With no major upsets in the women's NCAA Tournament so far, the Sweet 16 is primed for compelling matchups among high seeds. Some teams have been overlooked while others are on upset watch when the tournament resumes Friday.
Here are three high seeds that could lose in the Sweet 16.
Latest lines are from DraftKings.
No. 1 USC Trojans (-1.5) vs. No. 5 Kansas State Wildcats
After confirmation that USC star sophomore JuJu Watkins (23.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 3.4 APG) suffered a torn right ACL in Monday's Round-of-32 win over No. 9 seed Mississippi State, the path for the Trojans (30-3) to their first national title since 1984 became much more difficult.
While a potential showdown with the No. 2 seed UConn in the Elite Eight could await — assuming the Huskies defeat No. 3 seed Oklahoma on Saturday — the fifth-seeded Kansas State (28-7) will not be an easy out. The teams will play Saturday.
Kansas State senior center Ayoka Lee (15.6 PPG, 6.4 RPG), the program's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, has battled through multiple injuries, including a foot fracture that kept her out of action for nearly a month. But she has played in each of the Wildcats' two NCAA Tournament games, posting a double-double against No. 12 Fairfield (17 points, 10 rebounds) .
No. 1 Texas Longhorns (-7.5) vs. No. 5 Tennessee Lady Volunteers
Saturday's meeting between Texas and Tennessee will be the second for the teams this season. The Longhorns won 80-76 on Jan. 23, courtesy of sophomore Madison Booker's 26 points.
That was one of nine losses this season for the Lady Vols, but eight of those defeats have been by single digits, including losses by a combined 19 points to each of the other four SEC teams still dancing. Tennessee (24-9) enters the Sweet 16 as the highest-scoring team in Division I (87.5 PPG) and ranks fifth in bench production (30 PPG).
Texas (33-3) only allows 55.8 points per game and has not given up more than 70 points in a game since Tennessee scored 76 in the first meeting. The Lady Vols have familiarity with the Longhorns and nearly took them down two months ago. If Tennessee can get that kind of offense generated once again, Texas could be in trouble.
No. 2 Duke Blue Devils (-5.5) vs. No. 3 North Carolina Tar Heels
When the rivals play Friday, it will be their third meeting this season (each team has won a game). If you are a fan of offense, this game may not be for you, considering the winning team failed to reach 70 in either game this season.
Each program enters the Sweet 16 allowing fewer than 60 points per game. North Carolina (29-7) ranks 28th in the country with an average of 12.9 turnovers per game, while Duke (28-7) is 20th with 20.66 turnovers forced per game.
Tar Heels senior Alyssa Ustby (10.9 PPG, 9.4 RPG) has 10 double-doubles this season, including one in the Jan. 9 win over Duke. If North Carolina can limit its giveaways, it will likely have a shot at the upset.
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Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is supposed to remain in charge of the team for years even after the sale. Given what just happened with the Boston Celtics, it might only be months. When the Grousbeck family sold the Celtics for $6.1B in March, ESPN reported that Wyc Grousbeck would stay on as the Celtics CEO and governor through the 2027-28 season. Now, new owner Bill Chisholm will take over once the sale is final. That should concern current Lakers team governor Jeanie Buss, whose family sold a majority interest in the Los Angeles Lakers to investor Mark Walter. Buss is supposed to stay on as team governor for "at least a number of years," according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, but new NBA owners haven't been keen on waiting to take control of teams recently. Mark Cuban thought he would continue running the Dallas Mavericks when he sold a controlling interest to the Adelson family in November 2023. Before the end of that season, when Dallas advanced to the NBA Finals, new team governor Patrick Dumont, the son-in-law of Miriam Adelson, was firmly in charge. General manager Nico Harrison reported directly to Dumont, which is how Luka Doncic ended up traded to the Lakers despite Cuban's objections. It might be different with the Lakers. Walter has owned a minority share in the Lakers since 2021, so he's had a working relationship with Buss. Her role as team governor may be a condition of the sale itself. With the team preparing for a long-term future with Doncic, Walter and his fellow owners might opt for continuity in the team governor role. But in general, people do not spend billions of dollars on a professional sports team so that someone else can be in charge. Buss is in charge of the Lakers now. Recent history says she won't be for long.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has been named in a lawsuit that was filed in Hawaii on Friday. Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo, are being sued by a real estate investor and a broker in Hawaii who have accused Ohtani and Balelo of sabotaging a $240M real estate deal for a development on the Big Island. According to court documents that were obtained by Jimmy Golen of The Associated Press, real estate developer Kevin J. Hayes Sr. and real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto say Ohtani and Balelo deliberately had them removed from the project “for no reason other than their own financial self-interest.” The lawsuit claims Ohtani was brought into the deal for his promotional value and that he and his agent pushed the founders of the project out using “threats and baseless legal claims.” “Defendants must be held accountable for their actions, not shielded by fame or behind-the-scenes agents acting with impunity,” the lawsuit states. “Plaintiffs bring this suit to expose Defendants’ misconduct and to ensure that the rules of contract, fair dealing, and accountability apply equally to all — celebrity or not.” Hayes and Matsumoto have also accused Ohtani and Balelo of trying to push them out of a similar neighboring development project. The $240M Big Island development is located along Hapuna Beach, which is rated one of the top beaches in the world. Matsumoto was supposed to be the listing agent for the properties, which average more than $17.3M each. A brochure for the project stated that Ohtani, who was called “Japan’s Babe Ruth” has committed to buying one of the 14 properties and acting as a “celebrity spokesperson” for the development. Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700M contract with the Dodgers prior to the 2024 season. The two-way star is having another monster year with a .284 average, 42 home runs, 78 RBI and a 1.013 OPS entering Tuesday. Ohtani has also returned to pitching this season and has a 2.37 ERA across 19 innings. Ohtani was also connected to a massive gambling scandal last year, though Major League Baseball determined that the 31-year-old was not guilty of any wrongdoing.
Cleveland Browns All-Pro pass-rusher Myles Garrett became the subject of headlines when it was learned that he was cited for driving 100 mph in a 60 mph zone on an interstate in a Cleveland suburb several hours after the Browns opened the preseason with a 30-10 win at the Carolina Panthers on Friday night. While speaking with reporters ahead of the club's joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday morning, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski sent a clear message regarding his feelings about Garrett's latest speeding incident. "Coming from a team leader, extremely disappointing," Stefanski said about Garrett, per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN. "It's been addressed with Myles -- with the football team. He needs to slow down for his safety and the safety of others." Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer mentioned that Garrett has had at least eight speeding citations in Northeast Ohio since Cleveland made him the first overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. Back in the fall of 2022, Garrett missed a game after he was involved in a single-car accident following a team practice. The Ohio State Highway Patrol ultimately issued Garrett a citation following that crash after it was determined he was using an "unsafe speed for the type of roadway being traveled." Cabot added that Stefanski declined to say if Garrett will be disciplined this summer. Earlier in the week, Cabot wrote that Garrett could "be fined for conduct detrimental to the team." Back in early February, Garrett requested a trade from the Browns coming off the club's 3-14 season. However, he later accepted a four-year, $160M contract extension that included $123.5M guaranteed to stay with the organization. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam revealed during the NFL owners meetings in the spring that he had "challenged" Garrett "to become a real leader of the team." Haslam made that comment after a March report shared that it's "well known within the Browns that Garrett is frequently late to the facility" and "has skipped mandatory team activities on multiple occasions." It remains to be seen how the 29-year-old will respond to Stefanski's comments about an incident that occurred after Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders was cited for speeding twice in June.
As soon as it was confirmed on Tuesday that Buffalo Bills running back James Cook planned to resume practicing because things had "changed" regarding his desire for a contract extension, it seemed to be a matter of when and not if fans would learn that the two sides had come to terms on an agreement. It turns out Cook had millions of reasons to suit up on Aug. 12. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Wednesday morning that Cook has received a four-year, $48M contract extension that includes $30M guaranteed from the Bills. According to Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN, the $30M guarantee is the most handed to a running back over the past five years. Cook was in the final year of his rookie deal and stopped participating in training-camp practices as part of a hold-in earlier in August. However, his agent later insisted that the 25-year-old "only wants to be a Buffalo Bill" and would continue "working toward" a resolution through the preseason. Last week, Buffalo quarterback and reigning regular-season Most Valuable Player Josh Allen directly said that he "desperately" wanted to have Cook back on the practice field and in the lineup. That's understandable considering what's expected of the 2025 Bills. As of Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook continued to list the Bills and Baltimore Ravens as the co-favorites at +600 betting odds to win Super Bowl LX this coming February. Meanwhile, Cook was responsible for the ninth-most regular-season rushing yards (2,131) in the league over the past two campaigns. He, Ravens star Derrick Henry and Jahmyr Gibbs of the Detroit Lions led the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns each last season. In the end, trading Cook for a future draft asset never made much sense for a Bills team that is looking to do more than simply qualify for the next postseason tournament. "James could only envision himself as a Buffalo Bill," agent Zac Hiller told Schefter. "We are extremely thankful to the entire Bills organization and glad we could make that happen." With the Cook saga now behind them, the Bills can fully focus on preparing for their Week 1 "Sunday Night Football" showdown with the Ravens that will take place at Buffalo's Highmark Stadium on Sept. 7.