South Carolina's Staley says school is working to bring 3 former players home from Israel

South Carolina coachDawn Staley said on social mediaSaturday that the school is working to try and help a few former players return home from Israel where they are playing professionally.

Missouri South Carolina Basketball

The trio of former Gamecocks — Tiffany Mitchell, Destiny Littleton and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan — as well as other former WNBA players are playing basketball in Israel, which along with the United States,launched a major attackon Iran on Saturday.

"Please pray for our @GamecockWBB @TiffMitch25 @2121Mikiah @dstnylttltn24 who are in a war zone in Israel," Staley said on X. "We are working a plan to get home. Let us pray for our loved ones to return home safely asap! Thank you in advance."

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Mitchell played last season in Seattle, while Harrigan was on the Phoenix Mercury. Other players in the Israeli league with WNBA ties include Victoria Vivians, Christyn Williams, Shyanne Sellers, Arella Guirantes and Evina Westbrook.

"It's 12:48 am and I'm going to attempt to get some sleep,"Littleton tweeted. "Prayers for safety for everyone impacted."

AP WNBA:https://apnews.com/hub/wnba

byCosmopolite

in

March 01, 2026

South Carolina's Staley says school is working to bring 3 former players home from Israel

South Carolina coachDawn Staley said on social mediaSaturday that the school is working to try and help a few former pla...

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A March Madness prelude: Men's basketball conference tournament schedule

Before theMadnessbegins, we need to crown conference champions andNCAA Tournamentautomatic bids are up for grabs.

Here's a list of themen's basketballconference tournament schedules:

Bracketology:NCAA Tournament last four in, first four out

March Madness predictions:13 teams who can win NCAA tournament

Men's college basketball conference tournament dates, schedule

Listed by start date.

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• Horizon: March 2-10 (Indianapolis)

• Sun Belt: March 3-9 (Pensacola, Fla.)

• Patriot: March 3-11 (on campus)

• OVC: March 4-7 (Evansville, Ind.)

• ASUN: March 4-8 (Jacksonville, Fla.)

• Big South: March 4-8 (Johnson City, Tenn.)

• Summit: March 4-8 (Sioux Falls, SD)

• NEC: March 4-10 (on campus)

• MVC: March 5-8 (St. Louis)

• MAAC: March 5-10 (Atlantic City, NJ)

• WCC: March 5-10 (Las Vegas)

• SoCon: March 6-9 (Asheville, NC)

• CAA: March 6-10 (Washington DC)

• Big Sky: March 7-11 (Boise)

• America East: March 7-14 (on campus)

• Mountain West: March 7-14 (Las Vegas)

• Southland: March 8-12 (Lake Charles, La.)

• SWAC: March 9-14 (Atlanta)

• ACC: March 10-14 (Charlotte)

• Big 12: March 10-14 (Kansas City)

• Conference USA: March 10-14 (Huntsville, Ala.)

• Big Ten: March 10-15 (Chicago)

• Big East: March 11-14 (New York City)

• Big West: March 11-14 (Henderson, NV)

• MAC: March 11-14 (Cleveland)

• MEAC: March 11-14 (Norfolk, Va.)

• WAC: March 11-14 (Las Vegas)

• American: March 11-15 (Birmingham)

• Atlantic 10: March 11-15 (Pittsburgh)

• SEC: March 11-15 (Nashville)

• Ivy: March 14-15 (Ithaca, NY)

When is Selection Sunday 2026?

The 68-team bracket for the 2026 NCAA men's basketball tournament will be unveiled on 6 p.m. ET, Sunday, March 15.

When does March Madness start?

The first men's game of the 2026 NCAA tournament will be on March 17 with the start of the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.

March Madness 2026 schedule

The 2026 NCAA men's basketball tournament will transpire over the next three weeks, which will end with the Final Four and the national championship game in Indianapolis.

Here's a rundown of the schedule for the 2026 NCAA Tournament:

• First Four: March 17-18

• First round: March 19-20

• Second round: March 21-22

• Sweet 16: March 26-27

• Elite Eight: March 28-29

• Final Four: April 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis

• National championship game: April 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:NCAA men's basketball conference tournament schedule, dates, locations

byCosmopolite

in

March 01, 2026

A March Madness prelude: Men's basketball conference tournament schedule

Before theMadnessbegins, we need to crown conference champions andNCAA Tournamentautomatic bids are up for grabs. ...

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Zimbabwe wins toss and opts to bat against South Africa in Super 8 matchup at T20 World Cup

DELHI, India (AP) — Sikandar Raza won the toss and Zimbabwe opted to bat against South Africa in their final Super 8 game at the 2026T20 World Cupon Sunday.

South Africa and Zimbabwe T20 WCup Cricket

South Africa has already qualified for the semifinals from Group 1, while Zimbabwe has been knocked out after two successive losses.

