AP Sports SummaryBrief at 11:54 p.m. EDT

By The Associated Press
Updated: March 19, 2025 - 4:01 AM
Published: March 18, 2025 - 4:00 AM

Cooper Flagg has seized the spotlight all year. He’s the biggest star heading into March Madness

Duke freshman Cooper Flagg enters the NCAA Tournament as the biggest star heading into March Madness. He’s also hobbled by a sprained left ankle suffered in the Blue Devils’ run to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title. The 6-foot-9, 205-pound Flagg is a versatile player who leads the East Region’s No. 1 seed in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks and steals. Flagg missed the last two games of the ACC Tournament. But coach Jon Scheyer has expressed optimism that Flagg could be ready to play by Friday’s first-round game against the American-Mount St. Mary’s winner.

Davis perfect on six 3s as North Carolina routs San Diego State 95-68 in First Four

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — RJ Davis scored 26 points and went 6 of 6 from 3-point range to help North Carolina silence some skeptics with a dominant 95-68 victory over San Diego State in a First Four matchup. Davis’ six 3-pointers tied Caleb Love’s program record for an NCAA Tournament game. Love had six against UCLA in 2022. Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis went 5 for 5 from deep against Eastern Michigan in 1991. The 14 made 3-pointers were the most for North Carolina in an NCAA Tournament game. The Tar Heels hit 13 against Marquette in 2022. Seth Trimble had 16 points for North Carolina in a matchups of No. 11 seeds. UNC advanced to face No. 6 seed Mississippi in a South Region game Friday in Milwaukee.

Knox’s last-second layup lifts Alabama State over Saint Francis 70-68 in First Four

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Amarr Knox’s layup with a second left lifted Alabama State to its first NCAA Tournament win, 70-68 over Saint Francis (PA) in a matchup of No. 16 seeds at the First Four. Knox scored 16 points to help the Hornets earn a date with No. 1 overall seed Auburn on Thursday in a South Region game at Lexington, Kentucky. Saint Francis, which lost its season opener at Dayton, made an unlikely return to the same arena as the 19th team to enter the NCAA Tournament with a losing record. Those teams are now 0-19. Juan Cranford Jr., playing in his hometown, led Saint Francis with 18 points. Valentino Pinedo had 17 for the Red Flash, who led by as many as nine.

Players’ group founded by Novak Djokovic files an antitrust suit against tennis organizers

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The players’ association co-founded by Novak Djokovic has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the women’s and men’s professional tours, the International Tennis Federation and the sport’s integrity agency. Tuesday’s filing in federal court in New York calls the groups in charge of tennis a cartel. The filing on behalf of the Professional Tennis Players’ Association says the organizations that run the sport hold “complete control over the players’ pay and working conditions” and their setup constitutes “textbook violations of state and federal law” that “immunize professional tennis from ordinary market forces and deny professional tennis players and other industry participants their right to fair competition.”

Trump and Putin discuss a US-Russia hockey series during their call, the Kremlin says

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed a series of hockey games between players from their respective countries during their lengthy call Tuesday, according to the Kremlin. Moscow said Trump supported Putin’s idea to organize games in the U.S. and Russia involving players from the NHL and the KHL, the top Russian league. The NHL said it was not party to those discussions and it would be inappropriate to comment. A message sent to USA Hockey seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Indiana hires Darian DeVries away from West Virginia as new head coach

The Indiana Hoosiers have hired Darian DeVries as their new head coach. DeVries spent this past season as West Virginia’s head coach. He spent the previous six at Drake. DeVries replaces former Indiana star Mike Woodson, who announced last month he would be stepping down at the end of his fourth season in charge of the Hoosiers. Indiana and West Virginia were both teams left out of the 68-team NCAA Tournament field. School officials plan to introduce DeVries at a news conference Wednesday morning.

March Madness: Rick Pitino has No. 2 seed St. John’s back in NCAAs after latest coaching revival

NEW YORK (AP) — Standing in the middle of a sold-out Madison Square Garden, confetti sticking to his suit, Rick Pitino was asked about his remarkable basketball odyssey and latest Big East championship. The 72-year-old Hall of Fame coach said he saved the best for last, bringing a March Madness roar from thousands of St. John’s fans hanging on his every word. In that merry moment of pride and joy, at the center of a nationally televised New York City coronation, it was almost easy to forget that five years ago Pitino was coaching in Greece — exiled from college athletics following multiple scandals at Louisville. Pitino takes his record sixth school into the NCAA Tournament when the second-seeded Red Storm play No. 15 seed Omaha on Thursday night.

With extensions signed, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins ready to resume title chase with Bengals

CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins officially inked four-year extensions on Tuesday that keep them in Cincinnati for their primes along with quarterback Joe Burrow. With Burrow under contract through the 2029 season, two solid starting offensive tackles and a standout young running back in Chase Brown, the Bengals should continue to have one of the best offenses in the NFL. The final steps toward keeping this core on offense together was finalizing the contracts with Higgins and Chase. Chase’s $161 million contract makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL, and Higgins’ $115 million deal will make him one of the league’s top 10 highest-paid receivers.

Warriors’ Stephen Curry sits out game against the Bucks due to ‘mental and emotional fatigue’

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry will not play in the Golden State Warriors’ game against Milwaukee on Tuesday night, sitting out for what coach Steve Kerr called an emotional and mental rest. Kerr said that Curry initially resisted the idea of taking a day off when the subject was brought up following Monday night’s 114-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets. Curry, who has logged 34 or more minutes in six of the Warriors’ last 10 games, eventually relented. Curry scored 20 points on 6-for-21 shooting against the Nuggets. Over the last five games, Curry is shooting 37% from the floor (32 of 86) and 32.2% (19-59) from long distance.

FIFA report highlights the inequities in women’s soccer

Despite the growing attention on women’s soccer globally, the vast majority of players and teams still struggle for resources and investment. FIFA on Monday released its annual report on the women’s game, highlighting the inequities across the sport. Soccer’s world governing body expanded the fourth edition’s scope from 34 leagues to 86 leagues and some 669 teams, providing a more accurate picture of the state of the game.