Everything You May Have Missed In Sports Over The Weekend

The men’s college basketball championship comes to a close on Monday night when No. 1 seed Virginia (34-3) and No. 3 Texas Tech (31-6) meet at 9:20 p.m. ET in Minneapolis (CBS).

Virginia escaped an upset on Saturday night by Auburn when a controversial foul call with less than one second remaining sent Kyle Guy to the free throw line for three shots. He made them all and the Cavaliers slipped past Auburn 63-62.

Texas Tech played flawless defense and bottled up Michigan State 61-51 in the other semifinal. The Red Raiders and Cavaliers are both playing for the NCAA championship for the first time.

In the women’s tournament, Baylor won its third national championship and first since 2012 by edging Notre Dame 82-81 on Sunday night in Tampa. The Lady Bears could not protect a double-digit lead after losing team leader Lauren Cox to a knee injury late in the third quarter but Chloe Jackson’s layup secured the victory over the defending national champions.

Golf:
Corey Conners, who only qualified to play in the Valspar Open last Monday, earned his first PGA Tour victory at TPC San Antonio. Conners had a bit of an erratic final round but twice strung together runs of three straight birdies to secure a two-shot win. The Masters Tournament at Augusta National begins Thursday.

Baseball:
Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout homered in his fourth consecutive game on Sunday in an a7-2 victory over the Texas Rangers. The Angels’ Albert Pujols notched his 3,090th career hit, moving past Ichiro Suzuki into 22nd place on the all-time list.

Five players were ejected when the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds engaged in a bench-clearing brawl.

Gary Sanchez had his first career three home-run games as the New York Yankees hammered the Baltimore Orioles 15-3.

Elsewhere:
The NHL regular season is over and with it the coaching tenure of Bob Boughner with the Florida Panthers. Two seasons, no playoffs. Buh-bye.

The Panthers quickly hired Joel Quenneville, who had earlier been dumped by the Chicago Blackhawks. The playoffs begin Wednesday night.

Likewise, the NBA is in the final week of its regular season. All eight playoff berths are clinched in the Western Conference, though the seeding may change.

Kyle Busch won NASCAR’s Food Center 500 at Bristol, Tennessee, despite suffering damage to his car on the second lap.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman