Category: NBA

The first ticket to the Final Four has been punched.

Behind 25 points from freshman superstar Keaton Wagler, No. 3 seed Illinois pulled away from No. 9 seed Iowa 71-59 on Saturday, March 28 in the Elite Eight of the 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament.

The victory clinched the Fighting Illini’s first Final Four appearance since 2005, when a Deron Williams-led team that won 37 of its first 38 games fell to North Carolina in the national championship game.

'Got to stay ready.' Real MVP of Elite 8 game after buzzer delay: Air horn

Next Saturday in Indianapolis, they’ll face the winner of Sunday’s matchup between No. 1 overall seed Duke and No. 2 seed UConn.

With his father, former NBA All-Star Peja Stojaković, Andrej Stojaković had 17 points 7-of-9 shooting for Illinois. Tomislav Ivišić added 13 points and two blocks for the Illini.

Despite a subpar outside shooting day from one of the nation’s best offenses, coach Brad Underwood’s team dominated the glass, getting 16 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second-chance points.

The Illini took control late in what had been a back-and-forth game that featured seven ties and 13 lead changes. Trailing 51-50 with 7:20 remaining in regulation, Illinois rattled off eight unanswered points while holding Iowa scoreless for 2:54 and without a made field goal for 5:37.

In his final college game, Bennett Stirtz had a team-high 24 points for the Hawkeyes, who were appearing in their first Elite Eight since 1987. Nobody else on Iowa’s team had more than 10 points.

After shooting 57.1% from the field in the first half, the Hawkeyes shot just 23.1% in the second half, missing 20 of their 26 field-goal attempts, including 12 of their final 13 shots.

When is the Final Four?

• Final Four Dates: Saturday, April 4 and Monday, April 6

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Illinois vs Iowa: Illini beat Hawkeyes in Elite 8, advance to Final Four

The Detroit Pistons might have had one of their worst offensive showings of the season against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday afternoon. Lucky for them, their elite defense showed up and allowed the Pistons to coast to a 109-87 win. It was the sixth time Detroit has held an opponent to 90 or fewer points this season. They are the only team in the league to hit that mark six times.

They also held the Timberwolves to just 31% shooting from the floor, the Pistons’ second-lowest mark of the season against any opponent.

Both teams were shorthanded, including their superstars. The Pistons played without Cade Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart. The Wolves played without Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Ayo Dosunmu. Both teams have been winning without their stars, however, because other players have been able to step up. That wasn’t the case for either team in what was mostly a defensive slugfest on Saturday.

Jalen Duren was limited to just 10 points and 13 rebounds in 29 minutes, attempting only seven shots. He had trouble dealing with Rudy Gobert’s length, and Minnesota, like most teams lately, has it in their game plan to limit passes to Duren in the post whenever possible. Daniss Jenkins, meanwhile, who has been on a bit of a hot streak since stepping into the starting lineup for Cunningham, was mostly awful against the Timberwolves.

Up until about the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter, when the game was pretty well decided, Jenkins was shooting 2-of-12 with as many assists as turnovers (three). He was sloppy with his handle, making ill-advised passes into non-existent windows, missing clear passing lanes, and giving up a lot of penetration on defense. In garbage time, he was able to hit four pretty easy looks, which allowed him to escape with a respectable 12 points on the night.

It’s not the first time Jenkins has had a stinker like that; he’s a second-year player, after all, but it might be the first time the Pistons have won a Daniss no-show in a while. They did it because so many other role players did just enough on offense — Detroit had seven players in double-figures, with Tobias Harris’ 18 leading the way — and because Detroit’s elite defense made everything difficult for an underpowered Minnesota attack.

To shout out just a couple specific guys — every Ron Holland three is a blessing, and we got two of them tonight to go with his stellar defense. Also, Kevin Huerter is looking more and more like a rotation mainstay, but I don’t know how it will happen when both Cunningham and Stewart return. Huerter had 11 points and made several smart reads as a cutter and a ball handler. He’s reminding me more and more of the rotation impact Dennis Schröder had on Detroit last year. A steadying presence who isn’t giving away anything on either side of the floor, and someone you trust to make the right decision if he has the ball in his hands.

Wolves’ role players not named Donte DiVincenzo couldn’t get anything going against Detroit’s stifling defense. Julius Randle, Naz Reid, Bones Hyland, and Mike Conley combined to shoot 8-for-38 from the floor. That’s 21% from the field. Only DiVencenzo was able to ride some hot 3-point streak shooting into a respectable night. He scored a game-high 22 and hit five threes. But he had 14 attempts, and was just 7-of-18 from the floor overall.

Even as Detroit was trying to give the game away with its patented rash of mind-boggling turnovers, Minnesota could do nothing with them. Detroit committed 19 turnovers on the night, and Minnesota was only able to turn those 19 extra possessions into seven points.

