Alright, a lot to cover here, but you have to let me rant for a minute.  As many of you know, I am a West Virginia Mountaineers fan.  I know this team wasn’t good enough to even make it to the Sweet Sixteen, I do.  But man, did they get screwed over by some of the most corrupt decisions in college sports history, as well as Indiana getting the short straw as well.  West Virginia was left out of March Madness, yet North Carolina, Xavier, and Texas somehow found their way in.  Baffling right?  Let’s take a look into the numbers for each of these schools and you tell me if Bubba Cunningham (Athletic Director of North Carolina/Chairman of the Committee) had anything to do with this-he did. He secured a $104,000 bonus for getting the Tarheels in the dance on top of it.  Maybe we should let Peebles High School Athletic Director be the chairman of OHSAA and get Peebles the easiest route in the dance every year, while giving him a bonus for doing so.  Works for Bubba, right?

West Virginia –  111/111 bracketologists had WVU in the dance, Wins over Gonzaga (Neutral court), Arizona (Neutral court), Kansas (at Kansas), and Iowa State, 6 Quad 1 wins, 0 Quad 3 or 4 losses, .500 in the Big 12, Defeated 4 ranked teams, 4 Big 12 road victories, 3 wins against AP Top 10 teams (most in the Big 12), 1 of only 30 teams to have 6 quad 1 victories.  And don’t give me the injury excuse.  Tucker DeVries hasn’t played since December 6^th before conference play.  Give me a break!

North Carolina – 27/111 bracketologists had them in the dance, 1-12 in Quad 1 games (Atrocious), Quad 3 loss, Beat UCLA (Only ranked team they beat), 13-7 in a very poor ACC, 13 losses…But hey, they almost beat Duke

Xavier – 30/111 bracketologists had them in the dance, 1-9 in Quad 1 games, ranked wins over Marquette and Uconn, 13-7 in the Big East. 

Texas – 50/111 bracketologists had them in the dance, 15 losses, 6-12 in conference play (WOOF), Wins over ranked opponent Mississippi State, Texas A&M, UK, Missouri.

Which resume would you want if you wanted to get in the tournament?  Do you think the Athletic Director of North Carolina should be a chair on the selection committee?  I didn’t think so.  Shame on the NCAA. 

Bags Secured for Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins

At last, our beloved duo finally has reached an agreement with Chase and Higgins including: 4 year extension for Chase, $161 million, $112 million guaranteed (Highest paid non-QB in NFL history).  Higgins signed a four year extension for $115 million and becomes the highest WR2 in NFL history.  Never say the Bengals are cheap ever again, as they just forked up the cash and added tax!  However, this shows that they waited too long.  Nail the draft Cincinnati and start paying your stars early, while reaping the benefits later.  Prices don’t go down, Brown Family!  Be happy though Bengals fans, as this is huge.  Hendrickson, you’re next if at all possible.  Defense has some major holes that need filled and I expect the draft to be majorly focused on pass rush and secondary help. 

One Week until Reds Opening Day

With just a week and some change until Reds Opening Day, the excitement is building around Cincinnati.  This city is ready for some baseball and the city desperately needs a contender this year-and I think they will get just that.  However, there are some areas of concern as of late:

• Tyler Stephenson will miss some time with an oblique strain-Massive blow to the lineup
• Jose Trevino is day to day with a thumb injury, leaving us with Wynns should Trevino also miss time
• Spencer Steer will likely miss Opening Day, but Francona is giving him every chance to try and be ready come next week

Outside of this though, the Reds are relatively healthy and look to bounce back from these injuries fast.  Cincinnati is in a much better spot than last season regarding health.  Some notable players that will not be making the Opening Day roster this year include Noelvi Marte and Will Benson.  Both have struggled, although I can see Benson joining the team within a month or so of playing time in AAA, as I think he is a true Major League batter.  If Stephenson and Steer both miss time, I expect Blake Dunn to be given a chance to make an impact quick, with Hurtubise ready to get some major league time as well.  They both have been highly impressive this Spring. 

Reds baseball is nearly here and it is the most magical time of the year!  Well unless you ask my wife, as we visited Dollywood this weekend and she got to see Dolly Parton in the parade.  I guess I owed her for the years of dragging her to RedsFest, Reds Games, and Bengals games! Seeing her happy to see Dolly was worth it and I owed her for the amount of time she has spent in line with me to talk to players season after season!

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In a move that surprised few but marked a significant milestone in her career, NCAA women’s basketball star Angel Reese declared for the 2024 WNBA draft. The 21-year-old 6-foot-3 athlete announced her decision after what she described as a fulfilling collegiate journey at Louisiana State University.

Speaking to Vogue, Reese expressed her eagerness to leap to the professional level, citing her aspiration to follow in the footsteps of legendary athletes like Serena Williams. Drawing inspiration from Williams’ retirement announcement in September 2022, Reese emphasized her desire to transcend the collegiate level and leave a lasting mark on the sport.

