Sports

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP National Writer BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Marcus Sasser looked just fine, scoring 22 points, and top-seeded Houston stifled local favorite Auburn in the second half for an 81-64 victory in the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars overcame a 10-point halftime deficit, playing with the desperation of a national championship contender that wasn’t

By The Associated Press March Madness has begun and top teams are already heading home. By Saturday night, two No. 1 seeds, Kansas and Purdue, No. 2 seed Arizona and No. 4 seed Virginia were all gone — and gone with them were millions of busted brackets. Here is what to know with Sweet 16

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer No lead seemed safe on Saturday in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. Baylor, Miami and Ohio State all rallied from double-digits deficits to advance to the second round. The Bears trailed by 18 points against Alabama early on and overcame it for a 78-74 win. It

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Eric Musselman and his players rushed across the floor at the final buzzer to celebrate with their joyfully delirious friends from Arkansas. The 58-year-old coach jumped onto the press table, ripped off his red polo shirt and waved it over his head, shouting all

By JOSH DUBOW AP Sports Writer SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Blake Peters made five 3-pointers in the second half and Princeton shocked another power conference team to reach the regional semifinals for the first time in 56 years by beating Missouri 78-63. The No. 15 seeded Princeton followed up a first-round win over Pac-12 tournament

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner 7-6 (4), 6-3 to advance to the BNP Paribas Open final against Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev defeated Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 7-6 (4) for his 19th consecutive match victory of the year. A victory in Sunday’s final would allow Alcaraz to regain the world’s No. 1 ranking

By BOB SUTTON Associated Press DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Frida Formann scored 21 points and Colorado unleashed a torrid 3-point shooting display to roll past Middle Tennessee 82-60 in the NCAA Tournament’s first round Saturday night. Jaylyn Sherrod added 13 points and Aaronette Vonleh had 11 points for the Buffaloes, who made 13 shots from

By PAT EATON-ROBB AP Sports Writer STORRS, CONN. (AP) — Ja’Mee Asberry scored 26 points, including some key foul shots in the final minute, and No. 7 seed Baylor overcame an early 18-point deficit to beat Alabama 78-74 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Sarah Andrews and Caitlin Bickle each added 14 for

By GEORGE RICHARDS Associated Press SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sam Reinhart scored two of Florida’s four third-period goals and the Panthers rallied to beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Saturday night. Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk also scored and Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves. The Panthers kept pace in the Eastern Conference wild-card race,

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — Austin Hill continued his dominant start to the NASCAR Xfinity season, holding off Daniel Hemric at Atlanta Motor Speedway for his third win in five races. Hill overcome a record-setting day of cautions. There were 11 cautions, the most for an Xfinity race in Atlanta.

By AARON BRACY Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sebastian Aho had a hat trick, including the winning goal 28 seconds into overtime after Martin Necas tied it with 0.3 seconds left in regulation, and the Carolina Hurricanes rallied to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4. Brady Skjei also scored for the Hurricanes, and Frederick Andersen had

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer MIAMI (AP) — Union head Tony Clark claims Major League Baseball’s rules changes would have gone more smoothly during spring training if player thoughts had been incorporated. MLB implemented its first pitch clock, limited defensive shifts and pickoff attempts and installed larger bases. The average time of spring training

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Marcus Sasser started for top-seeded Houston in the NCAA Tournament after being forced to the bench in the previous game by a groin injury. The All-American guard had declared a day earlier that his groin was fine and he was definitely playing in the second-round contest against No. 9 seed Auburn.

by DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Maddie Antenucci hit three straight 3-pointers that burst the game open and sent 12th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast into the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 74-63 win Saturday over No. 5-seed Washington State. Sha Carter scored 24 points and Tishara Moorehouse had 16

By JOHN COON Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Princeton is facing Utah for a shot at reaching the Sweet 16 thanks to a tough defense. The Utes have also seen major success this season after making defensive strides.

PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — Adam Schenk never looked like he would be leading the Valspar Championship until his final putt. Schenk made a 5-foot birdie for a 70. That gives him a one-shot lead over Jordan Spieth and Tommy Fleetwood as he goes for his first PGA Tour win. Spieth looked to be in

MARANA, Ariz. (AP) — Marc Leishman has a two-shot lead over Sergio Garcia going into the third and final round of LIV Golf Tucson. Leishman had the ideal start at the Gallery Golf Club. He opened with an eagle and was 4 under for his round through eight holes. The Australian cooled, but he didn’t

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Maddy Siegrist became the fifth women’s player in NCAA history to score 1,000 points in a season and the first-team AP All-American had 35 points to lead fourth-seeded Villanova into the NCAA Tournament’s second round with a 76-59 win over Cleveland State. The Wildcats will