General Sports 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 22, 2026, 12:30 PM ET
NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Action
The men's NCAA tournament advanced into its second round with several high-stakes matchups, seeing upsets and record-breaking performances across the country espn.com. No. 11 seed Texas upset Gonzaga 74-68 on Saturday espn.com, becoming the first team in five years to advance from the First Four to the Sweet, a run Coach Sean Miller asserted was not indicative of a Cinderella story espn.com. Elsewhere, No. 2 seed UConn survived a scare espn.com, propelled by Tarris Reed Jr.'s historic 31-point, 27-rebound performance, as they edged past Furman 82-71 espn.com. The betting markets reflected the shifting dynamics, with Arizona and Michigan jockeying for top championship odds espn.com as St. John's saw movement in their futures following first-round results espn.com.
Coaching changes and off-court drama also punctuated the weekend, with Providence hiring Bryan Hodgson from USF espn.com to take over its men's basketball program following the tournament conclusion. Meanwhile, the spectacle of the tournament generated legal action, as the NCAA sued DraftKings espn.com for trademark infringement concerning the use of terms like "March Madness" espn.com. In a separate development affecting the event's atmosphere, Queens University leaned into its unique spirit, with their unofficial mascot, a hollowed-out German Shepherd replica, inspiring the team during their first tournament appearance espn.com, even after Texas knocked off BYU 79-71 espn.com, overcoming 35 points from BYU's AJ Dybantsa in the first round espn.com.
The first round featured several close calls and individual milestones, including Purdue's Braden Smith breaking Bobby Hurley's NCAA all-time assists record espn.com with 1,077 career assists during a victory over Queens University espn.com. The Midwest Region's top seed, Michigan, dispatched Saint Louis espn.com, powered by Yaxel Lendeborg's 25-point effort to secure a Sweet 16 berth espn.com, setting up a contest where coaches Dusty May and Josh Schertz, who have a history of exchanging scouting notes, would meet with the next round on the line espn.com. In contrast, No. 9 seed TCU narrowly defeated Ohio State 66-64 espn.com thanks to a clutch layup from Xavier Edmonds with 4.3 seconds remaining espn.com, while Kentucky survived Santa Clara when Otega Oweh forced overtime with a buzzer-beater espn.com.
NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Progress
The women's field narrowed across Sunday's second round action espn.com, following a first round where the chalk largely held, as the better seeds went 16-0 on Day 1 espn.com. South Carolina demonstrated its title credentials by overwhelming Southern 103-34 espn.com, led by Joyce Edwards' 27 points and eight rebounds espn.com, positioning the Gamecocks as the odds-on favorite heading into the weekend's subsequent games espn.com. On Saturday, No. 10 seed Virginia authored the tournament's first upset espn.com, defeating No. 7 seed Georgia 82-73 in the opening round espn.com.
UCLA required overtime to advance, toppling Clemson 71-67 espn.com after a critical video review nullified a Clemson buzzer-beater that would have ended regulation espn.com, a victory that followed UCLA's Cori Close praising Lauren Betts' "courageous vulnerability" regarding her mental health journey espn.com. The action continued into Sunday with updated betting lines and projections available for the remaining 32 teams espn.com, who were ranked according to their performance coming out of the first round espn.com. Tennessee's disappointing season concluded with an eighth consecutive loss, falling to NC State in the first round, a result Coach Rick Caldwell accepted blame for espn.com.
Rugby Union & League
In the United Rugby Championship (URC), the Stormers secured a crucial four-try victory over the Dragons bbc.com, propelling them back into second place in the standings bbc.com. Welsh clubs saw mixed fortunes; Exeter edged Sale 26-14 bbc.com to move into the Premiership play-off positions bbc.com, while the Scarlets dominated the URC basement battle, delivering a bonus-point win with six tries against Zebre bbc.com. Meanwhile, Edinburgh suffered a humbling defeat in Johannesburg, as the Lions dominated with a rampant eight-try performance bbc.com.
In Super League action, the Warrington Wolves moved into second place bbc.com after Kelepi Tanginoa scored four tries in a heavy defeat of Castleford Tigers bbc.com. However, the Huddersfield Giants continued their poor start to the 2026 season, leading to the sacking of head coach Luke Robinson bbc.com. In a separate match, Wigan Warriors overcame a 14-0 deficit bbc.com to maintain their perfect start to the Super League campaign with a victory over York Knights bbc.com.
Global Football & Athletics
Tadej Pogacar claimed his first Milan-San Remo title bbc.com after a dramatic final sprint battle with Britain's Tom Pidcock in the cycling classic bbc.com. Tragically, the women's edition saw a serious incident, where Italian rider Debora Silvestri confirmed she fractured five ribs in a crash bbc.com. In athletics, Great Britain celebrated success across disciplines: Josh Kerr reclaimed the indoor 3,000m world title bbc.com in a thrilling post-injury comeback bbc.com, and Mia Brookes secured her fifth career World Cup gold bbc.com in slopestyle snowboarding bbc.com, putting her atop the season standings ahead of the final event bbc.com.
Combat Sports & Snooker
The UFC London event saw Movsar Evloev deal a significant blow to Lerone Murphy’s featherweight title aspirations, securing a majority decision victory bbc.com, which prompted discussions about the fairness of matchmaking for contenders like Murphy bbc.com. Paddy Pimblett has targeted a July return to the Octagon during the promotion's international fight week bbc.com, while Costello van Steenis successfully retained his PFL middleweight title by stopping Fabian Edwards in the third round bbc.com. In snooker, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh delivered a shocker at the World Open in Yushan, China, defeating Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-7 bbc.com while compiling a maximum 147 break during the final bbc.com.
Other Developments
In professional golf, Hannah Green captured her third consecutive tournament win bbc.com at the Australian WPGA Championship on the Gold Coast bbc.com, while Jon Rahm dropped his appeal against DP World Tour sanctions bbc.com but refused to pay the associated fines stemming from LIV Golf participation bbc.com. The world of professional soccer saw Frank Lampard express hope that Matt Grimes’ respectful conduct after scoring against his former club Swansea City would quell ongoing fan abuse bbc.com, while in the NFL, the Jets are committing a combined $48 million cap hit espn.com by moving on from both Aaron Rodgers and Justin Fields for the 2026 season espn.com.