Month: March 2026

Braylon Mullins sank a desperation 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to give UConn an astonishing 73-72 victory over top-seeded Duke on Sunday, earning the Huskies a spot in the Final Four after they rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit. The Blue Devils led by three before UConn’s Silas Demary Jr. made one of two free throws with 10 seconds left. With Duke playing keep-away to prevent the Huskies from fouling, Cayden Boozer’s pass near midcourt was deflected, and after UConn came up with the ball, Demary made a shot from well behind the 3-point line. [Highlights: NCAA Men’s, Women’s Basketball Tournament] It’s the second straight season to end in a huge collapse for Duke, which was the top overall seed in this year’s tournament. The Blue Devils led by six with 1:14 remaining before falling to Houston in last year’s national semifinals. UConn missed 18 of its first 19 attempts from 3-point range and finished 5 for 23. The fifth will be remembered in Connecticut for generations. The men’s Final Four is now set, with UConn joining No. 3 seed Illinois and No. 1 seeds Arizona and Michigan. Illinois will face UConn and Michigan will take on Arizona next Saturday, with the winners squaring off two nights later for the national title. Arizona is the early favorite to take the title next Monday night in Indianapolis, followed closely by Michigan — coming off a 95-62 drubbing of Tennessee on Sunday. Mullins, who grew up just outside of Indianapolis, will return home looking for more magic. This is the third trip to the Final Four in four seasons for UConn (33-5), which won it all the last two times it made it. Arizona (36-2) is back in the Final Four for the first time since 2001 and hasn’t won the title since 1997. Michigan (35-3) is in search of its second title — the other came in 1989. lllinois (28-8) has never won it all; the Illini last made the Final Four in 2005. Reporting by The Associated Press.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

All-America forward Sarah Strong and her UConn teammates got quite a compliment from coach Geno Auriemma, who donned a cowboy hat and did a little dance on the court after the undefeated Huskies made their 25th Final Four in the women’s NCAA Tournament. The 12-time championship coach, who has more wins than any men’s or women’s NCAA coach, said he has never been more proud of a group that he has taken to the final weekend of March Madness. [Live Updates: NCAA Men’s, Women’s Basketball Tournament: Who’ll Advance to Final Four?] “This group, they don’t have that kind of swagger, trash-talking kind of mentality,” Auriemma said after his 1,288th victory. “It’s not the kind of team that I’ve had in the past that has gone this far undefeated. It’s not. They don’t have that kind of mentality off the court, on the court. They’re just a bunch of really nice kids that play hard for each other.” And they are headed to Phoenix after Strong scored 21 points, Blanca Quinonez added 20 points off the bench and the defending national champion Huskies beat Notre Dame on Sunday, 70-52. While this is a younger group for Auriemma after Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 WNBA Draft pick, and Kaitlyn Chen were seniors on last year’s championship team, UConn (38-0) has won 54 games in a row and clinched the first spot for this year’s Final Four. “Seeing him excited and kind of goofy is really good for us,” Strong said. “He’s usually all serious or like anxious, grumpy. Just seeing him let loose and be his true self was really good.” “He doesn’t say anything [that] he doesn’t mean,” said All-America guard Azzi Fudd, the fifth-year senior on this squad who had 13 points, four assists and three steals. “He doesn’t give out compliments too often, depending on who you are, so to hear him say that it does mean a lot — and we feel the same way. We love this team so much.” Hannah Hidalgo had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Fighting Irish (25-11), plus three more steals to increase her NCAA single-season record to 202 and single NCAA tourney mark to 29. But she also had five turnovers, the first time in her 10 NCAA tourney games with more turnovers than steals. The ninth NCAA tourney meeting between the Huskies and the Irish was their first with a spot in the Final Four on the line. They had both made it that far the first eight times they met in March Madness, the last in 2019, when Notre Dame won a semifinal game over UConn and then lost to Baylor in the title game. This meeting in the Fort Worth Regional 1 final was the first time Notre Dame had made it past the Sweet 16 since then. While the game was closer than January 19 when UConn won by 38 points in the most-lopsided game in the 57-game series (UConn leads 41-16), the Irish couldn’t overcome the rolling Huskies. “They’re very, very physical,” Irish coach Niele Ivey said. “They try to take away every option that you have. They’re very disciplined. They play well together, and they just play hard.” During a nearly five-minute stretch in the third quarter when UConn went scoreless while missing 11 consecutive shots, the Irish got no closer than eight points. Hidalgo had a jumper and two free throws for their only points, but also was responsible for three of their four turnovers in that span. That included Fudd’s steal from Hidalgo and Jana El Alfy’s layup that ended the scoring drought and put the Huskies up 40-30 with 3:51 left in the third quarter. UConn took its first double-digit lead with six points in a 59-second span in the second quarter. Hidalgo furiously responded when she thought she was fouled on a 3-point attempt that was instead a blocked shot by Strong. That led to a driving layup by Quiñonez, who followed by rebounding a miss by Hidalgo and assisting on a breaking layup by Allie Ziebell. Quiñonez, the Big East freshman and sixth player of the year, then had a steal that led to a pullup jumper by Fudd for a 30-20 lead with 2:56 left in the first half. “As always, I just try to bring something to the court, impact the game, as coach says,” Quiñonez said. “I think everyone was locked in, and I think everybody was ready to play that game.” Up next, UConn will play its national semifinal game Friday against South Carolina or TCU, who play in the Sacramento Regional 4 final on Monday night. The Huskies beat the Gamecocks 82-59 in last year’s national championship game. Reporting by The Associated Press.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Yaxel Lendeborg scored 27 points, Elliot Cadeau had 10 assists and Michigan rolled into the Final Four, overwhelming Tennessee for a 95-62 victory in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. Morez Johnson Jr. added 12 points for top-seeded Michigan, which posted its 11th victory this season by at least 30 points. Aday Mara had 11 points and blocked two shots in the Midwest Region final. Making the most of its size and athleticism on both sides of the court, Michigan (35-3) advanced to its first Final Four since 2018 and ninth overall. The Wolverines will face Arizona in Saturday’s national semifinals. [Live Updates: NCAA Men’s, Women’s Basketball Tournament: Who’ll Advance to Final Four?] “We always wanted to play against them, that team,” Lendeborg said. “They’re a really, really good team, so it’s going to be a super fun matchup.” Under second-year coach Dusty May — who took FAU to the Final Four in 2023 — the Wolverines became the first school to win at least four games in an NCAA tourney by double digits while scoring at least 90 points in each. Lendeborg, who was named the region’s Most Outstanding Player, was 10 for 19 from the field. He became the first Michigan player to score at least 23 points in three consecutive NCAA Tournament games since Juwan Howard did it in four straight in 1994. Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 21 points on 8-of-22 shooting for Tennessee (25-12), which lost in the Elite Eight for the third straight year under Rick Barnes. The 71-year-old coach reached his only Final Four in 2003 with Texas. Felix Okpara finished with 10 points and seven rebounds for the Volunteers, who shot just 32% (24 of 76) from the field. Each team had 42 rebounds — a major problem for a Tennessee team that usually enjoys an advantage on the glass. Michigan grabbed control with a 21-0 run in the first half, going from a 16-14 deficit with 11:22 left to a 35-16 lead with 6:10 remaining. “That’s when our defense started clicking,” Lendeborg said. “We started running out on the break and started doing what we do best, and once that happened, man, I think the game was pretty much called right there.” Once again, Lendeborg was the conductor of an offensive show for the Wolverines. The 6-foot-9 forward switched hands on a slick reverse layup, then made a no-look pass to Roddy Gayle Jr. for a 3-pointer on a fast break. Then he set up a 3 by Cadeau with 7:52 to go. After Tennessee made a push to get back in the game, Lendeborg scored on a fast break and found Trey McKenney for a 3 at the end of a 7-0 run that made it 48-26 at halftime. It was more of the same in the second half. Mara, a 7-foot-3 center, stepped outside for one of the Wolverines’ 10 3-pointers. The Michigan portion of the United Center crowd cheered wildly when seldom-used reserves Charlie May — the coach’s son — and Oscar Goodman entered for the final few minutes. Goodman scored with 2:32 left and May made a 3 with 1:02 remaining for Michigan’s final basket. “Just playing together and understanding that we all need each other to be successful,” said Nimari Burnett, who finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. “So making that extra pass, that unselfish play that leads from a good shot to a great shot, I feel like we had a lot of that, especially in the first half that built that lead. “We like where we are right now at the end of the game.” Reporting by The Associated Press.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Kevin Harvick’s race to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte is officially on. Harvick was one of the 15 people named as nominees for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2027 on Sunday. He learned the news during FOX Sports’ pre-race broadcast ahead of the Cook Out 400. NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton remarked that Harvick’s inclusion on the ballot “wasn’t a surprise to anybody.” “That’s a lot of fun,” Harvick said when he learned of the news. “These guys always set me up for stuff like that, but it means a lot. You know I love this sport and everything that I got to go through was up and down. But it’s what I love, and to be a part of that is something special.” Harvick had one of the most accomplished careers in the history of motorsports prior to retiring at the end of the 2023 NASCAR season. He won the NASCAR Cup Series in 2014 and the regular-season title in 2020. He also won two titles that are now known as the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. On top of that, Harvick had 60 NASCAR Cup wins. His most famous of those victories was his win at the 2007 Daytona 500. FOX Sports’ Chris Myers asked Harvick to reflect on his career upon hearing the news that he was nominated for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. “Well, I think the biggest thing for me is that I got to do what I love to do,” Harvick said. “I grew up as a kid that just wanted to go to the racetrack and be a part of all the things that I like to do. To do it for a living and grow up and be a part of that sport, learn so much about life and all the people — the people are what make it so special. You get to be around a group of people that you love to be around. In the end, we’re just a bunch of racers who love what we do.” Harvick was one of the 10 people included on the ballot as Modern Era nominees. Greg Biffle, Neil Bonnett, Tim Brewer, Jeff Burton, Randy Dorton, Ray Elder, Ernie Elliott, Randy LaJoie and Jack Sprague were the other nine people included on the ballot as Modern Era nominees. Two people from that group will be picked for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2027. Ray Fox, Harry Hyde, Banjo Matthews, Herb Nab and Larry Phillips were the five people who were named nominees as part of the Pioneer Ballot. The inductees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Class of 2027 will be announced on May 19.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Barber Motorsports Park (Leeds, Ala.) — If stats don’t lie, Alex Palou won the INDYCAR race Sunday by 13.2775 seconds over Christian Lundgaard. In this case, Palou says stats lie. He didn’t deliver the butt-whipping that leading 79 of 90 laps and that margin of victory would indicate. Lundgaard had a slow final pit stop and with no cautions, couldn’t make up the time. [BARBER HIGHLIGHTS: Alex Palou Coasts to Repeat in Alabama] “If you look at the result and you don’t follow the race, the timing, maybe then you look like you were so much faster than everybody else,” the driver of the Chip Ganassi No. 10 car said in his postrace news conference. “That was not the truth. “We had an amazing car. We had an amazing race. But it was not easy. It was tough.” Here are my takeaways: 1. Palou Still Has It Even though he’s not the season-long points leader — Kyle Kirkwood, driver of the No. 27 car for Andretti Global, has a two-point lead on Palou — the three-time defending series champion Palou is showing similar strength to last year. Maybe he’s not that dominant, but he still has shown that when other drivers or teams make mistakes, he will make them pay. Lundgaard might have caught him and made a race of it, but Palou, even though he had to use one more set of the primary tires (the harder of the two compounds, which means they are slower but last longer) than originally planned, never had a hiccup on the 2.3-mile course. “Alex is the same Alex as last year,” Lundgaard said in his postrace news conference. “I just do think there are cars and drivers that are showing up more this year than last year.” 2. Lundgaard Frustration Justified Christian Lundgaard, driver of No. 7 for Arrow McLaren, lost about 10 seconds on a pit stop when the team had trouble tightening the right rear wheel. He had pitted five laps later than Palou and felt with the fresher tires and the potential to actually come out of the pits ahead of Palou, he would have had a chance to win the race. Instead, for the second consecutive year, Lundgaard finished second to Palou at Barber. [ALL ABOUT BARBER: Track the Vision of Dairy Farmer who Loved Motorsports] “With the pace and how the race panned out today, we had the car to win the race, Lundgaard said. “We had the pace, we had the track position at the time. “I’m not really sure what happened in the pit stop. … It’s unfortunate.” 3. Kirkwood Still Tops Kyle Kirkwood finished fifth, good enough to retain the points lead. And considering he probably had at-best a fifth-place car, that’s what champions do. And why did he finish fifth? His team executed flawlessly, and that meant a nice rebound from a subpar weekend on pit road in the previous race. “We had a really clean day on pit lane,” Kirkwood told me and other reporters after that race. “That’s what we had in [the first two races at] St. Pete and Phoenix. So back to normal.” 4. Malukas Making It Happen David Malukas, driver of the No. 12 car, didn’t feel his team chose the right tire strategy as far as when to have the harder primary tires and the softer alternate tires, but he still finished fourth. And for the second consecutive race, he was the top-finishing Penske driver. There’s something to be said for that as the replacement for Will Power is proving he is deserving of the ride as he has two top-five finishes in the first four races. “A good points day, we learned a lot, and we keep going from here.,” Malukas told me and other reporters after the race. 4 ½. What’s Next There are two weekends off before INDYCAR returns to the track on the streets of Long Beach. The Long Beach race is traditionally one of the marquee events of the year and is the last street course until Detroit, which comes the weekend after the Indy 500. Kirkwood won that race a year ago and will be the favorite following his win on the most recent street course at Arlington. “We’re going to a really good track next in Long Beach,” Kirkwood said. “A couple weeks off to get our head in the game there, go into it leading the points, and hopefully do what we did last year.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports