What time is LSU vs. Duke today? Channel, live stream, TV schedule to watch women’s NCAA Sweet 16 game originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

A highly anticipated matchup is coming to Sacramento Friday night as No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Duke go head-to-head in the Sweet 16.

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LSU’s powerhouse offense will face a worthy opponent as they prepare for the Blue Devils in the regional semifinal. The Tigers are playing some of their best basketball right now, though, and Kim Mulkey’s squad already defeated Duke by a margin of nearly 20 points back in December.

Duke enters the Sweet 16 on the heels of a dominant 69-46 win over Baylor in the second round. Delaney Thomas led the squad in that matchup with 17 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks on the night. The Blue Devils’ defense is rock-solid — can they use it to their advantage for a win in Sacramento?

Who will secure their bid in the Elite Eight?

Here’s everything you need to know about LSU vs. Duke women’s basketball, including TV channel and streaming options for the Sweet 16 matchup.

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What channel is LSU vs. Duke on today?

LSU vs. Duke will be available to watch on ESPN.

Fans looking to stream LSU vs. Duke can watch live on the ESPN app, which will carry every NCAA women’s basketball tournament game in 2026.

Now you can watch ESPN without cable. Stream live NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, college sports, plus SportsCenter, First Take, and all your favorite ESPN shows—anytime, anywhere—only in the new ESPN app.

Fans can also stream the game via Fubo, which offers a free trial to new subscribers so you can try before you buy.

LSU vs. Duke start time

• Time: 10 p.m. ET | 9 p.m. CT | 7 p.m. PT

The NCAA women’s tournament game between LSU and Duke is set to tip off at 10 p.m. ET from the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. Under head coach Kim Mulkey, LSU has reached four consecutive Sweet 16 rounds. This year will mark the program’s 18th time in the regional final.

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Meanwhile, Duke is tallying their 19th Sweet 16 appearance in Sacramento, and their third under head coach Kara Lawson.

LSU vs. Duke radio coverage

Listen to LSU vs. Duke in the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament live on the SiriusXM app.

New subscribers can listen to SiriusXM for free for four months. Listen to live NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL games, plus NASCAR, college sports and more. Stay updated with all the news and get all the analysis on multiple sport-specific channels.

Women’s March Madness bracket 2026

Check the Sporting News women’s NCAA Tournament live bracket for the latest final scores and next-round matchups.

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When is the Women’s Final Four in 2026?

• Location: Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix

The 2026 Women’s Final Four is set for April 3 and 5 at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix. The semifinals will be played Friday night and the national championship game is set for Sunday afternoon.

Women’s March Madness tournament schedule 2026

Here is the round-by-round schedule for the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament:

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A collection of over 100 human rights groups have raised concerns over the ethics and “fairness” of the International Olympics Committee’s decision to use mandatory genetic sex testing to determine eligibility for future women’s events.

IOC president Kirsty Coventry announced on Thursday that eligibility for the women’s category at future Olympic events will be determined by a one-time gene-screening test, starting from the Los Angeles 2028 Games.

The committee said any athletes found to posses the sex-determining SRY gene – a gene located on the Y chromosome – would be ineligible for the women’s category, ruling out transgender athletes and the majority of those with differences in sexual development (DSD).

The IOC said the one-time gene-screening test would be conducted via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample, and would be “unintrusive compared to other possible methods”.

But experts have warned that universal sex testing for the SRY gene could cause “considerable harm to affected athletes” and is an “inaccurate test of both sex and athletic advantage”.

The IOC’s ruling followed an 18-month consultation, with the policy “based on science” and “led by medical experts with the best interests of athletes at its heart”. Coventry said: “The scientific evidence is very clear: male chromosomes give performance advantages in sports that rely on strength, power or endurance.”

The ​French Olympic Committee said on Thursday that it had “major ethical and scientific concerns for all those affected” ‌and that the SRY tests would be illegal ⁠in France under the nation’s strict bioethics law on genetic testing.

“A sex testing and blanket ban policy would be a catastrophic erosion of women’s rights and safety,” said Andrea Florence, the executive director of the Sport & Rights Alliance.

