THE INDIANA SRN “SPORTSPAGE” TUESDAY MARCH 19, 2024

INDIANA BOYS BASKETBALL

STATE FINALS

 SESSION 1

PUBLIC GATES OPEN AT 9:30 AM ET 

10:30 AM ET | CLASS 1A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP 
BETHESDA CHRISTIAN (23-7) VS. FORT WAYNE CANTERBURY (18-9) 

APPROX. 12:45 PM ET | CLASS 2A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP 
BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL (27-4) VS. WAPAHANI (26-2) 

FIELDHOUSE CLEARED 

SESSION 2

PUBLIC GATES OPEN AT 5 PM ET 

6 PM ET | CLASS 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP 
SCOTTSBURG (24-5) VS. SOUTH BEND ST. JOSEPH (20-9)

APPROX. 8:15 PM ET | CLASS 4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP 
BEN DAVIS (23-5) VS. FISHERS (28-1) 

MEN’S TOP 25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCORES

NO GAMES SCHEDULED

NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND SCHEDULE

FIRST ROUND

IN BROOKLYN (FRIDAY)

1-SEED UCONN (31-3) VS. 16-SEED STETSON (22-12)

8-SEED FAU (25-8) VS. 9-SEED NORTHWESTERN (21-11)

IN SPOKANE (FRIDAY)

5-SEED SAN DIEGO STATE (24-10) VS. 12-SEED UAB (23-11)

4-SEED AUBURN (27-7) VS. 13-SEED YALE (22-9)

IN OMAHA (THURSDAY)

6-SEED BYU (23-10) VS. 11-SEED DUQUESNE (24-11)

3-SEED ILLINOIS (26-8) VS. 14-SEED MOREHEAD STATE (26-8)

IN OMAHA (THURSDAY)

7-SEED WASHINGTON STATE (24-9) VS. 10-SEED DRAKE (28-6)

2-SEED IOWA STATE (27-7) VS. 15-SEED SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (22-12)

SOUTH REGION (DALLAS)

FIRST ROUND

IN MEMPHIS (FRIDAY)

1-SEED HOUSTON (30-4) VS. 16-SEED LONGWOOD (21-13)

8-SEED NEBRASKA (23-10) VS. 9-SEED TEXAS A&M (20-14)

IN BROOKLYN (FRIDAY)

5-SEED WISCONSIN (22-13) VS. 12-SEED JAMES MADISON (31-3)

4-SEED DUKE (24-8) VS. 13-SEED VERMONT (28-6)

IN PITTSBURGH (THURSDAY)

6-SEED TEXAS TECH (23-10) VS. 11-SEED NC STATE (22-14)

3-SEED KENTUCKY (23-9) VS. 14-SEED OAKLAND (23-11)

IN INDIANAPOLIS (FRIDAY)

7-SEED FLORIDA (24-11) VS. 10-SEED BOISE STATE/COLORADO FIRST FOUR WINNER

2-SEED MARQUETTE (25-9) VS. 15-SEED WESTERN KENTUCKY (22-11)

MIDWEST REGION (DETROIT)

FIRST ROUND

IN INDIANAPOLIS (FRIDAY)

1-SEED PURDUE (29-4) VS. 16-SEED GRAMBLING STATE/MONTANA STATE FIRST FOUR WINNER

8-SEED UTAH STATE (27-6) VS. 9-SEED TCU (21-12)

IN SALT LAKE CITY (THURSDAY)

5-SEED GONZAGA (25-7) VS. 12-SEED MCNEESE (30-3)

4-SEED KANSAS (22-10) VS. 13-SEED SAMFORD (29-5)

IN PITTSBURGH (THURSDAY)

6-SEED SOUTH CAROLINA (26-7) VS. 11-SEED OREGON (23-11)

3-SEED CREIGHTON (23-9) VS. 14-SEED AKRON (24-10)

IN CHARLOTTE (THURSDAY)

7-SEED TEXAS (20-12) VS. 10-SEED VIRGINIA/COLORADO STATE FIRST FOUR WINNER

2-SEED TENNESSEE (24-8) VS. 15-SEED SAINT PETER’S (19-13)

WEST REGION (LOS ANGELES)

FIRST ROUND

IN CHARLOTTE (THURSDAY)

1-SEED UNC (27-7) VS. 16-SEED HOWARD/WAGNER WINNER

8-SEED MISSISSIPPI STATE (21-13) VS. 9-SEED MICHIGAN STATE (19-14)

IN SPOKANE (FRIDAY)

5-SEED SAINT MARY’S (26-7) VS. 12-SEED GRAND CANYON (29-4)

4-SEED ALABAMA (21-11) VS. 13-SEED CHARLESTON (27-7)

IN MEMPHIS (FRIDAY)

6-SEED CLEMSON (21-11) VS. 11-SEED NEW MEXICO (26-9)

3-SEED BAYLOR (23-10) VS. 14-SEED COLGATE (25-9)

IN SALT LAKE CITY (THURSDAY)

7-SEED DAYTON (24-7) VS. 10-SEED NEVADA (26-7)

2-SEED ARIZONA (25-8) VS. 15-SEED LONG BEACH STATE (21-14)

FIRST FOUR

TUESDAY IN DAYTON, OHIO

16-SEED HOWARD VS. 16-SEED WAGNER, TIME TBD

10-SEED VIRGINIA VS. 10-SEED COLORADO STATE, TIME TBD

WEDNESDAY IN DAYTON, OHIO

16-SEED GRAMBLING STATE VS. 16-SEED MONTANA STATE, TIME TBD

10-SEED BOISE STATE VS. 10-SEED COLORADO, TIME TBD

TV SCHEDULE THURSDAY

THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2024
9 MICHIGAN STATE VS. 8 MISSISSIPPI STATE, 12:15 PM, CBS, SPECTRUM CENTER, CHARLOTTE, NC
11 DUQUESNE VS. 6 BYU, 12:40 PM, TRUTV, CHI HEALTH CENTER OMAHA, OMAHA, NE
14 AKRON VS. 3 CREIGHTON, 1:30 PM, TNT, PPG PAINTS ARENA, PITTSBURGH, PA
15 LONG BEACH STATE VS. 2 ARIZONA, 2:00 PM, TBS, DELTA CENTER, SALT LAKE CITY, UT

WINNER OF 16 WAGNER-16 HOWARD VS. 1 NORTH CAROLINA, 2:45 PM, CBS, SPECTRUM CENTER, CHARLOTTE, NC
14 MOREHEAD STATE VS. 3 ILLINOIS, 3:10 PM, TRUTV, CHI HEALTH CENTER OMAHA, OMAHA, NE
11 OREGON VS. 6 SOUTH CAROLINA, 4:00 PM, TNT, PPG PAINTS ARENA, PITTSBURGH, PA
10 NEVADA VS. 7 DAYTON, 4:30 PM, TBS, DELTA CENTER, SALT LAKE CITY, UT

WINNER OF 10 VIRGINIA-10 COLORADO STATE VS. 7 TEXAS, 6:50 PM, TNT, SPECTRUM CENTER, CHARLOTTE, NC
14 OAKLAND VS. 3 KENTUCKY 7:10 PM, CBS, PPG PAINTS ARENA, PITTSBURGH, PA
12 MCNEESE VS. 5 GONZAGA, 7:25 PM, TBS, DELTA CENTER, SALT LAKE CITY, UT
15 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VS. 2 IOWA STATE, 7:35 PM, CHI HEALTH CENTER OMAHA, OMAHA, NE

15 SAINT PETER’S VS. 2 TENNESSEE, 9:20 PM, TNT, SPECTRUM CENTER, CHARLOTTE, NC
11 NC STATE VS. 6 TEXAS TECH, 9:40 PM, CBS, PPG PAINTS ARENA, PITTSBURGH, PA
13 SAMFORD VS. 4 KANSAS, 9:55 PM, TBS, DELTA CENTER, SALT LAKE CITY, UT
10 DRAKE VS. 7 WASHINGTON STATE, TRUTV, 10:05 PM, CHI HEALTH CENTER OMAHA, OMAHA, NE

MEN’S NIT SCHEDULE

TOP-LEFT BRACKET

• NO. 1 SETON HALL VS. SAINT JOSEPH’S, WEDNESDAY, 7 P.M. ET
• NO. 2 PRINCETON VS. UNLV, WEDNESDAY, 8 P.M. ET
• NO. 3 PROVIDENCE VS. BOSTON COLLEGE, TUESDAY, 7 P.M. ET
• NO. 4 LSU VS. NORTH TEXAS, TUESDAY, 7 P.M. ET

BOTTOM-LEFT BRACKET

• NO. 1 WAKE FOREST VS. APPALACHIAN STATE, WEDNESDAY, 8 P.M. ET
• NO. 2 OHIO STATE VS. CORNELL, TUESDAY, 7 P.M. ET
• NO. 3 VIRGINIA TECH VS. RICHMOND, TUESDAY, 9 P.M. ET
• NO. 4 GEORGIA VS. XAVIER, TUESDAY, 7 P.M. ET

TOP-RIGHT BRACKET

• NO. 1 INDIANA STATE VS. SMU, WEDNESDAY, 7 P.M. ET
• NO. 2 CINCINNATI VS. SAN FRANCISCO, WEDNESDAY, 9 P.M. ET
• NO. 3 BRADLEY VS. LOYOLA CHICAGO, WEDNESDAY, 7 P.M. ET
• NO. 4 BUTLER VS. MINNESOTA, TUESDAY, 9 P.M. ET

BOTTOM-RIGHT BRACKET

• NO. 1 VILLANOVA VS. VCU, WEDNESDAY, 9 P.M. ET
• NO. 2 UTAH VS. UC IRVINE, TUESDAY, 11 P.M. ET
• NO. 3 IOWA VS. KANSAS STATE, TUESDAY, 9 P.M. ET
• NO. 4 UCF VS. SOUTH FLORIDA, WEDNESDAY, 9 P.M. ET

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL TOP 25 SCORES

NO GAMES SCHEDULED

WOMEN’S NCAA TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

MARCH 20 – FIRST FOUR

7 P.M. – NO. 16 PRESBYTERIAN VS. NO. 16 SACRED HEART, ESPNU

9 P.M. – NO. 12 COLUMBIA VS. NO. 12 VANDERBILT, ESPNU

MARCH 21 – FIRST FOUR

7 P.M. – NO. 11 ARIZONA VS. NO. 11 AUBURN, ESPN2

9 P.M. – NO. 16 UT MARTIN VS. NO. 16 HOLY CROSS, ESPN2

MARCH 22 – FIRST ROUND

11 A.M. – “NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE STUDIO PRESENTED BY AT&T,” ESPN2

11:30 A.M. – NO. 9 MICHIGAN STATE VS. NO. 8 NORTH CAROLINA, ESPN2

NOON – NO. 15 MAINE VS. NO. 2 OHIO STATE, ESPN

1:30 P.M. – NO. 11 MIDDLE TENNESSEE VS. NO. 6 LOUISVILLE, ESPN2

2 P.M. – NO. 16 PRESBYTERIAN/SACRED HEART VS. NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA, ESPN

2:30 P.M. – NO. 10 RICHMOND VS. NO. 7 DUKE, ESPNEWS

3 P.M. – NO. 16 DREXEL VS. NO. 1 TEXAS, ESPNU

3:30 P.M. – NO. 13 MARSHALL VS. NO. 4 VIRGINIA TECH, ESPN2

4 P.M. – NO. 14 RICE VS. NO. 3 LSU, ESPN

4:30 P.M. – NO. 13 PORTLAND VS. NO. 4 KANSAS STATE, ESPNEWS

5:30 P.M. – NO. 9 FLORIDA STATE VS. NO. 8 ALABAMA, ESPN2

6 P.M. – NO. 12 COLUMBIA/VANDERBILT VS. NO. 5 BAYLOR, ESPNU

7 P.M. – NO. 12 DRAKE VS. NO. 5 COLORADO, ESPNEWS

7:30 P.M. – NO. 10 MARYLAND VS. NO. 7 IOWA STATE, ESPN2

8 P.M. – NO. 14 EASTERN WASHINGTON VS. NO. 3 OREGON STATE, ESPNU

10 P.M. – NO. 15 NORFOLK STATE VS. NO. 2 STANFORD, ESPN2

10:30 P.M. – NO. 11 TEXAS A&M VS. NO. 6 NEBRASKA, ESPNU

MARCH 23 – FIRST ROUND

NOON – NO. 11 GREEN BAY VS. NO. 6 TENNESSEE, ESPN

1 P.M. – NO. 14 JACKSON STATE VS. NO. 3 UCONN, ABC

1:30 P.M. – NO. 13 FAIRFIELD VS. NO. 4 INDIANA, ESPN2

2 P.M. – NO. 9 MICHIGAN VS. NO. 8 KANSAS, ESPNEWS

2 P.M. – “NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE STUDIO PRESENTED BY AT&T,” ESPN

2:15 P.M. – NO. 15 KENT STATE VS. NO. 2 NOTRE DAME, ESPN

2:30 P.M. – NO. 14 CHATTANOOGA VS. NO. 3 NC STATE, ESPNU

3 P.M. – NO. 16 UT MARTIN/HOLY CROSS VS. NO. 1 IOWA, ABC

3:30 P.M. – NO. 11 ARIZONA/AUBURN VS. NO. 6 SYRACUSE, ESPN2

4 P.M. – NO. 12 FGCU VS. NO. 5 OKLAHOMA, ESPNEWS

4:15 P.M. – “NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE STUDIO PRESENTED BY AT&T,” ESPN

4:30 P.M. – NO. 16 TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI VS. NO. 1 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, ESPN

4:45 PM – NO. 10 MARQUETTE VS. NO. 7 OLE MISS, ESPNU

5:30 P.M. – NO. 9 PRINCETON VS. NO. 8 WEST VIRGINIA, ESPN2

6:30 P.M. – “NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE STUDIO PRESENTED BY AT&T,” ESPN

7 P.M. – NO. 10 UNLV VS. NO. 7 CREIGHTON, ESPNEWS

7:30 P.M. – NO. 13 UC IRVINE VS. NO. 4 GONZAGA, ESPN2

9:30 P.M. – NO. 15 CALIFORNIA BAPTIST VS. NO. 2 UCLA, ESPN2

10 P.M. – NO. 12 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VS. NO. 5 UTAH, ESPNU

MARCH 24 – SECOND ROUND

SECOND-ROUND GAMES WILL AIR FROM NOON P.M. TO 10 P.M. ACROSS ESPN AND ABC.

MARCH 25 – SECOND ROUND

SECOND-ROUND GAMES WILL AIR FROM 2 P.M. TO 10 P.M. ACROSS ESPN, ESPN2 AND ESPNU.

MARCH 29 – SWEET 16

2 P.M. – “NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE STUDIO PRESENTED BY AT&T,” ESPN

2:30 P.M. – ALBANY 1 REGIONAL – SWEET 16 GAME 1, ESPN

4:30 P.M. – “NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE STUDIO PRESENTED BY AT&T,” ESPN

5 P.M. – ALBANY 1 REGIONAL – SWEET 16 GAME 2, ESPN

7 P.M. – “NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE STUDIO PRESENTED BY AT&T,” ESPN

7:30 P.M. – PORTLAND 4 REGIONAL – SWEET 16 GAME 1, ESPN

9:30 P.M. – “NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE STUDIO PRESENTED BY AT&T,” ESPN

10 P.M. – PORTLAND 4 REGIONAL – SWEET 16 GAME 1, ESPN

MARCH 30 – SWEET 16

1 P.M. – ALBANY 2 REGIONAL – SWEET 16 GAME 1, ABC

3:30 P.M. – ALBANY 2 REGIONAL – SWEET 16 GAME 2, ABC

5:30 P.M. – PORTLAND 3 REGIONAL – SWEET 16 GAME 1, ESPN

8 P.M. – PORTLAND 3 REGIONAL – SWEET 16 GAME 2, ESPN

MARCH 31 – ELITE 8

1 P.M. – ALBANY 1 REGIONAL – ELITE 8, ABC

3 P.M. – PORTLAND 4 REGIONAL – ELITE 8, ABC

APRIL 1 – ELITE 8

7:15 P.M. – ALBANY 2 REGIONAL – ELITE 8, ESPN

9:15 P.M. – PORTLAND 3 REGIONAL – ELITE 8, ESPN

APRIL 5 – FINAL FOUR

7 P.M. – SEMIFINAL 1, ESPN/ESPN+

9:30 P.M. – SEMIFINAL 2, ESPN/ESPN+

APRIL 7 – CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

3 P.M. – “NCAA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PRESENTED BY CAPITAL ONE,” ABC/ESPN+

NBA SCOREBOARD

CLEVELAND 108 INDIANA 103

PHILADELPHIA 98 MIAMI 91

BOSTON 119 DETROIT 94

CHICAGO 110 PORTLAND 107

MINNESOTA 114 UTAH 104

SACRAMENTO 121 MEMPHIS 111 OT

NEW YORK 119 GOLDEN STATE 112

LA LAKERS 136 ATLANTA 105

NHL SCOREBOARD

BUFFALO 6 SEATTLE 2

WASHINGTON 5 CALGARY 2

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

LA DODGERS 5 KOREA 2

MINNESOTA 5 BOSTON 2

NY YANKEES 4 PHILADELPHIA 3

PITTSBURGH 11 PHILADELPHIA 2

TAMPA BAY 7 ATLANTA 3

MIAMI 6 HOUSTON 5

CLEVELAND 8 CHICAGO WHITE SOX 5

SEATTLE 9 TEXAS 5

MILWAUKEE 4 LA ANGELS 3

ARIZONA 3 OAKLAND 3

SAN FRANCISCO 4 CINCINNATI 2

WASHINGTON 10 HOUSTON 1

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

NO GAMES SCHEDULED

COLLEGE BASEBALL SCORES

NO GAMES SCHEDULED

COLLEGE SOFTBALL SCORES

NO GAMES SCHEDULED

COLLEGE SOFTBALL TOP 25

1. OKLAHOMA
2. LSU
3. TEXAS
4. OKLAHOMA STATE
5. STANFORD
6. DUKE
7. GEORGIA
8. WASHINGTON
9. TENNESSEE
10. BAYLOR
11. FLORIDA
12. MISSOURI
13. CLEMSON
14. VIRGINIA TECH
15. ALABAMA
16. UCLA
17. TEXAS A&M
18. MISSISSIPPI STATE
19. ARKANSAS
20. ARIZONA
21. CAL
22. BOSTON
23. SOUTH CAROLINA
24. FLORIDA STATE
25. TEXAS STATE

NATIONAL SPORTS RELEASES/HEADLINES

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

BAFFLED BOISE STATE, COLORADO DEAL WITH DAYTON ASSIGNMENT

With seven wins against NCAA Tournament teams, Boise State was not expecting to board a charter flight to Dayton and the First Four on Monday afternoon.

The Broncos are making a third consecutive appearance in the field and have a few days to shake their shock and bewilderment over being sent to the play-in portion of the NCAA Tournament. Boise State (22-10) meets Colorado (24-10) in the final game of the eight-team, pre-tournament showcase on Wednesday night.

“A little surprised to be honest,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said of the Broncos’ fate. “I don’t think anyone had us projected there. I thought we’d be a higher seed because two things that were emphasized were the schedule you put together and then winning games on the road and we did both of those. But hey, we’re grateful. We’re in the greatest sporting event there is.”

The winner of Wednesday’s game advances to Indianapolis for a first-round matchup with No. 7 seed Florida.

The Broncos finished No. 26 in the NET rankings, which projected as the equivalent of a No. 7 seed. They were second in the Mountain West standings with a 13-5 record and the conference has six teams in the Field of 68.

Gonzaga coach Mark Few knows a thing or two about Bracketology. The Bulldogs are a No. 5 seed appearing in the tournament for the 25th consecutive time. But Few needed colorful words to come up with an apt description for his thoughts on Boise State missing the main bracket.

“That’s one of the worst screw jobs I’ve seen man,” Few told reporters Sunday night. Rice is a former Gonzaga assistant under Few.

Boise State has four players averaging double-figures in scoring, led by Tyson Degenhart at 17 points per game. Rice’s son, sixth-year guard Max Rice, averages 12.5 points per game.

Colorado is coached by Tad Boyle, who is a close friend of Rice. The Buffaloes were not thought to be in consideration for a tournament spot until they closed the season with eight wins in a row to reach the Pac-12 tournament title game in Las Vegas, where Oregon prevailed.

“He’s a good friend, and you hate playing good friends in this business because you don’t have a lot of ’em,” said Boyle. “When I saw (the matchup), I can’t lie, I was disappointed. Leon and I talked (Sunday), I said, ‘The good news is one of us is moving on. The bad news is one of us is going home.’ ”

The friends met in Myrtle Beach last season with Boise State beating Colorado because Boyle said “they were tougher than us.”

Coming off three games in three days in Las Vegas, the Buffaloes are newbies in the First Four format.

“Sometimes it’s an advantage,” Boyle said.

Boyle said he doesn’t expect guard Julian Hammond III, out since Feb. 17 with a knee injury, to be ready for Boise State but forward Tristan da Silva is likely to be on the floor.

KJ Simpson and da Silva lead the Buffaloes with a combined 35.4 points per game. Simpson had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in the 68-55 win over Boise State last season.

Colorado opened as the favorite at sportsbooks, which is added fuel if Boise State is looking for any added motivation on top of the bracket placement.

“I think that’s kind of what we’ve had all year long. It feels like the disrespect has been consistent,” Rice said. “We got second in a league that’s a six-bid league. You get that good of a league and you get second and that low of a seed? It’s a head scratcher but it’s nothing new for us.”

Also of note, Boise State is 0-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including four setbacks during Rice’s tenure.

HOW BRACKETOLOGISTS ARE USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE THIS MARCH MADNESS

College hoops fans might want to think again before pinning their hopes of a perfect March Madness bracket on artificial intelligence.

While the advancement of artificial intelligence into everyday life has made “AI” one of the buzziest phrases of the past year, its application in bracketology circles is not so new. Even so, the annual bracket contests still provide plenty of surprises for computer science aficionados who’ve spent years honing their models with past NCAA Tournament results.

They have found that machine learning alone cannot quite solve the limited data and incalculable human elements of “The Big Dance.”

“All these things are art and science. And they’re just as much human psychology as they are statistics,” said Chris Ford, a data analyst who lives in Germany. “You have to actually understand people. And that’s what’s so tricky about it.”

Casual fans may spend a few days this week strategically deciding whether to maybe lean on the team with the best mojo — like Sister Jean’s 2018 Loyola-Chicago squad that made the Final Four — or to perhaps ride the hottest-shooting player — like Steph Curry and his breakout 2008 performance that led Davidson to the Sweet Sixteen.

The technologically inclined are chasing goals even more complicated than selecting the winners of all 67 matchups in both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments. They are fine-tuning mathematical functions in pursuit of the most objective model for predicting success in the upset-riddled tournament. Some are enlisting AI to perfect their codes or to decide which aspects of team resumes they should weigh most heavily.

The odds of crafting a perfect bracket are stacked against any competitor, however advanced their tools may be. An “informed fan” making certain assumptions based on previous results — such as a 1-seed beating a 16-seed — has a 1 in 2 billion chance at perfection, according to Ezra Miller, a mathematics and statistical science professor at Duke.

Artificial intelligence is likely very good at determining the probability that a team wins, Miller said. But even with the models, he added that the “random choice of who’s going to win a game that’s evenly matched” is still a random choice.

For the 10th straight year, the data science community Kaggle is hosting “Machine Learning Madness.” Traditional bracket competitions are all-or-nothing; participants write one team’s name into each open slot. But “Machine Learning Madness” requires users to submit a percentage reflecting their confidence that a team will advance.

Kaggle provides a large data set from past results for people to develop their algorithms. That includes box scores with information on a team’s free-throw percentage, turnovers and assists. Users can then turn that information over to an algorithm to figure out which statistics are most predictive of tournament success.

“It’s a fair fight. There’s people who know a lot about basketball and can use what they know,” said Jeff Sonas, a statistical chess analyst who helped found the competition. “It is also possible for someone who doesn’t know a lot about basketball but is good at learning how to use data to make predictions.”

Ford, the Purdue fan who watched last year as the shortest Division I men’s team stunned his Boilermakers in the first round, takes it a different direction. Since 2020, Ford has tried to predict which schools will make the 68-team field.

In 2021, his most successful year, Ford said the model correctly named 66 of the teams in the men’s bracket. He uses a “fake committee” of eight different machine learning models that makes slightly different considerations based on the same inputs: the strength of schedule for a team and the number of quality wins against tougher opponents, to name a few.

Eugene Tulyagijja, a sports analytics major at Syracuse University, said he spent a year’s worth of free time crafting his own model. He said he used a deep neural network to find patterns of success based on statistics like a team’s 3-point efficiency.

His model wrongly predicted that the 2023 men’s Final Four would include Arizona, Duke and Texas. But it did correctly include UConn. As he adjusts the model with another year’s worth of information, he acknowledged certain human elements that no computer could ever consider.

“Did the players get enough sleep last night? Is that going to affect the player’s performance?” he said. “Personal things going on — we can never adjust to it using data alone.”

No method will integrate every relevant factor at play on the court. The necessary balance between modeling and intuition is “the art of sports analytics,” said Tim Chartier, a Davidson bracketology expert.

Chartier has studied brackets since 2009, developing a method that largely relies on home/away records, performance in the second half of the season and the strength of schedule. But he said the NCAA Tournament’s historical results provide an unpredictable and small sample size — a challenge for machine learning models, which rely on large sample sizes.

Chartier’s goal is never for his students to reach perfection in their brackets; his own model still cannot account for Davidson’s 2008 Cinderella story.

In that mystery, Chartier finds a useful reminder from March Madness: “The beauty of sports, and the beauty of life itself, is the randomness that we can’t predict.”

“We can’t even predict 63 games of a basketball tournament where we had 5,000 games that led up to it,” he tells his classes. “So be forgiving to yourself when you don’t make correct predictions on stages of life that are much more complicated than a 40-minute basketball game.”

THE STATUS QUO HAS BECOME A MOVING TARGET AS COLLEGE BASKETBALL RAMPS UP TO MARCH MADNESS

Oregon pulled off a run of three wins in three days, capped by a championship that propelled the Ducks into the NCAA Tournament.

Standing on a makeshift stage next to the Pac-12 tournament trophy, the players danced and shouted as confetti fell in one big Las Vegas party.

With the revelry came the realization the moment was also a wake, a goodbye to a once-great conference that splintered amid a rapidly transforming college sports landscape.

“Part of me is really sad that this is not going to be here because like all the coaches in the league, I like to travel in the league and those things are all going to change,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “But change is exciting also, even at my age. I am kind of looking forward to it. It’s going to be a different challenge.”

Change is naturally ingrained in college athletics, from the sheer number of schools, student-athletes and sports to the needs in a range of conferences big and small.

The process has been accelerating, chaos becoming the status quo as the college basketball season winds into March Madness.

Name, Image and Likeness has opened new revenue-earning opportunities for student-athletes once considered purely amateurs. With it, schools and coaches have had to adapt or get left behind. The NCAA has been forced to create new rules to keep up with the money flow.

The transfer portal has created a maelstrom of madness not limited to March, with programs practically starting over every season as players move through a revolving door that opens just as teams are preparing for the postseason.

The massive shifts have shaken the foundation of the NCAA, changing the governing organization’s structure as its tries to keep up with the world of college athletics.

“There’s constant change and so you have to embrace that,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said. “For some, I think there’s a tug to go back and can’t we undo some of these things. And I think that’s counterproductive.”

The latest round of conference realignment could reshape college sports.

Realignment had slowed since the previous mass of conference swapping in the early 2010s, with a handful of schools moving to new leagues each year.

Texas and Oklahoma ignited the latest round by announcing last year they would be leaving the Big 12 for SEC riches in 2024. Southern California and UCLA followed by bolting from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten.

Losing two marquee schools, along with the lack of a new media rights deal for the Pac-12, forced the remaining schools in the conference to rethink their futures. A mass exodus followed, leaving only Oregon State and Washington State stuck in a league once dubbed the “Conference of Champions.”

“We all grew up with the Pac-8, Pac-10, Pac-12, and to see it go away is something sad,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “But I’m also excited for new horizons, so we’re not going to get sentimental about it. You and I can get sentimental at the end of the year and shed a tear, but now it’s business.”

The demise of the Pac-12 led to what may be the beginning stages of college athletics shifting to a handful of super conferences.

The Big Ten will be up to 18 schools next year after the additions of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington. The ACC also will be an 18-team league by adding California, Stanford and SMU.

The Big 12 will have 16 teams now that Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are headed east. The Southeastern Conference also will be 16 teams with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma.

The consolidation of power and resources will make it even tougher for the smaller conferences to keep up. It’s also led the NCAA to look at possibly expanding the NCAA Tournament beyond 68 teams, which has stirred mixed emotions across the country.

“People were mad about the play-in game, now that’s exciting, it’s the build-up to the tournament,” Minnesota coach Ben Johnson said. “We have to be openminded to changing and having new ideas and what can we do to push the envelope.”

The changes are here and more are likely coming. The status quo has become a moving target and everyone has to adapt.

UCONN BACK AT NO. 1 IN AP TOP 25 AHEAD OF REPEAT BID IN MARCH MADNESS; HOUSTON, PURDUE, IOWA ST NEXT

Reigning national champion Connecticut is back at No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll a day after being named the top overall seed for the NCAA Tournament.

The Huskies moved up from No. 2 in Monday’s poll, trading spots with Houston after the Cougars’ lopsided loss in the Big 12 Tournament title game to Iowa State. UConn received 61 of 62 first-place votes to return to No. 1 for the first time since a six-week stint in January and February.

