In a college sports landscape where resume is so important, loyalties don't just lie with teams anymore. They lie with conferences as well, even if it's to push an agenda.
With that in mind, every conference wants to believe it is the creme de la creme. The SEC showed its depth for the second year in a row by sending 10 teams to the Men's NCAA Tournament, the Big Ten fielded nine, and the Big 12 sent eight. The ACC also sent eight teams, whereas the Big East sent just three.
Other multi-bid conferences include the West Coast Conference, the MAC, and the Atlantic 10.
Of course, beyond them are the auto-bid conference tournament winners, the single-bid conferences who annually send one team. How did these teams fare, and who is moving on to the second round? Here's a breakdown of the records across the board for all 31 college basketball conferences.
Power 4 Men's NCAA Tournament records
The SEC is leading the way among the Power 4, with only Georgia and Missouri suffering losses in the opening round. First Four team Texas was able to defeat former Big 12 conference-mate BYU and AJ Dybantsa, while Tennessee unseated regular season undefeated darlings Miami (Ohio).
In the Big Ten, Wisconsin suffered an upset at the hands of High Point, whereas Ohio State lost to TCU to open the tournament. The rest of the conference was able to advance. The Big 12 lost BYU and UCF, while the rest of the conference advanced despite scares to Kansas and TCU. The ACC struggled, with Duke being forced to play all 40 against Siena and North Carolina suffering a devastating loss at the hands of VCU.
Conference
Record
SEC
8-2
Big Ten
7-2
Big 12
6-2
ACC
4-4
Other multi-bid conference records in March Madness
One and only one conference stands undefeated after two days of March Madness: The dreaded Atlantic 10.
Indeed, Josh Schertz's Saint Louis squad completely dismantled Georgia in the first round, while VCU pulled off the aforementioned comeback against North Carolina. The West Coast Conference lost Saint Mary's and Santa Clara in Round 1, while Gonzaga continues to dance, and the MAC dropped Miami and Akron.
While the Big East saw UConn and St. John's move on, Villanova lost to Utah State, capping off the Wildcats' season.
Conference
Record
Atlantic 10
2-0
Big East
2-1
West Coast
1-2
MAC
0-2
Other conferences March Madness records
Beyond the eight conferences to send multiple teams, there were 23 other conferences represented. Of those, the only single-bid conferences to advance to the second round were the Big South's High Point, which stunned No. 5 Wisconsin, and the Mountain West's Utah State, which took down Villanova as a No. 9 seed. That puts them at 2-21 as far as single-bids go.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Alex Killorn broke a tie off a scramble at 9:09 of the second period, Lukas Dostal stopped 29 shots and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Utah Mammoth 4-1 on Friday night to pad their Pacific Division lead.
After the puck was cleared off the goal line behind goalie Vitek Vanecek, the Ducks' Sennecke ended up with it on the left side and slipped a pass to Killorn for a shot before Vanecek was set. Killorn also had two assists.
Ryan Poehling, Cutter Gauthier and Mikael Granlund also scored to help the Ducks — playing without suspended defenseman Radko Gudas — rebound from a 3-2 overtime loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday night at home. They moved three points ahead of Edmonton in the division.
Gudas served the fourth game of a five-game suspension for kneeing Auston Matthews in a loss at Toronto on March 12. Matthews tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season.
Poehling tied it with 6:23 left in the first, beating Vanecek with a nifty move on a short-handed break. Poehling took a pass from Killorn, sped down the left side, cut right and shot against the grain to the left.
The Ducks put it away with two empty-net goals, with Gauthier scoring his 36th goal on the first.
Dylan Guenther scored his 34th goal of the season for Utah — at 1:48 of the first of the Mammoth's second shot on goal.
Utah remained six points ahead of Los Angeles for the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
The Mammoth opened a four-game homestand. They had won two straight on the road, beating Dallas 6-3 on Monday night to snap a four-game losing streak and topping Vegas 4-0 Thursday night.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - MARCH 20: Brandin Podziemski #2 of the Golden State Warriors reacts against the Detroit Pistons during the third quarter at Little Caesars Arena on March 20, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Golden State Warriors lost to the Detroit Pistons 115-101 on Friday night, in a game that was not as close as that score would suggest. The Dubs were outsized, outmuscled, out-talented, and out-executed.
We’ll get through the grades quickly tonight, because it wasn’t pretty. Frankly, the Warriors did not play as well as the score suggested: it was only that close because of a garbage time run, and because the Pistons had one of their worst shooting nights from distance all season, which was emphatically not due to anything Golden State’s defense did.
As always, grades are based on my expectations for each player, with a “B” grade representing the average performance for that player.
Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. Entering Friday’s games, league-average TS was 58.0%.
The best thing that Santos did in this game was sub back in after leaving the contest early and heading to the locker room. Thankfully he seemed just fine, and wasn’t hampered for the rest of the game.
He wasn’t the problem for the Warriors in this one, but he wasn’t the solution, either. He had a well-balanced stat line, but that includes a lot of turnovers and fouls. He did some good things on offense, but wasn’t particularly efficient.
