Category: Sports

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And then there were eight.

We’ve reached the Elite Eight round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Tournament, and there are several high-profile programs who have made the cut. With that in mind, here’s the last time each of the eight teams that reached this year’s Elite Eight made the Final Four.

Note: Schools are mentioned in alphabetical order.

Arizona earned a No. 2 seed in the 2001 NCAA Tournament and proceeded to go on a run to the National Championship, defeating, most notably, the No. 1-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini, fellow No. 1-seeded Michigan State Spartans and the No. 3-seeded Ole Miss Rebels. With that said, Arizona came up just short, losing to the Duke Blue Devils in the title game.

Duke Blue Devils – 2025

The Elite Eight is familiar territory for the Blue Devils under both current head coach Jon Scheyer and former coach Mike Krzyzewski. Just last year, Duke not only made the Elite Eight, but it made the Final Four, a run that included standout victories over the Baylor Bears, Arizona Wildcats and Alabama Crimson Tide, among other teams. At the same time, said trip to the Final Four became a nightmare for the Blue Devils, who blew a six-point lead with 1:14 remaining in the second half to the Houston Cougars, who won 70-67.

Illinois Fighting Illini – 2005

The Fighting Illini have made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last six seasons, but they haven’t been able to play “Connect Four” since 2005. In said season, Illinois reached the National Championship, defeating Lute Olson’s Arizona Wildcats in the Elite Eight and Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals in the Final Four. Ultimately, though, the North Carolina Tar Heels beat the Fighting Illini in the title game, 75-70.

It’s been a minute for the Hawkeyes. Nevertheless, Iowa went on one of the best runs in program history in 1980 when it reached the Final Four. It was a stretch that featured wins over the Syracuse Orange and Georgetown Hoyas. However, it came to a close in the Final Four, as Iowa lost to the Louisville Cardinals.

After winning the Big Ten Tournament, Michigan earned a No. 3 seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament and reached the Final Four. Unfortunately for the Michigan faithful, though, the Wolverines ran into the freight train that was the Villanova Wildcats, who defeated Michigan in the National Championship for their second title in three years.

After losing in the first round of the tournament in 2021 and 2023 — which saw the Boilermakers lose to the No. 16-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson Knights in the first round of the tournament, becoming just the second No. 1 seed to lose in the opening round — and being eliminated in the Sweet 16 in 2022, Purdue reached the National Championship in 2024. The Boilermakers finished the season at 34-5, with the UConn Huskies later defeating them in the title game.

The Volunteers have been a fixture in the second weekend of the tournament of late, with them reaching the Elite Eight in each of the last three seasons. With that said, Tennessee has never reached the Final Four in program history.

UConn Huskies – 2024

Following winning the national title in 2023, Dan Hurley’s Huskies became the first men’s college basketball team to repeat as national champions since the Florida Gators accomplished that feat under Billy Donovan in 2006 and 2007. UConn went 37-3 altogether and won its six NCAA Tournament games by an average of 23.3 points per contest. The Huskies later had four players selected in the 2024 NBA Draft, with two of them being picked in the first seven selections (Stephon Castle at No. 4 and Donovan Clingan at No. 7).

Barber Motorsports Park (Leeds, Ala.) — Scott McLaughlin spun and backed his car through a foam barrier and a chain link-and-cable fence in a wild-looking accident Saturday during INDYCAR practice ahead of Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix (1 p.m. ET on FOX and FOX One).

McLaughlin said the accident was much more dramatic than how it felt.

He exited the INDYCAR medical unit about 15 minutes after the crash, which occurred at the high-speed exit of Turn 1. 

“I feel fine,” McLaughlin told me and a couple other reporters outside the medical unit. “A testament to the INDYCAR safety and whatnot, [the hit] was fine. I just dropped the right rear onto the exit of [Turn] 1.

“I’ve seen other people do that before, actually in testing, and unfortunately, I was the one that did it today. I’m gutted. … The crash was pretty theatrical, but I feel fine and just want to get back out there.”

The wreck ended the practice session after about 35 minutes — it was scheduled to be 40 minutes and then a pair of 12-minute group sessions — as INDYCAR had to repair cabling in the fence, a process that took more than an hour to repair.

McLaughlin wouldn’t criticize the barrier in the initial moments after the crash. He was fine, and his Team Penske squad was preparing a backup car after the crash.

[INDYCAR: Everything to Know About Eclectic Barber Track]

His car hit some raised gravel that possibly accelerated it as it backed into the barrier and slid underneath the lowest cable, breaking through the fence. His car stopped with just the nose on the inside part of the fence and the rest of the car (including the cockpit) outside it.

“I don’t want to nitpick anything because motorsports is built on accidents like this that we learn from,” McLaughlin said. “Do you want to see a car going through the catchfence? No. But do you want the catchfence to do a good job?

“I thought it did everything that I needed to do. I think the skipping on the gravel was probably what made it to that point. I’m not here to blame anyone.” 

[INDYCAR: Rotating Points Leaders and More Parity Before Barber]

McLaughlin said it was far from the hardest hit — and obviously the car didn’t stop as abruptly as maybe it would have if it hit a more sturdy barrier.

“It was like the smallest one [compared to others] — and I’ve had a few lately,” McLaughlin said. “Like I said, it looked a lot worse than it felt.”

McLaughlin should be able to qualify the backup car Saturday afternoon (2:30 p.m. ET on FS1).

The Sweet 16 was the end of the line for the Michigan State Spartans, but it won’t be the end for head coach Tom Izzo.

“Trying to win a National Championship: plain and simple,” Izzo said in his postgame press conference when asked where he sees himself in five years after No. 3-seeded Michigan State’s 67-63 loss to the No. 2-seeded UConn Huskies on Friday night. “That’s it. Those things usually start after your last loss. Nowadays, it’s a little more screwed up, but not at Michigan State. After our last loss, we all talked about what we got to do next year and how we got to learn from this. I got to give UConn a lot of credit, but, man, we didn’t look like ourselves, certainly, and that’s got to fall on the coach. I got to get them ready to do that. I’m feeling good. We all talk about retirement, why? What the hell am I going to do?

“The minute I don’t feel good, the minute I don’t feel like I’m giving my AD or president or school every ounce of energy I have every day or that energy drops, you don’t have to worry about it, I don’t steal money. I won’t steal anybody’s time, but it’s sure as hell not going to be now. I got some things to accomplish.”

Michigan State began Friday night’s Sweet 16 matchup down 25-6 but was able to quickly narrow the gap, trailing 35-27 at halftime. The Spartans then took a 45-44 lead with 10:06 remaining in the second half. That said, UConn took the lead for good with 8:58 remaining and never looked back. Granted, Michigan State got within one point on multiple occasions within the final two minutes.

In all, while Michigan State out-rebounded UConn, 34-25, the three-ball was the great equalizer for the Huskies, who knocked down nine three-pointers, compared to the Spartans’ four three-pointers. UConn center Tarris Reed Jr. had a game-high 20 points, while fellow senior Alex Karaban had 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

The Spartans, who were a No. 3 seed in the East Region of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, previously beat the No. 14-seeded North Dakota State Bison in the first round and the No. 6-seeded Louisville Cardinals in the second round. Michigan State finished the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season 27-8 overall and 15-5 in Big Ten play, good for third in the conference.

The 71-year-old Izzo, who just wrapped up his 31st season as Michigan State’s head coach, boasts a career 764-310 record, with his 764 wins ranking 20th among men’s college basketball coaches. The Spartans have made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 28 seasons — excluding the 2019-20 season when the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic — highlighted by eight appearances in the Final Four and winning the 2000 National Championship.

At the same time, Michigan State last made the Final Four in 2019 and last appeared in the National Championship Game in 2009. Izzo — who has coached the Spartans in some capacity since 1983 (Izzo was an assistant coach under previous Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote for 12 seasons before becoming the Spartans’ head coach in 1995) — is determined to end that drought.

“I said a couple years ago that I’ll find a way to get back there [to the National Championship]. We’ve knocked on the door twice, [but] we haven’t gotten back. We’ll get back,” Izzo expressed.

The two biggest offseason acquisitions by the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are paying dividends already.

Edwin Diaz earned his first save in his debut and outfielder Kyle Tucker singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning of a 5-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.

Diaz trotted out in the ninth to the sounds of trumpeter Tatiana Tate, who tooted from the stands next to the left field bullpen. Wearing Diaz’s No. 3 jersey, she played Timmy Trumpet’s “Narcos,” the closer’s entrance song that electrified New York Mets fans before the Dodgers lured the fan favorite away on a $69 million, three-year deal.

“It’s really cool because it’s another way to keep the fans involved in the game until the ninth inning because they’re all going to be waiting for that,” infielder Miguel Rojas said. “Having Sugar in the ninth is always going to be special.”

