“THE SCOREBOARD”
INDIANA BOYS SEMI-STATE
CLASS 4A
NORTH (AT ELKHART)
SOUTH BEND RILEY (22-4) VS. FISHERS (28-0), 10 A.M.
HOMESTEAD (22-5) VS. CROWN POINT (22-2), NOON
CHAMPIONSHIP, 8 P.M.
SOUTH (AT NEW CASTLE)
TERRE HAUTE NORTH (21-5) VS. LAWRENCE NORTH (21-6), 10 A.M.
JEFFERSONVILLE (21-5) VS. MT. VERNON (21-5), NOON
CHAMPIONSHIP, 8 P.M.
CLASS 3A
NORTH (AT LOGANSPORT)
MACONAQUAH (21-5) VS. SOUTH BEND SAINT JOSEPH (24-3), 10 A.M.
EAST CHICAGO CENTRAL (20-8) VS. DELTA (17-7), NOON
CHAMPIONSHIP, 8 P.M.
SOUTH (AT SOUTHPORT)
PRINCETON (24-2) VS. CRISPUS ATTUCKS (20-6), 10 A.M.
NEW PALESTINE (25-3) VS. BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL (24-2), NOON
CHAMPIONSHIP, 8 P.M.
CLASS 2A
NORTH (AT MICHIGAN CITY)
GARY 21ST CENTURY (20-6) VS. WAPAHANI (26-1), 11 A.M.
MANCHESTER (23-2) VS. JIMTOWN (16-10), 1 P.M.
CHAMPIONSHIP, 8:30 P.M.
SOUTH (AT WASHINGTON)
PARKE HERITAGE (24-4) VS. FOREST PARK (19-6), 10:30 A.M.
UNIVERSITY (18-9) VS. LINTON-STOCKTON (21-6), 12:15 P.M.
CHAMPIONSHIP, 7:30 P.M.
CLASS A
NORTH (AT LAFAYETTE JEFF)
KOUTS (23-4) VS. MONROE CENTRAL (19-6), 10 A.M.
TRITON (23-4) VS. CLINTON PRAIRIE (24-2), NOON
CHAMPIONSHIP, 8 P.M.
SOUTH (AT SEYMOUR)
ORLEANS (22-4) VS. HAUSER (24-3), 10 A.M.
LIBERTY CHRISTIAN (18-8) VS. CLAY CITY (25-1), NOON
CHAMPIONSHIP, 8 P.M.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TV SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19 (FIRST FOUR IN DAYTON, OHIO)
MT. ST. MARY’S 83 AMERICAN 72
XAVIER 86 TEXAS 80
THURSDAY, MARCH 20 (FIRST ROUND/ROUND OF 64)
(8) LOUISVILLE VS. (9) CREIGHTON, 12:15 P.M. | CBS
(4) PURDUE VS. (13) HIGH POINT, 12:40 P.M. | TRUTV
(3) WISCONSIN VS. (14) MONTANA, 1:30 P.M. | TNT
(1) HOUSTON VS. (16) SIU EDWARDSVILLE, 2 P.M. | TBS
(1) AUBURN VS. (16) ALABAMA ST., 2:50 P.M. | CBS
(5) CLEMSON VS. (12) MCNEESE, 3:15 P.M. | TRUTV
(6) BYU VS. (11) VCU, 4:05 P.M. | TNT
(8) GONZAGA VS. (9) GEORGIA, 4:35 P.M. | TBS
(2) TENNESSEE VS. (15) WOFFORD, 6:50 P.M. | TNT
(7) KANSAS VS. (10) ARKANSAS, 7:10 P.M. | CBS
(4) TEXAS A&M VS. (13) YALE, 7:25 P.M. | TBS
(6) MISSOURI VS. (11) DRAKE, 7:35 P.M. | TRUTV
(7) UCLA VS. (10) UTAH STATE, 9:25 P.M. | TNT
(2) ST. JOHN’S VS. (15) OMAHA, 9:45 P.M. | CBS
(5) MICHIGAN VS. (12) UC SAN DIEGO, 10 P.M. | TBS
(3) TEXAS TECH VS. (14) UNC WILMINGTON, 10:10 P.M. | TRUTV
FRIDAY, MARCH 21 (FIRST ROUND/ROUND OF 64)
(8) MISSISSIPPI STATE VS. (9) BAYLOR, 12:15 P.M. | CBS
(2) ALABAMA VS. (15) ROBERT MORRIS, 12:40 P.M. | TRUTV
(3) IOWA STATE VS. (14) LIPSCOMB, 1:30 P.M. | TNT
(5) MEMPHIS VS. (12) COLORADO STATE, 2 P.M. | TBS
(1) DUKE VS. (16) MOUNT ST. MARY’S, 2:50 P.M. | CBS
(7) SAINT MARY’S VS. (10) VANDERBILT, 3:15 P.M. | TRUTV
(6) OLE MISS VS. (11) NORTH CAROLINA, 4:05 P.M. | TNT
(4) MARYLAND VS. (13) GRAND CANYON, 4:35 P.M. | TBS
(1) FLORIDA VS. (16) NORFOLK STATE, 6:50 P.M. | TNT
(3) KENTUCKY VS. (14) TROY, 7:10 P.M. | CBS
(7) MARQUETTE VS. (10) NEW MEXICO, 7:25 P.M. | TBS
(4) ARIZONA VS. (13) AKRON, 7:35 P.M. | TRUTV
(8) UCONN VS. (9) OKLAHOMA, 9:25 P.M. | TNT
(6) ILLINOIS VS. (11) XAVIER, 9:45 P.M. | TNT
(2) MICHIGAN STATE VS. (15) BRYANT, 10 P.M. | TBS
(5) OREGON VS. (12) LIBERTY, 10:10 P.M. | TRUTV
NIT SCORES
GEORGE MASON 86 SAMFORD 69
DAYTON 86 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 79
ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM 69 SAINT JOSEPH 65
NORTH TEXAS 75 FURMAN 64
BRADLEY 71 N. ALABAMA 62
SMU 73 NORTHERN IOWA 63
UC IRVINE 82 NORTHERN COLORADO 72
LOYOLA 73 SAN JOSE STATE 70
SAN FRANCISCO 79 UTAH VALLEY 70
WOMEN’S NCAA TOURNAMENT TV SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19 (FIRST FOUR)
IOWA STATE 68 PRINCETON 63
SOUTHERN 68 SAN DIEGO 56
THURSDAY, MARCH 20 (FIRST FOUR)
(11) COLUMBIA VS. (11) WASHINGTON 7 P.M. | ESPN2
(16) HIGH POINT VS. (16) WILLIAM & MARY, 9 P.M. | ESPNU
FRIDAY, MARCH 21 (FIRST ROUND/ROUND OF 64)
(6) MICHIGAN VS. (11) IOWA STATE/PRINCETON, 11:30 A.M. | ESPN2
(4) KENTUCKY VS. (13) LIBERTY, 12 P.M. | ESPN
(8) UTAH VS. (9) INDIANA, 1:30 P.M. | ESPN2
(3) NOTRE DAME VS. (14) STEPHEN F. AUSTIN, 2 P.M. | ESPN
(5) KANSAS STATE VS. (12) FAIRFIELD, 2:30 P.M. | ESPNEWS
(4) BAYLOR VS. (13) GRAND CANYON, 3:30 P.M. | ESPNU
(2) TCU VS. (15) FDU, 3:30 P.M. | ESPN2
(1) SOUTH CAROLINA VS. (16) TENNESSEE TECH, 4 P.M. | ESPN
(7) VANDERBILT VS. (10) OREGON, 5:30 P.M. | ESPNEWS
(4) OHIO STATE VS. (13) MONTANA STATE, 5:30 P.M. | ESPN2
(5) OLE MISS VS. (12) BALL STATE, 6 P.M. | ESPNU
(7) LOUISVILLE VS. (10) NEBRASKA, 6 P.M. | ESPN
(8) RICHMOND VS. (9) GEORGIA TECH, 7:30 P.M. | ESPNEWS
(2) DUKE VS. (15) LEHIGH, 8 P.M. | ESPNU
(5) TENNESSEE VS. (12) SOUTH FLORIDA, 8 P.M. | ESPN
(1) UCLA VS. (16) UC SAN DIEGO/SOUTHERN U., 10 P.M. | ESPN
SATURDAY, MARCH 22 (FIRST ROUND/ROUND OF 64)
(6) IOWA VS. (11) MURRAY STATE, 12 P.M.| ESPN
(2) UCONN VS. (15) ARKANSAS STATE, 1 P.M. | ABC
(5) ALABAMA VS. (12) GREEN BAY, 1:30 P.M. | ESPN2
(2) NC STATE VS. (15) VERMONT, 2 P.M. | ESPN
(6) WEST VIRGINIA VS. (11) COLUMBIA/WASHINGTON, 2 P.M. | ESPNEWS
(3) OKLAHOMA VS. (14) FGCU, 2:30 P.M. | ESPNU
(1) SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA VS. (16) UNC GREENSBORO, 3 P.M. | ABC
(7) OKLAHOMA STATE VS. (10) SOUTH DAKOTA STATE, 3:30 P.M. | ESPN2
(4) MARYLAND VS. (13) NORFOLK STATE, 4 P.M. | ESPN
(3) NORTH CAROLINA VS. (14) OREGON STATE, 4:30 P.M. | ESPNU
(7) MICHIGAN STATE VS. (10) HARVARD, 4:30 P.M. | ESPNEWS
(8) CALIFORNIA VS. (9) MISSISSIPPI STATE, 5:30 P.M. | ESPN2
(8) ILLINOIS VS. (9) CREIGHTON, 7:15 P.M. | ESPNEWS
(6) FLORIDA STATE VS. (11) GEORGE MASON, 7:45 P.M. | ESPN2
(1) TEXAS VS. (16) HIGH POINT/WILLIAM & MARY, 9:45 P.M. | ESPN2
(3) LSU VS. (14) SAN DIEGO STATE, 10:15 P.M. | ESPN
INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL SCOREBOARD
BALL STATE 17 BUTLER 7
AUSTIN PEAY 15 SOUTHERN INDIANA 5
INDIANA COLLEGE SOFTBALL SCOREBOARD
NOTRE DAME 2 WESTERN MICHIGAN 1
AUSTIN PEAY AT SOUTHERN INDIANA POSTPONED
INDIANA COLLEGE MEN’S LAX
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
INDIANA COLLEGE WOMEN’S LAX
NOTRE DAME 8 HARVARD 6
NBA SCOREBOARD
INDIANA 135 DALLAS 131
HOUSTON 116 ORLANDO 108
DETROIT 116 MIAMI 113
NEW ORLEANS 119 MINNESOTA 115
SAN ANTONIO 120 NEW YORK 105
OKLAHOMA CITY 133 PHILADELPHIA 100
UTAH 128 WASHINGTON 112
LA LAKERS 120 DENVER 108
SACRAMENTO 123 CLEVELAND 119
PHOENIX 127 CHICAGO 121
PORTLAND 115 MEMPHIS 99
NHL SCOREBOARD
TORONTO 2 COLORADO 1
MINNESOTA 4 SEATTLE 0
MLB SCOREBOARD
REGULAR SEASON
LA DODGERS 6 CHICAGO CUBS 3
SPRING TRAINING
TAMPA BAY 5 PITTSBURGH 2
ST. LOUIS 7 WASHINGTON 1
BOSTON 6 DETROIT 4
NY YANKEES 9 PHILADELPHIA 7
LAS VEGAS 8 CLEVELAND 3
LA ANGELS 6 CLEVELAND 3
SEATTLE 3 TEXAS 2
ARIZONA 1 COLORADO 0
MILWAUKEE 5 CHICAGO WHITE SOX 4
NY METS 8 HOUSTON 2
ATLANTA 4 NY YANKEES 0
SAN FRANCISCO 3 KANSAS CITY 1
MLS SCOREBOARD
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
TOP NATIONAL HEADLINES
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NCAA TOURNAMENT
XAVIER CHARGES PAST TEXAS FOR FIRST FOUR VICTORY
DAYTON, Ohio — Marcus Foster sank four clutch 3-pointers scored a team-high 22 points to help Xavier rally past Texas 86-80 on Wednesday in the NCAA Tournament’s final First Four game.
Xavier (22-11) advances as the No. 11 seed to play No. 6 seed Illinois in a first-round Midwest Region contest Friday in Milwaukee.
Zach Freemantle overcame early foul trouble to finish with 15 points while Dailyn Swain and Ryan Conwell added 11 apiece for Xavier. Dante Maddox Jr. put up 10 points.
The final seven minutes featured intense momentum swings that saw Texas lose a 10-point lead, Xavier build a four-point lead and the Longhorns rally to tie.
Tre Johnson finished with 23 points for Texas (19-16), while Tramon Mark added 16 points and five assists. Kadin Shedrick contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.
In the first half, Texas took advantage of a Xavier team that was got off to a shaky start in front of a heavily partisan Musketeers crowd at the University of Dayton Arena, less than 50 miles from the Xavier campus.
Freemantle picked up his second foul just five-plus minutes into the game, and he was subbed out. With the team struggling to find offense without him, Xavier coach Sean Miller put Freemantle back into the game less than three minutes later.
Then, with just under six minutes left in the first half, Xavier’s Ryan Conwell was whistled for his third foul and subsequently took a seat. Texas took advantage by going to the paint, outscoring Xavier 26-16 in the lane before halftime.
The Musketeers appeared to gain valuable momentum just before the half on Jerome Hunter’s straightaway 3-pointer that cut Texas’ lead to six. But Mark answered with a drive into the paint and a floater that beat the buzzer and put Texas ahead 47-39 entering halftime.
Xavier cut the deficit to four and had several chances to get closer early in the second half but didn’t do so. Freemantle picked up his third foul with 13:20 remaining. On the ensuing possession, Johnson knocked down a trey to expand the Longhorns’ lead to 62-52.
However, thanks to threes from Foster and Hunter, Xavier forged a 65-65 tie with 8:10 left.
The score was 78-78 with 1:48 to go before Freemantle scored the Musketeers’ next four points on a jumper and two foul shots. A jumper from Swain with 20 seconds left put Xavier up 84-79.
MOUNT ST. MARY’S HOLDS OFF AMERICAN, EARNS MATCHUP WITH DUKE
DAYTON, Ohio — Dola Adebayo and Jedy Cordilia each scored 22 points to help Mount St. Mary’s hold off American 83-72 on Wednesday night in a First Four victory.
Dallas Hobbs added 17 for the Mountaineers (23-12), who advance as a No. 16 seed to play top-seeded Duke in a first-round East Region contest Friday in Raleigh, N.C.
Geoff Sprouse had 18 points while Elijah Stephens added 12 for American (22-13), which saw its four-game win streak come to an end. The Eagles lost leading scorer Matt Rogers to a first-half knee injury.
Cordilia had 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting in the first half for Mount St. Mary’s and finished the game 10 of 11 from the floor. Hobbs, had 15 first-half points, including a buzzer-beating three that capped a 9-2 Mount St. Mary’s run for a 48-38 lead at halftime.
Mount St. Mary’s appeared to put the game away with a string of seven straight made baskets, including a pair of thunderous dunks from Dola Adebayo that stretched the lead to 79-60 with 6:03 remaining.
A 9-0 American spurt got American within 81-73 with 3:20 remaining before American head coach Duane Simpkins was called for a technical with 2:29 remaining. American never scored again.
Both teams displayed sharp-shooting skills, with Mount St. Mary’s making 30 of their first 48 shots and finished 57.7 percent from the floor, while American was at 47.4 percent.
Rogers went down multiple times in the first half then collided with Cordilia with 5:28 left before halftime. Rogers, with his right knee already in a sleeve, needed assistance getting off the court and was unable to return.
Rogers, who led American at 17.0 points per game, returned to the bench in the second half on crutches.
After back-to-back 3-pointers from Greg Jones and Matt Mayock drew American within 56-51 with 15:11 left, the Mountaineers answered with a 12-0 spurt that featured 3-pointers from Arlandus Keyes and Malcolm Dread.
REPORTS: TEXAS PLANS TO FIRE COACH RODNEY TERRY
Rodney Terry directed Texas to the NCAA Tournament in each of his three years as head coach, but that reportedly wasn’t enough to save his job.
Shortly after the Longhorns lost 86-80 to Xavier in a First Four game in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday, two media outlets, Horns247 and The Field of 68, reported that Terry will be fired.
Texas (19-16) squandered a 10-point second-half lead against the Musketeers, capping a season in which the Longhorns had a 6-12 record in the rugged Southeastern Conference.
Terry owns a 62-37 record as the boss in Austin. He previously served as a Longhorns assistant from 2002-03 to 2010-11 and again in 2021-22. He got the top job on an interim basis when Chris Beard was suspended for an alleged domestic violence incident during the 2022-23 season, and Terry was made permanent coach in March 2023 after Beard was fired.
Asked about his job status after the loss to Xavier, Terry said, “I’ve been in Texas 13 years, and there’s not a year I haven’t made the NCAA Tournament or been a part of the NCAA Tournament. I have a lot of pride in terms of being a Longhorn.
“I love being in Texas. I don’t think anyone (that has) been a part of Texas basketball has been more successful than myself. I’ve been a part of the top five seasons in this program’s history. …
“Our guys get a lot of credit for putting themselves in a great position to be here tonight. At the end of the day, it’s in God’s hands.”
Terry, 56, was the head coach at Fresno State from 2011-12 to 2017-18, leading the Bulldogs to one NCAA Tournament appearance, and he led UTEP from 2018-19 to 2020-21. Overall, he owns a 225-193 record as a head coach.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
IOWA STATE OVERTAKES PRINCETON FOR FIRST FOUR VICTORY
Audi Crooks scored 27 points and Addy Brown contributed 22 for Iowa State, which rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to beat Princeton 68-63 on Wednesday in a Women’s NCAA Tournament First Four game in South Bend, Ind.
The Cyclones (23-11) advance as a No. 11 seed to face No. 6 seed Michigan in a Birmingham Region 3 game in South Bend on Friday.
The Tigers (21-8) led 40-25 after Princeton’s Parker Hill opened the second half with a layup. Princeton didn’t sink another basket for eight minutes, and Iowa State went on a 21-2 run to move in front 46-42. Emily Ryan capped the surge by completing a three-point play with 2:50 left in the third quarter.
A last-second Ryan jumper gave Iowa State a five-point lead entering the fourth period, and the Cyclones remained ahead by a margin of four to eight points through the entire final quarter.
Fadima Tall led Princeton with 19 points. Ashley Chea put up 15 points, Skye Belker logged 11 points, and Hill totaled 10 points and 12 rebounds.
The Cyclones shot 46.8 percent while limiting the Tigers to 35.8 percent.
UCONN’S PAIGE BUECKERS LEADS TRIO OF UNANIMOUS AP ALL-AMERICANS
Paige Bueckers of UConn, JuJu Watkins of Southern California and UCLA’s Lauren Betts earned unanimous Associated Press All-America honors on Wednesday.
Each player received votes on all 31 ballots cast.
Joining them on the first team were Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame, who was named on 29 ballots, and Madison Booker of Texas (14).
This is the third selection for Bueckers, who became just the 12th woman to accomplish that feat. She is averaging 19 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists.
Bueckers, a senior, has left her mark on the UConn and Big East record books.
She became the first player in Big East history to earn Most Outstanding Player in the conference tournament three times and the fourth to be named Player of the Year three times. Bueckers also reached 2,000 points faster than any player in the storied history of UConn, accomplishing that in 102 games.
Watkins and Hidalgo became just the third and fourth players in history to be named first-team All-Americans as both freshmen and sophomores, joining Maya Moore of UConn and Courtney Paris of Oklahoma.
Watkins averaged 24.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, with Hidalgo putting up numbers of 24.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
Betts, a force at both ends of the court, is the first AP first-team All-American in UCLA history. She is averaging 19.6 points and 9.7 rebounds, and has connected on 63.4 percent of her field-goal attempts.
Booker was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, a season after winning Big 12 Player of the Year in Texas’ last year in that conference. She is averaging 16.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
The second-team All-America honorees are: Aneesah Morrow, LSU; Ta’Niya Latson, Florida State; Olivia Miles, Notre Dame; Sarah Strong, UConn; and Georgia Amoore, Kentucky.
The third team consists of: Hailey Van Lith, TCU; Kiki Iriafen, USC; Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt; Flau’Jae Johnson, LSU; and Audi Crooks, Iowa State.
Receiving honorable mention honors are: Raegan Beers, Oklahoma; Sonia Citron, Notre Dame; Katie Dinnebier, Drake; Joyce Edwards, South Carolina; Yvonne Ejim, Gonzaga; MiLaysia Fulwiley, South Carolina; Rori Harmon, Texas; Izzy Higginbottom, Arkansas; Aziaha James, North Carolina State; Lauren Jensen, Creighton; Taylor Jones, Texas; and Chloe Kitts, South Carolina,
Also: Ayoka Lee, Kansas State; Cotie McMahon, Ohio State; Te-Hina Paopao, South Carolina; Sedona Prince, TCU; JJ Quinerly, West Virginia; Kiki Rice, UCLA; Shyanne Sellers, Maryland; Serena Sundell, Kansas State; Makayla Timpson, Florida State; Harmoni Turner, Harvard; and Mikayla Williams, LSU.
MISSOURI HIRES EX-VOLS COACH KELLIE HARPER
Missouri hired Kellie Harper, most recently the head coach at Tennessee, to take over its women’s basketball program Tuesday.
Harper replaces Robin Pingeton, who stepped down at the end of the Tigers’ 2024-25 season.
Harper, 47, was out of coaching this season after five seasons at her alma mater, Tennessee. Despite guiding the Lady Volunteers to four straight NCAA Tournaments (her first season ended with the COVID-19 cancellation of the postseason) and posting a 108-52 record, she was fired in 2024.
Harper previously held head coaching roles at Western Carolina (2004-09), North Carolina State (2009-13) and Missouri State (2013-19). She took each program to at least one NCAA Tournament, with nine appearances in all, including a Sweet 16 with Missouri State.
“I am incredibly honored to be the next head coach at Mizzou,” Harper said in a statement. “Missouri is a special place, and I know firsthand the passion and pride that surrounds this program. Our family is excited to return to the state of Missouri. I look forward to working with our leadership and our student-athletes, building strong relationships throughout the community and winning championships in Columbia. The foundation is in place for success — and I can’t wait to get started.”
Harper holds a 393-260 record all-time as a Division I head coach.
“Kellie is a proven winner and dynamic leader who understands the ‘Will to Win’ necessary to succeed at the sport’s highest level,” Missouri athletic director Laird Veatch said in a statement. “She is nationally respected, and her experience in the SEC, her deep ties to the state of Missouri and her ability to recruit and develop championship-level players make her the ideal leader for our program. We are incredibly excited about the future of Mizzou Women’s Basketball under her leadership.”
NBA NEWS
NBA ROUNDUP: LUKA DONCIC, LAKERS HANDLE NUGGETS
Luka Doncic scored 21 of his 31 points in the first quarter, Austin Reaves added 22 total and the Los Angeles Lakers turned a fast start into a 120-108 home victory over the short-handed Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.
The victory allowed the Lakers to tie the Nuggets for third place in the Western Conference standings. The teams split the season series with two victories each.
Dorian Finney-Smith scored 14 points as the Lakers earned their third straight win and ninth consecutive home victory despite playing without LeBron James (groin) and Rui Hachimura (knee).
Aaron Gordon tallied 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets, who were playing without Nikola Jokic (ankle/elbow) and Jamal Murray (ankle). Denver has alternated wins and losses for the past eight games.
Spurs 120, Knicks 105
Sandro Mamukelashvili scored a career-high 34 points, 21 in the fourth quarter, as host San Antonio ambushed New York.
Mamukelashvili shot 13-for-14 from the floor, including 7-for-7 from 3-point range. He had never previously made more than four 3-pointers in a game. Stephon Castle added 22 points for San Antonio. Chris Paul produced 12 points and nine assists.
Karl-Anthony Towns amassed 32 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who fell to 3-3 since Jalen Brunson was lost indefinitely with a sprained right ankle. Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby added 14 points apiece, and Mitchell Robinson tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Kings 123, Cavaliers 119
Keegan Murray broke a late tie with a driving hoop, DeMar DeRozan dropped in a pair of clutch baskets in the final 1:35 and host Sacramento extended Cleveland’s losing streak to three games.
DeRozan finished with a team-high 27 points, Malik Monk added 22 and rookie Devin Carter chipped in with a season-best 16 off the bench as the Kings moved three games ahead of the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks in their duel for ninth place in the Western Conference.
Evan Mobley registered 31 points and 10 rebounds and Donovan Mitchell finished with 26 points for the Cavaliers. Ty Jerome added 14 points and six assists. Dean Wade and Max Strus chipped in with 12 points apiece, and Jarrett Allen had 10.
Trail Blazers 115, Grizzlies 99
Deni Avdija recorded 31 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists to lead Portland to a victory over visiting Memphis.
Avdija matched season highs for boards and 3-pointers (five) as Portland won its third straight game. Anfernee Simons scored 22 points, Shaedon Sharpe produced 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Toumani Camara had 15 points for the Trail Blazers. Duop Reath had 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Portland, which is two games behind the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks in the battle for the final Western Conference play-in berth.
Desmond Bane scored 20 points and Scotty Pippen Jr. added 18 off the bench for the Grizzlies, who lost their second straight game. Santi Aldama had 16 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. tallied 14 but was just 5 of 18 from the field.
Suns 127, Bulls 121
Devin Booker scored 41 points, including 33 after halftime, as Phoenix beat visiting Chicago.
Kevin Durant added 26 points and Ryan Dunn contributed 16 as Phoenix moved past the Dallas Mavericks into 10th position in the race for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
Nikola Vucevic and Coby White both posted 24 points for Chicago, and Josh Giddey had 22 off the bench in his return from a three-game absence with an ankle injury.
Pistons 116, Heat 113
Cade Cunningham banked in a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left as visiting Detroit sent Miami to a ninth straight loss.
Cunningham finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds and a game-high 11 assists. Detroit also got 15 points and 11 rebounds from Jalen Duren. Malik Beasley scored 16 points, Ausar Thompson had 14 points and Tobias Harris added 13 points and a game-high five blocks.
Bam Adebayo scored 30 points and added nine rebounds and eight assists for Miami, which is in the midst of its longest losing streak since the 2007-08 season. Tyler Herro gave the Heat 29 points, and rookie Kel’el Ware added 14 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
Pacers 135, Mavericks 131
Bennedict Mathurin scored 16 points in the final 5:54 and Andrew Nembhard hit a 3-pointer with 14.7 seconds left as Indiana opened a five-game homestand by beating Dallas in Indianapolis.
Indiana’s Pascal Siakam led all scorers with 29 points. Mathurin finished with 23 points. Nembhard added 22 points and doled out eight assists. Aaron Nesmith added 18 points and Obi Toppin 13.
P.J. Washington led Dallas with 26 points. Jaden Hardy added 24 points, Naji Marshall tallied 20 points and nine rebounds. Kai Jones had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Spencer Dinwiddie added 17 points and 12 assists, and Max Christie scored 17 points.
Pelicans 119, Timberwolves 115
Zion Williamson scored 29 points on 12-for-16 shooting and New Orleans outlasted Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Williamson added eight assists, five rebounds and three steals for New Orleans (19-51), which had lost seven of its previous eight games. CJ McCollum added 18 points.
Anthony Edwards scored 29 points but shot only 5-for-19 from the field for the Timberwolves, who have lost two in a row since winning eight straight. Julius Randle finished with 17 points.
Rockets 116, Magic 108
Jalen Green scored 26 points, Alperen Sengun had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and visiting Houston extended its season-best winning streak to eight games by beating Orlando.
Fred VanVleet added 19 points for the Rockets, who outscored the Magic 32-20 in the third quarter and never trailed in the second half.
Paolo Banchero scored 31 points to lead the Magic, who have lost eight of their past 11 games. Franz Wagner scored 20 points, and Goga Bitadze added 19 off the bench.
Jazz 128, Wizards 112
Kyle Filipowski scored 21 points and Keyonte George had 20 as Utah snapped a 10-game losing streak with a win over Washington in Salt Lake City.
The Jazz used a 14-0 run in the second half to build a 21-point lead en route to their first victory in March in a battle of the teams with the worst records in the NBA.
Colby Jones made 9 of 11 shots to lead all scorers with 24 points while Alex Sarr netted 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Wizards, who held an early 11-point lead.
Thunder 133, 76ers 100
Aaron Wiggins scored 26 points and Jaylin Williams had his second career triple-double as host Oklahoma City knocked off Philadelphia.
The Thunder, headed toward the top seed in the Western Conference, clinched the Northwest Division. Williams finished with career highs in points (19) and rebounds (17) and added 11 assists on 7-of-11 shooting. Isaiah Joe added 21 points while Chet Holmgren scored 19 and Branden Carlson finished with a career-high 16.
Quentin Grimes led the 76ers with 28 points while Justin Edwards added 19. Chuma Okeke had 15 rebounds off the bench to go with 14 points.
NHL NEWS
WILD SCORE THREE QUICK GOALS, SHUT OUT KRAKEN
Filip Gustavsson made 34 saves for his fifth shutout of the season and the 11th of his career as the Minnesota Wild defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-0 on Wednesday in Saint Paul, Minn.
Matthew Boldy scored twice and Ryan Hartman and Liam Ohgren added goals for the Wild (39-25-5, 83 points), who won their second straight after a 1-3-1 slump. Defenseman Zach Bogosian had two assists.
