MARCH MADNESS
For the first time in three years, there will be a new national champion. The UConn men’s basketball team’s hopes for a near-unprecedented third straight national title were thwarted on Sunday afternoon in a 77-75 loss to Florida at Lenovo Center.
The eighth-seeded Huskies led for the first 17 minutes of the latter half, but the top-seeded Gators utilized an 8-0 run inside the final three minutes to pull ahead for good and advance to the West Region semifinals in San Francisco, where they’ll face either Maryland or Colorado State on Thursday.
Dan Hurley’s emotions ran the gamut following his team’s 77-75 loss to Florida in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, which ended UConn’s bid for a third straight national championship. There was anger over the officiating, frustration over his team's self-inflicted mistakes, tears about the end of his seniors' college careers and pride in what UConn accomplished over the past three years. Hurley knew it was coming to an end at some point, with his team as a No. 8 seed after an up-and-down season. But that didn't make it any easier when the time arrived. Florida advances to the Sweet 16 to face #4 Maryland at 7:39 Thursday night.
Walter Clayton Jr. and Florida ended UConn’s pursuit of a third straight national championship, with Clayton burying two key 3-pointers in the final three minutes of a scintillating 77-75 victory for the top-seeded Gators in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Clayton, a first-team All-America guard, finished with 23 points. Florida, one of the favorites for this year’s title, survived a strong challenge from coach Dan Hurley’s Huskies, who came in with modest expectations as a No. 8 seed but led for most of the second half. Florida advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017 and will play Colorado State or Maryland.
Derik Queen banked in a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer, and Maryland advanced to the Sweet 16 in a thriller, beating Colorado State 72-71 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Jalen Lake drilled a rainbow 3-pointer over Queen with 6 seconds left for No. 12 seed Colorado State, which was seeking to become the lowest-seeded team to advance to a regional semifinal in this edition of March Madness. The Terrapins advanced to face the West Region’s No. 1 seed, Florida, in San Francisco. Queen led fourth-seeded Maryland with 17 points, Rodney Rice scored 16 and Julian Reese had 15 as each of Maryland’s starters known as the “Crab Five” scored in double figures.
The University of Texas fired basketball coach Rodney Terry after a disappointing first season in the Southeastern Conference and another quick exit from the NCAA Tournament. The move comes two years after Terry led Texas to the Elite Eight in the 2022-2023 season. He was an assistant under former coach Chris Beard and took over the program as interim coach when Beard was fired. But he could not duplicate that season’s success. Texas struggled in its first year in the SEC despite having Tre Johnson, who led the league in scoring as a freshman.
Caleb Love had 29 points and nine rebounds, and fourth-seeded Arizona advanced to the Sweet 16, surviving a ragged finish to beat former Pac-12 rival Oregon 87-83 in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats will face top-seeded Duke in the East Region semifinals in Newark, New Jersey. Three years ago, Love starred for North Carolina in a Final Four victory over the Blue Devils that sent Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski into retirement. Tobe Awaka added 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Wildcats, who had never faced the Ducks in the tournament. Jackson Shelstad led fifth-seeded Oregon with 25 points and TJ Bamba had 17.
WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The top seeds continued to roll in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament, including UCLA, South Carolina and TCU. Time to see if it continues when the round concludes on Monday. No. 1 seeds Texas and USC play on Monday, along with No. 2s N.C. State and UConn. All four teams won their openers in blowouts. But the road gets tougher from here, so the upsets could start to come after relatively few through the first three days.
NBA
Jayson Tatum had 30 points, nine assists and nine rebounds and the Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to five games with a 129-116 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. Sam Hauser shot 8 for 10 from long distance and scored 24 points, and Derrick White added 17 points and eight assists for Boston, which was without Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. The Celtics (52-19) are five games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top seed in the Eastern Conference with 11 games remaining. Shaedon Sharpe scored 23 points for the Trail Blazers.
Trae Young scored 28 points with 12 assists, Zaccharie Risacher scored 22 points and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 132-119. Georges Niang added 20 points, including five 3-pointers, and Dominick Barlow finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Onyeka Okongwu scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Quentin Grimes led the 76ers with 26 points and six assists. Rookie Justin Edwards scored 22 points. Risacher hit a corner 3 and then threw down an alley-oop dunk from Young to spark a 13-0 run — all by the 19-year-old rookie — that gave the Hawks an 81-60 lead midway through the third quarter.
Ron Holland II scored 14 of his season-high 26 points in the fourth quarter, and the Detroit Pistons beat CJ McCollum and the New Orleans Pelicans 136-130. McCollum had 40 points and seven assists, but Holland helped the Pistons outscore the Pelicans 43-39 in the fourth quarter to win for the third time in four games. Jalen Duren added 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Pistons, who played without All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham because of a calf injury. Marcus Sasser, who like Holland came off the bench, scored 20 points. Jordan Hawkins made six 3-pointers and scored 25 points for the Pelicans.
