DAYTON, Ohio -- Alabama State guard Micah Simpson played quarterback in middle school before switching to wide receiver and cornerback as a high schooler in Tennessee.

"Flashback," Simpson said, flashing a big smile in the Hornets' locker room.

"He's definitely our quarterback," teammate Amarr Knox said.

Simpson didn't begin the season throwing long passes downcourt in end-of-game situations, earning the role only around Christmas. But when Alabama State needed a Hail Mary of sorts Tuesday night, tied with fellow No. 16 seed Saint Francis with 3.4 seconds left in a First Four matchup, Simpson was there to deliver.

His long pass deflected twice before landing with Knox, whose layup with one second left lifted Alabama State to a 70-68 win. The Hornets notched their first NCAA tournament victory and advanced to face Auburn, the No. 1 overall seed and the headliner of the South Region, on Thursday in Lexington, Kentucky.

"He makes that pass on the money all the time in practice," said Knox, who led Alabama State with 16 points. "It was perfect today."

Simpson targeted forward Jasteven Walker, Alabama State's tallest starter at 6-foot-10, and had connected with him before. But this time, his pass hit the hands of both Walker and TJ Madlock before ending up with Knox under the Saint Francis basket.

"It wasn't supposed to go to me, but I wanted to go get it, go make a play, and that's what I did," Madlock said. "But it wasn't supposed to go to me; it was supposed to go to our big. But hey, it's March Madness. Anything can happen."

Alabama State coach Tony Madlock, the father of TJ, said his team spends 10 to 12 minutes on situational elements before each game. The Hornets practice half-court shots, an option Tuesday if they had chosen a shorter inbounds pass.

Madlock had options on the final sequence but went with a play lacking much of a success rate.

"Not that I've been involved in," he said when asked if the play had worked before. "We practice it a lot."

Added Simpson: "Usually we just throw it, let the tall guy go get it, pass it to one of the shooters. But instead, we had it tipped up."

Alabama State trailed by as many as nine points and reduced the deficit to one point four times in the second half. A CJ Hines 3-pointer with 4:24 to play gave the Hornets their first lead since the 14:20 mark of the first half. But a frenetic sequence that featured two Saint Francis 3-pointers and a turnover left the game deadlocked.

A Hornets team that won all three of its SWAC tournament games by five points or fewer was comfortable making another clutch play.

"All of our games end just like this," Tony Madlock said.

Madlock played with and later coached for Penny Hardaway at Memphis. In 1992, they helped then-Memphis State to the Elite Eight as players. The two friends recently spoke during Madlock's ride to work, reminiscing about their journey.

"Both of us are taking our teams to the Dance, and it's just a special moment," Madlock said.

His team will now face Auburn, the SEC heavyweight located only about 50 miles from Alabama State's campus. In a college basketball season where the Alabama schools have been front and center, the Hornets have a chance for the biggest upset.

Alabama State has faced Auburn only six times, most recently last season in a 20-point loss, and will seek its first win over the Tigers.

"We're going to have this bus ride a couple hours down the road to play in Lexington at Rupp Arena," Madlock said. "How can you beat that -- for a school in the SWAC that has a lot of great tradition for us to go play at Rupp Arena? Nothing like it. We can't wait."

RENTON, Wash. -- Cooper Kupp attended one Seahawks game as a kid while growing up about 140 miles southeast of Seattle in Yakima. It was a 2006 win over the Green Bay Packers on a snowy Monday night at what was then called Qwest Field.

The 13-year-old grade-schooler got to miss class the next day.

"I was up in the very top, frozen as an icicle up there," Kupp recalled. "... I have memories of being there, being part of that environment, and it's such a cool thing. That was a special thing growing up, to be able to go to a Seahawks game. A very special memory."

