Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — NCAA President Mark Emmert says investigations into allegations of major violations against several high-profile men's college basketball programs have taken "way too long." The implicated programs include current men's Final Four participant Kansas. Emmert did not specify what solutions to speed the process are on the table. But there's increasing acknowledgement that the process is broken. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey says the Division I Transformation Committee he co-chairs is working to recommend ways to modernize and reform NCAA governance and regulatory policies. Emmert also is urging Congress to draft national name, image and likeness policies governing permissible athlete endorsement deals. He says transfer rules also remain under constant scrutiny.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Exactly 10 years after a bunch of one-and-done phenoms for Kentucky cut down the nets in the Big Easy, there is a much more old-school feel to this year's Final Four. Some of the biggest stars on each team have taken advantage of medical and COVID-19 waivers, along with transfer portals, to produce four national semifinalists long on experience. Villanova and Kansas, and to some extent Duke and North Carolina, feature the kind of savvy veterans that once seemed endangered in the world of big-time college basketball. And together, this quartet is proving on the game's grandest stage that experience still matters in an era of instant gratification.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — North Carolina's Hubert Davis is relying on experience from his playing career and lessons from Hall of Fame mentors in a field of NCAA coaching giants surrounding him at this week's men's Final Four. Davis' experience includes being a Tar Heels player in the Final Four under Dean Smith in 1991. The first-year head coach has less sideline history than the three Hall of Famers also in New Orleans: Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Kansas' Bill Self and Villanova's Jay Wright. UNC player Leaky Black says Davis understands the challenges they face because he's been in their position and "gets us under control."
UNDATED (AP) — This year's Final Four includes quite a collection of big-name programs — but this hasn't been a particularly dominant group this season. In fact, the top three teams in the current Pomeroy rankings — and five of the top six — are absent. That's a change from last year, when Gonzaga and Baylor were terrific all season and then met in the title game. Here's a statistical look at this season's accomplished-but-flawed Final Four quartet, using advanced stats.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Villanova has passed the torch of guards playing in the low post, from Ryan Arcidiancono to Jalen Brunson. Now it's Collin Gillespie's turn and it may be the equalizer for the short-handed Wildcats against Kansas in the Final Four. Gillespie learned to play in the low post while battling Brunson in practice and has become one of the best guards in the nation at it. Guard post-ups could give Villanova an edge in the national semifinals after Justin Moore was lost for the season with a torn Achilles tendon.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — In one of his tried-and-true motivational speeches, Mike Krzyzewski outlined his four pillars of team building. They are: making everyone feel important, taking ownership, adaptability and doing things with feeling. Duke perfected the first three to help Coach K reach his 13th and most amazing Final Four. Next comes the "feeling" part. Now that the record-setting, 75-year-old coach is in New Orleans, he knows he must walk a fine line between enjoying the moment and letting it overwhelm his team. Krzyzewski says he's always thought that being able to share the emotion with his players is the best feeling. Their next chance comes Saturday, when the Blue Devils meet archrival North Carolina in the national semifinals, If Duke wins, Coach K will go for his sixth national title Monday.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The four blueblood programs that have descended upon the Superdome for the men's Final Four all have the ability to recruit on a national scale. Their coaches are able to hop aboard a jet on a moment's notice to sit in a living room or take in a game. Yet all of the teams in New Orleans have pulled talent from their own backyards. Kansas has mined stars from Kansas City, Villanova from the fertile recruiting grounds of Philadelphia, and Duke and North Carolina have gone head-to-head for local talent with their campuses separated by about 10 miles.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A seat at the 182-year-old French Quarter restaurant that invented Oysters Rockefeller and mastered Baked Alaska is virtually impossible to get this week. The first NCAA men's Final Four without pandemic restrictions in three years is being held in New Orleans. And the tourism-dependent city needed it after seeing the hospitality industry devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic for much of the past two years. New Orleans suffered the cancellation of the 2020 women's Final Four but 70,000-plus fans are expected at the Superdome for games on Saturday and Monday nights. Downtown hotels and restaurants are booked solid and city officials hope it marks the resumption of New Orleans as a big-event destination.
Update on the latest sports
NBA-SCHEDULE
Bucks pull out win over Nets
UNDATED (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks are within a half-game of Miami for the NBA's Eastern Conference lead, and with a game in hand on the Heat.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH'-nihs an-teh-toh-KOON'-poh) became the Bucks' all-time scoring leader before hitting two free throws with three seconds left, giving Milwaukee a 120-119 win over the Nets. Antetokounmpo finished with 44 points, 14 rebounds and six assists as the Bucks clinched a playoff berth. He passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the team scoring leader by hitting a 3-pointer that forced overtime.
Kris Middleton had 16 points and nine boards before his ejection for a flagrant foul.
