UConn Snatches Duke's Soul; MLB Rookies Are On Fire; NBA Playoff Races Only Tightening

TRENDING FAN CONVERSATIONS FROM THE WEEKEND IN SPORTS

MARCH 27 - 29 2026

TOP 3 WEEKEND MOMENTS - NEW TO THE NEWSLETTER!

The “Diaper Dandy” Braylon Mullins Buries a 35-Footer to Stun Duke — Duke appeared to have the upper hand running out the clock, successfully avoiding fouls, until Mullins not only tipped a pass to get UConn the ball back, but then hit the logo dagger with .4 seconds to send the Huskies to the Final Four. PANDAMONIUM!

Nasim Nunez's Diving Stop for the Nationals — The 22-year-old shortstop launched himself at a ball rifling through the gap, gloved it, and somehow made the body-contorting throw for the out. Queue the ESPN highlight sound (Da-da-da. Da-da-da)

Bo Bichette, the Mets prized free agent addition, already getting showered in boos — Yeah, a 1-10 stat to the season will do that. An entire 10 at bats had Mets fans sold this guy was a total waste. Bichette commented, “If anything, I thought it took too long.”

TOP STORY

The Final Four Is Set After Uconn’s Buzzer Beater And Illinois’ Dominant Stretch

Only 12,624 brackets, 0.34% of all entries, correctly predicted this Final Four. If you're one of them, go buy a lottery ticket immediately.

For starters, and as expected, Michigan steamrolled Tennessee 95-62. But maybe less predictable to see coming was not only the matchup, but the outcome of Illinois beating Iowa 71-59 to snap a 21-year Final Four drought. Through their first three games of the tournament, the Illini allowed an all-time tourney low of 10 free throw attempts, validating their uncanny ability to play clean basketball. Against Iowa they dominated the paint to the tune of a plus-28 advantage in points and a plus-17 advantage on the boards, outscoring the Hawkeyes 40-12 in the paint.

Speaking of droughts, Arizona finally makes it back to the Final Four for the first time since 2001 by coming from behind to beat Purdue. Freshman Koa Peat averaged 17.5 points on 54.2% shooting across the tournament's West Region and was named the Most Outstanding Player, having surpassed Mike Bibby's school freshman record for points in an Elite Eight game with his 20-point effort against Purdue. Against Arkansas in the Sweet 16, the Wildcats became the first team in tournament history with six players scoring at least 14 points, and their 36 wins this season set a new program record entering the Final Four.

To end the weekend, UConn had the logo dagger heard around the country to take down top seeded Duke. Before Sunday, No. 1 seeds were 134-0 when leading by 15 or more points at halftime and Duke had been 27-0 in the tournament when leading by 15 or more at the half. Make that 134-1 and 27-1 now.

The comeback was more insane than that. UConn trailed by 19 in the first half, by double digits with just over six minutes left, and by two with the ball in Duke's hands with 10 seconds remaining. UConn started the game 1-for-18 from three, before nailing four of their last five attempts, including the winner. Braylon Mullins was 0-for-4 from deep before his game winner too. But it was Tarris Reed Jr. as the engine that kept this thing alive for UConn, posting 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Dan Hurley is now a spectacular 17-3 in the NCAA Tournament as UConn's coach.

Michigan and Arizona open the Final Four as the favorites to win the Championship, but only one will survive the Final Four heavyweight bout between the two most physically imposing rosters in the country. On the other side, Illinois is averaging among the most three pointers per game in ball and UConn's zone built specifically to take that away.

MLB

Rookies Dominated The Headlines From Opening Day Through Opening Weekend

It’s usually one or two rookies taking the MLB by storm, but if the early going of 2026 have anything to say about it, this might go down as one of the most competitive seasons for Rookie of the Year in a long while!

Tigers Kevin McGonigle, MLB Pipeline's No. 2 overall prospect, came to the plate with the bases loaded in the first inning, swung at the first pitch he saw, and punched a double down the right-field line for two RBIs. He went 4-for-4 on the day. Other top prospects including Mets rookie outfielder Carson Benge homered. Marlins Owen Caissie hit a walk off tater. Phillies center fielder Justin Crawford singled on the first pitch he saw. Roman Anthony had three hits for Boston. Sal Stewart roped three hits in his Reds debut.

Chase DeLauter, OF, Cleveland Guardians

On a full count in his very first regular-season at-bat, DeLauter turned on a Logan Gilbert slider and sent it 358 feet to right field. Then in the ninth inning he hit a 422-foot shot to seal the win against the Mariners. Two home runs. One career game. He then came back in game two of the series and proceeded to homer again, becoming just the third player since 1900 to hit three home runs in his first two career regular-season games. What’s more impressive was one homer came on a pitch with late sweeping motion in at his hands while the other was high and away that he somehow was able to put enough on to drive over the wall in opposite field. Through four games this weekend he is hitting .352, four home runs, five RBIs, and broke up a Marines no hitter in the 7th inning.

JJ Wetherholt, 2B, St. Louis Cardinals

Wetherholt became the first Cardinal to collect his first big league hit and home run in the same swing on Opening Day since Bobby Smith in 1957, launching a 425-foot shot to center field to give St. Louis the first run of their season. Then on Saturday, he hit a two-run walk-off single on the Rays in the tenth inning of game two, making him the only player in MLB history with a home run in his first career game and a walk-off hit in his second.

Munetaka Murakami, 1B, Chicago White Sox

Three MLB games, three home runs. The White Sox might have lost 100-plus games in three straight seasons, but the team and fans just got the most exciting first series by a rookie in franchise history. Murakami capped his MLB debut with a 384-foot moonshot in the ninth inning of a 14-2 Opening Day loss, and then homered again in game two of their series with the Brewers, becoming the first player in White Sox history to go deep in each of his first two career games. On Sunday he did it a third time, joining DeLauter, Trevor Story, and Kyle Lewis as only the fourth player to homer in each of his first three MLB games. In Japan he averaged 30-plus home runs in five of eight NPB seasons, but thankfully for the rest of us, his questionable defense and suspect strikeout rate was the only thing keeping his power out of a Dodgers uniform.

NBA

Six Teams, Two Guaranteed Playoff Spots, Two Weeks Left

Separated by at most 3 wins, the Sixers, Hawks, Raptors, Magic, Heat, and Hornets are all fighting for two direct playoff spots, with seeds 7 through 10 falling into the play-in tournament. The difference between a 5-seed and a 10-seed at this point in the season is a handful of games, most of which these teams play against each other.

Toronto sits fifth but have Boston and Cleveland to close out the season. Orlando needs Franz Wagner back yesterday. Charlotte has the best starting five numbers in modern NBA history but cannot win a close game to save their lives. Miami keeps going on win streaks and then immediately forgetting how they did it. There’s still tremendous variance despite so few games left.

Philadelphia picked up a huge road win Saturday with Embiid, Maxey, and Paul George all back in the lineup together for the first time since February. This is a roster that was built to compete when healthy and, to no one’s surprise, has had almost no opportunity to prove it this season. Their remaining schedule is soft enough that a 5-seed is a realistic finish if they win the games they should.

Atlanta, meanwhile, is 14-2 since the All-Star break, led by Jalen Johnson on a triple-double tear this season that no one saw coming. Becoming the Hawks all time triple double leader.

At this point, Toronto and Atlanta are the most likely to hold on to the 5 and 6 spots. Philly is easily the most dangerous of the four play in teams if they’re at full health. Big if though. Charlotte is the wild card nobody wants to draw, while Miami has done this before and any Spoelstra-led team in a must-win situation cannot be slept on.