UConn (31-3) has lost just once since Dec. 20 and won its first Big East Tournament title since 2011 on Saturday. Then came a No. 1 regional seed in the NCAAs for the first time since a Final Four run in 2009 and sixth time overall.

The Huskies, who top the East Region bracket, are trying to become college basketball’s first repeat champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007.

“We’ve got a bunch of NBA players — we’ve got NBA-level talent that’s willing to screen and share and play for each other on offense,” coach Dan Hurley said after a win against St. John’s in the Big East semifinals. “And it’s a unique group of players that have NBA ability, but are humble and about team.”

THE TOP TIER

Big 12 regular-season champ Houston still received a first-place vote despite its tournament stumble, while Purdue remained at No. 3 after falling to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.

Iowa State jumped three spots to No. 4 for the program’s highest ranking since spending a week at No. 4 in December 2015. The Cyclones were unranked this season until Jan. 15.

North Carolina is No. 5. The Tar Heels won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title but fell in the ACC Tournament final to cap rival North Carolina State’s shocking title run.

Of that group, the Cougars (South), Boilermakers (Midwest) and Tar Heels (West) earned top NCAA regional seeds.

Tennessee, Auburn, Marquette, Arizona and Illinois rounded out the top 10, with the Tigers winning the Southeastern Conference Tournament and the Illini claiming the Big Ten title behind a scoring binge from Terrence Shannon Jr.

RISING AND FALLING

Saint Mary’s had the biggest jump of the week, climbing six spots to No. 15 after beating Gonzaga for the West Coast Conference Tournament title. Auburn was next by moving up five spots to No. 7, creating a significant disparity with the NCAA selection committee that gave the Tigers a No. 4 regional seed in UConn’s East bracket.

More than half of the poll teams (13) slid after the chaos from league tournaments. Arizona, No. 11 Creighton, No. 12 Kentucky and No. 25 Washington State all tied for the biggest tumbles by falling three spots.

IN AND OUT

No. 23 Wisconsin and No. 24 San Diego State were the new additions to the poll, though both have been ranked in multiple weeks this season. Nevada (No. 23) and Dayton (No. 24) fell out to make room for the Badgers and Aztecs.

CONFERENCE WATCH

The Big 12 had a national-best six ranked teams, including No. 17 Kansas, No. 21 BYU and No. 22 Texas Tech. The SEC was next with five, including No. 16 South Carolina.

The Big East and Big Ten each had three ranked teams, while the ACC, Pac-12, Mountain West and West Coast conferences each had two.

ONE MORE TO GO

For the first time, The Associated Press will release a post-tournament Top 25 after the national championship game. It will be released April 9, the day after the title game in Glendale, Arizona.

THREE BIG TEN TEAMS TO COMPETE IN 2024 NIT

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Three Big Ten teams will continue their 2023-24 seasons, as Iowa, Minnesota, and Ohio State have been selected to participate in the 2024 National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

All three teams will open the tournament on Tuesday night, with all of the games broadcast on the ESPN family of networks.

No. 2 seed Ohio State will open the action on Tuesday at 7 p.m ET, when they play host to Cornell on ESPN.

No. 3 seed Iowa will welcome Kansas State to Carver-Hawkeye Arena at 9 p.m. in a game broadcast on ESPN.

Minnesota is the lone Big Ten team to hit the road, as the Gophers will visit Butler a 9 p.m. on ESPNU.

First round play is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, March 19 and 20, with the second round scheduled for March 23-24. 

Quarterfinal rounds will be held on March 26 and 27 with four teams advancing to Indianapolis for the semifinals on Tuesday, April 2 at Hinkel Fieldhouse.  The NIT will conclude with the championship game on April 4.

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

CAITLIN CLARK’S FINAL NCAA TOURNAMENT TO BEGIN AT HOME. CAN SHE BE AS PROLIFIC AS SHE WAS LAST YEAR?

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Caitlin Clark and Iowa will begin their bid to return to the NCAA women’s national championship game at home Saturday against Holy Cross or UT Martin.

Clark, the NCAA Division I career scoring leader, was prolific in last year’s NCAA Tournament. She posted the first 40-point triple-double in men’s or women’s tournament history and broke the single-tournament records for 3-pointers (24) and points (191).

The Hawkeyes (29-4) are the No. 1 seed in the Albany 2 Region, which also includes No. 4 Kansas State, No. 5 Colorado, No. 3 LSU and No. 2 UCLA.

Iowa split two games with K-State this season, losing 65-58 in Iowa City and winning 77-70 in a Thanksgiving tournament in Florida. The Hawkeyes beat Colorado 87-77 in the Sweet 16 last year and lost to LSU 102-85 in the title game. Iowa hasn’t played UCLA since 1991.

Louisville also is in Albany 2. Iowa beat the Cardinals 97-83 in a regional final last year, with Clark going for 41 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.

Clark begins the tournament with 3,771 points, which ranks eighth among men’s and women’s college players on any level. Clark could crack the top five with a long run in the tournament.

Clark has announced she will skip her final season of eligibility and enter the WNBA draft in April. She is the presumptive No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever.

IS THERE A WAY TO SLOW CAITLIN CLARK IN MARCH MADNESS? HERE’S HOW SOME HAVE TRIED

Many have tried to slow down Caitlin Clark. Few have succeeded. The numbers bear that out.

Opposing coaches will try again in the NCAA Tournament to come up with schemes to defend Division I’s all-time leading scorer but know it’s hopeless to completely shut down the Iowa guard. The only question is how many points she will add to her record total of 3,771 as she winds up her career before heading to the WNBA.

“You can do everything right and not stop her. That’s the problem,” said Kansas State coach Jeff Mittie, whose team has faced Clark and the Hawkeyes three times over two seasons in nonconference games and could meet them again in the Sweet 16 next week.

Clark has scored at least 20 points in 118 of her 133 career games and at least 30 in 56. She is the only player in NCAA women’s basketball history to lead her conference in scoring and assists four consecutive seasons. Her 173 3-pointers this season are an NCAA record.

The goal for opponents, then, is to mitigate the damage the national leader in scoring and assists can do. Easier said than done.

“Anything you do,” Robyn Fralick of Big Ten rival Michigan State said, “she counters.”

Either Holy Cross or UT-Martin will face Iowa later this week. Though there’s no how-to manual for defending Clark, coaches offered thoughts on the subject in interviews with The Associated Press.

All pointed out what Clark observers have long known: she prefers to go to her left when she shoots her signature step-back 3-pointer and to her right when she drives to the basket. When she can’t get a shot or her path to the basket is blocked, she uses her superior court vision to find her teammates with precision passes. And she loves to make long passes in transition that can be converted into easy baskets. She leads the nation with 294 assists this year, as she does in triple-doubles (six).

Kansas State was effective against Clark in its 65-58 win in Iowa City on Nov. 16, though Clark scored 24 points. She was 9 of 32 overall and 2 of 16 on 3s and had just three assists.

Jaelyn Glenn and Zyanna Walker took turns defending her. Mittie emphasized picking her up early to discourage those long outlet passes. Another defender would take over if Clark got a head of steam or had an advantage against the player assigned to her. The Wildcats varied their coverages when she came off ball screens.

“We tried to mix up what we were doing enough that maybe you have her off a little bit,” Mittie said. “Going right, we would try to get under some screens so we could shut off that drive and not give as much help. Going left, we just tried to be as physical as we could and get in the shot line when she got separation.”

Indiana coach Teri Moren decided to go with a physical game plan against Clark when it won 86-69 in Bloomington on Feb. 22. Chloe Moore-McNeil, Sara Scalia and Lexus Bargesser were assigned to her, and the Hoosiers would switch out of man-to-man and use a triangle-and-two with two guards playing man and two forwards and the center playing zone.

“We knew she was going to get hers,” forward Mackenzie Holmes said, adding that the Hoosiers were OK with Clark scoring a lot of points as long as she was inefficient doing it.

The plan worked. Clark scored just four of her 24 points in the second half, when she was 2 of 13 overall and 0 for 7 on 3s. For the night, she was 8 of 26 and 3 of 16. The rest of the Hawkeyes were just 18 of 41 overall and 2 of 12 on 3s.

Clark acknowledged the Hoosiers’ defense bothered her.

“I think being physical, face-guarding me, throwing a lot of different people at me… yeah, just very physical,” Clark said. “They kind of pushed me off my spots, got me out a little deeper than I wanted to be.”

Nebraska gave up 31 points to Clark in its 82-79 win in Lincoln on Feb. 11. All her points came in the first three quarters. She was 0 for 6 in the fourth, 0 for 4 on 3s, as the Cornhuskers erased a 14-point deficit in the last 10 minutes.

The Huskers switched defenders playing Clark straight-up in the first half and mixed in a box-and-one for much of the second half with Kendall Moriarty the chaser on Clark.

Michigan State’s strategy was to do the best it could against Clark and zero in on the rest of the Hawkeyes, and it almost worked. The Spartans lost 76-73 in Iowa City on Jan. 2 when Clark made a long 3-pointer just ahead of the buzzer.

Clark scored 40 points on a career-high 34 shot attempts. The rest of the Hawkeyes had 36 points on 33 attempts.

“When everybody’s scoring, that’s when their offense is incredibly explosive,” Fralick said. “We tried to do some things where we didn’t let the teammates get some easy baskets.”

MARCH MADNESS: FABULOUS FRESHMEN SET TO DAZZLE ON BIG STAGE AS NCAA TOURNAMENT ARRIVES

There is no doubt this has been the season of Caitlin Clark, the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader from Iowa whose excellence has filled arenas and thrilled fans. Right alongside, though, is a group of flashy, talented newcomers elbowing their way onto the court shouting, “We’ve got next!”

Throughout the country, first-year stars like JuJu Watkins of Southern California, Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame, MiLaysia Fulwiley of South Carolina and Madison Booker of Texas are leading their teams and teasing even bigger things ahead in their first NCAA Tournament.

“I think our game is in pretty good hands for the next foreseeable future,” said Booker’s coach at Texas, Vic Schaefer. “All those kids are helping their teams, which is so unusual.”

It has become more commonplace this season.

Watkins, the 6-foot-2 Trojans forward, has 810 points, already surpassing Clark’s 799 points as a freshman and, with a deep tournament run, is within reach of the NCAA freshman record of 898 set by Tina Hutchinson of San Diego State in 1984.

Hidalgo in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Fulwiley in the Southeastern Conference and Booker in the Big 12 all were named MVPs after leading their teams to titles. And few would be surprised if several of them were climbing ladders and cutting down nets on the way to the Final Four in the seasons ahead.

“It’s my first year so I don’t know what to expect,” Watkins said. “I’m just ready to go with it.”

Not only is the first-year class talented, it is deep. Defending national champion LSU brought in Mikaylah Williams, a 6-foot guard who started 29 games this season and her 42 points in a win over Kent State were the most for a Tiger in 25 years.

Iowa State freshmen Audi Crooks and Addy Brown combined for 56 starts this season and 32 points a game for the 20-win Cyclones. Nebraska has Big Ten freshman of the year Natalie Potts and the Huskers went 1-2 against Clark and Iowa.

Southern Cal coach Lindsay Gottlieb told anyone who’d listen she had the best of a great class of newcomers.

“Nationally, it’s unbelievable,” Gottlieb marveled. “Hannah and Booker and Mikaylah Williams and Donovyn Hunter (of Oregon State).

“I don’t know, we sometimes ask, ‘What are they feeding them now? What are they doing in club basketball?’” Gottlieb said. “They’ve come in really ready and it’s something to see.”

Hidalgo quickly became a team leader with Notre Dame star Olivia Miles sidelined after tearing a knee ligament in March 2023. Hidalgo leads the country with 147 steals this season, an NCAA freshman record.

Hidalgo said her coaches and teammates trusted her from the start and that helped make the transition to college easier.

“I learned to just kind of have confidence in myself,” she said. “Right when I came in, they were like, ‘Hannah, shoot the ball, score the ball.’ That was really big for me.”

Fulwiley, too, had a (mostly) green light from South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, who offered her a scholarship as a seventh-grader. Fulwiley gained notice — even from NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson — in her first college game for a coast-to-coast drive where she put the ball behind her back to elude a Notre Dame defender before laying the ball in for a basket.

It was a steadier, more confident Fulwiley who took charge during SEC championship win over LSU with a career-high 24 points.

“It meant a lot to me considering the fact I’m only a freshman. It was my first time around,” Fulwiley said. “This is a great first experience for me and my team.”

Booker became the first freshman to win Big 12 player of the year. She also captured the league’s freshman honor after averaging 16.9 points and leading the Longhorns in assists. Booker became a centerpiece after Texas star Rori Harmon tore a knee ligament in December and was lost for the season.

Booker credited her coaches and teammates for keeping her confident. “They always kept my head up and told me to keep pushing,” she said. “They always tell me to keep going.”

Texas A&M coach Joni Taylor agreed the game’s future is bright with so many young stars. But she said the game has had freshmen at the forefront for years; it’s just more people are paying attention this year.

“Breanna Stewart was a skilled freshman. So was Diana Taurasi and Tamika Catchings. Now there’s more eyes on our game than ever before,” she said. “I think now the difference is our game has grown. There’s more eyes on it. More people recognize it as what it is.”

SOUTH CAROLINA, IOWA, USC AND TEXAS TOP WOMEN’S AP TOP 25; THEY ARE ALSO 1 SEEDS IN NCAA TOURNAMENT

South Carolina, Iowa, USC and Texas are the top four teams in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll, a day after all four were chosen as the No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament that begins later this week.

The undefeated Gamecocks remained the unanimous No. 1 choice from the 35-member national media panel Monday. They had a week off after winning the SEC Tournament. Iowa and USC also didn’t play last week after winning the Big Ten and Pac-12 tournaments, respectively.

Texas moved up one spot to fourth after winning the Big 12 Tournament last Tuesday. The Longhorns earned their first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since 2004.

Stanford fell one place to fifth. UCLA, Ohio State and LSU were next. Notre Dame was ninth, the first difference between the poll and NCAA bracket as far as seeding; LSU was given a 3-seed in the NCAAs and the Irish a 2-seed.

UConn remained in 10th after winning its 22nd Big East Tournament last week.

The AP will have a final poll after the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the 47-year history of the poll.

TOUGH REGION

Iowa’s NCAA regional features five teams that spent time in the top three of the AP Top 25 during the season. The Hawkeyes, UCLA, LSU, Kansas State and Colorado all had turns up there. None of the other regionals has more than three teams that have done that. South Carolina is the lone team in its part of the bracket to achieve that.

CONFERENCE WATCH

The Pac-12 got a conference record-tying seven teams in the NCAA Tournament, six of which are ranked in the poll — including three of the top six.

The ACC is next with five teams in the Top 25 while the Big 12 has four and the Big Ten three. The SEC, which got eight bids to the NCAAs, only has two teams ranked, matching the Big East. The West Coast and Mountain West join the MAAC with one team each.

NBA NEWS

NBA ROUNDUP: ANTHONY EDWARDS’ 32 POINTS PROPEL WOLVES PAST JAZZ

Anthony Edwards scored 13 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 114-104 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night in Salt Lake City.

Edwards started slowly but made 13 of 23 shots from the floor, including one of the most dazzling highlight dunks of the season, en route to his team-record 27th 30-point game of 2023-24.

The All-Star’s big game, which included eight assists, seven rebounds and two blocks, helped the Timberwolves beat the Jazz for the second time in three nights. Minnesota swept Utah for the first time ever in a four-game season series.

Collin Sexton paced Utah with 24 points in a reserve role, while Lauri Markkanen, back after a six-game absence caused by a quad injury, finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Knicks 119, Warriors 112

Jalen Brunson weaved his way to a game-high 34 points, Miles McBride chipped in with a career-best 29 and New York used its offense as the driving force in a victory over Golden State in San Francisco.

Donte DiVincenzo added 18 points against his former team and Josh Hart completed a triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists as the Knicks earned their fourth consecutive win.

Stephen Curry overcame a slow start to post a team-high 27 points and rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis had 19 for the Warriors, who took their fourth loss in six games.

Kings 121, Grizzlies 111 (OT)

Malik Monk scored 12 of his 28 points in overtime and added six rebounds and six assists to lead Sacramento to a victory over visiting Memphis.

Domantas Sabonis recorded 25 points and 18 rebounds for his 50th consecutive double-double as Sacramento won for the fifth time in seven games. De’Aaron Fox added 23 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and three steals, Keegan Murray had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Harrison Barnes tallied 11 points for the Kings.

Jaren Jackson Jr. had 25 points and four blocked shots before fouling out for the Grizzlies, who fell for the 19th time in their past 24 games. Desmond Bane had 24 points and three steals, GG Jackson had 22 points and seven rebounds and Santi Aldama contributed 14 points and nine rebounds for Memphis.

76ers 98, Heat 91

Tyrese Maxey recorded 30 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds to lift host Philadelphia past Miami.

Kelly Oubre Jr. added 22 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots and Kyle Lowry had 16 points, including a scoop layup with 1:36 remaining that gave Philadelphia a 95-89 lead. Buddy Hield scored 12 points for the Sixers (38-30). Philadelphia, which won its second consecutive game, played without Tobias Harris (ankle).

Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 20 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Terry Rozier also scored 20 points, Caleb Martin added 13 and Thomas Bryant and Haywood Highsmith had 11 each for Miami (37-31). The Heat, who had won two in a row, were missing Jimmy Butler (foot) and Nikola Jovic (hamstring).

Bulls 110, Trail Blazers 107

DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points on 10-for-17 shooting and Chicago escaped with a win over visiting Portland.

Ayo Dosunmu posted a double-double with 23 points and 10 assists for the Bulls (34-35), who earned their second win in a row and their third in the past four games. Nikola Vucevic finished with 22 points and nine rebounds.

Anfernee Simons scored 30 points and dished out nine assists to lead Portland (19-49). Deandre Ayton registered a double-double with 25 points and 15 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who lost their third consecutive game.

Celtics 119, Pistons 94

Jaylen Brown tossed in a game-high 31 points and Boston extended its home winning streak to nine games by beating Detroit.

Derrick White added 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for Boston, which has won six straight. White made 6 of 12 3-point attempts en route to the first triple-double of his career. Kristaps Porzingis returned to the court after missing five games with a hamstring issue and finished with 20 points and eight rebounds.

Jaden Ivey led Detroit with 21 points and added five rebounds and five assists. Jalen Duren finished with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds as the Pistons dropped their third game in a row.

Cavaliers 108, Pacers 103

Caris LeVert had 23 points and 11 assists against his former team as Cleveland rallied from a 15-point, second-quarter deficit to beat Indiana in Indianapolis.

Jarrett Allen added 23 points and nine rebounds for the short-handed Cavaliers (43-25), who never trailed after the 11:25 mark of the third quarter. Marcus Morris Sr. added 14 points in his Cleveland debut, while Georges Niang and Darius Garland scored 13 apiece.

Pascal Siakam led Indiana (38-31) with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Tyrese Haliburton had 14 points and 12 assists. T.J. McConnell also scored 14 points, Myles Turner added 12, Jalen Smith had 11 and Obi Toppin finished with 10.

Lakers 136, Hawks 105

D’Angelo Russell scored 27 points and LeBron James added 25, with both players contributing 10 assists, as Los Angeles ended a two-game skid with a victory over visiting Atlanta.

Anthony Davis added 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers after he was questionable with an eye injury. Rui Hachimura scored 17 points and Austin Reaves added 12 for Los Angeles.

Jalen Johnson scored 25 points to go along with nine rebounds and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 17 points as the Hawks went 1-1 in consecutive games at Los Angeles after rolling past the Clippers on Sunday.

BASEBALL NEWS

REPORTS: GIANTS, BLAKE SNELL AGREE ON 2-YEAR, $62M DEAL

The biggest remaining name on the free-agent market found a home on Monday night when left-hander Blake Snell agreed to a two-year, $62 million contract with the San Francisco Giants, according to multiple media outlets.

The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner will have the right to opt out of the deal after the 2024 season, per the reports.

Snell, who also won the American League Cy Young Award in 2018, reportedly was seeking a long-term contract through the winter but had yet to find a buyer midway through spring training.

He now joins a rotation that also includes the pitcher who finished runner-up to him in last year’s NL Cy Young voting, right-hander Logan Webb.

Snell, 31, went 14-9 with a major-league-leading 2.25 ERA in 32 starts last year for the San Diego Padres. He walked a big-league-high 99 batters, but he yielded the fewest hits per nine innings among starting pitchers, 5.8 (115 hits in 180 innings).

Snell began his major league career with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016. He earned his lone All-Star team selection in 2018, when he went 21-5 and led the AL in wins and ERA (1.89). He was traded to the Padres in December 2020 for a four-player package topped by catcher Francisco Mejia.

In 191 major league appearances, all starts, Snell has a 71-55 record with a 3.20 ERA, 1,223 strikeouts, 451 walks and 775 hits allowed in 992 2/3 innings.

The Giants are set to add Snell to their offseason haul. After they were unsuccessful in a bid to land two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, San Francisco landed outfielder Jung Hoo Lee on a six-year, $113 million deal and third baseman Matt Chapman for three years and $54 million.

OHTANI AND YAMAMOTO ARE UNBELIEVABLE IN ANY LANGUAGE. JAPANESE HAS SEVERAL WORDS FOR THEM

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — If you’re a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ billion-dollar duo of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, you might want to learn a couple of Japanese adjectives.

Try these as the Dodgers and Padres are in South Korea to open the MLB season.

There’s “shinjirarenai,” which translates as “unbelievable” or “incredible.” Or the milder “subarashi,” which can mean “awesome” or “amazing.”

Of course, the Japanese mega-stars are about unprecedented spending, flair, and commerical appeal. But there’s more to it.

They’ve stirred pride in almost every Japanese, marked 150 years of baseball evolution in the country, and provided an antidote for political ills like the recent announcement that Japan’s economy has slipped to No. 4 behind Germany. It was No. 2 until 2010 when it was overtaken by China.

Baseball in Japan is known as “yakyu,” literaly field ball. But by any name, this is about beating the North Americans — and Latin Americans — at their own game.

THE EVOLUTION — SO FAR

With full respect to Masanori Murakami, who played briefly with the San Fransisco Giants in 1964-65, Japan’s odyssey in the Majors began with pitcher Hideki Nomo, the National League Rookie of the Year after joining the Dodgers in 1995.

As many Japanese recall, Nomo was must-see television whenever he pitched.

Then came Ichiro Suzuki, a certain first-ballot Hall of Famer for the Class of 2025. About a dozen Japanese players will play in MLB this season, adding to a list has reached about 70 since Murakami.

Baseball was introduced into Japan in 1872 by an American professor. It took root so firmly that in a game between Japanese and Americans in 1896, Japan won 29-4 and many of the players were from Samurai families.

The victory was front-page news locally, and it’s credited with giving Japan confidence as it modernized after centuries of isolation and showed the country could compete with the industrially advanced West.

This followed just a few generations after American Commodore Matthew Perry forced Japan to open up — under the threat of force — in 1854. There were similar attempts earlier by Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and the Chinese.

REGIMENTED BASEBALL CULTURE

Ohtani came up in Japan’s regimented baseball system at Hanamaki Higashi High School in largely rural Iwate prefecture in northeasten Japan. This is the general area in 2011 where a devastating earthquake, tsunami, and the meltdown of three nuclear reactors killed more than 18,000 people.

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi attended the same high school a bit earlier.

Ohtani is frequently lauded in Japan as “kanpeki na hito” — the perfect person, highlighting his character and dedication. You will also hear “suteki” to describe him — he’s cool. He’s also married, a shock announcement he made a few weeks ago.

Ohtani’s high school coach was Hiroshi Sasaki, who gets some of the credit for developing Ohtani. His own son 18-year-old Ritaro Sasaki will attend Stanford University this spring. The left-handed hitting first baseman is skipping the Japanese baseball draft and heading to the United States.

This could involve NIL compensation — short for name, image and likeness — and threatens Japanese baseball culture and the country’s ability to control its best players.

Japanese high school baseball includes countless practices, emphasizes teamwork and self-sacrifice, and some dirty work for the star players. Several reports have suggested Ohtani was made to clean toilets in high school. This is not so unusual. Public schools in Japan have small cleaning staffs and students are expected to do much of it.

Robert Whiting, in his book “The Samurai Way of Baseball,” quotes former Japanese baseball commissioner Ichiro Yoshikuni: “The teamwork involved in baseball fits in perfectly with the national temper of the Japanese. It did not always fit the temper of the Americans.”

BASEBALL AN ANTIDOTE

Japanese culture and politcs feel more shaky than they were a few decades ago. The Japanese economy has slipped to No. 4 behind Germany. The birthrate in Japan is among the world’s lowest, and the country was shocked when former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated in 2022.

Japan has the “Cool Japan” image abroad, and many things funciton remarkably, but there is uncertainty on many fronts and they include an on-going corruption scandal around the Tokyo Olympics — held in 2021 because of the pandemic — and the tense relationship with Asian rival China.

Baseball has become an antidote.

It also was in 1934 when Babe Ruth and other American all-stars headlined a playing tour of Japan.

Four Japanese players are expected to be on the rosters when the Dodgers open the MLB season on March 20 in Seoul, South Korea, against the San Diego Padres. Ohtani and Yamamoto with the Dodgers and Yu Darvish and fellow pitcher Yuki Matsui with the Padres.

YAMAMOTO AND THE JAVELIN

Yamamoto is slated to start the second game in South Korea, the official MLB debut for the most expensive pitcher in baseball history — a 12-year, $325 million contract.

If so, fans may be able to see his unusal pre-game training routine, which includes throwing a javelin. This is a practice he began after injuring his elbow as an 18-year-old rookie in Japanese baseball.

The challenge for Yamamoto will be pitching once every five or six days after pitching just once a week in Japan. Many will also question his size, which is listed at 5-feet-10 — 1.78 meters — small for a pitcher in North American baseball.

Yamamoto caught the baseball world’s attention in last year’s World Baseball Classic, where he pitched two games and gave up two runs in 7 1/3 innings. Japan defeated the United States 3-2 in the deciding game.

THE NEXT BIG THING

Pitcher Roki Sasaki is just 22 and many see him as the next big thing out of Japan — maybe a better prospect than Yamamoto. He signed a one-year contract earlier this year with the Lotte Marines of Japan’s Pacific League. But there is no doubt where he is headed.

“I have the desire to play in the U.S. major leagues in the future,” Sasaki said according to the Kyodo news agency. “I’ve been communicating every year. I believe the club understands it too.”

Sasaki pitched a perfect game on April 10, 2022, against the Orix Buffaloes and struck out 19 — 13 in a row at one point. In the next start on April 17, he pitched eight perfect innings against the Nippon-Ham Fighters before he was pulled for cautionary reasons. He had 14 strikeouts in that outing, including striking out the side in the eighth and showing off a 101 mph fastball.

Japanese players need nine years of service time in their major leagues to become a free agent. They can move to MLB earlier under an agreement between Nippon Professional Baseball and MLB.

However, a player under 25 who has not reached six years of service in a foreign major league is subject to MLB’s international amateur signing bonus pools, which set a hard cap and limit him initially to a minor league contract.

MLB 2024: CAN ANYBODY CONTEND WITH THE DODGERS?

Everything that makes Shohei Ohtani the star he has become was on display in his Los Angeles Dodgers spring training debut when he struck out, grounded into a double play and then rebounded to hit a towering opposite-field home run to left field.

It was just a tune-up game that did not even attract a capacity crowd, and getting credit for digging out from a self-made hole is a dubious distinction. But the result was more evidence of what has become clear: Ohtani is as talented as they come and able to change his fortunes at a moment’s notice.

The Dodgers were so convinced that type of resolve could alter their own fortunes that they signed Ohtani to a massively deferred $700 million contract even though he was coming off elbow surgery and would not be able to provide the pitching side this season of his unprecedented two-way talents.

Ohtani has made the Dodgers the prohibitive favorite to win the National League West, while the club has the edge on the rest of the NL field to make it to the World Series and ultimately win it all.

“When you sign Shohei, (Yoshinobu) Yamamoto, trade for (Tyler Glasnow), just all the people we brought in, (the attention) is because something really, really special happened in the offseason,” Dodgers veteran Freddie Freeman said. “This is exciting. It’s fun for us. It’s fun to be playing in front of a lot more new fans this year.”

Yet Ohtani alone is not a reason to plan a championship parade. He partnered with Mike Trout on the Los Angeles Angels for the previous six seasons and those teams never made the playoffs.

What he gets with the Dodgers are fellow stars Freeman and Mookie Betts with him at the top of the lineup. Glasnow will start the season opener this week and Yamamoto will take the most expensive free-agent pitching contract ever into the second game. Both games are in South Korea against the San Diego Padres.

So where does that leave the rest of the National League in an effort to compete, or the rest of baseball for that matter?

As a Texas Rangers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks World Series showed last season, there is no foregone conclusion when it comes to a marathon baseball schedule and the sprint of a 12-team playoff. Arizona lost 110 games in 2021 and the Rangers had six consecutive losing seasons before 2023.

The Diamondbacks are poised to give the Dodgers an immediate challenge to their NL West dominance. And the San Diego Padres, who knocked the Dodgers out of the 2022 NL Division Series, have a retooled roster while retaining plenty of talent, with a rotation that just added right-hander Dylan Cease.

The San Francisco Giants, the only other team to win an NL West title since 2013, have made additions to address all areas of their game, especially power and defense.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo took his team through the Dodgers last season and into the World Series, and even he wasn’t shy to admit this spring that getting a close-up look at the new Los Angeles lineup offered plenty of intrigue.

