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March Madness starts with a bang: Alabama State earns thrilling win and North Carolina has dominant performance

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Alabama State kicked off the 2025 edition of March Madness with a thrilling 70-68 win over Saint Francis (PA) in the First Four of the men’s basketball tournament Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio.

With the game tied at 68-68 and 3.4 seconds remaining in regulation, Alabama State junior guard Micah Simpson threw a long full-court inbound pass from under St. Francis’ basket that would eventually end up in the hands of sophomore guard Amarr Knox, who made the go-ahead layup with 0.7 seconds left at the UD Arena.

It was the Hornets first-ever tournament victory.

“We wanted to throw the ball long, and we put our tallest athletic person to go get the ball. And fortunately, everybody tipped the ball, and it landed to me, and I got the rebound and made the lay-up,” Knox told reporters. “Couldn’t have done it without my whole team. We instituted a play that we practice on all day in practice, our game plan, and it worked.”

Senior guard TJ Madlock added: “At the end of the day, it’s about who wants it, and I know he obviously showed he wanted it a little bit more tonight.”

The No. 16 seeded Hornets will next face the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed in the 68-team field, the University of Auburn Tigers, on Thursday in Lexington, Kentucky, in the round of 64.

Alabama State head coach Tony Madlock said he doesn’t know how long the Hornets can savor the win before realizing Auburn is next. But the team will definitely enjoy the victory Tuesday night.

“We’re going to have this bus ride, I guess a couple hours down the road to play in Lexington at Rupp Arena. ‘How can you beat that?,’ he said. “‘How can you beat that for a school in the SWAC that has a lot of great tradition for us to go play at Rupp Arena?’ Nothing like it. We can’t wait.”

North Carolina Tar Heels guard RJ Davis shoots over San Diego State Aztecs guard BJ Davis during the First Four game.

The North Carolina Tar Heels silenced critics who believed the school shouldn’t have made the Big Dance based on a lackluster resume — for at least one night.

North Carolina overpowered the San Diego State Aztecs 95-68 in Dayton, Ohio. The No. 11 seeded Tar Heels will next play No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels on Friday in Milwaukee.

UNC senior guard RJ Davis led the way with 26 points on 8-for-12 shooting, including 6-for-6 from three-point range. North Carolina shot 52.6 percent from the field, 58.3 from three and 87.5 from the free throw line. The Tar Heels led by as many as 40 points.

After the convincing victory, the Tar Heels were asked if they sent an unmistakable message about the school deserving to be in the tournament.

“We know we deserve to be here. We’re not looking to send a message to anybody else,” Tar Heels junior guard Seth Trimble said in the postgame news conference. “We’re just looking to compete as a team and be the team that we know that we are capable of being and I think we did that tonight.

“We’re going to do that when we get to Milwaukee and go from there. We hear what people say. We don’t really care about it. It is what it is. We’re focused on us.”

Davis added: “One thing about us, yes, we hear the noise but we don’t really pay any attention to it. We stay within ourselves. … We’re just focused on what we have to do, not really paying too much attention to what’s being said about us and whatnot. Just our preparation leading up to the games.”

North Carolina earned its first First Four win in school history. The Tar Heels all-time tournament record is 134-50.

This story has been updated with additional information.





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Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray end coaching partnership after six months

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Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have ended their coaching relationship after six months as the 24-time grand slam singles champion continues to struggle for form in 2025.

“Thank you, coach Andy, for all the hard work, fun & support over last six months on & off the court,” Djokovic wrote on his social media channels. “I really enjoyed deepening our friendship together.”

The longtime rivals, who faced off in several all-time classic encounters on the court, announced in November that Murray would be joining Djokovic’s coaching team.

The partnership got off to a promising start as Djokovic reached the semifinals of January’s Australian Open after beating Carlos Alcaraz in a four-set epic in the quarterfinals, only for an injury to cut his last-four match against Alexander Zverev short.

However, Djokovic and Murray have failed to rekindle anything close to that kind of form in the months since.

“Thanks to Novak for the unbelievable opportunity to work together and thanks to his team for all their hard work over the past six months,” Murray said in a statement. “I wish Novak all the best for the rest of the season.”

Djokovic’s best performance this year came in reaching the final of the Miami Open, where he lost to unseeded teenager Jakub Menšík. The 24-time grand slam champion lost in the first round at the Qatar Open and Indian Wells before Miami, and in the first round of the Monte-Carlo Masters and Madrid Open since.

As recently as March, Djokovic said he hoped Murray would be his coach through the French Open and Wimbledon.

The 37-year-old pulled out of the ongoing Italian Open at the end of April, and this week accepted a wildcard into the Geneva Open which begins on May 18.



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Jayson Tatum: Boston loses star to leg injury as Knicks come up huge at home to take 3-1 lead over Celtics

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Jayson Tatum will have an MRI on the lower leg injury he suffered during the Boston Celtics’ 121-113 Game 4 defeat against the New York Knicks on Monday.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Celtics forward went down with an apparent non-contact injury as he tried to go after a loose ball. He quickly grabbed his right ankle and appeared to be in a lot of pain.

Tatum was helped off the court as he couldn’t put any pressure on his right leg and was taken through the tunnel in New York’s Madison Square Garden in a wheelchair.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game Tatum suffered a “lower body injury” and will have the scan on Tuesday.

“You are always worried about someone’s health,” Mazzulla told reporters. “He’s the type of guy that gets right up. He didn’t and we’ll know tomorrow exactly what it is. It’s tough to watch a guy like him getting carried off like that.”

To make matters worse, Monday’s defeat means the Boston Celtics now trail 3-1 in the series and face elimination in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Trainers check on Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum after he was injured late in the fourth quarter.

Down by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, New York ended the period on a 12-2 run to take an 88-85 lead into the fourth.

With less than six minutes remaining in regulation of a tied 102-102 game, OG Anunoby drained a three-pointer to give the Knicks a 105-102 lead, which New York would not relinquish.

Four Knicks players scored at least 20 points with Jalen Brunson leading the way with 39 points, 12 assists and five rebounds. Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns each had 23 points and Anunoby added 20.

After the victory, Brunson discussed the comeback win and extending the series lead.

“It means a lot. It’s a big game for us, just the way we responded, is what I’m most proud of, sticking together and making sure we are not quitting,” Brunson said at the postgame news conference.

“That’s a tough team over there. Obviously, we want to get off to better starts, but they got experience. They’re the defending champs for a reason.”

Tatum finished with a game-high 42 points, tying Celtics legends Larry Bird and John Havlicek for the most 40-point postseason games in franchise history. Tatum also had eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks in 40 minutes.

“That’s our brother, hate to see him go down. We know the type of guy he is. It’s tough to see him go down,” Celtics guard Derrick White, who scored 23 points in the loss, said after the game. “We just have to find a way to win Game 5.”

Boston guard Jaylen Brown, who finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, said it was “tough” seeing Tatum go down.

Tatum is set to undergo an MRI Tuesday.

“Tonight is tough. I think everybody is kind of at a loss of words just because, one losing a game, but obviously, the concern with JT. But we pick our heads back up tomorrow and go from there,” Brown said.

Brunson said he’s “praying for the best” for Tatum.

“We want to go out there and compete, but when a player of his caliber goes down and he’s rolling in pain like that, you know something is wrong, so that why I gave my thoughts and prayers because you never want to see something like that ever. ”

The Knicks will look to eliminate the defending NBA champion Celtics on Wednesday in Boston.



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Coco Gauff makes history with dominant victory over Emma Raducanu to advance to Italian Open quarterfinals

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American tennis star Coco Gauff put on a dominant display as she eased past Emma Raducanu on Monday to book her spot in the Italian Open quarterfinals.

The No. 4 seed dropped just three games in her convincing 6-1, 6-2 win over her British opponent in Rome, needing just 79 minutes to secure victory.

In reaching the quarterfinals, the 21-year-old becomes the youngest player to reach four quarterfinals in WTA 1000 clay tournaments since the top-level events were introduced in 2009.

Gauff will face world No. 7 Mirra Andreeva in the final eight on Wednesday after the 18-year-old came back to beat Clara Tauson in three sets.

Gauff is showing impressive form on clay at the right time with the French Open just around the corner.

The American has won eight of her last nine matches on the surface, with her only loss coming in the final of the Madrid Open to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Gauff revealed after her victory over Raducanu that she has been focusing on her footwork over the last two weeks in preparation for playing at Roland Garros, and highlighted her forehand – which has been inconsistent of late – as a key factor in her win on Monday.

“I think, today, (it) was the reason why I won the match,” Gauff told reporters. “Especially on this surface, I think I can do a lot with it.”

Gauff was in control from the outset against Raducanu on Campo Centrale and never let up. She won 39 of her 59 service points and broke Raducanu’s serve four times.

Gauff has now won both of her matches against Raducanu during her career.

She admitted that it has taken some time to get adjusted to playing on a different surface in Italy but feels good about where she is now.

“It still feels so slow compared to Madrid,” Gauff said, “but I’m getting used to it with each match. I feel really happy with how I played. I think I really was the one dictating the match for the most part.”

Elsewhere on Monday, Sabalenka held of a stiff challenge from Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk to book her spot in the quarterfinals, winning 6-1, 7-6 (8) in two hours and five minutes.



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