1:53 AM ET INDIANAPOLIS — After the buzzer sounded in West Virginia‘s 84-67 win over Morehead State in the first round of the NCAA tournament, coaches and players surrounded Bob Huggins, giving “Huggie Bear” all the bear hugs. Huggins, 67, won his 900th career game Friday, becoming the sixth Division I coach to reach the
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12:07 PM ET Friday gave the world the peak March Madness experience it had been missing for the past two years, with Oral Roberts’ overtime takedown of Ohio State in a 15 vs. 2 upset and North Texas’ OT shocker over Purdue among the top highlights. If history is any guide, Saturday will bring us
11:33 PM ET INDIANAPOLIS — In the closing seconds of North Texas‘ first-ever NCAA tournament win, star guard Javion Hamlet screamed toward the mostly Purdue crowd at Lucas Oil Stadium. “Don’t ever doubt me! Don’t ever doubt me,” Hamlet later recalled. “That’s what I told the Purdue fans. That’s what I’m telling the whole world.
9:25 PM ET The Watt household was divided on Friday night when Wisconsin, the alma mater of new Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt, faced off against North Carolina, the alma mater of Chicago Red Stars forward Kealia Watt. Ultimately, J.J. got the better of wife Kealia, with his Badgers pulling out a 85-62 win
7:38 PM ET As Oral Roberts head coach Paul Mills prepared his players for overtime Friday against Ohio State, a 2-seed in the NCAA tournament and the Big Ten tournament runner-up, he had one message for them. “We’re winning this,” he said. Mills said he preached confidence to the 15-seed Golden Eagles, who beat the
7:31 PM ET Jeff Borzello Close ESPN Staff Writer Basketball recruiting insider. Joined ESPN in 2014. Graduate of University of Delaware. Tim Bontemps Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens said Friday he’s not considering the head coaching vacancy at Indiana University, issuing his strongest denial yet. “I said it the other day: I’m not (considering it),”
2:08 PM ET Associated Press Florida will have to contend with Virginia Tech without sophomore forward Omar Payne. The 6-foot-10 Payne is being held out of the seventh-seeded Gators’ first-round matchup with the 10th-seeded Hokies. The school said the decision was made by head coach Mike White. Payne was ejected from the SEC tournament quarterfinals
4:17 PM ET Associated Press HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Hofstra men’s basketball coach Joe Mihalich, who missed last season after taking a medical leave, will shift jobs and become a special adviser to the school’s athletic director. The school announced the move Friday. In August, Hofstra said the 64-year-old Mihalich would be out but didn’t specify
2:09 PM ET Associated Press Virginia has finally arrived in Indianapolis for the NCAA tournament, the 68th and final team to do so. The Cavaliers remained in Charlottesville after a positive COVID-19 test caused them to pull out of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament before a semifinal game against Georgia Tech on March 11. The
2:19 PM ET Florida guard Tyree Appleby left the Gators’ first-round NCAA tournament victory against Virginia Tech on Friday after taking an elbow to the forehead in the second half. Appleby received stitches and did not return to the Gators’ 75-70 overtime win at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. He did come back to the team’s
1:51 PM ET Head coach Steve Wojciechowski is out at Marquette after seven seasons, the school announced Friday. Marquette finished 13-14 overall and 8-11 in Big East play this past season. “After a thorough evaluation of our program over the last week, which included multiple conversations with Steve, I concluded that now is the right
12:41 PM ET The day is finally here. March Madness has begun. There has not been the upset-filled, drama-packed, bracket-busting, 12-hours-on-the-couch, first day of the tournament in two years. The 2021 NCAA tournament begins in earnest today after Thursday’s First Four action. Texas Southern, Drake, Norfolk State and UCLA survived. No. 1 seeds Illinois and
12:14 PM ET Jeremy WillisESPN.com March Madness is full of escapes and displays of immense joy and camaraderie from a team. The BYU Cougars had both on Thursday and they haven’t even played an 2021 NCAA men’s tournament game yet. According to the NCAA’s health and safety protocols, team members and staff must undergo daily
10:35 AM ET Minnesota star Marcus Carr has entered the transfer portal, sources told ESPN. Carr, a 6-foot-2 guard from Toronto, earned third-team All-Big Ten honors this season after averaging 19.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists. He immediately becomes the most sought-after available transfer. Minnesota parted ways with head coach Richard Pitino earlier this
10:16 PM ET WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Drake won its first NCAA tournament game in exactly 50 years Thursday, overcoming two long scoring lulls to rally past Wichita State 53-52 in a First Four matchup of No. 11 seeds at Purdue’s Mackey Arena. The Bulldogs’ last tournament win came on March 18, 1971, when they
7:02 PM ET Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Richard Pitino has barely taken over at New Mexico and he’s already fielding a challenge for his Lobos. The would-be opponent is Iona, the program coached by Pitino’s father, Rick. “When I got the job, I got a text right away, ‘How about we play an Iona-New
12:55 PM ET Associated Press T.J. Otzelberger is returning to Iowa State as head basketball coach after two years at UNLV, athletic director Jamie Pollard announced Thursday. This will be the 43-year-old Otzelberger’s third stint in Ames, his first as head coach. He was an assistant under Greg McDermott, Fred Hoiberg and Steve Prohm, who
12:38 PM ET INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has completed more than 9,100 COVID-19 tests heading into the NCAA tournament with only eight total positives among Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 personnel. The tournament begins Thursday with the First Four, featuring games at Indiana’s Assembly Hall and Purdue’s Mackey Arena. The NCAA does not