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Let the madness begin. The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament tipped off Thursday morning with a flurry of second round games. Many fans will be watching at work to see if their office pool bracket predictions will pull through.
Tipoff for March Madness begins Thursday morning, and a lot of teams are hoping for their "one shining moment." But so are a lot of people playing brackets with officemates, friends and our own WCCO audience. Ali Lucia put our WCCO Morning Team to the test to see who they picked to win it all.
The Gopher women's basketball team believes now that they are in the dance, why not win some games? The reason they have a chance against DePaul and beyond is a new addition, who may have made it all possible.
Minnesota is not in this year's NCAA Tournament, but there are plenty of Minnesota connections in March Madness. Here are 11 local connections to the tournament.
Time is running out to fill out those March Madness brackets. The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament starts Thursday with a full slate of games. Some pick by mascots, jersey colors or even vacation spots, but it's possible to have a respectable bracket without following college basketball.
The Minnesota women's basketball team has secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six seasons. The Gophers got an eighth seed and will open the tournament Friday at 4 p.m. CDT against ninth seed DePaul in South Bend, Indiana.
Grab your pens and brackets. We're about to tell you how to fill them out. As they say in the stock market, past performance is not an indicator of future results. But in the NCAA Tournament, it does give us a pretty good idea.
Every year in the NCAA Tournament, we see great games, finishes, a few upsets and some dramatic moments. But which teams should we keep an eye on that likely survive the first weekend? Who will get to the Final Four, and which smaller school has the best chance to pull off an upset? Here are 10 teams to keep an eye on as we head to Selection Sunday.
Throw on your team colors and let March Madness sweep you away at these local bars.
Minnesota will start the Big Ten tournament with a play-in game against last-place Rutgers. With a 6-12 record in conference play, the Gophers lost a tiebreaker with Northwestern and received the No. 11 seed.
Two Northern Sun conference foes will play for the first time this year — in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
Minnesota State kicks off its NCAA championship pursuit this weekend.
Minneapolis made its final pitch Tuesday to host an upcoming NCAA Final Four. The steering committee for Minneapolis' bid made a one-hour presentation to the NCAA men's basketball committee in Indianapolis. Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority chairwoman Michele Kelm-Helgen told the Star Tribune the group's presentation "went off flawlessly."
The University of Minnesota women's softball team had a big weekend, winning the Minneapolis Regional of the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Super Regional. The Gophers beat North Dakota State Saturday 4-1 in 10 innings, then got a come-from-behind 8-6 win over Auburn to win the regional.
It was just three seasons ago when Union beat Minnesota — in overtime, in Minneapolis — for a win that pretty much put its program on the map. Back then, Union had yet to even appear in an NCAA tournament. Now, it's one victory away from the national championship.
Nic Dowd scored with 2:39 left in overtime to give St. Cloud State a 4-3 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday night the NCAA West Regional semifinals. Dowd, a Hobey Baker Award finalist who leads the Huskies with 22 goals, fired a wrist shot from the left circle that beat Steven Summerhays high. "At this point, any shot's a good shot," said Dowd, whose Huskies (22-10-5) will play top-seeded Minnesota on Sunday for a spot in the Frozen Four. The Gophers beat Robert Morris 7-3.
Over the next few days, there will be many people watching the NCAA tournament with a beer by their side. And when they do, there's a good chance that beer will be light. According to Beer Marketers Insights, Bud Light was the top-selling beer in 2012, making up more than 18 percent of the entire beer market. Light beer was invented in the 1960s by a biochemist who believed many people didn't like beer because they were afraid it would make them gain weight. Ultimately, that beer became the precursor to Miller Lite.
The Gophers aren't in the NCAA Tournament. Instead, in a weird bit of poetry, they'll play Tubby Smith's alma mater, High Point, on Tuesday night in the opening round of the NIT at Williams Arena.
A legal fight could stunt the growth of Minnesota's blooming marijuana market.
The cost of Thanksgiving dinner is still nearly 20% higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Union Gospel Mission is lightening the load by welcoming 10,000 families through their meal kit pick-up.
A recent Bethel University graduate made her mark as an athlete and in her community.
The WCCO Next Weather team says no big storms are expected in Minnesota for Thanksgiving week.
From the Twin Cities to the North Shore, here are the holiday tree lightings and parades in 2024 in the Twin Cities and in Greater Minnesota.
The cost of Thanksgiving dinner is still nearly 20% higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Union Gospel Mission is lightening the load by welcoming 10,000 families through their meal kit pick-up.
A recent Bethel University graduate made her mark as an athlete and in her community.
The plan is a 10-year vision for downtown Minneapolis that has several recommendations, including improvements to the skyway system, widening access to public restrooms, creating an outdoor skating rink and more.
