Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa point guard Connor McCaffery’s hardship waiver has been approved by the Big Ten, leaving him with four seasons of eligibility remaining. The league announced it had approved McCaffery’s petition after he played just four games as a true freshman. McCaffery is the son of coach Fran McCaffery.

UNDATED (AP) — Loyola-Chicago coach Porter Moser will be the only coach in Saturday’s Final Four in San Antonio who has not previously taken his team to the NCAA Tournament’s national semifinals. He says he is reaching out to his friends and associates looking for any advice on how to handle the week ahead. Michigan coach John Beilein warned about the multitude of media obligations. Villanova coach Jay Wright says the “enormity” of the Final Four can “blow you away.”

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas coach Bill Self admits he’s had more talented teams fail to reach the Final Four. And perhaps that’s why this season has been so gratifying. The Jayhawks’ victory over Duke in the regional finals means a spot in San Antonio and a date with Villanova _ and a chance to continue a season few saw coming.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s Michael Porter Jr. says he is declaring for the NBA draft. The 6-foot-10 forward made the announcement on Instagram “after talking it over with my coaches and my family.” Missouri was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by Florida State in the opening round. The freshman scored 16 points in 28 minutes as a reserve, just his third appearance of the season due to a back injury.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee coach Rick Barnes believes Loyola-Chicago has as good a chance as anybody to win the national championship. Barnes is all too familiar with Loyola after his third-seeded Volunteers lost 63-62 to the 11th-seeded Ramblers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Loyola (32-5) has continued its run into the Final Four in its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1985.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State eclipsed all expectations by reaching the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament this season. Now, the Wildcats head into next season with nearly their entire roster back for another run, and there’s little chance they will be sneaking up on anybody.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Final Four features favorites in Villanova, Kansas and Michigan along with an upstart in 11-seed Loyola-Chicago. The regional finals ended up providing a bit of stability to a wild and upset-filled NCAA Tournament with two 1-seeds headlining the teams in San Antonio. Meanwhile, the Atlantic Coast Conference missed on the Final Four for the first time since 2014 with Duke’s loss to Kansas.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa point guard Connor McCaffery has been granted a hardship waiver by the Big Ten, leaving him with four seasons of eligibility remaining.

The league announced Monday it had approved McCaffery’s petition after he played just four games as a true freshman.

McCaffery, the son of coach Fran McCaffery, missed two games with a sprained ankle, eight games with mononucleosis and 19 games after undergoing a tonsillectomy in December.

A healthy McCaffery could be in line to start next season and allow Jordan Bohannon to play more off the ball.

Iowa finished 14-19 in 2017-18, pushing Final Four-bound Michigan to overtime in its finale in the Big Ten tournament.

2018 WOMEN’S AP ALL-AMERICA TEAM LIST

Statistics are through March 15

First Team

A’ja Wilson, South Carolina, 6-5, senior, Hopkins, S.C., 22.6 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 55.0 fg pct, 3.2 blocks (32 first-place votes, 160 points)
Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn, 6-3, junior, Huntington Beach, Calif., 17.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.7 apg, 53.1 fg pct, 46.2 3pt fg pct, 83.8 ft pct, 1.3 steals (30, 156)
Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon, 5-11, sophomore, Walnut Creek, Calif., 19.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 7.8 apg, 43.7 3pt fg pct, 1.6 steals (21, 134)
Asia Durr, Louisville, 5-10, junior, Douglasville, Ga., 18.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.1 apg, 42.5 3pt fg pct, 1.0 steals (19, 124)
Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State, 6-1, senior, Carthage, Miss., 19.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.5 steals (20, 123)

Second Team

Kalani Brown, Baylor, 6-7, junior, Slidell, La., 20.2 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 66.3 fg pct, 1.2 blocks (13, 118)
Kelsey Mitchell, Ohio State, 5-8, senior, Cincinnati, 24.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.2 apg, 40.8 3pt fg pct, 1.5 steals (7, 108)
Gabby Williams, UConn, 5-11, senior, Sparks, Nev., 10.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 5.2 apg, 59.1 fg pct, 2.6 steals (8, 103)
Megan Gustafson, Iowa, 6-3, junior, Port Wing, Wis., 25.6 ppg, 12.7 rpg, 66.8 fg pct, 2.1 blocks (7, 74)
Arike Ogunbowale, Notre Dame, 5-8, junior, Milwaukee, 20.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.6 steals (1, 74)

Third Team

Napheesa Collier, UConn, 6-1, junior, O’Fallon, Mo., 15.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.2 apg, 56.5 fg pct, 1.7 steals (1, 59)
Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State, 6-7, junior, Brenham, Texas, 17.7 ppg, 13.2 rpg, 60.2 fg pct, 2.0 blocks (1, 42)
Jordin Canada, UCLA, 5-6, senior, Los Angeles, 16.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 6.9 apg, 3.2 steals (0, 41)
Lexie Brown, Duke, 5-9, senior, Suwanee, Ga., 20.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.4 apg, 3.5 steals (0, 15)
Myisha Hines-Allen, Louisville, 6-2, senior, Montclair, N.J., 13.9 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 2.1 apg, 53.1 fg pct, 1.1 steals (0, 15)

Honorable Mention (alphabetical order)

Ariel Atkins, Texas; Kenisha Bell, Minnesota; Tashia Brown, Western Kentucky; Natalie Butler, George Mason; Bridget Carleton, Iowa State; Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M; Lauren Cox, Baylor; Sophie Cunningham, Missouri; Loryn Goodwin, Oklahoma State; Marie Gulich, Oregon State; Ruthy Hebard, Oregon; Kaylee Jensen, Oklahoma State; Maria Jespersen, South Florida; Brooke McCarty, Texas; Brittany McPhee, Stanford; Tinara Moore, Central Michigan; Teana Muldrow, West Virginia; Kia Nurse, UConn; Jaime Nared, Tennessee; Shakayla Thomas, Florida State; Imani Wright, Florida State.

Some area teams and athletes competed at the Ruth Marske Invitational at South Dakota State University on Saturday.

East Mills’ Janette Schraft won the 3200M Run. She was also 2nd in the 400M Dash.

Thomas Jefferson has a few strong performances. Caitlyn Jones won the 200M Dash and also was part of a third place team in the 4x100M Relay. Josey Starner was 2nd in the Shot Put.

Full results can be seen here.

The Nodaway Valley and Southwest Valley boys track teams competed at the 2018 Jenner Invite at Graceland University in Lamoni on Saturday.

Southwest Valley finished in 2nd place in the team standings with 90.5 points behind Clarke with 108. Central Decatur was third (86.5), Perry 4th (85), and Nodaway Valley 5th (77).

Southwest Valley got a championship performance from Hunter Poston in the Shot Put. Christian McCuen was 2nd in the High Jump. Aaron Armstrong was 2nd in the 55M Dash and the 200M Dash.

Nodaway Valley had three gold medal performances with Brycen Wallace winning the 1600M Run and he ran on gold winning Distance Medley, and 4x800M Relay teams for the Wolverines.

Look at full results here: 2018 Jenner Invite

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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Malik Newman and top-seeded Kansas got over their Elite Eight hump on Sunday, knocking off second-seeded but favored Duke 85-81 in overtime in a thrilling Midwest Region finale that clinched its first trip to the Final Four since 2012. Newman scored all 13 of the Jayhawks’ points in overtime and finished with a career-high 32 to lead Kansas (31-7). The Jayhawks will face fellow top seed Villanova in San Antonio on Saturday after snapping a two-game losing skid in the regional finals.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright will start the season on the disabled list because of a strained left hamstring. With the longtime ace out, rookie Jack Flaherty will begin the year in the rotation as the fifth starter. Wainwright recently hurt his hamstring in a conditioning drill.

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Danny Duffy is still scheduled to start on opening day for the Kansas City Royals _ at this moment, anyway. A day after he exited his final spring training game because of a stiff left shoulder, Duffy said he was ready to pitch Thursday at home against the Chicago White Sox.

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic (AP) — Brice Garnett completed a wire-to-wire victory Sunday in the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship for his first PGA Tour title. Two strokes ahead after three late wind-blown bogeys Saturday, Garnett closed with a 2-under 70 in windy and rainy conditions for a four-stroke victory over Keith Mitchell.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Augustana University in Sioux Falls has announced four finalists for the college’s director of athletics position. The finalists will have on-campus interviews this week. Augustana University competes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and is an NCAA Division II member.

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Malik Newman certainly did not envision the magnificent postseason he’s been enjoying back in December and January when he was struggling. Even before that, there was the injury-plagued freshman year at Mississippi State, the entering and pulling out of the NBA draft and finally the transfer to Kansas. He’s the Jayhawks’ leading tournament scorer with 18.3 points per game.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — No. 1 Kansas and No. 2 Duke will square off in the Midwest final on Sunday for the last spot in the Final Four _ and the stakes are huge even by Elite Eight standards. Mike Krzyzewski is looking to break UCLA legend John Wooden’s record of 12 Final Four appearances. Kansas coach Bill Self, who recently joined Krzyzewski and Wooden in the Naismith Hall of Fame, is hoping to snap a two-year losing streak in regional finals and a 2-7 personal record in Elite Eights.

ATLANTA (AP) — No. 11 seed Loyola is headed to the Final Four after beating No. 9 seed Kansas State 78-62 in the South Regional final. After three close calls in the NCAA Tournament, the Ramblers shot 57 percent and romped to a win over the defensive-minded Wildcats. So now it’s on to San Antonio for the team that has become a national phenomenon with its 98-year-old team chaplain, Sister Jean.

UNDATED (AP) — Top seeds to determine final spots in Final Four following rash of upsets on left side of the bracket. No. 1 Kansas faces No. 2 Duke in the Midwest, No. 1 Villanova against No. 3 Texas Tech in the East.

UNDATED (AP) — In an NCAA Tournament dominated by upsets, Friday belonged to the favorites. Top seeds Kansas and Villanova, along with second-seeded Duke all moved on to the Elite Eight after holding on for close wins. All three teams are on the right side of the tourney bracket. Joined by Texas Tech, the foursome alone would make for intriguing Final Four. That makes any team that emerges from Sunday a likely top contender for the national title.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kansas City Royals pitcher Danny Duffy made an early exit in his final spring tuneup because of shoulder tightness, but said he’s certain he will be OK to pitch on opening day. Duffy is scheduled to start the opener for the second straight year, facing the Chicago White Sox at home on Thursday. The lefty came out of the game against an Arizona split squad with a trainer in the third inning.

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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — For the third straight year, top-seeded Kansas made its way through the Sweet 16. Getting to the Final Four has been a different story _ and the Jayhawks are on the doorstep once again. Kansas brought at least a temporary halt to the insanity this March, holding off a big comeback from fifth-seeded Clemson for an 80-76 victory. Malik Newman led the Jayhawks with 17 points in a win that won’t mean much if KU can’t finish the job in Sunday’s regional final.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Michigan, Florida State, Kansas State and Loyola-Chicago will get their chance to earn a trip to the Final Four on Saturday. In an upset-filled NCAA Tournament, the ninth-seeded Wildcats and 11th-seeded Ramblers will play the first regional final for the South Region’s ticket to San Antonio. The second Elite Eight game will feature the third-seeded Wolverines against the ninth-seeded Seminoles in the West final.

UNDATED (AP) — In an NCAA Tournament dominated by upsets, Friday belonged to the favorites. Top seeds Kansas and Villanova, along with second-seeded Duke all moved on to the Elite Eight after holding on for close wins. All three teams are on the right side of the tourney bracket. Joined by Texas Tech, the foursome alone would make for intriguing Final Four. That makes any team that emerges from Sunday a likely top contender for the national title.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Teaira McCowan had 24 points and 15 rebounds, Victoria Vivians added 14 points and top-seeded Mississippi State routed North Carolina State 71-57 to reach the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament. Kiara Leslie had 27 points to pace the Wolfpack.

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers’ three-time NL Cy Young Award winner stretched his spring training scoreless streak to 21 1/3 innings with 6 2/3 innings against Kansas City in his final tuneup for Thursday’s opener against San Francisco. He allowed a leadoff single to Jon Jay and no other hits. He struck out four and walked none in a 10-0 win, the left0hander’s first appearance since turning 30 on Monday.

ATLANTA (AP) — It’s only fitting that a South Regional stripped of its top four seeds on the first weekend _ a first for the NCAA Tournament _ is left with two of the tournament’s biggest surprises to play for a Final Four berth. Tough-minded Kansas State, the No. 9 seed, has leaned on its strong defense to carve its path to the regional final against No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago.

UNDATED (AP) — Texas Tech is headed to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history. Keenan Evans had 16 points and the third-seeded Red Raiders overcame an early first half hole and dominated second-seeded Purdue down the stretch to earn a 78-65 victory in the Sweet 16 on Friday night. Texas Tech will play top seed Villanova in the East regional final Sunday.