In the opening minutes of the game, we were treated to the total 2026 Draymond Green package. On the defensive end of the court, he took a gutsy charge when he stepped in front Jalen Duren, a very, very large human who was moving at a violent pace. Then, on the ensuing offensive possession, he made a truly atrocious pass for a turnover. On the very next possession, he defended brilliantly at the rim and then recovered in time to get the rebound. A few seconds later, he made a disastrous outlet pass for a turnover.
The Warriors chances are reflected in Green’s performances, and it was pretty clear from this one that nothing is going to come of this season.
Grade: D Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists.
Porziņģis didn’t play well in this game, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that he left the contest in the second quarter with back pain, and didn’t return. Porziņģis didn’t sound terribly concerned after the game, saying the issue was back spasms and that he was quite stiff. He said he probably won’t play on Saturday against his former team, the Atlanta Hawks, but didn’t rule it out. Unfortunately, given his history, it seems much more likely that he misses a handful of games than that he misses none.
Melton was the only offense the Warriors had early in the game. He scored the first nine points for the Warriors (including the first five scored by either team), and by the time he took a seat on the bench for his first rest, he was the only player on the team to have scored. Unfortunately, things went from good to very bad after that. He stopped scoring, though he didn’t stop shooting. He couldn’t penetrate Detroit’s physical defense, and finished with four turnovers and no assists. His defense wasn’t good. Just a forgettable game for him.
Grade: D Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team.
It speaks to how poorly the Warriors played that it really felt like Podziemski was a non-factor on offense, and then I looked at the box score and realized he led the team in scoring and was one of the only players to have above-average efficiency. Go figure. Sorry, Podz. My bad.
All things considered, he was arguably the team’s best player, though it still wasn’t a great performance.
Grade: B Post-game bonus: Led the team in points, tied for the team lead in rebounds.
Relative to prior expectations, it’s been an absolute offensive explosion for Payton lately. Where are all these buckets from? He’s scoring so efficiently, because he’s feasting on cuts to get easy buckets at the rim. It’s pretty phenomenal, and a joy to watch. It also might result in him playing himself out of Golden State’s budget for next year. We’ll see.
Cryer returned to the court after a few days off to heal up his hamstring. He instantly helped the offense in his return. His shooting is no joke, and the spark and spacing it provides is critical on a team that is missing Steph Curry and traded away Buddy Hield. He deserves to be on a guaranteed contract next season, whether with the Warriors or with someone else.
Grade: A- Post-game bonus: Tied for the best plus/minus on the team.
Not a very good game for Pat. He tried hard, but just couldn’t get anything going. He did a few good things, but it always seemed to require a whole lot of effort.
Richard had a sneaky good game of the bench. It was a tremendously efficient scoring game, as he was very selective with the shots he took … and then made them. He wasn’t quite as impactful as usual on defense, but he was still very good on that end of the court. Would like to see more rebounds and fewer turnovers, but all things considered, a strong game.
Yurtseven was kind of scattered in this game. It reminded me of pickup basketball … he was all over the place, for better and for worse. He made some interesting shots, but missed a whole lot. He grabbed a ton of rebounds and loose balls but kept turning the ball over. Strong YMCA vibes, in good and in bad.
Grade: C+ Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in rebounds, tied for the best plus/minus on the team.
With respect to Leons, the most notable part of his game was a hilariously on-brand for Steve Kerr move: after Porziņģis left the game, Leons entered the starting five in the second half … despite not playing in the first half, and finishing with the fewest number of minutes on the team (other than Porziņģis). Zaza Pachulia would be proud!
Anyway, Leons played pretty well, I thought.
Grade: B+
Friday’s inactives: Jimmy Butler III, Seth Curry, Steph Curry, Al Horford, Moses Moody, Quinten Post, Nate Williams
ORLANDO, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 07: Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen #23 of the Utah Jazz looks on against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Kia Center on February 07, 2026 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Utah Jazz are closing in on the end of the final tanking season of what has been an up-and-down rebuild. With just 12 games left, the Utah Jazz have some interesting injuries to deal with as well as a few new signings and releases.
Lauri Markkanen injury update
According to Sarah Todd, Lauri Markkanen will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Jazz's Lauri Markkanen wasn't on the most recent road trip (neither was Keyonte George). Markkanen has been out since 2/26. The latest is that he will again be re-evaluated in two weeks. That technically puts us ahead of the end of the season…but we'll see.
Two weeks would be with a few games left in the season, and it’s not likely the Jazz want to risk Markkanen for meaningless games, nor do they want any unnecessary wins to finish the season. They’re already struggling enough to lose games with Ace Bailey and Cody Williams finding their stride.
Utah Jazz sign Kennedy Chandler to 10-day contract
According to Shams Charania, the Jazz have signed the G-League assist leader, Kennedy Chandler.
The Utah Jazz are signing NBA G League assists leader Kennedy Chandler to a 10-day contract out of the NBA G League, agent Ryan Davis of WME Basketball tells ESPN. Chandler returns to the NBA after playing his 2022-23 rookie campaign in Memphis as a second-round pick.
In the 2025-26 G-League season, Chandler has averaged 15.3 points, 8.9 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in 33.9 minutes per game. He’s 23 years old and stands 6’0” with a 6’5.25” wingspan. That size will likely be the thing that holds him back, but you never know, Chandler could potentially impress the Jazz with these few games left.
Longtime Yankees announcer and ESPN Radio host Michael Kay pushed back strongly against criticism directed at USA captain Aaron Judge following his lackluster performance in the World Baseball Classic.
