Digital Sports Desk

Online Destination for the Best in Boston Sports

NCAA March Madness: Sweet 16

by

LOS ANGELES – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Grant Nelson scored fourth-seeded Alabama’s final five points, including a three-point play with 38 seconds left that put the Crimson Tide ahead for good in a 89-87 win over top-seeded North Carolina on Thursday in an NCAA Tournament West Region semifinal in LA.

Alabama (24-11) rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit, holding North Carolina to seven points through the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Crimson Tide’s defensive effort to open the second half produced a back-and-forth final stretch in a contest that featured 13 ties and 12 lead changes.

Nelson put up a game-high 24 points for the Crimson Tide, who advance to face sixth-seeded Clemson on Saturday in the regional final. Aaron Estrada and Rylan Griffen each scored 19 points.

Armando Bacot led North Carolina (29-8) with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Cormac Ryan scored 17 points, and RJ Davis had 16 points and seven assists.

West Region

No. 6 Clemson 77, No. 2 Arizona 72

Chase Hunter’s and-one play with 25.7 seconds remaining capped his game-high-matching 18-point performance, and the Tigers held off the Wildcats to earn their first trip to the Elite Eight since 1980 in Los Angeles.

Clemson (24-11) led nearly wire-to-wire behind the play of Hunter — who also had seven rebounds and five assists — and PJ Hall, who scored 17 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Ian Schieffelin added 14 points, including some pivotal baskets in the second half, and snared seven rebounds.

Caleb Love, who scored 13 points, went 0-of-9 from beyond the arc for Arizona (27-9). He shot 5-of-18 from the floor overall. Oumar Ballo finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds but was just 1-of-7 at the foul line. Keshad Johnson grabbed 11 rebounds to go with six points.

East Region

No. 1 UConn 82, No. 5 San Diego State 52

Cam Spencer scored a team-high 18 points and the Huskies dominated the offensive glass to beat the Aztecs in a meeting of East Region teams in the Sweet 16.

Spencer added five rebounds for the Huskies (34-3), who grabbed 21 offensive boards that led to 12 second-chance points. Tristen Newton chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds, and Stephon Castle supplied 16 and 11, respectively, as UConn became the first defending champion to reach the Elite Eight since Florida in 2007.

The Huskies downed the Aztecs 76-59 in last year’s national championship game. Jaedon LeDee paced San Diego State (26-11) with 18 points and eight rebounds. Micah Parrish had 10 points as the Aztecs’ only other scorer in double figures. San Diego State was outshot 46.2 percent to 36.2 percent from the field.

No. 3 Illinois 72, No. 2 Iowa State 69

Terrence Shannon Jr. poured in 29 points and the Illini held off a second-half rally to earn a victory over the Cyclones.

The Fighting Illini will face No. 1 seed UConn in the Elite Eight on Saturday. Coleman Hawkins chipped in 12 points and six rebounds for the Fighting Illini (29-8), who outshot Iowa State 42.1 percent to 39.7 percent.

Curtis Jones paced Iowa State (29-8) with 26 points. Keshon Gilbert supplied 14, and Tre King had 12 to go along with seven boards.

–Field Level Media

UConn, Spencer Rip San Diego State

by

BOSTON – (Staff and wire Service Report) -Connecticut’s Cam Spencer scored a team-high 18 points and No. 1 UConn dominated the offensive glass to beat fifth-seeded San Diego State 82-52 on Thursday night in a meeting of East Region teams in the Sweet 16.

Embed from Getty Images

Spencer added five rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Huskies (34-3), who grabbed 21 offensive boards that led to 12 second-chance points.

Tristen Newton chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds, and Stephon Castle supplied 16 and 11, respectively, as UConn became the first defending champion to reach the Elite Eight since Florida did so in 2007.

The Huskies downed the Aztecs 76-59 in last year’s national championship game.

Jaedon LeDee paced San Diego State (26-11) with 18 points and eight rebounds. Micah Parrish had 10 points as the Aztecs’ only other scorer in double figures.

