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SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Florida has gone from being picked to finish sixth in the rugged Southeastern Conference to pushing all the way to the final Monday night of the season.

Now the Gators face a Houston team that just pushes teams around with its suffocating defense.

Big 12 champion Houston and Florida will meet in the national championship game in the Alamodome to wrap up only the second NCAA Tournament when all the No. 1 seeds made it to the Final Four.

Still, this title game matchup is quite a surprise, and features two teams that haven’t been this far in a long time. BetMGM Sportsbook had Florida listed as a 1 1/2-point favorite.

The Cougars (35-4) won their semifinal Saturday night by overcoming a 14-point deficit in the final eight minutes for a 70-67 stunner over Duke and freshman sensation Cooper Flagg, the AP national player of the year.

That was after Florida (35-4), with All-America guard Walter Clayton Jr. scoring 34 points, only had to come back from eight points down after halftime in its 79-73 win over SEC rival Auburn.

Houston, which has an 18-game winning streak, is in its first national championship game since back-to-back appearances in 1983 and 1984 during the Phi Slama Jama era.

This is Florida’s first since winning its back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007 under Billy Donovan. The Gators, with third-year coach Todd Golden, have an 11-game winning streak since a loss at Georgia at the end of February.

“It’s pretty incredible,” Golden said. “In three years, been fortunate to build a great staff that is aligned, that works really hard for each other. Then we’ve just accumulated a great group of guys on our roster. It took a little bit to get all these pieces together. But to a man, they all pull the same direction.”

The Cougars have won 30 of their last 31 games since two overtime losses over three days in a tournament in Las Vegas at the end of November. Their only loss since was 82-81 in OT on Feb. 1 to Texas Tech, an Elite Eight team. Their other loss this season: 74-69 to Auburn in the second game.

Coach Kelvin Sampson and Houston also made the Final Four four years ago, losing to eventual champion Baylor in the national semifinal in the NCAA tourney in a bubble in Indianapolis because of the COVID-19 pandemic. L.J. Cryer, now Houston’s leading scorer, was a freshman for the Bears on that title team.

Now the Cougars will play for a championship after being the first Texas team to make a Final Four held in the Lone Star State — after so much talk about the other teams that made it to San Antonio.

“This whole year, I’ve been trying to stay off social media and stuff like that. I really don’t see those type of things,” Cryer said. “I try just to listen to coach Sampson, and he believed we were the best team in the tournament, so that’s the only person I listened to.”

Florida entered Saturday’s semifinals ranked No. 2 in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency by scoring 129.1 points per 100 possessions, and Clayton had his second 30-point game in a row. He is the leading scorer in this NCAA tourney with 123 points (24.6 per game) and has made 18 of 32 shots (.563) with 8 of 16 3-pointers the past two games.

Houston was ranked first in adjusted defensive efficiency at 87.4 points per 100 possessions, and was one of only four schools — all the teams that made the Final Four — to rank among the KenPom.com top 10 for both offense and defense. The Cougars were at 123.9 points to rank 10th offensively.

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DALLAS (AP) — Sidney Crosby had three goals and an assist, and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to beat the Dallas Stars 5-3 on Saturday.

Bryan Rust and Blake Lizotte also scored to help the Penguins get their second win in three games. Tristan Jarry stopped 21 shots.

Evgenii Dadonov scored three goals for his second hat trick, and Casey DeSmith finished with 35 saves as Dallas snapped a seven-game win streak and 10-game point streak (8-0-2).

Rust tied it 3-3 at 8:49 of the third period as he got a pass in front from Crosby, staked around a sprawled DeSmith and put a backhander into the open net. It was Rust’s 200th NHL goal.

Lizotte put the Penguins ahead 4-3 with 1:43 remaining, and Crosby completed his 14th career regular season hat trick with an empty-netter for his 30th goal with 15 seconds to go.

Crosby tied it 2-2 just 20 seconds into the third, getting a centering pass from Rutger McGroarty on the goal line back in front and redirecting a backhander past DeSmith.

Dadonov finished his hat trick at 3:11 to put the Stars back in front as he beat Jarry from the right side with a backhander.

Crosby gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead with a power- play goal 4:16 into the game. Dadonov tied it 6 1/2 minutes later.

