March Madness rounds the corner to the Sweet 16

Underdogs have blown up every bracket in the country in what may be the maddest March ever. Defending national champion Kansas and fellow No. 1 seed Purdue are gone. The Sweet 16 will be without blue bloods Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina for the second time in the past three NCAA Tournaments. Before the 2021 bracket, that last happened in 1979. Still in are upstarts like Princeton, Florida Atlantic and a team picked to finish last in the Big 12 Conference. And, this being March, of course there’s Tom Izzo and Michigan State.

Michigan State outlasts Marquette; Izzo back to Sweet 16

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Tyson Walker scored 23 points and No. 7 seed Michigan State beat second-seeded Marquette 69-60 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, sending coach Tom Izzo’s squad back to the Sweet 16 for the first time in four years. Marquette transfer Joey Hauser had 14 points for the Spartans and A.J. Hoggard had as 13 Michigan State took over in the last three minutes. The Spartans advanced to play third-seeded Kansas State in the East Region semifinals on Thursday at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The 68-year-old Izzo won his record 16th March Madness game with a lower-seeded team and reached his 15th regional semifinal. Olivier-Maxence Prosper led Marquette with 16 points.

Gonzaga, Timme move to Sweet 16 with 84-81 win over TCU

DENVER (AP) — Drew Timme extended his one-of-a-kind college career by at least one more game, scoring 28 points to help third-seeded Gonzaga make its eighth straight Sweet 16 with a come-from-behind 84-81 win over TCU. Timme made his first 3-pointer since December as part of a 13-1 run that helped the Zags take a seven-point lead with just under nine minutes left after trailing most of the night. After TCU pulled within three late, Timme made a twisting shot in the lane with a defender draped all over him. Gonzaga will face UCLA in the West Region semifinals in Las Vegas. Mike Miles Jr. scored 24 points for TCU.

Florida Atlantic ends Fairleigh Dickinson’s run for Sweet 16

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Johnell Davis scored 29 points, Alijah Martin added 14 and Florida Atlantic ended Fairleigh Dickinson’s magical March by outlasting the No. 16 seed 78-70 in the NCAA Tournament. The ninth-seeded Owls needed everything they had to put away the Knights, who stunned top-seeded Purdue on Friday night in just the second 16-over-1 upset in men’s tournament history. FAU will play Tennessee in the Sweet 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Knights couldn’t come up with an encore after topping Purdue, but not before putting up a fight to the finish.

US routs Cuba 14-2 to reach World Baseball Classic final

MIAMI (AP) — Trea Turner homered twice to give him a tournament-leading four, and the defending champion United States romped over Cuba 14-2 to reach its second straight World Baseball Classic final. Paul Goldschmidt and Cedric Mullins also homered for the Americans, who scored in seven of eight innings — putting up crooked numbers in five of them. Turner and Goldschmidt had four RBIs each. The U.S. plays Japan or Mexico in Tuesday night’s championship, trying to join the Samurai Warriors as the only nations to win the title twice. Turner, hitting No. 9 in the batting order, has a tournament-leading 10 RBIs.

Ole Miss stuns Stanford, reaches first Sweet 16 in 16 years

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Madison Scott hit a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left that gave Mississippi the lead for good, Angel Baker scored 13 points, and the Rebels delivered on their declaration to get defensive, stunning top-seeded Stanford 54-49 on Sunday night to reach the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 for the first time in 16 years.Behind the entire game, Stanford called timeout with 28 seconds left then Hannah Jump turned the ball over and Scott converted. Haley Jones lost the ball out of bounds on the Cardinal’s last possession with a chance to tie then again in the waning moments.

Clark, Czinano lead Iowa past Georgia in March Madness

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Caitlin Clark had 22 points and 12 assists while Monika Czinano added 20 points to help Iowa beat Georgia 74-66 in a second-round women’s NCAA Tournament game. The Hawkeyes (28-6), the No. 2 seed in Seattle Regional 4, advance to the ninth Sweet Sixteen in program history. Gabbie Marshall added 15 points and McKenna Warnock added 14 for Iowa, which erased the memory of last season’s second-round loss to No. 10 seed Creighton. Clark, a first-team Associated Press All-American, was held scoreless for 13 minutes in the first half, but scored 14 second-half points.

Ja Morant ready to rejoin Grizzlies, NBA suspension over

Ja Morant’s eight-game NBA suspension is over and the two-time All-Star guard may rejoin the Memphis Grizzlies. He is expected on the bench Monday night when Memphis hosts Dallas. It’s unclear exactly when he’ll play, with the earliest being Wednesday. The Grizzlies announced Morant would not play against the Mavericks because of needing to condition for his return. The Grizzlies know Morant has been working out to get ready. Coach Taylor Jenkins would like Morant to practice or at least participate in a shootaround before seeing game action, even with 12 games remaining in the regular season.

Astros’ Jose Altuve has broken right thumb, needs surgery

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Houston Astros star Jose Altuve has a broken right thumb and needs surgery after getting hurt in Venezuela’s 9-7 quarterfinal loss to the United States at the World Baseball Classic. The second baseman fell to the field after he was struck by the 95.9 mph sinker from Colorado reliever Daniel Bard in the fifth inning Saturday night. The Astros say they will announce a prognosis after the operation. Mets All-Star closer Edwin Díaz sustained a season-ending knee injury during the postgame celebration of Puerto Rico’s 5-2 win over the Dominican Republic.

Cuban baseball team draws ire, support in Little Havana

MIAMI (AP) — Hundreds gathered outside Miami Marlins’ home ballpark in Little Havana on Sunday to protest for the Cuban national baseball team played the United States in the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic. It’s the first time the Cuban team has played in Miami, a landing spot for many who fled the country to escape the Soviet-style communist government of late leader Fidel Castro. The Cuban team is comprised of major league stars who defected from the island nation along with current Cubans, who are technically government employees. While some fans wanted to separate sports from politics, others wanted no part.