Category: NBA

For the second straight season, Duke men's basketball was rewarded the top-overall seed in the Men's NCAA Tournament.

The NCAA selection committee did not do the Blue Devils — who open March Madness on March 19 against 16-seed Siena — any favors with the teams they included in the East Region. The Blue Devils were paired with national championship contenders Connecticut and Michigan State and Big East champion St. John's, which is coached by Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino. There's also Kansas, which Duke beat in the Champions Classic, in the region.

Former Blue Devil and ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas pointed to the Spartans as the team that could provide some difficulty to Duke's path to the Final Four.

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"I think Duke makes it to the second weekend but they don't have the easiest of draws. St. John's is in their way. And Michigan State is in their way down at the bottom of that draw in their way," Bilas said on ESPN's post-NCAA Tournament bracket reveal show. "I think Michigan State's one of the most interesting seeded threes.

"... In my view, they're the most likely three seed to make a Final Four."

Michigan State earned a top-three seed in the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time under Tom Izzo on Sunday. The Spartans have one of the top point guards in the country in Jeremy Fears Jr., and a defense that is known to wear down opponents with the amount of attention they create inside the paint and around the rim.

REQUIRED READING: March Madness first round full schedule: NCAA Tournament dates, TV info

The earliest the Blue Devils could meet up with the Spartans is the Elite Eight on Sunday, March 29. To get there, Duke would have to beat Siena and either 8-seed Ohio State or 9-seed TCU in Greenville on the first weekend, and then any of 4-seed Kansas, 5-seed St. John's, 12-seed Northern Iowa and 13-seed Cal Baptist.

The Spartans have a tough path themselves to the Elite Eight. Izzo's squad would have to beat 14-seed North Dakota State in the first round, and then either 6-seed Louisville or 11-seed South Florida in the second round. Then they'd have to beat any of the likes of 2-seed UConn, 7-seed UCLA, 10-seed Central Florida and 15-seed Furman in the Sweet 16.

If Duke and Michigan State do meet up at Capital One Arena in The Nation's Capital in two weekends from now, it'd be a rematch of a non-conference meeting from December in East Lansing. Behind 18- and 12 points from Cameron Boozer and Caleb Foster, respectively, the Blue Devils were unable to earn one of their 17th Quad 1 wins of the season.

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Foster's availability for the NCAA Tournament, of course, is up in the air as Jon Scheyer said his guard is out for the 'foreseeable time' with a foot fracture before the ACC tournament.

Duke and Michigan State do have some recent history in the NCAA Tournament against each other. The Spartans upset the 1-seeded Blue Devils and Zion Williamson 68-67 in the Elite Eight of the 2019 NCAA Tournament thanks to a go-ahead 3-pointer from Kenny Goins. Duke then repaid the favor in the 2022 NCAA Tournament to send Michigan State home after the second round.

The Blue Devils are 14-4 in 18 meetings in the NCAA Tournament against the Spartans.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jay Bilas says Michigan State 'most likely' three seed to make Final Four

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Wes Enis scored 19 points on Sunday to help top-seeded South Florida beat No. 2 seed Wichita State 70-55 to win the American Athletic Conference Tournament and clinch a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012.

South Florida (25-8) has won 11 in a row and secured its first AAC Tournament crown. The Bulls have won back-to-back conference regular-season titles.

Izaiyah Nelson had 13 points, six rebound, three steals and two blocks for USF and Josh Omojafo scored 10.

CJ Brown threw an alley-oop to Nelson for a dunk that made it 10-8 a little more than six minutes into the game and the Bulls led the rest of the way.

Wichita State (22-11) twice in the second half trimmed its deficit to a point before Isaiah Jones and Enis hit back-to-back 3s to spark a 14-4 spurt that gave South Florida a 59-45 lead with 6 1/2 minutes to play.

Dillon Battie led the Shockers with 15 points and Will Berg added 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Kenyon Giles, the team's leading scorer this season (19.7 per game), finished with five points on 2-of-11 shooting, 1 of 7 from 3-point range.

Wichita State had its seven-game win streak — which dated to a 66-58 home loss to the Bulls on Feb. 11 — snapped.

Up next

Wichita State: Awaits a potential postseason invitation.

South Florida: Will be a No. 11 seed and plays Thursday against sixth-seeded Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

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The Golden State Warriors are hoping to get back in the win column tonight, but it’s going to be very difficult. Not only are they on the road, facing a far superior New York Knicks team, but they’re missing nearly every notable name on the roster.

