Category: Sports News

We really needed more proof, huh? Well, now we have it.

Miami (Ohio) belongs.

Not just in the First Four, but in the 64-team bracket most of us consider to be the real tournament.

The selection committee put Miami on the doorstep. Good enough. The RedHawks moved SMU out of the way and busted down the door en route to the first round.

In winning a First Four game, 89-79, with blistering shooting, Miami served more proof – seriously, why did anyone think we needed more proof? – that the best midmajor teams belong in the NCAA Tournament, even if they don’t win their conference tournament.

Miami poured in the points and buried one 3-pointer after another, one night after Texas and N.C. State piled up bricks. As Miami’s fans reveled in the stands after the latest deep bomb, it occurred to me that this was the most entertaining the First Four has ever been in 15 years of its existence in Dayton, Ohio.

Bruce Pearl pretends he 'expected' this performance from Miami (Ohio)

And all Bruce Pearl could do was chuckle like a cartoon character at halftime, with a silly grin on his face, after Miami drilled 10 first-half 3-pointers.

“This is kind of what we expected to see,” Pearl said.

Sure you did, Bruce.

Some of us might have expected this, but you didn’t. At least, Pearl acted as if he didn’t think much of Miami as he shilled for Auburn, which employs Pearl and his son.

Using his TNT-provided stage as a pulpit for propaganda, Pearl repeatedly trashed Miami leading up to the Tournament, shamelessly feigning that an Auburn team (coached by Pearl’s son, I’m sure that’s a coincidence) that barely finished above .500 would make a worthy tournament pick, while pretending Miami might finish last in the Big East.

That was a bigger load of bull even than anything Pearl’s ever told the NCAA.

Pearl couldn’t possibly have believed half the hogwash he served. He’s a lot of things, but he’s no idiot.

Still, Pearl’s relentless scrutiny of Miami kicked a hornet’s nest. More loons came out of the woodwork to question whether a 31-1 team deserved a bid, or whether it should go to a 12th-place team from a Power conference amid a woefully weak bubble.

Well, now Miami’s 32-1, after lighting up a Power Four opponent that couldn’t duck them.

Miami (Ohio) continues legacy of midmajor upsets in March Madness

And, we shouldn’t be surprised. We’ve seen this repeatedly, and not just from Miami. The best midmajors belong – of course they do. They don’t always prevail, but they win often enough in these games that nobody could have possibly believed Pearl’s nonsense that a Division I team with 30-plus victories would finish last in a Big East that’s not very good.

Miami answered all the naysayers, so emphatically that there’s really only one question left: How far can it go?

Consider No. 6 Tennessee on upset alert.

Who can forget VCU, in 2011, going from First Four to Final Four?

Wally Szczerbiak, anyone? The RedHawks of Wally World reached the Sweet 16 in 1999 as a 10-seed.

Or, how about Manhattan? The Jaspers were the last-team-in to what was then a 64-team bracket in 1995. Fran Fraschilla’s team, seeded No. 13, toppled Oklahoma.

“The tournament selection committee (is) not as dumb as people think,” Fraschillatold reporters afterward, adding that “it is nice to show people we deserve to be here and can play with anyone.”

The best midmajors keep proving that, too, even as their credentials are questioned.

Power Four teams hesitate to play teams like Miami in the regular season, and the little guy’s strength of schedule suffers, even as wins pile up. But, there’s no ducking the Miamis of the world in March, at least so long as the selection committee keeps recognizing that winning nearly all of your games warrants a bid, no matter what the bobbleheads say.

The late Billy Packer just about lost it on Selection Sunday in 2006 when George Mason slipped in as an at-large 11-seed. After George Mason rattled off four straight wins to reach the Final Four, in one of the greatest Cinderella stories ever, Patriots fans chanted Packer’s name.

And in the second half of this game, a pro-Miami crowd going bananas in the stands chanted, “Let’s go RedHawks! Let’s go RedHawks!”

I can think of another thing to chant.

Shut up, Bruce.

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: Miami Ohio March Madness win makes Bruce Pearl look silly

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Kaemyn Bekemeier had 22 points and 13 rebounds on Wednesday night, Lainie Douglas added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Missouri State beat Stephen F. Austin 85-75 at the women's First Four.

No. 16 seed Missouri State (23-12), which has won at least one game in each of its last four NCAA Tournament appearances, plays top-seeded Texas in the Round of 64 on Friday.

