Category: Sports News

The Boston Celtics hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday night in a nationally televised match up. Minnesota had not won a game in Boston for 25 years, and they obliterated the Celtics in the fourth quarter. Boston missed 12 straight shots to start the fourth quarter as they recorded their 24th loss on the season, 102-92. Jaylen Brown had 29 points to lead the C’s, Jayson Tatum was scoreless in the first half but finished the game with 16 points, Derrick White chipped in 15 points.

Boston started the game with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Sam Hauser, and Neemias Queta. The Timberwolves started Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, Ayo Dosunmu, Donte DiVincenzo, and Jayden McDaniels. Anthony Edwards was unavailable for the visitors following a MRI on his right knee due to inflammation.

Derrick slipped into the lane to score the game’s first points as he got off a quick shot over Rudy Gobert. Jaylen Brown drove and scored over McDaniels. JB got a steal and passed full court to Hasuer for an easy layup to go up 6-2 early. Minny started off shooting just 1-6 to start the game. JB was on fire to start with, back-to-back buckets as Boston went up 11-2.

Jayden McDaniels finally stuck the Wolves’ second bucket with a line drive two-pointer. The visitors scored a pair of quick baskets to close the Celtics’ lead back to 11-8. Scheierman and Pritchard were the first C’s off the bench for Boston as White and Hauser took an early seat. Queta was blocked by Gobert but got the ball back and muscled it home over Randle in the key for his score of the game.

After his fantastic game in Memphis, Luka Garza got the nod as the first big man off the bench with Queta taking a seat. Brown drove with an up-and-under and was looking for his eleventh point in the quarter, but Gobert blocked him for his third of the night as the last line of defense for Minny.

In a low-scoring first quarter, both teams were struggling to shoot; Minnesota was just 26 percent from the field, Boston a fraction better at 38%. Jaylen Brown scored 11 of the team’s 23 points as Boston took a 9-point lead after one quarter, 23-14.

Brown and Tatum started the second quarter on the bench as Derrick White returned to the court. He wasted no time, hitting a triple followed up by a Baylor Scheierman corner trey to start the third as Boston went on a 10-0 run. The bench mob was proving to be effective for Boston as the home team went up, 31-20.

Hauser blocked a three-point attempt, and Derrick White slipped into the key to score his seventh point of the night. Jayson Tatum was struggling with the shot early, the All-Star scoreless to start, missing on his four shot attempts.

Luka Garza was whistled for an offensive foul on a blown screen, Gobert dunked it home as Minny came racing back into the contest, down just 3 points, 33-30. Dosunmu’s wing triple laced the net and tied scores at 33 all. Boston was stuck in mud int he second quarter after taking an early eleven point lead.

Derrick White was super open in the key with 4 and half minutes to go in the half, he scored on a back cut and dunk. Boston was not taking care of the ball in the half, and Minny had ratcheted up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, the C’s with 10 uncharacteristic first half turnovers.

JB was the C’s best player in the first half, he drove and spun home a circus shot reverse lay in and drew a foul. Brown would have 17 points in the first half on 6-13 from the field, Boston down 44-47 as Bones Hyland nailed a triple at the buzzer to end the half.

Jayson Tatum scored his first points of the game to start the 3rd quarter with a drive and layup over Rudy Gobert. JT followed that up with a step-back triple over Randle as he was finally starting to find a groove. Tatum stole the ball at half court for another layup; he had 7 quick points in the first 2 minutes of the third.

Tatum stepped into a second triple of the game as he shot over the taller Gobert, who was caught flat-footed. Brown hit a pair of free throws, and Pritchard rattled home a corner three in front of the C’s bench as Boston took a 63-54 lead.

Tatum had 13 points and counting in the third with five and a half minutes to go. Minny was running the floor and not going away, outscoring Boston in a third-quarter run, with the C’s up by just 3 points, 69-66. Pritchard hit a corner triple, and Brown flashed through the key for a two-handed dunk as Boston regained a scoring buffer.

With Rudy Gobert on the bench taking a breather late in the third, the smaller Wolves were running and gunning, Hyland and McDaniels providing the scoring punch for the visitors. After three it was a tight contest, Boston up by just one point, 77-76.

Both teams traded buckets to start the fourth quarter. It was Bones Hyland who was the story for Minny as he put the visitors on his shoulders to take a seven point lead, 88-81. Joe Mazzulla had to call a timeout as the Wolves went on a 10-0 run to silence the TD Garden. Naz Reid hit consecutive baskets as the Wolves had 16 straight points, 81-94.

Boston would need to dig out of a big hole with 5 minutes to go and after missing 12 straight shot attempts. Jayson Tatum broke the streak as he scored a layup and was fouled, Minny up by 10 points. The sixth placed Minnesota Timberwolves continued to pile up the points and close things out strong on the road. Joe Mazzulla emptied the bench to end it, with Shulga, Bassey and Harper Jr., getting late minutes.

Tonight’s game marks the first of three home games, Boston next host the Oklahoma Thunder on Wednesday.

For the second time in only a handful of hours, the 2026 NCAA Tournament had a game decided with a go-ahead bucket in the final five seconds.

And this time, it knocked out the reigning national champion and one of the four No. 1 seeds.

An Alvaro Folgueiras 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining lifted No. 9 seed Iowa to a 73-72 upset victory over Florida on Sunday, March 22.

REQUIRED READING: Florida basketball stunned by Iowa in March Madness Round 2 upset

The win pushed the Hawkeyes into their first Sweet 16 since 1999, where first-year coach Ben McCollum's team will face Big Ten rival Nebraska in a matchup that, unlike the schools' football games, will feature no punting. It marked the ninth time since 1979 that a No. 9 seed has defeated a No. 1 seed.

The thrilling conclusion to the win and the ramifications of the upset unsurprisingly drew a spirited reaction among fans and media members.

Here’s a sampling of what was being said on social media after the game:

Social media reacts to Iowa's upset of Florida

Looking at my bracket right now 😑 https://t.co/dpJAey2mhkpic.twitter.com/qcK0JDHDhe

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 23, 2026

This is the Sweet 16 matchup that the Midwest prayed for

Nebraska vs Iowa

Nationally, I don’t think people understand how great this is

This is war

— Will Compton (@_willcompton) March 23, 2026

This is March!

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 23, 2026

UPSET OF THE TOURNAMENT.

OH MY GOODNESS.

IOWA STUNS THE FLORIDA GATORS IN TAMPA.

THIS! IS! MARCH!

— Jake Marsh (@JakeMarsh18) March 23, 2026

Ben McCollum was coaching Northwest Missouri State two years ago in the D-2 tourney.

Last year he took Drake to the NCAA tourney.

This year he's taking Iowa to the Sweet 16.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 23, 2026

Ben McCollum is a WIZARD. That Iowa roster has NO business beating that Florida team.

But it happened.

March happened. Again.

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 23, 2026

pic.twitter.com/u6MFbkQ2ad

— No Context College Basketball (@ContextFreeCBB) March 23, 2026

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How social media reacted to Iowa upset of Florida in march Madness

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Rebecca Leslie scored on a power play 12 seconds into overtime to give the Ottawa Charge a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Victoire on Sunday night.

Part of the PWHL's Takeover Tour, the game attracted a capacity crowd of 15,321 fans to Canada Life Centre.

Leslie scored with Montreal’s Abby Roque serving a penalty for slashing late in the third period.

Gabbie Hughes opened the scoring for Ottawa at 5:37 of the second. Nicole Gosling tied it with 8:40 left in the period.

Gwyneth Philips made 20 saves for Ottawa (5-7-1-9). Ann-Renee Desbiens stopped 26 shots for Montreal (10-4-2-5).

Up next

Victoire: At Minnesota on Wednesday night.

Charge: At Seattle on Sunday.

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

The Knicks took it to the Washington Wizards on Sunday night with a dominating 145-113 win at MSG for the team's sixth consecutive victory.

Here are the takeaways...

-- New York was off and running from the opening tip in this one, scoring on the first possession of the game and never looking back. They scored 32 points in the first quarter led by Jalen Brunson's 12 and led for the entirety of the frame. The Wizards got close a few times and even tied it for a brief moment in the second quarter, but the Knicks followed that up with an 18-4 run that crushed any chance of a Washington win.

-- By halftime, New York led by 16 points and was firing on all cylinders. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with a game-high 26 points and was a monster on the glass with 16 rebounds. Josh Hart filled the stat sheet with 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals and Mikal Bridges had a game-high plus-minus rating of plus-28 in his 30 minutes of action.

-- After scoring 68 points in the first half, the Knicks were even better in the second half and put up a ridiculous 77 points. They shot 58.5 percent from the field and 53.1 percent from deep. 

-- With the help of Towns as well as Mitchell Robinson, New York also dominated the interior. The Knicks outrebounded the Wizards, 48-28, and put up 64 points in the paint compared to Washington's 38. Robinson joined KAT with a double-double of his own off the bench in just 17 minutes and New York emptied its bench to give some of its reserves extended minutes.

-- With the game already in the bag, Tyler Kolek still got the Garden on its feet at the end of the game by going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and scoring 11 points in five minutes. Jeremy Sochan was also able to make a difference in his time on the court, grabbing six rebounds in eight minutes.

-- For the Wizards, who have now lost 16 in a row, their leading scorer was Jaden Hardy who had 25 points.

Game MVP: Josh Hart

The do-it-all guard once again did it all with his 16/6/4 stat line on an efficient 5-for-9 from the floor (3-for-3 from three) in 28 minutes.

What's next

The Knicks have a day off before getting right back to it with a game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.

When the NBA conducts its annual draft lottery in May, the Knicks will get screwed out of a top-10 for the second time in three years. In 2024 Dallas pissed away a postseason shot to avoid sending the Knicks a lottery pick that year; the basketball gods have since exacted vengeance upon the Mavs. Washington was making some noise earlier this season for the first time in years. If their first-round pick isn’t top-8, it goes to the Knicks. So the Wizards became the first team ever to acquire two All-Stars midseason with zero intention of playing either, and have, according to plan, resumed normal service. That is to say, sucking.

The gods may punish their shenanigans someday. Tonight behind 60/53/95 shooting, the Knicks punished the Beltway bozos 145-113. Not a one of the 14 ’bockers to suit up saw so many as 30 minutes of run. If Tom Thibodeau were the coach the five starters would still be playing five minutes after the final buzzer. New York led wire-to-wire and by as many as 33 in as stress-free an NBA game as you’ll find. Washington was without Alex Sarr, the suspended Justin Champagnie and promising rookie Tre Johnson, though that’s hardly a hardship when you’re selling losing as the roots of winning.

The Knicks outscored the Wizards 64-38 in the paint, by 26 on 2s and nine at the foul line. Second-chance points? 26-11 to the home team. Karl-Anthony Towns put up the quickest 26 and 16 a human being can. Though if you’ve been paying attention, KAT was apt to pad his stats.

One of the fun things about being a sports fan is how often the story you expect to see unfold deviates entirely from the script. Even more fun is when your team is way better than the other one and they really should kick some ass, then they go out and do. We watched the Knicks be the Wizards for a long, long time. Much nicer look on other teams.

Russell Richardson will have your recap. The Knicks are really good. The Wizards? They’re losing, they’re tanking and they ain’t cutting their fans no discount, a joke of a franchise taking the Joker’s words to heart: if you’re good at something, never do it for free.

SAN DIEGO –  By the time the basketball rolled off the tips of his right hand, St. John’s guard Dylan Darling was moving so fast toward the basket that he didn’t even see if the ball went in the hoop.

But he heard the noise that followed: The final buzzer sounded. The crowd roared.

And that’s how he knew. He had just won the game for St. John’s on a banked-in layup as time expired to beat No. 4 seed Kansas Sunday in the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament 67-65.

