Final Four, NHL and NBA Playoff Races, USWNT and More to Watch This Week

This week in sports is all about frantic endings and new beginnings. Playoff chases in the NHL and NBA are insane, the Final Four is finally here, Major League Baseball's first full week has arrived, and The Masters is one week away. Let's start your weekly watch guide:

Must-Watch: Final Four Saturday

What may have felt like a top-heavy NCAA tournament on Selection Sunday is no longer that way heading into the Final Four on Saturday night. After a relatively straightforward first two rounds, the March Madness turned all the way up during the Sweet 16 and Elite 8. Making it through the nail-biting finishes are two teams that have never been to the Final Four (Texas Tech and Auburn), one that hasn’t been since 1984 (Virginia), and one that seemingly returns there at least once every four or five seasons (Michigan State).

Every team had grand celebrations upon reaching the sport’s biggest stage, but none topped Texas Tech’s locker-room party (sound on):

The Final Four will be played on Saturday night. Both games will broadcast live on CBS and can also be streamed on March Madness Live at NCAA.com or with the March Madness Live app.

No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 5 Auburn, 6:09 p.m.

No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 3 Texas Tech, approx. 8:49 p.m.

Ultimate guide to the 2019 Final Four in Minneapolis

Must-Watch: Last Week of NHL Regular Season

The regular-season finale of the NHL takes center stage this week, as playoff hockey looms just around the corner. Between now and Saturday, the playoff fates of every team in the league will be confirmed. Here are the current standings with just 3-4 games left for every team.

In the Eastern Conference, four teams have clinched playoff spots: the record-setting Tampa Bay Lightning—whose 122 points also means home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs—Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, and New York Islanders. In the Western Conference, the Calgary Flames have the most points with 105, and other teams that have clinched playoff berths are the Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights.

That leaves five teams battling for four spots in the East and six teams battling for two (!) spots in the West. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes are all still alive in the East race. In the West, the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks, Arizona Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers are all still clinging to wild-card hopes. Here are the top games to watch this week that will decide the playoff field (all times Eastern):

Maple Leafs at Islanders—Monday 7 p.m., ESPN+

Jets at Blackhawks—Monday 8:30 p.m., ESPN+

Bruins at Blue Jacket—Tuesday 7 p.m., NBCSN

Oilers at Avalanche—Tuesday, 9 p.m., NHL.TV

Blues at Blackhawks—Wednesday 8 p.m., NBCSN

Detroit Red Wings at Penguins—Thursday 7 p.m., NHL.TV

Bruins at Wild—Thursday 8 p.m., ESPN+

On Saturday, all 30 teams in the league will be in action for the final day of the season. Find all of those crucial matchups here. There’s only one thing left to say:

SNL/NBC

More To Watch This Week

1. Last Full Week of NBA Regular Season

In a similar theme to the NHL regular season coming to an end this week, the NBA regular season plays out its final full week with much still to be decided. The top eight teams in the West are sealed, with only seeding left to be determined, while in the East, playoff spots at the bottom and seeds near the top are still up for grabs. Check out the current standings here. In eighth place right now, the Miami Heat is trying to reach the playoffs to extend Dwyane Wade’s magical last season in South Beach.

The top national and NBA League Pass games with playoff implications to watch this week are:

Miami Heat at Boston Celtics—Monday 7 p.m, NBATV

Detroit Pistons at Indiana Pacers—Monday 7 p.m., Watch on B/R Live

Milwaukee Bucks at Brooklyn Nets—Monday 7 p.m., Watch

Orlando Magic at Toronto Raptors—Monday 7 p.m., Watch

Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors—Tuesday 10:30 p.m., TNT

Pacers at Pistons—Wednesday 7 p.m., Watch

Raptors at Nets—Wednesday 7:30 p.m., Watch

Celtics at Heat—Wednesday 7:30 p.m., NBATV

Bucks at Philadelphia 76ers—Thursday 8 p.m., TNT

Raptors at Charlotte Hornets—Friday 7 p.m., Watch

Celtics at Pacers—Friday 8 p.m., ESPN

Portland Trail Blazers at Denver Nuggets—Friday 10:30 p.m., ESPN

Bucks at Nets—Saturday 5 p.m., NBA TV

Heat at Raptors—Sunday 12 p.m., NBATV

Hornets vs. Pistons—Sunday 4 p.m., Watch

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Golden State Warriors—Sunday 8:30 p.m., Watch

Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers—Sunday 9 p.m., Watch

For the full NBA schedule and to watch NBA League Pass on B/R Live, click here.

2. First Full Week of Major League Baseball

And as the NHL and NBA regular seasons wind down, the MLB season picks up with its first full week. The standouts after Opening Day have been the Seattle Mariners in the American League and Milwaukee Brewers in the National League. Seattle won both games of its season-opening series in Tokyo and then showed no ill effects over the weekend, taking three of four from the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox and scoring 34 runs in the process.

The Mariners host to their division rival Los Angeles Angels this week, with Monday’s matchup (10:10 p.m. MLB.TV) featuring Felix Hernandez going up against Mike Trout.

Equally clicking are the Brewers, which won three thrilling games over the St. Louis Cardinals thanks in large part to reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich, who has hit a home run in all four games so far and added a walk-off double for good measure.

Milwaukee faces more Central Division foes this week as it travels to Cincinnati for three then hosts the Chicago Cubs for three, including Saturday at 7:10 p.m. on FS1.

3. U.S. Women's National Team World Cup Prep

The road to the FIFA Women’s World Cup continues for the USWNT this week, as the Stars and Stripes play two more friendlies to prepare for the biggest tournament in the world. Since losing to France in January, Team USA have gone unbeaten—two wins, two draws—against some strong competition from around the globe.

USA vs. Australia: Thursday 9 p.m., FS1, in Commerce City, Colorado; Australia has won four matches in a row, so this should provide another great measuring stick for the Americans.

USA vs. Belgium: Sunday 9 p.m., ESPN, in Los Angeles, California

4. UEFA Youth League on B/R Live

The Champions League returns a week from tomorrow on B/R Live, but we have your European soccer fix until then. The UEFA Youth League continues on B/R Live with the academies of some of the biggest clubs in the world taking the pitch, including the youth teams of Barcelona and Real Madrid. And these kids can play:

Tuesday:

10 a.m.—Porto U19 vs. Midtjylland U19 Watch on B/R Live

12 p.m.—Barcelona U19 vs. Lyon U19 Watch

Wednesday:

10 a.m.—Chelsea U19 vs. Zagreb U19 Watch

12 p.m.—Hoffenheim U19 vs. Real Madrid U19 Watch

5. Valero Texas Open

The last event before The Masters next week is no slouch, with a purse of $7.5 million and a host of the top players in the game.

The field includes Texas favorite and Masters champion Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar, Ernie Els, Graeme McDowell, Davis Love III, Martin Kaymer, Billy Horschel, Padraig Harrington, Jim Furyk, and Tony Finau. Check out the rest of the field here.

There will be multiple ways to watch the action live each day. On Thursday and Friday, watch live on Twitter from 8:30 a.m. to 9:40 a.m. and then on the Golf Channel from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. On Saturday, watch live on Twitter from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., on the Golf Channel from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., and on NBC from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. On Sunday, watch live on Twitter from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., on the Golf Channel from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., and on NBC from 2:30 p.m. until a winner is crowned.

Quick Catch-Up

Two legendary American martial arts athletes made their debuts in ONE Championship on Sunday at ONE: A New Era in Tokyo. While Eddie Alvarez had a bout he would like to forget, Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson delivered an impressive win. You can watch a free replay of the full event here.

After a hitless (and boo-hearing?) Opening Day, new Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper found his swing on Saturday and Sunday, launching a home run each night in Philadelphia wins over the Atlanta Braves. The first one, his first hit with his new team, was a 465-foot BOMB.

You may have heard that The Dan Patrick Show is now on Bleacher Report Live every weekday morning at 9 a.m. Well, initially, even some members of the show weren’t quite sure what that meant.

Watch and/or listen to The Dan Patrick Show at 9 a.m. Monday through Friday right here on B/R Live.