Kevin Durant had 26 points and Kyrie Irving 25 for Brooklyn, which fell into an eighth-place tie with Charlotte in the East.
Checking out Thursday's other NBA action:
— Saddiq Bey (sah-DEEK' bay) scored half of his 20 points in the final 4 ½ minutes of the Pistons' 102-94 victory over the 76ers. Bey provided seven points in a 9-0 run that gave the Pistons a 102-89 lead with 1:54 to play. Cade Cunningham scored 27 points to help Detroit withstand Joel Embiid's 37 points and 15 rebounds.
— DeMar DeRozan poured in a season-high 50 points and the Bulls rallied to beat the Clippers, 135-130 in overtime. DeRozan finished two points shy of his career high, providing 17 in the fourth quarter and 10 in OT. Nikola Vucevic (nih-KOH'-lah VOO'-seh-vihch) added 22 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago, which trailed by 16 in the third period.
— Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and Rudy Gobert (goh-BEHR') had a double-double as the Jazz dumped the Lakers, 122-109 to end a five-game losing streak. Gobert delivered 25 points and 17 boards for the Jazz, who are trying to stay out of a Western Conference play-in game. Jordan Clarkson scored 19 points for Utah, Mike Conley added 18 and Bojan (BOY'-ahn) Bogdanovic 11 in his return from injury.
— Trae Young scored 30 points and the surging Hawks never trailed in their fourth straight win, 131-107 over the struggling Cavaliers. Kevin Huerter continued his strong finish to the regular season with 23 points, his fourth consecutive game with at least 20 points. Clint Capela added 12 points with 14 rebounds in helping Atlanta wrap up a berth in the play-in round.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Record-setting night for Huberdeau and the Cats
UNDATED (AP) — The Florida Panthers are on the verge of a Stanley Cup playoff berth after picking up their team-record 28th home win.
Sergei Bobrovsky posted his third shutout of the season by making 37 saves in the Panthers' 4-0 win over the Blackhawks. Jonathan Huberdeau (HOO'-bur-doh) set an NHL record for left wingers with his 71st assist. Huberdeau is three away from breaking the club mark of 86 points.
Aleksander Barkov scored twice for the Panthers, who can wrap up a playoff spot as early as Saturday.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— The Avalanche posted a 4-2 win over the Sharks as Mikko Rantanen (MEE'-koh RAN'-tah-nehn) scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with 7:43 remaining. Andre Burakovsky (bur-ah-KAHV'-skee), Darren Helm and Alex Newhook also added goals in Colorado's seventh straight win over San Jose. Nathan MacKinnon returned to the lineup for the Avs, dodging a scare after appearing to hurt his hand in a fight last weekend.
— Marc McLaughlin scored in his NHL debut while the Bruins erupted for six goals in the second period of a 8-1 rout of the Devils. The former Boston College captain tallied as the Bruins scored three times in 183 seconds. Brad Marchand scored twice in Boston's highest scoring output since Thanksgiving 2019.
— The Hurricanes were 4-0 winners over the Canadiens as Frederik Anderson handled 32 shots in his fourth shutout of the season. Andrei Svechnikov (SVEHCH'-nih-kahv) scored twice for Carolina, while Sebastian Aho (AH'-hoh) and Teuvo Teravainen (TAY'-voh tehr-ah-VY'-nehn) each had a goal and an assist. Carolina has points in six straight games as it tries to stay atop the Metropolitan Division.
— Evgeni Malkin's overtime goal gave the Penguins a 4-3 win over the Wild, ending Minnesota's seven-game winning streak. Malkin ended it at 3:57 of the extra session after Rickard Rackell (rih-KAHRD' rah-KEHL') delivered two goals. Jake Guentzel (GEHNT'-sul) added his 32nd goal for the Pens, who moved back into six place in the Metropolitan Division and six points behind the Hurricanes.
— The Islanders wasted a 2-0 lead before Kyle Palmieri put them back ahead in the third period of a 5-2 win over Columbus. Mathew Barzal had a goal and an assist as the Isles beat the Blue Jackets for the second time in three nights. Sebastian Aho (AH'-hoh) also tallied for New York, about 34 seconds in real time before Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho scored 500 miles away against Montreal.
— Jamie Benn scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Stars completed a two-game sweep of the skidding Ducks. 3-2. Jake Oettinger made 21 saves to help Dallas win for the fifth time in six games. Kevin Shattenkirk scored a tying goal with 3:21 left in regulation, but the Ducks still lost their 11th consecutive game.
— Lias (LEE'-ahs) Andersson furnished the deciding goal in the shootout and Cal Petersen made 26 saves as the Kings captured a 3-2 victory over the Flames. Alex Iaffalo (eye-ah-FAH'-loh) and Viktor Arvidsson scored in regulation for Los Angeles, which is five points behind the of Pacific Division-leading Flames. Calgary has three games in hand.
