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Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these sentences with your own descriptions.
Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these sentences with your own descriptions.
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ESPN’s Jay Bilas has correctly picked the NCAA Tournament winner the past three years. Can he make it four in a row with some help from the Arizona Wildcats?
In his annual NCAA Tournament prediction, Bilas has the Wildcats knocking off the Michigan State Spartans in this year’s national championship.
Bilas forsees the Wildcats cruising past No. 16 seed Long Island University on Friday and taking down No. 9 seed and Mountain West Tournament champion Utah State on Sunday to reach a third consecutive Sweet Sixteen.
Despite starting out the following weekend with a matchup against No. 4 seed and SEC Tournament champion Arkansas, the analyst sticks with Arizona to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2015.
Bilas’ prediction of a mostly chalk West Region results in the Wildcats taking on No. 2 seed and Big Ten Tournament champion Purdue where they officially punch to their ticket to the program’s first Final Four in 25 years.
Once in Indianapolis, he has Arizona defeating Midwest Region No. 2 seed Iowa State in a rematch of Friday’s electric Big 12 Tournament semifinal before winning the national championship against East Regional No. 3 seed Michigan State.
Sunday’s NCAA Selection Show placed Arizona (32-2, 16-2) as the No. 2 overall seed and the top seed in the West Region after winning the Big 12 Tournament on Saturday.
Bilas’ road to the Wildcats’ second national title and first since 1997 includes three conference tournament champions and four consecutive top four seeds. Furthermore, this path would force Arizona to take on five teams currently ranked inside the top 30 of KenPom out of the six featured in the West Region.
Arizona taking home the national title would cap off a spectacular season that saw senior guard Jaden Bradley win Big 12 Player of the Year, head coach Tommy Lloyd win Big 12 Coach of the Year and the program win its first Big 12 regular season and tournament championship since joining the conference in 2024.
However, the quest to winning six games in 16 days starts with the Wildcats’ first-round game against LIU at 10:35 a.m. MST on Friday in San Diego.
The Arizona Diamondbacks optioned right-handed pitcher Drey Jameson and reassigned right-handed pitcher John Curtiss and infielder Luken Baker to minor league camp, the team announced Sunday.
The roster moves leave 37 players left in camp with 11 days until opening day.
Jameson has played three seasons with the D-backs, pitching to a 2.65 ERA across 68 innings.
He threw a career-high 40.2 innings in 2023 before missing the entire 2024 season due to injury. The 28-year-old played in only three major league games last season as he dealt with elbow issues.
Curtiss has eight years of MLB experience, with a career 4.03 ERA. He pitched 36.2 innings for Arizona last season with a 3.93 ERA and earned one save.
Baker has spent nine years between the minor and majors. The infielder has done three stints in MLB with the St. Louis Cardinals, with 73 total games under his belt.
The D-backs signed him to a minor league deal in January. He had hit .273 with a .961 OPS in 13 spring training games.
The moves come a week after Arizona optioned five players to the Reno Aces.
Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno will be shut down for a couple of days after an MRI revealed right elbow inflammation, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters Saturday.
Lovullo added that the Diamondbacks anticipate Moreno to be ready for the start of the regular season.
“We felt we are in a really good spot. He’s gonna have a couple of days down, and we are just going to continue to treat him up and make sure that when we initiate the baseball activity, that he is pain-free and pushing forward to get ready for the season,” Lovullo said. “We want to give him the proper rest right now.”
Moreno was previously scratched from the D-backs’ lineup on Friday against the Kansas City Royals with right forearm tightness and underwent imaging that evening.
Moreno has missed time in each of his first three seasons with the Diamondbacks due to various injuries (shoulder, groin, thumb, wrist). Moreno’s latest ailment comes as backup catcher Adrian Del Castillo is out with a left calf issue.
Lovullo said Smith, who was scratched from Friday’s lineup with left forearm tightness, will be shut down for the next couple of days. Lovullo added that Smith will not undergo any imaging and expects him to be ready for Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Cubs.
Corbin Carroll, who made his 2026 Cactus League debut Wednesday after hand surgery last month, was in the lineup as a designated hitter against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday. Lovullo said before Saturday’s game that Carroll will likely DH against the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