Jarrett Allen scored 18 points and Donovan Mitchell added 16 to help Cleveland snap a four-game losing streak with a 120-91 victory over the Utah Jazz. Evan Mobley tallied 11 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks to help the Cavaliers get back in the win column. Six players scored in double figures for Cleveland. Kyle Filipowski led Utah with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Walker Kessler added 13 rebounds and three blocks.
Devin Vassell scored 25 points, Julian Champagnie had 20 and the San Antonio Spurs won their third straight game by routing the Toronto Raptors 123-89. Stephon Castle scored 15 points and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 13 for the Spurs. San Antonio led by as many as 38 points and won for the fifth time in seven. Scottie Barnes scored 22 points, RJ Barrett had 18 and Jamal Shead added 17 as the Raptors lost their fourth straight. Toronto’s leading scorer, Barrett returned after missing the previous three games but regulars Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Poeltl both sat for rest.
Andrew Wiggins scored 42 points for the second-highest scoring game of his career, Tyler Herro added 29 and the Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Hornets 122-105 to snap a 10-game losing streak. Wiggins had the most points by a Heat player this season and finished five shy of his career high of 47, done Nov. 13, 2016, for Minnesota against the Los Angeles Lakers. Nick Smith Jr. scored 19 and LaMelo Ball had 18 points and 11 assists for Charlotte, which was eliminated from postseason contention.
Jamal Murray had 39 points, Michael Porter Jr. added 17 points and nine rebounds and the Denver Nuggets beat Houston 116-111 to snap the Rockets’ nine-game win streak. Murray, who scored 17 in the first half, had 17 more as Denver outscored the Rockets 39-22 in the third quarter to take a 96-79 lead.Russell Westbrook had 14 points off the bench, Aaron Gordon scored 13 points and DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and 15 rebounds for the Nuggets, which shot 51% and were 10 of 21 on 3-pointers.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 26 points and eight assists, Aaron Wiggins scored 19 points and the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder extended their winning streak to six games by holding on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 103-101. Alex Caruso scored 14 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:54 remaining. Kawhi Leonard had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and James Harden scored 17 points for the Clippers, who had their five-game win streak halted in head coach Tyronn Lue’s return to the bench after missing two games due to back pain.
NHL
Ryan McLeod had a goal and three assists and James Reimer made 33 saves to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 5-3 victory over the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Jets. J.J. Peterka, Rasmus Dahlin, Tyson Kozak and Alex Tuch also scored for the Sabres (27-36-6). Jacob Bernard-Docker had two assists for Buffalo, the last-place team in the Eastern Conference coming off a 4-1 loss to Minnesota on Saturday. Nino Niederreiter, Colin Miller and Nikolaj Ehlers scored for the Jets (48-19-4) in the opener of a four-game homestand. Logan Stanley had two assists. Backup goalie Eric Comrie made 12 saves in his 18th start of the season (8-9-1) for Winnipeg.
Quinton Byfield scored for the seventh straight home game, and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Boston Bruins 7-2 to set a franchise record with their 14th straight home game without a regulation loss. Anze Kopitar, Warren Foegele, Andrei Kuzmenko, Drew Doughty, Tanner Jeannot and Samuel Helenius also scored, and the Kings have won six in a row on home ice. Darcy Kuemper made 11 saves as he improved to 13-0-1 in his past 14 home starts. Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie scored, Jeremy Swayman made 16 saves, and the Bruins have dropped six straight as their postseason hopes continue to dwindle.
When Los Angeles Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper came out to center ice ready to fight his Boston Bruins counterpart Jeremy Swayman on Sunday night, Kings head coach Jim Hiller was only thinking about all the bad things that could have happened. Fortunately for Hiller, officials prevented Kuemper and Swayman from actually coming to blows late in the second period of the Kings’ 7-2 win over the Bruins. The near-fracas came about after Bruins forward Marat Khusnutdinov made contact with Kuemper after he was hit from behind by Kings forward Tanner Jeannot, resulting in a goaltender interference penalty. Kuemper forcefully responded, grabbing Khusnutdinov around the head, resulting in a roughing penalty for the netminder.
Ryan Donato scored twice, Connor Bedard had a goal and an assist, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Philadelphia Flyers 7-4 on Sunday. Donato collected his 24th and 25th goals of the season, beating Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov on slot deflections in the second and third periods to extend his career-high in goal scoring. Jamie Drysdale and Travis Konecny each had a goal and an assist for Philadelphia. Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight stopped 24 shots. Fedotov, pulled after allowing two goals on his first three shots Saturday in Dallas, went the distance and stopped 22 shots.
Aleksander Barkov scored in the shootout round while Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all three attempts and the Florida Panthers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Sunday night. Sam Reinhart scored twice, giving him 35 goals, and Anton Lundell had a goal for the Panthers. Coming off a 2-4 road trip, culminated by Saturday’s 6-3 loss at league-point leader Washington, the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers have won 11 of their last 12 at home. Bryan Rust had two goals and Evgeni Malkin scored for the Penguins. Sidney Crosby assisted on one of Rust’s goals, increasing his points streak to seven games.
Jordan Kyrou scored his 30th goal of the season, and Robert Thomas had three assists to help the St. Louis Blues beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 on Sunday night for their sixth straight win. Brayden Schenn, Alexandre Texier and Justin Faulk also scored, and Jordan Binnington made 31 saves for the Blues. Filip Forsberg scored, and Justus Annunen made 14 saves for Nashville, which has lost five of its last six games.
Taylor Hall scored three goals in the third period for his sixth career hat trick, and the Carolina Hurricanes rebounded from their first loss in three weeks with a 5-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Hall scored a power-play goal early in the third and added two more goals 49 seconds apart late in the period, putting his third into an empty net. The hat trick was the former No. 1 overall draft pick’s second of the season, but also just his second since 2013. Trevor Zegras scored with 3:23 left to trim Anaheim’s deficit before Hall wrapped it up.
Tomas Hertl scored a goal and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2. Hertl continued his hot streak one night after netting his second hat trick this year, as he scored his team-high 31st goal of the season midway through the first period to give Vegas a 2-0 lead. Nic Roy opened the scoring with his 11th goal of the season midway through the first while Jack Eichel scored his 24th to give the Golden Knights a 3-0 lead. Nic Hague added an empty-net goal for Vegas while Ilya Samsonov made 36 saves in his 199th career game.
GOLF
Tiger Woods has confirmed his relationship with the former daughter-in-law of President Donald Trump. Woods posted two images of he and Vanessa Trump on social media. In one of them, she is cuddling with him on a hammock. He wrote that “love is in the air.” And then he asked his 6.4 million followers on X for privacy. Woods and Vanessa Trump had been seen together in San Diego last month during the Genesis Invitational. Her daughter Kai and Woods' two children attend the Benjamin School. Woods also went public with photos when he announced in 2013 he was dating skier Lindsey Vonn.
MLB
The Atlanta Braves have traded right-handed pitcher Ian Anderson to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for southpaw Jose Suarez. Anderson, a native of Clifton Park, was drafted third overall by the Braves in 2016.
The youngest son of former New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner and his wife, Jessica, has died after falling ill during a family vacation. Miller Gardner was 14. He died in his sleep Friday morning, according to a statement from the couple that was released by the Yankees. The Gardners said they “have so many questions and so few answers at this point.” The Yankees said the organization was “filled with grief.” Brett Gardner was drafted by the Yankees in 2005 and played for the team for 14 seasons from 2008 to 2021.
SOCCER
Mauricio Pochettino appears to recognize the enormity of the problems facing his U.S. men’s national team after it crashed out of the CONCACAF Nations League this week with two dismal losses in a tournament it had won every other time it had been contested. Pochettino also believes he has enough time to solve those problems in the next year before the Americans’ home World Cup. The Argentine coach tried his best to radiate optimism and problem-solving acumen after the U.S. fell 2-1 to Canada in the tournament’s third-place match. The U.S. hadn’t lost a competitive match to its northern neighbors since 1957.
WORLD CUP
Lindsey Vonn concluded her comeback season at age 40 with a second-place finish in a World Cup super-G race Sunday that was won by Swiss racer Lara Gut-Behrami. Vonn found her vintage form in flying down the twisting and steep Challenger course at World Cup finals. She pumped her ski poles after glancing at the scoreboard as the large crowd roared. This was Vonn’s first World Cup podium spot since March 15, 2018, when she finished third in a super-G in Are, Sweden. She returned this season after a partial knee replacement. Gut-Behrami earned the season-long super-G crystal globe by overtaking Italian racer Federica Brignone.
NASCAR
Kyle Larson passed Alex Bowman with six laps remaining in NASCAR’s Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, giving the Hendrick Motorsports driver the 30th win of his career at one of his best tracks. Larson sped by as Bowman scraped the wall on Turn 4 with the lead. Larson extended his edge to more than a second over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, then held on to beat Bowman by 1.205 seconds for his second career Cup Series win at Homestead, and his second victory of the weekend. Larson fell one race short of sweeping the triple-header weekend.
MEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s men’s ice hockey team will see a change in leadership next season. The private college in Troy said this month that Dave Smith will not return as head coach next season. In a statement, Athletic Director Kristie Bowers said she appreciated his leadership, but “we are determined to have our team compete at the highest level of college hockey.” Smith just finished his eighth year as head coach of the Engineers. Since Smith stepped in, RPI has posted an overall record of 87-152-19. A national search for the next coach is underway.
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
A coach at the Northville Central School District has been fired. Jim Zullo, the coach of the girls’ varsity basketball team, was caught on camera pulling an athlete’s hair during a state championship game Friday. In a statement, the district says “the individual will no longer be coaching.” The school says it will follow up with affected players and families to provide support. The Northville girls lost 43-37 to La Fargeville in the Class D final.
© 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