“I’ve done everything I wanted to in college,” Reese stated. I’ve won a national championship, I’ve gotten [Southeastern Conference] Player of the Year, and I’ve been an All-American. My ultimate goal is to be a pro—and to be one of the greatest basketball players ever. I feel like I’m ready.”

Reese’s decision comes after LSU exited the women’s tournament, falling short to the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight. Despite the loss, Reese’s performance in her final collegiate game showcased her prowess on the court, tallying an impressive 17 points and 20 rebounds. Reese maintained stellar statistics throughout the 2023–2024 season, averaging over 18 points and 13 rebounds per game.

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Reese made an immediate impact upon joining the LSU Tigers three years ago. Her presence on the court was formidable, combining athleticism, skill, and determination to excel in every aspect of the game.

Throughout her time at LSU, Reese earned numerous accolades, showcasing her dominance in collegiate basketball. She was pivotal in leading the LSU Tigers to success and received recognition as an All-American.

Her impact extended far beyond individual statistics. She served as a leader both on and off the court, inspiring her teammates and capturing the admiration of fans nationwide.

Reese’s journey from local standout to college basketball star in her hometown of Baltimore has left a lasting impression. She has become a source of pride for her community, serving as a role model for aspiring athletes and demonstrating the potential for success within Baltimore’s youth.

“Angel transferred to LSU after my first season in Baton Rouge and she helped transform our program,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said in a statement.

“When she came here, she said she wanted to be here for two seasons, and she has lived up to that. What a remarkable two years it has been. We are all indebted to Angel Reese for the contributions she has given to this program, helping us win our first National Championship, and the contributions she made on our university as a whole. She not only helped grow our program but had an impact on growing the game of women’s basketball across the country. We wish her good luck as she moves to the WNBA and look forward to seeing all that she accomplishes. We will miss her but will always cherish the two years we got to spend with her. Forever LSU.”

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By MIKE LOPRESTI

NCAA.COM

The defending champion is gone. No Kansas. For that matter, none of the schools that have won the past seven national titles.

The favorite for national player of the year is gone. No Zach Edey, who somehow did not take a shot in the last 9:24 of Purdue’s loss.

The tournament champions of the Big Ten, ACC, Big East and Pac-12 are gone. No Purdue or Duke or Marquette or Arizona.

The top six winningest programs in the history of the sport are gone. You have to go down to UCLA at No. 7 to find a survivor.

The ACC and Big Ten are nearly gone. One Sweet 16 team each, same as the Ivy League. But the Big East and SEC each have three.

All the No. 12 seeds are gone. For only the sixth time since tournament expansion in 1985, none of them knocked off a No. 5.

The first week of the tournament presented some truly astonishing moments. Purdue done in by a 16 seed, a year after being done in by a 15 seed, a year by after being done in by a13 seed. That makes 18 Boilermaker defeats by a lower seed since their last Final Four in 1980. Kansas out, with no Bill Self on the bench. Princeton on the march. Not many classic endings, though. Of the 52 games played so far, 28 were decided by double digits and only eight by one possession. There have been no overtimes.

But the Sweet 16 that all those exits produced is long on opportunity and novelty.

Twelve of the 16 have never won a national championship, seven have never been to a Final Four. Florida Atlantic had never won a game in the tournament until last Friday.

Consider the South Region this week in Louisville, where the only team in the field with prior Final Four experience will be . . . Princeton?

It is a Sweet 16 of the absent and the hurting. UCLA is there without star guard Jaylen Clark, Tennessee without all-SEC guard Zakai Zeigler, Xavier without second leading scorer and top rebounder Zach Freemantle. Houston still has All-American Marcus Sasser, but his sore groin is the most scrutinized muscle of the month. And Jamal Shead’s knee hurts, too. “We’re not the team we were that was 31-3 and a 1 seed,” coach Kelvin Sampson said the other day.

It is a Sweet 16 that includes the absent and the hurting. UCLA is there without star guard Jaylen Clark, Tennessee without all-SEC guard Zakai Zeigler, Xavier without second leading scorer and top rebounder Zach Freemantle. Houston still has All-American Marcus Sasser, but his sore groin is the most scrutinized muscle of the month. And Jamal Shead’s knee hurts, too. “We’re not the team we were that was 31-3 and a 1 seed,” coach Kelvin Sampson said the other day.

It is a Sweet 16 that proves sometimes, the beloved 3-point shot doesn’t mean squat. Princeton shocked Arizona while going 4-for-25 from the 3-point line. Arkansas took out Kansas while hitting only three of 15. Michigan State dumped Marquette while missing 14 of 16. Kansas State was under 24 percent from out there against Kentucky and Fairleigh Dickinson hit barely 30 percent against Purdue. “That’s why your defense matters,” Tom Izzo told his Michigan State Spartans when they were clanging 3-point attempts.

