College category, Page 16
Kentucky, Tennessee ready for 3rd meeting this season as they seek Elite 8 berthVideo
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 historyVideo
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 sayVideo
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...
Numbers to know for each of the 16 teams remaining in March Madness
The smaller the number, the larger the impact at this year’s NCAA Tournament. Arkansas, the No. 10 seed in the West Region, is the only double-digit seed still alive heading into the regional semifinals. All four No. 1 seeds and three of the four No. 2 seeds are still standing....
Arkansas’ John Calipari not backing off relying on freshmen in NIL, transfer portal eraVideo
Moon native John Calipari embraced the one-and-done era like few college basketball coaches, becoming one of the best annually at bringing in talented freshmen and routinely getting them to Final Fours before shipping them off to the NBA. The formula served him well during his 15-year run at Kentucky that...
Stylistic versatility: Those left in the NCAA Tournament have proven they can win a lot of ways
Houston and Gonzaga met in a second-round NCAA Tournament matchup last weekend in Wichita, Kan., that could as easily have been played in the Final Four, the way Kelvin Sampson’s and Mark Few’s teams had played throughout the season. The Cougars were No. 1 in scoring defense, more than a...
USC looks to keep March Madness title hopes alive without generational talent JuJu Watkins in lineup
LOS ANGELES — If Southern California wants to win its first national championship in 41 years, the Trojans will have to find a way to get it done without star guard JuJu Watkins. They notched their 30th win for the first time since 1986 by walloping ninth-seeded Mississippi State, 96-59,...
Texas hires Xavier’s Sean Miller, the coach who beat the Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas hired Xavier’s Sean Miller to take over the Longhorns basketball program Monday, turning to the coach who had just knocked them out of the NCAA Tournament a few days earlier in an attempt to spark a program that struggled in its first season in the Southeastern...
West Virginia women fall to North Carolina, which sets up Sweet 16 meeting with Duke
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Alyssa Ustby scored 16 of her 21 points after halftime to help North Carolina beat West Virginia 58-47 on Monday night in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. The fifth-year senior’s big night included 10 third-quarter points for the third-seeded Tar Heels (29-7), who...
When March Madness meets the transfer portal, the world’s biggest scouting combine erupts
DENVER — They are playing for more than trips to the Final Four and a chance to cut down the nets at March Madness. It is also a chance to see and be seen by other teams. The transfer portal opened Monday, giving basketball players a 30-day window to switch...
Power conferences fill this year’s Sweet 16 for the first time ever
Years of bracket chaos have given way to the year of the power conference. Cinderella is staying home this time. The Sweet 16, a popular destination for bracket-busting mid-majors, will be made up entirely of teams from power conferences, a first since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985....
NCAA Tournament roundup: Duke rolls past Baylor; Maryland beats Colorado St. at buzzerVideo
RALEIGH, N.C. — Tyrese Proctor couldn’t miss. And top-seeded Duke showed the toughness to push back when pushed. Proctor had career highs of seven 3-pointers and 25 points to continue his recent tear, helping Duke beat Baylor, 89-66, on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Freshman star...
No March Madness brackets remain perfect but 1 bracket won $1 million at Warren Buffett’s company
Brackets, busted. The handful of remaining perfect brackets in the NCAA Tournament busted out on Sunday, ending the hopes of millions against exceptionally long odds. The final perfect brackets on Yahoo Sports and CBS Sports were shredded with Saturday’s games. Top-seeded Florida’s 77-75 win over two-time reigning national champion UConn...
Florida ends UConn’s bid for 3rd straight national title with 77-75 March Madness winVideo
RALEIGH, N.C. — For 30 minutes, UConn showed the mettle and toughness that delivered back-to-back national championships for Dan Hurley, outplaying top-seeded Florida in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. And then Walter Clayton Jr. took over. The Gators’ first-team All-America guard scored 13 of his 23 points in...
N.C. State officially announces hiring of McNeese’s Will Wade as new Wolfpack men’s basketball coach
RALEIGH, N.C. — N.C. State has made it official: McNeese’s Will Wade is the Wolfpack’s new men’s basketball coach. The school announced the hiring Sunday, coming a day after Wade’s McNeese team lost to Purdue in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. An introductory news conference for Wade is...
Penn State, Carter Starocci celebrate titles, Gable Steveson upset at NCAA wrestling
PHILADELPHIA — Penn State’s Carter Starocci won an unprecedented fifth national title and Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Hendrickson stunned Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson in the heavyweight final Saturday night at the NCAA men’s wrestling championships with President Donald Trump in attendance. Hendrickson, a transfer from Air Force, trailed in the...
NCAA Tournament roundup: John Calipari, Arkansas beat Rick Pitino, St. John’sVideo
Moon native John Calipari is heading to the Sweet 16 for the 16th time, and this one could be the sweetest of all. Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks beat longtime nemesis Rick Pitino and No. 2 seed St. John’s, 75-66, on Saturday, sending their itinerant coach to the second weekend of the...
NCAA Tournament roundup: Favored No. 12 seed Colorado St. beats short-handed MemphisVideo
Kyan Evans made a career-high six 3-pointers and scored 23 points to lead No. 12 seed Colorado State past fifth-seeded Memphis, 78-70, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. Nique Clifford, the Mountain West Tournament MVP, had his quietest scoring night in a month, finishing with 14...
Tobacco Road is front and center of March Madness
DURHAM, N.C. — Oregon women’s basketball coach Kelly Graves was excited when he saw his team was headed to Duke to play in the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks had success there when they played in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, advancing also as a 10 seed. But more importantly, it meant...
Penn State goes 20-0, Mt. Lebanon’s Stout brothers square off on 1st day of NCAA wrestling
Three-time defending national champion Penn State went 20-0 and a pair of brothers from Mt. Lebanon stole the show on the first day of the NCAA wrestling championships Thursday in Philadelphia. The undefeated day for the Nittany Lions included the 100th career victory for 174-pounder Carter Starocci, an 18-2 technical...
No. 11 seed Drake holds on after blowing big lead, stuns MissouriVideo
WICHITA, Kan. — Bennett Stirtz scored 21 points, and No. 11 seed Drake, a team relying heavily on Division II transfers, held on after blowing most of a 15-point lead to beat sixth-seeded Missouri 67-57 on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Tavion Banks added 15...
NCAA Tournament roundup: Creighton tops Louisville for 5th straight opening-round winVideo
Jamiya Neal scored a career-high 29 points and had 12 rebounds, Steven Ashworth connected from well beyond the arc on the way to 22 points, and ninth-seeded Creighton beat No. 8 seed Louisville, 89-75, on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Coach Greg McDermott’s Bluejays (25-10) won...
