TAMPA — The Yankees swung a minor trade on the final day of camp as they whittled down their roster to 26.
The club is sending infielder Jorbit Vivas to the Nationals for minor league pitcher Sean Paul Liñan.
Vivas was out of options and was not going to make the team, so the Yankees were able to get a non-40-man player for him instead of potentially losing him for nothing.
Jorbit Vivas during a Yankees exhibition game on Feb. 19, 2026. Getty Images
Liñan, 21, is a right-hander who split 2025 between Single-A, High-A and Triple-A, posting a 3.03 ERA across 19 games (15 starts) with 106 strikeouts in 77 1/3 innings.
He was originally signed by the Dodgers out of Colombia before being dealt to the Nationals in a package for Alex Call last summer.
Vivas was also an original Dodgers sign before being acquired by the Yankees with reliever Victor Gonzalez for Trey Sweeney ahead of the 2024 season.
Sean Paul Liñan pitches during the game between the Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Thursday, March 19, 2026. MLB Photos via Getty Images
He appeared in 29 games for the Yankees last season but hit just .161 with a .516 OPS.
Trading Vivas opens up a spot on the Yankees’ 40-man roster.
The Yankees need at least one open spot to officially sign Randal Grichuk, who is making the club after being in camp on a minor league deal.
PHOENIX , AZ - MARCH 20: Andrew Fischer #3 of the Milwaukee Brewers bats during the game between the Seattle Mariners and the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Fields of Phoenix on Friday, March 20, 2026 in Phoenix , Arizona. (Photo by Aryanna Frank/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Brewers will take on the Athletics today in the second of two Spring Breakout exhibition games. The Spring Breakout games are a way to highlight prospect talent by giving each team an opportunity to field a full lineup consisting of players from all levels of their minor league systems. Today’s lineup consists almost entirely of top-30 Brewers prospects, including the organization’s No. 1 and 2 prospects (infielders Jesús Made and Luis Peña) in the top two spots of the order. Third baseman Andrew Fischer, who smoked a 112.4-mph ground-rule double off of Mason Miller yesterday, is hitting third.
Blake Burke, who had one of the biggest second-half breakouts in the Brewers’ system, is hitting cleanup. He’s followed by Josh Adamczewski, in left field today, and 2025 sixth-round pick Daniel Dickinson. Matthew Wood, 2024 first-round pick Braylon Payne, and Josiah Ragsdale make up the bottom of the lineup. Starting on the mound today is Tyson Hardin, Milwaukee’s No. 19 prospect, who recorded a 2.72 ERA and 9 K/9 last year between High-A and Double-A.
You can watch today’s final Spring Breakout game on MLB TV and MLB Network. First pitch is slated for 3:05 p.m. CT.
Yet they feel so strongly about their All-Star ace that they guaranteed him an extra $60 million into his mid-30s.
The Phillies announced Sunday, March 22, they signed Sánchez to a six-year contract that begins in 2027, runs through 2032 and includes a club option for 2033. Including the $3.5 million Sanchez will earn this season, he’s now guaranteed $107 million through 2032, according to The Athletic.
It’s an interesting maneuver for both sides: Sánchez had signed a four-year, $22.5 million contract in June 2024 that included club options of $14 million and $15 million in 2029 and ’30. That’s a decidedly club-friendly deal for a lefty who led all pitchers in baseball with 8.0 WAR in 2025, crossed the 200-inning mark with a 2.50 ERA and finished runner-up in NL Cy Young Award voting.
So what was in it for the Phillies? Extending Sánchez for two years and $60 million at the end of the deal, which, given inflation in pitcher salaries, might look like a bargain come 2034 and 2035.
As for Sánchez, he locked in a degree of financial security in originally signing the deal, but now has guarantee of a salary approaching market value by the deal’s end, all while remaining with a team that appears in it for the long haul.
It’s a significant leap of mutual faith by club and player.
While unusual, it’s not without precedent a club would go longer with a player they’d inked to a deal that’s already been out-performed. The Kansas City Royals signed catcher Salvador Perez to three extensions after he sailed past the five-year, $7 million deal he’d originally signed – eventually inking a five-year, $52.5 million deal a year before his first one expired.
