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NCAA BASKETBALL-MEN'S TOURNAMENT
Florida secures top overall seed
UNDATED (AP) — There was a double celebration in Gainesville, Florida, and Charlottesville, Virginia, on Sunday.
Both top-ranked Florida and No. 6 Virginia won their conference tournament and also received No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tourney. Wichita State and Arizona were given the other top seeds in a tournament that gets underway in earnest on Thursday following a four-game first round Tuesday and Wednesday in Dayton.
Florida has been named the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. The Gators are the top seed in the South Region and will start play this Thursday in Orlando. This marks the second time the Gators have been the top overall seed.
The second seed in the South is Kansas and the third seed is Syracuse, despite a mediocre finish to the regular season.
Florida opens its tournament schedule against either Albany or Mount St. Mary's in Orlando on Thursday. Kansas has a second-round meeting with Eastern Kentucky Friday in St. Louis, and Syracuse is in Buffalo to open against Western Michigan.
The top seed in the West Region is Arizona, and the 30-4 Wildcats open play Friday in San Diego against Weber (WEE'-bur) State. Wisconsin is the second-seed in the West and will start its tournament experience in Milwaukee on Thursday, while third-seed Creighton plays on Friday in San Antonio.
The unbeaten Wichita State Shockers take their 34-0 record to NCAA play as the top-seed in the Midwest Region. This is the Shockers first-ever No. 1 seeding.
Michigan is the second-seed in the Midwest with Duke No. 3. A surprise in the Midwest is that defending national champion Louisville is the fourth-seed despite a convincing performance in winning the American Athletic Conference crown.
Wichita opens against Cal Poly in St. Louis on Friday, Michigan starts play versus Wofford Thursday in Milwaukee and Duke takes on Mercer in a second-round game at Raleigh.
The top-seed in the East is ACC-champion Virginia. The 28-6 Cavaliers start play Friday in Raleigh. Villanova will be the second-seed and open against Milwaukee Thursday in Buffalo. Third-seed Iowa State begins its tournament play versus North Carolina Central in San Antonio.
The NCAA tournament seedings and pairings were announced after the last five conference tournament finals were completed on Sunday.
Florida held off Kentucky 61-60 to win the SEC championship and extend its winning streak to 26. Patric Young and Michael Frazier II each had 14 points for the Gators, who blew most of a 16-point lead in the second half before improving to 32-2.
Virginia beat Duke 72-63, to claim its first ACC tournament title since 1976. Malcolm Brogdon had the big day for the Cavs with 23 points. Tournament MVP Joe Harris added 15 points, including a backbreaking 3-pointer with just under 2 minutes remaining.
The Big Ten tournament crown goes to 22nd-ranked Michigan State as Adreian Payne scored 18 points in the Spartans' 69-55 trouncing of No. 8 Michigan. Gary Harris and Branden Dawson each added 15 to help the Spartans win the tourney for the second time in three years.
Saint Joseph's secured the Atlantic 10's automatic NCAA bid with a 65-61 win over 23rd-ranked Virginia Commonwealth. Langston Galloway hit for 19 points in the win and had a key 3-pointer in the closing minutes of play to help secure the Hawks' first A10 tournament title since 1997.
Louisiana-Lafayette got a career-high 27 points from Xavian Rimmer and rallied from a 9-point deficit in the last three minutes of regulation to beat Georgia State 82-81 in overtime for the Sun Belt Conference title. The Ragin' Cajuns earned an automatic bid to their first NCAA tournament since 2005.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Spurs pad lead, stretch streak...Heat halt skid
UNDATED (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs have doubled their lead in the NBA's Western Conference by running their winning streak into double digits.
Manu Ginobili (MAN'-oo jih-NOH'-blee) scored 21 points and the Spurs shot a season-high 62.8 percent in a 122-104 rout of Utah. Tony Parker had 18 points and Tim Duncan scored 16 in the Spurs' 10th consecutive win, one off their season high.
Oklahoma City is two games behind San Antonio following the Thunder's lopsided, 109-86 home loss against Dallas. Shawn Marion scored 19 points, Vince Carter added 18 and Dirk Nowitzki delivered 17 to help the Mavericks beat the Thunder for the first time in eight tries.
Kevin Durant scored 30 points for Oklahoma City, which played without Russell Westbrook. The point guard as given the night off as he tries to get his surgically-repaired knee ready for the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Miami Heat have moved closer to the Eastern Conference lead by winning for just the second time in seven games.
Ray Allen scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Heat knocked off Houston 113-104 to end a two-game skid. LeBron James and Dwyane (dwayn) Wade each scored 24 points for the Heat, who pulled within 2 1/2 games of the East-leading Indiana Pacers.
Also in the NBA:
— Make it an 11-game winning streak for the Los Angeles Clippers after Blake Griffin had 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists on his 25th birthday to lead a 102-80 win over Cleveland. Chris Paul had 15 assists and scored 11 of his 16 points in the final 6:04 for the Clippers, who haven't lost since Feb. 21.
— Klay Thompson capped his 27-point night by nailing a go-ahead, 3-point with 11.1 seconds left in Golden State's 103-102 victory over Portland. Stephen Curry scored 28 of his 37 points in the second half for the Warriors, who trailed by 18 in the third quarter before ending a two-game slide.
— Phoenix beat Toronto 121-112 as Markieff (mahr-KEEF') Morris had 16 points and 14 rebounds. Gerald Green scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter of the Suns' second straight win.
— Kemba Walker scored 21 points and Al Jefferson added 16 of his 20 in the second half to help the Bobcats earn their fourth straight win, 101-92 against Milwaukee. Gary Neal added 18 in his return to Milwaukee after the Bucks traded him to Charlotte last month.
— Kevin Love had 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in Minnesota's 104-102 triumph over Sacramento. Love hit 3 of 6 3-pointers, including a tiebreaking tally with 1:07 left.
— Anthony Davis set career highs with 40 points and 21 rebounds in New Orleans' 121-120 overtime win against Boston. Tyreke (ty-REEK') Evans added 26 points, and Eric Gordon's 19-point performance included two free throws with 9.4 seconds left in OT.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Flyers stop the Pens, again
UNDATED (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins were unable to pick up ground on the NHL's Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins.
The Flyers have completed a home-and-home sweep of the Penguins with a 4-3 win in Pittsburgh. Wayne Simmonds assisted on Brayden Schenn's goal 2:06 into the game before scoring two power-play goals in a 6:54 span to give the Flyers a three-goal lead just 14 minutes in.
The Flyers are 5-1-1 in their last seven games, putting them one point ahead of the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets for second place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Penguins remain three points behind the East-leading Bruins after falling to 4-4-2 in their last 10 games.
Also on ice:
— Antti Niemi (AN'-tee nee-EH'-mee) picked up his fourth shutout of the season by turning back 41 shots in San Jose's sixth consecutive win, 1-0 over the Rangers. Logan Couture (koo-TOOR') provided a short-handed goal in the first period to help the Sharks pull within two points of West-leading St. Louis.
— Chicago knocked off Detroit 4-1 to get within seven points of the Blues. Marian Hossa (HOH'-sah) provided a goal and two assists, and Cory Crawford made 19 saves to help the Blackhawks stop a two-game skid.
— Matt Duchene (doo-SHAYN') set up goals by Andre Benoit (BEHN'-wah) and Nick Holden as Colorado dumped Ottawa 3-1 to climb within six points of the Western Conference lead. Semyon Varlamov (SEHM'-yahn vahr-LAH'-mahv) stopped 38 shots and came within six seconds of a shutout.
— Rookie Dustin Tokarski stopped 29 shots to earn his first NHL shutout in Montreal's 2-0 win over Buffalo. Brendan Gallagher and Dale Weise scored for the Canadiens, who vaulted ahead of Toronto and Tampa Bay into second place in the Atlantic Division.
— Troy Brouwer (BROW'-ur) tallied twice and Washington rode a three-goal first period to a 4-2 triumph over Toronto. Joel Ward had a goal and an assist for the Capitals, who scored on three of their first five shots against James Reimer for a 3-0 lead.
— Dustin Byfuglien (BUHF'-lihn) had two goals and an assist as Winnipeg clobbered Dallas 7-2. Olli Jokinen (OH'-lee YOH'-kih-nehn) and Tomas Enstrom each had a goal and two assists, while Blake Wheeler set up four goals to help the Jets end a six-game losing streak.
— Nicklas Jensen scored in the first period and added the only shootout goal to lead Vancouver's offense in a 4-3 win over Florida and former Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo (loh-AHN'-goh). Alex Burrows had a goal and two assists to support Eddie Lack's 26 saves.
— Edmonton beat Carolina 2-1 on Justin Schultz's goal with 10:59 remaining. Ben Scrivens made 29 saves for the win.
NHL-PENGUINS
Green light for Letang
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kris Letang has been cleared to practice with the Penguins and will join the team for practice Monday, less than seven weeks after sustaining a stroke. Letang hasn't played since a Jan. 29 stroke and subsequent discovery of a small hole in his heart. He has been taken off blood thinner medication.
NASCAR-FOOD CITY 500
Edwards wins a wet one
BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — Carl Edwards was the winner in a Sprint Cup race marred by two lengthy weather delays and a track light malfunction.
Edwards finished just ahead of Roush Fenway teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at Bristol Motor Speedway. Edwards led for 78 of the 500 laps in his 22nd Sprint Cup victory and third at Bristol.
Rain caused two delays lasting more than five hours. And as Edwards was wrapping up his victory, the yellow caution lights came on with two laps remaining. No one was sure what the caution was for, and Edwards' crew chief even wondered if water damage might have inadvertently caused the lights to turn on. Once the sky suddenly opened, NASCAR had no choice but to declare the race over.
GOLF-VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Senden overtakes Garrigus, wins at Palm Harbor
PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — John Senden won the PGA's Valspar Championship with a final round 1-under-70 to finish minus-7. He nosed out Kevin Na by one stroke.
Third round leader Robert Garrigus (GAR'-ih-guhs) skied to a 4-over-75 in the final round to finish three shots off the pace.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Couples pulls out Toshiba win
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Fred Couples birdied the last two holes to win the Toshiba Classic by one stroke over Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer (LAHN'-gur) and Steve Pate.
The 54-year-old Couples shot a 5-under 66 to finish at 15-under 198 at Newport Beach Country Club. It was the 10th Champions Tour victory for Couples.
MLB-TIGERS
Corbin's season in jeopardy...Tigers shortstop heads to DL
UNDATED (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks have scratched Patrick Corbin from their season opener next Saturday in Australia because of an elbow injury.
The left-hander left Saturday's game against Cleveland in the seventh inning with forearm stiffness. There was no immediate word on the seriousness of the injury, but he could be out for the season.
Corbin was 14-8 and made the All-Star team as a rookie last season.
Also in the majors:
— Detroit Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias (ee-GLAY'-see-uhs) will start the season on the disabled list and is scheduled to visit a specialist in Colorado on Tuesday. He has been experiencing pain in both of his shins when he runs, particularly when he slows down.
— Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt is recovering from an advanced form of skin cancer that kept him from being a guest instructor with the Philadelphia Phillies in spring training. Schmidt was diagnosed in August with stage 3 melanoma and has undergone two operations, radiation and chemotherapy.
NFL-BRONCOS
AFC champs land receiver
UNDATED (AP) — Peyton Manning has another potential receiving target. Former Pittsburgh wideout Emmanuel Sanders has agreed to a three-year contract with the Broncos. Sanders had 161 catches for 2,030 yards and 11 touchdowns in four seasons with the Steelers.
Also in the NFL:
— The New York Jets have re-signed veteran linebacker Calvin Pace to a two-year deal.
— The New York Giants bolstered their secondary by signing free agent safety Quintin Demps and cornerback Walter Thurmond.
— Wide receiver Julian Edelman says he's glad to be returning to the New England Patriots after a surprising breakout season.
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