PHOENIX — When Raven Johnson went to the bench with 8:30 to play in the second quarter after picking up her second foul while tightly guarding UConn’s Azzi Fudd, there was a sense of frustration and despair among the South Carolina fans sitting in the Mortgage Matchup Center Friday, April 3 at the Final Four.

Former Gamecocks forward Aaliyah Boston rose from her courtside seat – where she was watching the game with rapper Flavor Flav – to yell at the referees. South Carolina was about to have to endure a long stretch against the undefeated Huskies, the top overall seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament, without their starting point guard and emotional leader.

And indeed, the Gamecocks got through it. They trailed UConn by just two points at halftime, and then started the third quarter on a 16-4 run to take a 10-point lead – which was at that point the largest deficit the Huskies had faced all season.

Johnson returned to the game and provided a steady hand and stellar defense in the second half as one Goliath defeated another with South Carolina taking a 62-48 win over UConn, snapping the Huskies’ 54-game win streak, ending their undefeated season and sending Geno Auriemma into a postgame tailspin.

“It started on the defensive end. We had to get stops,” South Carolina guard Ta’Niya Latson said. “We knew Raven wasn’t out there. She couldn’t really run the show, but we had to have her back. I think we just stayed closer during those times. We stayed together and we fought until Raven got back.”

Latson was a big reason why the Gamecocks were able to pull off the on-paper upset of the Huskies. The senior guard grabbed a career-high-tying 11 rebounds – marking just the fourth time in her collegiate tenure that she’s grabbed double-digit boards – and also scored 16 points, leading South Carolina in both scoring and rebounding.

The 5-foot-8 transfer from Florida State said earlier this week that she was “a little starstruck” to be playing in her first Final Four, but she thrived under the bright lights when South Carolina needed her most.

“I knew I had to impact the game in any way I could. I wanted this win. Whether that was rebounding, scoring, assisting, I was going to do what I had to do,” Latson said. “The balls were coming my way, so I had to grab ’em and snag ’em.”

South Carolina exposed one of UConn’s few weak spots by crashing the glass. The Huskies ranked 136th nationally in total rebounds per game this season, while the Gamecocks entered this game ranking in the top 15 of seven different rebounding statistics this year.

The Gamecocks won the rebounding battle 47-32, grabbed 14 offensive boards and flipped them into nine second-chance points and hammered UConn inside, outscoring the Huskies 34-20 in the paint. UConn also shot a season-worst 31.1% from the floor.

“That was the emphasis for our bigs, we had to crash the boards,” said South Carolina freshman Agot Makeer, who finished with 14 points. “Ta’Niya wanted to join the party, too. That was cool. She’s always going to impact the game. She’s a winner. So she can get it done.”

Latson kept hearing Staley’s halftime message in her head: “Meet the moment.”

As the game unfolded in the second half, and as moments kept coming Latson’s way, she continued to meet them head-on. She shot a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line and also came up with a crucial steal after Johnson left the game in the second quarter that led to an easy fast-break layup to ease some of the anxiety the Gamecocks’ fans were feeling.

When the game was in hand with 30.8 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, Boston rose from her seat again, raised her fist and let out a declarative “Hell yeah!”

On Sunday, the Gamecocks will face UCLA and try to win their fourth national championship in program history. Staley won’t be concerned about whether Latson will be capable of meeting the moment.

“You see players, they just have a different look. When they have it, it gives you confidence to know that they’re ready. Like, you know some players that you got question marks about whether they’re ready. I didn’t have any of that with Ta’Niya,” Staley said. “I think that Ta’Niya just made huge sacrifices, individual sacrifices. She wasn’t an All-American this year. I want her – if she’s not going to get the individual awards – to be part of a national championship team.”

Latson had all those accolades at Florida State. She was the National Freshman of the Year, a three-time All-ACC selection, an All-American and the nation’s leading scorer. But she never advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament with the Seminoles.

Now, she has one game left in her college career, and one last chance to win it all.