Co-host and defending champion India will battle against the West Indies later on Sunday in Kolkata for the second semifinal spot from this group.

England and New Zealand have qualified for the semifinals from Group 2. Pakistan and co-hosts Sri Lanka were knocked out.

Zimbabwe has made one change to its line-up with wrist spinner Graeme Cremer coming back into the side for medium pacer Richard Ngarava.

South Africa, the only unbeaten team in the tournament, has opted to test its bench strength ahead of the semifinal and made three changes.

Pacers Kewna Maphaka and Anrich Nortje, along with all-rounder George Linde, get a game. Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj along with pacers Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada have been rested.

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The pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi should aid batters and a high-scoring game could be in the offing.

Zimbabwe: Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza (captain), Ryan Burl, Tony Munyonga, Clive Madande, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Graeme Cremer, Blessing Muzarabani

South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi

AP cricket:https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

byCosmopolite

in

March 01, 2026

Zimbabwe wins toss and opts to bat against South Africa in Super 8 matchup at T20 World Cup

DELHI, India (AP) — Sikandar Raza won the toss and Zimbabwe opted to bat against South Africa in their final Super 8 gam...

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Australian Hannah Green wins HSBC Women’s World Championship by a stroke

SINGAPORE (AP) — Australian Hannah Green has won the HSBC Women's World Championship for a second time, holding off a fast-finishing American Auston Kim to claim a one-stroke victory on Sunday.

Singapore LPGA Golf

Green, the2019 Women's PGA Championship winner, closed with a 69, after an erratic back-nine with three birdies and three bogeys nearly opened the door for Kim.

Green tapped in for bogey at the last and a 14-under four-round total of 274 at the par-72 SentosaGolfClub and give her another title in Singapore after also winning here in 2024.

Kim had the equal-best round of the day with a 67 on the back off six birdies and an eagle, but bogeys at the second and especially at the par-3 15th ended her charge at 13-under 275, and one shot behind a faltering Green.

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Minjee Lee, who had been co-leader with Green coming into Sunday's final round, mixed three birdies with three bogeys for a frustrating even final round 72 and was tied for third with Angel Yin (71) and Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (68) of France at 11-under 277.

Top-ranked Jeeno Thitikul, who wonlast week's tournamentin her native Thailand, shot 73 Sunday and was 2-under 287 and tied for 31st. She was one shot behind defending championLydia Ko, who had a 72.

The 72-player, no-cut tournament was the second of three stops on the LPGA's early year Asian swing, with the final one next week at Hainan Island, China.

AP golf:https://apnews.com/hub/golf

byCosmopolite

in

March 01, 2026

Australian Hannah Green wins HSBC Women’s World Championship by a stroke

SINGAPORE (AP) — Australian Hannah Green has won the HSBC Women's World Championship for a second time, holding off ...

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Adebayo scores 24, Larsson adds 20 and Heat hold off Rockets, 115-105

MIAMI (AP) — Bam Adebayo had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Pelle Larsson scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and the Miami Heat beat the Houston Rockets 115-105 on Saturday.

Rockets Heat Basketball

Tyler Herro scored 18, Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 14 and Kel'el Ware had a 13-point, 15-rebound game for the Heat. Andrew Wiggins — who needed eight stitches to close a laceration inside his mouth — had 12 points for Miami.

Kevin Durant finished with 32 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Rockets, who got 20 points from Amen Thompson and 14 from Reed Sheppard.

Both teams had double-digit leads early; the Rockets ran out to a quick 14-4 edge, the Heat answered with a 37-14 run to take a 41-28 lead. And then things settled down, with the sides staying relatively close the rest of the way.

Neither team had a double-digit lead in the second half until Larsson hit a pair of free throws with 1:52 left for a 113-103 lead.

The Rockets played without Jabari Smith Jr., sidelined with a sprained right ankle. He isn't expected to play in Washington on Monday either.

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"We'll target when we return home," said Rockets coach Ime Udoka, who put Sheppard into the starting lineup in Smith's place.

Meanwhile, Miami was without Norman Powell — who'll miss at least one week with a right groin strain, sustained Thursday in a Heat loss at Philadelphia. Herro, who has been working his way back from injury as well, got the start in Powell's spot.

"I feel for Norm because he wants to be out there for all the games, especially these moments right now," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We'll treat him and we'll see where he is after the week."

Up next

Rockets: Visit Washington on Monday.

Heat: Host Brooklyn on Tuesday.

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

byCosmopolite

in

February 28, 2026

Adebayo scores 24, Larsson adds 20 and Heat hold off Rockets, 115-105

MIAMI (AP) — Bam Adebayo had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Pelle Larsson scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter a...

