GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida coach Todd Golden already has a spot picked out for the Final Four net he cut down in San Antonio.

On Saturday, though, it felt right at home around his neck.

Golden and the Gators were revered in another national championship celebration, this one in front of nearly 60,000 fans at Florida Field during an extended halftime of the annual football spring game. The hoops team has one more get-together on tap: at the White House, presumably this summer.

"It's just absurd," Golden said. "Today was awesome. ... Our guys, especially our older guys, are going to be moving on to go train for the draft. You don't know if they're going to be around.

"To be able to put something like this together on kind of short notice and do a great job honoring our players in front of our fans, which to me is the most important thing. People that have been supporting us really all year got to see these guys together again one last time. It was special."

Golden wore the remnants of one of the nets from the Alamodome; center Micah Handlogten wore the other. Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard carried trophies into the Swamp.

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Highlights from Florida's six NCAA tournament victories flashed on the stadium replay boards as players and coaches were introduced one by one. Clayton, named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, and Golden -- hardly surprisingly -- received the loudest ovations.

Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward presented Golden with a key to the city "so you'll always know where home is."

Golden might not be going anywhere anytime soon. The coach said he and athletic director Scott Stricklin are close to a contract extension. Four of the past five national championship-winning coaches at Florida -- J.C. Deacon (men's golf), Mike Holloway (track and field), Kevin O'Sullivan (baseball) and Tim Walton (softball) -- signed 10-year deals in the wake of their titles. Could Golden be next?

"My family and I love being here," said Golden, who made $3.6 million this season and ranks 12th in the Southeastern Conference in annual salary. "In three short years, we've been able to meet a lot of great people and get comfortable. Florida's a place that we can win national championships, as we just proved. Yeah, we love being here.

"Scott and I have been talking a lot. I feel like we're very close to putting something together that will keep the Goldens in Gainesville for quite a while. I think in the next week or two, we'll get to the finish line on that."

Golden unveiled a working poster of the program's third championship banner, which will be hung in the O'Connell Center to open next season. He also took time to thank fans and several key boosters, one of whom donated $1 million to the program this week. The Gators also have an $8 million renovation to their practice facility on tap this summer.

"At this point in college athletics, it's the lifeblood," he said. "And the reality of it is we need a lot more. We need a lot more to retain our players. We have a good problem right now. We have a lot of great players in our program that we need to support and retain, and we need to get a couple guys."

Clayton, Martin and Richard have exhausted their eligibility and will be moving on, and Golden said big man Alex Condon will go through the NBA's predraft testing process to see whether he turns pro or returns to school.

"If we're fortunate enough to get Alex back, I think we'll have one of the strongest front lines in America," Golden said. "We're deep there. We're athletic now. We're very accomplished. Guys have played a lot of minutes on a really good team."

The Gators finished 36-4 and won their final 12 games. They won four of six in the tournament by rallying late: "Beat the odds to say the least," Golden quipped.

The 39-year-old Golden became the youngest coach since North Carolina State's Jim Valvano in 1983 to win it all. Golden flung what was left of the net around his neck Monday night and still had it on when the team returned home Tuesday afternoon.

He insisted Saturday he hasn't slept in it or even thought much about it since.

"But I wanted to bust it out for today," he said. "This will be, along with some other important mementos over the last month, in my office at home. ... This is a little more important and a little more impactful on the trophy shelf now."

MILAN -- United States midfielder Weston McKennie is among 13 soccer players being investigated for illegal online betting in Italy, according to widespread media reports.

A new investigation by Milan prosecutors stems from evidence given by Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Fagioli in 2023. Both then served lengthy bans, ruling them out for most of last season, after agreeing to plea bargains that also included therapy for a gambling addiction.

Juventus midfielder Fagioli -- currently on loan at Fiorentina -- was banned for seven months after admitting to betting on matches, while Newcastle's Tonali received a longer suspension of 10 months as his bets also included his team's games -- at the time AC Milan.

The duo are also named in the new investigation, along with Fagioli's then-Juventus teammate McKennie and nine other current or former Serie A players, as well as Leeds defender Junior Firpo.

There is no evidence that the other players ever gambled on soccer matches but their names emerged from depositions given by Tonali and Fagioli and analysis of their devices.

The players are being investigated for using illegal platforms for online poker and betting on other sports. As such they do not risk a ban but instead a maximum fine of 250 euros ($284) from Italian authorities.

Tonali and Fagioli have also been accused of promoting those sites among their teammates and other soccer players.

Fagioli said in a deposition: "I pointed out to [former Aston Villa forward Nicolò] Zaniolo illegal sites where he could make online bets, on roulette or poker ... the organisers of the sites had told me that they would give me some advantages if I brought other bettors."

A message about Zaniolo found on Fagioli's phone also said: "Bravo, capture him, work for me."

Tennessee has moved on from starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava, with coach Josh Heupel telling reporters Saturday that "no one is bigger than" the program.

Heupel said the tipping point came Friday morning, when Iamaleava was a "no-show" for practice amid his ongoing NIL contract discussions with the school.

"This program has been around for a long time," Heupel said after the Volunteers played their spring game Saturday. "There are a lot of great coaches, a lot of great players who came before that laid the cornerstone pieces, the legacy, the tradition that is Tennessee football. It's going to be around a long time after I'm gone and after they're gone."

Iamaleava notified offensive coordinator Joey Halzle late Friday night that he was in the process of filling out his paperwork and planned to enter the transfer portal when it opens Wednesday, sources told ESPN's Chris Low. Heupel and other staff members had been trying to reach Iamaleava and his representatives to no avail after he missed practice and meetings earlier Friday, sources said.

Tennessee was aware that Iamaleava's representatives had reached out to at least one other school, Oregon, prior to the start of spring practice, sources told ESPN, but Oregon said it wasn't interested.

The day before the winter portal ended in January, Iamaleava's representatives asked for his deal to increase to the $4 million range, but Tennessee didn't redo it.

"We weren't going to flinch this time either," a source told ESPN.

Iamaleava was making $2.4 million on a contract that was reported to be $8 million when he signed it. But he started receiving payments when he was still in high school, and the total value of the contract would have been closer to $10 million over the life of the deal, sources told ESPN.

Iamaleava just completed his redshirt freshman season, which means he would have three seasons remaining at his next destination. The spring transfer portal opens Wednesday, and he is expected to be the most notable player available.

"I want to thank him for everything he's done since he's gotten here, as a recruit and who he was as a player and how he competed inside the building," Heupel said. "Obviously, we're moving forward as a program without him. I said it to the guys today. There's no one that's bigger than the Power T. That includes me."

Iamaleava showed promise his first year as a starter, leading Tennessee to the College Football Playoff and a 10-3 season. He threw for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He completed 63.8% of his passes.

The Volunteers' offense finished No. 9 in the 16-team SEC in scoring offense last year in league play, and Iamaleava was the conference's No. 10 quarterback in passing yards per game (200.6).

The move puts both Tennessee and Iamaleava in difficult situations heading into the 2025 season. Iamaleava's departure leaves Tennessee with just two scholarship quarterbacks, neither of whom has started a college game.

Heupel said Saturday that the program will look to add another quarterback in the spring portal.

Sources added to ESPN that with Iamaleava's future uncertain, officials from Tennessee's collective began to make calls Friday to see what the potential market could look like for his replacement. One quarterback got more money from his school Friday after Tennessee's collective called third-party officials tied to him, a source told ESPN.

One factor looming over both sides is that SEC rules prohibit transferring within the conference in the spring if the player desires immediate eligibility. That means Iamaleava can't go to an SEC school and no quarterback on an SEC roster can go to Tennessee if they hope to play in 2025.

This move puts redshirt freshman backup quarterback Jake Merklinger in the driver's seat to be Tennessee's starter next year. It's difficult, though not impossible, for a college quarterback to come in, learn the offense and win the starting job in summer camp. True freshman George MacIntyre is the backup, and Tennessee has a top-10 recruit in the Class of 2026, Faizon Brandon, committed. He is a five-star recruit who is ESPN's No. 3 overall quarterback.

The market for Iamaleava will be a fascinating one, especially if he is seeking the same amount of money (in the mid-$2 million range). While there is available money in the system the next few months before the era of revenue share is codified, it's difficult for a program to bring in a quarterback transfer with high-priced NIL demands in the late spring portal.

It not only is potentially disruptive for the current quarterback room, but it also could disrupt the locker room. Also, many schools have their quarterback salaries structured for 2025.

The move to cut ties with Iamaleava has unfolded as a classic tale of modern college football, as he arrived at the school with a historic contract and now leaves both Tennessee's quarterback room and his own future shrouded in uncertainty.

The Volunteers, meanwhile, move on, with players emphasizing Saturday that the team is greater than any individual.

"I've been on some talented teams that haven't done too well because there were a bunch of individuals on those teams," senior tight end Miles Kitselman said. "I'm not just saying this to be saying it, but man, this team is different. ... This team is a team. Like I said before, there's no one else I'd rather go to war with and letting these guys know that we're good with whoever we've got back there at quarterback. We've got some dogs here, these two guys [Merklinger and MacIntyre].

"We've got some guys who want to be here."

The third round of the Masters is underway, with plenty of early fireworks among the top players in contention.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Stephen Curry aggravated his right thumb injury but was able to play through it Friday and said he will be ready for Sunday's crucial regular-season finale against the LA Clippers.

Curry banged the thumb on his shooting hand and left with 1:59 remaining in the first quarter of the Golden State Warriors' 103-86 win over the Trail Blazers. Curry underwent an X-ray on the thumb, and the results were negative, according to the team. He returned in the second and third quarters before sitting out the fourth with the Warriors up by as much as 27.

Curry dealt with a painful thumb injury in January. He said this latest throbbing thumb issue will not hold him back from facing the Clippers at Chase Center.

"From what I know, just an aggravation," Curry said of the latest injury. "The same thing [as the earlier thumb injury], but hopefully it wasn't anything serious."

He added: "I just know it hurts right now, but I'll be all right."

Curry finished with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in 27 minutes. He shot 6-for-14 overall and said the injury affected his shooting "a little bit" after he had the thumb taped up.

"Because it was freshly ringing, new pain," Curry said. "But I don't think it'll last too long."

The Warriors will need their franchise star feeling as good as possible Sunday. The winner will secure a spot in the top six in the Western Conference and a playoff series.

"I don't want to be too dramatic," Curry said when asked what the finale will be like. "It should be like a Game 7 kind of vibe. You win and you control your destiny on a guaranteed playoffs series. If you lose, you roll the dice."

Golden State can fall no lower than seventh and a play-in spot with a loss. The Clippers can finish as high as fourth or as low as seventh.

The Warriors (48-33) and Clippers (49-32) last met Dec. 27. Kawhi Leonard hadn't made his season debut after rehabbing his injured knee. And the Warriors did not have Jimmy Butler III, who came in a trade shortly before the February deadline. The Clippers are 3-0 this season against the Warriors.

"[It will be] like a playoff game," Warriors forward Draymond Green said. "Super intense. Two teams fighting for their playoff lives. Expected to be a very physical, high-intelligent, high-level basketball game."

Avoiding the play-in, in which the Warriors are 0-3 all time, would give Golden State a week off to rest and prepare.

Curry said he is ready to play Sunday. But a week off could do wonders for his thumb.

"I'm feeling great," Curry said of the thumb after the game. "Ready to play Game 82 on Sunday. Excited about it."

The Boston Celtics are filling their final roster spot to end the season, converting G League MVP JD Davison to a standard two-year NBA contract, his agent Corey Marcum told ESPN on Saturday.

Davison, who has played 34 career NBA games, averaged 25.1 points, 7.6 assists and 5.6 rebounds for G League Maine this season.

The 22-year-old guard has appeared in games over the past three seasons for the Celtics since they drafted him in the second round in 2022. He has averaged 1.7 points per game in the NBA.

The Celtics (60-21) hold the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and are awaiting the winner of the first play-in game between the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks.

Celtics All-Star forward Jaylen Brown received pain management injections in his troublesome right knee this week in an effort to promote healing before Boston begins its title defense, league sources told ESPN.

Brown is expected to be ready for the start of the Celtics' first-round playoff series either April 19 or 20, sources said.

Last year's Finals MVP has been dealing with a bone bruise in his knee for some time, but it appeared to be causing him more pain recently. He didn't play much in the second half or overtime of the Celtics' win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday. He then sat out Thursday's loss to the Orlando Magic, ending any chance of him playing in the 65 games required to be eligible for postseason awards.

After the overtime win against the Knicks, Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis urged Brown to rest his injury to be healthier for the playoffs.

"He's a tough dude," Porzingis said. "He always preaches his warrior mindset. He lives by it. But to what extent do we need that right now? Maybe he needs to take care of it and make sure he's going to be ready for the most important moment. I think we need to encourage him to make sure he does everything he needs to prepare to get it healthy and to prepare for what's going to come."

In 63 games, Brown is averaging 22.2 points, his lowest since the 2019-20 season, to go with 5.8 rebounds and a career-high 4.5 assists.

The Minnesota Timberwolves will have star Anthony Edwards for their final game of the regular season after all.

The NBA on Saturday rescinded the technical foul Edwards was issued at 6:29 of the second quarter in Minnesota's 117-91 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. The technical was his NBA-high 18th of the season and would have resulted in an automatic suspension for the Wolves' last game against the Utah Jazz on Sunday.

NBA rules dictate a one-game suspension for any player who reaches 16 technical fouls during the regular season. Each two additional technicals trigger another suspension.

The league has the right to review and rescind a technical foul, which the Wolves were hoping for considering they lost at Utah on Feb. 28, the first time Edwards was suspended.

The Wolves (48-33) need a win in the finale to improve their playoff seeding. They can still finish as high as fourth in the crowd of Western Conference contenders, which would come with home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs. They also can drop as low as eighth, which would require them to win a play-in game to get a spot in the bracket.

Edwards received the technical Friday for using profanity to complain about a call. He was whistled for a personal foul while closely guarding Brooklyn's Keon Johnson on the wing midway through the second quarter. After spreading his arms out in disbelief with a furrowed glance at official Ray Acosta, Edwards quickly got the technical, too.

Crew chief Bill Kennedy told a pool reporter after the game that the technical was assessed for profanity used toward Acosta, which Edwards confirmed.

"I tried to play good defense. They called a foul," Edwards said, adding he then asked what the foul was while using profanity. "And he gave me a tech. I hope they look at it and rescind it, so I can play in a couple days."

Edwards, separately from the technicals, has been fined six times for a total of $320,000 for various behaviors.

"I'm praying they rescind it," he said. "I don't feel like it should've been a tech, but me and Ray got a good relationship. We talked it out after the fact. But I don't think I deserved a tech for just that little gesture."

The Timberwolves agreed.

"I did not really get a good or clear explanation of why the technical occurred. It didn't seem like there was anything egregious or overly demonstrative," coach Chris Finch said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

With 81 games in the books for every NBA team, there's still plenty to play for heading into Sunday, the final day of regular-season action.

Even after 1,215 games have been played, there are still several positions in both the playoff and lottery standings that remain up for grabs as all 30 teams take the floor for their 82nd and final game of the season.

For some teams, it'll mark the beginning of the offseason and the wait to see where the pingpong balls will land in the NBA draft lottery on May 12. For others, it's just the beginning of what they hope will be a two-month-long odyssey through the playoffs that will end with one team raising the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

With all of that in mind, here's what's at stake as the regular season comes to a close, beginning in the wide-open West:

Jump to a section:
West | East
Draft lottery

Western Conference

Who's locked in?

1. Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder have long been locked into the top spot not just in the conference, but in the NBA, and they are guaranteed home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. With a victory Sunday in New Orleans, they would become the seventh team in NBA history to win at least 68 games in a season.

2. Houston Rockets

Like OKC, the Rockets have been settled into the second spot for some time now, capping off one of the most impressive and surprising campaigns in the NBA by locking in home-court advantage across the opening two rounds. Houston will have a major part to play in how the rest of things shake out, however (more on this below).

3. Los Angeles Lakers

With Friday's win over Houston, the Lakers are locked into the third seed. But the Lakers, like the Thunder and Rockets ahead of them, are waiting for the chaos to shake out in the bottom of the West bracket.

What's left to be decided

In short: everything else!

4. Denver Nuggets

Denver controls its destiny. If the Nuggets beat the Rockets -- who are locked into the No. 2 seed -- a chaotic week for the franchise will end with securing home-court advantage in the first round.

5. LA Clippers

It's a similar path for the Clippers, who won in Sacramento on Friday to put themselves on the verge of locking in a playoff spot. Unlike Denver, however, the Clippers have a much tougher test ahead: a game in San Francisco against the Warriors.

A win, coupled with a Denver loss, means the Clippers would be fourth. A win and a Denver win means the Clippers would face the Nuggets in the first round. A loss would likely push the Clippers into the play-in.

6. Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves would have been in position for home-court advantage had they not given up a 24-point second-half lead to the Bucks earlier this week. Still, if Minnesota can beat the Utah Jazz, they will guarantee a top-six spot in the West. (And, thanks to season sweeps over the Nuggets and Clippers, Minnesota could grab the fourth seed if both teams in front of them lose Sunday.)

Now, here's where things get complicated, as the late slate of games will decide who stays out of the West play-in.

7. Golden State Warriors

The Warriors, like the Wolves, have their own game to kick themselves over heading into the final day, after Harrison Barnes hit a game-winning 3-pointer to beat his former team Wednesday night. Still, after beating Portland on Friday, Golden State enters Sunday needing a win to guarantee a top-six spot in the West.

If the Warriors and Wolves win, the Wolves would finish fifth, the Warriors sixth and the Clippers seventh, by virtue of head-to-head record between the three teams.

Golden State, thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker over Memphis, can't finish lower than seventh, securing at least the chance to host the first play-in game.

8. Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies had a chance to create an even bigger standings mess by defeating the Nuggets on Friday night. That loss, however, means the Grizzlies -- who host Dallas -- need help to get out of the eighth spot.

Now Memphis cannot escape the play-in. But the Grizzlies can move into seventh if Minnesota loses to the cellar-dwelling Jazz. Memphis will either travel to Golden State or host Minnesota, as the Wolves would finish eighth in that potential three-way tie.

9. Sacramento Kings, 10. Dallas Mavericks

Let's get to the (relatively) simple equation for the West's final two postseason spots.

The Kings and Mavericks enter Sunday tied in the standings after the Kings lost to the LA Clippers and the Mavericks beat the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.

The Kings, however, control their destiny. By sweeping the Mavericks in the regular season, Sacramento needs a win over Phoenix -- or a Dallas loss -- to secure a home game for the 9-10 play-in matchup.

Eastern Conference

What's locked in:

Everything! Remarkably, Friday's results locked in all 10 spots in the East postseason:

1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Boston Celtics
3. New York Knicks
4. Indiana Pacers
5. Milwaukee Bucks
6. Detroit Pistons
7. Orlando Magic
8. Atlanta Hawks
9. Chicago Bulls
10. Miami Heat

Draft lottery standings

1/2. Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards

After the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards both lost Friday, they enter Sunday's action tied for the league's worst record at 17-64. If the two teams finish tied -- Utah plays in Minnesota, while Washington plays in Miami -- a coin flip will determine which team will slot in higher if neither moves up in the draft (the top three teams in the lottery all have the same odds, so that won't change either way).

3. Charlotte Hornets

4. New Orleans Pelicans

5. Philadelphia 76ers

6. Brooklyn Nets

7. Toronto Raptors

8. San Antonio Spurs

The next six teams behind the Jazz and Wizards are all locked into position. The team impacted the most by that is Philadelphia, which locked itself officially into the fifth spot despite its loss to Atlanta on Friday. Philadelphia will now keep its top-six protected first-round pick unless multiple teams behind the 76ers jump them in next month's draft lottery. If that happens, and the pick lands at No. 7 or lower, it will go to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of the Al Horford-Danny Green trade five years ago.

9/10. Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns

On the final day of the regular season, the Blazers are playing the Lakers, who are locked into the No. 3 seed, and the Suns are playing the Kings, who are fighting for playoff positioning. If both teams lose, a coin flip will determine which of them will pick ahead of the other in the lottery if neither moves up, though the pingpong balls will be evenly split between them.

Phoenix, however, doesn't control its draft pick. The Houston Rockets acquired it from the Brooklyn Nets last offseason in a deal that gave Brooklyn back control of its 2025 and 2026 picks. Houston could wind up with a better pick than Brooklyn in this year's draft with some moderate lottery luck.

11. Miami Heat

The Heat are in an interesting position: nothing to play for in the standings as far as moving out of 10th, giving them every reason to lose to Washington and ensure they stay in the 11th lottery spot. Washington, however, is also incentivized to lock in its own draft positioning.

12. Chicago Bulls

13. Atlanta Hawks

14. Dallas Mavericks

15. Sacramento Kings

The Kings owe the Hawks their pick if it lands outside the top 12. But if the Kings beat the Suns and lock themselves into the ninth spot in the play-in standings, losses by the Hawks and Mavericks would mean Sacramento will pick no higher than 13th if the Kings don't advance out of the play-in.

A loss by the Kings would put them in position to keep their pick -- either outright, if Atlanta or Dallas wins, or via coin flip if they lose. It also could become a four-way tie if the Bulls win and the Hawks, Mavericks and Kings all lose. That scenario would give Sacramento up to three chances to move up via coin flip and keep its pick.

16. Orlando Magic

The Los Angeles Angels got the kind of news no team wants to hear, especially this early in the season.

The Angels suffered a major loss Friday when they placed hard-throwing right-hander Ben Joyce on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his throwing shoulder.

The move is retroactive to Wednesday, when Joyce experienced some decreased velocity on his fastball during his appearance against the Tampa Bay Rays.

"We don't have any idea the length, but we're certainly going to back off him and let him rest and we'll know more as we continue to see where it goes," Angels manager Ron Washington said.

"It's a big blow to lose him," Washington said of Joyce, who is 1-0 with a 6.23 ERA in five appearances this season.

The Angels called up right-handed pitcher Michael Darrell-Hicks from Triple-A Salt Lake to fill Joyce's roster spot.