Tag: NCAAB

Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith faced off in a very funny game of March Madness ‘Name That Mascot’

Come play “Name That Mascot” with Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith!

During the first weekend of March Madness coverage, TNT’s Ernie Johnson and CBS Sports’ Clark Kellogg decided to test their fellow basketball analysts Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith in a mascot trivia game.

In a spirited round of “Name That Mascot,” Barkley and Smith had to try and guess who the mascots were as they were held up, and the results were expectedly hysterical.

We’re not really sure who “won” this game, but we felt like winners as Barkley and Smith riffed with each other about their answers and the mascots at hand.

All in all, this was a very fun break from all of Saturday’s basketball action, which you can also enjoy below.

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Ole Miss’ Yolett McPhee-McCuin came away from March Madness win with a perfect family photo

Ole Miss’ coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin and her husband think a lot alike.

During the Ole Miss women’s basketball team’s NCAA tournament first-round victory over No. 10 Marquette on Saturday afternoon, the virtues of a good marriage were on full display.

No. 7 Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin shared a photo of her and her husband Kelly making the same gesture on the sideline and in the stands, respectively, during a moment of the team’s 67-55 win.

It’s a very sweet snapshot of how in tune these two are while “Coach Yo” is at work, and how supportive her husband is while he’s cheering on his wife and her team in March Madness tournament play.

You can tell that this couple thinks exactly alike when it comes to what’s happening on the court, which Coach Yo affectionally notes in her social media post: “This is what 16 years of marriage looks like!”

For Ole Miss fans, this is surely a sight they’ll hope to see plenty of as McPhee-McCuin continues to lead her team to 20-plus win seasons.

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Vanessa Bryant and family were among those out to support USC women’s basketball in March Madness

The Bryants were out to support JuJu Watkins and USC women’s basketball on Saturday.

During the USC women’s basketball team’s opening-round NCAA tournament game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, sensational Trojans guard JuJu Watkins and her teammates had quite the cheering section.

Vanessa Bryant, wife of the late Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, attended Saturday’s game with her family to root for Watkins and the Trojans, an awesome gesture that shows the connection between the L.A.-based school and the Bryants.

In the past, Watkins has talked about the late Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s influence on her USC playing days and the way she approaches basketball. So it’s great to see the Bryant family supporting her and her team in one of the big games of their careers.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the likely top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and women’s basketball legend Cheryl Miller were also in attendance for the day’s game.

This is just a really cool thing to see, as it’s clear the love in basketball family in Los Angeles can spread levels of play and different programs.

We’re sure that Watkins and USC deeply appreciate the support from the Bryants as they try to bring a national title back to the City of Angels.

Featured image courtesy of ESPN.

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Iowa State’s Audi Crooks shared a heartwarming message about her late father inspiring her breakout game

Iowa State’s Audi Crooks had a wonderful answer for what was on her mind during her March Madness breakout performance.

Iowa State center Audi Crooks has been one of the breakout stars of either NCAA tournament this March, as she made history on Friday night in her team’s opening-round win over Maryland.

While speaking with reporters after her statement performance, Crooks was asked about what she was thinking about while excelling on the court during Friday’s game. Her answer dealt with her late father, as she expressed why his memory fuels her on the court and in life.

Crooks was moved to tears while talking about she feels her late dad is still with her to this day, which is an incredibly powerful sentiment for the young hoops standout.

Crooks’ heartwarming message about her late father makes you remember how often so many of these young athletes are inspired by difficult moments and painful losses during such impressive performances.

Her character showed brightly in the way she honored her dad after such a major moment in her sports career.

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Caitlin Clark’s dad seemingly telling her to stop complaining about the officials reminded everyone of their dad

Brent Clark seemingly embodied the classic sports dad while watching Caitlin Clark play.

During Iowa’s opening-round game against Holy Cross in the 2024 women’s NCAA tournament, Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark seemingly got some tough love from her dad in the stands.

As it looked like Clark was expressing her frustration over some of the game’s officiating, you could see what certainly looked like Clark’s dad, Brent, yelling at her to knock it off in the stands.

Later, CBS Sports reporter Brad Crawford noticed Brent Clark expressing that Caitlin Clark be taken out of the game after getting an offensive foul and turning the ball over more than a few times.

As Brent Clark has undoubtedly been to plenty of his daughter’s games over the years, it’s not surprising to see him unafraid of expressing his feelings during the game, even to his daughter when he’s not happy with her complaining to the refs.

We’re sure that the Clarks have a very well-established dynamic on the court and in the stands by now, and it’s fascinating to see these two interact with each other in real time as March Madness gets underway.

At the least, college basketball fans felt this moment between the Clarks was so relatable to their own experiences with sports.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN. 

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Brendan Haywood provided hysterical commentary for Dayton’s Kobe Elvis crossing up Arizona’s Caleb Love off the television screen

Okay, this was pretty hysterical.

Former NBA player-turned-commentator Brendan Haywood provided what might be the best bit of commentary in March Madness so far during Arizona’s second-round game against Dayton on Saturday.

It came after Dayton guard Kobe Elvis crossed up Arizona guard Caleb Love so badly that the latter stumbled out of frame on the television.

Once seeing this, Haywood brought his A-game with this absolutely priceless line: “He crossed him onto another channel… Caleb Love might be on TruTV right now.”

Okay, if that doesn’t make you cackle, we’re not sure what will. That’s just gold from Haywood on what happened there between Elvis and Love.

We’re going to be giggling about this all day long, as Elvis’ smooth move on Love almost made up for Dayton not having the lead on Arizona when it happened.

While it’d be Love to get the last laugh as Arizona got past Dayton with a 78-68 victory, this will surely be one of the highlights of the tournament no matter who the winner was. Kudos to Haywood for nailing it.

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UConn celebrated Geno Auriemma’s 70th birthday with hilariously customized shirts after first-round win

Now this is a great way for UConn to celebrate Geno Auriemma’s 70th birthday.

After the team’s opening-round victory over Jackson State in the 2024 women’s NCAA tournament on Saturday, the UConn women’s basketball team celebrated its head coach in a very spirited manner.

As it was longtime Huskies coach Geno Auriemma’s 70th birthday, the team wore customized shirts after the win to celebrate the coach and poke a little fun at him in the process.

Shirts included funny photos of Auriemma and one of the character Carl Fredrickson from the Pixar film Up.

This was a very funny way for UConn to honor its legendary basketball coach as the team attempts to win another national title.

We’ll see how far Auriemma’s team can get in what should be a very competitive women’s NCAA tournament this year.

With heavy hitters like South Carolina, USC and Iowa also contending this spring, it’s going to be a tough task for Auriemma’s team to win another championship for the school.

If they do, it’ll be a heck of a way to celebrate Auriemma’s 70th birthday season in style.

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ESPN college basketball analysts defended John Calipari with his Kentucky job in jeopardy

Well, there are at least a few people who think John Calipari should keep his job.

With the heat on Kentucky’s John Calipari after his team’s stunning first-round men’s NCAA tournament loss to Oakland on Thursday, some of ESPN’s college basketball analysts are defending the longtime coach.

To varying degrees, Seth Greenberg, Jay Bilas, Jay Williams and Rece Davis all dismissed the idea of Calipari actually being fired, with Davis going so far as to suggest that only two people in the world are qualified at the school: Calipari and Rick Pitino.

However, Williams did note the eroding relationship between Calipari and Kentucky fans as why it might be something people want to happen.

Despite the passion behind some of their arguments, this probably won’t dissuade the angry Wildcats fans who want the coach gone after yet another surprising early tournament exit.

College hoops analyst Jay Wright laid out a compelling case this week about why Kentucky has been faltering as of late under Calipari, and the angst in Lexington might not fully subside until a new coach is in place.

With Calipari’s astronomical buyout in place, it’s no lock that Kentucky will choose to move on from one of the best coaches in the school’s history.

However, it sure doesn’t sound like Calipari will get back into the good graces of Wildcats fans until he’s able to prove his mettle after a series of March Madness disasters.

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Dawn Staley’s very good dog Champ adorably crashed her March Madness press conference

March Madness dog alert!

During Saturday’s press availability, South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley brought a special friend with her to the table.

Staley’s dog Champ joined her as she took questions from reporters and joked that the dog wouldn’t answering any questions from the press until the NCAA gave the very good boy a proper name plate.

This dog is very adorable and deserves many treats and belly rubs, even if the poor little guy does look tired from all the March Madness festivities.

If you see Champ during this year’s tournament as he cheers on Staley and South Carolina, make sure to tell him he’s the bestest boy in basketball.

Even if South Carolina doesn’t go all the way this spring, the team will at least know that Champ is in its corner. That’s a pretty good thing to have during March Madness.

Also, NCAA, we hope to see Champ’s name plate at the press table the next time he and Staley make an appearance!

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Jack Gohlke’s Oakland teammates teased him with State Farm jingle after post suggested he’s destined to sell insurance

Like a good 3-point shooter, Jack Gohlke is there.

Oakland basketball has been one of the best stories of the 2024 men’s NCAA tournament so far, with guard Jack Golhe the breakout star for the Golden Grizzlies.

The 3-point maestro has already landed an NIL deal with TurboTax after his stellar performance against Kentucky on Thursday night, one that the graduate student standout emphasized is not a Cinderella story and much more a team being deserving of where they are in the postseason.

Oakland coach Greg Kampe said in a broadcast interview on Saturday that, during a team meal, Gohlke’s teammates poked fun at him for an alleged social media post that insinuated that, despite the team’s upset win, Kentucky’s players were headed to the NBA and Gohlke was headed to selling insurance.

How did they do it? According to Kampe, they sang him the “Like a good neighbor…” State Farm jingle from the commercials, which made Gohlke smirk and shake his head once his coach referenced it.

Gohlke’s outstanding March Madness debut no doubt caught the eyes of some NBA scouts, so we wouldn’t be shocked if he at least got an invite to participate in a rookie camp after shocking the world against real NBA draft prospects.

Even if this is the conclusion to his basketball career, he’ll live eternal in tournament history for helping Oakland achieve one of the tournament’s great upsets.

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