Update on the latest sports
APCOLLEGE BASKETBALL-NCAA TOURNAMENT
March Madness begins
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA Tournament has returned to the big stage with a small first step, proving it can still showcase tight games and generate real excitement, even in mostly empty arenas. A 710-day hiatus caused by the pandemic officially ended Thursday night with the tournament’s First Four games. Those contests that will launch UCLA, Drake, Texas Southern and Norfolk State into the 64-team main bracket that begins play Friday.
Alabama, Illinois and Baylor are among the top teams in the NCAA Tournament ahead of some of the more familiar basketball programs. Alabama is a No. 2 seed, matched for the best in its history. Baylor beat out Kansas for the Big 12 regular-season title. Illinois is making its first trip to the tournament since 2013, joining a more traditional Big Ten power, Michigan, as a No. 1 seed. Meanwhile, neither Duke nor Kentucky made this year’s tournament field.
Among the Friday highlights:
Arkansas’ late-season surge landed it the No. 3 seed in the South Region. It’s the program’s highest postseason spot since losing to UCLA in the title game in 1995. For Arkansas, it’s been more than 25 years of mediocrity since. When the Hogs tip off against 14th-seeded Colgate in the opening round Friday in Indianapolis, they have a chance to take another step in a potential resurgence of a once-proud and prominent program.
Ohio State’s ill-timed four-game losing streak led to a fifth-place finish in the loaded Big Ten. The Buckeyes answered the questions about their postseason moxie by reaching the conference tournament title game. A whopping 19 of 30 games for the Buckeyes this season were against NCAA Tournament teams. They won 12. Oral Roberts is up first for second-seeded Ohio State on Friday. Top seed Baylor opens against Hartford.
Midwest Region top seed Illinois is rolling under fourth-year coach Brad Underwood. The Illini (ih-LY’-ny) head into the NCAA Tournament having won 13 of 14 games, including a thrilling victory over Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. Underwood’s tenure at Illinois began with an upset loss to Eastern Illinois back in 2017. He says patience and hard work have keyed the program’s turnaround. The Illini open the tournament against 16th-seeded Drexel. No. 2 seed Houston plays Cleveland and third seed West Virginia plays Morehead State.
Cade Cunningham and Oklahoma State managed to get into the tournament while NCAA sanctions imposed in June remain under appeal, giving the likely No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft a showcase, starting Friday when the Cowboys play Liberty. The sanctions stem from a federal corruption investigation into college basketball.
