SPORTS HEADLINES

Braylon Mullins’ 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left gives UConn 73-72 win over Duke and Final Four spot

WASHINGTON (AP) — Braylon Mullins sank a desperation 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to give UConn an astonishing 73-72 victory over top-seeded Duke, earning the Huskies a spot in the Final Four after they rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit. The Blue Devils led by three before UConn’s Silas Demary Jr. made one of two free throws with 10 seconds left. With Duke playing keep-away to prevent the Huskies from fouling, Cayden Boozer’s pass near midcourt was deflected, and after UConn came up with the ball, Demary made a shot from well behind the 3-point line. It’s the second straight season to end in a huge collapse for Duke, which was the top overall seed in this year’s tournament.

The Final Four is set with UConn stunning Duke to join Illinois, Arizona and Michigan

The Final Four is set. Illinois will face UConn and Michigan will take on Arizona next Saturday, with the winners squaring off two nights later for the national title. The Arizona-Michigan game is a matchup of top seeds. UConn, after a 19-point comeback for a 73-72 win over Duke, is seeded second and will play No. 3 seed Illinois. Arizona is the early favorite to take the title next Monday night in Indianapolis, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed closely by Michigan. The Huskies beat Duke with a 3-pointer from the logo with 0.4 seconds left by Braylon Mullins, who grew up just outside of Indianapolis.

Gary Woodland wins the Houston Open for first PGA Tour title since brain surgery

HOUSTON (AP) — Gary Woodland is a winner again just 30 months after brain surgery. Woodland produced a moment as big as his U.S. Open title at Pebble Beach when he won the Houston Open. He led by as many as seven shots and shot 67 to win by four. Woodland had surgery in September 2023 to remove a lesion on a part of the brain that caused unfounded fears of dying. And then two weeks ago he chose to go public with his harrowing struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder in an emotional Golf Channel interview. The win gets him in the Masters.

Golden Knights fire Bruce Cassidy, replace him with John Tortorella

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Bruce Cassidy is out as coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, who fired him Sunday and replaced him with John Tortorella. General manager Kelly McCrimmon announced the move a day after the team lost three in a row and six of its past seven games. Tortorella joins Vegas for his 24th NHL season as a head coach. He was not in the league this year and was an assistant for the U.S. at the Milan Cortina Olympics when it won gold. He coached Tampa Bay to the Stanley Cup in 2004. Cassidy led the Golden Knights to the Cup in 2023 and was fired less than three years later.

Yaxel Lendeborg and deep, unselfish Michigan roll into the Final Four, beating Tennessee 95-62

CHICAGO (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg scored 27 points, Elliot Cadeau had 10 assists and Michigan rolled into the Final Four by overwhelming Tennessee for a 95-62 victory in the NCAA Tournament. Morez Johnson Jr. added 12 points as top-seeded Michigan posted its 11th victory this season by at least 30 points. Aday Mara had 11 points and blocked two shots in the Midwest Region final. Making the most of its size and athleticism on both sides of the court, Michigan advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 2018 and ninth time overall. Next up is a national semifinal against Arizona on Saturday.

UConn and Geno Auriemma beat Notre Dame 70-52 to secure 25th women’s Final Four appearance

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Geno Auriemma and defending national champion UConn are going to their 25th Final Four in the women’s NCAA Tournament. All-America forward Sarah Strong scored 21 points and Blanca Quiñonez added 20 for the 38-0 Huskies in a 70-52 win over Notre Dame on Sunday in the Fort Worth Regional 1 final. UConn has won 54 games in a row, and is going for its 13th national championship. Azzi Fudd, UConn’s other first-team AP All-America pick, had 13 points. Hannah Hidalgo had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the 25-11 Fighting Irish.

Lauren Betts and UCLA are Final Four-bound after rallying past Duke with a strong second half

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Lauren Betts had 23 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks to help UCLA rally from a rare halftime deficit and beat Duke 70-58, advancing to the women’s Final Four for the second straight season. The top-seeded Bruins will play either Texas or Michigan in Phoenix on Friday in the national semifinals. UCLA is two wins away from the program’s first NCAA title. Third-seeded Duke tested UCLA like few teams had done this season. Taina Mair scored 21 points to lead Duke, which also lost in a regional final last year.

Chase Elliott beats Denny Hamlin at Martinsville Speedway for 1st NASCAR win of season

Martinsville, Va. (AP) — Chase Elliott has outdueled Denny Hamlin at Martinsville Speedway, earning his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season. Elliott capitalized on a shrewd gamble by crew chief Alan Gustafson to pit the No. 9 Chevrolet earlier than the other contenders on Sunday. When the caution flew on the 312th lap, Elliott was in the lead and pitted with the rest of the lead-lap drivers aside from Ross Chastain. Elliott took first from Chastain after a restart and led the final 69 laps to win by 0.565 seconds over Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota. Joey Logano finished third, followed by Ty Gibbs and William Byron.

From Tipperary to SEC: Irish rugby player with no football experience commits to South Carolina

LONDON (AP) — Irish rugby player Neff Giwa has never played American football. That will change soon because Giwa, who is 6 feet, 7 1/2 inches tall and weighs 295 pounds, has committed to play at South Carolina as an offensive lineman. The 20-year-old who is also Nigerian selected the Gamecocks over offers from Miami, North Carolina, SMU, Tennessee and Texas. Giwa showed interest in football only a few months ago and linked up with American recruiter Brandon Collier in Germany. Collier brought Giwa on a recent tour of U.S. colleges. A video clip of one of Giwa’s workouts piqued the interest of several schools.

White Sox’s Murakami joins Guardians’ DeLauter in exclusive club with HRs in first 3 MLB games

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox and Chase DeLauter of the Cleveland Guardians have accomplished something in the last week that had been done only twice before. The two rookies homered in each of their first three major league games. Sportradar says the only other players to hit home runs in at least their first three Major League Baseball games were Trevor Story with the Colorado Rockies in 2016 and Kyle Lewis with the Seattle Mariners in 2019. Story owns the MLB record with homers in his first four career games.