Sports: Notre Dame Out of Tourney; Tigers lose to Astros

NCAA Tourney

North Carolina beat Notre Dame 88-74 on Sunday night. The Tar Heels reached the Final Four for a record 19th time and the first since 2009.

Syracuse is headed to the Final Four after being one of the last teams to make the NCAA Tournament, beating Virginia 68-62 on Sunday night.

North Carolina will face Syracuse in another all-Atlantic Coast Conference matchup in the Final Four on Saturday in Houston.

Villanova Beat Kansas and Oklahoma beat Oregon to advance.  Villanova will take on Oklahoma on Saturday in the Final Four.

Women’s Basketball

Michigan plays Temple in the Women’s NCAA Tournament tonight at 7pm.

Hockey NCAA

Ferris State lost to Denver 6-3 in the NCAA Hockey Tournament.  Quinnipiac beat UMass Lowell 4-1.  the Finals will be Thursday April 7^th, as Boston College plays Quinnipiac and Denver takes on North Dakota.

NBA/Pistons

The Pistons host the Thunder on Tuesday night.  Detroit was blown out by Atlanta on Saturday.  The Pistons close out the home stand on Friday against Dallas and then head to Chicago on Saturday.  The Pistons still lead the Bulls in the standings as they try to hold on to that last playoff spot. Their 39-and-35 record has them in the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The have a two game lead over the Bulls.

Tigers

A split-squad of Houston Astros beat the Tigers 8-3 on Sunday.  Most of the Astros regulars and manager A.J. Hinch were in Mexico City for a game against the San Diego Padres.  Mike Pelfrey started for the Tigers and allowed four runs in five innings. He allowed nine runs in five innings in a minor league game his last time out.  James McCann homered for Detroit and had two hits, including a double to boost his batting average to .351. Miguel Cabrera also doubled for the Tigers.  With less than a week remaining in spring training, the Detroit Tigers appear to have a couple bullpen spots still up for grabs.  Bruce Rondon didn't bolster his case for one of those spots Sunday afternoon. Neither did Lendy Castillo.  The Tigers are back in Grapefuit League action this evening when they the Yankees. First pitch is 6:35 p.m.

The Tigers made two more cuts Sunday afternoon following their 8-3 loss to the Houston Astros. The team sent catcher Raffy Lopez and infielder/outfielder John Mayberry Jr. to minor-league camp Sunday afternoon.  The Tigers have not announced their plans, but Lopez will likely head to Triple-A Toledo to share catching duties with Miguel Gonzalez, who was cut earlier in camp. Mayberry, an outfielder throughout most of his career, will likely be the everyday first baseman for Toledo.

Red Wings

The Red Wings host the Buffalo Sabres tonight. They were blasted by the Penguins on Saturday, 7-2. With 85 points, Detroit is in the last wildcard playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.  They are four points ahead of the Flyers.

It appears the Red Wings are losing an assistant coach. According to ESPN's John Buccigross, Tony Granato will be named the next head coach at Wisconsin.

Golf

Jason Day made his return to No. 1 in the world by winning the Dell Match Play.  Day outlasted Rory McIlroy in an epic battle in the semifinals by making a 12-foot par putt on the final hole. The championship match against Louis Oosthuizen turned into a victory lap at Austin Country Club.  Day now has won six of his last 13 starts.

NASCAR took the weekend off.