Arizona is headed back to the Final Four for the first time in 25 years after the top-seeded Wildcats got 20 points from freshman Koa Peat to beat Purdue 79-64 in the NCAA Tournament's West Region final. After years of disappointment in March, coach Tommy Lloyd has gotten Arizona back to being a championship contender. The Wildcats showed they can win in almost any style. They used a nearly flawless performance on offense to beat Arkansas in the Sweet 16 and then shut down one of the nation’s most efficient offenses against Purdue.
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Geno Auriemma takes aim at the NCAA over the women's double-regional format in March Madness
Purdue's three stellar four-year seniors ended their season one step shy of a home-state Final Four in Indianapolis. The Boilermakers were overwhelmed by Arizona in the Elite Eight on Saturday night. Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer finished with 117 wins. They reached the 2024 national title game, and Smith set the NCAA career record for assists. But they were frustrated against Arizona and had a poor shooting night. Coach Matt Painter says he's proud of his seniors for showing up every day and working hard.
Geno Auriemma takes aim at the NCAA over the women's double-regional format in March Madness
UConn coach Geno Auriemma is ripping the double-regional format being used in the women’s NCAA Tournament. The 12-time national champion coach says it doesn’t make sense for the teams still playing or in efforts to grow the game. Even before taking questions Saturday from reporters, Auriemma brought up attendance, bad shooting percentages and teams having to come to the arena early and late on the same day when taking aim at the format that's in place for the fourth year. The format is set to continue for at least five more years.
Hubert Kós broke his own NCAA record while defending his title in the 200-yard backstroke to help the Texas men win a second straight national championship in swimming and diving. Kós won with a time of 1 minute, 34.13 seconds as the Longhorns piled up 445.5 points. He set an NCAA record of 1:34.21 in winning the event last season. Kós also broke the NCAA record in the 100 backstroke earlier this meet. Florida junior Jonny Marshall finished second and Virginia sophomore David King took third. Runner-up Florida had 416 points. Indiana (351), Arizona State (328) and Tennessee (272) rounded out the top five.
Dane Myers’ single to left in the 11th inning scored designated runner TJ Friedl from third as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Boston Red Sox 6-5. Myers’ third career game-ending hit came off Justin Slaten. Connor Phillips got the win for Cincinnati. The Reds led 4-1 after three innings before the Red Sox rallied. Wilyer Abreu hit a two-out solo homer run in the ninth off Reds closer Emilio Pagán to tie the score at 5. Sal Stewart and Elly De La Cruz each hit solo homers for the Reds. Trevor Story homered for Boston.
Igor Chernyshov scored twice, including the go-ahead goal with 1:25 remaining, to rally the San Jose Sharks to a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, snapping a six-game losing streak. The Sharks moved within four points of Nashville for the second Western Conference wild-card spot. Macklin Celebrini had a goal and an assist, and Will Smith added two assists. Alex Nedeljkovic made 21 saves for San Jose. Denton Mateychuk and Cole Sillinger scored for Columbus, which slipped into the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot. Elvis Merzlikins made 33 saves.
Commandment broke his maiden last fall at Churchill Downs. He’ll soon be headed back there, looking for a much bigger victory. In a photo finish, Commandment won the Florida Derby on Saturday, completing a worst-to-first rally in the six-horse field and overtaking The Puma with the final bob of his head. It was the fourth consecutive win for Commandment, who had jockey Flavien Prat aboard on Saturday. Next up: the Kentucky Derby, the start of the Triple Crown series on May 2 at Churchill Downs.