Dexter Fowler hit a pair of homers and Troy Tulowitzki also went yard, but the Colorado Rockies fell to the Oakland A’s 6-5 in Cactus League action yesterday. As encouraging as the day was for two of the Rockies’ most important hitters, it was a disappointing day for the team’s Opening Day starting pitcher. In his final tuneup of the spring, Jhoulys Chacin surrendered six runs on ten hits in five innings of work. The Rockies play their final game in Arizona today, taking on the Milwaukee Brewers.

A rally in the ninth inning fell short as the Husker baseball team dropped a 10-8 decision to Kansas State in Manhattan last night. The Huskers got off to a fine start and seized a 5-2 lead on a three-run homer from Austin Darby in the 5th inning. But as has been the case too often for the Big Red this season, the bullpen failed to hold the lead, and melted down in the middle innings. The Wildcats scored eight runs over the next four frames and took a 10-6 lead into the ninth. The Huskers pushed two run across in their last at-bat on RBI singles from Mike Pritchard and Chad Christensen, but stranded two of their 15 runners left on base to end the game. The Huskers drop to 8-15 on the season. They host Northwestern for a three-game series in their first Big Ten home set of the season beginning Friday.

Jon Garland’s debut with the Colorado Rockies couldn’t have gone much smoother. The newly-signed starting pitcher worked six strong innings as the Rockies topped the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-6 in Cactus League action last night. Garland permitted just one run on five hits and a walk, striking out one and recording two double plays. Garland hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2011 after having shoulder surgery, but he’s a lock to be in the Rockies rotation to start the season. Offensively, the Rockies struck early, with Michael Cuddyer hitting a first-inning grand slam for his second home run of the spring. Carlos Gonzalez drove in a pair of runs as well. The Rockies play their penultimate Cactus League game today against Oakland.

After having their 15-game win streak stopped in New Orleans on Monday, the Denver Nuggets will hope to start a new streak against the Western Conference leaders. The Nuggets face the Spurs tonight in San Antonio. The Nuggets enter tonight’s game half a game ahead of the Clippers and a game ahead of Memphis for third place in the West standings. It’s uncertain whether Denver’s starting point guard Ty Lawson, or top reserve Wilson Chandler will be able to play tonight. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30.

The Husker women’s basketball team will face Duke in the Sweet 16 this coming Sunday. The second-seeded Blue Devils topped Oklahoma State 68-59 last night to advance to the semifinals in the Norfolk, Virginia region. In a statement released last night, Huskers head coach Connie Yori said it will be a ‘great challenge’ to take on the 32-2 Blue Devils, who have reached the Elite 8 in each of the last four seasons.

Nebraska Head Coach Connie Yori

“Duke is one of the most talented teams in the nation. They have a roster filled from top to bottom with college All-Americans, All-ACC players, high school All-Americans and USA national program players. It seems like they are in the national championship discussion every year, and there are some really good reasons for that. They have great players and great coaches. It will be a great challenge for us to take on Duke Sunday in Virginia, but we are looking forward to the opportunity to play in the Sweet Sixteen again.”

The Nebraska women’s basketball team overcame Texas A&M’s home-court advantage to win their way into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers topped the Aggies 74-63 in College Station last night to advance to the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history. A 21-4 run in the first half helped the Huskers to an 11-point halftime advantage. The Huskers built a 16 point second half lead with four and a half minutes to play, but the Aggies made a run to get back to within seven. A pair of Hailie Sample layups ensured the Aggies would get no closer. Lindsey Moore posted a double-double to lead the Big Red, scoring 20 points and handing out 10 assists. Nebraska will play the winner of tonight’s Oklahoma State-Duke game in regional semifinal action in Norfolk, Virginia next weekend.

After taking some time off for spring break, it was back to work for the Husker football team, as they resumed spring practice yesterday. The team worked out for two hours indoors at the Hawks Championship Center in full pads. Both offensive coordinator Tim Beck and John Papuchis spoke about their groups working out the rust that naturally comes after the 10-day layoff for spring break. Beck and Papuchis each applauded their side of the ball’s effort and attitude on their first day back. There was good news on the injury front to start the week, as defensive end Avery Moss returned to practice Monday after sitting out a few practices prior to the spring break. The Huskers now have five practices remaining before the Red-White Spring Game takes place on April 6.

The longest winning streak in Denver Nuggets history is over. The short-handed Nuggets were throttled by the New Orleans Hornets 110-86 in New Orleans, ending their streak at 15 games. Without Ty Lawson and Wilson Chandler, who both sat out their third straight games with injury, the Nuggets could not withstand an offensive onslaught from the Hornets, who had seven players score in double figures. Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with 24 points in the loss. The Nuggets will look to start a new streak Wednesday night in San Antonio.

Another round of roster moves seems to have settled the Colorado Rockies’ rotation picture. Left-hander Drew Pomeranz was optioned to the minors yesterday, meaning newly signed Jon Garland will likely begin the season as the fifth starter. The Rockies signed Garland on Sunday after the veteran righty was released by Seattle earlier this spring. A former All-Star, Garland hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2011 due to a shoulder injury that required surgery. The Rockies have 32 players left in camp, which leaves them seven more cuts to make.

Doug McDermott had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and Gregory Echenique scored 13 points to help Creighton hold on to beat Cincinnati 67-63 on Friday in the second round of the Midwest Regional.

Ethan Wragge added 12 for the Bluejays, who won their NCAA tournament opener for the second straight year.

McDermott, the two-time Missouri Valley Conference player of the year and 2012 All-American, made all 11 free throws to help the seventh-seeded Bluejays (28-7) move on to play Duke on Sunday.

Sean Kilpatrick’s driving layup after Cincinnati had the arrow on a jump ball cut it to 64-63 with 17 seconds left in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Austin Chatman sank two free throws for Creighton. Kilpatrick’s attempt at a tying 3 rimmed out, and the Bearcats were whistled for traveling after grabbing the rebound.

Chatman then hit one of two from the line to clinch it.