Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres, March 22, 2026, 6:10 p.m. PST

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Location: Peoria Sports Complex – Peoria, AZ

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An NCAA tournament that’s been largely predictable near the end of the first weekend got some much-needed madness Sunday in one of the most anticipated games of the day.

After surrendering a late 13-point lead, Rick Pitino and St. John’s escaped with a 67-65 victory against Kansas in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament thanks to some heroics from one of its less-heralded starters.

REQUIRED READING: St. John’s vs Kansas live updates: Red Storm wins on buzzer-beater, headed to Sweet 16

With the score tied at 65 with 3.9 seconds remaining, Red Storm guard Dylan Darling received the inbounds pass near midcourt and drove to the basket, getting by his defender and making a contested layup as time expired to give his team an anxiety-inducing win.

DYLAN DARLING GAME WINNER OMG 🚨

ST. JOHN’S ADVANCES TO THE SWEET 16 🤯 pic.twitter.com/cgtCSgKHe5

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 22, 2026

The shot sent St. John’s to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999. There, it will take on No. 1 overall seed Duke.

The Red Storm largely controlled the game against the Jayhawks and potential No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick Darryn Peterson, leading for 93% of the contest and going up by as many as 14 in the second half. Until Darling’s layup, though, they had been outscored 20-7 in the final 6:29 of regulation.

The basket gave Darling his only points of the day on his only attempt from inside the 3-point arc of the afternoon. The 6-foot-1 junior had missed each of his previous four attempts from the field, all of which came from 3. He contributed in other ways, though, finishing with a team-high four assists and two steals.

And now, thanks to one determined drive to the bucket, he’ll live forever in St. John’s basketball lore.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: St. John’s buzzer-beater vs Kansas sends Red Storm to first Sweet 16 since 1999

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Alabama has a chance to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in nearly 30 years when they face Louisville in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Monday.

The Crimson Tide haven’t made it that far since 1998.

“We have a program that every sport is good,” senior Jessica Timmons said Sunday. “We want this time to be for women’s basketball, and I think this will be proven this year.”

Getting there means sixth-seeded Alabama (24-10) must beat Louisville (28-7), a team that nearly took down South Carolina in December. The Cardinals have all 12 Sweet 16 berths under coach Jeff Walz as one of six programs to reach the regional semifinals at least 10 times since 2011.

Coach Kristy Curry said the Crimson Tide must “be Bama.” That means win the rebounding battle limiting second-chance looks and avoiding turnovers leading to fast breaks.

Alabama played against its tendencies in beating Rhode Island 68-55 in the first round. The Crimson Tide attempted a season-low 10 3-pointers but had their best overall shooting performance in a month at 53.2% (25-for-47).

Walz isn’t changing his game plan against Alabama, which beat three AP Top 25 teams this season.

“You’ve just got to do the best you can to play one-on-one defense, try to keep them in front of you, and make them score over you,” Walz said. “Rhode Island was really trying to turn the heat up some, which was, I think, making Alabama drive more, and they did a great job of finishing.”

The relatively few 3-pointers weren’t the only difference for Alabama in its win. Junior Essence Cody scored 19 points in the first round making a trio of 3s.

Laura Ziegler said the third-seeded Cardinals will respect the 6-foot-4 post player’s perimeter abilities but not overthink things. Cody averages 11.7 points a game for second making more than 60% of her inside shots this season.

“I think whenever you go into a game like that, you also look at what would be the most dangerous, like, what are you expecting?” Ziegler said. “You see a little bit over more games than just that one.”

The 6-2 Ziegler has been a key leader for Louisville, transferring to the Cardinals after three seasons with St. Joseph’s. A three-time All-Atlantic Conference 10 honoree, she became Walz’s floor leader earning All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors on a team with several talented sophomores.

Ziegler is one of three Cardinals averaging more than 11 points a game. Tajianna Roberts called her Danish teammate “a pressure release” on the court, helping get the ball up the court.

“But off the court she has taught me to be a leader in so many different ways,” said Roberts, the sophomore guard and Louisville’s leading scorer with 11.4 points a game. “I don’t know if she knows it, but I’m going to take what she has taught me to next year.”

Hey there!

The Cardinals easily beat Vermont in the first round with sophomore Mackenly Randolph scored a career-high 20 to lead the third-seeded Cardinals and matched her career-high with 11 rebounds.

The 6-foot forward has four career double-doubles, all in the Cardinals’ last five games. Walz called her style of play as “bully ball,” with Curry describing the daughter of 17-year NBA star Zach Randolph as a “match-up nightmare,” especially on transition.

“She infuses them with the energy and just brings a lot of toughness and grit,” Curry said. “I think they’re really good around her. I mean, obviously, their versatility and depth as a team is what their size really impresses me… We’ve seen this type of size consistently. We need to draw from our experiences of competing in the SEC.”

On the line

The winner gets a trip to Fort Worth 3 Region for a game Saturday against second-seeded Michigan, a 92-63 winner over North Carolina State on Sunday.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Amaya Battle drove toward the lane before dribbling back for more space along the baseline to launch the shot she — and everyone else who has ever picked up a basketball — has long daydreamed about.

First came the swish, immediately followed by the joyful screams.

Then after watching Mississippi’s attempt at a winner hit the front of the rim and fall short, Minnesota unleashed a celebration of the program’s first trip to the Sweet 16 in 21 years with a 65-63 victory in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

“I think any basketball player, when you shoot on your own, you’re like, ‘OK, three, two, one,’ throw it up there and see what happens,” said Battle, who had 14 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. “It was real life today.”

The women’s tournament has otherwise been lacking in upsets and buzzer-beaters, particularly since Clemson’s apparent 3-pointer at the end of regulation in the first round on Saturday didn’t count because of a clock operation error in an eventual overtime loss to Southern California.

Battle, the sister of NBA player Jamison Battle, delivered that shining moment for the highlight reels in her final game at Williams Arena. This was the first game of the tournament decided by fewer than three points, with the homecourt advantage that Minnesota made sure to secure well in advance — on the hunch this team could earn a top-16 seed — coming through loud and clear.

“You can’t make this stuff up,” coach Dawn Plitzuweit said.

The No. 4 seed Gophers (24-8), who had a crowd of 10,763 on their side, were more than happy to have their senior point guard on a team with plenty of capable shooters take the crucial final shot.

“We practice it almost every day before every game, so it’s nothing really new. She hits those shots every day in practice over our scout guys,” said Mara Braun, who led the Gophers with 17 points. “Everyone I think knew that it was in.”

Battle landed on her back after the follow-through, sat straight up and hoisted both arms straight up in the air to signal the make as her teammates swarmed her in the corner in front of the bench.

“That’s out of a Disney movie,” Mississippi coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said.

Not lost in the shuffle of the epic ending was the charge Battle drew on Cotie McMahon with 4:22 left that fouled out the Mississippi star with 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the floor.

“That was our best defense, not having her on the court, very honestly,” Plitzuweit said.

Said Battle: “She got a ton of buckets out of me, on us, and it was because she was powering through. I was like, ‘All right, I’m just going to try to fall and see what happens,’ and it worked out.”

McMahon, who won the Southeastern Conference newcomer of the year award after transferring from Ohio State and is widely expected to be a first-round draft pick in the WNBA draft next month, picked up her second foul early in the first quarter and was limited to 21 minutes in the game.

“I was dealt the cards that I was dealt. I just handled it and still tried to make the right plays for my team,” McMahon said.

McPhee-McCuin was a little less diplomatic, expressing her dismay with the officiating on McMahon.

“I just haven’t seen the best players get fouled out,” McPhee-McCuin said. “From my point of view, the last call was incorrect. We watched it 1,500 times. One of the things I do understand is that officials are human and environments create them to officiate in a particular type of way. I don’t think that’s why we lost the game. I just know that Cotie is our leading scorer, newcomer of the year, all of the things, and she plays 20 minutes, and it’s disappointing. These fans deserved more than that. The game deserves more than that.”

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Steve Alker won the Cologuard Classic with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff for the second straight year, beating Padraig Harrington with a 4-footer Sunday in mid-90 degree heat.

Last year at La Paloma, Alker beat Long Island club pro Jason Caron with a 12-foot putt on the first extra hole.

Alker won for the 11th time in 100 career starts on the PGA Tour Champions. The 54-year-old New Zealander was nine strokes back after opening with an even-par 71, then shot a 62 on Saturday to pull within two.

“I just made some simple mistakes the first round,” Alker said. “A couple three-putts and missed the odd green here and there, and it was kind of silly stuff. I tidied that up. I knew my game was in good shape.”

Alker closed with a 65 to post at 15-under 198. Harrington, playing behind Alker in the final group, hit his approach long and bogeyed the par-4 18th — missing a 10-foot comebacker.

Both players found the left side of the fairway on the 18th in the playoff, Harrington with a driving iron. The Irishman hit to the back of the green from 146 yards, leaving a 30-foot downhill putt that slid by on the right. Alker hit a gap wedge from 135 yards to set up the winning putt.

“Ultimately it all worked out,” Alker said. “One hundredth start, really special. I had no idea. It’s just gone so quickly, I’m having so much fun out here. To win here again is pretty special.”

Zach Johnson closed with a 67 to tie for third at 13 under in his second start on the 50-and-over tour. He won two weeks ago in Florida in his senior debut.

Tommy Gainey also was 13 under after a 68, Thongchai Jaidee (70) was 12 under. Sixty-eight-year-old Bernhard Langer (70) was another shot back with K.J. Choi (67), Thomas Bjorn (67) and Stewart Cink (67).

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Here at BrewCrewBall, normally our game recaps provide a play-by-play (or, at least the important plays) of the game that we’re recapping. Since today’s Spring Breakout is an exhibition game, more of an excuse to showcase prospects than a game that really counts for anything, I thought I’d do this recap a bit differently. Here are some of the prospects that stood out in today’s 9-8 loss to the Athletics:

Blake Burke:

Burke, who played first base tonight, had the Brewers’ only two-hit performance in today’s game. Both hits were singles, with the first an RBI single in the first to score Luis Peña and give Milwaukee a 2-0 lead. Burke also stole third base twice en route to a three-steal performance. He played out of his mind once being promoted to Double-A (300/.377/.579 with 11 HRs in just 140 at-bats); if he can sustain anything close to that level of performance next season, it might not be long before he’s in a major league clubhouse.

Jesus Made

The good: Made only had one hit in three at-bats, but his hit — a 112.7 mph line drive double off of A’s No. 2 prospect Jamie Arnold — was the second-hardest hit ball of the day. The bad: he did have two throwing errors, one of which cost the Brewers a run. Not much more to say about Made, who continues to impress in one way or another nearly every time he’s on the field. He’s Milwaukee’s No. 1 prospect for a reason.

Eric Bitonti

Bitonti’s power has never been in question; he hit 19 home runs last year in Single-A . He ended the season still in Single-A because, despite all his power, he strikes out too much. Bitonti did strike out once in his two at-bats, but the other at-bat ended in a monstrous home run that came off the bat at 115.7 mph. With all the other talented corner infielders in the Brewers’ system, he has been somewhat overlooked. Today’s home run is a reminder that if he can cut down on the strikeouts, his power could be a true difference maker someday.

Other position players who had hits included Andrew Fischer, Brady Ebel, and Daniel Dickinson, all 2025 draft picks. Ebel’s hit, a double to left field, tied the game at 7 for the Brewers in the eighth inning. Fischer’s been flashing all spring between the World Baseball Classic and Spring Training, and tonight was no exception — smoking a 111.3 mph double down the right field line to score Ebel and give the Brewers an 8-7 lead.

Luis Peña got the Brewers on the board in the first with his only hit of the contest:

The pitching staff was a bit less impressive today, as Ethan Dorchies and Wande Torres were the only pitchers who didn’t allow a run. Starter Tyson Hardin allowed four hits and three runs in two innings, walking two and striking out one. The Brewers put up four runs before he was pulled, so Hardin exited the game with the lead. His replacement, Brett Wichrowski, gave up three runs in 0.2 innings, although one of the three was unearned due to a Made throwing error. The winning run for the Athletics was scored on a Darrien Miller passed ball in the bottom of the eighth, although pitcher Mark Manfredi had already allowed three hits and walked a batter during the frame.

I’d also be remiss not to mention that Josh Adamczewski made a nice leaping catch on the warning track to end the fourth inning, Adamczewski was listed as an infielder and mainly played middle infield last season, but the Brewers have a logjam of prospects (Made, Peña, Cooper Pratt, Jett Williams) that play shortstop and/or second base. Because of this, the Brewers are giving Adamczewski reps in left field to get his bat in the lineup. Seeing him do stuff like this in the outfield is a great sign:

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic recorded his 35th triple-double of the season and both he and Jamal Murray scored 22 points Sunday when the Denver Nuggets celebrated the return of Peyton Watson by cooling off the Portland Trail Blazers 128-112.

Jokic had 22 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists. Cam Johnson added 19 points as the Nuggets stopped Portland’s three-game winning streak, all on the road.

