Winners Club: Final Four Weekend Tips Off With an Historic Matchup
March Madness carries on into April.
The women’s Final Four gets underway this evening and the men’s Final Four starts up Saturday night with championship games to follow on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
There’s plenty more going on in the sports world—the NBA MVP and playoff races are heating up and Opening Day is less than a week away—but this weekend still belongs to college basketball.
Finally, the Final Four
You might have heard by now that Duke and North Carolina are playing this weekend. It’s also possible that you heard these two storied programs are rather heated rivals that are playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time ever in Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final game. It’s kind of a big deal.
Pat Forde documented the five best Duke games, five best UNC games and five most infamous games from the rivalry ahead of this latest installment in the series.
“There is still a big college basketball world outside Tobacco Road, but Carolina-Duke really is the best of what the sport can be on a remarkably consistent basis,” Forde writes. “And now, they meet in a game that is so large that the hype—for once!—cannot keep pace.”
Before the Blue Devils and Tar Heels tip off, two teams with their own postseason history meet.
Saturday 6:09 p.m. ET (TBS): No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 1 Kansas (-4.5)
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Saturday 8:49 p.m. (TBS): No. 8 North Carolina vs. No. 2 Duke (-4)
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And the women’s national semifinals begin tonight with a perfect representation of the past, present and future of the women’s game.
“One game will showcase two of the most iconic programs in the history of the sport,” writes Emma Baccellieri, “while the other will showcase two of the most compelling for the future—and the four teams collectively show off the best of the game right now.”
Eric Gay/AP
Friday 7 p.m. (ESPN): No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 1 South Carolina (-8)
Friday 9:30 p.m. (ESPN) No. 2 UConn vs. No. 1 Stanford (-1.5)
Opening Day is Just Days Away
Baseball begins less than a week from today. Are you ready?
A whole lot happened in the offseason, but some things remain the same. The Dodgers (+450) are the favorites to win the World Series and the White Sox and Astros (+400) are co-favorites to win the American League and presumably face the NL favorite, L.A. (+210).
Charlie Riedel/AP
Jen Piacenti has a baseball betting primer to refresh you on how to best America’s pastime. Run line? Moneyline? She explains it all in Sports Betting 101.
After studying up on baseball betting, consult Shawn Childs’s over/under win totals picks to see what the expectations are for each team in the league and, more importantly, where there’s money to be made on overachieving or underachieving teams.
And for a comprehensive, league-wide preview of the season, consult the American League and National League breakdowns to see what big question each team is facing entering the year.
Around the NFL
Now that April is here, the NFL draft is just a few weeks away.
Kevin Hanson’s third mock draft is here with updates to account for a few major trades that shook the NFL to its core during this hectic offseason. When will the first receiver fall? And will a team move up for a quarterback in this bleak class? Hanson has the answers.
Paul Vernon/AP
In tandem with Hanson’s mock and rankings, Matt De Lima analyzed the dynasty value of the incoming rookie class. A few receivers are bound to have immediate impact if the last few seasons have taught us anything, the quarterbacks this year appear to be a work in progress and there’s a few running backs with potential, but no first-round talents.
And speaking of that wild, wild offseason, which fantasy players stand to lose the most from all of that movement? Michael Fabiano singled out 10 players who are worse off heading into the 2022 season.
Stock down on Patrick Mahomes? Yes, and see why.
In Other News
DeRozan Torches Clippers for 50 in OT Win: Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 50 points at home against L.A. in the 135-130 victory. Chicago covered the 2.5-point spread in the extra period, thanks to DeRozan’s clutch play.
Bobby Wagner Signs with Rams: The standout Seattle linebacker joins his division rival after 10 years with the Seahawks. Los Angeles is filling the whole left by Von Miller, who joined the Bills this offseason, with Wagner, who inked a five-year deal with the team.
James, Davis Expected to Return Friday: The Lakers stars may be back on the court against the Pelicans with the team, currently in 10th place in the West, in dire straits. Anthony Davis has not played since Feb. 14 while LeBron James has missed the team’s last two games.
Thanks for reading Winners Club! Enjoy your weekend. I’ll be back Monday morning ahead of the men’s national title game.
