KENTUCKY BOUNCED IN OPENING ROUND OF SEC TOURNEY
At the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Kentucky rallied from 14 down at the half to take the lead, but a pair of Iverson Molinar free throws with 7 seconds remaining gave Mississippi State a 74-73 win, eliminating the Cats in the opening round. Kentucky was up by five with 4:30 to play but were outscored 8-2 down the stretch. Dontaie Allen led the 9-16 Wildcats with 23 points. The Bulldogs face Alabama today. In other SEC Tournament games Thursday:
Florida 69, Vanderbilt 63
Missouri 73, Georgia 70
Ole Miss 76, South Carolina 59
Four quarter final games are on tap today at Bridgestone Arena, including Tennessee vs Florida.
ACC TOURNAMENT
North Carolina 81, Virginia Tech 73
Georgia Tech 70, Miami 66
Virginia 72, Syracuse 69
Duke withdraws due to COVID-19 issues
CUSA
Western Kentucky 80, UTSA 67
BOYS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL SCORES
Marshall County 69, Christian Fellowship 58
St. Mary 60, Fulton County 30
GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL SCORES
Fulton County 51, St. Mary 32
Livingston Central 68 CCA 35
Lyon County 72, Paducah Tilghman 48
Crittenden County 58, Trigg County 50
FOURTH DISTRICT TOURNAMENT BEGINS SATURDAY
The Fourth District Basketball Tournament begins tomorrow with first round games at the CFSB Center. Murray High will face Calloway County in both games, with the girls game tipping at 1 and the boys game at 3. In their only meeting, the Lady Lakers downed the Lady Tigers 40-38 on January 22. That same night, the Tiger boys hammered Calloway 73-50, but the Lakers made it closer in the March 1 meeting, losing 52-47. WNBS Tiger coverage begins tomorrow at 12:30 with WBZB Laker coverage on the air at 12:45. The winners advance to Monday night’s championship games against Marshall County.
RACER FOOTBALL LOOKS FOR 3-0 START
2-0 Murray State will face 1-1 Tennessee Tech at 1:30 Sunday afternoon OVC football in Cookeville. The Golden Eagles were off last week, a week after falling 27-10 at Jacksonville State. Tech head coach Dewayne Alexander is looking for offensive improvement this week against the Racers. For his team to claim back to back road wins, Racer head coach Dean Hood knows his team must take care of the ball. Airtime for Sunday’s game is 1 pm on FROGGY. In other OVC games on Saturday:
Eastern Illinois at Tennessee State 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
#10 Jacksonville State at UT Martin 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Austin Peay at Southeast Missouri 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
MSU SOCCER, BASEBALL, SOFTBALL, & VOLLEYBALL IN ACTION THIS WEEKEND
Murray State soccer will look to stay unbeaten when the 3-0 Racers host 1-2 Belmont today a 1 pm at Cutchin Field…The Racers baseball team will travel to Charleston to face Eastern Illinois in a 3 game series beginning with a 1 pm game today and a Saturday twinbill…Racer softball hosts Eastern Kentucky with a 1 pm doubleheader on Saturday and a 1 pm game on Sunday. Racer volleyball is at Eastern Illinois at 6 pm Sunday and 4 pm Monday.
OVC DUO NAMED TO MACY ALL-AMERICAN TEAM
Morehead State center Johni Broome and Eastern Kentucky guard Wendell Green were two of the 30 individuals nationally named to the Kyle Macy Freshman All-American Team by CollegeInsider.com. Among the 30 finalists, one player will be selected as the Kyle Macy Award winner, as the top Division I freshman nationally; that honor will be announced on April 1.
PREDS FALL TO CAROLINA
The Carolina Hurricanes blew away the Predators 5-1 for their seventh straight victory. Nick Cousins scored the Nashville goal. Nashville is 11-15-1 and will play tomorrow at Tampa Bay.
GRIZZLIES AT HOME TONIGHT
The Memphis Grizzlies are home tonight to host the Denver Nuggets. Memphis beat the Wizards 127-111 Tuesday in its first game back after the All-Star break. Jonas Valanciunas had 29 points and 20 rebounds in the win. The Grizz are 17-and-16 and will go on the road Sunday to face the will host the Thunder.
CARDINALS ON THE RADIO TODAY
The Cardinals host the Astros today in Jupiter, Florida. Adam Wainwright gets the start for St. Louis. Kent Emanuel takes the bump for Houston. Airtime is 4:55 this afternoon on WNBS AM and FM.
BLUES EXTEND BINNINGTON
The Blues are locking up Jordan Binnington. The team has signed the goaltender to a six-year contract extension worth 36-million-dollars. Binnington was originally drafted by St. Louis in the third round of the 2011 NHL Draft. Since making his first career NHL start in 2019, the 27-year-old ranks second among goaltenders in wins, eighth in goals-against average and fourth in shutouts. The Blues host the Golden Knights tonight.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
The season is over for perennial powerhouse Duke. The Blue Devils withdrew from the ACC Tournament before Thursday’s quarterfinal against Florida State after a positive COVID-19 test within the program. It ends Duke’s streak of 24 straight trips to the NCAA Tournament.
The Texans are adding a veteran to the backfield. Multiple reports say Houston has agreed to a one-year, three-million dollar deal with running back Mark Ingram. The 31-year-old spent the last two seasons with the Ravens. Ingram played his first eight years with the Saints.
The Chiefs need to rebuild their offensive line after parting ways with starters Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz. They’ve been released, saving more than 18-million dollars in salary-cap space. Fisher was the top pick by the Chiefs in the 2013 draft and a two-time Pro Bowler.
The Bills are keeping linebacker Matt Milano in place for the foreseeable future. The two sides have agreed to a four-year contract extension that multiple reports say is worth 44-million dollars, with 24-million guaranteed. Milano missed six games last year due to injuries.
The Blues are on the verge of locking up goalie Jordan Binnington. The two sides are close to a six-year deal that ESPN reports is worth an average of six-million dollars per year. Binnington burst onto the scene as a rookie and helped St. Louis win its first Stanley Cup in 2019.
Sergio Garcia is the first-round leader at The PLAYERS Championship. He shot a seven-under 65 Thursday at TPC Sawgrass. Brian Harman is two shots back in second at five-under. Three others are tied at minus-four. First-round play was suspended by darkness.
THURSDAY’S SCOREBOARD
NBA
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Charlotte Hornets 105, Detroit Pistons 102
Brooklyn Nets 121, Boston Celtics 109
Atlanta Hawks 121, Toronto Raptors 120
Miami Heat 111, Orlando Magic 103
Philadelphia 76ers 127, Chicago Bulls 105
Milwaukee Bucks 134, New York Knicks 101
Minnesota Timberwolves 135, New Orleans Pelicans 105
Oklahoma City Thunder 116, Dallas Mavericks 108
LA Clippers 130, Golden State Warriors 104
Phoenix Suns 127, Portland Trail Blazers 121
Sacramento Kings 125, Houston Rockets 105
NHL
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Boston Bruins 4, New York Rangers 0
Pittsburgh Penguins 5, Buffalo Sabres 2
New York Islanders 5, New Jersey Devils 3
Washington Capitals 5, Philadelphia Flyers 3
Carolina Hurricanes 5, Nashville Predators 1
Florida Panthers 5, Columbus Blue Jackets 4 (OT)
Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Winnipeg Jets 3 (OT)
Detroit Red Wings 6, Tampa Bay Lightning 4
Chicago Blackhawks 4, Dallas Stars 2
Calgary Flames 2, Montreal Canadiens 1
MLB Grapefruit League
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Pittsburgh Pirates 7, Baltimore Orioles 5
Boston Red Sox 5, Minnesota Twins 4 (F/8)
New York Yankees 6, Philadelphia Phillies 1
Atlanta Braves 2, Tampa Bay Rays 0
Washington Nationals 1, Miami Marlins 1
Toronto Blue Jays 10, Detroit Tigers 6 (F/7)
New York Mets 1, Houston Astros 0
MLB Cactus League
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Oakland Athletics 6, Texas Rangers 0 (F/7)
Chicago Cubs 8, Colorado Rockies 6
San Diego Padres 5, Cleveland Indians 4
Kansas City Royals 4, Milwaukee Brewers 2
Los Angeles Angels 5, San Francisco Giants 4 (F/7)
Cincinnati Reds 7, Chicago White Sox 4
Seattle Mariners 4, Los Angeles Dodgers 4 (F/7)
Top-25 College Basketball (Coaches’ Poll)
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#2 Baylor Bears 74, Kansas State Wildcats 68 (Big 12 Quarterfinals)
#14 Oklahoma State Cowboys 72, #9 West Virginia Mountaineers 69 (Big 12 Quarterfinals)
#10 Ohio State Buckeyes 79, Minnesota Golden Gophers 75 (Big Ten Second Round)
Georgetown Hoyas 72, #11 Villanova Wildcats 71 (Big East Quarterfinals)
#12 Kansas Jayhawks 69, #24 Oklahoma Sooners 62 (Big 12 Quarterfinals)
#13 Florida State Seminoles vs. Duke Blue Devils (FSU advances uncontested) (ACC Quarterfinals)
#15 Virginia Cavaliers 72, Syracuse Orange 69 (ACC Quarterfinals)
#16 Texas Longhorns 67, #22 Texas Tech Red Raiders 66 (Big 12 Quarterfinals)
#17 Creighton Bluejays 87, Butler Bulldogs 56 (Big East Quarterfinals)
#19 San Diego State Aztecs 69, Wyoming Cowboys 66 (Mountain West Quarterfinals)
North Carolina Tar Heels 81, #22 Virginia Tech Hokies 73 (ACC Quarterfinals)
#23 USC Trojans 91, Utah Utes 85 (2-OT) (Pac-12 Quarterfinals)
#25 Oregon Ducks 91, Arizona State Sun Devils 73 (Pac-12 Quarterfinals)
PGA The PLAYERS Championship (at Ponte Vedra Beach, FL)
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1. Sergio Garcia (-7)
2. Brian Harman (-5)
T3. Three others tied (-4)
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
NBA
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8:00 p.m. – Philadelphia 76ers at Washington Wizards
8:00 p.m. – Denver Nuggets at Memphis Grizzlies
8:00 p.m. – Cleveland Cavaliers at New Orleans Pelicans
9:00 p.m. – Miami Heat at Chicago Bulls
9:00 p.m. – Orlando Magic at San Antonio Spurs
10:00 p.m. – Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers
10:30 p.m. – Indiana Pacers at Los Angeles Lakers
NHL
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8:00 p.m. – Vegas Golden Knights at St. Louis Blues
8:00 p.m. – Arizona Coyotes at Minnesota Wild
9:00 p.m. – Ottawa Senators at Edmonton Oilers
9:00 p.m. – Los Angeles Kings at Colorado Avalanche
10:00 p.m. – San Jose Sharks at Anaheim Ducks
MLB Grapefruit League
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1:05 p.m. – Atlanta Braves at Minnesota Twins
1:05 p.m. – New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers
1:05 p.m. – Philadelphia Phillies at Baltimore Orioles
1:05 p.m. – Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox
1:05 p.m. – Toronto Blue Jays at Pittsburgh Pirates
1:10 p.m. – Miami Marlins at New York Mets
6:05 p.m. – Houston Astros at St. Louis Cardinals
MLB Cactus League
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3:05 p.m. – Chicago White Sox at Texas Rangers
3:05 p.m. – Colorado Rockies at San Francisco Giants
3:05 p.m. – Los Angeles Dodgers at Cleveland Indians
3:05 p.m. – Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs
3:05 p.m. – San Diego Padres at Oakland Athletics
3:10 p.m. – Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Angels
8:40 p.m. – Cincinnati Reds at Seattle Mariners
Top-25 College Basketball (Coaches’ Poll)
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6:30 p.m. – #3 Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
11:30 a.m. – #4 Michigan Wolverines vs. Maryland Terrapins (Big Ten Quarterfinals)
9:00 p.m. – #5 Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Wisconsin Badgers (Big Ten Quarterfinals)
12:00 p.m. – #6 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs (SEC Quarterfinals)
7:00 p.m. – #7 Houston Cougars vs. Tulane Green Wave (ACC Quarterfinals)
7:00 p.m. – #8 Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Missouri Tigers (SEC Quarterfinals)
2:00 p.m. – #9 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. #20 Purdue Boilermakers (Big Ten Quarterfinals)
6:30 p.m. – #16 Virginia Cavaliers vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (ACC Semifinals)
8:30 p.m. – #25 Oregon Ducks vs. Oregon State Beavers (Pac-12 Semifinals)
PGA
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The PLAYERS Championship (at Ponte Vedra Beach, FL)