That's why Kupp, 31, referred to it as a "full-circle moment" as he was introduced at Seahawks headquarters Tuesday. Released by the Los Angeles Rams earlier this month, the ninth-year receiver became part of their NFC West rival's massive offseason roster shuffle when he agreed to a three-year deal with Seattle last week.

"It's a really cool thing," Kupp said. "It's something that I don't take lightly. I'm just really excited to be able to be a part of this program, what this program's been about and continuing to move it forward."

The feel-good vibes of Kupp's homecoming were on full display during his 25-minute news conference at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. He even wore a Pearl Jam T-shirt with cartoon depictions of frontman Eddie Vedder and the Seattle grunge band's other members.

"Send that to Eddie," he joked while showing off the shirt to cameras.

But as excited as Kupp is about his homecoming, he also has had to process some strong emotions over his departure from the Rams.

"It's been difficult," he said. "In all honesty, it's been very difficult and frustrating. There's been lots of questions and things. It's a real tough situation. I've said, I always imagined that I'd finish my career there, but that's not the plan that God had for me and my family. Stepping into this new adventure, this new place, this new chapter in my career but also in our lives as my wife and I navigate moving back up home to our home state, I think that's something that we're excited about facing. We're excited about the community that we get to be a part of, the people that are going to be a part of our lives.

"But yeah, it has been difficult. Without a doubt, it has been difficult. We're humans, we're real people."

Kupp spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Rams, going from a third-round pick out of Eastern Washington to a centerpiece of Sean McVay's offense. He won the NFL's receiving triple crown in 2021 -- finishing with a league-high 145 catches 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns -- before being named MVP of Super Bowl LVI.

Injuries have limited Kupp to 33 games since that 2021 season. He has averaged 753 yards and just under six touchdowns in that span.

After being told that the Rams would try to trade him, Kupp said in early February that he disagreed with the decision. He was released on the first day of free agency last week after Los Angeles failed to find a trade partner.

"I'm sure they have their reasons for why they wanted to do things, whatever it is," he said. "Not a ton of clarity in that regard, but at the end of the day, I'm thankful to be able to walk away from that organization and be able to look back on all those memories, all those experiences, all those things that we were able to go through together, the relationships that we had with so many people there, and look at it in a positive light and be very thankful for my time in Los Angeles. It's something that we will always cherish."

Kupp shot down the idea that he's motivated to disprove doubts about his age and recent injury history.

"It's never been about proving people wrong," he said. "I've lived in that space, and it never goes well. It's been about being who I am, believing in myself and knowing that I can be who I see myself becoming. When I've taken that attitude, when I've taken that mindset, that's when I've always been at my best. I'll continue that. I know how to navigate these waters. I've been here before. It's not about the negative energy of trying to prove anyone else wrong, trying to make anyone else feel bad about anything. It's just about being myself and trying to be who I believe I can be and going out there and playing the game I love."

The Seahawks, looking for help at receiver after trading DK Metcalf and releasing Tyler Lockett, moved quickly to express their interest in Kupp after his release. General manager John Schneider, head coach Mike Macdonald and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak all struck the right notes, he said, as they conveyed their vision of how to build a championship team.

Kupp agreed to his deal on Friday. He has since gotten outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu to give up No. 10 in exchange for a donation to Nwosu's charity. Kupp wore No. 10 at Eastern Washington and with the Rams.

Kupp will now get to face his former team twice a year, though he said that wasn't a factor in signing with the Seahawks.

"I am looking forward to it," he said. "That didn't play into the decision to come here, but it's a nice little thing on the side to be able to go against those guys. I know a lot of those guys. So much respect for the coaching staff, the way they handle things down there, the players down there. I am excited about it, though. It's going to be a really cool thing.

"When that time comes, it will just be football at that point. But I am looking forward to it."

DAYTON, Ohio -- From the moment North Carolina lost to Duke in Friday's ACC tournament semifinal, anxiety began to build, just as it would for any NCAA tournament bubble team.

Would the Tar Heels make the field or fall short, as many bracketologists had predicted?

"From Friday night after Duke to Sunday, around 6 o'clock, we just had no idea," guard Seth Trimble said.

The answer came Sunday. North Carolina, despite an 1-12 record against Quad 1 opponents, was in the tournament, the last team to get a berth. The Heels were an unpopular selection, and the criticism around their inclusion reached some of the players.

But the two days that followed the selections carried different emotions than the two days that preceded them.

"As soon as we saw Sunday evening that we were the 11th seed in Dayton, we knew it was go time," Trimble said. "So we dropped it right away. We were able to drop our nerves and jitters and able to play a good game as a team."

North Carolina didn't merely play a good game, but a historic and dominant one, crushing San Diego State 95-68 at UD Arena. The 11th-seeded Heels advanced in the South region, where they will face No. 6 seed Ole Miss on Friday afternoon in Milwaukee.

They left nothing to chance, pulling away with an early 20-2 run and more than doubling San Diego State's points total at halftime (47-23). North Carolina hit 14 3-pointers, its most in an NCAA tournament game since the 3-point line became official in 1986-87.

Senior guard RJ Davis became the first Tar Heels player to go 6-of-6 on 3-pointers in an NCAA tournament game, surpassing the record of 5-for-5 set by former UNC star and current coach Hubert Davis against Eastern Michigan in 1991. Guard Elliot Cadeau's 12 assists tied Davis and Kenny Smith for second most by a UNC player in an NCAA tournament game since assists became official in 1984.

"It's a surreal moment," said Davis, who became the first player to shoot 6-of-6 or better on 3-pointers in the NCAA tournament since Michigan's Nik Stauskas in the 2013 Sweet Sixteen against Florida. "It's amazing just to break records, set new records, especially for me as a kid. you grew up watching North Carolina, you watch all the players that have played here, and you are actually that person now. You're in their shoes.

"For me to set my own legacy and set my own type of records, it's one thing in high school, but in college, that's like a different level."

North Carolina led by as many as 40 points against a San Diego State team that made the NCAA championship game in 2023, the Sweet Sixteen in 2024 and had not trailed by 40 since at least the 2018-19 season. The Aztecs had not allowed more than 80 points in a game this season before Tuesday.

If not for a late San Diego State surge, North Carolina would have recorded the largest margin of victory in the First Four, which draw a large contingent of fans wearing Tar Heel blue.

"We know we deserved to be here," said Trimble, who had 16 points and made all six of his free-throw attempts during UNC's blistering first half. "We're not looking to send a message to anybody else. We're just looking to compete as a team and be the team that we know we're capable of being."

It will take more than Tuesday's performance for North Carolina to become that type of team. North Carolina's woeful Quad 1 record didn't budge, as San Diego State qualified as a Quad 2 win, improving the team's' mark to 9-0 in those games.

The Heels are seeded three spots lower than they have ever been since seeding began in 1979. Their selection had drawn heavy criticism, especially for athletic director Bubba Cunningham, the NCAA tournament selection committee chair, who watched Tuesday's win from press row, seated next to ACC commissioner Jim Phillips.

"I'm sure there's still doubt from the outside," Trimble said. "I'm sure there's still hate."

But North Carolina has a different belief within, which wasn't always there during rough stretches in January and November. But Hubert Davis has seen improvement with the team, both in performance and leadership.

"It doesn't surprise me that they played one of their better games today," Davis said. "It's been a real focused group. I talked earlier in the year about how quiet this team was, and the volume of the voices is exactly where it needs to be, whether it's in the huddle, on the bus, on the floor. Just a real connected group right now."

The group will march on to Milwaukee, near Trimble's hometown of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Some teams that succeed in the First Four have used it as a springboard to deeper tournament runs, including VCU in 2011 and UCLA in 2021, which went all the way to the Final Four.

Could North Carolina be the next?