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Sharks beat the Oilers 5-4 to snap a 5-game winless streak

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Shakir Mukhamadullin broke a tie midway through the third period and the San Jose Sharks snapped a five-game winless streak by beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 on Saturday.

Oilers Sharks Hockey

Mukhamadullin beat Connor Ingram with a slap shot from the point with 10:39 to play to give the Sharks their first victory since Jan. 27 at Vancouver. San Jose had been 0-4-1 since then, starting when the Sharks blew a 3-0 lead in the third period to Edmonton before losing in overtime.

Olympic star Macklin Celebrini opened the scoring for San Jose as he got the best of his matchup against his linemate from Canada in the Olympics, Connor McDavid.

Michael Misa, Barclay Goodrow and Alexander Wennberg also scored for San Jose. Yaroslav Askarov made 20 saves.

Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Trent Frederic and Jake Walman scored for Edmonton, while McDavid chipped in with three assists to give him an NHL-leading 103 points on the season.

Ingram made 28 saves.

The Oilers tied it wice in the opening eight minutes of the third period with Frederic making it 3-3 off a good feed from Matt Savoie early in the period and Walman answering a goal from Alexander Wennberg to tie it at 4.

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But Mukhamadullin's goal gave San Jose the win.

The Sharks controlled the play for most of the first period and built a 3-1 lead with help from a major miscue Ingram midway through the period. He left his net to retrieve his lost stick after the puck cleared his zone. But San Jose got possession and Celebrini fired the puck into an open net for the first goal of the game.

The Oilers got back within one goal in the second period when they capped a long shift in the offensive zone with a one-timer by Bouchard off a feed from McDavid.

Up next

Oilers: Host Ottawa on Tuesday night.

Sharks: Host Winnipeg on Sunday.

AP NHL:https://apnews.com/hub/nhla

byCosmopolite

in

February 28, 2026

Sharks beat the Oilers 5-4 to snap a 5-game winless streak

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Shakir Mukhamadullin broke a tie midway through the third period and the San Jose Sharks snapped...

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Texas Tech thwarts Iowa State's chances at Big 12 title, NCAA No. 1 seed with 82-73 win

No. 4 Iowa State's chances at a Big 12 regular-season title and No. 1 seed in the NCAA men's basketball tournament suffered a setback withan 82-73 lossto No. 16 Texas Tech on Saturday.

The Red Raiders won their third straight game sincelosing star forward JT Toppinto a torn ACL in a loss to Arizona State on Feb. 17. Texas Tech shot 58% from the floor and 48% (14-for-29) on 3-pointers.

Donovan Atwell led the Red Raiders with 18 points, scoring all of his points from the 3-point line. Christian Anderson followed with 14 points and 7 assists, helping boost Texas Tech's record to 12-4 in the Big 12 (and 22-7 overall).

Texas Tech appeared to have the game in hand, holding a 79-62 lead with 1:35 remaining in regulation after two consecutive baskets by Anderson. However, Iowa State followed with a late surge, going on an 11-0 run. The Cyclones were helped by a bad pass from Anderson, leading to a turnover and Milan Momcilovic 3-pointer. That cut the deficit to 79-73 with 42 seconds left in the game.

On the Red Raiders' ensuing possession, Jaylen Wells' pass was picked off by Joshua Jefferson, giving Iowa State a chance to close to within three points. But Momcilovic missed a 3-point try, and Texas Tech finished off the win making three free throws off Iowa State fouls.

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Jefferson scored 22 points for the Cyclones, along with 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. Momcilovic added 20 points, hitting 5-of-9 3-pointers.

With the defeat, Iowa State's record dropped to 11-5 in the Big 12 and 24-5 overall. The Cyclones could conceivably still play a role in deciding the conference title, facing Arizona on Monday. However, playing spoiler is surely not what T.J. Otzelberger's squad had in mind.

Last Saturday, Iowa State was the No. 4 teamamong the top 16 releasedby the NCAA tournament selection committee. Since those rankings were released, the Cyclones have lost to BYU and Texas Tech. That may have opened an opportunity for Houston (24-5, 12-4 conference) to get a No. 1 NCAA tournament seed, though it came in at No. 6 in the committee's rankings.

Texas Tech may have lifted itself into a top-four finish in the conference, which would lead to a bye through the first two rounds of the Big 12 tournament and an automatic berth in the quarterfinals.

No. 2 Arizona clinched a share of the Big 12 regular-season championship on Saturday withan 84-61 winover No. 14 Kansas. The Wildcats face Iowa State and Colorado (6-10 conference) to close out their schedule and will likely be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, which begins March 10.

byCosmopolite

in

February 28, 2026

Texas Tech thwarts Iowa State's chances at Big 12 title, NCAA No. 1 seed with 82-73 win

No. 4 Iowa State's chances at a Big 12 regular-season title and No. 1 seed in the NCAA men's basketball tour...

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