NCAABB

1:30 AM ET The March Madness road of a pair of No. 1 seeds ended Thursday night, as the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Arizona Wildcats fell short of the Elite Eight in two more NCAA tournament bracket-shaking losses. The Zags, the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed who were pursuing the first national championship in school history,

12:35 AM ET SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Tommy Lloyd knew exactly what to expect from Houston; the Arizona men’s basketball coach used the word “effort” three times in his first answer about the Cougars in Wednesday’s news conference. But the Wildcats still weren’t prepared for what hit them at the AT&T Center on Thursday night.

9:36 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Twenty years ago, Eric Musselman was introduced as the new head coach of the Golden State Warriors. And two years later, he was fired after missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. On Thursday, however, Musselman found success in the Bay Area when he led his Arkansas squad to a

9:05 PM ET Associated Press Lamont Paris believes he’s the perfect coach to bring South Carolina back to the NCAA tournament. And he plans to do it in a hurry. Paris was hired Thursday, given a five-year deal worth $12 million and a mandate to take the Gamecocks to the Big Dance, where they’ve been

Do you get excited for the tourney to start every year so you can pull for your bracket, only to have it ruined by the end of the first weekend? Well, we’d like to provide you with an alternative. Welcome to Tournament Challenge Second Chance, the game that gives you another go at the men’s

5:03 PM ET Pete ThamelESPN Former South Carolina men’s basketball coach Frank Martin has an opportunity to coach at a new address. Martin was formally offered the head-coaching job at UMass on Thursday after the two sides met in person in South Carolina, a source told ESPN. Martin’s decision on whether to take the job

2:47 PM ET Pete ThamelESPN PHILADELPHIA — UCLA star forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. remains day-to-day with a sprained right ankle and will attempt to play in the No. 4 Bruins’ Sweet 16 game against No. 8 North Carolina on Friday. In the open practice period available for the media to view Thursday, Jaquez appeared to

3:20 PM ET Associated Press KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee has rewarded coach Rick Barnes for winning the Volunteers’ first SEC tournament championship in 43 years with a contract extension through the 2026-27 season. Athletic director Danny White announced the deal Thursday but did not disclose financial terms of the extension. “Having played and coached the

3:25 PM ET CHICAGO — Kansas Jayhawks coach Bill Self turns 60 later this year, although he’d rather not be reminded. “Fifty is a tough age,” he said with a smile Thursday, as Kansas practiced at the United Center in advance of Friday’s NCAA tournament Sweet 16 matchup against the Providence Friars. If the top-seeded

1:04 PM ET Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. — Creighton men’s basketball coach Greg McDermott has signed a new multiyear contract after leading the Bluejays to the NCAA tournament’s second round. Athletic director Marcus Blossom announced the new deal Thursday. Terms weren’t disclosed. McDermott owns a 276-137 record with seven NCAA tournament appearances in 12 seasons

1:53 PM ET CHICAGO — Providence coach Ed Cooley is a huge New England Patriots fan, and now has another reason to support his favorite NFL team. The Patriots lent Providence their team plane to help transport support staff members and some fans to Chicago for Friday’s NCAA tournament Sweet 16 matchup against top-seeded Kansas.

9:41 AM ET Memphis freshman Josh Minott is entering the 2022 NBA draft and will initially maintain his college eligibility, he told ESPN on Thursday. He said he has no plans to return to the Tigers. “I don’t plan to need my eligibility,” Minott said. “My work ethic and talent should be able to propel

7:32 AM ET March Madness rolls on Thursday night, as men’s Sweet 16 action from the South Regional in San Antonio and the West Regional in San Francisco will continue what has been a captivating 2022 NCAA tournament to date. The Duke Blue Devils will be among the most prominent storylines as usual, facing a

10:30 PM ET Pete ThamelESPN Start spreading the news. The NIT is headed out of New York. The NIT semifinals and final have been played annually at Madison Square Garden since 1938, but that run is ending, with sources telling ESPN that those rounds are expected to be played at a different location for at

8:55 PM ET ESPN News Services DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Mike Okauru scored 11 of his 28 points in the two overtime periods, Jaylen Sims also finished with 28 points and UNC Wilmington beat Middle Tennessee 96-90 on Wednesday night in the College Basketball Invitational championship game. Jaylen Fornes added 19 points for UNC Wilmington

6:42 PM ET Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. — New LSU coach Matt McMahon brushed aside the specter of possible NCAA sanctions for the program he agreed to take over this week, or how they might affect his ability to build on his already formidable career coaching record. “I couldn’t tell you anything about my

6:44 PM ET Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — The men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments are seeing double-digit viewer increases over last year. The men’s tournament is up 12% over last year. The tournament is also off to its best start in five years, averaging 9.12 million viewers through the second round on TBS, CBS, TNT

4:50 PM ET Associated Press SAN ANTONIO — Arizona guard Bennedict Mathurin said Wednesday that he has attempted to apologize to a TCU dance team member after a video widely circulated on social media showed the Pac-12 player of the year possibly making contact with her after the Wildcats’ second-round victory. Mathurin didn’t say what