General Sports 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 22, 2026, 11:30 PM ET
NCAA Men's Basketball Mayhem
The second round of the men's NCAA tournament delivered several dramatic finishes, sending multiple Big 12 and Big Ten teams into the Sweet. Iowa eliminated espn.com defending national champion Florida after Alvaro Folgueiras nailed a contested three-pointer with only 4.5 seconds left in a thriller, while St. John's advanced espn.com past Kansas when Dylan Darling hit a buzzer-beating layup in a 67-65 victory, securing the program's first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999. In other major upsets, Texas punched espn.com their ticket by defeating Gonzaga 74-68, becoming the first First Four team in five years to reach the Sweet, though coach Sean Miller insisted his squad is not a Cinderella despite the run espn.com. Further south, Purdue secured espn.com Matt Painter’s 500th win at his alma mater by defeating Miami 79-69, and Minnesota reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in 21 years after Amaya Battle hit a tiebreaking espn.com jump shot with 0.7 seconds remaining against Mississippi.
Coaching futures remain uncertain following early exits, as Kansas mentor Bill Self confirmed espn.com he has not yet made a decision regarding his continuation in Lawrence after the season-ending loss to St. John's. Meanwhile, several programs are actively seeking new leadership; Syracuse is moving espn.com toward hiring Siena coach Gerry McNamara as their next head man, and Providence has officially hired USF's Bryan Hodgson espn.com to take over their men's basketball program. In a historic disappointment, Kentucky suffered espn.com their largest-ever NCAA tournament defeat, falling to Iowa State by 19 points in an 82-63 final, though forward Kentucky's Quaintance espn.com is currently channeling focus into reading manga comics during his injury recovery.
NCAA Women's Tournament Advances
The women's bracket saw top seeds advance alongside an early upset as the field narrowed toward the Elite Eight. Top-ranked Texas dominated espn.com Oregon 100-58, powered by Madison Booker's career-high 40 points in a dazzling performance, while No. 2 seed UConn survived a stiff challenge when Tarris Reed Jr. recorded a massive 31 points and 27 rebounds in an 82-71 victory over Furman to stave off espn.com. Virginia authored the first major upset of the tournament, with the No. 10 seed upsetting No. 7 Georgia espn.com 82-73 in the first round on Saturday. South Carolina, beginning their title defense, opened with a massive 103-34 rout of Southern, led by Joyce Edwards' 27 points and eight rebounds espn.com, while USC survived a late scare against Clemson after a buzzer-beater was nullified espn.com by review, ultimately winning in overtime.
Amid the tournament action, discussions about coaching futures continued at Chapel Hill, where UNC officials are conferring espn.com with Hubert Davis following another first-round exit, though Davis attributed the loss to decision-making rather than team fatigue in terse exchanges espn.com. On the player front, UCLA coach Cori Close praised Lauren Betts for her "courageous vulnerability" after the center spoke publicly espn.com about her mental health journey just a day before the team advanced. Furthermore, the NCAA has filed a lawsuit against Draft Kings for alleged trademark infringement related to the use of terms like March Madness in promotions espn.com.
Global Sports & Individual Achievements
In professional golf, Hyo Joo Kim secured espn.com a wire-to-wire victory at the Fortinet Founders Cup, edging out Nelly Korda on Sunday at Sharon Heights. Meanwhile, Australian Hannah Green claimed her third bbc.com consecutive tournament win at the Australian WPGA Championship on the Gold Coast. On the track and field circuit in Poland, Great Britain achieved history by capturing three gold medals bbc.com within a sensational 28-minute span at the World Indoor Athletics Championships, an achievement that marks their best-ever haul at the event; this included Keely Hodgkinson securing the 800m gold with a championship record in the event's evolution bbc.com, and Josh Kerr regaining his world indoor 3,000m title following his injury bbc.com.
NASCAR star Tyler Reddick achieved espn.com his fourth victory of the season at Darlington, placing him in an elite club of multi-race winners this year, while in Moto GP, Marco Bezzecchi won the Brazilian bbc.com Grand Prix in a race shortened to 31 laps due to extreme heat conditions. In snooker, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh shocked Ronnie O'Sullivan in the World Open final, compiling a rare maximum 147 break during bbc.com the 10-7 victory. Tragically, the combat sports world faced a serious incident as 19-year-old women's junior flyweight boxer Isis Sio was placed in a coma espn.com following a knockout suffered during a bout on a Pro Box TV card.
Rugby, Football & Other Leagues
The United Rugby Championship saw several key results over the weekend, with Stormers moving bbc.com back into second place after a bonus-point victory over the Dragons, while Exeter defeated Sale 26-14 bbc.com to also enter the Premiership play-off positions. In Super League action, London Pulse coach Sam Bird credited his team's composure after they secured a thrilling extra-time victory over Nottingham, stating this ability to keep cool bbc.com will benefit them and Warrington Wolves climbed to second place after Kelepi Tanginoa scored four tries in a comprehensive win over Castleford Tigers 52-22 bbc.com. In the NFL, the New York Jets are accounting for a combined $48 million against their cap for Aaron Rodgers and Justin Fields, effectively meaning neither will be espn.com their starting quarterback in 2026.
In the world of combat sports, Movsar Evloev damaged Lerone Murphy's featherweight title aspirations at UFC London via a majority decision win at the event's headliner bbc.com, prompting discussion over fighter selection processes for title contention bbc.com, while Paddy Pimblett expressed his desire to return to the Octagon bbc.com in July during International Fight Week. Meanwhile, in a concerning development for women's international cricket, Rwanda's Fanny Utagushimaninde became the youngest woman ever to score a T20 international century, achieving the milestone at just 15 years and 223 days old bbc.com.