Weekly Update March 10, 2025

Basketball – NBA: This week’s games. Kyrie out. LeBron hits 50K.

Basketball – NCAAM: Not a ton of upsets. Regular season champs. Conference Championship week.

Basketball – NCAAW: Who are the double champs?

Golf: Henley wins for the first time almost 900 days. LIV Hong Kong. TGL regular season ending.

Olympic Sports: Skiing. Skeleton. CC Skiing.

Quick Headlines: NFL contracts. NCAA Baseball.

Basketball-NBA:

• This week’s games:
  • The Grizzlies dropped a close game to the Hawks who won at the buzzer. SGA hit 51 points in the Thunder’s win over the Rockets. That was OKC’s 50^th win of the season.

• • The Pacers handled the Rockets in their matchup on Tuesday. They would win by 13. The Raptors upset the Magic by 1. The Warriors upset the downward trending Knicks easily in the 2H, outscoring NY by 20. The Lakers have really turned things around since Luka’s arrival winning their 7^th game straight. Luka and LeBron combined for 64 points to put away the Pelicans. That night also marked LeBron hitting 50,000 points in regular season and post season. He is the first ever to hit this milestone.

• • On Wed, the Wizards for their 12^th win beating the Jazz in a close one. James Harden had himself a day, putting up 50 points for LA in their win over the Pistons.
  • The Hawks got another nice win this week with an upset of the Pacers by 6 on Thurs. They would beat them again on Sat proving neither was a fluke. Good week for ATL. The Lakers/Knicks game that same day was awesome! NY was leading at half by 9 but a slow 2H especially 4Q (only 15 points) let LA back in the back. That momentum would carry into OT and the Lakers would notch their 8^{th straight win.} 

• • Friday only had 1 upset and it was the Knicks 10 point loss to the Clippers. Again the Knicks had a slow 4Q to let another game slip away. Seems to be a problem for them lately. The Nuggets needed OT to put away the Suns. Noteworthy from that game was Jokic getting his 29^th triple-double of the season (149^th of his career) and it was a career high 22 assists. His triple-double was 31-21-22!

• • The Wizards got their 2^nd win of the week on Sat over the Raptors who tried to comeback but fell 1 point short. The Celtics put away the Lakers with Tatum and Brown combining for 70 points. The Magic upset the Bucks despite Giannis throwing down 37 points. The Hornets got their 15^th win of the season and 10^th win at home by beating the Nets.

• • The Thunder showed out in the 4Q, outscoring the Nuggets by 19 in that Q alone. SGA put up 40 points for the impressive win by 24. The Suns took down the Mavs in Dallas 125-116. The Clippers/Kings game was a great one and no surprise there as they have similar records this season. Every Q was won by the alternating team going back and forth and we would go into OT. Kawhi Leonard hit a buzzer beating floater to win for LA by 1.

• Mavs star Kyrie Irving tore his ACL and is out for the season. It happened Tuesday night in Dallas’ loss to the Kings. Irving would make his 2 free throws after the injury but then would be done. The Mavs have had some bad luck since Luka left with newly acquired star AD also getting injured and not returned yet.

Basketball – NCAAM:

• NCAAM: It is the final week of the regular season.
  • No upsets on Monday. But Tues #1 Auburn took their 3^rd loss of the season to a #22 Texas A&M team that had been on a losing streak (4 losses). The Aggies won in both halves but Auburn pretty much has a #1 seed locked up so not sure it really matters. That was Texas A&M’s first win over a #1 team ever. #10 Iowa St had to come back on #23 BYU in the 2H scoring 44 points. That was enough to get them into OT but they would still lose. That was the 7^th straight win for the Cougars. Texas and #25 Mississippi St also went to OT and the unranked Longhorns got the W.

• • #5 Florida and #7 Alabama was a great game on Wed. they were playing for the #2 in the SEC. The Gators led by 1 after 1H. Then the 2H, both teams went off scoring 50+ but FL got 58 compared to Bama’s 54. #13 Maryland started hot against #17 Michigan and although the Wolverines tried to come back but would fall 6 points. Ole Miss then stunned #4 Tennessee winning by 2. Oklahoma is trying to keep their tournament hopes alive and they did just that by beating #15 Mizzou outscoring the Tigers 50-37 in the 1H. #20 Marquette then lost to UConn that same night.

• • No upset on Thurs. Friday unranked Illinois beat #18 Purdue for their 2^nd straight ranked win.

• • Saturday was a big day! #1 Auburn took their 2^nd loss of the week. This time to #7 Alabama in OT. Mark Sears hit the game winning floater in OT. #6 St. John’s also had to play into OT but they would get the win #20 Marquette. Penn St put up 51 in the 2H to beat #12 Wisconsin by 11. Kansas also had a nice win over #24 Arizona with one of their stars Hunter Dickinson tying his career high 33 points. Arkansas narrowly upset #25 Mississippi St. That would be the 2^nd loss for the Bulldogs this week. #15 Mizzou also took their 2^nd loss of the week when they played #19 Kentucky.

• • It was an in-state rivalry between #17 Michigan and #8 Michigan St on Sunday to wrap up the week. It wasn’t much of a game after it started. The Spartans outscored the Wolverines 50-28 and that was pretty much it. The gap wouldn’t get below 13 points in the 2H.
    • https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/44179818 mich
• It is conference championship week! Here are the full brackets:
  • ACC
  • Big Ten
  • Big 12
  • Big East
  • SEC

• Regular season Champs
  • ACC: No surprise but Duke took the title but by only 1 game over Louisville and Clemson.
  • Big Ten: Michigan St won by 3 games after beating Michigan on Sun.
  • Big 12: Houston handily won the Big 12 with a cushion of 4 games.
  • SEC: Auburn only won the conference regular season title by 1 after dropping their last 2 games. Still impressive as the conference has 7 teams ranked in the Top 25 and 4 in the Top 10

Basketball – NCAAW:

• Championship tournament week:
  • ACC: Duke upset Notre Dame to make it to the final of the ACC tournament against NC St. #11 Duke came back in the 2H to outscore NC St by 21 points.
  • Big 12: hated rivals TCU and Baylor made the final for the Big 12. TCU is looking to add this to their regular season title. TCU took control from the start and secured the double title by 5 points.
  • Big Ten: no surprise in the Big Ten with UCLA and USC going for a 3^rd game rematch. UCLA is 0-2 against the Trojans. But the Bruins got their revenge winning by 5 and now have the title so it was probably worth it.
  • SEC: South Carolina vs Texas which was #1 vs #2. Texas did not start well. They only scored 6 points in the 2Q and that kicked open the door for South Carolina who barged through it. They won 64-45.
  • The Mountain West, Horizon League, WCC, AAC are all this week.

Golf:

• PGA: Russell Henley chipped in on the 16^th hole for an eagle to gain a 1 shot over Collin Morikawa. Colin never trailed in the final round and had built a 3 shot lead with 5 holes to play. But Henley’s total for the final round was a -2 70 was enough to put him at the top of the leaderboard (he shot 4 strokes better than Colin on the back 9 – that’s a big swing when the winning score is -11 for the tournament). It had been 854 days since his last PGA Tour title, the WWT in Nov 2022. His titles have spanned from 2013 at the Sony Open to the Arnold Palmer this weekend. the 35 year old turned pro back in 2011.
• LIV: Sergio Garcia won the Liv golf Hong Kong tournament by 3 strokes and his team, the Fireballs GC would win by 1.

• TGL: ATL crushed Jupiter on Tuesday 9-1 and NY beat BOS 10-6 on Monday. LA and Bay Club put on a better show but LA would win 5-3 that same night. Now the playoffs are set for next week. LA vs NY and Bay vs ATL in the Semifinals.

Olympic Sports:

• Skiing: It was Katharina day on the slopes with AUT Katharina Truppe upsetting the field with a win and her teammate and name mane Katharina Liensberger getting 2^nd over Mikaela Shiffrin. Shiffrin’s 2^nd run was not great but that podium was her 156^th which is a WC record. She broke Ignemar’s record. Shiffrin skied out of her slalom race letting Brignone win and stepping closer to the overall title. The SUI men keep battling between Von Allmen and Odermatt. Von Allmen got the better this time.

• Skeleton: USA Austin Florian and Mystique Ro won the mixed skeleton world championship for the first time over Team GBR and CHN. It was only the 4^th time a USA team won gold in history. The Americans also got another gold on Sunday. Kaysha Love beat the 2x World Champion in the monobob by 0.44 seconds (GER’s Lara Nolte). Elana Meyers Taylor got 3^rd for the US. Love was a sprinter at UNLV before moving over to the bobsled in the last Winter Olympics as a push athlete.
• Cross Country Skiing: NOR Johannes Klaebo secured the gold in the 50 km mass start at Nordic World Ski Championships. That completed winning every gold at worlds since it went to 6 events in 2001.

Some quick highlights:

• Baseball: George Mason broke a NCAA record when they got 23 runs in 1 inning.
• NFL: All the contracts. Eagles and RB Saquon Barkley have reached a deal to become the highest paid RB at $20MM/season. This is unprecedented for a RB. The Cleveland Browns offered Myles Garrett a record deal for an average of $40MM per year. This deal makes him the highest paid non-QB in history. Bills QB Josh Allen also made history this week with the largest guaranteed deal ever in league history with $250MM guaranteed. $330MM through the 2030 season in Buffalo. He was previously signed through 2028. Only Dak Prescott for the Cowboys has a higher annual value in his contract.

What to watch this week

Baseball/Softball – NCAA:

• Mon 3/10
  • Baseball: 7. Florida vs 6. Florida St @ 5pm on ACCX
  • Baseball: 15. Wake Forest vs 24. Coastal Carolina @ 5pm on ESPN+
  • Baseball: 25. Oklahoma St vs 21. DBU @ 6:05pm on ESPN+
  • Softball: 17. Auburn vs 22. Mississippi ST @ 7pm on SEC
• Tues 3/11
  • Softball: 16. Duke vs 8. Tennessee @ 5pm on SEC+
• Wed 3/12
  • Softball: 17. Auburn vs Georgia Tech @ 5pm on ACC
• Fri 3/14
  • Softball: 14. UGA vs 10. South Carolina @ 5pm on SEC+
  • Softball: 4. Texas A&M vs 17. Auburn @ 5pm on SEC+
  • Baseball: 7. Florida vs 2 Tennessee @ 5:30pm on SEC+
  • Softball: 22. Mississippi St vs 21. Alabama @ 6pm on SEC+
  • Softball: 1. Oklahoma vs 10. Arkansas @ 6pm on SEC+
  • Baseball: 18. Vanderbilt vs 22. Auburn @ 6pm on SEC+
  • Baseball: 23. Alabama vs 14. Texas A&M @ 6pm on SEC+
  • Baseball: 3. Arkansas vs 17. Ole Miss @ 6:30pm on SEC+
• Sat 3/15
  • Softball: 2. Texas vs 3. Florida @ 1pm on SEC
  • Baseball: 3. Arkansas vs 17. Ole Miss @ 1:30pm on SEC+
  • Softball: 14. UGA vs 10. South Carolina @ 2pm on SEC+
  • Softball: 22. Mississippi St vs 21. Alabama @ 2pm on SEC+
  • Baseball: 23. Alabama vs 14. Texas A&M @ 2pm on SEC+
  • Softball: 4. Texas A&M vs 17. Auburn @ 3pm on SEC
  • Softball: 1. Oklahoma vs 10. Arkansas @ 4pm on SEC+
  • Baseball: 7. Florida vs 2 Tennessee @ 5pm on SEC
  • Baseball: 18. Vanderbilt vs 22. Auburn @ 6pm on SEC+
• Sun 3/16
  • Softball: 1. Oklahoma vs 10. Arkansas @ 11am on SEC
  • Softball: 14. UGA vs 10. South Carolina @ 12pm on SEC+
  • Softball: 2. Texas vs 3. Florida @ 12pm on SEC+
  • Baseball: 7. Florida vs 2 Tennessee @ 12pm on SEC+
  • Baseball: 12. Texas vs Mississippi St @ 1pm on SEC
  • Baseball: 3. Arkansas vs 17. Ole Miss @ 1:30pm on SEC+
  • Softball: 22. Mississippi St vs 21. Alabama @ 1:30pm on SEC+
  • Softball: 4. Texas A&M vs 17. Auburn @ 2pm on SEC+
  • Baseball: 18. Vanderbilt vs 22. Auburn @ 2pm on SEC+
  • Baseball: 4. UNC vs Louisville @ 2pm on ACC
  • Baseball: 23. Alabama vs 14. Texas A&M @ 2pm on SEC
  • Softball: Boston College vs 23. UVA @ 5pm on ACC

Basketball – NBA:

• Tues 3/11
  • Bucks at Pacers @ 6:30pm on TNT
• Wed 3/12
  • Thunder at Celtics @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • Timberwolves at Nuggets @ 9pm on ESPN
• Thurs 3/13
  • Lakers at Bucks @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Kings at Warriors @ 9pm on TNT
• Sat 3/15
  • Knicks at Warriors @ 7:30pm on ABC
• Sun 3/16
  • Magic at Cavaliers @ 12pm on ABC
  • Suns at Lakers @ 2:30pm on ABC
  • Thunder at Bucks @ 8pm on ESPN

NCAAM: (only ranked teams and on normal TV)

• Mon 3/10
  • WCC Final: Pepperdine at 21. Saint Mary’s @ 8pm on ESPN
• Wed 3/12
  • Big 12: TBD vs 10. Iowa St @ 11:30am on ESPN/ESPN2
  • SEC: LSU vs 25. Mississippi ST @ 6pm on SEC
• Thurs 3/13
  • Big East: TBD at 6. St. John’s @ 11am on Peacock
  • ACC Quarterfinal: TBD vs 2. Duke @ 11am on ESPN/ESPN2
  • Big 12 Quarterfinal: TBD vs 23. BYU @ 11:30am on ESPN/ESPN2
  • Big Ten: TBD vs 12. Wisconsin @ 1:30pm on BTN
  • Big East: 20 Marquette vs Xavier @ 1:30pm on Peacock
  • Big 12 Quarterfinal: TBD vs 3. Houston @ 2pm on ESPN/ESPN2
  • SEC: TBD vs 22. Texas A&M @ 2:30pm on SEC
  • SEC: TBD vs 15. Mizzou @ 6pm on SEC
  • ACC Quarterfinal: TBD vs 14. Louisville @ 6pm on ESPN/ESPN2
  • Big 12 Quarterfinal: TBD vs 9. Texas Tech @ 6pm on ESPN/ESPN2
  • Big Ten: TBD vs 18. Purdue @ 8pm on BTN
  • SEC: TBD vs 19. Kentucky @ 8:30pm on SEC
  • ACC Quarterfinal: TBD vs 11. Clemson @ 8:30pm on ESPN/ESPN2
  • Big 12 Quarterfinal: TBD vs 24. Arizona @ 8:30pm on ESPN/ESPN2
• Fri 3/14
  • Big Ten: TBD vs 8. Michigan ST @ 11am on BTN
  • SEC: TBD vs 1. Auburn @ 12pm on ESPN
  • TBD at 19. Memphis @ 12pm on ESPN2
  • SEC: TBD vs 4 Tennessee @ 2:30pm on ESPN
  • Big Ten: TBD vs 13. Maryland @ 5:30pm on BTN
  • Big East Semifinal @ 5:30pm on FOX
  • Big 12 Semifinal @ 6pm on ESPN/ESPN2
  • SEC: TBD vs 5. Florida @ 6pm on SEC
  • ACC Semifinal @ 6pm on ESPN/ESPN2
  • Big Ten: TBD vs 17. Michigan @ 8pm on BTN
  • Big East Semifinal @ 8pm on FOX
  • Big 12 Semifinal @ 8:30pm on ESPN/ESPN2
  • SEC: TBD vs 7. Alabama @ 8:30pm on SEC
  • ACC Semifinal @ 8:30pm on ESPN/ESPN2
• Sat 3/15
  • SEC Semifinals @ 12pm on ESPN
  • Big Ten Semifinals @ 12pm on CBS
  • SEC Semifinals @ 2:30pm on ESPN
  • Big Ten Semifinals @ 2:30pm on CBS
  • Big 12 Final @ 5pm on ESPN
  • Mountain West Final @ 5pm on CBS
  • Big East Final @ 5:30pm on FOX
  • ACC Final @ 7:30pm on ESPN
• Sun 3/16
  • SEC Final @ 12pm on ESPN
  • A10 Final @ 12pm on CBS
  • AAC Final @ 2pm on ESPN
  • Big Ten Finals @ 2:30pm on CBS
  • NCAAM Selection Sunday Show @ 5pm on CBS

NCAAW:

• Mon 3/10
  • Big East Final: 23 Creighton vs 3. UConn @ 6pm on FS1
• Tues 3/11
  • Horizon League tournament @ 11am on ESPN2
  • Mountain West @ 3pm on ESPN2
• Wed 3/12
  • Big Sky @ 4pm on ESPNU
  • AAC @ 6pm on ESPNU
• Sun 3/16
  • Various smaller conference championships @ 1am – 4pm on CBSSN, ESPNU or ESPNEWS

Golf:

• Wed 3/12
  • LIV: Singapore – Round 1 @ 11pm on FS1
• Thurs 3/13
  • PGA: The PLAYERS – Round 1 @ 12pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 3/14
  • PGA: The PLAYERS – Round 2 @ 12pm on Golf Channel
  • LIV: Singapore – Round 2 @ 10pm on FS1
• Sat 3/15
  • PGA: The PLAYERS – Round 3 @ 1pm on NBC
  • LIV: Singapore – Final Round @ 9:30pm on FS1
• Sun 3/16
  • PGA: The PLAYERS – Final Round @ 12pm on NBC

Hockey:

• Mon 3/10
  • Oilers at Sabres @ 6pm on hulu
• Tues 3/11
  • Lightning at Hurricanes @ 6:30pm on hulu
• Wed 3/12
  • Sabres at Red Wings @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Ducks at Utah @ 9pm on TNT
• Thurs 3/13
  • Oilers at Devils @ 6:30pm on hulu
• Sat 3/15
  • Devils at Penguins @ 2pm on ABC
• Sun 3/16
  • Golden Knights at Red Wings @ 12pm on TNT
  • Stars at Avalanche @ 2:30pm on TNT

Motor Sports:

• Thurs 3/13
  • F1: AUS GP Practice 1 @ 8:25pm on ESPNEWS
  • F1: AUS GP Practice 2 @ 11:55pm on ESPN2
• Fri 3/14
  • F1: AUS GP Qualifying @ 11:55pm on ESPNU
• Sat 3/15
  • F1: AUS GP @ 10:55pm on ESPN
    • Replay @ 2pm on Sunday on ESPNEWS
• Sun 3/16
  • MotoGP: ARG GP – Sprint Race @ 9:30am on FS1

Olympic Sports:

• Sun 3/16
  • T&F: NCAA Indoor Championships @ 6pm on ESPNU

Soccer:

• Mon 3/10
  • Premier League: West Ham vs Newcastle @ 3pm on USA
• Tues 3/11
  • CONCACAF Champions Cup: Tigres vs FC CInci @ 9:30pm on FS1
• Wed 3/12
  • CONCACAF Champions Cup: Monterrey vs Vancouver Whitecaps @ 7:30pm on FS1
  • CONCACAF Champions Cup: LA Galaxy vs CS Herediano @ 9:30pm on FS1
• Sat 3/15
  • Premier League: Everton vs West Ham @ 10am on USA
  • Premier League: Bournemouth vs Brentford @ 12:30pm on USA
  • MLS: Sporting KC vs Minnesota United @ 7pm on FS1
• Sun 3/16
  • Premier League: Fulham vs Tottenham @ 8:30am on USA