Dadonov put the Stars ahead 2-1 with a power-play goal from below the left circle with 7:24 left in the second.
Takeaways

Penguins: Pittsburgh began the day nine points out of a playoff spot and got its third win in eight games (3-3-2).

Stars: Dallas lost for the first time since March 14 at Winnipeg, and lost at home in regulation for just the eighth time this season.
Key moment

With the score tied late, Stars defensemen Thomas Harley and Cody Ceci ran into each other and turned the puck over in their defensive zone, Danton Heinen fed Blake Lizotte, who beat DeSmith for the go-ahead goal with 1:43 left.
Key stat

Crosby has 11 goals and nine assists during a 12-game point streak, the longest active point streak in the NHL and the fourth-longest of his career. It is also tied Jean Beliveau (1970-71), Brett Hull (2003-04), Joe Sakic (2006-07) and Mathieu Schneider (2006-07) for the longest point streak by a player 37 or older in NHL history.
Up next

Penguins play at Chicago on Sunday to open a home-and-home set, and Stars visit Minnesota.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin skated over to his son Sergei at the glass. He bowed to Wayne Gretzky standing in a suite. He blew kisses to his wife, mother and family on the other side of the arena.

In signature dramatic fashion, Ovechkin scored the 894th goal of his career — and second of the game — to tie Gretzky’s NHL record and set off a wild celebration among his Washington Capitals teammates on the ice and in the stands of the only building he has called home for the past two decades.

“I’m still a little shaking and still can’t believe it,” Ovechkin said with Gretzky sitting beside him after Washington’s 5-3 win over Chicago on Friday night. “It’s history. It’s great for the game. It’s great to do it here. It’s special.”

Another special moment awaits if and when Ovechkin scores his 895th goal to break one of hockey’s records that looked unbreakable. But the chance to celebrate at home with Capitals players past and present and match Gretzky made it a moment Ovechkin will never forget.

Neither will Gretzky, who along with Ovechkin is the league’s co-leading goal-scorer for the time being.

“I can live with that for 24 more hours,” Gretzky said. “I can still say I’m tied for the most.”

0vechkin scored No. 894 from his spot in the left faceoff circle on the power play on a pass from longtime teammate John Carlson with 13:47 left in the third period. The goal — his 41st of the season and record-setting 136th game-winner to break a tie with Jaromir Jagr — caused teammates to spill off the bench and mob Ovechkin in the corner of the rink.

“We kind of looked at each other just and said, ‘Screw it, I’m going,’” winger Tom Wilson said. “It was just so cool to be a part of it as a group.”

Ovechkin’s goal song, “Shake, Rattle & Roll” by Big Joe Turner, blared from the speakers, and mascot Slapshot flipped the counter in one corner from 893 to 894 as fans rose to their feet and stayed there to applaud the accomplishment. The 39-year-old who has spent his entire career with Washington skated circles around center ice to implore for more, in between his emotional moments paying tribute to Gretzky and his family.

“That was awesome,” said center Dylan Strome, who set up Ovechkin’s 893rd goal. “Like, you’re left speechless and they still got to play the game and try to find him for one more.”

Amazingly, Ovechkin almost got another one. He had chances in the final 10 minutes and either missed the net or was denied by Spencer Knight, one of a record 182 different goaltenders he has scored on during his career.

“I just guess I’m glad he didn’t get the last one,” Knight said. “But, yeah, it’s cool to see, it’s great for the sport.”

One way Ovechkin refused to get No. 895 was into an empty net. He told coach Spencer Carbery and others he wanted no part of passing Gretzky like that.

“He wants to break the record with a goaltender in the crease, which I appreciate,” Carbery said. “He told me that on the bench, and I just wanted to confirm that he didn’t want to go out. And it’s hard for us as coaches because I just wanted to make sure in that moment: hat trick, at home. And he didn’t want to go out and score on an empty net to break the record. We have six games left, and he wants to break the record and have that moment where he’s shooting the puck past a goalie.”

Afterward, Blackhawks players stayed on the ice to do a handshake line with Ovechkin, who gets his next chance to break the record Sunday at the New York Islanders.

“Obviously very classy by the Hawks organization what they did tonight for ‘O’ and it’s as good as it gets,” Wilson said. “We have more to look forward to hopefully, but this was an incredible night.”