Unsurprisingly, Ausar Thompson and Holland get the lion’s share of the credit with their ability to hound players on the perimeter. Thompson had four steals and Holland two, as just one way to quantify their impact. But, really, it was a team effort. Caris LeVert had a couple of big blocks inside, Huerter continues to move and switch very well on defense, and Harris and Paul Reed were locked in and giving Detroit everything they had.

Detroit is now one win away from clinching the Central Division title, improved Detroit’s NBA Draft position courtesy of a pending swap with the Timberwolves, and they now sit 4.5 games up on the Boston Celtics for the first seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks are finding important leadership voices beyond their main stars. 

Fans mostly see one side of Mitchell Robinson: a silly, goofy personality who doesn’t take himself too seriously. Recently, however, Robinson has been one of the most vocal players calling out a few worrying Knicks trends and emphasizing the need to fix them ahead of the postseason. 

“The guys are starting to trust me a lot more,” Robinson said after practice Saturday. “They’re putting trust in me, so I’m telling them what I see and things that I think we can get better at. Being more vocal, it’s coming naturally. The guys mentioned a few times, I’m the anchor of the defense. They trust me on the defensive end. That helps a lot.” 

After the Knicks barely escaped with a one-point win over the tanking Nets last week, Robinson said, “Our approach got to be better. We can’t just look at their record and say, ‘we’ll whoop their ass.’ We just got to be better altogether. Until we figure that part out, then it’s going to be a long roller coaster.” 

After the Knicks lost to the Hornets on Thursday, Robinson commented on an Instagram video of himself, saying, “don’t even matter unless we change our approach we ain’t doing s–t special keep that bulls–t up myself included [sic].” 

The video showed Robinson mentoring second-year center Ariel Hukporti, giving him advice on how to tailor his rebounding strategy based on who was taking a shot. 

It’s part of personal growth for Robinson, the longest-tenured Knick. During his first few years in the league, he was not nearly as comfortable with the media. Now, he’s consistently letting his thoughts — and concerns — be heard. 

Two things he’s repeatedly harped on are the Knicks’ approach and connectivity. 

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“We’re gonna do some talking and get better connected and stuff like that,” Robinson said. “That’s basically what we have to do, at this point right now. 

“In the playoffs, you’re playing the same team, potentially, seven times. The more we’re connected, the better off we’ll be. You’ve seen what we did last year, and we’re trying to go farther.” 

There is value in having veterans beyond Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns provide different voices and perspectives in the locker room. Robinson is not the only one. 

Coach Mike Brown identified Jordan Clarkson, who has been playing himself back into the rotation lately, as another important leader. 

“You can have leadership in a lot of different ways,” Brown said Saturday. “As of late, the reality of it is, a guy like Jordan Clarkson is starting to separate himself and showing that he’s one of the leaders of the team. Just because you start, just because you score a ton or shoot a ton, or you’re one of the best defenders, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a leader. Because one of the things is, leaders aren’t afraid to tell the truth. They do what they say. Being a leader means you gotta be on point all the time. You can’t be worried about whether your teammate likes you at the time because you’re saying something that’s truthful or you’re holding people accountable or not. 

“So when you look at a guy like Jordan, who’s been through a lot, who’s still stayed ready, even when he was out, for him and listening to him speak up in front of the group now, that’s starting to show real leadership. Other guys have spoken up, other guys are trying to do it, and Mitch is one of them.” 

Brunson is the formally recognized captain. Hart is the biggest talker. Towns, given his stature, is expected to be influential with his voice. 

But Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby are not particularly vocal. This leaves a bit of a void behind the aforementioned trio — one that Robinson and Clarkson can fill.

ATLANTA (AP) — Hubert Kós broke his own NCAA record while defending his title in the 200-yard backstroke to help the Texas men win a second straight national championship in swimming and diving on Saturday.

Kós won with a time of 1 minute, 34.13 seconds as the Longhorns piled up 445.5 points. He set an NCAA record of 1:34.21 in winning the event last season. Kós also broke the NCAA record in the 100 backstroke earlier this meet. Florida junior Jonny Marshall finished second and Virginia sophomore David King took third.

Runner-up Florida had 416 points. Indiana (351), Arizona State (328) and Tennessee (272) rounded out the top five.

Virginia freshman Maximus Williamson began the day by winning the 200 IM in 1:38.48. Indiana senior Owen McDonald was second, followed by Texas senior Baylor Nelson.

Florida senior Josh Liendo clocked a 39.91 to win the 100 freestyle. LSU junior Jere Hribar was second, followed by Tennessee senior Gui Caribe.

Arizona State junior Ilya Kharun won the 200 butterfly in 1:37.66, a half-second in front of Michigan senior Tyler Ray. Virginia freshman Thomas Heilman placed third.

Kharun, Adam Chaney, Remi Fabiani and anchor Jonny Kulow won the men’s 400 free relay with a NCAA record time of 2:42.15. N.C. State placed second and Florida was third. The Sun Devils won five of the seven relay races.

