How the turntables

The GIST: What a Sunday! Eight women’s squads booked March Madness tickets in this weekend’s jaw-dropping conference tourney finals, even as injuries continued piling up.

• With the Big 12, Big East, and 22 other women’s conferences wrapping up this week, plus some men’s tournaments starting tomorrow, it’s already one of the wildest Marches on record — and there’s still six days until Selection Sunday.

Bad blood in the SEC final: After three quarters of chippy, aggressive play between No. 1–seed South Carolina and defending national champ No. 2–seed LSU, tensions boiled over late in the fourth: A rough foul led to an intense scuffle that saw nearly all bench players ejected, plus a one-game suspension for the aforementioned Cardoso, who’ll miss South Carolina’s first March Madness game.

• All fights aside, LSU gave the Gamecocks a major run for their money — South Carolina emerged with the 79–72 dub to book their eighth SEC tourney ’ship in 10 seasons, but their performance demonstrated some vulnerabilities — a tough look entering the NCAA tourney.

No. 2–seed Iowa survives the Big Ten: The Midwest was upset central this weekend, with big losses for No. 1–seed Ohio State and No. 3–seed Indiana shocking the hoops world. No. 5–seed Nebraska almost made it a trifecta, but Iowa’s Caitlin Clark turned on the jets to secure her Hawkeyes’ third straight championship with yesterday’s 94–89 overtime win. Phew.

Trojans show No. 1–seed Stanford who’s boss: No. 2–seed USC freshman guard JuJu Watkins didn’t score 51 points this time, but the Trojans still doubled down on their February 2nd dub over Stanford to win the last-ever Pac-12 tournament with yesterday’s 74–61 rout. Even more, USC simultaneously hurt Stanford’s shot at a national No. 1–seed while strengthening their own case.

No. 4–seed Notre Dame takes tough ACC: The Fighting Irish downed No. 5–seed Louisville, No. 1–seed Virginia Tech, and No. 2–seed NC State on their brutal path to the ’ship, making yesterday’s confetti shower all the more satisfying. Irish freshman phenom Hannah Hidalgo led all scorers in the title match with 22 points, but ND’s iron-clad zone defense sealed the 55–51 dub over NC State.

The GIST: Another sign of spring, besides Daylight Savings Time? Winter sports’ first national champs were crowned this weekend, with more coming down the pipe at breakneck speed.

⛷️ Skiing: The Colorado Buffaloes erased a 51-point deficit to usurp defending champ Utah, securing their first national title since 2015 on their home course on Saturday. It all came down to the 20km men’s Nordic Classical event, where Colorado’s Magnus Boee’s first-place finish helped the Buffs nab the narrowest win of the coed championship era. Ice under their skis and in their veins.

👟 Indoor track & field: No. 1 Arkansas’ women, ahem, ran it back with their second straight national championship on Saturday, edging No. 2 Florida for the tight dub. But Arkansas’ No. 1 men’s team failed to defend their title and secure a sweep, allowing No. 2 Texas Tech to race away with their first-ever indoor natty.

• Thirty-four athletes and relay teams snagged individual national titles, but Florida distance queen Parker Valby took things a (speedy) step further — the reigning women’s cross country champ added two titles and an NCAA record to her trophy case.

▶️ Up next: The women’s ice hockey national championship bracket dropped yesterday, with seven of last year’s 11 title contenders returning for another crack at the Frozen Four. Fierce rivals Ohio State and Wisconsin snagged the top two seeds, respectively, potentially setting up a rematch of last year’s title game. Start the countdown — puck drops for the Regional round on Thursday.

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