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Monday, 23 March 2026
No. 2 Iowa State turns up defence, shuts down No. 7 Kentucky to reach Sweet 16
ST. LOUIS — Tamin Lipsey knew he had to step up for Iowa State with All-America forward Joshua Jefferson sitting on the bench, his sprained left ankle still encased in a boot, as the Cyclones played Kentucky on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.
Lipsey, who grew up in the shadows of the Iowa State campus in Ames, answered with the finest game of his four-year career.
The senior guard poured in a career-high 26 points, tied a career high with 10 assists, and led a suffocating defence that shut down the Wildcats in the second half, allowing the second-seeded Cyclones to pull away for an 82-63 victory in the NCAA Tournament.
“All the guys knew we had to step up in different ways,” Lipsey said, “however that presented to us.”
Lipsey didn’t do it alone, of course — he needed someone scoring to pile up all those assists. Milan Momcilovic scored 20 points and Nate Heise, getting the start in Jefferson’s place, added 12 to help the Cyclones (29-7) advance to a Midwest Region semifinal against either third-seeded Virginia or No. 6 seed Tennessee on Friday night in Chicago.
It will be the eighth Sweet 16 trip for the Cyclones and the third under T.J. Otzelberger, though the question now is whether they will be whole for it. Jefferson, their second-leading scorer and top rebounder, is scheduled to have an MRI exam on Monday.
“We’ll see how that goes and take it from there,” Otzelberger said.
Kentucky (22-14) jumped to a 20-9 lead in the opening minutes Sunday before Iowa State fought back to take a 31-30 halftime lead.
The Wildcats were still within 46-40 with 13 minutes to play when the Cyclones forced three of the Wildcats’ 20 turnovers in quick succession. They converted all three into baskets at the other end, part of a decisive 13-1 run, which not only allowed Iowa State to seize control but also seemed to finally deflate Kentucky.
The Wildcats had been buzzing after a buzzer-beater from Otega Oweh forced overtime in a first-round victory over Santa Clara.
“We had a tough time finding baskets and more importantly we had a real tough time getting a stop,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said. “They shot 50 per cent in the second half from three, and they played really well. You’re not going to win games when you give up 51 in the second half, and there’s a lot of reasons that happened.”
Oweh followed up his 35-point performance against the Broncos with 18 against the Cyclones, playing most of the second half in foul trouble. Denzel Aberdeen led the Wildcats with 20 points, though the pair of guards didn’t get a whole lot more help.
“We didn’t play fully hard for the full 40 minutes,” Aberdeen said, “and we had to do a better job.”
For two teams that can score in bunches, there was little elegance for much of their first matchup since the 2012 NCAA tourney, when the Wildcats beat Iowa State in the second round on their way to winning the national championship.
The Cyclones missed their first 11 tries from beyond the three-point arc. Kentucky had 12 turnovers in the first half.
“We got a little disoriented,” Pope said, “and that’s what Iowa State does. They increased their pressure and we turned it over 12 times in the first half, and kind of contributed to our own demise.”
Iowa State eventually began driving to the basket and picking up fouls, and generated offense from the free-throw line until its shots started to fall. That began just before the break, and Heise’s buzzer-beating three gave the Cyclones a 31-30 advantage.
They went on to outscore Kentucky 51-33 after halftime to coast into the semifinals of the Midwest Region.
“We knew we had to be at our best. I’m proud of our guys,” Otzelberger said. “Felt like the game didn’t start the way we’d like but on defence, our pressure as the game wore on paid dividends for us. We generated turnovers and scored off our defense.”
Up next
Iowa State and Virginia have split four previous meetings, though the Cavaliers won the most recent matchup and the only one in the NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers cruised 84-71 in the Sweet 16 on March 25, 2016, before losing to Syracuse in the Elite Eight.
The Cyclones beat Tennessee during the 1969 season but they’ve lost the last two to the Volunteers, the first during a tournament in December 1977 and the most recent on January 27, 2018, during the Big 12-SEC Challenge.
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Late rally sinks CF Montreal in loss to FC Cincinnati
CINCINNATI — Tom Barlow scored short-handed for the equalizer in the 80th minute and Kévin Denkey followed with the winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time, rallying FC Cincinnati to a 4-3 victory over CF Montreal on Sunday.
Barlow tied it 3-3 when he scored three minutes after subbing in to the match. It was his first MLS goal with his new team. Denkey scored for the second time this season — also unassisted — after notching 15 goals in 29 appearances last season — his first in the league.
Cincinnati (2-3-0) was forced to play a man down after Miles Robinson’s red card in the 60th minute.
Newcomer Wiki Carmona used assists from Prince Owusu and Bode Hidalgo in the 6th minute to score for the third time in three matches and give Montreal a 1-0 lead.
Ender Echenique tied it in the 40th minute for Cincinnati with his first goal this season. The 21-year-old scored once in eight appearances last season. Defender Alvas Powell and Matt Miazga had assists. Powell picked up his first assist of the campaign and became the fifth player to make 150 appearances for the club.
Montreal took a 2-1 lead into halftime when Owusu scored in the 45th minute. Carmona and Iván Jaime had assists. It was the third goal this season for Owusu and his 25th in 79 career appearances.
Cincinnati knotted the score again in the 52nd minute on Ayoub Jabbari’s first career goal in his 10th appearance. Echenique had his first assist and second overall, while Pavel Bucha notched his first — and 13th in 70 appearances.
Evan Louro totalled four saves in his first start this season for Cincinnati and his sixth career start since 2024.
Thomas Gillier, 21, finished with four saves for Montreal (1-4-0) in his 13th career start.
Cincinnati improves to 8-4-2 all-time versus Montreal and its eight victories in the series is its most against any club.
Up next
Montreal: Visits the New England Revolution on April 4.
Cincinnati: Visits the New York Red Bulls on April 4.
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Sunday, 22 March 2026
Saturday, 21 March 2026
Blue Jays’ Max Scherzer looks and feels good in key start before season
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Starting a Grapefruit League game offers competitive elements that more convenient minor-league outings cannot, so Max Scherzer made the 2½-hour trek from Dunedin to Fort Myers for an important tune-up versus the Minnesota Twins.
The 41-year-old right-hander made the most of a long Friday during his third game of the spring with five shutout innings, allowing two hits and two walks with three strikeouts in a 2-1 Blue Jays win. More importantly, he pushed up to 72 pitches, sat at 93.4 m.p.h. with a fastball that topped out at 95.8, executed his slider and changeup and “did everything I need to do to get ready for the season.”
“There’s just an extra-level gear when you’re in a big-league spring training game versus minor leagues,” said Scherzer, who will look to throw roughly six innings and 90 pitches in a minor-league game next before his first outing of the regular season. “The minor leaguers, they’re going to be up there swinging at every first pitch and it’s just a different game. It’s one thing to do it one time, it’s another thing to do it twice before the regular season. I just know I needed to face big-leaguers.”
Returning to the Lee Health Sports Complex 363 days after also making his final spring start here last season offered an interesting contrast in then-versus-now for Scherzer.
A year ago, that outing versus the Twins – he threw 62 pitches, 47 strikes, topping out at 94.7 m.p.h. with a fastball that sat 93.3 during four shutout innings – was a crucial test for his troublesome right thumb.
That was enough for Scherzer to break with the Blue Jays at the end of camp, but he lasted only three innings in his first start of the season before hitting the injured list and didn’t return until the end of June, when a new regimen alleviated his thumb issues.
This spring, the thumb isn’t an issue – “He hasn’t talked about it in a long time,” said manager John Schneider – and it’s been all systems go since he signed a $3-million, one-year deal with up to $10 million in performance bonuses in late February, taking the mound with a piece of mind he hasn’t had since the spring of 2023.
“Oh yeah,” Scherzer said. “Your right arm’s everything, especially your right hand. So to not be dealing with anything on my arm is obviously music to my ears. Now we can worry about all the other little knickknacks that are happening across my body and getting that ready to go and even worry about other things, not my thumb or shoulder.”
Those other things centred around the finer points of pitching Friday, when he kept the Twins under control. He got six groundball outs along with three flyouts and suppressed hard contact while holding his fastball velocity through all five innings, which he insisted isn’t as important as how he used the heater.
“It’s execution,” he said. “Everybody looks at velo but it’s more than that. It’s hitting your spot, hit the glove. That’s what I take pride in, is when the catcher puts the glove in a spot, I need to hit that glove. And so I was doing a pretty good job of that today.”
Scherzer is lined up to make his first regular-season start March 31 against the Colorado Rockies, with Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Eric Lauer and Cody Ponce seemingly set up in front of him. That lines up him, Gausman and Cease to start when the Los Angeles Dodgers visit April 6-8 in a clash of the World Series finalists.
What happens once Trey Yesavage, Jose Berrios and Shane Bieber are ready is an issue for down the line and a fair question is what’s a reasonable expectation for how much Scherzer can contribute. As long as he’s in form and unbothered by the thumb issues that nearly blew up his 2025 season, the Blue Jays can count on him pushing the envelope.
“Talking to him, reasonable is like 250 innings and 32 starts,” Schneider said with a grin. “I don’t know if that’s going to be the case. We’re going to mindful and when we get some guys back in the rotation, too, there’s going to some manoeuvring, if you will. I’m not saying it’s going be with Max, but if we can have the playoff version of Max as consistent as we can, that’s a really good outcome for us and for him.
“If he’s pitching well, he’s earned the right to go continue to do that until he shows otherwise.”
Bullpen battle
Two spring-training games remain and the Blue Jays are legitimately unsettled about what to do with their final available bullpen spot, which is why Schneider said “every inning is important for a handful of guys right now” with a final decision not coming down until “probably Sunday.”
Chase Lee, who allowed a hit in 1.2 innings Friday, is in consideration along with Connor Seabold, Lazaro Estrada, Adam Macko, Yariel Rodriguez and the two Rule 5 picks, Spencer Miles and Angel Bastardo.
Each is capable of protecting the bullpen in case of a short outing by a starter, a priority for the Blue Jays, which is why they sought to extend Lee in this one.
“What I really liked was the strike-throwing,” said Schneider. “I liked the four-seamer at the top of the zone for the broken bat after it was sinker, sinker, sweeper. That’s something he’s been working on. It’s a pretty deliberate approach against him. So I think knowing when to do that was what we were looking for today and he’s not going to beat himself, he’s going to throw his pitch.”
Among the considerations is how to best manage the assets.
Lee, Estrada and Macko are are all on the 40-man roster with options, so they can move up and down as needed. Rodriguez is not on the 40, but with $11 million in guarantees the next two seasons, the Blue Jays can outright him as needed without fear of him being claimed. Seabold is not on the 40-man roster so if the Blue Jays need to make a move with him in a few days, they’d risk losing him, while the Rule-5 picks must remain on the roster all season long or be offered back to their original clubs.
Kasevich impresses
Josh Kasevich added to a strong showing this spring that positioned him to be among the first call-ups if there’s an infield need with a pair of doubles — one that knocked in a run — and more nice defensive work, this time at third base. After the game, he was assigned to minor-league camp along with catcher CJ Stubb and outfielders Yohendrick Pinango and RJ Schreck.
Where has Schneider seen Kasevich progress?
“This is going to be a funny answer, just playing a little bit more freely and not being so methodical, you know people joke about him being kind of robotic at times,” he said. “I think it’s planned. He understands when to take some shots at the plate and really be clocked defensively anywhere we put him. He came in ready which is good, we want to see that, definitely made a good impression, kind of exactly what we hoped for. …
“So cool to see a guy come in, articulate what he wanted to do, and then go do it. I’m pretty pumped about the way he’s swinging.”
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John Schneider announces Blue Jays’ rotation for start of season
With Opening Day less than a week away, the Toronto Blue Jays have set their rotation to begin the season.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters Saturday that the club’s first five starting pitchers will be Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Eric Lauer, Cody Ponce and Max Scherzer in that order.
Gausman had been announced as Toronto’s opening-day starter earlier this spring. But with injuries to the likes of Shane Bieber, José Berríos and Trey Yesavage over the last two months, the Blue Jays’ rotation has been an evolving group in the lead-up to the regular season.
The five-man order sets Gausman, Cease and Lauer to take the ball in Toronto’s opening series against the Athletics. After which, Ponce and Scherzer will start against the Colorado Rockies.
If the rotation were to stay on turn through Toronto’s first four series, then Scherzer, Gausman and Cease would be lined up to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in a World Series rematch from April 6 to 8 at Rogers Centre.
Schneider also said Saturday that Lauer will start an intrasquad game on Monday, looking to throw roughly five innings, per Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi.
Both Scherzer and Ponce are also expected to make an additional start in minor-league camp next week, with Toronto’s Grapefruit League schedule wrapping up on Sunday.
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