UNDATED (AP) — Defending champion Connecticut, along with Houston, Purdue and North Carolina are the top seeds in a March Madness bracket that started going haywire even before the pairings came out. Of the four top seeds, only UConn heads into the tournament coming off a win. That played into the Huskies receiving the No. 1 overall seed. The other three top seeds lost in their conference tournaments.
UNDATED (AP) — Purdue is seeded first in the Midwest Region for the NCAA Tournament as it tries to make amends for becoming only the second No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed a year ago. The Boilermakers were upset by Fairleigh Dickinson that day. The selection committee put the Big Ten regular-season champions against the winner of Montana State and Grambling State on Friday in Indianapolis. There are some heavyweights elsewhere in the Midwest, including second-seeded Tennessee, No. 3 seed Creighton, fourth-seeded Kansas and No. 5 seed Gonzaga. The Jayhawks may have the biggest question marks with All-America candidates Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr. both dealing with injuries.
UNDATED (AP) — Houston claimed a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, but will have to navigate the likes of Duke, Kentucky and Marquette in the South Region if the Cougars are able to make their first Final Four since 2021. The Cougars were rewarded for being the Big 12 regular season champions and reaching the conference tournament title game before losing to Iowa State. They will face No. 16 seed Longwood, the Big South champion, in Memphis, Tennessee in the first round on Thursday. Houston will be a No. 1 seed for the third time in school history.
UNDATED (AP) — North Carolina is the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament West Region a year after being left out of the bracket. The Tar Heels will open March Madness just down the road in Charlotte against the First Four winner between Howard and Wagner. The West Region also includes Arizona, Alabama, Baylor and Michigan State. North Carolina found itself in a rare position in coach Hubert Davis’ second season a year ago, going from preseason No. 1 to watching the NCAA Tournament from home. The Tar Heels responded this season by winning their first outright ACC regular-season title in seven years.
UNDATED (AP) — Reigning national champion Connecticut is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and headlining the East Region bracket. The Huskies earned a top regional seed for the first time since a Final Four run in 2009 and sixth time overall. UConn has lost just once since Dec. 20. The Huskies are trying to become the first to win back-to-back titles since Florida in 2006 and 2007. Big 12 champion Iowa State is the No. 2 seed, followed by Big Ten champion Illinois and Southeastern Conference champion Auburn. The regionals will be held in Boston.
UNDATED (AP) — South Carolina is the the top overall seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks are looking to become the 10th women’s basketball team to go undefeated for an entire season. Caitlin Clark and Iowa also received a No. 1 seed. Both schools are in the Albany Region and wouldn't potentially face off until the national championship game. Iowa knocked South Carolina out last season in the Final Four. USC and Texas earned the other No. 1 seeds. Tennessee continued its streak of making the tournament every season since it began in 1982.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler has become the first player in the 50 years of The Players Championship to win back-to-back. This was the hardest. Not only was he dealing with neck pain all week, he started the final round five shots behind. Scheffler closed with a 64. That matches the lowest final round by a winner. He also tied a Players Championship record with a five-shot comeback. U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, British Open champion Brian Harman and Xander Schauffele all finished one shot behind. All of them had their chances over the final three holes to force a playoff.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Players on the PGA Tour board are preparing to meet with the Saudi leader backing LIV Golf. Rory McIlroy says such a meeting with Yasir Al-Rumayyan should have happened long ago. Al-Rumayyan is governor of the Public Investment Fund, which backs LIV Golf. Details remain vague on a planned meeting Monday, including the location and who will be involved. Also unclear is what will be on the table. Patrick Cantlay is one of the six player directors on the board. He doesn't anything too substantive. McIlroy is drawing distinctions between Al-Rumayyan and disruptive nature of LIV operators like Greg Norman.
Denny Hamlin has won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway after passing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the final laps. It's his fourth victory at the famed short track. Hamlin also won at NASCAR’s bullring last September. This one was much different. Tire issues hampered most everyone all afternoon as only five cars finished on the lead lap — the first time that has happened in the Cup Series in 20 years. The Gibbs cars were the class of the field.
SUNDAY SCORES
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (12)Auburn 86 Florida 67
Final (13)Illinois 93 Wisconsin 87
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 8 Tampa Bay 4
Final Baltimore 8 Atlanta 2
Final St. Louis 10 Houston 6
Final Arizona 2 L.A. Angels 0
Final Chicago Cubs 8 Texas 6
Final Arizona 5 Seattle 4
Final Cleveland 4 Cincinnati 2
Final Milwaukee 6 Kansas City 4
Final San Diego 1 Korea 0
Final Boston 3 Atlanta 3
Final Toronto 5 Philadelphia 5
Final San Diego 5 LG Twins 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Toronto 9 Minnesota 4
Final Boston 12 N.Y. Yankees 6
Final Baltimore 4 Detroit 4
Final Chicago White Sox 3 Oakland 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final N.Y. Mets 7 Miami 6
Final Washington 9 N.Y. Mets 8
Final Colorado 5 San Francisco 3
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Milwaukee 140 Phoenix 129
Final Miami 104 Detroit 101
Final Dallas 107 Denver 105
Final Orlando 111 Toronto 96
Final Boston 130 Washington 104
Final OT San Antonio 122 Brooklyn 115
Final Atlanta 110 L.A. Clippers 93
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final N-Y Rangers 5 N-Y Islanders 2
Final Vegas 3 New Jersey 1
Final Carolina 7 Ottawa 2
Final Chicago 5 San Jose 2
Final Winnipeg 6 Columbus 1
Final Pittsburgh 6 Detroit 3