FRIDAY SPORTS, MARCH 27, 2026
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell Kernels softball starts its season on Tuesday at Watertown at 5 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels track and field starts its season on Tuesday at a meet host at Dakota Wesleyan starting at 11 am.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— Dakota Wesleyan baseball will be at Doane on Friday at 1 pm for a doubleheader.
— Dakota Wesleyan softball will be at the College of St. Mary on Friday for a doubleheader at 3 pm.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State baseball, 7-18 on the season, will be at Northern Colorado this weekend for a three-game series starting on Friday at 3 pm CST. Northern Colorado enters the weekend with a 5-21 overall record and a 3-2 mark in The Summit League.
— South Dakota State softball, 17-20 on the season and 2-1 in the Summit League, will host North Dakota for a three-game series starting Saturday at 1 pm, followed by a Sunday doubleheader also starting at 1 pm. UND is 22-11 on the season and have not played a conference game yet.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD women’s basketball used a big first quarter to defeat Pepperdine 73-57 on Thursday night to advance to the quarterfinals of the WNIT. The Coyotes jumped out to a 32-9 lead after the first quarter, shooting 59% in the first half. Angelina Robles and Patience Williams led USD with 20 points each. The Coyotes will host Montana State in the WNIT quarterfinals on Sunday at 1 pm in Vermillion.
— USD softball will be at St. Thomas for a three-game series this weekend starting Friday at 2 pm. The Coyotes are 9-23 on the season, losing two out of three last weekend at South Dakota State. St. Thomas is 21-9 on the season and 3-0 in the Summit League.
NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT SWEET 16 – FRIDAY
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 St. John’s – 6:10 pm on CBS
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama – 6:35 pm on TBS
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Michigan State – 8:45 pm on CBS
No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 6 Tennessee – 9:10 pm on TBS
NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT ELITE 8 – SATURDAY
No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 9 Iowa – 5 pm on TBS
No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 2 Purdue – 8 pm on TBS
NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT SWEET 16 – FRIDAY
No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 6 Notre Dame – 1:30 pm on ESPN
No. 1 UConn vs. No. 4 North Carolina – 4 pm on ESPN
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 4 Minnesota – 6:30 pm on ESPN
No. 2 LSU vs. No. 3 Duke – 9 pm on ESPN
MLB
Baltimore Orioles vs. Minnesota Twins – 3 pm on Saturday, FS1
San Francisco Giants vs. New York Yankees – 6:15 pm on Saturday, FOX
Baltimore Orioles vs. Minnesota Twins – 12:35 pm on Sunday
Seattle Mariners vs. Cleveland Guardians – 6:20 pm on Sunday, Peacock
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
— Ninth-seeded Iowa is headed to the Elite 8 with a 77-71 win over Big Ten rival Nebraska. Bennett Stirtz led the way with 20 points, while Alvaro Folgueiras added 16, including a key three-point play late when Nebraska had just four defenders on the court. After trailing by 10 early, Iowa took its first lead in the final minutes on a Stirtz three, then pulled away during a 9-0 run. Folgueiras sealed it with a dunk and free throw in the closing seconds. Nebraska was led by Pryce Sandfort with 25 points, but struggled in the second half, shooting just 28 percent. First-year head coach Ben McCollum has now guided Iowa to its first Elite Eight appearance since 1987.
— Third-seeded Illinois is headed to the Elite Eight with a 65-55 win over Houston. David Mirkovic led the way with 14 points and 10 rebounds as Illinois held Houston to just 34% shooting and its lowest scoring game of the season.
— Second-seeded Purdue is headed to the Elite Eight after a dramatic 79-77 win over Texas. Trey Kaufman-Renn delivered the game-winner, tipping in a missed shot with just 0.7 seconds left. He finished with 20 points, hitting his first seven shots. Braden Smith added 16 points, including a late drive that set up the winning tip-in. Texas nearly forced overtime, as Dailyn Swain completed a three-point play with 11 seconds left to tie the game. Tramon Mark led the Longhorns with 29 points.
— Top-seeded Arizona is headed to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2015 after a 109-88 win over Arkansas. Arizona shot nearly 64% from the field. Freshmen Brayden Burries and Koa Peat led the way with 21 points each. Arkansas was led by Darius Acuff Jr., who scored 28 points. Arizona, now riding a 12-game winning streak, is one win away from its first Final Four in 25 years.
— Boston College has hired UConn men’s basketball assistant Luke Murray as head coach of a slumping program that has gone 17 years without an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Murray, the son of actor Bill Murray, will be a first-time head coach. In five years with UConn, Murray has been a part of two national championship teams. The Huskies play Michigan State on Friday in the Sweet 16.
— A federal judge on Thursday denied the NCAA’s motion for a temporary restraining order to stop DraftKings from using registered trademarks associated with its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The complaint for trademark infringement requested that DraftKings stop using “March Madness,” “Final Four,” “Elite Eight” and “Sweet Sixteen” and variations of those terms to promote its business. DraftKings has been using “March Madness” and other familiar terms to refer to the NCAA Tournament for more than five years and has the legal right to do so.
MLB
— Shohei Ohtani led Major League Baseball’s jersey sales going into opening day for the third straight season and was joined by two Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in the top five. Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was second, followed by Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh and Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts. Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. was the last player other than Ohtani to top the list, leading at the 2023 All-Star break. Ohtani took over the lead by the end of the season and has finished first in three consecutive years.
— Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm is suing his parents, accusing them of misusing millions of dollars from financial accounts they managed on his behalf. The lawsuit claims Bohm’s parents transferred money from his personal accounts into LLCs they controlled, then used some of those funds for their own expenses. Bohm says he was later denied access to the accounts and key financial information. His parents deny the allegations, saying they acted in his best interests and will fight the claims in court. Bohm is seeking at least $3 million in damages, full control of the accounts, and a detailed accounting of how his money was handled.
— Hall of Fame slugger Frank Thomas has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago White Sox, Nike, and Fanatics, alleging unauthorized use of his name and likeness on merchandise. The suit claims the defendants profited from selling City Connect jerseys featuring Thomas’ identity without his permission. Thomas, a two-time MVP who hit 521 home runs during his career with the White Sox, is seeking more than $50,000 and a jury trial. His attorney says the case is based on violations of the Illinois Right to Publicity Act, which protects individuals from companies profiting off their identity without consent.
MLB
— Trevor Rogers pitched seven shutout innings and Colton Cowser and Blaze Alexander had seventh-inning RBIs to give the Baltimore Orioles a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins. Twins righty Joe Ryan got a no decision, allowing just one hit and two walks over 5 1/3 innings. The Twins scored in the eighth when Byron Buxton tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Luke Keaschall. The two teams are off today before resuming their three-game series on Saturday at 3 pm.
— Brett Baty laced a bases-loaded triple as the New York Mets chased Paul Skenes in the first inning of his worst major league start, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-7. Carson Benge homered in his first career game, going back-to-back with Francisco Alvarez as the Mets improved to 42-23 on opening day, the best opening day record in MLB history. Brandon Lowe homered twice and fellow Pirates newcomer Ryan O’Hearn also went deep.
— Jacob Misiorowski struck out 11 while allowing one run over five innings as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago White Sox 14-2. Misiorowski and four relievers combined to strike out 20 while allowing four hits and five walks. Chicago’s 20 strikeouts matched the highest total ever for a nine-inning game.
— 21-year-old Detroit rookie Kevin McGonigle got four hits and drove in two runs in his major league debut leading the Tigers to an 8-2 victory over the San Diego Padres. McGonigle hit a two-run double with the bases loaded on the first big league pitch he saw in the first inning. He had a second double and an infield single while scoring two runs in his next two at-bats and added a single in the ninth. McGonigle finished 4 for 5. Two-time AL Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal pitched six innings of three-hit ball with six strikeouts, allowing only an unearned run.
— Andy Pages hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the fifth inning, as the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied past the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-2.
— Garrett Crochet allowed only three hits in six innings as the Boston Red Sox got their first opening day shutout since 2015, defeating the Cincinnati Reds 3-0. Roman Anthony had three hits for the Red Sox, who had their 11th opening day shutout.
— Cleveland rookie Chase DeLauter hit his first two career home runs as the Guardians beat the Seattle Mariners 6-4. DeLauter hit a home run in the first regular-season at-bat of his major league career in the top of the first. He became the fifth player in Cleveland’s 126-year franchise history to hit a home run in his first career regular-season at-bat.
— Cristopher Sánchez struck out 10, allowing three hits over six shutout innings, while Kyle Schwarber and Alec Bohm each homered to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers.
— Mike Trout homered and walked three times, while Jose Soriano threw six shutout innings as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Houston Astros 3-0.
— Brady House, Joey Wiemer and Jacob Young homered for Washington as the Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 10-4 for manager Blake Butera’s first win with the team.
— Alec Burleson hit a two-run homer to cap off an eight-run sixth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals rallied for a 9-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Rookie JJ Wetherholt also homered for St. Louis. Jonathan Aranda homered for Tampa Bay, which took a 7-1 lead with six runs in the top of the sixth.
NBA
— Kon Knueppel scored 26 points and made six 3-pointers to become the youngest player in NBA history with 250 made three’s in a season as the Charlotte Hornets snapped the New York Knicks’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-103 victory. Knueppel nearly had his first career triple-double, finishing with 10 rebounds and eight assists. Jalen Brunson had 26 points and 13 assists for the Knicks, who would have clinched a playoff berth with a victory. Charlotte pulled into a tie with Miami for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
— Paolo Banchero had 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the Orlando Magic ended a six-game losing streak with a 111-107 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
— Jalen Duren had 30 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Detroit Pistons past the New Orleans Pelicans 129-108.