Passion and purpose are what brings a group of volunteer dancers together every holiday season to spread joy throughout the Twin Cities to those who need it most.
As many as 80 million people will hit the roads and skies this week, according to AAA.
A woman shot in Rochester early Sunday was likely targeted, police said.
A central Minnesota deputy assisting at the scene of a crash suffered serious injuries when another driver hit his parked squad car while he sat inside it, authorities said.
The shooting happened just before 7 p.m. Thursday near 10th Street Southeast and First Avenue Southeast.
Authorities recovered multiple guns and a "significant amount of ammunition" from the home of a man accused of threatening his neighbor over her sexual orientation, charges say.
Minnesota will once again be one of the top states in the country for voter turnout.
Authorities are urging a Wisconsin man accused of faking his death and fleeing to Europe to come home and spend the holidays with his wife and three children.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is grappling with a case affecting whether the swing state's nonpartisan top elections official can remain in her post despite not being reappointed and confirmed by the state Senate.
Documents say Steven Williams resigned from the Prescott, Wisconsin police force "in lieu of termination."
An attorney representing a conservative prosecutor struggled Monday to convince Wisconsin's liberal-leaning Supreme Court to reactivate the state's 175-year-old abortion ban.
Jennie-O turkey brand will display its float at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for the fifth consecutive year.
The cost of Thanksgiving dinner is still nearly 20% higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Union Gospel Mission is lightening the load by welcoming 10,000 families through their meal kit pick-up.
From the Twin Cities to the North Shore, here are the holiday tree lightings and parades in 2024 in the Twin Cities and in Greater Minnesota.
A group of young adults wants everyone, regardless of what suburb or rural area they live in, to know what it's really like to live in the heart of the city and to sometimes not have a place to live at all.
Inside Catholic Charities St Paul Opportunity Center, local physicians, surgeons, and lawyers gathered on Sunday to support people experiencing homelessness.
A man is expected to survive after being shot during a possible drug deal in Minneapolis' Dinkytown neighborhood Thursday morning, police said.
A legal fight could stunt the growth of Minnesota's blooming marijuana market.
Anoka-Hennepin School District administrators blame many factors for the huge deficit. Jonah Kaplan breaks down what's at stake and the potential impact on the classroom.
Special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal judge to toss out the charges against President-elect Donald Trump in the case stemming from the 2020 election.
President Biden pardoned two turkeys, Peach and Blossom that hail from Minnesota, where they will return.
President-elect Donald Trump is making his final selections for who might join him in the White House as part of his cabinet in January.
The average price for a typical turkey is about $25 this year. That's 6% cheaper than last November.
"We literally walk in and dust off the jackets because they have been sitting for a while," she said.
Thieves capture radio signals from your key fob by using a device that grabs that fob's signal, even from long distances. That signal can be stored and re-used.
The price of housing in Minneapolis rose less over the last five years compared to other metro areas around the U.S.
The Wild also partnered with community food shelves to give out Turkeys this holiday season.
Authorities southwest of the Twin Cities say a teen Fleet Farm worker is in the hospital and a man is in custody following a stabbing Sunday.
A woman shot in Rochester early Sunday was likely targeted, police said.
A couple from Connecticut is charged with allegedly orchestrating a retail theft operation that may have cost Lululemon as much as $1 million.
The shooting happened on the 1500 block of Lake Street East just before 8:30 p.m.
When cyclist Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson was murdered in Texas, U.S. Marshals assigned to the case used a unique tactic to track down her suspected killer in Costa Rica and bring the fugitive to justice.
Last year, Minnesota lawmakers passed new protections after a young woman testified about contamination in her community just before she died. Her sister is now carrying on the fight to protect other families.
The Minnesota Department of Health and the United States Department of Agriculture say they have confirmed a total of 15 cases of E. coli related illnesses in Minnesota.
PFAS are forever chemicals used in everyday items like nonstick pans, dental floss and food packaging that can build up in our bodies and harm our health.
A new Minnesota state law requires school districts or charter schools to adopt a policy on the use of cellphones in school by March of next year. But one nonprofit has gotten a jump start, working with students to help them find a balance between devices in and out of school.
The Mayo Clinic says surgeons there successfully performed a face transplant for a Michigan man who was severely injured from a self-inflicted gunshot wound 10 years ago.
One of the most successful computer games of all time is currently being developed by Apple as a forthcoming movie.
Chuck Woolery was inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007 and earned a daytime Emmy nomination in 1978.
English hyperpop artist Charli XCX will be coming to Minneapolis on April 26, 2025.
After almost a decade of "Disney on Ice" performances, a Minnesota native is eagerly anticipating his first show at the Xcel Energy Center.
Post Malone announced Tuesday that the "Big A** Stadium Tour" will come to U.S. Bank Stadium on May 20, 2025.
Meet a student athlete from Chisago Lakes with endless drive, despite a surprise diagnosis. Plus, Becker and Totino-Grace battled at U.S. Bank Stadium for the Class 4A championship.
A recent Bethel University graduate made her mark as an athlete and in her community.
The NFL currently gives the Vikings a 98% probability of making the playoffs. So now the question becomes: is this team for real?
Gabriel Pec, Joseph Paintsil and Dejan Joveljic each scored two goals to help the LA Galaxy beat Minnesota United 6-2 to advance to the Western Conference finals.
Jaylen Brown scored the Celtics' first 15 points on five consecutive 3-pointers and finished with 29 points, before Boston withstood a late charge to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-105.
In this election, Klobuchar faired much better than all other Senate Democrats — she won by a significantly larger margin.
For Democrats the postmortem continues on why Vice President Kamala Harris and her Running mate Governor Tim Walz performed more poorly with almost every demographic than Joe Biden did in 2020. In Minnesota, Senator Amy Klobuchar did much better than Harris with some of those same groups.
As Election Day nears, experts say voters in Wisconsin and other battleground states will decide the 2024 presidential election winner.
As Election Day nears, experts say voters in Wisconsin and other battleground states will decide the 2024 presidential election winner.
As Election Day nears, experts say voters in Wisconsin and other battleground states will decide the 2024 presidential election winner.
There are a lot of quirky town names in Minnesota: Embarrass, Nowthen, Clontarff, Kiester. But the people of Nimrod believe their name stands out from the rest.
Did you know that donkeys are fast, smart and can build life-long bonds with other animals and people? It's believed that donkeys are smarter than most dogs.
The Fitzgerald Theater is the oldest active theater in St. Paul — but is it also haunted?
Wisconsin bars are known for their pints and their patrons. About the last thing you'd expect to discover in such a place would be 55 feet of historic American artwork.
Did you know Minnesota has a real castle? Miller Castle, near Nisswa.
This holiday season, you might pull out a Betty Crocker cookbook to find a tried and true recipe.
Krueger is the third-generation owner of Krueger's Christmas Tree Farm. While he finds joy in knowing the evergreens will make a family happy, they might not realize the effort it took to reach these towering heights.
As President-elect Donald Trump fills out his cabinet, there's one department for which he's yet to announce a leader. That could be because he promised it wouldn't exist after taking office.
The tiny sensory organs that cover our tongue allow us to detect five basic tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami — which is a savory, rich or meaty flavor.
Grabbing a TV for a steal-of-a-deal is a popular move during the holiday season. This year, industry experts are expecting shoppers to go big — like really big.
Regions Hospital and Children's Minnesota share photos of their tiniest patients dressed to the nines for Halloween.
Minnesotans got a great view of the northern lights Thursday night due to the arrival of a severe geomagnetic storm.
Minnesotans got a great view of the northern lights Monday night.
Storms ripped through parts of Minnesota and western Wisconsin on Thursday evening. There were several reports of tornadoes and trees were downed in the metro and beyond, including in Cottage Grove, Anoka, Champlin and Fridley.
A powerful thunderstorm tore through the grounds of the Minnesota State Fair on Monday night, delaying Tuesday's opening.
WCCO meteorologist Chris Shaffer says we will chill tonight falling back into the teens.
In Minnesota, weather can be all over the place. Here at WCCO, we want to give you what you need to prepare for what's happening next.
The WCCO Next Weather team says no big storms are expected in Minnesota for Thanksgiving week.
Meteorologist Chris Shaffer says temperatures will continue to fall as we approach Thanksgiving.
NEXT Weather Meteorologist Lisa Meadows says it doesn't look like Minnesota will be dealing with any big storms during Thanksgiving week.
WCCO meteorologist Chris Shaffer says we will chill tonight falling back into the teens.
As many families get ready to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner this week, more Minnesotans than ever are struggling to put food on their tables. The state is on pace to reach 9 million visits to food shelves this year. New funding should help, but as WCCO's Beret Leone explains, that one-time check won't solve the problem.
The city plans to spend nearly a quarter million dollars to breathe new life into empty storefronts. WCCO's Jason Rantala explains who's moving in and bringing their creative energy with them.
A legal fight could stunt the growth of Minnesota's blooming marijuana market. The state had hoped to start awarding the first licenses to cannabis companies tomorrow. But a judge Monday put that lottery on hold after several would-be business owners sued.
Meteorologist Chris Shaffer says temperatures will continue to fall as we approach Thanksgiving.