Tag: march madness

Duke loses top overall seed in ESPN’s early 2025 Bracketology

Despite six top-50 players and two big-time transfers already committed, the Blue Devils lost the top spot in the 2025 bracket projection.

According to longtime ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi, the Duke Blue Devils are no longer the team to beat in 2025.

Lunardi released an updated way-too-early 2025 bracket projection, and Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks overtook Jon Scheyer as the top overall seed.

Duke will welcome Cooper Flagg, the top recruit in the country and the presumed No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft, and five other top-50 freshmen in the 2024 recruiting class. The Blue Devils also got commitments from Maliq Brown of Syracuse and Mason Gillis of Purdue out of the transfer portal, and the team stood atop Lunardi’s initial 2025 projection.

Kansas, however, returned All-American center Hunter Dickinson after many expected the 2023-24 season to be his last. Self also wooed Alabama’s Rylan Griffen, Wisconsin’s AJ Storr, and Florida’s Riley Kugel, among others.

“All (the portal additions) have NCAA tournament experience and will certainly help the Jayhawks erase the injury-riddled conclusion to their 2023-24 campaign,” Lunardi wrote.

Duke remained a No. 1 seed in the projection, now slotting into the East region.

Alabama G Latrell Wrightsell Jr. announces his return to Alabama in 2024-25

Alabama guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. set to use his additional year of eligibility and return to Tuscaloosa next season

[autotag]Nate Oats[/autotag] and the Alabama Crimson Tide basketball team received some great news this morning as guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. announced his decision to use his final year of eligibility to return to Alabama next season. It still depends on who else comes back to the team and who Oats can land via the transfer portal, but Wrightsell will more than likely be a full-time starter next season after starting just 12 of 31 games in the 2023-2024 season.

Wrightsell dealt with a plethora of injuries all season long as he missed six games, but he was without question one of the most impactful players on the Crimson Tide roster. Despite never being fully healthy, Wrightsell was still able to average 8.9 points per game, 3.0 rebounds per game and 1.4 assists per game and in fact, he scored at least 10 points in 10 games for Alabama last year. Alabama was 10-0 in those contests.

After spending his first three seasons with Cal State Fullerton, there was a bit of an adjustment period to playing in Alabama’s up-tempo offense. However, come tournament time, he was as valuable as anyone not named Mark Sears or Grant Nelson.

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Alabama basketball jerseys rank No. 1 in the country in 2024

Alabama’s brand new white basketball uniforms ranked No. 1 in the country by Uniswag

Listen, I get that correlation does not mean causation, however, I am certain that there is a direct correlation between Alabama Crimson Tide basketball unveiling a new uniform and going on the program’s first-ever Final Four run. The Tide faithful have been singing the praises of the uniform’s beauty since it was unveiled during the middle of the season, but their feelings were officially validated as Uniswag voted it as the Uniform of the Year in College Basketball.

The uniforms are just a small symbol of the upgrades that are coming to Tide Hoops as a result of head coach Nate Oats’s unprecedented success.

Oats and the Crimson Tide agreed to a new deal shortly ahead of March Madness keeping him in Tuscaloosa for the foreseeable future with one of the biggest buyouts in the sport.

I would imagine that on top of an increase in pay and further job security, Oats was given assurances regarding the resources that would be given to him in the coming years. As one of the top five coaches in college basketball, the Tide did all the right things by locking him up sooner rather than later. Especially with things like the Kentucky job opening up less than a month later.

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Duke takes top overall seed in Joe Lunardi’s early 2025 bracketology

With Cooper Flagg leading the top recruiting class in the country, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi thinks the 2025 NCAA Tournament runs through Duke.

The 2023-24 basketball season is still fresh in everyone’s memory, but it’s never too early to gaze toward the 2024-25 campaign.

ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi certainly agrees as he released an early look at the projected 2025 NCAA Tournament field on Tuesday, and he slotted Duke in as his top overall seed.

Fresh off a run to the Elite Eight last season and an ACC Tournament title two years ago, head coach Jon Scheyer welcomes No. 1 overall recruit Cooper Flagg, projected lottery pick Khaman Maluach, and two other five-star prospects in an esteemed freshman class.

Combine the new pedigree with Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster, two 2023-24 starters, already announcing their return, and it’s easy to see why so many experts think the team to beat next season plays in Durham.

The incredibly early bracket has Scheyer’s team atop the East region and playing the winner of Norfolk State and Central Connecticut from the First Four games.

Baylor, Connecticut, and Texas rounded out the top four seeds in Duke’s corner of the bracket. Kansas, Alabama, and Houston claimed the other three No. 1 seeds.

Will March Madness run through the Blue Devils next season? Duke fans will have to wait until the fall to get its first indications.

Former Texas A&M men’s basketball player becomes back-to-back national champion at UConn

Hassan Diarra officially hit the individual jackpot by parlaying a spot on the Aggies bench into becoming a back-to-back national champion.

On Monday night in Arizona, a former Texas A&M men’s basketball player officially hit the individual jackpot by parlaying a spot on the Aggies bench into becoming a back-to-back national champion.

After two seasons in College Station, guard Hassan Diarra entered the transfer portal in 2022 and eventually chose the University of Connecticut as his next home. Choosing to play for Dan Hurley and the Huskies was ultimately a wise one as Diarra won his second consecutive title earlier this week.

In 13 minutes of action, Diarra tallied 9 points on 4-of-6 field goal attempts and 1-of-2 from 3-point range with 2 rebounds. In a battle of top seeds, UConn beat Purdue 75-60.

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Despite being in his fourth collegiate season, Diarra has the option to return to school for one more year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It appears very likely that he joins his peer, women’s hoops star Paige Bueckers, in coming back for one more year with the Huskies.

Diarra’s most memorable moment in Aggieland came during the 2022 SEC Tournament second round when he hit an overtime game-winner against Florida.

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Jared McCain finishes with the eighth-most points in March Madness

McCain, who had two 30-point games during Duke’s run to the Elite Eight, scored 84 points during the NCAA Tournament, the eighth-most of any player.

Duke freshman star Jared McCain didn’t get to the Final Four in his first season as a Blue Devil, but he did finish as one of the NCAA Tournament’s most prolific scorers.

McCain scored 84 points in Duke’s four games, the eighth-most of any player in the men’s tournament.

The first-year star scored at least 30 points twice during the four-game run to the Elite Eight, including a 30-point performance against James Madison in the second round and a 32-point game against NC State.

Among the ten players who scored at least 80 points in the tournament, McCain was one of just three who didn’t reach the Final Four. His 21.0 point average per game is one of the highest in the men’s field.

No one touched Purdue star Zach Edey, who scored 37 points in a national title game loss to Connecticut. Edey finished with 177 points over the course of the tournament, 56 more than any other player.

Alabama basketball makes monumental jump in final USA TODAY Coaches Poll

Alabama basketball makes big-time move in the right direction for the Final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

The thrill of March Madness has come to a close, as the UConn Huskies defeated the Purdue Boilermakers to win a second consecutive national championship. However, the Huskies aren’t the only winners. The Alabama Crimson Tide made unprecedented strides and appeared in the program’s first-ever Final Four.

Success in March leads to a recruiting boost, more fan involvement, and in the current era of college athletics, more name, image, likeness money.

Alabama’s deep tournament run resulted in a massive jump in the right direction in the final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, moving up 14 spots all the way to No. 4.

The full USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 UConn 37-3 775 (31) –
2 Purdue 34-5 744 +1
3 Houston 32-5 651 -1
4 Alabama 25-12 542 +14
5 Tennessee 27-9 638 +1
6 North Carolina 29-8 578 -1
7 Illinois 29-9 561 +3
8 Iowa State 29-8 539 -4
9 Duke 27-9 521 +5
10 Creighton 25-10 473 +1
11 Marquette 27-10 457 -3
12 Arizona 27-9 440 -3
13 North Carolina State 26-15 389 +20
14 Baylor 24-11 330 -1
15 Clemson 24-12 325 –
16 Gonzaga 27-8 312 –
17 Auburn 27-8 302 -10
18 San Diego State 26-11 217 +7
19 Kentucky 23-10 171 -7
20 Utah State 28-7 164 -1
21 Kansas 23-11 135 -1
22 Saint Mary’s 26-8 128 -7
23 South Carolina 26-8 124 -6
24 Washington State 25-10 62 +3
25 Texas Tech 23-11 49 -3

Patrick Conn of the College Sports Wire broke down the winners and losers of the final Coaches Poll and named the Crimson Tide as a winner.

“What a job by Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide. They advanced to their first Final Four in school history after winning the West Region. They had to finish off the No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels and No. 6 Clemson Tigers to get there. The Tide gave UConn a run but it just wasn’t enough as the Huskies prevailed.

“After a pair of Sweet 16 appearances and this run to the Final Four, what does the former math teacher have in store for 2024-25?”

Head coach Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide have a bright future together and fans have many reasons to be excited for the 2024-2025 college basketball season.

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Blue Devils jump to ninth in final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

After a run to the Elite Eight including a Sweet 16 upset of Houston, Duke jumped up five spots into ninth in the final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

After a run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament, the Duke men’s basketball team jumped up five spots to ninth in the final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.

The Blue Devils finished with 27 wins for the season, including an upset of No. 1 seed Houston in the Sweet 16. The run to the regional final resulted in the fourth-biggest rise of any team in the rankings.

NC State, who beat the Blue Devils to win the South region as an 11-seed, jumped 20 spots to 13th. Alabama, another Final Four team, rose 14 spots to fourth in the rankings, and San Diego State leaped seven spots to 18th.

Connecticut won its second straight national title to finish atop the list, with Purdue, Houston, Alabama, and Tennessee all cementing their spots in the top five.

North Carolina, the No. 1 seed who lost to the Crimson Tide in the Sweet 16, dropped one spot to the sixth spot in the rankings. Clemson, the fourth and final ACC team on the list, went from unranked to 15th.

What Clemson, Alabama and Tennessee all have in common

NCAA Basketball: The Clemson Tigers finished the 2023-24 season ranked No. 15 in the final USA TODAY Sports Top 25 men’s basketball poll. The Tigers joined Alabama and Tennessee in some rare company with that ranking.

With the final men’s college basketball polls tallied for the 2023-24 season, Clemson is in some rather unique company among the three major men’s college sports.

Clemson finished at No. 14 in the final AP poll and No. 15 in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll, both released Tuesday, April 9.

It is Clemson’s highest finish in the AP poll since 1997; the Tigers also finished 14th that year.

The Tigers’ run to the Elite Eight ended with the team finishing 24-12 overall. Among ACC teams, Clemson finished behind only North Carolina (29-8) and Final Four participants Duke (27-9) and NC State (26-15) in the polls.

National champion UConn finished its season 37-3 overall after a resounding 75-60 victory over Purdue on Monday night. UConn became the first school to repeat as national champions in men’s basketball since Florida in 2006 and 2007.

Clemson’s final ranking in the men’s basketball polls puts the Tigers in some pretty elite company.

As longtime Clemson Sports Information Director and broadcaster Tim Bourret noted in a social media post to X (formerly Twitter), only Clemson, Alabama, and Tennessee finished the 2023-24 seasons ranked in the final top 25 polls in both football and basketball — while currently ranked in the top 25 in baseball.

Clemson ranked No. 20 in the final AP and coaches football polls after last season’s Gator Bowl victory over Kentucky; Alabama was No. 5 with Tennessee at No. 17.

The Tigers are currently ranked No. 2 in the USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll. Tennessee is No. 4 in the poll while Alabama is No. 17.

Wisconsin basketball ruined John Calipari’s tenure at Kentucky

What’s your memory of Wisconsin’s win over Kentucky in the 2015 Final Four:

The headline may be a bit of hyperbole. But with today’s news that longtime Kentucky head coach John Calipari was leaving for the job at Arkansas, it’s time to revisit how Wisconsin basketball plays into his legacy.

Calipari is one of the more prominent figures in the sport. Head coach experience since 1988, 855 total collegiate wins, Final Four appearances with UMass and Memphis before moving to Kentucky, the catalyst behind the one-and-done era, four Final Fours at Kentucky and one national championship.

Related: Evaluating the Big Ten’s next targets for conference expansion

The resume speaks for itself. But it’s also entirely empty since Wisconsin’s Final Four win over undefeated Kentucky back in 2015 — which is a large part of the reason Calipari is leaving for Arkansas.

A win over Wisconsin that year likely means an undefeated 40-0 season for the Wildcats — which would have cemented Calipari and that team in college basketball history. It also would’ve made the head coach a two-time national champion, something not many can boast.

2015 was Calipari’s best Kentucky team — current NBA star Devin Booker was its sixth man, for reference. It was also the most important  team to his legacy as a head coach. The trophy case is empty for that season, which is a large reason why Kentucky fans have wanted change for the last several years.

Calipari still dominated the recruiting trail and sent stars to the NBA every season. Despite that, he’s somehow had little-to-zero March Madness success after 2015. For that reason, we’re connecting his departure from Kentucky with the biggest win in Wisconsin basketball history.

For anybody who wants to re-live that legendary night, here are some of the best photos: