Tag: ncaa basketball

Olivia Miles triple-double highlights Notre Dame season-opening win

Yeah, she’s back all right.

Notre Dame’s season opener against Mercyhurst was full of storylines. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] was in her first meaningful game since the end of the 2022-23 regular season. The Lakers were playing their first game at the NCAA Division I level.

There was no denying Miles’ proper comeback story though. She recorded the fourth triple-double of her career (20 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) to help the Irish crush the Lakers, 105-61. Every starter scored in double figures.

Despite having only seven players healthy enough for their season opener, the Irish (1-0) never let the Lakers (0-1) in the contest. They imposed their will from the opening tip with a well-oiled offense, a stifling defense and numerous high-energy plays that the Lakers simply couldn’t keep up with.

[autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] marked her Irish debut with a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds. [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] just missed a double-double but had 19 points, nine boards and three steals.

[autotag]Kate Koval[/autotag] scored 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked five shots in her first collegiate game. [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag], who missed most of last season because of injury, completed her own comeback story with 17 points.

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NCAA announces hosting sites for 2027 and 2028 March Madness brackets

The NCAA shared the early hosting sites for the 2027 and 2028 men’s basketball tournaments on Wednesday, including games in North Carolina.

The NCAA revealed the early-round host sites for the 2027 and 2028 men’s basketball national championship tournaments on Wednesday.

The ACC will host first- and second-round games in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the 2027 edition of March Madness. The Louisville Cardinals will also host early-round action on their home court in Kentucky that year.

As for 2028, the only ACC team with hosting duties that season will be NC State as Raleigh will serve as a tournament site. Notable programs like the Ohio State Buckeyes, Washington Huskies, Oklahoma State Cowboys, and UCF Knights will all host games that year as well.

The First Four games will be played in Dayton, Ohio, for both tournaments.

In the 2024 edition of the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils played their first two games at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Duke defeated Vermont 64-47 in the first round before eliminating James Madison with a 93-55 victory in the second, the first two games of a run to the Elite Eight.

Nebraska women’s basketball signs Croatian star Petra Bozan

Head coach Amy Williams announced that the team signed Croatian star Petra Bozan to the lineup.

The Nebraska women’s basketball team added another player to its 2024-2025 roster just three months before the start of the season. Head coach Amy Williams announced that the team signed Croatian star Petra Bozan.

Bozan, a 6-foot-3 forward/center from Split, Croatia, joins the Huskers after competing for the KAZL Split in Croatia’s Premier League. Across 22 games, she averaged 15.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.7 blocked shots per game.

She finished the season with a shooting percentage of .545 and recorded 17 double-doubles. She scored a season-high 31 points against Zagreb in October 2023 and hauled in a season-high 19 rebounds against Brod Na Savi in November 2023.

Bozan also represented Croatia in the FIBA European Championships for the last three years. She arrives at Nebraska following her recent outing in the FIBA U18 Women’s Eurobasket in Portugal.

Bozan led Croatia in both points (113) and rebounds (70) across seven tournament games. She ranked sixth among all players in the 16-team tournament in scoring, averaging 16.1 points per game, and third in rebounding, averaging 10.0 per game.

Bozan is one of four freshmen on Nebraska’s roster and one of two centers, the other being senior Alexis Markowski. Bozan plans to major in business at Nebraska.

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Nebraska men’s basketball in ESPN 2025 Top 100 recruit Antione West Jr’s final four

An ESPN 2025 Top 100 recruit is down to his final four schools heading into his final year of high school. Antione West Jr. announced that he is deciding between Purdue, Dayton, Ohio State, and Nebraska. Nebraska is in the mix to land a three-star …

An ESPN 2025 Top 100 recruit is down to his final four schools heading into his final year of high school. Antione West Jr. announced that he is deciding between Purdue, Dayton, Ohio State, and Nebraska.

Nebraska is in the mix to land a three-star shooting guard following a massive 2023-2024 season. The Huskers finished 23-11, the second most wins in school history, in a season that involved their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014 and a semi-final finish in the Big Ten Tournament.

West, a 6-foot-3 guard, received an offer from Nebraska in October 2023. He is ranked No. 77 in the ESPN 2025 Top-100 recruit list. He is one of three Top 100 recruits with Nebraska in the hunt. Koa Peat is No. 4 on the list, while Jalen Wilson is No. 95.

The Toledo, Ohio, native is coming off a strong junior campaign. At Whitmer High School, he averaged 20.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. He hit 49 percent of his shots from the floor and 70-of-187 from beyond the arc.

He also eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in his career midway through his junior year. He helped the Panthers to the semi-finals and finished 25-3 on the season. He scored 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and four steals in Whitmer’s state semifinal loss to Centerville.

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Nebraska basketball in four-star center’s final five schools

Tommy Ahneman announced he is down to five schools before entering his senior year of high school, with Nebraska in the mix.

The Nebraska basketball team is now in the final five schools for a four-star center from the class of 2025. Tommy Ahneman announced he is down to five schools before entering his senior year of high school, with Nebraska in the mix.

The 6-foot-10 center is playing his senior season at Cretin Derham Hall in Saint Paul, Minnesota, after playing for West Fargo Sheyenne. He is the No. 45 overall recruit in the 2025 class, the No. 7 center prospect, and the No. 1 player in North Dakota.

Ahneman led West Fargo Sheyenne to the Class AA state title, earning the 2024 NDHSAA Class AA State Tournament MVP. He recorded 28 points, 17 rebounds, and two blocks in the championship game and finished the season, setting West Fargo Sheyenne’s career rebounding record with 54 boards.

Ahneman’s performance won him the 2023-2024 North Dakota Gatorade State Player of the Year. He finished the 2023-2024 season averaging 20.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 1.9 assists.

Ahneman put Nebraska in his final five, alongside Iowa, Minnesota, Notre Dame, and Wisconsin.

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Tommy Bowden says Nick Saban, Charles Barkley should be college sports ‘co-commissioners’

The former Tigers coach said that Saban and Sir Charles could get things ‘squared away’ in college sports.

Like most retired coaches, Tommy Bowden isn’t short on opinions when he talks about the current landscape of college sports.

The former Clemson coach, who led the Tigers from 1999-2008, last week appeared on a podcast with veteran Birmingham-based sportscaster Doug Bell. When asked about the state of college sports, Bowden offered a suggestion for who could “fix” the college game.

“One quick solution, I think, you’ve got to have co-commissioners that’ll get this thing squared away in one year. Let Nick Saban and Charles Barkley be co-commissioners,” Bowden said. “They both bring perspective, unique angles to college football, and that’s what’s needed (with) the professional aspect and NIL. So let Charles Barkley and Nick Saban be co-commissioners, and they’ll have it cleared up in two years.”

Bowden said that Barkley in particular brought a “common sense approach.” “He’d bring a unique perspective, no doubt. And he’d have some colorful comments,” Bowden quipped.

Bowden, whose father Bobby won two national championships at Florida State and built the Seminoles into a national powerhouse with their own unique brand and swagger in the 90s and early 2000s, recently made news for saying that Clemson fans shouldn’t be too critical of Tigers coach Dabo Swinney.

Swinney replaced Bowden midway through the 2008 season after a 3-3 start. Bowden, who turned 70 on July 10, hasn’t set foot on a sideline since then and was asked if he missed coaching.

“I really don’t. I coached 32 years so I was very fortunate,” Bowden said. “Born in Birmingham, heaven would be to coach at Alabama or to coach at Auburn. You usually pick one of the two. I got to coach at both of them and had great experiences at both of them. I was a head coach (at Clemson and Tulane), had some success, and had always had in the back of my mind my mid-50s to get out and do TV for eight or nine years.

“I might have stayed in (coaching) a few more years if that athletic director (Terry Don Phillips) hadn’t come and made the decision for me at six in the morning,” Bowden added with a chuckle.

The full interview with Bowden can be seen below.

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Clemson adds forward from 2024 NCAA Tournament team in transfer portal

Clemson women’s basketball added the final piece of the puzzle to their 2024-25 roster Friday.

The Clemson Tigers and women’s basketball coach Shawn Poppie have added the final piece to the team’s 2024-25 roster with the addition of Cal Baptist transfer forward Kinsley Barrington.

Listed as 6-foot, Barrington was part of a Cal Baptist team that reached the NCAA Tournament a season ago. She averaged career-highs in scoring (11.0 points per game), rebounds (5.3), assists (1.9) and minutes played (26.1).

Barrington reached double figures in 18 games last year, scoring a career-high 23 points against UT-Arlington on March 7.

Cal Baptist went 28-4 overall last season and won both the WAC regular season and conference tournaments. The Lancers lost to UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 84-55.

“Kinsley is the final puzzle piece to Team 50,” Clemson coach Shawn Poppie said in a news release Friday. “As a true stretch forward who plays with toughness, she checked off all of the boxes. She has the ability to shoot the three, post up against mismatches, and plays with great tenacity. Kinsley is a winner, just like many of our transfers, she has NCAA tournament experience. I’m excited to get Kinsley on campus soon to join a group that has been working extremely hard this summer.”

Barrington originally committed to Southern Utah before transferring to Cal Baptist and spending two seasons there. She’ll now finish her career at Clemson under Poppie, who took over as Tigers coach in March after the school parted ways with former head coach Amanda Butler.

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Dick Vitale has Kentucky in way-too-early 2024-25 Sweet 16 projection

Dick Vitale had Kentucky in his way-too-early ranking of Sweet 16 teams for the 2024-25 NCAA Tournament.

Beloved college basketball analyst and commentator Dick Vitale released his way-too-early look at the teams he forecasts to make the Sweet 16 of the 2024-25 NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

Kentucky was one of the teams on Dicky V’s list (at No. 15), one spot ahead of Rick Pitino’s St. John’s team.

Per Vitale:

“With no Sweet 16 appearances since 2019, the Wildcats are looking to make a huge jump with new coach Mark Pope. With nine transfers and three freshmen, the Wildcats need time to mesh and gain confidence but should be primed come March.”

As Vitale noted in his breakdown, Pope inherited a roster with zero returning players after former coach John Calipari bolted for Arkansas and others left for the NBA. Pope has added nine transfers through the portal since being named Wildcats coach.

RELATED: Where Kentucky ranks in way-too-early ESPN college basketball Top 25

Jaxson Robinson joins Pope in Lexington after the two spent the past two seasons at BYU. Guards Otega Oweh and Lamont Butler transferred from San Diego State, as did Koby Brea from Dayton and Kerr Kriisa from West Virginia.

Forwards Amari Williams (Drexel), Andrew Carr (Wake Forest) and Ansley Almonor (Fairleigh Dickinson) also transferred to Kentucky, as did Oklahoma State center Brandon Garrison.

Kentucky will open the season against Wright State Nov. 4 at Rupp Arena before Bucknell visits Lexington five days later. The Wildcats will also face Duke (Nov. 12 in Atlanta), Clemson (Dec. 3 in Clemson), Louisville (Dec. 14 at Rupp Arena), Ohio State (Dec. 2 at Madison Square Garden) and Gonzaga (Dec. 7 in Seattle) in nonconference play.

RELATED: Examining Kentucky’s nonconference schedule game by game

The top four teams in Vitale’s early Sweet 16 prediction were No. 1 Kansas, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 UConn, and No. 4 Houston. Five SEC teams made Vitale’s list, including Calipari’s Arkansas team as well as Auburn and Texas A&M.

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Auburn to take on basketball powerhouse Duke in ACC-SEC Challenge

Auburn basketball will be put to the ultimate test this season when it faces Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

While college basketball may be amid its offseason, that does not prevent any action or news from happening. Various headlines continue to make their way across the nation, especially those relating to next year’s season. For Auburn, news was dropped Wednesday for next year’s SEC-ACC Challenge, some that turned heads across the nation.

The Tigers will be making their third-ever trip to Durham, North Carolina, to face the powerhouse Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Arena on Dec. 4.

The game announcement comes as just one small part of the recent news as both team’s rivals will play each as well when Alabama takes on North Carolina in Chapel Hill that same day.

Auburn has played in Durham twice before in 1975 and 1981. Overall, the Tigers are 0-4 against the Blue Devils, with the most recent game being a 78-72 loss in the Maui Invitational in 2018.

This game is felt as an honor by head coach [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag], as he knows this will be a big task ahead of his team in the midst of another big season.

“I can no longer play the, ‘we don’t get any respect card,’ which I think we’ve earned by winning four conference championships over the last seven years,” Pearl said. “Personally, coaching in Cameron Indoor Stadium against head coach Jon Scheyer and the Duke Basketball program will be extremely meaningful to me. I know that it will be the same for our players and coaching staff.”

This year will be the second year of the cross-conference challenge, with the Tigers winning last year’s matchup against Virginia Tech 74-57 in Neville Arena.

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Nebraska basketball offers 2025 Wyoming guard Abdul Bashir

The Huskers are making offers for the 2025-2026 basketball season. Abdul Bashir, a guard from Casper (Wyo.) College earned an offer from Nebraska. Bashir is a Nebraska native. He hails from Omaha and plays for Omaha Central. He made an unofficial …

The Huskers are making offers for the 2025-2026 basketball season. Abdul Bashir, a guard from Casper (Wyo.) College earned an offer from Nebraska.

Bashir is a Nebraska native. He hails from Omaha and plays for Omaha Central. He made an unofficial visit to Lincoln on Thursday. The 6-foot, 7-inch freshman completed his first season at Casper College.

The guard played in 33 games and earned 32 starts. He averaged 19.4 points per game, 4.2 rebounds per game, and 3.2 assists per game. He also shot 46.3% from the field, 45.3% from three-point range, and 78.5% from the free-throw line.

Bashir’s highest-scoring game of the season occurred three times over the span of three weeks, dropping 33 points in each. His last big game occurred in the team’s Region IX North Sub-Region Play-In Game, leading his team with 33 points.

Bashir and the Thunderbirds reached the Region IX Tourney in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, but fell to Western Nebraska Community College. He led the team in the loss, scoring 18 points, going 7-of-15 from the field and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.

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