“THE SCOREBOARD”
INDIANA BOYS SECTIONAL SCORES
HOMESTEAD.COM
| Lake Central | ||||
| Crown Point | 80 | Hammond Morton | 57 | |
| Lake Central | 54 | Munster | 32 | |
| Valparaiso | ||||
| Portage | 69 | Chesterton | 55 | |
| Merrillville | 58 | Hobart | 46 | |
| Michigan City | ||||
| LaPorte | 66 | Michigan City | 51 | |
| South Bend Riley | 70 | South Bend Adams | 54 | |
| Elkhart | ||||
| Northridge | 49 | Elkhart | 34 | |
| Warsaw | 59 | Goshen | 51 | |
| Carroll (Fort Wayne) | ||||
| Carroll (Fort Wayne) | 62 | Fort Wayne Snider | 42 | |
| Fort Wayne Northrop | 65 | Fort Wayne North | 56 | |
| Fort Wayne Wayne | ||||
| Homestead | 57 | Huntington North | 51 | |
| Fort Wayne Wayne | 89 | Fort Wayne South | 60 | |
| Kokomo | ||||
| Harrison (West Lafayette) | 55 | Lafayette Jeff | 51 | |
| Kokomo | 70 | McCutcheon | 62 | |
| Carmel | ||||
| Noblesville | 56 | Hamilton Southeastern | 53 | |
| Fishers | 57 | Zionsville | 41 | |
| Muncie Central | ||||
| Mount Vernon (Fortville) | 76 | Anderson | 60 | |
| Greenfield-Central | 60 | Muncie Central | 36 | |
| Lawrence Central | ||||
| North Central (Indianapolis) | 72 | Indianapolis Tech | 38 | |
| Lawrence North | 58 | Warren Central | 48 | |
| Avon | ||||
| Ben Davis | 43 | Pike | 41 | |
| Brownsburg | 50 | Plainfield | 47 | |
| Decatur Central | ||||
| Franklin Central | 69 | Southport | 62 | |
| Mooresville | 60 | Center Grove | 47 | |
| Bloomington South | ||||
| Terre Haute North | 64 | Terre Haute South | 43 | |
| Bloomington South | 77 | Martinsville | 34 | |
| Columbus East | ||||
| Whiteland | 59 | East Central | 33 | |
| Columbus East | 75 | Franklin | 51 | |
| Seymour | ||||
| Jeffersonville | 68 | Bedford North Lawrence | 38 | |
| New Albany | 70 | Floyd Central | 54 | |
| Evansville Harrison | ||||
| Evansville Harrison | 47 | Evansville North | 25 | |
| Evansville Reitz | 66 | Castle | 56 | |
| East Chicago Central | ||||
| East Chicago Central | 73 | Hammond Noll | 48 | |
| Gary West | 72 | Calumet | 38 | |
| Kankakee Valley | ||||
| River Forest | 56 | Kankakee Valley | 44 | |
| Hanover Central | 45 | Lowell | 33 | |
| Plymouth | ||||
| Culver Academy | 70 | New Prairie | 32 | |
| South Bend St. Joseph | 69 | Mishawaka Marian | 47 | |
| NorthWood | ||||
| Tippecanoe Valley | 44 | Wawasee | 29 | |
| Columbia City | 55 | Fairfield | 33 | |
| Garrett | ||||
| Leo | 67 | Garrett | 42 | |
| Fort Wayne Blackhawk | 69 | East Noble | 34 | |
| Bellmont | ||||
| New Haven | 71 | Norwell | 49 | |
| Marion | 77 | Heritage | 60 | |
| Logansport | ||||
| Logansport | 71 | Peru | 57 | |
| Maconaquah | 74 | Northwestern | 49 | |
| New Castle | ||||
| Delta | 49 | Yorktown | 39 | |
| New Castle | 61 | Connersville | 41 | |
| Frankfort | ||||
| Tri-West | 82 | Danville | 70 | |
| Guerin Catholic | 59 | Brebeuf Jesuit | 45 | |
| Indianapolis Shortridge | ||||
| Indianapolis Attucks | 59 | Indianapolis Cathedral | 54 | |
| Indianapolis Shortridge | 73 | Indianapolis Herron | 27 | |
| Cascade | ||||
| Northview | 81 | Indianapolis Washington | 43 | |
| Speedway | 74 | Cascade | 54 | |
| Shelbyville | ||||
| New Palestine | 55 | Beech Grove | 45 | |
| Indianapolis Roncalli | 44 | Greenwood | 42 | |
| South Dearborn | ||||
| Jennings County | 71 | Batesville | 46 | |
| South Dearborn | 73 | Lawrenceburg | 61 | |
| Charlestown | ||||
| Brownstown Central | 63 | Charlestown | 59 | |
| Silver Creek | 63 | Madison | 37 | |
| Southridge | ||||
| Washington | 51 | Southridge | 47 | |
| Princeton | 48 | Gibson Southern | 46 | |
| Boonville | ||||
| Evansville Central | 55 | Boonville | 52 | OT |
| Evansville Memorial | 73 | Mount Vernon (Posey) | 55 | |
| Hebron | ||||
| Gary 21st Century | 65 | Andrean | 46 | |
| Hebron | 62 | Boone Grove | 48 | |
| Jimtown | ||||
| Jimtown | 68 | Knox | 27 | |
| Bremen | 52 | Winamac | 43 | |
| Westview | ||||
| Westview | 64 | Lakeland | 49 | |
| Central Noble | 55 | Eastside | 21 | |
| South Adams | ||||
| Woodlan | 44 | Adams Central | 43 | |
| Fort Wayne Luers | 76 | South Adams | 44 | |
| North Montgomery | ||||
| Seeger | 70 | Benton Central | 58 | |
| Western Boone | 70 | Rensselaer Central | 35 | |
| Wabash | ||||
| Manchester | 71 | Rochester | 46 | |
| Oak Hill | 55 | Lewis Cass | 46 | |
| Frankton | ||||
| Tipton | 59 | Sheridan | 54 | |
| Frankton | 61 | Lapel | 49 | |
| Blackford | ||||
| Wapahani | 63 | Blackford | 54 | |
| Madison-Grant | 54 | Alexandria | 52 | |
| Greencastle | ||||
| Parke Heritage | 51 | Greencastle | 36 | |
| South Vermillion | 75 | Southmont | 64 | |
| Park Tudor | ||||
| University | 62 | Monrovia | 49 | |
| Indianapolis Ritter | 73 | Indianapolis Riverside | 66 | |
| Christel House | ||||
| Triton Central | 48 | Christel House | 47 | OT |
| Indianapolis Scecina | 46 | KIPP Indy Legacy | 45 | |
| Hagerstown | ||||
| Northeastern | 48 | Shenandoah | 38 | |
| Centerville | 68 | Winchester | 42 | |
| Southwestern (Hanover) | ||||
| South Ripley | 65 | Brown County | 39 | |
| Southwestern (Hanover) | 68 | Austin | 24 | |
| Paoli | ||||
| Providence | 68 | Mitchell | 36 | |
| Paoli | 67 | Eastern (Pekin) | 35 | |
| Eastern Greene | ||||
| West Vigo | 58 | North Knox | 32 | |
| Linton | 57 | South Knox | 52 | |
| Tell City | ||||
| Evansville Mater Dei | 39 | Perry Central | 37 | |
| Forest Park | 37 | North Posey | 35 | |
| Kouts | ||||
| Washington Twp. | 68 | Morgan Twp. | 53 | |
| Kouts | 66 | Westville | 61 | |
| Tri-County | ||||
| West Central | 59 | Caston | 52 | |
| Tri-County | 49 | Pioneer | 45 | |
| North Judson | ||||
| Triton | 42 | Elkhart Christian | 34 | |
| Trinity Greenlawn | 41 | South Central (Union Mills) | 33 | |
| Fremont | ||||
| Lakewood Park | 37 | Bethany Christian | 35 | OT |
| Fort Wayne Canterbury | 44 | Lakeland Christian | 39 | |
| North Vermillion | ||||
| Covington | 71 | Faith Christian | 51 | |
| Lafayette Central Catholic | 56 | Riverton Parke | 43 | |
| Clinton Central | ||||
| Frontier | 72 | Traders Point Christian | 33 | |
| Clinton Prairie | 57 | Rossville | 37 | |
| Southwood | ||||
| Northfield | 56 | Cowan | 31 | |
| Daleville | 68 | Wes-Del | 66 | |
| Blue River | ||||
| Monroe Central | 70 | Union (Modoc) | 25 | |
| Seton Catholic | 66 | Union City | 46 | |
| Purdue Broad Ripple | ||||
| Liberty Christian | 70 | Indianapolis Tindley | 49 | |
| Anderson Prep | 73 | Indianapolis International | 67 | |
| Indianapolis Lutheran | ||||
| Indianapolis Metropolitan | 59 | Greenwood Christian | 39 | |
| Indianapolis Lutheran | 54 | Providence Cristo Rey | 48 | |
| Edinburgh | ||||
| North Decatur | 60 | Waldron | 52 | |
| Edinburgh | 53 | South Decatur | 47 | |
| Milan | ||||
| Hauser | 63 | Trinity Lutheran | 40 | |
| Milan | 59 | Oldenburg Academy | 57 | |
| White River Valley | ||||
| Clay City | 41 | Bloomfield | 35 | |
| North Central (Farmersburg) | 48 | White River Valley | 36 | |
| Loogootee | ||||
| North Daviess | 48 | Barr-Reeve | 31 | |
| Orleans | 49 | Loogootee | 33 | |
| West Washington | ||||
| Borden | 75 | South Central (Elizabeth) | 56 | |
| Christian Academy | 51 | Rock Creek Academy | 40 | |
| Springs Valley | ||||
| Northeast Dubois | 70 | Evansville Day | 36 | |
| Wood Memorial | 69 | Springs Valley | 60 | |
SATURDAY CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCOREBOARD
Illinois 88 #18 Purdue 80
#16 Memphis 84 S. Florida 68
Miami Ohio 79 Ball State 66
Akron 88 Buffalo 70
Western Michigan 64 Bowling Green 63
Kent State 76 Eastern Michigan 70
Northern Illinois 83 Central Michigan 81 2OT
Toledo 96 Ohio 82
Valparaiso 64 Northern Iowa 63
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCOREBOARD
#14 North Carolina 60 #22 Florida State 56
#5 South Carolina 84 Vanderbilt 63
#2 USC 84 Indiana 79
#16 West Virginia 73 #20 Kansas State 69
#7 North Carolina State 73 Georgia Tech 72
#10 Oklahoma 69 #12 Kentucky 65
#8 TCU 69 Colorado 62
Michigan 98 #15 Maryland 71
#6 Notre Dame 73 California 64
#1 Texas 70 Ole Miss 63
#17 Baylor 69 Iowa State 63
#4 UCLA 85 Nebraska 74
#11 Duke 61 Louisville 48
#9 LSU 101 Florida 87
#13 Ohio State 60 Iowa 59
#21 Oklahoma State 62 Texas Tech 59
St. John’s 66 Butler 50
Tennessee Tech 88 Southern Indiana 78
NBA SCOREBOARD
Cleveland 118 Charlotte 117
Toronto 118 Utah 109
Memphis 122 Dallas 111
Oklahoma City 107 Portland 89
Minnesota 106 Miami 104
Denver 149 Phoenix 141 OT
Sacramento 127 San Antonio 109
LA Clippers 105 New York 95
NHL SCOREBOARD
Washington 5 Detroit 2
Winnipeg 6 New Jersey 1
Chicago 4 Utah 3 OT
Vegas 4 Pittsburgh 0
Vancouver 3 Minnesota 1
St. Louis 4 Anaheim 3
TOP NATIONAL HEADLINES
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NO. 16 MEMPHIS PUTS AWAY SOUTH FLORIDA FOR 5TH STRAIGHT WIN
Dain Dainja and PJ Haggerty each had 20 points to lead host Memphis to an 84-68 victory over South Florida in the American Athletic Conference matchup on Friday night.
The 16th-ranked Tigers (26-5, 16-2 AAC) secured the conference’s regular-season title. It was their first such feat since 2012-13 when they won Conference USA.
Jayden Reid scored 20 points on 7 of 9 shooting to lead South Florida (13-18, 6-12), which ended the regular season on a four-game losing streak. CJ Brown added 11 points and Brandon Stroud grabbed 13 rebounds before fouling out.
The Tigers have won five in a row and swept both meetings with the Bulls this season. Memphis will be the top seed in next week’s AAC tournament, earning a double-bye.
Memphis will next try to boost its NCAA Tournament resume with a strong run in the conference tournament.
For a half, the Bulls entertained thoughts of an upset, leading for most of the first half before going to halftime in a tie at 35.
Memphis spent the first 11 minutes of the second half squashing those hopes. The Tigers took the lead for good on back-to-back 3-pointers by Tyrese Hunter to start the half and outscored South Florida 30-15.
Dainja went 10-for-13 for the floor and grabbed six rebounds. Hunter finished with 16 points and went 4-for-7 from 3-point range. He also chipped in seven assists and three steals.
Memphis’ defense and efforts on the boards swung the game in its favor in the second half.
The Tigers outrebounded the Bulls 43-30 for the game, led by Nicholas Jourdain’s nine boards. The Tigers blocked four shots and shared the ball well on the offensive end, totaling 21 assists.
Haggerty also had eight rebounds and five assists and went 8 of 10 at the free-throw line.
ILLINOIS CHASES DOWN NO. 18 PURDUE WITH LATE 13-1 RUN
Kasparas Jakucionis drilled a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 39 seconds left to highlight a late nine-point run that lifted Illinois to an 88-80 Big Ten victory over No. 18 Purdue on Friday night in the regular-season finale for both teams in Champaign, Ill.
Freshman Will Riley scored 22 points and Tre White added 20 points and nine rebounds as the Fighting Illini (20-11, 12-8 Big Ten) pulled off a 13-1 run over the final two minutes.
Junior guard Braden Smith nearly pulled off his first triple-double for the Boilermakers (21-10, 13-7). He played all 40 minutes and produced 18 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. Trey Kaufman-Renn led all scorers with 29 points, but only managed six in the final 12 minutes as the Fighting Illini rallied from a 10-point deficit.
Illinois jumped to a 17-10 lead with 13:47 left in the first half as Tomislav Ivisic and Riley drilled back-to-back 3-pointers. At that juncture, the Illini were 3-for-3 on 3-pointers — but they proceeded to miss their next 11 shots from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, Smith and Kaufman-Renn took over at the other end. Smith drove for consecutive layups to give the Boilermakers a 27-21 lead, and Kaufman-Renn hit three straight shots — two on feeds from Smith — to push the margin to 33-25 with 5:13 left in the half.
Illinois pulled within 42-40 at the break as Riley cashed a 25-footer with less than a second on the clock to snap the host’s errant 3-point streak.
Purdue seized its biggest lead at 63-53 on Smith’s driving layup with 11:34 to go, but Illinois responded with 10 quick points. White’s corner 3-pointer forged a 63-63 tie with 8:46 left. When Ben Humrichous swished a trey from the other corner at the 7:39 mark, the Illini claimed their first lead about midway through the first half.
The teams swapped the lead four times down the stretch before Illinois embarked on its winning run.
Humrichous hit a 3-pointer and a free throw, Jakucionis canned his high-arcing trey over Purdue center Caleb Furst, and Riley added two free throws to make it 84-79 with 23 seconds left.
Meanwhile, Purdue missed its final six shots and might miss out on a Big Ten tournament double-bye for the first time in five years. If Wisconsin and Maryland win this weekend, the Boilermakers would fall to the No. 5 seed.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP: NO. 2 USC, MICHIGAN ADVANCE TO SEMIFINALS
JuJu Watkins produced 31 points and 10 rebounds as No. 2 Southern California held on for an 84-79 victory over ninth-seeded Indiana in Big Ten tournament quarterfinal play Friday afternoon in Indianapolis.
The Big Ten’s Player of the Year hit 10 of 19 shots from the field and 10 of 13 at the line. First-team all-Big Ten forward Kiki Iriafen added 21 points and 10 rebounds for the top-seeded Trojans (27-2), who advanced to face Michigan in Saturday’s first semifinal. USC beat the Wolverines 78-58 on Dec. 29 in Los Angeles.
Yarden Garzon hit 5 3-pointers on her way to 23 points and eight rebounds for the Hoosiers (19-12). Chloe Moore-McNeil notched 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Shay Ciezki added 15 points and three blocks.
Playing without senior center Rayah Marshall (7.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.1 bpg) due to illness, USC never led by double figures and clung to a 59-57 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Trojans gained some breathing room, but Lilly Meister hit a pair of free throws to get the Hoosiers within 71-68 with 3:30 left. Talia Von Oelhoffen and Watkins responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to all but clinch USC’s eighth straight win.
Michigan 98, Maryland 71
After squandering nearly all of a 25-point lead in the first half, fifth-seeded Michigan calmly built a bigger lead in the second half to spring the quarterfinal upset of No. 15 Maryland.
Jordan Hobbs scored 23 points, Syla Swords posted 22 points and six assists and Olivia Olson added 20 points and five assists for Michigan (22-9), which reeled off 25 straight points to seize a 31-6 lead early in the second quarter. The Wolverines drilled 12 of their 23 3-point attempts and shot 61 percent from the field overall.
Maryland (23-7) went scoreless for 16 possessions in a row to fall behind by 25, but Sarah Te-Biasu delivered 16 of her 25 points during the second quarter as the Terps reeled off 16 consecutive points to get as close as 38-37 just before the half. Christina Dalce added 19 points.
Hobbs swished a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to restore a four-point edge, then added eight more points in the third as the Wolverines built a 69-49 lead heading into the fourth. They pushed their margin all the way to 98-68 in the waning moments.
BIG EAST
Kelsey Ransom scored a career-high 36 points, none more important than the two free throws she sank with two seconds left, and No. 10 seed Georgetown upset No. 7 seed Providence 58-56 in the first round of the Big East women’s basketball tournament on Friday in Uncasville, Conn.
Ransom scored all 11 of the Hoyas’ points in the fourth quarter. Her 3-pointer in the first minute gave Georgetown a 50-40 lead, its largest of the game. Providence rallied all the way back, with Olivia Olsen’s layup and free throws pulling the Friars even with 59 seconds left before Ransom drew a foul. The Friars missed a short shot before the buzzer.
Ransom made 14 of 22 field goal attempts and added seven rebounds for Georgetown (12-18), which will face second-seeded Creighton in the quarterfinals. Ariel Jenkins added eight points and six boards in 20 minutes before fouling out.
Olsen led Providence (13-19) with 21 points and seven rebounds. Grace Efosa added 14 points and eight boards.
St. John’s 66, Butler 50
Ber’Nyah Mayo had a game-high 16 points and the eighth-seeded Red Storm came back to beat the ninth-seeded Bulldogs.
Skye Owen added 13 points and Lashae Dwyer scored 10 as St. John’s (16-14) shot 58.3 percent from the field and turned 16 takeaways into 24 points. St. John’s will meet top-seeded UConn in the next round.
Sydney Jaynes scored 14 points and Lily Zeinstra had 11 for Butler (15-17). The Bulldogs led 16-10 after one quarter before the Red Storm grabbed the lead for good in the third and won the fourth period 17-6.
Xavier 80, DePaul 73
Freshman Meri Kanerva scored a season-high 28 points, Aizhanique Mayo added a career-high 27 and the 11th-seeded Musketeers surprised the sixth-seeded Blue Demons.
Kanerva and Mayo helped Xavier (7-23) race out to an 18-2 lead, and the Musketeers led by as many as 22 after Mayo’s back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the third quarter. DePaul (13-19) rallied all the way back to tie the game at 62 with 5:04 to play, but Xavier shot 15-for-16 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to pull out the upset.
Mayo made 6 of 10 attempts from the arc as Xavier shot 11-for-24 on 3-pointers. Tae’lor Purvis scored 12 for the Musketeers, who will face third-seeded Seton Hall next. Jorie Allen paced DePaul with 28 points and 12 rebounds.
BIG 12
Sydney Shaw hit two free throws with 11 seconds left to secure No. 16 West Virginia’s 73-69 victory over No. 20 Kansas State in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 women’s basketball tournament on Friday in Kansas City, Mo.
The Mountaineers (24-6), seeded fourth, used an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter to grab the lead and hold on. They will face TCU in Saturday’s first semifinal.
The fifth-seeded Wildcats (26-7) jumped out to a 33-23 lead in the first quarter, connecting on 5-of-6 from 3-point range. They slowed in the second quarter, but they still shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half and led 44-36.
West Virginia was led by JJ Quinerly with 24 points, including a jumper for a 71-69 edge with 45 seconds left in regulation. Jordan Harrison added 19 and Shaw had 13. K-State was led by Kennedy Taylor with 21 off the bench and starter Temira Poindexter with 16.
No. 8 TCU 69, Colorado 62
Big 12 player of the year Hailey Van Lith had her 13th 20-point game of the season to lift the top-seeded Horned Frogs past the ninth-seeded Buffaloes in the quarterfinals. Van Lith was 5-for-11 from 3-point range and finished with 24 points.
Colorado (20-12) used a 10-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to help trim a 57-44 deficit to a one-possession game, but the Buffaloes couldn’t get over the hump.
It took a while for TCU (29-3) to get untracked. But a pair of 3-pointers by Van Lith late in the first half gave the Frogs a lead they would not relinquish. The Buffaloes shot better in the game from the field, 54.3 percent to 44.8 percent, but the Frogs attempted 12 more shots.
The Buffaloes were led by Jade Masogayo with 22 points. TCU also got 18 points from Sedona Prince and 13 from Donovyn Hunter.
SEC
Raegan Beers had 20 points and 11 rebounds and No. 10 Oklahoma defeated No. 12 Kentucky 69-65 in the SEC tournament quarterfinals Friday afternoon in Greenville, S.C.
Payton Verhulst scored 16 and Sahara Williams had 13 for the fifth-seeded Sooners (25-6), who have won nine straight games going into their Saturday semifinal game against No. 5 and top-seeded South Carolina, which defeated Vanderbilt earlier Friday.
Georgia Amoore scored 29 points, Clara Strack added 12 points and 16 rebounds and Dazia Lawrence scored 11 to lead the fourth-seeded Wildcats (22-7), who lost for the fifth time in their last eight games.
The lead changed hands four times in the fourth quarter before Oklahoma took control down the stretch by holding Kentucky scoreless for more than three minutes.
No. 5 South Carolina 84, Vanderbilt 63
Chloe Kitts had 25 points and 10 rebounds and the top-seeded Gamecocks pulled away from the Commodores in the first quarterfinal Friday afternoon.
MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 15, Sania Feagin had 13 points and nine rebounds and Joyce Edwards scored 12 for South Carolina.
Mikayla Blakes tallied 20 points, Khamil Pierre had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Iyana Moore scored 16 to lead the eighth-seeded Commodores (22-10).
South Carolina, which had lost twice in its last seven regular-season games, rolled to a 48-23 halftime lead. Vanderbilt closed within 68-63 on Blakes’ 3-pointer with 4:22 left in the game, but the Gamecocks scored the final 16 points.
ACC
Aziaha James made two free throws with 7 seconds left and No. 7 North Carolina State escaped with a 73-72 victory over Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Friday at Greensboro, N.C.
The Yellow Jackets failed to get off a shot on the final possession.
James scored 16 points to lead the top-seeded Wolfpack (25-5), who meet rival North Carolina in Saturday afternoon’s semifinals. Zoe Brooks added 14 points, Zamareya Jones had 13 and Tilda Trygger finished with 12.
Kara Dunn, who had 16 first-half points, and Tonie Morgan paced ninth-seeded Georgia Tech (22-10) with 21 points apiece.
Dani Carnegie made two free throws with 15 seconds left to put the Yellow Jackets ahead 72-71. Chazadi Wright and Carnegie both ended up with 12 points for Georgia Tech, which lost four straight before defeating Virginia Tech on Thursday.
No. 14 North Carolina 60, No. 22 Florida State 56
Alyssa Ustby’s 12 points and 18 rebounds helped North Carolina rally from a halftime deficit to defeat Florida State in Friday’s first quarterfinal.
Lexi Donarski had 12 points and teammate Reniya Kelly — who had been out for three games with an injury — was back in action and scored six of her 11 points in the fourth quarter. Indya Nivar added 10 points and Maria Gakdeng pulled down 16 rebounds for the Tar Heels, who shot 32.4 percent from the floor.
The fifth-seeded Tar Heels (27-6), who trailed 31-27 at halftime, have reached the semifinals for the first time since 2014.
Fourth-seeded Florida State (23-8), which won a two-point road decision against North Carolina in late January, was held to a season-low point total and shot 32.3 percent from the field. Makayla Timpson had 15 points and blocked eight shots, Ta’Niya Latson posted 13 points and O’Mariah Gordon notched 12 points.
NBA
Nikola Jokic produced 31 points, a career-high 22 assists and 21 rebounds as the host Denver Nuggets rallied after losing a 21-point lead to beat the Phoenix Suns 149-141 in overtime on Friday.
Jokic logged the first 30-20-20 stat line in NBA history. He notched his 29th triple-double of the season and 159th of his career with a rebound less than two minutes into the second half.
Aaron Gordon tied his career best with seven 3-pointers and finished with 27 points, Christian Braun scored 25 points and Jamal Murray contributed 19 points and eight assists for Denver.
Devin Booker had 34 points and seven assists for Phoenix, while Kevin Durant posted 29 points and nine rebounds, and he hit a tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation.
Cavaliers 118, Hornets 117
Donovan Mitchell poured in 24 points and Darius Garland posted 20 as the duo helped Cleveland escape with a win against host Charlotte.
Miles Bridges scored a career-high 46 points for the Hornets, who suffered their ninth consecutive loss. Bridges made 15 of 32 shots from the field and 12 of 13 free throws. LaMelo Ball tallied 13 points and seven assists before fouling out and Jusuf Nurkic posted 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Hornets, who trailed by as many as 13 points.
Evan Mobley provided 19 points and 10 rebounds, De’Andre Hunter had 15 points off the bench and Jarrett Allen provided 14 points and 11 boards for the Cavaliers, who have won 13 straight games.
Clippers 105, Knicks 95
James Harden scored 27 points and Kawhi Leonard added 20 as Los Angeles won consecutive games for the first time in nearly a month by defeating New York at Inglewood, Calif.
Ivica Zubac added 16 points with 14 rebounds as the Clippers improved to 2-0 on a three-game homestand following a 2-6 road stretch. They were without leading scorer Norman Powell (hamstring) for the eighth time in the past nine games.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 23 points with 10 rebounds, and Josh Hart grabbed 20 rebounds with 14 points for the Knicks, who were playing without leading scorer Jalen Brunson following an ankle injury late in Thursday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kings 127, Spurs 109
Zach LaVine poured in 36 points and DeMar DeRozan added 22 as Sacramento spoiled the return of De’Aaron Fox, rolling to a win over San Antonio. The Kings traded Fox to the Spurs in February.
Keegan Murray had 19 points for the Kings while Jonas Valanciunas racked up 15 points and 12 rebounds. Sacramento played without Domantas Sabonis (hamstring) and Malik Monk (right toe sprain) but still won for the fifth time in its past six games.
Stephon Castle led San Antonio with 25 points off the bench. Fox scored 16 (on 6-of-17 shooting from the field) as the Spurs lost for the second time in the past three contests.
Raptors 118, Jazz 109
Immanuel Quickley scored a season-best 34 points and Toronto defeated visiting Utah.
Scottie Barnes added 22 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three blocks for the Raptors, who have won three straight. Ja’Kobe Walter scored 14 points, but did not play in the second half because of a right quadriceps strain. Jared Rhoden chipped in 14 points and Jamison Battle added 11.
Walker Kessler had 18 points along with career bests in rebounds (25) and blocks (eight) for the Jazz, who have lost four straight overall and 11 consecutive on the road. Keyonte George also scored 18 and Kyle Filipowski and Collin Sexton added 17 apiece.
Grizzlies 122, Mavericks 111
Ja Morant scored seven of his game-high 31 points in the final 1:35 to lift visiting Memphis past injury-depleted Dallas.
The Grizzlies closed the game on a 14-3 run to snap a four-game losing streak. Desmond Bane added 27 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for Memphis, which got 17 points and eight rebounds from Brandon Clarke and 12 rebounds from Zach Edey.
The Mavericks, who lost their fourth straight, were led by Brandon Williams, who scored a career-high 31 points off the bench, and Naji Marshall, who finished with 29 points and a career-best 17 rebounds. Klay Thompson added 15 points.
Timberwolves 106, Heat 104
Julius Randle had a near triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists as visiting Minnesota defeated Miami for its fourth straight win.
Miami had a chance to win late. Duncan Robinson made a 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds left. Minnesota then turned the ball over on what appeared to be a bad call. However, the Wolves didn’t have a timeout left to challenge the call. Miami, trailing 106-104, in-bounded the ball with 1.9 seconds left. Bam Adebayo went for the win, but his 3-pointer was way off as time expired.
Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, who averages 27.5 points, was held to 13 points on 4-or-10 shooting. But he also had 13 rebounds and six assists. Adebayo led Miami with a game-high 29 points and 13 rebounds.
Thunder 107, Trail Blazers 89
Aaron Wiggins scored 30 points and Jaylin Williams delivered his first career triple-double to lift short-handed Oklahoma City to a home win over Portland.
The win was the sixth straight for the Thunder, and perhaps their most unlikely of the season. Oklahoma City played well outside of its normal starting lineup as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (rest), Jalen Williams (right wrist sprain), Chet Holmgren (right lower leg contusion), Luguentz Dort (right knee soreness), and Isaiah Hartenstein (nasal fracture reinjury) were all out.
Wiggins finished 13-of-26 from the field, while Williams had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Alex Caruso added 17 points off the bench. Scoot Henderson led Portland with 22 points and Shaedon Sharpe added 19.
NHL
Blackhawks star Connor Bedard ended a seven-game point drought, and his goal 3:10 into overtime capped a two-point night as Chicago beat the visiting Utah Hockey Club 4-3 on Friday.
Last year’s Calder Trophy winner for top rookie also had an assist as Chicago extended its points streak to four games (3-0-1). Wyatt Kaiser, Ilya Mikheyev and Frank Nazar all scored in the second period to give the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead heading into the third.
Blackhawks goalie Spencer Knight stopped 36 shots to win his second start since being acquired from the Florida Panthers last week.
Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist to register points for the eighth time in nine games for Utah. Nick Schmaltz scored, and John Marino got his first goal in a Utah sweater. Mikhail Sergachev assisted on a pair of goals, while Karel Vejmelka posted 21 saves.
Jets 6, Devils 1
Nikolaj Ehlers finished with a goal and two assists, leading Winnipeg to a win over New Jersey in Newark, N.J.
Josh Morrissey and Kyle Connor had a goal and a helper each for the Jets, who are 21-11-0 on the road. Alex Iafallo, Adam Lowry and Cole Perfetti also scored for Winnipeg, which is 13-2-1 over its last 16. Connor Hellebuyck made 22 saves.
Dawson Mercer responded for the Devils, who have dropped three straight games and have just four wins over their past 11 games. Jacob Markstrom stopped 29 shots.
Golden Knights 4, Penguins 0
Mark Stone had a goal and two assists and Ilya Samsonov made 22 saves for his second shutout of the season as Vegas blanked Pittsburgh in Las Vegas.
Tanner Pearson had a goal and an assist and Ivan Barbashev and Brandon Saad also scored goals for the Golden Knights, who earned their fourth straight win and their seventh in the past eight games.
Alex Nedeljkovic finished with 23 saves for the Penguins, who lost their fourth consecutive game and eighth in the past nine (1-7-1).
Canucks 3, Wild 1
Kiefer Sherwood’s tiebreaking goal late in the third period helped give host Vancouver a win over Minnesota.
Brock Faber’s power-play equalizer for the Wild made it a 1-1 game at 7:12 of the third, but the Canucks answered with the winner just over nine minutes later. Elias Pettersson and Teddy Blueger also scored for the Canucks, and Kevin Lankinen made 37 saves.
Filip Gustavsson stopped 17 shots for Minnesota, which had a two-game winning streak end.
Capitals 5, Red Wings 2
Aliaksei Protas scored twice in the third period, including a short-handed goal, and host Washington rallied past slumping Detroit.
Tom Wilson also had a short-handed goal for the Capitals, who trailed 2-1 entering the third. Taylor Raddysh and Jakob Chychrun scored the other Washington goals, while Logan Thompson made 17 saves.
Dylan Larkin and Moritz Seider scored for the Red Wings, who have lost five straight. Lucas Raymond earned assists on both goals and Cam Talbot made 23 saves.
Blues 4, Ducks 3
Brayden Schenn scored twice and Alexey Toropchenko collected a goal and an assist to lead visiting St. Louis to a victory over Anaheim.
Zack Bolduc also scored for the Blues, who are riding a 7-1-1 run. Cam Fowler, in his return to Anaheim, where he spent parts of 15 seasons before being traded to St. Louis earlier this season, collected two assists. Jordan Binnington made 20 saves.
Frank Vatrano produced a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who took their third loss in four games. Sam Colangelo and Alex Killorn also scored, and Troy Terry notched two assists. Lukas Dostal stopped 18 shots.
BASEBALL
Trevor Story hit two of Boston’s six homers and the Red Sox cruised to 20-5 win over the Miami Marlins on Thursday in a spring training game at Fort Myers, Fla.
Boston scored in each of the eight innings that it came to the plate, topped by a six-run third inning that included homers from Story and Alex Bregman.
Trayce Thompson and Nate Eaton also went deep for the Red Sox. Story wound up 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs. Walker Buehler gave up one run in three innings for the win.
Jack Winkler hit a three-run homer for the Marlins. Miami starter Edward Cabrera yielded six runs in 1 2/3 innings.
Twins (ss) 7, Braves 1
Willi Castro doubled twice and scored a run as a Minnesota split squad beat Atlanta in Fort Myers, Fla.
Ty France and Ryan Jeffers each had two hits and an RBI for the Twins, and Brooks Lee also amassed two hits. Minnesota starter Bailey Ober fanned five while allowing one run in four innings.
Braves starter Reynaldo Lopez was tagged for five runs (three earned) on six hits in 3 1/3 innings. Jarred Kelenic homered to account for Atlanta’s lone run.
Twins (ss) 9, Rays 9
Kevin Maitan’s RBI groundout in the ninth inning allowed a Minnesota split squad to emerge with a tie against Tampa Bay in Port Charlotte, Fla.
The Twins jumped out to an 8-1 lead before the Rays found their offense, ultimately going up 9-8 in the seventh inning on Jake Mangum’s two-run double. Jonathan Aranda also knocked in two runs for Tampa Bay.
Edouard Julien and Luke Keaschall each collected two hits for the Twins. Minnesota reliever Travis Adams was charged with a blown save, but he threw three scoreless innings.
Pirates 3, Phillies 2
Jared Jones fired three innings of one-run ball, striking out six, as Pittsburgh edged Philadelphia in Bradenton, Fla.
Ji Hwan Bae had two hits and two stolen bases for the Pirates, who got a two-inning save from Eddy Yean.
Kody Clemens homered for the Phillies, and Otto Kemp hit an RBI double. Cristopher Sanchez gave up one run in three innings.
Royals 8, Angels (ss) 2 (6 innings)
Bobby Witt Jr.’s two-run first-inning homer sent Kansas City on its way to a rain-shortened win over a Los Angeles split squad in Surprise, Ariz.
Hunter Renfroe, Peyton Wilson, Vinnie Pasquantino and Brian O’Keefe also went deep for the Royals.
Tim Anderson and Nolan Schanuel each went 2-for-3 for the Angels.
Guardians 12, Athletics 5
Austin Hedges, Tyler Freeman and Daniel Schneemann each had two hits, including a home run, as Cleveland trounced the Athletics in Mesa, Ariz.
Kyle Manzardo and Micah Pries added long balls for the Guardians. Cleveland starter Joey Cantillo delivered three scoreless innings.
Miguel Andujar finished 3-for-3 for the A’s. Starter Osvaldo Bido was rocked for eight runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Tigers 11, Orioles 7
Spencer Torkelson delivered two homers and a single as Detroit outslugged Baltimore in Lakeland, Fla.
Gleyber Torres and Andrew Navigato added home runs for the Tigers. Casey Mize struck out five in a scoreless three-inning relief stint.
Sam Basallo smacked a three-run triple for the Orioles. Dean Kremer allowed six runs on six hits in three-plus innings.
Cardinals 6, Astros 4
Catchers Ivan Herrera and Leonardo Bernal homered as St. Louis topped Houston in Jupiter, Fla.
Herrera also doubled for St. Louis, which turned four double plays. Starter Miles Mikolas permitted two runs in four innings.
Jake Meyers went 2-for-2 to lead the Astros’ offense. Spencer Arrighetti walked four but gave up just one run in two innings.
Nationals 5, Mets 4
CJ Abrams hit a solo homer and an RBI single as Washington edged New York in West Palm Beach, Fla.
James Wood added a two-run homer for the Nationals. Trevor Williams logged four innings of one-run ball.
Jose Azocar had two of the Mets’ eight hits and knocked in a run. Paul Blackburn permitted three runs on five hits in 2 1/3 innings.
Yankees 8, Blue Jays 7
Cole Gabrielson’s two-run double in the bottom of the ninth lifted New York over Toronto in Tampa.
The Blue Jays, who blew a 5-3 lead to fall behind 6-5 in the eighth, scored twice on an error in the top of the ninth to move in front.
Cody Bellinger, Everson Pereira and Austin Wells homered for the Yankees. Nathan Lukes went deep for Toronto.
Rainouts
Five games scheduled for Friday — Chicago Cubs-Chicago White Sox in Phoenix; San Francisco Giants-Cincinnati Reds in Goodyear, Ariz.; Arizona Diamondbacks-Los Angeles Angels split squad in Tempe, Ariz.; San Diego Padres-Milwaukee Brewers in Phoenix; and Texas Rangers-Colorado Rockies in Scottsdale, Ariz. — were rained out.
None of the games will be rescheduled.
TOP INDIANA RELEASES/NEWS
INDIANA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
INDIANAPOLIS – 9-seed Indiana gave everything it had in a tough battled with top-seeded USC in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal, falling 84-79, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
KEY MOMENTS
Graduate student guard Sydney Parrish got Indiana (19-12) going early with back-to-back buckets in a back-and-forth first quarter that featured five ties and three lead changes. Junior guard Yarden Garzon piled on IU’s early lead with a 3-pointer on the right baseline made it 7-2.
But USC (26-3) countered with a 7-0 run of their own to even things out but Indiana got back-to-back buckets from junior forward Lilly Meister and graduate student guard Chloe Moore-McNeil to take a 14-11 lead and force a timeout. The Trojans had another run late in the first as it pushed ahead by five, 23-18.
Indiana’s deficit was by as many as eight early in the second but Moore-McNeil’s back door layup along with a pair of field goals from Ciezki pulled it back within two, 31-29. Garzon’s 3-pointer kept the margin at two with 1:31 to go but USC hit the final field goal of the frame and took a 38-34 lead at the break.
Ciezki had a pair of buckets as IU started the third off on an 8-2 run to take a 42-40 lead. Sophomore guard Juju Watkins regain the lead for the Trojans, which grew to as many as seven. Late in the third, Indiana used a five-point run from Garzon to come within two, 59-57, headed to the fourth.
Garzon kept IU’s deficit at just two with 7:25 remaining but the Trojans started to pull away as a transition 3-pointer put them up seven. Ciezki got IU back within five on her own transition three pointer but wouldn’t get any closer.
NOTABLE
Indiana made its 23rd appearance in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals in Friday’s matchup.
Garozn paced IU with 23 points and tied a team-high eight rebounds. She hit five 3-pointers and was a perfect 6-for-6 fat the line.
Three others had double figures including Moore-McNeil (17 points, eight rebounds, seven assists), Ciezki (15 points) and senior forward Karoline Striplin (10 points).
The Hoosiers were 25-for-27 at the line on the afternoon.
UP NEXT
The Hoosiers will await its postseason bid which will be announced on Sunday, March 16.
PURDUE MEN’S BASKETBALL
Illinois 88, [18] Purdue 80 (Postgame Notes)
No. 18 Purdue fell to 21-10 overall and 13-7 in the Big Ten with an 88-80 setback to Illinois on Friday night in Champaign. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak against the Illinois and was Purdue’s fourth straight road loss.
Since the 2009 Big Ten Tournament, Purdue is now 19-7 against Illinois.
Purdue shot 50.8 percent from the field and finished the Big Ten season, shooting over 50 percent from the field in 14 games. The Boilermakers finished the Big Ten season shooting 50.3 percent from the field, the third-highest percentage in Big Ten play in the last 30 years.
Purdue fell to 14-3 in the month of March since the start of the 2022-23 season.
Purdue fell to 106-5 under Matt Painter when scoring at least 80 points.
Braden Smith recorded his 18th career double-double and ninth double-double of the season with 18 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, narrowly missing Purdue’s first triple-double in almost 50 years.
Smith now has 506 points, 272 assists, 145 rebounds and 70 steals on the season. He becomes the fourth player in NCAA history to have at least 500 points, 270 assists, 140 rebounds and 70 steals in a season (BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth, California’s Jason Kidd and Georgia Tech’s Kenny Anderson).
Smith finished Big Ten play with 175 assists (8.8 per game), smashing the previous league record of 157 by Michigan State’s Cassius Winston (2018-19). Smith averaged 17.4 points, 8.8 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game in league play.
Braden Smith has 717 assists in his first three seasons at Purdue – the most for any Big Ten player by the end of his junior season. His 717 assists are the eighth most for a player in NCAA history through his junior season.
Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 29 points with seven rebounds. It marked his 15th, 20-point game of the season, the third most in the Big Ten Conference. Kaufman-Renn finished the Big Ten season averaging 20.5 points per game in league play.
Kaufman-Renn and Smith became the first duo to each score over 500 points since Jaden Ivey and Zach Edey did so in 2022. The pair is averaging 36.1 points per game between them.
Kaufman-Renn is averaging 22.7 points per game over the last 13 contests.
Fletcher Loyer scored 14 points.
Gicarri Harris scored eight points and went 2-of-2 from 3-point range. In the last two games, Harris has 19 points in 30 minutes, going 4-of-6 from from long distance.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Kasparas Jakucionis hit a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left to put Illinois ahead for good, and the Illini rallied past No. 18 Purdue 88-80 on Friday night.
Illinois (20-11, 12-8 Big Ten) trailed 63-53 with 11:34 to go, but outscored the Boilermakers 13-1 in the final two minutes to win its third in a row after losing three straight.
Will Riley led five Illinois players in double figures with 22 points. Tre White had 20 points and nine rebounds, and Jakucionis had 10 points and seven assists.
Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 29 points for Purdue (21-10, 13-7) and Braden Smith had 18 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, falling just short of the second triple-double in team history.
Takeaways
Purdue: Smith is among the favorites for Big Ten Player of the Year. Kaufman-Renn, the team’s leading scorer, also deserves consideration because he’s the Boilermakers’ only inside threat.
Key moment
Riley made a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer to end a personal seven-point run and get Illinois within 42-40.
Key stat
The teams combined for 32 3-pointers in their previous game, with the Boilermakers making 18. But Purdue went inside against Illinois this time, outscoring the Illini 44-28 in the paint while going 5 of 18 from behind the arc. Illinois was 11 of 30 on 3s.
Up next
Both teams begin Big Ten Tournament play on Thursday.
NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Second-seeded Notre Dame (26-4) topped No. 7 California (25-8) in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament on Friday, 73-64. The Golden Bears had a 6-point lead with 5:08 to play in the third quarter before the Irish offense came alive and battled back to advance to the ACC semifinals.
It was a collective effort from an Irish team with four 2024-25 All-ACC selections. ACC Player of the Year Hannah Hidalgo led the way with 25 points, and Olivia Miles had 14, 12 of which came in the second half. The floor general also had 6 of Notre Dame’s 12 assists.
The Irish opened up play with a 4-0 start before starting to trade baskets with the Golden Bears, who took a 10-8 lead with 5:04 to play in the first quarter.
That would be their last lead of the period, as the Irish defense held Cal scoreless in the final 5 minutes of the quarter, while Notre Dame closed it out with an 8-0 run for a 16-10 lead heading into the second. Six different Notre Dame players scored, and Hidalgo and King were the only Irish players with multiple baskets.
While King opened the second with a fast break layup, the Golden Bears responded with a 7-0 run to bring Cal within one at 18-17 with 7:48 until halftime. Hidalgo dropped six straight points to extend the Irish lead to 24-17, but the Notre Dame offense was struggling to get going as a whole.
Another 5-0 Cal run would lead to an even slate at 28-all, but the Irish would send home one last field goal and free throw to lead 31-28 at halftime. The Irish knocked down just four field goals in the quarter shooting 28.6 percent from the floor in comparison to Cal’s 54.6 percent, but turnovers doomed the Golden Bears. Their 19 giveaways were the most in a half this season.
Hidalgo led all scorers at the half with 12 points.
The third quarter was one of runs, one for each team. A 14-3 Cal run was followed by a 12-0 Notre Dame run sparked by a triple each from Miles and Hidalgo. They combined for 19 of Notre Dame’s 24 points in the quarter, 10 from Miles and 9 from Hidalgo.
The Irish returned to balanced scoring in the final frame; seven players notched a bucket, including a reverse lay up for Liza Karlen off an offensive rebound.
