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March Madness updates from Friday’s action

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A long day chock full of NCAA tournament basketball is in the books as the men wrapped up the round of 64 and the women got their tournament started in earnest.

Here are five things to know from Friday’s action in the NCAA basketball tournaments:

Colorado State, New Mexico are the lone big upsets

In a first round bereft of big upsets, it was up to two Mountain West Conference teams to provide the bracket busters.

Trailing by five points at the break, the Rams came out of the interval much-improved and took the game to Memphis, eventually pulling off the 78-70 win. Led by the impressive backcourt duo of Kyan Evans and Nique Clifford, the Rams upped their tempo – leading to wide-open looks aplenty in the second half.

Evans finished the game with 21 points and six three-pointers as he made the Tigers pay when left open.

New Mexico scored the upset over the Marquette Golden Eagles with a 75-66 victory. Donovan Dent poured in 21 points and Nelly Junior Joseph added 19 for the Lobos, who looked comfortable in the limelight and led for much of the game.

David Joplin scored 28 in a losing effort for Marquette.

Duke forward Cooper Flagg battles for possession against the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers.

Florida and Duke look absolutely dominant in the men’s tournament

The No. 1 seeds that played Friday looked every bit the part.

Duke trounced Mount St. Mary’s in Raleigh and moved on to face Baylor in the round of 32. The Blue Devils kept everyone healthy and rolled to an easy win over the Mountaineers, who never really put up a fight. Cooper Flagg led the team with 14 points in his limited minutes, which dramatically decreased in the second half. It’s a statement of intent from Duke, which is thought to be one of the favorites in the tournament.

Florida ran roughshod over Norfolk State on the way to a comfortable first round win to start their national championship pursuit Friday night. The Gators established a huge lead almost immediately, then breezed to a 95-69 win over the Spartans.

Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. led the Gators attack with 23 points in the game, including four 3-pointers made. Clayton’s backcourt partner Alijah Martin added 17 more points.

South Carolina guard MiLaysia Fulwiley drives the ball around Tennessee Tech guard Reghan Grimes.

Top seeds in the women’s bracket blow away the competition

Woo boy, did South Carolina, Duke, and UCLA handle business.

South Carolina kicked off its 2025 women’s NCAA tournament campaign with a huge win over Tennessee Tech.

Joyce Edwards led the game in scoring with 22 points off the bench for South Carolina. MiLaysia Fulwiley also starred off the bench for the Gamecocks and stuffed the stat sheet in a well-rounded performance. The final score was 108-48.

No. 2 seeded Duke won 86-25 over No. 15 Lehigh at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Blue Devils guard Oluchi Okananwa scored 15 points in the rout.

The Mountain Hawks came awfully close to some not-so-good NCAA history, scoring the second least amount of points in a game in a women’s tournament. The Duke defense did not allow Lehigh to score more than eight points in any quarter.

Kentucky and Michigan avoid upsets in the women’s tournament

The No. 6 seed Wolverines had to battle hard to find a way past No. 11 Iowa State and reach the second round.

Iowa led by as many as 10 points in the third quarter, but some hot Michigan shooting hauled the Wolverines back into the contest.

With just 20 seconds remaining, a clutch Olivia Olson turnaround jumper extended Michigan’s lead to five points to all but seal the victory.

At the same time, Kentucky was struggling to put away Liberty. The Wildcats progressed to the round of 32 after a nail-biting 79-78 win against the Liberty Flames.

Despite a late scare – thanks to a huge 16-2 Liberty run towards the end of the fourth quarter – the Wildcats were able to hold on to seal the win.

One heartwarming moment to end on

Mount St. Mary’s head coach Donny Lind brought his son Silas to the postgame podium after the Mountaineers’ loss to Duke on Friday. The 9-year-old promptly captured our hearts when he reflected on how this week impacted him.

“These have been the best few weeks of my life,” he said with tears. “And I hope we have many, many more of them.”

His dad, who finished his first season in charge, was thankful for this March Madness experience despite the big loss to the Blue Devils. Mount St. Mary’s beat American University, 83-72, in a First Four matchup earlier in the week, with Lind walking away from this season with nothing but gratefulness.





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Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray end coaching partnership after six months

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CNN
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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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CNN
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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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CNN
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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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