Can Villanova rise into a championship contender again? Wildcats bank on Kevin Willard
PHILADELPHIA — Kevin Willard publicly campaigned — pleaded, really — during Maryland’s run to the Sweet 16 for more from the university and athletic department for his Big Ten program. More of everything — “fundamental changes,” he called them — that really came down to more money, so much more,...
Defending champ South Carolina returns to Final Four, beating Duke
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Chloe Kitts scored 14 points and defending national champion South Carolina reached the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament for a fifth straight year, beating Duke 54-50 on Sunday. The top-seeded Gamecocks are two wins away from becoming the first team to repeat as champions since...
Duke’s great D sends Blue Devils to their 18th Final Four with win over Alabama
NEWARK, N.J. — Duke freshman Cooper Flagg swooped across the paint and swatted an Alabama player’s shot completely off the court. The ball landed in the stands. Flagg and the Blue Devils — they’re headed to the Final Four. Duke’s long, tall, NBA-ready standouts smothered the Crimson Tide’s nation-leading offense...
Walter Clayton Jr. rallies Florida into Final Four with win over Texas Tech
SAN FRANCISCO — Walter Clayton Jr. rescued top-seeded Florida with two late 3-pointers, and the Gators rallied from nine points down late to reach the Final Four with an 84-79 victory over Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament’s West Region final Saturday. The Gators (34-4) trailed 75-66 with less than...
Auburn’s Pettiford, Michigan State’s Richardson renew AAU rivalry in Elite Eight of March Madness
ATLANTA — Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford and Michigan State’s Jase Richardson are high-scoring, left-handed freshman guards who have more in common than big games that helped to propel their teams to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight. The guards also share a rivalry that includes on-court matchups long before either began his...
Tennessee’s Jordan Gainey is a sixth man in name only. His coach and teammates consider him a star
INDIANAPOLIS — When the public address announcer turns to Tennessee’s starting lineup during pregame introductions on the road, the team stays in its huddle while the five names are read rather than have the starters step onto the court individually. The Volunteers don’t mean to be rude. They just consider...
Houston scores in final second to fend off Purdue in Sweet 16
INDIANAPOLIS — Milos Uzan soared for an uncontested layup on a beautifully executed inbound play with 0.9 seconds left, and No. 1 seed Houston survived a late collapse to beat fourth-seeded Purdue, 62-60, on Friday night in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Houston led 56-46 with just under...
Top-seeded Auburn comes alive in 2nd half to beat Michigan, move into Elite 8
ATLANTA — With Auburn’s season on the brink, Tahaad Pettiford and Denver Jones suddenly became unstoppable. On to the Elite Eight for the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Pettitford and Jones scored 20 points apiece to lead a second-half barrage that rallied the Tigers to a 78-65 victory...
Tennessee heading back to Elite Eight as defense clamps down on Kentucky
INDIANAPOLIS — Zakai Zeigler had 18 points and 10 assists, and Tennessee outhustled and outplayed Kentucky on both ends of the court in a 78-65 victory Friday night that sent the Volunteers to a second consecutive Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The second-seeded Vols (30-7) beat their border rival...
Michigan State’s 2nd-half rally sends Spartans past Ole Miss
ATLANTA — Jace Richardson scored 24 points, and Michigan State surged past Mississippi in the second half for a 73-70 victory Friday night in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Ole Miss (24-12) was denied in its bid for its first Elite Eight appearance despite leading by 10 points in the...
Penn State safety makes big step at pro day; Carter, Warren don’t participate
STATE COLLEGE — Kevin Winston Jr. didn’t have much left to prove to NFL teams, even after playing just one full game as a junior at Penn State. The 6-foot-11⁄2, 215-pound safety has been solidly projected in the second round for next month’s NFL Draft in Green Bay. Coach James...
3s, wide-open offense take center stage when Duke faces Alabama for a trip to the Final Four
NEWARK, N.J. — When Alabama faces Duke for a trip to the Final Four on Saturday, hoops fans will witness what some say is the future of college basketball, what others call a byproduct of nobody putting up a good enough fight on defense or some combination of both. The...
Deion Sanders’ contract at Colorado extended through the 2029 season
Colorado coach Deion Sanders has received a contract extension through the 2029 season after turning around a downtrodden program in just two seasons. The school said the extension increases Sanders’ yearly base salary to $10 million this year, making him the highest-paid football coach in the Big 12. The deal...
March Maddening? Timing of transfer portal opening can be tough on coaches still in the tourney
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Coaches still playing in the NCAA Tournament are having to split their time between preparing their teams for the Sweet 16 and talking to potential transfers who have entered the portal. Such is life in college basketball. Dawn Staley is one of those coaches, and she said...
Texas Tech rallies to oust Arkansas in Sweet 16 OT thriller
SAN FRANCISCO — Darrion Williams scored the tiebreaking basket with 7.3 seconds left in overtime after tying the game with a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation to lead Texas Tech to an 85-83 win over Arkansas on Thursday night and a spot in the Elite Eight. The first...
Cooper Flagg fills highlight reel in Duke’s Sweet 16 win over Arizona
NEWARK, N.J. — Duke stud Cooper Flagg’s highlight reel included a 3-pointer from just in front of the logo at the halftime buzzer, one no-look pass for an alley-oop and another for a 3 and a huge blocked shot into a row of Arizona cheerleaders. He needed all that to...
Alabama makes March Madness-record 25 3s, romps past BYU in Sweet 16
NEWARK, N.J. — Alabama broke the 35-year-old March Madness record for 3-pointers with 25, and Mark Sears scored 30 of his 34 points on 3s, a relentless long-range spree that ushered the second-seeded Crimson Tide past BYU, 113-88, on Thursday night in an NCAA Tournament East Region semifinal. Alabama reached...
Top-seeded Florida runs away from Maryland’s ‘Crab Five’ to reach Elite 8
SAN FRANCISCO — Florida’s three standout seniors and its deep bench kept bringing energy until it became too tough for Maryland’s “Crab Five” to keep up. Coach Todd Golden could see his Gators wearing the Terrapins down. Will Richard scored 15 points, Alijah Martin added 14 points and seven rebounds,...
At age 70, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo back in title mix at another March Madness
ATLANTA — For Tom Izzo, the blueprint for a career like few others was established in his first year as a head coach. His memory is a bit fuzzy — Izzo remembers his 1995 Michigan State team grabbing 26 offensive rebounds in a victory over a powerhouse Arkansas program, when...
Kentucky, Tennessee ready for 3rd meeting this season as they seek Elite 8 berth
INDIANAPOLIS — Kentucky and Tennessee are adding a new chapter to their border rivalry Friday night. They’re taking it north, to Indianapolis, for their first meeting in March Madness. This NCAA Tournament matchup has higher stakes but similar emotions. Tennessee guards Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack spent Thursday’s news conference...
At 464 pounds, Florida’s Desmond Watson could become the heaviest draft pick in NFL history
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Considering everything massive defensive tackle Desmond Watson showed during Florida’s pro day, his most impressive feat might have been escaping the practice facility without anyone noticing. The 6-foot-6, 464-pound pro prospect somehow slipped team personnel and media members after his workout in front of NFL scouts Thursday....
Don’t write off future Cinderellas just because it’s an all-power conference Sweet 16, coaches say
INDIANAPOLIS — Nearly every year there’s at least one lovable underdog that rises from obscurity in the NCAA Tournament to capture the hearts of basketball fans and bust their brackets. Not this year. All 16 regional semifinalists are from power conferences for the first time since the bracket expanded to...
Calipari embraces new Cinderella role with 10th seeded Arkansas in Sweet 16
SAN FRANCISCO — In an NCAA Tournament sorely lacking in Cinderella stories, coach John Calipari has the unusual role of being the closest thing to it. After routinely taking powerhouse teams in his first decade at Kentucky to the Sweet 16 and beyond, Calipari has surprisingly done the same in...
Players rocking T-shirts are everywhere in March Madness. Why? ‘It’s part of that dripper vibe’
Mouhamed Dioubate would love to tell you he had a good, practical reason to start rocking a compression shirt underneath his Alabama jersey. That it keeps his arms warm. That he loves the way it feels. That it’s a tribute to the old school days of Patrick Ewing and Chris...
Now with Arizona, Caleb Love takes on Duke again
NEWARK, N.J. — He’s back. If there’s a single player Duke or any of its fans would love to not run into when the stakes are this high, Caleb Love would be that player. Love used to play for Duke’s biggest rival, North Carolina. Now he plays for Duke’s next...