“I’m a baseball fan, I get to watch Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman hit back of one another, but I want to play good baseball, too,” Lovullo said before a recent spring training game. “… It’s the Dodgers, and they’re ready to compete, and we will be, too.”

Those division teams will take the brunt of what the Dodgers have to offer in 2024, with L.A.’s mighty offense getting the most attention. Glasnow and Yamamoto are on board to help the Dodgers improve on an uncharacteristic 4.06 staff ERA last season.

A major concern is on defense, with Max Muncy at third base along with a plan at shortstop that will include Betts and Miguel Rojas, at least for the time being, after Gavin Lux showed fielding and throwing struggles upon his return this spring from knee surgery.

The Dodgers have averaged 103.2 wins over the last six full seasons, but they have been eliminated in the division series in three of the past five years. Taken another way, the Dodgers have a .641 regular-season win percentage since 2017 and a .548 postseason percentage in that time, which includes three World Series appearances.

The long regular season? The Dodgers seem to have that part figured out. The rush of the postseason? Those questions still linger.

AL EAST PREVIEW: ORIOLES NOW HAVE A TITLE TO DEFEND, WITH YANKEES, BLUE JAYS, RAYS SET TO CHALLENGE

It’s hard to tell what was most unusual about last season in the AL East.

Baltimore and Tampa Bay took the top two spots in the division, the first time that had ever happened. And the Yankees and Red Sox were the bottom two teams, which hadn’t occurred since before the start of divisional play.

The AL East has changed a lot from the days when the big-market behemoths would overpower the rest of the division. Tampa Bay has been a formidable operation for a while now, and the Orioles capped a swift rise from the depths of a rebuild, winning 101 games and a division title in 2023. Baltimore’s wealth of young, cost-controlled talent should make the Orioles a threat for years to come, and now they’ll take a shot at defending their AL East crown.

“We’ve proven it to ourselves that we can win a division and we can go to the playoffs, so I think you can just feel that in the atmosphere, how excited everyone is,” Baltimore outfielder Austin Hays said. “Nobody’s scared. Nobody’s nervous.”

The Yankees won 99 games and the division two seasons ago, so it’s not as though their situation is hopeless in the face of the low-spending Orioles and Rays. What’s different about the AL East these days is you can look at New York, Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Toronto — and none of them seems like much of an underdog.

1. New York Yankees. After barely finishing above .500 last year, the Yankees made a major offseason splash when they acquired three-time All-Star Juan Soto. A lineup with Soto, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres is powerful enough to lift New York back atop the division, but a lot will depend on the Yankees’ health after Judge’s troublesome toe was such a problem last year. The stakes are high. Soto and Torres are entering their final season of team control, and manager Aaron Boone is under pressure to produce after last year’s disappointment.

2. Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles haven’t made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons since 1996-97. Now Baltimore has a chance to become a postseason mainstay. Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman could be among the best players in baseball at their positions, and manager Brandon Hyde should have all sorts of options when filling out the lineup. A recent trade for Corbin Burnes gave the Orioles an ace they can lean on. Whether Baltimore can repeat as division champions may come down to how it handles the absence of star closer Félix Bautista after Tommy John surgery. Duplicating last season’s 30-16 mark in one-run games will be a tall order.

3. Toronto Blue Jays. Other teams in the AL East could breathe a sigh of relief when Shohei Ohtani stayed out west instead of signing with Toronto. The Blue Jays remain a dangerous team, however, with Vladimir Guerrero, Bo Bichette and George Springer in the fold. Kevin Gausman leads all major league pitchers over the past two seasons in the FanGraphs version of wins above replacement. Toronto has made the postseason in three of the past four seasons but hasn’t won a pennant since 1993.

4. Tampa Bay Rays. Discount the Rays at your peril — by now that’s clear. Tampa Bay is coming off a 99-win season in which it nearly held on to win the AL East despite major injury problems down the stretch. But now the Rays start the season with similar concerns. Starting pitchers Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Spring are still recovering from injuries, and the Rays traded Tyler Glasnow during the offseason. Shortstop Wander Franco’s status remains uncertain. He hasn’t played since August, when MLB and authorities in the Dominican Republic began investigating accusations that he had an improper relationship with a minor.

5. Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox have finished last two straight seasons despite finishing with a not-that-terrible 78 wins each time. Such is life in the AL East. Boston has some punch in the lineup thanks to Rafael Devers and Triston Casas, but the starting rotation has plenty of questions even after Brayan Bello pitched well enough to earn a long-term deal. Boston hired ex-pitcher Craig Breslow as its new chief baseball officer following last season, but he has his work cut out for him in the short term.

POSTSEASON WOES

As impressive as the AL East was in the regular season last year, none of its teams even won a playoff game. And some of them have been waiting a while for significant postseason success.

The Yankees haven’t won a pennant since 2009. You could call that a first-world problem, but it equals the franchise’s longest drought of the live ball era. Baltimore hasn’t been to a World Series since 1983 and has now lost eight straight postseason games.

Tampa Bay and Toronto have each dropped seven in a row.

ARM ISSUES

Several of the division’s top pitchers begin the season with health concerns. Gerrit Cole of the Yankees was shut down with elbow soreness during spring training, Kyle Bradish of the Orioles will miss the start of the season because of an elbow sprain. Gausman has been dealing with shoulder fatigue, and McClanahan had Tommy John surgery in August.

Boston acquired Lucas Giolito this past offseason, and now he’s expected to miss the season following internal brace surgery on his arm.

AL WEST PREVIEW: ASTROS STILL TOP THE DIVISION WHILE RANGERS ARE REIGNING WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS

Bruce Bochy doesn’t ever want the Texas Rangers to let go of those memories of their first World Series title.

“We just don’t want to lean on them,” said Bochy, whose first season with the Rangers ended with the first World Series championship for the 63-year-old franchise, and his fourth as a big league manager.

While Texas has the opportunity to be the first team in a quarter-century to win back-to-back world championships — the New York Yankees were the last, with three in a row from 1998-2000 — the Rangers aren’t even defending champs in their own division.

And they aren’t favored to win the AL West this season.

Houston is again the odds-on favorite in the division it has won each of the last six full MLB seasons since the Rangers finished on top in 2016. The Astros won their regular season finale last Oct. 1, matched Texas at 90-72 and won the AL West since they were 9-4 head-to-head.

The Astros have made the AL Championship Series the past seven seasons, even when not division champs in the 2020 season shortened to 60 games because of the pandemic. They made four trips to the Fall Classic and won two titles in that span.

Dusty Baker retired days after Houston lost ALCS Game 7 at home to the Rangers last fall, finishing with 2,183 wins over 26 seasons as a big league manager with five teams.

New Astros manager Joe Espada, their bench coach for six seasons, is certainly familiar with a lineup that has big hitters Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker, and a loaded starting rotation.

Espada isn’t the division’s only new manager. Ron Washington, who took the Rangers to their previous World Series in 2010 and 2011, was hired by the Angels, who still have Mike Trout but not two-way star Shohei Ohtani, now with the other team in Los Angeles.

Seattle again revamped its roster without big spending in free agency and hopes for a quicker return to the playoffs. The Mariners missed by one game last season, a year after its first postseason appearance since 2001.

And just like last year, the Athletics go into another season not knowing if it will be their last in Oakland.

HOW THEY PROJECT

1. Houston Astros. Three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, reacquired in a deadline trade last July, will start this season on the injured list. But the 41-year-old’s IL stint is expected to be a short one. The Astros still have lefty Framber Valdez (12-11, 2.45 ERA, 200 strikeouts and a no-hitter) and right-hander Cristian Javier. Eight-time All-Star second baseman Altuve signed a new $125 million, five-year contract that goes through 2029. But two-time All-Star third baseman Bregman, the only other position player to make all seven ALCS trips, is at the end of a $100 million deal.

2. Texas Rangers. After going from six losing seasons in a row to a World Series title, the Rangers should be playoff contenders again. They return ALCS MVP Adolis García and most of the lineup that hit 233 homers and scored an AL-high 5.4 runs per game. But World Series MVP and AL MVP runner-up shortstop Corey Seager (sports hernia), Gold Glove first baseman Nathaniel Lowe (oblique strain) and All-Star third baseman Josh Jung (calf) missed significant time in the spring. All-Star right-hander Nathan Eovaldi tops a rotation still missing injured multiple Cy Young Award winners Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom.

3. Seattle Mariners. The front office put together a roster that might be better than last year, but everybody has to stay healthy. Seattle should be better offensively with the additions of Mitch Garver, Mitch Haniger, Jorge Polanco and Luke Raley to go with young superstar Julio Rodriguez. If J.P. Crawford can replicate last season at the plate and Ty France returns to his 2021-22 form, the lineup will be deeper. Couple a better offense with one of the best rotations in baseball led by Luis Castillo, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert, the Mariners should once again contend in the division.

4. Los Angeles Angels. They feel like they’re starting over yet again and still haven’t been to the playoffs since 2014. Ohtani left after six seasons for a record $700 million with the perennially contending Dodgers. The Halos added almost nothing in free agency, only revamping their bullpen again and taking low-cost flyers on Aaron Hicks and Miguel Sano. Trout and Anthony Rendon are back, and an open DH spot will allow them to rest their injury-prone bodies more regularly. Their rotation is last year’s group minus Ohtani. The 71-year-old Washington brings a unique blend of expertise and enthusiasm, which should benefit an exciting crop of young talent ready to break through in the majors.

5. Oakland Athletics. This could be the final season playing at the Coliseum with a lease set to expire. So the A’s are still trying to figure out where they will play beyond this year with a new ballpark and move to Las Vegas scheduled for 2028. Manager Mark Kotsay has been committed to keeping his team focused on what it can do to be better on the field after two years with a combined 214 losses (112 last season). The A’s acquired Ross Stripling from the San Francisco Giants and added Alex Wood to the rotation.

OLD SKIPPERS

When the 74-year-old Baker retired, Bochy became the oldest manager in the majors. That lasted only a few weeks until the Angels hired Washington. Bochy will turn 69 on April 16, just 13 days before Washington turns 72. Bochy, with 2,093 wins going into his 27th season, is one of six managers with four World Series titles, his first three coming in San Francisco (2010, 2012 and 2014). Washington won a franchise-record 664 games in eight seasons with Texas from 2007-14. He was on Atlanta’s staff the past seven years, and part of the Braves’ 2021 World Series title.

RELIEF HELP

Several new relievers are in the AL West, including hard-throwing lefty Josh Hader with the Astros, veteran right-hander David Robertson and former All-Star closer Kirby Yates in Texas, Gregory Santos and Ryne Stanek in Seattle and Robert Stephenson with the Angels.

Hader’s $95 million, five-year deal was the biggest after becoming a first-time free agent. The 29-year-old, once in the Astros’ minor league system, turned down a $20,325,000 qualifying offer from San Diego.

AL CENTRAL PREVIEW: TIGERS, ROYALS TRY TO END YEARS OF LOSING AFTER OFFSEASON MOVES

The AL Central doesn’t appear to be a great place to find baseball’s best teams.

Instead, it might be home to some of the most improved.

The division had a tough 2023, with the Twins running away with the title despite an 87-win season that wouldn’t have been good enough to win any other division in MLB. One year later, it’s still hard to look at the rosters and find an obvious 90-win squad in the bunch.

Minnesota once again appears to be the class of the division despite losing a pair of front-line starting pitchers in Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda.

But the real interest lies with teams like the Tigers and Royals, who are hoping for a big step forward. The Tigers haven’t had a winning season since 2016 and the pressure is on fourth-year manager A.J. Hinch to end that stretch.

The Royals won the World Series in 2015 and haven’t had a winning season since, but they made moves in the offseason to try and end that streak.

HOW THEY PROJECT

1. Minnesota Twins. After stopping their 18-game postseason losing streak that was the longest in the history of the major North American professional sports and winning a series for the first time in 21 years, the Twins have largely the same look in their quest to defend their division title. The notable exception is in the rotation, where losing Gray and Maeda could represent a setback. Pablo López remains the ace after an excellent debut season with the Twins and Joe Ryan has the potential to be a dominant sidekick. The wild card is Chris Paddack, who missed the 2023 regular season recovering from Tommy John surgery and chipped in from the bullpen for the playoffs. Health will likely be the pivotal factor for success at the plate this year, too, after shortstop Carlos Correa played through plantar fasciitis in his left foot and had the worst offensive season of his career and Byron Buxton’s right knee trouble limited him to designated hitter duty. Buxton has returned to center field and been thriving in spring training, as promising of a sign the Twins could hope for in camp.

2. Cleveland Guardians. Two years after a controversial name change, another new era begins in Cleveland as Stephen Vogt takes over for Terry Francona, the winningest manager in franchise history. A journeyman catcher, Vogt has never managed at any level and will break in with a Guardians team that has enough good pieces to contend for a division title. Shane Bieber looks to be recovered from arm issues that limited him in 2023 and he’ll be expected to anchor a rotation featuring Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams, who both showed major promise as rookies. Although Cleveland’s lineup lacks power, José Ramírez and Josh Naylor are each capable of hitting 30 homers and don’t be surprised if slugging prospect Kyle Manzardo arrives early to provide some needed pop. Closer Emmanuel Clase has to be more consistent after leading the majors with 12 blown saves.

3. Detroit Tigers. The franchise is more hopeful than recent years, feeling optimistic about what appears to be a plus pitching staff and some promising players, and could make the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Left-hander Tarik Skubal won four straight games and gave up just three runs over his last five starts to end last season and will be followed by newly acquired right-handers Kenta Maeda and Jack Flaherty. The bullpen is led by righties Jason Foley and Alex Lange along with lefty Andrew Chafin. First baseman Spencer Torkelson, the top pick in 2022, has a chance to become a 40-homer hitter. Multi-talented outfielder Parker Meadows generates excitement at the plate and base paths. The franchise gave second baseman Colt Keith a guaranteed deal worth at least $28 million before he faced his first pitch in the majors, clearly excited about his upside, and plan to give him opportunities to prove he was worth the investment.

4.) Kansas City Royals: The Royals are hoping to go worst-to-first this season after losing 106 games a year ago, and there is reason to believe they could do it. For one thing, the AL Central is wide open. But the Royals also spent more than $100 million in free agency to fix their biggest problems, which began and ended with pitching. Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha were signed to join breakout star Cole Ragans, Brady Singer and Jordan Lyles in the rotation, and almost the entire bullpen is new with Will Smith taking over the closer job. The Royals also added slugger Hunter Renfroe and versatile Adam Frazier to the lineup and get power-hitting first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino back from shoulder surgery that wiped out almost his entire 2023 season. With the Royals eying a new downtown ballpark as the centerpiece of a $2 billion development funded in part by the extension of an existing sales tax, it would behoove them to show a weary fanbase that they are serious enough about winning to warrant the new digs.

5.) Chicago White Sox: It was a tough 2023 for the White Sox, who lost 101 games. It’s unclear if 2024 will be much better. Chicago was second-to-last in the majors in runs scored and gave up more runs than all but four teams. The team also ranked among the worst on defense. The White Sox hope that pitchers Chris Flexen and Erick Fedde can solidify the back end of the rotation while the offense has a handful of proven offensive players in outfielder Luis Robert Jr., first baseman Andrew Vaughn, outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jiménez and third baseman Yoán Moncada. It appears that new general manager Chris Getz, starting his first full season, has plenty of work to do.

CEASE GONE

The White Sox signaled they’ll be continuing to rebuild when they dealt right-hander Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday for a package of players, including reliever Steven Wilson.

Cease, who turned 28 in December, was second in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2022 after going 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA. He went 7-9 with a 4.58 ERA last year for a White Sox team that went 61-101.

WITT GETS PAID

The Royals signed young star Bobby Witt Jr. to an 11-year deal worth more than $288.7 million guaranteed in February, easily the longest and richest contract in club history. It includes a three-year, $89 million team option that would drive the value to more than $377 million and keep Witt with the Royals through the 2037 season.

The contract was a seismic shift for a notoriously frugal, small-market ballclub. It also shows that Kansas City’s ownership is serious about being more competitive in the division after several lean years.

NL EAST PREVIEW: BRAVES AND PHILLIES PRIMED FOR ANOTHER CLASH

NEW YORK (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. and the Atlanta Braves are ready for another crack at Philadelphia.

They won’t need to wait long: opening day, first pitch.

The reigning NL MVP and his Braves teammates begin their 2024 schedule right back at Citizens Bank Park, where last season ended with a painful playoff loss in Game 4 of a Division Series.

Just like the year before.

With six straight NL East titles and a 2021 World Series crown, the Braves are the class of the division. No arguing that. But the Phillies have owned them in October, reaching the past two NL Championship Series at Atlanta’s expense only to fall short of earning World Series rings.

“This is a window that we got to win in,” Philadelphia slugger Bryce Harper said at spring training in Florida. “Our ownership deserves that. Our fans deserve that.”

The recent power struggle between the teams has produced a budding rivalry. And while the surprising Marlins gave the NL East a third playoff qualifier last year, the top of the division shapes up as a two-team tussle this season.

At least on paper.

Never a big spender, Miami is minus 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara following Tommy John surgery last October.

The inconsistent New York Mets are pointing more toward 2025 after their high-priced flop last season led to a trade-deadline selloff of veteran players in exchange for prospects.

And the Washington Nationals are still rebuilding around youngsters.

So, here we go again.

Atlanta compiled the best record in baseball last year at 104-58, finishing 14 games ahead of the Phillies for the second consecutive season. After matching a major league record with 307 homers, the Braves added outfielders Jarred Kelenic and Adam Duvall to a powerful lineup that features Acuña, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies and Marcell Ozuna.

They also made a trade with Boston to acquire starting pitcher Chris Sale, a seven-time All-Star derailed by injuries in recent years.

“I’m excited to join this staff,” Sale said. “We can feed off each other and compete for another division title and hopefully a World Series championship.”

Philadelphia spent big to re-sign Aaron Nola ($172 million) and retain fellow ace Zack Wheeler from 2025-27 ($126 million).

Acuña figures to lead off the season opener March 28 against Wheeler. And maybe meet up again come fall.

“Playing in Citizens Bank in October, there’s nothing like it,” Wheeler said.

HOW THEY PROJECT

1. Atlanta Braves. The 2023 Braves led the majors in hits, homers, runs, RBIs and batting average (.276) — lapping the runner-up Texas Rangers’ mark of .263. They must replace left fielder Eddie Rosario’s 21 homers, so the spotlight is on the 24-year-old Kelenic, who showed promising power potential during last season’s strong start with Seattle. Atlanta also brought back Duvall in mid-March to platoon with Kelenic. Another hitter to watch is Michael Harris II, who will move up to sixth or seventh in the lineup after batting ninth most of last year. Harris, only 22, is flashing power this spring and could join the team’s list of 30-homer hitters that last season included Acuña, Olson, Ozuna, Riley and Albies. Four of them had at least 100 RBIs, while Riley finished with 97.

2. Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies made few significant roster changes in the offseason and instead decided to run it back. Philadelphia re-signed Nola and gave Wheeler an extension to keep the top of the rotation intact. The Phillies would like to become more of a contender in the NL East and give the perennial champion Braves a run at the division title. But making the playoffs as a wild card has worked out fine in Philly. Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto are the heart of an offense that should help lead Philadelphia into a third straight postseason. Harper takes over full-time at first base after switching from the outfield.

3. Miami Marlins. Even without Alcantara, the young and athletic Marlins have a capable rotation led by talented left-hander Jesús Luzardo, who went 10-10 with a 3.58 ERA and 208 strikeouts in 2023. New president of baseball operations Peter Bendix didn’t add many flashy pieces during the offseason but did sign former AL batting champion Tim Anderson to a one-year contract. The Marlins made the postseason last year for the first time in a full season since 2003 thanks to the steady guidance of NL Manager of the Year Skip Schumaker and the sweet swing of big league batting champ Luis Arráez (.354). Both are back to build on that success.

4. New York Mets. After falling flat last season despite the biggest payroll in baseball history, this team is under new management. Mets owner Steve Cohen brought in new president of baseball operations David Stearns, who hired a rookie manager in Carlos Mendoza — the former Yankees bench coach. Star slugger Pete Alonso’s impending free agency next winter will put him under a microscope all year. A suspect rotation took a significant blow when Kodai Senga, runner-up for 2023 NL Rookie of the Year, went down early in spring training with a shoulder strain. He’s expected to be sidelined until at least late April or May. All-Star closer Edwin Díaz, who missed last season with a knee injury, returns to anchor a much deeper bullpen. The position-player nucleus from a 101-win playoff club in 2022 is still here, but this looks like a third- or fourth-place team.

5. Washington Nationals. The Nationals are still more about progress than win-loss record, counting on certain possible future cornerstones to continue making strides and move the team away from its four consecutive last-place finishes. Will 2023 NL All-Star Josiah Gray, CJ Abrams and Keibert Ruiz blossom? Could outfielders James Wood (obtained from San Diego in the Juan Soto trade) and Dylan Crews (the No. 2 pick in last year’s amateur draft) get some time in the majors? One thing no longer hanging over the franchise: The Lerner family has decided not to sell the club after nearly two years of looking for a buyer.

LONDON CALLING

While the Braves and Phillies appear most likely to rule the division, it will be the Phillies and Mets who play a two-game series in London from June 8-9, the latest international showcase for Major League Baseball.

RECORD COMPANY

The dynamic Acuña posted an unprecedented combination of 41 homers and 73 stolen bases last season. Olson broke a Braves mark with 54 home runs. What can they do for an encore?

Acuña sat out two weeks in spring training because of soreness in his surgically repaired right knee, but returned to the lineup two weeks before opening day.

NL WEST PREVIEW: OHTANI-LED DODGERS TEAM TO BEAT IN DIVISION WITH REIGNING LEAGUE CHAMPION D-BACKS

Dave Roberts is quickly learning all about the constant fanfare surrounding Shohei Ohtani and the increased attention he brings each day to the Los Angeles Dodgers from across the world in Japan.

The veteran manager let loose recently at spring training and breakdanced on the field during a practice, his moves caught on camera.

“Not my finest moment,” he said with a laughing emoji in a text message to The Associated Press.

Many far brighter moments to come, he certainly hopes, with two-way star Ohanti in the batting order and, eventually, back on the mound.

Ohtani’s arrival to Los Angeles is bringing all kinds of eyes to the storied franchise and perennial NL West power, which now has landed its latest megastar.

Roberts began the spring emphasizing all the things this club must do “to be great” and it will take some time to come together and build strong relationships.

“The focus, the message, was the Dodgers, the foundation of this organization, has always been pitching and defense,” Roberts said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who have been here, a handful of guys that are new to the organization, a lot of guys who understand what we’re about, excited to be a Dodger and some guys that are curious.”

The 29-year-old Ohtani sporting Dodger Blue brings even more spotlight on a Los Angeles team that won the last two NL West crowns and 10 division titles in the last 11 years. The Dodgers only lost during that span in 2021, edged by the San Francisco Giants with a franchise-record 107 victories while the Dodgers won 106. They then beat their Bay Area rival in a thrilling five-game NL Division Series.

Now, the high-rolling, star-studded Dodgers just won the biggest offseason sweepstakes in recent memory by signing the Japanese two-way star to a record $700 million, 10-year contract in December.

HOW THEY PROJECT

1. Los Angeles Dodgers. Along with Ohtani not yet being ready to pitch, the Dodgers won’t have left-hander Clayton Kershaw or right-hander Walker Buehler in the rotation to start the season. Kershaw is recovering from left shoulder surgery and Buehler is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. But they added righties Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, both of whom have had strong spring showings.

Also expected back later in the season is right-hander Tony Gonsolin. The Dodgers added Ohtani after he batted .304 with 44 home runs and 95 RBIs in 2023, but he won’t pitch until 2025 after undergoing a second elbow procedure. His first came in 2018 with Tommy John surgery.

2. Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks barely squeezed into the playoffs last season, but then proceeded to have an incredible postseason run, making the World Series for just the second time in franchise history before losing to the Texas Rangers in five games.

Most of the roster returns, including NL Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll, slugger Christian Walker and ace righty Zac Gallen. Arizona was also aggressive during the offseason, landing lefty Eduardo Rodríguez on an $80 million, four-year deal, trading for third baseman Eugenio Suárez and picking up power hitters Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk. The D-backs face an uphill battle in a big-spending division, but their mix of speed, power and pitching should give them a solid chance to get back to the postseason.

3. San Francisco Giants. San Francisco again chased the prized free agents, but landing manager Bob Melvin wound up their biggest offseason move as he was hired away from the division rival San Diego Padres to replace Gabe Kapler following two seasons out of the playoffs.

Melvin returns home to the Bay Area ready to take over a club determined to get back to contending in the talented NL West the Giants won with a franchise-record 107 victories in 2021.

Giants’ president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi called San Francisco’s offer to Ohtani “very comparable if not identical.”

The Giants added some key faces even after spring training began, most notably third baseman Matt Chapman on a $54 million, three-year contract March 1. They also signed Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee to a $113 million, six-year deal in the offseason.

Beloved 2012 World Series MVP Pablo Sandoval is back for a third stint with the franchise, too, although it’s no lock that he’ll make the opening day roster.

4. San Diego Padres. Following last year’s flop with a high-priced lineup and the death of owner Peter Seidler, the Padres have shifted their focus from openly talking about World Series aspirations to quietly saving money and resetting their luxury tax.

They still have stars Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts, but traded Juan Soto to the New York Yankees for a haul of pitchers and lost NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to free agency. Their rotation will be thin behind Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and Michael King, although their bullpen appears loaded. SS/LF Jackson Merrill could break camp with the big league team and is among a handful of prospects expected to make their debuts this season. Manager Mike Shildt replaces Melvin, who sparred with GM A.J. Preller and left for his hometown Giants.

5. Colorado Rockies. Manager Bud Black and the Rockies could be staring at another 100-loss season given their young nucleus and a pitching staff missing some big names due to injuries. Their projected total is 59 1/2 wins, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Colorado hasn’t been to the postseason – or even turned in a winning record — since 2018.

Two of the Rockies’ top starting pitchers, Germán Márquez and Antonio Senzatela, are still working their way back from Tommy John surgery. Reliever Daniel Bard also is sidelined after recently undergoing knee surgery. That puts more pressure on the lefty Kyle Freeland to anchor the rotation. A Denver native, Freeland won 17 games in 2018 but has gone 27-47 since that breakout season. Colorado’s youthful nucleus includes outfielder Nolan Jones, who hit .297 with 20 homers as he finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. The team also has Gold Glove outfielder Brenton Doyle. To break out of their funk, the Rockies desperately need more production out of first baseman Kris Bryant, the slugger who has 15 homers over two seasons with the club after signing a $182 million, seven-year contract in 2022.

NL CENTRAL PREVIEW: CARDINALS, CUBS AND REDS ARE AT THE FRONT OF A WIDE-OPEN DIVISION

CHICAGO (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals signed Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson. The Chicago Cubs added Shota Imanaga and Héctor Neris. Even the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates jumped into free agency.

There are no tanking teams in the NL Central right now, making for a wide-open landscape in a division that was captured by St. Louis or Milwaukee in five of the past six years.

It was Milwaukee’s turn in 2023, finishing nine games ahead of second-place Chicago. But the top of the Brewers’ rotation took a hit when Corbin Burnes was traded to Baltimore and Brandon Woodruff had shoulder surgery.

That problem belongs to Pat Murphy, who was promoted to manager after Craig Counsell departed for Chicago in a move that adds a little spice to one of the division’s best rivalries.

“Glad he’s on our side now,” Cubs outfielder Ian Happ said of his new skipper.

Cincinnati was in the mix for a playoff spot in 2023 before fading to an 82-80 record. The Reds then strengthened their pitching staff by signing Frankie Montas, Nick Martinez and Emilio Pagán.

Even Pittsburgh got into the act, adding reliever Aroldis Chapman and left-hander Martín Pérez, and bringing back Andrew McCutchen on a one-year contract.

The Reds last won the division in 2012. The Pirates have never won the NL Central; their last division title happened in the NL East in 1992.

HOW THEY PROJECT

1.) Chicago Cubs. With the additions of Counsell and Imanaga, along with the return of Cody Bellinger, it was a very good offseason for Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer. Imanaga is a Japanese left-hander with an impressive arsenal that should help ease his transition to the majors. He steps into a rotation fronted by Justin Steele, who went 16-5 with a 3.06 ERA last year in a breakout performance. Bellinger is looking to prove himself once again after he hit a career-best .307 with 26 homers and 97 RBIs in his first season in Chicago. Michael Busch was acquired in a January trade with the Dodgers, and the Cubs are hoping the young infielder is ready for a regular role. The big variable for Chicago is Christopher Morel, a streaky slugger who blasted 26 homers last season but also struck out 133 times in 107 games.

2.) Cincinnati Reds. Cincinnati’s promising young infield, led by Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain, took a hit when Noelvi Marte was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. But the Reds have several different ways to replace Marte while he is out. Jeimer Candelario signed with the team in free agency, and 2021 NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India also could be a factor in the infield alignment. Injuries for Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft turned Cincinnati’s rotation into a patchwork mess last season, but Andrew Abbott and Brandon Williamson gained some valuable experience that could pay off this time around. Montas also joins the rotation after an injury-decimated stint with the Yankees.

3.) St. Louis Cardinals. It’s hard to imagine the vaunted Cardinals repeating their lackluster performance from last season. St. Louis went 71-91 in 2023 and finished last in the NL Central. It was the franchise’s first losing record since it went 78-84 in 2007. Its rotation had a 5.08 ERA, and that was the Cardinals’ biggest focus in the offseason. Gray cashed in with a $75 million, three-year contract after he had a 2.79 ERA in 32 starts with Minnesota. Lynn and Gibson each got a one-year deal. But each of the three right-handers is on the wrong side of 34, and Lynn surrendered a major league-high 44 homers in 32 starts last year. Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado are back to help anchor the lineup, and Jordan Walker could be even better after a solid rookie season.

4.) Milwaukee Brewers. Rhys Hoskins fills a hole at first base after signing a $34 million, two-year contract in free agency. Also worth watching is an athletic group of young position players that includes Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick and Brice Turang. Mitchell, Frelick and Turang are former first-round picks in the amateur draft, and the 20-year-old Chourio is one of baseball’s top prospects. Following the Burnes trade and Woodruff’s injury, Freddy Peralta is the team’s top starting pitcher. The right-hander went 12-10 with a 3.86 ERA in a career-high 30 starts last year. Wade Miley was brought back on a one-year contract, but the veteran lefty has been slowed by injuries. If the Brewers stumble early on, closer Devin Williams and shortstop Willy Adames could be two of the top names on the market ahead of the trade deadline. Williams will begin the season on the injured list because of two stress fractures in his back.

5.) Pittsburgh Pirates. With Oneil Cruz, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Henry Davis, the Pirates have the beginning of what they hope becomes a solid young core. Cruz is looking for a healthy campaign after he missed most of last season with a fractured left ankle. Hayes continued his development in 2023, winning his first Gold Glove at third base while batting .271 with a career-best 15 homers and 61 RBIs. Davis, a catcher and right fielder, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft. Marco Gonzales was acquired in a trade with Atlanta in December, putting another veteran arm in the rotation behind All-Star right-hander Mitch Keller.

NO RESPECT

Milwaukee made the playoffs in five of the previous six years, and it doesn’t sound as if the team cares all that much about possibly being underestimated going into this season.

“I definitely think we’re going to be a competitive team this year,” outfielder Christian Yelich said. “Even when we’ve been good the last few years, no one ever picks us to be good just because we’re the Brewers.”

WAITING IN THE WINGS

Pittsburgh took Paul Skenes with the No. 1 pick in last year’s amateur draft, and the 6-foot-6 right-hander could make his big league debut this season.

Skenes, 21, helped LSU win the 2023 College World Series, going 13-2 with a 1.69 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 122 2/3 innings. He pitched in five minor league games last summer over three levels, allowing four runs in 6 2/3 innings.

WHITE SOX LHP GARRETT CROCHET WILL MAKE HIS 1ST CAREER START ON OPENING DAY

Garrett Crochet’s first career start will be one to remember.

The Chicago White Sox will hand the ball to Crochet on opening day, showing their faith in his transition from the bullpen to the starting rotation. The hard-throwing Crochet has made 72 career appearances, but all have come in relief.

That will change March 28 when the White Sox host the Detroit Tigers to start the season.

“Very shocked to say the least,” Crochet told reporters Monday. “I heard they had some exciting news for me, and I thought it was just that I’d made the rotation.”

The White Sox didn’t have any obvious candidates for opening day after they traded Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres last week. The 24-year-old Crochet has made an impression this spring by striking out 12 and walking none in nine scoreless innings, though he has started in only one of his four Cactus League appearances.

Crochet, a 6-foot-6 left-hander, was selected by Chicago with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2020 amateur draft out of the University of Tennessee. He missed the 2022 season while he recovered from Tommy John surgery.

For his career, he owns a 3-7 record with a 2.71 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 73 innings. Now he gets to show what he can do as a starter.

“It’s humbling and very gratifying,” Crochet said. “I worked my tail off this spring, had a lot of solid veterans to lean on this camp and was able to put together a good couple of outings. I feel like I earned it. I feel like I’ve kind of been waiting for this moment but didn’t really know if it would come, so to be awarded this, it’s a huge honor.”

TWINS’ DURAN TO MISS START OF SEASON

The Minnesota Twins will open their AL Central title defense without closer Jhoan Duran, who has a moderate oblique strain.

Duran, reliever Caleb Thielbar and starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani all are expected to open the season on the injured list. Thielbar has a hamstring injury, while DeSclafani is dealing with an elbow issue.

SHOWALTER’S NEW JOB

Former New York Mets manager Buck Showalter will rejoin MLB Network as an analyst. The network announced Monday that it is bringing back Showalter.

Showalter previously worked for MLB Network from 2020-21. He was named NL Manager of the Year after leading the Mets to 101 wins in 2022 but was fired after they slipped to 75-87 last season.

BRAVES OPTION ELDER, YNOA

Bryce Elder, who made the NL All-Star team with the Atlanta Braves last season before struggling late in the year, has been optioned to the minors.

The decisions to option both Elder and Huascar Ynoa signaled that Reynaldo López will be the fifth starter in a rotation that also includes Spencer Strider, Max Fried, Charlie Morton and Chris Sale. The Braves signed López to a $30 million, three-year contract in November.

López has made 97 career starts, but only one over the last two seasons when he thrived as a reliever.

RANGERS’ BOCHY OPTIMISTIC ON SBORZ

Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy says reliever Josh Sborz remains on track to be ready for the season opener. Sborz hasn’t pitched in a spring training game since March 6 because of knee soreness.

Sborz, who got the final seven outs for the Rangers in their World Series clincher in Game 5 at Arizona, was set to throw live batting practice Monday.

World Series MVP Corey Seager, who had surgery for a sports hernia in January, faced live pitching Monday for the first time in camp. The shortstop also is fielding and throwing.

ENCOURAGING SIGN FOR YANKEES

Carlos Rodón’s first season for the New York Yankees was a failure, but the left-hander has shown signs this spring that he might be ready to rebound.

Rodón struck out five, walked one and didn’t allow any hits in 5 2/3 scoreless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies. He lowered his Grapefruit League ERA to 2.93.

He threw 50 of 72 pitches for strikes, and reached 96 mph with his fastball before he was removed from the game by former Yankees manager Joe Torre, who is serving as a guest instructor.

“I looked up and I was like, ‘Oh it’s Joe Torre,’” Rodón said. “So I had to give the ball away. It was cool. I mean, everybody knows who Joe Torre is, and he got a nice ovation coming out there.”

Torre, who managed the team to four World Series titles and six AL pennants, is in uniform at Steinbrenner Field for the first time since his final spring training as New York manager in 2007. He arrived in camp on Friday.

Rodón is scheduled to start the second game of the regular season March 29 at Houston.

He went 3-8 with a 6.85 ERA in 14 starts last season after the Yankees signed him to a six-year, $162 million contract. He missed the start of the season with a strained forearm and later dealt with a back injury.

BAUER TO PITCH FOR MEXICAN TEAM

Trevor Bauer says he will pitch for the Mexican team Diablos Rojos in their Sunday exhibition game with the Yankees.

The 2020 NL Cy Young Award winner is attempting to return to Major League Baseball for the first time in three years following his lengthy suspension by MLB and release from the Los Angeles Dodgers after a woman accused him of sexual assault.

Bauer, 33, said Monday in a post on X, that he also has agreed to pitch five games for Diablos Rojos from April 11 to May 8 “in lieu of a traditional spring training period as it’s the best way for me to stay ready to pitch.”

COLLEGE BASEBALL

MAC ANNOUNCES BASEBALL PLAYER & PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONORS

MAC Baseball Player of the Week

Jack Krause, Bowling Green, Outfield   

Senior, Brighton, Mich. (Brighton)          

Jack Krause was the catalyst for the Falcons during a week where BGSU scored 58 runs, including a program record in a MAC game with 34 on Saturday against Ball State. Krause’s best game of the weekend was in the Saturday win, going 5-for-7 with five runs scored and four RBI with a double. He followed it up with a 3-for-5 day on Sunday with two home runs, three RBI and three runs scored. Over the course of the four games, Krause reached base 13 times and scored nine times.

MAC Baseball Co-Pitchers of the Week

Adam Mrakitsch, Central Michigan, LHP              

Junior, Howell, Mich. (Howell) 

Central Michigan left-hander Adam Mrakitsch matched his career high with 11 strikeouts in tossing eight shutout innings in the Chippewas’ series opener at Miami (Ohio). Mrakitsch walked just two and scattered seven hits. He did not factor in the decision as Miami scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to seize a 3-2 victory.

Jackson Bergman, Toledo, RP   

Soph., Hicksville, Ohio (Hicksville)          

Sophomore Jackson Bergman posted a 1.69 ERA and struck out 11 batters with a .059 opponent batting average in 5.1 innings over two relief appearances last week.  Bergman struck out seven batters and didn’t allow a hit in 3.1 scoreless innings pitched at Western Michigan on Saturday to help the Rockets overcome an early 7-0 deficit. He also fanned four Wolverines in 2.0 IP in a 7-6 (12 inn.) loss at Michigan.

HCAC 2024 BASEBALL NOTEBOOK, WEEK 5

CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) baseball teams competed in week five of the 2024 season.
 
Around the League:
HCAC Baseball Schedule
 
Athletes of the Week:
Hitter of the Week:
Tysen Lipscomb (Wapahani, Ind.) Franklin College | Outfield | Senior – Was a force at the plate for the Grizzlies as they won all four games last week, batting .500 (9-for-18) with three home runs, 11 RBI, three doubles and nine runs scored…opened the week by going 3-for-4 with a home run, 4 RBI and two runs scored in a big win over Wilmington…went 3-for-4 with a home run, 5 RBI, three runs scored and two doubles in an 18-3 win over Trine on Sunday that finished off a weekend sweep.kend series with Albion…had his biggest game of the weekend in game two on Saturday, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored, a grand slam and a career-high 7 RBI.
Pitching Athlete of the Week:
Jacob Moberly (Elizabethtown, Ky.) Transylvania University | Pitcher | Junior – Moberly pitched a complete game to secure the 4 game sweep over New Jersey City. He struckout 7 batters while allowing just one run.

Notable Performances:

• Griffin Wolf (Carmel, Ind.) Anderson University | Outfield | Sophomore – Griffin Wolf went 5-for-9 with a homer, 3 RBI and 3 runs for the week. He finished the week with a slashline of .556/.600/.889.
• Carter Knoblauch (New Haven, Ind.) Anderson University | Pitcher | Sophomore – Carter Knoblauch fanned 11 batters in a 9-inning no decision. He walked 0 batters and allowed 3 runs on 7 hits in 9 innings.
• Justin Maurer (Springfield, Ohio) Bluffton University | First Base | Junior – Maurer helped the Beavers to a 2-1 week, hitting .400 with 9 RBI and 8 runs scored. He slugged 1.000 with 2 home runs, including a grand slam in Bluffton 12-7 win over Chatham on Saturday. Maurer had a .647 on-base percentage thanks to 4 walks and 3 HBP’s.
• Jaden Jaques (New Palestine, Ind.) Bluffton University | Pitcher | Graduate – Jaques went 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA across 4.1 innings in two games of relief. He struck out one and held opponents to a .286 batting average.
• Connor Gephart (Lima, Ohio) Defiance College | Infield | Sophomore – Connor Gephart continues to swing a hot bat to start the 2024 season and helped guide the Yellow Jackets to the squad’s first two victories of the season. In five games, Gephart went 6-for-18 (.333) with seven RBIs and four walks to boost his average to .367 and his on-base percentage to .500 through nine games. In Saturday’s opener of a doubleheader, the LCC grad slugged a grand slam during a seven-run fourth inning to boost DC to a 10-6 win. He also added an RBI single in the 5-2 win to finish off the four-game series at Judson.
• Aiden Behrman (Deshler, Ohio) Defiance College | Pitcher | First Year – Aiden Behrman earned his first career victory in his second career start for the Yellow Jackets. In the first of four games at Judson, he tossed five innings of three-run ball and did not yield a hit over the first three innings of that start. He closed the contest with a pair of strikeouts, allowed three hits, and walked one.
• Max Fries (Cleves, Ohio) Earlham College | Outfield/Utility | Graduate – Max Fries slashed .538/.667/.692 in four games in Florida for the Quakers. Fries hit two doubles, and drove in seven runs with only two strikeouts.
• Braeden Lewis (Oshawa, Ont.) Earlham College | Pitcher | Sophomore – Braeden Lewis threw a complete game win over Thiel in a seven-inning run rule. The sophomore righty allowed just one earned run and six hits, while scoring three strikeouts
• Dylan Sprong (Greenwood, Ind.) Franklin College | Pitcher | Senior – Sprong earned his second win of the year after tossing five shutout innings on Sunday against Trine, scattering four hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
• Alex Christie (Greenwood, Ind.) Hanover College | Infield | Senior – Christie led the Panthers to a 2-2 overall week going 9-of-16 at the dish with seven RBI and six runs. He posted a team-high four homeruns. In the team’s 8-7 loss to Wabash the senior was a triple shy of the cycle going 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run. Christie also finished the week with a team-high .563 batting average.
• Matthew Alter (Indianapolis, Ind.) Hanover College | Pitcher | Senior – Alter claimed her second victory of the season as he got the start in a 11-8 decision at Wabash. The senior pitched five complete innings with three strikeouts. He allowed just two earned runs on six hits. He finished the week with a 3.60 ERA.
• Austin Knowles (Nassau, Bahamas) Manchester University | Infield | Senior – Austin Knowles hit .376 as the Spartans picked up two wins in 5 games this week. The senior infielder finished the week with 5 RBI, 2 home runs, and a stolen base.
• Andrew McGray (Carmel, Ind.) Manchester University | Pitcher/Outfield | Junior – Andrew McGray threw 4.2 innings, allowing just 2 hits with 4 strike outs en route to a 15-7 Manchester victory against Berea.
• Kade Kline (Terre Haute, Ind.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Outfield | Junior – Kline finished the week going 10-18 with 9 runs scored for the week including his second five-hit game in just three games. He is just the second player in Rose-Hulman history to record multiple five-hit games. Overall in the week, he totaled a slash link of .556 batting average, .619 on-base percentage, .667 slugging percentage, and a 1.286 OPS.
• Michael Yager (Park Ridge, Ill.) Rose-Hulman Insitute of Technology | Pitcher | Senior – Yager got the start and earned his first win of the season on Friday. He finished the start going 6 innings of 2-run baseball while striking out three batters in the 12-2 win over Calvin.
• Trent Youngblood (Louisville, Ky.) Transylvania University | Centerfield/Short Stop | Senior – Youngblood became the all time steals leader in Transy history with his 63rd career steal in the series against New Jersey City. He finished the series 5-11 with 7 walks, 2 doubles, a home run, and scored 6 times, including stealing home.

COLLEGE SOFTBALL

HCAC 2024 SOFTBALL NOTEBOOK, WEEK 5

CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) softball teams competed in week five of the 2024 season.
 
Around the League:
HCAC Softball Schedule
 
Athletes of the Week:
Hitting Athlete of the Week:
Jessica Newsom (Lawrenceville, Ga.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Catcher | First Year – Newsom led Rose-Hulman to a doubleheader sweep of Fontbonne on Saturday by going 5-8 with three extra-base hits. She hit two home runs and a triple including a three-run home run in the seventh and a walk-off triple in the eighth to lead the Fightin’ Engineers to a 5-run comeback in the bottom of the seventh. She also added 6 RBIs and 3 runs in the doubleheader.
Pitching Athlete of the Week:
Morgan Cooksey (Williamsport, Ind.) Earlham College | Pitcher | First Year – Morgan Cooksey had a dominant presence in the circle for the Quakers in Florida with a 2.21 ERA through 25.1 innings. The freshman threw three complete games in four starts, and registered 31 strikeouts with eight earned runs.

Notable Performances:

• Maddie Shoenradt (Lafayette, Ind.) Anderson University | Outfield | Sophomore – In 8 games, Maddie Schoenradt stole 10 bases, cranked 2 homers, drove in 8 runs and went 11-for-24 at the plate. She also plated 9 runs and added a double. Schoenradt recorded a slashline of .458/.548/.750. Against Spalding, Schoenradt stole 4 bases in a game, becoming just the third player in program history to accomplish the feat.
• Braelynn Hattendorf (West Lafayette, Ind) Anderson University | Pitcher/Infield | First Year – Braelynn Hattendorf went 1-1 with a 1.43 ERA. In three games, Hattendorf struck out 7 batters, issued 0 walks and allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 14 hits in 14 and two-third innings. In her win against Asbury, she struck out 4 batters, yielded 0 walks and conceded 2 runs on 6 hits in 7 innings. Hattendorf then retired each of the three batters she faced against DePauw. In a loss against Wisconsin-Stout, Hattendorf fanned 3 batters, issued 0 walks and gave up 2 runs (1 earned) on 8 hits in 6 and two-thirds innings.
• Mia McCartney  (North Baltimore, Ohio) Bluffton University | First Base | Junior – McCartney hit .385 with 5 hits in 13 at bats as Bluffton went 1-3 on the week with a 10-1 mercy-rule victory at Oberlin on Sunday. She had 3 RBI, 2 runs scored and 2 doubles while slugging at a .538 clip with a sacrifice fly.
• Emily Hope  (Enon, Ohio) Bluffton University | Pitcher | First Year – Hope went 1-0 with a miniscule 1.83 ERA in 7.2 innings of work. She did not walk a batter and held the opposition to a .269 batting average. Hope tossed a complete game, while scattering seven hits with one strikeout.
• Emmerie Stump  (Indianapolis, Ind.) Earlham College | First Base/Outfield | First Year – Emmerie Stump led the Quakers at the plate in Florida, scoring a .348 batting average with two doubles, two triples and five RBI.
• Eriana Wagner (Indianapolis, Ind.) Franklin College | Outfield | Junior – Wagner went 7-for-16 at the plate with two home runs, 5 RBI and six runs scored…belted a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to win game one against Kalamazoo on Saturday…smacked her second home run of the weekend in game one of Sunday’s double header with Aurora.
• Jade Wims (Indianapolis, Ind.) Hanover College | Third Base | Sophomore – Wims helped lead the Panthers to a 2-2 week as part of the Pioneer Classic. The sophomore recorded a .300 batting average with five RBI. She added two doubles with three hits and two runs. 
• Lauren Beaman (Seymour, Ind.) Hanover College | Pitcher | Sophomore – Beaman led the Panthers to a 2-2 week as part of the Pioneer Classic. The junior pitched 16 complete innings with seven strikeouts. She finished the weekend posting a 2.63 ERA and a 2-0 overall record.
• Lexie Goodman (Poplar, Ill.) Manchester University | Outfield | Sophomore – Lexi Goodman went 3-6 at the plate as the Spartans opened the Spring Games against Tufts and Bowdoin. The sophomore outfielder hit 2-3 against Tufts, scoring one of Manchester’s 2 runs on the morning. In their second game of the day, Goodman went 3-3 on stolen base attempts with a run scored.
• Lizzie Willis (Yorktown, Ind.) Manchester University | Pitcher/Infield | First Year – Lizzie Willis threw 10.2 innings in two games, including a complete 7 innings against Bowdoin to open the Spring Games in Florida yesterday. The first-year scattered 10 hits and walked 2 batters while striking out 5.
• Casey Kemp (Blanchester, Ohio) Mount St. Joseph University | Pitcher/Infield | Senior – Casey Kemp had a solid week in the circle for the Lions. While in Florida, Kemp pitched 21 Innings allowing 12 hits, 6 runs (4 earned), while striking out 10 batters. 
• Aubrey Smith (Lebanon, Ohio) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Pitcher | First Year – Smith earned the win in relief in both games on Saturday as Rose-Hulman completed a pair of comeback wins over Fontbonne. She pitched 9.1 innings in relief and allowed just two earned runs with 9 strikeouts. She finished the day with a 1.50 ERA and 1.18 WHIP.
• Stella Wulker (Cincinnati, Ohio) Transylvania University | Pitcher/Outfield | Senior – Wulker had a phenomenal weekend in the 2024 Pioneer Classic. She finished 11-18 with two home runs and ten RBI’s. She had 4 hits and 6 RBI’s in the win over No.24 Calvin

NFL NEWS

REPORTS: COWBOYS RESTRUCTURE QB DAK PRESCOTT DEAL, CREATE $4M CAP SPACE

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott restructured his contract to lower his nearly $60 million salary cap figure for 2024 and create $4 million for Dallas under the cap, according to multiple reports.

Prescott is entering the final year of a four-year, $160 million contract. The 30-year-old agreed to add void years to his contract to allow the Cowboys to convert his $5 million roster bonus to a signing bonus, ESPN reported, which removes $4 million from the team’s 2024 cap.

At $55.45 million, Prescott’s cap figure remains the second-highest in the NFL for 2024 behind Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson ($63.97 million).

A long-term contract extension is expected for Prescott and would lower his cap figure immensely and might be necessary with free agency looming for pass rusher Micah Parsons and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, among others on the Dallas roster.

Prescott on Monday also introduced his baby daughter to fans with photos posted to social media. Prescott and his girlfriend, Sarah Jane Ramos, shared five pictures of the newborn nicknamed MJ — Margaret Rose Jane Prescott.

“Being your parents is the biggest blessing life has to offer and we are so fortunate that you are ours! Welcome into this world, baby girl, you will always be loved and protected! We are so IN LOVE with you, Love, Mom & Dad,” the post reads.

FALCONS SIGN RECEIVER RETURN SPECIALIST RAY-RAY MCCLOUD AND RE-SIGN DL KENTAVIUS STREET

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons signed receiver Ray-Ray McCloud to a two-year contract on Monday.

McCloud is a return specialist who also provides new Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins with another potential target on offense.

The Falcons also announced that defensive lineman Kentavius Street is staying with the team after agreeing to a one-year deal.

A sixth-round pick by Buffalo in 2018, the 5-foot-9, 190-pound McCloud has recorded 960 scrimmage yards (768 receiving, 192 rushing) and two touchdowns in 77 games with the Bills, Panthers, Steelers and 49ers.

McCloud has played an even bigger role on special teams with 138 punt returns for 1,326 yards (9.6 average) and 108 kickoff returns for 2,438 yards (22.6 avg.).

In 2021, McCloud led the NFL with 367 yards on 38 punt returns while with Pittsburgh.

Last season in San Francisco, McCloud appeared in 12 games with one start, recording 12 receptions for 135 yards and three carries for 30 yards. He also had 24 punt returns for an 8.5-yard average and 10 kickoff returns for a 22.5-yard average.

Street was acquired midway through the 2023 season in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. He appeared in 13 games with six starts overall, recording 18 tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery.

Street, a six-year veteran who also has played for San Francisco and New Orleans, went on injured reserve with a pectoral issue in the final month of the season.

COWBOYS LB LEIGHTON VANDER ESCH (NECK) RETIRING

Former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch announced Monday that he is medically retiring from the NFL after six seasons.

The team released the 28-year-old veteran on Friday with a failed physical designation due to a lingering neck injury.

“I love the game of football so much, and my body won’t cooperate any longer,” Vander Esch said in a statement released by the Cowboys. “I cherished every moment of my NFL career, and it has been such a blessing to play the game for as long as I have played.”

In 71 career NFL games (65 starts) with the Cowboys, the 2018 first-round draft pick had 469 tackles, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and three interceptions. He was a Pro Bowl selection as a rookie in 2018.

“Seldom do you come across a player like Leighton, who grew up playing eight-man football only to first play the 11-man game at the major collegiate level and excel,” said Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones. “His passion and love for the game was contagious, and from the moment he arrived, he has been a difference maker. His grit, toughness, motivation, determination and football IQ will be sorely missed. Leighton also embodied the strong character and personal qualities that make him much more than an accomplished player.

“He was a leader and the kind of teammate that impacted those around him in the best ways. Leighton’s playing career may have come to an end, but his future is very bright. On behalf of the entire Dallas Cowboys organization, we’re proud that he wore the star on his helmet.”

He missed the final 12 games last season with his latest neck injury, sustained in a Week 5 loss at San Francisco when 49ers left tackle Trent Williams blocked Vander Esch into the side of Dallas linebacker Micah Parsons on a fourth-quarter play. Vander Esch had his head down as he made contact with Parsons and fell to the turf.

Vander Esch also sustained a neck injury in 2016 while at Boise State and a more serious one with Dallas in 2019. He had a neck operation in 2020 to fix nerve issues.

BENGALS SIGN DT SHELDON RANKINS TO TWO-YEAR DEAL

The Cincinnati Bengals signed defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins to a two-year contract, the team announced on Monday.

The deal is worth $26 million, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

Rankins, who turns 30 on April 2, was an unrestricted free agent after his lone season with the Houston Texans in 2023. He totaled 37 tackles, six sacks, nine tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits in 15 games (all starts).

The New Orleans Saints selected Rankins with the 12th overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Louisville.

He has played for the Saints (2016-2020), New York Jets (2021-22) and Texans, totaling 228 tackles, 29.5 sacks, 43 tackles for loss, 68 QB hits, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in 109 regular-season games (66 starts).

REPORT: BILLS TO RE-SIGN DB TARON JOHNSON TO 3-YEAR DEAL

The Buffalo Bills are re-signing defensive back Taron Johnson to a three-year deal worth $31 million, his agent told ESPN on Monday.

The deal makes Johnson the highest-paid nickel back in the NFL, per the report.

Johnson, 27, had 98 tackles, eight passes defensed and three forced fumbles in 17 starts last season.

He has four interceptions, seven sacks, seven forced fumbles and 39 passes defensed in 88 career games (67 starts) in six seasons with the Bills, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2018 draft out of Weber State.

Johnson was named second-team All-Pro in 2023.

DOLPHINS RE-SIGNING VETERAN OL ISAIAH WYNN

The Miami Dolphins are re-signing offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn to a one-year deal, his agents confirmed Monday.

Financial terms were not disclosed by representatives Drew Rosenhaus and Shawn O’Dare.

Wynn, 28, has started 47 of his 50 games since being drafted in the first round by the New England Patriots in 2018.

He played on a one-year, $2.3 million deal with Miami in 2023 and made seven starts at left guard before sustaining a season-ending quad injury.

COMMANDERS SIGN FREE AGENT CB MICHAEL DAVIS

The Washington Commanders signed free agent cornerback Michael Davis on Monday in a depth move for their secondary.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Davis, 29, hit free agency at the end of a three-year deal worth $25.2 million that he signed with the Los Angeles Chargers in March 2021.

Davis has 349 tackles, eight interceptions and 69 passes defensed in 107 career games (74 starts) in seven seasons with the Chargers, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2017.

REPORT: JAGUARS SIGN K JOEY SLYE TO ONE-YEAR DEAL

The Jacksonville Jaguars are signing free agent kicker Joey Slye to a one-year deal, NFL Network reported Monday.

The former Washington kicker swaps places with Brandon McManus, who signed with the Commanders last week.

Slye, 27, converted 19 of 24 field goals and 32 of 35 extra points in 17 games for the Commanders last season.

He has made 82.3 percent of his field goals and just 88.5 percent of his PATs across five seasons with four teams.

McManus, 32, made 30 of 37 field goals and all 35 of his extra points in 17 games for the Jaguars in 2023.

CHARGERS SIGN CENTER BRADLEY BOZEMAN AND LINEBACKER TROY DYE TO 1-YEAR CONTRACTS

COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — Center Bradley Bozeman and linebacker Troy Dye have signed one-year contracts with the Los Angeles Chargers. The team announced the deals on Monday.

General manager Joe Hortiz and offensive coordinator Greg Roman both worked with Bozeman in Baltimore. Bozeman was a sixth-round pick by the Ravens in the 2018 draft and was there for four seasons before spending the last two in Carolina.

Bozeman is projected to be the Chargers’ starting center with Corey Linsley expected to retire due to a heart issue. Linsley started only three games last season with Will Clapp starting 11 and Brenden Jaimes three.

Dye, who spent his first four seasons with Minnesota, is expected to contribute primarily on special teams. He led the Vikings in special teams tackles with 11 in 2021. Chargers special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken directed the Vikings unit in 2021.

BEARS AGREE TO 1-YEAR DEAL WITH DEFENSIVE END BYRON COWART

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears and defensive end Byron Cowart agreed to a one-year contract on Monday.

The 6-foot-3, 300-pound Cowart has played in 36 games and started 14 for New England and Indianapolis. He has 41 tackles and one sack.

The 27-year-old Cowart spent last season on Miami’s practice squad.

THE 49ERS HAVE BEEN DOCKED A 2025 FIFTH-ROUND DRAFT PICK FOR AN ACCOUNTING ERROR

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers have forfeited a 2025 draft pick and had a 2024 fourth-round pick moved down four spots because of an accounting error regarding the salary cap.

The NFL announced the punishment on Monday that docks San Francisco a fifth-round pick in 2025 and moves this year’s fourth-rounder from its original spot at No. 131 to No. 135 after compensatory picks that round.

The league said the punishment came after a review found that administrative payroll accounting errors at the end of the 2022 league year resulted in the team misreporting player compensation from that season.

The NFL said the investigation determined the Niners would have remained under the salary cap regardless of the error and there was no intent to circumvent the cap.

“We take responsibility and accept the imposed discipline from the NFL due to a clerical payroll error,” the team said in a statement. “At no time did we mislead or otherwise deceive the league or gain a competitive advantage in connection with the payroll mistake.”

San Francisco still has three picks in the fourth round, including No. 124 from Dallas from a deal made last summer for quarterback Trey Lance. The Niners have a compensatory pick that now moves from No. 133 to No. 132, as well as their own pick now at No. 135.

The 49ers also announced several free agent signings Monday, including a one-year deal with backup tackle Brandon Parker.

San Francisco also made official several moves that had been reported last week, including a two-year contract with defensive end Leonard Floyd, and one-year deals for linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, offensive lineman Jon Feliciano and cornerbacks Chase Lucas and Isaac Yiadom.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS

ALABAMA GIVES DEBOER 8-YEAR, $87 MILLION YEAR; AD GREG BYRNE, HOOPS COACH NATE OATS GET RAISES

New Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer has received an eight-year contract worth at least $87 million, and the school also gave basketball coach Nate Oats and athletic director Greg Byrne raises and extensions.

The 49-year-old DeBoer, who replaced seven-time national champion Nick Saban after leading Washington to the national championship game in his second season, is set to make $10 million in his first year.

The contracts received formal approval from the UA System Board of Trustees compensation committee on Monday.

“High-level investment from high-level coaches is an important part of the success that we’ve had in our department,” Byrne told trustees. “I feel strongly that we continue to show that with the additional steps we’re taking today.”

DeBoer’s deal runs through Dec. 31, 2033, and calls for a salary of $11.75 million in his final year after $250,000 annual raises.

His bonuses include $600,000 for playing in a national championship game and $875,000 for winning the title. DeBoer made $4.2 million at Washington in his final year.

Oats’ new six-year contract calls for him to make $5 million this year, rising to $7.55 million in his final year through March 14, 2030.

Bryne announced Friday night that Oats had signed a new contract but the details weren’t released until Monday. Oats has led Alabama to the NCAA Tournament four years in a row and the Crimson Tide received their first No. 1 seed last season.

The contract comes with a hefty buyout of $18 million if Oats leaves in the first two years, which Byrne said is the highest in college basketball.

Oats’ previous deal was worth $4.5 million annually through the 2029 season.

“We have enjoyed tremendous success during our five years at Alabama and we look forward to building on that for many years to come,” Oats said in a statement.

Like DeBoer, Alabama gave Byrne an eight-year deal, set to pay him just over $2 million annually. Byrne took over as athletic director in January 2017 and was charged with replacing Saban, who won six of his titles at Alabama.

“Greg’s done an incredible job of leading our athletics program since his arrival, and certainly during this time of great changes in our athletics world,” university president Stuart Bell told trustees.

Trustees also approved deals for DeBoer’s assistants and raises for two of Oats’ assistants:

—Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan received a three-year deal worth $4.5 million. He also was paid $650,000 from Jan. 23-31.

—Defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Kane Wommack is set to make $5.1 million over three years.

—Assistant head coach/co-offensive coordinator Jamarcus Shephard is set to make $1.1 million annually under his two-year deal.

—Colin Hitschler, co-defensive coordinator/defensive backs, is set to make $1.975 million over two years. That counts $625,000 from Jan. 23-Feb. 29.

—Bryan Ellis, tight ends, will make $1.1 million over two years.

—Associate head coach/defensive line Freddie Roach will make $1 million the first year and $1.1 million the second.

—Strength and conditioning coach David Ballou’s two-year deal is worth $950,000 each year.

—Assistant head coach/running backs Robert Gillespie is set to make $1.7 million over two years.

—Offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic and co-defensive coordinator/DBs Maurice Linguist will each make $875,000 their first year and $925,000 the second.

—Outside linebackers coach Christian Robinson will make $650,000 each of the next two years.

—Football general manager Courtney Morgan will make $500,000 annually in his two-year deal.

—Special teams coordinator Rojelio Nunez’s deal is two years at $250,000 each.

—Basketball assistant Preston Murphy is set to make $450,000 a year under a two-year deal. Fellow assistant Ryan Pannone’s two-year deal is worth $360,000 per.

NHL NEWS

F WAYNE SIMMONDS RETIRES AFTER 15 NHL SEASONS

Forward Wayne Simmonds announced his retirement from the NHL on Monday after 15 seasons with six teams.

The Philadelphia Flyers are signing him to a one-day contract and will honor his career on April 13 during a game against the New Jersey Devils.

Simmonds, 35, appeared in 1,037 games and tallied 526 points (263 goals, 263 assists) and 1,313 penalty minutes.

“It’s hard to describe my emotions on a day like this, but one of my very first thoughts as I look back is my life in Philadelphia and playing for the Flyers,” Simmonds said. “Taking the ice in a Flyers sweater is a special feeling and it’s one that I’m truly proud of. The history of this franchise and standard of being a Flyer that was set is unique and one that I hold in the highest regard.”

Simmonds played eight seasons with the Flyers from 2011-19. The Ontario native entered the league as a 2007 second-round pick by the Los Angeles Kings and also suited up for the Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres before playing his final three seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs (2020-23).

“It is a privilege to congratulate Wayne on his retirement from the NHL and I look forward to celebrating his career on April 13 with our great fans,” said Flyers general manager Daniel Briere. “He was an excellent teammate, a leader in the locker room and a class act for the Philadelphia community. He had such passion for this city and team that it was an honor to witness it all and play alongside him. I wish him all the happiness and success to him and his family as he embarks on this new chapter.”

Simmonds’ teams went to the Stanley Cup playoffs nine times and he contributed 22 points (eight goal, 14 assists) in 53 games.

Simmonds was the MVP of the 2017 NHL All-Star Game and received the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award in 2018-19.

PANTHERS DEFENSEMAN DMITRY KULIKOV HAS BEEN SUSPENDED BY THE NHL FOR 2 GAMES FOR AN ILLEGAL CHECK

NEW YORK (AP) — Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov has been suspended by the NHL for two games for an illegal check to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning forward Conor Sheary.

The league announced the punishment on Monday.

The play occurred 3:36 into the second period of Tampa Bay’s 5-3 victory on Saturday night. Kulikov received a match penalty.

Based on his average annual salary, Kulikov will forfeit $10,416.66 as part of his punishment. The money goes to an emergency assistance fund for NHL players.

CAPITALS MOVE INTO PLAYOFF SPOT WITH WIN OVER FLAMES

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored twice and became the third player in NHL history to have at least 20 goals in 19 consecutive seasons as the Washington Capitals beat the Calgary Flames 5-2 on Monday night.

The 38-year-old Ovechkin had two power-play goals in the second period as Washington won its third straight game. He joined Gordie Howe (22) and Brendan Shanahan (19) as the only players to achieve the goal-scoring feat.

Dylan Strome, Hendrix Lapierre and Tom Wilson also scored for Washington (33-25-9), which moved into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of idle Detroit. It’s the first time the Capitals have occupied a playoff spot since Jan. 2.

Kevin Rooney and MacKenzie Weegar scored for Calgary (33-30-5). The Flames finished 2-2-0 in a four-game homestand.

Washington goalie Charlie Lindgren had 34 saves and improved to 18-11-5. He has won five of his last six games with a .956 save percentage.

Calgary rookie Dustin Wolf allowed four goals on 32 shots in his third straight start and saw his record dip to 3-4-1. Wolf had allowed three goals on 67 shots in winning his last two games.

Ovechkin’s 20th goal of the season made it 2-0 at 5:58 of the second period. Ovechkin went to the net where he neatly deflected a hard centring pass from Max Pacioretty into the top corner. After pumping his arms in celebration, Ovechkin immediately looked over at Pacioretty and pointed, acknowledging the terrific pass.

Just over three minutes later, Washington’s power play struck again. Ovechkin set up at the top of the faceoff circle, stick cocked. When John Carlson slid a pass across, Ovechkin leaned into a slap shot that beat Wolf inside the near post.

Ovechkin has 12 goals in 20 games since the All-Star break after scoring just nine times in 44 games before that. He raised his career goal total to 843, second to — and 51 behind — Wayne Gretzky.

The Capitals have been helped in their playoff chase by a rejuvenated power play. On Jan. 18, Washington had the league’s third-worst power play at 13.3%. Over the last two months, including going 2 for 3 against Calgary, the Capitals have the league’s third-best power play at 29.1%.

Calgary briefly got back to within two goals at 10:41 of the second period on Rooney’s second goal of the season and first in 17 games.

But Lapierre scored four minutes later and restored the three-goal cushion at 4-1.

Weegar’s 16th of the season at 7:12 of the third — third best among NHL defensemen — got Calgary within two again, but that’s as close as the Flames could get.

Jacob Markstrom (lower body) is back skating and coach Ryan Huska said he could return to action as soon as this weekend. The veteran Flames goaltender has missed the last five games.

UP NEXT

Capitals: Host Toronto on Wednesday to open a four-game homestand.

Flames: At Vancouver on Saturday.

SKINNER NETS HAT TRICK, SABRES CHASE DACCORD WITH EARLY BARRAGE IN 6-2 WIN OVER KRAKEN

SEATTLE (AP) — Jeff Skinner had a hat trick, with his first goal coming during a three-goal outburst in the first six minutes to chase Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord, and the Buffalo Sabres cruised to a 6-2 victory Monday night.

Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch also scored in the first period for the Sabres, who earned their first win in six tries against the third-year Kraken. With 71 points, Buffalo is four behind Washington for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with 13 games left.

Owen Power had Buffalo’s other goal. Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 32 saves.

The three-goal barrage came after Jordan Eberle gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead just 24 seconds into the game. Matty Beniers scored on a power play late in the first but the Kraken lost their fifth straight game — all at home.

Daccord made four saves before being pulled. Phillip Grubauer came on and stopped 23 shots the rest of the way. With 68 points, Seattle is 11 out of a Western Conference playoff berth with 15 games remaining.

Just moments after Eberle put Seattle on top, Thompson tied it on a shot from just outside the top of the right circle that zipped past Daccord at the 49-second mark.

Skinner gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead at 3:56. Tuch’s shot from the top of the slot at 5:41 made it 3-1 and sent Daccord to the bench.

Skinner and Power scored 24 seconds apart midway through the second, boosting the margin to 5-2. Skinner capped his hat trick with 1:58 left in the game.

UP NEXT

Sabres: Visit the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.

Kraken: Visit the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.

GOLF NEWS

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER IS REACHING A DOMINANCE NOT SEEN SINCE TIGER WOODS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler is next in line for comparisons with Tiger Woods because golf, like other sports, is always looking for the heir to the throne.

Scheffler is playing great golf, measured as much by his elite ball-striking and alarming consistency as the results. He now has nine victories against the strongest fields — one of them a small field in the Bahamas — in the 25 months since he won his first PGA Tour title.

Equally impressive is his 65% rate of finishing in the top 10.

The next Woods?

“I think that’s a funny question,” Scheffler said Sunday evening after his record-tying final round made him the first back-to-back winner of The Players Championship.

He found out the answer a month earlier at Riviera during the Genesis Invitational.

“I’m not going to remember the exact numbers, but we’re playing at Riv this year and I hit my tee ball, and this guy yells out, ‘Congrats on being No. 1, Scottie — 11 more years to go!’” he said.

And then Scheffler repeated the number to let it sink in for anyone listen.

“Eleven more years to go.”

Scheffler reached No. 1 in the world for the fourth time after his runner-up finish in the PGA Championship last May, and he has been there ever since, challenged a few times by either Jon Rahm or Rory McIlroy.

And now with his second straight win — a five-shot victory at Bay Hill, a five-shot comeback at the TPC Sawgrass — his lead at the top of the ranking is the largest since Dustin Johnson in May 2017. Johnson stayed No. 1 for 64 consecutive weeks, the longest in the post-Woods era. Scheffler is currently at 43 weeks. His total time has been 78 weeks.

Woods holds the record at 281 consecutive weeks, breaking his previous mark of 264 consecutive weeks. His total time at No. 1 was slightly more than 13 years.

Scheffler was off by two years. No need to quibble.

“Anytime you can be compared to Tiger I think is really special,” Scheffler said. “But I mean, the guy stands alone I think in our game. He really does.”

Scheffler has tied Woods with the most Players Championship titles — two.

“Outside of that, I’ve got 14 more majors and 70-some PGA Tour events to catch up,” he said. “So I think I’m going to stick to my routine and just continue to plod along, try and stay as even-keeled as I can.”

It’s easy to overlook Johnson, partly because he is with LIV Golf and is seen against a full roster of great players only at the four majors, and partly because it has been seven years since he was at his most dominant. He won three straight tournaments — Riviera and two World Golf Championships — and was the overwhelming favorite at the Masters until slipping down the stairs the day before the first round and having to withdraw.

Before him was McIlroy, who won seven times from May 2014 through May 2015, including consecutive majors. And then he injured his knee playing soccer, missing the British Open at St. Andrews, and lost the No. 1 ranking to Jordan Spieth.

Scheffler offered a small reminder about looking too far into the future. He felt something in his neck on the second hole of his second round, and the pain was such that it hurt to take the club too far back. He needed treatment after the 13th, 14th and 15th holes. He had reason to withdraw except that he was playing well — he was tied when he felt the pain — and his competitiveness kept him from stopping.

So he got through Friday with a 69, and then relied more on his hands for a game he described as “kind of slapping it around.” He birdied the last three holes Saturday for a 68 to stay in the game, five shots behind.

And then he felt better on Sunday and delivered a masterpiece — a hole-out from 92 yards for eagle on No. 4, four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn and a 64 to match the Players Championship record for lowest Sunday score by a winner.

And no one was terribly surprised, the ultimate compliment.

Statistically, he led the field from tee-to-green, just like he seems to do whenever and wherever he plays. It wasn’t his best week with the irons — remember the “slapping it around” from Saturday — and he a little better than middle of the pack in putting.

It’s been that way for some time. His consistently great play first came into focus at the start of 2023 when it took until July at the British Open for his first result worse than a tie for 12th. And it hasn’t really stopped.

The best since Woods in his prime? Scheffler gets closer the larger his sample size gets. The real measure is when expectations get too high for anyone but Woods to match. It’s getting close. Still to be determined is whether it gets to him, which sounds unlikely.

“I try not to place too much emphasis on results, good or bad,” Scheffler said. “I show up to try and perform my best and hopefully win tournaments. But when I stand on the tee on Thursday, I’m not thinking about the trophy ceremony at the end of the week. I’m just trying to be committed to the shot and just go from there.”

PGA TOUR PLAYER DIRECTORS PREPARE FOR MEETING WITH SAUDI LEADER OF LIV GOLF

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Players on the PGA Tour board negotiating with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund have a meeting planned Monday with the Saudi leader backing rival LIV Golf, something Rory McIlroy said Sunday should have happened long ago.

He also said Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Public Investment Fund, wants to be “productive” in golf, while Greg Norman and others involved in LIV are disruptive.

McIlroy won’t be part of the meeting, and details remained vague on where it would be held and whether it would be anything more than an ice breaker with Al-Rumayyan.

“I doubt we will get into anything substantive in the first meeting,” said Patrick Cantlay, one of six player directors on PGA Tour Enterprises, the new commercial venture that already has a minority investor in Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of U.S. sports owners.

McIlroy gave up his seat on the board in November and was replaced by Jordan Spieth. The other four player directors are Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Peter Malnati and Webb Simpson.

McIlroy met with Al-Rumayyan last year at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. In fact, he said on a British soccer podcast at the start of the year that he had a part in the PGA Tour meeting with PIF in the first place, which led to the stunning June 6 announcement of a proposed partnership.

Cantlay confirmed there were “plans to have a meeting” on Monday at an undisclosed location.

“I think it should have happened months ago, so I am glad that it’s happening,” McIlroy said. “Hopefully that progresses conversations and gets us closer to a solution.”

The solution ultimately would be patching together golf, with players like Masters champion Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, PGA champion Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau among those now with LIV and suspended from PGA Tour-sanctioned events except the four majors.

The PGA Tour’s deal with PIF was supposed to be completed by the end of last year. But with government inquiries, and interest from private equity groups, the deal wasn’t done. The tour aligned with SSG, and Rahm defected to LIV. SSG has pledged up to $3 billion, including $1.5 billion for a player equity program.

McIlroy drew a distinction between Al-Rumayyan and LIV Golf, particularly Norman, the CEO and commissioner of the rival league. McIlroy had said at the end of 2022 that Norman needed to “exit stage left” for there to be any meaningful conversations.

“I have spent time with Yasir and the people that have represented him in LIV I think have done him a disservice, so Norman and those guys,” McIlroy said Sunday at The Players Championship.

“I actually think there’s a really big disconnect between PIF and LIV,” he said. “I think you got PIF over here and LIV are sort of over here doing their own thing. So the closer that we can get to Yasir, PIF and hopefully finalize that investment, I think that will be a really good thing.”

Malnati said there was “massive resistance” to Saudi involvement because of the surprise June 6 announcement — PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, with board members Ed Herlihy and Jimmy Dunne — were the only ones involved.

“As I’ve learned more, I think I understand better and I’m very open minded to learning what involvement they want, what they want out of this and how they think they can help,” Malnati said. “On the surface, I think there are players who have resistance to that relationship, for sure. So that’s why I do think it’s important that maybe our next step is to meet at some point.”

Among the potential obstacles are how to blend players when there is animosity over those who left for massive signing bonuses to join LIV, along with LIV’s desire for team golf.

Cantlay said without PIF investing in PGA Tour Enterprises, he could see golf going down a similar path of two rival leagues whose top players meet only four times a year.

“I don’t think this is an overnight solution,” McIlroy said. “But if we can get the investment in, then at least we can start working towards a compromise where we’re not going to make everyone happy, but at least make everyone understand why we’re doing what we’re doing.”

INDIANA SPORTS RELEASES/NEWS

INDIANA PACERS BASKETBALL

GAME REWIND: PACERS 103, CAVALIERS 108

In a Monday night Central Division matchup in the Circle City, two teams shuffling for postseason positioning battled to the final buzzer.

By game’s end, the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers (43-25) pulled out the win, posting a 108-103 victory over the Indiana Pacers (38-31) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Despite the loss, the Pacers still hold a 2-1 regular season series lead over the Cavs, with their final game scheduled for April 12 in Cleveland.

After entering halftime tied at 54, the Cavs broke open the game with a 36-point third quarter to take a nine-point advantage into the final frame. The Pacers tied the game with just over two minutes remaining, but couldn’t complete the comeback down the final stretch.

Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Tyrese Haliburton recorded 14 points, 12 assists, and six boards for the Blue & Gold. T.J. McConnell scored 14 points off the bench, and Jalen Smith scored 11 points while pulling down eight rebounds.

Six players scored in double figures for Cleveland, led by 23 points each from Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert. The Cavs were without three starters in the game, as All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell (nasal fracture), center Evan Mobley (left ankle sprain), and sharpshooter Max Strus (right knee strain) were all sidelined with injuries.

While the Cavs edged the Pacers 47.5 to 46.2 percent in field goals, the Cavs shot 12-for-32 from 3-point range while the Pacers made just nine of 38 (23.7 percent) of their shots from deep. At the free-throw line, the Pacers shot 10-for-16, and the Cavs were 20-for-28.

The first and second quarters were near polar opposites for Indiana. The Pacers led by nine points at the end of the first frame, but the Cavs answered with a large run late in the second quarter to tie the game at 54-54 by the break.

In the first quarter, the Pacers shot 60 percent – with all nine players taking the floor scoring a bucket – to lead 34-25.

After the Cavs opened the game on a 7-2 run, making their first three shots following the tip, the Pacers responded with an 18-3 scoring streak, where six different players scored, to lead 21-12 with 4:11 left in the first quarter.

The Pacers didn’t relinquish the lead the remainder of the frame. In the final 1:16, McConnell and Siakam each made layups before Smith hit a 3-pointer to give the Blue & Gold a nine-point lead by the first-quarter buzzer.

At the start of the second period, hustle plays by McConnell, Smith, and rookie Ben Sheppard—which resulted in three offensive rebounds and two steals—helped the Pacers to a 47-32 lead by the 7:38 mark.

Indiana didn’t record another field goal for the next five minutes, and the Cavs took advantage.

Cleveland answered with a 15-1 run, anchored by a 3-pointer by Marcus Morris and eight points from LeVert, to cut it to 48-47 with 2:34 left in the half.

A bucket from McConnell snapped the Pacers’ drought, but a three-point play by LeVert tied the game at 50 with 1:41 remaining. Neither team could generate much offense the rest of the way, and the score remains knotted at 54.

The Cavs made their first four shots of the second half – including two from deep – to lead 64-58 two minutes into the third quarter and force a Pacers timeout.

The Cavs built a double-digit lead before 3-pointers from Aaron Nesmith’s and Myles Turner,  and a basket from Siakam, cut it to 74-70 with six minutes left in the third quarter.

Cleveland and Indiana largely traded baskets for the remainder of the period. The Cavs held a 90-83 lead going into the fourth quarter after Morris hit a 3-pointer with a second left on the clock.

After the Pacers started 2-for-7 shooting in the fourth quarter, Haliburton hit a 3-pointer and completed an and-one, and Andrew Nembhard also added a three, to cut it to 101-99 with 4:37 left in the game.

The game then stayed within a possession until Siakam pulled down an offensive rebound and Haliburton scored a layup to tie the game at 103 with 2:05 left. LeVert scored on a 9-foot fadeaway on the next possession, and the Pacers couldn’t get a bucket to go on their next two offensive possessions before a layup by Isaac Okoro made it a four-point game with 26 seconds left.

After the Pacers clanked another 3-point attempt, Darius Garland split free throws with 4.2 seconds left to seal it .

“We didn’t have a very good start to the game,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “We were down 7-2 and had a couple of very bad defensive  possessions, but got it back together and did well finishing the first quarter and then the second quarter  was a big problem. The third was bad, too. We got in a hole, did some good things to fight out of the hole, but consistency wasn’t there. It’s a tough loss.”

Indiana won the rebounding margin 45-39 and outscored the visitors’ bench unit 40-27.

The Pacers will kick off a five-game road trip on Wednesday when they take on the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena.

Inside the Numbers

Indiana won the rebounding margin 45-39, including 13-9 on offensive rebounds.

Indiana outscored Cleveland’s bench unit 40-27.

Marcus Morris Sr., who is on a 10-day contract with the Cavs, had 14 points and four rebounds.

Caris LeVert has five double-doubles this season.

Tyrese Haliburton has recorded 39 double-doubles and Pascal Siakam has seven with Indiana.

The Pacers won the fast-break margin 18-4.

In the paint, the Pacers outscored the Cavs 54-44.

You Can Quote Me On That

“Give Cleveland credit. There’s no disrespect to them. Maybe a couple possessions they went zone and surprised us a little bit, but I honestly just think we didn’t make any shots. I think we got a couple good looks and it didn’t go in. Credit to them for switching it up, but I just think we didn’t make any shots.” – T.J. McConnell on the Pacers’ long stretch without a field goal in the second quarter

“It’s really not falling right now. There’s no real explanation for it. We’ve got to continue to play the way we do, continue to take the shots. They’ll fall. It’s just an up-and-down thing from three and the numbers will even themselves out.” -McConnell on Indiana’s 3-point shooting woes

“Just not getting stops down the stretch and not capitalizing enough offensively and that starts with me. We’ve just got to be better.” – Tyrese Haliburton on losing close games at home

“Their guards are dynamic. Garland’s really good and Caris is certainly really good. Just them getting downhill and us having to rotate and we were just a little late on finding the cutters. I thought we did a good job here and there, but when they needed a bucket, they certainly made timely buckets with the cuts and stuff like that.” – McConnell on Cleveland’s offensive execution late in the game

“When I play better we win, so I’m just trying to figure it out right now. It’s just frustrating. I’ve never been through a slump like this in my life, but it’s all part of it, figuring it out…I’ve got to be better. It’s on me.” – Haliburton on battling through a shooting slump

“I think it just starts from me getting guys in the right positions, getting the right shots at the end of games. Just me doing a better job. I think it starts with me and just kind of trickles down from there.” – Haliburton on late-game execution

“They’re a good defensive team, but we had some very bad possessions that were in our control. We were doing things that were uncharacteristic.” – Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on the loss

“We’ve got to stay positive. We’ve got to have a good day tomorrow and get ready for Detroit on Wednesday. Detroit’s another hungry team. We’ve got to be more hungry than everybody we’re playing right now.” – Carlisle on looking ahead

“T.J. just approaches it the same way all the time. He’s going to he’s going to give everything he’s got out there regardless of the situation. That’s what we all need to do. This time of year, we got to keep the main thing, the main thing, and that is doing everything possible and every possession offensively and defensively to put our team in a positive position. And tonight we had too many periods where we didn’t do that. We have to work on getting it fixed.” – Carlisle on McConnell

Stat of the Night

Indiana made nine 3-pointers on 23.7 percent shooting from 3-point range against the Cavs. On the season, the team is averaging 13 made 3-pointers per game on 37.1 percent shooting from deep.

Noteworthy

Going into Monday’s matchup, the Cavs were third in the East and the Pacers were sixth in the standings. If those positions hold, the teams would face each other in the first round of the playoffs.

Pacers forward Doug McDermott has missed 10 straight games due to a calf injury.

Pacers center Myles Turner needs five blocks to break Jermaine O’Neal’s Pacers franchise record for career blocks (1,245).

Up Next

The Pacers travel to Detroit to tip off a five-game road trip against Jaden Ivey and the Pistons on Wednesday, March 20 at 7:00 PM ET.

Tickets

After a five-game road trip, the Pacers will return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, March 29 at 7:00 PM ET.

FUEL HOCKEY

FUEL HEAD TO WHEELING FOR MORNING MATCHUP

INDIANAPOLIS – The Fuel head to Wheeling for a crucial playoff positioning matchup in front of a crowd of rowdy kids on Tuesday morning.

LAST TIME OUT

It’s been over two months since these division opponents have seen each other and the last loss was one Wheeling really wanted to forget.

The Nailers were up 7-2 with under 16 minutes to go in the game. They had been owning the Fuel all evening long until the 4:39 mark in the final period. Chris Cameron’s first goal of the season would start a massive turnaround as the Fuel would go on to score six goals in less than 14 minutes to make a come-from-behind victory and beat the Nailers 8-7 in their building.

MORNING GAME MADNESS

The Fuel have won their only morning game of the season so far. They beat the Cincinnati Cyclones on February 27 at home in a record-breaking sellout for Education Day.

Wheeling has also enjoyed morning games as they are 2-0 so far this season. This matchup of morning undefeated teams will play a crucial part in playoff positioning as we approach the end of the regular season.

The Fuel are just one point behind the Nailers for second place in the division and the Fuel could take advantage and put themselves in second place, or Wheeling could extend their point lead to three and have a nice cushion heading into the final three weeks of the season.

AROUND THE DIVISION

The Toledo Walleye hold the lead in the division with 83 points, virtually securing themselves the top dogs in the division once the regular season ends. The Nailers and Fuel are neck-and-neck at 71 and 70 points, respectively. The Komets and Wings are tied for fourth place with 67 points. Finally, Cincinnati and Iowa bring up the bottom of the division with 59 and 54 points, respectively.

INDIANA BASEBALL

BASEBALL CENTRAL: INDIANA STATE

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. –  A potential early-season RPI boost is on the calendar for Tuesday (March 19) afternoon as the Indiana Baseball team (11-9) travels to Terre Haute to take on in-state foe Indiana State. The Sycamores, fresh off a Super Regional appearance last season, is No. 15 in the latest RPI rankings.

The Hoosiers opened the offensive floodgates on Saturday and Sunday, combining for 30 runs to take the final two games of the weekend and win the series over Belmont. Sophomore pitcher Ethan Phillips was awarded the win in both outings, the first to do in back-to-back games for IU since 2018.

IU already has a top-15 RPI road win on its resume after dispatching of Coastal Carolina (No. 13) on opening weekend but an additional true road win would benefit Jeff Mercer’s ballclub before heading into conference play against Illinois this weekend at Bart Kaufman Field.

Junior catcher Brock Tibbitts will take his nine-game hitting streak to Terre Haute on Tuesday. He and sophomore shortstop Tyler Cerny (team-high 32 hits) are two of the hottest bats in the Big Ten Conference.

Sixth-year senior Ty Rybarczyk will open the game for the second-straight week and is expected to make way to a number of options who will be available out of the bullpen. Sophomore right-hander Aydan Decker-Petty was outstanding in two innings of relief on Sunday afternoon. Redshirt freshman Jacob Vogel and true freshman Ryan Rushing are another pair of arms who could work into the mix as the season progresses.

IU’s contest on Tuesday will be broadcasted on ESPN+. The Hoosiers have won five of the last six against the Sycamores but were shut out, 4-0, last April on the road in Terre Haute.

Gameday Info

at Indiana State (Tuesday)

Live Video: t.ly/8cnLi

Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio

Live Stats: t.ly/g_NqU

Probable Starters

Indiana at Indiana State (Tuesday)

• Ty Rybarczyk (0-1, 9.00 ERA) vs. TBD

Notable

Back on Track

• After a four-game losing streak, in which Indiana really struggled, Jeff Mercer’s bunch got back on track to win the series against Belmont with a pair of wins on Saturday (15-10) and Sunday (15-7).

• The Hoosiers opened the 2024 campaign at 6-1 but ran into a tough patch over the past few weeks with a condensed schedule and a pitching rotation that got off-track. After a long team meeting on Friday night, IU responded in a big way the rest of the weekend.

Buzz Cuts and Big Bats

• Junior third baseman Josh Pyne decided the team needed a change of pace after Friday’s loss to Belmont. He, along with redshirt junior catcher Jake Stadler, led the charge in the buzz-cut trend, shaving down their heads in the locker room. Nearly three-fourths of the team followed suit.

• The Hoosiers won both games since by a combined score of 30-17 and reached base 54 times in those two games after a slow offensive night on Friday evening.

Phillips Does the Job

• Sophomore Ethan Phillips was called in to help manage the pitching on Saturday afternoon in a close game. IU took the lead in the bottom of the seventh to reward him the win. Pitching coach Dustin Glant looked to him to open Sunday’s game and he turned in three innings of one-run baseball on a staff day.

• He is the first IU pitcher since Cal Krueger (who won three-in-a-row) in 2018 to be the winning pitcher in consecutive games played.

RPI Check

• Even after some tough losses, IU is holding at No. 65 in the RPI heading into the weekend. Tuesday’s game with Indiana State (15) presents another big road RPI opportunity. The Hoosiers already beat Coastal Carolina (13) away from home.

Big Ten Play Gets Underway

• IU opens Big Ten play at home this weekend with Illinois. The Hoosiers swept Ohio State at home last year to open conference play and will look to tack on some more runs this weekend. IU went 2-1 against Illinois in Champaign last year. It is 7-3 against Illinois in the last 10 regular season meetings.

Tibby Stays Hot

• No one has answered the call in the last 10 games like junior catcher/infielder Brock Tibbitts. He is riding a nine-game hitting streak and had multi-hit games in all five contests played last weekend. On the season, he has made the go-ahead play in seven of IU’s 11 victories including the game-winning two-run home run in the seventh inning on Saturday vs. Belmont.

Scouting the Opponent

Indiana State (14-4, 0-0)

• A veteran ballclub and a Super Regional team from last season, Indiana State is known for its tough pitching and outstanding defense. The Sycamores have a collective 4.18 earned run average on the season.

• Luis Hernandez, Randal Diaz and Dominic Listi lead the way offensively. All three have started each game this year and are hitting above .335 respectively on the season. Mike Sears has a team-best seven home runs and 21 RBIs.

Inside the Series

Indiana at Indiana State

• These two in-state foes have played 115 times with IU leading the all-time series at 67-47-1. IU has won five of the past six meetings but lost the last contest in Terre Haute, 4-0, in 2023.

PURDUE SWIMMING

SWIMMERS RACE IN 5 A FINALS, WIN 3 B FINALS AT NIC MEET

OCALA, Fla. – A top-five overall finish and a B final victory for both Maxwell Blume and Abby Marcukaitis were the top individual accomplishments for the 16 Purdue swimmers that closed out their seasons at the CSCAA National Invitational Championship at the Florida Aquatics Swimming & Training center.

The Boilermakers were represented by six women and 10 men at the national showcase. They had A finalists in five events. Keira Kask (200 fly) joined Blume (100 breast) and Marckuaitis (200 back) as B final winners.

The Purdue men finished in sixth place of 36 scoring teams with 404 points. The women placed 34th of 54 teams.

Marcukaitis finished fourth in the A final of the 100 backstroke as the Boilermakers’ top overall finisher. Blume took fifth in the A final of the 200 breaststroke. Ana Rojas (100 back), Nathaniel Thomas (50 free) and Cecilie Wiuff (200 fly) also represented Purdue in A finals.

Kask won the B final of the 200 butterfly with a lifetime best mark of 1:59.47, moving up into 12th place in program history in the event. It was the team’s second-best time of the season.

Alexander Cole (1000 & 1650 free), Gabe Eschbach (1000 & 1650 free), Lance Lesage (100 & 200 back), Luke Fortner (200 breast) and Thomas (100 free) also posted lifetime bests that ranked among the top five on the team this season.

Purdue will be represented in all three diving events at both NCAA Championships meets over the next two weeks. Five women compete for the Boilermakers this week (March 20-23) in Athens, Ga. All three men’s divers will be among the entries when the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis hosts the national championship meet again March 27-30. ESPN+ has the live coverage of every day of both meets.

A FINALISTS

• Abby Marcukaitis – 100 Back (4th)

• Maxwell Blume – 200 Breast (5th)

• Ana Rojas – 100 Back (7th)

• Nathaniel Thomas – 50 Free (8th)

• Cecilie Wiuff – 200 Fly (9th)

WON B FINALS

• Maxwell Blume – 100 Breast

• Abby Marcukaitis – 200 Back

• Keira Kask – 200 Fly

QUALIFIED FOR MULTIPLE B FINALS

• Lance Lesage – 50, 100, 200 Back

• Alexander Cole – 200, 500, 1000/1650 Free

• Gabe Eschbach – 500, 1000/1650 Free

• Keira Kask – 100 & 200 Fly

• Abby Marcukaitis – 50 & 200 Back

• Maxwell Blume – 50 & 100 Breast

• Mason Kajfosz – 200 Fly & 200 IM

• Rafael Rodriguez – 100 IM & 200 Fly

• Cooper Callahan – 100 IM & 200 Free

NOTRE DAME SOCCER

NOTRE DAME STADIUM TO HOST CHELSEA FC AND CELTIC FC INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY

SOUTH BEND, IN (March 18, 2024) – The University of Notre Dame will welcome elite international club soccer competition when England’s Chelsea FC and Scotland’s Celtic FC face off on Saturday, July 27, 2024, at Notre Dame Stadium.

Tickets for the match will go on sale via Ticketmaster on Wednesday, March 27 at 10:00 a.m. local time.  Fans can sign up for an exclusive 24-hour presale at www.FCSeries.com.

“South Bend is a special location for creating a unique event for these world class teams,” said Molly Pendleton, Senior Vice President, Unified Events. “Playing at Notre Dame Stadium with teams like Chelsea FC and Celtic FC will showcase the passion of American soccer fans.”

July 27 will be the second ever meeting between Chelsea and Celtic in America. The Blues won the only previous encounter, 4-2, in Seattle in 2004. 

Chelsea, the two-time Champions League and six-time English Premier League champions, will enter the preseason in their second year under manager Mauricio Pochettino. The Blues are the first club to win all four major UEFA club competitions twice (Champions League, Super Cup, Europa League and Cup Winners’ Cup).

“The opportunity to play in front of our fans at the University of Notre Dame is one we are really excited by. This fixture against Celtic provides another fantastic contest during the club’s pre-season tour and will be valuable preparation for our 2024-25 Premier League campaign,” said Chelsea Chief Executive Officer, Chris Jurasek.

Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club with proud Irish links.  Today, the club is one of the most famous sporting institutions in the world with a fabled history of sporting achievement. Celtic was the first British Club to win the European Cup (current Champions League) in 1967, the club has achieved a world record eight domestic Trebles, been named Scottish Champions 53 times and achieved cup victories in Scotland on 62 occasions.

Founded in 1888 for charitable purposes, its principal founder was an Irish Catholic Priest named Brother Walfrid. The first aim of the club was to raise funds to provide food for the poor children of the East End of Glasgow, an area of the City with a large Irish community. From humble beginnings, Celtic has developed into one of the world’s great names in world sport, but maintaining its commitment to a strong social dimension, through one of the most successful charitable operations in raising funds and delivering meaningful projects to support people in need.

Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers commented, “Everyone at Celtic is delighted to be visiting the United States again, particularly for such an exciting pre-season program and we are really looking forward to meeting Chelsea at Notre Dame.” 

“I know Mauricio well and I look forward to seeing him and his team again in July for what I am sure will be a brilliant occasion between two major European clubs.”

“Pre-season preparation is always an important time and of course Chelsea will present us with a strong and exciting challenge.”

“We are so fortunate to have such a strong support worldwide and particularly right across the U.S. so our visit I am sure will allow our fans a great opportunity to see the team in action and in turn we really look forward to seeing our fans there.”

“To be playing at the famous and iconic University of Notre Dame at such a fantastic venue will be a unique moment for the club and we are sure the home of the “Fighting Irish”, will generate huge support for Celtic and inspire a great sporting occasion.”

The match returns international soccer to Notre Dame Stadium. In July 2019, Borussia Dortmund defeated Liverpool, 3-2, in front of 40,361 fans.

“We are thrilled to be able to welcome Chelsea and Celtic to Notre Dame Stadium this summer,” said incoming Notre Dame Vice President and James E. Rohr Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua. “It is special that Celtic chose to play at Notre Dame in their first trip stateside in over a decade and joining six-time English Premiere League champion Chelsea will make for an unbelievable experience. I cannot wait for fans across the World to be able to visit and enjoy Notre Dame and the South Bend community while cheering on their clubs.”

For information regarding match parking, Notre Dame Stadium bag policy, local dining and more, visit experience.nd.edu.

About Unified Events:

Unified Events brings our partner teams closer to their fans and brings world-class matchups to our partner venues. Since 2021, Unified Events and its affiliates have managed all aspects of the ticketing for over 70 international soccer matches in the US, featuring many of the world’s biggest professional clubs.

More information on the July 27 match, including broadcast information and media accreditation, will be announced later. Fans can sign up for further information, including presale access, at FCSeries.com. 

NOTRE DAME MEN’S HOCKEY

MOYNIHAN INKS PRO DEAL

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – After a standout season with the Irish, graduate student Patrick Moynihan has signed his first professional contract with the Chicago Wolves, as announced by the American Hockey League club. The Millis, Massachusetts native joined the Irish out of Providence College prior to the 2023-24 season and went on to post 24 points off 10 goals and 14 assists in his final collegiate season.

Moynihan finished the year second on the team in points, second in goals and third in assists. In five collegiate seasons between Providence and Notre Dame, Moynihan laced up his skates in 159 contests and registered 95 career points (47-48-95).

The recent Irish alum is set for an ATO and made his debut with the Wolves Sunday night.

BISCHEL SIGNS WITH PROVIDENCE

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – After concluding his final collegiate season with a .924 save percentage and 2.59 goals against average, Notre Dame hockey alum and Big Ten Goaltender of the Year finalist, Ryan Bischel has signed a one-year contract with the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League as announced by the organization Monday.

“Thank you, Notre Dame, for the past five years,” Bischel said. “Thank you for showing me a version of myself I didn’t know existed. Thank you for pushing me every single day to become that person.”

The Medina, Minnesota native joined the Irish in 2019 and went on to appear in 105 games for the Blue and Gold, boasting a 47-44-7 record and 2.46 goals against average. The graduate netminder was a two-time Hobey Baker Award nominee, was twice named a Mike Richter Award semifinalist and was named the 2023 Big Ten Goaltender of the Year.

After a breakout year in 2022-23, Bischel continued to etch his name in the history books, concluding his collegiate career with 10 shutouts between the pipes for Notre Dame which ranks fifth all-time in the program ranks.

The graduate netminder continuously ranked among the nation’s best in the crease during his last two seasons with the Irish, starting every game and leading the country in saves for two consecutive years. After earning the consistent nod in net prior to the 2022-23 season, Bischel concluded his Irish career with the sixth-best goals against average all-time and second in save percentage.

“I’m grateful to have met so many great people and made memories I’ll take with me. With that said, I’m extremely excited to sign with the Providence Bruins and start writing this next chapter,” Bischel concluded.

NOTRE DAME SOFTBALL

IRISH RETURN TO MELISSA COOK STADIUM TO START A FOUR-GAME HOMESTAND

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame softball team is back at home for just the second time this season as the Fighting Irish will take on the Michigan State Spartans Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Melissa Cook Stadium. The Irish will turn around and host the North Carolina State Wolfpack in a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series this weekend, beginning Friday night.

The Irish enter Tuesday’s contest having won eight of their last 10, including sweeping both ends of a doubleheader in the home opener against Bowling Green last Tuesday. Notre Dame is 11-1 against the Spartans all-time, and are 5-0 in South Bend. Last season, the Irish earned an 8-0 win in six innings in East Lansing as Deanna Gumpf earned her 849th career win, the most wins of any head coach in the history of Notre Dame athletics. Notre Dame has a 14-11 overall record against the Wolfpack, including an 8-3 mark at home. The Irish have won five of the last six in the series, including two by run rule.

Fans can follow each game of the four-game home stand with live stats on the softball schedule page, or tune into ACC Network Extra. Along with Tuesday’s 5 p.m. game, the Irish and Wolfpack are scheduled to play at 5 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday with the series finale scheduled for at noon Sunday.

For the latest happenings in Notre Dame softball, follow the team on X (@ndsoftball) or instagram (@notredamesoftball)

NOTRE DAME TENNIS

IRISH SPLIT A PAIR OF BATTLES AGAINST NO. 38 FLORIDA STATE AND NO. 20 MIAMI (FLA.)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team went 1-1 at home over the weekend, taking down No. 38 Florida State on Friday 4-3, before dropping another tightly contested 4-3 match to No. 20 Miami on Sunday.

Julia Andreach (13-0, 7-0 ACC) and Bojana Pozder (14-1, 7-0 ACC) kept their winning ways going at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions, respectively, while Akari Matsuno and Nibi Ghosh each added a singles win for the Irish.

For the fourth-consecutive mathc, Notre Dame claimed the doubles point against the Seminoles, beginning with a win at No. 3 from Matsuno and Carrie Beckman. Andreach and Page Freeman defeated the No. 42 ranked team in the nation to clinch the point at No. 1. In singles, Andreach put the second point on the board for the Irish, defeating No. 40 Ellie Schoppe in straight sets at the top spot. Matsuno followed with a three-set victory at No. 6, and Pozder clinched the victory with a three-set win at No. 3.

Andreach and Freeman continued their streak at the top of the lineup against the Hurricanes, defeating the No. 45-ranked pair in the nation, 6-2. Miami then snuck out 7-5 wins at No. 2 and No. 3 to take the doubles point. Nibi Ghosh picked up her tenth win of the spring with a 6-3, 6-0 rout at the No. 4 position to put the Irish on the board. Miami then secured the match with victories on courts five, six, and two. Remaining matches continued, and Andreach closed out an impressive win against No. 11 Alexa Noel on court one, 7-6(3), 7-6(6). Pozder added a final ranked win of the day for a final team score of 3-4, defeating No. 114 Antonia Balzert 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 after facing a 7-5, 5-0 deficit and numerous match points.

Next Up

The Irish have a bye weekend before heading south to face No. 26 Georgia Tech on Thursday, March 28 and No. 46 Clemson on Saturday, March 30.

#39 Notre Dame 4, #38 Florida State 3

Singles

No. 1 – #71 Julia Andreach (ND) def. #40 Ellie Schoppe (FSU) 7-5, 6-1

No. 2 – #56 Vic Allen (FSU) def. Page Freeman (ND) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4

No. 3 – Bojana Pozder (ND) def. Anna Arkadianou (FSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4

No. 4 – Millie Bissett (FSU) def. Carrie Beckman (ND) 6-4, 6-3

No. 5 – Kristyna Lavickova (FSU) def. Nibi Ghosh (ND) 7-6(3), 7-6(2)

No. 6 – Akari Matsuno (ND) def. Eva Shaw (FSU) 3-6, 7-5, 6-4

Doubles

No. 1 – Page Freeman/Julia Andreach (ND) def. #42 Maelie Monfils/Ellie Schoppe (FSU) 6-3

No. 2 – Vic Allen/Millie Bissett (FSU) def. Yashna Yellayi/Nibi Ghosh (ND) 6-2

No. 3 – Carrie Beckman/Akari Matsuno (ND) def. Anna Arkadianou/Kristyna Lavickova (FSU) 6-2

Order of finish

Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (4,1,2,5,6,3)

#20 Miami 4, #39 Notre Dame 3

Singles

No. 1 – #71 Julia Andreach (ND) def. #11 Alexa Noel (UM) 7-6(3), 7-6(6)

No. 2 – #58 Isabella Pfennig (UM) def. Page Freeman (ND) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

No. 3 – Bojana Pozder (ND) def. #114 Antonia Balzert (UM) 5-7, 7-5, 7-5

No. 4 – Nibi Ghosh (ND) def. Leonie Schuknecht (UM) 6-3, 6-0

No. 5 – #96 Audrey Boch-Collins (UM) def. Carrie Beckman (ND) 6-0, 6-1

No. 6 – Xinyi Nong (UM) def. Akari Matsuno (ND) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

Doubles

No. 1 – Page Freeman/Julia Andreach (ND) def. #45 Isabella Pfennig/Xinyi Nong (UM) 6-2

No. 2 – Leonie Schuknecht/Antonia Balzert (UM) def. Carrie Beckman/Akari Matsuno (ND) 7-5

No. 3 – Audrey Boch-Collins/Alexa Noel (UM) def. Nibi Ghosh/Yashna Yellayi (ND) 7-5

Order of finish

Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,4,6,2,1,3)

BUTLER WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

BUTLER TO HOST BOWLING GREEN IN WNIT

FORT COLLINS, CO – The 48-team 2024 Postseason WNIT bracket was released tonight with times, dates, and locations. Butler will host Bowling Green in Round 1 action at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The contest will be played on Thursday, March 21 at 7 PM.

This marks the 26th edition of the Postseason WNIT, powered by Triple Crown Sports. First held in 1998, the tournament field is made up of 11 automatic qualifiers and 37 at-large programs, flexing a mix of Power 4 conferences as well as ascending mid-major programs.

Butler will play in the WNIT for the third time since joining the BIG EAST Conference. The Bulldogs ended the BIG EAST Tournament with a 14-16 overall record. Bowling Green was eliminated in the MAC Tournament in the quarterfinals by Buffalo (70-64). That setback moved their record to 16-14.

The Round 1 date/time schedule and the Round 2 bye opponents are as follows (NOTE – teams with first-round byes are not guaranteed to play at home in Round 2):

Wednesday, March 20

UAB at Southern Miss, 7 p.m. ET

Winner vs. Murray State, TBA

Eastern Kentucky at Purdue Fort Wayne, 7 p.m. ET

Winner vs. Cincinnati, TBA

Boise State at Montana, 9 p.m. ET

Winner plays North Dakota State, TBA

Thursday, March 21

Monmouth at Buffalo, 6 p.m. ET

Winner plays Duquesne, TBA

UAlbany at Colgate, 6 p.m. ET

Winner plays Providence, TBA

Bowling Green at Butler, 7 p.m. ET

Winner plays Purdue, TBA

Charleston at USC Upstate, 7 p.m. ET

Winner plays Illinois State, TBA

Stetson at Florida International, 7 p.m. ET

Winner plays Troy, TBA

Northern Colorado at UTSA, 7:30 p.m. ET

Winner plays Wyoming, TBA

Saint Louis at Central Arkansas, 7:30 p.m. ET

Winner plays Northern Iowa, TBA

Grambling at Oral Roberts, 8 p.m. ET

Winner plays Louisiana-Monroe, TBA

UC Riverside at South Dakota, 8 p.m. ET

Winner plays Northern Arizona, TBA

UIC at Southern Indiana, 8 p.m. ET

Winner plays Wisconsin, TBA

Cal Poly at Pacific, 9 p.m. ET

Winner plays Minnesota, TBA

Friday, March 22

Le Moyne at Niagara, 7 p.m. ET

Winner plays Vermont, TBA

UNC Greensboro at North Carolina A&T, 7 p.m. ET

Winner plays Old Dominion, TBA

Round 1 (in bracket order):

Cal Poly (17-13) at Pacific (18-14)

Boise State (21-13) at Montana (22-9)

Northern Colorado (15-15) at UTSA (17-14)

UC Riverside (18-13) at South Dakota (21-12)

Stetson (17-14) at Florida International (20-11)

UNC Greensboro (21-11) at North Carolina A&T (20-11)

UAB (18-13) at Southern Miss (18-13)

Grambling State (22-9) at Oral Roberts (21-10)

UAlbany (25-6) at Colgate (18-13)

Le Moyne (18-13) at Niagara (20-13)

Monmouth (21-9) at Buffalo (19-13)

Bowling Green (16-14) at Butler (14-16)

Eastern Kentucky (22-11) at Purdue Fort Wayne (21-12)

Saint Louis (16-18) at Central Arkansas (21-11)

Charleston (21-9) at South Carolina Upstate (16-15)

UIC (18-15) at Southern Indiana (24-6)

These 16 teams have first-round byes (alphabetical, not seeded):

Cincinnati (14-17)

Duquesne (20-12)

Illinois State (21-11)

Louisiana-Monroe (19-13)

Minnesota (16-15)

Murray State (20-11)

North Dakota State (21-11)

Northern Arizona (25-9)

Northern Iowa (16-15)

Old Dominion (22-9)

Providence (13-20)

Purdue (13-18)

Troy (19-11)

Vermont (22-11)

Wisconsin (13-16)

Wyoming (16-14)

Here’s the rest of the schedule for the tournament:

Round 2 – March 23-26, 2024

Round 3 – March 27-29, 2024

Quarterfinals – March 30-April 1, 2024

Semifinals – April 2-3, 2024

The 2024 Postseason WNIT will again have its championship game broadcast on CBS Sports Network, with tipoff set for Saturday, April 6, at 3 p.m. ET

All games are played at individual schools; the 2024 Postseason WNIT has 24 teams that won at least 20 games this season.

The 2024 Postseason WNIT bracket features four teams from the Missouri Valley and Sun Belt; three teams hail from the Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big Ten, Coastal and Summit, and two teams each will represent the American, America East, Atlantic 10, Big East, Big West, Mid-American and Mountain West. There’s a single team each out of the Big 12, Big South, Conference USA, Horizon, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Metro Athletic, Northeast, Southern, Southwestern Athletic and West Coast.

BUTLER MEN’S BASKETBALL

BULLDOGS HOST MINNESOTA TUESDAY IN NIT FIRST ROUND MATCH-UP

Tipping Off

• Butler will make its tenth appearance in the NIT; the Bulldogs first played in the NIT in 1958 and the most recent appearance was in 2019.

• Butler coach Thad Matta won the 2008 NIT title while leading the Ohio State program; his Buckeyes were also part of the field in 2016.

• The winner of the Butler-Minnesota game will meet the winner of Indiana State-SMU.

Butler (18-14) vs. Minnesota (18-14)

NIT First Round

Tuesday, March 19;  9PM

Hinkle Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.

TV: ESPNU – Myron Medcalf & Tom Crean

Radio: WXNT 1430AM, Varsity Network Radio App, SiriusXM 389, SXM App 979 – @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)

The Series with the Golden Gophers

• Butler and Minnesota have met four times previously, including twice at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

• Hall of Fame football coach Tony Dungy had two points for Minnesota in a 70-68 (3OT) win for the Golden Gophers vs. Butler Dec. 22, 1973, in a game that served as Minnesota’s first trip to Hinkle Fieldhouse.

• Minnesota took an 82-73 win over Butler in the opening round of the 2009 76 Classic in Anaheim; it was one of only five losses that season for the Bulldogs as the team advanced to the 2010 NCAA national championship game.

• As part of the Gavitt Tip-Off Games, Butler defeated Minnesota, 64-56, Nov. 12, 2019 in the most recent meeting between the two programs.

Connection Points

• Butler coach Thad Matta posted a 15-7 record against Minnesota during his time leading the Ohio State program.

• Butler assistant coach Mike Pegues and Minnesota guard Elijah Hawkins are both graduates of powerhouse program DeMatha Catholic High School in the Washington, D.C. area.

• Butler freshman Boden Kapke was a finalist for 2023 Mr. Basketball in Minnesota.

• Both Hinkle Fieldhouse and Minnesota’s Williams Arena opened in 1928, making them two of the most historic venues still utilized by college basketball programs today.

Series:  Minnesota Leads, 3-1

Streak: Butler, W1

At Hinkle: Series Tied, 1-1

First Meeting: Minn., 77-56; 12/9/71 (at Minnesota)

Last Meeting: BU, 64-56; 11/12/19 (at BU)

Of Note

• Butler is one of five BIG EAST teams in the 2024 NIT field, joining No. 1 seeds Villanova and Seton Hall, as well as Providence and Xavier. Three BIG EAST teams – UConn, Creighton and Marquette – are part of the 2024 NCAA Tournament field.

• Butler’s NCAA NET strength of schedule is No. 15 nationally, while KenPom ranks the Bulldogs’ schedule as the nation’s 17th-toughest slate.

• Butler played a total of 10 games this season against teams who are part of the 2024 NCAA Tournament field; the Bulldogs also played nine games against teams that earned 2024 NIT berths (not including an additional two games against St. John’s, who declined a bid to the NIT).

• Butler is 1-1 this season against teams from the Big Ten: a win over Penn State as part of the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando and a road loss at Michigan State.

• Butler made eight of its 10 attempts from the free throw line in the BIG EAST Tournament game against Xavier. On the season, Butler ranks seventh nationally in free throw shooting at 79.2 percent. Butler has shot 70 percent or better from the line in all but one game.

• DJ Davis ranks No. 1 nationally in free throw percentage at 96.9 percent; he has made 60 of 61 free throw attempts since BIG EAST play began Dec. 19.

• Butler matched its season-high with 18 turnovers in the BIG EAST Tournament loss to Xavier. The Bulldogs average only 10.8 turnovers per game and have 16 games this season with 10 or fewer turnovers; the Bulldogs are also 13-5 this season when committing fewer turnovers than their opponent.

• Posh Alexander now has 67 steals this season, which is tied for fourth on Butler’s single-season list. Alexander leads the BIG EAST and is 26th nationally at 2.16 steals per game.

• Pierre Brooks II led the Bulldogs with 21 points in the BIG EAST Tournament loss to Xavier. It marked his seventh 20-point game of the season. Brooks leads the team with a 15.0 points per game average, which is 13th in the BIG EAST.

• Brooks led five Bulldogs in double figures against Xavier, marking the eighth time this season that Butler has had five players reach 10+ points in the same game.

• The Bulldogs are 9-1 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field and a perfect 16-0 when shooting a better percentage than their opponent.

• Butler has 13 games this season scoring 80 points or more (including seven games of 90 or more).

• The Bulldogs commit just 13.8 fouls per game, which ranks 12th nationally.

• Alexander is fourth in the conference and 53rd nationally at 4.9 assists per game.

• Jalen Thomas ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in blocks (1.25 per game) and 16th in rebounding (6.2 per game). Thomas has matched his season-high with three blocks in each of the last two games.

• Butler’s typical starting five has each led the team in both scoring and rebounding in the same game at least once this season (Davis, Thomas and Jahmyl Telfort have each done it twice).

• Telfort is fifth in the BIG EAST in minutes per game (34:46).

Home, Sweet Hinkle

• Butler is 12-5 at Hinkle Fieldhouse so far this season.

• Thad Matta is 35-12 at Hinkle Fieldhouse as the head coach at Butler (2000-01 and his current stint that began prior to the 2022-23 season).

• Butler has scored at least 80 points in eight of its home games this season (going over the 90-point mark five times).

• Butler is 77-2 over its last 79 non-conference home games, winning 15 straight.

Hinkle Fieldhouse to Host NIT and WBIT Semifinals and Championship Game

• The NCAA has announced that Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis will be the host for the semifinals and championship game of both the 2024 NIT  and the 32-team Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament, which will be played for the first time in 2024.

• WBIT semifinal and final games will be played April 1 and 3.

• NIT semifinals and the final will be played April 2 and 4.

TBT Coming to Hinkle Fieldhouse

• The Basketball Tournament (TBT), the 64-team, $1 million winner-take-all event, announced that Butler University and Hinkle Fieldhouse will host a TBT regional for the first time in 2024.

• The regional will be headlined by Butler alumni team All Good Dawgs, whose roster will feature former Bulldogs great and eight-year NBA veteran Shelvin Mack.

• Butler Regional games will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse from July 19-24.

Freshman Recognition

• Butler guard Finley Bizjack has been selected to the 2023-24 BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.

• Bizjack is the fourth Bulldog to be voted to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team since Butler joined the conference prior to the 2013-14 season: Andrew Chrabascz (2013-14), Kamar Baldwin (2016-17), and Chuck Harris (2020-21).

Balancing Act

• Four different Bulldogs (Brooks, Alexander, Davis, Telfort) have multiple 20-point scoring performances this season.

• Butler has had multiple players post 20 or more in the same game four times this season.

• Ten different Bulldogs have scored in double figures in at least one game so far this season.

• Butler’s balanced attack has seen at least five players score in double figures in the same game eight times this season, including most recently in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament against Xavier March 13.

BUTLER BASEBALL

BUTLER PREPS FOR MIDWEEK MATCHUPS VS. MAC OPPONENTS

INDIANAPOLIS – The Bulldogs will play six games this week beginning with a road trip to Oxford, Ohio to face the Miami Redhawks at 4 PM. The following five games will be played at Bulldog Park with Butler hosting Ball State on Wednesday before a busy weekend vs. Dayton.

Midweek Schedule

Butler at Miami – 4 PM – McKie Field at Hayden Park

Ball State at Butler – 4 PM – Bulldog Park

Scouting Miami

The Redhawks took two of three against Central Michigan over the weekend to improve their overall record to 7-10. Zach MacDonald is the best hitter in the lineup posting a .424 average including a team-high six home runs and 20 RBI. He is one of six Redhawks to start in every game this season. Ryland Zaborowski and Dillon Baker also bat over .300 for Miami. Zaborowski ranks second on the team in home runs (4) Ty Batusich is near the team lead in RBIs with 18.

Scouting Ball State

The Cardinals will play at Valparaiso on Tuesday before visiting Bulldog Park on Wednesday. Over the weekend, they were swept in a three-game home series against Bowling Green. The Falcons edged BSU 5-4 in the opener but dominated the action on Saturday to win 34-8. The finale was another high scoring contest with BGSU winning 15-8. Ball State is 11-9 overall with early season wins over Michigan State (4-1) and Illinois (7-1). They played No. 20 Iowa on Feb. 17 and RV Coastal Carolina on Feb. 24 to open up the 2024 campaign.

Ball State is a dangerous team that leads the MAC in doubles (40) and home runs (29). Michael Hallquist is the top player in the lineup with a .370 BA, five doubles and eight home runs. He leads the club with 24 RBI and is slugging .753. Hunter Dobbins has seven doubles and four homers this year. Blake Bevis is another player to keep an eye on with his .342 average.

Weekend Recap

The Bulldogs were in Florida last weekend playing a three-game series against Bradley at a neutral site. The Braves went 2-1 against Butler with the Bulldogs winning game two of the series 19-13. Kade Lewis posted great numbers over three starts, batting .615 with a double and two triples to notch six RBI. Jack Moroknek hit .545 for BU with a triple and a homer and Dorighi led the team with nine RBI’s. Butler batted .347 as a team and came up with 10 extra base hits. On the mound, Andrew Crumbley earned the win on Friday and Grant Brooks would strike out six on Saturday. The longest outing came from Tyler Banks. He tossed 4.1 innings in his start that included five K’s and just one walk.

Bulldog Bits

– BU leads the BIG EAST in sacrifice flies (11)

– Butler and Creighton are tied for the conference lead in triples with seven each

– The ‘Dawgs rank third in scoring (8.9), slugging percentage (.485) and fielding percentage (.972)

– Carter Dorighi leads the BIG EAST and ranks 38th in the nation with his .434 batting average

– Dorighi ranks 20th in the NCAA with 33 hits

– Butler came up with a season-high 18 hits in their game against Bradley on March 15

– Drew Charney scored four runs in that contest and Carter Dorighi had a season-high six RBI

– Kade Lewis has reached base safely in 16-straight games

– Ryan Lezon made his BU debut vs. Bradley; he walked and scored a run on March 14

– Jack Moroknek had two hits and scored two runs in every game against the Braves

BIG EAST Standings

Creighton 14-2

St. John’s 12-4

Georgetown 13-6

Seton Hall 11-8

Xavier 9-11

Butler 7-9

UConn 7-10

Villanova 6-11

Up Next

Butler and Dayton will play four games in just two days this weekend with BU hosting a doubleheader on both Saturday and Sunday. Action each day begins at Noon. All four games will have live stats, but no video stream.

IUPUI MEN’S GOLF

JAGUARS HEAD TO NORTH CAROLINA FOR ECU INTERCOLLEGIATE

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The IUPUI men’s golf team will return to action this week as the Jaguars will participate in the ECU Intercollegiate at Brook Valley Country Club. The Jaguars started the spring with an eighth-place finish at the World Golf Village Collegiate with a 54-hole 875 (290-292-293) just less than a month ago to open the spring.

Senior Taylor Gardner opened the spring with a 10-under 206 (66-71-69) for his eighth career top-10 finish. His 206 tied for the fourth-best tournament score in program history, just three shots off the school record.

This week, he’ll be joined in the lineup by Kevin Tillery, Titus Boswell, Morgan Tournemire and Brady Schier. In addition, Noah Kirsch will participate as an individual.

FORMAT: Teams will play two rounds on Monday (Mar. 18) and a final round on Tuesday (Mar. 19). Scoring will be 5-count-4 format.

THE COURSE: Brook Valley Country Club is set to play par 72 and 6,803 yards this week. The course in an Ellis Maples design and is ranked among the state’s Top 100 courses. It was founded in 1966 and the club’s history includes an exhibition match played by Sam Snead and Ben Hogan.

THE FIELD: The 15-team field will consist of Barton College, Dartmouth, East Carolina, Fairleigh Dickinson, Francis Marion, Gardner-Webb, IUPUI, Marshall, Oakland, Queens Univ. of Charlotte, Samford, Temple, UCF, USC Upstate and Youngstown State.

RANKINGS: IUPUI is ranked No. 230 with a 39-25-3 record entering this event.

LINEUP:

    No. 1 – Taylor Gardner (71.11 average / 18 rounds / 2 top-10 finish)

    No. 2 – Kevin Tillery (72.72 average / 18 rounds / 2 top-10 finishes)

    No. 3 – Titus Boswell (73.67 average / 15 rounds)

    No. 4 – Morgan Tournemire (73.13 average / 15 rounds / 1 top-10 finish)

    No. 5 – Brady Schier (73.17 average / 12 rounds / 1 top-10 finish)

    Ind. – Noah Kirsch (73.67 average / 3 rounds)

LAST TIME OUT: IUPUI placed eighth of 18 teams at the World Golf Village Collegiate at the King & Bear Course in St. Augustine, Fla., on Feb. 19-20 with a 54-hole 875 (290-292-293). Gardner shot 10-under 206 (66-71-69), placing fourth among the 108-player field. Tillery was next in line at 7-over 223, tying for 45th overall.

UP NEXT: IUPUI will participate in the Don Benbow Butler Spring Invitational at Highland Country Club on Apr. 1-2.

BALL STATE BASEBALL

MIDWEEK SLATE FOR BASEBALL FEATURES ROAD GAMES AT VALPO AND BUTLER

The Ball State baseball team is scheduled to play two in-state rivals for midweek games, traveling to Northwest Indiana to face Valparaiso at 4 p.m. ET (3 CT) on Tuesday and to Indianapolis on Wednesday to play Butler at 3 p.m.

The Valpo game will be streamed on ESPN+, while the tilt between the Cardinals and Bulldogs can be viewed on FloSports. Links to the video streams and live stats can be found above.

The Cardinals were swept over the weekend by Bowling Green but maintain the best overall record (11-9) in the Mid-American Conference through the season’s first month of play.

Tuesday will serve as Valparaiso’s home opener. The Beacons (7-11) most recently were swept at No. 21 Campbell.

Butler enters the week at 7-9 after going 1-2 against Bradley in Florida over the weekend. Wednesday will be the Bulldogs’ second home game of 2024.

The Ball State baseball offense paces the MAC in total home runs (29) and doubles (40) while ranking second in the conference in batting average (.293) and slugging percentage (.495). The pitching staff leads the league in strikeouts per nine innings (10.3) and ranks second in ERA (6.60) and third in WHIP (1.85).

Senior third baseman Michael Hallquist sits atop the conference with eight home runs and 61 total bases. Junior catcher Hunter Dobbins paces the league in doubles (seven), while fellow junior Merritt Beeker’s 15.75 strikeouts per nine is the best in the MAC and No. 9 in NCAA Division I.

SCOUTING VALPO: The Beacons went 20-27 (10-17 Missouri Valley Conference) last year in head coach Brian Schmack’s 10th year leading the program.

Valpo is second in the Valley in steals (25) and walks (98) and third in total doubles (38). Graduate student Kyle Schmack leads the team in batting average (.348), home runs (six) and RBI (15).

SCOUTING BUTLER: The Bulldogs went 12-43 (5-16 Big East) in 2023 in head coach Blake Beemer’s first year in charge in Indy. Beemer played on the Ball State baseball team from 2010 to 2013 and was an assistant coach on Rich Maloney’s staff (2019-22) before taking the Butler job.

The Bulldog offense leads the Big East with 1.62 homers per game and seven total triples. Junior shortstop Carter Dorighi’s .434 batting average and 2.06 hits per game rank No. 38 and No. 2 nationally, respectively, and pace the conference.

Up Next

Ball State travels to Toledo for its first road series in MAC play. The opener is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday.

INDIANA STATE WOMEN’S GOLF

SYCAMORES TIED FOR FIFTH AFTER ROUND ONE; LEMAIRE INSIDE TOP 10

Prospect, Ky. – Indiana State golf stands tied for fifth after day one at the Nevel Meade Invite in Kentucky with a total round score of 321. Sophomore Briana LeMaire leads the way for the Sycamores, tying for ninth place with a round one score of 77 (+5).

ISU tied Western Michigan in the first round in the middle of the pack. The Sycamores are second in the tournament in par five scoring, shooting +3 as a team and are tied for second in total pars with 45 (two away from tying the leader, Bellarmine).

Following LeMaire is Kristen Hobbs and Chelsea Morrow (both +9), Yang Tai (+10), and Molly Lee (+12). LeMaire parred or birdied 10 of 12 holes in the opening round, including shooting par on holes 14 through 17. Hobbs followed closely with nine pars. Morrow is +1 through the first round in par 3s.

Eliza Baker is in the tournament as an individual, finishing tied for 17th with a score of 80 (+8). Sophia Florek is inside the top 50, tying for 34th, shooting 12-over through the first 18 (84).

Up Next

The Sycamores turn around for round two of the Nevel Meade Invite tomorrow, March 19.

INDIANA STATE BASEBALL

SYCAMORES OPEN EIGHT-GAME HOME STAND WITH TUESDAY NIGHT GAME AGAINST INDIANA

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State is back home this week as the Sycamores prepare to start an eight-game home stand with a Tuesday night matchup against Indiana University. First pitch at Bob Warn Field is set for 4 p.m. ET with the game to be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.

Game Day Promotion

The first 50 students who attend Tuesday night’s game will receive a MVC Championship T-Shirt (courtesy of University Village). It’s also Two for Tuesdays with fans able to purchase two hot dogs for $5 at the concession stand.

On the Call

Brendan King (Voice of the South Bend Cubs) and Jeremy Lucas will be on the ESPN+ call for Tuesday night’s game, while John Sherman is back on air with the Sycamores on 105.5 The Legend.

The Sycamores enter the week with a 14-4 record following their season-opening stretch that featured 17 of their first 18 games away from Bob Warn Field. Indiana State made the opening week trek down to Florida to play a trio of games against Louisville, UConn, and South Florida, a midweek against Florida Gulf Coast, the Snowbird Baseball Classic against Michigan State and Marshall (twice), midweek against Vanderbilt, a weekend series at Southern Miss, a weekend series at Florida A&M, and a weekend series at Xavier over the opening stretch.

Overall, the Sycamore travels encompassed 11 states and nearly 5,500 total miles over the first month of the season with Indiana State adding a home game against Illinois on March 12 to the mix. Indiana State went 8-4 in true road games, 5-0 in neutral site contests, and 1-0 at home over the first 18 contests continuing to prove their mantra of anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Indiana State took on another 2023 NCAA Regional qualifier this past weekend as the Sycamores traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio to play the reigning Big East tournament champion Xavier Musketeers. It marked the fourth 2023 NCAA postseason team the Sycamores have played to date this season including Southern Miss (Hattiesburg Super Regional), Xavier (Nashville Regional), Florida A&M (Gainesville Regional), and UConn (Gainesville Regional). Indiana will be the fifth 2023 NCAA Regional team the Sycamores will face this season with the Hoosiers playing in the Lexington Regional last year.

The Sycamores took two of the three this weekend at Hayden Field against the Musketeers winning the opening game of the series, 16-5, in an eight-inning shortened game. Indiana State followed up with an eight-run fifth inning in Saturday’s series clinching 10-7 win. Xavier took the finale in a pitcher’s duel winning 4-2 on Sunday.

Josue Urdaneta’s bat came to life over the weekend posting a team-high .556 batting average while scoring a team-high five runs. Randal Diaz (.500) and Luis Hernandez (.500) provided the pop in the lineup combining for three home runs and 12 RBIs, while posting seven hits apiece in the series against Xaiver. Mike Sears and Parker Stinson also homered as ISU hit .292 from the plate over the three-game series.

Jared Spencer and Cam Edmonson both earned wins out the bullpen over the series as the Sycamores utilized 10 pitchers against Xavier. ISU posted a 4.32 ERA and limited the Musketeers’ offense to just 12 earned runs while putting together a 23:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Luke Hayden added a season-high seven strikeouts over a 5.0-inning start on Sunday.

Hernandez (.368) and Diaz (.357) have been at the forefront of the Indiana State offense this season with the duo leading the Sycamores in hits, doubles, runs, and sitting top-three in RBI through the first 18 games of the season. Hernandez boasts a 17-game hitting streak and paces ISU in hits (28) and runs (17), while sitting second in RBI (19) out of the three-spot in the lineup. Diaz is second in hits (25), leads in doubles (6), and is third in RBI (17), while also boasting 10 walks out of the leadoff position in the order.

Dominic Listi continues to get on base in the 2024 season as the grad transfer has posted a .339/.513/.411 slash line through his first 18 games. The Crystal Lake, Ill. native leads the Sycamores with 12 walks drawn and has been hit by 10 pitches, while adding four sacrifice hits in the lineup.

Mike Sears (7) and Parker Stinson (5) have been the power bats to date in the lineup with the duo combining for 12 home runs and 36 RBIs. Sears went through a stretch homering in six of eight games already this season, while Stinson has come through with key home runs throughout the season including a grand slam at Southern Miss and solo shot in the opener against Xavier.

Indiana State has utilized 15 different pitchers in the 2024 season with nearly every single player posting multiple appearances this year. Simon Gregersen and Zach Davidson lead the way with eight stints on the mound apiece on the year, while Luke Hayden, Brennyn Cutts, Cameron Holycross, Jacob Pruitt, Adam Berghorst, and Cam Edmonson have all started games on the year.

Overall, ISU has posted a team 4.18 ERA over 153.0 innings with a 178:59 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Opponents are only hitting .253 from the plate against the Sycamores with only one team scoring more than seven runs against the ISU staff this season. The Sycamores have also limited opponents to under 10 hits 12 different times this year, including a six-game stretch to open the 2024 season.

Scouting Indiana

Indiana enters the week with an 11-9 overall record on the season after taking two of three at home against Belmont in Bloomington. IU fell in the opener to the Bruins, 9-3, before taking the final two games of the series by scores of 15-10 and 15-7 to move two games ahead of .500.

IU spent several weeks ranked in the major Division I polls after playing an early challenging schedule featuring ranked contests against Duke, Coastal Carolina, Alabama, and Dallas Baptist over the first month. The Hoosiers picked up early wins over Coastal Carolina, a weekend sweep over Baylor, and Dallas Baptist, in addition to wins over Northern Kentucky and Troy.

Indiana is scheduled to take on several Missouri Valley teams in the 2024 season having already competed against Illinois State and Belmont. The Hoosiers fell to Illinois State, 16-6, this past Wednesday, before taking two of three against the Bruins. Indiana State makes the return trip to Bloomington on April 2, while Evansville travels to IU on April 16.

Devin Taylor (.385) and Brock Tibbitts (.375) remain Indiana’s top hitters in the 2024 season sitting among the team leaders with 30 hits apiece, while Taylor has added four home runs and 17 RBIs on the lineup. Tyler Cerny (.368) is the team hits leader with 32 hits and nine doubles, while Carter Mathison is the team’s power threat with five home runs on the year.

Twenty different IU arms have seen time on the mound this season as the Hoosiers have posted a 6.96 ERA over 172.0 innings on the season. Indiana has posted a 192:98 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the season while allowing opponents to hit .266 from the plate.

Series History

Indiana leads the all-time series 67-47-1 dating back to the inaugural contest back in 1895. The Sycamores snapped IU’s six-game winning streak in the series back on April 4, 2023, as ISU topped Indiana 4-0 at Bob Warn Field. The Sycamores moved to 28-26 all-time in Terre Haute in the series with the win.

Cameron Holycross turned in a dominant relief outing, while Luis Hernandez and Randal Diaz both homered as the Sycamores shutout the visiting Indiana Hoosiers in the 4-0 win. Cam Edmonson went the first 1.1 innings in the start before turning the ball over to Holycross in the top of the second. The ISU redshirt junior was masterful over the next 4.2 innings utilizing 72 pitches and limiting the Hoosiers to three hits while striking out four in keeping the shutout intact.

The Sycamore defense turned double plays in both the eighth and ninth innings in support of reliever Jared Spencer. Adam Pottinger robbed an IU home run at the left field wall in the eighth and Spencer retired the final out on strikes to complete ISU’s fourth shutout of the Hoosiers in the all-time series between the two teams.

Hernandez connected on his second home run of the season in the bottom of the third inning to provide the Sycamores all the run support they would need, while Randal Diaz added his third home run in the last four games to power the Sycamores to the win. Josue Urdaneta and Pottinger both added RBI singles as ISU snapped a six-game home losing streak to the Hoosiers dating back to 2015.

PURDUE FT. WAYNE TRACK

BOTH MASTODON TRACK & FIELD TEAMS PICKED FOR THIRD IN OUTDOOR POLL

INDIANAPOLIS – The 2024 Under Armour Men’s and Women’s Horizon League Outdoor Track & Field Preseason Poll were released on Monday (March 18), with both Purdue Fort Wayne teams picked for third.

The Mastodon women’s team received 80 points, sitting behind Milwaukee (99 points), with nine first-place votes, and Youngstown State (89 points), with one first-place vote. While the men’s team received 48 points, behind Youngstown State (71 points), with eight first-place votes, and Milwaukee (64 points), with one first-place vote.

The Purdue Fort Wayne women were fourth last season at the league outdoor meet. Jesseca Hudson-Turpin (100 hurdles), Brooke Neal (3000 steeplechase) and Dylan Kirkwood (heptathlon) won individual titles last season. The men were fifth last season at the outdoor meet.

The ‘Dons open the outdoor season this weekend at Murray State.

2024 Under Armour Outdoor #HLTF Preseason Poll

Women’s

Place   Team (First Place Votes) – Points

Milwaukee (9) – 99

Youngstown State (1) – 89

Purdue Fort Wayne – 80

Oakland – 63

Northern Kentucky – 62

IUPUI – 51

Wright State – 33

Detroit Mercy – 32

RMU – 27

Cleveland State – 14

Men’s

Place   Team (First Place Votes) – Points

Youngstown State (8) – 71

Milwaukee (1) – 64

Purdue Fort Wayne – 48

Oakland – 47

IUPUI – 36

Detroit Mercy – 29

Wright State – 16

Northern Kentucky – 13

PURDUE FT. WAYNE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

MASTODON WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TO HOST EASTERN KENTUCKY ON WEDNESDAY IN THE WNIT

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Purdue Fort Wayne women’s basketball program will host Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday (March 20) in the first round of the 2024 Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). Tip time is set for 7 p.m. 

The game will be played at the Gates Sports Center. Tickets are $15 for the lower level and $10 for the upper level. Purdue Fort Wayne students are free with ID.

Tickets are on sale now at this link: https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2new/Buy.asp?EventID=344651

With a win, the Mastodons will move on to play Cincinnati. The full bracket can be found here.

The 2023-24 Mastodons have a 21-12 record, their fifth 20-win season in program history and second as a member of Division I. The ‘Dons’ 21 wins is the most in their 23 years of DI.

PURDUE FT. WAYNE WOMEN’S GOLF

ANNA OLAFSDOTTIR TIED FOR FIFTH AFTER 18 HOLES AT NEVEL MEADE

PROSPECT, Ky. – Anna Olafsdottir of the Purdue Fort Wayne women’s golf team is tied for fifth after an opening round of 76 at the Nevel Meade Collegiate on Monday (March 18).

Olafsdottir started her day with a pair of birdies on holes five and six before two pars. Later on, she had a stretch of four pars in three holes, then a birdie on 18 to finish up the back nine. After a bogey on one, Olafsdottir finished her day with three more pars in a row. Coming off her best finish as a ‘Don, Olafsdottir is tied for fifth with a chance for her second top-five outing in as many tournaments.

Adrienne Rohwedder and Olivia Jang are tied for ninth after first rounds of 77. Rohwedder had birdies on holes nine and 13 to go with 12 pars. This included a stretch of four pars over her final four holes. Jang turned in birdies on 11 and 17, which helped her go even over the final 10 holes. Her birdie on 17 countered her bogey on one before six bogeys in a row.

Hunar Mittal and Natalie Papa both tied for 53rd with opening rounds of 88. They had seven pars each, while Papa added a birdie on 18.

Lillie Cone competed as an individual, turning in a 90.

As a team, the Mastodons shot 318 and are in sole possession of fourth place. Horizon League foe Oakland had the best in the field with a 306, but the ‘Dons were ahead of league foes Cleveland State (328), Youngstown State (331) and Detroit Mercy (333).

The final round of the Nevel Meade Collegiate will fire off on Tuesday (March 19) at 10:30 a.m.

PURDUE FT. WAYNE BASEBALL

‘DONS GAME AT MICHIGAN STATE MOVED UP TO TUESDAY

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Mastodons (8-13) square off with their second Big 10 opponent of the season on Tuesday at Michigan State (7-10). The game is moved up one day due to the weather forecast on Wednesday.

Game Day Information 
When: Tuesday, March 19 | 4 p.m. ET
Where: McLane Stadium at Kobs Field | East Lansing, Mich.
Live Stats:Link
Watch:Link
Listen: Link
Series History: Michigan State leads 5-1. The ‘Dons won their first game over the Spartans last season on their sixth try. Braedon Blackford had three hits while Grant Thoroman and Cade Fitzpatrick each hit a home run.
Weather: High of 45/low of 30, 2% chance of rain

Probable Starters:

Purdue Fort Wayne: RHP Owen Willard

Michigan State: RHP Aaron Mishoulam

Scouting the Spartans: Michigan State took two of three in last weekend’s series against Evansville. They improved to 7-10 on the season as they welcome the ‘Dons to East Lansing for their fourth home game of the season. Dillion Kark is slashing .361/.360/.556 as one of Michigan State’s leading hitters. With no walks on the season has accomplished the rare feat of an on-base percentage lower than his batting average.

Horizon Leaders: The ‘Dons took two games in a three-game set with Youngstown State in their first weekend of Horizon League play. After the first three games, Mastodon pitchers led the league in ERA, strikeouts, walks, and hits allowed. The Mastodon hitters were impressive too and now lead the league in runs, RBIs, and steals. The ‘Dons had 35 hits in the final two games of the series.

Justin Time: Freshman Justin Osterhouse leads the team in hitting at .378. He has six home runs over the last eight games. He will enter Tuesday’s game with a 10-game hit streak including multiple hits in five of the games.

High Leverage: Kevin Fee has been the Mastodons’ go-to reliever so far this season. He’s made the seventh most mound appearances in the country with 11. With 72 career appearances, Fee needs just seven more to break the school record of 78. Fee owns a 3.66 ERA with a 2-0 record and two saves this year.

Two B1G Games: The ‘Dons take on two teams from the Big 10 this season. After taking down No. 20 Indiana a few weeks ago, Purdue Fort Wayne will look for another Big 10 win on Tuesday.

Last Time Out: The ‘Dons outscored Youngstown State 33-13 last weekend on their way to winning the series over the Penguins.

Up Next: Purdue Fort Wayne opens their home slate as they host Wright State for a three-game set beginning on Friday (March 22).

EVANSVILLE MEN’S BASKETBALL

EVANSVILLE DRAWS QUINNIPIAC IN OPENING ROUND OF RO CBI

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Making its first postseason appearance in nine years, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team is set to open the 2024 Ro College Basketball Invitational on March 24 against Quinnipiac.

Game time for the Purple Aces Ro CBI opener is 4:30 p.m. CT on the 24th at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla.  Tickets for Sunday’s game are $20 and can be purchased by clicking here.  The UE fan sections are 105/106.

Evansville will be staying at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort.  There is a fan block discount available that can be found here.  For more information, please call Logan Belz at 812-488-2623.

In an exciting 2023-24 campaign, the Purple Aces accomplished a number of milestones on its way to the postseason.  Currently standing at 16 wins, UE has its highest win total since 2017-18.  On March 7, Evansville opened Arch Madness with a 59-53 win over Illinois State.  That was the first victory in St. Louis for the program since 2017.

Six consecutive wins opened the season for UE, marking the first time for the program since the undefeated 1964-65 National Championship team.  Multiple individuals played a pivotal role in the success throughout the season highlighted by 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year and All-Newcomer Team member Ben Humrichous, All-Freshman and All-Bench honoree Chuck Bailey III and Tanner Cuff, who joined Bailey on the All-Bench squad.

Quinnipiac completed its season with an overall record of 24-9 while finishing 15-5 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).   The Bobcats were the top seed entering the MAAC Tournament before falling to Saint Peter’s in the second round.

EVANSVILLE VOLLEYBALL

FERNANDO MORALES NAMED SOUTH KOREA NATIONAL TEAM HEAD COACH

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Evansville head volleyball coach Fernando Morales has added another impressive line to his résumé with the announcement that he has been named the head coach of the South Korea National Team.

Morales will continue as head coach of the Purple Aces program along with his work with the South Korea squad.

“South Korea is a program with a lot of tradition and history.  They have won Olympic medals in the past and were among the best teams in the world,” Morales said.  “It is my goal to take them back to that competitive level.”

Evansville has a great deal of momentum heading into the 2024 season highlighted by Melanie Feliciano returning for her fifth season to team up with reigning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Giulia Cardona.

EVANSVILLE MEN’S GOLF

PARKER LEADS MEN’S GOLF IN SECOND ROUND

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – Carson Parker recorded an even score of 72 on Monday to jump into the top 25 at the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate at the River Course of the Sevierville Golf Club.

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Round Two Results

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After opening the tournament with a 77, Parker lowered his score by five strokes to an even 72.  With a 149, he is tied for 22^nd in the individual standings.  Second for the Purple Aces is Caleb Wassmer.  He led the team with a 76 on Sunday and completed Monday’s 18 holes with a 77.  His 153 is tied for 38^th.
 
Isaac Rohleder is third on the team with a 156.  Rohleder posted a 79 on Sunday before coming on with a 77 in round two.  He is tied for 56^th.  Andres Rodriguez checked in with an 81 in the second 18 holes.  Combined with his opening round 77, he has a 158.  Daniil Romashkin completed the round with an 82 and heads into the final day with a 163.
 
Belmont continues to hold the team lead, but a huge day by Lee University has them right on the Bruins’ heels.  Belmont heads into Tuesday’s final round with a 577 while Lee sits at a 581.  Pablo Riveiro of Chicago State paces the individuals with a 140.  He posted identical scores of 70 in the opening two rounds.  He is one in front of Belmont’s Michael Senn.

EVANSVILLE WOMEN’S GOLF

PETROVA TIED FOR SECOND FOLLOWING OPENING ROUND

PROSPECT, Ky. – Kate Petrova carded a 1-over 73 and is tied for second place following the first round of the Nevel Meade Collegiate at the Nevel Meade Golf Club.

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Opening Round Results

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Petrova is tied for second place, just one off the lead.  Her efforts have the Purple Aces women’s golf team in a tie for 7^th place with a score of 328.  The University of Evansville is seven behind a 5^th place tie between Indiana State and Western Michigan.
 
Allison Enchelmayer and Destynie Sheridan both posted rounds of 34 on Monday.  The duo is tied for the 34^th spot.  Fourth on the team was Jane Grankina with a round of 87.  Trinity Dubbs rounded out the team with a tally of 89.  Carly Frazier played as an individual and completed Monday’s round with a 93.
 
Oakland sits atop the team standings with a 306 with UIC and Bellarmine rounding out the top three with scores of 313 and 315.  Dasa Urbankova of the Flames holds the individual lead.  She posted an even 72 in the opening 18 holes.

VALPO BASEBALL

BASEBALL TO OPEN HOME SLATE ON TUESDAY

Ball State (11-9, 1-5 MAC)

at Valparaiso (7-11, 0-0 MVC)

Emory G. Bauer Field (500) | Valparaiso, Ind.

Tuesday, March 19, 3 p.m. CT – RHP Kaleb Krier

Next Up in Valpo Baseball: At long last, the Valparaiso University baseball team will take the field at home on Tuesday afternoon as instate foe Ball State makes its way to Emory G. Bauer Field for a midweek matchup. The Beacons, who rank 69th in the RPI, returned to Valparaiso late Sunday / early Monday after an 18-day, 11-game spring break excursion that saw Valpo tour the south and face off with warm-weather opponents. The team’s home opener comes after a season-opening stretch of 18 straight games away from home. This will also mark the final tune-up prior to Missouri Valley Conference play, which begins on Friday as a three-game series at Southern Illinois gets going in Carbondale.

Last Time Out: Valpo was competitive but dropped all three games to a top-25 opponent this past weekend at No. 21 Campbell, losing 10-9 on Friday, 13-4 on Saturday and 18-7 in seven innings on Sunday. The Beacons pushed the Camels to the brink of an upset in the series opener, leading 5-1 and 9-5, but Campbell eventually escaped on a walk-off home run.

Following the Beacons: Tuesday’s game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Todd Ickow (play-by-play) and Leo Staudacher (analyst) on the call. Links to live video and stats are available on ValpoAthletics.com. For in-game updates, follow @ValpoBaseball on X, the social media platform that was once known as Twitter.  

Head Coach Brian Schmack: Brian Schmack (195-305) is in his 11th season in charge of the program. He ranks third in program history in seasons coached and games coached as he enters 2024 having skippered 482 Valpo games. He enters the season with 188 victories, the third most in program history. Schmack, a member of the 2003 Detroit Tigers, served as pitching coach/associate head coach at Valpo for seven seasons prior to his promotion.

Series Notes: Valpo holds a 28-40-1 record in an all-time series with Ball State that dates all the way back to 1948. This will mark the first time the two teams have locked horns since March 27, 2019, a 14-8 loss in Muncie. The Cardinals last visited Emory G. Bauer Field on March 26, 2018, a 13-5 setback for the hosts. Valpo has dropped five straight in the head-to-head series dating back to a 3-2, 10-inning win on May 9, 2012 in Northwest Indiana.

In The Other Dugout: Ball State

Picked to finish second in the Mid-American Conference preseason poll, receiving three of 11 first-place votes. They were behind only Kent State in the preseason projections.

Went 36-23 last season and 19-11 in MAC play en route to winning the MAC Tournament and making an NCAA Regional appearance.

Coming off being swept at home by Bowling Green this weekend, losing 5-4, 34-8 and 15-8. Also dropped two of three against Eastern Michigan on the first weekend of MAC play.

Led offensively by Michael Hallquist, who is hitting .370 with a .402 on-base percentage and .753 slugging percentage.

UINDY SOFTBALL

UINDY PICKS UP BOTH GLVC SOFTBALL WEEKLY ACCOLADES

INDIANAPOLIS – University of Indianapolis graduate infielder Emily O’Connor and senior pitcher Kenzee Smith were named Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) weekly award winners in softball, it was announced by the league office Monday. 
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Emily O’Connor, #7 Indianapolis
Gr. | IF | New Palestine, Ind.
Major: Management
Team Results: 17-1 W vs. Pitt.-Johnstown, 10-0 W vs. Lake Erie (3/11) | 3-2 W vs. Purdue Northwest, 15-2 W vs. New Haven (3/13) | 6-0 W vs. Saint Michael’s, 12-10 W vs. American International (3/14) | 8-0 W, 4-0 W vs. Southwest Baptist (3/16) | 10-1 W, 4-2 W vs. Drury (3/17)

• Went 14-for-28 (.500) during 10-0 week for UIndy, accumulating a .622 on-base percentage
• Smacked four home runs and drove in 21 runs, collecting a 1.000 slugging percentage
• Added 16 runs scored and two stolen bases
• Did not strikeout in 35 plate appearances
• Recorded five multi-hit games and multi-RBI contests each
• Highlighted by 3-for-3 performance in first game against SBU, notching one double, one home run, and four RBI
• Earns sixth career Player of the Week award (3/18/24, 3/11/24, 2/19/24, 4/3/23, 3/14/22, 3/29/21)
• Last Greyhounds’ Player of the Week: Emily O’Connor (3/11/24)

 
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Kenzee Smith, #7 Indianapolis
Sr. | RHP | Indianapolis, Ind.
Major: Nursing
Team Results: 17-1 W vs. Pitt.-Johnstown, 10-0 W vs. Lake Erie (3/11) | 3-2 W vs. Purdue Northwest, 15-2 W vs. New Haven (3/13) | 6-0 W vs. Saint Michael’s, 12-10 W vs. American International (3/14) | 8-0 W, 4-0 W vs. Southwest Baptist (3/16) | 10-1 W, 4-2 W vs. Drury (3/17)

• Allowed just three earned runs in 32.1 innings for a 0.65 ERA
• Earned the win in all six appearances, improving her record to 13-0
• Tossed three complete games in five starts, two of which were shutouts
• Posted 0.841 WHIP, while striking out 33 batters
• Earns tenth career Pitcher of the Week Award (3/18/24, 3/4/24, 2/26/24, 5/1/23, 4/10/23, 2/28/22, 2/21/22, 4/12/21, 3/29/21, 3/22/21)
• Last Greyhounds’ Pitcher of the Week: Jayden Casebolt (3/11/24)

UINDY WOMEN’S LAX

GREYHOUNDS RISE ONE SPOT IN LATEST NATIONAL POLL

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. – The UIndy women’s lacrosse team rose one spot to No. 12 in the latest IWLCA national poll following its 1-1 split week.

The Greyhounds earned an in-region victory over Notre Dame College before falling to top-five Tampa on Sunday afternoon from Key Stadium. Joey Fowler recorded a hat trick against the Spartans, including three straight goals in the first half.

Pace continues to top the poll, while GLVC foe Maryville (6) and in-region Regis (10) and Grand Valley (11) rank just ahead of UIndy. The Hounds travel west this coming weekend for a meeting with No. 10 Regis and Colorado Mesa.

The poll marks the 77th consecutive edition in which UIndy has appeared, including its 76th straight time in the top 15. The complete poll can be found below.

DII IWLCA Poll

RK          SCHOOL (REC)    PTS (FPV)             PREV

1.            Pace (6 – 0)         550 (22)               1

2.            West Chester (4 – 0)        527        2

3.            Adelphi (4 – 1)   496        3

4.            East Stroudsburg (4 – 0) 468        4

5.            Tampa (7 – 2)     448        5

6.            Maryville (8 – 0)               436        9

7.            Florida Southern (7 – 3) 419        7

8.            Flagler (9 – 1)     395        8

9.            Embry-Riddle (9 – 1)       357        10

10.         Regis (CO) (5 – 1)             353        5

11.         Grand Valley (5 – 1)         343        12

12.         UIndy (5 – 2)      300        13

13.         Rollins (9 – 2)     245        11

14.         Limestone (9 – 0)             239        22

15.         Wingate (7 – 3)  226        15

16.         Lynn (7 – 1)         203        20

17.         Kutztown (3 – 1)               181        19

18.         New Haven (3 – 2)           153        15

19.         Florida Tech (6 – 3)          132        23

20.         Bentley (1 – 3)   130        14

21.         Saint Anselm (3 – 2)        100        18

22.         Assumption (2 – 3)          90           21

23.         Mercy (1 – 5)      88           17

24.         Saint Leo (5 – 3) 87           NR

25.         Seton Hill (2 – 3)               67           25

UINDY MEN’S LAX

CARLSON NAMED GLVC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

INDIANAPOLIS – UIndy senior goalkeeper KC Carlson has been named the GLVC Defensive Player of the Week in men’s lacrosse for the second time this season, it was announced by the league office Monday.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

KC Carlson, #8 UIndy

Sr. | G | Oceanside, N.Y.

Major: Secondary Education

Team Result: 11-7 W vs. #2 Rollins (3/16)

Made 13 saves in upset win over second-ranked Rollins

Recorded a .650 save percentage, facing 33 total shots

Collected two ground balls

Earns fourth career Defensive Player of the Week Award (3/18/24, 2/19/24, 3/20/23, 2/6/23)

Last Greyhounds’ Defensive Player of the Week: Caleb Parker (3/4/24)

MEN’S LAX JUMPS TWO SPOTS AFTER TOP-5 VICTORY

BALTIMORE – Following its victory over then-No. 2 Rollins over the weekend, the UIndy men’s lacrosse team rose two spots in the USILA national coaches poll, released Monday.

UIndy opens GLVC action this Wednesday at Davenport.

The Greyhounds handed the Tars, now ranked fifth, their first loss of the season, while improving to 7-2 this spring. UIndy is now 3-2 this season against top-15 opponents, including victories over Seton Hill and Mercyhurst. KC Carlson made 13 saves against Rollins, the second-highest total of his senior campaign.

Triston Schaffer tops the team with 28 points on 17 goals and 11 assists, while Jack Sullivan leads with 32 ground balls and Trevor Lockwood with 17 caused turnovers.

UIndy is one of seven South Region teams in the top nine. The complete poll can be found below.

USILA DII Poll

RK	SCHOOL	PTS	FPV	REC
1.	Limestone	439	21	10-0
2.	Lenoir-Rhyne	417	1	7-1
3.	Tampa	396	0	7-1
4.	Adelphi	349	0	3-2
5.	Rollins	341	0	6-1
6.	Wingate	313	0	6-2
7.	Mercy	302	0	6-1
8.	UIndy	299	0	7-2
9.	Newberry	265	0	7-1
t10.	Bentley	229	0	2-2
t10.	Pace	229	0	5-0
12.	Saint Anselm	212	0	3-1
13.	Seton Hill	154	0	4-2
14.	Mercyhurst	136	0	3-3
15.	Florida Southern	113	0	5-2
16.	Maryville	101	0	6-2
17.	Colorado Mesa	88	0	3-2
18.	Saint Leo	76	0	6-1
19.	Frostburg State	54	0	4-2
20.	Westminster	52	0	5-1

UINDY BASEBALL

GOOD GARNERS GLVC BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD

INDIANAPOLIS – University of Indianapolis junior shortstop Easton Good has been named the GLVC weekly award winner in baseball, it was announced by the league office Monday.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Easton Good, Indianapolis

Jr. | SS | Kokomo, Ind.

Major: Business Administration & Management

Team Results: 6-7 L, 16-9 W vs. Lake Erie (3/12) | 7-4 W at McKendree (3/15) | 14-9 W at McKendree (3/16) | 18-1 W, 8-6 W at McKendree (3/17)

Batted .474 (9-for-19) with a .667 on-base percentage in six games

Ripped two doubles, two home runs, and one triple for a 1.000 slugging percentage

Drove in 13 runs and scored 13

Added 10 walks and eight stolen bases

Collected seven RBIs on one triple and one home run in game three against the Bearcats

Earns first career Player of the Week Award

Last Greyhounds’ Player of the Week: Caleb Vaughn (4/24/23)

MARIAN MEN’S GOLF

NOLAN POTTER TABBED AS CL MEN’S GOLFER OF THE WEEK

Jackson, Mich. – For the second consecutive week, Marian men’s golf has represented the Crossroads League with the Player of the Week honor, as Nolan Potter brings home the title for his efforts at the IU East Big Cats Collegiate.

Potter led No. 21 Marian at the IU-Est Collegiate, carding scores of 77 and 68 in the two-round event, helping Marian win their first tournament of the spring season.

Marian will next play at the Spring Arbor Garn Championship on March 25 and 26 in Nicholasville, Kentucky.

MARIAN WOMEN’S TENNIS

ANA BARBOSA FERNANDEZ WINS CROSSROADS LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

JACKSON, Mich. – The Crossroads League Athletes of the Week were announced on Monday, recognizing the league’s top individual performances from March 11 through 17. Sports Information Directors from the league institutions nominate student-athletes for the awards and vote on each week’s winners.

For the first time in her career, Marian women’s tennis member Ana Barbosa Fernandez has been named the Crossroads League Player of the Week.

Fernandez highlighted No. 22 Marian’s 7-0 sweep of Indiana Tech by winning 3-6, 6-0, 1-0 at No. 2 singles and also 6-1 at No. 2 doubles.

The Knights will play twice on Friday this week, taking on Georgetown and Cumberlands on Friday.

MARIAN MEN’S TENNIS

MARC SORIANO REPEATS AS CROSSROADS LEAGUE MEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jackson, Mich. – For the second consecutive week, Marian men’s tennis freshman Marc Soriano has repeated as the Crossroads League Player of the Week. Soriano’s honor is the second honor in his career.

Soriano repeated as the CL’s top player, this time by winning 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4 singles and 6-3 at No. 2 doubles for No. 24 Marian in a 7-0 team win over Indiana Tech. Soriano scored the clinching point in singles and doubles in Marian’s win over Indiana Tech.

The Knights will play twice on Friday this week, taking on Georgetown and Cumberlands on Friday.

SMALL COLLEGE ATHLETICS

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

FOOTBALL HISTORY

March 19, 1892 – Haight Street Grounds, San Francisco -The University of California at Berkeley vs Stanford University played their first game against each other per the American Fandom site.  This match-up is traditionally called the “Big Game” or the “Battle of the Axe”, and it is the tenth longest collegiate gridiron rivalry in NCAA history. In this first game between the two schools the Cardinal posted a 14-10 triumph over their rival according to the Cal football page on the internet.

March 19, 1991 – NFL owners strip the city of Phoenix of the right to host the 1993 Super Bowl game due to Arizona Not recognizing Martin Luther King Day.

March 19, 1913 – Santa Clara, California – Nello “Flash” Falaschi the star QB of Santa Clara from 1934 to 1936 arrived into this life. More on this legend can be found here at Nello Falaschi

March 19, 1914 – Jay Berwanger the very 1st Heisman Trophy winner in 1935, from the University of Chicago was born. Jay was nicknamed “The Flying Dutchman,”  and was a two-time All- America halfback for Chicago. We have much more on this first NFL draft pick at Jay Berwanger

HOF Birthdays

March 19, 1931 – Vicksburg, Mississippi – Georgia Tech’s two -way player at center and linebacker, George Morris was born per the NFF. During the span of time that George played on the Yellow Jackets from 1950 through 1952 the Ramblin’ Wreck ripped off 23 straight victories and George’s stout presence in the middle of the offense and defense were a big part of that success. Defense was his strong suit though as during his junior and senior seasons, only two opponents managed to score more than one touchdown against Tech. The National Football Foundation voters chose the name of George Morris in 1981 to be included among the gridiron greats in the College football Hall of Fame.

March 19, 1938 – Santa Fe, New Mexico – Joe Kapp the Cal quarterback of the 1956 to 1959 era arrived into this life. The FootballFoundation.org website says Joe led the Golden Bears the team in total offense all three years of his career. Kapp was a first Team All-America selection, finished fifth in the 1958 Heisman Trophy voting and led California to a Rose Bowl appearance. The College Football Hall of Fame set up a place for Joe Kapp in their museum in 1972.

March 19, 1954 – Flint, Michigan – The stellar linebacker from Dartmouth, Reggie Williams celebrated his day of birth. An interesting thing about Reggie was his ability to overcome obstacles such as limited hearing and some experts such Bo Schembechler at Michigan considering him too small to play full back per the Football Foundation. His outstanding academics is what drew Dartmouth’s attention even though his high school guidance counselor discouraged him from attempting to go to the Ivy League school. Williams proved them all wrong as he did well in school and on the football field. A switch from full back to linebacker paved the way for stardom for Reggie as his high motor was perfect for the position. As a Senior he had 117 tackles to lead the team as Reggie was named an All-Ivy League player and was named a first- team All-American. The NFF selection committee honored the great collegiate career of Reggie Williams in 2007 by placing him in their College Football Hall of Fame.

March 19, 1965 – Fort Wayne, Indiana – The smart and speedy corner back from Purdue University, Rod Woodson was born. The NFF’s bio says he was a 1986 consensus First Team All-American and Rod Woodson ended his stellar Purdue career holding 13 individual records. Rod was a three-time First Team All-Big Ten selection who started all 45 games of his career and finished his career with 445 tackles, 11 interceptions and 29 pass breakups while adding 71 kickoff returns for 1,535 yards and one touchdown. The College Football Hall of Fame welcomed Rod Woodson to their fold of legends in 2016. Woodson was picked 10th overall in the 1987 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had an NFL career lasting 17 seasons with the Steelers (10), Ravens (4), Raider (2) and one with the 49ers. He played in 11 Pro Bowls, was an All-Pro 6 times, was the 1993 DPOY and even won a Super Bowl. in 238 games played he registered 71 interceptions and scored 12 TDs ( one of those was on a fumble).  1558 Combined tackles with 530 of them being solo tackles. Rod Woodson was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

NUMBERS IN SPORTS

6 – 11 – 16

March 19, 1955 – The University of San Francisco Don’s become the NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions. San Francisco defeated La Salle, 77-63 as the Dons’ future Hall of Fame center Bill Russell wearing Number 6 is named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

March 19, 1960 – Ohio State defeated California 75-55 to claim the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship.Buckeye Forward Jerry Lucas, Number 11 is named the tournament ‘s Most Outstanding Player

March 19, 1991 – It is announced by the Kansas City Royals organization that they will bne placing star outfielder and all around athlete Bo Jackson on waivers.

March 19, 1991 – Brett Hull, Number 16 of the St Louis Blues scored his 80th goal of the season plalcing him on a list with only two others that had hit that milestone.

TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1951      In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Fred Hutchinson, the American League player representative, says the players should have a voice in selecting the new commissioner to replace A. B. Happy Chandler, who the owners recently ousted. The Tigers’ right-hander suggests that the major leaguers, if not given input, would be inclined to hire and pay their own commissioner, with Chandler being their first choice.

1961      The Red Sox announce that Carl Yastrzemski will be the team’s left fielder this season, replacing Boston legend Ted Williams. The 21-year-old from Southampton (NY) spends 23 seasons with Boston, becoming a Hall of Famer like his predecessor.

1961      The Yankees signal opposition to any plan enabling the new National League franchise to share their Bronx ballpark, with team owner Dan Topping citing his former GM George Weiss, now in a similar position with the expansion team, vehemently against the idea during his last two seasons with the club. William Shea, chairman of the Mayor’s Baseball Committee, does not believe the Polo Grounds or Roosevelt Field in Jersey City are viable venues for the new team until the completion of the new stadium in Flushing Meadows.

1965      During spring training, Jack Quinlan, best known for doing play-by-play for the Cubs on WIND (1955-56) and WGN (1957–64), dies in an auto accident after leaving a golf outing. The popular 38-year-old broadcaster’s partners included Lou Boudreau and Charlie Grimm.

1970      During a spring training game against Oakland, Indians’ first baseman Ken Harrelson fractures his leg and will not play until September, appearing in only 17 games. Next season, after losing his starting position to Chris Chambliss, the eventual AL Rookie of the Year, the ‘Hawk’ will retire in June to pursue a professional golf career.

1989      The Yankees, hoping to replace the injured Dave Winfield, trade catcher Joel Skinner and minor leaguer Turner Ward to the Indians for outfielder Mel Hall, who will hit .273 during his four years with the Bronx Bombers. The future Hall of Fame outfielder will miss the entire season due to back surgery.

2002      The Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES) debuts as a regional cable TV channel. Like NESN of the Red Sox, the team-owned network will carry Bronx Bombers games and cover New Jersey Nets NBA contests.

2005      After avoiding salary arbitration by signing a one-year $10.5 million deal in the offseason, Lance Berkman agrees to a six-year, $85 million contract. The three-time All-Star outfielder will be an Astro until 2010, with the club holding the option for an additional year.

2007      Texas announces their home stadium will now be called Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The subprime mortgage industry crisis caused Ameriquest to give up its naming rights last month after reaching a 30-year deal with the team in 2004, reportedly worth about $75 million.

2008      In a protest of their coaches not receiving the same $40,000 stipend negotiated by the players union, the Red Sox players boycott their exhibition game, scheduled to be televised nationally from the City of Palms Park, and tomorrow’s flight to Japan for the season-opening game against the A’s. The delayed game starts an hour later when MLB consents to pay the managers, coaches, and trainers $20,000 each from management’s proceeds, with the difference to be paid by the team.

BASEBALL YEAR IN REVIEW: 1947 (BASEBALL ALMANAC)

Off the field…

Captain Chuck Yaeger, an American test pilot, became the first to break the sound barrier after he accelerated his X-1 test plane to six-hundred seventy miles per hour, at an altitude of 42,000 feet. The specially designed aircraft was dropped from a modified B-29 bomber leftover from World War II.

Secretary of State George C. Marshall announced the goals of his Economic Recovery Plan, otherwise known as “The Marshall Plan” which stated that “the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world”. The idea of providing aid in the reconstruction of war torn nations provided markets for American goods, created reliable trading partners, and supported the development of stable democratic governments in Western Europe. Congress’s approval of the Marshall Plan signaled an extension of the bipartisanship of World War II into the postwar years.

In the American League…

Philadelphia Athletics catcher Buddy Rosar finally dropped a pop-up on May 20^th for his first recorded error in one-hundred forty-seven games and seven-hundred fifty-six chances. New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra went on to extend the Major League record to one-hundred forty-eight and nine-hundred fifty from 1957 to 1959, but Rosar’s single-season record of one-hundred fifteen games and six-hundred five errorless chances stood unchallenged for fifty years until Charles Johnson of the Florida Marlins topped it in 1997.

Larry Doby became the first African-American to play in the American League after appearing as a pinch-hitter for the Cleveland Indians on July 5^th during a 6-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox. The following day he started at first base and went one-for-five at the plate.

On August 13^th, Willard Brown of the St. Louis Browns became the first African-American player to homer in the American League after hitting a pinch inside-the-park home run for a 6-5 victory over pitcher Hal Newhouser and the Detroit Tigers.

In the National League…

On April 17^th, the Brooklyn Dodgers topped the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field 12-6, as baseball’s first African-American player; Jackie Robinson tallied his first Major League hit (a bunt single). Robinson would go on to perfect the “squeeze play” while bunting forty-two times throughout the season.

Johnny Mize of the New York Giants set a Major League record after hitting three successive home runs (for the fifth time in his career) during a 14-5 loss to the Boston Braves. Mize would later go on to add a sixth, three-homer performance while playing with the New York Yankees in 1950.

After several St. Louis Cardinal players were rumored to initiate a strike as a sign of protest against playing with Jackie Robinson, National League President Ford Frick and team owner Sam Breadon both announced that any player directly involved in any acts of racial prejudice or disobedience would be suspended indefinitely. Cardinal manager Eddie Dyer wholeheartedly denied the allegations and his “Redbirds” went on to play (and beat) the Brooklyn Dodgers 5-1.

Around the League…

Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler announced the development of the first official pension plan for major leaguers. The plan stated that any player with five years experience would receive a check for $50 a month at age fifty, and $10 a month over the next five years. The pension fund was initially set up for $650,000, with teams providing 80% and the players investing the remaining 20%.

April 27^th was declared as “Babe Ruth Day” at all Major League ballparks. During a special pre-game ceremony at Yankee Stadium, a frail looking Ruth, who was battling the effects of throat cancer, struggled through a short speech thanking the fans for their continued support. The emotional program was broadcast nationwide on television, radio and over the loudspeakers at every stadium as “The Bambino” was presented with a bronze plaque with his likeness from the American League and a leather-bound book with signatures of every player from the National League.

Tragedy struck the Minor League system as standout Jimmy Davis (Longhorn League) died after being hit in the head with a pitched ball. The promising twenty-year old outfielder was hitting .333 at the time and had tallied nineteen home runs in forty-eight games.

New York Yankees slugger Joe DiMaggio was named the American League’s MVP by a single point over the Boston Red Sox’ Ted Williams. Williams, the Triple Crown winner, received two-hundred one points, but was completely left off one writer’s ballot igniting a major controversy. It was later determined that a single, tenth-place vote (or better) would have granted him the two points that were necessary to top DiMaggio.

BASEBALL’S GREAT PITCHERS

GREG MADDUX

On August 26, 1995, Greg Maddux was at Wrigley Field in Chicago, formerly his home stadium. Now a member of the Atlanta Braves, Maddux was on the verge of tying a major-league record with his 16th consecutive road victory. With two out in the top of the third, Maddux singled to left, starting a five-run rally. He took the mound in the bottom of the inning with a 5-0 lead. In the press box, a writer muttered, “This is like giving a 15-0 lead to a regular human being.”1

The comment reflected the dominance Maddux had established in the 1990s and the awe and wonder in which he was held as he reached the peak of his career. Maddux got his win in this game — and another five before the season closed. He became the first pitcher to win four consecutive Cy Young Awards. In 1994 and 1995, Maddux posted an earned-run average that was minuscule in any circumstances, historic in relation to the league ERA each year.

READ MORE: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/greg-maddux/

TODAY IN NBA HISTORY

March 19, 1950

The Rochester Royals closed out the 1949-50 season with their 15th consecutive win, 97-66 over the Baltimore Bullets, setting an NBA record for the most consecutive games won at the end of a season. The record lasted nearly 70 years until the Philadelphia 76ers broke the mark with 16 straight wins (March 15 to April 11, 2018) to end the 2017-18 season.

March 19, 1956

The Minneapolis Lakers beat the St. Louis Hawks 133-75 in Game 2 of the Western Division Finals, the largest margin of victory (58 points) in NBA Playoff history.

March 19, 1967

Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers made all 16 of his field goal attempts against Baltimore. It followed by less than one month Chamberlain’s NBA record 18-for-18 performance against Baltimore on February 24.

March 19, 1967

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 122-109 for their 33rd win of the season, the most ever by an NBA expansion team. Chicago coach Johnny “Red” Kerr was later named NBA Coach of the Year in recognition of the Bulls’ achievement.

March 19, 1969

NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy flipped a coin, Phoenix called ‘heads’ and it turned up ‘tails’. Thus, Milwaukee chose first in the NBA Draft, selecting Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) while Phoenix picked Neal Walk.

March 19, 1972

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated Golden State in what was then the most lopsided victory in NBA history, 162-99, at the Forum. That 63-point margin lasted as a record for nearly 19 years, until Cleveland beat Miami by 68 points, 148-80, on December 17, 1991.

March 19, 1991

New York guard Maurice Cheeks handed out six assists in the Knicks’ 97-79 win over Charlotte to become only the fifth guard in NBA history to reach the 7,000 assist mark for his career, joining Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, Lenny Wilkens and Isiah Thomas.

March 19, 1994

Dale Ellis of San Antonio connected on a pair of 3-point field goals during the Spurs’ 107-100 win over visiting Sacramento, becoming the first player in NBA history to reach 1,000 career 3-pointers made.

March 19, 1995

Michael Jordan came out of his 17-month retirement and played in his first NBA game for Chicago since Game 6 of the 1993 Finals against Phoenix. In front of a charged up crowd at Indiana’s Market Square Arena, Jordan scored 19 points in 43 minutes but the host Pacers downed the Bulls in overtime 103-96. The game was televised on NBC and drew a 10.9 national rating and an estimated 35 million viewers, making it the most watched regular season game in NBA history.

March 19, 1996

Orlando’s Dennis Scott set a then-single-season record for 3-pointers made when he sank his 218th, breaking John Starks’ record. He finished the season hitting 267 3-point field goals.

March 19, 1997

Utah’s John Stockton has one steal in the Jazz’ 113-100 win over the Celtics, becoming the first player in NBA history to record 2,500 career steals.

March 19, 1998

Indiana’s Mark Jackson moved past Maurice Cheeks (7,392) for fifth place on the all-time assist list in a 95-91 win at Washington.

March 19, 2002

Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz became the third player in NBA history to log 50,000 career minutes, passing Elvin Hayes (50,000), and behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (57,446).

March 19, 2015

James Harden of the Houston Rockets scores 50 points in a 118-108 win over the Denver Nuggets.

March 19, 2022

LeBron James scores off a backdoor cut with 5:20 left in the second quarter against Washington. In doing so, James scores the 36,929th point of his career and pass Karl Malone for No. 2 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1942 — The Thoroughbred Racing Associations of the United States is formed, with John C. Clark president.

1950 — Babe Didrikson Zaharias shoots a record 298 and beats Clair Doran by eight strokes to capture the U.S. Women’s Open.

1950 — The Rochester Royals win their 15th consecutive game, 97-66 over the Baltimore Bullets to set an NBA record for consecutive victories to close a season.

1955 — San Francisco wins the NCAA basketball championship with a 77-63 victory over La Salle.

1955 — Dick Ricketts and Si Green combine for 56 points to lead Duquesne to a 70-58 triumph over Dayton in the NIT championship.

1956 — The Minneapolis Lakers defeat the St. Louis Hawks 133-75 for the biggest rout in NBA playoff history.

1960 — Ohio State wins the NCAA basketball title with a 75-55 victory against California.

1960 — Mach Herndon’s 26 points leads Bradley to a 88-72 triumph over Providence for the NIT title. Lenny Wilkens scores 25 points for the Friars.

1966 — Texas Western, starting five black players, wins the NCAA basketball championship with a 72-65 upset of all-white Kentucky.

1966 — BYU beats New York University 97-84 for the NIT championship.

1972 — The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women holds its first basketball championship and Immaculata beats West Chester State 52-48.

1972 — The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 162-99 for the most lopsided victory in NBA history.

1987 — Bonnie Blair skates ladies’ world record 500 m (39.43 sec)

1994 — Hartford’s Brian Propp reaches the 1,000-point mark with a goal in a 5-3 win over Philadelphia.

1995 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan returns from his 17-month retirement. Wearing No. 45, he shoots 7-of-28 from the field and scores 19 points in the Bulls’ 103-96 overtime loss at Indiana.

1998 — The U.S. women’s soccer team sustains the worst loss in its 13-year history, falling 4-1 to reigning World Cup champion Norway in the Algarve Cup.

2006 — Tennessee’s Candace Parker is the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game, jamming one-handed on a breakaway 6:12 into the second-seeded Lady Vols’ 102-54 victory against an Army team that was making its NCAA tournament debut.

2011 — Duke gives coach Mike Krzyzewski his 900th career victory, a 73-71 win over Michigan, and the Blue Devils advance to the round of 16 for the 12th time in 14 years.

2014 — Chris Eversley scores 19 points to help Cal Poly become the first team in 59 years with 19 losses to win an NCAA Tournament game, beating Texas Southern 81-69 on in the First Four.

2015 — Lindsey Vonn wins the final super-G of the season and with it her 19th crystal globe trophy — equaling the record of Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark.

2015 — R.J. Hunter’s 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds remaining caps a comeback from a 12-point deficit and lifts 14th-seeded Georgia State over third-seeded Baylor 57-56 in the NCAA Tournament.

2015 — William Lee scores the last four points for 14th-seeded UAB in its 60-59 upset of Iowa State.

2019 — Houston Rockets guard James Harden becomes first player in NBA history to score at least 30 points against all 29 opponents in a single season with 31 in a 121-105 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

2022 — LeBron James moves past Karl Malone (36,909) into second on NBA’s all-time scoring list with 38 points in LA Lakers’ 127-119 loss to Washington Wizards.

TV SPORTS TUESDAY

COLLEGE BASEBALL

7 p.m.

ACCN — Towson at Duke

COLLEGE BASKETBALL (MEN’S)

6:40 p.m.

TRUTV — NCAA Tournament: Wagner vs. Howard, First-Four Game, Dayton, Ohio

7 p.m.

ESPN — NIT Tournament: Xavier at Georgia, First Round

ESPN2 — NIT Tournament: Cornell at Ohio St., First Round

ESPNU — NIT Tournament: Boston College at Providence, First Round

9 p.m.

ESPN — NIT Tournament: Kansas St. at Iowa, First Round

ESPN2 — NIT Tournament: Richmond at Virginia Tech, First Round

ESPNU — NIT Tournament: Minnesota at Butler, First Round

SECN — NIT Tournament: North Texas at LSU, First Round

9:10 p.m.

TRUTV — NCAA Tournament: Colorado St. at Virginia, First-Four Game, Dayton, Ohio

11 p.m.

ESPN2 — NIT Tournament: UC Irvine at Utah, First Round

MLB BASEBALL

1 p.m.

MLBN — Spring Training: Tampa Bay vs. Boston, Fort Myers, Fla.

4 p.m.

MLBN — Spring Training: Cincinnati vs. LA Angels, Tempe, Ariz.

6 a.m. (Wednesday)

ESPN — LA Dodgers vs. San Diego, Seoul, South Korea

NBA BASKETBALL

9 p.m.

NBATV — Denver at Minnesota

TENNIS

11 a.m. TENNIS — Miami-WTA Early Rounds