Tag: NCAAMB

Bruce Pearl tearfully remembered his late father in emotional interview after Auburn’s SEC tournament win

“My dad worked six days a week, prayed on the seventh.”

Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers won the SEC Championship on Sunday, but their gritty victory wasn’t what had him in tears. Pearl was deeply missing his biggest supporter — his dad — who passed away in August 2023.

The Auburn men’s basketball team completed one heck on an SEC Tournament on Sunday. While they didn’t have to play a top-ranked team like Tennessee or Kentucky, they did manage to take down No. 5 (South Carolina) and No. 9 (Mississippi State) before taking down the No. 6 Florida Gators.

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

Auburn does not have a true standout star on its roster. Still, the team has things that definitely help, like the ability to win isolation match-ups, superb defense and quality depth at nearly every position. A perfect combination of those things helped them, and head coach Bruce Pearl, win the SEC Tournament. But, all Pearl could think about as the clock was winding down was his dad.

 

Marty Smith of ESPN asked Pearl what moved him to tears. Here’s what he shared with viewers as he choked back tears during his interview:

“I lost my dad in August. He was my biggest fan…for me, I gotta thank my father…that’s why I’m so emotional. I wish he was here.

He worked hard. My dad worked six days a week, prayed on the seventh. We didn’t have a lot, but we had enough. I thought my dad was the best. So, I wish every kid had that, and that’s one of the reasons why I am hard on these guys. My dad held me to a high standard, and that’s why I hold these guys to a high standard.”

Tom and Steven Izzo revealed that Michigan State basketball rebuilt their relationship and now we can’t stop crying

Who is cutting onions? Our eyes are suddenly very sweaty.

Michigan State’s Senior Night meant a lot to fans and several players, but we may never be able to quantify what it meant to Tom Izzo and his son, Steven. After a win against Northwestern, the two got very choked up while discussing how they rebuilt parts of their relationship through basketball.

On Wednesday, during a postgame interview with Andy Katz, it was revealed that Tom missed parts of Steven’s childhood. Still, basketball allowed them to regain some of the time they didn’t spend together when Steven joined the Michigan State men’s basketball team as a walk-on. They could hardly keep it together in an incredibly raw, emotional moment as they shared what the last five years meant to their father-and-son relationship.

As Andy turned to ask Steven a question, Tom wrapped his arm around his son, and Steven shared these words while looking at his dad:

“I’m so thankful that he allowed me to walk-on five years ago, and it’s been the greatest decision that I’ve ever made, no matter how hard the lifts are or how long the meetings go. It’s all worth it at the end of the day, and I’m just so grateful that I’m able to do it with you.”

Tom then shared his thoughts about how special it was for Steven to play for him:

“I tell every man or woman out there that coaches a man’s or woman’s sport, if you can have or son or daughter with you, there’s nothing better. We’ve all sacrificed a lot — some coaches sacrifice more than I do — but getting some of that back means the world to me.”

Eastern Michigan’s Jalin Billingsley drops Akron with a stealthy game-sealing putback dunk

“SLAM DUNK! BILLINGSLEY! EASTERN MICHIGAN!”

Oh, baby. March Madness hasn’t arrived yet, but the madness — pun absolutely intended — is already starting. Eastern Michigan men’s basketball team put away Akron with a filthy putback dunk that you have to see to believe.

Listen, we’re big fans of wild ways to end games. The more chaotic, the better. That’s why Jalin Billingsley of Eastern Michigan deserves a ton of praise for the guts it took to pull off a game-winning putback dunk for the win — see what we did there? — over Akron with 1.9 seconds left in regulation.

The matchup was down to the wire. With the clock moving lightning fast, Billingsley’s teammate Arne Osojnik tried to sink Akron with a clutch 3-point basket. But, it rimmed out. The crowd was already celebrating what they likely thought was a victory when Jalin came flying in, seemingly out of nowhere, with a timely left-handed bucket. The Eastern Michigan bench immediately exploded, and Akron fans, with hands on their heads in disbelief, went noticeably quiet.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

Purdue Fort Wayne guard hilariously (illegally?) blocked a shot with a shoe — yes, a SHOE

Hang it in the Louvre!

Rasheed Bello and his shoe deserve a parade.

College basketball brings so much chaos to hoops fans everywhere, and it’s glorious. The upsets, the court-stormings and the trash talk are what makes the sport so great. But what about a shoe unraveling a whole team? That really happened.

On Wednesday, during a matchup between the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons and the University of Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles (yeah, those are real mascot names, too), guard Rasheed Bello of Purdue Fort Wayne blocked a shot with his shoe — HIS SHOE.

It is totally within the rules (as long as you don’t throw it), and Bello’s quick thinking paid off. The block was so vicious that the Screaming Eagles only scored a single field goal after that.

Unreal.

All-ACC Preseason Ballot: North Carolina, Armando Bacot remain the favorites

Take a look at the ballot I submitted before the ACC releases preseason accolades.

The men’s college basketball season is about to get underway with games starting in just under three weeks. We already have the first AP poll of the season, led by last year’s runner-up North Carolina (despite Gonzaga having the best odds, according to a couple of sportsbooks).

As the action gets closer, each conference is releasing its preseason predicted order of finish and players of the year as voted on by the media. The Atlantic Coast Conference, home to the aforementioned UNC squad, is announcing the predicted order of finish, All- ACC Preseason First Team, ACC Preseason Player of the Year and ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year awards today (October 16) at 5:30 p.m.

I attended the ACC Tip-Off in Charlotte, N.C., last week, so for transparency’s sake, here is my ballot as it was submitted (plus my reasoning).

Let’s get to it.

ACC-Big Ten Challenge kicks off Monday with Iowa-UVA, ND-Illinois

The ACC-Big Ten Challenge gets underway tonight on the men’s side as Virginia hosts Iowa and Notre Dame heads to Illinois.

The 23rd edition of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge gets underway tonight as the Virginia Cavaliers host Iowa and Notre Dame heads to Illinois. Since 2009, the Big Ten has outright won seven of these events, with the ACC taking two and the two conferences tying thrice. Overall, the ACC leads the series 12-7-3, buoyed by a 10-0 start from 1999-2008.

With four Big Ten teams in the newly released AP Poll and only now-No. 1 Duke ranked for the ACC, it looks like it could be another easy win for the Big Ten.

Just two games are on tap for Monday night, so let’s take a look at what to expect.

All odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook.