Here is the latest ACC sports news from The Associated Press – Morganton News Herald

SEATTLE (AP) — Caitlin Clark’s second-seeded Iowa squad is the only one of the top four teams in the Seattle 4 Regional to make it all the way West. No. 5 Louisville, No. 6 Colorado and No. 8 Mississippi knocked off the top seeds on their home courts to reach the regional semifinals. The Hawkeyes will face the Buffaloes in the first semifinal Friday night. The Cardinals play the Rebels in the other one. Sweet 16 experience could be a factor in both matchups. Louisville and Iowa are recent regulars, while Ole Miss is making its first appearance since 2007 and Colorado for the first time in 20 years.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The semifinals of the Midwest Region is stacked with coaching heavyweights. There’s Kelvin Sampson of top-seeded Houston, who has led both Oklahoma and the Cougars to the Final Four. There’s their opponent Friday night, fifth-seeded Miami, whose own coach Jim Larrañaga took George Mason to the national semifinals and had the Hurricanes in the Elite Eight a year ago. Xavier coach Sean Miller has twice reached the Elite Eight, once at Arizona and once with the Musketeers. Then there’s Rodney Terry, the assistant-turned-savior of Texas, who kept the Longhorns together following Chris Beard’s firing and has them playing in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist and LSU’s Angel Reese give the NCAA Tournament’s Greenville 2 Region some All-American star power for the Sweet 16. Siegrist and the fourth-seeded Wildcats will face No. 9 seed Miami in Friday’s regional semifinals. Reese and the third-seeded Tigers will meet second-seeded Utah. The Utes have second-team AP All-American Alissa Pili. It comes as the sport gets its share of March Madness’ national spotlight. Siegrist is the national scoring leader while Reese is fifth in scoring and second in rebounding. Siegrist says it’s great to be part of having “female sports really on the forefront right now.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Iowa State was quick to say that its miserable shooting performance in the NCAA Tournament had nothing to do with some wonky rims in Greensboro, North Carolina. Nevertheless, the Cyclones were among the many teams that struggled during the opening weekend, especially from the 3-point line. In fact, the shooting percentage from beyond the arc is on pace to set a record low since it was added for the 1987 tournament. Division I teams shot at a 34% clip from 3 during the regular season, or nearly 3% better than they have during the Big Dance. And eight of 68 teams have had their worst 3-point shooting games of the season during the NCAA Tournament.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Katie Meier’s practices at Miami always end the same way. Every player and coach gathers around the midcourt circle, clasps the hand of the person next to them, and someone then quietly offers a few words from the heart. It’s about faith. This season, Meier’s faith was tested by an NCAA investigation. And her faith was also rewarded. For the first time in more than 30 years of college basketball Meier is in the Sweet 16. Miami plays Villanova on Friday.

UNDATED (AP) — The battle for the national championship in women’s basketball is on. Sweet 16 weekend has arrived with a twist this year: There are two regional sites instead of four: Greenville, South Carolina, and Seattle each will host eight teams. The Final Four is in Dallas on March 31 and the championship game is two days later on April 2.

UNDATED (AP) — The NCAA Tournament has reached Sweet 16 weekend in the battle for the national championship in men’s basketball. Top seeds Purdue and defending champion Kansas did not make it. This weekend will see games in New York City, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Missouri, and Louisville, Kentucky. The Final Four is in Houston. The semifinals are on April 1, with the championship game on April 3.