Sports
Gonzaga looks to extend NCAA Tournament opener streak vs. Kennesaw State
March 10, 2026; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Davis Fogle (4) celebrates against the Santa Clara Broncos during the second half at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images PORTLAND — Gonzaga returned to its usual spot in the NCAA Tournament field this season, earning its 27th straight appearance.
There was no such thing as usual this season for 14th-seeded Kennesaw State, which suspended its leading scorer at midseason due to a federal gambling investigation and tied for sixth place in Conference USA before pulling off three upsets in three days to capture the conference’s automatic berth.
Gonzaga (30-3), which has won 16 straight NCAA Tournament first-round games, meets the Owls (21-13) in a West Region opener on Thursday night in Portland, Ore. The Bulldogs get to play just 350 miles from their campus in Spokane, Wash.
“Everybody earned their way into this thing,” said Gonzaga coach Mark Few. “Now it gets down to getting stops and making plays. I don’t know about comfort level (in playing close to home), but it’s a lot easier travel-wise on our bodies.”
Gonzaga, the No. 3 seed in the West, won 15 in a row after an early-season loss to Michigan and beat Santa Clara in the West Coast Conference tournament final.
The Zags enter with a lot of history. They are 23-8 in the NCAA Tournament since 2017 — four more victories than anyone else — and are 28-10 since 2015. Yet they’re still seeking their first national championship.
“You just have to be your best at that moment,” Few said. “You’re going to hit adversity, whether it is (an opponent) making tough shots or maybe some foul trouble. You just have to dig in and fight through it.”
WCC Player of the Year Graham Ike leads the Bulldogs in scoring (19.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 rpg). Ike, a sixth-year senior, is the only active Division I player with at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. He leads all active players with 2,531 points.
“I know it’s my last one, but what’s the fun in thinking about that?” Ike said. “Let’s stay in the moment and play great basketball.”
The Zags will be without Braden Huff (17.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg) because of a dislocated kneecap suffered Jan. 15, but they did get versatile wing Jalen Warley back from a quad injury for the WCC tournament.
Kennesaw played the last two months without leading scorer Simeon Cottle (20.2 ppg), who was suspended after being named in a federal investigation into a point-shaving scheme during the 2023-24 season. The allegations do not involve games this season.
The Owls were 11-6 at the time of his suspension and are 10-7 since.
“It was adversity for sure,” Kennesaw State coach Antoine Pettway said. “When we went through that, we had two options. We could splinter, or we could come together even closer.
“We decided we were going to dig in even more. Everybody’s going to do just a little bit more and have their brother’s back. Our mantra all year has been love and serve your brother.”
RJ Johnson (14.5 ppg, 4.0 apg), Braedan Lue (11.1 ppg, 5.4 apg) and Frankquon Sherman (10.3 ppg, 8.4 rpg) are Kennesaw State’s leading producers.
The Owls play at a breakneck pace – they’re 19th nationally in adjusted tempo per KenPom – and they survive by hitting the offensive glass (grabbing 35.5% of their own misses) and getting to the line. They rank second nationally with 27 free-throw attempts per game.
Kennesaw State lost five of its last nine regular-season games and entered the Conference USA tournament as the No. 6 seed before beating No. 3 seed Western Kentucky, No. 2 seed Sam Houston and No. 4 seed Louisiana Tech.
A different Owl has led the team in scoring in each of the last five games. In the 71-60 title-game victory over Louisiana Tech, reserve guard Jaden Harris stepped up with 18 points and four 3-pointers.
“Gonzaga is a national brand,” Pettway said. “This is an opportunity for us to show the world our brand of basketball.”
–Jack Magruder, Field Level Media
Sports
Mariners SS J.P. Crawford (shoulder) could miss start of season
Feb 20, 2026; Peoria, Arizona, USA; Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford (3) jogs to the dugout in the first inning against the San Diego Padres during a Spring Training game at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford was in Texas on Tuesday to have his ailing right shoulder examined and he may not be available for Opening Day on March 26.
Seattle general manager Justin Hollander said imaging results came back clean and told reporters that the level of concern is “low.”
But with time running out before the opener and Crawford having last played on March 11, the Mariners are pondering who will be their Game 1 starting shortstop against the visiting Cleveland Guardians.
Top prospect Colt Emerson or versatile veteran Leo Rivas are among the options.
“Until we hear what exactly the situation is with J.P., it’s hard to kind of weigh those options,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “So, we’ll wait and see once we hear, and then we’ll begin to decipher where we’ll need to go. But like I said earlier, all of our young players have had opportunities here in spring, and they’ve all done very well. They’ve all performed well.”
Emerson, 20, swatted his second homer of spring during Tuesday’s game against the San Diego Padres. It is his second blast in his last three games. Emerson was batting .250 entering the contest.
Emerson is rated No. 1 among Seattle prospects and No. 9 in all of baseball by MLB Pipeline.
He played six Triple-A games last season and went 8-for-22 (.364) with two homers and nine RBIs. He has adjusted well to playing alongside older players during spring training.
“He’s handled it well,” Wilson said.
Rivas, 28, has played in 33 major league games at shortstop — 26 in 2024 and seven last season. He batted .244 last season with two homers and nine RBIs in 48 games.
Crawford, 32, is 2-for-16 (.125) with three RBIs in seven games this spring. Wilson said he’s not concerned about the limited action he’s received.
Crawford is entering his eighth season with the Mariners. He batted .265 with 12 homers and 58 RBIs in 157 games last season. The HR and RBI totals were the second-highest of his career behind the 19 long balls and 65 RBIs in 2023.
