Chattanooga Mocs (17-14, 11-6 SoCon) at Troy Trojans (20-13, 14-6 Sun Belt) Troy, Alabama; Monday, 7 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Troy and Chattanooga square off in the National Invitation Tournament. The Trojans' record in Sun Belt games is 14-6, and their record is 6-7 in non-conference games.
Kentucky Wildcats and Kansas State Wildcats meet in NCAA Tournament second round
Kentucky scores 75.8 points while outscoring opponents by 13.0 points per game. The Kansas State Wildcats are 14-6 in Big 12 play. Kansas State scores 79.4 points and has outscored opponents by 21.4 points per game.
Warren leads Florida against UNLV after 28-point game
Florida Gators (17-17, 7-12 SEC) at UNLV Rebels (26-7, 17-3 MWC) Las Vegas; Sunday, 5 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Florida faces UNLV after Jeriah Warren scored 28 points in Florida's 83-71 victory against the Northern Iowa Panthers. UNLV ranks second in the MWC in rebounding with 34.6 rebounds.
Missouri State Bears play the Minnesota Golden Gophers in second round
Minnesota Golden Gophers (21-11, 8-11 Big Ten) at Missouri State Bears (26-8, 17-5 MVC) Springfield, Missouri; Sunday, 3 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Missouri State takes on Minnesota in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bears are 17-5 against MVC opponents and 9-3 in non-conference play.
Duke Blue Devils and Oregon Ducks square off in NCAA Tournament second round
Oregon Ducks (20-11, 10-9 Big Ten) at Duke Blue Devils (27-7, 17-4 ACC) Durham, North Carolina; Sunday, 12 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Blue Devils -14.5; over/under is 124.5 BOTTOM LINE: No. Duke and Oregon square off in the NCAA Tournament second round.
Villanova visits Saint Joseph’s (PA) after Bascoe’s 24-point outing
Saint Joseph's (PA) ranks second in the A-10 in team defense, giving up 56.3 points while holding opponents to 38.6% shooting. Villanova ranks seventh in the Big East with 20.9 defensive rebounds per game led by Denae Carter averaging 4.1. Saint Joseph's (PA) averages 7.0 made 3-pointers per game, 2.0 more made shots than the 5.0 per game Villanova allows.
Texas Longhorns and Illinois Fighting Illini play in NCAA Tournament second round
Illinois Fighting Illini (22-9, 11-8 Big Ten) at Texas Longhorns (32-3, 17-2 SEC) Austin, Texas; Monday, 2 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: No. Texas and Illinois square off in the NCAA Tournament second round.
Oklahoma Sooners and Iowa Hawkeyes meet in NCAA Tournament second round
Iowa Hawkeyes (23-10, 12-9 Big Ten) at Oklahoma Sooners (26-7, 13-6 SEC) Norman, Oklahoma; Monday, 4 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Sooners -4.5; over/under is 158.5 BOTTOM LINE: No. Oklahoma squares off against Iowa in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
South Carolina Gamecocks square off against the Indiana Hoosiers in second round
Indiana Hoosiers (20-12, 11-9 Big Ten) at South Carolina Gamecocks (31-3, 18-1 SEC) Columbia, South Carolina; Sunday, 3 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Gamecocks -22.5; over/under is 136.5 BOTTOM LINE: No. South Carolina squares off against Indiana in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Seton Hall hosts Portland after Shearer’s 28-point game
Portland leads the WCC scoring 76.6 points per game while shooting 43.9%. Seton Hall is shooting 38.6% from the field this season, 2.5 percentage points lower than the 41.1% Portland allows to opponents. Portland has shot at a 43.9% clip from the field this season, 2.5 percentage points greater than the 41.4% shooting opponents of Seton Hall have averaged.
Louisiana Tech plays Texas Southern in NIT matchup
Texas Southern Tigers (17-15, 15-5 SWAC) at Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (16-15, 9-11 CUSA) Ruston, Louisiana; Monday, 7:30 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Louisiana Tech plays Texas Southern in the National Invitation Tournament. The Lady Techsters are 9-11 against CUSA opponents and 7-4 in non-conference play.
