Notre Dame is in a transitional period for sure. There’s a new coach in [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag]. Almost the entire roster is different, and the few returning players barely have seen the floor in their careers.
Needless to say, this does not stand to be a winning season in South Bend. However, games still need to be played because how else are you going to gain experience?
To that end, the Irish have released their nonconference schedule for the 2023-24 season. They should earn a few wins simply because some of their opponents don’t come from power conferences. Such is typical in the early days of the college basketball season. The only way the Irish could lose out is if they have absolutely no talent, and these players are with an ACC program for a reason.
Here are the nonconference games for the season, not including the Legends Classic on Nov. 16 and 17 in Brooklyn that will feature the Irish, Auburn, Oklahoma State and St. Bonaventure. The first-round matchups for that will be determined at a later date. For everything else though, mark your calendar:
It wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for the creation of LIV Golf last year but Sunday turned out to be a huge day for former Oklahoma State golfers.
Taking it all in was Ponte Vedra Beach resident Bob Dickson, one of the players from OSU who helped lay the groundwork for a steady stream of Cowboys who have lassoed trophies and titles in professional golf since the 1960s.
“I loved it … a couple of ‘Pokes winning the same day makes us all very proud,” said Dickson, who won twice on the PGA Tour and once on the PGA Tour Champions with a career on the PGA Tour executive staff in between.
Talor Gooch celebrates after winning the 2023 LIV Golf Andalucia at Real Club Valderrama in Cadiz, Spain. (Photo: Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
Fowler birdied No. 18 in regulation to earn a playoff with Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa, and then birdied the 18th again on a 12-foot putt.
Gooch became the first three-time winner of LIV Golf events when he rolled in a 15-footer for birdie to beat Bryson DeChambeau by one shot.
Oklahoma State players have won eight tournaments on the two Tours combined this season.
In addition to Fowler’s victory last week and Gooch’s three LIV titles, Wyndham Clark won the U.S. Open and the Wells Fargo Championship, Viktor Hovland won The Memorial and Charles Howell III won the opening LIV event of the season in Mexico.
Dickson is taking it all in with pride. He played for the Cowboys from 1964-1966 under Labron Harris Sr., and posted victories in the U.S. and British Amateurs during that time.
Bob Dickson won the U.S. and British Amateurs while playing college golf at Oklahoma State, and went on to win on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. (Provided photo)
Players such as Dickson, Labron Harris Jr., Danny and David Edwards and Dave Eichelberger begot Bob Tway and Scott Verplank. Then Howell and Hunter Mahan came along, who handed the baton to the likes of Fowler, Clark, Kevin Tway, Gooch, Hovland and Peter Uihlein.
“The golf culture at Oklahoma State has been very good for decades, a really good golf history,” Dickson said. “I’m really proud of these Cowboys.”
Fowler, Hovland and Clark, the PGA Tour winners from Oklahoma State this season, have combined for four victories, 22 top-10s and more than $28 million in earnings this season. Austin Eckroat seems poised to join them and had a runner-up finish at the Byron Nelson in April.
Clark is fourth on the FedEx Cup standings, Hovland sixth and Fowler eighth.
Cowboys on LIV Golf, Gooch, Howell, Uihlein and Matthew Wolff, have combined for three victories, nine top-10s and more than $32 million in earnings. Gooch leads LIV Golf’s points list, with Uihlein seventh and Howell 10th.
The desert hasn’t been a friend to Notre Dame in recent years…or decades
Thanks to some pre-season bowl projections that are floating around, I have my mind on Notre Dame’s past involvement in some of the biggest bowl games. One such projection recently had Notre Dame going to the Fiesta Bowl to take on Oregon.
Notre Dame and Oregon don’t have much of a history together, something I’d like to one day see changed. Notre Dame does have a history in the Fiesta Bowl, however.
Yes, it is the bowl game that Notre Dame won to clinch the 1988 national championship with a victory over West Virginia.
No, nothing has gone well for Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl since.