However, fans may be hearing a recorded version of Diaz’s music next time. Tate, who has played with Stevie Wonder and Doechii, isn’t expected to be a regular presence during the season.

Díaz struck out two and walked one. He converted 28 of 31 save chances for the Mets last season.

“I always get a little bit nervous when I come into the game, but at the end of the day I was excited, too,” Diaz said. “I come in a one-run game, [which] was really big for me. I want to set it down the second day of the season, help this team to win, get the save and keep going.”

The Dodgers won back-to-back World Series championships without a true closer, although at times it was a rocky road. The last pitcher to fill that role was Kenley Jansen, who twice led the National League in saves during his spell in Los Angeles.

Now, Diaz provides dependability, a track record and a level of trust at the back of the bullpen.

“It’s going to be a lot on Sugar because he’s going to have to be under a lot of pressure,” Rojas said, “but he’s done it before. He’s the right guy for the task.”

Manager Dave Roberts initially didn’t think the Dodgers had a chance to land Diaz in free agency after the right-hander opted out of the final two years and $38 million of his contract with the Mets.

Roberts got off a 45-minute video call with Diaz and front office executives, and told his wife, “We’re going to get him.”

“It was selling ourselves and talking about how much we valued him and the culture of the team and the ownership and how we’ll do anything to win,” Roberts recalled. “He talked to his wife and convinced her moving West was a good decision.”

Another factor that played in the Dodgers’ favor, Roberts believes, is that Diaz’s younger brother, Alexis, had joined the Dodgers last May as a reliever. He is currently in the Texas Rangers organization.

“Calling him up from the minors and us treating him like a superstar, I think that kind of helped make that decision and comfort going forward,” Roberts said.

The attraction for Diaz was simple: “A lot of good players here. Everyone stays healthy, this team has a chance to win a three-peat,” he said.

Tucker went 1-for-3 with the game-winning single and a stolen base. In his debut on Thursday, the right fielder notched his first hit and first RBI in an 8-2 comeback victory. He signed a $240 million, four-year deal to leave the Chicago Cubs.

“I’m excited for them to have the opportunity to play in this environment and feel part of the family,” Rojas said. “I’m pretty sure they’re looking closely at how fun it’s been.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

Some familiar names are making up this season’s Elite Eight. 

Let’s check out the odds for the men’s Elite 8 at DraftKings Sportsbook as of March 28, as well as what to know about each game.

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SATURDAY, MARCH 28

No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 3 Illinois

Spread: Illinois -7.5
Moneyline: Illinois -305, Iowa +245
O/U: 137.5

What to know: For a second straight game, Iowa will take on a Big Ten foe, after the Hawkeyes upset 4-seed Nebraska in the Sweet 16. Upset has been the name of the game for Iowa so far, considering it defeated 1-seed and defending champion Florida in the Round of 32. Can the Hawkeyes make it three underdog wins in a row? The two teams faced off once in the regular season, with Illinois winning 75-69 on Iowa’s home floor. In terms of the Sweet 16, Illinois had what could be considered the more impressive win — a double-digit victory over 2-seed Houston. 

No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 1 Arizona

Spread: Arizona -6.5
Moneyline: Arizona -270, Purdue +220
O/U: 153.5

What to know: This will be a battle of one team that was a national title favorite during the preseason (Purdue), and one that became a national title favorite as the season went along (Arizona). In truth, Purdue didn’t have a great regular season, suffering eight losses prior to the Big Ten Tournament. However, an impressive run to a Big Ten Tournament championship — including a win over Michigan in the title game — vaulted the Boilermakers to a 2-seed. Now, the Boilermakers get Arizona, which won the Big 12 Tournament title and put a hurtin’ on Arkansas in the Sweet 16. Will the Wildcats be too much for Purdue to handle?

SUNDAY, MARCH 29

No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Michigan

Spread: Michigan -7.5
Moneyline: Michigan -310, Tennessee +250
O/U: 146.5

What to know: The second-lowest seed to make it to the Elite Eight is Tennessee, after it upset 2-seed Iowa State in the Sweet 16, 76-62. Its reward? A date with Michigan, which has cruised in the Tournament so far, including a 90-77 win over Alabama in the Sweet 16. The Wolverines have covered their last two Tournament games, while Tennessee has covered all three of its postseason games, including as an underdog against ISU.

No. 2 UConn vs. No. 1 Duke

Spread: Duke -5.5
Moneyline: Duke -218, UConn +180
O/U: 134.5

What to know: For the second time this Tournament, the Blue Devils were forced to survive a scare, this time against 5-seed St. John’s. In the second half, Duke trailed 55-45, before outscoring the Red Storm 35-20 and escaping with an 80-75 win. Now, it will face a UConn program that has won two of the last three national titles, after the Huskies eked past Michigan State in the Sweet 16, in a game they led most of the way. 

Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm has sued his parents for millions of dollars, accusing them of siphoning large amounts of his money into financial accounts they managed for him and then using some of the cash to pay their own expenses.

Bohm’s lawsuit, filed Wednesday in a Philadelphia court, comes after he began to review his personal and financial affairs in recent months, and said that his parents refused to give him access to the accounts or provide him with the information he sought about them.

They sought to “freeze” him out of four accounts — established as limited liability companies — and he now believes they “converted a sizeable amount” of his money from those accounts “to their own use,” the lawsuit said.

By the time he sought the information, his parents had already transferred millions of dollars from his personal accounts to the accounts they controlled, the lawsuit said.

Bohm’s parents, Daniel and Lisa Bohm, denied doing anything wrong and, through their lawyer, said they are “deeply saddened by the allegations” and will aggressively defend themselves. Alec Bohm has had full access to the accounts and his parents are paying his expenses on their personal credit cards, their lawyer, Robert Eckard, said in a statement.

“Mr. and Mrs. Bohm love their son very much and have always acted in his best interests, both personally and professionally, and still do so to this day,” Eckard said.

After Thursday’s 2026 season opening game, Bohm declined comment to reporters, saying, “I’m not going to address any personal matters right now.”

Both parties say the first of the accounts was opened in 2019. His parents told him that they assigned themselves a 10% stake, strictly for administration purposes, and that Bohm was the “true” owner of all the LLC’s assets, Bohm’s lawsuit said.

The accounts had various purposes, such as investing in securities or buying real estate. Bohm’s lawsuit also said they used money from The Alec Bohm Foundation to pay their expenses.

Bohm’s lawsuit asks his parents to pay at least $3 million in damages, hand over control of the accounts and hire an accountant to track every dollar they transferred from Bohm’s personal accounts to the accounts they controlled.

Bohm, 29, has a $10.2 million contract with the Phillies for the 2026 baseball season. The lawsuit said his parents live in a recreational vehicle and travel the country.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

Just like that, only eight remain. 

Two compelling days of Sweet 16 matchups that featured nothing but power-conference programs produced four nail-biting finishes and four lopsided blowouts. When the dust finally settled, the Elite Eight housed six teams seeded No. 3 or higher and two upstarts in No. 9 Iowa and No. 6 Tennessee.

The Big Ten, Big East, Big 12, ACC and SEC all have at least one team remaining in what feels like a relatively accurate cross-section of the sport. Three 1-seeds are still alive in Arizona, Michigan and Duke, the tournament’s No. 1 overall team. And No. 2 UConn is now within three games of its third national title in the last four years. 

Here are my takeaways from the Sweet 16: 

1. The Big Ten continues cruising toward the Final Four

[MEN’S BRACKET: NCAA Tournament Bracket, Leaders & Stats]

When the Big Ten sent six teams to the Sweet 16, the league established a new record for dominance in that round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. And when four Big Ten schools prevailed on Thursday and Friday to reach the Elite Eight — Michigan, Purdue, Iowa and Illinois — that set another high-water mark for the conference. Never has the Big Ten felt closer to snapping its 26-year drought without a national title than right now. 

“College basketball has been cyclical forever,” Michigan head coach Dusty May said after his team handled No. 4 Alabama, 90-77. “Hopefully this is a long cycle for us in the conference. I think now that the playing field has been leveled out as far as finances and things like that, the environments in the Big Ten are second to none, the brands, and now I think we’re developing a different type of basketball identity with the West Coast schools joining us. 

“I know our league is incredibly tough. The coaches are off the charts.” 

Given the head-to-head matchup between No. 9 Iowa and No. 4 Nebraska, there was always going to be at least one Big Ten school bowing out in the Sweet 16. Second-seeded Purdue started the party on Thursday night by outlasting No. 11 Texas, 79-77, on a last-second tip from forward Trey Kaufman-Renn. Michigan and No. 3 Illinois — which strong-armed No. 2 Houston — both eased into the Elite Eight. The Illini have climbed all the way to fourth in the KenPom rankings thanks to an improving defense that is now among the top 21 nationally. They’ll face the Hawkeyes in a regional final that is guaranteed to place one Big Ten team into the Final Four. 