And the Cleveland Guardians locked up franchise player Jose Ramírez to a seven-year, $141 million deal entering the option year of an original five-year, $26.5 million extension. In January, Ramírez added a seven-year, $175 million extension that superseded the final three years of that old deal and added four more seasons.
A familiar face is heading back to Syracuse, as former assistant coach and player Gerry McNamara is finalizing a deal to become the Orange's next coach, USA TODAY Sports has confirmed.
McNamara, whose No. 3 jersey is retired at Syracuse, led No. 16 seed Siena to the Men's NCAA Tournament in his second season at the helm after leaving his post as an assistant under former Syracuse coach Adrian Autry, who was fired after the ACC tournament. The Saints led No. 1 overall seed Duke by 11 points at halftime before eventually falling 71-65 in the first round.
McNamara was an assistant at Syracuse for 15 seasons under legendary coach Jim Boeheim, whom he played for, and Autry.
McNamara made 135 career starts at Syracuse and averaged 13.3 points as a true freshman on the school's most recent national championship team in 2003. He's the school's all-time leader in 3-pointers and minutes played.
New Syracuse athletic director Bryan Blair, who was introduced March 19, is taking a swing with a fan-favorite — albeit inexperienced — coach. McNamara only has two seasons of head coaching experience, and has a 37-30 record across two seasons at Siena.
Syracuse finished with losing seasons for the first time since 1968-69 after going 14-19 in 2024-25 and 15-17 in 2025-26. Autry failed to reach the NCAA Tournament in his three seasons at the helm. Syracuse last made the big dance in 2020-21.
Just a few weeks ago, Siena was the No. 2 seed in the MAAC tournament, taking down No. 1 seed Merrimack in the conference championship game. After the Saints' strong end to the season, including scaring Duke in the NCAA Tournament, McNamara has landed the job at Syracuse with the purpose of building back his alma mater.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JULY 18: Jorbit Vivas #90 of the New York Yankees advances to third base in the third inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on July 18, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Yankees are quicklyfinalizing the 26-man roster that they’ll bring with them to San Francisco for Wednesday’s season opener, and with several bubble roster spots recently solidified, all that’s left is bookkeeping on the margins.
One of those moves was to figure out what to do with infielder Jorbit Vivas, who was out of minor-league options and either had to be rostered, DFA’d, or traded. A very deep Yankees bench made it so that the first option was off the table, so GM Brian Cashman worked the phones, and it appears he has found a partner. Per Andrew Golden of the Baltimore Banner, Vivas is heading to the Washington Nationals in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Sean Paul Liñan.
The Washington Nationals are acquiring INF Jorbit Vivas from the New York Yankees and sending pitching prospect Sean Paul Liñan back to New York, per sources.
Vivas debuted and played 29 games for New York last season.
What’s interesting about this trade is that both of these players were originally signed out of South America by the Los Angeles Dodgers. For Vivas, who was signed back in July 2017, he showed enough promise to have his contract selected by the Dodgers in November 2021 while he was still in High-A. The 5-foot-9 infielder’s bat slowed down after that, but he was still considered a decent prospect through the end of the 2023 campaign, when he and relief pitcher Victor González were traded to the Yankees for former first-round pick Trey Sweeney (now of the Tigers).
González had a fairly forgettable stint with the 2024 Yankees, but Vivas would spend the majority of the year with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (aside from a cameo in the bigs that did not involve any in-game appearances), eventually making his MLB debut in 2025 due to injuries to DJ LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton, and Jazz Chisholm Jr., playing both second and third base while LeMahieu, Chisholm, and later Oswaldo Cabrera hit the shelf.
For a guy who had just 66 plate appearances and a putrid .516 OPS in 29 games, he still had two memorable moments in pinstripes, one good and one bad. The good was his hitting his first major-league home run in a 1-0 win against the Texas Rangers back in May, which earned him the honor of being mentioned in a witty Pinstripe Alley headline.