Missouri State shot 48% (33 of 69) and outrebounded SFA 50-30 to overcome 19 turnovers, which the Ladyjacks converted into 22 points.

Stephen F. Austin (25-10) has lost eight consecutive NCAA Tournament games since a 73-72 first-round win over Xavier in 2000.

Missouri State used a 9-0 run to take the lead for good late in the first half. Angel Scott capped the spurt with a 3-pointer that made it 45-37 with 1:55 to go in the second quarter.

Ashlyn Traylor-Walker scored 23 points and Aziyah Farrier had 13 points and nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals for SFA. Harmanie Dominguez hit three 3-pointers and finished with nine points. Dominguez extended her program record for single-season 3s made to 100 — third most in Division I this season.

Maiesha Washington scored 18 points, Kendal Brueggen had 13 points and nine rebounds and Faith Lee added 10 points for the Lady Bears.

Scott, who finished with three points, played two seasons for the Ladyjacks, helping them advance to the 2022 NCAA Tournament and the 2023 WNIT.

The Lady Bears are in the Big Dance for the 18th time and first since 2022, when they beat Florida State 61-50 in the First Four before losing 63-56 to Ohio State in the Round of 64.

Up next

Missouri State will try Friday to snap third-ranked Texas' seven-game win streak.

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The Fenway Sports Group, which is a business partner of LeBron James, is not expected to pursue the potential NBA Las Vegas expansion team, according to a report by The Athletic.

Las Vegas and Seattle are expected to be serious contenders for new NBA expansion teams.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the league will hold a vote at the board of governors meeting next week regarding the addition of new expansion teams in those respective cities. If approved, the league would target the start of the 2028-29 season as the first year of play for the new teams.

James had stated publicly for the past decade that he would be interested in joining the likes of Michael Jordan as a former player who became an NBA owner. In more recent years, he has especially expressed interest in owning a team in Las Vegas.

But with Fenway Sports Group "no longer pursuing NBA ownership, it is less likely that LeBron will pursue a team," The Athletic reported, citing a source.

The 22-time All-Star is currently playing his 23rd season and has not publicly decided on his future. He signed a multi-year contract with the Lakers in 2024 and is in the final year of that deal.

James began his partnership with FSG in 2021, making him a part-owner of several organizations, including the Boston Red Sox and the Liverpool Football Club.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LeBron James, Fenway Sports Group unlikely to pursue NBA expansion team

DALLAS (AP) — CJ McCollum scored 24 points, Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 22, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Dallas Mavericks 135-120 on Wednesday night for their 11th straight win.

Dyson Daniels had 19 points on 9 for 13 shooting and Jalen Johnson scored 17 points with 11 rebounds for the Hawks, who at 38-31 are in the middle of the race for a play-in playoff spot.

Atlanta hasn’t won at least 11 in a row since winning a franchise-record 19 straight during the 2014-2015 season. Their current streak is tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in club history.

Daniel Gafford came off the bench to lead the Mavericks with 24, P.J. Washington had 23 and Cooper Flagg added 17.

The Mavericks have now lost 11 of their last 13 and appear destined for the draft lottery at 23-47.

Atlanta's Onyeka Okongwo scored the first 10 points of the game and the Hawks never trailed. The score was 67-56 by halftime.

The Mavericks turned the ball over 18 times, seven more times than the Hawks.

Jonathan Kuminga hit a 75-foot basket in the win, the longest basket by a Hawk in the play-by-play era and the sixth-longest among all players in the play-by-play era since 1997-98, according to Elias Sports. The previous longest made basket by a Hawk was a 63-foot bucket by Jason Terry on Jan. 5, 2000.

Up next

Hawks: At Houston on Friday night.

Mavericks: Host the Los Angeles Clippers 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.

Plantar fasciitis has ended Egor Dëmin’s rookie season.

A successful procedure has the Nets guard already looking toward the offseason.

“Everything went well, and now it’s just the process of rehab and getting back on the court as soon as the season ends, as we planned,” Dëmin, 20, said in his first comments since being shut down. “Hopefully everything’s going to go in the right direction and I’ll be able to get back to work as soon as I can.”

Neither Dëmin nor Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernández would specify exactly what procedure the Russian guard underwent on his left foot, other than to say it was successful.

“Cortisone is typically the first line of injection treatment, but sometimes people utilize alternative types of injections like platelets [PRP] or stem cells or amniotic tissue injections,” Dr. Andrew Brief of the Ridgewood Orthopedic Group told The Post about the plethora of non-surgical options available to Dëmin.

“PRP most likely is in the treatment algorithm if someone hasn’t responded to everything else.”

Dëmin, who was Brooklyn’s first lottery pick in 15 years, has been dealing with the issue since last offseason, and it has cropped up on and off during his rookie campaign.

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“[The procedure] was successful. I’m not qualified to explain exactly what it was, but it was to make his plantar fasciitis better and find the best way for him to take the next step and get stronger,” Fernández said before his tanking Nets suffered a 121-92 blowout loss to the defending champion Thunder at Barclays Center. “So it went well, and he’ll be ready to go at some point in the offseason, which is great because then you have all this time to work, get better and go into summer league.

“Yeah, [summer league is the goal]. But right now, what we’re doing is — what’s the next step? Right now he’s not on the court, so I don’t think we’ll have any timeline; but that’s the idea, yeah, at some point.”

Dëmin averaged 10.3 points, 3.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds in a solid rookie campaign, the first Net since 2019 picked for the Rising Stars at All-Star Weekend.

He set an NBA rookie record by hitting a 3-pointer in 34 straight games. But eventually the plantar fasciitis took its toll.

“I just really want to play basketball. And sometimes for athletes, when you know you can run, that’s enough for you to just go and play, right?” Dëmin said. “And I don’t want to say people would let me go and play with injury; that’s not what I’m saying. It’s just about me trying my best to recover as fast as I can.

“And in the season, it’s pretty hard for me, being a rookie, being in the process of that many games for the first time. I did feel it at some point. Going to the All-Star, I’m like, ‘OK, it’s a privilege to be in All-Star Weekend.’ But I’m like, ‘OK, that’s another two days of some sort of work.’ So it’s just been a long season even though I didn’t finish it. So that’s a factor, not just for my foot, but for anybody in anything.

“Yeah, I’m taking this … I don’t want to say time off, but this time being off the court with a positive approach where I’ve really tried to take advantage of it, where I can have more time in the lifting room without worrying about being sore and not being able to play the same as I could. So I’m just trying to kill as much as I can right now [since] it’s not going to affect my game because I’m not playing. So there’s a lot of advantage from not playing, even though I really like basketball and I’d prefer to be [playing]. But everything is happening for a reason and I believe in it, and I’m trying to be intentional with whatever I have in front of me.”

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Ayo Dosunmu scored 23 points and had nine rebounds in his second straight start in place of the injured Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves took charge in the second quarter to cruise past the Utah Jazz 147-111 on Wednesday night.

Rudy Gobert had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Julius Randle also scored 21 points and had eight assists for the Timberwolves, who have won two in a row without their All-Star guard.

Minnesota announced Tuesday that Edwards will miss one to two weeks with right knee inflammation before being re-evaluated. The Timberwolves beat the Phoenix Suns 116-104 behind 32 points from Randle.

Brice Sensabaugh scored 41 points, two off his career high, to lead the Jazz, who have lost four in a row and 12 of their last 14.

Ace Bailey added 17 points for Utah, which went 0-3 on its road trip. Walker Kessler (shoulder), Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee) and Jusuf Nurkic (face) remained sidelined.

The game was tight early, with eight lead changes and three ties before the Timberwolves took control. With Utah leading 28-27, Bones Hyland made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:22 left in the opening quarter — the start of an 8-0 run by Minnesota.

The Timberwolves led 72-58 at halftime and ran away in the second half while building a lead as much as 38 points in the fourth quarter.

Minnesota won three of its four matchups this season with Utah.

Up next

Jazz: Host Milwaukee on Thursday night.

Timberwolves: Host Portland on Friday night.

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

The Hawks looked to keep rolling in the Lone Star State, with a pair of games at the Mavericks and the Rockets on Friday. No change to the usual starting lineup for tonight.

Onyeka Okongwu came out of the gates and scored the game’s first 10 points all by himself. Here was a montage of those buckets:

Onyeka is EN FUEGO

First 10 points of the game 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/AR71yEbpoG

— Atlanta HaWWWWWWWWWWks (@ATLHawks) March 19, 2026

But the Hawks’ early edge was short-lived, as the Mavericks crushed the Hawks on the offensive boards early on. That propelled them to pulling roughly even with Atlanta by midway through the quarter.

With the bench unit it, Jonathan Kuminga shook off a rough two games to give the Hawks some offensive punch. This corner three came from good ball movement via Jock Landale:

Kuminga in the corner 🎯 pic.twitter.com/3rdBHQRSfA

— Atlanta HaWWWWWWWWWWks (@ATLHawks) March 19, 2026

After one quarter, the Hawks led 37-30.

Atlanta’s bench put together an immediate 7-0 run in the following quarter to open up a 14-point lead, with plays like this from Zaccharie Risacher to CJ McCollum acting as catalysts:

Zacch steal ⏩ CJ bucket pic.twitter.com/fGYpblqmVt

— Atlanta HaWWWWWWWWWWks (@ATLHawks) March 19, 2026

Atlanta tightened the screws defensively and on the rebounding front in the second quarter to protect their lead. The bench handed things off back off to the starting unit to take them home in the first half.

After some scrappy play to close the half, the Hawks led 67-56. Dyson Daniels and Onyeka Okongwu were tied for the scoring lead by the halfway point at 10.

CJ McCollum turned on the scoring faucet in the next period, getting his early and often. Jalen Johnson chipped in to create his opportunity:

Jalen interception👉 CJ +1 pic.twitter.com/lMWmPJ44o5

— Atlanta HaWWWWWWWWWWks (@ATLHawks) March 19, 2026

Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Johnson paired up once again to provide a two-headed offensive punch in the third quarter. Kuminga got to his spots over and over, and Dallas had no one to contend with his downhill pressure.

Kuminga even hit maybe the shot of the year in the entire NBA with this insane heave (pass?) at the end of the period:

KUMINGA WHAT HAVE YOU DONE??? 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/Wq8FDVi8vX

— Atlanta HaWWWWWWWWWWWks (@ATLHawks) March 19, 2026

After 36 minutes, the good guys had the advantage, 101-82.

The fourth quarter was fairly routine, with the Mavericks never cutting the lead down to single digits. The Hawks calmly salted away their 11th straight win, 135-120, to move to 38-31.

CJ McCollum was the Hawks’ highest scorer with 24, Jonathan Kuminga put in 16 points from off the bench, and Jalen Johnson finished an assist shy of a triple-double with 17 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds.

The streak is tied for the third longest in the entire NBA this season.

The Hawks now aim for third place on their own with a matchup against the Houston Rockets on Friday.

The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Dallas Mavericks 135-to-120.

This game started on the wrong foot, and the Mavericks never quite found their level. If you blinked (or spent the first couple of minutes looking at your phone), you might’ve missed the Hawks starting the game by opening up a 10-to-0 lead within the game’s first two minutes. The Mavericks woke up a little at that point and worked their way back into it, but that was how things went all night — Atlanta would surge ahead, and Dallas would get just close enough that you didn’t want to turn the game off, but the Mavs were never threatening to win this one.

Daniel Gafford had a big game, scoring a season-high 24 on nine-of-10 shooting and four offensive boards.

For Atlanta, CJ McCollum led the way with an efficient 22 points on eight-of-12 shooting.

Just you wait

There are few things less productive as a sports fan than complaining about refs, and that’s not even necessarily the aim here, but Cooper Flagg’s whistle has nowhere to go but up.

As a rookie, Flagg has been damn-near stoic when it comes to showing visible frustration on the floor, but after a n0-call on a layup in the first quarter left Coop bleeding from the forearm, he did have an extended conversation with the nearest referee, showing off the wound like a courtroom prosecutor bringing the juror’s attention to “Exhibit A.”

He’s a rookie. Sure, the same rules should apply equally to every player all the time, but in the real world, it’s just a matter of fact that guys need to earn their lumps. Cooper is certainly doing that this year. His hesitation to let it fly from deep and instead drive to the cup as often as possible almost seems purposeful. Like he wants to make sure he pays enough dues this season so that next year, his whistle will be undeniable.

Big ups, big guy

Daniel Gafford, a guy who started the year vying for minutes with Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively, has been charged with shouldering the vast majority of the minutes at center. He’s played through some injuries and logged a bunch of minutes, but he’s still able to deliver solid performances in games like tonight.

He ended up with 24 points on a nine-of-10 shooting, plus a nearly perfect six-for-seven from the line and eight total boards.