Here’s the full injury report.

Warriors

Out — Steph Curry (right patellofemoral pain syndrome)

No new news here. Curry will miss his 17th straight game, and it’s unclear when he’ll be back, if at all this year.

Out — Draymond Green (left low back injury management)

Green has been gutting his way through lower back pain, but in this scheduled loss, and with another game Monday night, he’s finally getting some time to let it heal.

Out — Al Horford (right soleus strain)

The sick get sicker. Just when you thought the Dubs couldn’t get any more injured, Horford suffered an injury during Friday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. So it goes.

Out — Kristaps Porziņģis(general illness management)

After playing two straight games, Porziņģis is headed back to the sideline. He’s only played four times since coming to the Warriors at the deadline about six weeks ago.

Out — Jimmy Butler III (right ACL surgery)

Nothing new to see here. We probably won’t get much of an update on Butler’s recovery for about nine months.

Out — De’Anthony Melton (left knee injury management)

The Dubs play again tomorrow night, so Melton will likely play in that game.

Out — Moses Moody (right wrist sprain)

Moody will hopefully return at some point during the team’s six-game road trip, which kicks off tonight at Madison Square Garden. This will be his sixth straight absence.

Out — Seth Curry (left adductor strain)

Gotta feel for the younger Curry. This could have been a really fun season for him, and instead he’s played in just four games.

Knicks

Out — Miles McBride (pelvic core muscle surgery)

McBride is having something of a breakout season, averaging a career-high 12.9 points per game in his fifth season. But a core muscle injury suffered in late January will keep him out until the playoffs.

Enjoy the game, Dub Nation. It tips off at 5:00 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock.

The Washington Wizards play the Golden State Warriors tomorrow night. Let’s get to the preview.

Game info

When: Monday, Mar. 16 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Capital One Arena

How to watch: Monumental Sports Network, League Pass

Injuries: For the Wizards, Kyshawn George (elbow), Anthony Davis (hand, groin), Cam Whitmore (shoulder), and D’Angelo Russell (not with team) are out.

For the Warriors, Seth Curry, Al Horford, Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler are out. There are more players who are questionable because they are missing their road game against the Knicks at 8 p.m. ET tonight.

What to watch for

The Wizards are still losing which is good for their draft lottery hopes. They now are back home to host the Warriors, who will not have a full roster themselves. Golden State is 32-34 which is safely in play in tournament territory, but have lost six of their last seven games.

A note tomorrow: there is a high risk of storms coming through from tomorrow afternoon to tomorrow night. Though the storms may be widespread, the NBA doesn’t cancel for severe storms barring something extreme. So be careful if you decide to go to the game tomorrow.

HARRISON, New Jersey (AP) — South Africa won the 2026 men's World Rugby sevens series, holding out against a late rally from Fiji on Sunday to win the final at the last tournament of the regular season.

Fiji and South Africa were tied atop the season standings heading into the New York Sevens, making the final also a series decider.

South Africa scored the only try of the first half through Selvyn Davids and increased its lead to 10-0 with a try to Tristan Leyds two minutes into the second half.

Fiji rallied with a try to Terio Veilawa to cut the margin to 10-7 with two minutes remaining. The Fijians had the last possession of the match and were five meters from the South African line when a knock-on ended their attack and ensured South Africa won the final and the series.

“It was just a massive, massive defensive effort,” South Africa captain Impi Visser said. “Fiji brought out the best in us.”

“It's funny that it all came down to the final," added Visser, who played his 50th World Series match in the final. "It's like someone scripted it, and couldn't have scripted it better.”

New Zealand rallied from 21-5 down in the second half to edge Australia 22-21 in the women's final. Australia and New Zealand have contested all six finals on the World Series this season with New Zealand winning five.

New Zealand had already won the women's World Series title when it qualified for the semifinals, gaining enough points to establish an unassailable lead. The New Zealand Black Ferns still wanted to finish the regular season with a win and did so in remarkable circumstances.

For Australia, Teagan Levi scored two tries and her sister Maddison Levi scored one to give their team a 21-5 lead two minutes into the second half.

New Zealand rallied with tries to Alena Saili and Kelsey Tineti, who also scored in the first half, to make the score 21-15 and give themselves a chance of winning.

Jorja Miller won a penalty from a breakdown turnover in the last minute and Katelyn Vahaakolo scored the try close to the posts which was converted to give New Zealand the victory.

“I think for us, even before the game started, we knew it was all going to be about heart,” New Zealand captain Risi Pouri-Lane said. "Final footy can go either way and we all know that. But to grind it out when the odds may not be in your favor is what counts.

“But the belief within every single person beside you is huge.”

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

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo left Milwaukee’s game against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday after landing awkwardly as he completed a dunk late in the third quarter of the Bucks’ 134-123 victory.

Antetokounmpo briefly remained in the game and dunked again on Milwaukee’s next possession. He got fouled the possession after that and attempted a pair of free throws before heading to the locker room.

He didn’t play the rest of the way. Antetokounmpo ended up with 31 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists in 30 minutes.

“My guess is he hyperextended his knee, but I’m guessing,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said.

Antetokounmpo said he wasn’t planning on getting imaging. The two-time MVP said he believed he could have finished the game but chose to follow the advice of the Bucks’ training staff.

“I’m just going to go back home, sleep, see how I feel tomorrow, try to lift some weights,” Antetokounmpo said. “If I have a little bit of discomfort, then I’ll go from there. As of now, I’m not really bothered.”

The 31-year-old Antetokounmpo has missed a career-high 31 games this season. He’s had two extended absences because of strains in his right calf. He sat out the Bucks’ 122-99 loss at Atlanta on Saturday because of a sprained left ankle.

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

The Dallas Mavericks (23-45) defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers (41-27), 130-120, in their Sunday afternoon meeting. The rematch followed Dallas’ 33-point loss to the same team on Friday night. Cooper Flagg, Naji Marshall, and PJ Washington led the way for the Mavericks. Donovan Mitchell and Max Strus were the only two Cavaliers who showed up to play. I don’t love to see the Mavericks moving down in Draft Lottery odds, but it was a fun game for Dallas.

Dallas came to play at Cleveland, and the Cavs did not, spending the entire game trying to dig themselves out of a deficit they never overcame. Games like this make it hard to believe in Cleveland’s postseason chances, as the Cavaliers had the clear talent advantage across their roster.

Here are some noteworthy stats from Sunday’s win.

6: P.J. Washington steals

Washington had an incredible showing and was everywhere on both ends of the floor. Washington finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and a career-high six steals. He started at center for Dallas, and Cleveland had no answer for him in the paint. He tallied three makes from behind the arc, which is always nice to see. ‘Headband PJ’ may be a problem for the league.

27: Cooper Flagg points

Cooper Flagg followed Friday night’s 25-point performance with another physically imposing outing. He finished with 27 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists. He got into the paint with ease, and Sunday’s game was another great example of how dominant he is when he can get to the basket. He is a special player, and it has been awesome to watch how he dominates matchups against some of the league’s best defenders.

15: Dallas 3-pointers

Dallas shot 15-of-30 from three-point range against the Cavaliers, a completely out-of-character statistic for this team that led to an unlikely win. After Dallas shot 27% from three on Friday, Cleveland was uninterested in guarding the Mavericks at all in the rematch. The Mavs had their way from 3-point range, with Washington and Ryan Nembhard leading Dallas with three each. This is certainly not a trend Dallas will maintain to close the season, but it was one of the leading reasons for Sunday’s win.

The Mavericks are back in action on Monday night in New Orleans, where they will take on the Pelicans at 7 p.m. CT.

The New York Knicks (43*-25) host the Golden State Warriors (32-34) tonight at Madison Square Garden. The visitors are decimated by injuries, so look for the Knicks to take it easy tonight. You can safely flip back and forth from the Oscars.

Tonight’s tip off is 8 p.m. EST on NBC and Peacock. This is your game thread. This is Golden State of Mind. Please don’t post large photos, GIFs, or links to illegal streams in the thread. Treat each other respectfully. And go Knicks!

* Should be one more, but Cup finals are phantoms. 

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The San Francisco Giants were an out away from a perfect game and a strike away from a no-hitter before they were broken up by the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday in a spring training game.

Giants reliever Gregory Santos walked Cooper Pratt with two outs in the ninth. The next batter, Blake Burke, delivered a run-scoring double with two strikes. Santos struck out José Anderson to end the game.

So close.

Lefty Robbie Ray combined with four relievers to strike out 11 in a 7-1 win over the Brewers. Ray threw five innings and struck out eight. He has a 1.23 ERA with 15 strikeouts over five starts this spring.

