Welcome back to another edition of Snagged Sports, where we ✨snag✨ all of the best stories in sports and serve them up on a screen near you. In today's edition, catching up from a weekend of madness, USA is headed to the finals, and cashing bets is the newest version of a buzzer beater. Let's get into it.

Main Character: Sweet 16

Whew, what a weekend for college basketball. A 16 seed won for the second time ever, Princeton advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the '60s, and some teams are quickly emerging as true contenders. Enough of the recap, let's dive into the action.

Story of the Tournament

Fairleigh Dickinson University should not have made the NCAA Tournament. They lost in their conference championship game, but because Merrimack was ineligible to enter, FDU automatically advanced. 

They then had to qualify by beating Texas Southern in one of the First Four games, which they did easily. Head coach, Tobin Anderson, (now) famously said in their post game speech, "the more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them." They say hindsight is 20/20, but Coach Anderson must've had clear vision into the future.

FDU, the shortest team in the tournament (average height of 6'3) went into Columbus and defeated the Big 10 Champion, and 1 seed, Purdue Boilermakers convincingly. It was no fluke, FDU played the better game, shot better, and defended much, much better than Purdue. 

Unfortunately for all newly converted FDU fans, the road came to a close after a thrilling game against Florida Atlantic sent the Knights packing. If there's one thing that we can take away from FDU, it's the March is full of madness, and you never know who to watch out for. Hopefully, this won't be the last time we're seeing the Knights, because what a fun team they were to watch.

Shock and Awe

Arkansas

For the second straight year, Eric Musselman and the Arkansas Razorbacks take down a 1 seed to advance in the NCAA Tournament. Ricky Council IV and Devo Davis combined for 46 of the team's 72 points, with 21 of Davis' points coming in the second half. The defending champion Jayhawks will not get a chance to repeat, and the Razorbacks will now face a UConn team in a highly anticipated Sweet 16 matchup.

Princeton

Nobody thought Princeton would win against Arizona, but of the people that did, there's no way they saw this team advancing to the Sweet 16, right?

The Tigers won in convincing fashion against 7 seed Missouri to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1967. Clutch three-point shooting and stellar defense are recipes for success nowadays, and Princeton has the ingredients down by heart. They will go on to face a red hot Creighton team looking to spoil a Cinderella run. These Tigers are tough, and the matchup will sure to bring lots of eyes and hearts rooting for yet another 15 seed to advance to the Elite Eight.

This is March After All

Michigan State

Mr. March is living up to his name as Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo and his squad are headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019. After being down much of the game, Michigan State used a late run to pull ahead and stay ahead to close out the game against 2 seed Marquette. Shaka Smart's squad comes up short yet again, and the Spartans continue dancing and will face 3 seed Kansas State.

Gonzaga

Mark Few is in a familiar spot as his Bulldog's advance yet again to the Sweet 16. Drew Timme and Co. had to put up 84 to pull out the W, but it's something they're used to at this point in the season. Gonzaga has been questioned all year on if they really are a good team, or just disguised as one hiding in the WCC, but we will find out soon enough in their matchup against UCLA if this team is the real deal.

 You May Not Have Seen THIS 👀

After winning off of one of the most electrifying home runs we've seen in a while, Team USA advanced past Venezuela to face off against Cuba for a chance to advance to the World Baseball Classic Finals.

After such an emotional win, many feared there would be a letdown game in the works against a streaking Cuba team. Nope, we were wrong. USA handled business and put up 14 runs against Cuba and allowing just 2 runs to advance to the Finals. They will now await the winner of Japan vs. Mexico for a chance to win the whole WBC thing. 

🤍 Wholesome Content 🤍

What a come up for this kid. Whoever said dreams don't come true needs to meet Jordan Sarnoff because this guy is living his dream. What a cool moment for him, and what a job he gets to take on for the coming days and weeks following his programs' historic win over Purdue. 

💰 Mr. Cover's Corner 💰

About last weekend...

I love March Madness. I caught myself on Saturday night saying, "oh my gosh I’m so basketball’d out, I just need to turn the TV off and rest my eyes." But, I reminded myself that soon enough it will be July, and all we will have is meaningless baseball to watch and bet on. Once I came to that realization I shed a single tear and continued to power through. Let's all appreciate these upcoming matchups and cherish these moments. It'll be over before we know it.

NCAA Futures Update:

I got a tough draw with my four futures. However, I got the best outcome I could hope for in terms of results. I trust UConn far more than I trusted Saint Mary’s. UConn and Texas look amazing. Houston looks good, but no doubt vulnerable.

I think the Texas vs. Xavier game has the potential to be the game of the tournament. Both teams are playing amazing, but I think we will see a Houston vs. Texas matchup in the Elite Eight. UConn should be able to handle Arkansas, but will have a tough matchup against either Gonzaga or UCLA. Nonetheless, I like the chances of UConn and Texas meeting in the Final Four, and one of them winning it all.

 🏀 NBA: NY Knicks -8.5 vs. Minnesota

College basketball is coming to a close, so get used to me picking MY Knicks for the foreseeable future. Minnesota is just so bad, and with Anthony Edwards on the sidelines, they're even worse. Jalen Brunson returns to the court for the Knicks, and should provide a solid spark offensively. The Knicks should win this one by double digits.

🏒 NHL: Florida -1.5 (+130) vs. Detroit

Covers, a plus sign? It can’t be!

Oh but it can. Florida is very hot right now, and no, we're not talking about climate change. The Panthers have been rolling as of late, and Detroit is one of the more inconsistent teams in the league. If this spread doesn’t interest you, feel free to take ML -182 for a safer pick.

As per usual, do you what you must with this valuable information.

🐣 Tweet of the Weekend 🐣

Let's be honest, the Mavs have been on life support as of late, but the latest to attempt at  revival came from none other than Maxi Kleber. In a much needed win, the Mavs forward drained a three at the buzzer to win the game for a desperate Dallas squad. 

🤑 Money Monday 🤑

The NCAA Tournament has had its share of ups and downs in terms of betting, but nothing compares to this backdoor cover that TCU cooked up with just 0.7 seconds left in the game.

There is absolutely no reason this should have been shot, much less gone in the basket. TCU +4 bettors, sometimes things just happen to go your way, and last night was your night.

Quick Hits 🥊

• Ole Miss bounces 1 seed Stanford from the NCAAW Tournament in a huge upset.

• CJ Gardner-Johnson agreed to a 1 year, $8 million dollar deal with the Detroit Lions.

• Taylor Moore beats out Spieth to earn first PGA Tour win at this weekend's Valspar Championship.

• Longtime Vikings receiver Adam Thielen is headed to Carolina on a 3-year, $25 million dollar deal.

• XFL's DC Defenders remain undefeated after a thrilling 28-20 win against the St. Louis Battlehawks.

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