The spotlight was on new faces this week as college basketball sent its Final Four teams to Arizona. The NBA provided a showdown of this season’s top two players and baseball is finally here with Sunday’s season opener.
College Basketball
The Final Four is set and three of the four teams are in after a loooooong wait.
For the first time in team history #1 Gonzaga is packing their bags for a trip to the Final Four. A small Jesuit school in Spokane, Washington, Gonzaga beat #11 Xavier by 24 points Saturday to punch their ticket. The relief was felt all over Washington as it’s been 59 years since any team from the Evergreen State made it to the Final Four.
Source: Sports Illustrated
Another Final Four first goes to #7 South Carolina who unleashed a suffocating defense to defeat conference rival #4 Florida Sunday. Surprising? Yes. South Carolina hadn’t won a single NCAA Tournament game in 44 years going into this season.
The wait is also over for #3 Oregon. The Ducks beat #1 Kansas even with KU having a virtual home court advantage (the “neutral site” game was played in Kansas City). Unlike Gonzaga and South Carolina, Oregon has been to a Final Four before…way back in the day. In 1939 Oregon won the very first Final Four but since then nada – zero appearances. That’s 78 years of “wait ‘till next season” finally put to bed.
Source: StatesmanJournal.com
The final member of the quartet was determined when two elite programs met Sunday. #1 North Carolina (who has reached a record 20 Final Fours) defeated #2 Kentucky (who has reached 17 Final Fours) 75-73 on a game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds left.
If you didn’t have Gonzaga, South Carolina, Oregon and North Carolina in your bracket, you are not alone. Out of 18,797,085 ESPN brackets, ONLY 657 predicted this foursome.
Men’s Semifinals:
#1 Gonzaga vs. #3 South Carolina, Saturday @ 6:09pm ET, CBS
#1 North Carolina vs. #3 Oregon, Saturday @ 8:49pm ET, CBS
Men’s Championship Game:
Monday, April 3rd at 9:00pm ET, CBS
What about the women?
The prevailing question is: can anyone beat UConn? The Lady Huskies have won 111 straight games (dating back to November, 2014) and are headed to the Final Four in Dallas along with South Carolina (joining the Men’s squad), Stanford and Mississippi State. UConn is seeking its 5th straight title and 12th National Championship overall.
The Women’s National Semifinals are Friday and the Championship game is Sunday, at 6:00pm ET on ESPN.
National Basketball Association (NBA)
Keeping great company…Phoenix Suns second-year guard Devin Booker scored 70 points in a game last week. If you think that’s impressive you would be right. Only six NBA players have ever achieved that feat. Chances are you’ve heard of them: Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, David Robinson, Elgin Baylor, and David Thomson.
In a battle of Western Conference megastars and top MVP candidates, James Harden and his Houston Rockets easily defeated Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder 137-125 Sunday. Westbrook continues his amazing season notching his 36th triple double (double figures in points, rebounds and assists) but Harden keeps leading his team to victory.
Caught…Don’t look now but everyone’s pick to go the NBA Finals, the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers, are struggling again. They have fallen into second place in the East behind the surging Boston Celtics. The Cavs have less than three weeks to get it together before the playoffs begin.
National Football League (NFL)
Some call the NFL the “No Fun League.” The latest manifestation is a league-issued instructional video on how to celebrate. Players are none too happy about being told that they can’t do the Whip / Nee Nee as they please.
Oakland or Las Vegas? The Oakland Raiders answered that loud and clear. They’ll be trading Oaktown for Sin City after NFL owners approved the team’s relocation Monday. The Raiders become the second Vegas’ professional team (the NHL will begin play in Las Vegas next season).
Source: KNBR
Diehard Raiders fans are devastated but also used to being left hanging as the squad played in Los Angeles from 1982-1994.
Major League Baseball (MLB)
Baseball fans rejoice…Spring is here and the 2017 MLB season starts Sunday with three games, and continues Monday with a full slate.
Las Vegas oddsmakers have installed the defending champion Chicago Cubs as the favorites to repeat. #PlayBall #BackToBackChamps
Share the TINK Sports love.
Remember at TINK Sports we watch the games so you don’t have to.
See you next time…
Recent Comments