Number of perfect March Madness brackets dwindles into the hundreds after the first round
The dreams of a perfect NCAA Tournament bracket have already gone bust for the vast majority of those hoping to go an improbable 63-0. The number of unblemished entries in ESPN’s bracket challenge dropped to 195 after the completion of the first round, even with all the high-seeded favorites winning — and defending national champion Florida doing it by 59 points against Prairie View A&M. Over 99.999% of the 26 million-plus brackets entered at ESPN have already been busted. It was much the same over at the NCAA’s bracket challenge, where only 234 error-free entries remained.
After Santa Clara and Kentucky trade 3s in thrilling finish, ‘a tough one to swallow’ for Broncos
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Santa Clara may have lost to Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, but few will forget the way everything unfolded at the end of regulation. The two teams each hit a 3-pointer in the last 2.4 seconds, forcing them to play another five minutes in a game that the seventh-seeded Wildcats won, 89-84. The Broncos hit the first of them to take a 73-70 lead, only for Kentucky’s Otega Oweh to answer at the buzzer from right in front of his own bench to tie the game. It was a crushing loss for Santa Clara, which was making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since Steve Nash was playing there 30 years ago.
Florida begins title defense with 59-point rout of Prairie View, 2nd-biggest margin in NCAA tourney
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Florida began its national title defense with the second-largest victory margin in NCAA Tournament history, pounding Prairie View A&M 114-55. Boogie Fland scored 16 points to lead seven players in double figures for the top-seeded Gators, whose 59-point margin fell short of only Loyola Chicago’s 111-42 win over Tennessee Tech in 1963. Florida advanced to face No. 9 seed Iowa in the South Region’s second round on Sunday. Florida went on runs of 18-0 and 17-0 in the first half to turn a 15-all tie into a 60-21 lead at the break. The Gators shot 75% before halftime and 64.3% for the game.
Trump issues executive order requiring CFP to avoid broadcasting conflicts with Army-Navy game
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has issued an executive order barring College Football Playoff and other postseason games from airing during the annual Army-Navy matchup in December. Trump directed the commerce secretary and the FCC chairman to coordinate with the playoff committee, the NCAA and media rights partners to ensure an exclusive broadcasting window for the storied rivalry traditionally played the second Saturday each December. Trump’s order makes reference to potential expansion of the CFP that likely would require an earlier start for the playoff. In the first two years of the 12-team format, the first-round games were the weekend after Army-Navy.
Purdue’s Braden Smith breaks Bobby Hurley’s Division I career assist record in NCAA tourney opener
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Purdue guard Braden Smith broke former Duke star Bobby Hurley’s Division I assist record with 12:11 to go in the first half of the Boilermakers’ NCAA Tournament game against Queens on Friday night. Smith picked up his second of the game and the 1,077th of his career with a feed to Trey Kaufman-Renn. The All-American already was the only player in NCAA history with at least 1,500 points, 1,000 assists and 500 career rebounds, and Smith is one of two players along with Southern’s Avery Johnson to have had at least 300 assists in two different seasons. He was a second-team AP All-American this season.
Otega Oweh’s buzzer-beater saves Kentucky in 89-84 overtime win over Santa Clara in March Madness
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Otega Oweh rescued Kentucky with a buzzer-beater from just inside half court to force overtime, then hit the tiebreaking free throws in the extra period as the seventh-seeded Wildcats beat No. 10 seed Santa Clara 89-84 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Santa Clara’s Allen Graves drained a 3 from the right wing with 2.4 seconds left to put the Broncos ahead 73-70. Oweh took the inbound pass and got his shot off just in time, and it banked in for the tie. Oweh scored a career-high 35 points for the Wildcats, who will face No. 2 seed Iowa State, a 108-74 winner over 15th-seeded Tennessee State, in the second round in the Midwest Region.
Wimbledon introduces video review on six courts for this year’s tournament
LONDON (AP) — Wimbledon will use video review technology for the first time at this year’s tournament. The All England Club says it will have the technology available on Centre Court, No. 1 Court — the club’s second-biggest stadium — plus four other show courts. Players will be allowed to review specific calls made by the chair umpire — such as double bounces. Video review made its Grand Slam tennis debut at the 2023 U.S. Open. The Australian Open also uses the technology.
Japan wins the Women’s Asian Cup, beating Australia 1-0 on Hamano’s early strike
SYDNEY (AP) — Japan has won the Women’s Asian Cup title with a 1-0 win over Australia. Maika Hamano’s strike from just outside the area in the 17th minute was the only goal of the final at Sydney’s Stadium Australia on Saturday night. Japan beat Australia to win back-to-back Women’s Asian Cups in 2014 and 2018 and has now won the title three times in four tournaments. Japan is the top-ranked team in Asia and conceded just one goal in six games. Australia hasn’t won the continental championship since 2010, when a 16-year-old Sam Kerr scored in the championship decider. Six teams from the Asian Cup have qualified for next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
A landmark 7-year WNBA labor deal moves forward with a signed term sheet
NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA and its players union have reached the next step in their new collective bargaining agreement, signing a term sheet. Now they wait for ratification by the players and approval from the league’s Board of Governors. The new seven-year CBA, which will begin this season and run through 2032, represents a transformational landmark labor deal.
Alabama’s Tyler Fay pitches no-hitter against Florida for Tide’s first in a complete game since 1942
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Tyler Fay pitched Alabama’s first nine-inning, complete-game no-hitter in 84 years, striking out 13 in a 6-0 victory over Florida. Fay retired the last 10 batters. Brendan Lawson flew out to left to end the game. Fay had never pitched more than seven innings in college. He threw a career-high 132 pitches, 85 for strikes. The redshirt junior from Doniphan, Nebraska, issued a walk in the second inning and another in the sixth. Fay came into the season as Alabama’s No. 1 starter and entered the game with a 3-2 record and 5.43 ERA.