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Welcome back to a brand-new week in sports, and this one is always an interesting transition point on the fandom calendar. We just saw the end of the NCAA women’s tournament, with UCLA somewhat unexpectedly dominating Sunday’s championship over South Carolina — who themselves upset undefeated UConn in a drama-fueled Final Four matchup on Friday night. Tonight, we will crown a men’s champ as well — more on Michigan vs. UConn later — and the college hoops season will be all over. 😢 But never fear, golf’s major championship season is here to pick up the slack: the Masters starts on Thursday. While we wait for that, here’s what’s happening on today’s docket:
🗓️ TONIGHT’S DANCE
The Main Events
All listed times are Eastern.
College Hoops:
🏀 NCAA Men’s Championship: Michigan (74%) vs. UConn (26%)* - 8:50 p.m. (TBS/TNT/truTV)
MLB:
⚾ Dodgers (58%) at Blue Jays (42%) - 7:07 p.m. (FS1) (2025 World Series rematch!)
⚾ Braves (61%) at Angels (39%) - 9:38 p.m. (MLB.tv)
⚾ Phillies (52%) at Giants (48%) - 9:45 p.m. (MLB.tv)
NBA:
🏀 Knicks (47%) at Hawks (53%) - 7 p.m. (Peacock/NBCSN)
🏀 76ers (24%) at Spurs (76%) - 8 p.m.
🏀 Blazers (24%) at Nuggets (76%) - 9 p.m.
NHL:
🏒 Lightning (52%) at Sabres (48%) - 7 p.m. (NHL Net)
🏒 Predators (44%) at Kings (56%) - 10:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Soccer:
⚽ Serie A: Napoli (40%) vs. AC Milan (30%) - 2:45 p.m. (Paramount+)
⚽ La Liga: Girona (32%) vs. Villarreal (41%) - 3 p.m. (ESPN+)
🔍 FIND THE EDGE
One shining matchup
Going into the weekend, we wrote that the prediction markets were looking at a couple of Final Four coin flips leading up to a lopsided title game Monday night.
Well, they were half right: tonight’s title contest does indeed feature a fairly sizable favorite. But the semifinals leading up to it were anything but razor-thin. UConn beat Illinois by 9 points in a game where they led 88% of the way — and that was the less lopsided of the two contests. In what was supposed to be the de facto title game between heavyweights Michigan and Arizona, the Wolverines led by 16 at halftime, opened the lead to 30 at one point in the second half, and ended up handing Arizona the co-worst beatdown ever by one No. 1 seed over another (by 18 points) in NCAA tourney history.
So now, we get the Wolverines and the Huskies in a fascinating matchup of this year’s powerhouse against an ongoing dynasty looking to deny the next one from following in its footsteps.
Just looking at the prediction markets, Michigan is a big 74% favorite to beat UConn and claim its first national championship since Glen Rice’s 1989 title squad. Coach Dusty May’s team is far ahead of UConn in the KenPom ratings, they’ve scored at least 90 points in every tournament game — already the first time a team has ever done that five times in a single tourney — and their average margin of victory in the tournament of 21.6 is tracking to rank second among champs in the 64-team bracket era, trailing only… UConn in 2024.
If Michigan beats UConn by at least 32 points, they would tie UConn’s 2024 mark — and they’d have done it against a tougher schedule as well. More likely, they would stand as the second- or third-most-dominant champ ever by that measure, which is still a historic accomplishment.
Defending their legacy against that challenge, however, is another team chasing an even grander level of history. Dan Hurley’s UConn squad has a chance to win its third national title in the span of four years, something no program has accomplished since UCLA in 1972, ’73, and ’75. John Wooden’s Bruins did the three-in-four thing multiple times — they won in 1964, ’65, and ’67, then used the latter win to rattle off seven straight championships (!) from 1967-73 — but aside from them, only one other team accomplished the three-in-four-years feat: Kentucky in 1948, ’49, and ’51.
So if UConn wins, they’ll do something that hasn’t been seen in college hoops in more than a half-century, solidifying their dynasty as arguably the greatest of the modern era. (It’s also much harder to build this kind of multiyear run in today’s game, given how much more rosters turn over from year to year.)
And as dominant as Michigan has looked, they do face the prospect of their best player, Yaxel Lendeborg, being slowed with a leg injury from the Arizona game. It didn’t seem to matter much against the Wildcats, but it’s something to consider as the game’s greatest current team faces what might be its greatest modern dynasty.
📊 CHART OF THE DAY
Another last-ditch coaching change??
Last week, we highlighted the sheer oddity of the Vegas Golden Knights making a coaching swap on March 29, with just weeks left in the regular season. (How’s it been going? They’re 3-0 with new head man John Tortorella at the helm, thanks for asking.) But the New York Islanders decided on Sunday to do the same thing, firing Patrick Roy in favor of Pete DeBoer. With that, April 5 became by far the latest coaching change into a full 82-game season since at least 2013-14 — meaning the two latest changes in that span have both happened this year, and five of the six changes from March 1 onward in that span have also happened in just the past three seasons alone.
❄️ STAY FROSTY
What else we’re reading
Smart, short reads we liked while building today’s odds.
🌍 “The Week in International Sport: an introduction to baseball5, rugby geography and Max Dowman” by Ben Wylie
🏀 “NBA Odds Movement Circus: Why latest roller-coaster offers betting value for Rookie of the Year” by Doug Kezirian
🎲 “How to find parlays that are actually worth betting” by Neil Greenberg
🏀 “What Actually Wins in March” by Sean Beney
🏀 “Michigan is still completely terrifying” by Eamonn Brennan
👀 EYES UP
Next on deck…
Tuesday (4/7)
⚾ MLB: Phillies at Giants
🏀 NBA: Thunder at Lakers
🏒 NHL: Bruins at Hurricanes
⚽ Champions League Quarterfinal: Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich
♟️ Chess: Candidates Tournament 2026, Round 8
Wednesday (4/8)
⚾ MLB: Mariners at Rangers
🏀 NBA: Thunder at Clippers
🏒 NHL: Sabres at Rangers
⚽ Champions League Quarterfinal: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Liverpool
⛳ 2026 Masters Par 3 Contest
♟️ Chess: Candidates Tournament 2026, Round 9
Thursday (4/9)
⚾ MLB: Reds vs. Marlins
🏀 NBA: Celtics vs. Knicks
🏒 NHL: Wild vs. Stars
⚽ Soccer: FC Porto vs. Nottingham Forest
♟️ Chess: Candidates Tournament 2026, Round 10
🧠 Looking ahead
Stay tuned for more updates and in-depth analysis of these events and more as they unfold. We’ll be bringing you all the scores, highlights, and expert commentary.
Got a favorite team or sport you want us to cover more? Let us know!
All data current as of time of send.
— by Neil Paine
*Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.