By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP) — The New England Patriots' gentle giant has decided to hang up his cleats. Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski said Sunday that he is retiring from the NFL after nine seasons. Gronkowski announced his decision via a post on Instagram , saying ...

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Zion Williamson took on 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall at the end and won, and top-seeded Duke survived when two last-ditch shots by UCF rolled off the rim. Aubrey Dawkins finished with 32 points, but his tip-in try just missed Sunday, and Duke ...

By JOE KAY AP Sports Writer COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Admiral Schofield ran around the court in sheer joy, waving a March Madness towel after Tennessee made it back to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016. The rest of the Volunteers? Just trying to breathe normally again. Tennessee ...

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Brandon Adams, a rising senior who was expected to be a key member of Georgia Tech's defensive line under new coach Geoff Collins, died at the age of 21, the school announced Sunday. Adams had been going through offseason workouts and was ...

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer Fletcher Magee shot Wofford out of the NCAA Tournament. Murray State's Ja Morant scored 28 points but his team couldn't slow down Florida State. Their exits leave the Sweet 16 searching for a Cinderella. The lowest-seeded team to reach a regional semifinal ...

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer The point guard for Mike Krzyzewski's first Final Four team now is trying to lead Central Florida to its first Sweet 16 berth. Standing in Johnny Dawkins' way is his former coach and boss. Dawkins, a former Naismith player of the year and assistant coach at ...

By The Associated Press undefined DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Michigan State is back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015 after rolling past Minnesota 70-50 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night. The Spartans (30-6) made nine of their first 10 shots on their way ...

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — UC Irvine got back-to-back 3-pointers from Evan Leonard to spark the deciding run in a 70-64 upset over Kansas State that marked the Anteaters’ first NCAA Tournament victory in school history. The Friday victory was the 17th consecutive for UC Irvine, which lost ...

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Charles Matthews had 22 points and 10 rebounds in his best performance since coming back from injury, and No. 2 seed Michigan put away Montana early in a 74-55 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night. Ignas ...

By PAT EATON-ROBB AP Sports Writer HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Villanova got off to a slow start in defense of its NCAA championship against a determined, defensive-minded Saint Mary's team that came in confident after a season-defining win. But the Wildcats, a No. 6 seed in this NCAA Tournament ...

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP National Writer JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Kentucky could afford to be down a man against NCAA Tournament newcomer Abilene Christian. Going forward, the Wildcats are surely going to need that guy who was zipping around the arena on a scooter, most of his lower left leg ...

By JOHN MARSHALL AP Basketball Writer SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Baylor heard all week about Syracuse's vaunted zone, how long the Orange are, how difficult it is to find openings. The Bears solved it by going over the top — after getting it inside. Creating open shots through the high post ...

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Sports Writer HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — If this is what a slump looks like for Carsen Edwards, Purdue coach Matt Painter can live with it. Edwards scored 26 points and third-seeded Purdue coasted to a 61-48 victory against Old Dominion on Thursday night in the ...

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Ja Morant recorded the ninth triple-double in the NCAA Tournament since 1987 as Murray State trounced fifth-seeded Marquette 83-64 in the first round of the West Region on Thursday. Murray State continued a trend of a No. 12 seed winning at least one game in all but ...

By Stephen Wade and Tim Booth AP Sports Writers TOKYO (AP) — At times, it seemed as if he’d go on hitting forever. But on Thursday night, a player who defined baseball at its very best on two continents for a generation, took his final swing. The great Ichiro has said ...

By LUKE MEREDITH AP Sports Writer DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Minnesota won its first NCAA Tournament game in six years behind 24 points from freshman Gale Kalscheur as the 10th-seeded Gophers rolled past Louisville 86-76 in the opening round of the East Region on Thursday. It was the first ...

Third-seeded LSU has advanced in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament, holding off upset-minded Yale 79-74. The Tigers led 45-29 at halftime and pushed the edge to as many as 18 points before the Bulldogs rallied down the stretch with a barrage of 3-pointers. But LSU made enough free ...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Kentucky coach John Calipari says in a tweet that leading scorer and rebounder PJ Washington has a sprained foot and will miss the second-seeded Wildcats' NCAA Tournament opener against No. 15 seed Abilene Christian. Calipari also said Thursday on his verified ...

By The Associated Press undefined Millions of brackets are filled with millions of guesses and it's time to find out how they fare. The crush of March Madness hits Thursday with 16 games in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Reigning champion Villanova is playing and so is Michigan, the ...

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo has been fined 20,000 euros ($22,750) by UEFA for making a provocative gesture after Juventus beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. UEFA says its disciplinary panel found the Juventus star guilty of improper conduct. Ronaldo was fined the ...