NCAA titans score big | Young NWSL stars shine | Wisconsin hockey tops OSU

Bangers only.

Top NCAA seeds roll on

Double-check your brackets, because this weekend’s NCAA tournament delivered plenty of twists and turns despite the lack of top-seeded upsets… so far.

• No. 1 seeds UCLA and South Carolina advanced past the first two rounds to punch their tickets to the Sweet 16, followed by No. 2 seeds TCU and Duke, and No. 3 seed Notre Dame.

Middle seeds step up: No. 5 seeds ruled Sunday’s second round, as Tennessee, Kansas State, and Ole Miss all registered slight upsets on the road to extend their postseason runs.

• Kansas State’s 80-79 OT thriller over No. 4 Kentucky proved the game of the weekend, coming down to the final shot as the Wildcats advanced to their first Sweet 16 in 23 years behind senior Temira Poindexter’s lights-out performance.

Big picture: Top stars dominated the tournament’s first two days, with South Carolina, Notre Dame, Tennessee, No. 1 seed Texas, No. 2 seed UConn, and No. 3 seed LSU all putting up 100+ first-round points to set a new single-round March Madness record.

• The first round’s average margin of victory reached 26.5 — the highest for any multiple-game round in NCAA tournament history.

• No team seeded higher than No. 10 survived the first round for the first time since 1994, with 10-seeds Oregon and South Dakota State the only double-digit teams to see second-round action.

Bottom line: While the early rounds erred on the chalky side, this year’s tournament will inevitably heat up in the coming weeks — with madness all but guaranteed.

Upsets threaten second-round NCAA action

March Madness closes out second-round action today, as top-seeded title contenders collide with a few of the tournament’s breakout stars.

• No. 10 seed South Dakota State is the lowest seed left after upsetting Oklahoma State 74-68 on Saturday, setting up a steep matchup against surging No. 2 seed UConn tonight.

• After edging out No. 8 seed Cal on Saturday, the tournament’s second-lowest remaining seed — No. 9 Mississippi State — then goes up against top-seeded USC, with the winner set to meet Kentucky-upsetter No. 5 seed Kansas State in the Sweet 16.

Big picture: While all eyes have been on superstars like USC’s JuJu Watkins and UConn’s Paige Bueckers, today’s slate give fans a chance to check out some of the NCAA’s most exciting surprises — possibly for the last time this year.

• No. 6 seed Florida State will look for a little magic against No. 3 LSU, relying on DI scoring leader Ta’Niya Latson, with the junior coming off Saturday’s 28-point performance against GMU.

• No 6 seed Iowa will try to upend No. 3 Oklahoma, as star transfer Lucy Olsen continues to lead the still-gelling Hawkeyes after registering a round-one double-double against Murray State.

• The Sooners won’t go down easy however, as their own star transfer Raegan Beers will be eager to impress with her new squad.

Bottom line: The NCAA tournament’s first two rounds always fly by, with today’s lineup invariably putting a stamp on some heartwarming storylines — at least for now.

Tune in: The NCAA tournament’s second round tips off today at 12 PM ET, with live coverage across ESPN networks.

Seattle & Houston flip the NWSL script

The NWSL’s quest for renewed parity got a boost over the weekend, as the regular season’s second matchday saw a few bottom-table teams capture key wins.

• Orlando and Kansas City maintained their perfect regular-season records with respective wins over Gotham FC and Washington, 2024 playoff debutante Bay FC earned three points, and last year’s stragglers San Diego, Seattle, and Houston also put important points on the board — and scored some spectacular goals in the process.

Big picture: For Seattle and Houston — last season’s two lowest-ranked finishers — the victories were especially sweet.

• The Reign notched a 2-1 road victory over North Carolina on Saturday, behind absolute screamers from Seattle mainstay Jess Fishlock and 18-year-old Jordyn Bugg.

• “Not only are we different, we’re really young,” said Seattle head coach Laura Harvey after the match. “To come here with that youth and energy really helped us, matched with the experience of some of the older ones.”

• Sunday saw Houston earn a scrappy 2-1 win in Chicago, with rookie Maggie Graham’s game-winner serving as her second goal in as many games.

Bottom line: While abandoning the college draft cast an uncertain shadow over this season’s rookie class, youth firepower pushing last year’s bottom-dwellers up the ladder is a good indication that the league is managing to soldier on.

Soccer stars launch global 7-on-7 series

Seven-a-side football is going global, with the newly announced World Sevens Football set to kick off in May 2025.

• Promising a $5 million prize pool, the competition will launch its first-ever event in Portugal ahead of the UEFA Women’s Champions League final.

• Eight pro women’s clubs from around the world are expected to field small-side teams, with streamer DAZN on board as W7F’s global broadcasting, production, and marketing partner.

Big-name backing: Co-founded by Jennifer Mackesy — minority owner of the NWSL’s Gotham FC and WSL’s Chelsea FC — some of the game’s biggest names are backing W7F, including USWNT stars Tobin Heath, Aly Wagner, and Kelley O’Hara.

• “I’m so excited to play a role in building World Sevens Football,” O’Hara said in a press release. “This groundbreaking format brings a new level of energy to the game while creating incredible opportunities for female footballers to showcase their talent on a global stage — and compete for a very lucrative prize pool.”

Wisconsin wins NCAA hockey thriller

Wisconsin women’s hockey won their eighth national championship on Sunday in dramatic fashion, coming from behind to defeat reigning champs Ohio State 4-3 in overtime.

• The game was a rematch of the 2023 and 2024 national championship games, with the Badgers getting their revenge after falling 1-0 to the Buckeyes last year.

How it happened: Junior Kirsten Simms played hero for the Badgers, scoring a penalty late in the third period to send the game to overtime, before sinking the sudden death game-winner minutes later.

• “You have to persevere and that’s what our team did today,” Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson said after the game. “Sometimes you get tired and things aren’t working out but you still have to keep battling, and that’s what they’ve done all year.”

Quote of the day

South Carolina senior Te-Hina PaoPao
to Indiana guard Sydney Parrish — her friend and former teammate at Oregon — after the Gamecocks sent the Hoosiers packing on Sunday.