The Men’s Final Four is set for this Saturday. UConn will meet Illinois in the early game while Arizona and Michigan will dance in the nightcap. Michigan rolled over Tennessee to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2018. UConn overcame a 19-point deficit to edge the top overall seed in Duke. Braylon Mills, last year’s Indiana’s Mr. Basketball hit a 35-foot last second shot to send UConn to their third Final Four in four years. Arizona returns to the Final Four for the first time since 2001, as they defeated Purdue. Illinois returns for the first time since 2005, as they defeated Iowa. The championship game will be played on Monday, April 6.
The Women’s Final Four will be played in Phoenix this Friday and Sunday. The winners of the South Carolina-TCU and Michigan-Texas games will join UCLA and UConn.
Trinidad Chambliss cleared another hurdle to play for Ole Miss this football season. The Mississippi Supreme Court denied the NCAA’s petition to overturn an earlier lower court ruling allowing Chambliss to play in 2026. The NCAA argued that the Michigan native, who spent four years at Ferris State and one season at Ole Miss, had used up his five years of eligibility to play four years. Chambliss, a 2026 Heisman Trophy candidate, argued that he did not see action in his first two years at Ferris State. Chambliss was redshirted his first year and the second year he had a severe upper respiratory issue and did not see action. The ruling essentially assures the 2025 C Spire Conerly Trophy winner that he will be back on the field come September 6 when the Rebels open the 2026 season in Nashville against Louisville.
Mississippi State downed Southern Miss in a midweek baseball contest,12-0, and then traveled to Ole Miss and swept the Rebels. The Bulldogs (24-4, 7-2) are tied with the Texas Longhorns and the Georgia Bulldogs for first place in the SEC and will host the Bulldogs beginning Thursday in Starkville. State, winners of eight straight games, are at home for their next eight games where they are 17-0 on the year. The Bulldogs and the Rebels will meet again on Tuesday, April 28, in Pearl for their annual Mayor’s Trophy contest.
Southern Miss won two of three from Appalachian State over the weekend. The Golden Eagles (21-7, 5-4) are in a four-way tie for third place in the Sun Belt Conference. Coastal Carolina leads the conference with a 9-0 record. USM will travel to Old Dominion beginning Thursday.
Ole Miss (19-10, 3-6) lost all four games they played last week. The Rebels lost to Memphis and lost all three games against Mississippi State. It was Ole Miss' ninth series loss to the Bulldogs in their last ten series. Ole Miss is tied with Tennessee for 13th in the SEC. The Rebels will travel to Florida beginning Thursday for a three-game series.
East Central was No. 1 in last week’s National JUCO baseball rankings. Pearl River was second followed by Jones at No. 4. Gulf Coast was ranked 18th and Co-Lin 25th.
In the national softball rankings, Pearl River was ranked first with Co-Lin at 3 and Jones at 6. Itawamba came in at 13 followed by Hinds at 15, Northwest at 18, Northeast at 19 and Gulf Coast at 24.
Retired Ole Miss Athletic Director Warner Alford passed away last week. Alford was an offensive guard and co-captain on the 1960 Rebel football team. After college the McComb native began a coaching career at Laurel High, Davidson College, Georgia Tech and Ole Miss. Alford was a member of the Ole Miss M-Club and Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. He was married for 64 years to the former Kay Swayze, daughter of former Ole Miss baseball coach Tom Swayze.
Listen to Dale and Marshall Wood on the Brouhaha Sports Show Tuesday at 6 p.m. on WABO FM 105.5 in the Waynesboro area. This week’s guest is Creg Stephenson of AL.com. To listen to the broadcast on your computer or smart phone anywhere in the world, go to Google Chrome. You may also go to The Brouhaha on YouTube and listen to all the archived shows.
