 Minnesota 0
Final Detroit 3 Chicago White Sox 2
Final N.Y. Yankees 4 Houston 3
Final Oakland 4 Cleveland 3
Final Boston 5 Seattle 1
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Philadelphia 5 Atlanta 4
Final Milwaukee 4 N.Y. Mets 1
Final Cincinnati 6 Washington 5
Final Pittsburgh 9 Miami 7
Final Arizona 5 Colorado 1
Final San Diego 13 San Francisco 4
Final L.A. Dodgers 5 St. Louis 4
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Denver 130 Cleveland 101
Final L.A. Lakers 116 Brooklyn 104
Final Philadelphia 135 Toronto 120
Final Miami 119 Washington 107
Final L.A. Clippers 130 Charlotte 118
Final Dallas 125 Houston 107
Final Chicago 109 Minnesota 101
Final Golden State 117 San Antonio 113
Final Oklahoma City 113 New York 112
Final Sacramento 127 Utah 106
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Vancouver 3 Anaheim 2
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (3)Purdue 72 (6)Tennessee 66
Final NC State 76 (13)Duke 64
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Final Atlanta 3 Chicago 0
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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INTERLEAGUE
Atlanta at Chi White Sox 2:10 p.m.
L-A Angels at Miami 6:40 p.m.
Detroit at N-Y Mets 7:10 p.m.
N-Y Yankees at Arizona 9:40 p.m.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Kansas City at Baltimore 6:35 p.m.
Texas at Tampa Bay 6:50 p.m.
Toronto at Houston 8:10 p.m.
Boston at Oakland 9:40 p.m.
Cleveland at Seattle 9:40 p.m.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Colorado at Chi Cubs 2:20 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Washington 4:05 p.m.
Cincinnati at Philadelphia 6:40 p.m.
St. Louis at San Diego 9:40 p.m.
San Francisco at L-A Dodgers 10:10 p.m.
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Boston at Charlotte 7 p.m.
Brooklyn at Indiana 7 p.m.
Memphis at Detroit 7 p.m.
Portland at Orlando 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Chicago 8 p.m.
Phoenix at New Orleans 8 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Colorado at Columbus 7 p.m.
Detroit at Tampa Bay 7 p.m.
Florida at Toronto 7 p.m.
N-Y Islanders at Philadelphia 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh at N-Y Rangers 7 p.m.
Edmonton at St. Louis 9 p.m.
Los Angeles at Winnipeg 9 p.m.
Seattle at San Jose 10:30 p.m.
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