General Sports 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 21, 2026, 6:30 PM ET
NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Action
The early rounds of the Women's NCAA Tournament saw top seeds advance, though not without some early drama, as No. 2 seed UConn survived a scare espn.com behind Tarris Reed Jr.'s dominant 31-point, 27-rebound performance to defeat Furman 82-71, narrowly avoiding an upset. Meanwhile, the defending champions Florida began their title defense espn.com with an overwhelming 114-55 victory over Prairie View A&M, marking the second-largest margin of victory in tournament history. The tournament featured its first major upset when No. 10 seed Virginia authored an 82-73 win espn.com over No. 7 Georgia on Saturday, while powerhouse South Carolina cruised past Southern 103-34 espn.com led by Joyce Edwards' 27 points and eight rebounds.
In other women's tournament news, No. 4 seed Nebraska captured its first-ever NCAA tournament win espn.com via a 76-47 drubbing of Troy, and No. 3 seed TCU demonstrated its strength when Olivia Miles secured her 12th career triple-double in an 86-40 opener against UC San Diego following their dominant performance espn.com. Conversely, No. 7 seed NC State defeated Tennessee 74-63 espn.com, handing the Lady Vols their eighth consecutive loss to conclude their season, while Wisconsin's defender Caroline Harvey earned the Patty Kazmaier Award espn.com as the top player in college women's hockey.
NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Upsets & Records
The men's bracket delivered immediate excitement, highlighted by No. 1 overall seed Duke barely avoiding an upset espn.com by rallying from a 13-point deficit to conquer 16th-seeded Siena, though Duke center Patrick Ngongba II remains questionable for the second round with a foot injury espn.com. The opening day featured a major shocker when 12th-seeded High Point stunned fifth-seeded Wisconsin 83-82 espn.com on Chase Johnston's first 2-point basket of the season, and 11th-seeded VCU erased a 19-point deficit espn.com to beat North Carolina 82-78 in overtime, leading to ongoing discussions between UNC officials and coach Hubert Davis regarding his future after the disappointing collapse espn.com. Purdue's Braden Smith reached the NCAA career assists record espn.com of 1,077 during his first-round game, surpassing Bobby Hurley's long-held mark, while BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa impressed with 35 points despite Texas knocking off the sixth-seeded Cougars 79-71 overcoming Dybantsa's 35 points espn.com.
Midwest Region top seed Michigan powered past Saint Louis espn.com with Yaxel Lendeborg scoring 25 points to punch their Sweet 16 ticket, setting up a matchup between coaches Dusty May and Josh Schertz who have long exchanged scouting notes adding intrigue to the contest espn.com. Elsewhere, No. 9 seed TCU outlasted Ohio State 66-64 espn.com thanks to Xavier Edmonds' clutch layup in the final seconds, and Utah State opened its tournament run by topping Villanova 86-76 propelled by MJ Collins' 20-point effort espn.com. Furthermore, the NCAA filed a trademark infringement suit espn.com against Draft Kings concerning the use of terms like "March Madness," while Kentucky's Otega Oweh delivered a buzzer-beater espn.com to secure a first-round victory over Santa Clara 89-84.
College Coaching & Player Futures
Coaching changes and personnel movements are underway across college sports following the tournament conclusions; South Carolina baseball coach Paul Mainieri is out midway espn.com through his second season, unable to replicate the success achieved during his tenure at LSU. Meanwhile, Cal State Bakersfield is reportedly targeting USC assistant Todd Lee as their next head coach following Rod Barnes' departure in September amidst ongoing legal issues involving an assistant amid the ongoing coaching search espn.com. On the player front, BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa will decide his future espn.com after scoring 35 points in his tournament exit, and SMU coach Andy Enfield stated guard B.J. Edwards was held out of the First Four loss to Miami (Ohio) because he did not feel "game ready" despite earlier injury announcements bbc.com.
Global Sports & Individual Achievements
In athletic achievements outside of U.S. college basketball, Rwanda's Fanny Utagushimaninde became the youngest women's T20 centurion bbc.com at just 15 years and 223 days old, describing the milestone as "like a dream." On the track, Josh Kerr completed a remarkable post-injury return bbc.com to claim the world indoor 3,000m title, while Great Britain's Mia Brookes earned her fifth World Cup gold medal in slopestyle snowboarding putting her atop the season's standings bbc.com. Cycling superstar Tadej Pogacar secured his first Milan-San Remo title bbc.com following a dramatic final sprint battle against Britain's Tom Pidcock, though the women's race saw Italian rider Debora Silvestri hospitalized after a serious crash during the one-day classic bbc.com.
Rugby & Combat Sports Updates
The professional rugby scene saw several close contests, with Exeter earning a 26-14 win over Sale bbc.com to move into the Premiership play-off places, and Trailfinders edging Harlequins 21-17 thanks to Abi Burton's late try bbc.com. In the United Rugby Championship, Connacht secured a statement bonus-point victory over Ulster bbc.com, despite Ulster losing Rob Baloucoune to an elbow injury expected to sideline him for three months complicating their URC run-in bbc.com. In combat sports, Costello van Steenis retained his PFL middleweight title bbc.com by stopping Fabian Edwards in the third round, ending Edwards' world title aspirations again, while the UFC London card featured Lerone Murphy and Movsar Evloev espn.com in the main event, prompting discussion on why some contenders like Murphy face a longer path to title contention despite impressive records bbc.com.
League & Football Developments
In Super League action, Warrington Wolves moved into second place bbc.com after Kelepi Tanginoa scored four tries in a massive victory over Castleford, while leaders Wigan Warriors fought back from a 14-0 deficit bbc.com to maintain their perfect start to the season. Meanwhile, Kenny Pickett expressed his desire to secure an NFL starting job again after joining the Carolina Panthers espn.com, drawn by coach Dave Canales, even as the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder confirmed they will not visit the White House espn.com during their trip to the capital this weekend. Darts star Luke Littler stunningly recovered from a 5-0 deficit bbc.com to defeat Gerwyn Price 6-5 in the Premier League final in Dublin, a match that featured two maximum 170 checkouts in a single game.