DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Paul Atkinson Jr.’s putback layup with 1.4 seconds left in the second overtime gave Notre Dame an 89-87 win over Rutgers in a wild First Four game. Ron Harper Jr. tied it with a long 3-pointer with 22 seconds left in the second OT. Notre Dame’s Blake Wesley then missed a shot before Atkinson grabbed the rebound and put back the winner. Atkinson finished with 20 points, Nate Laszewski 18 and Cormac Ryan 16 to lead the Irish who as the No. 11 seed advance to face sixth-seeded Alabama in a a first-round game Friday in San Diego. Caleb McConnell had career-high 23 points and Ron Harper Jr. 22 for the Scarlet Knights.
UNDATED (AP) — Louisville and Kenny Payne have agreed on a deal for the former Cardinals player and current New York Knicks assistant to become the men’s basketball program’s first Black head coach, says a person with knowledge of the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been publicly announced. The University of Louisville Athletic Association is scheduled to meet Friday morning and the school will hold a news conference at the Cardinals’ KFC Yum! Center home arena. Payne, 55, will replace Chris Mack and assume his first head coaching job. He has spent the past two years with the Knicks after 10 years as a Kentucky assistant on John Calipari’s staff.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard has become the ninth player in women’s basketball history to earn first-team Associated Press All-America honors three times. Howard was joined on the first team by South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, Baylor’s NaLyssa Smith, Michigan’s Naz Hillmon and Stanford’s Haley Jones. Boston, Clark and Smith were all unanimous choices. It is the first time that there has been a tie for the first team since the AP started honoring women’s All-Americans in 1995.
UNDATED (AP) — NCAA Tournament teams rise and fall with guard play. Look no further than last year for evidence. Second-seeded Ohio State lost to No. 15 Oral Roberts in overtime after guard Duane Washington Jr. missed a career-high 14 shots, including a step-back jumper in the closing seconds of regulation with the score tied. Baylor won its first national title in men’s basketball, leaning heavily on three guards in a 16-point win over over Gonzaga. In this year’s tournament, there are backcourt wizards to watch such as Kansas’ Ochai Agbaji, Purdue’s Jaden Ivey and Baylor’s James Akinjo.
UNDATED (AP) — The women’s NCAA Tournament field is set and now the fun begins, with 68 teams trying to win the national championship — starting with the first-ever First Four games. The tournament returned to some normalcy this year after it was played in its entirety in San Antonio last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The top 16 seeds will host the first rounds with the Final Four in Minneapolis. A No. 1 seed has won the last nine national championships and 13 of the last 14. Here’s a look at what could happen when the tournament tips off this week.
DETROIT (AP) — Penn State is favored to win its ninth team championship in 11 years at the NCAA wrestling championships with fellow Big Ten members Michigan and Iowa projected to be the Nittany Lions’ main challengers. The tournament is Thursday to Saturday in Detroit. Four of Penn State’s nine qualifiers are No. 1 seeds. That includes defending individual champions Roman Bravo-Young at 133 pounds, Nick Lee at 141 and Carter Starocci at 174. Michigan outscored Penn State by 1.5 points to win the Big Ten title. The Wolverines’ top seeds are Nick Suriano at 125 and Myles Amine at 184.
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