General Sports 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 18, 2026, 9:30 AM ET
NCAA Tournament & College Hoops Buzz
As the fields for both men's and women's NCAA tournaments are set, speculation mounts over potential champions, with Duke emerging as the clear betting favorite in the men's bracket, ahead of Michigan and Arizona according to oddsmakers Men's tournament odds: Duke ahead of Michigan and Arizona to win it all espn.com. Coaches polled echoed this sentiment, identifying one clear favorite among the seven contenders they discussed Coaches predict the men's NCAA tournament champion, potential Cinderellas, more espn.com, while ESPN personalities favored the same top team in their separate analysis of the Final Four participants 60 ESPN personalities pick their men's Final Four, national champions espn.com. On the women's side, the top seeds—UConn, UCLA, Texas, and South Carolina—were confirmed in the final regular-season Associated Press poll No. 1 seeds atop women's AP poll before tourney espn.com, with UConn also being the heavy odds-on favorite to claim the title Women's tournament odds: UConn odds-on favorite; UCLA, Texas, South Carolina next espn.com. Meanwhile, the First Four saw Texas survive a late rally from NC State thanks to a game-winning fadeaway jumper by Tramon Mark with 1.1 seconds remaining, downing them 68-66 Mark saves day, sends Texas to NCAA first round espn.com, while Howard secured the first NCAA tournament victory in program history, edging UMBC 86-83 Howard checks last box with first tourney win espn.com.
The landscape of college basketball leadership saw movement as well, with Butler coach Thad Matta announcing his retirement after compiling 502 career wins and 13 NCAA tournament appearances Butler's Matta retires from coaching with 502 wins espn.com, and Memphis coach Penny Hardaway securing his return for next season, according to sources Sources: Memphis retaining coach Hardaway espn.com. In related news, Alabama star Aden Holloway faces significant consequences following his Monday arrest on a felony drug charge involving 2.1 pounds of marijuana, leading the team to prepare for the NCAA tournament without him Bama preps to play without Holloway after arrest espn.com. Furthermore, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore took the unusual step of revealing his battle with depression tied to the pressures of major college football Ducks' Moore reveals 'heavy' depression battle espn.com.
Post-Season Conference & Tournament Concludes
Conference tournaments wrapped up with Purdue defeating No. 3 Michigan 78-71 in the Big Ten final, fueled by Oscar Cluff’s 21 points, handing Michigan a major blow just ahead of the Big Dance Boilermakers trip No. 3 Michigan, reign in Big Ten espn.com, while Arkansas claimed its first SEC tournament crown since 2000, beating Vanderbilt behind a 30-point outburst from Darius Acuff Jr. Acuff scores 30 as Calipari, Hogs roll to SEC title espn.com. In the Ivy League championship, Pennsylvania’s TJ Power delivered an Ivy Madness-record 44 points to push past Yale, 88-84 Power drops 44 to lead Penn over Yale in Ivy final espn.com, and Cal Baptist secured the final automatic bid from the Western Athletic Conference by defeating top-seeded Utah Valley 63-61 after a potential tying alley-oop dunk was missed Missed Utah Valley alley-oop gives WAC to CBU espn.com. In recruiting news, USC women’s basketball vaulted to the top of the 2026 class rankings after landing their third five-star commitment in forward Sara Okeke USC women land third '26 5-star in forward Okeke espn.com, though former Trojan quarterback Matt Leinart reiterated that his unretired No. 11 jersey number remains "not for sale" Matt Leinart on unretiring USC No. 11: 'Not for sale' espn.com.
Rugby Union & League Developments
The international rugby scene saw Ireland coach Scott Bemand agree to a contract extension through the 2029 Women's Rugby World Cup Head coach Bemand signs Ireland contract extension bbc.com, while Shaun Edwards expressed his ambition to coach a Southern Hemisphere giant after the 2027 World Cup with France Edwards has 'ambition to win a Rugby Championship' bbc.com. In the Six Nations wrap-up, France secured the U20 Grand Slam by narrowly squeezing past England France squeeze past England to win U20 Grand Slam bbc.com, and analysts dissected England's indiscipline and the emergence of French wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey, described as the "Haaland of rugby" Six talking points from final round of Six Nations bbc.com. Meanwhile, Northampton lock JJ van der Mescht is being considered for a senior Springboks call-up after receiving an invitation to a virtual alignment camp Northampton's Van der Mescht in Springboks reckoning bbc.com. In league play, Leicester Tigers crushed Exeter Chiefs 66-14, scoring 10 tries to claim their first Prem Rugby Cup Tigers crush Chiefs to win first Prem Rugby Cup bbc.com.
Motorsports & Individual Competitions
NASCAR driver Daniel Dye received a suspension, marking the second major penalty of his career, for mocking Indy Car driver David Malukas during a recent livestream Trucks driver parked for mocking IndyCar racer espn.com, while Denny Hamlin roared back from an early speeding penalty to take a commanding victory at Vegas for Joe Gibbs Racing Hamlin roars back to win Vegas after early penalty espn.com. In Formula, questions arose over the new regulations, with some calling the racing the "best ever" while others deemed it a "joke," as Lewis Hamilton was rated as having his "mojo back" during the Chinese Grand Prix Ferrari's Hamilton 'has mojo back' - driver ratings bbc.com. In endurance racing, six-time champion Jonathan Rea is slated to return to World Superbike competition just seven months after announcing his retirement Rea to make World Superbike return - seven months after retiring bbc.com. Elsewhere, former reality television star Jessie Holmes successfully defended his Iditarod title, becoming only the third competitor ever to achieve consecutive victories in the race’s 54-year history Ex-reality TV star Holmes repeats Iditarod win espn.com.
Global Sports & Athlete Updates
Golfing star Tiger Woods remained noncommittal regarding his Masters status, stating his health continues to fluctuate following the TGL semifinals Tiger 'working,' but Masters status still unclear espn.com, contrasting with the TGL season's highlight reel which included two rare holes-in-one by Neal Shipley and Tom Kim A pair of holes-in-one lead the best moments from TGL season espn.com. In boxing, Gabriela Fundora’s latest knockout performance propelled her into the top three of the women's pound-for-pound rankings Women's boxing pound-for-pound rankings: Gabriela Fundora's dominance fuels her rise espn.com, while professional boxer Michael Conlan has a clear path to a world title shot if he defeats Kevin Walsh in Belfast on March 20 Conlan has 'good chance' of title shot with win bbc.com. In cycling, Jonas Vingegaard secured his first Paris-Nice title after finishing second in the final stage Vingegaard claims maiden Paris-Nice title bbc.com, and in snooker, Ronnie O’Sullivan suggested that regaining his top form would eclipse the achievement of winning future world titles Return to form would be 'biggest achievement' - O'Sullivan bbc.com. The WNBA and its players' union reached a verbal agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement after extended negotiations, although union leadership stated that a delay to the 2026 season could not be entirely ruled out WNBA, union reach verbal agreement on new CBA espn.com.
Soccer, Hockey & Other Disciplines
In women's soccer, Portland claimed the top spot in the inaugural 2026 NWSL Power Rankings after the first matchday NWSL Power Rankings: Portland goes No. 1 in 2026's first week espn.com, while in European football, PSG’s decisive 3-0 victory over Chelsea in the Champions League starkly illustrated the gulf between the two clubs PSG show Chelsea what it takes to be truly part of Europe's elite espn.com. On the coaching front, Cardiff held positive discussions with Corniel van Zyl regarding their vacant head coach position after he was unsuccessful in securing the top job at URC rivals Benetton Van Zyl has 'positive talks' over Cardiff top job bbc.com, and Ireland Rugby coach Andy Farrell is focused on the upcoming Nations Championship and World Cup while addressing his long-term future 'You know that I love this!' - Farrell on Ireland future bbc.com. In winter sports, the United States completed a historic hockey sweep at the Milan-Cortina Paralympics by defeating Canada for the gold medal three weeks after the Olympic final Para gold nets U.S. historic hockey sweep in Italy espn.com, while Mikaela Shiffrin tied a record by winning her eighth World Cup slalom of the season Shiffrin ties record with another WC slalom win espn.com.