Texas A&M freshman Emilio Trevino won the title in platform diving with 465.40 points. Purdue sophomore Tyler Wills (451.15) and Florida sophomore Jesus Gonzalez (427.25) followed.

Coach Bob Bowman has led Texas to back-to-back championships. He guided Arizona State to the championship in 2024 before taking the Longhorns job.

Hall-of-Fame coach Eddie Reese led Texas to 15 championships during his 46-year run from 1978-2024.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

HOUSTON – After a buzzer malfunction at Toyota Center caused an 11-minute delay during the first half of Saturday’s Elite Eight game between Iowa and Illinois, officials sitting courtside resorted to an old-fashioned solution.

Kevin Johnson sat at the scorer’s table armed with two blue-and-white air horns, which he used to signal timeouts, substitutions and the end of each half.

Johnson, who has worked for the Houston Rockets as a game clock operator for 25 years, said the game operations crew always keeps air horns and stopwatches available in the arena just in case. On Saturday, as the delay dragged on, Johnson had a feeling they would be needed. He relayed a message into his headset and an employee scurried through the back hallways of Toyota Center to fetch the two emergency horns.

“They tried to go up and they were going to cut (the scoreboard) off. I said, ‘OK in the meantime, just get the air horns out here in case there’s a problem,’” Johnson said. “They were going to try and switch them back but the horn is tied to the whole thing. When they turned the screens back on, the horn is not going to stay cut off.”

Johnson was working the NCAA regional games in Houston along with the rest of the Rockets’ regular scorer’s table crew. He and shot clock operator Larry Stick, another longtime member of the Rockets’ staff, said a similar malfunction happened once before at a Rockets game many years ago – but they emphasized that incidents like that are rare in NBA arenas.

However, Johnson and Stick said it’s not unusual for scorekeepers and clock operators who work high school games to use manual air horns.

At NBA games, Johnson and Stick control the horn by flipping a switch on a Tissot handset, which resembles a simplistic video game controller.  But that controller broke on Saturday, which caused a constant buzzing sound to emanate from the scoreboard overhanging the court.

At halftime, arena employees tried to switch out the Tissot unit entirely, but it still didn’t work. The scoreboard and horn remained inoperable for the second half. So Johnson returned to his seat, put down his cup of blue sports drink and positioned the air horn on the table in front of him.

“Got to stay ready,” he said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Iowa-Illinois game delayed by buzzer malfunction. Break out the air horn

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Moses Itauma delivered another devastating knockout by sending Jermaine Franklin Jr. to the canvas with a powerful uppercut in the fifth round of their heavyweight fight on Saturday.

Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs), who could soon be in line for a world title shot, staggered Franklin in the center of the ring and the referee waved the fight off as the American fell face first.

Franklin, who went the distance with former two-time world champion Anthony Joshua three years ago, had been billed as Itauma's toughest test yet.

The 21-year-old British southpaw had been dispatching opponents early — none of his previous nine opponents had made it through two rounds.

Franklin (24-3, 15 KOs) was knocked down in the third and ultimately made it to midway through the fifth at Co-op Live Arena. After the uppercut, Itauma threw one final right that seemed to graze the falling Franklin.

Itauma turned pro three years ago in a debut KO victory that lasted just 23 seconds.

The 32-year-old Franklin, a native of Saginaw, Michigan, had won his previous three bouts since his loss to Joshua in April 2023.

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AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic has officially received a one-game suspension and will miss the team’s upcoming game against the Washington Wizards on Monday, March 30, the NBA announced Saturday night.

Doncic received his 16th technical foul of the season on March 27, during a game in which he led the Lakers to a 116-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena.

NBA rules indicate that a player or coach will automatically be suspended without pay for one game once they receive their 16th technical foul of the regular season. The player will be suspended for one regular season game for every two additional technical fouls that he receives.

Doncic nearly produced a double-double, finishing Friday's game with 41 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in 39 minutes of play.

Lakers coach JJ Redick indicated after the game that he did not see what initially happened and that the team would likely appeal it.

Doncic was seen pushing Nets forward Ziaire Williams, who then retaliated by swinging his arm back and hitting Doncic in the face. Williams received his fourth technical foul of the season and will not be suspended.

“He was in my face three times,” Doncic told reporters after the game. “I just wanted to get out of there. They said I pushed (Williams).”

Doncic had previously been called for a technical foul during a game against the Orlando Magic on Saturday, March 21. It would have been his 16th technical foul, but the NBA rescinded it, allowing him to avoid a suspension and play in the game against the Detroit Pistons on Monday, March 23.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Luka Doncic suspended for 16th technical foul, out for Wizards-Lakers

TORONTO (AP) — Jonathan David scored twice from the penalty spot in the second half before Tajon Buchanan was shown a red card as Canada battled back from a 2-0 deficit to salvage a 2-2 draw with Iceland in an international men’s soccer friendly on Saturday.

Buchanan was sent off in the 80th minute for an elbow to the head of Iceland midfielder Mikael Egill Ellertsson as the ball was rolling out of play.

The sequence marked the third straight game, and fourth time in the last eight, Canada has seen red.

“We’re physical, we play hard, but we’re not a dirty team,” said Canada coach Jesse Marsch, who disagreed with Buchanan’s dismissal. “I’m not worried about developing a reputation, but certainly cards like that can change momentum in tournaments.”

Orri Steinn Oskarsson had both goals for Iceland.

The 29th-ranked Canadians are preparing to co-host this summer’s World Cup with the United States and Mexico, while Iceland — No. 74 when FIFA’s last official list was released in mid-January — failed to qualify.

Oskarsson took advantage of a bad pass from Canadian centre back Kamal Miller before moving in alone and beating goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair in the ninth minute for a 1-0 lead.

The striker for Spanish club Real Sociedad doubled the advantage in the 21st after Ellertsson beat right back Niko Sigur to a ball in midfield. Oskarsson took a quick feed on the run and steadied himself before another nice finish.

Canada got one back in the 67th minute when David coolly buried a penalty after Buchanan was fouled by Ellertsson. The striker for Italian giants Juventus added his second of the afternoon from the spot in the 76th when substitute Daniel Jebbison was also taken down in the area before Buchanan was sent off.

Canada now turns its attention to Tuesday’s match against No. 47 Tunisia in another exhibition game with plenty on the line for players looking to secure roster spots or impress with the World Cup some 75 days away.

Canada opens its tournament June 12 in Toronto against the winner of a European playoff set for Tuesday between No. 13 Italy and No. 66 Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Canadians will then travel west to face Qatar on June 18 and Switzerland on June 24 at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver.

“Every moment we’re together right now is an opportunity to make a continued impression, a lasting impression,” Marsch said. “But I don’t want them to feel so much pressure on them. I want them to just continue to try to put to practice the things that we want to see.”

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

MIAMI (AP) — Owen Caissie had three hits, including a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning and the Miami Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 4-3 on Saturday.

Liam Hicks homered and drove in three runs, while Agustin Ramirez singled twice and walked for the Marlins.

Otto Lopez, who was hitless in first seven at-bats of the season, singled against Rockies reliever Jaden Hill (0-1) to start the eighth. López stole second and raced home when Caissie hit a line drive to centerfield.

Calvin Faucher (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth and Pete Fairbanks closed with a perfect ninth for his second save.

Hicks hit a two-run homer in the fifth that chased Colorado starter Michael Lorenzen and tied it at 3-all.

Pitching for his sixth club in 12 seasons, Lorenzen allowed seven hits, struck out four and hit two batters over 4 1/3 innings. The 34-year-old Lorenzen signed a free-agent deal with Colorado in the offseason.

Marlins starter Eury Pérez struck out eight in seven innings of three-run ball. Pérez gave up five hits and walked one.

Ezequiel Tovar’s two-run homer in the fourth put the Rockies ahead 3-1.

TJ Rumfield gave Colorado an early lead with a solo blast in the second.

The Marlins tied it on Hicks’ sacrifice fly in the third. Xavier Edwards hit a one-out single and advanced to third on Ramirez’s single. Hicks then drove in Edwards with a fly ball to deep right.

Miami loaded the bases against Lorenzen with two out in the second before he retired Graham Pauley on a groundout.

Saturday’s attendance of 10,160 at loanDepot park was a significant drop from the 32,459 that attended the opener.

Up next

José Quintana will start the series finale for the Rockies on Sunday against Max Meyer in the season debut for both starters.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

NEW YORK (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic was suspended one game without pay by the NBA for receiving his 16th technical foul of the season, the league announced Saturday.

Doncic, the NBA's scoring leader, got whistled for a double technical foul during the third quarter of the Lakers’ 116-99 victory over Brooklyn on Friday night.

The Nets’ Ziaire Williams was celebrating an offensive foul called against Doncic by gleefully screaming in Doncic’s personal space. When Doncic reached out to push Williams’ arm, Williams responded with a backhand swipe across Doncic’s face.

Under NBA rules, a player or coach is automatically suspended without pay for one game when he receives his 16th technical foul during the regular season. For every two additional technical fouls during that regular season, they will be automatically suspended without pay for an additional game.

Doncic, who scored 41 points against Brooklyn, will serve his suspension on Monday when the Lakers host the Washington Wizards.

“He was yelling in my face three times,” Doncic said after the game. “I just wanted to get out of there. It’s a double tech, of course. What can I say? I didn’t even talk. I just wanted to get out of there. (The referee) said my push was exaggerated, which (it) was obviously not. I don’t know what else to say.”

Officials reviewed the incident before issuing technical fouls to both players.

Doncic already had a technical rescinded last week after he was whistled for a verbal altercation with Orlando’s Goga Bitadze. The league didn’t announce why it was rescinded, but Doncic said Bitadze insulted his family in Serbian — and Bitadze denied it.

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

CHICAGO – Rick Barnes is getting the last laugh.

Not that Barnes would ever gloat or call out those who had the knives out for him. He's far too nice for that. But after years of being criticized and, in some cases, mocked for not being able to win in March, Barnes has Tennessee in the Elite Eight for the third consecutive year.

You know what other coach can say that? Duke's Jon Scheyer. That's it. Out of the 350-plus schools that have NCAA Division I men's basketball teams, only Barnes and Scheyer have made it this far in each of the past three years.

But Barnes can't coach in the NCAA Tournament.

"Do I wish we could have won national championships and all that?" Barnes said Saturday, March 28. "All I can tell you is we just stay in the arena."

The Volunteers play top-seeded Michigan on Sunday, March 28, for what would be Tennessee's first-ever trip to the Final Four.

March Madness Sweet 16 winners, losers: Big Ten puts 4 teams in Elite 8

Rick Barnes' struggles in March

The knock on Barnes' record in March has a long history. The 71-year-old is in his fourth decade of coaching, at five schools, but has made only one Final Four. He's had tremendous talent — Kevin Durant, T.J. Ford, LaMarcus Aldridge and Grant Williams, to name a few — but that didn't translate into NCAA Tournament success.

He didn't get past the second round when he had Durant. He only made two Elite Eight appearances in 17 seasons at Texas. He routinely got upset by lower-seeded teams, perhaps none worse than Tennessee's loss as a third seed to 11th-seeded Michigan in the second round of the 2022 tournament.

"Did I make mistakes back then in coaching in this tournament? Certainly, I think I did," Barnes said. "Probably putting way too much pressure on guys and maybe changing up what we did maybe too much. Or, honestly, maybe and probably doing too much as opposed to doing less.

"But I will never take away from those (teams) because I know how hard they worked."

Do not take this to mean Barnes has mellowed. He has not. As congenial as he is off the court — try and find anyone to say a bad word about him as a person, I dare you — he tells kids when he recruits them he's going to work them hard and demand the sun, the moon and the stars from them and, on that, he overperforms.

"Our practices are demanding," Barnes said. "... Our job is to help these guys reach their ultimate goal. They all want to be pros. They all want to be. We don't want to be the ones that look back and say we didn't do our part. We want to look back and say we did everything we could for them and the time with us was the greatest time they ever had in their life."

Rick Barnes thrives in NIL era

What has changed is the game. Which makes it all the more ironic that Barnes is hitting his stride now.

Listen to almost every veteran coach, especially those of Barnes' vintage, and they'll rail about what's happened to college basketball and how the influx of money has poisoned the game. They'll say reforms are needed and warn of doom if they don't come.

Barnes, on the other hand, is actually enjoying this era. To him, it's more honest.

"It's easier today than it was back then," he said. "You can recruit a guy now for a week and get him. You know what I mean? `Hey, what's the number?'"

Though this Volunteers team is almost entirely new from the one that lost to Houston in the Elite Eight last year, Tennessee is not a collection of hired guns. Even today, Barnes believes that when a player transfers, it's because the recruitment process was flawed. He is honest about the way he runs his team and the expectations he has with everyone who comes through his door, whether they're a blue-chipper like Nate Ament or a role player like Troy Henderson.

When Barnes was recruiting Ament, in fact, he showed the McDonald's All American a clip of Durant scoring 32 against Kansas despite an ankle injury that had him visibly limping. If Ament wasn't prepared to give that kind of effort, Barnes told him, Tennessee wasn't the place for him.

"The last thing I said to him was, if you choose to do this, it's going to be the hardest thing in your life, and there's going to be days you're not going to like me very much," Barnes recalled. "But when it's all said and done, you'll understand all of it."

Chance to change narrative

Rather than chafing against that tough love, Barnes' players embrace it. Or, rather, embrace Barnes.

Tennessee has never made it to the men's Final Four — it made it to the Elite Eight only one other time before Barnes arrived — and the Volunteers want nothing more than to be the team that makes history.

But they also want it for Barnes. They know the narrative around his postseason success. Or lack thereof. They know the term "Regular-season Rick" isn't a compliment. Make it to the Final Four after these Elite Eight appearances, and the narrative changes.

Especially this team, a sixth-seed that has already knocked off the No. 2 (Iowa State) and No. 3 (Virginia) seeds in the Midwest Region.

"It would mean a lot just knowing how hard he works and how much he has poured into the program," Bishop Boswell said. "I don’t know if anyone deserves it as much as he does, because he’s put the hours in, the time in and the energy. So to be able to get that done for him would be amazing.”

Barnes wants to beat Michigan not because he feels he has something to prove. He's secure in his career and what he's accomplished, regardless of what anyone else thinks. But the goal of every game is to be better, to have the performance reflect the work that's been put in in practice.

If there's a regret about those NCAA Tournament losses, it's that.

"I just want us to be the best we can be. I want us to be the best version that we can. If we're good enough, we're good enough," Barnes said.

"We've got one philosophy: Let's get a little bit better today. Let's just be better today than we were yesterday," Barnes added. "And if we can build on that each day, we're good enough to get to our goals, we'll get there."

Just don't expect Barnes to gloat about it.

USA TODAY's Ehsan Kassim contributed to this report.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rick Barnes flipping the narrative on his March Madness record

Houston, we have a problem.

The Elite Eight matchup on Saturday, March 28 between No. 9 seed Iowa and No. 3 Illinois had to be paused with 7:43 remaining in the first half of their 2026 NCAA Tournament game at the Toyota Center in Houston because a buzzer from the scoreboard hanging over the court in the arena would not stop blaring.

THE BUZZER IS FIXED 🚨🤣#MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/PYX7wbAltG

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 28, 2026

Game and NCAA officials gathered around the scorer's table to try to resolve the issue. Eventually, the scoreboard was completely shut off, stopping the noise.

After 11 minutes, it mercilessly stopped and action resumed, with the Hawkeyes holding a 22-20 lead. While the jumbotron remained off, officials used an airhorn from the scorer's table.

REQUIRED READING: Illinois vs Iowa live updates: Score, highlights of Elite 8 game

While the game was stopped, players from both teams remained on the court shooting.

It’s a sound that TBS play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Harlan compared to “a torture chamber.”

“It’s what Jim Carrey said in ‘Dumb and Dumber’ — it’s the most annoying sound in the world,” TBS analyst Robbie Hummel said.

"Surely there's a way to unplug this -- surely there's a horn expert somewhere in this building!"

Kevin Harlan on the call as an issue with the horn gets worked on. pic.twitter.com/dnI0W9HOWT

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 28, 2026

The Houston Rockets' regular in-house crew are operating the game clock, scoreboard and shot clock for Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games being held at the venue. The technical issue wasn't the fault of a clunky, out-of-date piece of technology, either. The Rockets installed the 6,200 square-foot display ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness: Blaring horn forces delay in Iowa vs Illinois Elite 8 game

WASHINGTON – Things didn’t work quite as Dan Hurley hoped.

Earlier this week, the Connecticut coach implored fans of the Huskies and rival St. John’s to put aside the rivalry and root for each team to advance out of the East Region semifinals for the fourth matchup this season, this time in the Elite Eight.

The No. 2 Huskies took care of their end of the bargain, beating No. 3 Michigan State 67-63 thanks to the play of veterans Alex Karaban, Tarris Reed Jr. and Solo Ball. But the No. 5 Red Storm couldn’t get over the hump against No. 1 Duke, losing 80-75 in the most physical game of this year’s NCAA Tournament.

March Madness Sweet 16 winners, losers: Big Ten puts 4 teams in Elite 8

More: Caleb Foster 'had no business playing tonight.' But he did — and led Duke to Elite 8

Instead of an all-Big East rematch, the Elite Eight will feature a rekindled rivalry between the Huskies and Blue Devils, who engaged in three similarly high-stakes tournament games in the 1990s culminating in a UConn win in 1999 for the first of the program’s six national championships.

“UConn and Duke have been the two best college basketball programs on the men's side in the last 30 years,” Hurley said. “So it's a pretty cool matchup.”

Duke, UConn have deep March Madness history

Like every previous pairing, the sixth tournament matchup in the rivalry’s history will decide who plays for and potentially wins the national championship.

Duke and UConn first met in the 1964 Elite Eight, with the Blue Devils rolling to a 101-54 rout before finishing as the national runner-up. In 1990, the Blue Devils pulled out a 79-78 win in the Elite Eight before again losing in the title game.

A year later, Duke topped UConn 81-67 in the Sweet 16 and then advanced for the program’s first national championship. The two faced off in the 1999 championship game, with the Huskies winning 77-74. The most recent matchup, in the 2004 national semifinals, ended with UConn winning 79-78 before going on to beat Georgia Tech for former coach Jim Calhoun’s second title.

“You have two of the biggest brands in college basketball going at it to make it to the Final Four,” Karaban said. “You've seen Duke. You've seen UConn throughout your entire life when you watch college basketball growing up. To be another piece of that story of those two programs going at it, I think it's awesome.”

UConn experience battles Duke young talent

This Elite Eight matchup features one immediate contrast: While Duke is again built around underclassmen, including star freshman forward Cameron Boozer, UConn is a veteran-driven team that has leaned on this experience to win challenging tournament games against No. 15 Furman, No. 7 UCLA and the Spartans.

But there’s a question of whether experience really matters at this stage of the season. While younger, Duke has been tested enough in this tournament — against the Red Storm and in the opening round against No. 16 Siena, which had a double-digit halftime lead — to potentially erase the Huskies’ edge.

“I think it's less about the age and more about the mindset, the competitiveness, their feel for the game,” said Duke coach Jon Scheyer. “I think that's really something important for me and this program. And the rest takes care of itself.”

Karaban may be the game’s biggest wild card. More of a complementary piece during the program’s back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024, he’s averaging 20.3 points per game in this year’s tournament and has made 11 of his 25 attempts from 3-point range. He brings into Sunday night a remarkable 16-1 record in tournament play.

“At the end of the day also, he's just a competitor and a winner,” Boozer said. “He's a great player.”

On the Duke side, one key will be landing a similar impact from point guard Caleb Foster, who made an unexpected recovery from a fractured foot suffered earlier this month to contribute 11 points across 19 minutes of action against the Red Storm.

His availability brings the Blue Devils’ depth back to normal strength and sets up an intriguing backcourt matchup between Foster, freshman Cayden Boozer and Isaiah Evans against the Huskies’ main group of Ball, Silas Demary Jr. and Braylon Mullins.

For Duke, getting Foster back is “huge confidence builder for the people around him,” said Hurley.

Frontcourt, physicality are biggest Elite Eight factors

But a Final Four berth should be determined by two related factors.

The first is the battle in the frontcourt pitting Reed against Boozer and center Patrick Ngongba II. Reed has battled inconsistency in this tournament, sandwiching his game against the Spartans and some monster numbers against Furman with a 10-point performance against UCLA that saw him struggle to get position in the paint and shoot just 3 of 8 from the field.

Should UConn work to get him active, however, Reed’s variety of slippery post moves could force Cameron Boozer to overexert himself on the defensive end, especially with Ngongba still working his way back from a lingering foot injury.

“Obviously, Reed down low is a handful,” Scheyer said.

On the other hand, Boozer has continued to show why he’s a favorite for national player of the year and a strong contender for the first pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. He’s posted at least 19 points and 10 rebounds in his three tournament games and has been adept at getting to the line, making 26 of his 28 free-throw attempts.

Given how often the UConn offense runs through Reed in the halfcourt set, whether the senior can stay out of foul trouble after being whistled four times against MSU could determine the Huskies’ chances.

But the biggest question mark heading into the Elite Eight is whether the Blue Devils can carry over the physical play that helped them escape against St. John’s and coach Rick Pitino.

This ferocious style got the better of UConn twice during the regular season, including in the Red Storm’s dominant 72-52 win in the Big East tournament championship. The Huskies did wallop St. John’s once during the regular season, winning 72-40 on Feb. 25 after forcing 24 misses from the field in a row to end the game.

Which team shows up on Sunday — the one that pushed back on the Red Storm’s physicality or the one that wilted — will determine who advances to the Final Four.

“I think it's their character,” Scheyer said of his team. “I think it's about the fact of learning on the fly, realizing they can be that good. Then I think that belief has kicked in the second half of the year.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Duke, UConn to rekindle March Madness rivalry with Final Four at stake

The NBA gave Luka Doncic one mulligan. The league wouldn’t grant the Lakers superstar a second.

Doncic will serve a one-game suspension because of technical foul accumulation, the NBA announced Saturday, sidelining him for Monday’s game against the Washington Wizards after he picked up his 16th technical foul of the season in the Lakers’ win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.

Doncic said he was trying to get away from Brooklyn’s Ziaire Williams when he pushed the Nets forward aside with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter. Doncic had just been called for an offensive foul while the Lakers were attempting to inbound the ball. Williams was shouting in Doncic’s direction. Doncic attempted to move past Williams and the 24-year-old from Lancaster then waved his arm behind him and slapped Doncic in the throat. Both were given technical fouls.

Doncic said referees told him his push was “exaggerated.”

“Which was obviously [not the case],” said Doncic, who scored 41 points with eight rebounds and three assists in the win.

This is the second time in a week that Doncic has faced the mandatory suspension after getting his 16th technical foul, but he avoided the fate after the NBA rescinded a technical he picked up against Orlando on March 21. The reversal kept Doncic available for the Lakers’ matchup with Eastern Conference-leading Detroit on March 23 in which Doncic scored 32 points, but missed the potential game-tying three at the buzzer of a tense 113-110 Lakers loss that ended a nine-game winning streak.

Read more:Lakers beat Nets, but Luka Doncic is facing suspension again after 16th technical

Monday’s game will likely not have the same drama.

The Wizards (17-56) have lost 17 of their last 18 games. The only win came against the Utah Jazz, another team that’s attempting to position itself for the lottery more than the playoffs. Washington will be without Trae Young (quad) and Anthony Davis (finger), the team’s two major midseason acquisitions.

With another bottom-feeding team coming to Crypto.com Arena, Doncic and the Lakers might actually benefit from resting the superstar. He played through left hamstring soreness Friday, and the Lakers (48-26) host the playoff-bound Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. The days between Friday’s win and Monday’s game will be the Lakers’ first two-day break since the All-Star Game.

Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, has charged into the most valuable player conversation by helping lift the Lakers into third place in the Western Conference. He has scored 30 or more points in 12 consecutive games, the longest such streak for his career.

