Tag: NCAA Men’s Basketball

Nikola Jokic couldn’t stop gushing about DJ Burns after NC State made the Final Four

DJ Burns has the attention of the NBA’s best player.

With NC State’s surprising run to the men’s Final Four of March Madness, big man DJ Burns has quickly become the talk of the tournament.

After the forward dropped 29 points, four rebounds, and three assists in a dominating win over Duke in the Elite Eight on Sunday, hoops fans couldn’t get enough of his unique skill. Burns’ performance even created a buzz about his potentially playing in the NFL in the future.

However, amongst the entire Burns-loving crowd, one of the more noteworthy was Denver Nuggets reigning NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic. Fresh off a superb Easter Sunday performance of his own, the Denver center admitted he was late to his postgame press conference because he was watching Burns’ highlights.

And when asked about the young big man’s talents on the court, Jokic couldn’t stop gushing about him:

Look at that smile on Jokic’s face! That’s a man who’s truly appreciating someone’s unique abilities.

Burns himself loved hearing that Jokic enjoyed watching him play, even saying he likes to emulate the Nuggets center’s impeccable post work:

There you have it, folks. It’s not every day you get a ringing endorsement from the NBA’s best player, but that’s what happens when you play with as much joy as Burns.

Northwestern’s Chris Collins had a beautiful message for star Boo Buie after his final college game

What a heartwarming moment for Northwestern.

There is a cruel but inevitable reality to March Madness: only one team gets to cut the nets.

And only one team gets to really celebrate with its seniors. But this didn’t stop Northwestern’s Chris Collins from honoring one of the more important players in the history of the men’s program in the best way.

As No. 1 Uconn capped off a cruising second-round win over the Wildcats, Collins subbed out star Boo Buie with the intention of giving him a well-deserved curtain call in his last college game. And when Buie met Collins on the sideline, the Northwestern coach shared a heartfelt message about everything they’d been through together:

That is what it’s all about. Finding moments of joy and celebration, even when you’re not the last team standing.

This strange Minnesota missed dunk in the Big Ten tournament defied all logic and physics

This is as close to two points as you can get without getting two points.

During the men’s Big Ten tournament, Minnesota big man Pharrel Payne went to throw down an alley-oop dunk but somehow didn’t connect.

Payne was one of the conference leaders in dunks this season, per Bart Torvik, throwing down 37 and previously missing just one on the season. Somehow, however, luck was not on his side on this possession during this brutal loss against Michigan State.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

Despite a seemingly perfect opportunity for Payne, the ball ricocheted off the rim and didn’t go through the net. The field goal would have given Minnesota a lead in the game but was instead called basket interference on the offense.

All of the announcers on the broadcast, as well as Payne, were flabbergasted about how this was even possible.

Seriously: Take a look at this GIF! None of it makes any sense at all.

The ball just got stuck and refused to go through the rim for a bucket. It was as close to going in without actually going in. But as confusing as it was and while there is no logical explanation, it happened.

This was real life, even though it seemed like the result of divine intervention or a Buffalo Wild Wings advertisement.

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The college basketball world mourned and remembered Lefty Driesell, the iconic Maryland coach

Driesell also coached Davidson, James Madison and Georgia State to NCAA Tournament appearances.

Charles “Lefty” Driesell – the brash coach with a tidewater drawl who is credited with putting the Maryland Terrapins on the men’s college basketball map after promising to make them the “UCLA of the east” – died on Saturday at his home in Virginia Beach at the age of 92, his family announced.

Driesell won 786 games in his career, with 348 of those coming as the head coach of the Terps. In different stints, he also coached at Davidson, James Madison and Georgia State. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.

One of the signature personalities in the ACC in the 1970s and 80s, Lefty could be fiery, funny, charming and sharp. Before his arrival in College Park, Maryland, the Terps had only been to the NCAA Tournament once. After coaching them to an NIT title in 1972, Lefty led the Terps to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, including two trips to the Elite Eight. Maryland won two regular season ACC titles under his watch and an ACC Tournament in 1984.

The two-time ACC Coach of the Year was forced out of Maryland and shouldered much of the blame for the shocking death of Len Bias in 1986 after the All-American and No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft died from a cocaine overdose.

Two years later, Lefty returned to coaching and built James Madison into a mid-major power, leading the Dukes to five regular season CAA titles. He became the coach at Georgia State in 1997 and won four regular season ASUN titles. In all, Driesell coached four different programs to NCAA Tournament appearances.

Driesell is also credited with starting “Midnight Madness” at Maryland in 1971. Today, many college basketball programs across the country host a similar event to mark the first day of practice with fanfare.

