For Draymond Green, it was the sound his teammate and Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry made when he got injured Thursday night.

‘He hit that ground hard,’ Green told reporters. ‘You could hear it. It was crazy. Obviously a very scary moment for us, for him. Hopefully, he’s good.’

The Warriors hope avoid the worst in the midst of their NBA playoffs push after Curry exited in the third quarter of their 117-114 win over the Toronto Raptors. The Golden State sharpshooter collided with two Raptors players in midair while throwing a pass and landed with an audible thud on the court. He walked gingerly back to the locker room and was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a pelvic contusion.

Here’s the latest on Curry’s injury and his status for the Warriors as the NBA reaches the final weeks of the 2024-25 regular season:

Stephen Curry injury update

Golden State coach Steve Kerr said Curry tried to return to the game, but the team’s medical staff decided not to risk anything. Curry was undergoing an MRI while Kerr spoke to reporters, the coaches noted, ‘and hopefully it’s not bad.’ ESPN reported Friday that the MRI confirmed a contusion but showed no structural damage.

Curry also missed the Warriors’ 104-93 win over the Milwaukee Bucks but he was given a ‘rest’ designation on the injury report for that game. He had 17 points on 6 of 8 shooting when he got hurt in Thursday’s game.

Golden State has surged into the top-six of the Western Conference standings since executing a trade for Jimmy Butler last month with Curry averaging a team-best 24.6 points. He has played in 60 of the Warriors’ 70 regular-season games thus far.

Golden State Warriors schedule: When could Steph Curry play next?

Golden State begins a six-game road trip on Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks, followed by a Tuesday matchup at the Miami Heat. The Warriors will also play games at the New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers.

Kerr said Thursday night Curry’s availability moving forward would be determined by Golden State Director of Sports Medicine and Performance Rick Celebrini, in collaboration with Curry. ESPN reported Curry is likely to miss the start of the road trip as he receives treatment.

‘At this point,’ Kerr said, ‘it’s all speculation.’

Over-rated!

The chant is hurled, seemingly endlessly, at elite college and professional athletes.

Kelly Flagg started to hear opposing fans shout it to her son, Cooper, when he was in the eighth grade.

“Cooper actually enjoys it when people taunt him,” his mother tells USA TODAY Sports. “It actually makes him play harder, kind of turns up the juice. And we always know, ‘Good, go ahead and talk.’ ”

Thursday night’s Washington Capitals game was about more than just Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s goal record.

The Capitals, the last team to clinch a playoff berth in 2023-24, became the first NHL team to do it this season.

Washington has been running away with the Eastern Conference, led by the balanced scoring of Ovechkin (35 goals), Tom Wilson (30), Aliaksei Protas (29), Dylan Strome (67 points) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (60 points).

They clinched when they beat the Philadelphia Flyers in regulation and the New York Islanders-Montreal Canadiens game went to overtime. The Islanders won that game to pull one point closer to the second wild-card spot. In the West, the St. Louis Blues moved into a playoff spot Thursday.

The NHL playoff standings are a jumble with many teams in contention. Here’s a look at the playoff picture:

Who’s in the NHL playoffs?

Eastern Conference: Washington Capitals

Western Conference: None

Who can clinch an NHL playoff berth Friday?

No one. There’s one game, Columbus Blue Jackets at Pittsburgh Penguins, with both teams sitting out of a playoff spot. The Blue Jackets will try to end a 1-6-1 skid that dropped them out of a wild-card spot.

NHL schedule today

Columbus at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. ET

NHL Eastern Conference standings 2024-25

(as of March 20)

Metropolitan Division

x-Washington Capitals (100 points)

New Jersey Devils (80)

Atlantic Division

Wild card

Sitting outside playoff position:New York Islanders (72), New York Rangers (72), Columbus Blue Jackets (71), Detroit Red Wings (70), Boston Bruins (69), Pittsburgh Penguins (66), Philadelphia Flyers (64), Buffalo Sabres (60)

NHL Western Conference standings 2024-25

(as of March 20)

Central Division

Winnipeg Jets (100)

Pacific Division

Vegas Golden Knights (88)

Edmonton Oilers (85)

Wild card

Sitting outside playoff spot: Vancouver Canucks (76), Calgary Flames (75), Utah Hockey Club (73), Anaheim Ducks (68), Seattle Kraken (65), Nashville Predators (58), z-Chicago Blackhawks (49), z-San Jose Sharks (45)

x-clinched playoff spot; z-eliminated

NHL Eastern Conference playoff bracket

Here is how the Eastern Conference playoff bracket would look if the season ended March 20:

Washington (M1) vs. Montreal (WC2)
Carolina (M2) vs. New Jersey (M3)
Florida (A1) vs. Ottawa (WC1)
Toronto (A2) vs. Tampa Bay (A3)

The winner of the first series would play the winner of the second. The winner of the third series would play the winner of the fourth. Key: M – Metropolitan Division. A – Atlantic Division. WC – wild card

NHL Western Conference playoff bracket

Here is how the Western Conference playoff bracket would look if the season ended March 20:

Winnipeg (C1) vs. St. Louis (WC2)
Dallas (C2) vs. Colorado (C3)
Vegas (P1) vs. Minnesota (WC1)
Edmonton (P2) vs. Los Angeles (P3)

The winner of the first series would play the winner of the second. The winner of the third series would play the winner of the fourth. Key: C – Central Division. P – Pacific Division. WC – wild card

What is the tiebreaker procedure for the NHL playoffs?

If two or more teams are tied in points at the end of the regular season, here are the tiebreakers:

Regulation wins
Regulation and overtime wins
Total wins
Most points earned in head-to-head competition: If teams had an uneven number of meetings, the first game played in the city that has the extra game is excluded.
Goal differential
Total goals

When does the NHL regular season end?

The NHL regular season is scheduled to end on April 17 with seven games.

When do the NHL playoffs start?

The NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs are scheduled to begin on April 19.

The March Madness debut of the projected No. 1 pick in the NBA draft and a slew of popular upset picks highlight the first-round action as the 2025 NCAA Tournament rolls on throughout the country on Friday.

There are another 16 games on the schedule and the East region matchup between No. 1 seed Duke and No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary’s will garner a lot of the attention early now that Cooper Flagg is expected to play after suffering an ankle injury in the ACC Tournament. But that’s just the start. 

Two-time defending national champion UConn is also in action, this time as a No. 8 seed facing No. 9 seed Oklahoma. No. 6 seed Illinois will face No. 11 seed Xavier in an intriguing matchup between the Big Ten and Big East in the Midwest region bracket and No. 12 Colorado State is favored over No. 5 seed Memphis in their South Region first-round game. Popular Final Four and national championship picks like No. 1 seed Florida, No. 2 seed Alabama, No. 2 seed Michigan State also begin their NCAA Tournament journeys during this second full day of March Madness.

USA TODAY Sports is keeping track of all the games from the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket taking place at sites around the country on Friday with live updates, upset alerts, highlights and more. Follow along.

March Madness 2025 expert predictions

USA TODAY experts set their picks ahead of the NCAA Tournament. Here is who they picked.

Jordan Mendoza

Full bracket

Final Four: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
Final: Florida vs. Houston
National champion: Houston

Paul Myerberg

Full bracket

Final Four: Auburn, St. John’s, Duke, Tennessee
Final: Auburn vs. Duke
National champion: Duke

Eddie Timanus

Full bracket

Final Four: Auburn, Florida, Duke, Houston
Final: Florida vs. Duke
National champion: Florida

Dan Wolken

Full bracket

Final Four: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
Final: Florida vs. Duke
National champion: Duke

2025 Men’s March Madness Printable Bracket

Here is your printable March Madness bracket.

Click for your 2025 NCAA Tournament printable bracket

Is Cooper Flagg playing in March Madness for Duke?

Cooper Flagg, the projected top pick in this year’s NBA draft and one of the favorites to win national player of the year, will be available to play for No. 1-ranked Duke on Friday in the first round of the Men’s NCAA Tournament after spraining his ankle a week ago in the ACC quarterfinals. — Dan Wolken

March Madness bracket: Dates, times, TV, results and scores (needs updates)

All times Eastern

Tuesday, March 18

First Four games

South region: No. 16 Alabama State def. No. 16 St. Francis, 70-68
South region: No. 11 North Carolina def. No. 11 San Diego State, 95-68

Wednesday, March 19

First Four games

East region: No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s def. No. 16 American, 83-72, 6:40 p.m. on truTV
Midwest region: No. 11 Xavier def. No. 11 Texas, 86-80, 9:10 p.m. on truTV

Thursday, March 20

Round of 64 games

South region: No. 9 Creighton def. No. 8 Louisville, 89-75
Midwest region: No. 4 Purdue def. No. 13 High Point, 75-63
East region: No. 3 Wisconsin def. No. 14 Montana, 86-66
Midwest region: No. 1 Houston def. No. 16 SIU-Edwardsville, 78-40
South region: No. 1 Auburn def. No. 16 Alabama State, 83-63
Midwest region: No. 12 McNeese State def. No. 5 Clemson, 69-67
East region: No. 6 BYU def. No. 11 VCU, 80-71
Midwest region: No. 8 Gonzaga def. No. 9 Georgia, 89-68
Midwest region: No. 2 Tennessee def. No. 15 Wofford, 77-62
West region: No. 10 Arkansas def. No. 7 Kansas, 79-72
South region: No. 4 Texas A&M def. No. 13 Yale, 80-71
West region: No. 11 Drake def. No. 6 Missouri, 67-57
Midwest region: No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 Utah State, 9:25 p.m. on TNT
West region: No. 2 St. John’s vs. No. 15 Omaha, 9:45 p.m. on CBS
South region: No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 12 UC San Diego, 10 p.m. on TBS
West region: No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 14 UNC-Wilmington, 10:10 p.m. on truTV

Friday March 21

Round of 64 games

East region: No. 8 Mississippi State vs. No. 9 Baylor, 12:15 p.m. on CBS
East region: No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 15 Robert Morris, 12:40 p.m. on truTV
South region: No. 3 Iowa State vs. No. 14 Lipscomb, 1:30 p.m. on TNT
West region: No. 5 Memphis vs. No. 12 Colorado State, 2 p.m. on TBS
East region: No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 American/Mount St. Mary’s, 2:50 p.m. on CBS
East region: No. 7 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt, 3:15 p.m. on truTV
South region: No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 North Carolina/San Diego State, 4:05 p.m. on TNT
West region: No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Grand Canyon, 4:35 p.m. on TBS
West region: No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 Norfolk State, 6:50 p.m. on TNT
Midwest region: No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Troy, 7:10 p.m. on CBS
South region: No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 New Mexico, 7:25 p.m. on TBS
East region: No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 13 Akron, 7:35 p.m. on truTV
West region: No. 8 UConn vs. No. 9 Oklahoma, 9:25 p.m. on TNT
Midwest region: No. 6 Illinois vs. No. 11 Texas/Xavier, 9:45 p.m. on CBS
South region: No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Bryant, 10 p.m. on TBS
East region: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 Liberty, 10:10 p.m. on truTV

Watch 2025 NCAA Tournament games with Sling TV

Saturday, March 22

Midwest Region: No. 12 McNeese State vs. No. 4 Purdue, 12:10 p.m. on CBS
West Region: No. 10 seed Arkansas vs. No. 2 seed St. John’s, 2:40 p.m. on CBS
South Region: No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 4 Texas A&M, 5:15 p.m. on CBS
West Region: No. 11 Drake vs. No. 3 Texas Tech, 6:10 p.m. on TNT
South Region: No. 9 Creighton vs. No. 1 Auburn, 7:10 p.m. on TBS
East Region: No. 6 BYU vs. No. 3 Wisconsin, 7:45 p.m. on CBS
Midwest Region: No. 8 Gonzaga vs. No. 1 Houston, 8:40 p.m. on TNT
Midwest Region: No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 2 Tennessee, 9:40 p.m. on TBS

