Weekday Morning Sports Report – Tuesday 3/19/19

sportsreport-604
sportsreport-604

NCAAWBB – Spoilers! Baylor tops women’s NCAA field as bracket leaks
Baylor, Notre Dame, Mississippi State and Louisville are the top seeds in the women’s NCAA Tournament.  The bracket was mistakenly put out early on ESPNU several hours before the
network had its selection show on Monday night. In 2016, the men’s bracket was leaked online during the selection show.  The No. 1 Lady Bears are the top team in the Greensboro Regional while defending champion Notre Dame is the first choice in Chicago. Mississippi State is the No. 1 team in the Portland Regional where Oregon is the second seed. Louisville is the top choice in the Albany Regional where potentially No. 2 UConn waits.   It’s the first time since 2006 that the Huskies aren’t a No. 1 seed. Tennessee sneaked in to the field as an 11-seed. The Lady Vols have been in every NCAA Tournament since the first one in 1982. ESPN apologized for its error and aired an early selection show to release the brackets.   Central Michigan is the 8th seed in the Chicago Regional and will face 9th seed Michigan State at Notre Dame.  Michigan is the 8th seed in the Albany Regional and will face Kansas State in Louisville.

NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Cleveland Cavaliers 126, Detroit Pistons 119
Chicago Bulls 116, Phoenix 101
Portland Trailblazers 106, Indiana Pacers 98

Cavaliers 126, Pistons 119 – Sexton scores 27, leads Cavaliers past Pistons 126-119
Collin Sexton scored 27 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with just under two minutes to play, and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Detroit Pistons 126-119 on Monday night.  Both teams were missing star players. Blake Griffin (rest) sat out for Detroit, while Kevin Love was out with a sore back for Cleveland after taking a hard fall in Saturday’s loss to Dallas. Andre Drummond nearly made up for Griffin’s absence with 21 points and 21 rebounds, but the Cavaliers hit clutch shots down the stretch against a Pistons team that is fighting for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Bulls 116, Suns 101 – Lopez helps Bulls end losing streak, bet Bulls 116-101
Robin Lopez scored 24 points to help the Chicago Bulls beat the Phoenix Suns 116-101 on Monday night, snapping a five-game losing streak. Zach LaVine had 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Lauri Markkanen added 17 points and nine boards for Chicago. Lopez shot 11 for 14 from the field as the Bulls were 52 percent (46 for 89). Deandre Ayton had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Devin Booker also scored 25 for Phoenix, which has lost three of four after a 5-2 stretch.

Blazers 106, Pacers 98 – Blazers prevent Pacers from clinching with 106-98 win
Damian Lillard had 30 points and 15 assists as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Indiana Pacers 106-98 on Monday night without starting guard CJ McCollum.  Jusuf Nurkic added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers, who led by as many as 21. Portland has won four of five and is holding onto fourth place in the Western Conference.  Myles Turner had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who missed out on clinching a playoff spot in the East. Indiana (44-27) has lost six straight on the road.  The Blazers (43-27) have won 10 in a row against the Pacers in Portland.

Tonight
Indiana Pacers at Los Angeles Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

NCAAFB – Michigan without Hill, Collins at spring practice
Michigan is without defensive back Lavert Hill and wide receiver Nico Collins at spring practice after both had unspecified procedures. Coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday he didn’t know if the two players would miss all of spring practice or not. Wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones is also not participating. Michigan began spring practice Sunday. Harbaugh also said running back Zach Charbonnet needed a scope for his meniscus and isn’t participating in spring practice. He said quarterback Dylan McCaffrey is back to 100 percent. Harbaugh said running back Chris Evans is not with the team, but he left open the possibility of a return. Evans announced in February that he was going through academic issues.

NCAAMBB – NCAA First Four
Tonight
NCAA First Four – University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, OH
#16 Fairleigh Dickinson vs. #16 Prairie View A&M, 6:40 p.m.
#11 Temple vs. #11 Belmont, 9:10 p.m.

NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Vancouver Canucks 3, Chicago Blackhawks 2 – OT

Canucks 3, Blackhawks 2 – OT – Horvat scores in overtime as Canucks beat Blackhawks 3-2
Bo Horvat scored 16 seconds into overtime, and the Canucks stopped Chicago’s five-game win streak with a 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks on Monday night. Horvat and Alexander Edler each had a goal and an assist for Vancouver, which was coming off a 3-2 shootout victory in Dallas on Sunday. Markus Granlund also scored, and Thatcher Demko made 29 saves in his third career win. The Canucks (31-32-10) remain on the fringe of the playoff race in the jumbled bottom of the Western Conference, pulling within six points of Arizona for the second wild card. Jonathan Toews and Erik Gustafsson scored for Chicago (32-30-10), and Corey Crawford made 31 stops. The Blackhawks pulled within four points of the Coyotes, who lost 4-1 to the Lightning.

Tonight
Detroit Red Wings at New York Rangers, 7:00 p.m.

MLB – MLB Spring Training
Yesterday
Baltimore 14, Detroit (ss) 1
Toronto 3, Detroit (ss) 2
San Francisco 5, Chicago White Sox 2

Today
Detroit vs. Pittsburgh at Bradenton, Fla., 1:05 p.m.
Seattle vs. Chicago Cubs (ss) at Mesa, Ariz., 4:05 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (ss) vs. Kansas City at Surprise, Ariz., 9:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox vs. Cincinnati at Goodyear, Ariz., 9:05 p.m.

NFL – From high atop Kilimanjaro, Haloti Ngata retires
Haloti Ngata found a unique way to announce his retirement from the NFL: from atop Mount Kilimanjaro. The 35-year-old Ngata, who played with the Eagles last season following three
years with the Lions, was at his best with Baltimore. He made two All-Pro teams and five Pro Bowls with the Ravens in nine seasons after being a first-round draft pick in 2006. He won a Super Bowl with them in February 2013.  The defensive tackle posted his retirement message Monday on Instagram.  Statistics were not the measure for Ngata, who tied up blockers on the interior and freed players such as Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs to do their damage for the Ravens. He also has been praised through the years for his leadership skills.

MCCAA – Junior College Sports
Today
Women’s Basketball
NJCAA National Tournament – Round 1 – North Arkansas College – Harrison, AR
Lake Michigan College vs. Pima Community College, 12:00 p.m.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Tonight
Girls Basketball – Quarterfinals
Division 3 at Middleville Thornapple Kellogg
Brandywine (23-2) vs. Pewamo-Westphalia (24-1), 7:00 p.m.