NCAAMBB – 2018 Men’s NCAA Tournament – Sweet 16
Tonight
South Region – Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA
11 Loyola-Chicago vs. 7 Nevada, 7:07 p.m.
9 Kansas State vs. 5 Kentucky, 9:37 p.m.
West Region – Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
7 Texas A&M vs. 3 Michigan, 7:37 p.m. 95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports 7:00
9 Florida State vs. 4 Gonzaga, 10:07 p.m.
NCAAMBB – Escape artists Michigan, Texas A&M clash in West Region
The Wolverines escaped by one point against Houston in the second round, one of three one-point victories this season. “We’ve had a lot of good breaks this year,” coach John Beilein said. “I’ve been with teams that were really good teams that had a lot of bad breaks.” The Aggies are coming down from the high of knocking off defending national champion North Carolina in their previous game on Jordan Poole’s 3-pointer. Michigan is riding an 11-game winning streak, with its last loss coming Feb. 6 at Northwestern. Michigan faces Texas A&M at 7:37 p.m.
NCAAMBB – Big East seeks “two-or-none” requirement
The Big East has recommended replacing the NBA’s so-called one-and-done rule with a “none-or-two” requirement in college basketball. The conference also seeks NCAA regulation of agents and the creation an elite player unit to focus on “players with realistic aspirations of playing in the NBA.” The Big East’s recommendations come a week after a similar report by the Pac-12 for NCAA’s commission of college basketball. The commission was created in response to a federal investigation into corruption in college basketball.
NCAAWBB – 2018 Women’s NIT – 3rd Round
Tonight
Michigan State at South Dakota, 8:00 p.m.
NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Denver Nuggets 135, Chicago Bulls 102
New Orleans Pelicans 96, Indiana Pacers 92
Nuggets 135, Bulls 102 – Jokic stars on "Serbian Heritage Night," Nuggets pound Bulls
Nikola Jokic had 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists on “Serbian Heritage Night,” and the Denver Nuggets routed the Chicago Bulls 135-102 on Wednesday night. Denver shot 61.4 percent (51 for 83) from the field and had seven players score in double figures. Paul Millsap had 22 points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes, and Benton Harbor’s Wilson Chandler made five of the Nuggets’ 20 3-pointers on his way to 19 points. The Nuggets (39-33) improved to 1-2 on a seven-game trip and pulled within 1 ½ games of idle Utah for eighth in the Western Conference playoff race. Cristiano Felicio scored 16 points for the Bulls (24-47), who have dropped four of five. Bobby Portis had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Noah Vonleh finished with 14 points.
Pelicans 96, Pacers 92 – Davis, Moore, propel Pelicans past Pacers, 96-92
Anthony Davis capped a 28-point, 13-rebound, five-block performance with a 15-foot baseline fade, a gritty put-back and two free throws in the final minute, and the New Orleans Pelicans outlasted the Indiana Pacers 96-92 on Wednesday night. E’Twaun Moore scored 23 for New Orleans, which had to overcome a scrappy defensive effort by Indiana to win its third straight. Nikola Mirotic scored 15 for New Orleans, including crucial back-to-back 3s inside the final four minutes after he’d started 0 for 7 from long range. Holiday returned from a one-game absence caused by flu symptoms and scored 10 points. Oladipo led Indiana with 21 points. Myles Turner added 13 points
Tonight
Detroit Pistons at Houston Rockets, 8:00 p.m.
NHL – National Hockey League
Tonight
Washington Capitals at Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 p.m.
Vancouver Canucks at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m.
NHL – NHL GMs call for change on goalie interference challenges
The NHL could change its goaltender interference rules as soon as the playoffs that begin April 11. The league’s general managers recommended shifting the decision on a coach’s challenge for goalie interference from on-ice officials to the league’s situation room in Toronto. The board of governors and NHL/NHL Players’ Association competition committee must approve the change for it to go into effect. The league says no changes are being made to the standard by which goalie interference is judged, just the way it’s determined.
MLB – Major League Baseball – Spring Training
Yesterday
Atlanta Braves 3, Detroit Tigers 2
San Diego Padres 4, Chicago White Sox 3
Chicago Cubs 5, Texas Rangers 1
Today
Detroit Tigers at Philadelphia Phillies, 1:05 p.m. Clearwater, FL
Chicago Cubs at San Francisco Giants, 4:05 p.m. Scottsdale, AZ
Chicago White Sox at Arizona Diamondbacks, 4:05 p.m. Scottsdale, AZ
NFL – Lions sign TE Luke Willson and DT Sylvester Williams
The Detroit Lions have signed tight end Luke Willson, adding a potential starter in place of Eric Ebron, and bolstered their defensive line by adding Sylvester Williams. Detroit addressed needs on both sides of the ball with the moves Wednesday. Willson has 89 career catches for 1,129 yards with 11 touchdowns in 72 games, all with the Seahawks. He has 13 catches for 154 yards and one score in the playoffs, including two receptions when Seattle routed Denver in the Super Bowl four years ago. Seattle drafted the former Rice standout in the fifth round in 2013. Wilson is from LaSalle, Ontario, which is on the banks of the Detroit River. The Lions opened free agency by making a major move last week, cutting ties with Ebron instead of paying him $8.25 million this season. Detroit didn’t re-sign Haloti Ngata and Williams potentially fills the void. He started 11 games and was a reserve in four games last year for the Tennessee Titans and had 20 tackles. He previously played for four seasons for the Denver Broncos, who drafted him 28th overall in 2013 out of North Carolina. Williams was a key player for Denver’s Super Bowl-winning team two years ago. He has 114 career tackles, including six sacks, in 59 starts and 75 games overall.
NFL – NFL competition committee to recommend catch rule changes
The NFL’s catch rule would get less complicated if team owners approve recommendations from the powerful competition committee. One of the first orders of business when the league’s annual meetings begin Monday will be a proposal by the committee to clarify what is a catch. Commissioner Roger Goodell said during the week of the Super Bowl he would urge simplification of the rules. NFL football operations chief Troy Vincent says: “Catch/no catch is at the top of everyone’s minds.”
Golf – McIlroy beaten in opening round
Fresh off a victory at Bay Hill, Rory McIlroy couldn’t win his opening-round match at the Dell Technologies Match Play. McIlroy was 5 down with five holes to play when he ran off three straight birdies, but the rally wasn’t enough in a 2-and-1 loss to Peter Uihlein. Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson also dropped their opening-round match. Bernd Wiesberger ended Johnson’s seven-match winning streak with a 3-and-1 decision. Mickelson carded just one birdie in a loss to Charles Howell III. Matt Kuchar was 4 up with four holes to play when Zach Johnson won the last four holes with birdies to halve the match. Jordan Spieth (speeth) won three straight holes and outlasted Charl Schwartzel in a battle of former Masters champions. Justin Thomas, Jon Ramm, Hideki Matsuyama, Sergio Garcia and Jason Day join Spieth among top-10 seeds to either win or halve their matches.
ECHL – East Coast Hockey League
Last Night
Kalamazoo Wings 3, Ft. Wayne Komets 2 – OT
Tonight
Wichita Thunder at Kalamazoo Wings, 7:00 p.m.
MHSAA – High School Sports
Yesterday
Softball
South Haven 15, Hartford 0 – Game 1
South Haven 12, Hartford 2 – Game 2
Today