PHOENIX — Ok, maybe the entire town of Kingman, Arizona, wasn’t on hand Wednesday afternoon to see their hometown hero, but that lower section down right field, toward the concourse at Chase Field, certainly made their presence known loud and clear.

They watched their famous Kingman native mow down the Arizona Diamondbacks, but only this time, the two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal didn’t get his Detroit Tigers teammates to cooperate.

Skubal, despite giving up just one run and six hits in seven dominant innings, lost 1-0 to the Diamondbacks. It was the first time he lost a 1-0 game since May 31 last season against the Kansas City Royals when he also gave up one run in seven innings.

Skubal gave up a home run to Corbin Carroll on his ninth pitch of the game, and allowed only one runner to reach second base after the third inning on shortstop Javier Baez’s error. He threw 60 of his 87 pitches for strikes, but took no solace in his latest dominant performance, with the Tigers having scored in just four of their last 49 innings.

“Obviously, it doesn’t really matter,’’ said Skubal, 1-1 with a 0.69 ERA, vying to join Hall of Famers Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson to win three consecutive Cy Young awards. “We lost. The goal of every game that I’m pitching, I want to win. It doesn’t really matter how it happens.

“Individually, fine, but it’s a team game. And we need to win. So it doesn’t really matter how I felt because it comes in a loss.’’

Skubal struck out just three batters, but he induced nine ground ball outs, including three double-play balls. His only real mistake was throwing a 97-mph fastball at the top of the strike zone on an 0-and-2 pitch to Carroll in the first inning, which he hit 406 feet over the center-field fence. He gave up only one 0-2 pitch for a home run all last season.

Then again, you ask Skubal, and he didn’t consider it a mistake at all.

The pitch was exactly right where he wanted. He gave all of the credit to Carroll, who became just the sixth left-handed hitter to ever homer off Skubal, and just the third since he began his Cy Young run in 2024.

“Great pitch, great pitch,’’ Skubal said. “I thought I executed it great. If you told me an 0-2 heater, that I’m going to execute it there 10 more times, I would do it 10 more times. It’s just one of those things. He’s a really good hitter, too, and he put a good swing on it.

“So, sometimes you got to tip your cap, and that was one of those times. That’s obviously a difference-maker in the game, but I don’t take that pitch back by any means.’’

Carroll, who’s hitting .333 with two homers, a double and triple despite breaking his hamate bone this spring, certainly appreciated the compliment. It’s not as if he was about to ask Skubal to autograph the baseball for him, but to join Freddie Freeman and Edouard Julien as the only left-handed batters to homer off Skubal since 2024 season, he realizes it’s pretty select company.

“Obviously, he’s one of the best in the game, if not the best,’’ Carroll said. “It’s really fun to go to battle against guys like that.’’

Carroll’s homer might have dampened the enthusiasm from the folks who drove three hours down from Kingman, with Skubal leaving 50 tickets, but it hardly ruined the performance. Skubal, making only his second start at Chase Field, showed the kids at home that you can be born with a club foot, go completely ignored by the three major universities in the state, and still work to become the greatest pitcher in baseball.

“No doubt, I like to enjoy the environment and to show that I care about the people that support me,’’ Skubal said. “So, it’s really cool whenever I get to back here and make a start. … I get to perform in front of my family, and understanding that I’m not around a ton, so I want to put on a good performance in front of them.’’

Skubal, who was able to sleep in his own bed in Scottsdale, Arizona, during the Tiger’s four-day stay, enjoyed seeing friends and family. He teased them that since the Tigers have only one more trip within driving distance of Kingman — a three-game series July 17-19 against the Los Angeles Angels — that “now they’re all going to have to get their ass on a plane to Detroit if they want to see me.’’

Skubal laughed. Who knows, considering the Los Angeles Dodgers can sign whoever they want with their unlimited resources, they could be seeing a lot of him in the future since he will be the most prized free agent on the market this winter. He’s expected to sign the richest contract for a pitcher in baseball history, exceeding $400 million.

Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen, who outdueled Skubal by giving up just four hits in six shutout innings, knows he’ll be in the same free-agent marketplace, and heartily laughed when it was suggested he’d gladly take $1 million less than whatever Skubal receives.

“I’m all in,’’ he said.

Skubal isn’t going to sit around and worry about his future now. He knows he’ll be handsomely paid, setting up his family for generations. For now, he’s got a World Series championship to win.

And a small town of 35,000 in northern Arizona to impress, just like he did when he stopped in Kingman before heading off to Lakeland, Florida, for spring training.

“I go talk to the elementary schools and just go get in front of them,” Skubal says. “I think it’s important to give back to kids. A lot of those kids kind of idolize me, so it’s good to get in front of them and just talk to them. Let them know I’m a human and that I played basketball in the same gym that they did. I think that stuff’s pretty cool. …

“Being in my position is a privilege, and it’s something that I don’t take lightly. Getting in front of kids in my hometown, kids in Detroit, or anywhere, and just kind of [letting] them understand that whatever your dream is as a kid, whatever your passion is, just go do it and pursue it. Enjoy it. Life’s too short not to.

“I think that that’s the message I try to portray to kids.”

And, yes, as he reminded them one last time Wednesday, he was one of them not too long ago, driving down to catch Diamondbacks games during the season, or spring training games in March, dreaming that one day he’d be standing on the same mound.

“I got some special memories of this place,’’ he said. “I remember coming to games here. The tickets I would get would be three seats up from the roof. I remember being terrified up there, just how high up it was.’’

Now, the only ones being terrified are the opposing lineups he faces, with one team being the fortunate ones to sign him.

“Someone,’’ Carroll said, “is going to be paying that guy a lot of money after this year.’’

The Diamondbacks can only hope it’s not to their hated rivals to the West.

They saw enough of him Wednesday to last a season.

Follow Bob Nightengale on X @Bnightengale.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark snapped back at Cody Campbell, saying the chairman of the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents “does not run the Big 12” after Campbell complained publicly about the conference and its television partners possibly moving this year’s Texas Tech football game against Houston to a Friday night.

Texas Tech was one of only three Big 12 teams that didn’t play a regular-season game on a Friday night last year. Campbell says that’s going to happen this coming season, and he doesn’t like it.

Campbell posted this week on social media the Big 12 and Fox Sports are looking to move the Texas Tech home game against Houston from Sept. 19, the Saturday on which it’s currently slotted, to Sept. 18. He began his objection by writing that “Friday Night Lights are sacred in the Great State of Texas!”

He also took Yormark to task.

“I heard about it through the (Tech football) staff up here and our administration that it was being discussed,” Campbell told the Avalanche-Journal on Tuesday, March 31. “They (TV partners) have the draft or whatever, and the conference doesn’t want to really acknowledge it, but they do have an ability to influence those decisions. They just chose not to because they were chasing ratings — which I do understand on one hand, but on the other hand, high school football is important in the state of Texas.

“We’ve got a road game the week before. It’s not an ideal situation for us, and … I think our conference should protect us more than they did.”

Campbell is a former Texas Tech offensive lineman, one of six founding members of The Matador Club, a collective that’s supported Tech athletics, and an increasingly prominent voice nationally on college-sports issues.

The Big 12 released the 2026 schedule on Jan. 21 with the usual caveats that TV partners ESPN, Fox Sports and TNT Sports would make their selections for the first three weeks of the season at a later date and that some Saturday games could be moved to Friday or other special dates.

Though there’s been no announcement from the Big 12, Campbell said he thinks the Tech-Houston game moving to Friday is a fait accompli.

“I think it’s done,” he said, “unless they come back and they figure something else out. I think Yormark could have gone to bat for us and didn’t, because, again, he wanted the ratings. I think Fox is not concerned about any individual team. I think, again, they also want ratings, so they picked the game that’s going to give them the most viewership for that weekend.”

Last season, Tech went 12-2, won the Big 12 championship, and was a College Football Playoff quarterfinalist. Houston capped a 10-3 season by beating LSU in the Texas Bowl.