LeBron James returns from injury, but Lakers look lost in blowout loss to Bulls
There was less than a second left in the first quarter when LeBron James went to the sideline to inbound the ball. Sensing a moment to get the hottest player in the building, Luka Doncic, one more shot, the Lakers rushed their new star into the game.
Doncic hustled to the scorer’s table, unwrapping the heat pack from his lower back, unsnapping his warmup pants and zipping off his jacket.
James then fired the ball down the floor. But instead of it finding Doncic or any Lakers player, it badly curved toward the courtside seats, a screwball turnover in a game littered with mistakes.
Doncic, the player the Lakers acquired to fix their narrow operating margins, scored with ease Saturday night, making three-pointers from all over the court. He finished with 34 points, a carryover from a multi-week stretch of dominant offense.
Read more:Bronny James credits focus on his game for career-best 17 points during loss to Bucks
But everyone else? Back at full strength with James and Rui Hachimura playing for the first time in two weeks, the team looked like a group of strangers, badly beaten 146-115 by a Chicago team nine games under .500.
It was the most points the Lakers allowed this season.
And Doncic was far from perfect, all of his shot-making undone by seven turnovers and a disengaged defensive performance that helped the Bulls run away.
In the first half, the Lakers (43-27) were slow-footed, maybe a tax they needed to pay playing in their seventh game in 10 days. Their effort against Coby White in the first quarter was lacking, the Bulls guard quickly catching fire and matching Doncic bucket for bucket.
The Bulls (31-40) made 78.6% of their two-point shots in the first half, the Lakers' defense providing no resistance. They didn’t stop Chicago at the rim. They didn't stay in front of them on the perimeter. And once they got caught in rotations after switching, the Lakers moved like they had cement in their sneakers.
The Lakers' overall effort ticked up in the second half. The bad news? Somehow the defense was even worse, the Bulls scoring 81 points as they began to make shots from all over the court.
White finished with 36 and rookie Matas Buzelis had 31 points for Chicago. Josh Giddey nearly recorded a quadruple-double for the Bulls, finishing with 15 points, 17 assists, 10 rebounds and eight steals. The Bulls had seven players with at least 12 points and an eighth who scored nine.
James, in his first game after missing two weeks with a groin strain, looked badly out of rhythm on both sides of the court. He scored 17 but turned it over five times. Austin Reaves had 25 but couldn’t help the Lakers get stops. And Hachimura, limited to 18 minutes, looked out of sorts off the bench and only scored five points.
The Lakers play the Orlando Magic on the road Monday.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
No. 1 seed Houston holds off Gonzaga comeback
LJ Cryer matched a career high with 30 points, including two free throws with 14.2 seconds left, and No. seed Houston held on to beat eighth-seeded Gonzaga 81-76 on Saturday night to reach the Sweet 16 for the sixth straight NCAA Tournament. J'Wan Roberts added 18 points, and Milos Uzan made two last free throws with 2.1 seconds left to give the Cougars (32-4) their 15th consecutive win and push them into a regional semifinal against fourth-seeded Purdue on Friday night in Indianapolis.
March Madness Saturday recap: John Calipari’s Sweet 16 redemption, Big Ten’s perfect start ends, is JuJu OK?
In his first season post breakup, John Calipari is back in the Sweet 16. Kentucky will look to match him there on Sunday.
Tennessee is March Madness dancing to program-best 3rd straight Sweet 16 with 67-58 win over UCLA
Chaz Lanier made 4 of 5 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, and No. 2 seed Tennessee advanced to a program-record third straight Sweet 16, beating seventh-seeded UCLA 67-58 in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night. Lanier also set the Tennessee single-season record for 3s with 120, topping the 118 by Chris Lofton in 2007-08. Lofton was in the stands at Rupp Arena to witness Lanier's performance.