7:39 AM ET Rayna Banks ANYTIME YOU SEE three missed calls and three voicemails in 45 minutes from Mom, something’s wrong. “Give me a call whenever you get this. Thank you.” Another red flag: She skipped saying, “Please.” My dad had gone in that Tuesday afternoon in 2019 for an MRI to get answers about
NCAABB
Mar 14, 2021 ESPN Sports Betting After a year without the NCAA tournament, the 2021 men’s basketball showcase kicks off Thursday with the First Four games, followed by 32 first-round games on Friday and Saturday. We have you covered with all the lines, and we will be updating and tracking the action as it comes.
7:30 AM ET The NCAA tournament begins Thursday, with 12 players from the 15-player final ballot for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award scheduled to take part in this season’s version of March Madness. With that in mind, we asked our panel of ESPN college basketball experts to weigh in on the player with the
7:00 AM ET JALEN SUGGS PACES in front of the television in his hotel room in Provo, Utah. The minutes are ticking down to tipoff for Gonzaga’s nationally televised men’s basketball game on Feb. 8 against BYU, but in Storrs, Connecticut, the seconds are ticking down on his friend Paige Bueckers. Suggs is wearing out
11:02 PM ET Georgia Tech star Moses Wright, the ACC player of the year, will miss the Yellow Jackets’ first-round game against Loyola Chicago in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, sources told ESPN on Wednesday night. Wright also likely will be out if Tech beats Loyola Chicago and advances to face the winner of Illinois–Drexel,
10:28 PM ET ESPN News Services LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky forward Isaiah Jackson says he will enter the NBA draft and be evaluated but not hire an agent, leaving the door open for him to return to school. The 6-foot-10 freshman averaged 8.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and blocked 65 shots this season
8:26 PM ET Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa — Drake basketball coach Darian DeVries has agreed to an eight-year contract extension through 2028-29, athletic director Brian Hardin announced Wednesday night. DeVries has led the Bulldogs to 20-win seasons each of his first three years at the school. Drake, at 25-9, has the third-most wins in
8:57 PM ET Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. — Marquette assistant Dwayne Killings was hired as Albany’s men’s basketball coach Wednesday. Killings served as associate head coach at Marquette under Steve Wojciechowski. Killings replaces Will Brown, who was not offered a contract extension after the season. “When I set out on this journey to become a
5:36 PM ET Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina basketball hall of famer Art Whisnant has died, the school announced Wednesday. No cause of death was given. He was 81 years old. Whisnant played for the Gamecocks from 1959 to ’62 and was a three-time all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection during that time. He finished
5:10 PM ET Oklahoma guard De’Vion Harmon will miss the Sooners’ first two games of the NCAA tournament after testing positive for COVID-19. No other players are in contact tracing, coach Lon Kruger said on Wednesday. Harmon, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, started 23 of 25 games for Oklahoma this season. He’s the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging
4:03 PM ET Associated Press Isaiah Livers of Michigan, Geo Baker of Rutgers and Jordan Bohannon of Iowa were among the college basketball players pushing for NCAA reforms on social media Wednesday, the day before the tournament tips off. With the hashtag #NotNCAAProperty, players pushed for the association to permit college athletes to earn money
11:06 AM ET For the first time, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, one of America’s favorite sporting events to bet on, will take place in a state with legal bookmakers operating right down the street from where the games are being played. According to figures released Sunday by the American Gaming Association, more than 47
8:30 AM ET The Gonzaga Bulldogs are a clear betting favorite to win the 2021 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, as Mark Few’s undefeated group tries to pull off college basketball’s first undefeated season since the Indiana Hoosiers in 1975-76. The Zags are also expected to own the Tournament Challenge consensus when ESPN’s audience has taken
5:15 PM ET The calendar turns to mid-March and the wildest three weeks will follow, filled with heroes and heartache, the improbable and incredible, and maybe even a moment for all time. Ron Hunter falling off his stool when Georgia State beat Baylor. UMBC pulling the upset to end all upsets against No. 1 seed
8:08 PM ET Utah has fired coach Larry Krystkowiak, the school announced Tuesday. Krystkowiak had been in charge of the Utes for 10 seasons. “Today, I informed Head Men’s Basketball Coach Larry Krystkowiak that I am making a change in the leadership of our men’s basketball program,” athletic director Mark Harlan said in a statement.
7:08 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens said Tuesday that he’s flattered by being mentioned as a candidate for the head-coaching opening at Indiana University but that he’s “extremely grateful” to be the coach of the Celtics. “It means a lot,” Stevens said of the groundswell of support for him to return
3:43 PM ET George Mason men’s basketball coach Dave Paulsen is out after six seasons, sources told ESPN. Paulsen failed to make the NCAA tournament in any of his six seasons at the Fairfax, Virginia school, but finished above .500 in four of his last five seasons. This season, the Patriots finished 13-9 overall and
2:33 PM ET Sister Jean is headed back to March Madness. Loyola-Chicago confirmed Tuesday that Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the 101-year-old chaplain for the school’s basketball team, will be in attendance Friday when the Ramblers open the NCAA tournament against Georgia Tech in Indianapolis. The Ramblers won the Missouri Valley Conference championship and are the