AP Sports SummaryBrief at 11:58 p.m. EDT

By The Associated Press
Updated: March 25, 2025 - 4:08 AM
Published: March 24, 2025 - 4:00 AM

USC star JuJu Watkins carried off floor with knee injury against Mississippi State in March Madness

LOS ANGELES (AP) — JuJu Watkins was carried off the floor in the first quarter of top-seeded USC’s game against Mississippi State in the women’s NCAA Tournament. Watkins was driving to the basket when she went down between two Bulldogs defenders with 4:43 remaining. She grabbed her right knee with a pained expression on her face. The crowd in Galen Center went silent as coach Lindsay Gottlieb and two other USC staffers attended to Watkins, a 6-foot-2 sophomore who averages 24.6 points and is one of the biggest stars in the women’s game. She was carried off the court by multiple people. USC said she was being evaluated and would not return to the game.

When March Madness meets the transfer portal, the world’s biggest scouting combine erupts

DENVER (AP) — They’re playing for more than trips to the Final Four and a chance to cut down nets at March Madness. It’s also a chance to see and be seen – by other teams. In yet another sign of the times in college sports, the transfer portal opens Monday, giving basketball players a 30-day window to switch schools. It means some of the 1,000 or so players on the 68 teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament are playing to win, but also for more money, more playing time, a chance to be seen and potentially set things up for next year.

Texas hires Xavier’s Sean Miller, the coach who beat the Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas has hired Xavier’s Sean Miller to take over the Longhorns basketball program. Texas is turning to the coach who just knocked the Longhorns out of the NCAA Tournament. Miller will try to spark a program that struggled in its first season in the Southeastern Conference. It is also the second time Miller is leaving Xavier, a Catholic school in Cincinnati that plays in the Big East, for a bigger program. He coached at Xavier from 2004-2009 before leaving for Arizona. He then returned to Xavier in 2022 after he was fired.

No hard feelings, Warriors star Jimmy Butler says, as he prepares for his first game back in Miami

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. (AP) — Jimmy Butler has been through these first-game-back matchups against former teams before. He got a standing ovation and a tribute video at Chicago in 2018. He got jeered in Minnesota in 2019. He got downright booed in his return to Philadelphia later that year. Next up: His return to Miami on Tuesday. And it’s fair to expect a little of everything. There will be a tribute video from the Heat, which is not uncommon for returning players who were All-Stars for the franchise. There will be some cheering. There will be plenty of booing.

Niko Medved leaves Colorado State for his native Minnesota after an NCAA tournament run by the Rams

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota has hired Colorado State’s Niko Medved as its next coach. The native of the Twin Cities area and former student manager for the Gophers had the Rams within one basket of the Sweet 16. Colorado State hit the 25-win mark and made the NCAA Tournament three times in Medved’s seven seasons. He was 143-85 with the Rams for the second-best winning percentage in program history. Medved was the front-runner for the Minnesota job from the start. His predecessor Ben Johnson was fired after going 56-71 overall and 22-57 in the Big Ten Conference over four years on the job.

Paige Bueckers eyeing a national title after playing at Gampel Pavilion for the final time

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — After the game was over, UConn star Paige Bueckers returned to the court with a microphone in her hand. It was a similar scene a year ago, when she announced she was coming back to play for the Huskies one last time. This time, it was her chance to thank the fans who supported her during her five seasons at UConn following her final home game at Gampel Pavilion. They had a lot to celebrate, too. Bueckers had just matched her career high with 34 points in a 91-57 victory over South Dakota State that moved the Huskies into their 31st consecutive Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

NWSL, union and 2 teams denounce fans’ reported ‘hateful language’ against Barbra Banda

The National Women’s Soccer League, its players union and the Orlando Pride and Gotham FC have denounced reports of “hateful language” directed at Pride forward Barbra Banda. The statements Monday came in response to a report about a fan behavior at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, where Gotham hosted the Pride on Sunday. A Gotham season ticket holder posted in an online forum that Banda was subjected to racist and transphobic comments. Banda has previously been subjected to transphobic online abuse stemming from a mishandled sex eligibility case. She was assigned female at birth and does not identify as transgender.

Bold new rules have reshaped baseball. Could more changes save starting pitching?

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Bold decisions to change Major League Baseball’s longstanding rules quickened the pace of games and revived the popularity of stealing bases over the last few years. A similarly creative move may be needed to help starting pitching regain the relevance it enjoyed as recently as a decade ago. Thirty-four pitchers worked as many as 200 innings and all 30 major league teams got over 900 innings from their starters in 2014. Only four pitchers threw 200 innings last season and just four teams got as many as 900 innings from their starters.

Former UFC champion Cain Velasquez sentenced to 5 years for 2022 shooting

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former UFC champion Cain Velasquez has been sentenced to five years in prison for a shooting in 2022 where he chased after the man accused of molesting his son. Velasquez was sentenced Monday after he pled no contest to attempted murder and other charges last year. In February 2022, the two-time UFC heavyweight champion fired a gun multiple times at a truck carrying three people, including 46-year-old Harry Goularte, who is facing felony child molestation charges. Goularte was uninjured, but his stepfather, who was driving, was hit twice.

Cam Ward shows off his arm at Miami pro day. Now Titans will decide if he’s worth the No. 1 pick

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Cam Ward knew all eyes in the building were on him. For 45 minutes, the Miami quarterback went through his entire repertoire of throws: short, deep, slants, sideline routes, even some sidearm ones. And the last play was a trick one, him catching a touchdown pass. He put on a show. In a month, he’ll find out if it was good enough. With all 32 NFL teams watching — including the Tennessee Titans, the team holding the No. 1 pick in next month’s draft and one that sent virtually all their decision-makers to Coral Gables — Ward was the closing act at Miami’s pro day on Monday