GREENVILLE, S.C. — Cameron Boozer scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second half to help lead No. 1 Duke past No. 9 TCU for an 81-58 victory in a second-round East Region matchup on Saturday.

Isaiah Evans added 17 points and Dame Sarr scored 14 for Duke (34-2), which advanced to the Sweet 16 against the winner of No. 4 Kansas and No. 5 St. John’s. Boozer added a game-high 11 rebounds while Maliq Brown finished with 12 points and nine rebounds for the Blue Devils, who outscored TCU by 19 points in the second half.

Micah Robinson led TCU (23-12) with 18 points, followed by Xavier Edmonds’ 12. The Horned Frogs were outrebounded 42-25 for the game, but 24-14 during the second half.

Trailing by four at halftime, TCU opened the second half on a 6-0 run — including Brock Harding’s behind-the-back assist to Robinson — forcing Duke’s timeout with 16:11 remaining.

After Jayden Pierre’s layup tied the score at 44, Cayden and Cameron Boozer each completed a 3-point play and Nikolas Khamenia laced a 3-pointer to give the Blue Devils a 53-44 lead at the 11:48 mark.

Harding’s triple stopped the run, but Sarr’s stepback 3-pointer gave Duke its first double-digit lead at 57-47.

TCU head coach Jamie Dixon picked up a technical foul with 8:57 left, leading to Cayden Boozer’s two free throws and Sarr’s third 3-pointer that opened up a 64-50 Blue Devils lead.

Cameron Boozer’s dunk and subsequent layup pushed the margin to 18.

The Horned Frogs went nearly five minutes without scoring before Pierre’s jumper cut Duke’s lead to 70-52 with 4:58 remaining. Brown’s dunk extended the lead to 22, icing the Blue Devils victory.

To a warm ovation from the Duke-heavy crowd, Patrick Ngongba II came off the bench early after a foot injury kept him out for five games. He made his first basket at the 15:29 mark of the first half, giving the Blue Devils a 9-7 lead.

TCU went ahead, 12-9, on Robinson’s five straight points before Evans’ triple stamped a 10-3 Duke spurt. Evans scored 11 straight for the Blue Devils, including a four-point play to give Duke a 27-22 lead.

After Brown’s dunk put Duke ahead by eight, TCU trimmed its deficit to two on Tanner Toolson’s corner trey with 1:12 remaining. Duke led 38-34 at halftime thanks to Evans’ 13 first-half points.

–Jack Batten, Field Level Media

The streaking Nashville Predators moved into a Western Conference wild-card spot on Saturday.

On Sunday, they’ll aim to strengthen their playoff positioning.

Winners of three straight and four of six, Nashville (32-28-9, 73 points) is set to visit the slumping Chicago Blackhawks (26-31-12, 64 points).

Nashville is coming off Saturday’s 4-1 home victory against the Vegas Golden Knights. Coupled with the Los Angeles Kings’ home loss to Buffalo by the same score, the Predators climbed into the final wild-card spot in the West.

“It’s just the belief in the guys in this room, and that’s all that matters,” Nashville’s Steven Stamkos said. “The coaching staff has a belief. The players have a belief. It’s not always going to be pretty. We understand at this time of the year points are more important than how the game looks, but you want to build and we have.”

Stamkos tallied two goals and an assist for the Predators while Ryan O’Reilly had a goal and assist to back a 39-save effort from Justus Annunen.

Stamkos and O’Reilly scored on the power play in the second period as special teams continued to be an asset in the club’s surge. Stamkos moved past Brendan Shanahan with his 238th career goal on the man advantage, good for seventh all-time.

“As a group there’s urgency there (on the power play),” O’Reilly said. “We’re putting pucks at the net, and we’re winning battles. We’ve got to keep building off of that. Obviously, the last couple of games that’s helped us, and we’ve got to continue to do that.”

Chicago will aim to salvage a split of an abbreviated two-game homestand before playing four straight on the road next week.

Playing the second leg of a back-to-back on Friday, the Blackhawks were outmatched in a 4-1 loss to the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche.

Wyatt Kaiser scored the only goal for the Blackhawks while goaltender Arvid Soderblom kept the hosts somewhat close by making 45 saves.

“(Colorado’s) level is a level that we want to get to,” Chicago forward Ryan Greene said. “They’re going to be a contending team this year, so that’s definitely a measuring stick.”

No matter the foe, the Blackhawks know they must improve their special teams to stay afloat during the stretch run.

Colorado scored two power-play goals on five opportunities as the Blackhawks get acclimated to different personnel amid various injuries. Forward Andrew Mangiapane and defenseman Louis Crevier missed the game with undisclosed injuries. Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said he expected the duo to rejoin the lineup during its upcoming trip.

“Penalty kill’s one of those things where there’s so many different nuances that happen,” Blashill said. “We certainly have our structure, but I don’t know any way to learn it without going through it.”

Nashville can clinch the season series with a victory. The Predators won 4-3 in Chicago on Nov. 28 and 4-2 in Nashville on Feb. 26. In between, the Blackhawks earned a 3-0 road shutout behind call-up goaltender Drew Commesso on Jan. 10.

–Field Level Media

Chicago Cubs power-hitting outfielder Seiya Suzuki will not be available for Opening Day, manager Craig Counsell told the assembled media before Saturday’s Cactus League game vs. Seattle in Peoria, Ariz.

The Cubs open the season at Wrigley Field vs. the Nationals on Thursday. Counsell ruled Suzuki out for that game, but not necessarily on the injured list.

“Look, we’ve had good days ever since he’s been back to camp,” Counsell said. “Opening Day, it’s not going to happen. (He’s) not going to be ready to play on Opening Day. Once you get past Opening Day, we’ve got to make a decision, does it just make sense to give him some time? We’ve got time to make that decision.”

Suzuki suffered a minor sprain of the right posterior cruciate ligament while attempting to steal second base in the first inning of Japan’s World Baseball Classic quarterfinal loss on March 14 to eventual champion Venezuela.

Entering his fifth year with the Cubs, the 31-year old has done some throwing and hitting, but has not started any running drills.

Suzuki posted career highs a season ago with 32 home runs and 103 RBIs in 151 games played. In four seasons with the Cubs, he has hit for an average of .269, belted 87 home runs and driven in 296 runs.

He is in the final year of a five-year $85 million contract.

According to reports, non-roster invitee Michael Conforto has been informed that he will be added to the 40-man roster and begin the season in Chicago. Conforto is a ten-year big league outfielder, who has played with the New York Mets (2015-21), San Francisco Giants (2023-24) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2025). He has 179 home runs and 556 RBIs, including 33 and 92 respectively in 2019.

–Field Level Media