The Class 3A and 4A state basketball finals are at Carver Arena in Peoria this weekend. Bloomington is playing in the opener against Oak Park Fenwick.

In the 3-point showdown at Carver Arena, Adam Brown of Streator just missed the cut for the final round. He tied for the last spot with 11 3-pointers, but lost in the tiebreaker.

Middle Tennessee was the highest seed to advance to the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The 12th-seeded Blue Raiders knocked out Minnesota, 81-72 in Milwaukee.

Northwestern got its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, 68-66 over Vanderbilt, after a Commodores player inexplicably fouled intentionally, sending Bryant McIntosh to the free throw line for the go-ahead points with 15 seconds left.

Among the other big 10 schools, Purdue held off Vermont, Wisconsin downed Virginia Tech , Maryland was upset by Xavier.

Illinois State softball opens Missouri Valley Conference play today, with the opener of a weekend series at Indiana State.

Redbird baseball visits Lipscomb.

The Indiana Hoosiers are shopping around for a new men’s basketball coach. The school has announced that Tom Crean has been fired after nine seasons with the Hoosiers.

Richard Panik scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period, lifting the Blackhawks to a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators.

Bulls star Dwayne Wade will miss the rest of the season with a fractured right elbow.