In nine big league seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies (2017-18) and Mariners, Crawford has a .248 career average with 67 homers and 344 RBIs in 930 games. He won the Gold Glove in 2020.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Clippers hit the road for back-to-back with soaring Pelicans
Mar 14, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; LA Clippers guard Darius Garland (10) points against the Sacramento Kings during the second quarter at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images After an extended homestand ended with a thud, the Los Angeles Clippers will be out to solidify their play-in tournament status with back-to-back road games against the New Orleans Pelicans starting Wednesday.
The Pelicans enter with a five-game home winning streak that is part of an 8-4 record since Feb. 21.
The Clippers were on a 7-1 run before losing consecutive home games, including a 119-115 defeat to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday while playing without leading scorer Kawhi Leonard. In a 118-109 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, Leonard departed in the fourth quarter with a sprained left ankle.
Listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game, Leonard will be on Los Angeles’ three-game road trip that includes a stop at Dallas. His presence on the court has proved vital with the Clippers, who rank eighth in the Western Conference, now 4-11 when he does not play.
The Clippers showed high energy at the start and the end of Monday’s loss but in between, they fell behind by as many as 24 points and ran out of time to complete a late rally.
Darius Garland scored 25 points with 10 assists in his seventh game with the Clippers, who acquired him from the Cleveland Cavaliers at the trade deadline. Bennedict Mathurin, who was acquired from the Indiana Pacers at the deadline, scored 16 points.
“I thought he made the right decisions, made the right reads,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said of Garland. “He’s getting his feel, getting his timing. (He) missed a few layups around the basket that he normally makes, but he’s only going to get better.”
Garland was still recovering from a toe injury when the Clippers earned a 137-117 home victory over the Pelicans on March 1. Leonard scored 23 points as the Clippers had at least 30 points in every quarter.
Rookie Jeremiah Fears scored a career-high 28 points off the bench for the Pelicans in the defeat. New Orleans was without Zion Williamson in what was essentially a day of rest to close a back-to-back scenario, ending his career-best run of 35 consecutive games played.
Williamson has played in 42 of the past 43 games, though, and scored 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting in a 129-111 home victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday. Saddiq Bey added 23 points as New Orleans shot 50.5% from the floor.
Dejounte Murray, who has played just eight games this season after recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon, missed the victory with an illness.
New Orleans had 31 assists, its seventh most in a game this season and above the team’s average of 25.1.
“It felt like within the flow, the ball was moving, we were finding the right guy, playing together, sharing it, moving it,” Pelicans head coach James Borrego said. “We’ve grown in that area a tremendous amount and we still have a ways to go.
“We should be knocking on the doorstep of 30-plus every night. … Now we have another challenge here on Wednesday against a very good (Clippers) defense. Can we do it again?”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Raptors feeling things start to click as key road trip begins at Bulls
Mar 15, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (3) celebrates making a three point basket against the Detroit Pistons during the second half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images Consecutive home wins have helped the Toronto Raptors regain momentum and maintain their grasp on the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
On Wednesday, the Raptors will aim to stop a road funk as they open a five-game trip with a visit to the Chicago Bulls.
Toronto is coming off Sunday’s 119-108 victory against the East-leading Detroit Pistons, which hinged on a third quarter in which the Raptors limited the Pistons to 7-for-26 shooting.
“I think it’s around that time for things to start clicking defensively, offensively,” Toronto’s Brandon Ingram said. “We went through a little rough patch these previous four games, but we found it.
“We had some conversations. Our communication on the floor has been good, and we’ve been able to fight back when we’ve been down and stay together. So, you know, it’s building.”
Ingram sparked the Raptors with 34 points against the Pistons while Jakob Poeltl (21 points, 18 rebounds) and Scottie Barnes (14 points, 10 rebounds) notched double-doubles.
After facing the rebuilding Bulls, the Raptors will meet teams in Western Conference playoff position in three of their next four games to close the trip. Toronto has lost three straight on the road, and channeling the resilience the team showed Sunday figures to go a long way during this stretch and beyond.
“I thought our competitive spirit was there during the whole game,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said, “even when (we) were not making shots (in the) first half. … We just kept fighting, finding the ways.”
Chicago kicked off a four-game homestand in style on Monday, thumping Memphis 132-107 for its most lopsided victory since a 28-point home win against the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 20.
The Bulls have split their past eight games after an 11-game losing streak, with second-year standout Matas Buzelis building momentum in recent weeks. Against the Grizzlies, he scored a game-high 29 points, including 18 in the third quarter.
Although question marks are swirling about Chicago’s draft lottery odds and the possible makeup of next season’s roster, Buzelis considers it “dangerous” to ponder the future. Which explains why he isn’t.
“I try to focus on what’s in front of me now,” Buzelis said. “I’m not thinking of what this team is going to be. I feel like looking into the future you get anxious. You’ve got to stay in the present and be where your feet are.”
Josh Giddey continues to be a stabilizing force for the Bulls. He contributed 16 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists against the Grizzlies for his 12th triple-double of the season and his fifth in the past seven games.
Tre Jones added 17 points for Chicago for his ninth straight game in double figures. Jones is averaging 17.4 ppg in March, which exceeds his season average of 12.9.
Toronto is seeking a sweep of the three-game season series. Ingram averaged 32 points in two previous Raptors victories — in Toronto on Feb. 5 and in Chicago on Feb. 19.
Giddey is averaging 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists in his past 10 games against Toronto.
–Field Level Media
Mariners SS J.P. Crawford (shoulder) could miss start of season
Clippers hit the road for back-to-back with soaring Pelicans
