Report: Wisconsin pursuing accomplished transfer forward

Report: Wisconsin pursuing accomplished transfer forward

Wisconsin basketball is among the schools that have reached out to UNC-Greensboro graduate transfer forward Mikeal Brown-Jones, according to On3.

Jones played two years at VCU before transferring to UNCG and has one year of eligibility remaining. He initially struggled to find playing time at his first stop, before now blossoming with the Spartans. He just finished the 2023-24 season with per-game averages of 18.9 points and 7.5 rebounds, up from 10.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 2022-23.

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On3 reports that Wisconsin has reached out to Brown-Jones along with Arkansas, Miami, Georgia and Pittsburgh.

The college basketball transfer portal opened today, so expect much to change as the long process continues. But Wisconsin is sure to be active in the market with forward Tyler Wahl set to graduate and the Badgers needing to capitalize on the window with Chucky Hepburn, A.J. Storr, John Blackwell and others all returning.

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Wisconsin PG Chucky Hepburn reached a significant milestone last weekend

Wisconsin PG Chucky Hepburn reached an important milestone this weekend

Wisconsin point guard Chucky Hepburn scored his 1,000th point in the Badgers’ tight loss to Illinois on Sunday afternoon.

His terrific 20-point effort on 7/13 shooting brought his career total to 1.005 points. That makes him one of only 50 players to score more than 1,000 points with the Badgers.

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The talented point guard is coming to the end of his third year at Wisconsin. His career per-game averages stand at 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals, all while shooting more than 42% from the floor and 36% from three.

Hepburn still has a year of eligibility remaining, so expect those totals to continue to rise as the Badgers look to first make a run in March Madness, then enter 2024-25 with high expectations.

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Announcing crew revealed for Wisconsin vs. James Madison in NCAA Tournament round of 64

Announcing crew revealed for Wisconsin vs James Madison in NCAA Tournament Round of 64

Wisconsin basketball begins its NCAA Tournament quest with a tough first-round matchup against No. 12 seed James Madison.

The game is set to tip off at 9:40 p.m. Eastern, 8:40 p.m. Central and will be televised on CBS.

Thanks to USA TODAY’s recent list, we now know the announcing crew for the NCAA Tournament round of 64 contest:

Play-by-play: Ian Eagle

Analyst: Bill Raftery

Analyst: Grant Hill

Sideline Reporter: Tracy Wolfson

It is the same crew from Wisconsin’s last two Big Ten Tournament games. It is also CBS’ new No. 1 trio with Jim Nantz retiring from calling college basketball after the 2023 Final Four.

For more preview of Friday’s game:

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Stephen A. Smith sees Texas A&M Basketball going the distance in the NCAA Tournament

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith selected Texas A&M Basketball to reach the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament

If you thought only Aggies fans were high on Texas A&M Basketball to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament starting this week, think again!

On Monday, during a segment on ESPN’s First Take, the loquacious and entertaining Stephen A. Smith shocked his co-host, NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe, when selecting their teams to reach the final four. While Sharpe went chalk (picking all No. 1 seeds), Smith countered by selecting 9-seed Texas A&M to make it all the way to Phoenix, Arizona.

Texas A&M’s road to the tournament has been a rocky one, going through the ebbs and flows ranging from a five-game losing streak in conference play to completely flipping the script to finish the season on a five-game winning streak, including a critical win over Kentucky in the SEC Tournament.

While it seems far-fetched on paper, the Aggies have proven that they play with anyone throughout the season, defeating Iowa State and Tennessee, sweeping Kentucky, and going toe-to-toe with the No. 1-seeded Houston Cougars inside the Toyota Center. So, while nearly everyone, including most Texas A&M fans, will disregard Smith’s prediction, anything can happen in March.

However, on Friday night, the Aggies must get past a tough Nebraska team led by sensational senior point guard Keisei Tominaga in Memphis, Tennessee. If A&M can get past the Cornhuskers, they’ll more than likely face Houston in what could be an epic rematch in the Round of 32.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

Back in time: What happened the last time Auburn faced Yale on the hardwood?

Auburn and Yale have played each other in basketball just once in history. Here’s how it played out.

Auburn will begin its journey for a national championship this week against Yale. The meeting between the Tigers and the Bulldogs will be the second all-time, and the first meeting took place not long ago.

Auburn hosted Yale for a regular season contest at then-Auburn Arena on December 4, 2021, and won convincingly, 86-64. The win pushed Auburn to 7-1 on the season and was part of a 19-game win streak that Auburn built during the 2021-22 season.

Five players reached double figures in points, led by [autotag]KD Johnson[/autotag]’s 19-point showing. Jabari Smith was next in line with 17 points while [autotag]Zep Jasper[/autotag], [autotag]Devan Cambridge[/autotag], and [autotag]Dylan Cardwell[/autotag] each added 10 points.

Future first-round pick [autotag]Walker Kessler[/autotag] recorded zero points in just eight minutes of action but managed to lead the team in blocks with four. The Tigers recorded 14 total blocks in the game. [autotag]Dylan Cardwell[/autotag], [autotag]Stretch Akingbola[/autotag], and [autotag]Chris Moore[/autotag] joined Kessler by recording multiple blocks.

Check out the best images from Auburn’s 2021 victory over Yale on the Plains below.

Alabama basketball remains ranked No. 19 in the Week 20 AP Poll

Do the Crimson Tide fall in the Week 20 AP Poll after SEC quarterfinal exit vs. Florida?

After an early quarterfinal exit from the SEC Tournament, the Alabama Crimson Tide will need to regroup as the NCAA Tournament tips off this weekend. The No. 4 seeded Crimson Tide will open up Tournament play against Charleston on Friday at 6:35 p.m. C.T. in Spokane, WA. Alabama enters the contest against the Coastal Athletic Association champions as 9.5-point favorites with an absurd over/under of 172.5 points.

With the March Madness field already selected, it doesn’t mean a ton, but the Crimson Tide remains ranked No. 19 in the Week 20 AP Poll. Unfortunately, both Auburn and Tennessee crack the top ten at No. 6 and 7 in the country, but both have tougher paths ahead in the Tournament than Alabama.

Despite the unfortunate ending to SEC play, it was another successful season in Tuscaloosa as they tied for second in the conference. Which is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of when you have to replace ten players as well as all three assistant coaches from a season ago. The biggest win of the entire season came on Friday as Nate Oats inked an extension with the Tide that will keep him in Alabama for quite some time as his buyout has reportedly increased to $18 million.

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Where UNC basketball ranks among teams in NCAA Tournament

Here is where the UNC basketball program ranks in CBS Sports’ ranking of the entire field of 68 in the NCAA Tournament.

The North Carolina Tar Heels earned a No. 1 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, a record 18th in program history. With the final No. 1 seed, UNC is slotted in the West Region, lined up with No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 Baylor and No. 4 Alabama.

There are also some big mid-major teams in that region as well.

As we get set for the best few weeks of the year with the tournament beginning this week, CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander ranked every team in the field of 68 going into the tournament.

For North Carolina, they were ranked in the top 10 but check in at No. 6 overall:

A year after UNC failed to make the tournament following being the preseason No. 1, Hubert Davis has brought the Tar Heels back to their comfort zone. Which is to say: consistently back in the top 10 of the sport. Two names still here you’ll recognize. The first is Armando Bacot (14.1 ppg, 10.2 rpg), who played a huge role on UNC’s team that made the 2022 national championship game. The other is RJ Davis, a lock First Team All-American who puts up 21.2 points per night and has a knack for how to make the right play in a big spot. UNC also has Stanford transfer Harrison Ingram, who is capable of taking over games in stretches. No program has more Final Fours than UNC’s 21. Does it make it 22 in ’24?

The No. 6 ranking isn’t terrible but they are the only No. 1 seed that isn’t ranked in the top 4. Instead, No. 4 Iowa State and No. 5 Tennessee are ahead of them.

Time will tell if these rankings are correct and UNC will have their work cut out for them.

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Details of contract extension for Nate Oats released

Nate Oats receives pay raise and massive buyout!

Before Alabama’s quarterfinal matchup in the SEC Tournament last Friday it was released that Crimson Tide head coach [autotag]Nate Oats[/autotag] was in the midst of finalizing an extension with the university. On Monday, the details of the contract were released.

Along with an annual salary increase, Oats now has a massive 18 million dollar buyout, the largest in the country according to athletic director Greg Byrne.

Oats is now under contract through the 2030 season with his final annual salary exceeding 7.5 million.

Oats is now among the most compensated head coaches in the country and is locked down with the Tide for the foreseeable future.

Our friend Nick Kelly of the Tuscaloosa News released a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, with the details of the contract.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on X (Twitter) @Blackwood89.

Watch: Former Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann explains what went wrong

Do you buy Holtmann’s answer?

As well all know, [autotag]Chris Holtmann[/autotag] has been hired by DePaul and Ohio State removed the interim tag from [autotag]Jake Diebler[/autotag] and officially announced his hiring on Sunday.

What we didn’t know was why Holtmann believed that the Buckeyes moved away from him. During his introductory press conference on Monday, the former Ohio State coach was fairly succinct on his explanation: roster construction.

Holtmann didn’t think that he managed mixing his youth along with experience on the Buckeye roster, but mentioned that the group was not consistent enough to make a return to the NCAA Tournament.

Honestly, this is a cop out in my eyes, as Diebler was a win away from getting this team into the tournament. On top of that, in the era of one-and-done, you have to prepare for this. You think Holtmann would have learned after Malaki Branham, but he obviously didn’t

It’s fairly disappointing that Holtmann took part of the blame, as it was pretty clear that he was a much bigger part of the issue.

What do you think about Holtmann’s answer to his struggles in Columbus which led to his termination?

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Ohio State basketball vs. Cornell: How to watch, stream the NIT

Ohio State hosts Cornell in the first-round of the NIT. #GoBucks

The Ohio State basketball team has been fun to watch since Jake Diebler took over the program. While the Buckeyes came up just a bit short in their bid to get into the NCAA Tournament, the team did get an invite to the NIT as a No. 2 seed. That means Ohio State gets to host the first-round game against Cornell out of the Ivy League.

The Big Red have an overall record of 22-7 and finished tied second in the conference, but lost to eventual conference champ Yale in the Ivy League Tournament.

Time to get ready for some bonus basketball!

Basic info

When: Tuesday, March 19, at 7 p.m. ET

Where:  Value City Arena (Columbus, Ohio)

How to watch/stream/listen:

Broadcast: ESPN2

Live Stream: fuboTV (watch here)

Radio: IMG Radio Network (flagship station WBNS 97.1 The Fan)

Radio announcers:

  • Paul Keels (play-by-play)
  • Ron Stokes (analysis)

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