Four’s a crowd
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Madness!
We’re grooving into this Monday after another jaw-dropping weekend of NCAA basketball. Also tearing it up on the (Big) dance floor? Stephanie, who leads our women’s bracket challenge, and Emily, who stands alone on the men’s leaderboard. Lace ’em up and let’s keep the boogie going right into the latest.
— World No. 4 Coco Gauff, after losing to No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s Miami Open final. The 22-year-old, who was looking for her hometown victory, said her mindset about tennis is changing, in part inspired by Olympic figure skating gold medalist Alysa Liu. Love to see it.
Women’s March Madness
🎓🏀 Hoop, there she is
The GIST: Elite Eight…more like Elite Great. So far two No. 1 seeds have punched tickets to the women’s Final Four — will the other two join them tonight?
🐶 No. 1 UConn ends No. 6 Notre Dame’s magical run: The top overall seed advanced to their record 25th Final Four yesterday, defeating junior Hannah Hidalgo’s Fighting Irish 70–52. UConn started slowly (again), but survived thanks to freshman Blanca Quiñonez, who had 20 points off the bench.
💙 Senior Lauren Betts sparks No. 1 UCLA comeback: Uncharacteristically shaky, the Bruins trailed No. 3 Duke by eight at halftime. But a revitalized Betts exploded after the break, finishing yesterday’s 70–58 W with 23 points and 10 rebounds, her lucky number 13th double-double of the season.
🤘 No. 1 Texas vs. 🐺 No. 2 Michigan — Tonight at 7 p.m. ET: The experienced Longhorns have dominated their tourney opponents, winning their three games by over 35 points on average. Seeking their second straight Final Four, they’ll need to quiet the young Wolverines — specifically when it comes to three-pointers.
❤️ No. 1 South Carolina vs. 🐸 No. 3 TCU — Tonight at 9 p.m. ET: Expect a high-scoring offensive showdown: all five of South Carolina’s starters average double-digit scoring, while TCU grad student Olivia Miles is a walking highlight reel. Shots on shots.
Men’s March Madness
🎓🏀 Time to stretch
The GIST: Meanwhile in Ken’s Mojo Dojo Case House the men’s tourney, brackets everywhere are busted and Saturday’s Final Four games are set. Fresh off yesterday’s massive upset, No. 2 seed UConn will play No. 3 Illinois, while No. 1 Arizona and No. 1 Michigan will square off in a heavyweight bout. Here’s how we got here.
🐶 No. 2 UConn stuns No. 1 overall seed Duke: Men’s March Madness No. 1 seeds were historically 134-0 when leading by 15+ points at halftime, that is until the Huskies stormed back yesterday, using a last-second three-pointer from freshman Braylon Mullins to beat the Blue Devils 73–72. It simply had to come down to the wire.
💪 No. 3 Illinois bounces scrappy No. 9 Iowa: Even persistent horn issues couldn’t deny Illinois the dub as freshman Keaton Wagler (25 points) and the Illini took down the underdog Hawkeyes 71–59 to reach their first Final Four since 2005.
😦 No. 1 Arizona dismantles No. 2 Purdue: Arizona is also back in the semis for the first time in over 20 years. Led by Koa Peat and the rest of their talented freshmen class, the Wildcats took down veteran Purdue 79–64 as the senior-heavy squad struggled to find an offensive rhythm.
🚗 No. 1 Michigan cruises past No. 6 Tennessee: Michigan’s win was the lone runaway of the Elite Eight. The Wolverines never faltered against Tennessee, going on a 21-0 first half run en route to a 95–62 win, highlighted by freshman Yaxel Lendeborg’s 27 points. The kid is certainly alright.
Question of the Day
With the men’s Final Four officially set, which team is your pick to win it all when the Madness resumes from Indianapolis on Saturday?
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*One free 3-pack Daily Greens per box with active subscription while supplies last until 09/27/2026⛰️ Denver Summit set NWSL attendance record
The Mile High City showed up and showed out for their newest franchise with 63,004 Denverites in attendance for the Summit’s 0–0 Saturday draw with the Washington Spirit. This comes just two weeks after fellow expansion squad Boston Legacy set the then-inaugural home opener record with 30,207 fans at Gillette Stadium.
- Combine that with last year’s debutant Bay FC setting the single-game attendance record with 40,091 fans at Oracle Park in August 2025 and it’s clear that NWSL expansion — plus giving women bigger venues — is working. Golazos all around.
🇺🇲⚽ No. 16 USMNT routed 5–2 by No. 9 Belgium
From a footy high to a low, the Stars and Stripes defense had more holes than Swiss cheese against European powerhouse Belgium on Saturday. Goalie Matt Turner — who hadn’t played with the USMNT since last June — allowed five goals in the tough L.
- With the FIFA men’s World Cup just around the corner, see if the U.S. has any fight in them when they play another (not-so) friendly against No. 5 Portugal tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET.
🏎️ Teenager Kimi Antonelli tops Japanese Grand Prix podium
At just 19 years old, Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli became the youngest World Drivers Championship leader after yesterday’s win. A well-timed Safety Car lap (following a scary accident where everyone was okay) allowed Antonelli a much-need pit stop, and he nailed the restart en route to the podium. Now he’ll enjoy the top spot for at least six weeks due to recently announced race cancellations.
⛸️ Ilia Malinin skates to worlds three-peat
The Quad God found redemption with a commanding performance at this weekend’s ISU World Figure Skating Championship, where he won his third consecutive men’s singles gold medal. Team USA ice dancers Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also landed on the podium, earning bronze in their first Worlds as a pair.
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Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lauren Tuiskula, Rachel Fuenzalida, Grace DePaull, Charlotte Mackenzie, and Monica Schrock. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam and Mikaela Perez. Ops by Briana Ekanem and Elisha Gunaratnam. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula and Alessandra Puccio. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.