Author: Aidan Joly

By Aidan Joly

The May 1 deadline for regular transfers to enter the portal has come and gone, meaning that we are going to quickly start running out of the big-time players that will be putting on new uniforms next season.

Still, there are plenty of new players who will be doing that who have committed to new schools recently. Here are 20 more.

Johnell Davis: Old school: Florida Atlantic | New school: Arkansas

Davis was one of the best remaining players in the portal. He was vital in Florida Atlantic’s run to the Final Four in 2023 and got even better in the season following, averaging 18.2 points per game, grabbing 6.3 rebounds per contest and hitting 41.4% of his threes. He is also a very physical defensive player. He becomes a great add for John Calipari’s first season in Fayetteville.

Rylan Griffen: Old school: Alabama | New school: Kansas

Griffen, a former top-50 prospect, had a heck of a season as a sophomore at Alabama, averaging 11.2 points per game on 39.2% from three-point range. He also has decent size for a guard, standing at 6-foot-5. He is certainly an appealing player, having demonstrated a proven ability to start games (started 33 games) and be a very good offensive player at a high-level program.

Norchad Omier: Old school: Miami | New school: Baylor

Omier is a little undersized big, standing at 6-foot-7, but he has a very good shooting touch at the rim. That helped him a lot with Miami this past season, a season in which he averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds per game, on his way to all-ACC honors as a junior, while showing some flashes from three, hitting 35.3% of his attempts. Overall, he shot 59.8% from the field.

Roddy Gayle: Old school: Ohio State | New school: Michigan

Gayle averaged 13.5 points per game for the Buckeyes as a sophomore. He’s a physical shooting guard who can trick defenders and take them off of the ball. He improved in just about every category from his freshman to sophomore year, except three-point percentage, which dropped from 42.9% as a freshman to 28.4% as a sophomore, while doubling his attempts per game. He’ll have to improve on that. If he does, he should be a key part of Dusty May’s rotation in year one in Ann Arbor.

Jonas Aidoo: Old school: Tennessee | New school: Arkansas

Another very quality pickup for Calipari and the Razorbacks for this season. He took big strides as a junior this past season, averaging 11.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, while starting all 36 games for Tennessee. He will be one of the SEC’s top defenders as a big man as well, although he did struggle against some of the top big men in the country last year (Zach Edey included).

Cade Tyson: Old school: Belmont | New school: North Carolina

A former Missouri Valley Freshman of the Year winner, Tyson is a career 44.6% three point shooter on nearly 300 attempts in two seasons at Belmont. He averaged 16.2 points per game as a sophomore this past season for the Bruins. UNC’s only big transfer add so far, he should have a significant role in Chapel Hill this season.

Max Shulga: Old school: VCU | New school: Villanova

Shulga is a veteran player who has over 125 games of collegiate experience to his name over four seasons. After following Ryan Odom from Utah State to VCU one year ago, he averaged 14 points per game for the Rams and made 41.5% of his threes. He is good both on and off the ball, and should be a key veteran presence for a Villanova team that lacked it a bit this season.

Deivon Smith: Old school: Utah | New school: St. John’s

Smith kind of struggled to find his footing at both Mississippi State and Georgia Tech over three seasons as nothing more than a role player, but he really found his footing at Utah last season, averaging 13.3 points per game and made 40.8% of his threes. He becomes the first big pickup for Rick Pitino and St. John’s after some swings and misses on a few other names.

Cliff Omoruyi: Old school: Rutgers | New school: Alabama

Omoruyi is one of the best shot-swatters in the nation, finishing fourth nationally in the regular season with 91 total blocks. Standing at 6-foot-11, he is an elite rim protector who has won back-t0-back all-Big Ten defense team honors. He also averaged 10.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game along the way last season. Alabama had lacked a great rim player so far this off-season, until Omoruyi joined up.

Chibuzo Agbo: Old school: Boise State | New school: USC

Agbo is a very physical player, and is built like one, standing at 6-foot-7 and weighing in at 226 pounds. He earned 66 starts in two seasons at Boise State, and this past season he averaged 13.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while also becoming a good shooter (40.9% from three, 50.3% overall). He started his career at Texas Tech.

Javian McCollum: Old school: Oklahoma | New school: Georgia Tech

McCollum was one of the better scoring guards in the Big 12 this past season, averaging 13.3 points per game on 50.3% from the field in his lone season in Oklahoma after transferring in from Siena one year ago. His three-point percentage was just 31.4%, though. Still, Georgia Tech has something good going under Damon Stoudamire and McCollum will have a chance to be a key guy for the Yellow Jackets this season.

Brandon Garrison: Old school: Oklahoma State | New school: Kentucky

A former top-50 prospect one year ago, he showed some flashes why at Oklahoma State. He averaged 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game in just 22.7 minutes per contest. It’s a question as to why now-former Cowboys coach Mike Boynton did not play him more. With three years of eligibility to go, he will have the chance to become a great player under new Kentucky coach Mark Pope.

Isaiah Swope: Old school: Indiana State | New school: Saint Louis

Another player who following coach Josh Schertz from Indiana State to Saint Louis, his stats pop off the page. He averaged 15.9 points per game for the Sycamores and made 36.2% from three, for a total shooting percentage of 43.3%. He shot 42.3% from three during his one season at Southern Indiana in 2022-23. Teamed back up with Robbie Avila, the duo should be very good again, albeit in a different jersey.

Koby Brea: Old school: Dayton | New school: Kentucky

Brea could very well be the best three-point shooter in college basketball. He made 49.8% from behind the three-point arc for Dayton last season, which led the nation. He has elite, in-the-gym range. He can bury just about any shot he takes. Still though, he only averaged 11.1 points per game at Dayton. He should have a very large role at Kentucky this season.

Desmond Claude: Old school: Xavier | New school: USC

Claude was maybe the most improved player in the country last season, going from averaging 4.7 points per game as a freshman in 2022-23 to putting up 16.6 points per game as a sophomore last season, while also grabbing 4.2 rebounds per game and dishing out 3.2 assists. He should be a big part of the plans for Eric Musselman’s first team at USC, which has several good portal adds.

Chucky Hepburn: Old school: Wisconsin | New school: Louisville

Hepburn started all 103 games he appeared in for Wisconsin over three seasons, establishing himself as one of the more sure-handed guards you’ll see, while also being a very solid defensive player, earning all-Big Ten defense honors in 2023-24. He topped out at 12.2 points per game as a sophomore in 2022-23, but saw those numbers dip to 9.2 per game in 2023-24. He will be plug-and-play in Pat Kelsey’s first Cardinals team.

Tarris Reed: Old school: Michigan | New school: UConn

Another former top-50 prospect, he was a role player in 2022-23 before having a starter role on a bad Michigan team this past season. Still, he was able to average 9.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game for the Wolverines. He does need to improve on defense, though. UConn seems like a good situation for him, though, even if they need to replace Donovan Clingan.

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield: Old school: Louisville | New school: NC State

Huntley-Hatfield was once a five-star prospect in 2021, and finally started to show why after not getting a ton of playing time at Tennessee in 2021-22, and then struggling in 2022-23 in his first season at Louisville. In 2023-24 he finally showed flashes on a bad Cardinals team, averaging 12.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, one of the bright spots on the team. There should be lots of chances for him to do well at NC State.

Julian Larry: Old school: Indiana State | New school: Texas

It is rare that speed in guards is much of a thing these days, but Larry is blazing fast. He is a guard who can fly past defenders and get to the rim, or he can get out and punish you from behind the three-point line. He did both, averaging 11 points per game and shot 46.2% from three, a percentage that led Indiana State in 2023-24. He should have a good sized role at Texas in the winter.

Joshua Jefferson: Old school: Saint Mary’s | New school: Iowa State

This feels like a very good fit. Iowa State needed a defensive-minded big man, and got one here. He can defend the perimeter well to the tune of 1.2 steals per game for the Gaels, but can also defend inside, even if the block numbers are not there. He’s only 6-foot-8 for an interior defender, for what it’s worth. He’s a capable shooter too, having averaged 10.2 points per game on 46.9% from the field. He started 26 games as a sophomore.

By Aidan Joly

May 1 marks the deadline for college basketball players to enter the transfer portal, meaning that a lot of answers are coming soon as to how many of the country’s best teams will look next year.

Some more have already committed. Here are a look at 20 more players. If you want to see the first part of this, you can find that here.

Trey Townsend; Old school: Oakland | New school: Arizona

The 6-foot-6 forward scored 1,813 points in four years at Oakland and averaged 17.3 points per game this year en route to winning the Horizon League Player of the Year award. He then led Oakland to an upset of Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Arizona has to replace a lot of production from last season, and Townsend will be a big part of that.

Vladislav Goldin; Old school: Florida Atlantic | New school: Michigan

Goldin follows coach Dusty May from FAU to Ann Arbor. A 7-foot-1 center, he has played in a ton of big games and has become a rugged and seasoned veteran as a result. He averaged 15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game this past season while shooting 67% from the floor. He should continue to be one of the most efficient inside players in the country.

Terrence Edwards; Old school: James Madison | New school: Louisville

Edwards led James Madison this season with 17.2 points per game, a squad that went 32-4 and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament. He also had 3.4 assists per game. He improved in each of his four seasons at James Madison and is sure to be a big part of the equation for new coach Pat Kelsey.

PJ Haggerty; Old school: Tulsa | New school: Memphis

Haggerty began his career at TCU and only appeared in six games in 2022-23, but became a huge part of Tulsa’s squad this season. He averaged 21.2 points per game in his first full season of college basketball, including 54% from two-point range (he shot 49.3% overall). He has three years of eligibility, so he could end up being a big part of Memphis’ plans for the next few years to come.

Kylan Boswell; Old school: Arizona | New school: Illinois

Boswell was a key rotational piece for Arizona this past season, starting 35 of the Wildcats’ 36 games and averaged 9.6 points per game and dished out 3.6 assists per contest. He also showed promise as a shooter, hitting them at a 37.9% clip. There is still some development to be done, especially on the defensive end, but he has a solid track record to start his career.

Kanaan Carlyle; Old school: Stanford | New school: Indiana

Carlyle showed a lot of promise as a freshman at Stanford, appearing in 23 games (16 starts). In that time, he averaged 11.5 points per game and shot 32% from three. His best games came against NCAA tournament teams, scoring 31 points against Washington State and 28 against Arizona. With three years of eligibility, he can be a big part of Indiana’s plans.

Danny Wolf; Old school: Yale | New school: Michigan

Another pretty good get for Dusty May in his first year in Ann Arbor, Wolf averaged 14.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks for Yale, a team that reached the second round of the NCAA tournament. As a seven-footer, he also made 34.5% of his threes for the season, certainly a good number for a center. Him and Goldin should make for a fantastic duo in the Wolverines’ frontcourt.

Ryan Conwell; Old school: Indiana State | New school: Xavier

Conwell averaged 16.6 points per game last season, good for second on an Indiana State team that should have made the NCAA tournament and made it to the NIT title game. That number was second on the team. He also made 40.7% of his threes on just over seven tries per game. He also rates as a pretty good defensive player. It’s a solid add as Sean Miller tries to get Xavier back to the NCAA tournament.

Chris Youngblood; Old school: South Florida | New school: Alabama

Youngblood was the co-AAC Player of the Year as he averaged 15.3 points on 41.6% shooting from three on a Bulls team that won the AAC regular season title. A one-year rental for Alabama, he should fit into the rotation well for the Crimson Tide, which shoots a ton of threes. He also has good size for a guard, at 6-foot-4.

Ja’Kobi Gillespie; Old school: Belmont | New school: Maryland

Gillespie only stands a 6-foot, but he is one of the most efficient shooters you’ll see. He shot 66% from inside the three-point arc for Belmont last year, and 38.7% from outside of it. In turn, he averaged 17.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game for a Belmont squad that won 20 games. Maryland is in need of backcourt help, and Gillespie should be able to help that in a big way.

Saint Thomas; Old school: Northern Colorado | New school: USC

Thomas, who started his career at Loyola Chicago, averaged 19.7 points, 4.2 assists and 1.7 steals while shooting 33% from three for Northern Colorado this past season. He stands at 6-foot-7 and is listed as a forward. Northern Colorado produced one of the best transfers in the country last season in Dalton Knecht at Tennessee. Can they come though again? Thomas has one season of eligibility.

Dante Maddox Jr.; Old school: Toledo | New school: Xavier

Maddox seems like a similar player to Quincy Olivari and Dayvion McKnight, both of whom were very productive for Xavier this past season. Maddox is a good shooter, having made 42.4% of his threes in two seasons with Toledo. He averaged 15.6 points per game for the Rockets this past season. He started his career at CSU Fullerton.

Jordan Pope; Old school: Oregon State | New school: Texas

A high-quality scorer, Pope led Oregon State with 17.6 points per game, while dishing out 3.4 assists per game and shot 37.1% from three for the Beavers, who did struggle in 2023-24. There isn’t a ton more to his game besides the high scoring, but with two years of eligibility should be able to improve upon that. With Texas losing Max Abmas and Tyrese Hunter, Pope is sure to play a role in replacing them.

Jacob Crews; Old school: UT Martin | New school: Missouri

A solid all-around player, he averaged 19.1 points per game and shot 41.4% from three as a junior on a team that won a share of the Ohio Valley conference title. He also grabbed 8.2 rebounds per game. As a good shooter, he is a big pickup for Missouri, which needs help anywhere it can get it after going 0-18 in SEC play last season.

Aden Holloway; Old school: Auburn | New school: Alabama

Holloway goes from one side of the rivalry to the other. He is a former five-star prospect who struggled as a freshman at Auburn, averaging just 7.3 points per game on just 31.8% from the field. However, the upside is clear as a former top prospect with three years of eligibility. He may be a project, but the potential is still there.

Aaron Bradshaw; Old school: Kentucky | New school: Ohio State

A top prospect who was the No. 6 player in the ESPN top 100 one year ago, he struggled to find minutes in a crowded frontcourt in Lexington. The seven-footer did show some promise throughout the season, especially so as a perimeter defender and it earned him 10 starts during the season. He will look for more consistent minutes under new Buckeyes coach Jake Diebler.

Aidan Mahaney: Old school: Saint Mary’s | New school: UConn

Mahaney was the WCC Freshman of the Year in 2022-23 and then made the all-league first team this past season. He averaged 13.9 points per game over two seasons with the Gaels and has made 37.5% of his threes in that time. Mahaney is a natural shot-maker who should fit well in the UConn system as it tries to win a third consecutive national title.

Dre Davis; Old school: Seton Hall | New school: Ole Miss

Davis, who started his career at Louisville, had a breakout 2023-24 campaign, averaging 15.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for a Seton Hall team that went on to win the NIT. He also shot 35% from three for the Pirates. He’ll have one year of eligibility for Chris Beard at Ole Miss.

Michael Ajayi; Old school: Pepperdine | New school: Gonzaga

After spending two seasons at the JUCO level Ajayi had a huge season for Pepperdine, averaging 17.2 points per game and shooting 47% from behind the arc on 2.5 attempts per game. He was also a strong rebounder, averaging 9.9 boards per game. Gonzaga struggled with depth in the 2023-24 season, and Ajayi is sure to be a part of fixing that issue.

Frankie Collins; Old school: Arizona State | New school: TCU

A veteran point guard who began his career at Michigan, Collins averaged 13.8 points per game for Arizona State in 2023-24. He is a high-volume shooter who did that on making 42.6% of his shots and 31% from three. He will step into a fairly large role for TCU from the jump as the Horned Frogs replace Jameer Nelson Jr. and Avery Anderson, among others.

By Aidan Joly

The college basketball season has been over for two weeks and the transfer portal is in full swing.

Plenty of good players remain in the portal as of Tuesday, but many great players have already committed to their new schools, some of whom are set to be major additions for their new teams this season. Let’s get into some of them and how they will impact their new teams.

Tucker DeVries; Old school: Drake | New school: West Virginia

DeVries is the best player in the portal who has committed to far, and he quickly followed his father Darian as he took the head coaching job in Morgantown. A dynamic offensive threat who won the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year twice, he averaged 21.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this past season. He is also a 35.9% three point shooter for his career. He should quickly be the Mountaineers’ best player this year.

Zeke Mayo; Old school: South Dakota State | New school: Kansas

Mayo joins the growing list of Summit League Players of the Year transferring up to the big boys after Max Abmas became the leading scorer at Texas after transferring from Oral Roberts and Baylor Scheierman starring at Creighton after winning the award, also at South Dakota State. Mayo averaged 18.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game this year at SDSU, while shooting 38.3% from three for his career. He scored 19 points on 11 shots against Iowa State in the NCAA tournament, a hint of how he can do against Big 12 competition.

Jeremy Roach; Old school: Duke | New school: Baylor

The last link to the Mike Krzyzewski era at Duke, Roach is a smart and experienced guard who has 108 starts to his name in his time with the Blue Devils. He was third team All-ACC this year after averaging 14.0 points and 3.3 assists per game this season. It’s a one-year rental, and Roach will replace RayJ Dennis at the point guard position in Waco.

AJ Storr; Old school: Wisconsin | New school: Kansas

Another great add for Bill Self and the Jayhawks, who picked up a second of the top five or six players in the portal. He was a huge part of the offense at Wisconsin this past season, averaging 16.8 points per game, but only did shoot 43.4% from the field. With better playmakers around him this season, the 6-foot-6 wingman should be able to improve his efficiency.

Mark Mitchell; Old school: Duke | New school: Missouri

Mitchell is a former five-star prospect who still has NBA-level upside. He started 67 games in two seasons at Duke, playing both forward positions, but mostly played the power forward position in 2023-24. In that role, he averaged 11.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting 54% from the field. Missouri is in a deep rebuild after going 0-18 in SEC play in 2023-24, but Mitchell could become a star for them. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Tramon Mark; Old school: Arkansas | New school: Texas

Mark spent three seasons at Houston before going to Fayetteville for one season, where he averaged 16.2 points per game on 48.2% from the field. He has never been that efficient of a shooter, a career 42.4% from the field (improving on the career mark in 2023-24) and just 32% from three. However, Texas is losing all of its top four scorers, so Mark will have to be a real scoring option this season.

Oumar Ballo; Old school: Arizona | New school: Indiana

Ballo doesn’t have a ton of versatility to his game as a seven-foot center, but averaged 12.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game at Arizona this past season. Despite that, he is a difficult player to defend due to his size and does play well on the defensive end of the floor. He has been productive at an elite program, and will help Indiana replace Kel’el Ware, who is heading to the NBA.

Robbie Avila; Old school: Indiana State | New school: Saint Louis

Avila, who became a college hoops folk hero this season, is also a good player. The 6-foot-10 center averaged 17.4 points per game at Indiana State on 53.6% shooting and also grabbed 6.6 rebounds per contest. He also shot 39.4% from three and plays a very good inside-out game. That makes him a different type of player. He is following coach Josh Schertz, who also went from Indiana State to Saint Louis in the coaching carousel.

Tony Perkins; Old school: Iowa | New school: Missouri

Another solid get for Dennis Gates as Missouri continues its rebuild. Perkins started all of Iowa’s 34 games this season and averaged 14.0 points, 4.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He is also a great defender, as can be seen in his steal numbers. Perkins is a physical guard who should have a big role on this year’s team, while creating a nice duo with the aforementioned Mitchell.

Darlinstone Dubar; Old school: Hofstra | New school: Tennessee

The second year in a row that Hofstra has had a star guard come to the SEC, Dubar follows former Alabama guard Aaron Estrada. Dubar, a 6-foot-6 wing, averaged 17.8 points and 6.8 rebounds for the Pride this season. Dubar started his career at Iowa State in 2020-21 and got a starting nod in seven games. With a good shot and good size, he will try to help replace All-American Dalton Knecht in Knoxville.

Zvonimir Ivisic; Old school: Kentucky | New school: Arkansas

Ivisic showed some amazing flashes of potential at Kentucky this season. In his debut in January against Georgia, the 7-foot-2 Croatian scored 13 points on 5-7 shooting in 18 minutes, and then scored 18 points on 7-11 in 20 minutes against Alabama later in the season. A rare combination of size, skill and shooting ability, a full off-season to develop and condition could very well make him an elite player as he joins John Calipari at Arkansas.

Meechie Johnson; Old school: South Carolina | New school: Ohio State

Johnson was the leading scorer for South Carolina last season, averaging 14.1 points per game, but was somewhat inefficient shooting the ball, at just 39.9%. He returns to Columbus with this move, where he played 43 games between 2020 and 2022, starting five of them. He will have one season of eligibility under new coach Jake Diebler.

Kobe Johnson; Old school: USC | New school: UCLA

Johnson is more of a defensive presence than anything else. He’s elite at that, and it showed up in collecting 2.2 steals per game for the Trojans this past season. He also averaged 10.9 points per game, albeit on a team that struggled a lot of the way. He will be a plug-and-play veteran player as he heads to the other side of town to play for Mick Cronin.

Malik Mack; Old school: Harvard | New school: Georgetown

A great pickup for Georgetown and Ed Cooley as he continues the rebuild of the program. Mack averaged 17.2 points and 4.8 assists per game as a freshman at Harvard on the way to the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award. He had 18 points and six assists in a game against Boston College and had 27 against Indiana, a great indicator of what kind of player he can be against high-major competition.

Milos Uzan; Old school: Oklahoma | New school: Houston

Uzan, a 6-foot-4 guard, started 56 games in two seasons in Norman. He is very smart with the basketball, averaging 4.7 assists per game to just 2.1 turnovers per game. Scoring the basketball he is solid, averaging 9.0 points per game on 39.2% from the field, which was a large falloff from 47% from the field as a freshman. In any event, Uzan will be tasked with being part of the replacement of star point guard Jamal Shead. He won’t, and shouldn’t, handle that task alone.

Aljiah Martin; Old school: Florida Atlantic | New school: Florida

It’s easy to be a fan of what Todd Golden has done at Florida the past few years, and it seems like Martin can be a player who fits into that system smoothly. Martin earned all-conference honors three times at FAU to the tune of a career 11.9 points per game and shooting 36.9% from three. He is also a good player at the defensive end of the floor. Martin is a proven player who has been a key contributor on winning teams. He should be able to do the same as he moves up to the SEC.

Dug McDaniel; Old school: Michigan | New school: Kansas State

Even though Michigan was bad this season, McDaniel averaged 16.3 points and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 36.8% from three. McDaniel, who is just 5-foot-11, also is a pretty good defensive player who was probably the Wolverines’ best defensive player this past season. He will immediately be thrown into a Kansas State team that needs to improve its guard play. He should be able to be a key cog there.

Tyrese Hunter; Old school: Texas | New school: Memphis

A former Big 12 Rookie of the Year at Iowa State in 2021-22, Hunter spent two seasons at Texas and started 71 games, averaging 10.7 points per game in those two seasons. After he was a star freshman at Iowa State it seemed like he would be a star, but it has not worked out that way. A slight step down might allow him to be one of the top players on a good team, provided Memphis can figure it out this season.

Skyy Clark; Old school: Louisville | New school: UCLA

This is a strange fit on the surface. Clark and Mick Cronin seem to not go together at all, but they’ll give it a shot. A former top-40 prospect who spent one season at Illinois, which was really only 13 games, he led a bad Louisville team with 13.2 points per game. Anyone who has followed him the past few years knows that he has a wildly erratic career so far. He’ll look to turn it around at UCLA.

Myles Rice; Old school: Washington State | New school: Indiana

Rice was a big part of the Washington State team that got the program to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008, averaging 14.8 points, 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game in his first season of college basketball. He will need to improve on his three-point shooting after he shot just 27.5%, very low for a 6-foot-2 guard. However, there is a lot to like if he develops right with three seasons of eligibility left. He should also be a big part of upgrading Indiana’s guard play.

By Aidan Joly

On Monday night, the UConn Huskies became the first team since 2006 and 2007 Florida to win back-to-back national championships, beating Purdue 75-60 in the title game.

It was another unprecedented blast through the tournament. The Huskies were never challenged in any of their six tournament games, winning each of them by at least 14 points and winning by an average of 23.3 points, which was even larger than the 2023 run, where the Huskies won by an average of 20.0 points.

It took down last year’s runner-up in San Diego State in the Sweet 16, pounded Big Ten champ Illinois in the Elite Eight, took down red-hot Alabama in the national semifinal before taking down a Purdue team that had college basketball’s first two-time national player of the year in four decades.

UConn finished the season 37-3, its three losses coming to Kansas on Dec. 1 when the Jayhawks shot 64% from three (UConn was also without Stephon Castle in this game), to Seton Hall on Dec. 20 when Donovan Clingan was limited to just 14 minutes due to injury, and then finally to Creighton on Feb. 20 when the Bluejays made 14 three-pointers. Simply, UConn was an unstoppable force for the entire season and never really struggled.

Monday night’s title game was like many other UConn games we saw this season. Purdue had made it competitive for much of the first half before UConn slowly pulled away as the break approached, then the Huskies turned it on at the start of the second half and it ended up being a blowout as UConn cruised for most of the second half.

What’s even crazier about this UConn run was that the Huskies were supposed to take a step back this year. It lost three starters in Jordan Hawkins, Adama Sanogo and Andre Jackson from last year’s team. Key role players like Joey Calcaterra and Naheim Alleyne also needed to be replaced.

Instead, Tristen Newton became an All-American after not having a big role last season. Clingan and Castle became stars who will likely both be NBA lottery picks. Cam Spencer ended up being an amazing fit after transferring in from Rutgers last summer.

This is different from Florida’s back-t0-back titles nearly two decades ago. The 2007 Florida team returned almost its entire core, including Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah. UConn lost several key pieces.

It’s a massive testament to the system that Dan Hurley has built in Storrs: elite offense, being one of the best offensive teams we have seen in decades, maybe ever, elite defense, and being one of the best rebounding teams in the nation. The system works, and the system is elite. UConn has not lost an NCAA tournament game since being upset in the first round by New Mexico State in 2022. 12 straight tournament wins later and Hurley has delivered UConn its fifth and sixth national titles.

The teams that come to mind, in recent memory, include the Duke team from 2001, Kentucky teams from both 2012 and 2015 (the 2015 Wildcats didn’t win the national championship but went 38-1) and the Gonzaga team from 2021, which also did not win the national championship but finished 31-1.

Still, none of those teams finished with better KenPom offense numbers than this year’s UConn team did.

It finished 5.26 points in KenPom adjusted efficiency margin better than the second place team in Houston, the second-largest margin in the KenPom era (1996-97). The only larger difference was 1998-99 Duke, which finished an absurd 11.35 points ahead of second-place Michigan State. Still, those Blue Devils did not win the national title – it coincidentally lost to UConn in that year’s title game.

It is not supposed to be easy to win in the NCAA tournament. Its single elimination format breeds and encourages chaos and unpredictability, but Hurley and the Huskies of the past two years have managed to master it.

This title pushes into even more solidifying UConn being in the elite tier of the sport’s bluebloods. The 1999 team was a heavy underdog in the title game and the 2011 and 2014 championships were a result of Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier going on crazy runs and willing the Huskies to titles. Even in 2023, UConn only faced one top-four seed the entire tournament.

This team dominated against the best of the best in the sport. The Huskies made it look easy.

By Aidan Joly

So much for the national title game being the biggest story in college basketball, on the day of the game.

Late Sunday night, news broke of the biggest coaching move not just this year, but in many, many years: John Calipari will leave Kentucky after 15 years at the helm in Lexington to take the job at conference rival Arkansas.

There had definitely been whispers about Calipari’s future in Lexington after a string of early NCAA tournament losses and those whispers got even louder after Kentucky lost to 14-seed Oakland in the first round a few weeks ago. The Kentucky program has not been to the second weekend of the tournament since 2019 and has lost in the first round in two of the past three years. That came after a painful 9-16 campaign in 2020-21 after Kentucky had been in the preseason top 10.

Only one national title in 15 years and only four trips to the Final Four (none since 2015) had started to ding him with the fanbase as well.

12 days ago, athletic director Mitch Barnhart publicly confirmed that Calipari would return for the 2024-25 season, but a painfully awkward TV interview the next day made it clear that the relationship was souring. The days were clearly beginning to be numbered.

The idea that Calipari is leaving one of the top jobs in the country for what on the surface is a lower-level job shows how desperately he wanted to get out at Kentucky. According to CBS Sports, Calipari had significant interest in the Ohio State job before they took the interim tag off of Jake Diebler.

Then, the unexpected chain of events began. SMU surprisingly fired Rob Lanier after two good seasons and a NIT appearance this season. From there, SMU snapped up Andy Enfield from USC after a disappointing season in Los Angeles. Eric Musselman then left Arkansas to take the job at USC, setting up Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek to make this shoot-for-the-moon run at Calipari.

Reportedly, the big force in this move was John Tyson, a billionaire Arkansas benefactor and the heir to the Tyson Foods empire, a longtime friend of Calipari’s. Calipari will have one of the largest NIL budgets in the country in Fayetteville.

In many ways, this is a win-win-win for all sides involved.

Arkansas gets a coach that is a winner and someone who could very well make the Razorbacks an annual contender for the national championship after Musselman brought the program back to national prominence. He got Arkansas to the Elite Eight twice, on top of another Sweet 16 appearance. The Razorbacks get an improvement at head coach, something that is rare when a coach leaves for another job – and at that, someone as good as Musselman.

For Kentucky, they get to move on from a guy who was clearly no longer the right coach for the program, and get to do it without paying any of his $33 million buyout. And they get a new coach for the first time since 2009, and with that, a chance to start fresh.

For Calipari, he is now free from one of the toughest jobs in the country, one that is probably the highest pressure job in the country. He also gets a fresh start at a new school, and he still has things to prove.

Where does Kentucky go from here?

Dan Hurley is the shoot-for-the-moon option, but it is tough to see him moving on from UConn, especially so if the Huskies win another national championship on Monday night.

Billy Donovan is another option and on the surface would make a ton of sense, but he has not coached in college basketball in nearly a decade and may not want to leave a cushy NBA job to head back to the college game.

Alabama coach Nate Oats makes a lot of sense, as does Baylor coach Scott Drew. Both recently re-did their contracts, and Oats has an eight-figure buyout. But if Kentucky wants him, that shouldn’t matter. Drew would make sense too, and he has a smaller buyout.

BYU coach Mark Pope would be a solid hire, as would Auburn coach Bruce Pearl.

The Kentucky job is indeed the highest pressure job in the country, but also the one with the highest upside. Eight national championships from five different coaches and going back-and-forth with Kansas for the winningest program of all-time. The expectations are unbelievably high, but there’s no ceiling to what can be accomplished there with the right coach.

Calipari was no longer the right coach for the program. That was clear. Now, after this stunning turn of events, the two sides are free from each other.

By Aidan Joly

The Final Four has arrived. This week, UConn, Purdue, Alabama and NC State will all head to Glendale, Arizona to decide the national title for the 2023-24 season.

There’s still questions to be answered about how the final games of the college basketball season will go. Let’s get into a few of them.

Can anyone beat UConn? Can Alabama keep up with the Huskies?

UConn has blown through the first four games of the tournament with ease. It has won its four games by 39 (Stetson), 17 (Northwestern), 30 (San Diego State) and 25 (Illinois) so far.

It is the most efficient offense in the country. It is worth noting that the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 most efficient KenPom offenses are all still alive. UConn will face Alabama, who is the No. 3 offense, in the national semifinal in the late game on Saturday.

Alabama has certainly not won its games by blowouts, its largest margin of victory in the tournament was a 13-point win against Charleston in the first round. It beat North Carolina by two in the Sweet 16 and Clemson by seven in the Elite Eight.

So, that being said, can Alabama beat UConn? It will need to hit threes in bunches in order to do so, as that seems to be the recipe in which a few teams have been able to overcome the Huskies this season. It will probably need to hit about 15 of them in order to do so. It can do that, since it is one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country. It has hit at least eight threes in every tournament game so far and has hit 11 or more in three of the four games. Creighton was the last team to beat UConn (Feb. 20) and did it on 14 threes.

It’s also worth noting that UConn has only given up 18 threes the entire tournament, so, yeah.

I can also see a scenario where in a hypothetical title matchup, Purdue gets a few UConn players in foul trouble and the offense gets going and Purdue is able to beat them.

However, just because this can happen, does it mean it will? It’s certainly not a guarantee. UConn does have this inevitable feel to it, but the best team doesn’t always win this tournament. So it’s possible.

Can NC State pull off another upset?

This has been the run of all runs for NC State, who was not even supposed to be in the tournament before winning five games in five days to win the ACC title, and now becomes the sixth 11-seed to ever reach the Final Four.

It’s an all-time magic and destiny team. DJ Burns is a big part of that while capturing the attention of America . However, Burns will be forced to guard Zach Edey in Saturday’s early game, and he has not faced the length and talent of a guy like Edey in this entire run so far. That will surely be a very real challenge for him.

Purdue will surely stick to the plan that has worked all season – get Edey the ball no matter what. The only thing that could work here is Burns being extremely physical with Edey and getting him out of his spots. If that can happen, we might end up seeing a different type of game.

While this run has been incredible for the Wolfpack, it is very tough to see them doing it another time. They have not faced a team this good or this potent on offense.

On just one quick note, it is awesome to see Matt Painter finally make a Final Four. He’s been grinding away at Purdue for nearly two decades now and has never gotten to this point. Painter and the entire Purdue team has caught so much grief in the past year after the stunning first round loss, and this redemption story is one of the best things that sports has to offer.

Who will be the Final Four’s star?

There’s certainly several candidates here. There is obviously the betting favorite in Edey, but it will likely come from the team that ends up winning the national title. Edey certainly has a chance though, just as Purdue has a great chance at winning the national title.

Purdue’s star put up one of the most dominant performances of the entire season in the Elite Eight game against Tennessee. In the win, he put up 40 points on 13-21 from the field and 14-22 from the free throw line and grabbed 16 rebounds, five of them on the offensive glass. He can surely put up another game like that on either Saturday or Monday.

Other guys to look at here include Cam Spencer and Donovan Clingan, who have been UConn’s stalwarts all season long. Clingan has been ascending all season and has claimed star status in college basketball as of late, but can maintain superstar status with a big game this weekend.

Of course, there is Burns, but it is tough to predict a guy as the star of the weekend when it is tough to see him playing two games in Glendale. In this situation, you kind of have to go with a guy who you are confident will play in the national title game.

By Aidan Joly

Cinderella is nowhere to be found entering the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.

There were still upsets in the first weekend of the tournament, with Oakland stunning Kentucky, Yale taking down Auburn and James Madison winning with a commanding performance against Wisconsin.

However, all of those teams lost in the second round, meaning there’s no real Cinderella team left.

That’s okay though. That just means that we’ll have the teams we discussed all year long duking it out for the title. All of the 1-seeds and 2-seeds are still alive, making up half of the Sweet 16. From there, you have two 3-seeds, two 4-seeds, two 5-seeds, a 6-seed, and 11-seed NC State. It’s just the fifth time in tournament history that all of the 1-seeds and 2-seeds are still alive at this point.

That being said, here are the Sweet 16 teams power ranked heading into the second weekend (I’ll go 16-1 here).

16. San Diego State

San Diego State was on upset watch in the first round, but found a way past UAB to advance. Then, it was more impressive in the second round with a 85-57 win against Yale to advance to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.

Jaedon LeDee has been very good as of late, but there doesn’t seem to be many other scoring options outside of him. The Aztecs need to shoot much more consistently as well.

San Diego State is set to face UConn in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night in a rematch of last year’s national title game. Those things being said about San Diego State combined with how hot UConn has been, it’s tough to see SDSU moving on.

15. NC State

Less than three weeks ago, the Wolfpack were 17-14 and looking at the NIT, at best.

Since a loss to Pitt in the regular season finale on March 9, NC State has won seven in a row and advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015.

DJ Burns, the 6-foot-9, 275 pound big man, has been one of the best stories of the tournament, while DJ Horne and Mohamed Diarra have both been very good. In the first round it handled Texas Tech before needing overtime to beat tournament darling Oakland on Saturday.

NC State will play Marquette on Friday. The Wolfpack can certainly hang with Marquette, but it is tough to see a way NC State moves past Marquette.

14. Clemson

The Tigers were definitely on upset watch before their first round game against New Mexico but silenced the doubters with a convincing 77-56 win before somewhat surprisingly taking down Baylor in the second round.

Chase Hunter has averaged 20.5 points per game in the tournament so far and has been the key in Clemson’s offense. Good play in the frontcourt from PJ Hall, Jack Clark and Ian Schiefflin has also been a key for the Tigers.

Clemson will face Arizona in the opener on Thursday night.

13. Alabama

The Tide have been impressive in wins against Charleston and Grand Canyon in the first and second rounds, but the defense remains a rather large issue.

Alabama has shown nice resolve after losing to Florida in the SEC quarterfinals, though. The trio of Mark Sears, Rylan Griffin and Aaron Estrada has been very good on offense. But again, the defense remains an issue.

Can Alabama beat North Carolina on Thursday night? Sure. But it will need all of those players to be great, and limiting the Tar Heels on offense will be necessary. I have my doubts.

12. Gonzaga

Gonzaga was on the bubble much of the season, but solidified their spot late in the season and is now in the Sweet 16 for the ninth consecutive season. It’s a heck of a streak from Mark Few and the Zags.

It beat McNeese by 21 in the first round. The first half against Kansas was close, but Gonzaga turned it on in the second half and ended up winning 89-68 after out-scoring the Jayhawks 46-24 in the second half.

Ryan Nembhard is one of the hottest guards in the country, while the rest of the cast in Graham Ike, Anton Watson and Nolan Hickman are all playing well.

Despite the fact that it is crazy efficient on offense, it will see Purdue on Friday. The Zags will need to be close to perfect to advance.

11. Marquette

If not for the return of Tyler Kolek, there is a good chance that the Golden Eagles would have been eliminated by now.

Instead, Marquette is in the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since 2013 after a win against Western Kentucky, and then outlasting a tough Colorado team in the second round.

Kolek has scored 39 points and dished out 22 assists in the first two games of the tournament. Marquette has been to the Elite Eight just one time since 2003, and has a great chance to advance on Friday against NC State.

10. Tennessee

It feels strange to put a 2-seed this low, but that is the nature of the tournament and the teams that are left in it.

It dismantled Saint Peter’s in the first round, but it was very much a survive-and-advance scenario against Texas in the second round. Despite that, Dalton Knecht was very good in that game, scoring 18 points and hitting clutch shots late. Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Ziegler have been important as well.

That being said, the Vols shot 3-25 from three against Texas. That can’t happen again if it wants to advance. The Vols play Creighton on Friday.

9. Creighton

The other side of Friday night’s matchup. Creighton won the best game of the tournament so far with a 86-73 double overtime win against Oregon, but that final score obviously does not reflect how close the game was. The Bluejays scored 15 unanswered points in the second OT.

Trey Alexander did only shoot 7-21 from the field, so he will need to have a better shooting night to beat Tennessee. Steven Ashworth is a great defensive player and will need to continue that trend. Ryan Kalkbrenner is also great, he put up 19 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and swatted five blocks in the win over Oregon.

Final Four dark horses? Maybe.

8. Iowa State

I might have ranked the Cyclones a little low. Iowa State has been very clean with the basketball in both of their tournament games so far, with turnovers in the single digits in wins over South Dakota State and Washington State.

The combination of Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert makes for great guard play, while freshman Milan Momcilovic has been great in his first NCAA tournament. Also, the Cyclones have the No. 1 defense in the country.

Iowa State will face Illinois on Thursday night. The Illini are hot on offense, making this a clash of the titans.

7. Illinois

Speaking of Illinois, here they are. Terrence Shannon is the hottest guard in the country right now, having combined for 56 points in the wins over Morehead State and Duquesne. Marcus Domask is one of the best secondary players in the country, as well.

As long as it can get past Iowa State, which that game could truly go either way, this Illini team could actually give UConn a real test in Boston. It’ll have to keep up on offense.

I’m very high on Illinois right now, and think they can win at least one game in Boston.

6. Houston

I’m not as sure that the Cougars can advance to the national title game after it needed overtime to beat 9-seed Texas A&M on Sunday night after a ferocious comeback from the Aggies, but that doesn’t mean they can’t.

When Houston’s backcourt of Jamal Shead, LJ Cryer and Emanuel Sharp is on, it can be the best in the country without much question. Sharp had 30 points in the second round win.

One thing to point out: Texas A&M shot 29-45 from the free throw line on Sunday. If A&M made a few more, Houston probably loses that game.

Houston will face Duke in the Sweet 16 on Friday.

5. Duke

Duke was very impressive in the first weekend, beating Vermont in the first round by 17 and followed it up with a 93-55 dismantling of James Madison in the second round.

Jared McCain put up 30 points in the game against James Madison, while the rest of the cast in Kyle Filipowski, Jeremy Roach and Tyrese Proctor have all been key cogs all season.

It’s a good recipe for the Blue Devils, who have a top-5 offense on KenPom paired with a top-20 defense.

To beat Houston, Duke will need to limit the backcourt of the Cougars. Duke will look to pull off the upset in this one.

4. Arizona

We are an Arizona win and a North Carolina win away from the Caleb Love bowl on Saturday in Los Angeles.

Arizona moved past Long Beach State easily, but faced a little bit of a challenge against Dayton some of the way before pulling away for a 10-point win. Jaden Bradley stepped up in the win, but Kylan Boswell will need to bounce back from a poor showing against Dayton.

The Wildcats can certainly advance to the next round, and maybe the Final Four if it plays well enough against UNC. Don’t want to look to far ahead, though.

3. Purdue

All eyes were on Purdue this past weekend, and the Boilermakers passed with flying colors, a weekend that included a 106-67 dismantling of Utah State in the second round on Sunday.

The 39-point win matched the largest of the entire tournament. Zach Edey has done Zach Edey things, combining for 53 points, 35 rebounds and six blocks through the first two games.

Purdue will face Gonzaga in the Sweet 16, the two teams met last November in Maui. All eyes will continue to be on them this weekend.

2. North Carolina

The second round game against Michigan State seemed like a big one for the Tar Heels and their identity. UNC trailed 26-14 in the first half, but stormed back and were great the rest of the way en route to a convincing 85-69 win.

The Heels could have turned over and fell victim to MSU and Tom Izzo, but did not. RJ Davis and Armando Bacot have developed into a very good guard-big duo, while Harrison Ingram has been one of the better glue guys you’ll see anywhere.

Hubert Davis deserves credit for this turnaround from last season. Now, the Tar Heels are two wins away from a second Final Four appearance in three years. It needs to get past Alabama first, though. I think they can do it.

1. UConn

Could it be anyone else? UConn becomes the first defending champion to reach the second weekend since Duke in 2016 after the program won it all in 2015.

There is no sign of drop off, with a 39-point win against Stetson in the first round and then beat Northwestern 75-58 in the second round. It continues to be an offensive juggernaut behind Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer, Alex Karaban, Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle.

It feels like UConn’s national title to lose. It should be something of a shock if the Huskies don’t make the Final Four, at this point.

By Aidan Joly

Monday was a very busy day in the coaching carousel across the college hoops landscape after all of the games over the weekend.

Some of the biggest openings this season were filled, while perhaps the biggest opening of the cycle still remains open as of Tuesday afternoon.

Let’s get into it.

Filled openings

Dusty May to Michigan

This was probably the second biggest opening on the board this off-season. It goes to May, who brought Florida Atlantic to the Final Four before hovering in the top 25 all season this year.

May is familiar with both the Big Ten and the area, having famously been a student manager at Indiana, is from Illinois and got his first coaching job at Eastern Michigan all the way back in 2005. Ann Arbor feels like a great fit for May.

For what it is worth, it seemed like for a long time that May would end up at Louisville, but seems to have had a change of heart. May replaces Juwan Howard, who was fired after a dreadful 8-24 season this year, just three years after going to the Elite Eight.

Darian DeVries to West Virginia

DeVries has been in the running to get a high major job for a few years now, and finally lands in Morgantown.

DeVries owned a 150-55 record in six seasons at Drake and led the program to the tournament three times in that span. Before he arrived, Drake only had four NCAA tournament appearances to its name. His teams play an attractive style of basketball that is tough on defense and aesthetically pleasing on offense.

DeVries will also probably end up bringing some key pieces with him to WVU, including his son Tucker, who would have been one of the best players in the transfer portal this spring.

He replaces interim coach Josh Eilert, who ran the program this season after the unceremonious firing of Bob Huggins last summer. WVU went 9-23 this season and 4-14 in Big 12 play.

Danny Sprinkle to Washington

It’s been quite the rise for Sprinkle, one of the fast rising coaches in the country. A year ago he left his alma mater in Montana State to take the job at Utah State, and now he departs that job to move to Washington.

A native of the state of Washington, Sprinkle led Utah State to a 28-7 record this season and 14-4 in the Mountain West, getting an 8-seed in the tournament and advancing before a second round loss to Purdue on Sunday. He got Montana State to the tournament twice in his four-year tenure there.

Washington is getting one of the best young coaches in the country with this. He has won big everywhere he has gone and will try to revive a Huskies program that has only been to the tournament once since 2011.

He replaces Mike Hopkins, who went 62-72 in Pac 12 play and 118-106 overall in seven seasons.

Kyle Smith to Stanford

Smith elects to leave Washington State as the program drops down to the WCC amidst the demise of the Pac 12 to head to Stanford as the school joins the ACC for next season.

Stanford is one of the tougher jobs in the high majors when you consider the academic requirements of the school, but coaches have won there before. Smith has experience at schools with high academic requirements, having coached at Columbia in the Ivy League from 2010-2016. He had two 20-win seasons there.

He helped rebuild the Washington State program this season, leading it to the tournament for the first time since 2008 this season. Smith is a great tactician who will bring in good players to fit his system.

He replaces Jerod Haase, who went 126-127 overall and 67-84 in eight seasons. Stanford has not been to the NCAA tournament since 2014.

Mark Byington to Vanderbilt

This one feels like a very strong fit. Byington heads to Nashville after four seasons at James Madison, going 82-36 and 41-23 in conference play in two different leagues. JMU was one of the best mid majors in the country this year, ending the season 32-4 with an appearance in the second round.

Byington also spent seven years as the coach at Georgia Southern, picking up three 20-win seasons. He seems like a very similar coach to Dusty May, but without the Final Four run. He is also one of the fast rising coaches from the mid major ranks, and should do well at Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt has not been to the tournament since 2017. It fired Jerry Stackhouse, who went 70-92 and 28-60 in SEC play in five seasons.

Chris Holtmann to DePaul

Holtmann finds a landing spot in Chicago after being fired midseason by Ohio State. He joins the star-studded coaching ranks of the Big East after his tenure in Columbus, which ended poorly but featured five 20-win seasons in six-plus seasons as well as four NCAA tournament appearances.

DePaul is probably the worst job in all of Power 6. No facilities, no NIL money, barely any winning tradition. Holtmann will have his work cut out for him, especially in the Big East and its powerhouses in UConn, Creighton and Marquette.

The program has not been to the tournament since 2004, the longest drought in all of Power 6. It fired Tony Stubblefield in the midst of his third season, departing with a 28-54 record and 9-38 in league play. Interim coach Matt Brady went 0-14 as DePaul finished the season 3-29.

In addition, Ohio State took the interim tag off of Jake Diebler, giving him a five-year contract. It’s definitely a risky move, with such a small sample size, but Ohio State is electing to make the same move Texas did one year ago.

Diebler is 8-2 as interim head coach, while the Buckeyes are in the NIT quarterfinals.

Jobs still open

There are three Power 6 jobs still open: Louisville, Oklahoma State and SMU.

We all know about the Louisville job, and many of their top candidates seem to have taken other jobs at this point, so choices are surely limited for athletic director Josh Heird now. Josh Schertz, the head coach at Indiana State is still available, but the Sycamores are also still alive in the NIT. There is a lot out there about the Louisville job right now and it’s still not clear the direction the school will go.

Oklahoma State is still open after the firing of Mike Boynton after seven seasons, resulting in a 119-109 overall record and 51-75 in Big 12 play. Boynton also only had one NCAA tournament appearance in that span.

SMU is also open after the surprising firing of Rob Lanier after just two seasons as the program goes to the ACC next season. Lanier had a 10-win improvement this season, too, as well as six more conference wins. It’s a bit of a head scratcher to say the least. SMU’s thought seems to be that they can get a bigger name with the move to the ACC. USC coach Andy Enfield’s name has surfaced in multiple reports within the past 24 hours.

Lanier landed on his feet pretty quickly though, being hired at Rice within days.

Of course, Utah State and FAU are both open. You have to feel for Utah State, which has now had its last three coaches leave after three or less seasons for other jobs. Craig Smith went to Utah after three years, Ryan Odom went to VCU after two and now Sprinkle goes to Washington after just one season.

Kyle Church is currently the interim coach at FAU, and probably deserves the full-time gig. Drake is now open as well.

In the Atlantic 10, Duquesne and St. Louis are both open. Dru Joyce III seems to be leader at Duquesne after he served as the top assistant for the retiring Keith Dambrot. Joyce is a high school teammate of LeBron James and the two remain friends. Schertz’s name has been in play at St. Louis, but the Billikens may have to pivot if he lands the Louisville job.

Fresno State is also open after the firing of Justin Hutson.

Quickly transitioning to a few mid-major jobs that have been filled, former Tennessee, California and Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin has now landed at Missouri State for his second stint there. He was the coach at Missouri State from 2008-2011, going 61-41 in those three seasons.

Austin Claunch has also been hired at UTSA. He went 90-61 in five seasons at Nicholls before spending this season as an assistant at Alabama.

By Aidan Joly

The NCAA tournament bracket has arrived. You can definitely say what you will about what teams got in and which teams didn’t, as well as where teams were seeded, but the 68 teams have been bracketed.

That being said, let’s get into it, region by region.

East Region

When you look at the East Region, it looks like UConn’s to lose. The Huskies are the top seed in this region and the top seed in the entire tournament after a 31-3 regular season, where it looked mostly unstoppable.

It does get something of a tough draw in terms of the teams that it would have to go up against in the second weekend, though. Big 12 champion Iowa State is the 2-seed in this region, a red-hot Illinois team that won the Big Ten is the 3-seed, and SEC champ Auburn is the 4-seed.

The Illini are one of the hottest teams in the nation right now. After surviving a scare from Ohio State in the Big Ten quarterfinals, Illinois scored 98 points in the semifinal win against Nebraska before scoring 93 on Sunday in the final against Wisconsin. Terrence Shannon has blossomed into one of the best players in the nation and scored a total of 102 points in the Big Ten tournament over three days.

Two additional teams that were in the Final Four last year, San Diego State and Florida Atlantic, are the 5-seed and 8-seed in this region. It’s a bit of a surprise that FAU was seeded this high as many thought the Owls were on the bubble and a few bracketologists didn’t have FAU in the field at all, but they are cleanly in as the 8-seed. It will face Northwestern in the first round on Friday for the right to play UConn on Sunday. San Diego State has UAB in the first round in Spokane. That sets up a potential matchup with Auburn in the second round, a Tigers team that has to make a cross-country trek just for the first weekend. Tough luck.

A first round game that could truly go either way is the 7/10 game between Washington State and Drake. Wazzu is in the tournament for the first time since 2008 after a second-place finish in the Pac-12 and winning a total of 24 games in the regular season. Kyle Smith’s Cougars have a top-30 rated defense on KenPom, while it’s opponent, Drake, has a top-40 rated offense. Something has to give here, and it will be very interesting to see who comes out on top.

In the 6/11 game, BYU will face Duquesne, who is in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1977(!) after a surprise run through the Atlantic 10 tournament. BYU has one of the most high-flying offenses in the country between Jaxson Robinson, Trevin Knell and Fousseyni Traore. Duquesne plays a tough brand of basketball but also has two great scorers in Dae Dae Grant (16.7 PPG) and Jimmy Clark III (15.1 PPG). It will be important for BYU to limit those two in order to move on.

A shoutout to Stetson, the 16-seed in this region. It is more than likely the sacrificial lambs to UConn in the first round, but the Hatters are in the tournament for the first time in program history after winning the ASUN.

In general, there’s a lot of good teams in this region, but UConn and Illinois seem like the most likely to be the ones to advance to the second weekend, setting up what would be a heck of a clash in the Elite Eight. It’s worth noting that the Huskies will not have to get on a plane for the first or second weekend, playing in Brooklyn and then (if it advances) in Boston.

West Region

This is the region that has the most potential to be region of chaos. North Carolina and Arizona are the top seeds in this region and have the most potential to move through to the second weekend, but it gets wacky from there.

It really starts with Alabama and Charleston in the first round in the 4/13 game, which seems to likely be one of the highest-scoring games of the entire tournament. Alabama has one of the best offenses in the country and plays ridiculously fast. The Tide have averaged 90.8 points per game as an offense this year, which leads all Division I teams. Mark Sears is one of the best guards in the country and averages 21.1 PPG. Charleston is right up there too, its 80.4 points per game is tied for 34th in the nation, while it also plays one of the fastest paces in the nation.

In what will surely be a very high scoring game, anything can happen here. Watch for a first round upset.

Another very intriguing first round region is the 6/11 game, which puts Clemson up against Mountain West champion New Mexico. In general, it felt like there was a lot of disrespect from the committee against that league, which had a banner season this year and got six teams in the tournament, but it felt like all six of them were under-seeded.

The Lobos are much better than an 11-seed. This a team that is 23rd in KenPom and 22nd in the NET, going up against a Clemson team that is 34th in KenPom and 35th in the NET. This should almost be a game in which New Mexico is favored to win. Richard Pitino’s team has four fantastic scorers in Jamal Mashburn, Jaelen House, Donovan Dent and Jacob Toppin and should give Clemson a real game on Friday. The guard matchup between House and Clemson’s Joe Girard III should be very entertaining.

Another team that can pull off an upset is the 12-seed in Grand Canyon. The Antelopes, matched up against Saint Mary’s, went 29-4 in the regular season and boast both a very good offense as well as a very good defense. The Gaels have a very good defense as well so it will be interesting to see the game plan that coach Bryce Drew comes up with. It will also have to come up with an answer to limit WCC player of the year Augustas Marciulionis.

The 8/9 game is between teams that have struggled at certain points in the year, Mississippi State and Michigan State. That game will be for the right to likely play North Carolina in the second round.

One of the better first round games is in this region as well, pitting 7-seed Dayton up against 10-seed Nevada. Dayton has been very good this season but took some losses in Atlantic 10 play, but the Flyers were good enough in the non-conference to earn an at-large. DaRon Holmes is the program’s best player since Obi Toppin, while Nate Santos and Koby Brea are also good core pieces.

Nevada is another Mountain West team that may have been slightly under-seeded, ranked 36th in KenPom and 34th in the NET. Jarod Lucas has been one of the better west coast players, while Kenan Blackshear is also a very good player. This will be a great game against two of the premier non-power six programs in the nation.

All of this could very well set up for a North Carolina vs. Arizona game in the Elite Eight, Caleb Love’s old team against his current team. Would be fun!

South Region

The South Region feels like probably the weakest quadrant of the four, but still has some top teams that can make a run.

Houston is the best candidate to do so. The Cougars have one of the best defenses in the country, something we have seen time and time again is the key to winning games in the tournament. Houston has allowed opponents to under 50 points a mind-boggling 10 times this season, most recently in the Big 12 quarterfinals against TCU last week. Behind a core of Jamal Shead, LJ Cryer, Emanuel Sharp and J’Wan Roberts, coach Kelvin Sampson’s squad seems to be a team able to reach the Final Four.

Some teams will give them a run for their money though. Marquette and Kentucky, both very good teams on the offensive side of the ball, are the top jobbers here. Marquette has the better defense, as Kentucky’s defense has been very suspect all season long.

The 6/11 game in this region is very intriguing, featuring Texas Tech going up against NC State. Texas Tech has been quietly one of the most solid teams in the country all season and went 23-10, going over .500 (10-7) in the best conference in the country this season. When Pop Isaacs is on, watch out. The Red Raiders have done a very good job in year one under Grant McCasland.

Going up against them was the darling of conference tournament week, NC State. The Wolfpack were not anywhere close to an at-large bid, but steamrolled through the ACC tournament, winning the league for the first time 1987. DJ Burns, a massive human being at 6-foot-9 and 275 pounds, captured the attention of America during the week. NC State will look to keep the good vibes going through the week.

One of the better teams in Power 6 that got a tough draw is Wisconsin, who has to go up against James Madison. The Dukes went 31-3 in the regular season and easily won the Sun Belt tournament. Wisconsin has a good offense behind AJ Storr, Chucky Hepburn, Tyler Wahl and more so it may be tough to see JMU pulling off the upset, but expect this to be a good game.

The 7/10 game is an interesting one as well. The 7-seed in this bracket is Florida, who did a very good job in year two of the Todd Golden era. Walter Clayton Jr. and Zyon Pullin have both been impact players. However, the Gators lost leading rebounder Micah Handlogten to a broken leg in the SEC title game on Sunday, so it will be interesting to see how Colorado or Boise State, who will play in a play-in game on Wednesday night, will handle them. The Broncos are another one of those under-seeded Mountain West teams that should likely not be in Dayton playing in, but here they are.

Also in this region, Nebraska is back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014 after a magical season in Lincoln that has resulted in 23 wins so far. The last season that the program won more was a 26-win campaign in 1990-91. Keisei Tominaga is a joy to watch and one of the most fun players in college basketball. The Cornhuskers are the 8-seed in the South Region and will go up against Texas A&M, a team that has struggled at certain points this season.

Overall, this feels like Houston’s region to lose, but it’s the tournament and strange things can happen. Right now, the Cougars are the favorite to end up in the Final Four behind that amazing defense.

Midwest Region

The final region here, the one in the bottom right quadrant of the bracket.

The story here is Purdue. We all know what happened. The Boilermakers were one of the top teams in the country last season and were the 1-seed before they were stunned by Fairleigh Dickinson, just the second time in NCAA tournament history a 16-seed beat a 1-seed in the first round.

Purdue is a 1-seed once again behind Zach Edey, the odds-on favorite to win his second Naismith Player of the Year award. Edey has averaged 24.2 points and 11.7 rebounds per game this season. As for the rest of the roster Braden Smith has been one of the best point guards in the country all season and has averaged 13.0 points per game this year and also hits 44.6% of his three-pointers. Lance Jones and Fletcher Loyer have also been very key pieces for Matt Painter’s team. Purdue will go up against the winner of Montana State and Grambling (who is also in the tournament for the first time ever) in the first round.

Similar to UConn, Purdue will also likely not have to get on a plane before a potential Final Four appearance, playing preliminary round games in Indianapolis before regionals in Detroit. Of course, there are always questions about how Big Ten teams perform in the tournament, and those questions are there this year too, but Purdue seems primed for a deep run to avenge last year.

The top challenger here is Tennessee. The Volunteers have also been one of the best teams in the country this season and also boast one of the best players in the country in Dalton Knecht. The 6-foot-6 guard averages 21.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest. Creighton is the 3-seed in this region, with the trio of Baylor Scheierman, Trey Alexander and Ryan Kalkbrenner potentially the best big three in college basketball.

Keep an eye out for 8-seed Utah State, an Aggies team that went 27-6 in the regular season and is a very under-seeded team. They will have a very good shot to beat TCU in the first round, setting up what could be a very interesting second round game with Purdue.

There are some question marks in this region though, beginning and ending with Kansas. The Jayhawks have had depth issues all season and right now it is still unknown if both of the team’s leading scorers, Kevin McCullar and Hunter Dickinson, will be available this weekend as they deal with injuries. Without them, Kansas exited in the second round of the Big 12 tournament with a 20-point loss to Cincinnati. If both are out Kansas only has one available double digit scorer, that being KJ Adams. Freshman Johnny Furphy averages 9.0 PPG and is one of the better freshmen in the nation, but he’d likely be the one forced to take on a much larger role.

Kansas will go up against 13-seed Samford in the first round. Samford and their “Bucky Ball” system under coach Bucky McMillan is one of the most high-energy in the country, emphasizing a full-court press defense and quick shots on offense. The Bulldogs are fifth in the country in scoring offense at 86.0 PPG. If Kansas is low on players, Samford will have a very real shot to win this game.

Staying in that same pod, another game that will have the eyes of the college basketball world on it is the 5/12 game between Gonzaga and McNeese. Gonzaga had something of a down year and was over-seeded a little bit, but still went 24-6 and 14-2 in WCC play with a strong trio of Graham Ike, Anton Watson and Nolan Hickman.

The opponent, McNeese, could be the darling of the tournament. In former LSU head coach Will Wade’s return to the ranks after being fired amidst NCAA violations, the Cowboys went 28-3 and 17-1 in the Southland, flying through that league tournament. Gonzaga will certainly have its work cut out for them right off the bat. McNeese is eighth in the country in three-point percentage, that being the way they win games.

South Carolina vs. Oregon in the 6/11 game will be one to watch as well. Oregon was another bid-stealer by winning the Pac-12 tournament, going up against a Gamecocks program that is in the tournament for the first time since 2017.

68 teams in the tournament, only one of them will cut down the nets on April 8. Get ready for the best three weeks in sports.

By Aidan Joly

On Wednesday, Louisville made official what we had all been expecting for the better part of a year: the program has parted ways with now-former coach Kenny Payne after just two seasons leading the program.

It was a disastrous two seasons. Year one was a 4-28 nightmare, and things didn’t get much better this year, going 8-24 for Payne’s final record with the Cardinals sitting at 12-52 and a 5-35 mark in ACC play.

Payne will go down as one of the worst power conference coaches to do it in the past couple decades. It seemingly got worse as the tenure went on, with head scratching decisions on the court and even more confusing press conferences.

Look at it this way: during Payne’s tenure, Louisville had more losses to Division II teams than it did road wins.

As for the job evaluation, it’s one of the top jobs in the country. Period. It’s Louisville. You have the resources, the support from administration, the NIL and the fan support. It should be relatively easy to win here.

That being said, here’s a look at who could be the next coach.

A quick note before we start, all of the names below are sitting head coaches. That seems to be what Louisville needs to do here, rather than someone who does not have head coaching experience.

Dusty May, Florida Atlantic

May is going to be a name at the top of the list for every high-major athletic director making a hire in this cycle. The 47-year-old was one of the most sought-after names last season after FAU’s run to the Final Four, but signed a big extension last spring.

He also has FAU poised to go dancing again this season, sitting at 24-7 and 14-4 in American Athletic play.

May is 125-67 since he took over the program in 2018 and also has assistant coaching stops at Florida, Louisiana Tech and UAB.

He’ll surely be a candidate at other jobs this cycle, most notably Ohio State, but the Louisville brass would be foolish to not take a big swing at him.

Scott Drew, Baylor

This is a “call him up and make him say no” name.

Drew has been at the helm at Baylor since 2003, turning the program around from near-death penalty from a scandal under his predecessor Dave Bliss, to a national champion in 2021 and one of the most consistently good programs in the country.

Reports have indicated that Drew would listen if Louisville wanted to talk to him. He’s a well-liked figure in the college hoops world and always gets the most out of his talent and plays a modern style that would fire up the fans.

It’s tough to see Drew coaching anywhere but Baylor, but we will see. He has a 444-241 record in Waco, with a pair of Big 12 titles and of course, the national title in 2021.

Pat Kelsey, Charleston

Kelsey, 48, is one of the big up-and-coming names in coaching circles. It’s something of a surprise he hasn’t made the jump to the big boys yet.

He has been at Charleston since 2021 after nearly a decade at Winthrop. He has five conference tournament titles to his name, all of them since 2017. He just won his fifth this week and will be coaching in the NCAA tournament with the Cougars next week. He’s won 261 games as a college head coach.

He is boisterous and brash, which sometimes rubs people the wrong way, but he’s also one of the best young and energetic coaches in the country. That energy would play well at Louisville.

Nate Oats, Alabama

This is a name that keeps coming up in a lot of different coaching searches, despite the fact that it is believed that he has one of the highest buyouts in the country, rumored to be somewhere in the ballpark of $12 million. That is something that could steer athletic directors in the other direction, including Louisville AD Josh Heird.

Nonetheless, Oats is 113-52 since he took over the Alabama program in 2019 after a successful four seasons at Buffalo. Overall, he has won over 200 games as a college head coach.

Oats also plays as modern a style as any coach in the country, a system that emphasizes three-pointers and layups. It has the number-two offense on KenPom in the country. This season, Alabama narrowly missed what would have been a third SEC title in five years.

The buyout makes it tough to see this really happening, but if Louisville is serious, they will consider it.

Eric Musselman, Arkansas

It’s worth noting that Arkansas has underperformed this season and will surely miss the NCAA tournament after three straight appearances, but it is tough to ignore Musselman’s body of work.

As a college head coach he has a winning percentage of over .700 and is one of the most active coaches in the country in the transfer portal. He has also been to the second weekend of the tournament four times, including back-to-back Elite Eight appearances at Arkansas in 2021 and 2022.

According to The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Musselman’s buyout is only $1 million, so it wouldn’t cost much to bring the Ohio native in.

Might he be interested in taking a program further up on the all-time win list?

Jerome Tang, Kansas State

Tang is a name that has been floated around for the Louisville job for a long time now.

Kansas State has dipped in performance this season, but the 57-year-old Scott Drew disciple orchestrated one of the best rebuild jobs in the country last season, taking over a program that finished second-to-last in the Big 12 in 2021-22 to winning 26 games last season and being a break or two away from reaching the Final Four.

He has a 44-23 record overall at Kansas State. He is also charismatic and wins the press conference.

It’s a name that has been rumored for a while. Will he make the jump over to the ACC?

Mick Cronin, UCLA

Similar to Oats, Cronin has a large buyout that might make things prohibitive for Heird to make Mick the pick.

Still, Cronin is worth a call. Throughout this season he has expressed frustration with UCLA’s lack of NIL money, and the team is having its worst season since he took over in Los Angeles in 2019.

Despite that, he is still considered one of the toughest and best coaches in the country who won 58 games in the previous two seasons before this year after reaching the Final Four in 2021.

Cronin is a big-time winner, and has won everywhere he has gone. A native of Cincinnati, being closer to home might be a pull for him as well.

Josh Schertz, Indiana State

Schertz has made Indiana State the darling of the country this season, winning 26 games with the Sycamores. However, Indiana State lost in the Missouri Valley final and are currently holding out hope for an at-large bid.

He has done a good job in rebuilding the program, winning 11 games in 2021-22 in his first year, 23 last season and now 26 (so far) this season.

He does not have high-major experience even as an assistant, but ran Lincoln Memorial as a Division II powerhouse for more than a decade, reaching the Division II Final Four in 2016, 2017 and 2021.

Another guy who runs an up-tempo offense than emphasizes threes, his style is wonderful to watch.

He might make more sense for a smaller job (Saint Louis?), but Heird should at least take a look at him.

Prediction: This is a tough one to call. A handful of names make sense here. Heird could shoot for the moon here and get Drew or Cronin with the idea of a fresh start, or takes a shot on Schertz.