NCAAMBB – 2018 Men’s NCAA Tournament – Sweet 16
Last Night
West Region – Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
3 Michigan 99, 7 Texas A&M 75
9 Florida State 75, 4 Gonzaga 60
South Region – Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA
11 Loyola-Chicago 69, 7 Nevada 68
9 Kansas State 61, 5 Kentucky 58
Michigan 99, Texas A&M 75 – Streaking Michigan routs Texas A&M 99-72 in West semifinals
This one was easy. After reaching the NCAA Tournament’s round of 16 with an improbable buzzer-beater, Michigan shot 62 percent from the floor and routed Texas A&M 99-72 in the West Region semifinals on Thursday night to reach the Elite Eight for the third time in six years. The Wolverines (31-7) dominated from start to finish, hitting 14 3-pointers _ 10 in the first half _ and extending their winning streak to 12 games. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman scored 24 points, Moe Wagner added 21 points and Charles Matthews had 18 points as third-seeded Michigan had five players in double figures. The Wolverines were good in the first half and even better in the second. The rout was on by halftime with Michigan leading 52-28 after shooting 57 percent from the floor. In the second half, the Wolverines improved to 68 percent from the floor. The Aggies (22-13) never made a run, going long stretches without a basket in the first half while Michigan was scoring on nearly every trip down the floor. Tyler Davis led the seventh-seeded Aggies with 24 points. Michigan put the final nail on the coffin when freshman walk on C.J. Baird connected on an NBA range triple in the final minute.
Tonight
Midwest Region – Century Link Center, Omaha, NE
5 Clemson vs. 1 Kansas, 7:07 p.m.
11 Syracuse vs. 2 Duke, 9:37 p.m.
East Region – TD Garden, Boston, MA
5 West Virginia vs. 1 Villanova, 7:27 p.m.
3 Texas Tech vs. 3 Purdue, 9:57 p.m.
NCAAMBB – 2018 Men’s NCAA Division 2 Tournament – Final Four
Last Night
Final Four – Sanford Pentagon – Sioux Falls, SD
1 Ferris State 85, 4 West Texas A&M 79
3 Northern State (SD) 105, 2 Queen’s (NC) 99 – 2OT
Ferris State 85, West Texas A&M 79 – Bulldogs advance to championship game
Ferris State’s men’s basketball team advanced to the NCAA Division II Championship game for the first time in school history after defeating West Texas A&M 85-79 in the first semifinal at the Stanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls South Dakota. The top seeded Bulldogs got 16 points and 10 rebounds from Drew Cushingberry, Zach Hankins had 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Peter Firlik scored 12 and Noah King added 11 points. Ferris State improves to 37-1 on the season, 1 short of tying the all time Division II wins record of 38. The Bulldogs will face Northern State (South Dakota) in the Championship game on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Northern State was a 105-99 winner over Queen’s (North Carolina) in double overtime.
Saturday
NCAA Division II Championship – Sanford Pentagon – Sioux Falls, SD
1 Ferris State vs 3 Northern State, 3:00 p.m. 95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports
NCAAWBB – 2018 Women’s NIT – 3rd Round
Last Night
South Dakota 85, Michigan State 83 – OT
NCAAWBB – 2018 Women’s NCAA Tournament – Sweet 16
Saturday
Spokane Region – Spokane Arena, Spokane, WA
1 Notre Dame vs 4 Texas A&M, 4:00 p.m.
2 Oregon vs 11 Central Michigan, 6:00 p.m.
NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Houston Rockets 100, Detroit Pistons 96 – OT
Rockets 100, Pistons 96 – OT – Harden scores 10 in OT to lift Rockets over Pistons 100-96
James Harden scored 21 points, including 10 of Houston’s 12 points in overtime, to shake off a tough four quarters and lift the Rockets to a 100-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night. Blake Griffin, who finished with a triple-double, had a 3-pointer after that, but Harden made two more free throws to push the lead to seven. Harden missed both free throws after a 3-pointer by Ish Smith with 4.2 seconds left, but the Rockets held on to extend their winning streak to seven games. It was an ugly game which featured 71 missed 3-pointers combined. Houston was 12 of 51 and Detroit made just 6 of 38. Eric Gordon added 22 points for Houston on a night Chris Paul sat out with a sore left hamstring. Griffin had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Drummond had 17 points and 20 rebounds.
Tonight
Los Angeles Clippers at Indiana Pacers, 7:00 p.m.
Milwaukee Bucks at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m.
NBA – Bulls’ Blakeney to miss rest of season with of broken wrist
The Bulls say guard Antonio Blakeney will miss the remainder of the season because of a broken bone in his left wrist suffered in Monday’s loss to the Knicks. Blakeney averaged 7.9 points in 19 games this season.
NHL – National Hockey League
Tonight
Washington Capitals 1, Detroit Red Wings 0
Vancouver Canucks 5, Chicago Blackhawks 2
Capitals 1, Red Wings 0 – Grubauer lifts Capitals to 1-0 win over Red Wings
Philipp Grubauer made 39 saves for his third shutout of the season, and Brett Connolly scored the game’s only goal on a third-period breakaway to lift the Washington Capitals to a 1-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night. The Capitals took the lead with 13:19 remaining in the game after Detroit defenseman Xavier Ouellet couldn’t control the puck near Washington’s blue line. Connolly and teammate Jakub Vrana went the other way on a two-man breakaway, and Connolly beat Jimmy Howard with a wrist shot to the glove side. It was his 15th goal of the season.
Canucks 5, Blackhawks 2 – Canucks beat Blackhawks 5-2, stop 7-game slide
Alexander Edler scored twice, Jacob Markstrom made 39 saves and the Vancouver Canucks stopped a seven-game slide by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Thursday night. Henrik Sedin and Bo Horvat each had a goal and an assist as Vancouver won for the first time since Brock Boeser was sidelined by a back injury, likely ending his impressive rookie season. Chicago (30-36-9) closed out a three-game homestand with its fifth consecutive loss. Jean-Francois Berube was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 18 shots, and Anton Forsberg finished with eight saves. The Blackhawks played without captain Jonathan Toews, who is out with an upper-body injury and will be re-evaluated next week. Nick Schmaltz and Matthew Highmore scored for Chicago, which has lost seven of eight overall.
NHL – Red Wings’ Mike Green to have surgery on cervical spine
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Green will have season-ending surgery on his cervical spine. The Red Wings said Thursday the procedure is scheduled for April 5 at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City and will be performed by Dr. Frank Cammisa. Green missed seven games from Feb. 17-28 with the injury. He returned to the lineup March 2 at Winnipeg and re-aggravated the injury during practice Wednesday at Little Caesars Arena. The 32-year-old Green had eight goals and 25 assists in 65 games this season.
NHL – Former NHL forward Olczyk says he is cancer-free
Former NHL forward, and coach, and currently NHL broadcaster and coach Eddie Olczyk says he is cancer-free after months of treatment. Olczyk was diagnosed with colon cancer last summer and had surgery. He says he was told on March 14 that his scans were clear.
MLB – Major League Baseball – Spring Training
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 6, Philadelphia Phillies 2
Chicago White Sox 3, Arizona Diamondbacks 1
San Francisco Giants 4, Chicago Cubs 3
Today
Detroit Tigers at Atlanta Braves, 1:05 p.m. Kissimmee, FL
Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs, 4:05 p.m. Mesa, AZ
Seattle Mariners Chicago White Sox, 4:05 p.m. Glendale, AZ
AHL – American Hockey League
Tonight
Grand Rapids Griffins at Iowa Wild, 8:00 p.m.
ECHL – East Coast Hockey League
Last Night
Kalamazoo Wings 5, Wichita Thunder 3
MHSAA – High School Sports
Yesterday
Baseball
Lawrence 1, Lake Michigan Catholic 0 – Game 1
Lake Michigan Catholic 8, Lawrence 3 – Game 2
Middleville – Thornapple Kellogg 5, Allegan 0
Boys Basketball – State Semifinals
Class C at Michigan State
Detroit Edison 55, Grand Rapids Covenant Christian 43
Maple City Glen Lake 62, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central 56
Class D at Michigan State
Buckley 65, Hillsdale Academy 55
Southfield Christian 71, Dollar Bay 32
Today
Boys Basketball – State Semifinals
Class A at Michigan State
Warren DeLaSalle (19-7) vs Clarkston (24-1) – 12:00 p.m.
Holland West Ottawa (24-2) vs Novi (17-8) – 2:00 p.m.
Class B at Michigan State
Benton Harbor (25-1) vs River Rouge (23-1) – 5:30 p.m. 95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports 5:15
New Haven (26-0) vs Grand Rapids Catholic Central (23-2) – 7:30 p.m.
Girls Soccer
Lawrence at Lake Michigan Catholic, 5:00 p.m.
Saturday
Boys Basketball – State Finals – All games at Breslin Center, Michigan State University
Class D – Southfield Christian (22-4) vs. Buckley (21-5), 10:00 a.m.
Class A – 12:15 p.m.
Class C – Detroit Edison PSA (16-10) vs Maple City Glen Lake (24-2) – 4:30 p.m.
Class B – 6:45 p.m.