Up next, Notre Dame will play the winner of the Duke and Louisville semifinals. The game starts at 2:30 and will air on ESPN2.
BUTLER WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
St. John’s outscored Butler 38-17 in the second half to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2025 BIG EAST Championship Tournament. The Bulldogs leave Mohegan Sun Arena with a 15-17 overall record after taking a 66-50 setback to St. John’s.
“I am proud of how our team prepped this week and how we came out ready to go,” Head Coach Austin Parkinson stated. “This group had to deal with a lot of injuries this year, but they’ve maintained a positive attitude and a positive work ethic and as a coach, that’s all I can ask for.”
Senior Sydney Jaynes led the Bulldogs on Friday afternoon with a team-high 14 points. Jaynes and Lily Zeinstra combined to score half of Butler’s points against the Red Storm.
Butler’s defense set the tone early as the Bulldogs limited St. John’s to just 10 first quarter points to outscore the Johnnies by six. That cushion allowed BU to take a 33-28 advantage into the half.
The third quarter told the story as St. John’s came out of their locker room to outscore Butler 21-11. The Bulldog offense went cold in the fourth, shooting just 2-for-11 over the final 10 minutes.
Ber’Nyah Mayo scored a game-high 16 points for the Johnnies. Skye Owen added 13 and Lashae Dwyer was in the box score with 10.
St. John’s forced 16 BU turnovers which resulted in 24 Red Storm points. 3-point shooting also impacted the outcome with BU making just one of their 15 attempts.
Inside the Box Score
– The Bulldogs led for 15 in the first half and for 19 minutes total
– BU led by nine early in the second quarter (21-12)
– STJ used a 7-0 run to tie the game at 28-28
– BU closed the first half on a 5-0 run to earn their 33-28 halftime lead
– Sydney Jaynes scored nine of her 14 points in the first half
– Each team shot over 50 percent from the field in the first half
– St. John’s regained a lead at 43-41 in the third quarter
– The Johnnies opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 scoring run
– This was the first time Butler faced St. John’s in the conference tournament
– Lily Carmody returned to the BU starting lineup vs. St. John’s
– Carmody had not started a game since Feb. 12 when BU played at Georgetown
– Ari Wiggins, Sydney Jaynes and Kilyn McGuff served as team captains vs. STJ
– Cristen Carter didn’t miss on Friday, giving BU eight points and four rebounds
– Kilyn McGuff had seven points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals
– Zeinstra hit her only 3-point attempt of the game and finished 4-for-5 from the field for 11 points
BALL STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL
OXFORD, Ohio – The Ball State men’s basketball team couldn’t overcome an early deficit and fell 79-66 at Miami (OH) Friday night at Millett Hall.
The Cardinals trailed 11-0 early against the RedHawks (23-8, 14-4 Mid-American Conference), who enter next week’s MAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed.
Ball State used a 9-0 scoring run capped off by a Jermahri Hill layup to get within 37-23 in the final minute of the first half, but Miami scored the last four points of the opening period to take a 41-23 lead into the break and would lead by double figures for the balance of the second half.
Hill paced the Cardinals with 18 points while adding four rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Joey Hart had a career-high 14 points and collected four rebounds. TJ Burch chipped in 12 points, five assists and three boards.
Payton Sparks (eight points, 11 rebounds) and Mickey Pearson Jr. (four points, 11 rebounds) each had double digit boards in their final collegiate game. Kody Clancy scored his first career points on an and-1 in the closing minutes of the second half.
Kam Craft (19 points) and Dan Luers (18) led a Miami offense that shot 42.9 percent (30-70) from the field and 36.1 percent (13-36) on 3-pointers.
Ball State went 38.8 percent (26-67) on field goals including 14.3 percent (3-21) from distance and 64.7 percent (11-17) at the foul line. The Cardinals outrebounded the RedHawks 47-40 but committed more turnovers (14-9).
The Cardinals conclude the 2024-25 season with a 14-17 (7-11 MAC) record.
SOUTHERN INDIANA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball dug deep and battled to the wire in Friday’s Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament semifinal against Tennessee Tech University, but the Screaming Eagles’ OVC tournament run came to an end in an 88-78 final against the Golden Eagles from Ford Center in downtown Evansville.
The fifth-seeded Screaming Eagles finished their tournament run with a record of 22-12 (12-8 OVC). Top-seeded Tennessee Tech won its 16th straight game on Friday to improve to 25-5 overall (18-2 OVC). The Golden Eagles advanced to the tournament championship game on Saturday where they will face the winner of the other semifinal game between no. 7 seed Western Illinois University and no. 2 seed Lindenwood University.
In Friday’s contest, Southern Indiana continued its offensive attack from the first two rounds, pounding the ball inside to graduate forward Meredith Raley on a pair of occasions to take an early 6-4 lead three minutes into the game. It remained a two-point lead past the halfway point of the first quarter. Despite a couple of made jumpers by senior guard Vanessa Shafford, Tennessee Tech made the final surge of the first to take a 16-14 lead to the second period.
After a Raley layup seconds into the second quarter knotted the game up at 16, Southern Indiana went cold over the next three-plus minutes into a timeout and the Golden Eagles went ahead 23-16. Key production by USI’s bench in the middle of the second kept USI within striking distance. After Tennessee Tech built its lead to nine, the attacking combination of Raley and sophomore forward Chloe Gannon whittled the deficit down to five, 36-31, in the final minutes of the first half. However, a three in the final seconds put Tennessee Tech up 39-31 going into halftime.
Tennessee Tech increased its lead to 12 early in the second half, but USI also came out of the halftime locker room fighting. After missing the first field-goal attempt of the half, USI made five straight shots to shrink the gap to five, 47-42, with 6:32 left in the third. Raley continued to lead the USI charge, connecting for four of USI’s field goals in the middle of the period. After 10 first-half points, Raley tallied 13 in the third quarter. Trailing by only three, 49-46, at the 4:31 mark, the Screaming Eagles trimmed the rest of the difference to tie the game 52-52 and then took the lead on a layup by sophomore guard Sophia Loden with a minute to go in the third. The Golden Eagles hit three free throws in the closing seconds to take a 57-54 advantage to the fourth quarter.
Junior guard Ali Saunders opened the fourth quarter with a three-point play and a following huge corner triple from Loden catapulted the Screaming Eagles back ahead, 60-57, seconds into the frame. Tennessee Tech later proceeded to regain a four-point lead off back-to-back threes. USI answered out of a timeout to tie the game again at 67. The two sides went back and forth on chances at the free-throw line. After another Raley basket made it a one-point game, 75-74, with three minutes to go, Tennessee Tech went on a 7-0 run into the final two minutes and sealed the win at the free-throw line.
Southern Indiana shot 51 percent (28-55) from the floor and 3-10 from beyond the arc. USI went for 61 percent (19-31) at the free-throw line. USI registered less than 10 turnovers for the second time this season. USI outscored Tennessee Tech 48-30 in the paint.
Raley matched a career-high 29 points on 12-18 shooting and 5-5 at the foul line. Raley previously set her career mark earlier this season on January 9 at Southeast Missouri State University. Raley also pulled down nine rebounds on Friday. Saunders posted 12 points and dished out seven or more assists for the third straight game.
During the tournament, Raley shot a blistering 78.1 percent from the floor (25-32) across the three games played. Raley’s field goal percentage is an OVC tournament-best since 1999-2000. The previous best since the turn of the century was Rachel Galligan of Eastern Illinois, who was 28-39 for 71.8 percent in three games in 2008-09.
For Tennessee Tech, the Golden Eagles also shot 51 percent (26-51) overall and were 8-18 for 44 percent from three. Tennessee Tech drained 93 percent (28-30) from the charity stripe and won the rebounding battle, 34-27. Tennessee Tech had six players finish in double figures, led by senior forward Taris Thornton’s 20 points.
Following a second consecutive OVC tournament berth and appearance in the semifinal round, USI Women’s Basketball will wait and see if further postseason competition is in the cards for the Screaming Eagles.
VALPO MEN’S BASKETBALL
In March, survive and advance is all that matters.
The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team survived a 20-0 run from UNI to upset the third-seeded Panthers 64-63 on Friday night at the Enterprise Center, advancing to the semifinal round of Arch Madness, the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis.
Fittingly after two wins over the last two days where defense played a crucial role, it was a defensive stand that sent the Beacons to their most significant win yet of the Roger Powell Jr. head coaching era, as sophomore standout Cooper Schwieger (Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley Southwest [Link Year]) blocked a driving layup attempt by UNI star Tytan Anderson with four seconds left, and then a second-chance try and another tip-in were both off the mark to send the Valpo fan base into a state of euphoria.
How It Happened
Valpo did not score prior to the first media timeout, but the stout defense from Thursday’s win over UIC carried over to the game’s early stages, as UNI missed six of its first seven shots. The Panthers led 2-0 with 15:30 to go in the opening half as the two teams combined for a 1-for-14 start.
Freshman All Wright (Durango, Mexico / Link Year) hit a 3 to get Valpo on the board, but UNI followed with a 7-0 run that caused a Valpo timeout at the 12:28 mark of the first half with the Beacons chasing 11-3.
After trailing 14-8 at the 9:07 mark of the first half, Valpo scored the game’s next nine points, including a traditional 3-point play by Wright that made it 23-18 at the 6:21 mark. A 3 by redshirt sophomore Isaiah Shaw (Phoenix, Ariz. / Davidson Academy [GCU]) gave Valpo its largest lead to that point at 29-22 with 4:27 on the first-half clock.
A tip-in dunk by Schwieger gave Valpo its first double-digit lead of the night at 34-24 with 2:37 left in the opening half.
The Beacons made their final five shots of the half including a pair of 3s by Wright and one by Schwieger. Wright hit a triple in the closing seconds of the half to polish off a first half where he poured in 20 points and went 5-of-5 from 3.
Valpo scored seven of the first nine points of the second half, stretching the lead to 52-34 before the Panthers hit a 3 and then called timeout at the 16:52 mark.
Coming out of that timeout, driving layups by Wright and Tyler Schmidt (Valparaiso, Ind. / Victory Christian Academy [Olivet Nazarene]) expanded the lead all the way to 19 at 56-37.
UNI went on a 20-0 run to take a 57-56 lead, hitting the go-ahead 3 with 8:11 left in the second half.
Senior Darius DeAveiro (Kanata, Ottawa, Canada / Orangeville Prep) ended an eight-minute scoring drought with a go-ahead jumper at 6:42 to put Valpo back in front 58-57. Valpo went up by three after a Schwieger basket made it 60-57, but at the final media timeout with 2:45 remaining, the game was tied at 60.
Wright’s jumper with 1:57 to go put Valpo back in front 62-60. Anderson drove to the basket and scored to make it 62-62. Wright’s driving layup with 48 seconds to go put Valpo ahead 64-62, then Anderson split a pair of free throws with 39 seconds on the clock. Valpo ran off the majority of the 30-second shot clock before missing a shot with 13 seconds to go, setting up the final frenzy described in the open.
Inside the Game
Wright totaled a game-high 29 points on 11-of-24 shooting and 6-of-10 from 3. He did the bulk of his damage in the first half, scoring 20 points before the break including 5-of-5 from 3.
Schwieger recorded a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds with five blocked shots. This marked his league-most 10th double-double of the season and his third consecutive double-double including two at Arch Madness.
Valpo now has 15 wins this season, the program’s highest total since capturing 19 victories in 2019-20.
The Beacons have advanced to the semifinals of Arch Madness for the first time since 2020 and the second time since joining the league.
Valpo will play in three or more conference tournament games in the same season for the first time since 2019-20 and just the second time since 2010-11. Valpo needed to win just twice to garner Horizon League titles in 2013 and 2015.
Valpo beat the Panthers in both matchups this year, winning back-to-back games in the series for the first time ever in 40 all-time meetings between the two teams. Valpo improved to 2-0 this season against UNI after entering the season 5-33 all-time against the Panthers.
Wright’s six made 3s were the most by a Valpo player since Maximus Nelson had six on Feb. 4, 2023 vs. Drake.
After tying for third in Arch Madness history for single-game blocked shots and recording the first six-block performance in an MVC Tournament game since Wichita State’s Shaquille Morris on March 4, 2016 to start the tournament on Thursday vs. UIC, Schwieger added five more rejections on Friday. In just two games, he already ranks third in Arch Madness history for blocked shots in a tournament with 11, behind only Creighton’s Benoit Benjamin (20, 1984) and Creighton’s Gregory Echenique (13, 2013).
Valpo made 11 3s, tying a season high against a Division-I opponent and marking the most made against an MVC squad this year. The Beacons drained 10 of those triples prior to halftime.
Wright scored 20 points or more for the ninth time in the last 12 games. He delivered his third game with 29 points or more this season and was three points shy of tying a career high.
Wright climbed into a tie for sixth in Missouri Valley Conference history for points by a freshman with 502.
Prior to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, there had only been 15 total performances in the nation this season where a player recorded at least 17 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. Now, Schwieger has done so in each game of the MVC Tournament so far.
Valpo has blocked 17 shots as a team in the conference tournament so far, already the seventh most in Arch Madness history with all six teams in front of Valpo on that list having played three games and Valpo having recorded 17 in two games thus far.
Schwieger, who has scored at least a dozen points in 24 straight games, moved past Dave Redmon (1992-93, 509) on Valpo’s sophomore scoring list on Friday. With 517 points this season, Schwieger now ranks fifth in program history for points by a sophomore.
Schwieger surpassed Bryce Drew (1994-96, 912) for career points scored before the end of a sophomore season. Schwieger is up to 926 points, the third most in program history prior to the end of a sophomore season.
Schwieger continues to climb Valpo’s blocked shots chart as well. His five on Friday give him 94 in his career, already tied for seventh in program history. He is up to 66 this season, now tied for fifth in single-season program history.
The Beacons committed just six turnovers (only one in the first half), winning the turnover battle 11-6. This marked the fifth time this season that Valpo has had six turnovers or fewer. The Beacons won the turnover battle for the 26th time in 33 games and had 10 turnovers or fewer for the 23rd time.
Valpo picked up its second one-point win of the season, joining Jan. 1, a 73-72 victory at Missouri State. Prior to this season, Valpo had dropped five straight one-point games and hadn’t prevailed by the slimmest of margins since 2021.
Through eight Arch Madness games, there are two upset victories, both by Valpo.
INDIANA SMALL COLLEGE WEB SITES
UINDY ATHLETICS: https://athletics.uindy.edu/
MARIAN ATHLETICS: https://muknights.com/
INDIANA WESLEYAN ATHLETICS: https://iwuwildcats.com/
EARLHAM ATHLETICS: https://goearlham.com/
WABASH ATHLETICS: https://sports.wabash.edu/
FRANKLIN ATHLETICS: https://franklingrizzlies.com/
ROSE-HULMAN ATHLETICS: https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/
ANDERSON ATHLETICS: https://athletics.anderson.edu/landing/index
TRINE ATHLETICS: https://trinethunder.com/landing/index
BETHEL ATHLETICS: https://bupilots.com/
DEPAUW ATHLETICS: https://depauwtigers.com/
HANOVER ATHLETICS: https://athletics.hanover.edu/
MANCHESTER ATHLETICS: https://muspartans.com/
HUNTINGTON ATHLETICS: https://www.huathletics.com/
OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS: https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx
ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS: https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index
IU KOKOMO ATHLETICS: https://iukcougars.com/
IU EAST ATHLETICS: https://www.iueredwolves.com/
IU SOUTH BEND ATHLETICS: https://iusbtitans.com/
PURDUE NORTHWEST ATHLETICS: https://pnwathletics.com/
INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS: https://indianatechwarriors.com/index.aspx
GRACE COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://gclancers.com/
ST. MARY OF THE WOODS ATHLETICS: https://smwcathletics.com/
GOSHEN COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://goleafs.net/
HOLY CROSS ATHLETICS: https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php
TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/
VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index
“SPORTS EXTRA”
TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
March 8
1954 — The Milwaukee Hawks beat the Baltimore Bullets twice 64-54 and 65-54, in the only doubleheader in NBA history involving the same two teams.
1958 — Silky Sullivan, ridden by Bill Shoemaker, wins the Santa Anita Derby by three lengths after trailing by 40 early in the race and by 20 entering the final turn.
1971 — Joe Frazier wins the world heavyweight title with a unanimous 15-round decision over Muhammad Ali at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
1990 — Kurt Browning becomes the first Canadian to defend a title in the World Figure Skating Championships as he edges early leader Viktor Petrenko of the Soviet Union.
1992 — Ray Floyd, 49, holds off Fred Couples for a two-stroke victory in the Doral Open and joins Sam Snead as the only men to win PGA Tour titles in four decades.
1997 — In the World Indoor Championship in Paris, Kevin Little becomes the first white American sprinter in 41 years to win a major international competition, matching the U.S. 200 record of 20.40 seconds.
2008 — At age 60, Saoul Mamby loses a unanimous 10-round decision to Anthony Osbourne in Grand Cayman. Mamby, a former super lightweight champion, becomes the oldest boxer in a sanctioned fight.
2008 — Lindsey Vonn wins her 10th career World Cup downhill to break the U.S. record held by Picabo Street and Daron Rahlves. Vonn breaks the record with her fifth downhill of the season in 1:23.57 on the 1.4-mile Crans-Montana, Switzerland course.
2010 — The top-ranked Connecticut Huskies set an NCAA women’s record by winning their 71st straight game, a 59-44 victory over No. 6 Notre Dame in the semifinals of the Big East tournament. UConn surpasses its own mark set from Nov. 9, 2001, to March 11, 2003.
2013 — The Big East Conference announces the departure of DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Villanova, allowing them to separate from the football schools and create their own conference on July 1.
2014 — Doug McDermott scores a career-high 45 points to become the eighth player in Division I history to go over 3,000 for a career and Creighton rolls past Providence 88-73.
2015 — Leonardo Mayer defeats Joao Souza in the longest Davis Cup singles match ever, winning 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 5-7, 5-7, 15-13 to keep Argentina alive against Brazil in their first round series. Mayer needed 6 hours, 42 minutes to beat Souza, which is also longer than the record for a clay-court match on the ATP tour.
2022 — Reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers agrees to remain with the Green Bay Packers in a reported 4-year, $200m deal that would make him the highest paid player in NFL history.
_____
March 9
1943 — Eddie Dancker banks in a desperation 25-foot hook shot from the corner to give Sheboygan a 30-29 win over Fort Wayne and the National Basketball League crown. The defeat of the Pistons is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in pro basketball history.
1948 — NHL President Clarence Campbell expels Billy Taylor of the New York Rangers and Don Gallagher of the Boston Bruins because of gambling associations.
1958 — George Yardley of the Detroit Pistons becomes the first NBA player to score 2,000 points in a season. Yardley averages 27.8 points in the 72-game season.
1968 — Houston’s Elvin Hayes scores 49 points and pulls down 27 rebounds in a 94-76 win over Loyola of Chicago in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
1977 — Anthony Roberts of Oral Roberts sets an NIT record with 65 points in a 90-89 loss to Oregon in the first round.
1979 — Detroit’s Kevin Porter hands out a franchise-record 25 assists as the Pistons defeat the Boston Celtics 160-117.
1984 — Tim Witherspoon wins the vacant WBC heavyweight title with a 12-round majority decision over Greg Page.
1986 — Buffalo’s Gilbert Perreault scores his 500th goal in a 4-3 win over the New Jersey Devils.
1994 — Detroit’s Dino Ciccarelli scores his 1,000th career point with a goal in a 5-1 win over Calgary.
2001 — Ty Tryon, a 16-year-old high school sophomore, makes the cut in his first PGA Tour event. He’s 1 over after the second round of the Honda Classic, making him the second-youngest player to make the cut in a PGA Tour event.
2011 — Kevin Love records his 52nd consecutive double-double to surpass Moses Malone for the longest such streak since the ABA and NBA merged in 1976 in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 101-75 over the Indiana Pacers. Love overcomes a bruised left knee to put up 16 points and 21 rebounds in just 27 minutes.
2013 — Liberty becomes the second 20-loss team to reach the NCAA tournament, beating Charleston Southern 87-76 to win the Big South Conference title. It joins Coppin State in 2008 as the only schools with 20 or more defeats in the field of 68.
2013 — Bernard Hopkins at 48 becomes the oldest boxer to win a major title, scoring a 12-round unanimous decision over Tavoris Cloud to claim the IBF light heavyweight championship in New York.
2016 — Russell Westbrook has 25 points, a career-high 20 assists and 11 rebounds to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Clippers 120-108. It’s the first triple-double with at least 20 points and 20 assists since Rod Strickland did it for the Washington Wizards in 1998.
2017 — Villanova Wildcats shoot 63 percent and commits just five turnovers in a record-setting 108-67 victory over St. John’s in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals. It’s the most points and largest margin of victory in the tournament for Villanova and the worst loss ever for the Red Storm.
_____
March 10
1913 — The Quebec Bulldogs win the Stanley Cup in two games over Sydney.
1920 — Quebec’s Joe Malone scores six goals to lead the Bulldogs to a 10-4 rout of the Ottawa Senators.
1961 — Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors becomes the first NBA player to score 3,000 points in a season. Chamberlain scores 32 points in a 120-103 loss to Detroit to bring his season total to 3,016.
1963 — Wilt Chamberlain of the San Francisco Warriors scores 70 points in a 163-148 loss to Syracuse.
1985 — Dick Motta becomes the fourth NBA coach to record 700 victories as Dallas beats New Jersey 126-113.
1991 — Eddie Sutton of Oklahoma State becomes the first coach to lead four schools into the NCAA tournament. Sutton also coached Creighton, Arkansas and Kentucky in the tournament.
1992 — New York Islanders coach Al Arbour becomes the second coach in NHL history to win 700 games with a 5-2 victory over Philadelphia.
2001 — With Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark looking on, Hermann Maier wins the giant slalom for his 13th victory this season, equaling one of the mightiest alpine skiing records. Maier, winner of the overall World Cup title three of the last four years, ties the record Stenmark set in 1979.
2002 — John Stockton, the NBA’s career assist leader, has 13 assists in Utah’s 95-92 loss at Houston to give him exactly 15,000 for his career.
2004 — Orlando’s Tracy McGrady scores a franchise record 62 points in a 108-99 win over Washington.
2011 — Veteran referees Jim Burr, Tim Higgins and Earl Walton, cited for two errors in the final seconds of the St. John’s-Rutgers game, withdraw from the rest of the Big East tournament. The three officials missed two calls — a travel and stepping out of bounds — in the final 1.7 seconds of St. John’s 65-63 win in the second-round of Big East tournament. The Big East acknowledged after the game the officials blew the calls.
2014 — The game between Dallas and the Columbus Blue Jackets is postponed by the NHL after Stars forward Rich Peverley collapses on the bench during the first period.
2018 — Texas Southern beats Arkansas-Pine Bluff 84-69 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game. Texas Southern (15-19) earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament after starting out 0-13 this season. The Tigers didn’t win a game until Jan. 1 and never beat a nonconference opponent.
2018 — The Vegas Golden Knights set a record for road wins by an expansion team with a 2-1 shootout victory at Buffalo. At 20-12-3, the Golden Knights break a tie with the 1993-94 Anaheim Ducks for most road wins by an NHL team in its first season.
2022 – After a 99-day lockout, Major League Baseball and MLB Players Association reach a new collective bargaining agreement; MLB teams set to play full 162 game season in 2022.
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1900 The National League decides to downsize to eight teams for the upcoming season by eliminating the circuit’s franchises in Baltimore, Cleveland, Louisville, and Washington. The remaining eight cities will stay the same for over half a century until the Braves leave Boston and move to Milwaukee in 1953.
1913 John Powers, the founder of last year’s failed mid-western Columbian League, organizes the Federal League in Indianapolis. The upstart league will operate independently with franchises in Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis, avoiding agreement with the National Commission.
1923 Commissioner Landis allows pitcher Rube Benton to return to the major leagues despite the left-hander admitting to having prior knowledge of the 1919 World Series fix. The 32-year-old southpaw, who spent 6+ seasons with the Giants before sitting out the 1922 campaign, returns to the Reds for three years, compiling a 30-29 record during his second tour with the team.
1930 Babe Ruth inks a two-year deal for $160,000 with the Yankees, keeping him the highest-paid player of all time. The team’s general manager, Ed Barrow, predicted at the time that “No one will ever be paid more.”
1941 Phillies right-hander Hugh Mulcahy becomes the first major league player drafted into the Armed Forces, joining the 101st Artillery at Cape Cod’s Camp Edwards. The 27-year-old, known as ‘Losing Pitcher,’ lost 22 games last season and 20 in 1938 to lead the National League in defeats both years.
1946 Tucson’s Hi Corbett Field hosts Arizona’s first spring training game. The Indians, behind the pitching of Bob Lemon, beat the Giants, 3-1, in the inaugural Cactus League contest.
1947 In front of 5,000 fans at Havana’s new Gran Estadio de La Habana, the Yankees lose to the Dodgers in extra innings, 1-0, with Snuffy Stirnweiss’s tenth-inning single accounting for the Bronx Bombers’ only hit. Pete Reiser’s long double on a 3-2 pitch off Spec Shea scores Carl Furillo, giving Brooklyn the walk-off victory in Cuba.
1966 In a pregame ceremony before an intrasquad contest in St. Petersburg in a pregame ceremony, the Mets announce the election of their former manager Casey Stengel to the Hall of Fame. The 75-year-old ‘Old Perfessor’ benefitted from a new rule by the Baseball Writers Committee on Veterans that makes any manager, umpire, or executive 65 or older eligible for induction six months after retiring, bypassing the traditional five-year wait rule for players.
1985 Dave Stieb agrees to a $25 million, 11-year deal with the Blue Jays, the richest in baseball history. Although considered lucrative at the time, Toronto, in recognition of his years of service to the team, will voluntarily increase the value of the last three seasons of the contract, considering that some players will make several times the money annually than their right-hander.
2001 In a press release, the Orioles announce that Albert Belle “is disabled and unable to perform as a Major League baseball player,” due to a degenerative right hip. The Orioles will place the 34-year-old outfielder on the 60-day disabled list, thus beginning the process that conforms to the procedure set forth by Major League Baseball in the case of a disabling and permanent injury to a player.
2006 A Canadian team comprised mostly of minor leaguers stuns the baseball world by beating a highly-favored Team USA in the first round of the WBC, 8-6. Thanks to Adam Stern’s inside-the-park homer, four RBIs, and a pair of sensational catches, along with southpaw Adam Loewen, who keeps the American all-stars scoreless for 3.2 innings, the Canadians post their most significant victory in its national history of baseball.
2008 In hopes of a more lucrative deal in the future, Ryan Zimmerman inks a new one-year contract to play infield with the Nationals. After the third baseman homers and drives in four runs during a 12-10 split-squad victory over the Astros, he agrees to a $465,000 deal, slightly improving his present salary.
2011 The MLB names Kim Ng their Senior Vice-President of baseball operations, making her the highest-ranking woman in the major leagues. The Dodger Assistant General Manager, a post she held since 2001, will report to Joe Torre, who managed in LA during the last three years of her tenure.
2013 Allen Craig (.307, 22, 92) and the Cardinals agree to a five-year, $31 million contract extension valued at $43 million over six seasons. The 28-year-old first baseman played a vital role in the 2011 St. Louis World Championship, contributing three go-ahead RBIs, including a clutch eighth-inning line drive in Game 6 that sparked the start of an unforgettable rally for the Redbirds.
2016 A meeting today (3/08) at 3:08 p.m. at Clemens Field, with a .308 gate and a 308 right-field foul pole, a .309 suite, and a monument depicting a .309 batting average, will help solve a mystery surrounding a not-so-well-known resident, former National League first baseman Jake Beckley. The purpose of the gathering is to decide which number to use in commemorating the Hall of Fame infielder’s batting average, .308 as listed by Baseball-Reference.com and many other resources, or the .309, engraved on his plaque at Cooperstown.
2017 “When Moses Fleetwood Walker walked onto a field in Toledo, he did more than play a game. He was more than just an athlete. He did more than throw, catch, or hit. That day and every day he played, he started a conversation.” – CRAIG BROWN, an adjunct professor at Kent State University.
By a vote of 93-1, the Ohio House passes Bill 59, setting aside October 7 each year in honor of Moses Fleetwood Walker, the first-openly African American to play under contract in the major leagues. In 1884, the bare-handed backstop caught for the American Association’s Toledo Blue Stockings until a rib injury and the team’s excessive payroll led to his release late in the season.
2019 The independent Atlantic League, as part of its new three-year partnership with Major League Baseball, will experiment with new rules by implementing a TrackMan radar system to help umpires call balls and strikes, increasing the distance between the pitching rubber and home plate by two feet, and mandating that two infielders are on each side of the second-base bag when a pitch is released. Other changes in the eight-team circuit include a three-batter minimum for pitchers, increasing the size of bases by three inches, and eliminating mound visits other than for pitching changes or injuries.
TV SPORTS SATURDAY
| MLB SPRING TRAINING | TIME ET | TV |
| Toronto vs Philadelphia | 1:05pm | MLBN |
| Seattle vs Chi. Cubs | 3:05pm | MLBN |
| NBA REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Brooklyn Nets vs Charlotte Hornets | 6:00pm | FanDuel Sports CHA YES |
| New Orleans Pelicans vs Houston Rockets | 7:00pm | SCHN GCSN |
| Washington Wizards vs Toronto Raptors | 7:30pm | MNMT Sportsnet |
| Indiana Pacers vs Atlanta Hawks | 7:30pm | FanDuel Sports IND FanDuel Sports SE |
| Orlando Magic vs Milwaukee Bucks | 8:00pm | FanDuel Sports FL FanDuel Sports WI |
| Chicago Bulls vs Miami Heat | 8:00pm | FanDuel Sports Sun CHSN |
| Detroit Pistons vs Golden State Warriors | 8:30pm | NBCS-BAY FanDuel Sports DET |
| Los Angeles Lakers vs Boston Celtics | 8:30pm | ABC ESPN+ |
| NHL REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| New York Rangers vs Ottawa Senators | 12:30 pm | ESPN+ MSG Sportsnet |
| Seattle Kraken vs Philadelphia Flyers | 12:30pm | ABC ESPN+ |
| Boston Bruins vs Tampa Bay Lightning | 3:00pm | ABC ESPN+ |
| Buffalo Sabres vs Florida Panthers | 6:00pm | ESPN+ MSG-BUF Scripps |
| Toronto Maple Leafs vs Colorado Avalanche | 7:00pm | ESPN+ ALT Scripps |
| Montreal Canadiens vs Calgary Flames | 7:00pm | ESPN+ Sportsnet |
| St. Louis Blues vs Los Angeles Kings | 8:00pm | NHLN FanDuel Sports MW FanDuel Sports West |
| Chicago Blackhawks vs Nashville Predators | 8:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports South CHSN |
| New York Islanders vs San Jose Sharks | 10:00pm | ESPN+ MSGSN NBCS-CA |
| Dallas Stars vs Edmonton Oilers | 10:00pm | ESPN+ Victory+ Sportsnet |
| MEN’S NCAA BASKETBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| St. John’s at Marquette | 12:00pm | FOX |
| Kentucky at Missouri | 12:00pm | ESPN |
| Georgia Tech at Wake Forest | 12:00pm | CW |
| Vanderbilt at Georgia | 12:00pm | ESPNU |
| Mississippi State at Arkansas | 12:00pm | SECN |
| NEC Semifinal | 12:00pm | NEC TV |
| SoCon Quarterfinal | 12:00pm | Nexstar |
| Big South Semifinal | 12:00pm | ESPN+ |
| CAA Second Round | 12:00pm | FloSports |
| Loyola Chicago at UMass | 12:30pm | USA |
| America East Quarterfinal | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Penn State at Wisconsin | 1:00pm | Peacock |
| Iowa State at Kansas State | 1:30pm | CBS |
| Georgetown at DePaul | 2:00pm | FS1 |
| Stanford at Louisville | 2:00pm | ESPNU |
| South Carolina at Tennessee | 2:00pm | SECN |
| NEC Semifinal | 2:00pm | NEC TV |
| St. Bonaventure at Davidson | 2:00pm | FanDuel Sports South |
| Niagara at Rider | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Canisius at Saint Peter’s | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Columbia at Cornell | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Dartmouth at Harvard | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Penn at Princeton | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Yale at Brown | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Siena at Manhattan | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| NC State at Miami (FL) | 2:15pm | CW |
| Seton Hall at UConn | 2:30pm | FOX |
| Alabama at Auburn | 2:30pm | ESPN |
| Saint Joseph’s at La Salle | 2:30pm | USA |
| SoCon Quarterfinal | 2:30pm | Nexstar |
| Big South Semifinal | 2:30pm | ESPN+ |
| CAA Second Round | 2:30pm | FloSports |
| America East Quarterfinal | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Northwestern at Maryland | 3:00pm | Peacock |
| Kennesaw State at Jacksonville State | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| FIU at Middle Tennessee | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| NM State at Sam Houston | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UTEP at Louisiana Tech | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Liberty at WKU | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Cincinnati at Oklahoma State | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| MVC Semifinal | 3:30pm | CBSSN |
| Jackson State at Mississippi Valley State | 3:30pm | HBCU Go |
| Ohio State at Indiana | 3:45pm | CBS |
| Providence at Xavier | 4:00pm | FS1 |
| SMU at Florida State | 4:00pm | ESPNU |
| Texas A&M at LSU | 4:00pm | SECN |
| California at Notre Dame | 4:00pm | ACCN |
| Air Force at Utah State | 4:00pm | KMYU |
| Marist at Mount St. Mary’s | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Sacred Heart at Iona | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Grand Canyon at Abilene Christian | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| TCU at Colorado | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Fordham at Rhode Island | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Arizona at Kansas | 4:30pm | ESPN |
| Fresno State at San Jose State | 5:00pm | NBCCS-CA |
| America East Quarterfinal | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UCF at West Virginia | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Texas Southern at Prairie View A&M | 5:30pm | SWACN |
| Florida A&M at Bethune-Cookman | 5:30pm | SWACN |
| Butler at Creighton | 6:00pm | FS1 |
| Virginia Tech at Clemson | 6:00pm | ESPNU |
| Ole Miss at Florida | 6:00pm | SECN |
| Boston College at Pitt | 6:00pm | ACCN |
| MVC Semifinal | 6:00pm | CBSSN |
| George Mason at Richmond | 6:00pm | MASN |
| SoCon Quarterfinal | 6:00pm | Nexstar |
| CAA Second Round | 6:00pm | FloSports |
| Duke at North Carolina | 6:30pm | ESPN |
| Sun Belt Quarterfinal | 6:30pm | ESPN+ |
| America East Quarterfinal | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Cal Poly at Long Beach State | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Quinnipiac at Fairfield | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Big Sky First Round | 7:30pm | ESPN+ |
| USC at UCLA | 8:00pm | FOX |
| Texas Tech at Arizona State | 8:00pm | ESPNU |
| Oklahoma at Texas | 8:00pm | SECN |
| Virginia at Syracuse | 8:00pm | ACCN |
| Summit League Semifinal | 8:00pm | CBSSN |
| Duquesne at Saint Louis | 8:00pm | FanDuel Sports MW+ |
| Hawai’i at CSUN | 8:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UTA at California Baptist | 8:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Utah Valley at Tarleton | 8:00pm | ESPN+ |
| SoCon Quarterfinal | 8:30pm | Nexstar |
| CAA Second Round | 8:30pm | FloSports |
| OVC Championship | 9:00pm | ESPN2 |
| WCC Third Round | 9:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Sun Belt Quarterfinal | 9:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UC Riverside at Cal State Fullerton | 9:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Seattle U at Utah Tech | 9:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Houston at Baylor | 10:00pm | ESPN |
| Utah at BYU | 10:00pm | ESPNU |
| Big Sky First Round | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UC Irvine at UC Santa Barbara | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Nevada at San Diego State | 10:30pm | FS1 |
| Summit League Semifinal | 10:30pm | CBSSN |
| UC San Diego at UC Davis | 11:00pm | ESPN2 |
| WCC Third Round | 11:30pm | ESPN+ |
| MOTORSPORTS | TIME ET | TV |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series at Phoenix | 5:00pm | CW |
| GOLF | TIME ET | TV |
| DP World Tour: Joburg Open | 5:30am | GOLF |
| PGA Tour: Arnold Palmer Invitational | 12:30pm | GOLF |
| PGA Tour: Puerto Rico Open | 2:30pm | GOLF |
| PGA Tour: Arnold Palmer Invitational | 2:30pm | NBC |
| LPGA Tour: Blue Bay LPGA | 11:00pm | GOLF |
| SOCCER | TIME ET | TV |
| EPL: Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City | 7:30am | USA Peacock fuboTV |
| La Liga: Celta de Vigo vs Leganés | 8:00am | ESPN+ fuboTV |
| Serie A: Como vs Venezia | 9:00am | Paramount+ fuboTV |
| Serie A: Parma vs Torino | 9:00am | Paramount+ fuboTV |
| Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen vs Werder Bremen | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Bayern München vs Bochum | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund vs Augsburg | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Holstein Kiel vs Stuttgart | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Wolfsburg vs St. Pauli | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| EPL: Brighton & Hove Albion vs Fulham | 10:00am | USA Peacock fuboTV |
| EPL: Liverpool vs Southampton | 10:00am | Peacock |
| EPL: Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town | 10:00am | Peacock |
| La Liga: Deportivo Alavés vs Villarreal | 10:15am | ESPN+ fuboTV |
| Ligue 1: Rennes vs PSG | 11:00am | Fanatiz beIN Sports |
| Serie A: Lecce vs Milan | 12:00pm | Paramount+ fuboTV |
| La Liga: Valencia vs Real Valladolid | 12:30pm | ESPN+ fuboTV |
| EPL: Brentford vs Aston Villa | 12:30pm | NBC Peacock |
| Bundesliga: Freiburg vs RB Leipzig | 12:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Ligue 1: Lille vs Montpellier | 1:00pm | Fanatiz beIN Sports |
| MLS: Columbus Crew vs Houston Dynamo | 2:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| Serie A: Internazionale vs Monza | 2:45pm | Paramount+ fuboTV |
| EPL: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Everton | 3:00pm | Peacock |
| La Liga: Barcelona vs Osasuna | 3:00pm | ESPN+ fuboTV |
| Ligue 1: Olympique Marseille vs Lens | 3:05pm | Fanatiz beIN Sports |
| MLS: Seattle Sounders FC vs Los Angeles FC | 4:45pm | FOX MLS Season Pass |
| Liga MX: Toluca vs Necaxa | 6:00pm | VIX |
| MLS: Atlanta United vs New York RB | 7:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: Cincinnati vs Toronto FC | 7:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: DC United vs Sporting KC | 7:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: New England vs Philadelphia Union | 7:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: New York City vs Orlando City SC | 7:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| Liga MX: Cruz Azul vs Monterrey | 8:05pm | VIX fuboTV |
| MLS: Austin vs Colorado Rapids | 8:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: Dallas vs Chicago Fire | 8:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: Nashville SC vs Portland Timbers | 8:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: Real Salt Lake vs San Diego | 9:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: Vancouver Whitecaps vs CF Montréal | 9:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| Liga MX: Guadalajara vs América | 10:05pm | VIX |
| MLS: SJ Earthquakes vs Minnesota United | 10:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
TV SPORTS SUNDAY
| MLB SPRING TRAINING | TIME ET | TV |
| Toronto vs Tampa Bay | 1:05pm | MLBN |
| Milwaukee vs Kansas City | 4:05pm | MLBN |
| NBA | TIME ET | TV |
| Denver Nuggets vs Oklahoma City Thunder | 1:00pm | ABC ESPN+ |
| Phoenix Suns vs Dallas Mavericks | 3:30pm | ABC ESPN+ |
| Memphis Grizzlies vs New Orleans Pelicans | 7:00pm | ESPN FanDuel Sports MEM KFAA |
| Utah Jazz vs Philadelphia 76ers | 7:30pm | KJZZ NBCS-PHI |
| San Antonio Spurs vs Minnesota Timberwolves | 8:00pm | FanDuel Sports North FanDuel Sports SW |
| Cleveland Cavaliers vs Milwaukee Bucks | 8:00pm | FanDuel Sports Ohio FanDuel Sports WI |
| Detroit Pistons vs Portland Trail Blazers | 9:00pm | Rip City FanDuel Sports DET |
| Sacramento Kings vs Los Angeles Clippers | 9:30pm | NBCS-CA FanDuel Sports SoCal |
| NHL REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| New Jersey Devils vs Philadelphia Flyers | 1:00pm | TNT truTV MAX |
| Pittsburgh Penguins vs Minnesota Wild | 3:30pm | TNT truTV MAX |
| Seattle Kraken vs Washington Capitals | 3:30pm | ESPN+ MNMT KONG |
| Winnipeg Jets vs Carolina Hurricanes | 5:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports South Sportsnet |
| Columbus Blue Jackets vs New York Rangers | 6:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports Ohio MSG |
| Los Angeles Kings vs Vegas Golden Knights | 8:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports West Scripps |
| Dallas Stars vs Vancouver Canucks | 9:00pm | ESPN+ Victory+ Sportsnet |
| New York Islanders vs Anaheim Ducks | 9:00pm | ESPN+ MSGSN Victory+ |
| MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| Michigan at Michigan State | 12:00pm | CBS |
| Big South Championship | 12:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Patriot League Semifinal | 12:00pm | CBSSN |
| CAA Quarterfinal | 12:00pm | FloSports |
| Iowa at Nebraska | 12:30pm | FOX |
| Minnesota at Rutgers | 1:00pm | BTN |
| East Carolina at Florida Atlantic | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| ASUN Championship | 2:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Patriot League Semifinal | 2:00pm | CBSSN |
| North Texas at Temple | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UAB at Tulane | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Tulsa at Wichita State | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| MVC Championship | 2:15pm | CBS |
| CAA Quarterfinal | 2:30pm | FloSports |
| Oregon at Washington | 3:00pm | BTN |
| SoCon Semifinal | 4:00pm | ESPNU |
| UTSA at Charlotte | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Southland First Round | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Sun Belt Semifinal | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| CAA Quarterfinal | 6:00pm | FloSports |
| SoCon Semifinal | 6:30pm | ESPNU |
| Big Sky Quarterfinal | 7:30pm | ESPN+ |
| WCC Quarterfinal | 8:30pm | ESPN2 |
| Sun Belt Semifinal | 8:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Southland First Round | 8:30pm | ESPN+ |
| CAA Quarterfinal | 8:30pm | FloSports |
| Summit League Championship | 9:00pm | CBSSN |
| Big Sky Quarterfinal | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| WCC Quarterfinal | 11:00pm | ESPN2 |
| MOTORSPORTS | TIME ET | TV |
| NASCAR Cup: Shriners Children’s 500 | 3:30pm | FS1 |
| GOLF | TIME ET | TV |
| DP World Tour: Joburg Open | 5:30am | GOLF |
| PGA Tour: Arnold Palmer Invitational | 12:30pm | GOLF |
| PGA Tour: Arnold Palmer Invitational | 2:30pm | NBC |
| PGA Tour:PGA Tour: Puerto Rico Open | 2:30pm | GOLF |
| SOCCER | TIME ET | TV |
| Serie A: Hellas Verona vs Bologna | 6:30am | Paramount+ fuboTV |
| La Liga: Getafe vs Atlético Madrid | 8:00am | ESPN+ fuboTV |
| EPL: Chelsea vs Leicester City | 9:00am | USA Peacock fuboTV |
| EPL: Tottenham Hotspur vs AFC Bournemouth | 9:00am | Peacock |
| Ligue 1: Brest vs Angers SCO | 9:00am | Fanatiz beIN Sports |
| Serie A: Napoli vs Fiorentina | 9:00am | Paramount+ fuboTV |
| Bundesliga: Eintracht Frankfurt vs Union Berlin | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| La Liga: Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano | 10:15am | ESPN+ fuboTV |
| Ligue 1: Le Havre vs Saint-Étienne | 11:15am | Fanatiz beIN Sports |
| Ligue 1: Nantes vs Strasbourg | 11:15am | Fanatiz beIN Sports |
| Ligue 1: Reims vs Auxerre | 11:15am | Fanatiz beIN Sports |
| EPL: Manchester United vs Arsenal | 11:30am | USA Peacock fuboTV |
| Bundesliga: Hoffenheim vs Heidenheim | 11:30am | ESPN+ |
| Serie A: Empoli vs Roma | 12:00pm | Paramount+ fuboTV |
| La Liga: Athletic Club vs Mallorca | 12:30pm | ESPN+ fuboTV |
| La Liga: Real Betis vs Las Palmas | 12:30pm | ESPN+ fuboTV |
| Bundesliga: Hoffenheim vs Stuttgart | 1:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Serie A: Juventus vs Atalanta | 2:45pm | Paramount+ fuboTV |
| Ligue 1: Nice vs Olympique Lyonnais | 2:45pm | Fanatiz beIN Sports |
| La Liga: Real Sociedad vs Sevilla | 3:00pm | ESPN+ fuboTV |
| MLS: Inter Miami vs Charlotte | 4:00pm | MLS Season Pass |
| Liga MX: Santos Laguna vs León | 7:00pm | VIX |
| MLS: LA Galaxy vs St. Louis City | 7:00pm | MLS Season Pass |
| Liga MX: Tijuana vs Atlas | 11:00pm | VIX |