April 8, 2024 4:39 am
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — UConn and Purdue have dominated this year’s NCAA Tournament. Now they’re set to meet for the national championship on Monday night. The Huskies are going for the first repeat men’s title since Florida in 2006 and 2007. They have beaten five tournament opponents by an average of 25 points per game, with the closest margin coming by 14 points. The Boilermakers are in the title game for the first time since falling to UCLA in 1969 in their lone appearance. Purdue is winning its tournament games by an average margin of 19.6 points.
April 8, 2024 4:36 am
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Longtime Kentucky coach John Calipari was in negotiations to potentially leave and take the men’s basketball coaching job at Arkansas, multiple outlets reported late Sunday. Arkansas officials have been in discussions with Calipari about the opening, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported, citing anonymous sources. ESPN, also citing anonymous sources, reported that Calipari is finalizing a five-year deal. The 65-year-old Hall of Fame coach has spent the last 15 seasons at Kentucky. Athletic director Mitch Barnhart recently said Calipari would return despite calls for his firing following the Wildcats’ third consecutive early exit from the NCAA Tournament.
April 7, 2024 7:41 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Michael Bunting snapped a tie with 5:28 left in the third period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins moved into a playoff spot with a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Referee Steve Kozari was taken off the ice on a stretcher after colliding with Lightning defenseman Haydn Fleury 6:11 into the third period. Kozari was able to move his arms. Fleury did not return. Evgeni Malkin had two goals and an assist for Pittsburgh, and Bunting also had two assists. Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang also scored. Pittsburgh posted its fourth straight win and improved to 6-0-2 in its last eight games overall.
April 7, 2024 7:38 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Oneil Cruz singled home the winning run in the 11th inning to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Cruz drove in automatic runner Henry Davis from second base. Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins temporarily kept the game tied when he made a diving catch of Ke’Bryan Hayes’ line drive, but Cruz followed with a single to right off Jonathan Heasley. Josh Fleming retired the side in order in the top of the 10th for the win. Joey Bart homered in his first at-bat with the Pirates, and starter Bailey Falter pitched six shutout innings.
April 7, 2024 7:35 am
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — UConn and Purdue have fought their way to a matchup in the NCAA championship game. The Huskies are the No. 1 overall seed and can become the first repeat champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007. UConn advanced by beating Alabama in Saturday’s second game at the Final Four. Purdue is in the title game for first time since its only other appearance in a 1969 loss to UCLA. The Boilermakers lost to a 16 seed last year but recovered to reach their third Final Four. They advanced by beating North Carolina State in Saturday’s first national semifinal.
April 6, 2024 3:56 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ryan O’Hearn, Gunnar Henderson and Cedric Mullins homered, Grayson Rodriguez pitched 6 1/3 strong innings and the Baltimore Orioles beat Pittsburgh 5-2 to spoil a Pirates home opener that was played through occasional snow flurries. Rodriguez gave up solo homers to Oneil Cruz and Jared Triolo among six hits. He struck out seven and walked two in a matchup with fellow 22-year-old Jared Jones. Jones allowed two runs on six hits in six innings. The rookie has induced 43 swings and misses, the most in a player’s first two starts since Major League Baseball started tracking pitches in 2008.
April 6, 2024 4:03 am
CLEVELAND (AP) — All-America center Kamilla Cardoso scored 22 points and unbeaten South Carolina emphatically kept its perfect season going, advancing to the championship game of the women’s NCAA Tournament with a 78-59 victory over North Carolina State. The talented and tenacious Gamecocks led by one at halftime before putting their full arsenal on display in the third quarter. They outscored the Wolfpack 29-6 to turn what had been a tense matchup into another blowout. South Carolina will face Caitlin Clark and Iowa for the national title on Sunday in a rematch of a Final Four game last year won by the Hawkeyes. Aziaha James scored 20 points for No. 3 seed N.C. State.
April 6, 2024 3:53 am
CLEVELAND (AP) — Caitlin Clark led Iowa back to the national championship game, scoring 21 points as the Hawkeyes rallied past Paige Bueckers and UConn 71-69 in the women’s Final Four. Next up for the Hawkeyes is a rematch with unbeaten South Carolina, which lost to Iowa in last year’s Final Four. The Hawkeyes then fell short of winning the school’s first national championship, falling to LSU in the title game last season. Now Clark is one win away from bring her home state its first women’s basketball title in the final game of her college career. She got off to a slow start but scored seven points early in the fourth quarter.
April 5, 2024 4:32 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates bounced right back from their first loss and lowest-scoring game of the season by producing a four-run first inning with the help of Rowdy Tellez’s two-run single to send them on their way to a 7-4 victory over the Washington Nationals. Connor Joe contributed his first homer of the season Thursday as Pittsburgh improved to 6-1. It was a 400-foot, two-run shot in the fifth. Tellez, Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds and Michael A. Taylor each had multiple hits. Martín Pérez allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings. CJ Abrams homered for the Nationals, who are 2-4.
April 5, 2024 4:30 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Nedjelkovic made 30 saves to backstop the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-1 victory at the Washington Capitals. Ryan Shea also scored his first NHL goal and Michael Bunting his fourth since joining them in a trade from Carolina. The Penguins have won three in a row and five of six to climb back in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They’re now two points back of the division rival Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders after being nine out as recently as March 24. The Capitals lost their fourth in a row despite Alex Ovechkin scoring his 27th goal of the season and 849th of his career.
