Longtime coaching friends Dusty May of Michigan and Nate Oats of Alabama to meet in Sweet 16
CHICAGO — Michigan coach Dusty May remembered when he was an assistant at Eastern Michigan watching 6 a.m. practices at Romulus High near Detroit. At the time, Nate Oats was coaching boys basketball and teaching physical education at the school. The two forged a friendship that’s going strong 20 years...
Sweet 16/Elite 8 breakdown: Could we see an all-Pittsburgh coaching matchup in the Elite 8?
One week into March Madness, and there isn’t as much chaos within people’s brackets as we normally see. The transfer portal, NIL and sprawling power conferences have a lot to do with that. The two biggest surprises still alive are an SEC school in 11th-seeded Texas and a Big Ten...
Houston embraces ‘home’ Sweet 16 game at Toyota Center as Illinois arrives unfazed
HOUSTON — Houston is in the Sweet 16 for a seventh straight season, and this trip might be its sweetest yet. The second-seeded Cougars meet No. 3 Illinois on Thursday night in the NCAA Tournament’s South Region semifinals at Toyota Center, the home of the Houston Rockets that sits just...
Elite freshmen in spotlight for Arizona-Arkansas Sweet 16 matchup in West Region
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Coach John Calipari has made a career of relying on freshman stars to make long NCAA Tournament runs so the fact that he’s doing it again at Arkansas with Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas should come as little surprise. For Arizona, it’s been a bit of...
March Madness: Here’s one thing you need to know about each of the 16 teams remaining in men’s field
Florida isn’t around to defend its title anymore, but all the other top seeds in this year’s NCAA Tournament are still in contention. And many of them are winning convincingly. In the first week of the NCAA Tournament, games were decided by an average of 15.3 points. According to Sportradar,...
North Carolina parts ways with men’s basketball coach Hubert Davis after 5 seasons
North Carolina and men’s basketball coach Hubert Davis have parted ways after five seasons leading the tradition-rich program. The school announced the decision Tuesday night, saying it had made “a leadership change” to end Davis’ tenure as successor to retired Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams. That run featured featured...
NCAA Tournament has best opening week on record, averaging 10.1 million viewers
The NCAA Tournament had its best first week on record, averaging 10.1 million viewers through the second round across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Tournament viewership is up 7% from last year, according to Nielsen. CBS and TNT began showing all of the games in 2011 after CBS had done...
Respect for Ryan Day helped Arthur Smith land at Ohio State
COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a roundabout way, Woody Hayes could be responsible for Arthur Smith being the new offensive coordinator at Ohio State. The legendary former head coach of the Buckeyes died in 1987, but his name is on the football facility in Columbus, and one of his sayings —...
From Spain to the United States, former Robert Morris forward Alvaro Folgueiras’ basketball dream has Iowa in the Sweet 16
TAMPA, Fla. — Alvaro Folgueiras left Spain as a 16-year-old with a dream to play basketball in the United States. He made the biggest shot of his life in the national spotlight to eliminate the defending champions from the NCAA Tournament. On college basketball’s grandest stage and with his mother...
Syracuse hires former star guard Gerry McNamara to take over as men’s basketball coach
Syracuse turned to its past by hiring former star guard Gerry McNamara on Tuesday in a bid to guide a fading men’s basketball program back to prominence. The 42-year-old McNamara, nicknamed “G-Mac,” is returning to where he and Carmelo Anthony led the Orange to a national championship in 2003. McNamara...
Key, Strack help Kentucky women beat West Virginia to secure Sweet 16 trip
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Teonni Key had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Clara Strack had 18 points and 15 rebounds and Kentucky nearly gave up a big lead and held on to beat West Virginia, 74-73, on Monday to advance to the NCAA women’s Sweet 16 for the first time in...
March Madness surges to its best TV start with viewership up 5%
NEW YORK — The NCAA Tournament is off to its best start on record. The tournament averaged 9.8 million for the first three days (the First Four on Tuesday and Wednesday along with Thursday’s first round) according to Nielsen, a 5% increase from last year. CBS and TNT began showing...
Bracket Reset: NCAA Tournament down to a Sweet 16 of high-majors
Cinderella has been kicked out of the dance early for the second straight season. Following a madness-promising first day of upsets, the NCAA Tournament has turned into a high-major affair. The Sweet 16 invite is for power-conference programs only. Advocates for fewer automatic qualifiers and bracket expansion will have a...
First Call: Wild stats about Aaron Rodgers and Justin Fields; Pens hold steady in Metro Division swirl
As we all monitor the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback situation, Monday’s “First Call” has some interesting stats surrounding Justin Fields and Aaron Rodgers. We’re also tracking the Eastern Conference playoff situation for the Penguins. A former Robert Morris Colonial had a shining moment in the NCAA Tournament. And a pair of...
Iowa beats No. 1 seed and defending champ Florida in March Madness
TAMPA, Fla. — Alvaro Folgueiras told Bennett Stirtz he would be ready for the ball, and he delivered in the clutch. Folgueiras, the former Robert Morris standout, nailed a 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining, and Iowa eliminated defending national champion Florida, sending the top-seeded Gators home with a 73-72 victory...
Dylan Darling hits driving layup at buzzer, St. John’s beats Kansas 67-65 in March Madness thrillerVideo
SAN DIEGO — Dylan Darling hadn’t made a shot all day when he got the ball at midcourt for St. John’s with 3.9 seconds left in a tied March Madness thriller. Darling could have passed. He could have wilted. He could have missed yet again. Instead, the Red Storm’s tenacious...
Penn State crowns 4 NCAA wrestling gold medalists, breaks its own points record
CLEVELAND — Penn State’s record-setting performance in last year’s NCAA Championships in Philadelphia was quite a feat. But the PSU mark — 177 team points — lasted just a year. Cael Sanderson’s Nittany Lions set a new record this season, finishing with 181.5 team points. PSU wrapped up its fifth...
Texas goes from First Four to Sweet 16, beating Gonzaga
PORTLAND, Ore. — Jordan Pope and Matas Vokietaitis each scored 17 points, Camden Heide hit a game-sealing 3-pointer and Texas became the first team in five years to go from the NCAA Tournament’s First Four to the Sweet 16, beating Gonzaga, 74-68, on Saturday. First-year coach Sean Miller’s 11th-seeded Longhorns...
Coen Carr, Jeremy Fears lead Michigan State to Sweet 16
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Coen Carr recorded his first career double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Jeremy Fears Jr. had 16 assists as Michigan State advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 17th time under coach Tom Izzo, beating Louisville, 77-69, on Saturday in the second round of the...
NCAA asks court to stop DraftKings from using trademarked terms such as ‘March Madness’
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA filed a complaint in federal court Friday seeking an emergency restraining order to stop online sportsbook DraftKings from using registered trademarks associated with the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The complaint for trademark infringement was filed in the Southern District of Indiana and requests that...
NCAA Tournament roundup: Iowa St. star Joshua Jefferson hurt in rout of Tennessee St.
Iowa State star Joshua Jefferson departed in the first half of the Cyclones’ 108-74 romp over Tennessee State with a left ankle injury Friday, leaving the All-American’s status for the remainder of the NCAA Tournament in doubt. Jefferson landed awkwardly after a layup just 21/2 minutes into the first-round matchup...
Donald Trump issues executive order requiring CFP to avoid broadcasting conflicts with Army-Navy game
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump issued an executive order Friday barring College Football Playoff and other postseason games from airing during the annual Army-Navy matchup in December. Trump directed the commerce secretary and the FCC chairman to coordinate with the playoff committee, the NCAA and media rights partners to ensure...
Otega Oweh’s buzzer-beater saves Kentucky in OT win over Santa Clara in 1st round
ST. LOUIS — Otega Oweh rescued Kentucky with a buzzer-
beater from just inside half court to force overtime, then hit the tiebreaking free throws in the extra period as the seventh-seeded Wildcats beat No. 10 seed Santa Clara, 89-84, on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In...
NCAA roundup: High Point stuns Wisconsin on Chase Johnston’s first 2-point basket of season
PORTLAND, Ore. — Chase Johnston made his first 2-point basket of the season, a fast-break layup with 11.7 seconds remaining that gave No. 12 seed High Point an 83-82 victory over fifth-seeded Wisconsin on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Johnston finished with 14 points, including four...
No. 11 seed VCU erases 19-point deficit, stuns sixth-seeded North Carolina 82-78 in OT
GREENVILLE, N.C. — Terrence Hill Jr. made a stepback 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in overtime, and 11th-seeded VCU erased from a 19-point second-half deficit to stun sixth-seeded North Carolina, 82-78, on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Hill finished 7 for 10 from 3-point range...
