Great night for ACC...Virginia, Syracuse, North Carolina, Notre Dame into Elite Eight

UNDATED (AP) — All four Number 1 seeds are alive in the Elite Eight of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Here's how North Carolina and Virginia joined Oregon and Kansas in the final eight. All four of last night's winners are from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

NCAA Basketball Tournament - East Regional - Indiana v North Carolina
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CHICAGO (AP)— Virginia, a defense-first team, resorted to some high-octane offense in overpowering Iowa State 84-71 to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1995. The Cavaliers are the No. 1 seed in the Midwest, already joining other No. 1 seeds Oregon and Kansas in the Elite Eight.

Virginia raced out to an early 14-3 lead and never trailed the overmatched Cyclones. Anthony Gill had 23 points and eight rebounds. Mike Tobey added 18 points and seven boards.

Next up for the Cavaliers is a return date with Syracuse in an All-ACC Midwest final on Sunday. The 10th-seeded Orange, who some felt didn't deserve a tournament invite, showed they belonged by rallying to beat 11th seed Gonzaga 63-60. Syracuse trailed by five with three minutes left but outscored the 'Zags 9-0 down the stretch. Michael Gbinije led the Orange with 20, including the go-ahead basket.

Virginia beat Syracuse 73-65 at home back in January. But Sunday's Midwest final will be on a neutral court, Chicago's United Center.

PHILADEPHIA (AP)— Top seed North Carolina dismissed fifth seed Indiana 101-86 in a matchup of college basketball blue bloods in the East regional semifinal. Marcus Paige canned six 3-pointers and led the Tar Heels with 21 points. Brice Johnson added 20.

That sets up an all-ACC East regional final Sunday that will be the rubber match between North Carolina and Notre Dame. The Tar Heels beat the Irish by 31 points in the Big East tournament on March 11. But Notre Dame won a regular season game against the Tar Heels at home back in January.

In the other East regional semifinal, sixth seed Notre Dame made three key steals in the final 13 seconds to stun Wisconsin 61-56. Demetrius Jackson made two of those steals and finished with 16 points and six assists. He made six of Notre Dame's final eight points as the Irish outscored the Badgers 8-0 at the finish. Notre Dame is one victory away from its first Final Four trip in 38 years.

Coming up tonight in the West Regional final, top seed Oregon is playing No. 2 Oklahoma while in Louisville in the South Regional finale top-seed Kansas plays No. 2 Villanova.

The winners of the regionals will advance to the Final Four next weekend in Houston.

NBA-SCHEDULE

Short-handed Spurs still perfect at home...So are the Warriors

UNDATED (AP)— LaMarcus Aldridge had 32 points and 12 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs defeated the similarly short-handed Memphis Grizzlies 110-104 to match the best home start in league history with their 37th in a row.

San Antonio's streak tied the season-opening mark set by the Chicago Bulls in 1995-96 during their record 72-victory season. The Spurs have won 46 consecutive regular-season home games dating to March 2015.

The Spurs won despite Kawhi Leonard missing the game with a bruised right quadriceps and Danny Green, Boris Diaw and Patty Mills all sitting out for rest. The Grizzlies were without injured starters Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, Mike Conley and three others.

In other NBA:

— Klay Thompson scored 40 points and Stephen Curry added 33 to help the Golden State Warriors become the second team to post back-to-back 65-win seasons with a 128-120 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. That's the Warriors' 51st straight regular season home win, including a 34-0 mark at Oracle Arena this season.

— DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points and 11 rebounds and the Sacramento Kings beat the Phoenix Suns 116-94.

— D.J. Augustin scored 20 points and Jusuf Nurkic added a career-high 18 in the Denver Nuggets' 116-105 victory over the L.A. Lakers. Kobe Bryant had 28 to lead all scorers for L.A.

— James Harden had his third triple-double this season -- 32 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds -- to help the Houston Rockets snap a three-game skid with a 112-109 win over the Toronto Raptors.

__ Hassan Whiteside had 26 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked five shots to lead the Miami Heat past the Orlando Magic 108-97. Miami is 14-1 in its last 15 games against the Magic.

— Rookie Karl-Anthony Towns scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves dealt a blow to the Washington Wizards' playoff hopes with a 132-129 double-overtime victory. Washington is three and a-half games out of the final playoff spot in the East.

__ Jeff Teague's 17 points led Atlanta over Milwaukee 101-90. Paul Millsap and Al Horford each added 14.

— Andre Drummond had 18 points and 14 rebounds and the Detroit Pistons overwhelmed Charlotte, 112-105. Detroit led 72-56 at the half in winning its fifth straight game.

NBA-MAVERICKS-PARSONS SURGERY

Mavs' Parsons done for season

DALLAS (AP) — Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons will miss the rest of the season after surgery on his right knee.

It is the second year in a row that Parsons' season has ended prematurely because of right knee surgery.

Parsons averaged 13.7 points in 61 games this season, but averaged 18.3 points and 5.8 rebounds in his final 30 games since Jan. 12.

NHL-SCHEDULE

Caps close in on Presidents' Trophy

UNDATED (AP)— John Carlson scored at 2:17 of overtime, Braden Holtby made 22 saves and the Washington Capitals moved with grasping distance of the Presidents' Trophy with a 1-0 road victory over the New Jersey Devils.

The win gave Washington 111 points. They can clinch their first Presidents' Trophy since 2009-10 with a point against the Blues on Saturday or Dallas losing earlier in the day.

In other hockey:

— Brian Elliott made 15 saves for his third straight shutout and the St. Louis Blues beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 to clinch a playoff spot and tie Dallas for the Central Division lead.

— Tyler Johnson and Jason Garrison scored 23 seconds apart midway through the third period and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 7-4.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Coaching news

UNDATED (AP) — After considering a possible move to UNLV Mick Cronin has decided to stay with the University of Cincinnati. Cronin just finished his 10th season with the Bearcats, who lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bearcats are 207-129 under Cronin, who replaced Bob Huggins.

In other moves:

— Stanford has hired University of Alabama at Birmingham coach Jerod Haase as its new basketball coach. The move comes a week and a half after the Cardinal fired eighth-year coach Johnny Dawkins.

— Georgia Tech has fired men's basketball coach Brian Gregory after five seasons. The firing came despite Georgia Tech making the postseason for the first time in his five seasons as coach. The Yellow Jackets won a pair of NIT games before losing at San Diego State 72-56 on Wednesday night. Gregory was dismissed with an overall record of 76-86, which included a dismal 27-61 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

— Drexel has a new head basketball coach. The Dragons have hired Army's Zach Spiker after leading that school to a record of 102-112 in seven seasons.

MLB-PHILLIES

New deal for the skipper

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — The Phillies have signed manager Pete Mackanin to a two-year contract through 2017. The new deal includes a club option for 2018. The 64-year-old had signed a one-year contract last September after replacing Ryne Sandberg in June. After taking over he led the Phillies to a 37-51.

NFL-NEWS

Notes from around the NFL

UNDATED (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have agreed to terms with veteran safety Rashad Johnson on a one-year contract. He spent the last seven seasons with Arizona after the Cardinals selected him in the third round of the 2009 draft out of Alabama. Johnson has started 51 of his 100 career games with 15 interceptions, 26 passes defended, one sack and four fumbles recovered. He also has returned three interceptions for touchdowns.

Elsewhere:

— The Bengals have kept free agent defensive tackle Brandon Thompson, signing him to a one-year deal. Thompson played in nine games last season and tore a knee ligament. He's expected back in the middle of the season.

— The Bears have agreed to a one-year contract with Chris Prosinski, who plays on special teams as well as the defensive backfield. Prosinski has played in 69 games over five seasons with Jacksonville, Philadelphia and Chicago.

GOLF-MATCH PLAY

Day, McIllroy advance

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Jason Day has moved into the round of 16 in the Dell Match Play after Paul Casey withdrew from their match because of a stomach illness. Day got the added benefit of rest when Casey withdrew after six holes.

Rory McIlroy beat Kevin Na on the 20th hole in a match between unbeaten golfers. McIlroy also advanced in the tournament. He's won 10 straight matches.

PGA-PUERTO RICO OPEN

Campos continues to set the pace

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico (AP) —Native son Rafael Campos has maintained the lead after two rounds of the Puerto Rico Open. He shot a 1-under 71 in the second round to get to 9-under par. That gives him a one-shot lead over George McNeill who also carded a 71.

LPGA-KIA CLASSIC

Shin takes second round lead

CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) — Jenny Shin's 7-under 65 has put her on top after the second round of the LPGA Kia Classic. The bogey-free round puts her at 10-under par.

Inbee Park and Brittany Lang are a shot back after a 3-uder-69. Jessica Korda posted a 67 and trails by three shots.

SOCCER

US men fall in Guatemala 2-0

UNDATED (AP)— The United States' path toward the 2018 World Cup became considerably more difficult when coach Jurgen Klinsmann made some puzzling lineup choices and the American defense self-destructed in a 2-0 loss to Guatemala in Guatemala City.

Seeking their eighth straight World Cup berth, the Americans had been unbeaten in 21 games against Guatemala since January 1988.

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