His coaching tree lives on in women’s college basketball through Virginia Tech’s Kenny Brooks, who played and coached under Lefty at James Madison. A year ago, as the Hokies were making their first-ever run to the Final Four, Brooks said this of Driesell:

“When I played for him, I will be very honest, I thought he was the craziest man in the world. I got to work with him, and I got to see him from a different side. You know, things he was doing to us — we thought he was doing them to us — but he was actually doing them for us; very generous man. He made me a better player, but he made me a better person. I’m a better man because of his coaching. I’m a better father because of it.”

The college basketball world mourned the death of Driesell on Saturday with tributes and memories of the iconic coach:

LeBron James shared a moving story about watching Bronny’s USC game with his mom

LeBron James sounds like such a proud father.

Rather than solely focus on the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James has bigger fish to fry on the basketball court this year. His son, Bronny, is, of course, playing for USC during his freshman season. We’ve already seen a few examples of James getting really invested in his son’s exploits on the court.

But Saturday’s might have been the best yet.

James shared an awesome story on his Twitter account about how his mother loved watching her grandson play on television. (Note: USC lost to Arizona State.) James noted how emotional he was just to hear this sentiment. As a proud father, I simply can’t imagine how happy he was:

(Warning: NSFW language in the tweet below.)

That’s beautiful. That sort of thing transcends playing regular basketball, especially for an all-time great like James. When it’s your child playing the sport at a high level with your mom watching, it probably doesn’t get any better.

Wisconsin, Auburn rise in the Week 10 USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll

The Badgers and Tigers both vaulted at least six spots after dominant conference victories last week, including a 32-point Auburn victory over Arkansas.

The USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll released its Week 10 rankings on Monday, and several notable Power 5 programs capitalized on big conference wins to soar up the rankings.

Purdue remained at the top, and the only change in the top six was Houston and Kansas trading places between second and third. Losses by Illinois and Marquette bumped several teams up a few spots, giving Oklahoma a spot in the top 10 once again. The biggest changes came when you look down further, however, with the Wisconsin Badgers and Auburn Tigers both taking advantage of some big weeks.

The Badgers played Iowa and Nebraska and defeated them both, winning each game by 11 points or more to remain the last undefeated Big Ten team in conference play.

The Tigers handled Penn easily before blowing Arkansas out of the water with an 83-51 victory on Saturday, moving the Tigers to 12-2 on the season after seven consecutive victories.

Creighton and Utah State both jumped into the top 25 as well after being absent the week before. The Aggies in particular have won 14 of their 15 games this year to leap all the way to 23rd after not being ranked last week.

A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Purdue 14-1 788 —
2 Houston 14-0 762 +1
3 Kansas 13-1 754 -1
4 UConn 13-2 685 —
5 Tennessee 11-3 661 —
6 Kentucky 11-2 628 —
7 North Carolina 11-3 592 +2
8 Arizona 12-3 556 +2
9 Oklahoma 13-1 490 +2
10 Illinois 11-3 455 -2
11 Duke 11-3 446 +2
12 Marquette 11-4 428 -5
13 Memphis 13-2 410 +2
14 Baylor 12-2 378 +4
15 Wisconsin 11-3 341 +6
16 Auburn 12-2 301 +8
17 BYU 12-2 251 -5
18 Colorado State 13-2 221 -4
19 San Diego State 13-2 198 +6
20 Creighton 11-4 147 +6
21 Gonzaga 11-4 146 +4
22 Clemson 11-3 133 -6
23 Utah State 14-1 77 N/A
24 Ole Miss 13-1 77 -4
25 Florida Atlantic 11-4 58 -8

Schools Dropped Out

James Madison (20th), Texas (22nd), Providence (23rd)

Others Receiving Votes

Texas (55), Nevada (45), Cincinnati (36), Iowa State (33), Dayton (33), James Madison (32), Grand Canyon (30), Miami-FL (24), TCU (23), Wake Forest (21), Texas Tech (18), Ohio State (12), Seton Hall (11), Alabama (9), St. John’s (8), Providence (7), Michigan State (7), Indiana State (5), South Carolina (3), Princeton (2), Villanova (1), Northwestern (1), New Mexico (1)

 

The Southland Conference trolled Michigan with Connor Stalions joke after McNeese upset

The Southland Conference didn’t pull any punches after McNeese’s upset win on Friday night.

We saw one of the biggest upsets of the college basketball season on Friday night as McNeese — led by former LSU coach Will Wade, who was fired as a result of NCAA allegations against the program — delivered a stunning upset against Juwan Howard and Michigan, which fell to 6-7 on the season with the loss.

The Southland Conference, home to the Cowboys, took to the opportunity to get a jab in at the Wolverines’ expense. The league posted an edited image on social media that featured Connor Stalions, the former Michigan football staffer at the center of the alleged sign-stealing scandal, with the caption “Not even Connor Stalions could save you.”

Wade was hit with a two-year show-cause for his involvement in the recruiting violations at LSU, and he was suspended for the first 10 games of the season. In spite of that, the Cowboys sit at 11-2 on the year with the best record in the Southland by a wide margin.

Losing a buy game at home is one thing. But having that team’s league absolutely clown you on Twitter after the fact?

That’s just brutal.

McNeese coach Will Wade, of LSU wiretap fame, went scorched earth on the NCAA after two-time transfer ruling

Will Wade delivered one of the most scathing critiques of the NCAA we’ve seen from a sitting head coach.

It’s been a bad week for the NCAA. And former LSU coach and current McNeese coach Will Wade offered his take on it.

On Wednesday, the association lost a case in federal court in which a temporary restraining order was issued that eliminated eligibility requirements for two-time transfers, clearing the way for them to play.

At least, in a 14-day window that runs until Dec. 27.

On Friday, that temporary restraining order turned into an injunction that will extend through the end of spring sports, and the NCAA has decided not to punish players who participate during that span period with the retroactive loss of eligibility should the ruling be overturned later, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

However, the NCAA has already reversed course on this exact issue once, as outlined by Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger noted on Thursday night before the injunction extended the period beyond 14 days.

The uncertainty has created something of a limbo for many players who have been awaiting waiver decisions on their eligibility as two-time transfers. While they are technically permitted to play, they do so while taking the chance that the NCAA is operating in good faith and will not strip them of eligibility later.

It has led to a massive headache for players and coaches, including one of the latter who has a well-documented history with the NCAA, Will Wade.

LSU fired Wade in March of 2022 after the NCAA hit his program — and him, specifically — with multiple Level I violations stemming from paying players.

Wade, who was notoriously caught on an FBI wiretap discussing monetary offers for recruits, was hired at McNeese this offseason, where he was required to sit out the first 10 games of the season as part of his show cause. He now finds himself back in a dispute with the NCAA as he awaits a waiver for former Boston College and Florida forward C.J. Felder.

He took the opportunity to blast the NCAA at his press conference on Friday with one of the strongest statements we’ve seen from a sitting head coach in which he argued the NCAA will continue to take court losses until it fundamentally changes its revenue model.

“They just need to blow the whole thing up and come back with a new model and they need to collective bargain with the players,” Wade said. “It’s the only way they can make this thing work, and until they do that, they’re just going to get smacked in court.”

Wade didn’t hold back his frustrations with the NCAA, and he even addressed his own past experiences with the organization.

While Wade is certainly the most vocal critic we’ve seen so far, he’s certainly not alone in this opinion when it comes to coaches. And while the NCAA can hold the threat of lost eligibility over players and teams, that can only do so much in the face of its mounting legal issues.

A March Madness graphic mixing Star Wars and ancient Rome led to so many jokes

Why are they on speeders? Why is the Colosseum in the desert? Why are they not going to Glendale?

It’s the first day of the 2023-24 men’s and women’s college basketball seasons and storylines abound: Can LSU women and UConn men repeat? Will transfers like Hunter Dickinson (Michigan to Kansas) and Max Abmas (Oral Roberts to Texas) lead their teams to victory? How will the new head coaches at major programs fare this year?

MORE: 6 women’s basketball transfers we’re excited about this season, from Te-Hina Paopao to Celeste Taylor

To celebrate the men’s season getting underway, the NCAA March Madness account collaborated with Bleacher Report — the same site responsible for the iconic Team USA graphic following the 2019 Women’s World Cup win — for another picture.

Not only is the Final Four in Glendale, which is decidedly not Phoenix, why are players and mascots riding on Star Wars speeders to [checks notes] the Roman Colosseum? The question here is about whether the graphic is meant to have us all confused deliberately.

Unsurprisingly, college basketball fans had questions.

13 men’s college basketball coaches joining new programs for the 2023-2024 season

These 13 head coaches should definitely be on your radar.

The 2023-2024 men’s college basketball season starts on November 6th, and with the new season comes fresh new faces, all vying to improve their programs.

Per ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, 61 schools welcomed new leadership to their staff, a change that started with vacancies at several large programs. Some of those openings were filled with mid-major coaches, creating a chain reaction of teams shuffling the best talent that Division I basketball has to offer, all for a chance at post-season glory.

With basketball just days away, there are 13 new coaches that you’ll want to keep an eye on, including some who are jumping into head coaching for the first time.