Brett Yormark says Big 12 presidents, ADs approved 12 non-Saturday games a year

Asked on Wednesday, April 1, for a response to Campbell’s comments on social media and to the Avalanche-Journal, the Big 12 issued a statement from Yormark to the A-J.

“Cody Campbell does not run the Big 12,” Yormark said. “Our Board and our ADs approved playing 12 games a year off of Saturdays in an effort to raise the profile, narrative, and viewership of Big 12 Football. Texas Tech hosting a primetime game on Friday night delivers that.

“Friday night Big 12 football games outperformed the Conference’s average rating by 64% in 2025. All of our schools are treated equally during the TV scheduling process and this game fits within our scheduling parameters. I am thankful that our TV partners provide us with these opportunities.”

There were seven FBS regular-season games, including two involving Big 12 teams, played on Friday nights in Texas last season: Auburn-Baylor and UNLV-Sam Houston State on Aug. 29, Colorado-Houston on Sept. 12, South Florida-North Texas on Oct. 10, Memphis-Rice on Oct. 31 and Texas A&M-Texas and Temple-North Texas on Nov. 28.

Texas Tech football would face short week after West Coast trip

Texas Tech plays Oregon State on Sept. 12 in Corvallis, Oregon, so the prospect of Tech-Houston six days later puts the Red Raiders on a short week coming out of a trip to the Pacific time zone.

“We’ll deal with it,” Campbell said. “We’ll play on Monday night if we have to, but I don’t think it’s in the best interest of the kids or our program or even the Big 12 for us to be playing that [Houston] game that night.

“We’ll get back [from Corvallis, Oregon] at 4 o’clock in the morning on Sunday, you know? I mean, they’ll probably have to prepare [for Houston] the week before.”

Kirby Hocutt tells local ADs of potential conflict with Houston at Texas Tech football game

Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt has advised ADs from Lubbock ISD, Lubbock-Cooper, and Frenship schools that the Red Raiders might play on Friday, Sept. 18, a Tech athletics spokesman said, in case they want to adjust their own games in response.

Yormark’s desire to have a supply of non-Saturday Big 12 games has put him at odds with high school coaches since the beginning of his tenure. He expressed it at the 2023 Big 12 media days when he was starting his second year on the job.

“It’s very hot during the summer months, especially in the (early) fall,” Yormark said in July 2023. “So playing on a Friday night versus Saturday morning does have its benefits. And when you think about the tonnage of college football on air on a Saturday provides a lot of opportunity for us to kind of build our profile on a Friday night.”

At the Texas High School Coaches Association annual convention in July 2024, THSCA executive director Joe Martin said the THSCA objected to Friday night college games, specifically mentioning a Houston-TCU game that fall.

Dave Campbell’s Texas Football quoted Martin as saying, “We are asking all conference commissioners to refrain from scheduling Friday night games during the 11-week Texas high school football regular season. We feel Friday nights should be about the communities involved with Texas high school football.”

The Big 12 conference schedule starts Sept. 12 with Arizona at Brigham Young. Houston-Texas Tech and Arizona State-Kansas are the two Big 12 openers on Sept. 19. Attractive nonconference games that day include two Big 12 opponents playing teams that finished 11-3 last year — West Virginia-Virginia and Kansas State-Tulane — and a Power Four Conference matchup, Colorado-Northwestern.

Last year, Texas Tech and Iowa State were the only two Big 12 teams that played all their regular-season games on Saturdays.

Of the other Big 12 schools, Houston played three Friday games, and Kansas, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State had two apiece. Four teams played one Thursday game apiece: Central Florida, Oklahoma State, Houston and Cincinnati. TCU opened on a Monday night at North Carolina.

Regarding his social-media post, Campbell said, “I meant what I said. I told Brett Yormark I meant what I said. I’m not going to back down from it. I don’t think, especially in the state of Texas, two Texas teams should be playing on Friday night. It’s different than it is in other parts of the country.”

The NBA postseason is rapidly approaching, with less than two weeks remaining in the 2025-26 regular season.

While all postseason berths have been clinched, teams are furiously jockeying for playoff positioning, especially those seeking to remain above the fray of the Play-In Tournament. That’s especially true in the Eastern Conference, where only four games separate the current No. 5 seed, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Miami Heat, currently No. 10.

In the Western Conference, all three divisions have been clinched, with the Oklahoma City Thunder claiming the Northwest, the San Antonio Spurs the Southwest and the Los Angeles Lakers the Pacific. But perhaps the most intriguing story as the regular season winds down is whether the Spurs can catch the Thunder for the top seed in the West.

Heading into the slate of April 2 games, the Cleveland Cavaliers, currently the No. 4 team in the East, can clinch a playoff spot with a win, while the Houston Rockets, currently the No. 5 team in the West, can clinch a playoff berth if the Phoenix Suns lose.

Here are the current brackets for the playoffs and the Play-In Tournament, the NBA standings and the schedule for Thursday, April 2:

NBA schedule for Thursday, April 2

(All times Eastern)

• Phoenix Suns at Charlotte Hornets, 7 p.m.
• Minnesota Timberwolves at Detroit Pistons, 7 p.m.
• Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder, 9:30 p.m. ET
• Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors, 10 p.m.
• New Orleans Pelicans at Portland Trail Blazers, 10 p.m.
• San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

NBA standings

All 20 teams – 10 in each conference – that will participate in the postseason have been determined. Here are their records through April 1, and what each of those teams have clinched so far (x-clinched playoff berth; d-clinched division):

Eastern Conference

• (1) d-Detroit Pistons: 55-21
• (2) x-Boston Celtics: 51-25 (4 GB)
• (3) x-New York Knicks: 49-28 (6.5 GB)
• (4) Cleveland Cavaliers: 47-29 (8 GB)
• (5) Atlanta Hawks: 44-33 (11.5 GB)
• (6) Philadelphia 76ers: 42-34 (13 GB)
• (7) Toronto Raptors: 42-34 (13 GB)
• (8) Charlotte Hornets: 40-36 (15 GB)
• (9) Orlando Magic: 40-36 (15 GB)
• (10) Miami Heat: 40-37(15.5 GB)

Western Conference

• (1) d-Oklahoma City Thunder: 60-16
• (2) d-San Antonio Spurs: 58-18 (2 GB)
• (3) d-Los Angeles Lakers: 50-26 (10 GB)
• (4) x-Denver Nuggets: 49-28 (11.5 GB)
• (5) Houston Rockets: 47-29 (13 GB)
• (6) Minnesota Timberwolves: 46-29 (13.5 GB)
• (7) Phoenix Suns: 42-34 (18 GB)
• (8) Los Angeles Clippers: 39-37 (21 GB)
• (9) Portland Trail Blazers: 39-38 (21.5 GB)
• (10) Golden State Warriors: 36-40 (24 GB)

NBA playoffs bracket

(After games played on April 1)

Eastern Conference

• (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Play-In Winner
• (4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Atlanta Hawks
• (3) New York Knicks vs. (6) Philadelphia 76ers
• (2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Play-In Winner

Western Conference

• (1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (8) Play-In Winner
• (4) Denver Nuggets vs. (5) Houston Rockets
• (3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves
• (2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (7) Play-In Winner

NBA Play-In Tournament

(After games played on April 1)

Western Conference

• (7) Phoenix Suns vs. (8) LA Clippers
• (9) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (10) Golden State Warriors

Eastern Conference

• (7) Toronto Raptors vs. (8) Charlotte Hornets
• (9) Orlando Magic vs. (10) Miami Heat

When do the NBA playoffs begin?

• The NBA Play-In Tournament begins on Tuesday, April 14 and runs through Friday, April 17.
• The NBA playoffs start Saturday, April 18 and feature eight teams in each conference after teams are eliminated in the Play-In Tournament.
• Game 1 of the NBA Finals scheduled for Wednesday, June 3.

