Sports
NCAA Tournament roundup: Iowa edges defending champ Florida in thriller
Florida center Micah Handlogten (3) blocks Iowa forward Alvaro Folgueiras (7) during the first half of the NCAA March Madness second round at Benchmark international Arena in Tampa, FL on Friday, March 20, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun] Alvaro Folgueiras drained a wide-open 3-pointer from the right corner with 4.5 seconds left to give Iowa a dramatic 73-72 victory over defending national champion Florida in a South Region second-round game at Tampa, Fla.
The top-seeded Gators’ Xaivian Lee (17 points) was unable to get a shot off in the final seconds after driving down the court, failing to complete an attempted pass to Thomas Haugh in front of the basket. That allowed first-year Iowa coach Ben McCollum to take the ninth-seeded Hawkeyes to the program’s first Sweet 16 since 1999, setting up an intra-Big Ten matchup Thursday in Houston vs. No. 4 seed Nebraska.
Tavian Banks had 20 points and six rebounds, and Folgueiras added 14 points for the Hawkeyes (23-12). Sharpshooter Bennett Stirtz added 13 points despite going 0-for-9 from 3-point range and Cooper Koch had 12 on four 3-pointers.
Alex Condon recorded 21 points and seven assists and Haugh added 19 points for Florida (27-8), which was even with Iowa in rebounds at 27 apiece despite leading the nation in rebounds per game.
WEST REGION
No. 1 Arizona 78, No. 9 Utah State 66
Jaden Bradley scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half as the catalyst for the Wildcats in holding off a wild comeback from the Aggies in second-round play in San Diego.
Arizona (34-2) advances to its third consecutive Sweet 16 and fourth in five years, and will meet No. 4 seed Arkansas on Thursday in San Jose, Calif. Motiejus Krivas finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds, nine of which came on the offensive glass. Koa Peat added another 10 rebounds to go with 14 points, helping the Wildcats to a pivotal 54-26 rebounding advantage. Brayden Burries scored 16 points.
Garry Clark’s 13 points led Utah State (29-7), MJ Collins Jr. finished with 12, Drake Allen 11 and Mason Falslev had eight.
No. 2 Purdue 79, No. 7 Miami 69
Fletcher Loyer scored a game-high 24 points on just seven shot attempts, lifting the Boilermakers to a win over the Hurricanes in the second round of the West Region in St. Louis.
Loyer made 6 of 7 shots from the field, including all four of his 3-point tries, and canned eight free throws without a miss as Purdue (29-8) earned a spot in the regional semifinals Thursday against 11th-seeded Texas (21-14).
Trey Kaufman-Renn added 19 points and nine rebounds for the Boilermakers, who hit 25 of 47 shots from the field and connected on 21 of 22 at the foul line. Freshman Shelton Henderson paced the Hurricanes (26-9) with 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Malik Reneau added 16 points and Tre Donaldson scored 13 but made only 4 of 15 attempts.
MIDWEST REGION
No. 2 Iowa State 82, No. 7 Kentucky 63
The short-handed Cyclones were without versatile star forward Joshua Jefferson but they had their feral defense, and that was more than enough to tame Kentucky, which coughed up 20 turnovers that led to 25 points during a beatdown in St. Louis.
With Jefferson out due to an ankle injury suffered during Friday’s 108-74 blowout over Tennessee State, the Cyclones (29-7) relied on veteran point guard Tamin Lipsey. He scored 17 of his game-high 26 points after halftime and added 10 assists, one more than the Wildcats had as a team. Milan Momcilovic added 20 points, while Nate Heise chipped in 12 and freshman Killyan Toure netted 10 points.
Denzel Aberdeen scored 20 points for Kentucky (22-14) and Otega Oweh added 18 and eight rebounds, but it wasn’t quite enough. The Wildcats shot decently from the field, making 46.7%, but only attempted 45 shots because of all of the turnovers.
No. 6 Tennessee 79, No. 3 Virginia 72
Ja’Kobi Gillespie put up 21 points and six assists, Bishop Boswell had 13 points and nine assists and the Volunteers took down the Cavaliers in a second-round matchup in Philadelphia to reach their fourth straight Sweet 16.
Tennessee (24-11), which will meet No. 2 seed Iowa State in the Midwest Region semifinals, also got 16 points from freshman Nate Ament after he played 18 scoreless minutes in the first round while working through an ankle sprain. Ament scored 13 in the second half, and teammates J.P. Estrella and Jaylen Carey scored 10 apiece.