“Gender policing and exclusion harms all women and girls, and undermines the very dignity and fairness the IOC claims to uphold. Our concerns are compounded by the fact that the IOC also seems to be, at the same time, divesting from the safe sport infrastructure that actually provides protection for women and girls.”

The Sport & Rights Alliance, along with over 100 other allied organisations, called on the IOC to abandon its plans to mandate genetic sex testing and warned the policy “would constitute an astounding rollback on gender equality and set women’s sport back 30 years”.

Payoshni Mitra, executive director of Humans of Sport, said: “Requiring women and girls to undergo mandatory genetic screening just to participate in sport would revive a practice that – even if it’s a ‘one-time test’ – violates women’s and girls’ privacy, exposes them to extreme public scrutiny, humiliation, and opens a pathway to medically unnecessary interventions.

“People often forget that child athletes compete at the Olympics and international competitions – this policy would cause massive safeguarding risks by requiring young women and children’s bodies to be investigated and their intimate health information disclosed, potentially leading to permanent harm to their dignity, mental health, and safety.”

The IOC ‌did not foresee a major problem ​with the legality issue. “Based on (International Federation) experience, genetic screening for ‌sex does not create significant problems in practice,” the ​policy document read. It is legal in most countries, and athletes from the countries where it is not permitted can lawfully be tested elsewhere.”

The new rules have no retroactive power and have no impact on grassroots or amateur sports.

Includes reporting from Reuters

/ @lockedoncollegefootball  

Assistant to William Haggas, Isabella Paul, who has brought Caviar Heights on a long haul from the UK, struggles to fathom that Rosehill’s toughest rival for the horse is a premier homegrown speedster.

The five-year-old travelled down under with stablemate and seasoned international Dubai Honour, positioning himself for Saturday’s Neville Sellwood Stakes (2000m), which also launches the Australian career of $10 million star and latest Group 1 conqueror Barnavara.

“That’s going to be tough for us,” Paul said.

“She is a top class filly. But I’m very happy, I don’t think we could have him in a better place.

“It always helps having Dubai Honour down here because he is such a pro.

“The other horse has followed his lead. I’m really happy with where they’re at. They look fantastic in their coats, they are maintaining their weight well, and I’m really looking forward to Saturday.”

In contrast to Tancred Stakes aspirant Dubai Honour’s extensive Australian background—this his third Sydney sojourn—Caviar Heights is relatively unproven here.

His stakes achievements largely involve Listed contests in Europe, highlighted by a couple of podium finishes for Haggas amid the English winter.

Paul explains he has required patience owing to a proneness “to be a little bit free” on the course and in workouts, but improvement is evident.

“He led on both those occasions, and – we haven’t talked tactics with the boss yet – but I wonder whether we might just try to drop him in,” she said.

“He probably wants to be fairly handy, but he just has that tendency to slightly over-race. We saw it in his last run last season. He led and he was pestered, and it didn’t suit him at all, and he finished fifth of six.

“Hopefully, if we can just get him to do it the right way, he’s got a big future ahead of him.”

Uncommon among Euro imports, Caviar Heights boasts mainly good-track form, complemented by an early career soft placing.

Tom Marquand will ride both Haggas challengers again.

Visit online bookmakers for competitive betting markets for the race in the Neville Sellwood Stakes.

Even though Tom Brady had become a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, the legendary quarterback still inquired about a potential return to the field.

Brady, 48, said the NFL was not a fan of the possibility of Brady coming out of retirement as an owner and playing again.

“I actually have inquired, and they don’t like that idea very much,” Brady told CNBC. “We explored a lot of different things, and I’m very happily retired. Let me just say that, too.”

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Founders FFC quarterback Tom Brady during the Fanatics Flag Football Classic at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles March 21, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

Brady impressed in last week’s Fanatics Flag Football Classic, throwing for 85 yards and two touchdowns on the smaller field over two games. Brady said he loved being back on the field but said the game confirmed his retirement decision.

“I loved being out there, playing in the flag game. I loved not getting hit. I got a lot of really fun things I’m involved in, and it’s never going to get old throwing passes to incredible athletes on the football field. But, if anything, that game reconfirmed to me that I’m very happy in retirement,” Brady said.

KYLIE KELCE REVEALS HER ‘DOS AND DON’TS’ OF TALKING TO POSTPARTUM WOMEN: ‘OH, I’M SO SERIOUS’

Fox Sports announcer Kevin Burkhardt, left, with Tom Brady on the field before the Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs at Caesars Superdome Feb. 9, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)

The NFL is also happy that Brady wants to stay in retirement because if the future Pro Football Hall of Famer returned to play, it would cause a headache for the league.

An NFL spokesperson told CNBC that if Brady were to return to the field, he would have to divest his ownership stake in the Raiders after a policy was created in 2023 that prohibits players or team employees from taking equity in a club.

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Founders FFC’s Tom Brady reacts to a call made by the referee against the U.S. National Flag team during the Fanatics Flag Football Classic March 21, 2026, in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

The spokesperson told CNBC that there would also be salary cap issues for a player-owner.

Brady purchased a 5% share of the Raiders in 2024.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Today’s front pages offer plenty of variety. With friendlies taking center stage, in Spain the headlines focus on someone who broke barriers in the world of sport: Carolina Marín’s retirement makes her the main story.

However, looking abroad, the aftermath of the European playoffs is the front-page topic in Italy, as is the friendly between France and Brazil in the neighboring country.

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Plenty of stories on Friday’s agenda.

MARCA

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MUNDO DEPORTIVO

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LA GAZZETTA DELLO SPORT

CORRIERE DELLO SPORT

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L’EQUIPE

DAILY EXPRESS SPORT

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This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — For 39 minutes and 49 seconds, No. 2 seed Purdue and No. 11 Texas battled and bruised and fought through (quite literally) broken bones to put on a sizzling Sweet 16 battle. When the time came for a decider, college basketball’s most prolific assister in history wanted the winner for himself.

But Braden Smith didn’t quite have it. 

Purdue ran an action that gave Smith the space he wanted to drive down the right side of the lane. He tried to touch the ball off the backboard, but he shot it just a touch awry. Fortunately, he let go with three seconds on the clock, leaving just enough time for his fellow fourth-year Boilermaker, Trey Kaufman-Renn, to muscle in over Texas’ Dailyn Swain and gently tip the ball back through the hoop with 0.7 seconds remaining to give Purdue the 79-77 win. The man nicknamed TKR delivered more than a TKO — this was an outright knockout shot for Texas in the tournament.

It was also the least amount of time left of any Purdue winning shot in NCAA Tournament history and the first of Kaufman-Renn’s college career.

Conspicuously, Texas’ best big man, Matas Vokietaitis, was not on the floor for the final defensive possession. 

Did Sean Miller make a mistake? 

Anything but, the Longhorns coach told CBS Sports. For all of Vokietaitis’ size and game-disrupting ability, he managed just two rebounds against Purdue, one on each end. Given Smith’s maestro-like control to work the high screen-and-roll with as much command as anyone in the college game, Miller wasn’t willing to chance getting his big on an island against one of the most seasoned and savvy players in the sport.

“Because Matas was playing the 5, and in my mind, [Purdue would] have to switch that on the game-winner,” Miller told CBS Sports. “So, if we would have done that, Matas would have been guarding Braden Smith. I know he would have guarded Braden Smith there. So, by playing a quicker player, it allowed us to be able to switch.

“In hindsight, the other part of it is, if you don’t involve Matas in that, and he has to guard somebody else? They’re a perimeter team, and they’re so good shooting the ball. So, we elected to go a little quicker to negate that; then, we ended up giving up an offensive rebound. But I don’t know if it was because of our lack of size, as much as, like, you have to block him out on that.”

The sub-in for Vokietaitis was 6-8 sophomore Nic Codie. Texas was told to switch every position, 1 through 5. Miller wanted Swain on TKR so that, if he set a ball screen, Texas would switch onto him in that scenario.

It never played out that way. Purdue slipped out of the screen, Smith never passed and no switch happened.

These are the tiny decisions that can flip a game’s outcome.

“Many times a game is won and lost not on the first shot but the second,” Miller said. 

These are the quick decisions that alter how a bracket takes shape.

“When it happened, we didn’t set a screen, and so we curled our screen to act like we were coming up, and then Braden didn’t go through it,” Purdue coach Matt Painter told CBS Sports. “A lot of times, those on-ball guys, they feel that screen coming, and then they open a little bit, and when they open, you’re just trying to get that angle. So, that was the play that we were running.”

The irony: Vokietaitis would have been on the floor, Miller said, if not for Purdue center Oscar Cluff fouling out on the prior possession. Swain, who did not box out Kaufman-Renn, drew Cluff’s fifth foul on an and-one that made it 77-77 with 11.9 seconds remaining. 

“The reason that Matas wasn’t in was simply because Cluff wasn’t, and when you take Cluff out, when Renn is at the 5, it’s a very difficult matchup in a game-winning situation for a center. So, we elected to go quicker,” Miller said.

Painter said he felt good about Purdue’s chances regardless of who Texas put on the floor. The experience of Smith and Kaufman-Renn goes a long way toward that confidence.

“It wouldn’t have mattered whether he was out — I mean, I think it would have mattered to the end result,” Painter said. “If Vokietaitis is on the floor, I don’t think Trey gets the tip-in. … But we weren’t setting up all these screens, so it didn’t matter who that was on the floor.”

The teams tussled for 40 minutes, playing a terrific game. The Boilers and Horns gave the Sweet 16 a riveting start to what could be a special four days of tournament ball, volleying through 16 lead changes and 10 ties and inducing only 11 combined turnovers.

Even in defeat, Jordan Pope goes home heroic and literally broken. His status was “literally a game-time decision,” per Texas’ coaching staff, after he purportedly injured his ankle in the second round. After Thursday’s loss, Pope came as clean as the break in his right foot. This was no ankle issue; his foot was fractured.

“I think I can clear the air now. Five minutes left against Gonzaga, I broke my foot, a complete break, so it was definitely tough,” Pope said.

Pope had to grit his teeth through Purdue’s myriad dizzying offensive sets. The staff was unsure whether he would manage even 10 minutes of game time. The tournament inspires a lot out of players; Pope’s showing is the latest admirable effort that shouldn’t be forgotten. What a gamer.

“I don’t know how many guys that I’ve coached under these conditions on this stage would have chosen to play,” Miller said. “It would have been very easy for him just to say, ‘Made the Sweet 16, I’m not going to be 100%, I don’t know how I’ll look, and because of that, I can’t go.’ But he gave us everything and gave us the opportunity to win.”

Pope gutted through 33 minutes and scored 12 points. He was a necessary complementary piece in such a close game, but Texas only ever had a chance because of fellow senior Tramon Mark, who made this Longhorns run possible with his game-winning shot vs. NC State in the First Four nine days ago and put a bow on his outstanding career by dropping a game-high 29 points, including five from beyond the arc. 

And he did it after twisting his ankle in the first half on a 3-point attempt when he landed on Fletcher Loyer’s foot. His 29 points were the most by any Texas player in an NCAA Tournament game since Kevin Durant dropped 30 on USC in 2007.

“When he gets in that rhythm, and that was our concern, they have Pope, Swain and him,” Painter said. “They’re three pretty unique guys.” 

At 63-63, after Texas got it knotted with 8:24 to go, Painter told his staff, “We’re going to have to go offense/defense.”

He was referring to Loyer, who’s been on a heater from 3 (12-of-20 through three games in the NCAAs) but can be a liability on the other side. But Painter thought better of it and only took out Loyer a couple of times down the stretch. Purdue had enough, barely, to hold off the rare 11-seed from making the Elite Eight.

Purdue is in its seventh Elite Eight in program history and third under Painter thanks to good fortune and right-place-right-time instinct from Kaufman-Renn. Miller hasn’t been that far in 11 years; his most recent regional final came in 2015 with Arizona, which coincidentally enough will face Purdue here on Saturday. 

“There’s no moral victory of, that’s OK, because there’s no guarantee you’re coming back any time soon,” Miller said.

For Painter, who has fallen to Nos. 16, 15, 13 and 12 seeds over the years, a third Elite Eight after dodging an 11 is cherished territory. On this night, the scale balanced a bit more for one of the game’s most consistently successful coaches. Sometimes, that scale tips with just one touch.

“We out-rebounded them by one, but that last rebound being pretty damn important,” Painter said.

The difference between survival and a send-off can sometimes be whittled to something as simple as one tap. A maddening thought that encapsulates the thinnest of lines defining whether a team keeps its name around for another round.

That’s the tournament.

The Akwa Ibom State Government has dismissed as false, misleading, and baseless reports in social media platforms suggesting that Super Eagles players contributed funds for the renovation of the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium and are dissatisfied with alleged delays in renovation works.

Fielding questions from newsmen, the State Commissioner for Information, Hon. Aniekan Umanah, alongside his Sports counterpart, Elder Paul Bassey, clarified that the stadium is 100 percent maintained by the Akwa Ibom State Government, and at no time did any Super Eagles player, or any individual, donate money for its upgrade or upkeep. They emphasized that the facility remains in excellent condition.

“The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium is one of the best football facilities in the world and currently the only stadium in Nigeria approved by both CAF and FIFA for international matches,” the Commissioners said, highlighting its compliance with global standards.

They made it clear that the stadium is maintained under a running contract with Julius Berger Plc which ensures an impeccable playing pitch, modern dressing rooms, FIFA-approved floodlights, and a fully functional electronic scoreboard, all of which were used during the last Super Eagles match in Uyo.

The Commissioners also pointed to recent recognition of the State by Sportsville, which named Akwa Ibom State Best in Sports Infrastructure, describing the accolade as independent validation of the government’s substantial investment in sports development.

Commissioner Paul Bassey further reiterated that the stadium has served as the home of the Super Eagles for over a decade without complaints from players, officials, or football authorities, and that the state government consistently provides for the team’s logistics and welfare whenever matches are held in Uyo.

Reacting to the false reports, the Secretary of the Super Eagles, Mr. Enebi Achor, described the publication alluding to players contributing to the maintenance of the stadium as “embarrassing,” noting that the players were surprised by the narrative and questioned its origin.

The Information Commissioner warned that individuals, groups, and blogs must strictly adhere to verified facts and desist from spreading false information, stressing that dissemination of fake news is punishable by law.

He further emphasized that under the leadership of Pastor Umo Eno, the Akwa Ibom State Government continues to invest heavily in sports development, including the sustained maintenance of the stadium, construction of modern facilities, provision of equipment, hosting sports festivals, and talent development programs.

The government urged the public to disregard the false publication entirely, describing it as a smear attempt that will not distract the administration from its resolve to advance sports development in Akwa Ibom State.

Oleksandr Usyk has faced an extensive list of elite opponents and has overcome every single one of them, but when it came to naming the hardest punching dance partners of his career, the Ukrainian surprisingly left out two names.

Usyk has become just the second fighter in history to become undisputed at both cruiserweight and heavyweight, picking up all four world titles in each division to match, if not better, the achievements of Evander Holyfield.

Up at heavyweight, Usyk has faced two men that can be considered as genuine knockout artists, twice beating both Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, halting the latter on both occasions and outpointing ‘AJ’ in each of their matchups.

Although, in an interview with Daily Mail Boxing, the unified heavyweight ruler left both Joshua and Dubois off of a list when quizzed to name the hardest punching opponents of his career. Instead, the 39-year-old humorously gave top spot to the horse that kicked him when he was a child.

“5. Murat Gassiev, 4. Mairis Briedis, 3. Tyson Fury, 2. Derek Chisora, 1. Horses.”

Usyk met Fury twice in 2024, winning both of those battles on points, while he defeated Chisora in just his second fight at heavyweight back in 2020, in a bout that he has referred to in the past as one of his toughest in the division to date.

The Ukrainian will return to action on Saturday, May 23, when he attempts to defend his WBC world title in an unorthodox meeting against Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza.