Calipari bests Pitino in March Madness and leads Arkansas to sweetest Sweet 16 appearance yet
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — John Calipari is heading back to the Sweet 16 after sending a second straight Hall of Famer home from the NCAA Tournament’s “Region of Coaches.” One game after knocking out good friend Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks, Calipari’s 10th-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks beat longtime nemesis Rick Pitino and St. John’s. That earned Calipari an especially sweet 16th trip to the Sweet 16, with his fourth school. And it ended Pitino’s chances of a long March Madness run with his second-seeded Red Storm.
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl makes plea for return of American hostage Edan Alexander from Gaza
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl began his postgame NCAA Tournament news conference on Saturday night by advocating for the release of Edan Alexander, the last living American being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas. Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier who grew up in the United States, is one of 59 hostages still in Gaza, more than half of whom are believed to be dead. Pearl, who is Jewish, made the plea for Alexander’s return after the top-seeded Tigers’ 82-70 victory over No. 9 Creighton. He said he wanted to “remind the world” about Alexander, adding, “an American held hostage and not enough people in this country know his name.”
McNeese’s Will Wade signs a 6-year deal to become NC State coach, AP source says
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A person with knowledge of the situation says McNeese coach Will Wade has a signed six-year deal to take over as N.C. State’s next coach. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the school hasn’t publicly discussed its coaching search. Wade’s second straight NCAA Tournament run with the Cowboys ended Saturday with a second-round loss to Purdue. That came two days after his team upset Clemson in the first round. Wade won 58 games in the past two seasons at McNeese. He will replace fired coach Kevin Keatts.
LeBron James is available to return from his 7-game injury absence when Lakers face Bulls
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James is available to play for the Los Angeles Lakers again after a seven-game absence with a strained left groin. The top scorer in NBA history is expected to start against the Chicago Bulls in the finale of the Lakers’ five-game homestand. James was injured during the Lakers’ loss at defending champion Boston on March 8. The Lakers lost three more road games without him before rallying to win the first three games of their current homestand. The 40-year-old James left the Lakers during their trip to get treatment and he participated in several workouts over the past week.
In March Madness thriller, BYU gets back to Sweet 16 with 91-89 victory over Wisconsin
DENVER (AP) — BYU withstood a ferocious charge from Wisconsin’s John Tonje to hold off the Badgers for a 91-89 victory that sends the program to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2011. Tonje finished with 37 points, including eight during a desperate comeback down the stretch, but trailing by two, he shot a fadeaway air ball just before the buzzer that allowed the sixth-seeded Cougars to escape. Tonje was the first player to crack 30 points this year in March Madness. Richie Saunders scored 25 for the sixth-seeded Cougars.
No. 1 seed Houston holds off Gonzaga comeback, beats No. 8 seed Bulldogs 81-76 to reach Sweet 16
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — LJ Cryer matched a career high with 30 points, including two free throws with 14.2 seconds left, and No. 1 seed Houston held on to beat eighth-seeded Gonzaga 81-76 on Saturday night to reach the Sweet 16 for the sixth straight NCAA Tournament. J’Wan Roberts added 18 points, and Milos Uzan made two last free throws with 2.1 seconds left to give the Cougars their 15th straight win and push them into a regional semifinal against fourth-seeded Purdue on Friday night in Indianapolis. Graham Ike finished with 27 points and Khalif Battle had 17 for the Bulldogs, who had a streak of nine straight Sweet 16s come to an end.
Top overall seed Auburn reaches first Sweet 16 since 2019, turning away Creighton 82-70
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said a trip to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament was no sure thing. Experienced Creighton made his top-seeded team work for it before the Tigers found their defensive mojo in the second half and closed out the ninth-seeded Bluejays 82-70 on Saturday night to reach the Sweet 16. Tahaad Pettiford scored 16 of his 23 points after halftime and Chad Baker-Mazara added 17 points for Auburn, which held Creighton scoreless for more than six minutes during a 10-0 second-half run. The No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, Auburn moves on to the South Region semifinals in Atlanta next weekend, where it will face No. 5 seed Michigan.
March Madness: No. 2 UConn routs Arkansas State 103-34 in opener as Fudd has 27 points
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Azzi Fudd had 21 of her 27 points in the first half as second-seeded UConn rolled to a 103-34 win over Arkansas State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. Freshman Sarah Strong added 20 points and 12 rebounds, five assists and five blocks in her NCAA Tournament debut. Most of those came in the first half when UConn jumped out to a 66-16 advantage at the half, playing nearly flawless basketball. The Huskies had runs of 22-0, 12-0 and 13-0 in the first half as UConn won its 31st consecutive first-round game. Crislyn Rose led the Red Wolves with seven points. The team shot 17% from the field (12-for-70), including going 7-for-40 from behind the arc.
Penn State’s Starocci wins record 5th national title; Hendrickson stuns Steveson for 285-pound title
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Penn State’s Carter Starocci won an unprecedented fifth national title and Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Hendrickson stunned Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson 5-4 in the heavyweight final at the NCAA men’s wrestling championships with President Donald Trump in attendance. Hendrickson, the transfer from Air Force, trailed in the last match of the evening until scoring on a takedown in the final minute — the only takedown Steveson allowed all season. Penn State claimed its third four-peat, running away from the field to claim its 12th men’s Division I men’s wrestling national title under coach Cael Sanderson. Nebraska finished second and Oklahoma State was third.
Hailey Van Lith vs. Louisville when TCU guard faces team she went deep in March Madness with 3 times
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Hailey Van Lith is hoping to go deep into the women’s NCAA Tournament with TCU like she did three times with Louisville. As fate would have it in the standout guard’s fifth and final March Madness, Van Lith faces her old team in the second round. Van Lith started 101 games and averaged 15.4 points for the Cardinals while going to an NCAA Final Four and two other Elite Eights from 2021-23. She then went to LSU and another Elite Eight before transferring to TCU. The Horned Frogs have never been past the second round. They host Louisville on Sunday.