Belgian freshman Thijs De Ridder powered Virginia’s comeback with 17 of his 22 points in the second half. Malik Thomas added 12 and Jacari White and Chance Mallory had 10 apiece for the Cavaliers (30-16), who doubled their win total from a year ago in Ryan Odom’s first season in charge.
No. 4 Alabama 90, No. 5 Texas Tech 65
Latrell Wrightsell scored 24 points and the Crimson Tide unleashed a relentless 3-point attack in blowing out the Red Raiders in Tampa, Fla.
Houston Mallette scored all 15 of his points on 3s, Amari Allen had 12 points despite missing his four 3-point attempts and Aiden Sherrell had 10 points. Labaron Philon Jr. contributed nine points and a career-high 12 assists. Alabama (25-9) is going to the Sweet 16 for the fourth year in a row, meeting top-seeded Michigan on Friday night in the Midwest Region at Chicago.
LeJuan Watts’ 16 points and seven rebounds led Texas Tech (23-11), while Donovan Atwell provided 12 points and Leon Horner had 10. The Red Raiders lost four of their final five games, with a once-promising season veering off track after the loss of star JT Toppin to a season-ending injury.
EAST REGION
No. 5 St. John’s 67, No. 4 Kansas 65
Dylan Darling’s first points of the Red Storm’s NCAA Tournament win over the Jayhawks came as the buzzer sounded, sending St. John’s to its first Sweet 16 since 1999.
St. John’s (30-6) never trailed in the second half and led by as many as 14 points before Kansas (24-11), behind Darryn Peterson’s 21-point effort, rallied to force a 65-65 tie. The Red Storm shot just 25 of 69 (36.2%) from the floor, while the Jayhawks went 24 of 54 (44.4%).
One difference for St. John’s was its 3-point shooting — specifically, Bryce Hopkins’ 3-point shooting. Hopkins scored a team-high 18 points, all on 6-of-9 shooting from long range. The rest of the Red Storm went 5 of 26 from deep. Peterson shot 3 of 8 from beyond the arc for Kansas, but the rest of the lineup combined for just two triples.
No. 2 UConn 73, No. 7 UCLA 57
Alex Karaban scored a career-high 27 points, freshman Braylon Mullins added 17 and the Huskies took down the Bruins to return to the Sweet 16.
UConn (31-5) will face No. 3 Michigan State in the East Region semifinals. The program is shooting for a third national title to cap Karaban’s four-year career, after eventual champion Florida eliminated the Huskies in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year. Tarris Reed Jr. had 10 points and 13 boards but shot just 3 of 8 from the field. Jayden Ross had 11 points.
Xavier Booker had 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the first half to fuel UCLA (24-12), but he was held in check after that and finished with 13. Eric Dailey Jr. put up 12, Donovan Dent added 11 with nine assists and Skyy Clark also scored 11.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Blaze Alexander, Orioles finish sweep of Rays in dominant fashion
May 27, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) celebrates with Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman (35) after hitting a home run during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images Gunnar Henderson hit the first of his two home runs in Baltimore’s five-run first inning as the Orioles beat the visiting Tampa Bay Rays 11-2 on Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep against the team with the best record in the American League.
Rookie Trey Gibson took a shutout into the sixth inning to gain his first victory.
Blaze Alexander drove in six runs with a single, double and home run, Coby Mayo scored three runs and Adley Rutschman added three hits, including two doubles.
Henderson’s two-run shot in the first inning opened the scoring and he drilled a solo blast to lead off the sixth. Alexander, in the No. 8 spot in the batting order, clobbered a two-run homer in the seventh.
Baltimore’s first five batters of the game scored off Tampa Bay starter Steven Matz (4-2). Leody Taveras rapped a run-scoring single and Alexander had a two-run single.
Hunter Feduccia had three hits and Jonathan Aranda posted two hits for the Rays, who’ve lost four games in a row for the first time this season.
Gibson (1-0), who was placed back on the roster earlier in the day as the Orioles slightly shuffled their rotation, worked 5 2/3 innings and gave up one run and six hits and four walks. He struck out one.
The Rays grounded into three double plays across the first five innings.
Matz was charged with six runs on seven hits in three innings.
The Orioles pushed their lead to 6-0 in the third on Tyler O’Neill’s single. Alexander’s two-run double in the fifth added to the margin.
The Rays used Hunter Bigge and Jonathan Heasley, who allowed two runs in his first inning and one more in his next inning, in relief. In his first appearance of the season, Heasley was tagged for five runs on eight hits over four innings.
Tampa Bay loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth and managed only one run on Ryan Vilade’s walk before three straight strikeouts ended the threat.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Liberty ride 23-0 third-quarter surge to victory over Mercury
May 27, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) brings the ball up court while defended by Phoenix Mercury forward Marta Suarez (77) during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images Marine Johannes scored a game-high 21 points and her New York Liberty went on a 23-0 run to close the third quarter en route to an 84-74 win over the visiting Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday.
Johannes made a career-high seven 3-pointers, missing just twice from long range. The Liberty also got 17 points and 12 rebounds from Jonquel Jones, while Breanna Stewart contributed 11 points and six boards.
Kahleah Copper led Phoenix with 19 points, but she shot just 6 of 18 from the floor. Natasha Mack added 14 points, and Alyssa Thomas posted nine points, seven rebounds and nine assists.
New York (4-4) broke a three-game losing streak, its worst skid since 2002. Phoenix (2-6) took its fourth loss in a row.
The contest was a rematch of last year’s playoffs, when Phoenix eliminated New York by winning two of three in a first-round series.
Two players made their season debut: New York’s Leonie Fiebich and Phoenix’s Monique Akoa Makani. Fiebich, who was late to the party because she was finishing her Spanish League season, scored nine points in 33 minutes. Akoa Makani, who was finishing her season in France, put up nine points in 19 minutes.
In addition, New York’s Betnijah Laney-Hamilton returned after missing three games due to personal reasons. She scored seven points off the bench.
New York was without All-Stars Sabrina Ionescu (sore back) and Satou Sabally (illness). Sabally played for Phoenix last year.
The Liberty led 24-22 after an exciting first quarter that included 12 points and three assists from Johannes. She made 4 of 5 from 3-point range and also had a behind-the-back pass for an assist.
Phoenix took its first lead of the game, 31-29, on a Copper 3-pointer with 7:03 left in the second quarter, capping a 7-0 run. By halftime, Phoenix led, 43-42.
The second quarter featured six Liberty turnovers and none by Phoenix.
Johannes led all first-half scorers with 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Copper topped Phoenix with 10 points before the break.
Jones scored 10 points in the decisive third quarter. At one point, New York forced five consecutive turnovers, and the Liberty entered the fourth with a 72-55 lead.
The Mercury never got the margin down to single digits in the final quarter.
For the game, New York shot 14-for-30 (46.7%) on 3-point attempts. Phoenix shot 10-for-30 (33.3%), and the Liberty also had a 26-9 edge in points off turnovers.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ian Happ breaks out of slump, Cubs snap 10-game skid vs. Pirates
May 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs left fielder Ian Happ (8) hits a two-run single against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Ian Happ drove in five runs and ignited a six-run seventh inning with a three-run home run that eventually helped the Chicago Cubs snap a 10-game losing streak with a 10-4 win over the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.
The Cubs last scored 10 runs in a game in their prior win May 15th before the losing streak began. The skid was the longest active losing streak in the majors and the longest for the Cubs since June 4-16, 2022. Chicago won for only the third time in its past 17 games.
Happ finished with two hits, marking his first multi-hit game since May 15th after he entered the game mired in a 2-for-31 slump.
Happ’s 11th home run of the season off Pittsburgh reliever Yohan Ramirez (2-2) helped the Cubs break a 4-4 tie on the way to snapping the Pirates’ three-game winning streak.
After Seiya Suzuki Happ’s homer with a single, Michael Conforto belted his fourth homer of the season off Justin Lawrence to add two more runs. Michael Busch capped the frame with an RBI single.
The Cubs opened the game with two runs in the first on a 2-run single by Happ and another in the second on an RBI single by Nico Hoerner. Pirates starter Bubba Chandler allowed four runs on eight hits, walked two and struck out five over five innings.
The Pirates tied the game in the bottom of the third when Brandon Lowe smacked his 14th home run of the season off Cubs starter Jameson Taillon.
Chicago took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fourth on back-to-back doubles by Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong before the Pirates tied it again on rookie Konnor Griffin’s fourth home run in the bottom of the inning.
Taillon, who allowed four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four against the team that drafted him, combined with relievers Jacob Webb (1-1), Phil Maton, Caleb Thielbar and Ethan Roberts to keep the Pirates scoreless over the final five innings.
Hoerner finished with two hits and an RBI while Swanson, Carson Kelly and Alex Bregman each had two hits for the Cubs, who totaled 14 overall.
Bryan Reynolds had three hits, including a double, for Pittsburgh.
–Field Level Media
Blaze Alexander, Orioles finish sweep of Rays in dominant fashion
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