Deni Avdija led the Trail Blazers with 23 points and Donovan Clingan added 18 for Portland, which never led in the last of a five-game trip.

Watson, who hadn’t played since Feb. 4 due to a hamstring injury, scored 14 points in just under 20 minutes. He was one of seven Nuggets to score in double figures.

The 6-foot-8 guard was averaging almost 15 points when he got hurt six weeks ago, and coach David Adelman said before tip-off that the minutes of his “high-level wing defender” and precision passer will be restricted as he works his way back into the rotation.

Both teams were torrid to start the matinee with each shooting 7 for 10 from 3-point range in the first six-plus minutes and both the Blazers and Nuggets hitting better than 70% of their shots.

Murray and Johnson both hit four 3-pointers for Denver before halftime, and Clingan did the same for Portland, which trailed 75-69 at the break.

The Nuggets began to pull away when Jokic, Aaron Gordon (15 points) and Johnson all swished 3s during an 11-0 run that gave Denver an 88-74 lead midway through the third quarter.

Jokic turned the ball over five times — half the number he had in a loss at Memphis on Wednesday night.

Up next

Trail Blazers: Return home to host the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.

Nuggets: Visit the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland’s Kristoffer Velde scored in the 13th minute and Timbers defender Kamal Miller picked up a red card seven minutes later, but James Pantemis surrendered only a João Klauss goal to help them hold on for a 1-1 draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday.

Velde scored for the second time this season to give Portland (1-3-1) a 1-0 lead early. But things became difficult from the 20th minute on when Miller received his card for a foul on Klauss.

Antony Alves Santos notched his first assist this season on the score and Joao Ortiz picked up his second.

Klauss came up with the equalizer in the 30th minute with assists from Marco Reus and Gabriel Pec. It was the fifth goal for Klauss, who has certainly helped ease the loss of superstar Riqui Puig for a second straight season due to injuries. Klauss spent his first three seasons with St. Louis City, where he scored 25 goals in 79 appearances.

Reus earned his first assist this season after posting a career-best nine last year. Pec’s helper was his third to begin the season.

Pantemis totaled six saves for the Timbers, including four in the first half.

JT Marcinkowski stopped two shots in his first start of the season for the Galaxy (1-2-2).

The Galaxy lead the series 14-12-11, but are 5-10-11 in Portland. The two clubs played to a 1-1 draw in Portland last season before the Timbers posted a 4-2 victory on the road.

Up next

Los Angeles: Hosts Minnesota United on April 4.

Portland: Visits the Vancouver Whitecaps on April 4.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer

Before the Yankees begin their 2026 season with Wednesday’s 8:05 p.m. Opening Night game at the San Francisco Giants, New York has two more spring training games — 3:05 p.m. starts Monday and Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs in Mesa, Ariz.

Gerrit Cole (Tommy John surgery recovery) will start Tuesday’s game with two innings in mind, followed by left-hander Ryan Weathers, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.

The Yankees enter the regular season with a four-man rotation — left-hander Max Fried, right-handers Cam Schlittler and Will Warren and the left-handed Weathers — YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits reported.

New York is “discussing what that means for Luis Gil,” Hoch said.

“Gil will remain behind in Tampa and throw live batting practice on Wednesday,” Hoch wrote. “The Yanks are considering optioning him to the minors. If they don’t, Matt Blake said they may use him in a piggyback role.”

Gil’s spring training was a struggle, but he ended his last start on a high note.

Anthony Volpe injury update

ShortstopAnthony Volpe (left shoulder) “is expected to get in rehab games in mid April,” according to Marakovits.

More than a month ago, Volpe said that an April return would “definitely” be possible.

Carlos Lagrange wins 2026 James P. Dawson Award

The Yankees’ annual honor for the most outstanding rookie of spring training is Carlos Lagrange, the right-hander whose efforts made being sent down “a difficult decision.”

“Well, I feel pretty good with my participation in this big league camp,” Lagrange told Marakovits. “You know, that was my first one. It was pretty good.”

Lagrange, 22, went 1-0 with a 0.66 ERA in 13.1 IP over four games (one start), allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits (one homer) while striking out 13 and walking four.

“I think I take a lot of confidence because when you have a really good team on your back, you know, you pitch with confidence,” Lagrange said. “And during the summer, you know they can help you make the plays.”

Lagrange is the Yankees’ top pitching prospect and ranked No. 2 overall behind infielder Greg Lombard Jr., according to MLB Pipeline.