JOTTINGS
• The announced attendance at the 2001 NCAA championship game between Duke and Arizona at the Metrodome was 45,944. In 1992 for Duke vs. Michigan it was 50,379. At U.S. Bank Stadium on Monday night, the figure is expected to be over 72,000.
• In 2021, Target Center will hold the Midwest Region Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games March 25-27. The University of Minnesota will be the host school, so if the Gophers are in the tournament that year, they will not be eligible to play in that regional.
• The Final Four site has been determined through 2026, with Indianapolis playing host twice and Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Phoenix and San Antonio once.
• Timberwolves insiders say free-agent guard Derrick Rose is happy here and wants to remain with the team.
• A mock draft on NBAdraft.net has the Wolves selecting Texas Tech guard Jarrett Culver with the No. 12 overall pick. Culver, a sophomore guard and Big 12 Player of the Year, averaged 18.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game this season.
• It's hard to remember another time when three local players — Duke's Tre Jones, Gonzaga's Geno Crandall and Kentucky's Reid Travis — all played in the Elite Eight, but none of them reached the Final Four.
• The Gophers basketball team will have five scholarships available now that guard Isaiah Washington will transfer and if guard Amir Coffey intends to turn pro. There's a good chance they will sign 6-2 guard Grant Sherfield, a former UCLA commit, from Wichita, Kan. He's ranked as the No. 122 recruit in the country by 247Sports.com.
• New York Post headline this week: "Michael Pineda looks different in first start since Yankees injury." Pineda has looked good in two starts for the Twins so far and earned the victory Saturday.
