LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ochai Agbaji of Kansas, Johnny Davis of Wisconsin, Iowa’s Keegan Murray, Drew Timme of Gonzaga and Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky are the five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award as college basketball’s player of the year. The winner will be announced April 5 on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” The finalists have been invited to Los Angeles for the 46th annual presentation on April 8.
UNDATED (AP) — There’s no room for a surprise team at this Final Four. Duke, North Carolina, Kansas and Villanova have combined for 17 national championships. Each of these schools has won at least three titles. That makes this the first Final Four in which each of the teams already had won multiple championships. The closest thing to a Final Four party crasher is North Carolina. The Tar Heels were seeded eighth in the East Region but have won 10 of their last 11 games.
UNDATED (AP) — Women’s basketball is ranked second, behind only college football and ahead of men’s basketball, when it comes to the amount of income generated by name, image and likeness deals. That is according to Blake Lawrence, the chief executive of Opendorse. His company helps colleges and athletes navigate the celebrity endorsement landscape, which was opened last summer by the NCAA and now has millions of dollars flowing through it. He says making it to the Final Four will only increase the deals coming to social-media influencers such as Stanford's Cameron Brink and UConn's Paige Bueckers.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals head into this season with a bit of past, present and future in the mix. Zack Greinke, their former Cy Young winner, is returning to the club after more than a decade spent elsewhere. Longtime clubhouse stalwarts Salvador Perez and Whit Merrifield are back. And the future comes in the form ofyoung pitchers such as Brady Singer and Kris Bubic as well as infielder Bobby Witt Jr.. He is the No. 1 prospect in baseball. The Royals open the season at home April 7 against the Cleveland Guardians.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Albert Pujols went 1 for 3 against Washington in his spring training debut with St. Louis on the same day his wife underwent successful brain surgery. In his third at-bat, Pujols smacked a line drive to the right side through a hole created by an infield shift. He said afterward it felt good to be back in a real game. Pujols doesn’t expect to be in the Cardinals’ lineup on Thursday. But if all goes well, he will play Friday against the Mets. He may head to California to see his wife during the off days between the end of camp and the start of the season.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Dallas 120 Cleveland 112
Final Washington 127 Orlando 110
Final Denver 125 Indiana 118
Final Toronto 125 Minnesota 102
Final Charlotte 125 New York 114
Final Miami 106 Boston 98
Final Atlanta 136 Oklahoma City 118
Final Sacramento 121 Houston 118
Final Memphis 112 San Antonio 111
Final New Orleans 117 Portland 107
Final Phoenix 107 Golden State 103
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final SO Winnipeg 3 Buffalo 2
Final OT N-Y Rangers 5 Detroit 4
Final SO Edmonton 4 Los Angeles 3
Final Arizona 5 San Jose 2
Final St. Louis 4 Vancouver 3
Final Vegas 3 Seattle 0