Spring training no-hitters aren't all that common. The Baltimore Orioles threw a no-hitter last March against Pittsburgh.

The pitching gem for the Giants comes on a day when multiple media outlets reported that pitcher Hayden Birdsong's MRI revealed a Grade 2 strained right forearm strain along with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament. He's weighing his options, according to MLB.com.

“It’s certainly not best-case scenario, but hopefully we get best-case scenario of the unfortunate circumstances,” manager Tony Vitello said Sunday morning, according to NBC Sports Bay Area.

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

MIAMI (AP) — Gunnar Henderson will start at third base over Alex Bregman for the United States in Sunday's World Baseball Classic semifinal against the Dominican Republic, a decision that manager Mark DeRosa said was based on the pitching matchup against Luis Severino.

Henderson, a star shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles, is 7 for 9 in his career against the right-handed Dominican pitcher, with a home run, double and four RBIs. Bregman is 5 for 21 in the regular season against Severino with a homer and three RBI.

Henderson has also gone 5 for 10 with a double and a homer in two WBC games.

“Playing the hot hand right?” DeRosa said ahead of Sunday's semi. “Gunnar’s got numbers against Severino.”

DeRosa added he spoke on Saturday with Bregman, who has gone 2 for 11 in four games, about the benching.

“These guys like the lineup out the night before, so I was able to do that, and he was good with it," DeRosa said. "It’s game on.”

Will Smith will start at catcher over Cal Raleigh, who is hitless in nine plate appearances this WBC.

Sunday's game is expected to be a thrilling star-studded matchup, with the Dominicans bringing the hottest lineup in the tournament against arguably the best pitcher in baseball in Paul Skenes.

The Dominicans are 5-0 in the tournament, have outscored opponents 51-10 while batting .312. With 14 homers, they tied the WBC record set by Mexico in 2009.

“Skenes is one of the best pitchers today in the major leagues," Dominican manager Albert Pujols said. “But we also have one of the best offenses in this tournament, so it’s going to be power versus power. We’ll try to win.”

Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara will start on Tuesday if the Dominicans advance to the final regardless of who they face, Pujols said. Italy plays Venezuela in the semis on Monday night.

“Alcantara will be our pitcher no matter what,” Pujols said. "If God gives us that opportunity, if we move to the final, Alcantara will be the starter. I’m not going to change it no matter what, no matter if it is Italy or Venezuela. ... I trust Sandy, and I hope to be here talking with you on Tuesday.”

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

Now that the Men's NCAA Tournament bracket has been unveiled, we know the paths teams must take to reach Indianapolis and the Final Four.

Will it be all chalk like last year when all four No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four?

Will there by a surprise like NC State in 2024 and Florida Atlantic in 2023?

Selection Sunday winners, losers: Miami Ohio gets in, St. John's gets hosed

March Madness upset picks: These teams can bust your NCAA Tournament bracket

USA TODAY Sports' staff makes their Final Four picks. Check them out below. And be sure to sign up for USA TODAY's Bracket Challenge and Survivor Poll to test your hoops knowledge.

NCAA Tournament predictions, 2026 Final Four picks

Blake Toppmeyer

• East: Michigan State
• South: Houston
• Midwest: Michigan
• West: Arizona

Duke is the No. 1 overall seed, but the Blue Devils got placed in a loaded region. That leaves Arizona as the frontrunner to win the national championship.

Paul Myerberg

• East: St. John's
• South: Florida
• Midwest: Iowa State
• West: Arkansas

I’m banking on the Red Storm and Razorbacks carrying over their torrid finishes to the regular season. ISU has a relatively easy road to the Elite Eight, while Florida is the class of the South region and one of the safest bets to advance deep into March.

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Matt Hayes

• East: Duke
• South: Florida
• Midwest: Iowa State
• West: Arizona

Duke is a no-brainer. The most complete team in the tournament, with the best player in the tournament — unless Kansas stud Darryn Peterson decides to get serious. Arizona doesn't have a true superstar, but the Wildcats are talented throughout their lineup. Florida is long, they defend better than just about anyone and they're hot. The Cyclones are top 20 in offensive and defensive efficiency, and just a tick below Florida and Duke as the best defensive teams in the tournament.

Jordan Mendoza

• East: Duke
• South: Florida
• Midwest: Michigan
• West: Arizona

The No. 1 overall seeds have proven to be in a class above the rest of the sport. It's not going to be a cakewalk, but they all make it to Indianapolis to back-to-back all-No. 1 seed Final Four.

March Madness 2026 schedule 

The 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament will transpire over the next three weeks, which will end with the Final Four and the national championship game in Indianapolis.

Here’s a rundown of the schedule for the 2026 NCAA Tournament:

• First Four: March 17-18
• First round: March 19-20
• Second round: March 21-22
• Sweet 16: March 26-27
• Elite Eight: March 28-29
• Final Four: April 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
• National championship game: April 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness predictions: Final Four picks for NCAA Tournament 2026

The Dallas Mavericks rounded out a home-and-home against the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday afternoon. Unlike Friday’s matchup, Dallas was much more competitive in an 130-120 win.

Let’s get to the grades!

Ryan Nembhard: B

11 PTS / 3 REB / 3 AST / 2 STL / 0 BLK – 24 MIN

It has been a minute since Dallas started a conventional point guard and unfortunately Nembhard may give Jason Kidd reason to abandon the idea again. Nembhard only connected on one of his five first half shots, but heated up a bit after that. Dallas’ performance can’t be exclusively attributed to Nembhard, but even on average nights, he shows the value of having a true point guard orchestrating.

Max Christie: B-

9 PTS / 2 REB / 5 AST / 1 STL / 1 BLK – 29 MIN

Christie has had a pretty poor run of late, so his performance looked great by comparison despite not being particularly epic. He didn’t play all that much but managed to chip in on every major statistical category without doing hardly anything detrimental. Solid game he can hopefully build on, especially with a dunk and made three-pointer in the final two minutes of the game to nail down the win.

Naji Marshall: A

25 PTS / 5 REB / 7 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 32 MIN

Marshall led the way for Dallas in the first half, connecting on a ridiculous 85.7% of his seven shots while dishing five dimes.

Cooper Flagg: A

27 PTS / 6 REB / 10 AST / 0 STL / 2 BLK – 33 MIN

Sunday afternoon felt like a welcome back for Flagg who hasn’t quite been himself since returning from his mid-foot sprain. Against Cleveland, Flagg had a very well-rounded game, though he piled up turnovers (three) and fouls (four) at a high rate as well.

P.J. Washington: A+

20 PTS / 11 REB / 2 AST / 5 STL / 1 BLK – 33 MIN

Washington got the rare start at center for Dallas and although opposing center Evan Mobley had a nice night, Washington joined Marshall as the best players for Dallas in the early going and ultimately throughout. This was not a fluke – Washington was just dominant with the only mark against him being his total fouls committed. We’ll see if this is a one-off or is in fact Washington turning the corner on some relatively mundane games.

Marvin Bagley: B

6 PTS / 5 REB / 0 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK – 16 MIN

Bagley continues to impress even when his numbers don’t leap off the page. In his first eight minutes, he had three points, four boards and a block. He ended the day with a perfectly fine game for a backup, but was a bit of a hack-machine with four fouls

John Poulakidas: A

10 PTS / 3 REB / 0 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 15 MIN

Poulakidas had a personal 10-0 run to close the third quarter, made up of back-to-back three-pointers followed by a deep two-pointer. At this stage in the season and within the context of his overall game and playing time (and virtually zero performances to compare to), we’re going to show some generosity in an improbably win and reward the shooter for shooting well.

Final Thoughts

Even despite playing .500 ball over their last 10 games, this was an embarrassing loss for Cleveland against a somewhat patch-work Mavs team. The NBA is weird and oddities like this actually happen more often than one would think, but getting obliterated by a team that can’t win on the road and who has dragged themselves across the country for the better part of a month has to be a moment of thoughtful introspection for the Cavs. Credit to Dallas. Playing for nothing but the offseason, the Mavs brought it on Sunday afternoon.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.

Former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, now an analyst with CBS Sports, said the Tigers weren't rewarded for their strength of schedule after being left out of the NCAA Tournament field on Selection Sunday.

Pearl, who led Auburn to the No. 1 overall seed last season before retiring and handing off the duties to his son, Steven Pearl, also questioned SMU's resume as a Last Four In team. He said Oklahoma and Auburn, the first two teams out of the bracket, could've been deserving of a bit.

"Auburn beat three champions this year," Pearl said during the bracket reveal. "They beat Florida, they beat St. John's and they beat Arkansas. They played the toughest schedule in the country; don't know they were rewarded for it. It's hard to get a couple more SEC teams in when the SEC already has 10 teams in."

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Pearl acknowledged teams have to "win their way in or lose their way out." Auburn finished the season with a 17-16 record and stumbled at the end of the season, losing nine of its last 12 games.

Pearl said if any of the teams should've been left out of the bracket, it would've been SMU for him.

"SMU with a 191(-ranked) out of conference strength schedule," he said. "That, I don't know that they should've been rewarded. They only won five games away from home. For me, it would've been either Oklahoma or Auburn taking that last spot."

Pearl was critical of Miami (Ohio) in the lead up to the NCAA Tournament, stating he felt the RedHawks needed to win the MAC tournament to reach the big dance. Otherwise, Miami (Ohio) should've been left out despite going undefeated in the regular season.

Miami (Ohio) made the NCAA Tournament on March 15, and is facing SMU in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.

"Here's the deal," Pearl said. "Are we going to select the 68 most deserving teams? Or are we going to select the 68 best teams? If we're selecting the 68 best teams, then Miami (Ohio) is going to have to win their tournament to qualify as a champion, because as an at-large, they are not one of the best teams in the country, and that's going to be a difficult choice for the committee."

Auburn goes from Final Four to First Four Out in one season and now looks forward to 2026-27, when maybe Pearl won't need to argue for the Tigers to reach the NCAA Tournament.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bruce Pearl says Auburn wasn't rewarded for 'toughest schedule' by NCAA

DENVER (AP) — Grace Zumwinkle scored two goals, Taylor Heise and Britta Curl-Salemme added a goal apiece, and the Minnesota Frost beat the New York Sirens 4-3 on Sunday at Ball Arena as part of the PWHL’s Takeover Tour.

The Frost (9-3-3-4) have won three straight after being shut out, 4-0, at Montreal in their first game back from the Olympic break.

Anna Bargman and Paetyn Levis scored goals for New York (8-0-3-9) a little more than a minute apart in the third. Allyson Simpson added a goal about four minutes later that made it 4-3 with 3:01 left in the game.

Zumwinkle darted along the left wall, cut in along the goal line and flicked a shot behind goaltended Kayle Osborne that deflected off the crossbar and into the net to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead just past the midway point in the first period. Zumwinkle gave the Frost a 4-0 lead with 7:28 left in the second period.

Heise flicked a shot that deflected off Osborne's skate and slowly trickled into the net 22 seconds into the second period before Curl-Salemme made it 3-0 eight minutes later with a one-timer off a pass from Kelly Pannek.

New York killed each of the Frost’s four power plays and have killed 13 straight overall.

Casey O’Brien, who leads all rookies this season with 14 points and three power-play goals, did not play (upper-body injury) for the Sirens. Taylor Girard left the game in the second period due to an apparent knee injury.

The Sirens beat Ottawa 6-2 last time out to snap a six-game losing streak, the last two losses coming after the Olympic break.

Minnesota, which also beat the Sirens 3-2 in overtime at the Prudential Center on Jan. 16 and 6-2 at home Jan. 25, was 0-0-3-3 last season against New York.

Up next

Sirens: Play Wednesday at Vancouver in the second of a four-game road trip.

Frost: Hosts Ottawa on Wednesday.

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AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

When the Men's NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed Sunday, Miami of Ohio breathed a sigh of relief.

The RedHawks will take on Southern Methodist University in a First Four game as an 11 seed. It's the first tournament appearance for Miami since 2007.

The Redhawks have a 31-1 record, losing their first game of the season in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament against Massachusetts.

"Miami of Ohio was not the last team selected into the field," said Keith Gill, the Chair of the NCAA Men's Basketball Committee. "They came in before NC State, Texas and SMU."

SMU fell short against Louisville in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament on Wednesday.

The Midwest Region game will be played on Wednesday, March 18. The game time has not been determined.

The winner will play Tennessee in the first round.

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Is Miami of Ohio in March Madness?

Yes.

The RedHawks had an undefeated regular season, but an 87-83 loss to UMass in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament on Thursday put them at the mercy of the selection committee. Miami (Ohio) entered Selection Sunday as the last at-large team in the 68-team field in USA TODAY Sport's final bracketology.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Did Miami Ohio make NCAA Tournament? Are RedHawks in March Madness?