Good Morning, Stumpers!

Hope everybody has recovered from 32 games in 48 hours! If you haven’t, I’ve got good news for you…luckily there are only 16 games in the next 48 hours and some would say they are ten times more exciting! SOME WOULD SAY, not saying us…but some would say! Anyway, great Stump for you today going over some March highlights! Go Huskies!

🏀 SGS Bracket Challenge 🏀 

Check out Full Group HERE!

🚨 Final Entries Count: 1035 🚨 

After Round of 64…

• We’ve got a four-way TIE for first at 290 points! An extremely impressive 29 for 32 in Round 1 of the action!

• No surprise that the top-picked winners were Duke, Florida, Auburn, and Houston, all remain in play!

• 18 brackets had picked Clemson, who were knocked out in the first round!

Today’s Rundown

What’s in today’s edition?

• 🏀 Day 2 of the MADNESS! We Review It!

• ⛳️ We head to the Weekend at the VALSPAR Championship!

• 🏈 Famous Jameis is heading to New York!

• 🐍 A Kobe Bean On This Day!

On This Day

On This Day…

🪣 Bryant Gets Buckets.

There’s no doubt in any basketball player’s mind that Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest scorers of the basketball in NBA history. But it was on this day in 2007 that Bryant completed a three-game streak that only three other players in NBA history achieved.

Bryant scored at least 50 points in three straight games, becoming the fourth all-time to do it. Not to spoil TOMORROW’s on this day, but he may have done it FOUR straight games. But 2007 us did NOT know that just yet. Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves…

Today’s Trivia

🧠 Test your sports knowledge…

Yesterday’s Trivia Answer: (E) Rick Pitino. Pitino has led SIX different college programs to the NCAA Tournament: Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, Iona, and now St. Johns.

Before We Dive In…

👀 You GOTTA see these!

• 🏀 Joe Ingles gets to play in front of his son! THIS IS AWESOME!

• 🏀 17 years ago the baby-faced assassin made his mark!

• 🎤 I don’t care what anyone says! Barkley is absolute COMEDY!

• ⛳️ HEAD UP Sahith! This guy is just one of the boys!

🔍️ Stump Spotlight

March Madness

🏀 Day TWO

Day two, let’s get into it!

(8) UConn def. (9) Oklahoma, 67-59: ROLL SKIES! This was a grit fest all the way through. The Huskies didn’t get their A stuff from really anybody but Tarris Reed Jr.. Despite this, they were able to do just enough to advance to Sunday! Where the Gators await! Let’s go shock the world!

(1) Duke def. (16) Mount St. Mary’s, 93-49: Yeah man, Duke is back. Flagg’s ankle is just fine.

(2) Alabama def. (15) Robert Morris, 90-81: The Colonials of Robert Morris REALLY made Bama sweat this one out. Bama was in control the whole time, but it was not easy.

(3) Iowa State def. (14) Lipscomb, 82-55: Just a tough day at the office for Lipscomb. A really, really, tough day. Iowa State is healthy at the right time.

(4) Maryland def. (13) Grand Canyon, 81-49: Turtles>Antelopes. Really thought we would’ve got more from GCU, but Maryland looked like a wagon yesterday. Maryland freshman star Derrick Queen with 12 points and 15 rebounds.

(12) Colorado State def. (5) Memphis, 78-70: We featured CSU in our ‘Cinderellas’ this year, they were red hot coming into the tourney, and looks like they haven’t cooled off just yet.

(6) Ole Miss def. (11) North Carolina, 71-64: Ole Miss was up big all night long, but all of a sudden with a minute left it was a 2-point game. Ole Miss got hot following the huge UNC comeback and ran away with it in the last 65 seconds. Big day from veteran Ole Miss guard Sean Pedulla, who had 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.

(7) Saint Mary’s def. (10) Vanderbilt, 59-56: It was an unbelievable second-half comeback from Saint Mary’s that shocked the Vandy faithful. Vandy led by 12 when Saint Mary’s best player exited the game with four fouls early in the second half, but Jordan Ross got red hot for the Gaels to help pull the game even. They’ll take on Bama in a match of two very different playing styles.

(9) Baylor def. (8) Mississippi St, 75-72: The first game of the day was arguably the most back and forth. Baylor freshman Robert Wright III was good all day, and their star VJ Edgecombe got hot late and helped fend off any Miss. St surge. MSST star PG, Josh Hubbard, who just so happens to be 5’10”, had 26 points in the loss.

(1) Florida def. (16) Norfolk State, 95-69: Gator chomp. That is all.

(3) Kentucky def. (14) Troy, 76-57: Mark Pope has this team rolling, no Kentucky tournament struggles to report.

(10) New Mexico def. (7) Marquette, 75-66: Pitino SQUARED! Rick Pitino’s son Richard and his New Mexico Wolfpack are a tough tough squad. Marquette battled all day long and gave the Wolfpack everything they could, but it was not enough as this veteran New Mexico squad keeps dancing.

(4) Arizona def. (13) Akron, 93-65: Goodnight my sweet prince Akron Zips, it was an honor. Wildcats roll.

(6) Illinois def. (11) Xavier, 86-73: Sean Miller and Xavier have been a great story this last month, but man Illinois is solid! This was another upset pick that people liked but they put that to bed! Strong performance from the Illini!

(2) Michigan State def. (15) Bryant, 87-62: Story of the first two days really. The heavy underdog showed some fight early, then the favorite shut the door in the second half! Spartans are looking good!

(5) Oregon def. (12) Liberty, 81-52: If you finished all the way through this game past midnight you’re an absolute SICKO! BUT WE LOVE IT! This was all Oregon! Get ready to do it again TODAY!

The Hot Stove

🤑 Virginia Eyeing In-State Candidate for MBB Head Coach

Of all the best basketball programs in the country, not many have had the success in the past 15 years that the University of Virginia has had. Following the sudden retirement of longtime head coach Tony Bennett this past preseason, UVA had a rough season. Now, the school seems to be eyeing VCU head man Ryan Odom, whose season just ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Odom has led three different programs to March, but his most impressive performance came when his 16-seed UMBC Terriers defeated the then 1-seed Virginia Cavaliers in the first round of the 2018 NCAA tournament. He also led Utah State to one tournament birth before taking over at VCU. A deal between the two is widely-expected to come together in the next few days.

⛳️ The Valspar Heads Into the Weekend

It’s been a tough couple of days for the field early into the Valspar Championship, with the cut line at +2. The leader, Jacob Bridgeman of the United States, sits alone with a score of -6 after two steady days of golf. But there are some big names in his review mirror, with Victor Hovland finally finding form thus far sitting one off the lead, and Shane Lowry and Xander Schauffele one of four golfers tied for fifth at -4 and are two strokes off the lead. Among those who failed to make the weekend are Nicolai Hojgaard, his brother Rasmus, Cam Young, Sam Burns, Zach Johnson, Cam Davis, and last year’s champion Peter Malnati. Leader Jacob Bridgeman has never won a PGA Tour event, nor even finished in the top 10.

🤝 The Jameis Experience Goes to New York

There’s probably not another personality in the National Football League that is as fun to enjoy as Jameis Winston. Watching Jameis play football is not just an experience, it is THE experience. He’s gonna throw for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns, but he’ll also have 3 interceptions that leave you scratching your head. But there’s nobody I’d rather root for. Winston and the Giants agreed to a 2-year deal, worth up to $8 million dollars. I can’t WAIT to see Jameis in the bright lights of New York.

What To Watch

🏀 The NCAA Tournament.

• Men’s NCAA Tournament: McNeese vs Purdue (12:10 PM on CBS), Arkansas vs St. Johns (2:40 PM on CBS), Michigan vs Texas A&M (5:15 PM on CBS), Drake vs Texas Tech (6:10 PM on TNT), Creighton vs Auburn (7:10 PM on TBS), BYU vs Wisconsin (7:45 PM on CBS), Gonzaga vs Houston (8:40 PM on TNT), UCLA vs Tennessee (9:40 PM on TBS)

• Women’s First Four: Another big day on the ESPN family of networks, starting with Murray State vs Iowa at 12:00 PM, going until San Diego State vs LSU tipping off at 10:15 PM ET. Here’s the whole schedule

🏀 NBA Basketball, on the NBAtv Network!

• Double Header on NBAtv: Warriors @ Hawks (7:00 PM), Bucks @ Kings (10:00 PM)

• More to Watch: Nets @ Pacers (5:00 PM), Bulls @ Lakers (10:30 PM)

⚾️ Spring Training Full Schedule

🏒 Two televised games today but a MASSIVE slate!

• Televised: Canucks vs Rangers (1:00 PM on NHLNet), Red Wings @ Knights (8:00 PM on ABC)

• ESPN+: Canes @ Kings (4:00 PM), Flames @ Islanders (4:00 PM), Panthers @ Capitals (5:00 PM), Lightning @ Utah (5:00 PM), Sabres @ Devils (7:00 PM), Kraken @ Oilers (10:00 PM)

⚽️ Soccer or Futbol, whatever you may prefer

• NWSL: NC @ Seattle (7:00 PM), Washington @ KC (7:30 PM), Bay vs Louisville (10:00 PM), San Diego vs Utah (10:00 PM)

• MLS: 13-game slate starting at 2:30 PM. Full schedule

⛳️ Day THREE of the VALSPAR Championship live from the BEAUTIFUL Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida. Here is your leaderboard!

The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For

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