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Who is and isn't a blue blood in college basketball is often a heated debate. By definition a blue blood is a program with elite lineage.

UConn's blood line of elite success didn't get going until the 1990s. The Huskies reached six Sweet 16s in the decade before breaking through in 1999 with the program's first national title.

The Huskies arrive at this week's Final Four looking to win a seventh national title (and third in four years). It's a run unmatched in modern history and winning at a level we haven't seen since the Wizard of Westwood.

In-depth: 2017 FBI probe sent coaches to prison, got others fired. This March Madness was a reunion

Final Four predictions: Who will advance to national championship game?

LONDON (AP) — Defending champion Arsenal has a two-goal advantage to defend when it visits Chelsea on Wednesday in the second leg of their Women’s Champions League quarterfinal.

Arsenal underlined its credentials for back-to-back titles by beating English rival Chelsea 3-1 in the first leg last week on Tuesday.

That London derby marked the first time in Women’s Champions League history that teams from the same city faced off.

Last year, Chelsea did manage to overcome a two-goal deficit in the second leg of its quarterfinal against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge to advance to the semifinals.

“It’s only halftime, so there’s a lot of work still to do for us, and that’s how we’re going to approach the game,” Arsenal coach Renée Slegers said.

The winner will meet Wolfsburg or Lyon in the semifinals.

Making its debut in the quarterfinals, Manchester United travels to Germany after losing to Bayern Munich 3-2 in the opening leg at Old Trafford.

Bayern is trying to reach its first semifinal since 2021. No English team has beaten Bayern away in the competition.

The winner of that quarterfinal will face Barcelona or Real Madrid.

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

Reseed the Final Four.

You’re going to hear that idea this week, with the top two teams in college basketball, Arizona and Michigan, meeting in the semifinals instead of the national championship, while UConn faces Illinois in the other semifinal.

Like a lot of ideas, this one sounds good in the theory stage. Peel back the layers, though, and envision what reseeding the Final Four would mean in practice, and the idea loses footing.

Reseeding would require disrupting the original structure of the bracket.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, and I’ll keep saying it as long as the NCAA has this tournament format: Leave the tournament alone.

I’ll say it once more for effect: Leave. The. Bracket. Alone.

Do not tweak. Do not tinker. Do not implement any harebrained ideas or add more mediocre teams or shuffle the assignments once the Final Four arrives.

Toppmeyer: Duke blows it, UConn wins it, and Arizona shouldn't care

Final Four reseed: Power rankings of the teams left in March Madness

The tournament is one thing the NCAA gets right. Take a bow, and enjoy it.

It’s not broken. Don’t fix it.

Still, it seems like such a simple adjustment, right? Now that the Final Four teams are set, just flip Arizona and Illinois and have the two 1-seeds on opposite seeds of the bracket.

And that’s when it hits you: The bracket. That beautiful creation is the star of this show. That's why you cannot simply reseed the Final Four. You’d disrupt all of those brackets people filled out the day after Selection Sunday, when they were supposed to be working but instead were researching that, yes, High Point over Wisconsin is the best possibility for a 12 vs. 5 upset. And that, yes, Arizona and Michigan will win their regions and meet in the semifinals.

They'll meet in the semifinals. Not the finals. That's what you wrote down on your bracket.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Celtics fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

So many people deserve credit for the Celtics success in what was supposed to be a gap year in Boston. Despite the talent drain over the summer, Joe Mazzulla has again created a system custom fit for his roster and got his players to buy in. Jaylen Brown has had an MVP-level season as the team’s #1 option.

And not too much farther down the list is the development and performance of the Celtics bullpen of wings. Whether it’s starting or coming off the bench, impacting the game with their shooting or defending team’s best players, they’ve individually risen to the occasion and taken advantage of the opportunity and collectively, they’ve raised the ceiling of this Celtics team with Banner 19 in reach.

Sam Hauser has been the adult in the SF room. As a contributing member of the 2024 championship team, he’s started 43 of his 72 games. By his standards, he’s having a down year; it’s the first time since his junior year in college that he’s shot under 40% from behind the arc. However, he’s still a reliable floor spacer for the Jays and plus-defender.

When Jordan Walsh joined the starting lineup on November 12, that move launched a 16-5 run and really solidified Boston’s reputation as a true contender this season. His playing time started to dwindle at the start of the new year including a six-game stretch of DNP-CDs, but his effort never waned. Most recently when the Jays swapped off days during a back-to-back in Charlotte and Atlanta, Walsh filled in brilliantly and again flashed his defensive prowess against LaMelo Ball and Jalen Johnson.

Baylor Scheierman has had the inverse regular season as Walsh. After playing sporadically in the first half of the year, it was Scheierman’s turn in the starting five. His shooting and instincts were as advertised coming out of Creighton as a finished product, but his strong positional defense is what has kept him on the floor.

Finally, Hugo Gonzalez, the now 20-year-old rookie, has been a sensation since coming over from Madrid. On one hand, you can see how being part of a professional program abroad has really shaped his game and prepared him to jump right in with the Celtics. On the other, there’s the energy injection and momentum-shifting plays that make him a regular Tommy Award winner. This isn’t even a bold prediction: Gonzo will swing a playoff game or two this spring.

So, while it’s hard to pick your favorite child, what Celtic wing has impressed you the most?

Luka Doncic broke NBA great Kobe Bryant's 20-year record for the most points scored by a Los Angeles Lakers player in a calendar month as they overcame the Cleveland Cavaliers 127-113.

Doncic, who returned after a one-game suspension for picking up his 16th technical foul, scored 42 points to take his tally for March to 579 - beating Bryant's record of 578, which had stood since 2006.

"If you don't win, it doesn't really mean anything," said Doncic after the Lakers secured a 15th victory in 17 games.

"So the run that we've been on, it really means a lot. We've got to keep playing like that."

Last month, Doncic became the first player since Bryant to score 60 points in a game for the LA Lakers when they beat the Miami Heat.

LeBron James scored 14 points for the Lakers against the Cavaliers as he also set an NBA record for the most combined regular season and play-off wins.

He achieved his 1,229th victory and surpassed the previous best set by centre Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

"He's great on both sides of the ball," said Lakers coach JJ Redick of James. "He's just doing a little bit of everything at a super-high level for us.

"Luka may get the headlines here and there, AR [Austin Reaves] may get a headline. But really it's been every single guy, and LeBron has led on that."

The Lakers, who are third in the Western Conference, had clinched a play-off spot and the Pacific Division title prior to their win as the Phoenix Suns were beaten 115-111 by the Orlando Magic.

LOS ANGELES – The Cavs coming to town as a top Eastern Conference team posed another tough challenge for the Lakers. As was true throughout March, however, the Lakers were up to the test.

They beat the Cavs 127-113 on Tuesday, and did so with great performances up and down the roster.

Luka Dončić, back from his suspension, was racking up points. Austin Reaves was attacking the paint and LeBron James gave everyone a glimpse of Showtime with highlight plays throughout the night.

While LA’s big three brought their best, so did their starting center, Deandre Ayton.

Ayton flirted with a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds and was a huge reason this game was put to bed early. He was aggressive offensively and a defensive force, neutralizing the Cavs’ frontcourt of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

“He’s been playing great basketball for a long time now,” Luka said postgame. ”So we just need him to keep doing what he does and when he plays like that it helps us win.”

Ayton’s dominance really started during the second quarter.

With Cleveland trailing by two points entering the period, this contest seemed destined to be the tough game it was advertised to be on paper.Ayton stepped up to tip things in the Lakers’ favor.

His offensive onslaught began with a dunk off a LeBron pass. James then connected with Ayton again a few possessions later, this time with the center scoring from just inside the free throw line. Ayton followed that up with a tip dunk off a rare Luka miss, then scored on a floater that gave the Lakers a double-digit advantage.

No one in this contest was better on the glass than Ayton. He had a game-high nine rebounds,including a whopping six offensive boards. A statistic like offensive rebounding won’t typically be highlighted, but on this Lakers team, they understand how important it is to grab those boards and keep possession on misses.

“He’s a very unselfish player,” Rui Hachimura said. “We love him here. I think his presence, just being there, he’s 7’1”, long wingspan and all that, using his body to protect the rim, getting those offensive rebounds, whatever we missed. It’s been great.”

Scoring and rebounding are obvious ways to demonstrate Ayton’s impact, but his game was loud in small ways as well.

He was keeping his hands up on defense and deflecting passes in traffic. Arguably the best Lakers highlight of the night, a LeBron alley-oop, started with Ayton creating a turnover.

In the third, Ayton had a beautiful Gortat screen midway through the quarter, which opened up the driving lane for Luka to get an easy two points. Dončić acknowledged Ayton’s grunt work, pointing to him after the basket went in.

Thanks to Ayton’s focus on both ends of the court, the Cavs never threatened and the Lakers ended March with another win, firmly cementing themselves as the third seed in the West.

Ayton was brought to the Lakers to play in these high-leverage games and provide them with an elite offensive scorer with the size and strength to compete against the best big men in the NBA.

As one of the few Lakers with NBA Finals experience, Ayton knows what it takes to win. And if he keeps this level of play up, the biggest moments of this year for himself and the Lakers are yet to come.

“I miss this type of feeling, I’m not gonna lie,” Ayton said. “There’s a certain type of urgency out there where you and this guy been battling, the chemistry you guys made just being around each other on and off the court. It’s finally showing on the court and it’s contagious.”

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

Coming into March, the Lakers were floating adrift, fresh off three demoralizing losses to the Celtics, Magic and Suns and staring the toughest stretch of the season in the face.

The Lakers exit March having loudly declared they are a legitimate contender. According to Positive Residual, they had the second-most games and the 10th-hardest schedule in March.

They finished the month with a 15-2 record. The two losses coming to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the Nuggets in Denver. Those were offset by a revenge win over Denver and victories over the Knicks, Wolves, Rockets and Cavs, all teams in the playoffs.

It’s on a short list for the best months the team has had since the 2019-20 season and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

So, let’s dive into the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.

LeBron James

31 minutes, 14 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 4-8 FG, 1-3 3PT, 5-6 FT, +4

It was a very loud 14 points for LeBron, who had one of the highlights of the month with his big alley-oop slam off Austin Reaves’ alley-oop. We’ve come a long way this season with Austin’s alley-oops, too.

Grade: B+

Jake LaRavia

38 minutes, 14 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 5-5 FG, 2-2 3PT, 2-2 FT, +23

One of Jake’s best games in months. It was great to see him knock down multiple threes. When he scores, it feels like such a huge boost because of everything else he does.

Grade: A

Deandre Ayton

28 minutes, 18 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 foul, 8-13 FG, 2-3 FT, +10

Speaking of great games from role players, Ayton came up against one of the toughest frontcourts in the league and held his own.

Grade: A-

Austin Reaves

37 minutes, 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5 turnovers, 3 fouls, 6-16 FG, 2-9 3PT, 5-5 FT, +4

While his shooting left a lot to be desired and he had some perplexing turnovers — he really loved a wild behind-the-back pass tonight — it does feel like Austin is in a better rhtyhm and has a better feel for his role as the month comes to an end.

Grade: B+

Luka Dončić

34 minutes, 42 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 steals, 4 fouls, 13-26 FG, 6-13 3PT, 10-10 FT, +21

Luka caps off an incredible month of March with a fitting finale. Having him come in during a shaky fourth quarter and bludgeon a bunch of Cavs reserves to put the game to rest was a lot of fun, too.

Grade: A+

Rui Hachimura

19 minutes, 14 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 foul, 6-8 FG, 2-3 3PT, +10

Back-to-back solid games from Rui, who hopefully has found his shooting touch again. The lack of rebounding is a bit easier to swallow when Austin, Luka and Jake combine for 18. But you still want more.

Grade: A-

Luke Kennard

23 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 1-2 FG, +4

After a strong showing against Washington, Tuesday was a much quieter one for Luke.

Grade: C-

Jaxson Hayes

19 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2-4 FG, +9

Similarly, Hayes followed up his great game on Monday with a so-so one against the Cavs. The good news is the Lakers aren’t reliant on him to be good, a change from last year.

Grade: C+

Bronny James, Adou Thiero, Dalton Knecht, Drew Timme, Kobe Bufkin

Bronny played more than the rest of the group, getting a rotation in the first half where he didn’t do much statistically but played really nice defense during that stretch.

JJ Redick

Another largely solid game from JJ. I specifically liked him throwing out a zone defense in the second half amidst their strong run in the third quarter. That being said, I thought he stuck with it a little too much once Cleveland figured it out.

But considering the Lakers won this game by 20, I think it was a small thing on a great night.

Grade: B+

Tuesday’s DNPs: Maxi Kleber, Jarred Vanderbilt

Tuesday’s inactives: Chris Mañon, Nick Smith Jr., Marcus Smart

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

Los Angeles Lakers (50-26, third in the Western Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (60-16, first in the Western Conference)

Oklahoma City; Thursday, 9:30 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles plays the Oklahoma City Thunder after Luka Doncic scored 42 points in the Lakers' 127-113 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Thunder have gone 37-9 against Western Conference opponents. Oklahoma City is fourth in the NBA with 34.6 defensive rebounds per game led by Chet Holmgren averaging 7.0.

The Lakers are 30-16 in conference matchups. Los Angeles is sixth in the Western Conference scoring 116.8 points per game and is shooting 50.2%.

The Thunder score 118.6 points per game, 3.9 more points than the 114.7 the Lakers give up. The Lakers average 11.9 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.5 fewer made shots on average than the 14.4 per game the Thunder give up.

The teams square off for the third time this season. The Thunder won the last meeting 119-110 on Feb. 10, with Jalen Williams scoring 23 points in the win.

TOP PERFORMERS: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.6 points and 6.5 assists for the Thunder. Holmgren is averaging 14.0 points over the last 10 games.

Doncic is averaging 33.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.6 steals for the Lakers. Austin Reaves is averaging 19.9 points and 5.5 assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 9-1, averaging 117.4 points, 45.8 rebounds, 24.3 assists, 9.4 steals and 5.2 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.1 points per game.

Lakers: 9-1, averaging 120.0 points, 41.3 rebounds, 25.0 assists, 9.5 steals and 5.5 blocks per game while shooting 52.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 111.9 points.

INJURIES: Thunder: Jalen Williams: day to day (injury management), Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee), Isaiah Hartenstein: day to day (injury management).

Lakers: Marcus Smart: day to day (ankle).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Everything has gone wrong for the Golden State Warriors this season. They resolved a bit of in-house drama with the Jonathon Kuminga trade, but they’ve been without Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler since before the All Star break. Butler is out for the foreseeable future with a torn ACL, while Curry has been dealing with a knee ailment of his own and hasn’t played since the end of January. Without those two guys, Golden State’s already slim margin of competing with the league’s best becomes nonexistent. They’re going to play some extra basketball in the play-in thanks to an 11-game cushion between them and the 11th spot West team and Curry is expected to return soon, but no one is expecting them to make any serious noise as presently constructed.

The San Antonio Spurs meanwhile continue to roll along towards the end of the regular season. They’ve lost just 2 games since the beginning of February, solidifying themselves alongside the Oklahoma City Thunder as the two preeminent squads in the league as the playoffs approach. Tonight’s game is the first on their very last road trip of the regular season, a 3-game trek that starts in California and ends in Denver. They’re on the cusp of their first 60-win season since 2016-2017 and with the #1 seed very much still up for grabs, don’t expect them to ease up now.

San Antonio Spurs (54-18) at Golden State Warriors (36-39)
April 1 2026 | 9:00 PM CT
Watch: ESPN | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)

Spurs Injuries: David Jones-Garcia, OUT

Warriors Injuries: Stephen Curry, knee (OUT), Jimmy Butler, knee (OUT), Moses Moody, knee (OUT), Al Horford, calf (OUT), Will Richard, knee (day to day), Quinten Post, foot (day to day)

What to watch for

• San Antonio has the talent advantage at center every game by default this season thanks to employing Victor Wembanyama, but it’s even more glaring against Golden State. The Warriors’ only 7 footer on the roster is Krystaps Porzingis, and he was only acquired from the Atlanta Hawks in the Kuminga trade. With Quinten Post and veteran AL Horford both out, Porzingis has been receiving the lion’s share of available center minutes. Meanwhile Draymond Green, arguably still arguably Golden State’s best defensive player, has had a few viral moments matching up with Wemby since the Frenchman came into the league and can guard him effectively here and there. The way Wembanyama has been playing though these last few weeks, even those few moments might not matter.
• That talent disparity at center also impacts Golden State’s rebounding, where they rank in the bottom half overall. Their 11.4 offensive rebounds a game actually rank 13th, a credit to head coach Steve Kerr’s small ball philosophy and all-hands-on-deck approach to rebounding in spite of their lack of traditional big men. While that can help generate more looks for their 3-point happy offense against many teams, it’s tough to see them having much success against a Spurs team that is big seemingly everywhere up and down the roster. San Antonio is holding teams to 10.4 offensive rebounds a game, the 4th fewest in the Association.
• This season Golden State takes the most 3s in the NBA and makes the 2nd most of them, but their 36% mark is good enough for just 17th. That number has plummeted to 33% with Chef Curry out of the line-up, which would be the worst in the league below even the 34% the Sacremento Kings make. The Spurs, who are among the best in the NBA at guarding the line, should be able to limit a lot of the Golden State offense sans Curry thanks to their work in limiting 2nd chance opportunities on the boards and a wing rotation that’s as good as anyone defensively.
• Rookie Dylan Harper is coming off the best month of his young NBA career. He shooting line of 59/54/86 in the month of March was something of a revelation, taking a lot of the flourishes that have been on display throughout the season and developing amazing consistency. San Antonio has a chance to do something truly special this spring, and Harper is showing how big a part of that he can be.

If you’d like to, you may follow along with the game on our Twitter profile (@poundingtherock) or visit our Game Thread!

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick laced up some custom-made sneakers for a good cause on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. 

Redick wore custom-made Nike sneakers designed by Salt Lake City artist John Millar for the NBA and the NBA Coaches Association in honoring Autism Acceptance Month.

The shoes were designed with the Lakers team colors of purple and gold wrapped around a rainbow infinity symbol, a mark of pride and permanence for the autism community. 

Per Lakers, head coach JJ Redick is wearing custom-made Nike sneakers tonight against the Washington Wizards that were designed by John Millar to raise awareness for the NBA and NBA coaches association autism acceptance campaign. pic.twitter.com/FMo8dTooB7

— Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) March 31, 2026

“It’s a great cause,” said Redick. “It’s bringing awareness and acceptance.”

But then Redick reflected for a moment and told the story of the teenage version of himself spending his free periods in high school helping a classmate with special needs. 

“My junior and senior year I had a free period and I spent those two years working with special needs kids,” recalled Redick. “There was one kid in particular that I worked with. I helped him with math. It was a really humbling experience.” 

Redick also mentioned his friendship with Joe Ingles, an NBA player and father navigating life with an autistic son. Suddenly the cause stopped being abstract and it became personal.

“Anybody who knows me knows that I think all people are equal and loved,” Redick said. 

The initiative also circles back to To The Max Foundation, founded by Utah Jazz assistant Scott Morrison and his wife after their son Max’s autism diagnosis in 2022. 

Across the league, all 30 head coaches joined in the campaign to raise awareness for autism. 

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The game-worn sneakers laced up by all the NBA coaches will be signed and head to auction at Sotheby’s in May, with every dollar fueling access, opportunity, and dignity for families who often fight autism quietly and without help.

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