Category: Men’s college basketball

Report: Texas Tech becomes last Power Six school to fill head coach vacancy

Texas Tech brings Grant McCasland back to the Big 12.

After weeks of speculation, the [autotag]Texas Tech Red Raiders[/autotag] have hired North Texas head coach Grant McCasland as the next head coach per multiple reports. On Thursday night he led the Mean Green to the NIT Tournament championship. They defeated the UAB Blazers, 68-61.

The win gave McCasland a 30+ win season as UNT finished 31-7. Over his tenure with the Mean Green, the new Texas Tech head coach never had a losing season with five of the six seasons finishing with 20 or more wins. He won the CBI in 2018 and the NIT in 2023. Overall, McCasland was 135-65 and 71-35 in conference play with North Texas.

Multiple reports indicated that McCasland would accept the offer on Thursday evening following the NIT title game.

McCasland returns to the Big 12 where he was an assistant under Baylor head coach Scott Drew. He also played in the Big 12 with the Bears from 1995 to 1999. As a head coach McCasland has won 70.2% of his games with no losing seasons.

The next step will be finalizing the coaching staff and beginning to work on the putting together his initial roster. The Red Raiders have three players in the transfer portal as Fardaws Aimaq, Elijah Fisher, and Robert Jennings all entered the portal following the season. Tech has a commitment from former Georgia forward KyeRon Lindsay.

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Updated coaching carousel among the Power Six in men’s college basketball

Who is in and who is out as head coaches in the Power Six?

The movement has been fast and furious when it comes to filling head coaching vacancies among the Power Six basketball conferences.

Two of the major openings involved the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Texas Longhorns. Mike Brey stepped down after 23 seasons and Texas’ opening came under completely different circumstances. The Longhorns had an in-house option while the Irish had to look elsewhere.

In all, there were 11 openings generated among the Power Six. Texas Tech was the last to fill its vacancy. Following the NIT championship game, multiple outlets reported that the Red Raiders agreed to a six-year deal with their new head coach.

College Sports Wire breaks down who is in and who is out as head coaches for the 2023-24 college basketball season.

Providence lands George Mason head coach Kim English to replace Ed Cooley

Kim English was announced on Thursday as the next head coach of Providence.

The Providence Friars had a whirlwind of the last week after getting eliminated in the Round of 64 by the Kentucky Wildcats, 61-53.

Reports surfaced that Ed Cooley was the top target for the Georgetown Hoyas opening after the school fired Patrick Ewing. Cooley would accept the job and leave Providence after a 12-year stint as the head basketball coach. The Providence, Rhode Island, native opted to leave for a rival Big East school.

The Friars acted swiftly as they were tasked with finding a replacement for Cooley. On Thursday, the school announced they officially hired Kim English of George Mason to take over the men’s basketball program.

The Baltimore native played for the Missouri Tigers before the Detroit Pistons drafted him in the second round of the 2012 NBA draft. After a brief run as a professional, English turned to coaching in 2015 as an assistant with the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. He also served as an assistant with the Colorado Buffaloes and Tennessee Vols before being named George Mason’s head coach in 2021.

During his short tenure with the Patriots, English led George Mason to a 34-29 overall record and 18-16 in A10 conference play. This past season the team finished 20-13 (11-7) but missed out on postseason play.

English will now have the opportunity to run the Friars program.

“I am beyond excited to be named head men’s basketball coach at Providence College,” English said in a release from Providence. “I want to thank Father Sicard and Steve Napolillo for this incredible opportunity. I want to be clear to everyone in Friartown, we are going to do great things at Providence College for a long time. I know that this is a special place with amazing fans, a great tradition and support throughout the community. We look forward to establishing new relationships with the players, the alums and the fans. The work begins now!”

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Marquette’s Shaka Smart named USBWA Coach of the Year

Shaka Smart earns his first national coaching award.

Marquette men’s head basketball coach Skaha Smart has been named the USBWA Henry Iba Coach of the Year, it was announced on Wednesday. It’s the first time that the 45-year old head coach has won a national coaching award in his career.

Smart led Marquette to a 29-7 record this season including 17-3 in conference play, leading to a conference regular season and conference tournament championships as well as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The 29-7 record matches the best of his career as he also went 29-7 with the VCU Rams in the 2011-12 season.

The Golden Eagles in this year’s NCAA Tournament won their first game against Vermont in the Round of 64 78-61 before falling to Michigan State 69-60 in the Round of 32.

It’s the second award Smart has won this year for his coaching efforts, he also won the Big East Coach of the Year award.

In his 14 years as a head coach, Smart has now made the NCAA Tournament in 10 of 13 possible years. This includes each of the last three as he also made the 2020-2021 NCAA Tournament when he was with the Texas Longhorns.

For his career, Smart is 320-162 including 48-20 now at Marquette through his two seasons.

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Sweet 16: College Wire staff game predictions, who advances to the Elite Eight?

Time to predict the Sweet 16. Who do you have advancing?

The Sweet 16 will tip off on Thursday with four games and then the next four games on Friday. Upon the completion of Friday’s games, we will have our field for the Elite Eight.

Sweet 16 Schedule: (All game times are central)

Thursday

  • No. 3 Kansas State vs No. 7 Michigan State | 5:30 pm on TBS
  • No. 4 UConn vs No. 8 Arkansas | 6:15 pm on CBS
  • No. 4 Tennessee vs No. 9 Florida Atlantic | 8 pm on TBS
  • No. 2 UCLA vs No. 3 Gonzaga | 8:45 pm on CBS

Friday

  • No. 1 Alabama vs No. 5 San Diego St | 5:30 pm on TBS
  • No. 1 Houston vs No. 5 Miami | 6:15 pm on CBS
  • No. 6 Creighton vs No. 15 Princeton | 8 pm on TBS
  • No. 2 Texas vs No. 3 Xavier | 8:45 pm on CBS

The Standings in our predictions:

Editor Site Record
Patrick College Sports Wire 29-19
Cami Longhorns Wire 36-12
Phil Buckeyes Wire 35-13
Taylor Auburn Wire 31-17
Kevin Nittany Lions Wire 34-14
AJ Roll Tide Wire 33-15
E. Wayne Razorbacks Wire 36-12
Tyler LSU Tigers Wire 31-17

Now for the predictions.

Wichita State hires Paul Mills away from Oral Roberts per multiple reports

The carousel is picking up speed.

The carousel continues to pick up speed with more teams being eliminated from postseason play. This time it impacts Oral Roberts and Wichita State.

There was a buzz on Tuesday afternoon surrounding the Wichita State Shockers and Oral Roberts head coach Paul Mills. College basketball insider Jon Rothstein reported that Mills was the leading candidate and a deal felt imminent at that point.

Kelly Hines of the Tulsa World followed up on the report stating that Mills met with his team to announce he would be leaving for the Shockers’ head coaching vacancy.

The former Baylor assistant took the job with Oral Roberts in 2017 after 15 years with the Bears program as an assistant under Scott Drew. Mills led Oral Roberts to the Sweet 16 in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. They were the No. 15 seed and upset No. 2 Ohio State and No. 7 Florida before a two-point loss in the Sweet 16 against Arkansas.

This past season Mills and his squad were bounced in the first round after losing to Duke, 74-51. He led them to a 30-5 record this past season, and Mills finished his Oral Roberts career with a record of 106-84 and 61-36 in Summit League play.

Wichita State fired head coach Isaac Brown after three seasons with the Shockers. He was just 48-34 in three seasons. Brown was on the staff since 2014 and was promoted from assistant to head coach in 2020. Now Mills will look to return the Shockers to their former glory. Wichita State made it to the Final Four in 2013 and most recently made it to the Sweet 16 in 2015.

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Report: After March Madness Cinderella run, Tobin Anderson exits FDU for Iona

Tobin Anderson heads to Iona after historic run.

On Tuesday, it was reported by college basketball insider Jon Rothstein that Farleigh Dickinson head coach Tobin Anderson would leave the program for the head coach opening at Iona. The job became vacant after Rick Pitino accepted the head coaching job at St. John’s.

Dickinson joined the FDU program last March and is now cashing in on his success in the NCAA Tournament as he leaves the program after one year on the job.

Per Rothstein on Twitter, “Tobin Anderson has informed FDU that he’s leaving for the Iona job.” Prior to joining FDU, Anderson was the head coach of Division II St. Thomas Aquinas in Sparkill, New York.

The Spartans finished last season with a 28-5 record and 17-1 in conference play. The Spartans won the ECC (East Coast Conference) title and their season ended in the Division II NCAA Tournament against Bentley in the East Regional, 82-75.

That game ended a 16-game winning streak for St. Thomas Aquinas College. Anderson led the FDU Knights to a 21-16 record and 10-6 in Northeast Conference play. The Knights fell to Merrimack in the NEC championship game but due to Warriors being ineligible for the NCAA Tournament, the Knights were given the opportunity to compete in the Field of 68.

After knocking off Texas Southern in the First Four, FDU would upset No. 1 Purdue in the Round of 64 before falling to Florida Atlantic, 78-70, for a chance to compete in the Sweet 16. FDU became the second men’s team ever to beat a No. 1 seed in the first round as a No. 16 seed joining UMBC, after their win over Virginia in 2018.

Now Anderson will look to bring the Gaels past the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1980 when they lost in the second round to Georgetown, 74-71.

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Men’s College Basketball: Coaching carousel news and notes

Latest updates as the men’s basketball coaching carousel begins to pick up speed.

The coaching carousel for men’s college basketball is in a full spin at the moment.

It was announced on Monday that Iona head coach Rick Pitino would leave the program after three seasons to return to the Big East as the St. John’s head coach. Pitino was linked to multiple programs but ultimately chose to head up the Red Storm’s program.

Another major shakeup happened between Big East rivals, the Providence Friars and Georgetown Hoyas. Providence head coach Ed Cooley opted to take over the Hoyas program after 12 seasons with the Friars.

These two moves have opened up head coaching jobs with Iona and Providence. Recently Georgia Tech filled its men’s basketball coach vacancy with Boston Celtics‘ assistant Damon Stoudamire and Ole Miss hired former Texas and Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard to lead their program.

The breakdown of coaching movement among major programs around the country.

School Previous Coach New Coach
Georgetown Patrick Ewing Ed Cooley
Georgia Tech Josh Pastner Damon Stoudamire
Ole Miss Kermit Davis Chris Beard
Providence Ed Cooley Open
St. John’s Mike Anderson Rick Pitino
Syracuse Jim Boeheim Adrian Autry
Texas Chris Beard Rodney Terry (interim)
Texas Tech Mark Adams Open

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Previewing each matchup in the Sweet 16

Which teams hold the edge in our tale of the tape?

And then there were just 16 left. After four days and 48 games, the field of 64 has dwindled down to 16. By this time next week, we will have our Final Four.

Only two No. 1 seeds remain with the Alabama Crimson Tide and Houston Cougars still in play in the tournament. The Texas Longhorns and UCLA Bruins are the only remaining No. 2 seeds in the tournament.

Thursday’s game schedule:

  • No. 3 Kansas State vs No. 7 Michigan State | 5:30 pm CT on TBS
  • No. 4 UConn vs No. 8 Arkansas | 6:15 pm on CBS
  • No. 4 Tennessee vs No. 9 Florida Atlantic | 8 pm on TBS
  • No. 2 UCLA vs No. 3 Gonzaga | 8:45 pm on CBS

Friday’s game schedule:

  • No. 1 Alabama vs No. 5 San Diego St | 5:30 pm on TBS
  • No. 1 Houston vs No. 5 Miami | 6:15 pm on CBS
  • No. 6 Creighton vs No. 15 Princeton | 8 pm on TBS
  • No. 2 Texas vs No. 3 Xavier | 8:45 pm on CBS

Saturday’s Elite Eight matchups will be aired on TBS and Sunday’s games will air on CBS. While the time slots are set, which regional finals to be broadcasted are to be determined.

As tip off approaches, we preview each game with the Tale of the Tape.

Most Sweet 16 appearances since 1995-96 season

He is called Mr. March for a reason.

Tom Izzo is known as Mr. March. On Sunday night he showed just why he is so successful in the tournament. Facing No. 2 Marquette, the Spartans were able to find a way to pull off the win and advance to the Sweet 16, where they will look to take down Kansas State.

The victory gave Izzo and the Spartans their 15th Sweet 16 berth since he was named head coach of Michigan State prior to the 1995-96 season. While he doesn’t have the most appearances in the timeframe, the long-time Michigan State coach returned to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.

College Sports Wire looks at just who has been the most consistent with getting to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.