Philipp Grubauer stopped 24 shots as the Kraken (30-35-5, 65 points) played their second of back-to-back games. They defeated the host Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 on Tuesday.
Minnesota led 3-0 less than 4 1/2 minutes into the game, collecting the goals in a 1:42 span.
Hartman opened the scoring at 2:47 on a shot from the inside edge of the left circle.
Boldy scored his first goal in 12 games 3:59 after the opening faceoff on a shot from the slot.
Ohgren capped off the spurt when he completed a two-on-one rush by capitalizing from the bottom of the left circle at 4:29. Ohgren, who was recalled from Iowa of the AHL under emergency circumstances on Tuesday, replaced Marcus Johansson in the lineup. Johansson was scratched just before the game because of an illness.
It was the second-fastest span for three goals at the start of a game in Wild franchise history. They accomplished the feat in 4:00 at Dallas on Jan. 14, 2017.
The Wild went more than 14 minutes without a shot from late in the first period and into the second. Seattle had a 14-10 shots advantage in the first period and a 23-19 edge through 40 minutes.
Gustavsson made an outstanding save on defenseman Adam Larsson on a rebound from just outside the crease 7:53 into the third period with the teams playing four-on-four.
Boldy added an empty-net goal with 1:37 left.
The Kraken’s Jaden Schwartz played his 800th game.
Minnesota’s Marco Rossi did not return after taking a shot from Boldy off the left leg in the middle of the first period. Seattle’s Chandler Stephenson left the game with an undisclosed injury late in the second period.
STEVEN LORENTZ, MAPLE LEAFS SLIDE PAST AVALANCHE
Steven Lorentz scored a short-handed goal in the third period to break a tie and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Colorado Avalanche 2-1 on Wednesday night.
Auston Matthews also scored for the Maple Leafs (41-24-3, 85 points) and Joseph Woll was strong in making 38 saves. Toronto split a four-game homestand.
Valeri Nichushkin scored for the Avalanche (41-25-3, 85 points) and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 24 shots.
Colorado buzzed around in Toronto territory early in the first period and took nine of the game’s first 10 shots on goal, but most of them were from longer range. Woll did a good job of tracking the pucks through traffic.
Toronto bounced back and had a solid chance, but William Nylander’s backhand shot on a partial breakaway was foiled at 10:52 of the first.
Matthews scored on a power play at 0:28 of the second period, when his shot from a sharp angle was deflected into the net by Colorado’s Devon Toews. Jack Drury was serving a high-sticking penalty assessed late in the first period.
Colorado countered with Nichushkin’s power-play goal at 2:48 of the second, after Nathan MacKinnon’s pass found him in the slot. Brandon Carlo was off for tripping.
The Maple Leafs picked up the tempo and kept the pressure on, with Matthews ringing a shot off the crossbar at 5:16 of the second. Jake McCabe’s shot also hit the crossbar at 7:48.
Colorado finished the second period with a surge, and Woll was particularly tested in the final minute by MacKinnon.
The Maple Leafs caught a break during an Avalanche power play. Toronto’s clearing attempt hit an official in the neutral zone, and Lorentz completed the rush with a short-handed goal on a rising shot at 2:53 of the third period.
Toronto kept Blackwood busy in the middle port of the third, which limited Colorado’s chances to press for the tying goal.
Blackwood was removed for an extra attacker with fewer than two minutes to play. Matthews and Matthew Knies both missed on long shots at the vacant goal that resulted in icing calls.
GOLF NEWS
2025 VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP: PREVIEW, PROP PICKS & BEST BETS
The PGA Tour’s Florida Swing rolls on with the Valspar Championship, which tees off Thursday at Innesbrook Resort in Palm Harbor.
While it lacks the event status of Bay Hill or TPC Sawgrass the past two weeks, Innesbrook’s Copperhead course is among the favorite tour stops for several players. With a field highlighted by Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas, our golf experts break down the tournament and share their favorite prop picks along with best bets to win this week.
VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Location: Palm Harbor, Fla., March 20-23
Course: Innisbrook Resort, Copperhead Course (Par 71, 7,352 Yards)
Purse: $8.7M (Winner: $1.566M)
Defending Champion: Peter Malnati
FedExCup leader: McIlroy
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App); Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App), 3-6 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 7:45 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @ValsparChamp
PROP PICKS
–Sam Burns to Beat Xander Schauffele (+110 at DraftKings): Neither player enters in particularly good form, but at least two-time winner Burns is playing a track that he has had tremendous success on in the past — despite missing the cut here last year.
–Corey Conners Top 20 Finish (+120 at BetRivers): This is a strong potential payout for a player who has a pair of top-10s in a signature event and at The Players the past two weeks.
2025 Prop Pick Record: 11-17-1
BEST BETS
–Tommy Fleetwood (+1100 DraftKings) has finished T22 or better in 14 consecutive worldwide starts as he still seeks his first stroke-play victory in the United States.
–Xander Schauffele (+1200) called the state of his game “gross” as he has scuffled to a T40 and a 70th in his first two starts back from a rib injury, but did shoot a final-round 65 here in 2024 and is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 3.
–Sepp Straka (+1600) has been as consistently competitive as anyone to begin 2025, with last week’s T14 adding to a win at the AmEx and a T5 at Bay Hill.
–Justin Thomas (+2000) has three top-10s in his past six event starts, and he has said Copperhead is among his favorite courses on tour. He hasn’t won since the 2022 PGA Championship. He is third at the book with five percent of the money backing Thomas to break his winless drought this week.
–Sam Burns (+2200) has one top-20 result in seven starts this year and missed the cut at The Players, but he has won this event twice.
–Michael Kim (+3000) is already making his 10th start of the season. Fatigue is a concern, with a missed cut last week following five consecutive top-13s.
–Corey Conners (+3500) is a two-time winner on tour who has quietly finished solo third and T6 in marquee events the past two weeks. He leads the field with 16 percent of the money and five percent of all bets at DraftKings backing Conners to claim his third tour win this week.
–Lucas Glover (+6000) is coming off a T3 at The Players as he makes his 20th start in this event.
NOTES
–The field includes 18 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, including eight of the top 25.
–The ninth hole will play from the No. 11 tee this year to add length to the hole and to bring bunkers into play.
–Malnati seeks to join Paul Casey (2018-19) and Sam Burns (2021-22) as the third player to successfully defend a Valspar title in the past seven editions of the event.
–Neal Shipley, the low amateur at last year’s Masters, is in the field on a sponsors exemption. He is joined by Luke Clanton, who earned an exemption by winning the 2024 Valspar Collegiate Invitational before earning his PGA Tour membership through University Accelerated. He is eligible to accept membership upon turning professional at the conclusion of his junior season at Florida State. Blades Brown, 17, will make his fourth start of the season. He tied for 34th at the Mexico Open in his lone made cut this year.
–Vijay Singh set the tournament scoring record of 266 in 2004, while Padraig Harrington set the 18-hole record of 61 in the first round in 2012.
TOP INDIANA HEADLINES
GAME REWIND: PACERS 135, MAVERICKS 131
Indiana returned to Gainbridge Fieldhouse in possession of the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference standings after a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. Facing off with a depleted Mavericks team, the Pacers sought to grow the gap between themselves and the fifth-seeded Bucks as playoffs loom at the end of the regular season.
Indiana pulled off the victory, and sank its third straight game-winning 3-point shot as the Pacers (39-29) defeated the Mavericks (33-37), 135-131.
Andrew Nembhard got to work on the offensive end immediately as he drew a foul against Dallas’ Kessler Edwards on Indiana’s first offensive possession. He converted both free throws, and followed it up with an assist to Pascal Siakam on the following trip down the floor.
The pair kept the rhythm throughout the opening quarter as they combined to score 19 points through the first 12 minutes of play, leading Indiana to a 12-point advantage to open the second quarter, 33-21.
The Pacers forced seven Mavericks turnovers in just the first quarter, and Myles Turner collected two blocked shots in that same span.
Thomas Bryant opened the second quarter with flair – he collected an offensive rebound and one-hand slammed it down over two Mavericks, increasing the Pacers’ lead to 16 points.
Dallas cut the lead back to single digits with slightly over five minutes remaining in the half behind five straight points from Jaden Hardy. Two straight 3-pointers from Obi Toppin put the Pacers back in front by 13 points with under a minute to play.
Toppin notched eight points in the second period – a performance resembling an encore of his season-high 34 points in Minnesota on Monday. Siakam led Indiana in scoring through the first half of play with 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting.
Naji Marshall – a 23 points per game scorer over Dallas’ last five contests – entered halftime with just two points on 25 percent shooting on Wednesday. Instead, P.J. Washington led the Mavericks at the break as he recorded a 15-point first half.
Indiana’s 11-point halftime advantage grew on the opening play of the second half as Nembhard converted a jump shot through a foul. He sank the free throw to increase Indiana’s cushion to 14 points.
Dallas responded with a 7-0 run that cut that cushion down to seven points just three minutes into the third quarter, and fought within five points of the Pacers’ lead with 7:38 to play in the frame. The Mavericks outrebounded Indiana 9-3 in that stretch.
Siakam drained two 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, pushing Indiana back in front by eight points, but another 5-0 run from Dallas brought the Mavericks within three points of the lead with 5:21 to go in the third quarter.
Hardy cut the Blue and Gold lead down to just one point with four minutes to play in the frame, but Toppin hit another 3-pointer to keep the Mavericks at arms’ length. Dallas wouldn’t go away, however, and stormed back to tie the game at 89 with under a minute to play in the third.
Hardy gave the Mavericks the lead before the end of the third as he floated a shot through the bottom of the net to put Dallas on top through three quarters, 91-90. Dallas outscored the Pacers 34-22 in the third quarter as Indiana shot just 33% from the field.
T.J. McConnell forced another tie as he drained a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter. Tony Bradley hit another from the corner, and Indiana pulled within three points of the lead. Hardy continued to light it up for the Mavericks, and the Pacers stared down a deficit for much of the fourth frame.
The hole grew to as many as 11 points, but Indiana kept fighting.
A layup by Bennedict Mathurin and a 3-pointer from Aaron Nesmith brough the Pacers within six points of the Dallas lead with 5:22 to play, and the momentum in the Fieldhouse began to shift.
Nesmith hit another 3-pointer and Nembhard created a steal. He turned it over, but Siakam was waiting in the backcourt to swat a Max Christie layup attempt. Mathurin took that fastbreak possession to the rim for a layup, cutting the lead to two points with 4:19 to go.
“Defense” chants cascaded onto the court, and Mathurin took over for Indiana.
He recorded 10 points in just over three minutes as the Pacers fought to remain within striking distance of Dallas. Mathurin notched 16 points in the fourth quarter, leading Indiana’s offensive charge down the stretch as he shot 4-for-4 from the field and made all eight of his free throws.
“I love playing when it’s tough games, you know,” Mathurin said. “I think that’s when I thrive the most. I love when it’s difficult…I love going through those moments. I love going through those games where, you know, you really have to work for it.”
Ben Sheppard stole an inbounds pass and converted a layup to cut the lead back to three points with under a minute to play, but Dallas hit critical free throws to keep Indiana down.
The Pacers trailed by two points after Nembhard split a trip to the free throw line, and pressured Dallas in the backcourt with 22.6 seconds remaining. The Mavericks played into the trap, inbounding the ball at the baseline into a double-team by the Pacers. Siakam stole the ball, and it skipped around the court and back again, finally landing in the hands of Nembhard with 16.1 seconds on the clock.
Nembhard launched from deep range, and drilled the go-ahead 3-pointer as the clock ticked down, 16.1 seconds remaining in the game.
“Drew’s a fearless guy,” Carlisle said postgame. “I mean, how many big threes has he hit, you know, the last three years? He’s been a guy that’s always ready for those moments.”
Dallas’ following possession resulted in an offensive foul drawn by Nesmith, and Nembhard increased the Indiana advantage with free throws that put the Pacers up by 3-points, 133-130.
Hardy was fouled following Nembhard’s free throws, but split his own charity stripe shots.
Nesmith sealed the win for Indiana at the line as he knocked down both of his free throws and the Pacers went on to win. Indiana rode a 45-point fourth quarter to the victory, 135-131.
Siakam’s 29 points led Indiana, and Mathurin contributed 23 points and seven rebounds. Nembhard filled in the lead guard role with Tyrese Haliburton out due to injury, notching 22 points and eight assists. Washington led Dallas in scoring with 25 points, and Hardy recorded 23 points off the Mavericks’ bench.
Indiana will be back in Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday to take on the Brooklyn Nets at 7:00 PM ET.
Inside the Numbers
Indiana conceded 40 points in the fourth quarter, but scored 45.
The Pacers forced 13 turnovers and scored 22 points off those turnovers.
Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, and Bennedict Mathurin combined to score 29 points in the fourth quarter. The trio shot 7-for-11 in the fourth – 64 percent shooting.
The Pacers made 16 of their 18 free throws in the fourth quarter.
GAME PREVIEW: PACERS VS NETS
After winning another wild contest on Wednesday, the Pacers (39-29) are back in action on Thursday night, when they host the Brooklyn Nets (23-46) on the second night of a back-to-back. It is the first of two straight meetings between the Pacers and the Nets, who will meet again on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
On Wednesday, the Pacers lost what was once a 16-point lead in the second half against an undermanned Mavericks team and found themselves trailing by 11 points with six minutes remaining and down seven with a minute to play. But the Blue & Gold somehow clawed their way back, coming up with two backcourt steals in the final minute, the second one by Pascal Siakam setting up Andrew Nembhard’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 16.1 seconds remaining.
Indiana held on down the stretch for an improbable 135-131 win to remain in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings, a game up on fifth-place Milwaukee with 14 games remaining in the regular season. The Pacers’ magic number to clinch a top-six seed and a playoff berth is down to eight after they won on a late three for the third time in the last nine days.
PLAYOFF PICTURE: Track the Latest Standings, Potential Matchups, and More >>
“Our guys just hung in,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after Wednesday’s win. “These games coming up are all going to be like this. These teams coming in here are attacking teams. You’ve got to take the fight to them.”
The Nets have dropped 11 of their last 13 contests, but have been more competitive than that record suggests. Their last six losses have been by eight points or less, including three losses by a single possession.
Brooklyn will be without leading scorer Cameron Johnson on Thursday, as they’ve announced he will be out for rest. He is averaging 18.9 points per game and is shooting just under 40 percent from 3-point range on the season. Johnson figures to be back for Saturday’s contest.
While Johnson sits, the Nets will rely heavily on one-time All-Star point guard D’Angelo Russell. Russell is averaging 13.5 points and 5.8 assists in 24 games since returning to Brooklyn via trade. 23-year-old guard Keon Johnson is also a capable scorer, who is averaging 18.7 points over his last three contests.
Projected Starters
Pacers: G – Andrew Nembhard, G – Bennedict Mathurin, F – Aaron Nesmith, F – Pascal Siakam, C – Myles Turner
Nets: G – D’Angelo Russell, G – Keon Johnson, F – Ziaire Williams, F – Trendon Watford, C – Nic Claxton
Injury Report
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton – questionable (sore lower back), Isaiah Jackson – out (torn right Achilles tendon)
Nets: Cameron Johnson – out (rest), De’Anthony Melton – out (left ACL tear), Cam Thomas – out (left hamstring strain), Dariq Whitehead – out (G League assignment)
Last Meeting
Jan. 6, 2025: The Pacers shot 50.6 percent from the field and went 21-for-23 (91.3 percent) from the free throw line in a 113-99 win over the Nets in Brooklyn.
Tyrese Haliburton led Indiana with 23 points and eight assists in the victory. Bennedict Mathurin added 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting (3-of-6 from 3-point range), while Pascal Siakam tallied 19 points and six rebounds.
Day’Ron Sharpe had a double-double off the bench for the Nets with 16 points and 13 boards. Tyrese Martin added 15 points and Noah Clowney scored 14 for Brooklyn.
Noteworthy
The Pacers are 4-7 on the season when playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Pacers and Nets split a pair of games in Brooklyn earlier this season. If the Pacers can sweep this two-game set, they will win the season series with Brooklyn for the second straight season.
Tyrese Haliburton has missed the last two games with a sore lower back.
Broadcast Information (TV and Radio Listings >>)
TV: FanDuel Sports Network – Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Pat Boylan (studio host)
INDY IGNITE
FISHERS, Ind. (March 19, 2025) – Youth Volleyball Night presented by Wells Fargo Advisors couldn’t have come at a better time for the Indy Ignite.
Thursday’s Pro Volleyball Federation match with the visiting Columbus Fury at Fishers Event Center provides the perfect lead-in to USA Volleyball’s Nike Mideast Girls National Qualifier (MEQ) tournament this weekend in Indianapolis. Nearly 35,000 people representing volleyball clubs for players aged 16-18 from around the nation are expected to attend the MEQ, not to mention countless college coaches on hand to scout the talent.
In conjunction with the MEQ – and to give the tournament’s players a first-hand glimpse that their volleyball aspirations could one day lead to professional playing courts in the U.S. – the Ignite are offering discounted tickets to all of the 900-plus clubs competing. Participating MEQ teams may purchase the discount tickets at this link.
Carly Klanac, Vice President of Marketing/Game Day Experience for the Ignite, emphasized that the opportunity to offer so many young volleyball players the chance to attend a PVF match aligns perfectly with the mission of the Indy franchise.
“Celebrating youth volleyball specifically on this night before we have a major national qualifier in our city is so important to what we believe in and what we’re passionate about for the Ignite,” Klanac added. “It’ll be really fun to see it all come into fruition.”
Scott McQueen, MEQ tournament director, praised the Ignite for extending the offer for clubs to attend Thursday’s match and showing young volleyball players what that top rung of the ladder looks like.
“The sport is obviously growing significantly,” said McQueen, who has been involved in youth volleyball for 25 years. “It’s nice that players can play in college and then still possibly have that opportunity in the States past what they used to. Just being a little bit more in the forefront of people’s eyes in the United States will be good as opposed to just having to go international to play professional.”
Klanac said an added bonus for MEQ teams attending involves a viral trend called “clipping,” where volleyball players write an inspirational message on a clothespin and secretly attach it to another player’s backpack or back of their jersey. The Ignite will give a bag of Ignite-designed clothespins to attending teams for their players to use on match night or at the MEQ.
Fans not associated with the qualifier tournament who come to Thursday’s match can also share in the fun. All Ignite youth merchandise will be discounted 10% at the gift shop, and any youngster wearing their volleyball jersey to the match will receive an additional 10% off their merchandise purchase.
Ignite Seek Second Straight Win during Demanding Stretch
The Ignite seek their second straight PVF win Thursday during a demanding stretch that sees Indy play at home just twice in a nine-match span. The Ignite rebounded after dropping the first set at Grand Rapids on Saturday to win in four sets and move their record to 9-8.
Indy opposite hitter Azhani Tealer was rewarded for her record-setting performance last week against Omaha – when she set PVF records for kills (31) and points (35) in a match – by being named Tuesday as the PVF Player of the Week. Even though Indy is 2-0 against Columbus thus far in 2025, Tealer knows the Ignite need to up their game once again when the Fury come to town Thursday.
“We’re going to have to serve and pass really well,” she said. “They’re a good serving team. They rely pretty heavily on (outside hitter) Raina Terry and she’s a good player. If we can get a jump on her early and hit our serving, I think we’ll be in a good spot.”
Thursday’s match starts at 7 p.m. ET, with tickets for non-MEQ teams available on the Ignite website. The match also streams free on the Roku Channel.
INDIANA SWIMMING
INDIANA THROWS DOWN TOP 10 OPENING NIGHT RELAYS
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – No. 7-ranked Indiana finished top 10 in both opening night relays for just the second time in program history Wednesday (March 19) at the 2025 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships inside the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.
IU reached the podium in the 800-yard freestyle relay, placing eighth, and 10th in the 200-yard medley relay. The Hoosiers sit eighth in the team standings after two events.
“It was a solid start for the Hoosiers today,” IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. “We have a lot of people swimming very well but certainly have more in the tank. We just told the team that success this competition will be all about executing the simple fundamentals.”
Indiana posted the second-best time in program history to finish eighth in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a 6:55.15. Senior Anna Peplowski led the field with the fastest 200 free split and the only swimmer under 1:41 with her 1:40.97.
IU started its night with a 10th-place performance in the 200-yard medley relay, its best finish in the event since 2019, matching its seed. In heat three of four, senior Kacey McKenna gave Indiana the lead with a 23.51 – a personal best 50-yard backstroke and the fourth-best leadoff split Wednesday night. Junior Kristina Paegle touched in 1:34.62 with the event’s third-best anchor leg, going 20.96.
RESULTS
200 MEDLEY RELAY
10. Kacey McKenna, Brearna Crawford, Miranda Grana, Kristina Paegle – 1:34.62 (Second-team All-America)
800 FREESTYLE RELAY
8. Miranda Grana, Anna Peplowski, Reese Tiltmann, Kristina Paegle – 6:55.14 (All-America)
UP NEXT
The 2025 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships resume Thursday for day two, the first full day of action. Athletes will compete in the 500 freestyle, 200 IM, 50 freestyle, 1-meter dive and 200 freestyle relay, with preliminaries beginning at 1 p.m. ET. Finals are scheduled to begin at 9 p.m.
INDIANA WRESTLING
SIX WRESTLERS TO COMPETE IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. –––– Indiana Wrestling has six NCAA qualifiers set to compete in the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive year.
The 2025 championships are from Thursday to Saturday (March 20-22) at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa.
There are 330 total NCAA qualifiers with 33 wrestlers in a bracket at each of the 10 weight classes.
MARCH MATNESS:
-The NCAA Championships are back and in the heart of wrestling country as the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia is hosting the three-day event.
-The Championships will take place from March 20-22 with a total of six sessions split with two sessions taking place each day.
-Preliminary matches open the tournament with wrestlebacks going on in the first day. The second day will feature quarterfinal and semifinal matches along with wrestlebacks.
-On Saturday, the placing matches to set the podium will go on in the morning with the night session being just the finals matches at all 10 weights.
-For Indiana, it has four returning NCAA qualifiers and two first-timers.
-Jacob Moran (125) and Gabe Sollars (197) each are competing in their first NCAA Tournament.
-Angelo Rini (133), Tyler Lillard (165) and Jacob Bullock (285) are all each making their second NCAAs appearance.
-DJ Washington (184) is making his fourth NCAAs trip, he is one of nine four-time qualifiers in program history.
SEEDING SITUATION:
-Indiana’s Jacob Moran is the highest ranked wrestler as he is seeded at No. 18 at 125 lbs.
-The rest of Indiana’s qualifiers are seeded in the 20s.
-Graduate students Rini and Bullock each earned the No. 21 spot while Washington was at No. 22. Sollars was slotted at No. 24 while Lillard got No. 27 in his bracket.
THE PATHS:
-Four of Indiana’s opening matches will start against a conference opponent.
-No. 27 Tyler Lillard will face No. 6 Beau Mantanona (Michigan), No. 22 DJ Washington will go against No. 11 Gabe Arnold (Iowa), No 24 Gabe Sollars will face off versus No. 9 Zac Braunagel (Illinois) and No. 21 Jacob Bullock will take on No. 12 Nick Feldman (Ohio State).
-All of those matches are rematches from earlier in the season. Mantanona, Braunagel and Feldman all won by decision.
-Arnold defeated Washington in the wrestlebacks by medical forfeit.
-No. 18 Jacob Moran and No. 21 Angelo Rini will each open with an opponent from another conference.
-Moran will go against No. 15 Maximo Renteria (Oregon State) and Rini will face No. 12 Ethan Oakley (North Carolina).
CHASING GLORY:
-Indiana is seeking to add to its prestigious national champion and All-American count.
-The Hoosiers have 11 NCAA Champions in its and 80 All-Americans in its program history.
-The last national champion was head coach Angel Escobedo in 2008 when he won first place at 125 lbs.
-The program’s last All-American was Nate Jackson who took eighth place at 184 lbs. in 2017.
-In 2023, Graham Rooks reached the Round of 12 at 149 lbs. before he lost to Minnesota’s Michael Blockhus. He has gone the furthest at NCAAs since Jackson.
INDIANA MEN’S BASKETBALL
DARIAN DEVRIES NAMED 31ST HEAD COACH OF IU MEN’S BASKETBALL PROGRAM
Bloomington, Ind. – IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson has hired former West Virginia and Drake Coach Darian DeVries as the new head coach of the IU Men’s Basketball program.
The 49-year-old DeVries comes to Bloomington with 24 years of Division I coaching experience, including the last seven as a highly-successful head coach at Drake (2019-24) and West Virginia (2025). His Drake and West Virginia teams went a combined 169-68 (71.3%) overall and 89-43 (67.4%) in conference play, and won three conference championships (one regular season, two postseason) along the way.
“We went into this coaching search with some very specific things we were looking for in our next head coach, and Darian emerged as someone who, on paper, met and often exceeded our criteria,” Dolson said. “Once we had a chance to talk to him, we knew we had the right person. Darian has a plan for building a championship culture that can compete at the highest level on a year-in, year-out basis. He has extensive D-1 coaching experience that includes 15 trips to the NCAA Tournament as a head coach or as an assistant. This past season at West Virginia, he inherited a last-place Big 12 team with no significant contributors returning, and managed to more than double its win total despite a pair of significant season-ending injuries. Finally, he is passionate about the opportunity to lead our program. We are excited to welcome Darian and the entire DeVries family to our Hoosier family.”
“This is unquestionably one of the top jobs in America. As someone who grew up in the Midwest loving the game of basketball, I’ve always admired the IU Basketball program for its championship-level success, tradition, and fan support,” DeVries said. “There’s a passion to succeed at the very highest levels both within the Big Ten and in the NCAA Tournament, and that’s a desire that as a coach I share. On top of that, the alignment is there on a department and university level to make that happen. I’m excited for this opportunity and am ready to work relentlessly to assemble a staff and a roster that competes for championships.”
“As President of IU, it is my expectation that our university strives for greatness in everything we do from academics to athletics,” IU President Pamela Whitten said. “Darian has demonstrated that he embraces that elite standard. In fact, he has a well-established track record of elevating programs to new levels of success. This is a great day for IU Men’s Basketball and Indiana University.”
At each of his first two head coaching stops, DeVries quickly turned around programs mired in significant short and/or long-term struggles on the basketball court. DeVries’ first head coaching opportunity came at Drake in 2018, where he inherited a program that had been to one NCAA Tournament in the last 47 years, had five 20-win seasons in its 112-year history, and was a combined 40-87 (31.5%) in the six years prior to DeVries’ arrival. He immediately turned the Missouri Valley Conference program’s fortunes around, going 24-10 overall in year one and tying for the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship. DeVries earned conference coach of the year honors for his performance, the first of his two MVC Coach of the Year accolades.
He continued to raise the bar at the Des Moines, Iowa, school in each of his final five seasons. His Drake teams won at least 20 games each year, including 25 or more in each of his final four seasons. During those final four seasons at Drake the Bulldogs were one of only three programs in Division I to win 25+ games each season along with Houston and Gonzaga. His teams won MVC postseason tournament championships in his final two seasons, led the league in scoring offense twice, and he finished his Drake career with a 150-55 record (73.1%). Compared to the six years before his arrival, DeVries’ six-year win percentage represented a remarkable 39.1% improvement, which stands up remarkably well against other high-profile coaches such as Alabama’s Nate Oats (+9.2% four-year win percentage improvement while at Buffalo), Michigan’s Dusty May (+22.3% four-year win percentage improvement at Florida Atlantic), and Louisville’s Pat Kelsey (+18.7% three-year win percentage improvement at Charleston).
In addition to his personal successes and accolades, DeVries’ Bulldog players were highly decorated as well. He had four players combine to earn six first-team All-MVC honors. That list includes 2019 MVC Defensive Player of the Year Nick McGlynn; two-time first-team All-MVC guard Roman Penn; and 2023 and 2024 MVC Player of the Year and 2022 MVC Freshman of the Year Tucker DeVries, Darian’s son.
Darian’s extended run of success at Drake attracted the attention of West Virginia, which brought him to Morgantown, W.Va, last spring to resurrect the fortunes of a Mountaineer program that went 9-23 in 2023-24 and finished last in the Big 12. DeVries inherited a roster that returned only two players and 2.8 percent of its scoring from 2023-24 and was picked to finish 13th in the Big 12 in the league’s preseason poll. But the Mountaineers’ first-year coach enjoyed tremendous success in the transfer portal (including 2024-25 first-team All-Big 12 honoree Jovan Small from Oklahoma State and All-Big 12 Defensive Team member Sencire Harris from Illinois) and orchestrated one of the nation’s most impressive turnarounds.
West Virginia more than doubled its previous season’s win total, going 19-13 overall and 10-10 in the Big 12. The Mountaineers earned a series of signature victories this season, including three wins over top-10 teams (#2 Iowa State, #3 Gonzaga and #7 Kansas). Those successes came despite the extended absences of multiple players expected to play critical roles in the team’s fortunes this season, including Tucker DeVries (14.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 47.3% 3 pt. shooting in 2024-25), who missed all but eight games due to a shoulder injury.
While the Mountaineers were enjoying a resurgence on the court, DeVries also had success re-establishing the program as a recruiting force. West Virginia signed a three-person class last fall that was ranked No. 23 nationally and included two top-75 players according to 247Sports.
A native of Aplington, Iowa, DeVries got his coaching start at Creighton, where he spent 20 years as a member of the Bluejays’ staff (including the final 17 as an assistant coach) under Dana Altman and Greg McDermott. Creighton went a combined 460-211 during his 20 seasons and earned 19 postseason berths (including 12 NCAA trips).
Darian joined the Creighton staff in 1998 shortly after concluding a successful college player career at the University of Northern Iowa. A 1998 UNI graduate in elementary education, DeVries scored 1,084 points while playing for long-time UNI Coach Eldon Miller.
Darian and his wife, Ashley, have one son, Tucker (22), and a daughter, Tatum (16).
PURDUE SWIMMING
4 DIVERS TO REPRESENT PURDUE WOMEN AT NCAAS
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MEET INFORMATION
Purdue Women at the NCAA Championships
Thursday to Saturday, March 20-22 / ESPN+
Diving Prelims at 3 p.m. ET
Diving Consolation Finals at 8:15 p.m. ET
Diving Championship Finals at approx. 10:15 p.m. ET
Weyerhaesuer King County Aquatic Center / Federal Way, Wash.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue women’s swimming & diving will be well represented in the dive well at the NCAA Championships this week as the five Boilermakers competing will give the program an entry in all three diving events.
Sophie McAfee, Jenna Sonnenberg, Avery Worobel and Daryn Wright earned the right to compete at the national championship meet. McAfee is closing out her collegiate career out as a four-year NCAAs qualifier (2022-25). Sonnenberg (2023, 2024, 2025) and Wright (2023-25) both made it for the third time. Worobel qualified in both springboard events as a freshman.
Sonnenberg is one 17 divers nationally this season to qualify for NCAAs in all three diving events, accomplishing the feat for the first time. She is Purdue’s first female diver to achieve the distinction since McAfee did it as a freshman in 2023.
The top 16 finishers in the preliminaries clinch All-America honors and advance to finals. The top eight compete for the national championship in the evening finals. Diving is traditionally the final individual event of the finals sessions and begins in a window of approximately 10:15 to 10:45 p.m. ET. Consolation finals for diving remain at 8:15 p.m. as the first event of the evening sessions.
PURDUE SCHEDULE AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
• Thursday, March 20 on 1-Meter – Jenna Sonnenberg, Avery Worobel
• Friday, March 21 on 3-Meter – Sophie McAfee, Jenna SonnenbergAvery Worobel, Daryn Wright
• Saturday, March 22 on Platform – Sophie McAfee, Jenna Sonnenberg, Daryn Wright
Purdue has had at least one women’s diver earn All-America honors at the NCAA Championships in 19 of the last 20 years the meet has been held. That run dates back to 2004, with 2012 being the only year a Purdue diver did not qualify for the national championship meet.
The Purdue women have had a championship finalist on the tower in seven consecutive NCAA Championships dating back to 2017. In 2021 and 2024, the Boilermakers accounted for three of the eight championship finalists on platform at NCAAs. McAfee and Wright were part of the trio last season.
A year ago, McAfee finished fourth on 3-meter and eighth on platform at NCAAs as one of only two divers (with LSU’s Monsterrat Lavenant) to be a championship finalist on both a springboard and the tower. McAfee is a four-time All-American and last season became just the Boilermakers’ fourth female diver to be a full-fledged (top 8) All-American on a springboard and the platform in the same year – joining Carrie McCambridge (2005), Amanda Miller (2007) and Emily Bretscher (2021).
Wright also scored on both 3-meter and platform last season at NCAAs en route to becoming an Olympian for Team USA on 10-meter over the summer. At NCAAs, she was fifth on platform and fifth in the consolation final (13th overall) on 3-meter – earning her first All-America accolades. As a junior, Wright is 9-for-9 in career top-10 finishes at the Big Ten Championships, finishing top five in all three events this year. She’s a two-time bronze medalist on the tower at Big Tens.
Wright (gold) and McAfee (bronze) both medaled on 10-meter at the USA Diving Winter Nationals in December and were also top three in the event at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June.
Worobel won silver on 3-meter and placed fourth on 1-meter in an impressive debut at the Big Ten Championships last month. She finished top two in both events at the Zone C Championships to qualify for NCAAs. She’ll be looking to become Purdue’s first female diver to be an All-American on both springboards in the same year since Mary Beth Dunnicahy in 2016. Excluding 2020*, Casey Matthews (2009) is Purdue’s only female diver to earn All-America accolades as a true freshman.
Sonnenberg was an NCAAs qualifier on 3-meter in 2022 and the platform last season. She began competing on platform for Purdue in January 2022 and earned her bid to NCAAs a year ago via a timely top-10 showing in the event at Zones. This month she qualified for NCAAs by finishing sixth on 1-meter at Zones. Her top-12 showings on 3-meter and platform at Zones then added to her program at the national championship meet.
The Weyerhaesuer King County Aquatic Center is hosting both the women’s and men’s NCAA Championships over the final two weekends of March. It marks the first time ever the women’s national championship meet has been held west of the Rocky Mountains.
This year also marks the first time since 2022 that the same facility is hosting both national championship meets – with Georgia Tech’s McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta pulling double duty three years ago. Located near the southern shoreline of Puget Sound, the Weyerhaesuer King County Aquatic Center is 20 miles northeast of Tacoma and 30 miles south of Seattle. The facility previously hosted the men’s NCAA Championships in 2008 and 2012. Purdue head diving coach David Boudia also qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games in Federal Way when the Weyerhaesuer King County Aquatic Center hosted diving’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
Purdue has six qualifiers – divers Jordan Rzepka, Max Miller, Kaden Springfield, Zach Welsh and Tyler Wills plus swimmer Brady Samuels – for the men’s NCAA Championships next week in the Pacific Northwest.
*All-American honors were bestowed upon deserving student-athletes/likely NCAAs qualifiers by the CSCAA after the national championship meets were canceled in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Maycey Vieta was among them as a true freshman.
PURDUE MEN’S BASKETBALL
SMITH PICKS UP TWO MORE ALL-AMERICAN ACCOLADES; EARNS CONSENSUS 1ST-TEAM HONORS
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue junior guard Braden Smith has been named a first-team All-American by both the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), making him a consensus first-team All American.
Smith has been named a first-team All American by the four entities that make up consensus honors – The Sporting News, The Associated Press, the USBWA and the NABC.
It marks the seventh consensus All-America award during the Matt Painter era, as Smith joins JaJuan Johnson (1st – 2011), Caleb Swanigan (1st – 2017), Carsen Edwards (2nd – 2019), Jaden Ivey (2nd – 2022) and Zach Edey (1st – 2023, 2024) as players to be named consensus All-American. Six of the seven awards have come in the last nine seasons.
It’s the third straight year that a Boilermaker has been named a consensus first-team All-American, the only school in the country to have three consensus All-Americans in the last three seasons. Purdue has had an All-American in four straight seasons, the longest streak in the country.
The awards are rewards for what has been an incredible season for the point guard from Westfield, Indiana. He was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and is the front-runner for the Cousy Award, given to the nation’s top point guard. He didn’t disappoint after being named the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year in October.
Smith and the Boilermakers will face High Point in Thursday’s NCAA Tournament first round at 12:40 p.m. ET, in Providence, Rhode Island.
Consensus First-Team All-American – Braden Smith, Junior, Guard
A consensus first-team All American, Smith is considered the top point guard in the country.
Named the Big Ten Player of the Year and first-team All-American by the Sporting News.
Averages 16.1 points, 8.7 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game, but saw his averages increase to 17.4 points, 8.9 assists and 4.6 rebounds during Big Ten play.
Set the Big Ten record for assists in conference play only with 175, smashing the previous record set by Michigan State’s Cassius Winston (157) by 18 assists – almost a full assist per game.
Became the second player in Big Ten history, joining Michigan State’s Magic Johnson, to register 450 points, 250 assists, 125 rebounds and 60 steals in a season. Smith has reached those numbers in each of the last two seasons.
Became the school’s career assists leader, now with 732 assists in just 107 career games.
Needs one steal to become the second player in NCAA history to have 500 points, 275 assists, 150 rebounds and 75 steals in a season, joining Georgia Tech standout Kenny Anderson (1989-90) as members of that group.
Is on pace to be the first player since California’s Jason Kidd (1993-94) to average at least 16.0 points, 8.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
Smith’s 732 assists (and counting) are the sixth most for a player in NCAA history by the end of his junior season. He already ranks fifth in Big Ten conference history in career assists.
Recorded four 20-point, 10-assist games this season. Prior to this year, Purdue had two 20-point, 10-assist games in school history – the last one coming in the 1987-88 season.
His nine point-assist double-doubles are the third most for a high-major player in the last 20 seasons (14 – Oklahoma’s Trae Young, 2018; 10 – Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell, 2023).
Smith has posted two games of 30 or more points this season (34 vs. Toledo; 31 vs. Iowa).
Has 12 games of 10 or more assists this season, and 22 games of 10 or more assists for his career. His 22 career games of 10 or more assists are the most in Big Ten history. The 22, 10-assist games are the fourth most by a player in his junior season or younger in the last 20 years (Kay Felder – 32; Kendall Marshall – 23; Ja Morant – 23).
PURDUE SOFTBALL
PURDUE TO FACE WISCONSIN AND MARYLAND AT DEVON PARK
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – After taking on the No. 6 Bruins of UCLA during Big Ten opening weekend, the Boilermakers head to Oklahoma City, Okla. to take on Wisconsin and Maryland at the home of USA Softball, Devon Park.
After falling in three tightly-contested games in Los Angeles, Purdue is looking to earn its first Big Ten victory of the season. The Boilers head into the two match ups with a 15-12 overall record, and an 0-3 conference record.
DEVON PARK SCHEDULE
Thursday, Mar. 20 – Purdue vs Wisconsin (Away) – 5:00 p.m. ET (BTN)
Friday, Mar. 21 – Purdue vs Wisconsin (Away) – 5:00 p.m. ET (B1G+)
Saturday, Mar. 22 – Purdue vs Maryland (Home) – 3:00 p.m. ET (B1G+)
Sunday, Mar. 23 – Purdue vs Maryland (Home) – 10:00 a.m. ET (BTN)
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Wisconsin is currently 18-9 in the 2025 season and 2-1 in conference, taking the series against Illinois during the opening weekend. Wisconsin is sixth in the Big Ten, trailing Oregon in fifth. The Badgers scored 15 runs in the opening game of the series, defeating the Fighting Illini 15-4 in five innings. In the second game of the series, Wisconsin fell to Illinois 9-6, but came back to take the series in game three winning 8-6 in Champaign. The Badgers have taken victories over other power four foes in the preseason including Kansas and Louisville. The team is led by Alivia Bark, who has 32 hits with a .390 average, and Gabi Salo on the mound, who boasts a 1.44 ERA.
Maryland is 13-12 overall in 2025, and 2-1 in conference, ranking fourth in the Big Ten. The Terps took the series victory over Rutgers during the opening weekend, after dropping the first game of the three. Maryland scored 16 runs in the opening weekend, defeating Rutgers 4-1 and 11-7, after falling 5-1 in game one. The Terps gained momentum earlier in the week, taking a 9-0 mercy-rule victory over Colgate in five innings. Maryland is set to take on Michigan in a pair of games before battling with Purdue over the weekend.
SERIES HISTORY
Purdue leads the all-time series against Wisconsin 35-31. The Boilermakers took the inaugural victory against the Badgers in 1996, with a 2-0 victory in Madison. In the 2023 season, Wisconsin swept Purdue during Big Ten play, but the teams did not face one another in the most recent season. Purdue’s 35 wins against Wisconsin is tied for the most wins against a single opponent in Purdue softball history (35, Wisconsin & Michigan State).
The Terps and the Boilermakers have a shorter history, only facing one another a total of ten times in their histories. In 2024, Purdue took the series victory over the Terps in College Park, winning the final game 7-1 after falling 5-4 in ten innings during game two. The first match up between the teams was back in 2000, where Purdue shutout Maryland 2-0. Maryland joined the Big Ten in 2014, but the teams did not face each other until 2021 during the COVID era games in Leesburg, Fla, where Maryland defeated Purdue in a three-game series.
NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S LAX
RASSAS LEADS IRISH OFFENSE IN 8-6 WIN OVER #23 HARVARD
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 20 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-4, 1-3) defeated the No. 23 Harvard Crimson (5-3, 1-1) at Arlotta on Wednesday afternoon, securing their first ranked win of the season with an 8-6 victory.
Madison Rassas did it again, recording four goals for her third straight hat trick and sixth hat trick of the season. She leads the Irish with 28 goals and 32 points this season.
Kathryn Morrissey, Kristen Shanahan, Emma Murphy, and Kate Timarky each tallied one goal a piece for the Irish. Shanahan also dished out two assists for three points on the day, with Angie Conley, Fran Frieri, and Morrissey dishing out Notre Dame’s three additional assists.
Defensively, Grace Weigand and Meghan O’Hare each caused two turnovers, with the Irish forcing nine turnovers as a team.
Isabel Pithie finished with an impressive career-high 14 saves, surpassing her 12 saves against #2 Northwestern in the season opener.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Crimson offense struck first, knocking down a pair of goals to take a 2-0 lead with 11:39 left in the first. The Irish had a few looks to score, but Harvard knocked down another at 5:50 for a 3-0 advantage.
Heading into the second period trailing by three, a huge 5-0 quarter lifted the Irish to a two-point lead.
Conley found Rassas on a cut to the goal to put Notre Dame on the board at 12:37 for the first Irish goal of the day.
Morrissey dished it to Shanahan to bring the Irish within one at 3:25, but Rassas would find the back of the net yet again shortly after to tie it up at 3-all at 3:11.
The scoring frenzy continued as Timarky netted a goal at 2:20 to finally put the Irish in front 4-3. The Irish weren’t done yet as Shanahan dished out another assist with Murphy knocking it down to put the Irish up 5-3 heading into the second half.
The Crimson netted the first goal of the third period to bring it within one at 5-4 and continued their run as they scored two more goals to regain the lead 6-5 after the 3-0 run concluded at 2:39.
Morrissey scored on the free position to make it an even 6-all as they went into fourth period tied up.
It remained an even ballgame through most of the fourth until Rassas completed her hat trick on free position goal to put the Irish in front 7-6 with 5:13 remaining.
The Irish continued to hold the Crimson scoreless as they were able to force a late turnover and maintain possession to run out the clock, but not before Rassas sent home one last goal with one second left to secure the 8-6 victory.
UP NEXT
The Irish resume ACC play at No. 9 Syracuse on Sunday, March 23 at noon on ACCNX at the JMA Wireless Dome.
NOTRE DAME SOFTBALL
NOTRE DAME DOWNS WESTERN MICHIGAN FOR FIRST HOME WIN
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame Softball secured home victory number one on the season and for Head Coach Kris Ganeff, defeating Western Michigan 2-1 on a windy day at Melissa Cook Stadium. The Irish are now 13-16 on the season.
The pitching duo of Kami Kamzik (4-5) and Shannon Becker were dominant in the circle. The Notre Dame tandem allowed only three combined hits, while only walking one. Becker earned her third save of the season and 17th in her career.
Kamzik’s final line was : 4.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER and 3 SO. She didn’t walk a batter in her ninth start of the season today. Becker finished it after coming into the game with one out in the fifth, going 2.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB and 2 SO. She threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh inning to secure the win.
Addison Amaral and Caroline O’Brien led the Irish offense against the Broncos. Amaral was 1/1 with an RBI double and two walks, while O’Brien finished with a pair of hits, including the game-winning RBI single to score Amaral in the bottom of the fourth.
Amaral got the scoring started early for Notre Dame, lining a ball into the right center field gap to score Olivia Levitt all the way from first. It was the 24th RBI of the season for the Irish shortstop. She has reached base in 10-straight games.
Notre Dame will turn its attention to this weekend when the Irish welcome 17th-ranked Stanford to Melissa Cook Stadium. First pitch of Friday’s game is set for 6:00 p.m. Admission is free to all Notre Dame softball games. Please take note that due to the Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament being held at the Joyce Center, there may be an increase in traffic around campus.
NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
CITRON, HIDALGO, MILES EARN AP, USBWA ALL-AMERICA HONORS
After a 26-5 regular season and earning the opportunity to host as a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, three Notre Dame guards have earned national recognition for their bodies of work this year.
On Wednesday, the Associated Press and U.S. Basketball Writers Association announced their annual awards. For the AP, Hannah Hidalgo was named to the First Team, Olivia Miles was named to the Second Team, and Sonia Citron earned Honorable Mention. For the USBWA, Hidalgo earned First Team recognition, while Miles was Second Team.
Hidalgo has now been named to the AP All-America First Team as a freshman and sophomore, becoming just the fourth player in history to do so and joining USC’s JuJu Watkins, Connecticut’s Maya Moore and Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris.
Hidalgo is pacing the Irish this season on both ends of the court. She leads the team with 24.2 points and 3.7 steals per game, marks that both rank fourth in the nation. Hidalgo also ranks fourth in the ACC with a 40.7 success rate from beyond the arc and is averaging a pair of triples per game.
The 5-6 guard has already re-written portions of the Irish record book, too. At the ACC Tournament, Hidalgo joined Irish legend Arike Ogunbowale as the only players in Notre Dame history to post multiple 700-point seasons. She also has 108 steals this year, the sophomore record. It is just the fourth time in program history a Notre Dame player has had a 100-steal season. Hidalgo did it last year as well (160).
Miles is averaging 16.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. She is the only player in the nation averaging 15-5-5 while shooting greater than 40 percent from deep. In the last 15 years, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu are the only other players to achieve that feat.
Additionally, Miles leads the nation with three triple-doubles this season and became the first player in ACC history with back-to-back triple-doubles (Loyola and Virginia). Her 20-point triple-double in Notre Dame’s opener against Mercyhurst came on the heels of a year off while rehabbing a torn ACL, making her the first player in NBA, WNBA or college basketball player in history to sit out for a year due to injury and post a 20-point triple-double in their first game back.
Citron has quietly stuffed the stat sheet nearly every time she takes the floor this year. She is posting 13.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. In the last 10 games, those numbers jump to 15.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game with a 57.5 percent success rate from the floor. She also has seven games this year with 3+ steals.
BUTLER BASEBALL
BALL STATE BEATS BUTLER 17-7
The Butler Bulldogs took a 17-7 loss at Ball State on Wednesday moving their overall record to 6-15. BU scored six of their seven runs in the top of the fourth inning. Ryan Drumm and Jack Moroknek each had RBIs in the contest to highlight the Bulldog offense.
Ryan Drumm singled to centerfield in the fourth to score two runs and give Butler a 4-3 lead. Momentum stayed with the Bulldogs as Jack Moroknek followed him in the order with a three-run home run to straight-away center. Moroknek’s 12th home run of the season cleared the batter’s eye in Muncie and put Butler in front 7-3.
The game took a turn in the fifth inning with the Cardinals scoring nine runs off five hits. They scored two more in the sixth and three in the seventh to end the game early.
Brett Sherrard took the loss on the mound while the win went to Will Jacobson. Tre Benjamin got the start and tossed 2.1 innings for Butler. Ball State’s starter lasted 3.1 innings before handing the ball off to Lucas Letsinger.
Butler will be back at it this weekend with a game at Cincinnati on Sunday. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
BALL STATE BASEBALL
BASEBALL SCORES FINAL 14 RUNS OF GAME IN WIN OVER BUTLER
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State baseball team scored the final 14 runs of the game in a 17-7 win over Butler on Wednesday afternoon at Shebek Stadium.
The Cardinals (16-6) run-ruled the Bulldogs (6-15) in seven innings with Max Kalk ending the game on a two-run single to right that scored John Colligan and Blake Bevis. Butler led 7-3 after the fourth inning thanks to a six-run fourth frame.
Ball State responded with nine runs in the fifth, punctuated by a Nick Husovsky grand slam to left, to gain a 12-7 advantage. Alex Richter hit a two-run double in the sixth inning and Ben Giovannetti an RBI single in the seventh to tack on to the edge.
Dylan Grego hit a solo home run in the first inning to put the hosts on the board before Butler tied the score at 1-1 on a sacrifice fly in the second. Giovannetti put the Cardinals ahead again on a two-run single in the third frame before the two teams traded multi-run innings.
Will Jacobson (1-0) struck out six in 3.1 innings of shutout ball to earn the win out of the bullpen, while Butler’s Brett Sherrard was hit with the loss after giving up five runs in an inning of work.
Husovsky, Giovannetti and Kalk had four RBI each with Kalk going 4-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored. Husovsky was 2-for-2 with three walks and four runs. The grand slam from the senior was the first of the year for the Cardinals.
“Our boys rallied behind the great relief outing from Will Jacobson and the big offensive output from Max Kalk and Nick Husovsky,” Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. “A lot of guys contributed.”
Ball State is set to play at three-game set at Xavier beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday.
BALL STATE MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
MVB CONTINUES CONFERENCE PLAY AT QUEENS
No. 13 Ball State (14-8, 6-3 MIVA) vs Queens (10-11, 2-6 MIVA)
Last Meeting: Ball State 3, Queens 0 (4/13/24)
Series History: Ball State leads the series 5-0
This Week in Ball State Men’s Volleyball: The No. 13 Ball State Cardinals will travel to Charlotte, N.C. this week to take on Queens University of Charlotte. The teams will compete in two matches in Levine Center, first on Thursday (Mar. 20) at 6 p.m. ET and the final match on Saturday (Mar. 22) at 2 p.m. ET.
Last Serve:
• Last week, Ball State traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii for the University of Hawaii’s Outrigger Invitational. The Cardinals opened the invite facing the host, No. 3 Rainbow Warriors (19-2, 2-0 BW). Despite going into extra points in the third set, Ball State lost the match in a 3-0 sweep ( 19-25, 13-25, 27-29). Patrick Rogers led Ball State’s offense with 11 kills at a .292 clip while Vanis Buckholz and Wil Basilio led the defense, each recording three blocks.
• In match two, the Cardinals took on No. 5 USC (16-2, 4-0 MPSF), falling to the Trojans 0-3 (22-25, 17-25, 19-25). Tinaishe Ndavazocheva led Ball State’s offensive efforts, recording eight kills and hitting at a .583 clip.
• In the Cardinals’ final match of the week, the team went head to head with No. 19 Penn State (5-13, 2-2 EIVA). Ball State defeated the Nittany Lions in a 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 25-12, 20-25, 15-10) thriller to secure third in the invitational. Rajé Alleyne was a major difference maker both, offensively and defensively. At a .371 clip, Alleyne added 17 kills and three aces for the Ball State offensive efforts. He also recorded four blocks and four digs to help shut down the Nittany Lions.
Hawaiian Homecoming:
• Last week’s trip to Hawaii was a special homecoming for Cardinals’ head coach Donan Cruz and senior libero Xander Pink. Cruz, from Maui, and Pink, from O’ahu, were welcomed by friends and family during their return to the islands.
First Serve vs Queens:
• Since the first meeting between these two teams on Jan. 11 2020, the Cardinals have gone 5-0 against Queens and have yet to drop a set to the Royals.
• This will also be the first time Ball State travels to Charlotte to play in the Royals’ home arena at Levine Center.
• The last matchup between the Cardinals and the Royals was last season in the MIVA tournament quarterfinals. At home in Worthen Arena, top-seeded Ball State swept the eighth-seeded visitors 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-18) to move on to semifinals. Among Ball State’s leaders of the match were Tinaishe Ndavazocheva who added 10 kills, three aces and four blocks, and Will Patterson who had five kills and a block.
Scouting Queens:
• The Royals are coming off two 0-3 losses on the road at Ohio State.
• Queens’ two MIVA wins come against Quincy (7-11, 1-7 MIVA) and Purdue Fort Wayne (8-10, 1-8 MIVA). The Royals defeated the Hawks 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-23) after dropping the first match against the Illinois team 1-3 (16-25, 25-20, 20-25, 19-25). Queens also split the series with Purdue Fort Wayne, winning match one 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-22, 27-25) and dropping match two 1-3 (25-21, 24-26, 23-25, 21-25).
• Queens’ defense is ranked fourth in the conference for both blocks and digs. The team averages 2.29 blocks per set and 8.79 digs per set.
• Individually, junior middle hitter, Nathan Vaupel, is ranked third in the MIVA for blocks. Vaupel averages 1.08 blocks per set, ranking him 13th in the NCAA as well.
Ball State in the NCAA:
• Ball State is among the winningest men’s volleyball teams in the NCAA. Going into the 2025 season, the Cardinals claimed the fifth highest all-time winning percentage at .701 (1283-546). Loyola was fourth at .701 (577-246), Ohio State third at .703 (1189-502), Penn State second at .755 and UCLA led the NCAA with the highest winning percentage of .793 (1482-387). Ball State was also ranked fifth for the most amount of wins from a program in the last five years with 88 wins and a .704 percentage. Rounding out the top five were Lincoln Memorial with 89 wins, UCLA with 104, Penn State with 106 and Hawaii leading the past five years with 111 program wins.
Coach Cruz:
• Ball State head coach Donan Cruz enters his fourth season at the helm of the Cardinals and owns an overall record at BSU of 77-29 (.726) along with a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Tournament Championship, three MIVA regular season titles and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Looking Ahead:
• The Cardinals will return home next week for the final two home matches of the regular season. Ball State will host Quincy on Friday, Mar. 28 for a 7 p.m. first serve. The home schedule will finish with McKendree on Mar. 29 at 5 p.m. for senior and alumni recognition night.
INDIANA STATE SOFTBALL
SYCAMORES CONTINUE HOMESTAND WITH WEEKEND SERIES AGAINST MURRAY STATE
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Sycamores continue their homestand at Price Field this weekend, hosting Murray State in an MVC weekend series. Games will be played at 3 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday, and noon on Sunday.
Last Time Out:
Indiana State (6-19, 1-1) went 1-1 in their home and MVC opener against Valparaiso before Sunday’s series finale was canceled due to weather.
The Sycamores opened the weekend with a 6-2 victory on Friday, powered by a 10-hit offensive performance. Morgan Goodrich led the charge, going 4-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Hannah Welch and Madison Poulson each contributed two hits, with Welch driving in two runs. Hailey Griffin pitched a complete-game win, allowing two earned runs on seven hits while striking out eight.
Saturday’s game was a battle, with Indiana State falling 3-2 in 11 innings. Valparaiso took an early 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the third, but the Sycamores tied it in the fifth with an RBI double from Goodrich and a defensive miscue that allowed another run.
Despite strong defensive plays and clutch pitching, Indiana State surrendered the go-ahead run in the 11th and couldn’t rally back. Lauren Sackett took the tough loss, pitching 10.2 innings with six strikeouts.
The series ended in a 1-1 split due to Sunday’s cancellation.
Sycamore Standouts:
The Sycamores have played 25 games so far this season, recording a .233 batting average and a .614 slugging percentage. With 664 at-bats, the team has scored 76 runs and registered 155 hits, including 25 doubles, 4 triples, and 5 home runs.
ISU has driven in 61 RBIs and accumulated 203 total bases. The Sycamores on-base percentage stands at .306, and on the base paths, they have successfully stolen 20 bases.
Hannah Welch is the only Sycamore to start and play in all 25 games so far this season. She has made an impact with her combination of power and speed, totaling a perfect eight stolen bases and eight RBIs, along with a .247 batting average. Welch had a standout performance on Saturday, going 2-3 with a triple and 2 RBIs.
Morgan Goodrich had a strong weekend, going 4-4 on Friday, scoring two runs, hitting a triple, and driving in 3 RBIs. She has a .217 batting average in 24 games, starting 23 of them, with 15 hits, including 2 doubles and 1 triple, and 4 RBIs.
Madison Poulson has been a consistent performer, hitting .271 in 23 games, 22 of which were starts. She added a key hit in Saturday’s game against Valpo and has totaled 19 hits, including three doubles, and driven in 2 RBIs.
Abby Widmar leads the team in RBIs with 12 in 17 games. With a .295 batting average, three doubles, and two home runs, she has been a constant threat in the lineup.
In the Circle:
Hailey Griffin picked up her fourth win of the season this weekend, leading the Sycamores to a 6-2 victory over Valpo. Griffin leads the Sycamore pitching staff, posting a 2.60 ERA with a 4-5 record in 12 appearances and 10 starts. Over 59.1 innings, she has allowed 44 hits, 32 runs, and 20 walks while striking out 52 batters.
Scouting Murray State:
Murray State (9-15, 1-4) enters the weekend following an 8-0 loss to Belmont on Tuesday. The Racers have also suffered a 3-0 defeat to Belmont last week and two losses to Bradley (5-2, 4-3). The Racers first conference win came last Friday with a 4-3 victory over Bradley.
Murray State is batting .245 through 24 games, with 147 hits, 11 home runs, and 93 RBIs, along with 23 stolen bases in 28 attempts.
Ailey Schyck leads Murray State with a .328 average, seven home runs, and a .703 slugging percentage. Starting all 24 games, she has driven in 16 runs and posted a .411 on-base percentage, making her a key force in the Racers lineup.
Bre Haislip has a 2.85 ERA with a 4-7 record over 19 appearances and 73.2 innings pitched. She has allowed 71 hits, 36 runs, and 25 walks while striking out 41. Opponents are hitting .249 against her.
Matchup History:
The Sycamores hold a 4-4 record against Murray State in their last 8 matchups from February 25, 2012, to April 6, 2024. Their largest margin of victory was a 2-0 win on April 6, 2024, and their smallest margin of victory was 2-1 on April 5, 2024.
Indiana State has scored a total of 13 runs in their last 8 matchups against Murray State, averaging 1.62 runs per game over that span. Indiana State claimed the series against Murray State last April, winning the first game 2-0, then falling 3-0 in the second game. The Sycamores secured the series victory on Sunday with a 2-1 win.
Promotions:
March 21 – First Responders & Military Appreciation:
We’re honoring the brave heroes who serve our community with special recognition for first responders and military personnel.
March 22 – MVP Night:
Sycamore Softball players will honor the mentors and teachers who have made a lasting impact on their journeys.
March 23 – Happiness Bags Foundation:
A day dedicated to celebrating and supporting the Happiness Bags Foundation, which makes a difference in the lives of local children. The free one-hour clinic for young athletes with the Sycamores, rescheduled from last Sunday, will take place this Sunday after the game.
Up Next:
The Sycamores will host Ball State for a midweek matchup at Price Field on Tuesday, March 25, at 3 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
SOUTHERN INDIANA BASEBALL
USI STARTS ROAD TRIP WITH LOSS AT APSU
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball started this week’s action with a 15-5 loss at Austin Peay State University Wednesday afternoon in Clarksville, Tennessee. USI is 8-12 overall after today’s game, while Austin Peay State University goes 15-7 this year.
The Screaming Eagles got out in front early with a pair of runs in the first and one in the top of the second. Junior first baseman Kannon Coakley put the Eagles on the board to start the scoring with an RBI single, while junior leftfielder BJ Banyon knocked in the second tally with a second RBI single for the 2-0 lead.
After the Governors cut the lead in half with a tally in the bottom of the first, junior catcher Micajah Wall gave USI a 3-1 lead with a bomb over the center field wall. The home run was Wall’s first of the season and first as a Screaming Eagle.
APSU responded to the Wall home run with a five spot in the bottom of the second to take a 6-3 lead. USI junior designated hitter Cole Kitchens pulled the Eagles back to within two runs, 6-4, on a home run to left field. The home run was Kitchens’ team-high third of the year.
Kitchens finished the day two-for-two and raised his batting average to a team-high and Ohio Valley Conference-best .460. He also is batting .568 (21-37) in the last 10 games.
The Governors scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to put themselves up 8-4. USI cut into the lead once again in the top of the fifth to 8-5 when senior centerfield Khi Holiday scored after junior shortstop Clayton Slack reached on an error.
The 8-5 score would be as close as USI would come the rest of the game as APSU finalized the scoring with seven in the bottom of the eighth for the 15-5 decision.
On the mound, junior lefthander Jake Porter started and took the loss for the Eagles. Porter allowed six runs, four earned on five hits and one walk, while striking out two in two frames of work.
Up Next for the Eagles:
The Eagles open the Ohio Valley Conference 2025 schedule when they visit Western Illinois University this weekend for a three-game series. The series starts Friday at 2 p.m.; continues Saturday at 1 p.m.; and concludes Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Leathernecks of WIU are 5-12 overall after falling to Southern Illinois University, 6-3, Tuesday and have lost five of the last six games. USI leads the all-time series with WIU, 6-3, after sweeping the three-game series last year.
VALPO SOFTBALL
SOFTBALL SET FOR HOME-OPENING SERIES THIS WEEKEND
Valparaiso (12-10, 1-1 MVC)
March 21-23 – Southern Illinois (13-14, 5-0 MVC)
3 p.m., 2 p.m., noon
Next Up in Valpo Softball: After 22 games away from home to open the 2025 season, the Valpo softball team finally gets to take the field at the Valpo Softball Complex this weekend, as the Beacons host Southern Illinois for a three-game series beginning on Friday afternoon.
Previously: The Beacons closed out preconference play with a 4-1 win at Northern Kentucky, and then split a pair of games to open MVC play at Indiana State, losing 6-2 before winning 3-2 in 11 innings. The final game of the series against the Sycamores was canceled due to weather and field conditions.
Looking Ahead: Valpo heads to the Windy City for its second matchup of the season with DePaul next Wednesday before returning home to host a three-game Valley series against Evansville next weekend.
Following Valpo Softball: The entirety of this weekend’s series is scheduled to be broadcast live on ESPN+. All home games and most MVC road games will be broadcast on ESPN+, while select nonconference games will have video streams depending on the host.
Head Coach Mike Armitage: Mike Armitage (81-77) is in his first season as head coach of the Valpo softball program after being hired as head coach on June 6, 2024. Armitage came to Valpo following a successful stretch as head coach at Minnesota State University Moorhead, turning around the Dragons’ program, and brings familiarity with the Missouri Valley Conference with a stint on staff at Illinois State. Armitage spent the last three seasons as head coach at MSUM, posting the first back-to-back 30-win seasons in MSUM program history in 2023 and 2024 after inheriting a Dragons program which had not finished above .500 since 2007.
Series Notes: Valpo is just 1-14 all-time against Southern Illinois, with that one win coming in the first meeting between the two programs as MVC opponents – a 7-6 Valpo win on March 30, 2018. The Salukis have won the last 13 in the series, including wins by scores of 11-0, 12-0 and 9-1 in Carbondale March 17-19, 2023.
Scouting the Opposition: Southern Illinois enters the weekend with a 13-14 overall record, but has won eight games in a row – including each of its first five MVC games. Emma Austin leads three Salukis hitting above .300 with a .384 average, while Jackie Lis has scored a team-best 19 runs and Anna Carder paces SIU with 24 RBIs. In the circle, five different pitchers have seen work, led by McKenzie Newcomb, who is 9-5 with a 2.26 ERA and has struck out 78 batters in 71.1 innings of work.
An Early Home Opener: With Valpo’s first home game slated for Friday, the March 21 date for the home opener is the program’s earliest since the 2015 squad opened at home with a March 20 game against Green Bay. The 2012 team also had a March 20 home opener, the only other time the home opener has been earlier than this season.
Winning Record Into Conference: With their win over Northern Kentucky last week before heading to Indiana State, the Beacons entered MVC play with an 11-9 overall record. It was the program’s best record at the start of conference play since 2018, when Valpo entered its first season of MVC play with a 12-8 mark.
Wiping the Scoreboard: Valpo played its longest game since joining the MVC last Saturday, as the Beacons took down Indiana State in 11 innings. It was Valpo’s longest game since going 11 innings in a 4-3 loss in Horizon League play to Oakland April 28, 2017.
The Beacons’ previous longest conference games since joining the Valley were a pair of 10-inning contests they split last season against Bradley.
Nearly Fit To Be Tied: It was a good thing Valpo scored when it did in that 11-inning contest on Saturday, as rain started about 15 minutes after the final pitch and then Sunday’s action was canceled. It was nearly just the third tie game in program history, as Valpo tied Purdue in nine innings in 2005 and in five innings in 2011 – both at home due to darkness.
Pulling Out the Close Ones: That 11-inning win improved Valpo’s record this year to 6-2 in one-run contests. Valpo was just 8-11 in one-run games over the last two seasons. Notably, three of those wins came in one weekend, as all three of the Beacons’ wins at the Marshall tournament came by a single tally.
Newcomer of the Week: Junior Azalya Lopez received weekly recognition from the MVC office this week, as she was honored as the Valley Newcomer of the Week. Lopez stood out in her pair of relief appearances in the circle, earning wins in both outings as she posted a 0.58 ERA, a .073 batting average against and a 0.42 WHIP in 12 innings of work. She opened the week with three shutout innings out of the bullpen to pick up the victory in Valpo’s mid-week win at Northern Kentucky. Then on Saturday at Indiana State, Lopez entered in relief with two runners on and nobody out in the third inning and got out of the situation without surrendering a run. She went on to throw nine innings of relief, allowing just two hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out eight batters — one off her season high. Lopez capped the victory at the plate by driving in the game-winning run in the top of the 11th inning. In her first season as a Beacon, Lopez ranks second in the MVC in batting average against (.192), fourth in ERA (2.21) and fourth in wins (6).
Turning the Lineup Over: Sophomore Kayden Krug might be batting in the nine-hole in the Beacons’ batting order, but it’s not because she’s the team’s ninth-best batter. Krug has excelled at the bottom of the lineup, slashing .563/.632/.625 in six appearances out of the nine spot. Over three games last week, Krug went 5-for-8 with two walks and a hit batter in 11 plate appearances. She went 2-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base and two RBIs in the win at NKU, and then reached base four times in the extra-inning win at Indiana State with two hits (including a double), a walk and a hit batter. Krug scored two runs in that win over the Sycamores, including the game-winning tally in the 11th inning.
V Stands For Very Good: Freshman Madison Vrastil continued the strong start to her collegiate career last week, going 4-for-12 with two walks and two stolen bases in the Beacons’ three games. She posted a multi-hit game in the series opener at Indiana State and now owns 12 multi-hit games on the year, matching Regi Hecker’s mark from last season which was the most by a Valpo player since 2017. Four of those multi-hit games have been three-hit efforts, the most by a Valpo player since Jaymee Lawton had four such games in 2018.
Going Streaking: Vrastil has been on base at least once in each of the first 22 games of her collegiate career, the longest on-base streak by a Valpo player since Sam Stewart reached in 29 consecutive contests in 2017 and tied for the fourth-longest on-base streak by a Valpo player since 1999. Vrastil is also carrying an active 13-game hitting streak into this week, the program’s longest hitting streak since Carly Trepanier reeled off at least one hit in 16 straight games in 2017.
Among the Best: Vrastil leads the MVC in batting average (.462) and hits (36); ranks second in OPS (1.126) and stolen bases (10); ranks third in on-base percentage (.523); ranks fourth in triples (2); ranks sixth in doubles (7); and ranks ninth in slugging percentage (.603). Nationally, she ranks 37th in batting average.
Going to the Pen: Valpo has leaned on a trio of pitchers – junior Azalya Lopez, sophomore Sydney McDermott and freshman Erin Metz for the vast majority of innings in the circle and hasn’t hesitated to use multiple arms in the same game, even when things are going well. In fact, the Beacons have just one complete game through 22 games this season. Last week, over Valpo’s three games, starting pitchers tossed just 10 innings, while relievers threw 14 innings.
K Zone: The Valpo pitching staff has taken care of business itself quite often through the season’s first 22 games. The Beacons rank 21st nationally in strikeouts per seven innings (6.98) and 30th in strikeout/walk ratio (2.67). All three primary pitchers are among the top-10 in the MVC in strikeouts (Lopez, 4th, 54; McDermott, 8th, 47; Metz, 10th, 45), while Erin Metz ranks 45th individually nationally, averaging 8.3 strikeouts per seven. In the extra-inning win over Indiana State, Metz and Lopez combined for 12 strikeouts – the most for Valpo pitchers in a game since tallying 12 strikeouts against Saint Louis March 6, 2020.
Going Deep: The Beacons connected on a pair of homers last weekend at Indiana State. Junior Lexi Szostak went deep in the series opener, the first round-tripper of her collegiate career. Junior Mack Gallagher then connected on a two-run shot Saturday in the win over the Sycamores, her third long ball this season after hitting 17 in her two seasons at MSU Moorhead. After not recording a home run in the season’s first 13 games, Valpo has hit four in the last nine games.
W5: While Valpo saw a winning streak came to an end at the hands of Cleveland State to close the Scotsman Invitational, the Beacons did reel off five consecutive victories dating back to opening weekend. It was the program’s first five-game winning streak since the 2022 team won five in a row in early-season action.
Snowmen: Valpo posted eight runs in each of its two games in Saturday action at Presbyterian, the first time the program has scored eight or more runs in consecutive games since plating nine and 10 runs in back-to-back outings against Detroit in April 2017.
A Big Sunday: It was a noteworthy day on many fronts on Sunday, Feb. 9 as the Beacons run-ruled Green Bay, 12-1, and followed with a 7-2 win over Detroit Mercy:
– Valpo won two games on the same day for the first time since March 4, 2023, when the Beacons defeated Bellarmine and Eastern Illinois.
– The Beacons’ 19 runs were the program’s highest single-day output since plating 22 runs in a doubleheader split at Northern Kentucky March 25, 2017.
– The 11-run win over the Phoenix in the opener was Valpo’s largest win since an identical 12-1 score in a victory at Stetson March 1, 2020.
– The Beacons racked up 16 hits in the win over Green Bay, their highest single-game hit total since a 16-hit effort against Holy Cross Feb. 19, 2022.
– Valpo’s win in the nightcap was its 36th win all-time against Detroit Mercy, the most in program history against a single opponent.
Four For 44: Sophomore Kayden Krug was locked in at the plate in the win over Green Bay on opening weekend, picking up base hits in four consecutive innings from the second through the fifth as she went 4-for-4 with two RBIs. It was the first four-hit game by a Valpo player since Feb. 19, 2022, when Ryan Milkowski tallied four base hits against Holy Cross. It also was the first time a Valpo player has recorded a base hit in four consecutive innings since April 2, 2010, when KC Boldt did so at Detroit.
Who’s Back: Valpo returns 13 of 21 letterwinners from its 2024 squad for the 2025 campaign. The returnees accounted for 51.7% of the team’s plate appearances and 46.3% of the Beacons’ innings pitched last season.
Who’s New: Coach Armitage brought a pair of transfers with him from MSU Moorhead – junior infielder Mack Gallagher and junior pitcher/infielder Azalya Lopez, both of whom were All-Conference honorees. In addition, the program welcomes nine freshmen this season as well.
A Large Roster: Do the math from the above two notes, and you find that this year’s Valpo softball roster is comprised of 24 players. That is the largest roster in program history, topping the previous high of 21 players. Even more notable is that only two of this year’s 24 players are seniors.
Taking Advantage of the Numbers: Coach Armitage has shown a willingness to utilize his large roster as much as possible. 20 players saw action against Butler and Cleveland State, while 19 players apiece appeared in the wins over Green Bay and Detroit Mercy opening weekend and in the second game against Loyola at Marshall.
MARIAN WOMEN’S LAX
MARIAN BLOWS PAST BETHEL IN WHAC OPENER
MISHAWAKA, Ind. – The Marian women’s lacrosse team notched their third consecutive win on Wednesday afternoon, as the Knights raced past the Bethel Pilots 15-5 in their WHAC opener. Marian moves to 5-3 on the season, as they begin conference play 1-0.
After a string of high-scoring games, the Knights and Pilots battled through a low-scoring first period, with the two teams combining for five goals. The scoring would pick up late in the period, with Ruby Mason netting the first goal of the game just over six minutes into play. Bethel quickly matched the goal, but in the final two minutes a pair of unassisted scores from Rylie Boezeman and Alex Dean gave Marian a 3-2 lead on the Pilots.
Bethel brought the game level once more 13 seconds into the second quarter as Megan Williams crept through the defense, but Marian was able to respond and keep their lead with Allyson Cissell’s first goal of the game. At the 8:52 mark, Bethel recorded their fourth goal to once again bring the game to a deadlock once more, as the Knights were unable to deny Serenity Kretschmer of her scoring play. With the game tied 4-4, Marian’s offense found a new level, with the second goal of the day from Mason giving Marian control of the lead. The goal with 7:07 to play in the first half gave Marian a 5-4 lead, and thanks to their stingy defense, the Knights were able to keep the Pilots off the board for the remainder of the half.
