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The NCAA has filed a complaint in federal court seeking an emergency restraining order against online sportsbook DraftKings. The NCAA wants DraftKings to stop using registered trademarks associated with its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The complaint for trademark infringement was filed in the Southern District of Indiana and requests that DraftKings refrain from using terms such as “March Madness,” “Final Four,” “Elite Eight” and “Sweet Sixteen” or variations of them in sports wagering products, promotional campaigns and marketing. DraftKings says in a statement that it is not engaging in trademark infringement.
Purdue's Smith sets Division I career assists record in rout of Queens University in NCAA Tournament
Braden Smith scored 26 points and became the Division I career leader in assists, guiding No. 2 seed Purdue to a 104-71 win over Queens University in the NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers seized control with a pair of 10-0 runs, once in the waning moments of the first half and in the opening minutes of the second half. Trey Kaufman-Renn contributed 25 points and nine rebounds, and Oscar Cluff had nine points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks for Purdue. Jordan Watford and Nasir Mann, the younger brother of Charlotte Hornets guard Tre Mann, led the 15th-seeded Royals with 10 points apiece.
Jacari White hit six 3-pointers and scored 26 points, and third-seeded Virginia avoided yet another early NCAA Tournament exit, beating a resolute Wright State 82-73 in the first round. The Cavaliers will face sixth-seeded Tennessee in the second round in the Midwest Region on Sunday. Virginia won its first NCAA Tournament game since it won the 2019 national title. The Cavaliers lost in the first round or the First Four in 2021, 2023 and 2024. Now they're winners again under first-year coach Ryan Odom. Michael Imariagbe scored 19 points for 14th-seeded Wright State.
Jaylen Petty scored 24 points, Christian Anderson added 18 and fifth-seeded Texas Tech beat No. 12 seed Akron 91-71 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Red Raiders will face fourth-seeded Alabama in the second round in the Midwest Region on Sunday. Playing without All-America guard JT Toppin, who tore the ACL in his right knee last month, Texas Tech got double-figure scoring from five players. Josiah Moseley had 16 points, Donovan Atwell scored 15 and LeJuan Watts added 14. Amani Lyles led Akron with 26 points and Shammah Scott had 20.
Ohio State scored four goals in the final 10 minutes of the first period, and the No. 1 overall seed Buckeyes beat fifth-seeded Northeastern 5-0 on Friday in the first of two semifinals at Pegula Ice Arena. Ohio State (36-4-0), which set the program’s single-season wins record with 36, advanced to its fifth straight national title game to improve to 14-4 in the NCAA Tournament and 7-4 in the Frozen Four. Northeastern (29-9-1) was making its fourth Frozen Four appearance in program history and first since 2023 when Ohio State defeated the Huskies 3-0. The Huskies dropped to 5-7-0 in the NCAA Tournament. Five different players scored for the Buckeyes and 10 players recorded a point.
Purdue guard Braden Smith broke former Duke star Bobby Hurley’s Division I assist record with 12:11 to go in the first half of the Boilermakers’ NCAA Tournament game against Queens on Friday night. Smith picked up his second of the game and the 1,077th of his career with a feed to Trey Kaufman-Renn. The All-American already was the only player in NCAA history with at least 1,500 points, 1,000 assists and 500 career rebounds, and Smith is one of two players along with Southern’s Avery Johnson to have had at least 300 assists in two different seasons. He was a second-team AP All-American this season.
Notre Dame senior Eszter Muhari won her third career individual national title in epee and the Fighting Irish fencing team won the inaugural women’s three-weapon national championship on Friday after edging Columbia 102-99. It was the 15th national championship for Irish fencing after winning 14 co-ed titles, including six of the last eight. Notre Dame won the national championship last year in the final year of a combined women’s and men’s team championship. Muhari also won epee in 2023 and 2025 to finish her Notre Dame career as the sixth woman in NCAA history to win three or more individual titles. Harvard junior Jessica Guo won the foil for her second NCAA championship, adding to her 2024 title. Natalia Botello became the first Ohio State Buckeye to win the saber.
The Louisville Cardinals are starting their March Madness run at home for the first time since 2022 when they start Saturday against Vermont. The challenge for Louisville is the KFC Yum! Center has not been the friendliest of confines for coach Jeff Walz and his Cardinals. That's why Walz is treating the opening rounds of the tournament like it’s the ACC Tournament. The Cardinals are staying in a hotel even though they’re the host squad. The other game in Louisville features Alabama in its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and fifth in six years. The Crimson Tide play Rhode Island.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie hit six 3-pointers and scored 29 points as sixth-seeded Tennessee ended a fabulous season for Miami of Ohio with a 78-56 win on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Vols shook off a rough end to the season and advanced to play third-seeded Virginia on Sunday in the Midwest Region. Gillespie hit five 3s in the first half to help the Vols push ahead by 20. J.P. Estrella had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Vols. Peter Suder was the lone Miami player in double digits with 27 points.