The Sportsletter - Another #1 Bites the Dust

BY JEFF YODER

MAR. 21, 2023  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  REFER  |  WEB VIEW

Good Morning,

Thought the madness was catching a breather? Think again. Another 1-seed has fallen in the women's bracket, and the Sweet 16 is ripe with history, upsets and excitement. Now, you can take a bracket break for 48 hours until we run it again to find the Final Four.

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NCAAW TOURNAMENT 🏆

Another #1 Bites the Dust

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Sweet 16 Set: #9 Miami Stuns #1 Indiana (70-68) With Late Winner for Another Historic Upset

The dancing continues! After eight more games on Monday night, the women’s NCAA Tournament has its Sweet 16. An overtime game, two game-winners and more history were the headlines on Monday, but the biggest story was another early exit for a No. 1 seed. Just 24 hours after Miami knocked out Indiana in the men’s NCAA Tournament, the Lady Hurricanes did the same thing to the IU women’s squad. The men’s matchup was a 4-5 game, but this upset was much bigger. The 9-seed Miami women’s squad fought back multiple times after 1-seed Indiana kept throwing punches, and Miami’s Destiny Harden got the game-winning floater to fall with just over three seconds left. And for the first time in 25 years, multiple 1-seeds have been upset before the Sweet 16.

Two 1-Seeds Out: It’s just the second time in Women’s NCAA Tournament history that multiple 1-seeds fell before the Sweet 16. The first occurrence was 1998.

Hurricanes > Hoosiers: Both Miami teams (men’s and women’s) beat both Indiana teams (men’s and women’s) in the Round of 32 within 24 hours. That’s the first time two teams from the same school beat two teams from the same school in the same round in NCAA Tournament history.

Other Top Storylines

Villanova’s Siegrist Chasing History

With #4 Villanova’s win over #12 FGCU, Maddy Siegrist had a 31-point night to pull within 59 points of the all-time women’s NCAA single-season scoring record. She had 35 points in the first-round game, and she’s now fourth on the all-time single season scoring list with 1,050 points this season. Kelsey Plum (Washington) holds the all-time record with 1,109 points.

UConn Reaches 29th Straight Sweet 16

Azzi Fudd popped off for 22 points to lead #2 UConn in a blowout against #7 Baylor (77-58) to keep the Huskies’ historic run intact. UConn and head coach Geno Auriemma have now made it to the Sweet 16 in 29 consecutive seasons.

Colorado Upsets Duke in Overtime

The third overtime game of the women’s tournament brought a stunner to Cameron Indoor as 6-seed Colorado jumped on 3-seed Duke early before a second-half comeback by the Blue Devils forced OT. In the extra period, Colorado outscored Duke 11-3 to become the only 6-seed in the Sweet 16.

Women’s Sweet 16

Greenville 1 Region: #1 South Carolina, #2 Maryland, #3 Notre Dame, #4 UCLA

Greenville 2 Region: #2 Utah, #3 LSU, #4 Villanova, #9 Miami

Seattle 3 Region: #1 Virginia Tech, #2 UConn, #3 Ohio State, #4 Tennessee

Seattle 4 Region: #2 Iowa, #5 Louisville, #6 Colorado, #8 Ole Miss

Women's Round of 32 Highlights (Monday Night)

#9 Miami def. #1 Indiana (70-68)

#2 UConn def. #7 Baylor (77-58)

#3 Ohio State def. #6 North Carolina (71-69)

#6 Colorado def. #3 Duke (61-53, OT)

#4 Villanova def. #12 Florida Gulf Coast (76-57)

#4 Tennessee def. #12 Toledo (94-47)

#4 UCLA def. #5 Oklahoma (82-73)

#5 Louisville def. #4 Texas (73-51)

Women's Round of 32 Highlights (Sunday Night)

#1 South Carolina def. #8 South Florida (76-45)

#1 Virginia Tech def. #9 South Dakota State (72-60)

#2 Iowa def. #10 Georgia (74-66)

#2 Maryland def. #7 Arizona (77-64)

#2 Utah def. #10 Princeton (63-56)

#3 LSU def. #6 Michigan (66-42)

#3 Notre Dame def. #11 Mississippi State (53-48)

#8 Ole Miss def. #1 Stanford (54-49)

The women’s Sweet 16 resumes on Friday.

Additional Storylines

ESPN: The Sports World Reacts to Miami’s Upset of 1-Seed Indiana

AP News: UConn Beats Baylor for 29th Straight Trip to Sweet 16

The Athletic: Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist Becomes 5th Player to 1,000-Point Club in Women’s Division I History

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC

Japan Walks Off Mexico

Photo: Mary DeCicco / Getty Images

Japan Rallies to Beat Mexico With Walk-Off Double in 9th Inning (6-5) to Set Up Final Against USA

With nine days until Opening Day, baseball fans didn’t have to wait for April to get their fix at the diamond. The World Baseball Classic has been a thrilling two-week event that’s grown to new heights, and Monday’s semifinal sets the stage for tonight’s epic finale. Team Japan rallied to beat Team Mexico (6-5) on Monday night. Luis Urias put Mexico on the board with a three-run shot in the 4th inning only to see Masataka Yoshida fire back with a three-run homer of his own. After Mexico secured a 5-4 lead entering the bottom of the 9th, Angels’ star Shohei Ohtani slapped a double to start the rally. Yoshida earned a walk to put the go-ahead run on base before Munetaka Murakami cracked a two-run, walk-off double to send Japan into celebration mode.

Watch: Japan Beats Mexico With 9th-Inning Walk-Off in WBC Semifinal (6-5)

Some of the biggest stars in baseball have taken the WBC to another level of entertainment in 2023, infusing more excitement into the tournament. Now, it’s Japan vs. USA tonight for the finale.

World Baseball Classic Final (Tonight)

Team USA vs. Team Japan (7:00 pm ET, FS1)

Additional Storylines

Sporting News: Murakami Overcomes Slump With Walkoff Double to Stun Mexico

USA Today: Japan Rallies for Thrilling Walk-Off Win Over Mexico in World Baseball Classic Semifinal

NBA

Randle Racks Up 57 at MSG

Photo: Jess Rapfogel / Getty Images

Julius Randle (57 Points) Flirts With MSG Record as Knicks Fall Late

A bittersweet night in Madison Square Garden was the NBA’s top highlight from Monday. Julius Randle poured in 57 points in a historic night for the Knicks, but it was the visiting Timberwolves who pulled out a road win with some sharpshooting (140-134). Nonetheless, Randle’s 57-point outing came on 19-for-29 shooting (8-for-14, 3pt) and was tied for the third-most by a Knicks player in franchise history. Only Carmelo Anthony (62, 2014) and Bernard King (60, 1984) had more in a Knicks uniform. It had been nine years since Anthony gave the Knicks their last 50-point scorer in that 2014 game — the second-longest drought of any NBA franchise. Randle’s night was certainly memorable in the illustrious history of Madison Square Garden. In the end, he failed to pull down a rebound with the Knicks trailing by 3 in the final seconds.

Watch: Julius Randle Scores 57 in Knicks’ Loss

Other NBA Highlights

Bulls Snap Sixers’ Streak: The 76ers entered Monday winners of eight straight games, but the Bulls put that streak to rest with a double-overtime win in Chicago (109-105, 2OT). Joel Embiid boosted his MVP resume with a 37-point night, and the Bulls (34-37) are clinging to the final play-in spot in the East.

Ja Morant Back in Memphis: He wasn’t playing, but Ja Morant returned to the Grizzlies bench on Monday as Memphis took down Dallas (112-108) for their third straight win. The Grizz have retaken the No. 2 spot in the West from the Kings, and Morant could return from his suspension on Wednesday.

Kings Still Waiting: Sacramento is still waiting patiently to break their 17-year playoff drought after the Kings lost to the Jazz on Monday (128-120) despite 37 from De’Aaron Fox. The last time Sacramento made the postseason was 2006. That drought is destined to end, it’s just a matter of time. They’ll face the Celtics, Suns and Jazz this week in an attempt to clinch by the weekend.

🎥 THE HIGHLIGHTS

🏒 NHL: Barkov Sets Panthers Points Record

The Panthers outpaced the Red Wings (5-2) on Monday, and Aleksander Barkov tallied an assist to become the Panthers’ all-time leader in points. Florida (79 points) has won three straight to jump Pittsburgh (78 points) for the second spot in the Eastern Conference wild card race.

THE STORYLINES

🏀 Title Odds for Every Sweet 16 Team

For as upset-riddled as the 2023 men's NCAA tournament has been, there sure are a bunch of teams still standing who felt like legitimate threats to win it all back when this dance began. (Bleacher Report)

⚽️ Arsenal in Charge of EPL Race

Every time Manchester City thought their title rivals would drop points, Arsenal simply stepped up and won when they had to. Let’s go inside the Premier League title race. (ESPN)

🏈 2023 NFL Mock Draft 2.0

Is Bryce Young the pick for the Panthers? A lot has changed on NFL roster over the last week, and the NFL Draft is just over a month away. (CBS Sports)

📰 THE HEADLINES

• Former Eagles Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson Signs 1-Year Deal With Lions (ESPN)
• Iona’s Rick Pitino Signs 6-Year Deal as Next Coach of St. John’s (B/R)
• SoFi Stadium’s Bid to Host 2026 World Cup Final in Jeopardy (SI)
• Georgetown Hires Providence’s Ed Cooley as Next Head Coach (CBS Sports)
• Miami Dolphins Officially Pick Up Tua Tagovailoa’s 5th-Year Option (NBC Sports)

• Cowboys TE Dalton Schultz Reportedly Signs With Texans (FOX Sports)

• Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis Felt ‘Cheated’ Out of Shot at Topping Pete Maravich’s Record (SI)

• NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Reportedly Expected to Receive Multi-Year Extension (Yahoo! Sports)

• Division I Program Announces Elimination of Entire Athletic Program (USA Today)

• Magic Johnson Joins Ownership Bid for Washington Commanders (B/R)

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