Kay called out fans who questioned the star outfielder’s effort and production on the international stage, namely in the championship game, when he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
Aaron Judge walks back to dugout during the 2026 World Baseball Classic Championship between Venezuela and United States at loanDepot park on March 17, 2026 in Miami, Florida. Getty Images
Kay addressed the backlash during his radio show, taking issue with what he described as an overreaction to a small sample of games.
“We can go up and down that All-Star-laden-Hall-of-Fame-to-be lineup, and they all crapped the bed. Every single one of them except for Harper,” Kay said this week. “But the one guy who’s going to get villainized and scrutinized and criticized, the one guy that everybody decides, ‘I’m going to pile on this guy,’ is Aaron Judge, who if you look at his numbers in the WBC, probably had as good a WBC as anybody that played on Team USA.”
Judge went 6-for-27 with two homers and five RBIs in the tournament.
Michael Kay during the New York Yankees Old Timers Day on August 24, 2024 at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
He hit .222 with an .845 OPS — outside of the team’s top five in each category.
“Derek Jeter has five World Series championships and he’s called overrated,” Kay said. “Aaron Judge has no World Series championships, and he’s called overrated. The haters are out there in full force. That’s just the way of the world right now.”
Kay added, “As I said this [Wednesday], I blame Yankee fans that try to find the warts on this guy. Those are the people I don’t get,” Kay said. “And I know you’re starved for another championship. I get it. [It’s] been since 2009. I understand. But you’re Yankee fans and you see what he does to get you into the postseason on a yearly basis.”
Judge and the Yankees are the favorites to win the American League for the second time in three years this coming season.
The soon-to-be 34-year-old is a career .236 playoff hitter with an .822 OPS.
When mom promises you pizza rolls if you hit a grand salami | Getty Images
So it turns out having a fully staffed team makes spring training games a little more fun to watch. The Mariners made Cleveland pitching miserable tonight, stacking a 10-run inning in the second that featured three home runs en route to a 20-8 victory, with most of those Cleveland runs coming in garbage time. If this is a preview of Opening Day, when Seattle will welcome Stephen Vogt and his Guardians to town, it’s safe to say most Mariners fans will take it.
As much as I love our Seattle announcers, I love being lazy more, and so I listened to the Cleveland broadcast team rather than dig out the radio and try to sync things up, and I am glad I did just this once because it was interesting to hear an outside perspective on the Mariners. The Cleveland crew was impressed, to say the least:
“This seems like an offense with a ton of answers.”
“This is what this club can do to you. You don’t bring your A-game against Seattle, you become a punching bag.”
“Canzone and Robles would be starters on other teams. That’s just how deep Seattle is.”
“This offensive machine for Seattle just keeps on clicking.”
“There’s just not a weakness on this club. Top to bottom, there might not be a better ballclub in the American League than Seattle.”
It is thrilling to hear other analysts cooing over the Seattle Mariners – thrilling in the true sense of the word, both exciting and scary – and still a little bit unbelievable, like: the Seattle Mariners? The Seattle Mariners, the baseball team? Our Seattle Mariners?
The Mariners scored the majority of their runs in the second, racking up 10 runs on three homers. It started with a titanic Cole Young solo shot as he continues his hot hitting this spring:
The Mariners then small-balled another pair of runs on a double by Brendan Donovan, a beautiful deep drive to the gap that it’s not hard to imagine overlaid in T-Mobile Park, scoring Andrew Knizner and Leo Rivas, each aboard with singles. Guardians starter Logan Allen then walked Julio Rodríguez, triggering the mid-inning ejector button from manager Stephen Vogt, who brought in Tyler Thornton, who…really struggled with the zone. He hit Randy Arozarena, earning himself a powerful [glaring in Cuban] and loading the bases for Dominic Canzone, who got this pitch and did not miss it:
“You simply cannot throw him that pitch” was the trenchant commentary from LL’s Ryan Blake and I have to say, there’s a reason he’s a SABR-nominated analyst, folks.
Thornton then issued back-to-back walks to Connor Joe and Cole Young, up for the second time this inning and officially fulfilling “batting around” by however you determine it (but does it count if the tenth man walks and thus does not have an at-bat? Much to think about), which set up Victor Robles for his first homer of the spring:
It’s been nice to see Robles’s bat waking up over these last few games of the spring. It’s probably just that he’s past the shoulder stiffness he was dealing with earlier in the spring, but I like to believe he truly is powered by the power of friendship and was sad while all his friends were gone.
The Guardians actually got out to an early lead in this one against Gabe Mosser, who gave up a two-run blast to José Ramírez in the first. The Mariners’ 10-2 lead was imperiled briefly in the bottom of the second when Mosser gave up another two-run shot, this time to Angel Martinez. But the Mariners offense quickly re-established the length of their lead in the third.
Per spring training rules, Logan Allen was able to re-enter the game in the third, and while he didn’t give up a bunch of homers this time, the Mariners cruelly decided to torture him with death by a thousand cuts, racking up four straight singles against Allen to open the inning, making the game 12-4. Young and Robles then teamed up again for back-to-back doubles to stretch the lead to 15-4 and knock Allen out of the game for a second time, as Jay Driver cleaned up the mess.