The bad was, unfortunately, him being on the wrong side of one of the best throws you’ll ever see from Ronald Acuña Jr. in July, which saw the former MVP hose Vivas tagging for third and not sliding. This clip will be replayed long after Vivas is done playing professional baseball and I think he’d rather never see it again.
Vivas was at least serviceable minor league depth, but the Dodgers’ decision to start his clock two years before he was traded to New York eventually reared its head, leading to him departing the organization just after his 25th birthday. He’ll now join a Nationals organization that will offer him a roster spot as he slides into a competition for reps with José Tena, Brady House, and Nasim Nuñez.
There’s reason to be intrigued by Liñan, who MLB Pipeline ranked as the Nationals’ No. 27 prospect. Acquired from LA for Alex Call at the deadline, he spent much of the last two months on the injured list after a very strong campaign with High-A Great Lakes, which saw him post a 2.65 ERA with 39 strikeouts to just 14 walks in 37.1 innings. A high point was on April 25th, when he fanned 11 in a single outing:
Liñan’s strikeout stuff flashed significantly more in Single-A and rookie ball, but with him entering his age-21 season, there’s reason to believe he can get back to the strikeout machine he was.
As for his offerings, he tosses a low-90s fastball and mid-80s slider that Pipeline believes limit his ceiling, but he offers “a legitimate claim for the best changeup in Minor League Baseball.” Pipeline describes it as a screwball-like pitch that registered a whiff rate of 60 percent and looked a lot like the deadly Airbender we got familiar with last year with Devin Williams. Lucas Apostoleris of Baseball Prospectus echoed the enthusiasm around the changeup:
We’ve seen players with outlier pitches be optimized to the fullest extent under Matt Blake and Sam Briend’s pitching development, so to get a player like Liñan with such a great offering who’s young enough to mold into something for an infielder who was going to get DFA’d is savvy business.
What started as the usual NBA posturing and pushing quickly escalated into a fight Saturday, leading to suspensions.
Oklahoma City's Ajay Mitchell and Washington's Justin Champagnie each have been suspended one game for "fighting and escalating an on-court altercation which spilled over into the spectator stands," the league announced Sunday. Additionally, the Thunder's Jaylin Williams was fined $50,000, while Oklahoma City's Cason Wallace and Washington's Anthony Gill were each fined $35,000.
Everything happened with just 27 seconds left in the first half. After a Washington Bucket, Oklahoma City's Williams had the ball in motion to inbound it, bumped into Champagnie, and the two quickly exchanged words and began shoving each other under the basket. Then Ajay Mitchell jumped in and took everything to the next level.
At the time, Champagnie, Williams, Mitchell and Cason Wallace of the Thunder were ejected.
Financially, the suspended players got off lighter than the fined players. Missing one game without pay will cost Mitchell $17,241, while Champagnie will lose $13,503 (numbers via ESPN's Bobby Marks).
Champagnie will sit out tonight (Sunday) when the Wizards visit the New York Knicks. Mitchell will serve his suspension on Monday when the Thunder visit the Philadelphia 76ers.
The defending national champions didn't need a warm-up to get going in their title defense.
Florida scored an NCAA Tournament program record 114 points in its first round demolition of 16-seed Prairie View A&M. The Gators also set team NCAA Tournament marks in assists (29), field goals made (45) and field goals percentage (.643). UF's 59-point margin was also the second-largest in NCAA Tournament history.
Iowa is coming off a 67-61 win over No. 8 Clemson in Friday's first round. The Hawkeyes' All-Big Ten guard Bennett Stirtz struggled from the field (4 of 17) but still led with 16 points as Iowa won Ben McCollom's first March Madness game in black and yellow.
The winner of today's game will advance to next week's Sweet 16 to face No. 4 Nebraska in Houston.
The storyline of this matchup will be the two contrasting tempos between Iowa and Florida. The Gators play a much faster pace compared to the Hawkeyes. Look for Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland to have big games as this matchup will be a test for the duo. Even with Iowa playing at a slower tempo, Florida's front court has a clear advantage.
