Unrivaled’s inaugural season wraps up on Monday, March 17 when the championship game takes place between Rose and Vinyl at Mediparo in Medley, Fla.
The championship is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast on TNT and truTV. Fans looking to watch this championship Unrivaled game can do so for free by using DirecTV Stream, which offers a free trial or with SlingTV, which doesn’t offer a free trial but has promotional offers available. MAX has plans starting at just $9.99/month, and includes movies, original series and more.
Rose had the second-best record in the league this season at 8-6 and now has the chance to become the first ever Unrivaled champions. The squad won its semifinal matchup against Laces, 63-57, to earn a shot at the title on Monday.
Vinyl was only 5-9 in the regular season and finished tied with Mist for the second-worst record, but thanks to one more win over the other three playoff teams, Vinyl took the tiebreaker. And then from there, Vinyl pulled off the biggest upset of the season, taking down the top-seed and 13-1 Lunar Owls, 73-70.
Rose and Vinyl have faced off three times already with Vinyl winning on the opening night of the Unrivaled season and Rose winning the next two meetings, including a 74-46 blowout in the last contest of the regular season.
Who: Vinyl vs. Rose
When: Monday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m. EDT
Where: Mediparo in Medley, Fla.
Stream: Sling; DirecTV Stream; MAX
Betting: Check out our MA sports betting guide, where you can learn basic terminology, definitions and how to read odds for those interested in learning how to bet in Massachusetts.
What is DirecTV Stream?
DirecTV Stream offers practically everything DirecTV provides, except for a remote and a streaming device to connect to your television. Sign up now and get three free months of premium channels including MAX, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME and Starz.
What is SlingTV?
SlingTV offers a variety of live programing ranging from news and sports and starting as low as $20 a month for your first month. Subscribers also get a month of DVR Plus free if they sign up now. Choose from a variety of sports packages without long-term contracts and with easy cancelation.
What is MAX?
MAX is a streaming service that combines the catalogues of HBO and the various channels that make up the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks like CNN, Discovery Channel and TLC. The service is also partnered with Bleacher Report to provide sports coverage for anything covered by Turner Sports such as the NBA on TNT, the NHL on TNT, college basketball games on TNT and TBS and the Unrivaled 3×3 basketball league. You can also bundle your MAX subscription with Disney+ and Hulu.
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Vinyl beat No. 1 seed Lunar Owls and Unrivaled MVP Napheesa Collier, will play Rose for title
By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer
MEDLEY, Fla. (AP) — Rhyne Howard scored 23 points, Jordin Canada added 21 and the No. 4 seed Vinyl beat the top-seeded Lunar Owls and Napheesa Collier of the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, who was named Unrivaled’s Most Valuable Player earlier Sunday, 73-70 in the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league’s playoffs.
Dearica Hamby added 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Vinyl and her layup over Collier sealed the Vinyl’s come-from-behind victory in the semifinals. Chelsea Gray of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces led the second-seeded Rose to a 63-57 win over the No. 3 Laces in their semifinal earlier Sunday.
Vinyl and Rose will play on Monday for Unrivaled’s inaugural championship crown, with each player from the winning club going home with $50,000.
“We’ve kind of been counted out the entire season, considered ourselves underdogs,” said Hamby, who plays for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks. “But that didn’t show in our locker room. We never stopped believing in ourselves.”
Gray had a dominant performance for the Rose, who were without their leading rebounder and Unrivaled Defensive Player of the Year Angel Reese because of a hand injury. The veteran guard Gray helped her team erase a 13-point halftime deficit with 39 points, the most in an Unrivaled game this season. She also hit the game-winning 3-pointer.
Unrivaled games are played with three seven-minute quarters and an un-timed fourth. Teams play to a “winning score” determined by adding 11 points to the squad that is leading after three quarters.
Collier, the reigning WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, led Unrivaled with 25.7 points per game en route to being voted the league’s first MVP. She averaged 10.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists for the Lunar Owls, who were a favorite to win the championship after finishing the regular season with the best record in the league at 13-1. Collier also took home $200,000 last month after winning Unrivaled’s midseason 1-on-1 tournament.
“It’s been a great season. We said from the very beginning that we had a very special group,” said Collier, who had 36 points on Sunday. “It’s a tough ending for us.”
Unrivaled played an eight-week regular season between six teams consisting of some of the biggest names in the WNBA — Reese, new Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner, New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu, among others.
The top four teams from the regular season reached Sunday’s playoffs.
The Associated Press contributed to this article
