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🏀 Good morning to all, but especially to …
DERIK QUEEN, THE (4) MARYLAND TERRAPINS, AND THE REST OF THE MEN’S BASKETBALL SWEET 16
If you thought the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament was lacking a signature moment, I sure hope you kept watching all the way through. Derik Queen hit a buzzer-beating bank shot to lift (4) Maryland over (12) Colorado State, 72-71, in the game of the tournament so far.
Queen is awesome, a skilled 6-foot-10 freshman who Matt Norlander profiled earlier this season. Did he travel on the game winner? Maybe. But it wasn’t called, so it’s not a travel. Regardless, it shouldn’t lessen your excitement, Maryland fans. It’s the first true game-winning buzzer beater in the NCAA Tournament since the 2023 Final Four and Maryland’s first in the NCAA Tournament since Drew Nicholas in 2003.
Colorado State’s Jalen Lake had just hit a go-ahead 3, and Queen turning desperation to elation is what makes March so great.
Here’s where Queen’s shot ranks among March Madness’ best buzzer-beaters, and you already know where he landed in Sunday’s winners and losers.
So, who else is left? First, all four No. 1 seeds are into the Sweet 16, headlining a somewhat chalky tournament so far. How they got there, though, is impressive.
From the best seeds remaining to the worst, John Calipari apparently doesn’t mind having his worst seed ever. His (10) Arkansas Razorbacks are into the Sweet 16 after upsetting Rick Pitino‘s (2) St. John’s, 75-66, and what a twist it is in Calipari’s long and complicated legacy, Matt Norlander writes.
Not to be outdone, Calipari’s most recent former employer, (3) Kentucky, also reached the second weekend after an 84-75 win over (6) Illinois. Isaac has the inside story on Lamont Butler leading the way.
Here’s the Sweet 16 schedule:
- (6) BYU vs. (2) Alabama, 7:09 p.m. Thursday on CBS
- (4) Maryland vs. (1) Florida, 7:39 p.m. Thursday on TBS
- (4) Arizona vs. (1) Duke, 9:39 p.m. Thursday on CBS
- (10) Arkansas vs. (3) Texas Tech, 10:09 p.m. Thursday on TBS
- (6) Ole Miss vs. (2) Michigan State, 7:09 p.m. Friday on CBS
- (3) Kentucky vs. (2) Tennessee, 7:39 p.m. Friday on TBS
- (5) Michigan vs. (1) Auburn, 9:39 p.m. on CBS
- (4) Purdue vs. (1) Houston, 10:09 p.m. on TBS
You’ll notice a lot of SEC teams — seven, to be exact, a record for any conference. You’ll also notice not a lot of conferences: just four are represented, the fewest ever. Here’s our early preview of a LOADED slate.
And here’s more from the weekend that was:
😃 Honorable mentions
🏀 And not such a good morning for …
THE (8) UCONN HUSKIES AND THE (2) ST. JOHN’S RED STORM
There are many reasons no men’s college basketball team has three-peated since John Wooden‘s UCLA over 50 years ago. But this year’s Huskies — without the superb guard play or dominant interior presence of the past two iterations — tried their darnedest, didn’t they? Dan Hurley‘s club went down swinging, Chip writes, and here’s what an emotional Hurley said postgame.
The most notable moment of Pitino’s postgame presser, meanwhile, was his terse explanation of why Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr. didn’t play down the stretch. Still, Pitino led a stirring return to prominence for the Johnnies, and his ability to take them to the next level will depend on NIL support, David writes.
😞 Not so honorable mentions
🏀 Women’s NCAA Tournament: Favorites rolling
Half of the women’s Sweet 16 is set, and so far Cinderella is yet to show up. Here are some of the more notable results:
- Reigning champion (1) South Carolina is into the Sweet 16. After a 60-point blowout of (16) Tennessee Tech in the first round, the Gamecocks got past (9) Indiana, 64-53.
- (2) TCU is into the Sweet 16 for the first time ever, with Hailey Van Lith (16 points, five rebounds, 10 assists) leading the way in a 85-70 win over her former school, (7) Louisville. Agnes Emma-Nnopu also had 23 points for the Horned Frogs.
- The best game so far was (5) Kansas State over (4) Kentucky, 80-79, with Georgia Amoore missing a floater as time expired.
- After a tough close to the regular season and conference tournament, (3) Notre Dame is into the Sweet 16 after a 76-55 domination of (6) Michigan.
Injuries, unfortunately, might be the biggest storyline. JuJu Watkins appears to have dodged a scare, and the same goes for Olivia Miles. Toby Fournier, however, is dealing with an illness, and it’s unclear if she’ll be back for (2) Duke‘s Sweet 16 game.
We’re keeping up with every game right here as the rest of the Sweet 16 will be set today.
🥊 George Foreman dies at 76
George Foreman, the legendary heavyweight boxer who was so much more, too, died Friday at the age of 76.
Where do we even start? The boxing is a good place. Foreman won Olympic gold in 1968 and won his first heavyweight title by beating Joe Frazier — “Down goes Frazier!” — in 1973. A year later, Foreman lost to Muhammad Ali in “The Rumble in the Jungle,” his first career loss. Foreman retired in 1977 after losing to Jimmy Young.
Then, in 1987, he returned at 38 years old. In 1994, at 45, he defeated Michael Moorer to become the oldest man ever to win a heavyweight boxing championship. He finished his career with a 76-5 record and 68 knockouts. He leaves behind an incredible legacy in the ring as one of the all-time greats who co-authored some of the all-time great fights.
But he also authored a great life — one I didn’t know much about before reading this marvelous story by Brian Campbell. After the loss to Young, Foreman suffered exhaustion, heatstroke and hallucinations and, after surviving, became a born-again Christian and, eventually, an ordained minister. He only returned to boxing when his church was struggling financially. And, still, that’s only part of his incredible story.
📺 What we’re watching Monday
🏀 We’re watching the women’s NCAA Tournament. Here’s how.
🏀 Lakers at Magic, 7 p.m. on NBA TV
🏀 Bucks at Kings, 10 p.m. on NBA TV
Read the full article here