San Diego State was outshot 46.2 percent to 36.2 percent from the field.

Lamont Butler trimmed the Aztecs’ deficit to 42-33 with 18:48 left in the game, but that was the last time San Diego State would ever be within single digits.

Newton then dropped in a 3-pointer to spark a 9-2 burst, a rally that was capped with four points from Castle for a 51-35 cushion.

The Aztecs twice made it a 14-point game, but San Diego State’s season effectively came to an end when Castle sank two free throws with 4:30 remaining to widen the margin to 28 at 73-45.

Neither team could create any separation until Spencer took over. He accounted for nine points during a 14-4 run, lifting the Huskies to a 27-16 advantage with 10:55 left in the first half.

Elijah Saunders stopped the bleeding with a three-point play and Miles Byrd added a jumper to pull San Diego State within six.

After UConn pushed its lead back to double digits at 33-23, Parrish canned a 3-pointer and a jumper during an 8-2 Aztecs surge that made it 35-31 with 2:09 to go.

However, Spencer knocked down a trey with 21 seconds remaining, sending the Huskies into the break leading 40-31.

–Nick Galle, Field Level Media

Shannon Leads Ilini to Elite 8

by

BOSTON – Illinois’ Terrence Shannon Jr. poured in 29 points and third-seeded Illini held off a second-half rally to earn a 72-69 victory over second-seeded Iowa State on Thursday night in a battle of East Region teams in the Sweet 16.

Embed from Getty Images

The Fighting Illini will face top-seeded UConn in the Elite Eight on Saturday. The Huskies beat San Diego State earlier Thursday.

After trailing by nine with just under 14 minutes left in the game, the Cyclones (29-8) found themselves within 56-54 following a Curtis Jones 3-pointer with 5:27 to go.

Shannon and Luke Goode prevented Iowa State from moving in front by sandwiching Tre King’s layup with a pair of triples, making it 62-56 in favor of Illinois (29-8).

The Cyclones trailed by at least three the rest of the way, and Shannon’s steal and slam with 22 seconds to play clinched the victory.

Shannon is now 7-0 against Iowa State dating back to his Texas Tech days. He was with the Red Raiders for three seasons (2019-22).

Coleman Hawkins chipped in 12 points and six rebounds for the Fighting Illini, who outshot Iowa State 42.1 percent to 39.7 percent from the field.

Jones paced Iowa State with 26 points. Keshon Gilbert supplied 14, and King had 12 to go along with seven boards.

Gilbert lit a spark under the Cyclones, scoring eight points in the opening 3:38 of the second half to cut Iowa State’s deficit to 41-37.

It didn’t take long for Illinois to push the lead to nine, doing so when Shannon drove for a layup less than three minutes later to make it 48-39.

Then the Fighting Illini faced some adversity in the form of foul trouble for Shannon, who picked up his fourth personal with 11:17 to go. Shannon went to the bench, and Iowa State capitalized on his departure, using a 11-5 spurt to get within 56-54.

Illinois scored the first eight points of the game and later led 16-6, taking advantage of Iowa State’s 2-for-12 start from the field. But Jones got the Cyclones on track, knocking down a 3-pointer before converting a three-point play to make it a four-point game.

The Fighting Illini’s advantage grew to 24-12 with 6:31 left in the first half before Illinois took a 36-26 lead into the break.

–Nick Galle, Field Level Media

Hawks Sink Celtics, 123-122

by

ATLANTA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Hawks scoring machine Dejounte Murray scored a career-high 44 points, including the game-winning basket with 0.1 seconds remaining in overtime, to give  Atlanta a 123-122 win over the visiting Boston Celtics on Thursday.

The Celtics took a 122-121 lead with 6.2 seconds left on Jaylen Brown’s jumper. After a timeout, the Hawks got the ball to Murray, who drove to the top of the key and shot the winning jumper over Jrue Holiday.

The win gives the Hawks a four-game winning streak and two wins over the league-leading Celtics this week. The win pulled Atlanta to within one game of No. 9 Chicago in the race for the NBA’s play-in tournament.

Murray took a career-high 44 shots, making 18, and had seven rebounds and seven assists in almost 47 minutes.

Atlanta (34-39) also got 24 points from Bogdan Bogdanovic and 21 points and 13 rebounds from De’Andre Hunter. Clint Capela added 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Boston (57-16) was led by Tatum with 31 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Derrick White added 22 points and seven rebounds, Kristaps Porzingis scored 20 and Brown added 18.

The win gave Atlanta a split in the four-game season series with Boston.

The Hawks tied the game at 112-112 with 27.2 seconds remaining in regulation on a 3-pointer by Bogdan Bogdanovic. Boston had a chance to win, but Tatum’s long 3-pointer missed.

Unlike Monday’s game, when Boston had a 30-point lead in the first half, the rematch was close. There were 12 lead changes and six ties in the high-energy half, which Boston led 63-59 at intermission. Boston shot 12 free throws in the first half, making 11, while Atlanta missed its only free throw.

Neither team led by more than five points in the third quarter and the margin was no larger than three over the final 7 1/2 minutes and Boston led 90-89 entering the fourth quarter.

The Hawks conclude their five-game homestand on Saturday against Milwaukee. The Celtics make the fifth stop of their six-game road trip on Saturday at New Orleans.

–Field Level Media

Sweet 16: Iowa State vs Illinois

by

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – If Iowa State wants to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 2000, it will have to find a way to get through Terrence Shannon Jr.

Shannon is a perfect 6-0 against the Cyclones, and he will have a chance to improve that record tonight (10:09pm EDT) when Illinois and Iowa State meet in a battle of East Region teams in the Sweet 16.

Embed from Getty Images

All six of Shannon’s previous victories vs. the second-seeded Cyclones came when he was at Texas Tech, and he averaged 10.0 points per game across those contests.

Since joining the third-seeded Fighting Illini (28-8) last season, Shannon has blossomed. He is averaging a team-high 23.3 points per game in 2023-24, most recently scoring 30 on 10-of-14 shooting in Illinois’ 89-63 rout of No. 11 seed Duquesne on Saturday.

Rather than focusing on the damage that Shannon and Illinois have the potential to do, Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger is more concerned with how his team executes its own game plan.

“I would just say we believe in our way of doing things, and we certainly want to be aware of tendencies of our opponents and things that we can prepare for,” Otzelberger said. “But we spend a lot more time focusing on us being the best version of ourselves.

“So we will absolutely be very mindful of that opportunity, and at the same time, my messaging to our guys is going to be to continue to focus on us, being the best team that we can be.”

The Cyclones (29-7), who rank fourth in the country in scoring defense at 61.3 points allowed per game, beat seventh-seeded Washington State 67-56 in the second round. They got 15 points from Tamin Lipsey and 14 from Curtis Jones.

Iowa State overcame an ice-cold start in which it went 1-for-13 from the field and scored just four points through the game’s first nine minutes.

Points could be hard to come by again on Thursday against a Fighting Illini defense that just held Duquesne star Dae Dae Grant to seven points on 2-of-9 shooting. Grant came into the game averaging 16.7 points.

Still, forward Coleman Hawkins doesn’t believe Illinois has hit its ceiling.

“I feel really confident in this team because I feel like there is still something missing that we haven’t reached yet,” Hawkins said. “I think there is a whole other level of intensity that we can play with, both offensively and defensively.”

While the Fighting Illini have seemingly peaked at the right time and are riding a six-game winning streak, Illinois guard/forward Marcus Domask knows his team can’t take its foot off the gas against the Cyclones.

“I think we’re hitting our stride and turning in the right direction. You always want to start playing your best basketball come March. And I think we’re doing that. I feel confident,” Domask said. “Iowa State is a really good team. So we’ve got to play our best to beat them.”

Iowa State is no stranger to the Sweet 16, also reaching it in 2022.