Ideally, he’s a guy who could come off the bench (which he actually did tonight, as the Mavs started a wacky forward-heavy lineup with Flagg, Naji Marshall, and PJ Washington all starting) and play a hyper-efficient game around the basket with a top-tier facilitator. That’s still in the cards in the near future, but while we’re still in the present, his steadying presence as Dallas’ premiere Big is commendable.

BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 23 of his 32 points in the first half and the Boston Celtics rolled to a 120-99 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

Jayson Tatum added 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who have won three straight.

It was Tatum’s fifth time scoring at least 20 points in the six games he’s played since making his season debut following Achilles tendon surgery. It also marked his third double-double.

Golden State cut a 21-point third-quarter deficit to 11 early in the fourth, but Boston responded with a 17-6 run to push the lead back to 22 with just more than five minutes to play.

Gary Payton II and Pat Spencer both had 14 points to lead the Warriors, who have lost six of seven. They are 6-13 since star guard Stephen Curry was sidelined with a right knee injury. Draymond Green and Gui Santos scored 13 apiece.

Kristaps Porzingis, who played for the first time in TD Garden since winning a championship with Boston to cap the 2023-24 season, finished with 11 points and five rebounds.

THUNDER 121, NETS 92

NEW YORK (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points and Oklahoma City beat Brooklyn for their 10th straight win.

Gilgeous-Alexander was 8 of 9 from the field and was subbed out with 4:28 remaining in the third quarter with the Thunder leading by 38. The reigning NBA MVP extended his NBA-record of 62 consecutive road games with at least 20 points.

Jared McCain had 26 points and Aaron Wiggins finished 17 for the Thunder, who led by as many as 42 and never trailed in the second game of a back-to-back.

Jalen Wilson had 15 points off the bench and rookie Nolan Traore was the lone starter in double figures with 13 for the Nets, who have lost their last five games and 15 of 17. Leading scorer Michael Porter Jr. (ankle) missed his fourth straight game.

Oklahoma City shot 53% from the field and 40% from long distance to improve to a league-best 25-8 on the road.

TRAIL BLAZERS 127, PACERS 119

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Deni Avdija scored 23 of his 32 points in the first half Wednesday night and Donovan Clingan added a career-high 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help Portland hold off hard-charging Indiana.

Portland won the for the third time in four games as the 10th-seeded Trail Blazers close in on clinching a Western Conference play-in spot in what figures to be a wide-open postseason.

Indiana extended the longest losing streak in its NBA franchise history to 15 games. The Pacers’ last win came Feb. 11.

Avdija also had 11 rebounds for Portland, which matched its highest-scoring half of the season with 79 points in the first two quarters. Clingan was 3 of 5 on 3-pointers and had two blocks.

Ivica Zubac led the injury-riddled Pacers with 18 points. Jalen Slawson had 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

RAPTORS 139, BULLS 109

CHICAGO (AP) — RJ Barrett scored 23 points, Brandon Ingram had 18 and Toronto pounded Chicago for their third consecutive win.

Toronto shot 57% (48 for 84) from the field and put seven players in double figures in the opener of a five-game trip. Scottie Barnes had 18 points and seven rebounds, and Ja’Kobe Walter also scored 18.

The Raptors led by as many as 38 while completing a sweep of their three-game season series against the Bulls.

Matas Buzelis scored 19 points for Chicago, which lost for the third time in four games. Collin Sexton had 14 in his return from a left leg injury.

Bulls guard Josh Giddey was held to nine points, three assists and no rebounds. The 23-year-old Giddey had been on a tear, posting five triple-doubles while averaging 19 points, 12 assists and 11.7 rebounds over his previous seven games.

PELICANS 124, CLIPPERS 109

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saddiq Bey scored 25 points, Trey Murphy added 23 and New Orleans overcame an early 18-point hole to beat Los Angeles.

Dejounte Murray had 17 points and 11 assists, while Zion Williamson and rookie Derrick Queen each scored 14 for the Pelicans, who received a standing ovation as the final seconds wound down on their sixth straight victory at home and ninth win in their past 13 games overall

Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and John Collins added 18 for the Clippers, who dropped a game below .500 (34-35), but maintained a tenuous hold on the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference standings, a half-game ahead of Portland.

Bey hit five of 10 3-point shots to help New Orleans go 16 of 37 (43.2%) from deep. The Pelicans also made 20 of 21 free throws, with Queen making all nine of his.

Pelicans rookie guard Jeremiah Fears chipped in 11 points off the bench.