Category: Basketball

Cinderella wears a 9-seed’s uniform. Specifically, it’s a black jersey trimmed in gold.

Iowa, the slipper is yours. You wear it well.

You say a Big Ten team can’t be Cinderella, I say we might need to broaden our horizons a smidge when Iowa advances into the Elite Eight for the first time in 39 years.

By beating No. 4 Nebraska, the Hawkeyes became just the ninth 9-seed ever to reach the Elite Eight.

Sweet 16 scores: Live updates, highlights, March Madness predictions

“Cinderella, whatever they want to call us,” Iowa coach Ben McCollum said. “We’re in the Elite Eight — that’s what they need to call us.”

And, so, Iowa becomes the highest seed left standing.

This isn’t akin to Saint Peter’s slaying giants or Kent State to the Elite Eight or George Mason’s Final Four run, but inside this chalky tournament, Iowa swiftly became the tournament’s top underdog tale, thanks to two guys who were tucked away at Division II Northwest Missouri State as of two years ago.

Luther Vandross will be singing about Bennett Stirtz and McCollum in two weeks.

“That’s my guy,” Stirtz said.

He was talking about McCollum, not Vandross.

Stirtz is McCollum's guy, too. Stirtz followed his coach from Northwest Missouri State to Drake to Iowa to the Elite Eight.

Stirtz swiftly became Iowa’s guy, its heartbeat, its big-bucket maker, and he went for 20 points and four assists in this 77-71 takedown of Nebraska.

Ben McCollum, Bennett Stirtz are masters of March Madness

Stirtz and McCollum are masters of March. A year ago while both were at Drake, they introduced themselves to the national stage with a first-round upset of Missouri. After Drake exited the tournament, McCollum hit the coaches’ transfer portal, and Stirtz was at his heels — off to Iowa.

Too bad for Indiana. The blue-blooded Hoosiers needed to snap up McCollum when IU was hiring last year. Instead, Iowa got him. A lifelong Midwesterner born in Iowa City, McCollum perfectly suits the Hawkeyes.

Fran McCaffery, go ahead and enjoy the. Ivy league. McCollum and Stirtz got this covered.

The Hawkeyes never led in this game until Stirtz drilled a 3-pointer with just more two minutes remaining. The next time down the court, teammate Tate Sage drilled a triple.

Nebraska extinguished.

Iowa writes underdog story at Nebraska's expense

Like the Cinderellas that came before them, the Hawkeyes made their hay from a land where the buckets are worth three points, not two.

Thirteen 3s, Iowa drilled, against one of the nation’s best defensive teams.

Out in Lincoln, you can bet your cornstalk they had the pyrotechnics ready, too. Earlier in this tournament, Huskers fans blasted fireworks in celebration of a program that hadn’t had much to celebrate in its entire history, before a slick-shooting barrage carried Nebraska into the Sweet 16.

The Huskers got hot against Troy, stayed hot against Vanderbilt, and kept cooking in the first half against Iowa.

And what did Nebraska do when its first five attempts from 3-point range after halftime missed the mark? It fired two more. Pryce Sandfort, then Braden Frager, bang, bang. Huskers back in front, for a spell.

Nebraska made 36 3-pointers in three tournament games, and Vandross will sing of Sandfort, too, and his “One Shining Moment,” right after he’s through with Stirtz.

Three years ago, Sandfort was Mr. Basketball in Iowa. He previously played for the Hawkeyes. Then, Sandfort transferred and became Mr. Husker. He scored 25 points against Iowa. Sandfort just needed more help from his teammates, just as Stirtz got 38 points from Iowa’s bench.

If you think the Hawkeyes are done here, well, ask Florida for a second opinion. Iowa sent the defending national champions packing just last week, part of an improbable uprising from a Hawkeyes squad that had stalled for a month heading into this tournament. Evidently, McCollum and Stirtz were saving their heroics.

Together, they gave an upset-starved tournament its first hint of a Cinderella story.

Or, as McCollum put it, maybe the committee “should have seeded us better.”

Oh, my! A cheeky one.

“Nah, I'm just kidding,” McCollum said. “They seeded us right where we should."

Indeed, the committee did. An underdog’s seed suited Iowa.

Blake Toppmeyer is a columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ben McCollum, Bennett Stirtz make Iowa a March Madness underdog tale

SAN JOSE, CA — The past four years of Trey Kaufman-Renn’s all led to Thursday, March 26. 

