General Sports 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 17, 2026, 12:30 PM ET
NCAA Basketball Tournament Projections & Upsets
As the field for the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament solidified, oddsmakers have firmly installed Duke as the favorite espn.com to win the championship, placing them ahead of Michigan and Arizona in the betting markets, a sentiment echoed by bracketologists like Joe Lunardi espn.com. Further analysis of the men's bracket suggests that several double-digit seeds possess a high likelihood of achieving first-round upsets, according to ESPN's BPI projections espn.com, giving prognosticators plenty of variables as they finalize picks for the opening round games espn.com. In the women's field, UConn remains the odds-on favorite espn.com to claim the title, followed closely by UCLA, Texas, and South Carolina, while the final regular-season AP poll reflected these top four seeds espn.com heading into Selection Sunday debates.
Further complexity for the men's bracket involves key personnel news; Alabama is preparing to compete espn.com without star guard Aden Holloway following his arrest on a felony drug charge, while Texas Tech will benefit from the return of Christian Anderson espn.com for the tournament after he missed the Big 12 tournament due to a groin injury. Meanwhile, coaching stability is emerging in the SEC, with sources confirming that Memphis is retaining coach Penny Hardaway espn.com for the next season, while Butler's Thad Matta announced his retirement after amassing 502 career wins espn.com and 13 NCAA tournament appearances. UCLA also received a boost as top scorer Tyler Bilodeau is expected back from a knee strain espn.com for the championship run.
Conference tournament results provided immediate momentum swings; No. 1 Duke fended off Virginia 84-80 espn.com to secure its second consecutive ACC tournament title under Jon Scheyer, while No. 17 Arkansas captured its first SEC tournament crown since 2000 after Darius Acuff Jr. dropped 30 points espn.com against Vanderbilt. In the Big Ten, Purdue, despite losing four of its last six regular-season contests, defeated No. 3 Michigan 75-71 espn.com for their first Big Ten tournament win since 2023, fueled by Oscar Cluff's 21 points. On the West Coast, No. 2 seed Cal Baptist edged out top-seeded Utah Valley 63-61 espn.com to claim the final Western Athletic Conference tournament title after a missed potential tying dunk by the Wolverines in the closing seconds.
International & Domestic Rugby Updates
In European rugby, France secured the Under-20 Six Nations Grand Slam for the first time since 2014 following a thrilling victory over England bbc.com, while the senior squad's dynamic wing, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, is being lauded as the "'Haaland of rugby'" for his try-scoring prowess challenging Antoine Dupont bbc.com. Ireland coach Andy Farrell praised his squad's "ruthless edge" after their 43-21 win over Scotland bbc.com secured a fourth Triple Crown in five years, though his team narrowly missed the overall Six Nations title after France's late win against England ripped the championship away bbc.com. Regarding future coaching movements, Shaun Edwards stated his ambition to coach a Southern Hemisphere giant bbc.com following his tenure with France through the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
South African rugby is looking toward its future talent pool, as Northampton second row JJ van der Mescht received an invitation to a virtual alignment camp bbc.com ahead of a potential senior Springboks call-up. Meanwhile, the Welsh Rugby Union faces internal decisions as a crunch EGM vote on the chair bbc.com and potential professional team cuts is scheduled for April, amidst reflections on a Six Nations campaign that brought a rare win but still resulted in a Wooden Spoon despite some bright spots bbc.com. In the domestic Premiership Women's Rugby standings, Exeter Chiefs maintained their third-place position after Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald scored a first-half hat-trick bbc.com in a 47-14 rout of Trailfinders Women.
Motorsports, Cycling, and Combat Sports
The Indy Car Grand Prix of Arlington proved to be a signature success for the series, with the decision to stage races around the Cowboys and Rangers stadiums espn.com delivering the spectacle the sport desired, though the event was briefly interrupted when officials threw a red flag due to track workers espn.com. In Formula 1 following the Chinese Grand Prix, questions persist over the impact of the new regulations, with drivers like Lewis Hamilton offering mixed reviews on whether the racing is the best ever or merely a 'battery world championship' bbc.com. Mercedes secured a dominant one-two finish in China, with Kimi Antonelli claiming his maiden victory bbc.com ahead of teammate George Russell.
In motorcycle racing, six-time World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea is set to return to competition just seven months after retiring bbc.com, while cycling saw Jonas Vingegaard clinch his first career Paris-Nice title bbc.com after finishing second in the final stage. Combat sports saw significant announcements, as former UFC fighter Nate Diaz, now, confirmed his return to MMA competition after a four-year absence, slated to face Mike Perry on May 16 as part of an MVP card espn.com. Undefeated British fighter Luke Riley is also set to co-headline an O2 Arena event on Saturday, with his team asserting he is a "different animal" compared to past prospects like Pimblett bbc.com.
Global Sports & Other Headlines
Netball saw significant leadership upheaval as Jess Thirlby stepped down immediately as England head coach bbc.com, citing personal reasons for the decision. In track and field, while Great Britain finished the Winter Paralympics with only one medal across all events bbc.com, there is still optimism for the future, even as calls mount to potentially move the Games' calendar date bbc.com following unusually warm, sunny conditions in Milan-Cortina. On the individual performance front, Mikaela Shiffrin tied an all-time record by securing her eighth World Cup slalom victory espn.com of the season.
In golf, despite a dramatic finish at TPC Sawgrass where Ludvig Aberg held a three-shot lead into the final round following a strong Saturday performance espn.com, spectator access to day three of the Players Championship was delayed due to a fatal shooting near the venue bbc.com. Meanwhile, the TGL season concluded with Neal Shipley and Tom Kim recording the only two holes-in-one in TGL history espn.com. Elsewhere, in cricket, Ollie Pope stated that any perception that the England team was "weren’t fussed" about winning the Ashes series is difficult for him to accept bbc.com, while former India captain Sunil Gavaskar claimed a specific Hundred signing indirectly "contributes to the deaths of Indian soldiers and civilians" due to geopolitical tensions espn.com.