Duquesne takes 1st bid in 47 years
Duquesne earned an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time in 47 years, beating fifth-seeded seeded VCU 57-51 Sunday to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship.
The sixth-seeded Dukes (24-11) led by 14 at the half, but bringing home that long-awaited invite to March Madness was a struggle. Duquesne scored only 21 points and shot 5 for 29 from the field in the second half, but the small Catholic school in Pittsburgh will head into the NCAA Tournament with an eight-game winning streak.
Coach Keith Dambrot, who coached LeBron James for two years in high school, and the Dukes matched a program record for victories set in 1953-54, when Dambrot's father, Sid, played for Duquesne.
The last time Duquesne won the A-10 and went to the NCAA Tournament was in 1977, when future NBA All-Star Norm Nixon and the Dukes beat Villanova in the title game.
Joe Bamisile led fifthseeded VCU (22-13), which was trying to repeat as A-10 tournament champs, with 20 points.
NO. 12 AUBURN BEATS FLORIDA FOR SEC TITLE >>
Johni Broome scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as No. 12 Auburn won the Tigers' third Southeastern Conference Tournament championship by beating Florida 86-67 in a game marred by a gruesome injury to Gators center Micah Handlogten.
The Tigers (27-7) avoided the upset bug that took out the SEC's top three seeds in Friday's quarterfinals, leaving them as the highest seed still standing. They never trailed in the final.
The sixth-seeded Florida Gators (24-11) were playing their fourth game in as many days and trying to win the program's fifth SEC Tournament title and first since 2014.
NO. 13 ILLINOIS BEATS WISCONSIN FOR BIG 10 TITLE >>
Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 34 points on 15for-17 shooting from the free-throw line, helping 13th-ranked Illinois past Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament championship.
Marcus Domask added 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and Dain Dainja had nine points and seven rebounds for the Illini (26-8), who won their fourth conference title and
their second in four years after shooting 16 of 26 from the floor in the second half.
A.J. Storr had 24 points and Chucky Hepburn added 20 points for the Badgers (22-13), who went 7 for 20 from 3-point range after going 33 for 79 over their first three games of the tournament.
KNOWLING'S BUZZERBEATER LIFTS YALE OVER BROWN FOR IVY LEAGUE TITLE >>
Matt Knowling hit a jumper at the buzzer and Yale closed the game on an 8-1 run to beat Brown 62-61 in the championship game of the Ivy League Tournament, sending the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time.
Soccer
MAN UNITED WINS >>
There's still some fight left in Manchester United.
With the season hanging in the balance, Erik ten Hag's team produced one of the most important wins of his tenure to beat Liverpool 4-3 after extra time in a thrilling FA Cup quarterfinal match.
With nearly the last kick of the match, substitute Amad Diallo sent Old Trafford into raptures, ended Liverpool's bid for a quadruple of trophies and fired United into the semifinals. CHELSEA'S REVENGE >> Two goals in second-half stoppage time saw Chelsea book its place at Wembley and avenge its defeat to Leicester in the 2021 FA Cup final.
But Mauricio Pochettino's team was given a scare against Leicester at Stamford Bridge.
NASCAR
HAMLIN WINS AT BRISTOL >>
Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, passing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex
Jr. in the final laps for his fourth victory at the famed short track.
Hamlin
NASCAR's
September.
This one was much different. Tire issues hampered most everyone all afternoon as only five cars finished on the lead lap — the first time that has happened in the Cup Series in 20 years. The Gibbs cars were the class of the field.
It was Hamlin's 52nd career win and locks him into the playoffs. Brad Keselowski finished third in a Ford, Alex Bowman was fourth in a Chevrolet and Bowman's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson rounded out the top five. also won at bullring last
Golf
SCHEFFLER WINS PLAYERS >>
Already the best in the world, Scottie Scheffler added another layer to his legend. He became the first player to win back-to-back in 50 years of The Players Championship by matching the biggest comeback and the lowest closing round by a winner.
Scheffler holed out for eagle from the fourth fairway and had four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn, sending him to an 8-under 64 and a one-shot victory that wasn't decided until the final putt.
Xander Schauffele, Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark all had a chance to force a playoff with a birdie on the daunting 18th hole at the TPC Sawgrass.
MLB
METS OWNER DOESN'T EXPECT LONG-TERM DEAL WITH STAR ALONSO BEFORE SEASON ENDS >>
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen doesn't expect to sign a long-term contract with star first baseman Pete Alonso before the end of the season.
Alonso has a $20.5 million, one-year contract and can become a free agent after the World Series.
“We haven't had any discussion and I think at this point, for Pete, it's best for him to go and have a great year and not be distracted,” Cohen said Sunday at Mets spring training camp.
Alonso, who turns 30 in December, was the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year and is a three-time All-Star. He has a .251 batting average with 192 homers, 498 RBIs and a .870 OPS in five major league seasons.
Tennis
SWIATEK WINS INDIAN WELLS TITLE >> Iga Swiatek beat Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-0 in just over an hour to win the BNP Paribas Open, with the world's top-ranked woman losing just 21 games in six matches during the 12-day tournament.
Swiatek earned her 20th match win of the year, which leads the WTA Tour.
It was a repeat of the 2022 final, in which Swiatek beat Sakkari 6-4, 6-1. Sakkari hasn't defeated the Polish star since 2021.
Skiing
SWISS STAR SECURES TITLES >>
Lara Gut-Behrami secured the women's World Cup overall and giant slalom titles after finishing 10th in the GS at the World Cup finals.
Her only remaining challenger in both classifications, Federica Brignone, won the race but that was not enough for the Italian, who could only overtake Gut-Behrami if the Swiss star had finished outside the top 15 and failed to score points.
Gut-Behrami avoided risks in both runs, posting only the eighth and 17th fastest times.
HAUGAN WINS SLALOM >> Timon Haugan held on to his first-run lead to win the men's slalom at the World Cup finals, giving the Norwegian ski team its first victory of the season.
Haugan beat Manuel Feller, the winner of the discipline season title, by 0.40 seconds after the Austrian improved from fourth after the first run. Linus Strasser of Germany, who was second, dropped to third, 0.44 behind.
Haugan had earned three career podiums in slalom before, most recently in Schladming in January, but was yet to win a World Cup event.