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard are going into the Basketball Hall of Fame later this year, not once but twice. And LeBron James and Chris Paul are part of the group that’s headed to the Hall as well, even before their playing careers end.

Anthony and Howard were announced Saturday as members of the Class of 2025, as was the 2008 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team that they played on — dubbed the “Redeem Team,” the one that captured gold at the Beijing Games and started a still-going run of five consecutive Olympic titles and counting for USA Basketball’s men’s program.

Also selected for enshrinement: WNBA greats Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles, Chicago Bulls coach and two-time NCAA champion Billy Donovan, Miami Heat managing general partner Micky Arison and longtime NBA referee Danny Crawford.

“I made it to the real basketball heaven,” Howard said. “It’s crazy.”

Enshrinement weekend is Sept. 5-6 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, and the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

“When the call comes and in my case, I saw Springfield on the phone,” Anthony said on the televised announcement. “You know what time it is Springfield is on the phone. You know who it is. You get the phone call and you hear, ‘You’re in.’ And I think for me, it was a burden off of my shoulders.”

Donovan won back-to-back titles as a college coach with Florida. Arison oversaw Miami’s path to NBA titles in 2006, 2012 and 2013. Crawford worked NBA games for 32 seasons and was picked to work the NBA Finals in 23 of those years.

“For some, this is an individual honor,” Arison said. “But for me, this speaks to what our entire Heat family — players, coaches, staff and fans — have built together.”

Combined, the five players selected as individuals – Bird, Moore, Fowles, Howard and Anthony – were part of 11 WNBA or NBA championship teams, won 15 Olympic gold medals, made 37 All-NBA or All-WNBA appearances and were named as All-Stars 45 times in their careers.

“Surreal,” Bird said of her selection. “I don’t think there’s any way to really wrap your head around it.”

Added Fowles: “I don’t think (any) one of us go into this thinking that we’re going to be Hall of Famers. You just do your job … and when it’s all said and done, the job is complete and here we are.”

The Redeem Team’s selection means that Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Jason Kidd and Kobe Bryant — already enshrined as Hall of Famers — essentially now go in for a second time. James and Paul, who are obviously both locks to get into the Hall after they retire, also played for that Olympic team, as did Anthony, Howard, Michael Redd, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams and Tayshaun Prince.

That team’s managing director was Jerry Colangelo, who now chairs the Hall of Fame.

“We developed a set of standards where all the guys lived by those standards,” said former Duke coach and 2001 Hall of Fame inductee Mike Krzyzewski, who coached that 2008 Olympic team. “They were the best group of guys. I wish like crazy that Kobe was here. He was really the key guy, I think. As many great players as we had at that point, he was the greatest and everyone looked up to him.”

Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a 2020 helicopter crash. Bryant was enshrined posthumously into the Hall later that year.

The Redeem Team had that moniker because it was the team tasked with restoring USA Basketball’s place atop the world stage, after the 2004 Olympic team only managed a bronze medal at the Athens Games. The Redeem Team went 8-0 in Beijing, winning those games by an average of 27.9 points.

“USA Basketball is thrilled to see the 2008 U.S. Men’s Olympic Team elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame,” USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said. “The Redeem Team’s celebrated run in Beijing marks a pivotal moment in U.S. men’s Olympic basketball history and has propelled us to five straight gold medals.

“Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, members of that team and individual inductees, are two of the many legends in this Class who have contributed to our organization’s success over the last 20-plus years, including Sue Bird, Billy Donovan, Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles,” Tooley added.

UConn’s women’s program already had coach Geno Auriemma, Swin Cash (enshrined as a player) and Rebecca Lobo (enshrined as a contributor) in the Hall of Fame, and Bird and Moore going in together will obviously add to what’s always a huge weekend in New England.

“They’re hall of famers for me, they’re hall of famers for their family, they’re hall of famers for everybody — they’re even hall of famers for UConn haters,” Auriemma said. “That’s one thing they can all agree on.”

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Ivica Zubac was 11 for 11 from the floor for 25 points, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden scored 29 each and the Los Angeles Clippers blew out the Dallas Mavericks 135-104 on Saturday night.

Zubac also had 10 rebounds and is the first player in NBA history to have 25 points and 10 rebounds without any turnovers or misses. His perfect shooting night is a franchise record for most makes without a miss in a single game.

The Clippers have won four in a row and six of their last seven games.

Anthony Davis had 27 points and Kai Jones added 18 on 9-for-9 shooting to lead the Mavericks.

Davis grabbed his left knee in the first half and his stomach multiple times in the second though he continued to play. Davis missed time with an abdominal injury after being acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Takeaways

Mavericks: The way Dallas is playing, it may not get a chance to defend last season’s Western Conference crown. They’ve lost three of four and were blown out twice in two days by the Clippers.

Clippers: Los Angeles knows it cannot afford any more losses if it wants a top six seed. And the Clippers are playing like everything’s at stake.
Key moment

Klay Thompson’s 3-pointer with 7:36 to play in the third quarter pulled the Mavs to within 75-65, but the Clippers went on a 17-6 run to make it 92-71 on Zubac’s dunk with 3:05 left in the quarter. They extended the lead to 105-82 after three and weren’t challenged again.
Key stat

Leonard, Harden and Zubac were a combined 33 of 49 from the field through the first three quarters, scoring nearly as many points (81) as the Mavericks (82).

Zubac surpassed Bob McAdoo for sole possession of fifth place on the Clippers’ career rebounds list.
Up next

The Mavericks return home to take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. The Clippers play host to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jose Miranda’s three-run homer highlighted a six-run fourth inning that ignited the Minnesota Twins in a 6-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday afternoon.

The Twins were hitless against Spencer Arighetti (1-1) until the fourth, when Miranda sent a two-out, two-strike curveball into the left-field seats for a 4-1 lead. Matt Wallner added an RBI double during that 10-batter inning aided by two errors and Arighetti’s wildness.

The Twins totaled only six runs over their 0-4 start and topped that total only once in their first seven games.

Twins starter Bailey Ober bounced back from a rough opening start in St. Louis, allowing a leadoff home run to Jose Altuve but nothing else over four strong innings. Ober gave up eight hits and eight runs in 2 2/3 innings to the Cardinals last week.

Cole Sands (1-0) struck out two in a perfect sixth for the victory, one of five Twins relievers who combined to strike out eight without a walk over five scoreless innings.

Altuve had three hits after striking out in each of his five at-bats on Thursday, the most whiffs of his career.
Key moment

Byron Buxton was hit on the hand by a 92 mph full-count fastball from Arrighetti starting the fateful fourth, before stealing second. He scored after a single by Ty France, racing home when Altuve fumbled the ball as he began his throw. Buxton’s run stopped an 11-inning scoreless streak for the Twins.
Key stat

After two consecutive games without drawing a walk, the first time they’d done that since Sept. 16-17, 2022, Twins batters had four walks and a hit-by-pitch.
Up next

RHP Ronel Blanco (0-1, 5.40 ERA) starts the series finale for Houston on Sunday. RHP Chris Paddack (0-1, 24.30 ERA) pitches for Minnesota.

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

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Wyatt Langford hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning after Jacob deGrom allowed a four-run lead to slip away and the Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.

After the Rays trailed 4-0 after one inning, Jonathan Aranda hit a two-run homer as part of Tampa Bay’s three-run sixth that tied it at 4.

Aranda’s homer and Kameron Misner’s double knocked deGrom from the game. DeGrom allowed four runs and eight hits — including homers by Aranda and Brandon Lowe — in 5? innings.

Texas scored four times in the first against Rays starter Taj Bradley. Marcus Semien hit a leadoff homer and Jake Burger had a three-run shot with two outs after Langford and Adolis Garcia walked.

Bradley regrouped and held the Rangers hitless over the next four innings. He allowed four runs and two hits and four walks with seven strikeouts in five innings.

Robert Garcia (1-0), the Rangers’ third pitcher, got one out to earn the win. Luke Jackson pitched the ninth for his fifth save. Mason Montgomery (0-1) gave up Langford’s homer and took the loss.
Key moment

Although Langford’s two-run homer gave Texas the lead, Kevin Pillar led off the inning with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Danny Jansen ahead of the homer.
Key stat

DeGrom allowed multiple homers in a game for the first time since Sept. 30, 2022, when the Braves hit three against him when he was with the Mets.
Up next

Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen faces Rangers right-hander Kumar Rocker in the series finale at 1:35 p.m. Sunday.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb