AP National Sports

By KEVIN COONEY Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 32 points, James Harden had 24 points and 13 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Dallas Mavericks 111-101 on Friday night. Embiid was 11 of 20 from the floor. Harden also had seven rebounds. Tobias Harris added 14 points, Georges Niang had 12

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — Alfonso Plummer scored 15 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 12 seconds to go, and fourth-seeded Illinois escaped 13th-seeded Chattanooga 54-53 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Big Ten co-champion Illini never led until the final minute and survived when Chattanooga star

By MARK LONG AP Sports Writer GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida hired San Francisco’s Todd Golden as its men’s basketball coach Friday. The Gators are bringing in the 36-year-old former Auburn assistant to revitalize a program that had grown stale under Mike White. Golden signed a six-year contract worth $3 million annually to replace White,

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Duke began retiring Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski’s final NCAA Tournament with minimal stress, beating Cal State Fullerton 78-61. Freshman Paolo Banchero scored 17 points to lead the Blue Devils. The West Region’s No. 2 seed jumped to an early double-digit lead and played with

CONWAY, S.C. (AP) — Coastal Carolina has fired women’s basketball coach Jaida Williams after nine seasons. The school announced the decision on Friday. Williams went 15-11 overall this season and 4-9 in the Sun Belt Conference. She was 129-127 during her time with the Chanticleers. School vice president for intercollegiate athletics Matt Hogue thanked Williams

By THERESA SMITH Associated Press MESA, Ariz. (AP) — It was a day of firsts for the revamped Oakland A’s, under first-year manager Mark Kotsay. But the defensive highlight was something familiar — a powerful throw from the warning track by center fielder Ramón Laureano to veteran shortstop Elvis Andrus, whose relay to catcher Sean

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry will be sidelined at least two weeks with a sprained ligament in his left foot. The team says reigning scoring champion underwent an MRI exam that revealed the injury and he is scheduled to be re-evaluated in two weeks. A two-week absence for Curry would

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The second-round matchup between No. 1 seed Gonzaga and No. 9 seed Memphis is also a clash between two likely NBA lottery picks. Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren and Memphis’ Jalen Duren are both high on the list of NBA executives looking for players in the upcoming

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Southern California coach Andy Enfield says the officials got it wrong when they awarded the ball to Miami on an out-of-bounds play with just over two minutes left in their NCAA Tournament game. Enfield said it was clear to him the ball went off Miami

By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Ashley Owusu scored 24 points and Diamond Miller added 23 to lift fourth-seeded Maryland to a 102-71 rout of 13th-seeded Delaware. Jasmine Dickey led the Blue Hens with 31 points, but they couldn’t keep up with a Maryland team that looked healthy and ready

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Top-seeded Baylor is the defending national champion in a blue-blood bracket that began with the three teams that have the most national titles. North Carolina and UCLA are the tradition-rich programs with multiple titles still playing in the East Regional. Eight-time champ and second-seeded

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer SAN DIEGO (AP) — Cormac Ryan scored a career-high 29 points and 11th-seeded Notre Dame recovered from a grueling First Four win and late-night flight to beat sixth-seeded Alabama 78-64 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Ryan, a senior guard, was 10 of 13 from the field

STEVE BITTENBENDER Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Hailey Van Lith scored 20 points and top-seeded Louisville never looked back as the Cardinals routed Albany 83-51 in a first round women’s NCAA Tournament game. Louisville (26-4) used runs of 13-0, 14-0 and 9-0 in the first half to build a 48-20 halftime lead. The Great

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer Deshaun Watson changed his mind. The Browns have their franchise quarterback, one with some extra heavy baggage. Despite sexual misconduct allegations made by nearly two dozen women against Watson while he was with Houston, Cleveland will make him its starting QB, the face of its organization and the highest-paid

By MARK LUDWICZAK Associated Press ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — To say the Buffalo Bills are happy to have landed a prized free agent like Von Miller would be an understatement. With one notable exception, nearly everything has gone swimmingly for the Bills in an unexpected and surprising spending spree to open free agency. Even

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer A person with knowledge of the move says the Seattle Seahawks are reuniting with defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson, agreeing to terms on a two-year deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the move. Seattle also announced it

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — UCLA faces Saint Mary’s on Saturday in a second-round East Region game. The contest will reunite Bruins coach Mick Cronin with Gaels guard Logan Johnson. Cronin recruited Johnson to play for him at Cincinnati. But after just one season together in 2018-19, Cronin took

By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk has the Sooners hosting NCAA Tournament games in her first year. The former Drake coach leads No. 4 seed Oklahoma into Saturday’s first-round matchup with IUPUI. While Oklahoma has a long, storied NCAA Tournament history, it is IUPUI’s first trip. In