The victory clinched the Fighting Illini’s first Final Four appearance since 2005, when a Deron Williams-led team that won 37 of its first 38 games fell to North Carolina in the national championship game.
Next Saturday in Indianapolis, they’ll face the winner of Sunday’s matchup between No. 1 overall seed Duke and No. 2 seed UConn.
With his father, former NBA All-Star Peja Stojaković, Andrej Stojaković had 17 points 7-of-9 shooting for Illinois. Tomislav Ivišić added 13 points and two blocks for the Illini.
Despite a subpar outside shooting day from one of the nation’s best offenses, coach Brad Underwood’s team dominated the glass, getting 16 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second-chance points.
The Illini took control late in what had been a back-and-forth game that featured seven ties and 13 lead changes. Trailing 51-50 with 7:20 remaining in regulation, Illinois rattled off eight unanswered points while holding Iowa scoreless for 2:54 and without a made field goal for 5:37.
In his final college game, Bennett Stirtz had a team-high 24 points for the Hawkeyes, who were appearing in their first Elite Eight since 1987. Nobody else on Iowa’s team had more than 10 points.
After shooting 57.1% from the field in the first half, the Hawkeyes shot just 23.1% in the second half, missing 20 of their 26 field-goal attempts, including 12 of their final 13 shots.
When is the Final Four?
Final Four Dates: Saturday, April 4 and Monday, April 6
Mar 28, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray (54) throws against the Cincinnati Reds in the second inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
Zigs and Zags
The game had a ton of drama and resisted easy definitions. It wasn’t that the teams traded leads back and forth—the Sox never led, in fact—but every time I thought I had a handle on the direction of the game, a big moment occurred to completely erase that thought. For example, the Sox mishandling some plays, including logging their second error in as many games, had me thinking defensive deficits. That was until Marcelo Mayer came through in a big way with a great scoop and throw to first in the late innings. When the lack of offense seemed like the story of the game—despite scoring five runs, it felt like they were in a drought and they repeatedly came up short in big moments—Wilyer Abreu launched a two-out homer in the ninth inning.
This game will be remembered for its ABS adventures and umpiring miscues. The Sox ran out of ABS challenges with the first at-bat in the third. This was way too early, and a mistake by Roman Anthony with nothing on the line. Fully expect additional coaching on this point as players get used to incorporating it into game strategy. More ABS drama when Eugenio Suárez successfully challenged his strikeout, twice, on consecutive pitches.
Today ABS wasn’t popular in Red Sox Nation but it’s good to know that the game is a little fairer with it in the mix. So there’s that.
Even less popular was a big mistake by the home plate umpire, who egregiously called a check swing on Trevor Story to end a Sox rally as well as their eighth inning. It led to Story likely popping some blood vessels, and to Alex Cora’s ejection.
Personally, I sweated this game out and despite making it to extra innings, the Sox lost in eleven.
Studs
Ryan Watson
He walked the first batter faced in his MLB career, loading the bases in the process. In a dramatic sequence, he thought he got out of the jam, twice, while pitching to Eugenio Suárez. Suárez challenged—and won—the call both times. Credit to Watson for coming back and eventually getting the out. He did eventually get his first MLB K.
Carlos Narváez
His day: 2-3, 1R, 1 CS.
Duds
Pelvic Thrust Hit Celebration
I’m making a choice by putting this first in the list, but it’s important. Yuck. Jahmai Webster said he was told “it doesn’t mean what you think it means.” Hm. Dave O’Brien and Lou Merloni sounded a little skeptical, and so am I. To be clear, I don’t care about being “family friendly” at all but women find this gesture ugly and threatening. It’s unimaginative to boot.
Sonny Gray and Greg Weissert
They needed 35 and 27 pitches to get out of their respective first innings. Gray ran up several full counts and dropped the ball while trying to tag the runner at the plate. Whether or not the cold weather affected his spin, he couldn’t make the pitches he wanted. Weissert gave up a first-pitch HR, followed soon by a walk and a single.
Caleb Durbin
0-4 today, 0-7 so far as a Red Sox. The Sox need him to chip away and get on base in his typical small-ball ways. He killed a rally in the seventh after being called out on strikes.
Offense
Despite Abreu’s fireworks, the Sox had trouble getting themselves going in big moments and had 15 K’s on the day. Way too many.
Error #2 on the Season
It’s early but this also feels like too many.
Home Plate Umpire CB Bucknor
He rang up Story on a so-called check swing with the pitch in the dirt. What was egregious was not consulting another umpire.
Play of the Game
The glass-half-full part of me says it was Wilyer Abreu’s no-doubter with two outs in the ninth to tie the game. It was outstanding, but I think the reality is that the play of the game was Story’s at-bat that was unfairly cut short by mistaken umpiring.
Mar 27, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch (14) watches play during the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | David Frerker-Imagn Images
Detroit Tigers vs. San Diego Padres
Time/Place: 8:40 p.m., Petco Park SB Nation Site: Gaslamp Ball Media: Detroit Sportsnet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network Pitching Matchup: RHP Jack Flaherty (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Randy Vásquez (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
* Note: Stats in the table below are Fangraphs’ 2026 projections
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 26: A general view of a flyover during the presentation of the national anthem before the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks during Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on March 26, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today’s Lineups
DIAMONDBACKS
DODGERS
Ketel Marte – 2B
Shohei Ohtani – DH
Corbin Carroll – RF
Kyle Tucker – RF
Geraldo Perdomo – SS
Mookie Betts – SS
Pavin Smith – DH
Will Smith – C
Nolan Arenado – 3B
Freddie Freeman – 1B
Alek Thomas – CF
Teoscar Hernandez – LF
Carlos Santana – 1B
Santiago Espinal – 3B
James McCann – C
Andy Pages – CF
Jorge Barrosa – LF
Miguel Rojas – 2B
E. Rodriguez – LHP
Tyler Glasnow – RHP
The first shake-up of the season for the line-up, with Gabriel Moreno and Jordan Lawlar each sitting this one out, replaced by James McCann and Jorge Barrosa respectively. Maybe we can become the first NL West team apart from the Dodgers to win a game? The Rockies already lost their second game, joining us, the Padres and Giants, who all came into play at 0-2. The Giants have run their scoreless streak to open the season to 20 innings against the Yankees at time of writing, while the Padres are trying to avoid being swept by the Tigers. Hopefully, this is Detroit getting it all out of the way early, since they will be joining the D-backs in flying to Arizona tonight…
Tonight is Eduardo Rodriguez’s first start in 2025, and we’ll be hoping for an improved version of E-Rod for 2026. He comes in having made 39 starts for Arizona, with an ERA just over five (5.02). That’s an ERA+ of 85. Among those with more than twenty starts for the Diamondbacks, that puts him right in between Rodrigo Lopez and Barry Enright. It is also two points better than Brandon Pfaadt’s career figure, though the latter is not earning twenty-one million dollars this year. If Rodriguez can become the first Arizona starter to make it through five innings this year, that might be a good sign. Otherwise, we may be looking at a Joe Ross sighting.
Feb 28, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs designated hitter Kevin Alcantara (13) reacts as his bat breaks during his at bat in the first inning of a spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images | Allan Henry-Imagn Images
Iowa scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning and then didn’t score again. First, left fielder Justin Dean walked to lead off the bottom of the inning. He then stole second, went to third on a bad throw and scored on a fielder’s choice by first baseman Jonathon Long.
Two batters later, right fielder Kevin Alcántara did this.
The two-run home run went 393 feet and came on a slider from a right-hander that drifted outside the zone.
The I-Cubs got a good 3.1 innings from starter Will Sanders. Sanders gave up one run on a solo home run by Petey Halpin but nothing else. The final line on Sanders was one run on five hits over 3.1 innings. He struck out six and walked just one.
Luke Little relieved Sanders. He did not allow a run or a hit over 1.1 innings. He did walk two while striking out one.