Which NBA teams have been eliminated from the playoffs?

Eastern Conference

• Brooklyn Nets
• Chicago Bulls
• Indiana Pacers
• Milwaukee Bucks
• Washington Wizards

Western Conference

• Dallas Mavericks
• Memphis Grizzlies
• New Orleans Pelicans
• Sacramento Kings
• Utah Jazz

PHOENIX — UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma had dinner with Diana Taurasi Wednesday night in Phoenix ahead of the Huskies’ Final Four matchup against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

“In typical D fashion, she’s the story,” Auriemma said with a smile, referring to his former player.

The Huskies are staying on Taurasi Way in downtown Phoenix during the Final Four, a street named after the Phoenix Mercury legend who spent her entire 20-year WNBA career in the desert. UConn practiced at Phoenix’s Mountain America Performance Center, where Taurasi’s name and logo graces the basketball courts.

“Being able to practice at her facility, staying on her road, being in her city, it is incredible,” senior guard Azzi Fudd said. “Having someone that you went from looking up to, then meeting them, playing at UConn and knowing that you’re a part of this sisterhood. She’s a resource and she’s someone that we can reach out to and talk to and just look up to and go to for advice that we ever need.”

All the parallels are extra meaningful to the Huskies, but Auriemma said it’s even more special for Taurasi.

“To be here, I know that means a lot to her. I know it means a lot to our players,” Auriemma said. “In my mind, (she’s) the greatest basketball player to ever play college basketball, and maybe the greatest WNBA player of all time. … You don’t often get a chance to do that, you know?”

Fudd joked that she’s “not at that level yet” to receive an invitation to dinner with Auriemma and Taurasi, but she hopes Taurasi comes to watch the Huskies go for their 13th national championship.

 “Obviously, it would mean a lot to have success in her city,” Fudd added. “To see her pave the way and make all this possible now for us, yeah, it would be incredible.”

Taurasi isn’t the only UConn alum that Auriemma’s dined with during the Huskies’ 25th Final Four run. He said the team shared a meal with Paige Bueckers, who led the Huskies to a national championship last season.

“We had dinner with Paige (Bueckers) last night and listened to her speak. It reminded me of how much those five years took off of my life, listening to the things that she says,” Auriemma said on Thursday, March 27 ahead of their 63-42 Sweet 16 win over No. 4 North Carolina. “The interesting thing is I lived through it with Diana (Taurasi) and they’re the only two that put me through that.”

Fudd joked that Auriemma is “definitely more mellow since Nika (Mühl) and Paige (Bueckes) left.”

“I think (they) caused him a lot of headaches, I’m sure,” Fudd joked.

As for if she gives Auriemma trouble, she said, “Never.”

Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at@CydHenderson.

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Three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson, 55, will not attend the 2026 Masters Tournament, the lefty announced on social media Thursday.

Mickelson has been dealing with this family matter for quite some time. He missed the first four LIV Golf events of the year while handling the same situation, though he did return to play in an event in South Africa two weeks ago. Mickelson finished 48th.

This news comes just days after five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods announced that he will also miss the event as he seeks treatment and focuses on his mental health following a rollover crash and DUI charge on Friday, March 27.

This will be the first Masters Tournament without both golfers since 1994.

Phil Mickelson update on missing Masters

Mickelson didn’t say much. He started the announcement saying he will not be playing in the event. He then offered thoughts for Augusta National, claiming he has “great respect” for the club, before finishing by wishing everyone luck and saying he will still be watching.

How many Masters Tournaments has Mickelson played in?

Mickelson has played in 32 Masters Tournaments. 2026 would’ve been his 33rd appearance.

Mickelson has won the event three times — 2004, 2006, 2010 — and is one of only three left-handed golfers ever to earn a green jacket — Mike Weir (2003) and Bubba Watson (2012, 2014).

Mickelson recently missed the 2022 Masters after making controversial comments regarding the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabian monarchies.