The Lakers have won 15 of their last 20 games with Doncic averaging 35.5 points per game during the span. With 102 steals on the season, including three against the Nets, Doncic also became the first Laker since Kobe Bryant in 2012-13 averaging 30 or more points per game with 100 or more total steals.

The Lakers could also be without guard Marcus Smart, who has missed the last three games because of a right ankle contusion. He also suffered a hip injury in a separate fall against Orlando, but he is showing improvement and remains day-to-day, Lakers coach JJ Redick said Friday.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

LeBron James sees and hears everything. Need proof?

“I mean, it sells papers a lot easier — and clippings and podcasts — if you say, ‘LeBron, the team is better off without him,'” James told reporters earlier this month after the Lakers beat the Miami Heat. “A lot of people will view it. So, I get it…They’re absolutely wrong.”

LeBron notably left out blogs, so let’s put his notion to the test.

The notion that the Lakers were better off without LeBron had been floating around this season, in large part due to some concerning on/off splits. As Sam Amick of The Athletic noted, lineups featuring LeBron, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves had a minus-4.9 net rating in 238 combined minutes through Feb. 27 this season.

Since then, that trio has boasted a net rating of plus-21.1 in 287 minutes.

So, no, the Lakers are not better off without LeBron this season. Next season, though? That’s an entirely different question.

Why Reaves’ cap hold is the key

After last year’s trade deadline, we broke down why Austin Reaves was the key to the Lakers’ post-LeBron future. The TL;DR version: He’s going to be in a unique spot as a free agent—one which could greatly benefit the Lakers.

Reaves figures to sign a max or near-max contract this offseason once he inevitably turns down his $14.9 million player option for the 2026-27 season. However, since he’s not coming off a standard rookie-scale contract, he’ll count differently against the Lakers’ books than a former first-round pick would.

At $13.9 million this season, Reaves is earning more than the NBA’s average salary. Until the Lakers re-sign him or he signs elsewhere as a free agent, his cap hold will be 150% of his salary this year, or roughly $20.9 million.  

Based on the current $165 million projection for the 2026-27 salary cap, a max contract for someone with Reaves’ amount of NBA experience would start at $41.25 million. Reaves will count against the Lakers’ books as more than $20 million less than that at the start of free agency.

From there, it’s just order of operations. The Lakers figure to first spend their roughly $50 million in cap space — a figure which includes Reaves’ cap hold — before re-signing Reaves. Since they have full Bird rights on Reaves, they’re allowed to re-sign him to anything up to a max deal even if they’re over the salary cap.

The Philadelphia 76ers did this same trick with Tyrese Maxey during the 2024 offseason, which is what gave them enough cap space to sign Paul George in free agency. Maxey had a cap hold of only $13 million, but he wound up signing a max deal starting at $35.5 million after the Sixers spent the rest of their cap space. (In retrospect, they might have been better off not taking advantage of Maxey’s cheap cap hold.)

Much like the Sixers in 2024, Reaves’ below-market cap hold is a use-it-or-lose-it opportunity for the Lakers. Once he signs his next contract, he’ll be on the books for that amount moving forward. This offseason is their only chance to take advantage of the Reaves’ cap-hold maneuver.

That brings us back to LeBron.

How much less would LeBron take?

According to Spotrac’s Keith Smith, the Lakers, Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets are the only three teams projected to have at least $40 million of cap space this offseason. The Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons could each have at least $25 million, but there’s a chance both operate as over-the-cap teams instead.

So, barring a sign-and-trade, LeBron doesn’t have an obvious destination that can pay him anywhere close to a max contract this offseason. The Lakers could do so, but they shouldn’t.

If Reaves signs a max or near-max deal this offseason, he and Luka are going to gobble up more than 50% of the Lakers’ cap space each year moving forward. The Lakers will still have flexibility to retool around those two, but because of the Reaves cap-hold trick, this offseason is their best opportunity to either bring in a third star or land players on medium-sized contracts to round out their supporting cast.

The free-agent class has already begun to get picked clean by extensions, but plenty of starter-caliber players are still set to hit the market. They could throw big money at a restricted free agent such as Walker Kessler, Peyton Watson or Bennedict Mathurin, or they could go hunting for value among the unrestricted free agents. Either way, the opportunity to play alongside Luka and Reaves should make the Lakers an especially appealing destination. (Lakers Exceptionalism strikes again!)

If LeBron is willing to settle for the $9.4 million room mid-level exception, he wouldn’t cut into the Lakers’ spending power at all. They could spend their cap space first, then sign LeBron with the room MLE and re-sign Reaves. But if he wants more than that, he would eat into their cap space.

If the Lakers go on a deep playoff run this season, perhaps they’ll decide it’s worth bringing him back for a farewell tour even if it comes at the expense of their long-term future. However, they’ve spent all year signaling that they’re firmly focused on the Dončić era moving forward. That decreases the likelihood that they’d be willing to spend major money to bring back James, no matter how impactful he might still be.

So, Lakers fans should enjoy these next few months with LeBron. They very well might be his last in a Lakers uniform.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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