Sunday, March 23

Round of 32 games, Time and TV channel TBD

Thursday, March 27

East and West region Sweet 16 games, Time and TV channel TBD

Friday, March 28

Midwest and South region Sweet 16 games, Time and TV channel TBD

Saturday, March 29

East and West region finals, Time and TV channel TBD

Sunday, March 30

Midwest and South region finals, Time and TV channel TBD

Saturday, April 5

Final Four

Game 1: 6:09 p.m. on CBS
Game 2: 8:49 p.m. on CBS

Monday, April 7

National championship game: 8:50 p.m. on CBS

What time are March Madness games today?

March Madness continues Friday with another 16 games slated throughout the day. The action kicks off with No. 9 Baylor taking on No. 8 Mississippi State at 12:15 p.m. ET. The first round concludes with No. 12 Liberty vs. No. 5 Oregon at 10:10 p.m. ET.

How to watch March Madness Friday: TV, streaming coverage 

TV channels: Coverage across CBS, TNT, TBS, TruTV
Live stream: Max and Sling for games carried on TNT, TBS, TruTV; CBS games available on Fubo

Watch March Madness with Sling

What channel is March Madness on?

Coverage for Friday’s Day 2 action will be broadcast across CBS, TNT, TBS, and TruTV channels. You can also watch the conclusion of the first round via streaming options: Max and Sling for games carried on TNT, TBS, TruTV. Games carried on CBS are available on Fubo, which offers a free trial subscription to new users.

March Madness odds

March Madness First Four odds, according to BetMGM. Odds as of Thursday, March 20.

Here’s a full look at the favorites to win the men’s tournament, everyone who sits at better odds than +2500.

T1. Duke (+325)
T1. Florida (+325)
3. Auburn (+400)
4. Houston (+600)
5. Tennessee (+1800)
6. Alabama (+2000)
T7. Michigan State (+2500)
T7. St. John’s (+2500)

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

Over-rated!

The chant is hurled, seemingly endlessly, at elite college and professional athletes.

Kelly Flagg started to hear opposing fans shout it to her son, Cooper, when he was in the eighth grade.

“Cooper actually enjoys it when people taunt him,” his mother tells USA TODAY Sports. “It actually makes him play harder, kind of turns up the juice. And we always know, ‘Good, go ahead and talk.’ ”

Corrections and clarifications: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed the wrong first name of Southern California’s coach.

“We gutted it out,” he said. “I don’t care. We won.”

Less a beauty contest than a battle of wills between two bluebloods coming off frustrating regular seasons, the Razorbacks’ victory represents a soft achievement of sorts for Calipari, who won just a single tournament game in his final five seasons at Kentucky.

It’s way too soon to say the in-conference move to Arkansas will spark a renaissance for Calipari and his new program, which reached the second weekend multiple times under his predecessor, current Southern California coach Eric Musselman. This year’s roster was remade through transfers and high-profile recruits, many of whom followed Calipari after being verbally committed to the Wildcats.

With just one player with ample tournament experience in former Florida Atlantic guard Johnell Davis, the Razorbacks were one of the field’s biggest unknowns: Which team would show up on Thursday night?

“Every one of us, including me, had doubts,” Calipari said. “We all had to convince ourselves we’re going to do this.”

Unfortunately, beating this Kansas team doesn’t mean much. After another mediocre regular season that saw the Jayhawks finish sixth in the Big 12, eight games behind Houston, it’s obvious that coach Bill Self’s program is in need of a major reboot.

Wildly pushing buttons like an infant mouthing a remote control, Self misfired on nearly every coaching decision late in the second half — most notably continuing to rely on center Hunter Dickinson even as the senior continued to hamstring the Jayhawks’ halfcourt offense.

“We’ve still got to take care of business,” guard D.J. Wagner said. “Just knowing the stakes. Like, win or go home. Treat every game the same. Of course, being grateful and celebrate every win, but don’t celebrate too much. Because we’ve got another game to play.”

Importantly, this win takes some heat off Calipari and puts a positive spin on what had been a draining slog into postseason play. That final half-decade in Lexington had delivered a wrecking ball to his reputation as perhaps the surest thing in college coaching; notching a tournament victory in his first season with Arkansas can help refocus the attention on Calipari and the Razorbacks instead of looking back at the Wildcats.

“I didn’t want the albatross around my neck of my history of coaching,” he said. “Like, you’re supposed to win every game. No. No, you’re not.”

Arkansas has, in fact, felt the need to win every game for weeks thanks to life on the tournament bubble, which switched the Razorbacks into win-or-go-home mode during the second half of the SEC schedule.

That’s one of three factors that paced the opening-round win, joining the Jayhawks’ ineptitude and the grind of navigating through a conference that sent a record 14 teams into tournament play. Fourteen of Arkansas’ final 16 games during the regular season came against tournament teams, turning nearly every matchup into a postseason referendum.

The benefit of being tested twice a week since SEC play heated up in early January was seen in the Razorbacks’ composure late in the second half. After coughing up an 11-point lead three minutes into the half, Arkansas fell behind 67-66 with 2:56 remaining. The Razorbacks then went on a quick 5-0 run to retake the lead and made all eight free throws down the stretch to lock down the win.

“Being in the games we were in, just playing the great teams we were playing every night … every night was basically a game like that, down to the final two minutes,” said Wagner. “That prepared us a lot. Even when they made a run, we’d been in situations like that. It helped us stay calm and stay locked in.”

Bigger and tougher tests are around the corner. After a middling debut season, Pitino has transformed the Red Storm into the Big East regular-season and tournament champion, and potentially a team capable of charging all the way to the Final Four. Joining them in the West region are No. 1 Florida, No. 3 Texas Tech, No. 4 Maryland and No. 8 Connecticut, the two-time defending national champions.

Calipari has been here before — just not recently. But every tournament win could move the focus away from the past and toward his future with the Razorbacks.

“It doesn’t have any bearing on right now,” Calipari said. “It doesn’t matter. Final Four, national title, none of it matters. It’s this team, trying to make us better.”

Maryland men’s basketball coach Kevin Willard caused a stir ahead of his team’s first-round NCAA Tournament game, talking about the expected departure of the school’s athletic director and Willard’s desire to get more resources for his program.

A day before the fourth-seeded Terrapins face Grand Canyon, Willard – whose name has been floated for the Villanova job – was asked about why he hasn’t signed a new contract with Maryland.

On the podium, Willard aired some grievances with his boss Damon Evans, who is rumored to be a favorite for the AD job at SMU.

‘He’s probably going to SMU. So it’s kind of tough to negotiate with somebody that’s maybe not here, but I need to make fundamental changes to the program. That’s what I’m focused on right now. That’s why, probably, a deal hasn’t got done,’ Willard said.

Willard, who has led the Terps to the tournament twice in his three seasons in College Park, cited the program’s struggles keeping up in the NIL arms race.

‘We’ve been one of the worse, if not lowest, in the NIL in the last two years,’ Willard said.

Willard, who was previously the head coach at Seton Hall, pointed to the athletic department shooting down his request to have his team stay an extra night in New York City around a game in December.

‘I have to make a fundamental change where I can do the things that I want to do with my program. I wanted to spend an extra night in New York this year to celebrate Christmas with my team and I was told that we can’t do that because it’s too expensive,’ Willard said. ‘So I don’t know how we can be a top-tier program and I can’t spend one extra night in New York because it’s too expensive.’

Willard’s pointed criticisms of his boss were unusual on the eve of the tournament, leaving everybody scratching their heads about what the future holds for he and Evans at Maryland.

Evans became Maryland’s permanent athletic director in 2018 after serving as the interim AD for about eight months. He was Georgia’s athletic director from 2004-2010, but resigned after being arrested for a DUI.

‘Damon and I talked on Sunday night right before Selection Sunday. He gave me a term sheet right before Selection Sunday,’ Willard said. ‘Damon’s been talking to my agent. I talked to Damon this morning at length about where we are. Obviously, it’s difficult right now, because I think we know his situation.’

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