Overview
- Charlotte dominated Boston 118-89 at TD Garden for the Celtics’ largest defeat of the season, extending the Hornets’ surge to 16 wins in 19 games and pushing them to 32-31.
- Rookie Kon Knueppel scored 20 to lead a balanced Charlotte attack with LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller adding 18 apiece and Coby White 17, while Boston shot 38% with 15 turnovers.
- Derrick White paced the Celtics with 29 points and Jaylen Brown had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists; Boston has not set a return date for Jayson Tatum as he continues his comeback from Achilles surgery.
- No. 3 South Carolina opened SEC quarterfinal play by beating No. 17 Kentucky 87-64, and No. 6 LSU rolled past No. 7 Oklahoma 112-78 to set a Gamecocks–Tigers semifinal.
- No. 4 Texas reached the SEC semifinals by defeating Alabama 83-60 and will face Ole Miss, while No. 8 Michigan advanced to the Big Ten semifinals with an 80-58 win over Oregon to set up a meeting with Iowa.