Saturday digest

College basketball: Confidence has never been a problem for Oklahoma State freshman Cade Cunningham.

That came in handy Friday night in Kansas City, Missouri.

With the No. 12 Cowboys trying to rally from a second-half hole against second-ranked Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament, Cunningham calmly responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to give his team the lead. Then, he stepped to the foul line and calmly made a series of free throws down the stretch that clinched an 83-74 victory in the semifinal round.

“I’m a confident player. I feel like every shot I shoot is supposed to go in,” said Cunningham, the projected No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

“I try to shoot them with confidence and make plays that my teammates need.”

His teammates didn’t let him carry the load alone.

Avery Anderson III added 20 points, including the go-ahead three-point play with just over 2 minutes to go, and Rondel Walker had 11 as the Cowboys advanced to play No. 13 Texas Saturday.

The Bears have never won a conference tournament title – and won’t this year. They’ll remain 0-3 in the Big 12 title game for at least another year after winning their first regular-season league championship since 1950.

MaCio Teague scored 17 points and Jared Butler had 16 for the Bears, who had won 10 of their past 11 against the Cowboys after sweeping them in the regular season. Davion Mitchell also had 13 points.

Westwood, soon to be 48, takes lead at Players

Golf: Lee Westwood, who rose to No. 1 in the world a decade ago, had a bogey-free round at The Players Championship for a 6-under-par 66 to take the lead in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

At 9-under 135, Westwood, who turns 48 next month, had a one-shot lead over Matt Fitzpatrick (68) going into the weekend on the Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass.

Sergio Garcia was another shot back after a 72.

Clarkston native Joel Dahmen missed the cut, at even par, by two shots after a 2-over 74.

Brady signs extension, frees cap space for Bucs

NFL: Tom Brady agreed to a contract extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that provides the Super Bowl champions with much-needed salary cap relief and will help the seven-time NFL champion reach a goal of playing until he’s at least 45.

The extension confirmed by the team frees about $19 million in salary cap space, a move that improves Tampa Bay’s chances of returning as much of its championship roster as possible for 2021.

Seven starters from the Super Bowl were among two dozen Bucs eligible to become free agents.

Local watch

NBA

Brandon Clarke (GU), Memphis: 20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks in 103-102 loss to Denver.

Rui Hachimura (GU), Washington: 9 points, 2 steals in 127-101 loss to Philadelphia.

Kelly Olynyk (GU), Miami: 9 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists in 101-90 win at Chicago.

Domantas Sabonis (GU), Indiana: 20 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists in 105-100 loss at L.A. Lakers.

Killian Tillie (GU), Memphis: DNP – coach’s decision

NHL

Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota: 1 assist, 1 shot, 1 takeaway in 4-0 win vs. Arizona.

Kailer Yamamoto, Edmonton: 1 assist, 4 shots in 6-2 win vs. Ottawa.

From wire reports