The Sportsletter - How Sweet It Is 🏀

BY JEFF YODER

MAR. 24, 2025 | SUBSCRIBE | OPTIMAL VIEW

Welcome Back 👋

68 entered. 16 remain. The brackets for the men's and women’s tournaments are about as chalky as we’ve ever seen. Only one double-digit seed remains in both. And while the madness has been mild, we saw more drama at the end of the weekend. Let's run it back (then take a break) before Week 2.

Letter Rip!

< NCAAM >

How Sweet It Is 🏀

Photo: Tyler McFarland / Getty Images

Derik Queen’s Game-Winner for Maryland Caps Opening Weekend of March Madness

Still no overtimes, but we finally saw some fun finishes on Saturday and Sunday in the NCAA Tournament. Five games went down to the wire in the second round, but one shot ruled them all. If you didn’t catch it, we've got you. Derik Queen has entered the chat. Enjoy one of those legendary moments you'll be seeing forever in March Madness promos…

Best Moment: Derik Queen’s Game-Winner

#4 Maryland and #12 Colorado State produced the best game of the tournament on Sunday afternoon. Colorado State’s Jalen Lake hit a go-ahead 3 (71-70) with six seconds left, but Maryland’s star freshman Derik Queen hit an isolation runner off the glass at the buzzer. Cue Bill Raftery — “With a little kiss!” Terps win, 72-71. But did he travel?

Best Underdog: #10 Arkansas

Three double-digit seeds made it out of the first round, but only one earned a spot in the Sweet 16. John Calipari’s #10 Arkansas is the lone 'Cinderella' nominee after an upset of Rick Pitino and #2 St. John’s. Pitino benched his best player (RJ Luis) down the stretch.

Best Conference: SEC (7 Teams)

Even though the Big Ten was perfect through the first round (9-0), it’s the SEC with seven teams (and another record) in the Sweet 16. The conference had 14 total teams in the field, so half are still standing — Florida, Auburn, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Arkansas. The Big Ten (4) and Big 12 (4) combine for eight of the other Sweet 16 teams. Duke is the only ACC team still alive while the Big East and Mountain West are out.

Men's NCAA Tournament (Sweet 16)

#4 Purdue def. #12 McNeese State (76-62)

Trey Kaufman-Renn (22 pts, 15 rebs)

#10 Arkansas def. #2 St. John’s (75-66)

Billy Richmond III (16 pts, 9 rebs)

#5 Michigan def. #4 Texas A&M (91-79)

Roddy Gayle Jr. (26 pts)

#3 Texas Tech def. #11 Drake (77-64)

D. Williams (28-6-5), JT Toppin (25 pts, 12 rebs)

#1 Auburn def. #9 Creighton (82-70)

Tahaad Pettiford (23 pts, 6 rebs, 3 ast)

#6 BYU def. #3 Wisconsin (91-89)

Richie Saunders (25 pts, 7 rebs)

#1 Houston def. #8 Gonzaga (81-76)

LJ Cryer (30 pts)

#2 Tennessee def. #7 UCLA (67-58)

Chaz Lanier (20 pts)

#1 Florida def. #8 UConn (77-75)

Walter Clayton Jr. (23 pts, Five 3s)

#1 Duke def. #9 Baylor (89-66)

Tyrese Proctor (25 pts, Seven 3s)

#3 Kentucky def. #6 Illinois (84-75)

Koby Brea (23 pts)

#2 Alabama def. #7 St. Mary’s (80-66)

Six ‘Bama Players in Double Figures

#4 Maryland def. #12 Colorado State (72-71)

Derik Queen (17 pts, 6 rebs) — Game-Winner!

#6 Ole Miss def. #3 Iowa State (91-78)

Sean Pedulla (20 pts, 8 ast)

#2 Michigan State def. #10 New Mexico (71-63)

Jaden Atkins (16 pts), Tre Holloman (14 pts)

#4 Arizona def, #5 Oregon (87-83)

Caleb Love (29 pts, 9 rebs, 4 ast)

🗓️ Updated NCAAM Bracket

< NCAAW >

Half Sweet: Top Seeds Shine ✨

Photo:Sean Rayford / Getty Images

Top Teams Unscathed as Women’s Sweet 16 Fills out Today

Major upsets haven’t been found in the women’s tournament, either. Top seeds are all cruising towards the Sweet 16 with little-to-no bumps in the road. The 5-seeds dominated the 4-seeds on Sunday (3-0), but that’s as deep as the upsets go. Eight more games hit the stage today before the women’s Sweet 16 is set. Here’s the latest:

Best Game

#5 Kansas State def. #4 Kentucky (80-79, OT)

Temira Poindexter Hits Dagger 3 in Overtime

Best Performance

UCLA’s Lauren Betts (30 pts, 14 rebs)

#1 UCLA def. #8 Richmond (84-67)

Women's Tournament (Sweet 16)

#1 South Carolina def. #9 Indiana (64-53)

#1 UCLA def. #8 Richmond (84-67)

#2 Duke def. #10 Oregon (59-53)

#2 TCU def. #7 Louisville (85-70)

#3 Notre Dame def. #6 Michigan (76-55)