"We know we're not going to go far if we try and play for just our number and our name on the back," Trimble said. "You've got to play for play for the name on the front of the jersey and just play for each other, and we'll see how far it goes."

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue was not available for Tuesday's 132-119 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers after his back pain intensified.

Lue missed a three-game stretch earlier this month due to the back pain.

The Clippers went 2-1 during that stretch with assistant coach Brian Shaw filling in for Lue, beating the Sacramento Kings and Miami Heat and losing to the New Orleans Pelicans.

"We still get together as a coaching staff," Shaw said during his pregame media availability Tuesday. "It's just on the phone now as opposed to in person and put all our ideas together and try to figure out what's going to be the best course of action for us to and put the guys in the position to be successful. Obviously, we're two different people, but he trusts my instincts and the reads that I see and make during a game."

Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy also was not available Tuesday due to a family medical matter.

The Clippers handed Cleveland a second straight loss, the Cavaliers' first time losing two in a row since Jan. 22-25 when they dropped three straight.

Sacramento Kings star Domantas Sabonis will miss at least 10 days because of a sprained right ankle, the team said Tuesday night.

Sabonis was hurt in the third quarter of the Kings' win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

The team said an MRI on the ankle showed a moderate sprain and that Sabonis will be reevaluated in 10 days.

Sabonis had just returned to the Kings lineup last week after sitting out six straight games with a hamstring injury. Sacramento is 3-6 without him this season.

Sabonis is averaging a league-best 13.9 rebounds to go with 19.2 points and 6.2 assists. Jonas Valanciunas likely will return to the starting lineup in his absence.

Earlier Tuesday, the Kings signed forward Terry Taylor to a 10-day contract. He was averaging 17.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 28 games for the Kings' G League affiliate in Stockton.

Sacramento is 34-33, good for ninth place in the Western Conference.

The San Diego Wave have agreed a deal to sign Colombian defender Daniela Arias from Brazil's Corinthians, sources told ESPN.

The Wave will pay a transfer fee of $150,000 to secure Arias, sources said.

Arias, 30, is a center-back who played for Colombia at the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics. She helped Corinthians win the Copa Libertadores, the Brazilian league and Supercopa in 2024.

Arias will join a San Diego team that lost several star players in recent months, including the $1.1 million world-record transfer of United States center-back Naomi Girma to Chelsea.

New Wave head coach Jonas Eidevall, who resigned from his post as Arsenal manager last fall, opened the new NWSL season with several new players, including French midfielder Kenza Dali and U.S.-born German youth international Gia Corley.

Corley scored in the Wave's 1-1 draw with Angel City FC on Sunday to open the regular season.

The NWSL's primary transfer window remains open through Monday.

Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen has said he expects to leave the club at the end of the season but added that he's not ready to move back to home-country Denmark yet.

The 33-year-old, who joined United in 2022, can leave the club as a free agent once his contract expires at the end of the season.

"I haven't been told anything and since I haven't, I assume the collaboration will end," he said in an interview to Danish outlet TV2.

"That's how I interpret it. Everyone knows my contract is expiring, so I expect there's only one way this will go."

"I haven't thought much about it. In my mind, I'm prepared to find something new. What that will be, I haven't decided yet," he added.

"I don't have anything specific that I really want to try, so I'll see what comes along and what fits me and my family."

Eriksen has made just 14 appearances in all competitions under United boss Ruben Amorim since his appointment in November last year. However, he started each of their last two Premier League games against Arsenal and Leicester City.

The midfielder has spent his entire senior career outside Denmark, with spells at Ajax, Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan and Brentford. However, he said he isn' ready to move his career back home just yet.

"I feel like I still have a few good years left abroad. If I move to Denmark, it would feel like focusing a lot on family and winding down my career, and that's fine, but I'm not there yet."

When asked if that was down to the massive attention he'd receive in Denmark, he said: "Not at all. It's only about football and where I am now. I've spent many years abroad, so moving home would feel like moving to an entirely new country.