Here, then, are the games of the Sweet 16, and reasons to pay attention to each.

SOUTH REGION

No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 1 Alabama: Friday, March 24 | 6:30 p.m. | TBS

The scoreboard might be a little quiet. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Maryland could shoot only 34.7 and 35.2 percent against the Tide defense last weekend. San Diego State held Charleston and Furman to 57 and 52 points and 32 percent shooting. “Defense travels,” said San Diego State’s Darrion Trammell. “That’s something we have on the paper every away game.”

Speaking of away games, Alabama thrived in the neighborhood thunder of Birmingham last weekend. The Louisville crowd might not be so friendly. As for San Diego State, the last Final Four appearance of a sitting Mountain West member was UNLV 32 years ago.

No. 15 Princeton vs. No. 6 Creighton: Friday, March 24 | 9 p.m. | TBS

This pair is on the road rarely traveled. Princeton hasn’t been this far in the tournament in 56 years and Creighton is in only its second Sweet 16 since 1974. They haven’t met since 1961.

Arizona was fifth in the nation in scoring at 82.7 points a game, but the Wildcats managed only 55 against Princeton. Missouri was 23rd with a 79.5 average, but scored only 63. Princeton dominated them both by a combined 30-4 in second chance points.

In other words, these guys aren’t exactly cute, lovable underdogs. They do the tough stuff. “The world looks at us as two upsets,” Tosan Evbuomwan said. “But I feel like we’re supposed to be here.”

Here is about the last thing the Tigers want to see Friday in Louisville: Creighton at the free throw line. The Bluejays have taken 75 free throws since the Big East tournament began. They have missed six. That includes 22-for-22 in dumping Baylor. Four players have broken 30 points in this NCAA tournament so far and two play for Creighton — Ryan Kalkbrenner with 31 against North Carolina State, Ryan Nembhard with 30 against Baylor. The Bluejays sports information department dug up the fact that the only other team to ever have two guys with same first name score 30 in the same NCAA tournament was Memphis with Larry Finch and Larry Kenon 50 years ago.

By the way, that team ended up in the Final Four.

“We give everybody the respect they’re due,” Nembhard said. “But at the end of the day we think we’re just as good as anybody in the country.”

EAST REGION

No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 3 Kansas State: Thursday, March 23 | 6:30 p.m. | TBS

Now here’s something of an odd couple. Jerome Tang is in his first year as a head coach, Tom Izzo is in his 15th Sweet 16. This will be Tang’s third NCAA tournament game. It will be Izzo’s 79th.

The Michigan State defense made life utterly miserable for Marquette Big East player of the year Tyler Kolek Sunday — 2-for-8 shooting, six turnovers — and now focuses attention on Markquis Nowell. He went for 17 and 27 points in the first two rounds with 14 and nine assists. Of the 58 Kansas State field goals in the tournament so far, Nowell has either scored or passed for 37 of them.

Meanwhile, Michigan State’s Tyson Walker is averaging 17.5 points a game in the tournament and has not made a single turnover in 67 minutes. So guard play should be interesting to watch.

No. 9 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 4 Tennessee: Thursday, March 23 | 9 p.m. | TBS

Remember the worries about the Vols, with Zeigler out and staggering down the stretch, losing seven 12 games? They flexed their muscles, started banging bodies and shut down the opponents, giving up 55 and 52 points to Louisiana and Duke. Also in those games, 31 of their 44 field goals came off assists.

“We’re a tough, hard-nosed team. That’s how we played everybody,” said Olivier Nkamhoua after scoring 27 points and roughing up Duke. “What we were saying before the game the whole time is we were going to bring them into the mud with us and make them play a tough, hard-nosed game and see if they were ready for it.”

The mud now awaits the upstarts from Boca Raton, who had all the warriors they needed over the weekend. First, it was Nick Boyd beating Memphis in the last seconds. Then a stat line for the ages from Johnell Davis against Fairleigh Dickinson: 29 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, five steals, just one turnover against the FDU press. The Owls, who had only 16 turnovers in their two early round games, apparently understand what they’re getting into. This from coach Dusty May: “We’re going to study Australian rugby rules and get ready for the Vols.”

MIDWEST REGION

No. 5 Miami vs. No. 1 Houston: Friday, March 24 | 7:15 p.m. | CBS

Nothing much has been easy so far for the banged-up Cougars, who had trouble shaking off Northern Kentucky and had to rally from 10 points down at halftime to pass Auburn. But when crunch time comes, the Cougars just turn up the thermostat on the defense. Auburn was 4-for-24 in the second half, Northern Kentucky 9-for-39. Together they were 3-for-26 from the 3-point line after halftime.

Northern Kentucky coach Darrin Horn observed afterward, “I don’t think it’s a stretch to say we outplayed Houston. We just didn’t make enough shots.” But then, lots of Cougar opponents go away feeling like that. In some ways, they get uglied into defeat.

Houston is two wins away from getting to the Final Four, which will be played in . . . oh, right. Houston.

Miami poses a threat, just off scoring 85 points against Indiana and pounding the Hoosiers into submission with a 48-31 rebound blowout and 29-11 gap in second chance points. Guard Isaiah Wong, the ACC’s player of the year, scored 27 points against the Hoosiers and will lead the drive against the Cougars defense. Except, that’s often not a lot of fun.

For being ACC co-champions and back in the Sweet 16 for a second consecutive year, the Hurricanes don’t seem to get a lot of national buzz. “All we can do is just come out and win basketball games,” guard Jordan Miller said. “I feel like winning a game in itself is a way to get recognition.”

Win the next one, and they certainly will.

No. 3 Xavier vs. No. 2 Texas: Friday, March 24 | 9:45 p.m. | CBS

The proud, the few, the Musketeers. With Freemantle out, Xavier is pretty much a six-man operation. The rest of the roster combined for 10 total minutes in the first two tournament games. But all six who play scored in double figures against Pittsburgh and the assists keep coming for a team that led the nation in those for much of the season. They had 38 in two games the past weekend.

That thin blue line now faces Texas and its nine players who average at least 11 minutes a contest. Seven of them have played a combined 913 college games. With such veteran depth, no wonder the Longhorns have trailed only 4:37 in two games against Colgate and Penn State. One Texas player likely to be prominent on the Xavier scouting report is the suddenly go-to force Dylan Disu. He came into the NCAA tournament averaging 8.3 points and 5.6 shots a game. He must like March. He scored 17 points against Colgate, 28 against Penn State, hitting 14 of 20 shots against the Nittany Lions.
The Longhorns are going to Kansas City, where they just won the Big 12 tournament.

WEST REGION

No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 2 UCLA: Thursday, March 23 | 9:45 p.m. | CBS

Think replays of Jalen Suggs’ Hail Mary banker from their 2021 Final Four overtime epic will get much air time this week? Here’s the rematch. Since Groundhog Day, these two are a combined 26-2.

UCLA’s only loss since early February was a two-pointer in the Pac-12 final against Arizona. That apparently miffed the Bruins and sent them on a mission. They have trailed 44 seconds in the NCAA tournament so far against UNC Asheville and Northwestern, allowing 37 percent shooting and outscoring their opponents 45-20 in points off turnovers.

“We don’t take losing well at UCLA,” coach Mick Cronin said after the UNC Asheville romp. “We spell fun w-i-n. We lost our last game. These guys took it personal.”

If they took that game personal, what must they think about the stake in the heart Gonzaga and Suggs inflicted on them in the 2021 Final Four? One look at Drew Timme will remind them, and he’s been on a tear himself with 28 points against TCU, including his first 3-pointer since December. That made him only the seventh player in history with at least 20 points in nine NCAA tournament games.

Gonzaga has won 11 games in a row and just cliched a rather remarkable eighth consecutive Sweet 16 spot, but somehow has been able to hide in the shadows late in the season. That changes Thursday in Las Vegas.

No. 8 Arkansas vs. No. 4 Connecticut: Thursday, March 23 | 7:15 p.m. | CBS

Questions abound. Can Connecticut’s Adama Sanogo be stopped? He has scored 28 and 24 points in the tournament, shooting 73 percent, but now faces the long arm of the Arkansas law. Six Razorbacks have a wingspan of at least seven feet.

Will Arkansas’ Davonte Davis continue to come out of the halftime locker room as a scoring machine? He has put up 31 of his 41 tournament points in the second half.

What if the Razorbacks ever actually need a 3-pointer? They tend to build their leads the old-fashioned way, two points at a time. They’re 342nd in the nation in making 3-pointers and have only six in two tournament games. This while Connecticut is 21-for-47 from the arc.

Can Connecticut ride a good omen? Last time the Huskies played in the Sweet 16 was 2014. The national champion in 2014 was . . . Connecticut.  Come to think of it, the Huskies are the only program that has won any of the past 21 national championships to still be playing.

And finally, the big one. If Arkansas wins, will Eric Musselman keep his shirt on?

All 16 teams have reason to be grateful, just look at the victims left behind.  Marquette’s Shaka Smart spoke for a lot of them after being taken out by Michigan State Sunday: “This game does not define the season that our team had, but what it does do is it knocks you out of the NCAA tournament. That’s how it works. It’s a one-time single elimination deal. And as sweet as it feels to advance, it’s even worse to lose.”

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Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) volleyball champion Delaware State will face national power Nebraska on Thursday (Dec. 1) in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Championship, as the 64-team bracket was officially unveiled Sunday evening. Match time is set for 8:00 p.m. (CT) in Lincoln, Neb. The winner of Thursday’s match will face the Kansas-Miami winner in Friday’s second round.

The Hornets (24-6) won their first MEAC tournament title since 1986 this past Sunday with a four-set win over regular-season co-champion Coppin State. Delaware State has won 20 matches for the second straight season, is on a nine-match winning streak and will be making its first-ever NCAA appearance.

The Hornets join Fairleigh Dickinson University, Southeastern University and Quinnipiac University as first-time NCAA Tournament participants.

Alondra Maldonado, a First Team All-MEAC honoree and Outstanding Performer of the MEAC Volleyball Championship, leads the Hornets — and Sydney Lewis is among the NCAA’s leaders in hitting percentage.

Nebraska (24-5) is the No. 2 seed in the Louisville Quarter of the bracket despite losing its last two regular-season matches against Wisconsin (in four sets) and Minnesota (in three sets). Whitney Lauenstein leads the Huskers offense with 3.71 points a set, while Madi Kubik leads the way with 3.24 kills/set. Bekka Allick hits a team-best .322.

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By The Associated Press

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Erin Whalen scored a career-high 28 points, hitting seven of Dayton’s 13 3-pointers and the 11th-seeded Flyers eased past DePaul 88-57 on Wednesday night in the inaugural women’s First Four.

Dayton (26-5), making its 10th NCAA Tournament appearance, advanced to play No. 6 seed Georgia on Friday in the Greensboro Region.

Jenna Giacone scored 19 of her 21 points in a dominate first half for the Flyers.

Dayton made 11 of 13 3-pointers in the first half while holding DePaul (22-11), the nation’s scoring leader at 88.3 points a game, to just 11 of 37 from the field. Whalen made Dayton’s eighth straight 3-pointer of the first half for a 46-27 lead. The Flyers entered averaging 5.9 3-pointers per game.

DePaul freshman Aneesah Morrow had 28 points and 17 rebounds for her nation-leading 27th double-double of the season in 33 games.

HOWARD 55, INCARNATE WORD 51

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Brooklynn Fort-Davis had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Krislyn Marsh added 14 points and 17 rebounds and Howard beat fellow No. 16 seed Incarnate Word on in the first women’s First Four game.

Howard (21-9), in its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001, advanced to play overall No. 1 seed South Carolina (29-2) in the Greensboro Region.

Tiana Gardner scored 16 points for Incarnate Word (13-17).

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More AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

The post Dayton, Howard Win In Inaugural Women’s First Four appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer

Florida State coach Sue Semrau has always been a fan of adding teams to the women’s NCAA Tournament. She is thrilled it happened this season, giving her late-developing Seminoles the opportunity to be a part of history.

Florida State (17-13) is one of the schools participating in the inaugural women’s First Four after the NCAA expanded the tournament field to 68 teams, one of the few tangible changes made to address inequities highlighted last year between the men’s and women’s tournaments.

The First Four has been a staple of the men’s NCAA tourney since 2011.

“Had it been 64, I would have been extremely nervous,” Semrau said of her program’s chances of reaching its ninth consecutive tournament.

Instead, she and the other three at-large First Four participants — Missouri State, DePaul and Dayton — and four automatic qualifiers in Longwood, Mount St. Mary’s, Howard and Incarnate Word will play Wednesday and Thursday to advance into the first round.

That hasn’t always been the case for the women.

Disparities between the men’s and women’s tournaments were highlighted last year during the pandemic-altered events, leading the NCAA to make several changes. The enhancements for the women included hotel rooms, dining, training equipment and expanding the tournament field.

Semrau has worked on issues of equality in the college game for years and is gratified to see change.

“Why not?” the coach asked rhetorically about the women’s expanded field.

Unlike the men, who play all their First Four games in Dayton, Ohio, the four women’s games will be held at region sites where the winner’s first-round opponent will play.

For Florida State, that means a trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to take on Missouri State. Not that it mattered to the Seminoles, who seemed like a longshot to be even playing in the NCAAs when they 10-10 in early February. But they won seven of their last 10 to get in.

“Being one of those 68, it just means a lot to us and we know that we’re going to keep working,” Florida State guard Morgan Jones said.

It also means a lot to Longwood.

Even though the Lancers received an automatic bid after winning their first Big South Tournament, they are looking forward for the chance to make more history as one of the teams in the First Four field.

Longwood coach Rebecca Tillett said the town of Farmville, Virginia, gave the team a parade for winning the tournament.

“I can’t imagine what it would be” for an NCAA Tournament win, she chuckled during a phone interview.

Tillett has heard those who wonder if automatic qualifiers like Longwood should be part of the First Four.

“Those are good questions,” she said. “But we’re happy to be part of it against an evenly matched team.”

Incarnate Word coach Jeff Dow told his players after their First Four assignment came up on TV, “You realize we’re the first of the entire tournament?”

“They were excited about that,” Dow said.

A look at the First Four matchups:

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Teams: Incarnate Word (13-16) vs. Howard (20-9).

Where: Columbia, South Carolina.

