Today is
Friday March 28, 2025
West Virginia hired Ross Hodge of North Texas as its men’s basketball coach on Wednesday.
The 44-year-old Hodge replaces Darian DeVries, who left after one season for Indiana. Hodge agreed to a five-year deal to become West Virginia’s fourth coach in four seasons. Terms of the contract weren’t immediately disclosed.
“Ross Hodge is a proven winner and leader who has demonstrated success at every stop of his career,” West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker said in a statement.
Hodge is 46-23 in two seasons as coach of the Mean Green, who are 27-8 this season and advanced to the National Invitation Tournament semifinals next Tuesday in Indianapolis.
Hodge has been part of staffs that went to three NCAA tournaments, including an upset of Purdue as a No. 13 seed in 2021.
Hodge may not have been on everyone’s radar when the West Virginia job opened, but others believed to be in the running went elsewhere: Drake’s Ben McCollum was hired at Iowa, Colorado State’s Niko Medved went to Minnesota, and New Mexico’s Richard Pitino landed at Xavier.
All Baker needed to do was to go back to his past.
Baker was the AD at North Texas from 2016 to 2022. Hodge was an assistant coach for the Mean Green for six seasons under Grant McCasland. After McCasland took over at Texas Tech in 2023, Hodge became the Mean Green’s head coach and went 19-15 in the school’s first season in the American Athletic Conference despite numerous injuries.
Hodge is credited as the architect of the North Texas defense. The Mean Green had the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense in 2021-22 and 2022-23, when they won 25 and a school-record 31 games, respectively, including capturing the 2023 NIT championship.
“I have such respect for the toughness, grit and pride of the people of West Virginia, and my hope is that we can reflect that with how our team competes on the court,” Hodge said.
A Dallas native, Hodge also was an assistant under McCasland at Arkansas State and served under Larry Eustachy at Colorado State and Southern Miss.
McCasland, whose Red Raiders face Arkansas in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night in San Francisco, said he considers Hodge a brother who cares deeply about people, holds them accountable and tells them the truth.
“You’ll see he will win in the Big 12. And it will not be what other people think,” McCasland said Wednesday. “It will be at the highest level. And I’m not looking forward to playing him, but I am looking forward to going on this journey with him, because I love him. And I love him because who he is as a husband, and who he is as a father and who he is as a friend.”
West Virginia was left stunned last week, first when it was snubbed from the NCAA Tournament despite a 19-13 record and six Quad 1 wins, then by DeVries’ departure two days later.
DeVries had been hired at West Virginia a year ago to replace interim coach Josh Eilert, who steered the Mountaineers through a nine-win season in 2023-24 after Hall of Fame coach Bob Huggins resigned following a June 2023 drunken driving arrest.
After DeVries left, Baker was asked whether it was important to find someone with ties to the program in the hope of having a coach for the long term.
“I know that there can be a knee-jerk reaction when you lose a coach after a year,” Baker said last week. “Human nature is to think, ‘Oh God, we have to get somebody who’s connected to here.’ I just think your job is to go out and get the best coach that you can. And you want to have coaches that other people covet and want to come after. Because the alternative to that is, nobody wants your coach. And that’s not very good.”
West Virginia’s roster will undergo its third straight season of makeovers. Five players on the current roster have entered the NCAA transfer portal, including four starters. Baker has said he hopes the players will give the new coach a chance to recruit them back for next season.
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — In an NCAA Tournament sorely lacking in Cinderella stories, coach John Calipari has the unusual role of being the closest thing to it.
After routinely taking powerhouse teams in his first decade at Kentucky to the Sweet 16 and beyond, Calipari has surprisingly done the same in his first season at Arkansas with the 10th-seeded Razorbacks set to take on No. 3 seed Texas Tech in the West Region semifinals on Thursday night as the only double-digit seed remaining in the tournament.
“My guess is other than a fan of Arkansas, no one is picking us to win the game,” Calipari said Wednesday. “But the great news in this tournament, you’ve got to play the games.”
Top-seeded Florida will take on No. 4 seed Maryland in the other Sweet 16 game in San Francisco.
Calipari is preparing for his 16th trip to the Sweet 16, having gone previously at stops at UMass, Memphis and Kentucky. Lon Kruger and Eddie Sutton are the only other coaches to get this far with four schools.
Calipari went to Final Fours at all three of those previous stops, winning his only title in 2012 with the Wildcats.
After failing to make it to the second weekend of the tournament once in his last four seasons at Kentucky, Calipari left after a first-round loss to Oakland last season to take over at Arkansas.
While he has enjoyed success at every stop, it looked like it might not be immediate at Arkansas when the Razorbacks got off to a 1-6 start in SEC play. But a win in Calipari’s return to Kentucky helped turn the season around and now Calipari is back in the Sweet 16 with an underdog after he had a top two seed in his region in 11 of his first 15 trips to this round.
“We approach the postseason the same. I’ve been the 10 seed. I’ve been the 8 seed. I’ve been other seeds,” he said. “There’s so many ways of doing this, including on the court. There’s a lot of ways to do this and have success. So, for me, what I’ve done, I want this to be like regular season like nothing has changed.”
Homecoming
With no teams from the West playing in the regional in San Francisco, Texas Tech might have the best case for being the hometown favorites. Guard Chance McMillian grew up in San Francisco and went to high school in nearby Vallejo and forward Darrion Williams is from Sacramento.
“I have a lot of people from San Francisco expecting to the come to the game,” McMillian said. “Feels good to be back home because this is my first game in Northern California, too, so I have a lot of people excited to watch this.”
McMillian has missed the last three games after hurting his oblique in the Big 12 Tournament. He will be a game-time decision Thursday.
“I’m getting better day by day,” he said. “Been in the training room, doing a lot of pool workouts and breathing workouts because I strained my oblique pretty bad. But my goal is to play tomorrow.”
Thiero’s status
Arkansas got a big boost last weekend with guard Boogie Fland’s return from injury and now have a chance to get another key player back this weekend.
Star big man Adou Thiero went through a full contact practice Tuesday for the first time since injuring his knee Feb. 22. He didn’t get on the court during the open practice Wednesday with his leg still bothering him but Calipari held out hope that he could get maybe 10 minutes out of him against Texas Tech.
Going deep
The matchup between the Gators and Terps is a contrast in styles with Maryland relying heavily on its “Crab Five” starting lineup and Florida regularly going eight or nine players deep. Maryland has gotten nearly 85% of its scoring from its starting lineup — the fifth most in all of Division I — but coach Kevin Willard knows he will need help from the bench to take pressure off big men Derik Queen and Julian Reese so they don’t wear down against the fast-paced Gators.
“We’re going to have to play all four bigs,” Willard said. “There’s just no way Derik and Ju are going to be allotted 36 minutes against this team. They run consistently. They’re fresh. They’re as good a basketball team as I’ve seen on film all year.”
Willard’s whereabouts
Willard’s future has been a major topic during the tournament as he has openly talked about his frustrations with the school and the changes he wants to make to the program. Athletic director Damon Evans left last week to take the same job at SMU and Willard is reportedly a candidate to become Villanova’s coach.
When he was asked about it on Wednesday, he responded by talking about the matchup against the Gators and their All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr.
“The biggest thing is we’ve got to stop Clayton,” he said. “He’s really good. He shoots the basketball going left 48%. He shoots it right going at, like, 38%. So really the last couple of days trying to come up with a game plan to stop Clayton because I think he’s one of the best guards in the country that we’ve seen.”
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EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Jason Robertson had a natural hat trick in the second period and the Dallas Stars held off the short-handed Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on Wednesday night.
Edmonton stars Connor McDavid (lower-body injury) and Leon Draisaitl (undisclosed) sat out for the second straight game. The Oilers then lost goalie Stuart Skinner in the third period after he was inadvertently kneed in the head by Mikko Rantanen.
Robertson had his second hat trick of the season and fifth of his career. Wyatt Johnston also scored as the Stars raced to a 4-0 lead. Roope Hintz assisted on Robertson’s three goals and Jake Oettinger stopped 42 shots. Dallas is 4-0-2 in its last six games.
Corey Perry, Adam Henrique and Zach Hyman scored for Edmonton in a late comeback attempt after Skinner was hit in the head and replaced by Calvin Pickard.
Takeaways
Stars: Defenseman Thomas Harley continued to impress with top defender Miro Heiskanen out with a knee injury. Harley, who was selected 18th overall in the 2019 draft, has four goals and 10 points in his last nine games. The 23-year-old had two assists Wednesday to match his career high of 47 points.
Oilers: It appeared Edmonton’s injury situation worsened in the second period when a pair of top players left the ice within minutes of each other. Zach Hyman went down awkwardly along the boards after colliding with Dallas winger Mason Marchment and went straight to the dressing room. Then, top defenseman Evan Bouchard was hit by a shot and also left the ice. Home fans were relieved to see both players return to the ice and complete the game.
Key moment
Robertson tipped in Harley point shot for a power-play goal to make it 4-0 late in the second. It was Robertson’s third of the game and his team-leading 32nd of the season.
Key stat
Dallas boasts an NHL-high five players with 25 or more goals this season — Robertson, Matt Duchene, Hintz, Johnston and Rantanen.
Up next
Both teams play the second of back-to-backs Thursday night. The Oilers are in Seattle, and the Stars visit Calgary.
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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving had surgery on the torn ACL in his left knee, starting a process of recovery that’s likely to continue into next season.
The team said Wednesday night further medical updates on Irving would be provided “as appropriate.”
Irving was injured in the first quarter of a 122-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings on March 3. It was the biggest in a string of injuries that decimated the Dallas roster.
The 33-year-old Irving is going into the final year of his contract and has a player option.
The Mavericks had already lost fellow All-Star Anthony Davis to a groin injury when Irving went down. Dallas sent superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Davis in early February, a seismic trade that angered the Dallas fan base.
The chorus of critics grew after Davis’ injury in his Dallas debut on Feb. 8. The Mavs played nine games without Irving and Davis before Davis returned in a 120-101 victory at Brooklyn on Monday.
Dallas, the defending Western Conference champion, is in a tight three-team race for ninth and 10th in the West, the final two spots in the play-in tournament.
The Mavs are at Orlando on Thursday night, with Davis listed as questionable after skipping the second night of a back-to-back in a 128-113 loss to the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
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AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers say they have accepted President Donald Trump’s invitation to the White House to celebrate their World Series title.
The Dodgers confirmed in a social media post on Tuesday night that “in keeping with long-standing baseball tradition,” Trump invited them and they accepted. The team said the visit will happen on April 7 before opening a series at the Washington Nationals, adding that members of the team plan to visit Capitol Hill on April 8.
Manager Dave Roberts called it a huge honor that each World Series champion gets to experience. Roberts said deciding to go to the White House was not a formal conversation he and players had.
The NHL’s reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers became the first team to visit Trump in his second term when they were honored during a ceremony in the East Room in early February.
The White House also said recently the NFL’s Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles accepted their invitation for April 28.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
NEW YORK (AP) — Juan Soto, Blake Snell and Clay Holmes debut for new teams, Paul Skenes makes his first opening-day start at age 22 and Sandy Alcántara returns from Tommy John surgery.
A week after the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgersswept an opening two-game series over the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, 26 other teams get underway Thursday on opening day in the U.S. and Canada.
One day later the Rays and Rockies become the final clubs to take the field, given extra time while Tampa Bay moved into the New York Yankees’ Steinbrenner Field, its temporary home this season after Hurricane Milton destroyed Tropicana Field’s roof.
With Oakland stripped from its name, the cityless Athletics start the first of at least three years at a makeshift minor league home in Sacramento when they host the Cubs on Monday. But first, the A’s start at Seattle with Luis Severino on the mound after he agreed to a team-record $67 million, three-year contract.
Across the majors, Miami’s Clayton McCullough makes his major league managing debut and Cincinnati’s Terry Francona and Will Venable of the Chicago White Sox start tenures with new teams.
Starting pitchers feature a Zack, Zach and Zac.
Banged up Yankees open at home after AL pennant
Action begins in the Bronx when Carlos Rodón makes his first opening day start for the defending AL champion New York Yankees, who are without three-fifths of their starting rotation following injuries to Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt. In addition, Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu are hurt.
Freddy Peralta pitches for Milwaukee, which could see former closer Devin Williams for the first time since he buckled in the ninth inning of NL Wild Card Series Game 3, when he allowed a go-ahead, three-run homer to the Mets’ Pete Alonso.
$765 million reasons to pay attention
Soto signed a record $765 million, 15-year contract to leave the Yankees and join the Mets, who totaled $1.36 billion in payroll and luxury tax over four years under owner Steve Cohen but remain without a title since 1986.
New York is 41-22 in openers, at .651 the best winning percentage of any franchise. After losing their first eight, the Mets have won 41 of their last 55.
Holmes left the Yankees for a $38 million, three-year deal with the Mets and will make his first start since 2018 with Pittsburgh. Framber Valdez will be on the mound for the Astros.
Raising the flag
After winning their second title in a five-year span and eighth overall, the Dodgers lift the World Series flag above Chavez Ravine before their home opener against Detroit.
Snell, a 2018 and ’23 Cy Young Award winner, joined Los Angeles for a $182 million, five-year contract that was part of a spending spree in which the Dodgers committed $458.5 million to nine players. AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal starts for the Tigers, who won 15 of their final 20 games last season, then swept Houston in a Wild Card Series and lost to Cleveland in a five-game Division Series.
First of many?
Skenes, the NL Rookie of the Year, will be at 22 years, 302 days when he takes the mound at Miami, the youngest opening day starting pitcher since the Marlins’ José Fernández at 21-243 in 2014.
Alcántara makes his first appearance for Miami since Sept. 3, 2023. The 2022 NL Cy Young winner had Tommy John surgery that Oct. 6. Clayton McCullough makes his debut as Marlins manager after replacing Skip Schumaker.
Sale starts opener for Braves
NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale starts his sixth opener, but first for Atlanta after three for the White Sox and two for Boston. With Yu Darvish sidelined by elbow inflammation, Michael King start for the Padres — he pitched seven scoreless innings against the Braves with 12 strikeouts in last year’s Wild Card Series opener.
New faces for the Red Sox
Garrett Crochet starts for Boston at Texas following his offseason acquisition from the White Sox, who started the left-hander in the opener of what turned into a record 121-loss season last year. Alex Bregman takes over at third base after agreeing to a $120 million, three-year contract, while Rafael Devers moves to designated hitter and 22-year-old Kristian Campbell appeared set to start at second base in his major league debut.
Nathan Eovaldi becomes the first pitcher to make consecutive opening day starts for Texas since Kevin Millwood from 2006-09.
Gallen starts for Diamondbacks agaist Cubs
Zac Gallen was picked over Corbin Burnes to start for Arizona against the Cubs, making his third straight opening day start. Justin Steele makes his second start of the season for Chicago after allowing five runs over four innings in the second game loss to the Dodgers last week.
On the road, before heading to temporary home
Before starting their Sacramento tenancy on Monday against the Cubs, the vagabond Athletics open at Seattle with Severino, the third straight pitcher to make his A’s debut by starting opening day after Kyle Muller and Alex Wood.
Coming off his first All-Star selection, Logan Gilbert starts his first Seattle opener. Dan Wilson begins his first full season as Mariners manager after replacing Scott Servais last August.
Blue Jays seek sixth straight opening day win
José Berríos starts his fifth opener and joins Jimmy Key, Dave Stieb and Roy Halladay as the only pitchers to start three for Toronto, who have the longest opening day winning streak in the big leagues. Outfielder Anthony Santander debuts for the Blue Jays.
Zach Eflin, acquired from the Rays last summer, will be on the mound for the Orioles and will become the fourth pitcher since 1900 to start consecutive openers against the same opponent for different teams, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The others were Sad Sam Jones, Wes Ferrell and Madison Bumgarner.
Kikuchi becomes record third Japanese pitcher to start 2025 opener
Making his Los Angeles Angels debut, Kikuchi follows opening starts in Japan last week by the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Cubs’ Shota Imanaga.
Sean Burke, a 25-year-old right-hander who made his first three big league starts last September, becomes the sixth pitcher in 70 years to start an opener with three or fewer big league starts, according to Elias, after Crochet, Tanner Scheppers, David Nied, Al Holland and Fernando Valenzuela.
Wheeler starts second straight Phillies opener
Zack Wheeler at 34 becomes the oldest Philadelphia pitcher to make consecutive opening day starts since Halladay pitched his third straight in 2012. MacKenzie Gore at 26 will be the Nationals’ youngest opening day starter since Stephen Strasburg in 2014.
Ragans starts second straight opener for Royals
Cole Ragans at 27 will be the youngest Kansas City pitcher to start two openers in a row since 27-year-old Jeff Suppan pitched his third straight in 2002. In an AL Central matchup, Tanner Bibee starts for Cleveland after agreeing to a $48 million, five-year contract.
Francona back in dugout with Reds
Francona starts his 24th season as a big league manager at age 65 after taking a season off and regaining his health following 11 seasons with Cleveland. Hunter Greene starts for the Reds, who have opened exclusively with right-handers since 1999.
Shortstop Willy Adames debuts for the Giants after signing a $182 million, seven-year contract for a team run by former star catcher Buster Posey.
López starts third straight opener for Twins
Pablo López becomes the first Minnesota pitcher to start three openers in a row since Brad Radke’s seven from 1999-2005. Sonny Gray starts his fourth opener and first for St. Louis after outings for Oakland and Cincinnati. The Cardinals o pen their last season under president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, who has been in charge since October 2007 and will be replaced next fall by Chaim Bloom.
Eyes on batters
In the third season of restrictions on defensive shifts and larger bases, focus will be on offense.
Last year’s final batting average of .2433 was higher in the post-1900 era than only .237 in 1968, .239 in 1908, .242 in 1967 and .2427 in 2022.
Robot umpires on the horizon
This could be be the last opening day without robot umpires looking over the men calling balls and strikes
A spring training test of the Automated Ball-Strike System received a mostly positive initial reception and could lead to regular-season use in 2026.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
HOUSTON – Our news partner, KETK, reports that two East Texas men have placed in the top 3 in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) for their final performances at RODEOHOUSTON.
According to PRORODEO, Kincade Henry, 23 of Mount Pleasant, placed second in tie-down roping during the sixth round with a 8.1s performance earning $30,000 and qualifying him for finals. Henry placed fourth in finals with a 9.1s performance, ranking him number 3 in the world for tie roping.
Holden Myers, 25 of Van, placed second in steer wrestling during the sixth round with a 5.2s performance earning $30,000 and qualifying him for finals. Myers placed third in finals with a 4.5s performance, ranking him number 2 in the world for steer wrestling. Three other East Texas men earned world rankings for their performances in team roping (headers), saddle bronc riding and bareback riding during the Houston Rodeo. Read the rest of this entry »
LOS ANGELES (AP) — If Southern California wants to win its first national championship in 41 years, the Trojans will have to find a way to get it done without star guard JuJu Watkins.
They notched their 30th win for the first time since 1986 by walloping ninth-seeded Mississippi State 96-59 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday night. But they lost Watkins to a season-ending right knee injury in the first quarter.
She was streaking down the court on a fast break with two Bulldogs defenders nearby when her knee bent awkwardly as she planted her right foot. She immediately crumpled to the court. Watkins had to be carried off, unable to put any weight on her leg. She will have surgery and then rehabilitate, USC said, without specifying her injury.
The sight of Watkins writhing in pain on the court, holding her injured knee while her teammates stood around her and coach Lindsay Gottlieb rushed to the 19-year-old’s side shocked the crowd of 7,808 at Galen Center.
“JuJu is a generational talent,” Mississippi State guard Jerkaila Jordan said. “She’s changed the game in so many ways at such a young age. Seeing her go down was really tough. I said my prayers for her.”
Losing Watkins just five minutes in on a non-contact play turned the home fans angry and they booed the Bulldogs the rest of the game. At halftime, they jeered the MSU cheerleaders’ routine.
“You had to be here to feel it,” Gottlieb said. “I don’t know if people saw that through the TV, but it was a palpable thing.”
The top-seeded Trojans, meanwhile, were all business. Buoyed by the raucous crowd, they hit buzzer-beating shots at the end of the first, second and third quarters and ran their lead to 46 points in the fourth.
“I wouldn’t say this is our defining moment,” said Kiki Iriafen, who scored a season-high 36 points. “It’s what we expect of ourselves. We expect to win in this tournament regardless if it’s going our way, we have people, we don’t have people. That’s the standard here.”
Next up is the Sweet 16 in Spokane, Washington, where the Trojans (30-3) play fifth-seeded Kansas State (28-7) on Friday.
USC has yet to know what it’s like playing without one of the biggest stars in college basketball. Watkins started all 34 games as a freshman, leading the Trojans to the Elite Eight while boosting attendance with strong support from her nearby community of Watts.
“I hope she can at some point see just the significance that she has here that goes so far beyond just her talent and abilities,” Gottlieb said. “That’s what’s really generational about it, the way she’s galvanized everyone, and the way that her team had her back and also really is a team.”
This year was supposed to be about winning it all.
It still could be, but the picture looks a lot different without Watkins.
Iriafen, a Stanford graduate transfer, showed what she can do without her running mate, shooting 16-of-22 to go with nine rebounds.
“Kiki is one of the best players in the country. She was electric,” Bulldogs coach Sam Purcell said. “We had our center on her, our guard on her, we doubled her, we went 2-3, we went man-to-man, we trapped her. We never stopped her.”
USC had five players in double figures against the Bulldogs, including three freshmen. One of them, Kaleigh Heckel, along with sophomore Malia Samuels, ran the offense in Watkins’ absence. They combined for nine assists, five steals and two turnovers. Heckel also scored 13 points and had six assists.
Another freshman, Avery Howell, tied her career high with 18 points and had four 3-pointers and six assists. A third freshman, Kennedy Smith, had 10 points and five steals.
“We have a pretty big role this year,” Howell said. “We’re prepared for most moments because of the time we’re given in games and how hard we work in practice.”
The Trojans won their first two tournament games by a combined 83 points.
“We will make sure that we’re pouring into this team, to JuJu and keeping us together because as you saw we are capable of a lot of greatness,” Gottlieb said. “That’s what will continue to be the message to our team.”
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Samaje Morgan scored a season-high 28 points, Dougie Peoples had 21 points and five 3-pointers, and No. 1 seed College of Idaho beat seventh-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan 93-65 on Tuesday night to claim its second NAIA championship in three years.
College of Idaho (35-2) won the program’s third national title, also securing the NAIA Division II championship in 1996 and a D-I title in 2023. The Yotes lost in the Fab Four last season.
Oklahoma Wesleyan (28-8) also won a NAIA D-II championship in 2009.
Johnny Radford made a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to give the College of Idaho a 33-18 midway through the first half. The Yotes made 12 of their opening 15 shots, including 8 of 10 from 3-point range, while OKWU was 7 of 17 overall.
Peoples finished the first half with 17 points and five 3-pointers, and Morgan added 12 points as the College of Idaho led 49-29. The Yotes were 11 of 17 from 3-point range, while OKWU went 11 of 32 overall including 1 of 6 from distance.
It was the Yotes’ second straight title game with a large lead, after nearly blowing a 23-point second-half advantage against Indiana Tech two years ago.
The Yotes were determined not to let another second-half lead evaporate against OKWU, which was not able to reduce its deficit below 16 points the entire second half.
Radford finished with 12 points for the College of Idaho and Tyler Robinett added 10. The Yotes finished 16 of 30 from behind the arc.
Nick Bene and Jaden Lietzke each scored 15 points for Oklahoma Wesleyan. Dylan Phillip, who scored a team-high 24 points on Monday, finished with five points in 19 minutes.
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DETROIT (AP) — Marcus Sasser scored a career-high 27 points in 26 minutes off the bench and the Detroit Pistons routed the San Antonio Spurs 122-96 on Tuesday night for their second consecutive victory without injured star Cade Cunningham.
Tobias Harris added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Pistons (41-32), who pulled within a percentage point of Milwaukee (40-31) for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Jalen Duren had 14 points and seven assists, and Ausar Thompson finished with 14 points and six boards.
Cunningham, averaging 25.7 points and 9.2 assists, missed his second straight game with a bruised left calf. Sasser has filled the scoring void, also providing 20 points in 26 minutes Sunday during a 136-130 win over New Orleans.
The second-year guard from Houston entered Tuesday averaging 6.0 points per game. His previous career best was 26 in November 2023 at Milwaukee, early in his rookie season.
Devin Vassell had 26 points for the Spurs, and rookie Stephon Castle scored 19.
Takeaways
Spurs: Playing without injured stars Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox, both out for the season, the Spurs (31-40) fell to 11-23 on the road. They had won three straight for the first time since late November, and five of seven overall. San Antonio began the night three games out of 10th place in the West for the final spot in the play-in tournament.
Pistons: Even minus Cunningham, the Pistons shot 56.4% from the field and won for the fourth time in five games.
Key moment
Detroit outscored the Spurs 30-12 in the second quarter and led 60-34 at halftime.
Key stats
San Antonio shot just 36.3% from the field. Meanwhile, the Pistons were 15 of 31 from 3-point range (48.4%).
Up next
Spurs: Wrap up a three-game trip Thursday night at Cleveland, the top team in the East.
Pistons: Host the Cavaliers on Friday night to finish a three-game homestand.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
NEW YORK (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his first triple-double in more than three years, helping the New York Knicks defeat the Dallas Mavericks 128-113 on Tuesday night.
OG Anunoby had 35 points, and Josh Hart added 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his ninth triple-double of the season. New York (45-26) shot 59.6% and won its second straight.
Naji Marshall had a career-high 38 points, and Brandon Williams chipped in 22 points. The Mavericks (35-38) fell for the 10th time in 13 games.
Takeaways
Dallas: A night after shooting 56.3% from the field in their win Monday in Brooklyn, the Mavericks again started hot by making 28 of 43 field goals in the first half. But Dallas was worn down by New York’s depth, getting outscored 60-45 in the second half.
New York: With Mavericks center Anthony Davis (adductor strain) out, Towns went to work, scoring 24 first-half points. The center, who is third in the NBA in double-doubles, posted his first triple-double since Jan. 30, 2022, and helped New York record 40 assists on 59 field goals.
Key moment
Marshall made 13 of 15 first-half field goals and helped Dallas shoot 65.1% and remain even at 68 at halftime.
But the Knicks turned up the defensive intensity in the third quarter, opening with a 7-0 run. The Mavericks made just 4 of 18 field goals, and New York outscored Dallas 30-16 in the third.
Key stat
Hart and Towns became the first teammates in Knicks history to record a triple-double in the same game.
Up next
The Mavericks visit Orlando on Thursday. The Knicks host the Clippers on Wednesday.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
HOUSTON (AP) — Jalen Green scored 32 points ahd had 11 rebounds and the Houston Rockets beat the Atlanta Hawks 121-114 on Tuesday night.
Fred VanVleet shot 5 of 14 from the field, including 3 for 8 from 3-point range, and went 8 for 8 from the line to add 21 points. Tari Eason had 14 rebounds.
Dyson Daniels led the Hawks with 19 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists and four steals. Trae Young added 19 points and 12 assists for Atlanta.
The Rockets took the lead with 1:13 remaining in the first quarter and did not give it up. The score was 65-48 by halftime, with Green scoring 14 points.
The Rockets led by 20 after three quarters. The Hawks pulled within 98-94 with 7:20 left after a 17-2 run.
The Rockets were outscored by the Hawks in the second half by 10 points.
Takeaways
Hawks: Atlanta had won three straight, but the Hawks made just 15 of 49 3-pointers against the Rockets — not what a team trying to avoid the play-in tournament needed.
Rockets: Houston strengthened its hold on the No. 2 spot in the West. With the win the 47-26 Rockets are now two games ahead of Denver, which was idle Tuesday night. Houston has won 10 of its last 11 games.
Key moment:
VanVleet mad 4 of 4 free throws in the final 14 seconds after Georges Niang had pulled the Hawks within 117-114 with a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left.
Key stat
Houston made 26 of 29 free throws.
Up next
The Hawks visit the Miami Heat on Thursday night. The Rockets play at the Utah Jazz the same night.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. ___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The New England Patriots have signed free agent wide receiver Stefon Diggs, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press, giving quarterback Drake Maye a prime target as he heads into his second season.
The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because it was not yet announced. ESPN reported on Tuesday night that the deal is for three years and $69 million, with $26 million guaranteed.
Diggs’ agents did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking confirmation.
A four-time Pro Bowl selection with the Buffalo Bills, Diggs led the league with 127 receptions and 1,535 receiving yards in 2020. He is coming off an ACL injury that limited him to eight games last year in Houston.
After trying to replace Tom Brady with veteran Cam Newton and first round draft choice Mac Jones, the Patriots believe they have found their future quarterback with Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 draft.
The former North Carolina Tar Heel threw for 2,276 yards and 15 touchdowns as a rookie, when top targets were tight end Hunter Henry (66 catches, 674 yards) and wideout Demario Douglas (66, 621).
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HOUSTON (AP) — First baseman Jon Singleton was released Tuesday by the Houston Astros.
Singleton had hit .171 with a .239 on-base percentage, no homers and two RBIs in 17 spring training games. The 33-year-old batted .234 with a .321 on-base percentage, 13 homers and 42 RBIs while playing 119 games last season.
The Astros signed Singleton to a $10 million, five-year contract in 2014 just before he made his major league debut, and after he had served two suspensions in the minor leagues for positive marijuana tests.
He batted below .200 in 2014 and 2015 before getting sent to the minors. He spent the entire 2016 and 2017 seasons in the minors and then tested positive for marijuana a third time.
Singleton requested his release from the Astros after receiving a 100-game suspension for that third positive test. He left the game before returning to organized baseball in the Mexican League.
He got back into the majors in 2023, first with the Milwaukee Brewers and later with the Astros.
Singleton agreed on March 8 to a contract paying $850,000 while in the major leagues and $425,000 while in the minors.
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LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Dodgers have spent a lot of money hoping to win their second straight World Series and bettors are putting their cash on Los Angeles.
BetMGM Sportsbook has taken 37.8% of its futures money on the Dodgers, which far exceeds its previous high of 21.7% of money that was placed on the 2022 New York Mets. It’s also far ahead of this year’s Mets, who at 9.4% are receiving the second-highest amount of the handle. The New York Yankees are third at 7.7%.
The Dodgers also lead in betting tickets at 17.5%, with the Mets next at 8.7% and the Philadelphia Phillies at 8.6%.
Opening day for most teams is Thursday.
“It’s all Dodgers money,” BetMGM trading manager Halvor Egeland said. “That’s somewhat frequent when it comes to the favorites. Favorites are going to take most of the money, but this is a level we don’t typically see. … It’s a little bit of a hole liability wise, which is a little out of the norm for a favorite.”
That’s because sportsbooks typically set a high enough price in anticipation for the rush of money, but not to this level. The Dodgers, who already are 2-0 after a two-game series against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, are +240 at BetMGM.
The next closest are the Yankees and Atlanta Braves at +900 each.
DraftKings Sportsbook race and sports operations director Johnny Avello said the Dodgers are popular, but the futures money is fairly well spread out. LA is +290 at DraftKings and the Braves are next at +750 and the Yankees at +850.
“They’ve got a complete team,” Avello said of the Dodgers. “Will they win it all again? I don’t know. Sometimes at the end of the year, things just need to go your way. I don’t care how good you are.”
Meet the Mets
The Mets are challenging the Dodgers on spending, and the club made a splashy move by signing Juan Soto to a record $765 million, 15-year contract.
Bettors are banking on that aggressiveness to help the Mets win their first World Series title since 1986.
The Mets are listed at +1200 at BetMGM and DraftKings.
“If the Mets start off good, they’re going to continue to take money,” Avello said. “If they don’t start off good and we raise their odds, they’re going to continue to take money. They’re going to be bet all year long.”
Hope for the A’s?
The Athletics went 32-32 after the All-Star break and then broke their recent practice and invested money in major league payroll.
There are believers in the A’s, who are about to play their first of at least three seasons at a Triple-A ballpark in West Sacramento, California, before an anticipated move to Las Vegas,
The A’s were bet up from a win total at BetMGM of 70 1/2 to 72 1/2, though the number settled back down to 71 1/2.
“We may end up going back there,” Egeland said of 72 1/2. “It seemed like as soon as we went up with the A’s, there’s some interest. Even in the division, we had some interest there on the A’s, which is kind of surprising for the amount of money they spend. But I do think people like the young talent and pitchers like Mason Miller.”
Betting on Francona
Terry Francona was hired for another reclamation project, the Reds hoping he will find similar success in Cincinnati that he had with Boston and Cleveland.
“We are seeing some money on them to win it all,” Avello said. “You get a really good price. They’re projected to win around 78, 79 games or so. And this guy’s a winner. He finds ways to make teams that are average much better, so that’s why I think bettors are betting the Reds to win it all.”
The Reds, who have a core of young players led by Elly De La Cruz, are +8000 at BetMGM and +9000 at DraftKings.
Trout on comeback tour
Injuries have limited Los Angeles Angels slugger Mike Trout, once the game’s most complete player, to 82 or fewer games three of the past four seasons.
He is moving from center to right field with the idea that covering less ground in the outfield might help him stay healthy.
Trout is the +300 favorite at BetMGM to be selected AL Comeback Player of the Year.
“People are loving that one,” Egeland said. “It’s not an award that usually gets a ton of handle, but when you have someone like Trout available, that’s where most of the money is going to go.”
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