For the first time, the NCAA women’s basketball championship outdrew the men.

UConn’s 75-60 victory over Purdue in Monday night’s men’s final on TBS and TNT averaged 14.82 million, according to Nielsen. That was not enough to surpass the 18.87 million who watched South Carolina defeat Caitlin Clark and Iowa in Sunday afternoon’s women’s final on ABC and ESPN.

Monday night’s audience was a 4% increase over last year’s final between the Huskies and San Diego State on CBS. The number likely dropped off during the second half when UConn took control to become the first repeat champion since Florida in 2007.

The two men’s semifinal games averaged 12.8 million. UConn-Alabama attracted 14.18 million and the game between Purdue and North Carolina State averaged 11.45 million. Friday night’s women’s semifinal games averaged 10.8 million, with the Iowa-UConn game averaging 14.2 million.

UConn finishes at No. 1 in first post-March Madness AP Top 25 poll >> UConn finished atop the first Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll to be released after March Madness following its run to the first back-to-back national championship in 17 years.

The Huskies (37-3) topped all 58 ballots Tuesday, coming roughly 12 hours after they beat Purdue 75-60 in the title game.

The Boilermakers (34-5) were next at No. 2 as they nearly matched Virginia in 2019 with an incredible turnaround. The Cavaliers became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in UMBC in 2018 before winning the title the next year. Purdue has the only other 16-vs-1 upset loss, to Fairleigh Dickinson last year, but followed that by coming within a win of the title, too.

Houston and Alabama — which reached its first Final Four — were next in a tie for No. 3, followed by Tennessee at No. 5.

Calipari departs Kentucky after 15 years >> John Calipari is stepping down as Kentucky’s men’s basketball coach after 15 years, saying that the “program probably needs to hear another voice” amid reports that he’s closing in on a deal with Arkansas to take over that Southeastern Conference program.

Calipari posted a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which he said that after talking with his wife, Ellen, he decided a change was needed. He added, “We’ve loved it here, but we think it’s time for us to step away and step away completely from the program.”

Calipari leaves a Wildcats program he guided to the 2012 NCAA championship among four Final Four appearances. He went 410-123 in 15 seasons.

MLB

Boston shortstop Story needs season-ending shoulder surgery >> Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story will have what is likely season-ending surgery on his dislocated left shoulder and right-hander Nick Pivetta has a strained a right flexor, the latest in a spate of elbow injuries among pitchers.

Story, a two-time All-Star, was placed on the 10-day injured list after dislocating his left shoulder Friday at the Los Angeles Angels. Projected recovery time is six months.

Pivetta was placed on the 15-day IL, a move retroactive to Saturday.

NBA

2-time All-Star Morant defended himself during pickup game fight, judge says >> Ja Morant acted in self-defense when a teenager accused the two-time NBA All-Star of punching him during a pickup game at the home of the Memphis Grizzlies guard’s parents in 2022, a judge has ruled.

Shelby County Court Circuit Judge Carol Chumney cited Tennessee law on when the issue of self-defense can be raised, and she wrote in a ruling issued Monday that Morant “enjoys a presumption of civil immunity.”

The lawsuit filed by Joshua Holloway accuses Morant of assaulting him during a pickup game on July 26, 2022. Then 17, Holloway had been invited to play at the private court of the Morant family. Holloway, now 18, plays basketball for Samford University.

NFL

Oklahoma judge orders KC superfan to pay $10.8M to bank teller >> An Oklahoma judge ordered a Kansas City Chiefs superfan known as “ChiefsAholic” who admitted to a series of bank robberies to pay $10.8 million to a teller who was assaulted with a gun, though attorneys say the teller may never collect any money.

A judge in Tulsa handed down the order last week against Xaviar Michael Bubudar, 29, who was known for attending Chiefs games dressed as a wolf in the NFL team’s gear. Former bank teller Payton Garcia alleged Bubudar used a gun to assault her during a robbery of a Bixby, Oklahoma, credit union in December 2022, court records show.

Soccer

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE >> Real Madrid and Manchester City drew 3-3 in a frantic first leg of the quarterfinals of the Champions League, with the first three goals coming in the opening 14 minutes before the rivals exchanged blows again in the second half. Federico Valverde scored a 79th-minute equalizer for Madrid after City had rallied with Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol scoring goals five minutes apart midway through the second half at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. ... Leandro Trossard’s second-half equalizer gave Arsenal a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich in the first leg of the quarterfinals after Harry Kane had scored against his old rival yet again. Trossard rolled in a low shot in the 76th minute to make sure Bayern didn’t come away from the Emirates Stadium with another big win after Kane had put the German club ahead from the penalty spot in the first half.