Volume 26:14
Updated: Apr 4
THE COLE TIMES
Vol.26:14 March 28, 2026
Men’s March Madness
The Elite Eight is set! The Duke Blue Devils will face the UConn Huskies in a battle of #1 vs. #2 in the East Region. The Arizona Wildcats and Purdue Boilermakers also advanced far enough for a #1 vs. #2 matchup in the West Region. In the Midwest, #1 Michigan Wolverines and #6 Tennessee Volunteers will play for a Final Four berth. Big 10 foes #9 Iowa Hawkeyes and #3 Illinois Fighting Illini are matched up in the South Regional Final with a trip to Indy on the line. How did these teams get here?
Duke has been the favorite in all of their tournament games so far. But to get to this point, it wasn’t easy. They had to comeback from a large deficit versus #16 Siena and the same two rounds later against #5 St. John’s. But despite their struggles, they find themselves in the Elite 8.
UConn got nice early wins against #15 Furman and #7 UCLA to begin their run. Then they faced #3Michigan State. UConn led by as much as 19 points but still found themselves in a late battle. However, they weren’t ready to go home and put Michigan State away by a 67-63 scoreline.
Arizona was facing the SEC Champion #4 Arkansas Razorbacks. Arkansas had no chance. Arizona never trailed and ended up winning 109-88 to send Arkansas home.
Purdue barely survived #11 Texas. The Boilmakers advanced on a Trey Kaufman-Renn tip-in with less than a second left. Purdue’s run continues after winning the Big 10 tournament as the #7 seed. Michigan dominated their way to the Elite 8, stopping #4 Alabama in their tracks with a 90-77 win. #2 Iowa State never stood a chance against Tennessee. The Vols had a one-point halftime lead and didn’t trail after the break, winning 76-62.
Iowa’s unlikely March Madness run continues. They beat their rivals, the #4 Nebraska Cornhuskers one round after upsetting the region’s #1 Florida Gators. In both games, Iowa won late with some clutch plays.
Illinois played a great game on defense shutting down the #2 Houston Cougars en route to a 65-55 win.
Women’s March Madness
Stay tuned for an update tomorrow after the Sweet 16 finishes.
MLB Update
On Wednesday, the New York Yankees opened the MLB season, shutting out San Francisco Giants 7-0. Then on Friday, they followed it up with a 3-0 win. Max Fried and Cam Schlittler both are 1-0 after dominant wins. Aaron Judge hit his first homerun of the season in the 3-0 victory. It’s the first time in Yankees history they started a season with back-to-back shutouts.
The Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers, and Los Angeles Dodgers also moved to 2-0 after beating the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlins, and Atlanta Braves opened their seasons with victories over the Athletics, Colorado Rockies, and Kansas City Royals.
The Seattle Mariners evened their series versus the Cleveland Guardians with a 5-1 win.
Predictions Update:
Current Record: 12-8
Read Yesterday’s post for Today’s predictions.
Sunday:
Royals over Braves
Orioles over Twins
Phillies over Rangers
Athletics over Blue Jays
Reds over Red Sox
Rockies over Marlins
Mets over Pirates
Astros over Angels
Brewers over White Sox
Rays over Cardinals
Nationals over Cubs
Mariners over Guardians
Monday:
Twins over Royals
Rangers over Royals
Marlins over White Sox
Reds over Pirates
Phillies over Nationals
Blue Jays over Rockies
Athletics over Braves
Cubs over Angels
Rays over Brewers
Mets over Cardinals
Astros over Red Sox
Yankees over Mariners
Giants over Padres
Dodgers over Guardians
Tigers over Diamondbacks
Tuesday:
Royals over Twins
Orioles over Rangers
White Sox over Marlins
Pirates over Reds
Phillies over Nationals
Blue Jays over Rockies
Braves over Athletics
Cubs over Angels
Brewers over Rays
Mets over Cardinals
Astros over Red Sox
Diamondbacks over Tigers
Mariners over Yankees
Giants over Padres
Dodgers over Guardians
Wednesday:
Athletics over Braves
Rangers over Orioles
Pirates over Braves
Phillies over Nationals
Blue Jays over Rockies
Mets over Cardinals
Rays over Brewers
Red Sox over Astros
Angels over Cubs
Tigers over Diamondbacks
Yankees over Mariners
Padres over Giants
Royals over Twins
Dodgers over Guardians
Thursday:
Royals over Twins
Blue Jays over White Sox
Braves over Diamondbacks
Mets over Giants
Friday:
Dodgers over Nationals
Cardinals over Tigers
Yankees over Marlins
Padres over Red Sox
Reds over Rangers
Cubs over Guardians
Rays over Twins
Phillies over Rockies
Orioles over Pirates
Royals over Brewers
Mariners over Angels
Braves over Diamondbacks
Athletics over Astros
Mets over Giants
Saturday:
Tigers over Cardinals
Blue Jays over White Sox
Orioles over Pirates
Dodgers over Nationals
Astros over Athletics
Padres over Red Sox
Brewers over Royals
Yankees over Marlins
Reds over Rangers
Rays over Twins
Cubs over Guardians
Braves over Diamondbacks
Phillies over Rockies
Mets over Giants
Mariners over Angels
NBA Playoff Picture
The NBA season is coming to a close. Every tem has around ten games left. So what does the playoff race look like? Every team’s most important remaining match will be highlighted in our roundup.