With Marian’s defense increasing their play, the offense came to a match in the final 2:30 of the half, as Jada Taylor and Alex Dean scored in the waning moments to extend Marian’s lead to three goals at the break.
The 7-4 lead would be all Marian needed, as the Knights continued to attack the back of the cage in the second half. Anna Moore and Ruby Mason each scored in the first three minutes of the second half, capping a 5-0 scoring run for Marian. Mason scored her fourth goal of the day with 8:15 to play, and saw goals from Lizzie Piercy and Esbeydi Montes follow to increase the lead to seven after three quarters of play.
Leading 12-5 entering the final quarter, Marian finished their first WHAC game on a high note, out-scoring the Pilots 3-0 in the final period. Mason netted her fifth goal of the day with 11:52 to play, while Alex Dean completed a hat trick as the clock ticked under five minutes to play. Allyson Cissell capped the scoring with her second goal, starting the mercy clock with two minutes to play, with the Knights being able to ride out the clock and close their 15-5 win.
Mason led the Knights in scoring with five goals and two assists, scoring seven points on the day. Mason also won two of the team’s 10 draw controls in the victory. Dean scored three times and assisted on one goal while winning three draws, and Cissell recorded her first-career multi-goal game with two in the win. Rylie Boezeman collected a team-best nine ground balls in the win. In goal, Katherine Hirsch moved to 5-3 on the season, allowing five goals while making six saves.
Marian returns home on Saturday to take on No. 5 Lawrence Tech University. The match will begin at 1:00 p.m.
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 BASEBALL HISTORY
1913 The Phillies become the first major league team to play in Wilmington (NC) when they beat the International League’s Baltimore Orioles, 5-1, in front of nearly 2,000 fans at the city’s Sunset Park. After the Wilmington Baseball Stock company is formed in November and successfully raises money to improve the playing conditions at the local park, Philadelphia selects the Port City to be its spring training home for the next two seasons until the team departs after finishing their 1915 exhibition schedule, citing logistical problems.
1934 Babe Didrikson, a renowned female athlete, gives up no hits and walks only one Dodger when she pitches the first inning of the Philadelphia A’s spring training game at McCurdy Field in Frederick, Maryland. The LPGA founder and Olympic track and field Gold Medalist will also participate in exhibition contests with the Indians and Cardinals.
1935 At St. Petersburg’s Al Lang Field, the Cardinals set a spring training attendance record, attracting 6,467 fans to watch the team beat the Braves and Babe Ruth, 5-4. The aging legend delights the overflow crowd, stroking two doubles after Dizzy Dean retired him on a towering fly in his first at-bat.
1937 In one of the most significant trades in Negro League history, the Homestead Grays obtain catcher Josh Gibson and third baseman Judy Johnson from the Pittsburgh Crawfords in exchange for $2,500 and two journeymen; backstop Lloyd’ Pepper’ Bassett and infielder Henry ‘Jake’ Spearman. The Baseball Hall of Fame will induct both players, with Gibson becoming a member in 1972 and Johnson following three years later.
1953 Although the Department of Justice outlawed this practice in 1949, U.S. Senator Edwin C. Johnson proposes a bill banning the broadcast of major league games in minor league territories. The lawmaker, baseball executive Bob Howsam’s father-in-law, serves as the Class A Western League president and once played a significant role in constructing Mile High Stadium, once called Bears Stadium.
1958 The Phillies purchase Joe Collins from the Yankees, but he decides to retire rather than report to the City of Brotherly Love. The 34-year-old first baseman, who spent his entire ten-year career with New York and appeared in seven World Series, finishes with a lifetime .256 batting average.
1973 Four months after his death, the BBWAA selects (393-31 votes) the late Roberto Clemente to be a member of the Hall of Fame in a special election after its board of directors previously waived the mandatory five-year waiting period. The 37-year-old Pirates outfielder, the first Latin-American player chosen for induction at Cooperstown, died when a cargo plane crashed on New Year’s Eve, bringing supplies to the Nicaraguan earthquake victims.
1975 A rare spring training brawl occurs when Ranger second baseman Dave Nelson takes exception to the two brushback pitches thrown at him by Yankee southpaw Mike Wallace in the seventh inning of a Fort Lauderdale exhibition contest. The trouble begins early after Jim Bibby’s first pitch plunks leadoff hitter Elliot Maddox, who had angered Texas skipper Billy Martin when he told the local press that his former manager “has a habit of lying to his players.”
1979 In Puerto Rico, Willie Mays, in the second game of an annual exhibition series to benefit a youth sports program started by the late Roberto Clemente, pilots a mini-squad of the Mets to an 8-3 win over the Pirates. Last night, after a 5-3 victory in Game 1, New York manager Joe Torre and many players returned to Florida to play the Dodgers in a Grapefruit League contest.
1989 Outgoing baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth shares that his office has investigated “serious allegations” concerning Pete Rose’s gambling. Three days after his successor Bart Giamatti assumes the post on April 1, MLB retains John M. Dowd to investigate the charges against the Reds’ manager.
2002 The Commissioner’s office announces MLB will continue the practice that began after the September 11 attacks of singing ‘God Bless America’ during the seventh-inning stretch in each team’s first homestand. Also, an American flag patch will be worn on the jackets of 28 major league teams this season with distinctive logos for Opening Day, Memorial Day weekend, the Fourth of July, and Canadian versions designed for the Blue Jays and Expos.
2006 At San Diego’s Petco Park, Japan, managed by all-time international home-run king Sadaharu Oh, captures the first World Baseball Classic crown, beating Cuba, 10-6. The 16-team tournament, planned to occur again in 2009, ends with just two major leaguers still in the game.
2006 In his first appearance in a Nationals uniform, Alfonso Soriano refuses to play the outfield in an exhibition game against the Dodgers. The All-Star second baseman, slated to start in left field, could be placed on the disqualified list for insubordination, preventing him from getting paid his $10 million salary and accruing service time used to determine a player’s free-agent status.
2008 Behind Brad Penny’s strong pitching, the Dodgers make their Cactus League debut, beating the White Sox in Phoenix, 8-2. On the mound where he made his professional debut, the right-hander’s outing earns him the Opening Day start against the Giants.
2014 The Angels trade first baseman Matt Scioscia, the son of manager Mike Scioscia, to the Cubs for outfielder Trevor Gretzky, the offspring of NHL Hall of Fame center Wayne Gretzky. The name-worthy swap does not help either prospect, with each failing to make the big league club.
TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
March 20
1897 — Yale beats Penn 32-10 in New Haven, Conn., in the first men’s intercollegiate basketball game.
1918 — The Toronto Arenas (who would become the Maple Leafs) are the first NHL team to play in the Stanley Cup Final. Toronto’s Reg Noble scores two goals with an assist in the first period of a 5-3 win over Vancouver of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association.
1939 — In a game of unbeaten teams, Long Island U. defeats Loyola of Chicago 44-32 to win the National Invitation Tournament title.
1954 — In the first televised NCAA championship game, La Salle defeats Bradley 92-76 and sets a record for most points in the title game.
1965 — Gail Goodrich’s 42 points lead UCLA to a 91-80 victory over Michigan in the NCAA basketball championship.
1965 — St. John’s sends Joe Lapchick out a winner, as the Redmen beat Villanova 55-51 to win their fifth National Invitation Tournament championship.
1965 — Bill Bradley scores 58 points to lead Princeton to a 118-82 rout of Wichita State in the NCAA third-place game. UCLA beats Michigan 91-80 to win its second National championship.
1968 — Dave Bing of the Detroit Pistons finishes the season with a league-leading 27.1 average, becoming the first guard in 20 years to lead the NBA in scoring.
1969 — Less than two months after she becomes the first woman to ride in a pari-mutuel race in America, Diane Crump rides her first winner at Gulfstream Park.
1976 — Boston’s John Havlicek becomes the first NBA player to score more than 1,000 points per season for 14 consecutive years.
1988 — Mike Tyson knocks out Tony Tubbs in the second round to retain his world heavyweight title in Tokyo.
2005 — Liz Johnson becomes the first woman to advance to the championship match of a Professional Bowlers Association tour event, but loses by 27 pins to Tommy Jones in the final of the PBA Banquet Open.
2005 — LeBron James, 20, becomes the youngest player to score 50 points in an NBA game, when he scores 56 in the Cavaliers’ 105-98 loss to the Raptors.
2006 — Japan beats Cuba 10-6 in the title game of the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
2010 — Northern Iowa pulls off one of the biggest NCAA upsets in years by knocking No. 1 overall seed Kansas with a 69-67 win. Ali Farokhmanesh buries an open 3-pointer with the shot clock still in the 30s to give the Panthers a four-point lead with 35 seconds left.
2014 — Bernard Tomic loses the shortest completed ATP match on record, lasting only 28 minutes at the Sony Open in his first tournament since having surgery on both hips. Ending a two-month layoff, Tomic wins just 13 points and loses to Jarkko Nieminen 6-0, 6-1. It’s the quickest match since the ATP started keeping such records in 1991.
2020 — After 20 years with the New England Patriots, six-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Tom Brady officially agrees to move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
TV SPORTS THURSDAY
| MLB SPRING TRAINING | TIME ET | TV |
| Philadelphia vs Atlanta | 1:05pm | MLBN |
| LA Angels vs Chi. White Sox | 4:05pm | MLBN |
| Texas vs San Diego | 9:40pm | MLBN |
| NBA REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Brooklyn Nets vs Indiana Pacers | 7:00pm | NBATV YES FanDuel Sports IND |
| New York Knicks vs Charlotte Hornets | 7:00pm | MSG Fanduel Sports CHA |
| Chicago Bulls vs Sacramento Kings | 10:00pm | NBATV NBCS-CA CHSN |
| Toronto Raptors vs Golden State Warriors | 10:00pm | Sportsnet NBCS-BAY |
| Milwaukee Bucks vs Los Angeles Lakers | 10:30pm | FanDuel Sports WI Spectrum |
| NHL REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Calgary Flames vs New Jersey Devils | 7:00pm | ESPN+ MSGSN2 Sportsnet |
| Colorado Avalanche vs Ottawa Senators | 7:00pm | ESPN+ ALT Sportsnet |
| Florida Panthers vs Columbus Blue Jackets | 7:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports Ohio Scripps |
| Philadelphia Flyers vs Washington Capitals | 7:00pm | ESPN+ NBCS-PHI MNMT |
| Toronto Maple Leafs vs New York Rangers | 7:00pm | ESPN+ MSG2 Sportsnet |
| Montreal Canadiens vs New York Islanders | 7:30pm | ESPN+ MSGSN Sportsnet |
| Vancouver Canucks vs St. Louis Blues | 7:30pm | ESPN+ HUlU |
| Anaheim Ducks vs Nashville Predators | 8:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports South Victory+ |
| Tampa Bay Lightning vs Dallas Stars | 8:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports Sun Victory+ |
| Los Angeles Kings vs Chicago Blackhawks | 8:30pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports West CHSN |
| Buffalo Sabres vs Utah Hockey Club | 9:00pm | ESPN+ MSG-BUF Utah16 |
| Winnipeg Jets vs Edmonton Oilers | 9:00pm | ESPN+ Sportsnet |
| Boston Bruins vs Vegas Golden Knights | 10:00pm | ESPN+ NESN Scripps |
| Carolina Hurricanes vs San Jose Sharks | 10:30pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports South NBCS-CA |
| MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| NCAA First Round: (8) Louisville vs. (9) Creighton | 12:00 PM | CBS |
| NCAA First Round: (4) Purdue vs. (13) High Point | 12:30pm | TruTV |
| NCAA First Round: (3) Wisconsin vs. (14) Montana | 1:30pm | TNT |
| NCAA First Round: (1) Houston vs. (16) SIU Edwardsville | 2:00pm | TBS |
| NCAA First Round: (1) Auburn vs. (16) Saint Francis/Alabama St. | 2:30pm | CBS |
| NCAA First Round: (5) Clemson vs. (12) McNeese | 3:00pm | TruTV |
| NCAA First Round: (6) BYU vs. (11) VCU | 4:00pm | TNT |
| NCAA First Round: (8) Gonzaga vs. (9) Georgia | 4:30pm | TBS |
| NCAA First Round: (2) Tennessee vs. (15) Wofford | 6:45pm | TNT |
| NCAA First Round: (7) Kansas vs. (10) Arkansas | 7:00pm | CBS |
| NCAA First Round: (4) Texas A&M vs. (13) Yale | 7:15pm | TBS |
| NCAA First Round: (6) Missouri vs. (11) Drake | 7:30pm | TruTV |
| NCAA First Round: (7) UCLA vs. (10) Utah State | 9:15pm | TNT |
| NCAA First Round: (2) St. John’s vs. (15) Omaha | 9:30pm | CBS |
| NCAA First Round: (5) Michigan vs. (12) UC San Diego | 9:45pm | TBS |
| NCAA First Round: (3) Texas Tech vs. (14) UNC Wilmington | 10:00pm | TruTV |
| GOLF | TIME ET | TV |
| PGA Tour: Valspar Championship | 2:00pm | GOLF |
| SOCCER | TIME ET | TV |
| UEFA Nations League: Turkey vs Hungary | 1:00pm | fuboTV VIX |
| UEFA Nations League: Armenia vs Georgia | 1:00pm | fuboTV VIX |
| UEFA Nations League: Netherlands vs Spain | 3:45pm | FS1 fuboTV VIX |
| UEFA Nations League: Slovakia vs Slovenia | 3:45pm | fuboTV VIX |
| UEFA Nations League: Bulgaria vs Ireland Republic | 3:45pm | fuboTV VIX |
| UEFA Nations League: Kosovo vs Iceland | 3:45pm | fuboTV VIX |
| UEFA Nations League: Greece vs Scotland | 3:45pm | fuboTV VIX |
| UEFA Nations League: Austria vs Serbia | 3:45pm | fuboTV VIX |
| UEFA Nations League: Ukraine vs Belgium | 3:45pm | fuboTV VIX |
| UEFA Nations League: Italy vs Germany | 3:45pm | fuboTV VIX |
| UEFA Nations League: Denmark vs Portugal | 3:45pm | fuboTV VIX |
| UEFA Nations League: Croatia vs France | 3:45pm | fuboTV VIX |
| CONCACAF Nations League: USA vs Panama | 7:00pm | Paramount+ Univision fuboTV |
| World Cup Qualifying: Paraguay vs Chile | 7:00pm | Fanatiz |
| World Cup Qualifying: Brazil vs Colombia | 8:45pm | fuboTV VIX |
| World Cup Qualifying: Peru vs Bolivia | 9:30pm | Fanatiz |
| CONCACAF Nations League: Canada vs Mexico | 10:30pm | Paramount+ |