About Incarnate Word: After winning just five Southland Conference games in the regular season, Incarnate Word won four straight at the league tournament to win its first-ever title. Jaaucklyn Moore leads the team with 17.5 points a game and 42 steals.

About Howard : Howard won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time in 21 years. Sophomore Destiny Howell leads the Bison at 12.9 points a game. She had a career-best 25 points in the MEAC title game win.

Up Next: Winner will face overall No. 1 seed South Carolina (29-2) in the Greensboro Region

___

Teams: DePaul (22-10) vs. Dayton (25-5).

Where: Ames, Iowa

About DePaul: The Blue Demons finished fourth in the Big East. It’s streak of 18 straight NCAA berths ended last year and few thought the Blue Demons would get in. Now, fans can watch one of the country’s top freshmen in forward Aneesah Morrow, who leads the nation in double doubles and rebounds per game.

About Dayton: The Atlantic 10 regular-season champs have held opponents to 54.7 points a game this season and will their hands full with DePaul, whose scoring average of 88.3 points a game leads the country.

Up Next: The winner faces sixth seed Georgia (20-9) in the Greensboro Region.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Teams: Mount St. Mary’s (16-12) vs. Longwood (21-11)

Where: Raleigh, North Carolina

About Mount St. Mary’s: Won the Northeast Conference tournament crown for a second straight season. Mount St. Mary’s forward Kendall Bresee led the team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. She averaged 17.4 points a game this season.

About Longwood: Forward Akila Smith led the team in rebounds (7.8 per game) and blocks (93). She was also second on the Lancers with 16.8 points a game.

Up Next: Winner will face North Carolina State (29-3), the top seed of the Bridgeport Region.

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Teams: Florida State (17-13) vs. Missouri State (24-7)

Where: Baton Rouge, Louisiana

About Florida State: The Seminoles strong finish included upsets over ranked opponents and NCAA teams in Notre Dame and Georgia Tech. Guard Morgan Jones leads Florida State with 14.1 points and 5.7 rebounds a game.

About Missouri State: Finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference. They are led by Abi Jackson, who tops the team with 13.2 points and 6.9 rebounds a game.

Up Next: Winner faces sixth seed Ohio State (23-6) in the Spokane Region

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More AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer

Any hoops fan hungering for a return to normal this March might have looked at the bracket when it finally came out and wondered what ever changed.

Gonzaga is the tournament’s top seed. Kansas and Arizona are No. 1s, as well. Duke and Kentucky are right up there as No. 2s and the defending champion, Baylor, is the other top seed and a force to be reckoned with again, too.

But all that sameness felt like more of a celebration when the pairings were set this Selection Sunday. The most-anticipated reveal of the year felt like a party again, even if it might have been pushed down a notch on the ticker by the unexpected return of Tom Brady to the NFL in an announcement that came just as Dick Vitale and Co., were starting to break down the 68-team draw.

“This was a really special year because we all realized what we missed,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said.

For the first time since 2019, the teams will scatter across the country to eight cities for 48 games over the first four-day weekend of America’s unofficial hoops holiday. Then, they will move to four cities for the Sweet 16. And they will cut down the nets in New Orleans, where the Final Four runs April 2-4.

It figures to be a much different atmosphere than in Indianapolis last year, where all 67 games were held in a makeshift bubble with limited fans. A year after COVID-19 scrubbed the event completely, 2021 offered a tournament that put the NCAA under the glare of the spotlight for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the inequities between the men’s and women’s events.

This year, the women’s tournament is being branded as “March Madness,” just like the men’s. That bracket was revealed on Sunday, just like the men’s. The No. 1 seeds in that one: South Carolina, Louisville, North Carolina State and Stanford.

As always, there was a decent-sized menu of snubs and oversights to debate. On the men’s side, Xavier didn’t make it despite four wins against teams that qualified for the 68-team field. Texas A&M made the final of the SEC Tournament but got snubbed, too. Among those making the cut were Michigan, despite 14 losses, and Indiana and Rutgers, which had 13 each.

The Big Ten got its fair share of love, with a nation-high nine teams, which made it surprising to some that the conference’s tournament champion, Iowa, was stuck with a 5 seed.

Leading the Hawkeyes this year is Keegan Murray, a 23-point-per-game scorer who is one of the best inside-outside threats in the game.

Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji is something rare in college — a senior, and one who averages around 20 points and five rebounds a game and also plays great defense. He withdrew from the NBA draft last season and has led the Jayhawks to their first No. 1 seed since 2018.

Also, Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe, one of dozens who switched schools via the amped-up transfer portal that is displaying a penchant for reshaping college hoops — and college sports — in the blink of an eye.

“It’s all about staying in the moment and having more fun than anybody in the tournament,” said Tshiebwe’s coach, John Calipari.

The best way to have fun, of course, is winning it all. Baylor did that last year in a title-game romp over Gonzaga. Just like last year, both are No. 1 seeds again, with the Zags the 3-1 favorite to win the title, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Arizona was next at 6-1, followed by Kentucky (17-2) and Baylor (10-1).

“A great learning experience,” Gonzaga’s Drew Timme said on ESPN of last year’s second-place finish. “Obviously, things didn’t go the way we wanted. But it allowed for a lot of self-growth for the program. We’re excited for the challenge.”

So many storylines in this tournament will revolve around Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. The 75-year-old coach is calling it quits after this season, his 42nd with the Blue Devils. He needs four wins to reach his 13th Final Four, but the road is not easy.

It could include a matchup with Tom Izzo and Michigan State in the second round, then a trip to San Francisco for a possible matchup with Gonzaga in the Elite Eight.

“It’s the last time I’m going to be able to do this,” Krzyzewski tweeted after the brackets came out, “and to be a No. 2 seed is terrific.”

___

More AP coverage of March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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Herald Staff

The 2022 NCAA brackets are here for both Men’s and Women’s college basketball.

Here is the 2022 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball bracket:

Here is the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball bracket:

Who are you rooting for this year?

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Muskies have 3rd straight season collapse

By: PJ O’Keefe

CINCINNATI — After starting the season strong at 10-1 start, reaching as high as No. 17 in the country, the Xavier Musketeers collapsed as the season wound down and missed the NCAA Tournament again. They have now missed the tourney every single year under 4th-year head coach Travis Steele.

Steele had been on the hot seat in the latter part of the season, with calls for his job ringing out on social media and even in Cintas (more on that later). It comes after a third-straight promising season collapsed into a dud through Big East play, with each of the teams seemingly worse as the season went on.

The 2021-22 campaign was off to a good start after the Muskies took down the likes of Ohio State, hung with a tough Iowa State team with a flu-deprived starting lineup and took care of business against UC in the Crosstown Shootout. Things looked really good in the first two months of this season, and Cintas was LOUD.

The cracks started to show in the first matchup against DePaul in Chicago. A horrid first-half, which became a part of this team’s identity, led to a scramble to beat one of the worst teams in the conference by only 1 point.

Marquette slipped away in Milwaukee (not unheard of to lose on the road there, but it was a team the Muskies had beaten weeks earlier) and the first Providence matchup at Cintas came down to a hero-ball-gone-wrong Paul Scruggs drive that could have won the game.

Xavier handled Creighton, snuck by Butler going 3/17 from 3-point range, but then it got weird. The Muskies didn’t learn from the first half setbacks at DePaul that almost caused a defeat in the previous meeting, dropping one of the worst Quad 3 home court losses in recent memory (Quads 3+4 = worst teams in the NCAA).

Then despite performing better in almost every statistical category, Seton Hall survived a late flurry in Jersey to add another L to the column for the Muskies.

The team responded with a really impressive win over #21 UConn, and there was a collective sigh of relief. “We’re fine,” read the tweets. “The Big East is hard” said the pundits. “An at-large bid is all but a guarantee” said the analysts.

Nate Johnson hurt his knee late in the impressive win over the Huskies, which in retrospect put the nail in the Muskies’ coffin.

The loss to St. John’s at home next was not statistically worse than DePaul, but the 13-point final score deficit stung harder. UConn turned the tables on the team in Connecticut; not a bad loss, but a very different team showed up without Johnson on the floor. And while the Providence loss in triple overtime after a leaky ceiling was a promising performance, it was still unsatisfying to let it slip away (questionable officiating in that one didn’t help either).

Then came Seton Hall – a three-game skid already threatening a high seed in both the Big East tournament and the overall NCAA Tournament. After half of fans at the Cintas Center had already headed for the exits, realizing the tailspin that was this fourth loss in a row, to a mediocre team, on our home court, by double digits, meant not just a loss of a high seed, but participation in March Madness altogether, and a chant started:

“Fi-re Stee-le” Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap. “Fi-re Stee-le” Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap. “Fi-re Stee-le” Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap.

The chant came primarily among the student section, which itself was also half-empty in the closing moments, but no one seemed to disagree. Quiet nods, muttered agreeance and emboldened anger followed in the concourse after the final buzzer.

The rest is history. Xavier beat a rock-bottom Georgetown to close the regular season, but then lost in still-puzzling fashion to Butler despite having a 4-point lead with seconds left.

The talent appears to be in place on the court: Some of the highest-rated recruits ever have come in the past few years (Scruggs, Dwon Odom and KyKy Tandy if you can believe it) and even more are on the way (4-star recruits Tyrell Ward, Kam Craft and Desmond Claude are on the way next year).

You would think that would be a credit to Steele and his ability to attract top talent, yet here we are: another collapse under Steele’s watch – and another missed NCAA Tourney, something that was an unfathomable just a few years ago when the program had been built into a 1 seed and a shot at a Final Four wasn’t so far-fetched (Still don’t know what happened against Florida State that year).

Each of the last three years, Steele’s teams have started 12-2, with not a total cake walk of a non-conference schedule, only to struggle in conference play and come up short. COVID has a lot to do with this, but it affected every team out there, so there is no excuse that separates this team’s failures vs. other successes.

2018-2019 – Started 9-5, ended 19-16; Missed the NCAA Tournament (lost in 2nd round of NIT)
2019-2020 – Started 12-2, ended 19-13; NCAA Tournament canceled due to COVID (Not likely they would have gotten in anyway).
2020-2021 – Started 12-2, ended 13-8 due to COVID-shortened season, Missed the NCAA Tournament.
2021-2022 – Started 12-2, ended ????

About the chant: A lot of people said “don’t do that” or “this is wrong” or “they need our support now more than ever”.

It’s important to remember that the players are young, developing men. So booing Zach Fremantle when he’s brought back on the court is a bit much, but booing the decision maker, the head coach, the grown man, the “professional” in this scenario, is not unwarranted if he’s not meeting the expectations of the job, which at Xavier have grown tremendously over the last 40 years.

Xavier hasn’t even had to ponder dismissing a coach in over 40 years. Every single head coach with a 3-year tenure or more since 1979 has made at least one tournament appearance. Steele has 0.

Bob Staak got the Muskies back to the tournament for the first time in 20 years in the ’80s. Pete Gillen made it a consistent thing, getting into the NCAA Tourney 7 times. Skip Prosser took the team into the A-10 and won two conference championships. Thad Matta got to the Elite Eight for the first time. Sean Miller went to an Elite Eight and a Sweet Sixteen back-to-back. Chris Mack led the team to a Number 1 seed on the back of joining the Big East.

Rationalizing what’s happened this year could be seen as a product of a weird lineup of players who don’t know their roles because of overlapping talent on the back of COVID super seniors staying an extra year and throwing off the cycle of talent development vs. talent implementation. Especially when Freemantle came back from injury seven games into the season – that threw a big wrench in who did what.

But the conclusion to that issue is that a good head coach would recognize that, take control of that, address that, and find a way to see a 10-1 start into at least the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tourney.

Steele will no doubt be on the hot seat as XU watches the NCAA Tournament from its dorm rooms in Norwood.

Reposted with permission from WCPO 9 Cincinnati.

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By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

At its best, sports can be an arena where everyone’s differences and skills are respected and prized and can come together in an affirmation of the value of talent, teamwork, perseverance, and discipline, wrote the authors of a new report on racial equity in college sports.

“Yet sadly, that’s often not the case in intercollegiate sports,” continued the authors of the report titled, “Achieving Racial Equity In College Sports.”

The report, released by the independent Knight Commission, features a call to the NCAA and its member colleges and universities to improve and enhance the academic performance and career chances of African American athletes who obtain sports-related jobs at much lower rates than Whites.

The Knight Commission, comprised of university administrators and former athletes, focused on racial equity for the report, which also included the experiences of over 80,000 African American athletes who compete in the NCAA.

The report outlined policy changes in four core areas that the NCAA and its member institutions should make to achieve racial equity in sports:

• Closing educational opportunity gaps to create equitable pathways for Black college athletes’ success during and after college.
• Holding institutions accountable in recruitment and hiring to achieve diversity and equity in athletics leadership.
• Investing in programs that support and enhance Black athletes’ college experience and promote inclusion and belonging.
• Creating more equitable opportunities for Black college athletes to assume leadership roles, especially in advocacy and governance.

The report also calls for the NCAA to dramatically boost financial support for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Accelerating Academic Success Program.

“The Commission’s report comes in the midst of a historic reckoning on race and a rise in Black student activism on college campuses,” stated former basketball standout Len Elmore, who chaired the Task Force that guided the Knight Commission Report.

“This moment demands transformational actions that specifically improve the college experience for Black athletes, coaches, and athletics personnel throughout all competitive divisions of college sports,” Elmore noted in a news release.

“The Knight Commission’s report lays out a road map for how the CFP, and the NCAA and its member institutions can turn pledges into policies that do just that.”

The Knight Commission urged the NCAA and its member schools to address educational and professional opportunity gaps between Black and White athletes.

The report urged more recruiting and the hiring of minorities and those from underrepresented groups.

The authors said the NCAA also should invest in Black athletes while they are on campus, including pouring resources into programs that support African Americans.

“Both NCAA reform and institutional reform of racial equity policies and procedures are long overdue,” the authors wrote.

“It is time now to pursue a more equitable and socially just model of college sports that provides fairer and more diverse opportunities for all college athletes, including Black athletes.”

The commission plans to hold a public town hall at 2 p.m. EST on Monday, May 24. The virtual event will include a discussion of the report and a question-and-answer session.

Click here to view the full report.

Click here to register for the virtual town hall.

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