"We're not there yet," he said.

Welcome back to the #1 Women's Bracket game! The tourney tips off Friday, 3/21 @ 11:30a ET - don't get locked out, create your brackets today! Be sure to create a group and invite your friends to share in the madness.

Upsets can be rare in the women's NCAA tournament. Last year, only one lower seed won a game in the first round, when No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee knocked off No. 6 Louisville.

The 2023 women's NCAA tournament produced four such upsets. There were five in 2022. The second round gave us one last year and two the year before that.

Where will those upsets occur this year? Part analytics and part eye test, Giant Killers forecasts March upsets over the first two rounds of the women's bracket. We define an upset as any seed separated by three lines. A No. 10 over a No. 7 counts just like a No. 6 beating a No. 3 in the second round.

Here are 10 games we project to end in an upset over the tournament's first four days, listed in order of most likely to occur, with ESPN BPI projections noted where the data is available.

Note: Because the first First Four isn't played until Wednesday and Thursday, the Giant Killers model takes all possible matchups into consideration.

(10) South Dakota State vs. (7) Oklahoma State

Upset chance: 32.6%
First round: 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPN2 (Storrs, Connecticut; Spokane 4)

Two years ago in the NCAA tournament, the Jackrabbits beat USC in an 8-9 game. In 2019, they reached the Sweet 16 as a No. 6 seed, upsetting third-seeded Syracuse in the second round. Coach Aaron Johnston knows about success in March. After facing the nation's 13th-most-difficult nonconference schedule, South Dakota State is prepared for March. The analytics still favor the Cowgirls, but if South Dakota State's Brooklyn Meyer (17.6 PPG) -- not Oklahoma State's Stailee Heard (16.7 PPG) -- is the best player on the court, this is an upset waiting to happen.

(10) Harvard vs. (7) Michigan State

Upset chance: 24.2%
First round: 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPNews (Raleigh, North Carolina; Spokane 1)

BPI heavily favors the Spartans, but Harmoni Turner is the hottest player in the country, averaging 31.3 points over the Crimson's past four games. Harvard allows 52.5 points per game, fourth best in the nation. A great player and a great defense are a good recipe for a surprise, especially when the Spartans don't have the size to make Harvard feel uncomfortable.

(12) Fairfield vs. (5) Kansas State

Upset chance: 6.5%
First round: 2:30 p.m. ET Friday, ESPNews (Lexington, Kentucky; Spokane 4)

Of all the games on our list, this one has the most lopsided BPI projection. But Kansas State has gone 7-6 since Ayoka Lee was sidelined because of a foot injury in mid-January. The 6-foot-6 center is slated to return for the NCAA tournament. Fairfield makes 8.9 3-pointers per game. Kansas State hits 8.5. Both rank in the top 25 in the country. If the Stags can widen that gap in this game, the formula for the upset is there.

(11) Murray State vs. (6) Iowa

Upset chance: 14.7%
First round: noon ET Saturday, ESPN (Norman, Oklahoma; Spokane 4)

Aptly named, the Racers like to play fast (they rank seventh in the country in pace) and can score. They led the nation with 87.8 points per game. Katelyn Young is a 3,000-point career scorer and might be the best player on the floor in this game. The Hawkeyes' Hannah Stuelke and Lucy Olsen will have something to say about that, but if Young gets the upper hand, so will the Racers.

(7) Vanderbilt vs. (2) Duke

Second round: TBD Sunday (Durham, North Carolina; Birmingham 1)

Both are solid favorites to win their first-round games, setting up a matchup between the highest-scoring duo in the country -- Vanderbilt freshman Mikayla Blakes (23.2 PPG) and sophomore Khamil Pierre (20.5 PPG) -- and the Blue Devils' top-five defense. Duke's performance in the second half of the ACC tournament championship game against NC State was one of the best of the season. But that momentum is gone. Blakes, who scored 50 points twice this season, averaged more than 20 points against the rugged defenses of South Carolina and Texas in the SEC.

