The Sportsletter - The Bracket Breakdown 🏀

BY JEFF YODER

MAR. 17, 2025 | SUBSCRIBE | OPTIMAL VIEW

Welcome Back 🙌

And Happy St. Patrick's Day! ☘️ One of the best weeks of the year in sports is on the way. Brackets are here, and new seasons are springing up everywhere (F1, NWSL, MLB and more). We'll go rapid-fire on this glorious Monday before opening the gates of college basketball heaven.

🚨 Breaking News

Bengals Sign Star WRs to 9-Figure Deals

Ja’Marr Chase (4yr, $161 Million)

Tee Higgins (4yr, $115 Million)

Letter Rip!

< NCAA >

The Bracket Breakdown 🏀

Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

Selection Sunday: SEC Shatters Men’s Tournament Record With 14 Bids — Auburn (M) & UCLA (W) Claim No. 1 Overall Seeds

Win six games over the next 21 days? Become an NCAA champion. That’s the dream for 68 teams (x2) — men and women. It’s a long, long road to San Antonio (men) and Tampa (women), but there's nothing quite like it sports. Selection Sunday revealed the brackets last night. I'll go full send with tourney talk, picks, sleepers and more on Wednesday morning. For now, here's a quick recap while we wait for Madness (1st Round begins Thursday).

📋 Men’s NCAA Tournament Bracket

1s: Auburn, Duke, Houston, Florida

2s: MSU, Alabama, St. John’s, Tennessee

3s: Iowa State, Wisconsin, Texas Tech, Kentucky

4s: Texas A&M, Arizona, Maryland, Purdue

🫧 The Bubble (Men)

Last 4 In: Texas, Xavier, SDSU, North Carolina

First 4 Out: West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio State, Boise State

🚨 SEC Makes History

The SEC’s 14 conference bids shattered the NCAA Tournament record (Previous: 11). There are three scenarios in the bracket that could produce an all-SEC matchup in Round 2.

🏟️ Best 1st Week Site: Coaching Legends

Rick Pitino (#2 St. John’s), Bill Self (#7 Kansas) and John Calipari (#10 Arkansas) will mix it up at the same site (Providence, RI) on opening weekend. Those three coaches have five combined championships.

📋 Women’s NCAA Tournament Bracket

1s: UCLA, South Carolina, USC, Texas

2s: NC State, Duke, UConn, TCU

3s: LSU, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Notre Dame

4s: Baylor, Maryland, Kentucky, Ohio State

🫧 The Bubble (Women)

Last 4 In: Iowa State, Colombia, Princeton, Washington

First 4 Out: Virginia Tech, Saint Joseph’s, James Madison, UNLV

Men's Conference Champs

*Weekend Tourney Highlights

🏆 ACC: Duke (def. Louisville, 73-62)

1st ACC Sweep (Season + Tourney) Since 2006

🏆 Big 12: Houston (def. Arizona, 72-64)

Cougars End Game on 11-2 Run in Last 5:09

🏆 Big East: St. John’s (def. Creighton, 82-66)

Red Storm’s 1st Big East Title Since 2000

🏆 SEC: Florida (def. Tennessee, 86-77)

Gators Claim 1st SEC Title Since 2014

🏆 Big Ten: Michigan (def. Wisconsin, 59-53)

Dusty May Wins 1st Big Ten Tourney in Year 1

< GOLF >

Bonus Golf at Sawgrass ⛳️

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Rory McIlroy (-12) & J.J. Spaun (-12) Head to 3-Hole Playoff This Morning at The Players Championship

Rain delayed the weekend. Darkness cut it short. There's no winner yet as The Players Championship continues today with a playoff shootout between Rory McIlroy (-12) and J.J. Spaun (-12) at TPC Sawgrass — bonus golf! Spaun finished Sunday where he began (12-under), but McIlroy ripped off a birdie-eagle start in the first two holes to take the lead before a back-nine stutter. Spaun left a walk-off birdie putt short on 18 just before dark. The two are set for a three-hole, one-on-one showdown this morning at 9:00 am ET. Day 5 of the island green!

⛳️ The Playoff (Holes 16, 17 and 18)

9:00 am ET (NBC Sports/Peacock/Golf Channel)

The Players (Leaderboard)

T1. Rory McIlroy (-12)

T1. J.J. Spaun (-12)

T3. Lucas Glover (-10)

T3. Tom Hoge (-10)

T3. Akshay Bhatia (-10)

Other Notable Scorecards: C. Conners (-9), C. Morikawa (-7), P. Canltay (-6), S. Scheffler (-4), K. Bradley (-4), J. Thomas (-2), X. Schauffele (+13)

Round 4 Highlights | Full Leaderboard

< RACING >

Lando Launches the F1 Season 🏁

Photo: Clive Rose / Getty Images

Lando Norris Fends Off Max Verstappen in Australian GP by 0.895 Seconds

F1 is back! Formula 1’s return to the track was a welcome sight this weekend for race fans, and the 2025 season began without a Max Verstappen victory (how 'bout that?). Lando Norris (McLaren) held off Verstappen (Red Bull) in a late-lap battle where the two drivers separated from the rest of the pack. It was a rainy start in Melbourne as the weather loomed over the Australian GP in a day of potentially disastrous track conditions. Norris (4 wins) finished second to Verstappen (9 wins) last year, but he gets the advantage to kick off on the 2025 season.

Australian GP Race Results

1. Lando Norris (McLaren) — 1:42:06:304

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) — +0.895s

3. George Russell (Mercedes — +8.481s

4. A.K. Antonelli (Mercedes) — +10.135s

5. Alex Albon (Williams) — +12.773s

Watch: Lando Norris Holds Off Max Verstappen to Win F1 Season Opener

< SOCCER >

No Way, Newcastle! 🏆

Photo: Marc Atkins / Getty Images

Newcastle Shocks Liverpool (2-1) in EFL/Carabao Cup to Win First Domestic Trophy Since 1955

The drought is over in Northeast England! Saturday's EFL/Carabao Cup final pitted Newcastle against Liverpool in a matchup of David vs. Goliath. The shocking upset (2-1) featured goals from Dan Burn (45’) and Alexander Isak (52’) to bookend halftime. Not only has Newcastle had a magic run in the Premier League this season (currently 6th), the EFL title match marked their first domestic cup trophy in 70 years (1955 FA Cup). They’re one win (3 points) out of the top 4 in the EPL with nine matches left to play.

Watch: Newcastle Wins EFL Cup in Stunning Upset

< ACTION >

The Highlight Reel 🎞️

⚽️ Soccer

EPL: Arsenal Saves 3 Against Chelsea (1-0)

Gunners Keep EPL Title Hopes Alive

SPA: Barca Top Atleti in Epic Rally (4-2)

Score 4 Unanswered in Final 20 Minutes

MLS: Inter Miami Hold Off Atlanta (2-1)

Messi Scores, Miami Pefect Atop MLS (3-1-0)

NWSL: Orlando Pride Shine in Matchday 1

Def. Chicago (6-0), 4 of 7 NWSL Games Draw