“I didn’t actually watch it go through the net,” Darling told USA TODAY Sports in the hallway outside the St. John’s locker room after the game. “But I heard everybody’s reaction.”

He raised his arms in triumph right afterward. And then he got tackled by his teammates on the baseline as the Red Storm celebrated their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999. No. 5 seed St. John’s next will play No. 1 seed Duke on Friday in Washington, D.C.

But it’ll be hard to top this in terms of sheer panedemonium at the end.

Here’s how it went down, according the players and Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, who is taking his fourth team the regional round in the tournament.

∎ Darling, a transfer from Idaho State, hadn’t made a shot all game before the buzzer-beater. He missed on his four previous attempts - all from 3-point range.

∎ The ball went in even though the left handed Darling shot and dribbled the ball with his right.

∎ Darling even asked his coach, Rick Pitino, to let him make that play at the end before he did it.

“This is the amazing thing, and the funniest thing I've ever been involved with,” Pitino said.

The final sequence for St. John’s and coach Rick Pitino

St. John’s never trailed and led by as much as 14 points in the second half before Kansas surged at the end to tie the game at 65-65 on two free throws from freshman guard Darryn Peterson with 13 seconds remaining.

St. John’s got the ball back then with a chance to win. But Kansas had four fouls to give before it would force the Red Storm to the free-throw line.  Meanwhile, the clock was ticking with no timeouts left, leading Darling to give some feedback to St. John’s coach Rick Pitino.

What should his team do on the final play?

Pitino listened with amusement to the player he calls “Bells” because he has “balls the size of church bells.”

“We're going to run a play, but they've got fouls to give,” St. John’s coach Rick Pitino said afterward.  “And Bells come up to me and says, ‘Run power,’ which is a high, back-screen pick-and-roll.  So I walk away and I said, `Wait a second.  He hasn't scored a bucket, and he wants to run a play for himself.’ I'm thinking as I'm walking, but he's Bells.  And not only did he do it, he went with his right hand. So real proud of him because to want the ball when you haven't made a shot is unbelievable.”

'He hadn't done a damn good thing the whole night'

After the Jayhawks committed four fouls to disrupt the Red Storm’s final possession, St. John’s forward Bryce Hopkins inbounded the ball to Darling with 3.9 seconds left. He took the pass in the backcourt and went straight for the hoop, dribbling three times with his right hand away from his Kansas defender, Elmarcko Jackson.

“He got downhill, and I was kind of trailing the play just in case he missed the layup,” Hopkins told USA TODAY Sports after he inbounded the ball to Darling. “I was gonna be there for the rebound, hopefully, and try to put a tip back in.”

He didn’t need to.

“As soon as Bells said to me to run power, I knew he could get to the rim because he hadn't done a damn good thing the whole night,” Pitino said. “So I knew he was going to do it.”

The St. John’s locker room was loud afterward

Hopkins and St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor each scored 18 points for St. John’s. Ejiofor was near the top of the 3-point arc ready to set a screen when Darling fielded the inbounds pass. He didn’t have to do much but watch.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God! Big Bell strikes again,’” Ejiofor told USA TODAY Sports afterward. “That’s what he’s done all season.”

Darling didn’t think there was time for anything else. He could have passed the ball to the corners if necessary, or tossed it to Ejiofor if he didn’t see an opening. There still wasn’t much time.

“I saw the lane, and I just went for it,” Darling said.

It might be the last 'cruel' play for Kansas coach Bill Sefl

It might even send Kansas coach Bill Self into retirement. The Hall of Fame Jayhawks coach said afterward he hadn’t made up his mind about that after experiencing recent health issues.  He’s won two national championships, just like Pitino. This loss stings.

“One of the things that makes it so great is that it can be great,” Self said. “But it can also be cruel.”

By contrast, Pitino said he was “jubilant.”

“We've taken another step now,” said Pitino, 73. “So it's just awesome.  Proud of our guys, and now it's just starting. The fun is just starting.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rick Pitino reveals St. John's buzzer-beater play against Kansas

SAN DIEGO –  Hall of Fame Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self said Sunday March 22 he hasn’t decided if he will return for another season after his team got beat by No. 5-seed St. John’s on a buzzer-beating layup in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Self, 63, has experienced some health concerns in recent years and was briefly hospitalized in January.

March Madness scores: Buzzer-beater, monster upset and more nail-biters

“No, I haven't decided,” Self said in the postgame news conference at Viejas Arena. “I'll get back and visit with family. I've had obviously some issues off the court health-wise.  And that will be discussed. But I love what I do.  I want to feel good while I'm doing it, though. We'll get back and we'll discuss that when we get back.”

His No. 4-seeded Jayhawks had just suffered a 67-65 loss, preventing them from reaching their first Sweet 16 since 2022, when they went on to win the national championship.

It was a tough loss to swallow. Lefthanded St. John’s guard Dylan Darling took an inbounds pass with 3.9 seconds left, drove to hoop with his right hand and banked the ball in as time expired to win the game.

Self also was hospitalized last year and two stents inserted during a heart procedure. In 2023, he experienced chest tightness and had concerns about his balance as his team was preparing for a Big 12 tournament.

He has won more than 800 games in his career, including two national championships at Kansas in 2008 and 2022.

If he does retire, it won't be because of what happened against St. John's. He made it clear Sunday that his decision will be about his health.

"My career ain't going to be based on one game," Self said.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kansas coach Bill Self may retire after crushing loss due to health issues

NEW YORK (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 16 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored 23 points and the New York Knicks beat the Washington Wizards 145-113 on Sunday night for their sixth straight victory.

Josh Hart made all three 3-point shots and added 16 points as New York handed Washington its 16th straight loss. Mikal Bridges had 14 points and six assists, while Mitchell Robinson came off the bench to make all five shots and finish with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 17 minutes.

The Knicks rang up 77 points in the second half against one of the NBA's worst teams and shot 58.5% from the floor and 53% from 3-point range. They also made 18 of 19 free throws (94.7%).

Tyler Kolek played about 5 1/2 minutes in the blowout and went 4 for 4, including 3 for 3 behind the arc, and scored 11 points after pouring in 42 while playing for the Knicks' NBA G League team earlier in the day.

Jaden Hardy made seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points for the Wizards. Anthony Gill had 18.

The Knicks led 68-52 at halftime, then made nearly 62% of their shots in the final two quarters and led by 33 points in the fourth.

The Knicks beat the Wizards for the 12th straight time, their second-longest winning streak in the series. New York beat Washington 15 straight games between 1992-95.

The Wizards played without forward Justin Champagnie, who was suspended one game by the NBA for fighting and escalating an on-court altercation that spilled into the seating area during a loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday.

Up next

Wizards: Visit Utah on Wednesday.

Knicks: Host New Orleans on Tuesday.

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

This was finally what a contender against a tanker is supposed to look like.

For almost two weeks, the Knicks had been playing down to their opposition, repeatedly squeaking by NBA bottom-feeders.

But this was appropriately a laugher that was comfortable pretty much the whole way.

This firmly matched the two teams’ places in the standings, as the Knicks blew out the Wizards 145-113 Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.

It extended the Knicks’ win streak to six, and with the Celtics’ loss, brought the Knicks to just a half-game out of the second seed in the East.

It marked their sixth of seven straight games against teams under .500.

Five of those games — including Sunday’s clash — came against teams in the bottom three of their conference.

The Wizards entered Sunday being outscored by an average of 11.3 points per game, the worst mark in the league.

Sunday was their 16th straight loss.

And they didn’t even have Alex Sarr, the 2024 No. 2 overall pick and the only legitimate talent suiting up for the Wizards these days.

Mitchell Robinson, after the Knicks escaped the Nets by just one point on Friday, challenged his teammates to better respect their opponents despite their record and get off to better starts.

And there was no slow start on Sunday for the Knicks, which had been a recurring theme of late.

They jumped out to a 10-point lead with 5:05 left in the first quarter.

“We talked about it,” Brown said. “Our biggest thing is making our opponent feel us and we did a better job in that area. I thought we did a nice job moving the ball and trying to take the right shots. … I thought overall, it was a lot better than what we’ve done in a couple of games.”

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• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NBA STANDINGS AND KNICKS STATS

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A brief lull in the beginning of the second quarter allowed the Wizards to tie the game, but the Knicks responded with a 16-2 run to take a 14-point lead.

By just over a minute into the third quarter, the Knicks led by 20. By the start of the fourth quarter, the lead was up to 24 points.

They were incredibly efficient — the Knicks shot 58.5 percent from the field and 53.1 percent from 3-point range as the no-name Wizards offered almost no resistance on the defensive end.

It only took the Knicks three quarters to surpass 100 points.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson paced the scoring with 26 and 23 points, respectively. Brunson had 12 in the first quarter to ensure the Knicks came out of the gates better than they had recently.

Towns added 16 rebounds as well.

Brunson did not have to play at all in the fourth quarter.

Towns was able to check out with 8:15 left.

“I think we came out and we played our style,” Brunson said. “They had a decent run where they tied the game back up, but after that we got the lead, played well with the lead and didn’t look back after that.”

Mikal Bridges, with Landry Shamet (knee soreness) out and not there to steal any of his playing time, finished with 14 points — his most since he scored 15 on March 4.

Josh Hart, after missing Friday’s win over the Nets with runner’s knee, recorded 16 points, six rebounds and four assists.

There was not a big need for much from the bench until garbage time, though Robinson did add 10 points — on a perfect 5-for-5 from the field — along with 10 rebounds.

Tyler Kolek put on a show to close the game with 11 points in five minutes.

OG Anunoby was the only starter who didn’t reach double figures.

“Our ability to take good 3s was huge,” Brown said. “Good night on both ends of the floor.”

The Knicks have one more game against lowly opposition in this stretch, though the Pelicans are a bit better than the Wizards, Nets, Pacers or G League Warriors.

Then comes the tough part, when they hit the road and face a surging team in the Hornets, the defending champion Thunder and the tough Rockets.

Sunday’s cakewalk should have been the norm during this stretch, but too often — for a supposed contender — they had to sweat out wins.

There was no stress this time around, however.

This is how it’s supposed to look.

NEW YORK (AP) — Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves for his NHL-leading seventh shutout of the season, Bo Horvat scored the only goal on the first shot of the game and the New York Islanders moved back into a playoff spot with a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night.

Sorokin bounced back a night after he allowed six goals on 32 shots before being pulled in New York's 7-3 loss at Montreal. The shutout was his franchise-record 29th and Sorokin tied his single-season high set in 2021-22.

Horvat scored 1:25 into the game, taking a pass from Anders Lee and beating Jet Greaves with a snap shot. It was the earliest goal scored in an Islanders 1-0 victory in franchise history.

The Islanders snapped a two-game skid that knocked them briefly out of a playoff spot. With 85 points, they're in the second wild-card position in the Eastern Conference and tied with the Blue Jackets. Columbus is in third place in the Metropolitan Division because it has played one fewer game than New York.

Greaves finished with 21 saves for Columbus, which had its four-game winning streak and 12-game points streak stopped.

Lee appeared to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead with 7:54 remaining, but Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness challenged the goal and the call was overturned on video review when it was ruled that Lee interfered with Greaves.

Shortly after the Islanders' goal was waved off, Sorokin made saves on in-close attempts by Sillinger and Marchenko.

The Blue Jackets pulled Greaves with just over two minutes left, but Sorokin — who had 13 saves in the third period — and the Islanders held on.

Up next

Blue Jackets: Visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

Islanders: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.

___

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

On the final day of the first week of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, the reigning national champion saw its dream of a repeat come to an end.

In arguably the biggest upset of the opening week of the tournament, No. 9 seed Iowa knocked off No. 1 seed Florida 73-72 thanks to a 3-pointer from Alvaro Folgueiras with 4.5 seconds remaining.