Since he arrived on Purdue’s campus in 2022, coach Matt Painter has tried to tell his forward sometimes, it’s not the first shot that’s the most important, it’s the second. 

He found out it’s indeed true in the Sweet 16. 

Renn came up clutch for No. 2 seed Purdue, getting the game-winning tip-in shot against No. 11 seed Texas to get the Boilermakers in the Elite Eight.

It was the heroics Purdue needed to avoid another March Madness loss to a double-digit seed, and for a moment, it seemed possible. Texas’ Dailyn Swain got a bucket and the foul to tie the score with 11 seconds to go, setting up Purdue for the final shot.

After a timeout, guard Braden Smith brought the ball down and drove to his right for a floater. The play was fully designed for him, meant for him to drive down and get the shot. The only thing was to make sure he didn’t get blocked.

The moment the ball left his hand, he thought that would seal it.

“Honestly, it left the hand, I thought it was in,” Smith said. “I was hopping kind of excitedly.”

But the ball bounced off the rim, suddenly changing his thoughts.

“It took a weird bounce, and it was off,” he added.

TREY KAUFMAN-RENN GAME-WINNER 🚨

PURDUE ADVANCES TO THE ELITE 8 🤯 pic.twitter.com/CYj7ltsGXT

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 27, 2026

It completely altered the mindset of Renn too. The forward thought it was the look his teammate wanted, and figured that would be it. Once he saw the shot go off the rim, then it was time to prepare for the lesson his coach had been trying to tell him.

“I just tried to get myself in position to get a rebound or a post if his defender cut him off,” Renn said.

The ball bounced perfectly for him to get the putback, and at that point, all he thought was he just needed to get his hand on it.

“It's not like it's a shot you practice every single day, although I do practice some crazy shots every day,” he said. “I just tried to get a hand on the ball and give us another chance.”

The last chance Purdue needed. The second-chance bucket sent the Boilermakers crowd of the SAP Center in the arena into a frenzy, elated to see the team advance to the Elite Eight for the second time in three seasons. 

Pretty much everyone in black and gold was excited, except for Renn – yet.

“I was kind of nervous,” Renn said. “I was like ‘Man, I got to go back on defense now.’”

Fortunately, Texas’ Jordan Pope was unable to hit the long heave for the miracle win, and as the shot clanked off the timebox, the Boilermakers hounded the game’s savior. It was only at that moment Renn finally felt excited, understanding the lesson his coach had been preaching came to life.

“It's kind of cool to actually experience that,” Renn said.

Purdue’s game-winner highlighted something that helped Purdue stave off Texas in the second chance opportunities, outsourcing the Longhorns 22-12 in the category. 

“We're always, like if that clock is low, don't get back on defense. Make sure everybody gets to the glass,” said Painter. 

It was going to be a battle on the boards, as both teams entered the night top 20 in the country in rebound margin.

The final result? Texas 31 rebounds, Purdue 32 – with the last one being the difference in surviving and advancing.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Inside Purdue's game-winning play to advance to Elite 8

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday denied the NCAA's motion for a temporary restraining order to stop DraftKings from using registered trademarks associated with its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.

The complaint for trademark infringement, filed in the Southern District of Indiana last week, requested that DraftKings stop using “March Madness,” “Final Four,” “Elite Eight” and “Sweet Sixteen” and variations of those terms to promote its business.

Judge Tanya Walton Pratt ruled the NCAA did not show how the online sports wagering platform's use of the terms would cause irreparable harm.

“With further discovery the NCAA may be able to show they are entitled to a preliminary or permanent injunction, and those claims remain pending,” Pratt wrote.

DraftKings has been using “March Madness” and other familiar terms to refer to the NCAA Tournament for more than five years and has the legal right to do so, the sportsbook said in a court filing Wednesday in response to a complaint filed by the NCAA last week.

The NCAA has said it actively avoids any appearance of affiliation with gambling and said in the complaint that DraftKings’ use of the terms confuses customers by making it appear the NCAA is on board.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Texas guard Jordan Pope was willing to do whatever the Longhorns needed in its last-second loss to Purdue in the Sweet 16, including playing through a serious injury.

The senior guard revealed he played 33 minutes with a broken foot against the Boilermakers on Thursday, March 26, after suffering the injury against Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The severity of his injury, which resulted in him being a game-time decision against Purdue, wasn't previously known.

REQUIRED READING: Trey Kaufman-Renn last-second putback sends Purdue past Texas, into Elite 8

It was definitely up in the air," Pope told reporters after Texas' season-ending 79-77 loss. "... Now five minutes left against Gonzaga. I broke my foot, a complete break. So, it was definitely tough. I'm not sure a lot of guys would have went out there and played, but credit to my training staff."

Pope scored 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting in the loss, with all his points coming on 3-pointers. The 6-1 guard was remarkably available in his career, starting 129 of his 134 career games at Oregon State and Texas.

Texas coach Sean Miller said Pope's decision to play ultimately came down to he and his family's decision after making sure they had all the information they needed from team doctors.

"Just watching him out there tonight is really remarkable," the first-year Texas coach said. "Really was what he did, how he played under those conditions and now he'll go and get healthy for the long term."

Jordan Pope injury update

Pope ended his college career playing on a broken foot after suffering the injury in Texas' upset win over Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He said it was a clean break, and in order to play he needed to reduce the swelling to make the pain tolerable against Purdue.

"After conversations with the doctor, I couldn't break it anymore," he said after the game. "So there wasn't much high risk in terms of the actual injury. Obviously, I heard other things, but I had nothing to lose. It was a Sweet 16 back home in front of my family. I'm playing for my teammates, my coaches. Never had this opportunity again. I couldn't let that pass."

Pope said he underwent a lot of therapy in order to be available for the game.

"A lot of icing, a lot of bone therapy," Pope said. "The thing is, just to keep the swelling down, because it was gonna hurt. It was a break, was no fixing that, but just being able to get the swelling down, which helped ease the pain a bit and just make it tolerable."

Jordan Pope stats

Here are Pope's year-by-year per-game averages in college:

• 2022-23 (Oregon State): 12.6 points with 2.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists
• 2023-24 (Oregon State): 17.6 points with 2.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists
• 2024-25 (Texas): 11 points with 2 rebounds and 1.7 assists
• 2025-26 (Texas): 13.1 points with 2.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jordan Pope injury: Texas G played with broken foot vs Purdue in Sweet 16

All Times EDT

Friday, March 27

MLB

N.Y. Yankees at San Francisco, 4:35 p.m.

Athletics at Toronto, 7:07 p.m.

Colorado at Miami, 7:10 p.m.

Kansas City at Atlanta, 7:15 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Houston, 8:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Seattle, 9:40 p.m.

Detroit at San Diego, 9:40 p.m.

Arizona at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.

NBA

L.A. Clippers at Indiana, 7 p.m.

Atlanta at Boston, 7:30 p.m.

Miami at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.

Chicago at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.

Houston at Memphis, 8 p.m.

New Orleans at Toronto, 8:30 p.m.

Utah at Denver, 9 p.m.

Dallas at Portland, 10 p.m.

Washington at Golden State, 10 p.m.

Brooklyn at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

NHL

Chicago at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.

Detroit at Buffalo, 7 p.m.

MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

NCAA Tournament - Sweet Sixteen

East Region

No. 5 St. John's vs. No. 1 Duke at Washington, 7:10 p.m.

No. 3 Michigan St. vs. No. 2 UConn at Washington, 9:45 p.m.

Midwest Region

No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 Michigan at Chicago, 7:35 p.m.

No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 2 Iowa St. at Chicago, 10:10 p.m.

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

NCAA Tournament - Sweet Sixteen

Fort Worth 1 Regional

No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Vanderbilt at Fort Worth, Texas, 2:30 p.m.

No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 1 UConn at Fort Worth, Texas, 5 p.m.

Sacramento 2 Regional

No. 4 Minnesota vs. No. 1 UCLA at Sacramento, Calif., 7:30 p.m.

No. 3 Duke vs. No. 2 LSU at Sacramento, Calif., 10 p.m.

NWSL

Houston at Angel City, 10 p.m.

PWHL

Boston at Toronto, 7 p.m.

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OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Ben Kindel scored the shootout winner to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.

Rickard Rakell scored twice and had an assist, and Erik Karlsson also scored for the Penguins, who moved into second in the Metropolitan Division.

Drake Batherson scored twice and Nick Cousins also scored for the Senators. Tim Stutzle added two assists.

Both Linus Ullmark and Stuart Skinner made huge saves in overtime to force the shootout.

Pittsburgh opened the third period on the power play with a two-man advantage after Ottawa took a late tripping penalty and got called early too many men. The Penguins capitalized with Rakell scoring his second of the game at 1:43.

Just over two minutes later, the Senators tied the game with Batherson burying a rebound in the crease for his second of the game. Pittsburgh challenged for goaltender interference but was unsuccessful.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby took the opening shift of the second period but left after 38 seconds and did not return.

With an assist on the opening goal, Stutzle picked up his 400th point and became the seventh player, and youngest, in franchise history to hit the milestone.

Up next

Penguins: Host the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

Senators: Visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

DETROIT (AP) — Jalen Duren had 30 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Detroit Pistons past the New Orleans Pelicans 129-108 on Thursday night.

Kevin Huerter had 22 points and Daniss Jenkins added 19 for Detroit, which was coming off a 130-129 overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. The Pistons, normally one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league, shot 53.6% (15 of 28) from beyond the arc, including 9 of 14 from Huerter and Jenkins.

Zion Williamson scored 21 points for New Orleans, which lost its third straight after winning five of six. Former Piston Saddiq Bey added 17, but no one else scored more than 13. The Pelicans made things harder on themselves by only shooting 45.8% (11-24) from the free-throw line.

HORNETS 114, KNICKS 103

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Kon Knueppel scored 26 points and made six 3-pointers to become the youngest player in NBA history with 250 in a season, and Charlotte snapped New York’ seven-game winning streak with a victory.

Knueppel, 20, nearly had his first career triple-double, finishing with 10 rebounds and eight assists.

LaMelo Ball added 22 points and Brandon Miller had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Hornets, who’ve won five straight. Miles Bridges and Coby White each chipped in with 17 points.

Jalen Brunson had 26 points and 13 assists for the Knicks, who would have clinched a playoff berth with a victory. OG Anunoby added 17 points in a game that featured a high-intensity postseason atmosphere.

Charlotte (39-34) pulled into a tie with Miami for eighth place in the Eastern Conference, although the Heat own the head-to-head tiebreaker.

MAGIC 111, KINGS 107

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) —Paolo Banchero had 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the Orlando stopped a six-game losing streak with a victory over Sacramento.

Banchero logged his third straight game of 30-plus points for the Magic (39-34), who fell below the play-in cut in the Eastern Conference during their skid that came immediately after a seven-game winning streak had propelled them into fifth place.

This was the 25th time in Banchero’s four-year career that he logged at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists. Only Tracy McGrady (66) has more such games.

Desmond Bane added 23 points and Jalen Suggs returned from a two-game absence to an illness with eight points and four assists in 34 minutes for Orlando, which forged a three-way tie with Charlotte and Miami for eighth. Atlanta (41-32), Toronto (40-32) and Philadelphia (40-33) are just ahead, with the top six teams in each conference guaranteed a spot in the playoffs without having to go through the play-in games.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Alex Bump and Sean Couturier scored in the first three minutes of the game and the Philadelphia Flyers used the fast start to cruise to a 5-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.

Bump, Noah Cates and Christian Dvorak had a goal and an assist each for the Flyers, who have won six of their last eight games to stay in the chase for a wild-card playoff spot. Denver Barkey also had a goal for Philadelphia and Samuel Ersson made 25 saves.

Connor Bedard scored his 30th goal of the season for Chicago to become the third Blackhawks player with a 30-goal season at age 20 or younger, joining Jonathan Toews (34 in 2008-09) and Eric Daze (30 in 1995-96).

Spencer Knight had 37 saves for Chicago.

Bump scored just 48 seconds into the game and Couturier made it 2-0 at 2:33 of the first.

Barkey made it 3-0 at 5:14 of the second before Bedard got one back.

Cates scored his fourth goal in his last five games with 7:19 to play in the second to make it 4-1. Dvorak scored with 25 seconds left in the second period. With an assist on Dvorak's goal, Cates has 40 points this season, a career single-season high.

Chicago's Sacha Boisvert played in his first NHL game. The 18th overall pick in the 2024 draft signed his entry-level contract with the Blackhawks on March 16.

The Flyers outshot the Blackhawks 42-26 and won 61.8% of the faceoffs. The Blackhawks, who are well out of the playoff picture, went scoreless on three power-play chances while the Flyers were 0 for 4 on the power play.

Up next

Blackhawks: Play at the New York Rangers on Friday night.

Flyers: Visit Detroit on Saturday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paolo Banchero had 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the Orlando Magic stopped a six-game losing streak with a 111-107 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.

Banchero logged his third straight game of 30-plus points for the Magic (39-34), who fell below the play-in cut in the Eastern Conference during their skid that came immediately after a seven-game winning streak had propelled them into fifth place.

This was the 25th time in Banchero's four-year career that he logged at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists. Only Tracy McGrady (66) has more such games.

Desmond Bane added 23 points and Jalen Suggs returned from a two-game absence to an illness with eight points and four assists in 34 minutes for Orlando, which forged a three-way tie with Charlotte and Miami for eighth. Atlanta (41-32), Toronto (40-32) and Philadelphia (40-33) are just ahead, with the top six teams in each conference guaranteed a spot in the playoffs without having to go through the play-in games.

DeMar DeRozan had 33 points and 11 assists for the Kings, who sliced a nine-point deficit with a little more than two minutes left down to 116-115 on Daeqwon Plowden's 3-pointer with 50.4 seconds to go. Suggs answered with a 3-pointer with 27.4 seconds remaining to give the Magic a bigger cushion.

Plowden added 23 points on 6-for-10 shooting from 3-point range and Precious Achiuwa had 14 points and nine rebounds for Sacramento (19-55), which is in last place in the Western Conference.

Up next

Sacramento plays at Atlanta on Saturday. Orlando plays at Toronto on Sunday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

MONTREAL (AP) — Zachary Bolduc scored the winner with his first goal since Dec. 23, and the Montreal Canadiens edged the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 on Thursday night.

Jayden Struble — with his first of the season — also scored, and Jakub Dobes made 25 saves as Montreal won its third consecutive game.

Damon Severson scored for Columbus, and Jet Greaves stopped 18 shots.

The Blue Jackets fell to 19-4-4 since Rick Bowness replaced Dean Evason as head coach Jan. 12. They climbed from 28th overall to second in the Metropolitan Division ahead of Thursday’s games.

The Canadiens, meanwhile, sit third in the Atlantic Division with 11 games remaining.

Bolduc ripped a shot into the top-left corner 4:36 into the third period to snap a 31-game goalless skid and give the Canadiens a 2-1 lead.

Struble ended a drought of his own when he opened the scoring at 9:54 in the first period. He snuck a wrist shot past Greaves short side for his first goal since Nov. 26, 2024.

Two minutes later, Severson got Columbus on the board by beating Dobes blocker-side on a 2-on-1 after Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson was caught up ice.

With an assist on Struble’s goal, Hutson became the fourth defenseman in Canadiens history to register 70 points in a season — and the first since Chris Chelios in 1988-89. Larry Robinson and Guy Lapointe also reached the mark.

Up next

Blue Jackets: Host the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.

Canadiens: Visit the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The New York Knicks saw their seven-game winning streak snapped in Charlotte, falling to the Hornets, 114-103. 

They were in range for most of the evening, but their upstart Eastern Conference rivals were too deadly from deep, going 16-for-41 from three.

Jalen Brunson fought valiantly to try and carry his team, scoring 26 points and dishing out 13 assists on 10-for-23 shooting. OG Anunoby added 17 on 5-for-9 shooting from three-point range.

Charlotte rookie Kon Knueppel put up 26 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists on 9-for-14 shooting from the field. Brandon Miller added 21 points and LaMelo Ball had 22, each contributing with four threes.

Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart had 14 and 16 points, respectively, while Miles Bridges and Coby White chipped in 17 apiece for their squad. 

Here are the takeaways...

-- The buzzing Hornets got off to an incendiary start, going 4-for-8 from deep in the first six minutes to jump ahead by double digits early. Ball led the charge early with a couple of difficult floaters and a deep, contested three.

Brunson wouldn’t allow the Knicks to stay in a hole, hitting tough shots and drawing fouls en route to a 17-point, 4-assist opening period. A 15-5 New York run knotted the game back up, but Charlotte held a 38-36 lead going into the second.

-- The Hornets built on their lead behind solid reserve play, going back up by as much as eight. 

-- It was Brunson who led the turnaround again once he returned midway through the second quarter. He found Mitchell Robinson for a couple of lobs, then Anunoby stepped up for some timely jumpers to tighten the game up, finishing the half with 14 points. 