I have never thought of Stephen Vogt as a cruel man, but bringing Logan Allen out for a third time to start the fourth inning is forcing me to reconsider. Allen was roughed up again in the inning, giving up a two-run homer to Julio, who you know had to get in on the homer parade with his first of the spring, scoring Brendan Donovan, who had singled. Donovan was on base four times with three hits and a walk, and the one out he made was a sac fly in the fifth that scored the Mariners’ 18th run of the game. Oh, but sorry, you probably wanted to see Julio’s first spring dinger:
Meanwhile, Mosser was cruising until the fourth, when with two outs he seemed to get either fatigued or just lost his handle on the zone. He lost a challenge on a close pitch that resulted in a walk to Austin Hedges, then gave up a double to C.J. Kayfus and walked Steven Kwan on five not-particularly-close pitches to load the bases, prompting Dan Wilson to bring in UW alum Stefan Raeth to try to extricate the Mariners from the jam. Raeth fell behind Brayan Rocchio 3-0 but was able to battle back with two well-located fastballs, getting Rocchio to ground out harmlessly on the second one to quell the threat.
Matt Brash had the fifth inning and…the command is still a work in progress at this point. With two outs and one on, he walked Gabriel Arias on four pitches, nibbling a little more than we would like to see, but also our Canadian friend looked mildly uncomfortable in the 98-degree heat. The desert is not his milieu! He managed to get out of the inning without damage, though, getting Angel Martinez to ground out. Now get him onto an air-conditioned flight back to Seattle, please and thank you. Also on that flight, I hope: José A. Ferrer, who pitched a solid scoreless inning with a walk and two strikeouts.
Cole Young pushed this game even further into laugher territory with his second homer of the game in the sixth, scoring Canzone, who had singled for his third hit of the game [he would go on to have four because he played all nine in this one]. This home run came courtesy of former Mariner Matt Festa and if Statcast is to be believed, traveled 478 feet. I’m not sure about that, but I do believe it came off the bat at 109 because that sucker was flying. Tom Hamilton, the Cleveland announcer, was audibly relieved when Young got pinch-hit for in the eighth – “Cole Young’s night is finally done” – and that’s just a wild world to live in. I’m not well-versed enough in non-Mariners young players to know: has anyone had a bigger sophomore spring than Young?
Casey Legumina, mopping up with the Mariners up 20-4, got touched up for three runs to make the game 20-7, and Carlos Vargas pitched the bottom of the eighth and mowed down the Guardians min0r-leaguers, with two groundouts and a strikeout, needing just 11 pitches. He was so efficient Dan Wilson had to bring him back out in the ninth, where he wasn’t as sharp, walking the first man he saw before striking out Luis De La Cruz and ceding the mound to Peyton Alford. Alford let in another run – although it wasn’t totally his fault, as Will Wilson (whose defense seems to actively be getting worse as spring goes on? What’s going on with my defensive loadbearing third baseman?) threw the ball away on what could have been a groundout or at least an infield single – but recovered to strike out his last two hitters and deliver the Mariners a very satisfying palate-cleansing big win. On to Opening Day!
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Dustin Wolf made 24 saves, Victor Olofsson scored his first goal for Calgary and the Flames beat the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Friday night for their second straight victory.
Olofsson came over from Colorado at the trade deadline in the deal that sent Nazem Kadri back to the Avalanche.
Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato also scored for Calgary, each moving into a tie with Blake Coleman for the team lead with 16.
A.J. Greer scored for two-time defending champion Florida. Daniil Tarasov made 32 saves in losing for sixth time in his last seven starts.
Trying to avoid becoming the first Cup-winning team to miss the playoffs the following season since Los Angeles in 2014-15, the Panthers remained 13 points behind the final wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference.
Greer was ejected with 8:46 left in the third period after hooking Connor Zary and shoving him head-first into the boards.
Zary remained down for a few minutes before slowly skating off accompanied by the club’s trainer. Greer was assessed a hooking minor, an interference major and a game misconduct. Frost and Coronato scored on the extended power play to put the game away.
After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Calgary took the lead for good at 7:44 of the second period when Farabee’s shot deflected in off the stick of Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola.
Late in the third, Mikkola sustained what appeared to be a serious injury when he locked knees in an accidental collision with Calgary’s Ryan Strome, who was looking the opposite direction. Mikkola was down on ice writhing in pain as he clutched at his left knee.
Calgary has won seven straight home games against Florida. The Panthers’ last victory in the Scotiabank Saddledome was Feb. 17, 2018.
Sep 19, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers first baseman Rowdy Tellez (44) reacts after hitting a two-run home run during the tenth inning against the Miami Marlins at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
It was reported Friday evening that the Atlanta Braves inked a minor league deal with first baseman Rowdy Tellez. The 31-year-old is set to enter his ninth MLB season. He split the 2025 campaign between the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers, where he combined for a .228 batting average.
In his career, Tellez owns a .234 average and has logged 4,523 innings at first base, posting a .995 fielding percentage defensively.
It’s not a headline-grabbing move for Atlanta, but Tellez provides some experienced depth at first base and could prove to be a serviceable option if needed.
More Braves News:
The camp roster now stands at 36 after several reassignments on Friday. Most notably, prospect JR Ritchie was reassigned to minor league camp.
Chris Sale was named the Opening Day starter for the matchup with the Kansas City Royals next week.
Austin Riley homered in Friday’s 8-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
MLB News: Major League Baseball announced that Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been placed on unpaid non-disciplinary leave following a sports betting investigation.
How good is an SEC baseball team without a closer?
The No. 2 Texas Longhorns have a burgeoning back-end problem because Dylan Volantis is no longer walking out of bullpen gates and that’s been a major factor in head coach Jim Schlossnagle’s team blowing a second consecutive ninth-inning lead on a Friday night, with the latest coming in a 4-3 walk-off defeat to the No. 5 Auburn Tigers at Plainsman Park.
A second solo home run from Texas junior center fielder Aiden Robbins broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the inning before the Horns took advantage of a walk, throwing error on a pickoff attempt, balk, and a throwing mistake by the Tigers third baseman trying to cut down senior right fielder Jayden Duplantier at home plate thanks to some slick infield grass in Auburn.
After junior left-hander Haiden Leffew worked out of a jam created by starter Ruger Riojas in the seventh inning and his own jam in the eighth inning, Leffew started the ninth by allowing a full-count double to right center and then issued a four-pitch walk to put runners on first and second.
That was the point at which Schlossnagle and pitching coach Max Weiner made a surprising decision — instead of going to junior right-hander Thomas Burns, the flame-throwing, ostensible closer for the Horns who was unable to close out last Friday’s home meltdown against Ole Miss, it was soft-tossing redshirt junior left-hander Ethan Walker called to the bump.
And it wasn’t just for one batter, either. Walker was able to recover from throwing three straight balls to start his outing to force a grounder into the hole on the left side of the infield that sophomore shortstop Adrian Rodriguez was unable to handle cleanly, but did keep the run from scoring from second base.
Still in the game after a right-handed batter, Walker got a big strikeout looking on a 2-2 pitch with the bases loaded before throwing an 82-mile-per-hour pitch over the middle of the plate on his first offering to Auburn center fielder Bristol Carter, who stayed in the middle of the field by hitting a liner to dead center field.
Trying to field it quickly to keep the game-tying run from scoring from second base, Robbins mishandled it instead, allowing the runner at first to close the plate with the walk-off victory.
Heading into the ninth, it was a classic Friday SEC pitcher’s duel between Riojas and Auburn left-hander Jake Marciano.
For Texas, Riojas didn’t have it early as the Tigers opened the game with a double down the right-field line before following with another to take a 1-0 lead before the Longhorns ace recorded his first out. But after that Riojas was able to find his command, forcing 11 groundouts and striking out six batters over the ensuing innings.
In the seventh, Riojas got into a jam again, allowing two singles sandwiched around a full-count walk, forcing Leffew to escape the one-out, bases-loaded situation, which the Wake Forest transfer accomplished by inducing a double play started by Rodriguez.
In the eighth, Leffew allowed a one-out infield single to shortstop before issuing a five-pitch walk, but recovered by striking out the next two batters.
At the plate, the Horns had a second straight poor outing, struggling to time up Marciano, whose fastball wasn’t overpowering in terms of velocity, as Schlossnagle indicated on Thursday, but the whippy action of the Hokies transfer clearly made it difficult to time as Marciano recorded nine strikeouts with the help of his secondary pitches to keep Texas off balance.
Of the two hits allowed by Marciano, one was the solo home run by Robbins in the fourth inning, a 422-foot bomb at 110 miles per hour off the bat.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MARCH 20: Julius Randle #30 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives to the basket during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on March 20, 2026 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Two steps forward, one step back. That’s been the story of the season for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
On a beautiful Friday night in downtown Minneapolis, the Timberwolves took on the Portland Trail Blazers, looking to go for the 3-0 sweep of the homestand. The Wolves were again without both Anthony Edwards and Naz Reid, making the game against a Portland squad still trying to win games far from a gimme.
Without Edwards, the Wolves’ offense struggled to find consistent offense in the first half as they shot 20/48 (41.7 percent) from the field. With Mike Conley no longer in the rotation, the Timberwolves do not have a lack of ball handling in their rotation, which only gets worse with Edwards unable to play.
“We don’t have a primary handler right now,” Chris Finch said pregame. “We’re really defusing that through pace and just early movement, and it tends to feed itself. We’ve seen that all season long. The faster we play, the quicker we make decisions, the more the ball moves.”
Following an 0-7 stretch from beyond the arc to start the third quarter, the Wolves found themselves down by 18 points late in the second quarter. With the game potentially teetering out of control, Minnesota was finally able to remove the lid from the basket.
Minnesota made three straight 3-pointers, including two from Bones Hyland and one from Ayo Dosunmu, to close the half on an 11-2 run, cutting the Portland lead in half going into the break.
The offensive success continued into the third quarter as the Wolves made 15 of their first 20 shots in the quarter as the Wolves played with a near-perfect combination of pace and ball movement to take an 83-81 lead, their first lead since they were up 12-11.
Minnesota’s defense was a large reason for the turnaround as well. Despite giving up 68 points in the first half, they completely shut down Portland’s third-quarter offense, limiting them to 7-20 (35 percent) from the field while forcing six turnovers.
As we’ve seen too many times this season, though, the Wolves were not able to sustain that level of play the rest of the game. This time, it was the offensive side of the ball that fell apart late in the game. As the game slowed down over the final 15 minutes of the game, the Wolves’ offense made just six of their final 28 shot attempts, including nine straight misses immediately following taking their largest lead of three points.
“Looking back, I probably should have not tried to execute anything because we weren’t very good at trying to do that,” said an exasperated Finch postgame. “I thought we were playing well and then lost our head in transition a bunch. Quick shots, sloppy turnovers. It kind of let [Portland] re-stabilize the game.”
Despite the poor offensive stretch, the Wolves were able to keep the game close and took the lead back with less than a minute left as Randle used his patented bully-ball moves to get into the lane and hit a jumper to put Minnesota up by one.
On the subsequent defensive possession, the Wolves’ defense forced a pair of missed shots from Jerami Grant and Deni Avdija, but each time the Blazers were able to grab the offensive rebound, their 17th and 18th offensive rebounds of the game.
“It’s been that way for a while; it’s just not good enough,” Finch said of the Wolves’ poor rebounding. “We knew our guards needed a rebound. Ayo did a good job on the defensive glass. Rudy did a good job, but after that, we gotta have more rebounds. Julius has three defensive rebounds. That’s not good enough. It’s just not good enough.”
After a Portland timeout, Grant drained the dagger 3-pointer when Randle got caught up on a screen, leaving his man wide open.
The Wolves were unable to respond on the other end and lost by a final score of 108-104. They now sit in sixth place in the Western Conference following wins tonight from both the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets.
Randle led the Wolves in scoring with an inefficient 19 points on 6-16 shooting from the field. Dosumnu was sensational the entire game, coming up just two assists shy of a triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. Rudy Gobert was again great on both ends of the floor, greatly limiting the Trail Blazers’ offense while putting up 18 points and 15 rebounds.
The loss by itself isn’t a terrible one. Being without both Edwards and Reid made offense tough to come by, and the Trail Blazers are still a team trying to win basketball games, which at this point in the season makes a big difference. In the context of the season at large, though, it’s a tough pill to swallow, especially when the same issues continue to pop up over and over again.
“The start of the game, it’s been the same the last few games. We’ve got to find a way to start the game more fired up,” Gobert said. “I think it’s just being mentally ready to start the game. We were warmed up, it’s not physical. It’s just mentally being a little sharper.”
Effort and mental focus have been common refrains throughout the season, but 71 games into the season, that explanation feels like a mask for larger, more deeply rooted issues with this Timberwolves roster in terms of both fit and quality.
The Wolves have been one of the healthiest teams in the entire NBA this season. While they were missing Edwards and Reid tonight, there have been plenty of games earlier in the season where the Wolves’ opponent was missing significant firepower, and they were unable to capitalize on it with a win. Every team goes through injuries, and those injuries play a big role in the result of games, but in a long NBA season, how a team deals with those night-to-night injuries shows a lot about who that team is at full strength.
In tonight’s game, the Wolves came out flat on the defensive glass, by the admission of their starting center, and were not able to execute down the stretch of the game, and just plain weren’t good enough, according to the coach, to get this game across the finish line.
This Wolves team has an incredibly high ceiling. They can beat anyone on any given night, but have not been able to consistently play high-level basketball. Their longest win streak this season is just five games, a fairly small number for a team with championship aspirations.
With now just 11 games left in the season, the inconsistency is just who these Timberwolves are.
Up Next
The Timberwolves now head out east for a matchup with the Boston Celtics, who recently added Jayson Tatum back into the lineup following his Achilles injury during last season’s playoffs. The game tips off at 7:00 PM CT this Sunday, airing nationally on NBC and Peacock.
TAMPA, FL - MARCH 11: José Caballero #72 of the New York Yankees throws the ball during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 11, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
ESPN | Buster Olney: Shortstop has not been all that much fun the past few seasons, reaching a nadir in 2025 when Anthony Volpe struggled his way to an 83 OPS+ while also slipping defensively from his first two seasons in the big leagues. But as spring training approaches its end, Buster Olney is optimistic that 2026 could be different. First, José Caballero played really well after the Yanks acquired him and he’s set to hold down shortstop at least until Volpe is healthy. Second, Olney notes that top prospect George Lombard, Jr. waits in the wings. Despite being ticketed to start the season back at Double-A, it’s not impossible he could be part of the plan at shortstop as soon as this summer.
MLB | Thomas Harrigan: Carlos Lagrange has arguably been the best part of Yankee spring training this year. Almost unhittable, Lagrange’s eye-popping velocity and movement have been on display all spring. The fastball peaked at 103.1-mph. Meanwhile, his slider, sweeper, and change all popped. In fact, he recorded more strikeouts with the changeup than with any other pitch. But enough talk. Open the article and watch the embedded Lagrange offerings. Utterly filthy.
The Athletic | Chris Kirschner ($): Did you know there’s been ongoing conversation about whether the Yankees are too analytically-driven? Or maybe it’s that they’re not analytically-driven enough. Skipper Aaron Boone argues that he’s the least analytical of the AL East’s managers. Using platoon advantage as a proxy for the argument writ large, the Yankees have the second-fewest at-bats in the division with the platoon advantage (50.9%), trailing only the Blue Jays. There’s way more behind the paywall, and Kirschner makes a point of identifying the role of analytics with the organization’s pitchers, including the “Gas Station.”