Eastern Conference
Detroit Pistons
March 30th vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder currently have the best record in the NBA. The Pistons are first in the East. This is a possible finals preview and could be a great measuring stick on how the Pistons would fare against the Thunder in the finals. Detroit will be without their star player Cade Cunningham for this game due to a collapsed lung.
Detroit leads the regular season series 1-0
Boston Celtics
April 9th vs. New York Knicks
The Knicks are chasing the Celtics for the second seed in the east. This late-season game will be very important in determining who gets the two seed.
New York leads the regular season series 2-1
New York Knicks
April 9th vs. Boston Celtics
Already stated above in the Celtics roundup.
New York leads the regular season series 2-1
Cleveland Cavaliers
April 8th and 10th vs. Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks are sixth in the East and still have an outside shot at catching the fourth-place Cavs. This pair of games will be very important as they will likely determine if Atlanta catches Cleveland.
Regular Season series tied 1-1
Toronto Raptors
March 29th vs. Orlando Magic
The Raptors are only two games ahead of the ninth place Magic. This upcoming game will close or expand the gap in a big way and have huge influence on the playoff picture.
Regular Season series tied 1-1
Atlanta Hawks
April 1st vs. Orlando Magic
The Hawks are only 1.5 games ahead of the Magic, so this is a big swing game in the race to automatically qualify for the playoffs.
Atlanta leads the regular season series 3-0
Play In:
Philadelphia 76ers
Charlotte Hornets
Orlando Magic
Miami Heat
Still Alive:
Milwaukee Bucks
Eliminated:
Chicago Bulls
Washington Wizards
Brooklyn Nets
Indiana Pacers
Western Conference
Oklahoma City Thunder
March 30th vs. Detroit Pistons
Read the Pistons section above for details.
Detroit leads the regular season series 1-0
San Antonio Spurs
April 4th and 12th vs. Denver Nuggets
The Spurs have a large advantage on the Nuggets. But Denver could still mathematically catch them. Though very unlikely, these games are dubbed the most important for the Spurs for that very reason.
Regular Season series tied 1-1
Los Angeles Lakers
April 2nd and 7th vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Lakers have pretty much locked themselves into the playoffs. So instead, we wonder how they will fare against the first place Thunder late in the season.
Oklahoma City leads regular season series 2-0
Denver Nuggets
April 12th vs. San Antonio Spurs
This is the final game of the season for these teams. This game will be a big momentum swing heading into the playoffs. Both teams are looking for a big win to cap off the regular season and start a strong playoff run. (These two teams also play each other on April 4th)
Regular Season series tied 1-1
Minnesota Timberwolves
and
Houston Rockets
April 10th vs. Each Other
The Rockets and Timberwolves are one game apart in the race to be the five seed. This penultimate regular season game will be big in determining who gets that spot. This will have massive seeding implications and is a must watch.
Regular Season series tied 1-1
Play In:
Phoenix Suns
Los Angeles Clippers
Portland Trail Blazers
Golden State Warriors
Eliminated:
New Orleans Pelicans
Memphis Grizzlies
Dallas Mavericks
Utah Jazz
Sacramento Kings
Schedule of games mentioned:
3/29 Raptors vs. Magic
3/30 Pistons vs. Thunder
4/1 Hawks vs. Magic
4/2 Lakers vs. Thunder
4/4 Spurs vs. Nuggets
4/7 Lakers vs. Thunder
4/8 Cavaliers vs. Hawks
4/9 Knicks vs. Celtics
4/10 Cavaliers vs. Hawks
4/10 Timberwolves vs. Rockets
4/12 Spurs vs. Nuggets
NHL Playoff Picture
Let’s review the NHL playoff picture and project each team’s run in the current bracket.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division 1: Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres are young and inexperienced in the postseason. It will be great for them just to get there. As for their projected run, a win versus Boston will be followed up by a loss to Tampa Bay.
Atlantic Division 2: Tampa Bay Lightning
MVP Contender Nikita Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning are once again in playoff position. They are projected to make a run to the conference finals and then lose to Carolina.
Atlantic Division 3: Montreal Canadiens
The young Habs are all set for their playoff run– their second one in as many years. However, it won’t last long. Montreal is projected to put up a fight, but will wind up losing to the Lightning.
Metropolitan Division 1: Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have been one of the best teams in the NHL all season. They are hunting a second Stanley Cup 20 years after their first. The CT projects the Canes to win the Prince of Wales Trophy as the Eastern Conference champions and make it back to the cup finals.
Metropolitan Division 2: Pittsburgh Penguins
Sidney Crosby is all set to gear up for another playoff run. The Penguins star leads them into the playoffs after finishing near the bottom of the standings last year. The Penguins are projected to finish their season in the second round, losing to Carolina after beating Columbus.
Metropolitan Division 3: Columbus Blue Jackets
This seems to be the year the Blue Jackets will finally get over the hump and back into the playoffs. Columbus’s season will be a success even if they have a short stay like projected.
Wild Cards: Boston Bruins and New York Islanders
Both of these teams would be happy just to make the playoffs. They are also both projected to be eliminated in the first round.
Western Conference
Central Division 1: Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche have been the class of the league all season. They have a comfortable lead at the top of the standings and seem well on their way to the Presidents Trophy for having the best regular season record. As for their projected playoff run, they should make it to the Stanley Cup finals.
Central Division 2: Dallas Stars
The Stars have accomplished amazing things this season. They remain second in their own division and the league standings. The Stars are a great team, but are expected to be bounced in the first round by the Minnesota Wild
Central Division 3: Minnesota Wild
The Central Division is something else. Minnesota is third in their own division, but would lead the Pacific and be in second in the Atlantic and Metro divisions. They are three points behind the Stars and could catch them before the end of the regular season, but won’t. However, they are projected to eliminate Dallas, then get eliminated by Colorado.
Pacific Division 1: Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks are a very good team by Pacific standards, but not by league standards. They are also young and inexperienced. So don’t expect them to have a long run. The Ducks are projected to lose to Vegas in the second round.
Pacific Division 2: Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton is a good team led by Connor McDavid. The Oilers, though, are not projected to make a third straight Stanley Cup finals. They are projected to lose to the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round.
Pacific Division 3: Vegas Golden Knights
The Knights have played in the league since 2017. They already have two Stanley Cup appearances (one of them in their first season) and a title (2022-23). The Knights have only failed to qualify for the playoffs once. And we don’t see that coming to an end. Vegas is projected to lose in the conference finals vs. Colorado.
Wild Cards: Utah Mammoth and Nashville Predators
Like the other wild cards, these teams are just happy to be in the playoffs. They are also both projected to lose in the first round.
Projected Stanley Cup Matchup:
Carolina Hurricanes vs Colorado Avalanche
Game 1: Avalanche
Game 2: Avalanche
Game 3: Hurricanes
Game 4: Hurricanes
Game 5: Avalanche
Game 6: Hurricanes
Game 7: Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are the predicted Stanley Cup Champions.
The Avlanche have been dominant all season and a Stanley Cup seems like the only possible outcome. Though the Hurricanes have made it interesting, as they split their two games this season
Other Headlines
The WNBA’s Connecticut Sun are relocating to Houston in 2027. It is expected that they will be named the Comets like the city’s first WNBA team, which played from 1997-2008. The initial Comets won the first four WNBA championships.
The Los Angeles Golf Club won the TGL title versus Jupiter Links.
The United Football League season kicked off with the Birmingham Stallions beating the Louisville Kings 15-13.
