Weekend Sports In Brief

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The scene will bring smiles to many for a long time. Players chest-bumping and hugging. Fans on the fringe of delirium. A celebration perfect for highlight reels and posters.

It has to end in a hurry, though. There’s another game to be played.

Wisconsin has joined the list of teams which won a game of historical proportions only to be faced with a game that will decide how great the magnitude of the event will be.

The Badgers beat Kentucky 71-64 on Saturday night, ending the Wildcats’ pursuit of an unbeaten season and avenging a bitter loss in last year’s national semifinals.

Now, they face Duke on Monday night for Wisconsin’s first national championship in 74 years.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Breanna Stewart scored 25 points and Morgan Tuck added 24 to lead UConn to an 81-58 win over Maryland on Sunday in the Final Four, leaving the Huskies one win away from a third straight national championship.

UConn will face Notre Dame for the title on Tuesday night in a rematch of last season’s championship game.

The Huskies have won nine titles overall and a victory over the Irish would tie Geno Auriemma with vaunted UCLA men’s coach John Wooden for the most all-time with 10. It also would be the second three-peat for UConn, which won three straight championships from 2002-04.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - All-American Jewell Loyd scored 22 points and Madison Cable’s only basket of the game lifted Notre Dame to a 66-65 victory over Final Four newcomer South Carolina in the national semifinals on Sunday night.

The Irish (36-2) advanced to the NCAA championship game for the fourth time in five years, surviving a scoring drought that lasted nearly seven minutes down the stretch.

The Irish have not been able to win it all since coach Muffet McGraw led them to their only national title in 2001.

South Carolina (34-3) overcame a 12-point, first-half deficit and did it again in the closing minutes.

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BASEBALL

CHICAGO (AP) - Adam Wainwright pitched six innings of five-hit ball and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 3-0 on Sunday night in the major leagues opener.

Jason Heyward had three hits in his St. Louis debut and Matt Holliday drove in two runs as the Cardinals won their first game for the second straight year. Throw in Matt Carpenter’s two hits at new-look Wrigley Field, and the top third of the lineup for the NL Central champs went 7 for 14 with three RBIs.

Playing their most anticipated opener in years, manager Joe Maddon’s Cubs went 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position. Ace left-hander Jon Lester was pulled with one out in the fifth inning in his Cubs’ debut.

NEW YORK (AP) - The Los Angeles Dodgers set a baseball record with a $270 million opening-day payroll, including nearly $44 million going to players no longer on the team.

Major League Baseball’s average salary on opening day Sunday also set a mark at $4.2 million, according to calculations by The Associated Press. That is up 6.3 percent from last year’s opening average of $3.95 million and is a 15 percent rise over two years.

Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels says “it’s a shocking number for the average family to think about.”

The Dodgers’ payroll includes $43.8 million for 2015 to cover the costs of players traded and let go.

At the bottom are Houston ($69.1 million) and Miami ($69.2 million). A record 508 players earn $1 million or more.

GOLF

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Adam Scott says the Masters is too important to keep experimenting with the short putter.

Scott says he will be going back to the long putter he has used the last four years, including his Masters victory two years ago. The anchored stroke used for the long putter will be banned in 2016, and Scott showed up in Florida with a conventional putter to prepare for the change.

The results were mixed. He tied for fourth at Doral. He missed the cut for the first time in nearly three years at Innisbrook. And he missed his share of short putts at Doral.

Scott says he’s not at Augusta to work on his putting. He says the job is to win this week, and the long putter gives him the best chance.

HOUSTON (AP) - J.B. Holmes used a strong start Sunday for a Houston Open victory in a three-way playoff against Jordan Spieth and Johnson Wagner.

The 32-year-old Holmes birdied the first five holes and nine of the first 12 after starting the day six shots back of Jordan Spieth.

He had a 64, the day’s low round, and won on the second playoff hole for his fourth PGA Tour victory and the $1,188,000 check. Although Holmes’ missed birdie putt had given Wagner another chance, his short putt for par lipped out.

“I knew I had to play a really low round and I started out great,” Holmes said. “It worked out for me.”

Spieth, the hottest player on the Tour heading into the Masters, was trying to win his second playoff in three weeks, sandwiched around a runner-up finish in the Texas Open last Sunday. But he bowed out on the first playoff hole.

NBA

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Paul George’s season debut provided a needed boost Sunday as the Pacers put themselves back in the playoff contention with a 112-89 rout over Miami.

George finished with 13 points in 15 minutes — his first action since breaking his right leg Aug. 1.

Luis Scola scored a season-high 23 points to lead Indiana (34-43) to its second straight win. The Pacers moved into a tie with Miami (34-43) for the No. 9 spot in the East. Both teams trail Boston by one game for the conference’s eighth and final playoff spot.

Miami was led by Dwyane Wade with 27 points but lost its fourth in a row.

The Heat took a 58-57 lead midway through the third, but the Pacers finished the quarter on a 20-8 run to make it 77-66. Back-to-back 3-pointers from George early in the fourth sealed it.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Blake Griffin scored 18 points, DeAndre Jordan added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers sent the Lakers to their franchise-record 56th defeat of the season, 106-78 Sunday night.

Matt Barnes scored 14 points and Chris Paul had 15 assists for the Clippers, who handed that historic loss to their Staples Center roommates while beating the Lakers for a record sixth straight time overall.

With six games still to play, the Lakers have surpassed last season’s team as the losingest in the 16-time champion franchise’s illustrious history.

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TENNIS

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) - Hot but happy, Novak Djokovic had just begun celebrating his latest championship when he tossed his towel and sweatbands into the crowd. They were soggy souvenirs for sure.

Djokovic earned his fifth Key Biscayne title Sunday, beating Andy Murray for the seventh consecutive time by showing superior stamina in the subtropical heat to win the Miami Open final 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-0.

Murray broke in the final game of the second set to even the match, but fatigue then became a factor on a sunny, humid, 80-degree afternoon.

Djokovic was the fitter player down the stretch.

“It was brutal - it’s very warm,” he said. “I was prepared for a physical battle. But it’s one thing to prepare and another thing to experience it on the court. “

The top-ranked Djokovic became the first man to complete the Indian Wells-Key Biscayne spring sweep three times, and he has done it twice in a row.

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SOCCER

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Meghan Klingenberg scored an early goal and the United States women’s team busted the exhibition against New Zealand wide open with three more in the second half for a dominating 4-0 victory Saturday.

Lori Chalupny, Julie Johnston and Morgan Brian all scored in a span of five minutes in the second half for the U.S. in the World Cup warmup.

U.S. goalie Hope Solo had a light workload, as New Zealand was limited to two harmless corner kicks.

The U.S. has three more exhibitions prior to the World Cup, the next on May 10 against Ireland in San Jose, California. The team will open World Cup play on June 8 against Australia.