NJ.com: The Voice of the Yankees has had enough with the Aaron Judge criticism. Michael Kay rode to the Captain’s defense on his show Thursday. “I blame Yankee fans that try to find the warts on this guy…” Kay said. “And I know you’re starved for another championship… But you’re Yankee fans and you see what he does to get you into the postseason on a yearly basis.” Callers seemed to support Kay, with one drawing the historical parallel of Yankee fans booing Mickey Mantle for not being Joe Dimaggio, and an octogenarian Yankee fan commiserating with Kay having to explain Judge’s greatness to “the rear end of a horse.” Sounds like a must-listen episode.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 24: Luis Severino #40 of the Athletics pitching in the top of the seventh inning against the Houston Astros at Sutter Health Park on September 24, 2025 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Justine Willard/Athletics/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The A’s at least won one of these two night games they just had. They came out on top tonight against the Chicago Cubs by a 6-2 final, taking the win and putting their meaningless spring record at 13-15. Lots of good signs from tonight, and we can still finish spring with a .500 record!
It was Luis Severino on the bump tonight for the Athletics as he made his final exhibition start before his Opening Day assignment next week. Looking to put in his work and look sharp doing it, Sevy collected a quick punchout in the first but also missed with a fastball down the middle to Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya that the backstop deposited over the left field fence for a home run. Quick 1-0 lead for the Cubbies.
Things went quiet for the next few innings as both teams traded zeros. Cubs starter Jameson Taillon looked strong over the first four innings tonight, allowing just a few singles while punching out six A’s through the first four innings.
With Taillon on a roll, Max Muncy strode to the plate to lead off the top of the fourth and connected on a 1-0 fastball high and hit it over the wall in left field to tie this game at 1-1:
Muncy came into camp fighting for the starting third base job. That’s a foregone conclusion. Is the former first-round draft pick now primed for the breakout we all had hoped came last year?
That was only just the beginning. Newcomer Andy Ibanez worked a walk against Taillon, which brought up Lawrence Butler for his third at-bat of the game. And what did our right fielder do? Oh, just connect on an opposite-field two-run home run to give the A’s their first lead of the night:
That was Butler’s first home run of his short spring and it gives a bit of hope that all those reps in the batting cages and against minor league pitching wasn’t for not. If Butler and his knee are healthy then he’s a key contributor to this team. If not, we have a giant hole in right field.
That Butler blast also chased Taillon from the game, ending his night before five full innings. And yet the A’s still weren’t done. After a quick groundout Shea Langeliers stepped into the batter’s box and swatted his own home run, a solo blast to up the lead to 4-1:
Not that it means anything, but that was ‘Bangeliers’ seventh home run this spring, putting him into a tie for the league lead with Reds second baseman Matt McClain. There’s no way there was more untapped power in his bat… is there?
Now staked to a three-run lead, Severino was out from this game after going five full innings and reaching 79 pitches while only really making that one mistake to Amaya. Severino has done well in his previous Opening Day assignment and the money is on him shutting down the Blue Jays’ lineup next Friday night.
Speaking of Amaya, righty Nick Anderson relieved Severino to begin the sixth and for the second time tonight, Amaya delivered a solo home run, preventing a shutdown inning and cutting into the new lead the A’s had just built up.
The A’s had an immediate and golden opportunity to get that run back and then some in the bottom half of the frame when they loaded the bases with no outs. A forceout, strikeout, and groundout killed that rally right there however. Hopefully that wasted opportunity wouldn’t come back to bite us.
Righties Mark Leiter Jr. and Michael Kelly each did their jobs with scoreless innings apiece in the seventh and eighth, respectively, bridging the gap to the ninth.
But before that, the A’s wanted some insurance. A pair of singles from some late-game replacement prospects gave Ibanez a chance to do some damage for his new squad. He came through in the eighth with an RBI single to plate the Athletics’ fifth run of the evening. The A’s got a bit lucky on their next run as Colby Thomas hit a pop up to the left fielder than he dropped, resulting in another run for the Green & Gold.
Now with a four-run lead, why not let Kelly finish things off? Kotsay decided to let the right-hander end the game. He collected a couple strikeouts to start the frame before running into a bit of trouble but he managed to finish the game off without allowing a run. A win for the good guys!
We got a bit of it all tonight. A quality outing from our starting pitcher, who is now primed for a big outing on Opening Day. The powerful lineup showed up tonight with three home runs from three separate players. The bullpen mostly did it’s job outside of one pitch. Butler made an appearance in right field and seemed like he made it out feeling fine (though let’s check in tomorrow). Add in the fact we got a win and it was a successful night for the A’s at the ballpark.
We do it all again tomorrow in what’ll be the team’s third-to-last game of camp. We’ll shift back to daytime contests the rest of the way. The A’s head to the Dodgers’ facility to take on the defending champions. It hasn’t been officially announced but it’s expected that it’ll be left-hander Jeffrey Springs for the A’s. The Dodgers meanwhile have no qualms letting people know that it’s Emmitt Sheehan on the bump for them tomorrow afternoon. A glorious chance to get a win against these guys is always a plus.
The regular season is now officially less than a week away. Who else is ready for these games to start counting?
Following the Knicks' narrow win over the Nets on Friday night, coach Mike Brown and the players spoke after the game...
Handling Nets' physicality
The Nets made it a point to be physical with the Knicks on Friday night. And, for a good portion of the evening, it seemed to give them the advantage.
New York could not get going offensively, and Brooklyn was beating them on the glass and the 50-50 balls. And it was a constant approach by the Nets and Brown said it affected the team's play.
"They were extremely physical from the beginning of the game and it impacted us," he said. "[Nets coach] Jordi Fernandez outcoached me, they outplayed us in a lot of areas. We were just able to find a way to get a win."
Although the Knicks came away with the 93-92 win, it wasn't pretty. They had to overcome a double-digit deficit early and then almost blew their 14-point lead in the fourth quarter. Brown pointed at the season-high 22 turnovers and the lack of three-point defense. The Nets shot 37 percent from three but had a lot of open looks.
Despite that, the Knicks found a way to win, led by Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns as they retook the lead late and held on.
"They’re an NBA team and they’re a really great team. Great talent, great coaching staff. There was no part of me that thought this would be an easy game," Towns said of the game's physicality. "We had to meet them and exceed the physicality. They brought it today. They wanted to win the game. It was a team effort to find a way to win."
The Nets' physicality came to a boiling point in the second quarter. After Mitchell Robinson took some hard fouls -- even ones that were not called -- in the previous possessions, he went up for an alley-oop when he was fouled hard by Nolan Traore.
Robinson stood over Traore when Danny Wolf tried to get the Knicks big man away. Some pointing and shoving ensued -- and some technical fouls were assessed -- but cooler heads prevailed. That moment seemed to wake up the Knicks, as they closed the first half on a run that cut their first-half deficit to just six.
Robinson was asked about the moment after the game.
"I'm not going to speak on it right now," he said. "It is what it is. I'm not talking about that s--t."
When asked about the physicality, Robinson responded in kind.
"[When it gets physical] You get physical back. That's how it's going to be," Robinson answered. "You got to stand on business."
"You got to protect yourself, especially when something like that happens," Towns said of the Robinson scuffle. "We need him. We need him on this team, we need him available and healthy."
Nolan Traore fouls Mitchell Robinson and a dust-up ensues.
The foul is ruled a common foul, and the Nets' Ziaire Williams and Robinson were each hit with a technical foul. pic.twitter.com/qlOUnVBLHR
Entering Friday's game, the Knicks updated their injury report to include Towns. He was questionable for the game against the Nets for personal reasons.
Towns wound up playing and was a big reason why they pulled off the win. He spoke to the MSG broadcast from the Barclays Center floor after the win and alluded to his father's health.
He was asked about his pregame status in the locker room after the game.
"I wasn’t going to play. My pops was adamant...he wanted me to play," Towns said without going into too much detail. "I said I would. I showed up just to play. I’m going to head right back out and go be with him again on the road to recovery."
It's unclear whether Towns will be available for the Knicks' next game, but he'll have the day off Saturday but New York hosts the Wizards on Sunday night.
Combatting slow starts
The Knicks have a starting problem.
The last few games, they've gotten off to bad starts against bad teams. Although they've been able to overcome them, Friday was one shot away from their worst loss of the season.
It was a topic for Brown and the players after the win.
“They brought the fight to us. They came out and wanted to prove a point. Our approach has to be better," Robinson said. "We can’t just look at their record and just say, ‘Alright, we’re gonna whip their ass.’ We’ve just gotta be better all together, and until we figure that part out, it’s gonna be a long rollercoaster.”
"Just got to come out better. Just got to be better as a team," Mikal Bridges said. "
It’s mentally, I think. Just got to be mentally ready when the game starts."
On Friday, Brown called an early timeout in the first quarter and he just didn't like what he saw with the ball security.
"We were real lackadaisical with the basketball," Brown explained. "We had 13 turnovers at halftime….I know as of late, for the most part, we’ve been pretty good in that area. We ended the game with 22. It’s not a good ingredient to have when you’re trying to get a road win, no matter who you’re playing.
"If your approach is not what it is, and the other team feels it, anybody can get beat at any time at any level. I said before the game, Brooklyn went into Detroit and beat Detroit. We know we have to play better. I believe in our guys. I believe our guys will play better."
DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 31 points, Nikola Jokic made a go-ahead jumper with 45 seconds left and the Denver Nuggets held on for a 121-115 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.
Jokic finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, Tim Hardaway Jr. had 23 points and shot 7 of 10 from 3-point range and Aaron Gordon added 16 points for the Nuggets, who improved to 8-8 since the All-Star break.
Jakob Poeltl scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Raptors, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Brandon Ingram added 19 points and R.J. Barrett had 18.
The Nuggets trailed 101-98 before Hardaway tied it with a 3-pointer with 7:27 remaining. Denver was up 115-110 with 1:43 left, but the Raptors got right back into it.
Scottie Barnes, who finished with 15 points, had a layup with 1:32 remaining. Poeltl three-point play on a layup and free throw after he was fouled by Jokic tied it at 115 with 60 seconds left.
But the Nuggets closed with a 6-0 run to seal the victory. Jokic had a turnaround jumper, Murray made three free throws and Gordon made one of his own to cap it.