The Hawkeyes had led by as many as 12, but saw the Gators claw back to take a two-point lead with eight seconds remaining after Isaiah Brown split two free throws.

Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz took the inbound pass and had a two-on-two in front of him, after Florida had opted to press and Stirtz’s primary defender, Boogie Fland, gambled to try to get a steal. As Stirtz took the ball up the court near the 3-point arc, Gators forward Thomas Haugh bit to cut off Stirtz’s path to the basket, leaving Folgueiras wide open in the corner to knock down the go-ahead 3 with four seconds remaining.

ARE. YOU. JOKING.

IOWA LEADS. THIS IS MARCH. #MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/sNDHTqaGj1

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2026

Florida had a chance to pull out a win, but was unable to even get a shot off, with Xaivian Lee driving to the basket and trying to dump it off to Haugh, only for an Iowa defender to stick his hand in to block the pass as time expired.

IT'S ALL OVER! THE CHAMPS GO DOWN 🤯

IOWA IS HEADED TO THE SWEET 16! 😱 #MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/I7DldUMrjD

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2026

With the win, Iowa earned a trip to its first Sweet 16 since 1999, a milestone it reached in just its first season under coach Ben McCollum.

The Gators became the first No. 1 seed to lose in the tournament this season.

Folgueiras' triple was one of two game-winning shots Sunday, with St. John's guard Dylan Darling giving his team a 67-65 victory over Kansas earlier in the day on a layup as time expired.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Iowa basketball upsets Florida in March Madness with 3 heard 'round the world

DALLAS (AP) — Reilly Smith scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:38 left in the third period and the Vegas Golden Knights beat Dallas 3-2 on Sunday night, denying the Stars' bid to clinch a playoff berth.

Vegas' Mitch Marner skated into the high slot and his shot ricocheted off two Dallas players and landed near Smith, who scored from close range past a defenseless Casey DeSmith. The deciding goal came after the teams played more than seven minutes without a whistle.

Brayden McNabb and Ivan Barbashev also scored for Vegas, which snapped a three-game skid and won for just the third time in nine games. Adin Hill made 13 saves for the Golden Knights, who outshot Dallas 33-15.

Dallas' Wyatt Johnston set a franchise single-season record with his NHL-leading 23rd power-play goal. Johnston held the mark for the most in a season since the Stars moved to Dallas in 1993-94. His latest moved him past Dino Ciccarelli (1986-87) for the most for the Minnesota-Dallas franchise.

Justin Hryckowian also scored for Dallas (43-16-11), which is five points behind Western Division-leading Colorado (102). The Avalanche lead the NHL and Western Conference with a record of 46-13-10. DeSmith stopped 30 shots as the Stars lost for the third time in four games. Sam Steel had two assists.

McNabb opened the scoring at the 4:01 mark of the first period, carrying the puck out of his own zone, splitting two defenders and beating DeSmith low to the glove side.

Johnston scored his 38th of the season on a power play at 10:55 of the second and and Hryckowian put the Stars ahead with his 11th of the season at 16:48.

Barbashev tied the game at 2, scoring on a power play at 16:48 of the second after Nils Lundkvist was sent off for slashing. Barbashev took a feed from Brett Howden and scored from a tough angle near the side of the net.

Up next

Golden Knights: At the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.

Stars: Host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.

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

The Washington Wizards lost to the New York Knicks on Sunday night, 145-113. It’s their 16th straight loss, tying a franchise record that they have done numerous times.

Washington didn’t have a bad night offensively, but they let the Knicks shoot even better combine that with a rebounding differential that made the Wizards look silly, well, yeah, it’s no surprise that the Wizards got their butts handed to them tonight, like most of the last month.

Jaden Hardy led the Wizards with 25 points. Karl Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 26 points, playing just under 26 minutes overall.

The Wizards are off until Wednesday when they continue their long road trip to Salt Lake City. They’ll play the Utah Jazz. Tip off is at 9 p.m. ET. See you then. Hopefully we won’t see the Wizards make franchise history, but I’m not holding my breath.