(11) Iowa State vs. (6) Michigan

First round: 11:30 a.m. ET Friday, ESPN2 (Notre Dame, Indiana; Birmingham 3)

These are two of the most efficient offensive teams in the country, but they do it in different ways. Audi Crooks is the difference for Iowa State, and the Wolverines might not have an answer for her. The 6-3 sophomore post player was too much for Maryland a year ago (Crooks scored 40 points), and Michigan is smaller than that Terps team. The Wolverines rely heavily on their starters, and their tallest, 6-3 Jordan Hobbs, plays more wing than post. The Cyclones need to get through Princeton in the First Four (7 p.m. ET Wednesday, ESPNU), but they have a 70.2% chance to do so, according to ESPN Analytics.

(7) Louisville vs. (2) TCU

Second round: TBD Sunday (Fort Worth, Texas; Birmingham 3)

Last year notwithstanding, the Cardinals have been an outstanding NCAA tournament team under Jeff Walz. They made six consecutive Sweet 16 appearances. And this year, Louisville is a young team with nothing to lose. The Horned Frogs are a different story. With eight seniors or graduates, they know this might be their best opportunity for a deep run. That kind of internal pressure can be a hindrance, especially in close games. One of those veteran TCU players, Hailey Van Lith, was part of Louisville's postseason success before moving on to LSU and now Fort Worth, Texas. But if any coach knows how to defend Van Lith, it's Walz.

(12) Green Bay vs. (5) Alabama

Upset chance: 7.5%
First round: 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPN2 (College Park, Maryland; Birmingham 3)

The Phoenix like to play deliberately. They rank 339th in the country in possessions per 40 minutes. Alabama would rather get Sarah Ashlee Barker, Zaay Green and Aaliyah Nye into space. If Green Bay can control the pace and keep the score in the 50s or low 60s, a frustrated Crimson Tide might struggle. The Phoenix also knock down 36% of their 3-pointers. Hitting enough of those, at the right time in a low-scoring game, is the recipe for a big surprise.

(11) George Mason vs. (6) Florida State

Upset chance: 18%
First Round: 7:45 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPN2 (Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Spokane 1)

This one is pure hunch. BPI gives the Seminoles an 82.0% chance to win this matchup, but the Patriots won their past four games by an average of 19.0 points, including a 15-point victory in the Atlantic 10 tournament championship game. The program turnaround under Vanessa Blair-Lewis has been remarkable. The Patriots won three games the season before she arrived. Four years later, they have 27 wins and are in their first NCAA tournament. Slowing down Ta'Niya Latson will be a challenge. This upset will depend on the nation's leading scorer having an off game and George Mason riding its momentum.

(11) Washington vs. (6) West Virginia

First round: 2 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPNews (Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Birmingham 2)

The Huskies have to beat Columbia in a First Four matchup (7 p.m. ET Thursday, ESPN2), where they have a 58.1% chance to win, according to ESPN Analytics. The Mountaineers bring a large dose of defense, but making shots is the best antidote for heavy, full-court pressure. Washington ranks in the top 10 in field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage. If Washington can break West Virginia's press, there should be plenty of 3-pointers for leading scorers Elle Ladine and Sayvia Sellers.

Washington Wizards forward Corey Kispert will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on Tuesday to repair a ligament tear in his left thumb.

Per the Wizards, Kispert is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for the start of next season.

Kispert sustained the injury in the third quarter of Washington's 126-123 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.

Signed to a four-year, $54 million extension prior to the season, Kispert has averaged 11.6 points and 3.0 rebounds in 61 games off the bench in 2024-25.

Kispert, 26, has averaged 11.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 292 career games (103 starts) since being selected by Washington with the 15th overall pick of the 2021 NBA draft.