SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Houston’s suffocating defense wiped away a 14-point deficit over the final eight minutes and erased Cooper Flagg and Duke’s title hopes Saturday in a 70-67 stunner over the Blue Devils at the Final Four. Duke made a grand total of one field goal over the last 10:30 of this game. The second-to-last attempt was a step-back jumper in the lane by Flagg that J’Wan Roberts disrupted. The last was a desperation heave by Tyrese Proctor that caught nothing at the buzzer. The Cougars, who have never won a title, not even in the days of Phi Slama Jama, will play Florida on Monday night for the championship.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Walter Clayton Jr. scored 34 points and Florida beat Southeastern Conference rival Auburn 79-73 in the Final Four on Saturday night, sending the Gators to the national championship game for the first time since their titles in 2006 and 2007. The All-America guard for the Gators (35-4) had a driving layup with 2:24 left, on the possession right after Australian big man Alex Condon drew a charge against Johni Broome The Gators will have the chance Monday night to win the SEC’s first title since Kentucky in 2012, the only one since they won in back-to-back seasons. Florida takes an 11-game winning streak into the title championship game against Houston. Auburn (32-6) was the top overall seed.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Duke's push for its sixth national championship ended abruptly and in unlikely fashion with the Blue Devils squandering a double-digit second-half lead. The Blue Devils led by 14 with about 8 1/2 minutes left before seeing Houston push back and score the game's last nine points to win 70-67 in Saturday night's national semifinals. Duke led by six with 1:14 to go before Houston's winning push as the Blue Devils missed shots, couldn't get stops and came up empty when the Cougars pushed ahead.
SUZUKA, Japan (AP) — Max Verstappen of Red Bull has won the Japanese Grand Prix, his first victory of the season and just the third in 17 races. It was his 64th career GP win. It was also the Dutchman’s fourth straight victory on the Suzuka circuit in central Japan and breaks the momentum of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who won the season’s first two races in Australia and China. The four-time defending Formula 1 champion, Verstappen started from pole position after setting a course-record time in qualifying, which he called “insane.” Norris placed second and Piastri was third. The track was dry despite rain earlier in the day.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Two All-Americans, one chance to give their their team a chance to win a national championship. Florida’s NCAA Tournament continues thanks to more magic from guard Walter Clayton Jr. in the Gators' 79-73 win Saturday night at the Final four. For Auburn and forward Johni Broome, their season ended in tears and frustration wrapped up in missed shots, missed dunks and a sleeve covering a sore right elbow
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Dawn Staley and South Carolina are one win away from joining an elite group of programs in women’s basketball history with a third national championship in four seasons. Only two other schools have accomplished that feat, UConn and Tennessee. The Huskies, led by coach Geno Auriemma, stand in the way with the teams set to play Sunday for the NCAA title. It’s been nine years since Auriemma’s team won a championship, which capped off a run of four consecutive titles from 2013-16. That win was the most recent of the record 11 national titles that Auriemma has won in his four decades at the school.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Shohei Ohtani threw a 26-pitch bullpen session before the Los Angeles Dodgers’ game against the Philadelphia Phillies, another step toward his mound return. Recovering from right elbow surgery on Sept. 19, 2023, the two-way star threw his second bullpen session since resuming his pitching ramp up. He paused after his mound session on Feb. 25 to prepare for opening day as a hitter, then threw a bullpen on March 29. He incorporated splitters on Saturday. When Ohtani is ready for game pitching, the Dodgers plan to use a six-man rotation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wayne Gretzky made his first in-person appearance during Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of the NHL career goals record in time to watch him tie it with No. 894. But Gretzky has been advising and helping Ovechkin from afar for much longer. Gretzky provided help when Ovechkin stalled out short of 800 goals, and he tried to keep him loose with the record approaching. Now, the “Great One” will follow the chase to New York on Sunday as Ovechkin takes his first opportunity at getting No. 895 and the record all to himself.
Two English clubs stand in the way of a stellar Champions League semifinal between Real Madrid with Kylian Mbappé and his long-time previous team Paris Saint-Germain. Mbappé and Madrid are at Arsenal on Tuesday for their quarterfinal first leg. The return is April 16. PSG is fresh from a French league title with an unbeaten record and hosts Aston Villa on Wednesday. All are in the same half of the Champions League knockout bracket draw. In the bottom half, Bayern Munich hosts Inter Milan on Tuesday and Barcelona is favored Wednesday at home to Borussia Dortmund.
DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Denny Hamlin is coming off a victory and heading to one of his most successful tracks in Darlington Raceway. That does not mean he's coming in overconfident. Hamlin said he's continually self-scouting, no matter how successful he's been because he wants to ensure he's doing all he can to make the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team perform at its best. Count on the 44-year-old Hamlin to bring that renewed confidence to Darlington, where he leads all current drivers with four victories.
SATURDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
St. Louis at Boston 1:35 p.m. (Postponed)
Final N.Y. Yankees 10 Pittsburgh 4
Final N.Y. Mets 3 Toronto 2
Final Athletics 7 Colorado 4
Final San Francisco 4 Seattle 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Detroit 7 Chicago White Sox 2
Final Minnesota 6 Houston 1
Final Baltimore 8 Kansas City 1
Final Texas 6 Tampa Bay 4
Final L.A. Angels 10 Cleveland 4
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Chicago Cubs 7 San Diego 1
Final Washington 4 Arizona 3
Final L.A. Dodgers 3 Philadelphia 1
Final Miami 4 Atlanta 0
Final Cincinnati 11 Milwaukee 7
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final New York 121 Atlanta 105
Final Minnesota 114 Philadelphia 109
Final Memphis 109 Detroit 103
Final OT Milwaukee 121 Miami 115
Final L.A. Clippers 135 Dallas 104
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final New Jersey 4 N-Y Rangers 0
Final Ottawa 3 Florida 0
Final Pittsburgh 5 Dallas 3
Final Vancouver 6 Anaheim 2
Final Los Angeles 3 Edmonton 0
Final Boston 5 Carolina 1
Final Toronto 5 Columbus 0
Final St. Louis 5 Colorado 4
Final Utah 4 Winnipeg 1
Final Montreal 3 Philadelphia 2
Final SO Buffalo 3 Tampa Bay 2
Final Seattle 5 San Jose 1
Final OT Vegas 3 Calgary 2
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (2)Houston 70 (1)Duke 67
Final (3)Florida 79 (4)Auburn 73
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Final Charlotte FC 2 Nashville 1
Final Real Salt Lake 2 LA Galaxy 0
Final tie FC Dallas 1 Atlanta 1
Final Cincinnati 1 New England 0
Final Columbus 2 CF Montréal 1
Final New York 2 Chicago 1
Final tie Orlando City 0 Philadelphia 0
Final tie Portland 0 Austin FC 0
Final Houston 1 Los Angeles FC 0
Final Sporting Kansas City 2 St Louis City 0
Final Vancouver 2 Colorado 0
Final San Diego FC 3 Seattle 0