STORRS, Conn. — When Cam Spencer visited Connecticut last spring, he got the usual treatment. Photoshoot. Pitches on branding and NIL. The fluff, UConn coach Dan Hurley calls it. Spencer goes out of his way to avoid what others seek. He’s not on social media. His interests are minimal. And Hurley could see Spencer and … Read more
The first three days of the NCAA Tournament attracted record ratings, only to see the momentum stifled due to Sunday’s games being blowouts. Overall, the tournament is averaging 9.07 million viewers on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. That is a slight increase over the 9.05 million average at this point last year. Through Saturday, the … Read more
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
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — With 17 seconds left in overtime, leading by three, a trip to the Sweet 16 in the balance, Houston senior walk-on Ryan Elvin stepped to the foul line. Elvin had played 60 total minutes all season, almost all of them in garbage time. But head coach Kelvin Sampson was forced to send … Read more
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
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
As college basketball players head to NCAA Tournament arenas on their team buses, many will slip on headphones, zone out to a song and absorb the vibes. Coaches also sometimes take a small moment from poring over last-minute scouting reports to escape to a melody filtering through their airpods. These soundtracks, perhaps subconsciously, serve an … Read more
You can find more of The Athletic’s coverage of the men’s NCAA Tournament here and women’s NCAA Tournament here. Follow live coverage of the 2024 men’s NCAA Tournament first round On Wednesday, I boarded a flight from San Francisco to Las Vegas for the explicit purpose of watching college basketball. Not to attend an actual … Read more
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
(Editor’s note: This is part of the Bracket Central Series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.) Since Florida repeated as national champs in 2007, no defending champion has advanced past the Sweet 16. That ends this year. Connecticut is … Read more