“Nothing is better — sweeter — than going to the Sweet 16 twice in three years,” Cyclones forward Robert Jones said.

Meanwhile, the Fighting Illini are playing past the Round of 32 for the first time since 2005, when they ended up going all the way to the national championship game and falling to North Carolina.

For Illinois, Domask backs Shannon with 16.1 points per game, while Hawkins is averaging 12.3. Quincy Guerrier pairs an average of 9.8 points with a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game.

Keshon Gilbert paces Iowa State with 13.7 points per game, followed by Lipsey (12.5 ppg), Milan Momcilovic (11.2) and Curtis Jones (10.6).

Thursday marks the 15th meeting between the teams. The Illini hold an 11-3 advantage in the all-time series.

–Nick Galle, Field Level Media

MLB 2024: Everyone Likes the Dodgers

by

LAS VEGAS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – As the 2024 major league season gets underway in earnest today, the Los Angeles Dodgers are already one game toward their projected total of 103.5 wins for the regular season. That’s courtesy of a split of their two-game, season-opening Seoul Series against the San Diego Padres.

The Dodgers lead the 30 major league teams with an over/under win total of 103.5 games at both BetMGM and DraftKings, via Betting Hero. By contrast, the Oakland A’s open the season at 57.5 at both books.

That represents a 46-game differential — or 28 percent of an entire 162-game schedule.

While the Dodgers spent the offseason adding stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to an already loaded roster, the A’s have spent the past several months mired in limbo about where the franchise will even be playing this time next year.

Extravagant spending doesn’t guarantee regular-season success — just ask the New York Mets. And the Dodgers know all too well that even regular-season dominance doesn’t automatically translate to postseason success.

They have plenty of competition, namely in the form of National League rival Atlanta. The Braves are second with a projected win total of 101.5 games. They are followed by a trio of American League teams: Houston (92.5 at BetMGM), the New York Yankees (91.5) and Baltimore (90.5).

Ironically, the Yankees opened at 93.5 projected wins and are tied for the biggest decline since the lines became available via Betting Hero.

The Orioles’ win total has increased the most since the market opened at 87.5 games. When it comes to the over, it has been the second-most bet total among all 30 teams behind only the Detroit Tigers, who have seen their projected win total increase from 79.5 to 81.5.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Miami Marlins have received the most under action on their 77.5-win projection. Second is the Boston Red Sox, also at 77.5 wins, followed by the Braves.

TEAM (OVER/UNDER WINS)*
Los Angeles Dodgers (103.5)
Atlanta Braves (101.5)
Houston Astros (92.5)
New York Yankees (91.5)
Baltimore Orioles (90.5)
Philadelphia Phillies (89.5)
Texas Rangers (88.5)
Minnesota Twins (86.5)
Seattle Mariners (86.5)
Tampa Bay Rays (85.5)
Toronto Blue Jays (85.5)
Arizona Diamondbacks (84.5)
Chicago Cubs (84.5)
St. Louis Cardinals (84.5)
San Diego Padres (83.5)
San Francisco Giants (83.5)
Cincinnati Reds (82.5)
Detroit Tigers (81.5)
New York Mets (81.5)
Cleveland Guardians (79.5)
Boston Red Sox (77.5)
Miami Marlins (77.5)
Milwaukee Brewers (76.5)
Pittsburgh Pirates (75.5)
Kansas City Royals (73.5)
Los Angeles Angels (72.5)
Washington Nationals (66.5)
Chicago White Sox (60.5)
Colorado Rockies (60.5)
Oakland Athletics (57.5)
*via Betting Hero

–Field Level Media

Sweet 16: San Diego St vs UConn

by

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – San Diego State didn’t have to wait long for another shot at the University of Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament. Less than a year after falling to the Huskies in the national championship game, the Aztecs will have a chance to redeem themselves tonight when the East Region teams collide in the Sweet 16.

Fifth-seeded San Diego State (26-10) seemed eager to set up a rematch with the defending national champions, putting together an 85-57 drubbing of No. 13 seed Yale on Sunday in the second round of the tourney.

Jaedon LeDee poured in a game-high 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go along with nine rebounds for the Aztecs, while Darrion Trammell added 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Trammell, who was on the San Diego State squad that came up just short of a title in 2023, believes the Aztecs now have what it takes to get past UConn (33-3) this time around.

“We’re just excited to get another crack at (the Huskies),” Trammell said. “Obviously they won a national championship last year, but I feel like we were right there. Just to get another chance at it, I think we’re up for the opportunity.

“We have the team to do it.”

However, Huskies coach Dan Hurley doesn’t think any team is capable of dethroning UConn.

“We are bulletproof,” Hurley said following the Huskies’ 75-58 victory over ninth-seeded Northwestern on Sunday. “Elite offense, elite defense.

“Didn’t love the offensive rebounding today and didn’t love the second-half defensive rebounding but, again, 20 assists, seven turnovers. … It’s tough to lose when you have that level of quality.”

Top-seeded UConn got 20 points and 10 assists from Tristen Newton against the Wildcats, while Donovan Clingan also recorded a double-double (14 points, 14 rebounds). The Huskies went just 3-for-22 from beyond the arc (13.6 percent) but still managed to shoot 53.7 percent from the field.

Even with that success, UConn doesn’t have all the odds in its favor, as no defending champion has reached the Elite Eight since Florida did so in 2007.

Hurley is determined to change that.

“We’ve been confident the whole year. I think last season changed how heavy we feel going into these games,” Hurley said. “Obviously you’re nervous and you know the history of NCAA champions not being able to get out of the first weekend.

“But we’re different.”

What the Huskies do have working for them on Thursday is a venue within driving distance of the UConn campus.

Boston’s TD Garden is about 90 minutes away from Storrs, Conn. With what is bound to be a primarily hostile crowd, San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher is hoping his guys stay loose.

“This is the time of year to be fearless and don’t worry about making a mistake. Play your best,” Dutcher said. “And we have experience in the tournament and I think some of that experience showed over the last two games.”

The Aztecs are playing in back-to-back Sweet 16s for the first time in program history. Prior to last season, the Huskies hadn’t reached the Sweet 16 since 2014, but they have twice made three straight (1994-96 and 2002-04).

Newton is one of five UConn players with a scoring average in double figures, posting a team-high 15.3 points per game. Cam Spencer (14.4 ppg) and Alex Karaban (13.7) trail close behind.

Clingan averages 12.8 points and a team-best 7.4 boards.

LeDee leads San Diego State with 21.5 points per contest. The Aztecs’ next best scorer is Reese Waters at 9.8 points per game.

The Huskies are seeking their 13th Elite Eight appearance, while San Diego State is looking for its second.

–Nick Galle, Field Level Media

Sweet 16: Odds Favor UConn

by

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – UConn’s quest to become the first team to repeat as the men’s national champion in nearly two decades has gotten off to a dominating start.

Embed from Getty Images

Not only do the Huskies own the longest winning streak in the country at nine games, but UConn has now won eight consecutive NCAA Tournament games by double digits. After dispatching No. 16 Stetson and No. 9 Northwestern by an average of 28 points, next up for UConn in the East Regional is No. 5 seed San Diego State tonight at TD Garden.

The Huskies opened the tournament as the +360 favorite via Betting Hero, and those odds have shortened to +210 ahead of the Sweet 16. It helps that No. 4 Auburn and No. 6 BYU failed to make it out of the first round.

UConn is also the third-biggest liability at BetMGM, where the Huskies are the +200 title favorite and lead the field with 11.8 percent of the total bets and 20.3 percent of the money backing them.

Next is North Carolina with 11.7 and 12.0 percent of the action, respectively, as the Tar Heels have moved from +1300 to +1000 since the start of the tournament. DraftKings reported Monday they had received the most action in the title market in the past 24 hours, followed by UConn.

North Carolina has also cruised through its first two games, but if the Tar Heels get past No. 4 Alabama in the Sweet 16 an Elite Eight date against No. 2 Arizona could lie in wait.

Arizona owns double-digit victories over Long Beach State and Dayton to begin the tournament and will face No. 6 Clemson next. The Wildcats have been the biggest mover of the tournament at DraftKings, where their title odds have shifted 30 percent from +1200 to +900.

Next is Duke, which opened at +3500. The fourth-seeded Blue Devils are now +2200 at the book ahead of a Sweet 16 matchup against top-seeded Houston. After that is a potential matchup against No. 2 seed Marquette.

While UConn does face a difficult road with four of the top five seeds remaining in the East, No. 1 Purdue faces the same challenge in the Midwest. If the Boilermakers can get past No. 5 Gonzaga in the Sweet 16, they would face an Elite Eight duel against either No. 2 Tennessee or No. 3 Creighton.

Purdue has been a popular play at BetMGM, drawing the third most total bets (7.7 percent) on the title winner along with the third most money (9.1 percent).

However, the biggest liability remains North Carolina State, the 11th seed in the South. The surprise ACC Championship winner has kept the ride rolling with opening victories over No. 6 seed Texas Tech and an overtime win over No. 14 Oakland.

The only double-digit seed to reach the Sweet 16, the Wolfpack opened the tournament at +15000 to cut down the nets at the end. A third of the way toward that unlikely event, NC State is now +10000 while drawing 2.1 percent of the total title money wagered.

Now that a program that finished below .500 in conference play clinched its first Sweet 16 since 2015, NC State star DJ Burns Jr. was asked for his message to the Wolfpack’s doubters.

“I’m just saying welcome back,” he said. “They didn’t really believe in us. They probably still don’t, but that doesn’t matter to us. We’re just going to stay together.”

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour: Houston Open

by

HOUSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The PGA Tour shifts from its Florida Swing to Texas for this week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open, which begins today at Memorial Park Golf Course.

Embed from Getty Images

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler seeks his third consecutive victory against a solid field. Our golf experts preview the event and provide their favorite prop picks along with best bets to win this week.

TEXAS CHILDREN’S OPEN
Location: Houston, March 28-31
Course: Memorial Park Golf Course (Par 70, 7,435 yards)
Purse: $9.1M (Winner: $1.638M)
Defending Champion: Tony Finau (2022)
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, 1-3:30 p.m. (GC), 3:30-6 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 8:15 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @TXHouOpen

PROP PICKS
–The Field vs. Scottie Scheffler (-400 at BetMGM): There is little question that Scheffler is the best — and hottest — golfer on the planet. There’s also a good reason why it has been seven years since anyone has won three consecutive starts on tour — it’s really hard to do. It’s certainly not the strongest field of the year, but there is enough talent lurking around Memorial Park to believe Scheffler will have a difficult time making it three straight ahead of the Masters.

–Si Woo Kim to Beat Tony Finau (-110 at DraftKings): Kim is coming off a T6 at the Players in his most recent start and has a pair of other top-15 results in his past five starts overall. Finau is the defending champion, but that came in the Fall of 2022 on a much firmer golf course. He believes his hard work off the course will translate into quality results soon, but his recent track record includes a missed cut last week after a T45 at the Players.

–Wyndham Clark Top 10 (+130 at BetMGM): The only player better than Clark in each of his past two starts has been Scheffler, and he also won at Pebble Beach earlier this year. A career-best fourth in the world rankings, Clark is in excellent form and knows Memorial Park well from his T16 in the Fall of ’22.

2024 Prop Picks Record: 18-17-1

BEST BETS
–Scottie Scheffler (+275 at BetMGM) is trying to become the first player to win three consecutive events on tour since Dustin Johnson in 2017. He has a T2 and a T9 in Houston the past two seasons. He opened at +300, but those odds have shortened slightly with Scheffler third in both total bets (7.0 percent) and money (19.5 percent) backing him to win this week.
–Wyndham Clark (+1200) has finished runner-up to Scheffler in each of his past two events. He’s the second biggest liability at BetMGM, where Clark is second with 18 percent of the money supporting him to win. A caution flkag, as Clark is battling an injured back, suffered Monday when he was lifting weights.
–Sahith Theegala (+1600) is a Spring, Texas resident and has consecutive top-10s entering the week. Those factors have contributed to Theegala being the book’s biggest liability as he leads the field with 19.5 percent of the total money backing him since opening at +2200.
–Will Zalatoris (+1800) makes his tournament debut while coming off consecutive top-5s in his past two starts. He’s the third biggest liability at the book this week.
–Tony Finau (+2500) won by four shots in 2022 but has a lone top-10 in eight starts this season.

NOTES
–The event returns to a spring date after being contested in the fall each of the past four seasons. It was not played in the 2023 calendar year.
–This is the fourth playing at Memorial Park, which first hosted the tournament in 2020.
–The top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking after this event will qualify for the Masters if not already exempt. The highest-ranked players in this week’s field who are not yet exempt are No. 57 Tom Hoge, No. 63 Mackenzie Hughes and No. 66 Alex Noren.
–Padraig Harrington, who won on the Champions Tour last week, is in the field on a sponsor exemption.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Look to Avenge Loss

by

ATLANTA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics will get a chance to avenge their embarrassing Monday meltdown against the Hawks when the teams meet for the second time this week.

The host Hawks overcame a 30-point deficit and ended Boston’s nine-game winning streak with a 120-118 victory. It was the biggest comeback in Hawks history and the largest comeback in the NBA this season.

“We let our foot off the gas in the second half and they got a great rhythm,” Celtics star Jayson Tatum said. “It’s a tough pill to swallow.”

Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis added, “You give (hope) to that type of team, you relax too much and give them some open looks, those guys can make shots. They’re an offensive-minded team and they got it going and then it’s a tough battle to kind of bring it back to what we wanted. We just gave them too much life.”

Boston leads the season series 2-1, having won the first two games in Boston, 113-103 on Nov. 26 and 125-117 on Feb. 7.

The Celtics remained in Atlanta between games for the two-game series. But in a scheduling quirk, the Hawks hosted — and beat — the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.

“It’s weird playing (Boston) on a back-to-back, but there’s no excuses in this league,” Atlanta’s Garrison Mathews said. “We’ve got to come ready to play. We know they’re going to try to get us back and we have to come ready to play.”

Atlanta (33-39) has won three in a row after its 120-106 win over Portland and remains 10th in the Eastern Conference standings. The Hawks were unable to pick up ground Wednesday on the ninth-place Chicago Bulls, who won to remain 1 1/2 games ahead, but also did not lose ground to the 11th-place Brooklyn Nets, who also won and trail Atlanta by 5 1/2 games.

The Hawks continue to ride the offense of Dejounte Murray. He scored 30 points against the Blazers and has put up 28-plus in three of his past four games.

Atlanta, playing without three starters and a key reserve, is getting contributions from different backups each night. Mathews scored a season-high 21 points against Portland. Vit Krejci matched his career high with 16 points vs. Boston.

“This team has been unselfish,” Atlanta coach Quin Snyder said.

Boston (57-15) has clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, owns the best road record in the league (25-12), has the best offensive rating in the NBA (122.5) and ranks second in defensive rating (110.7). Last season, the Celtics became the third team in NBA history to finish in the top three in both offensive and defensive rating.

The Celtics logged their 17th 70-point first half of the season on Monday, a franchise record that matches the NBA record for a single season.

The Hawks announced Wednesday that All-Star Trae Young has made a positive recovery in his recovery from surgery to repair a ligament in the little finger of his left hand. Young has missed 16 games since being hurt in the Feb. 23 game against Toronto. The team has not provided a timetable for his return to play.

The Atlanta lineup also remains without Jalen Johnson (right ankle sprain), Saddiq Bey (torn left ACL) and key reserve Onyeka Okongwu (sprained left toe).

–Field Level Media