Men’s NCAA National Championship 

On April 4, the NCAA Men’s National Championship was held between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Kansas Jayhawks at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome Arena.

Ranked at number eight, the Tar Heels hold six national championship titles and were looking to get their ninth, but the Jayhawks, ranked number one, secured the win with a two pointer and gained their fourth national championship title. 

The Most Outstanding Player and Big 12 Player of the Year in 2022 awards were given to senior shooting guard for Kansas, Ochai Agbaji. 

After overcoming a 15-point deficit at halftime, the largest in NCAA Tournament history, Kansas won its first title since 2008 with a score of 72-69. 

Women’s NCAA National Championship 

On April 3, the NCAA Women’s National Championship was held between the Connecticut Huskies and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Target Center Arena.

This was the most-watched women’s championship game since 2004, peaking at 5.91 million viewers. 

The Gamecocks, seated in first place, held onto the lead the entire game leaving the Huskies, seated second, to lose the championship with a score of 64-49. 

South Carolina’s women’s team now holds two championship titles under head coach Dawn Staley. 

Staley led the Gamecocks to a win in 2017 and now, in 2022. 

It was an emotional moment for Gamecocks sophomore Aliyah Boston to win the title because in 2021, she missed a layup that would’ve won the game against Stanford in the NCAA tournament. 

That moment motivated her to lead her team to the championship this year and win the title. 

Boston said, “But today we’re national champions.”

She was also given the Most Outstanding Player award. 

NBA Playoffs

The NBA playoffs are on their way in the first round with the final 16 teams playing for the semifinals. 

The Phoenix Suns are tied 2-2 against the New Orleans Pelicans. 

The Dallas Mavericks lead 3-2 against the Utah Jazz. 

With the Mavericks missing star player Luka Doncic, the Jazz should have an advantage, however, they continue to struggle against the Mavs offense. 

The Golden State Warriors lead 3-1 against the Denver Nuggets. 

With arguably, the three most impressive three-pointer shooting guards on the same team, Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, and Jordan Poole had a combined score of 84 points which helped lead the team to their game 2 win. 

The Memphis Grizzlies lead 3-2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Miami Heat lead 4-1 against the Atlanta Hawks and are heading to the semifinals. 

Power forward and small forward, Jimmy Butler made a playoff career high 45 points to take the Heat to their 2-0 lead. 

Philadelphia 76ers lead 3-2 against the Toronto Raptors. 

The Milwaukee Bucks lead 3-1 against the Chicago Bulls. 

Finally, the Boston Celtics lead 4-0 against the Brooklyn Nets and are heading to the semifinals. 

The Nets guard Kyrie Irving couldn’t hold back his frustration toward the Celtics fans when they won the first game 115-114. 

He flipped off some Celtic fans from the back of his head and is now being fined $50,000 by the NBA. 

With an interesting start to the playoffs, upcoming games with returning injured players are something to look forward to.