Sports

By RICHARD WALKER Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Joel Embiid had 38 points and 13 rebounds in just 29 minutes, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Charlotte Hornets 121-82 for their seventh straight victory. Embiid scored 12 points in each of the first two quarters before calling it an early night in a game

By BOB SUTTON Associated Press DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Duke is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 and hosting for the first time since a year before that. It’s a sign of quick progress under third-year coach Kara Lawson, whose Blue Devils are the No. 3 seed in the Seattle

By BRIAN DULIK Associated Press CLEVELAND (AP) — Darius Garland had 24 points and nine assists, Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers never trailed in a 117-94 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night. Evan Mobley had 20 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots for the Cavaliers. They built a

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Capitals’ already faint playoff hopes took another hit with a 5-2 home loss to the St. Louis Blues. Darcy Kuemper allowed four goals on 21 shots, while trade deadline pickup Rasmus Sandin was on the ice for four goals by the Blues. Sammy Blais

By JOHN COON Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Alissa Pili tallied 33 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to power second-seeded Utah past 15th-seeded Gardner-Webb 103-77 in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. Jenna Johnson added 20 points and five assists for the Utes. Pili and Johnson combined to make 22

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Trae Young’s steal and layup with 45 seconds remaining protected Atlanta’s slim lead and the Hawks took advantage of Golden State’s continued poor perimeter defense on the road to beat the Warriors 127-119. Stephen Curry scored 31 points in Golden State’s 10th consecutive road loss. The

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Fairleigh Dickinson brought down a giant. Pulling off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, the undersized, underdog Knights stunned top-seeded Purdue 63-58 on Friday night, becoming the second No. 16 seed to win a game in March Madness. The shortest of the

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer The dwindling number of perfect NCAA Tournament brackets might reach zero before the weekend. The NCAA March Madness Twitter account posted after Friday’s early games that only 30 such brackets remained. That’s out of millions, though the account didn’t say how many exactly. In ESPN’s Tournament Challenge bracket game,

By The Associated Press SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Jerkaila Jordan scored 20 and led No. 11 seed Mississippi State to an 81-66 win against No. 6 Creighton in the women’s NCAA Tournament on Friday night. Jessika Carter, the 6-5 Bulldog center, took advantage of the Bluejays’ undersized frontcourt, with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gradey Dick set the Kansas freshman record for 3-point field goals, recorded the first double-double of his career in the Jayhawks’ opener in the NCAA Tournament and is on track to be an NBA lottery pick in June. His mom, a player of her

By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Angel Reese had 34 points and 15 rebounds  — her 29th double-double this season — and third seeded LSU defeated No. 14 seed Hawaii 73-50 in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. Flau’Jae Johnson scored 10 for LSU. The Tigers raced to

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Stanford star Cameron Brink is out for the top-seeded Cardinal in their NCAA Tournament opener because of a non-COVID illness. The school made the announcement about 50 minutes before Friday’s tipoff against 16th-seeded Sacred Heart at Maples Pavilion. Stanford said the junior forward’s status is day-to-day. Brink is the team’s leading

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Three weeks ago, Charisma Osbourne thought she played her final game at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA’s run to the Pac-12 tournament championship game though has given Osbourne at least one more chance to play at home. Osborne and the fourth-seeded Bruins open NCAA Tournament play on

By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Bulls coach Billy Donovan wasn’t sure when or even if Lonzo Ball will play again for Chicago, with the point guard set to have yet another surgery on his troublesome left knee. Donovan says Ball will likely undergo a cartilage transplant early next week, though he

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Penn State star Jalen Pickett was already familiar with Andrew Funk and his long-distance shooting acumen, having faced the Nittany Lions newcomer in a Siena-Bucknell game with their previous teams. When they were paired together in a preseason workout last fall, well, the impression

By JOSH DUBOW AP Sports Writer SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — When Mitch Henderson took over as coach at Princeton in 2011, he wanted to give his players a lasting memory like the one from his playing career when the Tigers shocked defending-champion UCLA in an iconic March Madness upset. Now that he has done that

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was formally introduced Friday. Whether he’s the Raiders’ long-term answer at quarterback remains to be seen. That’s always a question given Garoppolo’s injury history. He also could be a bridge for the Raiders if they try to find their

By FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Furman’s JP Pegues has watched the shot over and over. In Pegues’ wildest dreams, he never imagined himself becoming an instant star. But the 6-foot-1 sophomore rocketed into notoriety when his 3-pointer took down No. 4 seed Virginia in the opening round of the NCAA