NC State topples Duke, continues March run to advance to first Final Four since 1983

DALLAS — The ACC will have a representative at the Final Four. It may not be one many expected to start the season. DJ Burns Jr. scored 29 points, including 21 in the second half, to carry 11th-seeded NC State to a 76-64 win over fourth-seeded Duke in Sunday’s South Regional final, punching the program’s … Read more

NCAA women’s Sweet 16 breakdowns and predictions: Is an Iowa-LSU rematch in store?

The Sweet 16 field is set — mostly as we expected it but with some twists. The left side of the bracket (Albany 1 and Portland 4 regions) includes every No. 1 through No. 4 seed, while the right side (Albany 2 and Portland 3 regions) low seeds include a No. 5 and a No. … Read more

Duke routs James Madison, rolls into Sweet 16 after taking ‘look in the mirror’

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Jon Scheyer knows better than most the pressure that comes with wearing a Duke uniform. The highs feel a little higher, the lights brighter than they’d be for most. “And when things aren’t going as well, you can feel like you’re a lot worse than what you really are,” said the Duke … Read more

NCAA Tournament Day 2 takeaways: Yale upsets Auburn, JMU handles Wisconsin

March Madness brings back the most exciting time of the year. First-round upsets continued Friday, highlighted by No. 13 Yale’s dramatic win over No. 4 Auburn. Additionally, No. 12 James Madison handled No. 5 Wisconsin to advance to the Round of 32 for the first time since 1983. Grand Canyon, another No. 12 seed, upset … Read more

What’s next for Louisville? Should LSU worry? Women’s NCAA Tournament first-round briefing

The first game of the 2024 women’s NCAA Tournament featured near-madness. No. 8 seed North Carolina led No. 9 seed Michigan State by 12 points with less than four minutes to play. Then, poof. UNC committed four turnovers, missed five free throws and allowed the Spartans to cut the lead to 1 with only eight … Read more

Which teams can realistically win the NCAA Tournament? Why these 12 stand a cut above

We don’t have many rules of thumb —what with only four total thumbs between us — for picking an NCAA Tournament bracket. But there’s one we believe in wholeheartedly: Don’t overthink it. To that end, there’s something simple to keep in mind (yet again) when choosing your Final Four and national champion. After Connecticut won … Read more

The Joker Effect: How playmaking centers have revolutionized college basketball

When Fred Hoiberg left a front-office job with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2010 to coach Iowa State, he was ahead of his time chasing transfers to build a roster. Hoiberg was also ahead of the curve when he landed his biggest transfer prize: Royce White. White was built like an NFL tight end — 6-foot-8, … Read more

Women’s March Madness bracket prep: Strengths, weaknesses for all 68 teams, outlooks and more

After five months of regular-season and conference tournament action, we have finally reached the best stretch of the year. It’s March Madness, and it’s setting up to be yet another eventful NCAA Tournament. At 32-0, South Carolina seems like the easy pick to make it to the championship game, but we thought that last year, … Read more

Thirty years ago, Chris Farley and college basketball collided in an unforgettable way

Thirty years later, Christian Laettner isn’t sure he knew it was coming. In 1994, he was in the NBA, his second season with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Maybe someone had informed his agent but he doesn’t think so. The former Duke star just one day remembers seeing the commercial on ESPN. Chris Farley, then at the … Read more

How should broadcasts handle court-storming? On the line between documenting and glamorizing

Throughout a three-decade career as a prominent ESPN play-by-play broadcaster, Dave Pasch says he has been on the mic for two college basketball games that ended in a court-storming. One occurred earlier this month as unranked LSU upset Kentucky as time expired at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La. Pasch recalled this … Read more