The Hornets would end the half on a flurry, getting energy off the bench from White (12 points in nine minutes), and more shooting from Knueppel, who went 3-4 from deep in the first half. Charlotte led 65-55 at the break, ending the second on a 15-6 run. 

-- The second half opened much like the first, with the Hornets raining threes. Ball dribbled into two, and Knueppel added another in rapid succession to put his team up 15 quickly. 

New York kept a solid pace offensively, but Charlotte was too voluminous from three. Brunson tried to keep the Knicks in it with more tough bucket-getting.

-- Tyler Kolek supplanted Jose Alvarado as the backup point guard in the second half rotation. The shakeup did little to contain the Hornets' onslaught, as they went up 94-76 after three.

-- New York got off to a strong start in the fourth, but Charlotte matched them score for score. Ball leaked open for a wing three, panicking the Knicks defense, which opened up a Grant Williams touch feed to Moussa Diabaté for a dagger slam. 

The Hornets continued their beatdown, getting another three from White and a tomahawk slam from Miller in the open court, building their lead beyond 20. The Knick starters returned to try and make a push, getting the lead down to 10 behind an 18-6 run late, but to no avail. 

Highlights

KAT getting to work early pic.twitter.com/Dm5PZBeIwH

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 26, 2026

brunson burner: lit pic.twitter.com/OnJVK7MMbA

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 26, 2026

classic og defense 🔒🚫 pic.twitter.com/tn28LFdKiA

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 27, 2026

a middy from mikal gets us going in the second half pic.twitter.com/lf8JaZuffv

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 27, 2026

What's next

The Knicks will stay on the road and travel to Oklahoma City for a matchup with the defending NBA Champion Thunder on Sunday. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.

SAN JOSE, CA — Purdue is still dancing.

The No. 2 seed Boilermakers avoided the upset from 11th-seeded Texas with a last-second put-back shot by Trey Kaufman-Renn in the Sweet 16 to continue their March Madness run into the Elite Eight with a 79-77 win.

It was a back-and-forth game the entire way, and in the winding moments, the Longhorns were down by three points. Texas' Dailyn Swain got a bucket and foul with 11 seconds left to tie the score at 77.

The Boilermakers had the final possession and guard Braden Smith drove into the lane for the game-winner, but missed. Luckily for Purdue, Renn was right there to clean it up, getting the putback to take the lead with 0.7 seconds left. Texas was unable to get the full-court heave to pull off the shocker.

More: Inside the game-winning play that advanced Purdue to Elite 8

TREY KAUFMAN-RENN GAME-WINNER 🚨

PURDUE ADVANCES TO THE ELITE 8 🤯 pic.twitter.com/CYj7ltsGXT

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 27, 2026

Renn's winning bucket capped off a big night for him, finishing with a team-high 20 points in the victory. Purdue now awaits the winner of No. 1 Arizona and No. 4 Arkansas in the Elite Eight, with a trip to the Final Four on the line on Saturday, March 28.

USA TODAY Sports will have much more coverage of this game.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Purdue basketball beats Texas on last-second putback to advance to Elite 8

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. (AP) — Boston College hired UConn assistant Luke Murray on Thursday as coach of a slumping men's basketball program that has gone 17 years without an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Murray, the son of actor Bill Murray, will be a first-time head coach. He replaces Earl Grant, who was fired earlier this month after the Eagles had a losing record in four of his five seasons. Grant went 72-92 overall and 30-67 in Atlantic Coast Conference games.

In five years with UConn under coach Dan Hurley, Murray has been a part of two national championship teams, with Bill Murray often in attendance at games. The Huskies play Michigan State on Friday in the Sweet 16.

“In Luke Murray, we have found a leader who does not just understand the modern landscape of college basketball, he has helped define it,” Boston College athletic director Blake James said. “His role in building a national championship caliber program, his sophisticated offensive vision, and his relentless pursuit of excellence make him the perfect fit.”

Prior to UConn, Murray spent three years each as an assistant at Louisville and Xavier. He also had stints on staffs at Towson, Wagner, Arizona, Post and Quinnipiac. The 2007 graduate of Fairfield will be the 14th head coach in Boston College program history.

The Eagles have been buried in the supersized ACC for more than a decade, with a 10th-place finish in 2022-23 their highest since the league expanded from 12 to 15 teams in the 2013-14 season. They were second-to-last in the newly expanded 18-team conference in each of the last two years.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

It’s “must lose” stretch for the Nets. They want to get the best odds in May 10 lottery, maybe even secure that last envelope Mark Tatum, the NBA’s deputy commissioner, opens that night. At the moment, they are so close to success, sitting alone in second, one game behind the Indiana Pacers.

BUT…

Per various draftniks, the Nets have the easiest schedule the rest of the way and many of those games are with competitors in the race to the bottom. Moreover, six of the nine are at home. A win in such a tight race could change the lottery order on a spring night in Chicago.

Starting Friday night with the Lakers, the Nets will have four games with teams likely to be in the post-season: Los Angeles, the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and the Charlotte Hornets.

On the flip side of the ledger are five games with teams whose fate is close to theirs: two games with the Milwaukee Bucks (with or without Giannis Antetokounmpo) as well as games with the other three teams Brooklyn is currently competing with: the Indiana Pacers, still ith the best odds; the Washington Wizards; currently with third best, and the Utah Jazz who’ve dropped down to fifth. Making things even more interesting is the fact that the Jazz have the hardest schedule of the rest of the way.

As C.J. Holmes of the Daily News wrote Thursday:

Five of the Nets’ last eight games will come against teams currently living in the same neighborhood of the standings, Sacramento, Washington and Indiana, plus two matchups with the Milwaukee Bucks. Those games matter because they’re direct swings in the race for the bottom.

In a normal season, the phrase “must-win” would hover over a stretch like that. For Brooklyn, it’s the opposite. The Nets have spent the year searching for progress, but the finish line is now defined by draft lottery placement. With the Pacers only a game ahead, the Nets can realistically chase the league’s worst record if they simply stay on their current trajectory.

The Nets at this point are arguably the worst team in the league: They have lost nine straight. They have shut down Egor Demin (plantar fascia), Day’Ron Sharpe (hand), and have functionally done the same with Michael Porter Jr. (hamstring). They won’t re-evaluate MPJ till the last few games of the season. Noah Clowney (wrist) and Danny Wolf (ankle) situation remain uncertain. Even 10-day Grant Nelson (knee) had to sit after his 10-day. They have called up the reserves from Long Island in their three two-ways and a 10-day but no wins have materialized.

As Holmes notes, the Nets have gotten some positives vibes from Ben Saraf, Josh Minott and Ziaire Williams, ages 19, 23 and 24, but they’re not going to carry teams to many wins. Many fans on other record tweeting or saying they don’t want to win another game..

It WILL get hairy at the end. In the last week, the Nets will play five games:

• April 5 – Washington Wizards at home;
• April 7 – Milwaukee Bucks at home;
• April 9 – Indiana Pacers at home;
• April 10 – Milwaukee Bucks in Milwaukee;
• April 12 – Toronto Raptors in Toronto.

Still note this: while the top three teams all have a 14% chance at the No. 1 and 52% chance at a top four pick, the team with the worst record will have a 48% chance at the fifth pick. Indeed, that’s happened the last three lotteries and remember the team with the worst record hasn’t won the top overall pick in the lottery since rules were changed back in 2019.

The jockeying may not even end with the lottery, either. One NBA decision-maker suggested that the wealth of picks Sean Marks & co. have accumulated could play a role by draft night: moving up if Brooklyn is disappointed in where they landed, as they were when they dropped from No. 6 to No. 8 last May.

“The only reason you bank firsts like that is to be able to strike opportunistically,” he told ND. “Now this draft will cost them (if they try to move up) and they will have to find a dance partner but say they land at the dreaded 5 spot. They have enough draft capital to get the to the third pick.”

He did not suggest possible packages.

Bottom line for him: somehow get one of the top three consensus picks, all of whom he considers franchise-changers. The names remain the same for him: A.J. Dybantsa, Cam Boozer or Darryn Peterson. Beyond that, he said, the Nets will get a good player but nothing that will change their current timeline.

It is all total speculation, of course. So,what’s the best way to handle the anxiety of these last nine games? Maybe one part praying for good luck, another part looking for players like Ziaire Williams and Ben Saraf to keep developing but the biggest part is rooting for the Brooklyn scouting staff to find the best player available no matter where they pick. After all, it isn’t just about the lottery pick. Tankathon thinks they have second best group of picks at Nos. 3, 33 and 43, That has to be comforting.