— Auston Matthews scored his 50th goal of the season as the Maple Leafs thumped the Jets, 7-3. Matthews is the first Leaf with 50 goals since Dave Andreychuk (AN'-dreh-chuhk) scored 53 in 1993-94. William Nylander (NEE'-lan-dur) added two on the power play to go along with an assist.
MLB-NEWS
Royals exercise option to keep Matheny through 2023 season
UNDATED (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have exercised their club option on Mike Matheny (muh-THEE'-nee) for the 2023 season. The move eliminates any uncertainty over whether their manager will remain with the club after the coming season.
Matheny has gone 100-122 in two seasons with the Royals and is 691-596 as a major league skipper, including his seven years with St. Louis.
In other Major League Baseball news:
— Former Marlins and Tigers pitcher José Ureña has signed a $1.25 million, one-year league contract with the Brewers. The 30-year-old Ureña went 4-8 with a 5.81 ERA for the Tigers last season in 26 appearances, including 18 starts.
— A rules change to bring back automatic runners in extra innings is being brought back for a third straight season. MLB and the players' association agreed to keep the controversial rule that starts each team with a runner on second base during extra innings for the 2022 regular season. The agreement regarding on-field rules modifications also includes expanding active rosters from 26 players to 28 from opening day on April 7 through May 1 this year, due to the delayed start of spring training.
NFL NEWS
LB Bobby Wagner agrees to 5-year deal with Rams
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Linebacker Bobby Wagner has agreed to a five-year deal to join his hometown Los Angeles Rams.
Wagner became one of the NFL's top linebackers during a decade with the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks released the six-time All-Pro anchor of their defense on March 9.
ESPN reported Wagner's deal is worth $50 million.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-WOMEN
Boston AP player of year, Mulkey coach
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Aliyah Boston of South Carolina is The Associated Press women's basketball player of the year.
Boston averaged 16.8 points, 12 rebounds and 2.6 blocks this year. The junior forward helped South Carolina go wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the country, putting up 27 consecutive double-doubles. She has the Gamecocks two wins away from their second national championship.
And Kim Mulkey is The Associated Press women's basketball Coach of the Year in her first season at LSU.
The longtime Baylor coach led the Tigers to 26 wins at an NCAA Tournament berth after they won only nine games last season. Mulkey received 10 votes from the 30-member national media panel that votes on the AP Top 25.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-NBA DRAFT
College stars enter NBA Draft
UNDATED (AP) — A number of college basketball stars have entered their names in the NBA draft.
Purdue's Jaden Ivey averaged 17 points, five rebounds and three assists per game and was named to The Associated Press All-America second team.
Wisconsin's Johnny Davis is regarded as a likely lottery selection as an Associated Press All-America first-team selection and the Big Ten player of the year.
And Notre Dame freshman guard Blake Wesley, a 6-foot-5 guard who averaged a team-leading 14.4 points also tweeted his intention.
Also in men's college basketball:
— Longtime Miami associate head coach Chris Caputo has accepted a contract offer to become the new coach at George Washington. That's according to a person with knowledge of the situation who says the school and Caputo were working out final contract details including length of the deal. Caputo replaces Jamion Christian, who was 29-50 in three seasons at the school.
PGA-TEXAS OPEN
Knox leads through 18
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Russell Knox birdied four straight holes on the back nine and fired a 7-under 65 for a one-shot lead after the opening round of the Valero Texas Open.
Knox closed out his round with a seven-foot putt to save par at the par-5 18th at TPC San Antonio, leaving him just ahead of Rasmus Hojgaard.
Hojgaard fired a 66 despite a double bogey on his final hole.
Matt Kuchar is another stroke back after an opening 5-under 67. Kuchard is among a group that includes Denny McCarthy, Aaron Rei and J.J. Spaun.
SOCCER-WORLD CUP SEEDINGS
FIFA sets World Cup draw seedings with updated rankings
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The United States has received a boost for the World Cup draw and Canada has taken a hit in the updated FIFA rankings.
The Americans will be in Pot 2 after being ranked 15th in the world. They clinched a berth for this year's championship in Qatar (KUH'-tur) despite a 2-0 loss to Costa Rica Wednesday on the final night of qualifying.
Canada won the North American qualifying group and will play at the tournament for the first time in 36 years but missed a chance for a rankings boost by losing at Panama 1-0 in its final qualifier. Canada will instead be among the lowest seeded teams in Pot 4.
The eight groups for the tournament in Qatar will be drawn Friday from four pots. Qatar gets the top-seeded slot given to the World Cup host nation despite being ranked No. 51.
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