If the presumption that Michigan is still the conference’s likeliest national champion holds true, then a potential matchup between the Wolverines and fellow No. 1 seed Arizona in the national semifinals looms as a potentially defining moment. 

The Wildcats, who racked up 109 points against No. 4 Arkansas on Thursday night, have the requisite front-line size to contend with Michigan’s leading trio of Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara, who combined for 38 points and 25 rebounds against Alabama. Any team that can oust Arizona is more than capable of winning it all. 

2. UConn still carries the Big East in the NCAA Tournament

When St. John’s flamed out in disappointing fashion against Arkansas during last year’s Round of 32, it was easy to point toward the Red Storm’s poor perimeter shooting as the primary reason. Head coach Rick Pitino’s team, which finished the campaign ranked 340th in 3-point field goal percentage, missed 20 of its 22 attempts from beyond the arc against the Razorbacks.

Though St. John’s still struggled with perimeter shooting this season, checking in at No. 218 nationally ahead of its Sweet 16 matchup against top-seeded Duke, with the NCAA Tournament came a flamethrowing reprieve. The Red Storm buried 10 triples in the opening round against No. 12 Northen Iowa. Eleven in the Round of 32 against No. 4 Kansas. And 13 more in what ended as an 80-75 loss to the Blue Devils. 

Instead, what ultimately undid St. John’s is something that teams coached by Pitino almost never encounter: a significant rebounding disadvantage (minus-13), an inability to control the interior (minus-12 on points in the paint) and the concession of too many extra possessions (minus-9 in second-chance points). For a team that prides itself on being stronger, tougher and more tenacious than any opponent, this is the kind of loss that will sting. 

The elimination of St. John’s left second-seeded UConn as the Big East’s only remaining participant in this year’s tournament. Whether that distinction would last another few days or another few hours was firmly up in the air, especially after the Huskies squandered a 19-point lead to fall behind midway through the second half against Michigan State.

When head coach Dan Hurley needed baskets, he turned to his most experienced players: fifth-year senior Alex Karaban and fellow senior Tarris Reed Jr. The duo combined to score the last 11 points for UConn over the final four minutes, fending off a Michigan State team that only shot 39.7% from the field and 25% from 3-point range. 

In doing so, the Huskies earned their 17th consecutive win in the Sweet 16 and beyond, a run that includes back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024. UConn is still the Big East’s best program in March.  

3. Arizona keeps bucking the 3-point trend by dominating the interior

In this day and age, when a college basketball team scores 109 points in a regulation game, it’s generally safe to assume that perimeter shooting played a prominent role in the offensive explosion. Teams around the country are taking — and making — more 3-pointers than ever before in accordance with modern analytics that have infiltrated the sport.  

But a box score from Thursday night at SAP Center in San Jose, where No. 1 Arizona smashed No. 4 Arkansas, 109-88, was yet another example of how the Wildcats are thriving with an offensive system that goes against the grain. Head coach Tommy Lloyd’s team now ranks fourth in offensive efficiency despite maintaining the third-lowest 3-point attempt rate of any team in Division I, according to KenPom. Only 26.4% of Arizona’s points come from beyond the 3-point line, which ranks 360th out of 365 programs this season.

The Wildcats only attempted eight 3-pointers against Arkansas, making five of them. Instead, they relied on overwhelming size and strength on the interior to generate one high-quality look after another around the rim. Sixty of Arizona’s points came in the paint. Another 30 came at the free-throw line after forcing Arkansas to commit 25 fouls, a byproduct of relentlessly attacking both the rim and the offensive glass. Not a single player on Lloyd’s team shot worse than 50% from the floor.

“You think about this new era of basketball with spacing and shooting 3s,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer told me in February when discussing Arizona’s unique style, “[Tommy Lloyd] has flipped a lot of that on its head where, no, we’re just gonna beat the crap out of you at the rim and out-rebound you, beat you in the free throws, score in the paint and score at the rim, and we’re going to hit wide-open 3s. I give him a ton of credit for just having a true identity for how they want to play and sticking to that, and he’s had a lot of success.”

4. Unthinkable late-game blunder stains Nebraska’s fairy-tale campaign

There were 58.8 seconds remaining in a one-possession game when the mistake that Nebraska fans will never forget swiftly capsized an incredible season. A referee handed the ball to Iowa guard Kael Combs along the baseline for an in-bounds pass with the Hawkeyes leading, 71-68. All the Cornhuskers needed was one defensive stop for a chance to then tie the game.

But as Nebraska’s players began working through defensive assignments in the final seconds before Combs made his pass, it quickly became apparent that there weren’t enough Cornhuskers on the floor. They only had four players. And that blunder, which head coach Fred Hoiberg took responsibility for in his postgame news conference, allowed Iowa forward Alvaro Folgueiras to break free for a layup that resulted in a three-point play. The lead ballooned to an insurmountable six points.  

“I’m from the south of Spain, from a small neighborhood called El Palo,” Folgueiras told reporters in the locker room after the game, “and we are known by being, you know, a little more life smart than some other places. So I just noticed that they were all trying to figure out who they were guarding and there were just four players on the court. I made eye contact with Kael (Combs), the ref gave him the ball, and after like two or three seconds of me jumping and saying, ‘Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!’ we [still] had enough time to get the fast break because there were just four players and I was the only one open at the end of the court.”

Said Hoiberg: “Put that one on me. It was a miscommunication, and I’m the head coach. Put that one on me.”

This marked the second time in as many NCAA Tournament games that Folgueiras, a transfer from Robert Morris, worked his way into Iowa lore. A few days prior, in the Round of 32, he buried a 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining to upset No. 1 Florida and push the Hawkeyes into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999. On Thursday night, his heady play at a critical juncture propelled Iowa to just its fifth Elite Eight appearance in school history. Now, the only thing standing between Iowa and the Final Four — a place it hasn’t been since 1980, the year before head coach Ben McCollum was born — is Illinois. 

Joy and elation for the Hawkeyes were juxtaposed with stunned sadness on the opposite bench, where a Nebraska team that won the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament game had made an unfortunate mental error at the most inopportune moment. Social media platforms quickly flooded with ridicule for Hoiberg.

“It stings,” Hoiberg said. “This one hurts about as bad as any [loss] I’ve been a part of, just because of what this group is all about. We don’t get to lace ’em up anymore together as a group. They have been all about the right things. These guys will be a part of history of Nebraska basketball forever, for winning the first NCAA Tournament game, getting to the Sweet 16, most wins in the history of the program, highest ranking. They just did so many things to elevate our program.”

4½. What’s next? 

Here are a few storylines to watch as we move into the Elite Eight: 

No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 3 Illinois (Saturday) — Game after game, the idea that Iowa made the best hire in last year’s coaching cycle gains more traction. Maybe this is what athletic directors everywhere should have expected given Ben McCollum’s incredible track record of winning. He won four Division II national championships with Northwest Missouri State in a six-year span from 2017-22. He made the Sweet 16 eight times in the span of 10 tournaments at that level. Then, when McCollum finally made the move to Division I ahead of the 2024-25 season, which he spent as the head coach at Drake, he won 31 games and reached the Round of 32 in the Big Dance. Everything he touches turns to winning. 

No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 1 Arizona (Saturday) — There were many things to like about Purdue’s victory over No. 11 Texas in the Sweet 16: the continued hot shooting from guard Fletcher Loyer, the incredible efficiency from forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, the impeccable ball control that only resulted in four turnovers. And yet, there’s an underlying idea that the Boilermakers still haven’t beaten an elite opponent in this tournament. They pummeled an overmatched Queens team in the first round, upended a Miami team whose ACC brethren have almost all imploded and outlasted Texas, the 10th-place finisher in the SEC. Arizona, which entered Friday as the only team in the country ranked among the top five nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency, is nothing like Purdue’s first three challengers. 

No. 2 UConn vs. No. 1 Duke (Sunday) — Five different Blue Devils logged more minutes than guard Caleb Foster in Duke’s victory over St. John’s, but an argument can be made that none were more impactful. Sure, Isaiah Evans (25 points) and Cameron Boozer (22 points) handled most of the scoring punch. And yes, the interior defense from forward Maliq Brown was exquisite. But adding Foster back into the mix after he missed the last three weeks with a fractured foot restores this team’s trajectory in short order. Foster contributed 11 points, three rebounds and two assists in just 18 minutes against St. John’s and afforded Scheyer the luxury of renewed lineup flexibility, plus another capable ball handler. With Foster on the mend, the Blue Devils are surefire national championship contenders. 

No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Michigan (Sunday) — Two things can be true simultaneously: On one hand, a 37-game sample size of eye tests and advanced metrics is more than enough to declare Michigan one of the sport’s elite teams. On the other hand, the Wolverines have largely breezed through the NCAA Tournament untested thanks to some good fortune. They beat a 9-seed in Saint Louis from outside the power conferences. They beat an Alabama team that was without its second-leading scorer, Aden Holloway, due to off-court issues. And come Sunday, they’ll face Tennessee instead of No. 2 Iowa State after the absence of All-American forward Joshua Jefferson caught up to the Cyclones. 

It’s still too early to see how teams are shaping up, but the first Saturday of the MLB season always feels a bit special.  

We’re answering the big questions ahead of Saturday’s MLB on FOX slate, including the Yankees eyeing a sweep of a Giants team that still hasn’t scored a run: 

1. Did the Yanks do enough to get on top of the AL East? What could be the determining factor?

Thosar: The Yankees are running back almost an identical roster as the one they ended with last year because they’re relying on rising stars to take steps forward, and the rotation has the chance to be the best in baseball this season, particularly after Gerrit Cole returns from Tommy John rehab sometime around May. Catcher/first baseman Ben Rice has elite offensive metrics, second baseman Jazz Chisholm is motivated to have a super successful walk year, and catcher Austin Wells is due to breakout at the plate. If things go right, then the offense is built to go as far as Aaron Judge takes them, and the Yankees have done enough to win the AL East. Of course, it’s not that simple, either.

Their three determining factors are health, wins against division rivals, and sharpening their fundamentals. The Yankees performed poorly against the Blue Jays and Red Sox in last year’s regular season, with Toronto winning the season series (8-5) and Boston dominating (9-4) in head-to-head matchups. Those results cost the Yankees the division title last year. This season, they have to prove they can step up against the top AL East teams from beginning to end. As much as the Bronx Bombers want to make a deep postseason run and go back to the World Series, they also have to play just as hard and keep up their intensity in the long 162-game schedule.

The familiar June swoons and lapses in concentration have led to fielding errors and a complete absence of fundamentals in recent years. Too often, simple mistakes have been at the heart of frustrating and avoidable losses, to the point where opponents are just waiting for the Yankees to slip up. This year’s team needs to be dialed in every step of the way.

2. The Giants are an intriguing team for their manager move in Tony Vitello. What’s the upside here?

Thosar: Vitello’s jump from college coach to MLB manager is unprecedented, but the allure and hype around his hire will quickly wear off if the Giants don’t win consistently. Already, Vitello has made some questionable comments about his perspective on wins and losses that have made fans wonder if he’s ready for the big leagues. So he’s facing a ton of pressure to win games, all while staying true to the core beliefs and coaching tactics that led to a .772 winning percentage as the University of Tennessee head baseball coach.

For the Giants, Vitello’s upside is his ability to think outside the box and bring a new culture and edge into the organization. He’s known to bring a fiery and emotional coaching style that could certainly help inject energy into a Giants team that sometimes falls flat. If Vitello can help establish a clearer identity based on grittiness and aggression, that will actually matter over the course of the long season. Vitello is also known to be an excellent communicator, which should help younger players develop and lead to faster buy-in throughout the clubhouse.

In the end, though, the new Giants skipper will have to learn in-game tactics on the fly and quickly adapt to data-heavy processes in MLB without getting overwhelmed by it all. It goes without saying that Vitello has a lot on his plate in his rookie managerial season. But if he can avoid burnout and lead a team that overperforms expectations through energy and a fearless style of play, then this hire might just work out exactly how Buster Posey expected it to.

3. Similarly to the Yankees, the Orioles are in a crowded AL East. How legit could the O’s be this season?

Kavner: I think they’re a real threat. I don’t expect them to win the division, but I do expect them to get one of the final wild-card spots and get back to the playoffs. The Orioles weren’t messing around this winter coming off last year’s embarrassing last-place finish, finally spending to put established talents around their young core. Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward give them more power. Shane Baz increases the ceiling of the rotation, and the signing of Chris Bassitt (and re-signing of Zach Eflin) lift the floor. Ryan Helsley gives them the closer they’ve missed since Felix Bautista went down. The early-season injuries to Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg hurt, but when healthy, this could be one of the best lineups in baseball and help make up for any concerns with the pitching staff.

As of Friday afternoon, FanGraphs had them as the clear No. 4 team in the division (12.3% chance to win the AL East) but with a nearly 50% chance to make the playoffs. I expect the difference between the first and fourth place teams in this division will be only a handful of games, and though they’ll all beat up on each other throughout the year, I think four teams make it into the postseason from the AL East. The division is that good.

4. We have a bunch of guys who showed out during the WBC. Who is poised for a standout MLB season?

Kavner: It goes without saying that Bobby Witt Jr. will have a standout season, so I’ll take a different player from both clubs (who were teammates for WBC champions Venezuela) and go with Ronald Acuña Jr. and Maikel Garcia. I know, I know, SCORCHING HOT take here that Acuña will be good. But another year removed from the latest ACL tear, this could be the year we see Acuña looking closer to his 2023 MVP form.

Now, I’m not predicting another 40-70 season on two surgically-repaired knees, but he can still scoot. Acuña’s sprint speed last year wasn’t far off from 2023, and though he only stole nine bases last season, he was also only caught once and was clearly being careful in his first year back from the knee injury. This winter, he hit four homers and stole 11 bases in 16 games in the Venezuelan Winter League. He hit another two homers and stole another two bases at the World Baseball Classic. Another 40-40 season in which he re-establishes his place among the game’s elite could be within reach. And behind Shohei Ohtani, Acuña is as good a guess as any to win another MVP trophy.

García’s breakout All-Star season last year in Kansas City might’ve flown under the radar for those outside the midwest, but he put his name on the international map at the WBC. In a tournament that featured many of the game’s superstars, it was the 26-year-old Royals third baseman who took home MVP honors. Bobby Witt Jr. is the team’s star, but with Garcia’s keen eye at the plate, strong bat-to-ball skills and pristine defense at the hot corner, I expect a strong follow-up as the team’s co-star.

Terry Francona had every reason not be a fan of the Automated Ball-Strike System, after the Cincinnati Reds‘ 3-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Thursday.

However, the longtime manager was taking the long view after game one of 162.

Francona saw a walk by Eugenio Suarez on a full count overturned to a strikeout in the fourth inning while Connor Phillips‘ ninth-inning strikeout of Boston’s Roman Anthony — also on a full count — overturned to a walk.

“I think our pitchers are going to have to get used to thinking the inning might be over, and it’s not,” Francona said. “It’s almost like when a guy comes out and you say, ‘Hey, way to go. Can you get one more?’ So you’re going to have to stay dialed in.”

Teams had a 61.3% success rate on challenges, going 19 of 31 through the first 12 games of the regular season.

Using Hawk-Eye technology, 12 cameras measure whether a pitch crosses the strike zone with accuracy of about one-sixth of an inch.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora was pleased after they were 2 of 3 on challenges. Even though there was one challenge he wished one of his hitters would have made.

Trevor Story was up with two outs and runners on first and second in the fifth inning. Story was caught looking on a fastball by Andrew Abbott that looked to be a ball.

“You just have to make sure. There was one early where Trevor is in that situation again, he’d probably challenge,” Cora said. “We thought the pitch was up. We don’t mind him challenging there because it changes the whole thing, right? We were talking about it. It’s a different ballgame now.”

The Red Sox did have a successful challenge in the bottom of the inning when Garrett Crochet’s cutter just got the lower half of the strike zone against Suárez. Instead of Suárez drawing a walk, catcher Carlos Narvaez’s challenge resulted in the third out of the inning.

“He made a really good pitch right there. I thought it stayed down and it was a ball, but with the new ABS, good for him,” Suárez said.

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Anthony’s challenge paid off. Instead of the third out of the inning and a strikeout, it was overturned to a walk and put runners at first and second. Story and Jarren Duran followed with RBI singles to give the Red Sox a 3-0 lead.

“I knew it was a ball. I was pretty confident,” Anthony said. “It turned the game around in a sense. It was good to turn that around, get on base and score there. I trust my instincts and discipline at the plate. I’ve had many in the past, up, down, in and out. That was a good example. Probably not even close. Just kind of knew it there.”

Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz became the first batter to have a ball four overturned to strike three during the third inning against the Mets. New York catcher Francisco Alvarez challenged and it showed the pitch caught the inside corner. The Mets were 2 for 3 on their challenges.

Minnesota and the Chicago White Sox both went 3 for 4 on their challenges, while Tampa Bay was 2 for 2.

Phillies reliever Zach Pop failed his team’s first challenge in the eighth inning against Texas’ Brandon Nimmo. Pop challenged James Hoye’s ball four call but it was confirmed on replay and Nimmo walked.

Manager Rob Thomson didn’t mind the challenge.

“I was good with it. It was a 10th of an inch off. That pitch decided an at-bat late in the game, we’ve got the lead. On the defensive side you want to use that challenge,” he said.

Reporting by The Associated Press.