General Sports 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 20, 2026, 2:30 PM ET
NCAA Basketball Tournament Upsets & Action
The opening rounds of the 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament delivered immediate drama, with several high seeds falling early. No. 11 seed Texas survived a scare Tuesday night, with Tramon Mark hitting a fadeaway jumper espn.com in the final second to dispatch NC State 68-66 in a First Four matchup, earning a date with a team that also had to fight hard; No. 1 overall seed Duke barely dodged a stunning upset espn.com against 16-seed Siena, rallying from 13 points down and only taking the lead in the final five minutes of the game, though Duke will reportedly be without big man Patrick Ngongba due to a foot injury for the opener espn.com. On the women's side, the action began Thursday with No. 12 seed High Point stunning fifth-seeded Wisconsin 83-82, thanks to Chase Johnston converting his first two-point basket of the season, while No. 4 seed Nebraska captured its first-ever NCAA tournament win espn.com by crushing No. 13 seed Troy 76-47.
Further early-round results included a major upset where 11th-seeded VCU rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit to stun sixth-seeded North Carolina 82-78 in overtime on Thursday, with Hubert Davis later dismissing fatigue as a cause espn.com for the collapse, and TCU, the ninth seed, held off Ohio State 66-64 after Xavier Edmonds converted a late layup with 4.3 seconds remaining to seal the victory espn.com. In the women's bracket, the two-time defending champion NYU saw its remarkable 91-game winning streak conclude espn.com on Thursday when they fell 60-52 to Scranton in the Division III Final Four, while the First Four saw Howard earn its first NCAA tournament victory espn.com in program history by defeating UMBC 86-83.
Coaching Changes & Player Futures
The coaching carousel continued spinning following the conclusion of several seasons, as Cal State Bakersfield is reportedly targeting USC assistant Todd Lee as its next head coach, a search necessitated after Coach Rod Barnes left in September and a former assistant faces serious legal charges espn.com. Furthermore, Georgia Tech officially announced the hiring of former Troy coach Scott Cross as their new men's basketball head coach on Friday, while BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa indicated that he expects to make a decision regarding his playing future in the next couple of weeks espn.com, especially after Texas overcame his 35-point performance to eliminate BYU in the opening round. Meanwhile, in the WNBA, sources confirmed that a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is nearing finalization, which includes a starting league salary cap of $7 million and expedites maximum deal eligibility espn.com for players on rookie-scale contracts.
International & Domestic Rugby Updates
The Six Nations competition saw Ireland dominate the honors, with four Irish players named to the Team of the Tournament, though no English players made the final fifteen, while Ireland centre Stuart McCloskey and Scotland winger Kyle Steyn were shortlisted for Player of the Championship bbc.com. In contrast, England's Women's Six Nations squad under new coach John Mitchell features seven uncapped players as they build upon their September World Cup success, with Meg Jones stepping up to captain in Zoe Stratford's absence due to pregnancy as announced Friday bbc.com. On the club front in the English Premiership, Saints and Bath are leading the race for the top four spots as the league resumes after an eight-week break, even as Bristol Bears return as the in-form team bbc.com despite battling an ongoing injury crisis.
Snooker, Darts, and Other Individual Sports
In the world of darts, Luke Littler staged a dramatic comeback, fighting back from 5-0 down to defeat Gerwyn Price 6-5 in the Premier League Darts final in Dublin, a match that featured two maximum 170 checkouts in a single game, and in a related development, Luke Littler is reportedly seeking to trademark his own face bbc.com to combat unauthorized AI-generated content. Snooker saw Ronnie O'Sullivan advance at the World Open after defeating Shaun Murphy 5-3 bbc.com, less than a day after Murphy had set up their clash by comfortably beating Xu Si 5-1, while earlier in the week, Welsh boxer Michael Conlan stressed that his upcoming bout against Kevin Walsh is "all or nothing" as he plots a clear route toward a world title shot bbc.com.
Soccer & Football Developments
England manager Thomas Tuchel's decision to name an expanded squad for upcoming fixtures offers chances to overlooked players but exposed underlying issues ahead of the World Cup, according to pundit analysis of the selections bbc.com, while in club football, the saga surrounding Sheffield Wednesday escalated as supporters view the latest battle with the EFL as a credible threat to the club's future bbc.com. Elsewhere, in the world of UFL football, the Washington D.C. Defenders are preparing to defend their title, with the new league owner opting for a more restricted environment, utilizing smaller stadiums for an intimate feel espn.com.
Cycling, Curling, and Motorsports
Tom Pidcock secured a victory in the Milano-Torino race, launching a late burst to win the event on its 150th anniversary, marking his successful debut in the world's oldest classic race bbc.com, while Scottish freestyle skier Kirsty Muir claimed her second consecutive World Cup slopestyle victory, which propelled her to the top of the season's standings ahead of the final event bbc.com. In curling, Scotland's women's team ended their round-robin schedule at the World Women's Curling Championship with a defeat against Italy, resulting in a "dampener" as their hopes of reaching the play-offs evaporated bbc.com.
NBA & WNBA Notes
The Oklahoma City Thunder became the first NBA franchise to clinch a playoff spot this season after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered a 40-point performance against Orlando bbc.com, while in Los Angeles, Luka Doncic matched a career milestone by scoring 60 points as the Lakers defeated the Heat, an evening which also saw LeBron James tie an appearance record and Dell Curry's jersey retired during the contest bbc.com. In WNBA personnel news, sources indicated that the Miami Heat are planning to waive guard Terry Rozier before the playoffs commence in order to free up a roster space for their postseason push for depth espn.com.
Miscellaneous Sports News & Culture
The legacy of action star Chuck Norris was examined, tracing his career arc from karate champion to action film lead and ultimately becoming the subject of countless internet memes detailing his fictional prowess bbc.com, while in horse racing, former reality TV star Jessie Holmes managed to secure his second consecutive Iditarod win espn.com in the grueling event. In college basketball administrative news, former CSUB assistant Kevin Mays was ruled by a California judge to have sufficient evidence against him to proceed to trial on charges including pimping, following the departure of the program's coach in September espn.com. Finally, former world champion boxer Ricky Hatton was found unresponsive at his home in September, and the coroner involved stated they were not satisfied that the taking of his own life was intended bbc.com.