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The third day of the NCAA tournament is now in the books.
Here are the biggest stories from Saturday’s games as the men worked through the second round of their tournament and the women wrapped up their opening round.
John Calipari gets his redemption
Kentucky, you’re on deck.
In his first season post-breakup, former Kentucky coach John Calipari is back in the Sweet 16. He got there with 10th-seeded Arkansas, the first double-digit seed he’s coached in 24 NCAA tournament appearances.
His Razorbacks advanced thanks to a win over No. 2 St. John’s on Saturday to knock out the tournament’s highest-seeded team to be eliminated so far. They did so by defeating Calipari’s longtime rival, coach Rick Pitino, who fell to 2-3 in tournament games against Calipari with the loss.
It’s all pretty sweet for Calipari, who’s been one of the most criticized coaches in college basketball for the better part of the past decade. The crux of that criticism was Kentucky’s NCAA tournament failures under his watch with rosters brimming with NBA talent.
John Calipari’s back in the Sweet 16. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Calipari coached Kentucky to a national championship in 2012. But he’s probably best remembered in Lexington for failing to advance the Wildcats to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament in his last five chances.
Cal sure can recruit. But can he coach with the game’s best? Saturday’s win over St. John’s suggests that, yes, he can.
Kentucky and first-year coach Mark Pope have their opportunity to counter on Sunday with a Sweet 16 berth at stake against Illinois.
—Jason Owens
Is JuJu Watkins OK?
JuJu Watkins had an excellent game on Saturday to lead the top-seeded Trojans to a 71-25 shellacking of UNCG. But the USC All-American got banged up in the process.
Watkins appeared to injure her left hand early and was repeatedly seen massaging it in the first half. Then she rolled her left ankle in the second half and briefly left the court to have it looked at.
Watkins quickly returned to the bench and the…
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Author : Jason Owens,Ryan Young
Publish date : 2025-03-23 04:18:00
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