College Sports

MINNEAPOLIS — Dick Bennett has a difficult time watching his son, Tony, coach Virginia. He rarely attends games.

MINNEAPOLIS — Now that, Virginia, is the way to close out a season. And quiet those critics, too.

TAMPA, Fla. — Baylor lost a star player, then the rest of its 17-point lead. But the Lady Bears, led by the ever-poised Chloe Jackson, kept their composure.

PRESCOTT — After spending nearly the first two months of the 2019 season on the road because of field-improvement work at Roughrider Park, Yavapai College’s baseball team is at last reaping the benefits of playing at home.

Tournament Most Valuable Player Aari McDonald scored 19 points and added seven rebounds, six steals and two assists to lead the way.

MINNEAPOLIS — For those who thought Texas Tech only plays defense, it's time to meet Matt Mooney.

TAMPA, Fla. — It's been a somewhat difficult road back to the title game for Muffet McGraw and Notre Dame.

MINNEAPOLIS — Hard to call Virginia basketball boring after the last two games. And the Cavaliers have pretty much put the choker label to rest, too.

MINNEAPOLIS — Following an epic Elite Eight and a week of buildup, the Final Four is finally here.

PRESCOTT — It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish. As cliché as that sounds, it’s appropriate for Embry-Riddle’s softball team in 2019.

MINNEAPOLIS — It has been nearly two decades since Mateen Cleaves and the rest of the Flintstones carried Michigan State to the national championship, triumphing over Florida at the long-since demolished RCA Dome in downtown Indianapolis.

PRESCOTT — Phoenix College freshman ace pitcher Brianna Hardy could feel the pain swelling in her back during Game 2 of her Bears softball team’s ACCAC doubleheader at Yavapai College on Thursday, April 4.

The NCAA Tournament needed a little time to warm up. There were a few upsets, some close games and breakout performances, but not the usual wow factor we expect in the early rounds.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tom Izzo certainly knows his way around the Final Four, even if the longtime Michigan State coach had never toured U.S. Bank Stadium until the Spartans arrived for practice Thursday.

TAMPA, Fla. — Kim Mulkey rejects the notion that being the No. 1 overall seed makes Baylor the team to beat in the women's Final Four.

TAMPA, Fla. — There's a different vibe around Geno Auriemma and his UConn Huskies at this year's Final Four. Unlike the previous two years, they don't have the burden of a record winning streak or an unbeaten season.

ROUGHRIDER GAMEDAY GLANCE #3 Phoenix College at #7 Yavapai College Thursday, April 4, 2019 Noon, 2 p.m. Bill Vallely Field, Prescott

PRESCOTT — It’s more than a matchup pitting two of the best teams in ACCAC softball. If anything, it’s a battle between a pair of the sport’s finest squads in the NJCAA.

MINNEAPOLIS — The losses last weekend by Duke, Gonzaga, Kentucky and Purdue pulled the curtains on their seasons, one painful game short of the Final Four. Those teams that made it to Minneapolis? The guys from Michigan State, Texas Tech, Auburn and Virginia will be greeted, literally, by giant drapes inside the building where the 2019 champion will be determined.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Longtime coach Lute Olson and the late Rick Majerus headline the 2019 class of six former players and three influential coaches selected Tuesday for the College Basketball Hall of Fame.

Michigan State's dramatic NCAA Tournament victory over Duke drew a 10.5 television rating, the highest for a late Sunday regional final in 14 years.

Dick Bennett's fingerprints will be all over this year's NCAA Tournament. The former longtime coach has ties to three of the four coaches in Minneapolis this week, one by blood.

LSU's strange baseball season took a turn for the better last weekend. The Tigers won two of three games on the road against Mississippi State, which was a consensus top-five team in the major national polls.

WASHINGTON — Cassius Winston put Michigan State on his shoulders and carried the Spartans into the Final Four. The do-everything point guard took over the game when his team faced its biggest deficit and led second-seeded Michigan State to a 68-67 victory over overall No. 1 seed Duke on Sunday in the East Region final.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Auburn's romp through college basketball royalty has brought down the winningest program of all.