U.S./World Sports category, Page 61
Grambling State beats Montana State in OT of First Four
DAYTON, Ohio — Jimel Cofer scored all 19 of his points in the second half and overtime, and Grambling State rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat Montana State, 88-81, to earn its first NCAA Tournament win in program history in the First Four on Tuesday night. The Southwestern Athletic...
Akron amped for chance to upset Creighton in NCAAs at Pittsburgh
The Akron Zips took the short trip to Pittsburgh this week as the Mid-American Conference’s lone representative in the NCAA Tournament, but Duquesne’s Keith Dambrot, their former longtime coach, won’t be there Thursday to watch his old team take on No. 3 seed Creighton in a Midwest Region first-round game...
Bettors counting on upsets as they put money on long shots this March Madness
LAS VEGAS — Given the numerous upsets that led to last year’s unusual Final Four and the many bids stolen in this season’s conference tournaments, bettors aren’t inclined to go chalk when laying wagers for the NCAA Tournament. “People are loving some (under)dogs,” BetMGM trading manager Seamus Magee said. “We’ve...
PPG Paints Arena crowd may lean toward Kentucky, former WPIAL stars Tre Mitchell, Adou Thiero
After graduating from Elizabeth Forward High School and perhaps a time or two through the years, Kentucky’s Tre Mitchell heard from the coaches at Pitt. After all, he has attended four institutions of higher learning and basketball through the years, and it seems some school or another always was recruiting...
CBS announcer Ian Eagle lands in top spot for NCAA Tournament
Even though Ian Eagle is stepping into a new role as the lead announcer for CBS and TNT Sports’ coverage of the men’s NCAA Tournament, plenty of things will make it familiar. One of Eagle’s partners is Bill Raftery, the analyst for Nets games when Eagle moved to the television...
Creighton’s Isaac Traudt plays through diabetes to make impact
OMAHA, Neb. — When Creighton basketball player Isaac Traudt’s teammates take a break at practice, they might grab a drink of water, chat it up or go over assignments. Traudt does that, too, but not before he checks a device attached to his body that tells him his blood glucose...
Oakland embraces Cinderella story in ultimate underdog role against heavily favored Kentucky
While advocating for the NCAA Tournament to avoid expansion, Oakland coach Greg Kampe dropped a dime by noting Wednesday marked the 70th anniversary of the real-life inspiration for “Hoosiers,” the ultimate underdog and quintessential basketball movie. For the love of Fang Mitchell and Coppin State, everyone loves a Cinderella story...
Caitlin Clark, freshmen JuJu Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo top AP women’s All-America team
Caitlin Clark has been a mainstay on the Associated Press All-America team the past few seasons. The NCAA’s all-time scoring leader from Iowa was honored for the third straight year Wednesday, becoming the 11th player to earn the distinction three times. She was a unanimous choice from the 35-member national...
March Madness hits different for Tom Izzo at Michigan State this season
EAST LANSING, Mich. — March Madness kept Tom Izzo sleepless for more than 24 hours before he heard and saw Michigan State made it into a 26th consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Hall of Fame coach said he had one of the most anxious days of his career Sunday, sensing his...
March Madness field in Pittsburgh chock full of prospective NBA talent
If and when South Carolina forward Collin Murray-Boyles hears his name called in the NBA Draft, the wacky start to his collegiate career will offer analysts plenty of talking points. The true freshman forward joined the Gamecocks last summer as a blue-chip recruit aiming to make a quick impact but...
Moon’s John Calipari chases NCAA Tournament victory for Kentucky without losing sight of his roots
Five years ago, John Calipari signed a 10-year, $86 million contract extension to remain Kentucky’s coach for the remainder of this decade. He sat inside PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday — not far from the brightly lit floor where Kentucky (23-9) will play Oakland (23-11) on Thursday in an NCAA...
Breaking down No. 6 South Carolina vs. No. 11 Oregon
No. 6 South Carolina vs. No. 11 Oregon 4 p.m. Thursday, PPG Paints Arena TV: TNT Winner plays: Winner of 3-Creighton (23-9)/14-Akron (24-10) on Saturday in second round Series history: 1st all-time meeting South Carolina (26-7) Coach: Lamont Paris (2nd season) How they got here: South Carolina earned an at-large...
Breaking down No. 6 Texas Tech vs. No. 11 N.C. State
No. 6 Texas Tech vs. No. 11 N.C. State 9:40 p.m. Thursday, PPG Paints Arena TV: CBS Winner plays: Winner of 3-Kentucky (23-9)/14-Oakland (23-11) Saturday in second round Series history: N.C. State leads 2-1 Texas Tech (23-10) Coach: Grant McCasland (1st season) How they got here: Texas Tech earned an...
Breaking down No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Oakland
No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Oakland 7:10 p.m. Thursday, PPG Paints Arena TV: CBS Winner plays: Winner of 6-Texas Tech (23-10)/11-N.C. State (22-14) on Saturday in second round Series history: First meeting Kentucky (23-9) Coach: John Calipari (15th season) How they got here: Kentucky earned an at-large bid from...
Big-time shot-makers return to big stage in NCAA Tournament
Nearly a year has passed since Lamont Butler hit a buzzer-beater that sent San Diego State to the NCAA championship game. He’s seen it so often on social media and TV that he never had search it out himself. “It’s kind of hard to miss it,” he said. Especially in...
NCAA Tournament Midwest Region preview: Purdue looks to bounce back after early exit
Purdue coach Matt Painter, reigning AP Player of the Year Zach Edey and the rest of the Boilermakers have had to carry with them all season the stink of becoming the second No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They can truly put...
NCAA Tournament South Region preview: Blue bloods to challenge top-seeded Houston
Houston has a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year but will have to navigate the likes of Duke, Kentucky and Marquette in the South Region if the Cougars are able to reach the Final Four. The Cougars (30-4) were rewarded after winning the Big...
Top seed South Carolina hopes its young talent will fuel March Madness run
COLUMBIA, S.C. — It has been a different run of perfection for South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, fueled by a lot of precocious, talented young players who make it difficult at times to know exactly what comes next. “It feels a little bit different because they’re so young,” said Staley,...
Breaking down No. 3 Creighton vs. No. 14 Akron
No. 3 Creighton vs. No. 14 Akron 1:30 p.m. Thursday, PPG Paints Arena TV: TNT Winner plays: Winner of No. 6 South Carolina (26-7)/No. 11 Oregon (23-11) on Saturday in second round Series history: Creighton leads 3-1 Creighton (23-9) Coach: Greg McDermott (14th season) How they got here: Creighton earned...
NCAA Tournament West Region preview: North Carolina back in spotlight as No. 1 seedVideo
North Carolina is the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament West Region a year after being left out of the bracket. The fifth-ranked Tar Heels will open March Madness on Thursday just down the road in Charlotte against the First Four winner between Howard and Wagner. “To be given...
Purdue faces the ghost of a shocking March Madness loss. Virginia has some advice on how to move on
Purdue had just fallen unexpectedly in the Big Ten Tournament last week and Braden Smith sat down alongside star Zach Edey and coach Matt Painter to meet reporters. It took three questions to conjure a March Madness specter: the Boilermakers’ improbable loss as a No. 1 seed to 16th-seeded Fairleigh...
Micah Handlogten will rejoin Florida for NCAA tourney after breaking his leg in the SEC title game
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida center Micah Handlogten, who gruesomely broke his left leg two minutes into the Southeastern Conference championship game on Sunday, will be on hand to watch the Gators in the NCAA Tournament. Already using crutches while recovering from surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Handlogten will make...
NCAA Tournament East Region preview: UConn possesses ingredients for repeat
Connecticut opened the season with uncertainty about how well the Huskies would replace major pieces from last year’s run to the national championship. Any questions had been answered well before Selection Sunday. The top-ranked Huskies (31-3) will enter the NCAA Tournament as the overall No. 1 seed, headlining the East...
March Madness as we know it could be on way out amid seismic changes in college sports
Tracking the changes upending college sports can be as frenetic as flipping between all the games going down over the first week of March Madness. Ultimately, those changes could impact what America’s favorite basketball tournament looks like in the future — or whether it exists at all. News about “pay...
The 4 Grand Slams, the 2 tours and Saudi Arabia are all hoping to revamp tennis
The tennis leaders can agree that there is more money to be made. They also agree that the sport’s current structure could stand to change. The how’s and why’s and when’s of it all? Well, that’s open to discussion — and there is plenty of that happening now behind closed...
