The Final Four of the NCAA men’s tournament is just one win away for the eight teams that have advanced to the region finals. The last step on the journey to San Antonio, Texas, just might be the hardest, with a lineup full of contenders.

Saturday’s schedule sees two No. 1 seeds – and perhaps the two biggest favorites to win the entire tournament – in action. Florida will highlight the proceedings from the West Region in San Francisco. The Gators have won nine in a row, a run that includes capturing the SEC tournament. They’ll be challenged by Texas Tech, the Big 12 runner-up in the regular season that staged a furious comeback against Arkansas in the Sweet 16.

In the nightcap, Duke will try to make another trip to the Final Four but will have to deal with the up-tempo and hot-shooting Alabama. The Crimson Tide broke a tournament record with 25 three-pointers against Brigham Young. But can they carry that momentum against the Blue Devils?

It shapes up to be two tense contests. Here’s a breakdown:

No. 1 Florida vs. No. 3 Texas Tech

Time/TV: 6:09 p.m., ET, TBS/truTV

How much do the Red Raiders have in the tank after their comeback victory against Arkansas? It’s a short turnaround, and they’re not a particularly deep team, but there is plenty of grit and fight. Inside forces JT Toppin and Darrion Williams are Tech’s top two scoring options.

Florida will counter with a heavy rotation of size to slow them down. It may then fall on Christian Anderson and Elijah Hawkins to provide the outside game to keep the Gators honest. The Red Raiders will try to slow down Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr., something few teams have been able to do. Clayton will have lots of support – notably from backcourt mates Alijah Martin and Will Richard – as the Gators rank third in the nation in scoring (85.5 ppg).

No. 1 Duke vs. No. 2 Alabama

Time/TV: 8:39 p.m., ET, TBS/truTV

While it might be great for the neutral viewers, don’t expect the kind of pace and free-flowing shooting that allowed Alabama to have its record-setting night Friday. Duke will want to slow things down to take advantage of its size in the halfcourt and protect its big men from foul trouble. It’s simple math: Fewer possessions mean fewer opportunities for Khaman Maluach and Patrick Ngongba II to be on the bench. Their ability to defend the rim is critical for the Blue Devils.

While it might seem crazy to force the Crimson Tide to stay on the perimeter, that’s what Duke will want. The likelihood of another historic performance by Alabama will be a challenge. Mark Sears will be tasked with breaking down the Duke defense, something that Arizona was effective with in the Sweet 16. That could set up Grant Nelson and the other plethora of Crimson Tide scorers. There’s one name still not mentioned, and he might be the biggest factor. Cooper Flagg playing on the level he did Friday makes the Blue Devils almost un-guardable. They’ll still need to hit their shots, but there should be plenty of open ones.

Former NFL player LeShon Johnson was charged with allegedly operating a large dogfighting venture after 190 ‘pit bull-type dogs’ were seized from him in October 2024 – believed to be the most even taken from one person in a federal dogfighting investigation, the Department of Justice said.

According to court documents, Johnson operated ‘Mal Kant Kennels’ in Broken Arrow and Haskell, Oklahoma. In addition to the possession of the 190 dogs, Johnson is charged with selling, transporting, and delivering a dog for use in an animal fighting venture. Johnson allegedly bred dogs that won fights, selling the stud rights and offspring to other dogfighters across the country.

‘Dog fighting is a cruel, blood-thirsty venture, not a legitimate business or sporting activity,’ said U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Wilson for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

Raised in Oklahoma, Johnson was an All-American running back at Northern Illinois, leading the nation with 1,976 rushing yards in 1993 to finish sixth in Heisman Trophy voting. Johnson was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 1994 draft and played his last game in 1999, totaling five rushing touchdowns in his NFL career with the Packers, Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants.

In 2004, Johnson pleaded guilty to state animal fighting charges in Oklahoma and was given a five-year deferred sentence.

‘Dog fighting is illegal, and courts have upheld its prosecution time and again,’ said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). ‘This strategic prosecution of an alleged repeat offender led to the seizure of 190 dogs destined for a cruel end. It disrupts a major source of dogs used in other dog fighting ventures.”

The New York Yankees didn’t welcome Nestor Cortes back to the Bronx very kindly.

Making his Milwaukee Brewers debut at Yankee Stadium after an offseason trade, the former All-Star gave up back-to-back-to-back home runs to Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge – on three pitches – to start the first inning on Saturday.

After finally getting two outs in the frame, Cortes surrendered his fourth home run of the inning to catcher Austin Wells. Cortes walked two more batters after Wells’ home run, but he struck out Trent Grisham to mercifully bring the disastrous inning to an end.

The Yankees sent Cortes to Milwaukee in the deal that brought closer Devin Williams to New York. The lefty finished eighth in Cy Young voting in 2022 with a 12-4 record and 2.44 ERA in 28 starts. Injuries limited Cortes to 12 outings in 2023 and while he was the Yankees’ Opening Day starter in 2024, injuries sidelined the lefty to begin the Yankees’ run to the World Series last season.

Cortes made two appearances in the Fall Classic against the Los Angeles Dodgers, famously surrendering Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game 1, the first in World Series history.

Goldschmidt and Bellinger’s home runs were their first for the Yankees, both former MVPs acquired over the winter after the Yankees missed out on bringing back Juan Soto. Goldschmidt was batting leadoff for the first time in his MLB career on Saturday.

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Flagg, tabbed as a generational prospect, was ranked the No. 1 player nationally in the 2024 recruiting class, per 247Sports’ Composite rankings. He hasn’t disappointed in college, either, as he’s averaging 19 points with 7.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game this season while playing dominant defense.

Flagg is expected to make immediate contributions in the NBA next season, although the ceiling of top prospects is never a sure thing from year-to-year. Dan Patrick, host of ‘The Dan Patrick Show,’ recently said Flagg’s career would turn out to be a disappointment if he became a player of the same caliber as Kevin Love, a five-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection at his peak.

Patrick was complimenting Flagg’s ceiling as a prospect and not necessarily taking a shot at Love. The comments lured Love to offer his own two cents on the situation, however.

‘For those who will take this as a shot at me…I don’t take it as such,’ Love wrote on X in response to Patrick’s quote. ‘I was pure skill & will. Cooper is far more talented than I ever was and if he stays healthy will have a far better career. He could very well have a statue by the time he’s finished. I’m a HUGE fan.’

Love’s comments were expectedly classy, and the current Miami Heat forward is already a fan of the prospect.

The 36-year-old forward is in his 17th NBA season and has played with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers and Heat after being the No. 5 overall pick out of UCLA in the 2008 NBA Draft. Love was perhaps best known for winning the NBA Finals alongside LeBron James in 2016.

Flagg’s status as a prospect has risen above where being compared to Love is somehow seen as a diss by many. The all-around forward is focused on capping his freshman season with a national championship, though, starting with an Elite Eight matchup with 2-seed Alabama on Saturday in the NCAA Tournament.

(This story was updated to change a photo.)

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Houston basketball’s Milos Uzan will forever be remembered in Cougars lore for his game-winning bucket against Purdue in the Sweet 16. A potential foul that would’ve negated the last possession entirely likely won’t, however.

It’s worth noting there are, of course, plenty of what-ifs through the course of a game. But a play between Uzan and Purdue’s Braden Smith felt especially important.

As Uzan prepped to run Houston’s last set in the 60-60 game with under 20 seconds left, he drove right before putting a slight shoulder into Smith, who appeared to play off the shove and set his feet for a push or charge. The referees let the teams play through it, however, which led into the Cougars’ game-winning inbounds play.

‘He got away with one there,’ color analyst Steve Lappas said on the game broadcast.

Uzan followed up the no-call foul with a perfectly dialed-up inbound play, as he found Joseph Tugler in the paint before Tugler immediately bounce-passed back to Uzan for the game-winning shot at the rim with 0.8 seconds left.

Uzan was magnificent in the game altogether, with a game-leading 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting with six assists and three rebounds on the night. He outdueled Smith, the Big Ten Player of the Year, who had an off-shooting night with seven points on 2-of-7 shots. Smith dished out a whopping 15 assists, though.

The men’s NCAA Tournament could be looking at a much different outcome if there was a foul called there, and it appears it could’ve gone either way in the moment.

Here’s a look at the potential push by Uzan late in Houston-Purdue on Friday night:

Did Milos Uzan foul vs Purdue?

Here’s a look at the potential foul on Uzan that wasn’t called late in Houston’s game-winning possession over Purdue:

The result was a Houston set on the baseline, which Uzan ultimately made with 0.9 seconds left to give Houston the win and send the Cougars to the Elite Eight to play Tennessee.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Sedona Prince and the No. 2 TCU women’s basketball team are enjoying the best season in program history.

The Horned Frogs knocked off Louisville 85-70 behind the 6-foot-7 center’s 19 points and 4 rebounds, advancing to the first Sweet 16 in men’s or women’s program history. TCU plays No. 3 Notre Dame on Saturday.

Where is Sedona Prince from? 

Sedona Prince is from Liberty Hill, Texas, outside of Austin. 

How old is Sedona Prince?

Prince is one of the oldest players in the tournament at 24 years old. This is her sixth year of college: She spent 2018-19 at Texas, then transferred to Oregon, where she sat out the 2019-20 season before playing two season for the Ducks. She has spent the last two seasons with TCU. 

How tall is Sedona Prince?

Prince is a 6-foot-7 center.

Sedona Prince stats this season

Prince has played in every game this season, averaging 17.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. She leads the Big 12 in total blocks and is third in the NCAA, with 105 total. 

Sedona Prince’s NCAA Tournament stats so far

Prince had an outstanding first-round game against Fairleigh Dickinson, scoring 16 points and shooting 8-of-12 from the field, all from 2-point range. She also had 10 rebounds in the win, with four of them coming on the offensive glass. Against Louisville in the second round, she scored 19 points to go along with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks.

What did Sedona Prince do to change the landscape of the NCAA?

In 2022, while she was at Oregon, Prince posted a viral TikTok video calling attention to the difference between the men’s and women’s weight rooms at the Final Four sites. The video showed the women only had a stack of hand weights as opposed to the men’s fully equipped weight room. The video led to more equal resources and branding. Before then, the womens’ NCAA Tournament was not allowed to use the March Madness moniker. In addition, the video spurred an overall gender-equity review in college basketball. 

What allegations have been made against Sedona Prince in the past?

Prince has faced multiple assault and sexual abuse allegations, the latest coming in January, according to a Washington Post report. According to police, a TCU student reported Prince assaulted her and that Prince asked her to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Prince went to the police as well to report she had been assaulted and that she suffered a black eye. No charges have been filed.

Through her attorney, Prince denied all allegations against her and said she has never ‘abused anyone in her life, whether mentally, emotionally or physically.’

Other allegations date back to 2019, according to a Washington Post report, when a sexual misconduct lawsuit involving Prince was dismissed. 

Another woman accused Prince of pushing her off of an ATV, as detailed in videos on TikTok, photos and screenshots of text messages that were shared with the Post.

As a result, a petition was filed calling for her removal from the TCU team, which garnered more than 200,000 signatures. 

Will Sedona Prince be in the WNBA draft?

Prince is a sixth-year graduate student and will enter the WNBA draft after this season as she has exhausted her eligibility. She did not play in the 2022-23 season due to a torn ligament in her elbow.

What was Sedona Prince’s recruiting ranking?

Prince was ranked the eighth overall prospect by ESPN and was a McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand Classic participant in 2018. Prince enrolled at Oregon as a five-star recruit after originally enrolling at Texas.

Scooby Axson of USA TODAY contributed to this report. Cooper Burke is a student in the University of Georgia’s Sports Media Certificate program.

The 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament continues with more March Madness action from the Sweet 16 on Saturday.

A four-game slate today features some of the country’s top teams, including two No. 1 seeds: Texas and USC, which will be without JuJu Watkins. The Trojans star tore her ACL and is out for the rest of the tournament.

Saturday’s action begins with No. 2 seed TCU taking on No. 3 seed Notre Dame at 1 p.m. ET on ABC. That game will be followed by Texas facing No. 5 seed Tennessee, also on ABC. The evening slate will have No. 2 seed UConn squaring off against No. 3 seed Oklahoma on ESPN, and the night will end with ESPN televising USC against No. 5 Kansas State.

Watch women’s Sweet 16 games on Fubo (free trial)

Here is Saturday’s full Sweet 16 March Madness schedule and expert predictions from reporters across the USA TODAY Sports Network.

Women’s March Madness Sweet 16 predictions

Expert predictions and how to watch women’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 games on Saturday:

All times Eastern

No. 3 seed Notre Dame vs. No. 2 seed TCU

Time, TV, Live stream: 1 p.m. | ABC | ESPN+, Disney+ (Watch on Fubo)

Nancy Armour, USA TODAY: TCU 
Cora Hall, Knoxville News-Sentinel: Notre Dame 
Meghan L. Hall, For The Win: Notre Dame 
Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY: TCU 
Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY: Notre Dame 
Cory Diaz, Lafayette Advertiser: Notre Dame 
Maxwell Donaldson, The Gadsden Times: TCU 

No. 5 seed Tennessee vs. No. 1 seed Texas

Time, TV, Live stream: 3:30 p.m. | ABC | ESPN+, Disney+ (Watch on Fubo)

Nancy Armour, USA TODAY: Texas 
Cora Hall, Knoxville News-Sentinel: Texas 
Meghan L. Hall, For The Win: Texas 
Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY: Texas 
Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY: Texas 
Cory Diaz, Lafayette Advertiser: Texas 
Maxwell Donaldson, The Gadsden Times: Texas

No. 5 seed Oklahoma vs. No. 2 seed UConn

Time, TV, Live stream: 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | ESPN+ (Watch on Fubo)

Nancy Armour, USA TODAY: UConn 
Cora Hall, Knoxville News-Sentinel: UConn 
Meghan L. Hall, For The Win: UConn 
Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY: UConn 
Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY: UConn 
Cory Diaz, Lafayette Advertiser: UConn 
Maxwell Donaldson, The Gadsden Times: UCon

No. 5 seed Kansas State vs. No. 1 seed USC

Time, TV, Live stream: 8 p.m. | ESPN | ESPN+ (Watch on Fubo)

Nancy Armour, USA TODAY: USC 
Cora Hall, Knoxville News-Sentinel: USC 
Meghan L. Hall, For The Win: USC 
Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY: USC 
Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY: USC 
Cory Diaz, Lafayette Advertiser: Kansas State 
Maxwell Donaldson, The Gadsden Times: USC

When filling out a men’s NCAA Tournament bracket, people often get ridiculed for still having the top seeds remaining as the field dwindles toward the Final Four.

But with the Elite Eight field set, those that went chalk are looking smart. Only teams seeded No. 3 or better remain in March Madness.

With all four No. 1 seeds, three No. 2s and one No. 3 left, the combined seed total of 13 is the lowest in the Elite Eight since 2007.

It’s a dramatic difference from last year’s Elite Eight. Thanks to NC State’s Final Four run, the combined total was 32. It was even higher in prior years: 37 in 2023 and 47 in 2022 − the highest since seeding began in 1979.

This year’s total of 13 matches 2007 for the lowest ever.

It wasn’t an easy path for all of the Elite Eight participants, though.

Yeah, teams like Duke and Alabama cruised, but teams like Texas Tech and Houston needed buckets in the final seconds to avoid elimination.

However, the eight teams still standing reaffirm what’s been thought for much of the season: there is clear separation between those at the top of the sport and the rest.

Comparing the 2007 and 2025 Elite Eights, the one 18 years ago did have better team records entering the tournament. In 2007, the Elite Eight teams combined for a 226-39 record when the bracket was unveiled. This year, the teams were 223-45.

But looking at the metrics, it’s clear this year’s crop is in a class of its own. In 2007, the top six teams in KenPom made it, but there was the outlier in Oregon, which was No. 18. By definition, not the strongest team to make it. Meanwhile, all of the remaining teams this season are ranked in the top nine of KenPom. At No. 8 is Gonzaga, which fell just short to Houston in the second round, and No. 10 is Maryland, which lost to Florida on Thursday.

With complete dominance from the game’s best, it begs the question: is this what the NCAA Tournament is going to be like in the NIL era, or is this just an anomaly year where upsets just didn’t happen?

No matter the results on Saturday or Sunday, it will be hard to claim any team had a fluke run to the Final Four. Aside from Texas Tech, the remaining squads all had to play a single-digit seed in the Sweet 16, and whoever ends up in San Antonio will have to beat a top 12 overall seed to get there.

There were no Cinderella teams in the Sweet 16. Now, the Elite Eight will be filled with true national championship contenders. The last time all four top seeds made the Elite Eight was in 2016, but only one ended up advancing. With how things are looking, we could be on the cusp of the first all-No. 1 seed Final Four since 2008.

If not, it will still be a final weekend full of heavyweights.

BOSTON — Ilia Malinin could attempt as many as seven quadruple jumps in his long program Saturday, as he seeks to defend his world championship title.

One of them could be the famous jump that only he can pull off: The quad axel.

Malinin, 20, is the only person in figure skating history to successfully land the quad axel in international competition − a milestone for a sport in which jumps have played an increasingly important role. It’s become Malinin’s calling card, part of the moniker that he adopted several years ago, when he changed his Instagram handle to ‘quadg0d.’ And you’re sure to hear a lot more about the quad axel as the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina approach.

So what’s the big deal with the quad axel, exactly? What makes it that much more difficult than any other quadruple jump? Here are the answers to those questions, and everything else you need to know about the jump.

What is a quad axel?

There are six types of jumps in figure skating: Toe loop, flip, lutz, salchow, loop, and axel. The differences between the jumps lie in the method of takeoff and landing.

For instance, the first three jumps on the above list − toe loop, flip and lutz − are toe jumps, in which the skater uses the toe pick on his or her skate to elevate off the ice. The other three (salchow, loop and axel) are edge jumps. Taking off or landing on the inside edge, versus the outside one, is what differentiates the jumps.

The axel is unique because it is the only jump in which a skater takes off facing forward and lands backwards. All of the other jumps have a backwards takeoff. The ‘quad’ part of the quad axel indicates that there are four rotations in the jump.

What makes the quad axel so difficult?

The short answer is that quads, in general, are extremely difficult − even for most Olympic skaters. And the axel is the most difficult of the jumps because of the front-facing takeoff. This means the quad axel actually consists of 4.5 rotations, rather than four. No skater has ever landed a quintuple jump.

But Mexican skater Donovan Carrillo said there’s way more to the mythical nature of the quad axel than that. Physically, he said, it’s an incredible feat.

‘It’s a jump where you start from one foot, then you do four rotations and a half, you land on the other foot. But you only have less than a second to achieve those four and a half rotations,’ Carrillo explained. ‘So physically, it’s so crazy that (Malinin) is doing that jump. Just thinking about it, it’s just so crazy.’

When did Ilia Malinin first land a quad axel?

Malinin first landed the quad axel in competition at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Lake Placid, New York in September 2022. It was the first clean, fully-rotated quad axel to be performed in competition.

‘When I’m practicing it, it’s pretty easy for me to figure out how to get the right timing and everything to have it be a good attempt,’ Malinin said afterwards. ‘To do it in competition is a different story because you have nerves and pressure that can get in the way of that. So I have to treat it like I’m at home, and it feels pretty good.’

What is the point value of a quad axel in figure skating?

The quad axel has a base value of 12.5 points, which is a full point more than the second most difficult jump, the quad lutz. But skaters can also earn points for grade of execution on top of the base value, depending on the crispness and technical elements of the jump. Malinin’s quad axel at nationals, for instance, was actually worth 16.79 points.

Some in the figure skating community have argued that the quad axel is actually undervalued, given that only one person has ever done it. It’s similar to the debate around Simone Biles and her famed Yurchenko double pike vault.

Is the quad axel easy for Ilia Malinin?

There are times he certainly makes it look easy. But in a conference call before nationals earlier this year, he said he and the quad axel ‘have a really big love-hate relationship with each other.’

‘There’s days where it cooperates and I feel really confident about it, and there’s some days where I still need to work on it a little bit and touch it up,’ Malinin said. ‘It’s been pretty normal into my training routine in practices, but sometimes it still is the quad axel. So it really does still [require] that energy and that mental focus that I need to put into it.’

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @tomschad.bsky.social.