The ESPN Daily: But wait, we don’t want college basketball to be over …

WAHOOWA!

But wait, we don’t want college basketball to be over … The Virginia Cavaliers won their first national championship with an 85-77 overtime victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders last night, which sadly means the season is over. But you know we can’t help ourselves, so we’re already taking a look at the 2019-20 rankings. Sure, there are NBA draft decisions to be made, those who will transfer and high school players still unsigned, but we can talk about all that in the offseason. For now, let’s look at the Way-Too-Early Top 25. Read More

THINGS TO CARE ABOUT

There’s so much at stake … We’re down to the last two games of the NBA regular season, and though much has been decided, so much is still up in the air. From differing playoff scenarios to massive lottery swings, we’ve got the full breakdown of what Tuesday and Wednesday will mean for the league’s future, both in the short term and long term. Read More

Let’s do that hockey … The Stanley Cup playoff matchups are set, and we’ve got some ridiculously entertaining series ahead of us. Which ones are worth your time? Our NHL experts put together a ranking based on star power, plotlines and good ol’ fashioned animosity. Check out the most hype series right here. Read More

The Tom Brady of baseball? He’s not quite as famous as Brady — and certainly doesn’t have as many rings — but Justin Verlander has a lot more in common with the Patriots legend than one would think. Here’s how Verlander plans to redefine what it means to be a baseball player and keep playing for, well, forever. Read More

THINGS TO WATCH

OVERHEARD

“He’s in the office after a game in which we got only four hits. I look at the box score … and see that he had two of them. I say, ‘Michael, you were half our offense tonight.’ … He says, ‘Not the first time in my life that’s happened.'” — Terry Francona, on Michael Jordan’s baseball career. Read More

REMEMBER WHEN?

On this date in 2017, Russell Westbrook did what he normally does, which was reach double digits in points, assists and rebounds in a single game. Only this time was special, because it was the 42nd time he had done it that season, which broke a record held by Oscar Robertson since the 1961-62 season. That’s such an old record that Robertson set it by playing for the Cincinnati Royals, a franchise that you might more commonly know as the Sacramento Kings. Read More

WHAT’S ON TONIGHT?

Blue Jays at Red Sox (2 p.m. ET, ESPN): The Red Sox will get their World Series rings in this game, which is weird because they’re not playing like defending champions at all. The team is hitting .238, Tuesday’s starter — Chris Sale — has an ERA of 8.00, and this has resulted in a 3-8 record. Still, even amazing teams have horrible stretches — they’re just much more obvious when they’re at the start of the season.

Twins at Mets (7:10 p.m. ET, ESPN+): You know who’s good? That Jacob deGrom fella. He has picked up right where he left off in his 2018 Cy Young campaign — he’s 2-0 with a 0.77 WHIP, has 24 strikeouts in 13 IP and enjoys an ERA of zero point zero. He’s a pretty big reason for the Mets’ 6-3 start, which they’ll try to build on at home against the Twins.

Rockets at Thunder (9:30 p.m. ET, TNT): They’ve both clinched playoff spots, but depending on the outcome of several other games, this matchup could matter in terms of seeding. Houston still has a shot at the No. 2 spot in the West, while the Thunder could drop from sixth to eighth.

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