Meanwhile, Iowa only had three hits after the first inning. One of them was this double by center fielder Brett Bateman.
Columbus got one run in each of the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to lose the game. Ethan Roberts gave up a run in the seventh and Yacksel Rios allowed a run in the eighth and ninth to blow the save and take the loss. The final line on Rios was two runs on four hits and three walks over two innings. He struck out one.
Alcántara was 1 for 4 with the two-run home run. Bateman was 1 for 3 with a double and a steal.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants matched a franchise record Saturday by reaching 20 straight innings without scoring to begin the season, then finally recorded their first run in the third inning against the New York Yankees.
San Francisco had been shut out by New York 7-0 and 3-0 with only four hits over its first two games — the first time that had happened in baseball history to start a season.
Jung Hoo Lee began the third Saturday with a double to right off Will Warren, then Matt Chapman followed with an RBI single, and the crowd cheered wildly as many fans jumped to their feet in obvious relief.
The 20 consecutive scoreless innings matched the previous franchise mark from 1909, when the Giants were scoreless for 13 innings in their opener and the first seven in Game 2.
The only team ever to get shut out three straight times to open the year was San Diego in 2016, when the Padres were swept by the Dodgers on the way to a 68-94 season.
ATLANTA (AP) — Hubert Kós broke his own NCAA record while defending his title in the 200-yard backstroke to help the Texas men win a second straight national championship in swimming and diving on Saturday.
Kós won with a time of 1 minute, 34.13 seconds as the Longhorns piled up 445.5 points. He set an NCAA record of 1:34.21 in winning the event last season. Kós also broke the NCAA record in the 100 backstroke earlier this meet. Florida junior Jonny Marshall finished second and Virginia sophomore David King took third.
Runner-up Florida had 416 points. Indiana (351), Arizona State (328) and Tennessee (272) rounded out the top five.
Virginia freshman Maximus Williamson began the day by winning the 200 IM in 1:38.48. Indiana senior Owen McDonald was second, followed by Texas senior Baylor Nelson.
Florida senior Josh Liendo clocked a 39.91 to win the 100 freestyle. LSU junior Jere Hribar was second, followed by Tennessee senior Gui Caribe.
Arizona State junior Ilya Kharun won the 200 butterfly in 1:37.66, a half-second in front of Michigan senior Tyler Ray. Virginia freshman Thomas Heilman placed third.
Kharun, Adam Chaney, Remi Fabiani and anchor Jonny Kulow won the men’s 400 free relay with a NCAA record time of 2:42.15. N.C. State placed second and Florida was third. The Sun Devils won five of the seven relay races.
Texas A&M freshman Emilio Trevino won the title in platform diving with 465.40 points. Purdue sophomore Tyler Wills (451.15) and Florida sophomore Jesus Gonzalez (427.25) followed.
Coach Bob Bowman has led Texas to back-to-back championships. He guided Arizona State to the championship in 2024 before taking the Longhorns job.
Hall-of-Fame coach Eddie Reese led Texas to 15 championships during his 46-year run from 1978-2024.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tobias Harris led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points on Saturday as the Detroit Pistons strengthened their hold on the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 109-87 victory over the injury-riddled Minnesota Timberwolves.
Jalen Duren had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons, who have won nine of their last 11 games. They began the day with a four-game lead over Boston in the race for the Eastern Conference’s top seed.
Five other Pistons scored at least 10 points, led by Daniss Jenkins and Ronald Holland II with 13 apiece.
Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards (right knee inflammation) missed his sixth straight game. The Timberwolves also played without starting forward Jaden McDaniels (right knee soreness) and guard Ayo Dosunmu (right calf soreness).
Donte DiVincenzo hit five 3-pointers and led Minnesota with 22 points. Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who shot a season-low 32% (27 for 85) from the floor and 21% (9 for 43) from beyond the arc.
Paul Reed scored six quick points on two free throws and two dunks and Caris LaVert hit two fadeaway jumpers as the Pistons pulled out to 33-24 lead after the first quarter.
DiVincenzo helped Minnesota rally in the second, scoring all of their points in a 10-2 run that helped the Timberwolves cut the deficit to 49-44 at the half.
Kevin Johnson sat at the scorer’s table armed with two blue-and-white air horns, which he used to signal timeouts, substitutions and the end of each half.
Johnson, who has worked for the Houston Rockets as a game clock operator for 25 years, said the game operations crew always keeps air horns and stopwatches available in the arena just in case. On Saturday, as the delay dragged on, Johnson had a feeling they would be needed. He relayed a message into his headset and an employee scurried through the back hallways of Toyota Center to fetch the two emergency horns.
“They tried to go up and they were going to cut (the scoreboard) off. I said, ‘OK in the meantime, just get the air horns out here in case there’s a problem,’” Johnson said. “They were going to try and switch them back but the horn is tied to the whole thing. When they turned the screens back on, the horn is not going to stay cut off.”
Johnson was working the NCAA regional games in Houston along with the rest of the Rockets’ regular scorer’s table crew. He and shot clock operator Larry Stick, another longtime member of the Rockets’ staff, said a similar malfunction happened once before at a Rockets game many years ago – but they emphasized that incidents like that are rare in NBA arenas.
However, Johnson and Stick said it’s not unusual for scorekeepers and clock operators who work high school games to use manual air horns.
At NBA games, Johnson and Stick control the horn by flipping a switch on a Tissot handset, which resembles a simplistic video game controller. But that controller broke on Saturday, which caused a constant buzzing sound to emanate from the scoreboard overhanging the court.
At halftime, arena employees tried to switch out the Tissot unit entirely, but it still didn’t work. The scoreboard and horn remained inoperable for the second half. So Johnson returned to his seat, put down his cup of blue sports drink and positioned the air horn on the table in front of him.
NEW YORK (AP) — Luis Robert Jr. hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the New York Mets a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.
Luis Torrens delivered a tying single in the 10th on his first swing this season, and the Mets improved to 2-0 following an 11-7 victory on Thursday over Paul Skenes and the Pirates in their opener.
After starters Mitch Keller and David Peterson matched zeros in 42-degree weather, Nick Gonzales lined an RBI single for Pittsburgh with one out in the 10th to break a scoreless tie.
Mets reliever Luis Garcia prevented further damage by retiring Jake Mangum with the bases loaded.
Bryan Reynolds put the Pirates ahead again with a two-out infield single in the 11th before Richard Lovelady (1-0) struck out Gonzales with runners at the corners.
Jorge Polanco worked a leadoff walk in the bottom half from rookie left-hander Hunter Barco (0-1), who pitched out of a huge jam in the 10th to extend the game in his third major league appearance.
With automatic runner Bo Bichette also aboard at second, Robert reached down and drove a 1-0 slider over the left-center fence for his first homer with the Mets and the second walk-off shot of his career. The center fielder from Cuba, acquired from the Chicago White Sox in a January trade, also had two RBI singles Thursday in his New York debut.
Pittsburgh finished 2 for 18 with runners in scoring position and stranded 17. Mangum’s ninth-inning double was the only extra-base hit in the game until Roberts went deep.
Following the Mets’ offseason makeover, the 30-year-old Peterson became the team’s longest-tenured player. The left-hander, a first-time All-Star last season before fading in the second half, allowed six singles and two walks in 5 1/3 innings.
He pitched around a throwing error by Bichette, switching from shortstop to third base this year, and induced a popup from new Pirates cleanup batter Marcell Ozuna on a 2-0 fastball with the bases loaded to end the fifth.
Keller was even better, permitting just three singles and no walks in six innings. The right-hander, an All-Star in 2023, has a 1.79 ERA in seven starts against New York.
Up next
Mets rookie right-hander Nolan McLean (5-1, 2.06 ERA) makes his season debut Sunday in the series finale. RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (5-8, 3.55) pitches for Pittsburgh.