Alabama WBB receives opponents for first-ever SEC/ACC Challenge
Just like the men’s programs, the SEC and ACC are set to square off in a conference challenge as part of the non-conference schedule. Alabama and the SEC have played the Big 12 Challenge in the past, but time they meet up with the ACC.
The last time the Tide competed in a challenge was when they played Oklahoma State back during the 2020-21 season. Alabama finished 2-2 all-time in the challenge with wins over Oklahoma State as well Kansas.
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NFL supplemental draft returns in 2023: A look at the Eagles’ history
The NFL’s Supplemental Draft is back for the first time since 2019 after the league granted eligibility for Purdue receiver Milton Wright. In 2021, he caught 57 passes for 732 yards and seven touchdowns for the Boilermakers.
Wright was ruled academically ineligible for the 2022 college football season and left Purdue last May.
The Supplemental Draft is for draft-eligible players who didn’t enter the selection process but cannot return to college football the same year.
There have been 46 players selected in the National Football League supplemental draft since its inception in 1977.
The supplemental draft was created in 1977 for players whose circumstances affected their eligibility and who did not enter the NFL draft during the spring.
Three players in the 1984 supplemental draft entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Steve Young, Gary Zimmerman, and Reggie White.
Before he withdrew his name from the draft and transferred to Oklahoma State, Isaiah Miranda met with the Thunder in a pre-draft visit.
The 2023 NBA draft is two weeks away, which means draft prospects are touring the country and meeting with teams.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are looking at possibly adding two rookies to their roster. They own the No. 12 and No. 50 picks in the draft.
Before he withdrew from the draft, former NC State forward Isaiah Miranda worked out for the Thunder in a pre-draft visit in May, per Rookie Wire. He proceeded to remove his name from the draft pool on June 1 and transferred to Oklahoma State on June 4.
The 19-year-old did not appear in a game last season because he enrolled at NC State in December 2022. While he is no longer an option for the Thunder, it’s nice to collect early data on him as a future draft option.
The four-star recruit will stay close to the Thunder; he will play the upcoming season at Oklahoma State.
The 2023 NBA draft is scheduled for Thursday, June 22. A full list of prospects who’ve met with the Thunder can be read here.
For Viktor Hovland, who won the PGA Tour’s 2023 Memorial Tournament in a playoff at Muirfield Village Golf Club on Sunday, it was rise and shine early and get to work. No, he didn’t go tee it up; rather he is caddying for former Oklahoma State University teammate and roommate Zach Bauchou of Forest, Virginia, at a U.S. Open Final Qualifier in Columbus, Ohio.
No rest for the weary or the wealthy. Hovland took care of the first requirement of any caddie – he showed up – and was on the bag bright and early dressed in shorts and wearing his Ping cap.
Hovland, of course, is fully exempt from qualifying and already in the U.S. Open field at Los Angeles Country Club (June 15-18). Bauchou, a second-team All-American at Oklahoma State, played in the Mexico Open in April and missed the cut. He’s got the No. 5 golfer in the world by his side on Monday for 36 holes at The Lakes Golf & Country Club in the morning and Brookside Golf Club (2 p.m., 10th tee). As Dionne Warwick used to sing, that’s what friends are for.
After banking $3.6 million on Sunday, Hovland will be put to work. How about a little something for the effort?
Ashley Rogers (20-1) pitched a seven-inning complete game win for the Lady Vols. She allowed four hits, two walks and one earned run, while recording four strikeouts.
Rogers totaled 136 pitches, including 85 strikes, versus 26 Oklahoma State batters.
Tennessee led, 2-0, after the third inning. Zaida Puni hit an RBI double and Rylie West had an RBI single.
The Lady Vols scored one run in the fifth inning to take a 3-0 lead after Puni scored on a throwing error when West stole second base.
Oklahoma scored one run in the sixth inning.
Lady Vols’ graduate student Ashley Rogers (20-1) pitched seven innings innings. She allowed one run, four hits and two walks, while recording four strikeouts.