While Iowa has had a solid first season under Ben McCollum, the dream of a deep March run ends here. The Gators are simply too deep and too consistent. The loss to Vandy in the SEC Tournament was a bit of a wake-up call, plus this is essentially a home game for the Gators, since it's being played in Tampa. Expect the reigning champs to come out determined to repeat and send the Hawkeyes home.
SAN ANTONIO, TX -MARCH 21: Dylan Harper #2 of the San Antonio Spurs drives to the basket against Aaron Nesmith #23 of the Indiana Pacers in the second half at Frost Bank Center on March 21, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Coming off a nail-biting win against the Phoenix Suns, the Spurs wrapped up their mini homestand against the Indiana Pacers. The Spurs would be without Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell due to their respective injuries. As a result, Dylan Harper made his first career start. The Spurs started with their foot on the gas pedal, outscoring the Pacers 42-29 in the first quarter. After taking a 13-point lead into halftime, the Spurs led by 15 after the third. The Pacers, ironically enough, were able to keep pace with the Spurs’ scoring, but could not get a stop on defense. The Spurs ultimately won 134-119.
Dylan Harper made his first career start and dropped 24 points (9-13 FG, 5-5 FT), four rebounds, and three assists. Dyl stepped up in Castle’s place in the starting lineup and played like a starting veteran guard. He looks unguardable in transition, and always seems to make the right dribble and slasher moves. He also got to the free-throw line and made all of his free throws. Shooting 69% from the field is more than an encouraging sign for this team. The 20-year-old continues to show that he has the talent to interchange with De’Aaron Fox or Castle to command the floor.
EUROSTEP AND-ONE! Dyl pulls out the crossover dribble in transition, creates space, and then eurosteps into an and-one finish over Aaron Nesmith!
Keldon Johnson dropped 24 points (10-12 FG), four rebounds, and four assists. Like Harper, KJ led the team in scoring. In just 25 minutes, KJ shot 83% from the field, including 67% from three-point land. No matter what the Pacers’ defense threw at him, KJ was simply on fire. 16 of his 24 came in the first half off of bully ball and three-point splashes. Sixth Man of the Year? Spurs fans seem to think so.
Victor Wembanyama dropped 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists, five blocks, and a steal. Wemby shot 44% from the field, grabbed both offensive and defensive boards, dished out lob dimes, and shut down the Pacers in the paint. Wemby is such an anomaly that even when he misses a shot, he easily grabs his own miss and puts it back in, sometimes in one motion. With 11 games remaining, Wemby’s case for MVP and DPOY continues to heat up as the highlights keep adding up.
Smooth ball movement! Wemby cuts to the paint and receives a pinpoint dime from Harrison Barnes for the easy slam! HB finished with 12 points, four rebounds, and a dime.
FRENCH VANILLA IS SERVED! Wemby dominates this sequence by stuffing Jay Huff’s shot attempt and then lobbing it up for Luke Kornet in transition for the alley-oop connection! Kornet finished with nine points, eight rebounds, four assists, and a block.
All in all, this was another take-care-of-business game for the silver and black. Even when they started slacking with a lead, the Spurs were able to keep a sizeable lead for the entire game. Even when several starters are out, this team is still dangerous and tough to guard. With only 11 games remaining, the Spurs will look to lock up the second seed, or barring an OKC Thunder collapse, possibly take over the first seed. This young, contending team has already made lifelong memories for Spurs fans everywhere, and the playoffs will add even more.
Finally, here are the full game highlights.
The Spurs travel to Miami to take on the Heat this Monday at 6:00 P.M. (CST) on Peacock/NBCSN/FDSN-SW.
Toronto Maple Leafs goalkeeper Anthony Stolarz was scratched from Saturday’s scheduled start against Senators in Ottawa after taking a puck to the throat during warmups.
Stolarz was taken to the hospital for precautionary imaging and later released, according to NHL.com.
Head coach Craig Berube said after the game, a 5-2 loss, that he didn’t have an update on the netminder’s condition, but Stolarz was expected to meet the team for the flight back to Toronto.
Anthony Stolarz will not start tonight for the Maple Leafs after taking a shot up high in warmups pic.twitter.com/2fsusNGRuQ
Joseph Woll, who had just faced 36 shots on goal in Friday’s overtime loss to the Hurricanes, started in Stolarz’s place, surrendering five goals in the one-sided wash.
Forward William Nylander, who took the shot that pelted Stolarz, reflected on the freak accident after the game — revealing that he’d talked with the goalie, and he seemed to be doing alright.
“Obviously it’s, you know, really tough to see that happen,” Nylander said. “I mean, I always come in and shoot the puck in the glove, and this one just came off a little bit to the left, and I hit him in the neck. So, I mean, I was obviously worried for him, but, I mean, I’ve been texting with him, so he seems to be OK.”
Stolarz, 32, is 8–9–3 with an .894 save percentage across 22 games (21 starts) in second season with the Maple Leafs, following a run to the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers in 2024 as Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup.
Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz takes a puck to the throat during warmups on March 21, 2026. SportsnetMaple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz has been in the NHL since the 2016-17 season. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Limited to just 34 games last season due to knee surgery, the veteran goalie inked a four-year, $15 million contract in September to stay in Toronto through the 2029–2030 campaign.
Injury problems have followed Stolarz into his new contract, already missing 33 games earlier this season to nurse an upper-body injury.
The Maple Leafs (29–29–13) sit 13 points behind the Red Wings for the Eastern Conference’s second wild card spot, and they’ll next head down to Boston for a Tuesday night matchup with the Bruins.
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Connecticut basketball looks to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third time in the last four years under Dan Hurley on Sunday with a win over UCLA.
But the 2-seed Huskies may have to do it without point guard Silas Demary Jr., who was listed as "questionable" for the March 22 second-round game against the 10-seed Bruins in the NCAA's initial player availability report.
The loss of Demary — and his backup, Jaylin Stewart — was notable in UConn's offensive flow against Furman, as the Huskies weren't able to pull away against the Paladins. UConn finished with 22 assists on 32 made shots from the field, shooting 49% from the field.
The Huskies and the Bruins are set for an 8:45 p.m. ET tipoff from Philadelphia. Demary's official status for the game will be known at 6:45 p.m. ET when the next player availability report is released.
Here's the latest on Demary's status:
Will Silas Demary Jr. play tonight in NCAA Tournament? Status vs UCLA
Demary was once again listed as questionable by UConn in its NCAA player availability report on Saturday. The next availability report will come out at 6:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, two hours before tip-off.
If he is unable to go against UCLA on Sunday, it would be the second straight game he misses with that ankle injury. Stewart, who is also dealing with a lingering injury that precedes Demary's, was also listed as questionable on the Huskies' injury report.
Silas Demary Jr. injury update
The Huskies point guard sustained an ankle injury in the second half of UConn's Big East Tournament championship game loss to St. John's on Saturday, March 14. The injury came when St. John's forward Zuby Ejiofor blocked Demary's transition layup and then was stepped on by the Big East Player of the Year.
Demary told assembled media on Thursday, March 19, that he was continuing to rehab his ankle as much as he could and that he was good to go to play in the Huskies' opening round game vs. Furman.
Instead, he was listed "questionable" on the Huskies' injury report for the game before being downgraded to "out." Following the Huskies' 82-71 win vs. the Paladins, Hurley said Demary was "close" to playing against the Paladins.
"I don't want to make any more predictions. The information that I shared in New York (at the Big East Tournament) was the information that I was provided with," Hurley said. "It was close. He tried. He couldn't get himself to the point where he felt like he could go. He's got two more days. ... We'll see where that goes."
NEW YORK (AP) — Washington forward Justin Champagnie and Oklahoma City guard Ajay Mitchell each received a one-game suspension for fighting and escalating an on-court altercation that spilled into the seating area during a game, the league announced Sunday.
Both were suspended without pay. Thunder forward Jaylin Williams was fined $50,000, while Oklahoma City guard Cason Wallace and Wizards forward Anthony Gill each received $35,000 fines for their roles in the altercation that took place late in the first half of the Thunder’s 132-111 victory on Saturday night.
Following a basket by Gill, Williams and Champagnie began shoving each other under the basket. Gill and Mitchell became involved and the quarrel quickly escalated. After a lengthy review by the officials, Champagnie, Williams, Mitchell and Wallace were all ejected.
Champagnie will sit out Sunday as the Wizards face the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mitchell's suspension takes place Monday when Oklahoma City plays at Philadelphia.
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Chad Patrick (39) drops the ball in fielding drills during spring training workouts Saturday, February 14, 2026, at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
And here we are! The last day of (conventional) spring training, as the Brewers will take on the Cubs this afternoon before heading to Milwaukee to take on the Reds for a pair of exhibition games on Monday and Tuesday. Then, it’s Opening Day this Thursday, as the White Sox visit Milwaukee for the opening weekend.
Chad Patrick will make his last start of the spring this afternoon, as he’s set to enter the season in the rotation. After a solid rookie season in 2025, he’ll look to repeat that performance in year two. As was the case with Robert Gasser yesterday, Patrick enters this one with some less-than-ideal numbers in the spring, pitching to a 9.72 ERA with nine runs allowed over 8 1/3 innings, striking out nine. Six of those nine runs came in his last appearance against the mighty Dodgers, when he lasted 3 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and four walks. Peter Strzelecki is also slated to pitch behind Patrick.
Opposite Patrick will be another pitcher coming off a solid rookie season in Cade Horton. Horton sports a 5.91 ERA with 14 strikeouts over 10 2/3 innings this spring. The Brewers’ lineup against Horton features a lot of minor leaguers as the major leaguers travel to Milwaukee. That includes Dylan O’Rae, Jeferson Quero, and Mike Boeve in the top-third of the order, followed by Marco Dinges, Eric Brown Jr., and Jacob Hurtubise. Dasan Brown, Juan Baez, and Luis Castillo round out the lineup.
First pitch in this one is at 2:05 p.m. CT. It’ll be available to watch on Brewers.TV and nationally on ESPN Unlimited.
The Vols did so with little contribution from their star freshman Nate Ament, who went scoreless in just 18 minutes, as he was rested dealing with soreness from a high ankle sprain he suffered in late February.
Nate Ament drains a 3-pointer from the corner on his first shot attempt of the game. He extends Tennessee's lead to 6-2 with 18:30 to go in the first half. Vols are 2-for-2 from beyond the arc to start.
Underway in Philly, Tennessee wins tip
The Volunteers win the opening tip-off with Ja'Kobi Gillespie getting the ball, and we are underway at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The Volunteers are wearing their Tennessee Orange road uniform, while the Cavaliers are wearing their home whites.
Tennessee scores quickly with a 3-pointer from Bishop Boswell. Thijs De Ridder responds with a second-chance layup inside the paint for Virginia. It's 3-2 Vols early.
He was named to the All-ACC first team and all-rookie teams, and entered the Men's NCAA Tournament as the Cavaliers' leading scorer at 15.5 points per game. Though De Ridder hails from Brasschaat, Belgium, he did know a little bit about March Madness before Virginia’s first-round win over Wright State. … Including the great tradition of filling out brackets.
"When I was 17 and younger, I thought it was another tournament like others. I did some brackets when I was younger, but that was just for fun," De Ridder told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. "Every time (there was) an American guy on my team (overseas), they always talked about March Madness. Now that I'm here, it's such an organization, and it just made me really excited to play here. Hopefully, we can do some great stuff."
He finished in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds in addition to two assists in Virginia’s win vs. Wright State.
The Cavaliers held off a potential upset and defeated 14-seed Wright State in the first round of the Men’s NCAA Tournament on Friday, 83-72.
Jacari White led the way for Virginia with 26 points, while Sam Lewis added 12 and Malik Thomas added 11. De Ridder also finished in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds in addition to two assists.
Odds provided by BetMGM, as of 11:30 a.m., Sunday.
∎ Wynton Jackson, Knoxville News Sentinel: Virginia 71, Tennessee 66
Ament's questionable status swings our prediction towards Virginia. The Cavaliers had one of the best defenses in the ACC, and if Tennessee's star freshman isn't at his best, it's tough to see how the Vols continue their hot shooting. They shot 53% from the floor and 45% from 3-point range against the RedHawks. Tennessee's defense always keeps games close, but it may not have enough offensive juice to make a fourth straight Sweet 16.
John Leuzzi: Tennessee
Jordan Mendoza: Virginia
Ehsan Kassim: Virginia
Blake Schuster: Tennessee
Moneyline: Tennessee (-115); Virginia (-105)
Spread: Tennessee (-1.5)
Over/under total: 137.5
Nate Ament injury update: Will Vols freshman star play today vs Virginia?
All-SEC freshman Nate Ament had his first scoreless game of the season in the 78-56 win against Miami (Ohio) in the first round.
Ament is still dealing with soreness from the high ankle sprain he suffered against Missouri on Feb. 24. He still expects to play against Virginia and throughout the rest of the NCAA Tournament.
"There's no chance I'd sit out a March Madness game," he said. "It's about what can we do to get back to 100%, or as close to it as we can."
Nate Ament 2026 NBA Draft, mock draft prediction
No. 11 overall to Portland Trail Blazers
Kalbrosky's Analysis:
After a relatively slow and inefficient start to the season, Tennessee freshman Nate Ament is starting to realize some of his lofty expectations. The freshman averaged 21.6 points per game while shooting 38.9 percent on 3-pointers during a 13-game stretch before an injury against Alabama on Feb. 28. The All-SEC forward then had 27 points (4-of-6 on 3-pointers) with eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal against Auburn on March 12. It will only take one team to fall in love with Ament and given so much of what he brings to the table cannot be taught, that team is probably picking fairly early in the lottery.
What channel is St John's vs Kansas ? How to watch, streaming info
The game is airing on CBS, streaming via Paramount+.
Kansas vs St. John's prediction, odds
Odds provided by BetMGM, as of 10:30 a.m. ET, Sunday.
John Leuzzi: St. John's
Jordan Mendoza: St. John's
Ehsan Kassim: St. John's
Blake Schuster: Kansas
Moneyline: St. John's (-170); Kansas (+140)
Spread: St. John's (-3.5)
Over/under total: 143.5
Why did Zuby Ejiofor transfer from Kansas to St John's
Zuby Ejiofor, a 6-9 forward, started his college career at Kansas in 2022, where he played for Hall of Fame coach Bill Self. Then he transferred to St. John’s in 2023 to play for Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.
“We didn’t want him to leave,” Self said Saturday. “We’re really happy for his success. We just don’t … We just hope it doesn’t come against us.”
What happened at Kansas and why did he choose St. John’s?
“I had a fun time at Kansas,” Ejiofor said. “I wouldn’t lie: I didn’t really want to leave. But I knew that in order for my future to keep progressing the way I wanted to go, that I had to probably look elsewhere for a bigger opportunity.”
Darryn Peterson 2026 NBA Draft mock draft prediction
Pick No. 2 overall to Washington Wizards.
Kalbrosky's Analysis:
While he is no longer perceived as the near-certain No. 1 overall pick that he once was due to relative inconsistency and injury issues, many scouts and evaluators feel that Darryn Peterson is the most talented player in this class. The Wizards would put the All-Big 12 guard in a strong position to begin his career alongside Trae Young and Anthony Davis. It is incredibly rare to find a prospect who is able to score as efficiently as Peterson while holding a usage rate as high as his has been this season.
What Rick Pitino said about Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson
“He gets to the foul line, he’s got great size, got a beautiful looking jump shot with great arc,” Pitino said Saturday about Peterson. “His size presents a problem. When he uses the pick and roll, he’ll reject it, and his size getting to the rim’s great. He’s a great scorer. He’s going to be a great NBA player because he has an NBA game, and we’ve got our work cut out for him, trying to stop him. But, they have a well-rounded team.”
Rick Pitino NCAA Tournament history: When was Rick Pitino's last Sweet 16 appearance?
Rick Pitino has been to 13 Sweet 16s. His last trip to the Sweet 16 was in 2014-15 with Louisville.
Bill Self NCAA Tournament history: How many Sweet 16 appearances
Bill Self has been to 12 Sweet 16s in his coaching career.
