Category: NBA

PERTH, Australia (AP) — Sam Kerr broke a second half deadlock and Australia edged defending champion China 2-1 for a spot in the Women’s Asian Cup final on Tuesday.

The veteran Chelsea forward started the attacking movement on halfway and finished it off with a left-foot shot from a tight angle in the 58th minute, the decisive moment of a semifinal that was tied 1-1 at halftime.

The Australians will play the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between Japan and South Korea. Australia last won the continental championship in 2010.

Caitlin Foord gave the host the lead in the 17th when she finished off an attacking raid that started with Mary Fowler combining with Ellie Carpenter on the right. Carpenter crossed back into the area, where Fowler cut the ball back for Foord to fire.

China equalized in the 26th through Zhang Linyan from the penalty spot. Zhang won the penalty after she swooped on a defensive blunder and was felled in the area by goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold.

All of the semifinalists qualified automatically for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. The losing quarterfinalists go into playoffs for two more guaranteed places in Brazil.

Iran’s exit

The two Iran players who remained in Australia on protection visas following their team's group-stage exit joined a practice session Monday with a professional club in Brisbane in their first publicly shared appearance since it emerged they were given asylum.

Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh were pictured smiling and wearing the club’s training uniform as they posed alongside a women’s elite squad in photos posted to social media by the Brisbane Roar.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Iran’s Embassy in Mexico on Tuesday said the country is negotiating with FIFA to move Iran’s World Cup matches from the U.S. to Mexico after President Donald Trump discouraged the team from attending the tournament, citing safety concerns.

It was unclear whether such talks are happening with FIFA, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Iranian officials have previously said it is up to FIFA and the U.S. to keep the team safe during the World Cup.

The Embassy posted a statement attributed to Iranian soccer federation president Mehdi Taj saying Iran wants to move its group stage matches to Mexico to ensure the safety of players and officials.

“When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America,” the statement said. “We are currently negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s matches in the World Cup in Mexico.”

The World Cup is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Iran is scheduled to play against New Zealand on June 16 and Belgium on June 21 in Inglewood, California, before finishing group play in Seattle against Egypt on June 26.

Moving the games would be unprecedented less than three months before the start of the World Cup.

Trump said last week that the Iran team was welcome at the World Cup despite the ongoing war in the Middle East but “I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”

Iran has sent mixed signals about its participation in the tournament after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks that killed the Islamic republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of other senior figures.

Sports minister Ahmad Donyamali told state TV last week that it was not possible to play "due to the wicked acts they have done against Iran.”

But after Trump's post the national team said on Instagram that “no one can exclude” it from the tournament and a government spokesman in Tehran stressed in it was the responsibility of FIFA and the U.S. as a co-host nation to keep players safe and secure.

“FIFA is the organizer of the World Cup,” Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said. “When warnings are issued at the highest level about the environment being unsafe for Iranian football players, this indicates that the host country apparently lacks the capacity and ability to provide security for such an important sporting event.”

Soccer is followed passionately in Iran, a nation of more than 90 million people which has qualified for seven men's World Cups and each of the past four editions. The team is ranked No. 20 in the world by FIFA and behind only Japan from Asia.

FIFA has not commented in recent days beyond an Instagram post by president Gianni Infantino last week that he'd received assurances from Trump that Iran was welcome at the tournament.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

It’s the final month of the 2025-26 NBA regular season.

This means teams are running out of chances to make their final arguments for playoff seeding, just like players are running out of time to convince voters to select them for individual awards. It also means the best basketball of the year is in front of us, as the two-month marathon that is the NBA playoffs gets underway April 18.

But, before we get ahead of ourselves, this should make for a compelling finish to what has been an interesting season.

Here are the top five storylines to watch for the rest of the 2025-26 NBA regular season:

NBA POWER RANKINGS: Are the surging Lakers a threat out West?

Can anyone catch the Pistons and Thunder atop the Eastern and Western Conferences?

Since the start of the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have led the West wire-to-wire, even in the face of significant time lost due to injury. In the East, the Detroit Pistson took over sole possession of first on Nov. 7 and haven't looked back since.

Being practical, there are only two teams in the East — the Boston Celtics (3½ games back) and the New York Knicks (5) — who can potentially catch Detroit. And while it doesn’t help that Detroit has the 22nd-toughest remaining schedule (.485, per Tankathon.com) and that the Pistons don’t play either Boston or New York the rest of the way, Detroit has been more vulnerable recently, losing six of its last 12 games.

The case is perhaps stronger for the San Antonio Spurs, who are just 3 games back of Oklahoma City. San Antonio has the NBA’s fourth-easiest remaining schedule (.452), while the Thunder have the league’s 11th-toughest (.519). And while the Thunder are playing extremely well and should get Jalen Williams back soon, the Spurs have been the hottest team in basketball, losing just two of their last 20 games.

Will the 65-game rule disqualify any stars in the MVP, individual awards races?

Injuries early in the season to some of the game’s biggest stars have complicated the pathway for individual awards.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (12 games missed) appears to be safe, with the ability to miss up to five games while maintaining eligibility. Gilgeous-Alexander has been consistent and appears to be the odds-on favorite to win his second-consecutive MVP.

Nikola Jokić (16) can miss only one more game, and, as the only players averaging a triple-double, he has a very compelling case for MVP.

Victor Wembanyama (15) can sit out no more than two of San Antonio’s remaining games. The overwhelming favorite for Defensive Player of the Year, Wembanyama has an outside shot at MVP consideration.

In the East, the race to avoid the play-in will be tight

After Monday night’s games, just 1½ games separates the No. 9 seed in the East from the No. 5 seed. And, since the top six teams in the conference claim automatic playoff bids, the battle to stay out of the play-in picture should intensify as the season wears on.

Teams headed in the right direction include the Orlando Magic (38-29; winners of seven of their last eight), Miami Heat (38-30; winners of 10 of their last 13) and the Atlanta Hawks (37-31; winners of 10 consecutive). Teams headed in the wrong direction include the Toronto Raptors (38-29; losers of six of their last 10) and the Philadelphia 76ers (37-31; losers of nine of their last 16). Injuries to Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid obviously don’t help Philadelphia, either.

REWIND: Trump, Kobe and an elevator fight: Ex-NBA star responds to legendary tale

Who will tank hardest? And who will win the sweepstakes for the No. 1 pick?

The picture at the bottom of the standings looks altogether different. It has become clear, whether through shutting players down or through unconventional player rotations, that certain teams are doing all they can to improve their positioning in the 2026 NBA Draft. This is particularly magnified for teams whose picks carry protections, like the Indiana Pacers.

Indiana’s first-round selection is Top-4 and 10-30 protected, which means that if the lottery places the Pacers (15-53; worst record in NBA) in any slot No. 5 through 9, that pick will convey to the Los Angeles Clippers. The same goes for the Top 8 protected pick belonging to the Washington Wizards (16-51; second-worst record in NBA).

Teams have become creative with injury reporting and are relying on maintenance surgeries to shut players down. With a very deep draft class that has elite star talent at the top, look for the tanking to become even more pronounced.

Will the NBA and its officials ease up on enforcement of foul baiting calls?

From Celtics star Jaylen Brown calling out players who intentionally seek contact to bait officials into making calls, to scores of fans complaining about the tactic on social media, will the NBA listen to appeals to change the way it officiates games?

Interestingly, the average number of personal fouls per game this season (19.9) is well off of the record mark for the modern era (26.2, in 1981-82), though it is a modest increase from last year’s total (18.6). Yet, somehow, the problem feels as worse as it has ever been.

Physicality and intensity always ramp up late in the regular season and postseason, and the NBA needs to determine whether its current strategy is viable. Certain players – Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Brunson, Jokić, Luka Dončić among them – resort to the maneuver when faced with tight defense.

Frankly speaking, it’s a copout. Granted, they typically are taking advantage of overzealous defenders, but it also leads to a disjointed and often frustrating viewing experience.

The league typically doesn’t like to make such drastic corrections in the middle of a season, so this may be an issue it looks at in the offseason. But the viewing experience would go a long way if officials stopped falling for the bait. Once the NBA stops rewarding players, eventually they will cease trying.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA 2025-26 regular season winds down. 5 storylines to watch

There are many ways to fill out your March Madness bracket. Team color. Mascots. Geography. Maybe even basketball knowledge.

We offer an alternative: famous alumni.

We looked at all 68 schools to see which one had the most notable alumni (or at least attended the universities) and used the bracket to see which team would advance all the way to the national championship.

EAST

First round

No. 1 Duke vs No. 16 Siena

DUKE

• Adam Silver
• Kim Jeong
• Retta
• Paul W. Downs
• Travis Stork

On the bench: Melinda Gates (philanthropist, ex-wife of Bill Gates), Jared Harris (actor)

Silver is in his 12th year as NBA commissioner after serving eight years as David Stern’s deputy. He was lauded as Sports Illustrated’s Executive of the Year, Time’s 100 Most Influential People and Fortune’s 50 Greatest Leaders in his first few years on the job, but has had some up-and-down moments since. Don’t we all? … You know Jeong from NBC sitcom "Community" and as Leslie Chow in "The Hangover" trilogy… Retta (Marietta Sireleaf) starred on another NBC sitcom, “Parks and Recreation” as Donna. “Treat yo self!” She also starred in NBC’s dramedy “Good Girls”…  Downs played Abbi’s love interest in Comedy Central’s “Broad City” and stars and is co-creator of HBO’s hit comedy “Hacks”, which earned him an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series… Stork was “The Bachelor” in Season 8, and America fell in love with the hunky doctor. His bachelorette pick didn’t work out, and they were broken up a week after the finale aired. But he turned that 15 minutes of fame into a daytime talk show “The Doctors” which ran from 2008-22.

SIENA

• Wendy Moniz
• Wayne LaPierre
• Bobby Fish
• Ed Henry
• Olivia Benson

Moniz was Dinah Marley on “Guiding Light” for five seasons and had a 22-episode run on “Nash Bridges”. Folks will most likely know her for her role as Governor Lynelle Perry opposite Kevin Costner in “Yellowstone”… One of the nation’s most vocal gun lobbyists, LaPierre served as NRA president from 1991-2024… Fish made his pro wrestling debut in 2002 and paid his dues in lower tiers before getting his break in WWE’s NXT in 2017 as a member of Undisputed Era. He was a two-time NXT tag team champion… Henry has worked at CNN and Fox News, serving as White House correspondent for the latter, and now works for Newsmax… OK, so Olivia Benson is fictional, but Mariska Hargitay’s character in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” attended Siena, and she’s fantastic. We’ll take it.

• Winner: Duke. I didn't have to resort to fictional characters.

No. 8 Ohio State vs No. 9 TCU

OHIO STATE

• Bob Knight
• Jesse Owens
• R.L. Stine
• Jack Nicklaus
• JD Vance

On the bench: Jim Jinkins (“Doug” creator), Kirk Herbstriet (ESPN), Patricia Heaton (actress, “Everybody Loves Raymond”)

While Knight became an icon at Indiana, it all started at Ohio State, where he  played point guard from 1959-62. The General won three national titles at IU and finished his coaching career with a 902-371 record (.709)… Arguably the greatest track athlete of all-time, Owens owned the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, basically giving Adolph Hitler the finger the whole time. Owens won four gold medals (100m, 200m, long jump, 4x100 relay) and became an international superstar… If you read books in elementary and middle school, you probably know who R.L. Stine is. He's authored more than 100 books but is known for his "Goosebumps" and "Fear Street" series. "Night of the Living Dummy" was a guaranteed nightmare… A Columbus, Ohio native, Nicklaus is among the greatest golfers of all time, winning 117 pro events. His 18 majors are a record, which includes six Masters wins... The current U.S. vice president, Vance was born and raised in Middletown, Ohio. He served in the Marines in a non-combat role and attended Ohio State on the G.I. Bill, graduating summa cum laude.  In 2016, his book, “Hillbilly Elegy” was published, ascending to the New York Times’ bestseller list (it was later adapted into a movie). He served as a U.S. Senator for two years before being tabbed as Donald Trump’s running mate.

TCU

• Bob Schieffer
• Chris Klein
• Rod Roddy
• Reverend Timothy Lovejoy
• Shantel VanSanten

Others on the bench: Sue Monk Kidd (“Secret Life of Bees” author), LaDanian Tomlinson (former NFL running back), Sammy Baugh (Pro Football Hall of Famer)

A national politics reporter/anchor for CBS, Schieffer had a near 25-year run on "60 Minutes" and was moderator of "Face the Nation" from 1991-2015. He’s also moderated plenty of presidential debates... Klein will always be known for his role as Chris "Oz" Ostreicher from "American Pie." He starred alongside Mel Gibson in the Vietnam film “We Were Soldiers”... "Come on down! You're the next contestant on the "Price is Right!" Roddy was the show's announcer from 1986 until his death in 2003. He was known for his loud outfits nearly as much as his booming voice. He also announced the classic game show "Press Your Luck." No whammy, no whammy ... Lovejoy is minister at The First Church of Springfield on “The Simpsons” and attended TCU before moving to Springfield. Don't believe me? Google it ... VanSenten starred as Quinn on “One Tree Hill” and featured in three seasons of Apple+ must-see drama “For All Mankind”.

• Winner: Ohio State. As much as I loved "The Price is Right", the Buckeyes are the pick here.

No. 5 St. John's vs No. 12 Northern Iowa

ST. JOHN’S

• Darryl McDaniels
• J. Cole
• Mike Francesa
• Keegan Bradley
• Al McGuire

On the bench: Mark Jackson (NBA), Ron Artest (NBA), Chris Mullin (NBA), Ron Silver (actor), Mario Cuomo

A pioneer in hip-hop, McDaniels, or "D.M.C.", was a founding member of platinum-selling rap group Run-D.M.C. Among the first mainstream rap acts, Run-D.M.C. was the first hip-hop group nominated for a Grammy and among Rolling Stone's Top 50 musical artists of all-time… Sticking with the rap game, J. Cole was a magma cum laude graduate of St. John's and actually tried as a walk-on for the Red Storm’s basketball team. This Jay-Z protege has won two Grammy awards and has released seven studio albums… Francesa is one of the most successful sports radio talk show hosts ever with his near 30-year run on New York’s WFAN with “Mike and the Mad Dog” with Chris Russo. He had an on-again, off-again relationship with WFAN afterwards and now hosts his own podcast… The 2011 PGA Championship winner, Bradley won nine college events before turning pro. He has eight PGA Tour wins, is ranked No. 7 in the world as was Team USA’s Ryder Cup captain in 2025… McGuire, who captained St. John’s 1951 team, is one of the more beloved college basketball coaches of all-time. He finished his 12-year run at Marquette with the 1977 NCAA championship and then retired from coaching to serve as vice chairman of a sporting goods company. His legacy grew as he became a popular TV analyst for CBS Sports, calling games up until 2000.

NORTHERN IOWA

• Kurt Warner
• Mark Steines
• Robert James Waller
• Tom Pettit
• Lisa Bluder

On the bench: Chuck Grassley (U.S. Senator), Darian DeVries (Indiana coach), Nick Nurse (NBA coach), David Johnson (NFL running back), Bryce Paup (former NFL pass rusher)

Warner's story from Piggly Wiggly stock boy to Super Bowl hero is well-documented. They even made a movie about it, “American Underdog”. Much of that story got started at Northern Iowa where he was the conference's offensive player of the year as a senior… Steines appeared on celebrity gossip show "Entertainment Tonight" from 2004-12, and co-hosted the Hallmark Channel's "The Home and Family Show" from 2012-18… Waller's "The Bridges of Madison County" was the best-selling novel of 1993 and made into a movie starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. He received his bachelor's and Master's degrees at Northern Iowa… An award-winning TV journalist, Pettit worked as a correspondent for NBC News more than three decades. Dispatched to Dallas after the John F. Kennedy assassination, Pettit was standing six feet away when Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald and it's Pettit's voice that we hear yelling, "He's been shot! Lee Oswald has been shot!"… A power forward for UNI’s women’s basketball from 1979-83, Bluder coached Iowa women’s basketball team from 2000-24, which finished with the Caitlin Clark years. Those Hawkeyes went to back-to-back national championship games. Bluder was a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year and won 889 games in her career, which included stops at St. Ambrose and Drake.

• Winner: St. John's. It's not tricky, regardless of what Run D.M.C. says.

No. 4 Kansas vs No. 13 Cal Baptist

KANSAS

• Wilt Chamberlain
• Don Johnson
• Paul Rudd
• Nikki Glaser
• Terry Kiser

On the bench: Mandy Patinkin (actor, “Criminal Minds” and “Homeland”), Rob Riggle (comedian), Scott Bakula (actor, “Quantum Leap” and “Necessary Roughness”)

One of the greatest basketball players ever, Chamberlain was a four-time NBA MVP and led the NBA in scoring for seven straight seasons (1960-66) and led the league in rebounding 11 times… Crockett on "Miami Vice", Johnson owned the late 80s. In the 90s he was “Nash Bridges” and was Kevin Costner’s rival in “Tin Cup”… Marvel’s “Ant-Man”, Rudd has starred in comedies such as "Anchorman", "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up”… Glaser is among the most popular stand-up comedians today and hosted the past two Golden Globe Awards… You may know Kiser by another name, Bernie. As in “Weekend at Bernie’s.” Man played a dead guy for nearly two whole movies. He attended Kansas on football and drama scholarships.

CAL BAPTIST

• Brent Kutzle
• Dustin-Leigh Konzelman
• Marissa Figueroa
• Kay Warren
• Rick Warren

Kutzle is the bassist and cellist for pop rock band OneRepublic, joining the group in 2007. OneRepubic has sold nearly 20 million records worldwide…  Miss California in 2005, Konzelman featured in Season 10 of CBS’ reality competition show “The Amazing Race”, finishing in fourth place. She returned for “Amazing Race: All Stars” in 2007 and finished runner-up… The Buffalo Bills hired Figueroa as the first woman as a full-time NFL athletic trainer. She was on the staff credited with saving Damar Hamlin’s life when he underwent cardiac arrest on the field Jan. 2, 2023… The Warrens co-founded Saddleback Church, the sixth-largest evangelical megachurch. Kay and Rick are also both published authors. That’s all I’ve got.

• Winner: Kansas. Jayhawks' JV team would have won in a walkover.

No. 6 Louisville vs No. 11 South Florida

LOUISVILLE

• Johnny Unitas
• Lamar Jackson
• Donald Elbert
• Mitch McConnell
• Frank Neuhauser

On the bench: Tom Jackson (ESPN), Sue Grafton (author), Wes Unseld (NBA)

Unitas was the standard for quarterbacks in the 1950s and 60s and held many Colts franchise records prior to Peyton Manning… Despite Unitas’ exploits, Jackson is the only Louisville player to win the Heisman Trophy. He’s spent his entire pro career with the Baltimore Ravens and won NFL MVP in 2019 and 2023… In 1965, Elbert led the team of engineers that invented AstroTurf, which they originally called ChemGrass. Good job, marketing team on the rename… The longest serving Kentucky senator in history, McConnell has been in the Senate since 1985. A prominent Republican and longtime Senate Majority/Minority Leader, the 84-year-old announced he won’t seek another term in 2026… Neuhauser won the first National Spelling Bee in 1925 as an 11-year-old with the word ‘gladiolus’.

SOUTH FLORIDA

• Gallagher
• Drake Hogeysten
• Mark Consuelos
• Aasif Mandvi
• Tony La Russa

On the bench: Grace Gealey (actress, “Empire”)

Who is ready to smash some watermelons! Folks in the front rows of Gallagher’s comedy shows needed ponchos as the comic would rely on his “Sledge-O-Matic” for quick laughs… Hogestyn attended USF on a baseball scholarship and graduated with degrees in microbiology and applied sciences. He used that to good effect as John Black on a 36-year run on NBC soap opera “Days of our Lives”… Sticking with soap operas, Consuelos played Mateo Santos on ABC’s “All My Children” from 1995-2002. He also starred in CW’s “Riverdale” and is married to Kelly Ripa, with whom he co-hosts a talk show with… Mandvi Is known for his role as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” from 2006-15. He’s appeared in many other shows, including CBS’ “Evil” and “Blue Bloods”… La Russa got his degree from USF after suffering a shoulder injury. He spent most of his playing career in the minor leagues, but was one of the most successful major league managers in his era, winning three World Series and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.

• Winner: South Florida. John Black stood by Marlena through her devil possession. That's worth something.

No. 3 Michigan State vs No. 14 North Dakota State

MICHIGAN STATE

• Magic Johnson
• James Caan
• Sam Raimi
• Dan Gheesling
• Bernard White

A 12-time NBA All-Star, five-time NBA champion and three-time MVP, Johnson was the premier attraction for the Showtime Lakers of the 1980s. He’s part owner of the LA Dodgers, LA Sparks, LAFC, Washington Commanders and Washington Spirit… Nominated for an Oscar for his role as Brian Piccolo in "Brian's Song" and Sonny Corleone in "The Godfather", Caan was tortured by Kathy Bates in "Misery” and driven crazy by Will Ferrell in “Elf”… Director of the cult classic "Evil Dead" movies, Raimi also directed the "Spider-Man" trilogy (2002-07) and Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”… A reality TV star, Gheesling won the 10^th season of CBS’s popular show “Big Brother” and was runner-up on the show’s 14^th season. He also appeared on Peacock’s reality show “Traitors”…  White earned a theatre degree at MSU and gained popularity for his role in the “Matrix” sequels opposite Keanu Reeves. He’s appeared in a number of TV shows, including CBS comedy “Ghosts”, ABC drama “Big Sky” and HBO comedy “Silicon Valley”.

NORTH DAKOTA STATE

• Carson Wentz
• Bob Backlund
• Ilhan Omar
• Gilmore Schjeldahl
• Harold Schafer

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Wentz led the Bison to two straight FCS national titles as starting QB (during a stretch of five-straight for NDSU). He led the Eagles to an 11-2 record during their 2017 Super Bowl year, but was injured in Week 14 and saw Nick Foles bring it home. After five seasons in Philly, he bounced around with stops in Indianapolis, Washington, Los Angeles, Kansas City and spent last season in Minnesota… Inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013, Backlund had a 30-year career in pro wrestling, including two stints as WWF champion, the titles coming 16 years apart… An outspoken critic of President Trump, Omar has served in Congress since 2019. She earned a degree in political science and international studies at NDSU… Awarded the Bronze Star after his part in the Battle of the Bulge, Schjeldahl began a long career with plastics, which culminated with a personal favorite of mine, plastic-lined airsickness bags,… Schafer founded the Gold Seal Company, which created "Mr. Bubble" bubble bath.

• Winner: Michigan State. As important as those airsickness bags are for someone who hates flying...

No. 7 UCLA vs No. 10 UCF

UCLA

• Jack Black
• Nicolas Cage
• Tim Robbins
• Sydney Sweeney
• Alyssa Liu

On the bench: Gabrielle Union (actress), Dax Shepard (actor), Heather Locklear (actress), Mayim Bialik (actress), The Doors (band), Mila Kunis (actress)

A star-studded group, as one would expect just eight miles from Hollywood. Black got his start in acting when another UCLA alum, Tim Robbins, cast him in the 1992 film “Bob Roberts”. Black stood out in “High Fidelity” and was the star in “School of Rock” in 2003. He’s voiced Po in the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise and starred in the “Jumanji” and “Anaconda” remakes… Cage, the nephew of acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola, attended UCLA film school, and got his breakthrough in 1986’s “Peggy Sue Got Married”, followed by “Raising Arizona” and “Moonstruck” in 1987. He had a nice run in the mid-90s with action flicks “The Rock”, “Con Air” and “Face/Off” and will star as John Madden in the bio pic of the former Raiders coach…   We mentioned Robbins before, and the UCLA Film School grad starred in two of my all-time favorite films ("Bull Durham" and "Shawshank Redemption"), so he makes the cut. He won a best supporting actor Oscar for his role in 2003's "Mystic River"… The new “it” girl in Hollywood, Sweeney broke out in her role on HBO drama “Euphoria” and starred opposite Glen Powell in the rom-com “Anyone but You”…  Liu, who studies psychology at UCLA, won two gold medals in figure skating (individual and team) and was the breakout star of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

UCF

• Cheryl Hines
• Daniel Tosh
• Michelle Akers
• Scott Porter
• Chase Stokes

On the bench: Brian France (NASCAR CEO), David Blue (actor)

Hines’ most popular role is that of Larry David’s wife in “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. She’s the real-life wife to RFK Jr., U.S. health secretary… A comedian, Tosh hosted “Tosh.0” on Comedy Central from 2009 to 2020 and now hosts a podcast, aptly named “Tosh Show”… A four-time All-American at UCF, Akers won the Hermann Trophy in 1988, given to the nation’s top soccer player. She was a member of the first U.S. women’s national team in 1985 and played 155 times for her country, including the 1991 World Cup where she scored both goals in the final to give U.S. a 2-1 win over Norway and its first World Cup title… Porter played injured quarterback Jason Street on “Friday Night Lights” and more recently as Mayor Paul Randolph in Netflix’s “Ginny and Georgia”. He also competed in Season 11 of “The Masked Singer”, finishing runner-up as Gumball… Stokes is among the main characters on Netflix hit “Outer Banks”, playing John B.

• Winner: UCLA. The Bruins' star-studded lineup will be a tough out.

No. 2 UConn vs. No. 15 Furman

UCONN

• Meg Ryan
• Moby
• Bobby Moynihan Jr.
• Diana Taurasi
• Tony Todd

On the bench: Sue Bird (WNBA), Ray Allen (NBA)

A Fairfield, Connecticut native, Ryan studied journalism at UConn. She’s known for her work in rom-coms, notably “When Harry Met Sally…”, “You’ve Got Mail” and “Sleepless in Seattle”… Moby worked at the college radio station and began DJing at local bars. In the mid-90s, he had eight top-10 hits, including “Move (You Make Me Feel So Good)”. He’s sold more than 20 million records worldwide… Moynihan was a fixture on “Saturday Night Live’ from 2008-17. He’s voiced a number of animated roles, including King George in the recently released Pixar film, “Hoppers”… We couldn’t have a UConn list without a women’s basketball star. We went with Taurasi, a three-time WNBA champion, 2009 WNBA MVP and 11-time WNBA All-Star. She won three NCAA titles in Storrs and was a two-time National Player of the Year… Todd starred in the 90s horror film “Candyman”, has appeared in all the Final Destination movies and was great in “The Rock” as one of Ed Harris’ henchmen.

FURMAN

• Xavier Woods
• Victoria Jackson
• Clint Dempsey
• Amy Grant
• Herman Lay

Others on bench: Billy Napier (college football coach), Sam Wyche (former NFL coach), Brad Faxon (PGA Tour), Dottie Pepper (former LPGA Tour champion, golf commentator), Bear Rinehart (singer, Needtobreathe)

Part of WWE’s New Day, Woods graduated from Furman with degrees in psychology and philosophy. Woods has been with WWE in 2010, pairing with Kofi Kingston as one of the company’s more successful tag teams… Jackson attended Furman on a gymnastics scholarship before transferring to Auburn. She was a “Saturday Night Live” cast member from 1986-92 and had roles in 1980s comedy classics “Baby Boom” and “UHF”… Dempsey, or Deuce as we like to call him, brought a certain flair and edge to the U.S. men’s soccer national team. He played 141 times for USMNT, scoring 57 goals. He was one of the more successful Americans to play in the English Premier League, which included a strong run with Fulham and then a stint with the world’s greatest team, Tottenham Hotspur… Grant started college at Furman before transferring to Vanderbilt. A Christian pop singer, she hit No. 1 with “The Next Time I Fall” in 1986 and “Baby Baby” in 1991. She’s sold more than 30 million albums and has six Grammy Awards… The man behind Lay’s potato chips, Lay attended Furman on an athletic scholarship. His H.W. Lay & Company merged with Frito to become Frito-Lay corporation , the country’s largest selling snack food company.

• Winner: UConn. This is a vote for Meg Ryan's role in "Courage Under Fire".

SECOND ROUND

• Duke vs. Ohio State: The General beats the Commish. Ohio State wins.
• St. John’s vs. Kansas: Don't need Wilt to score 100 to win this one. Kansas wins.
• South Florida vs. Michigan State: Spartans have Magic, but there's something magical about smashed watermelons. USF wins.
• UCLA vs. UConn: Meg Ryan and Tim Robbins starred together in "I.Q.", but you don't need to be Einstein to pick this one. UCLA wins.

SWEET 16

• Ohio State vs. Kansas: This was a tough one. But Jesse Owens and The Golden Bear are better than an Ant-Man and a dead man. Ohio State wins.
• South Florida vs. UCLA: Gallagher's act gets stale. UCLA wins in a blowout.

ELITE EIGHT

• UCLA vs. Ohio State: Despite how awful "Ghost Rider" was, Nic Cage is a still a "National Treasure". UCLA wins it.

SOUTH

No. 16 Prairie View A&M vs No. 16 Lehigh

PRAIRIE VIEW A&M

• Meg Thee Stallion
• Mr. T
• Loni Love
• Terry Ellis
• Cecil Cooper

A member of the school’s dance team, Panther Dolls, Meg Thee Stallion started to gain popularity at Prairie View A&M with her rap battles going viral on social media. That recognition helped land her a record deal, and she had three No. 1 songs in 2020. She’s won three Grammy Awards and was the second woman rapper to win Best New Artist (Lauryn Hill)... Mr. T was on a football scholarship at Prairie View A&M but was expelled after his first year and became a military police man for the Army. He tried out for the Green Bay Packers, but his playing career was derailed by injury. He then became a bouncer at Chicago nightclubs and then a celebrity bodyguard. Sylvester Stallone saw Mr. T on a televised bouncer competition and cast him in “Rocky III” as Clubber Lang in 1982. That launched his career and he starred as B.A. Bracus in “The A-Team”… A stand-up comedian and runner-up on “Star Search” in 2003, Love co-hosted the daytime talk show “The Real” and is a recurring judge on “RuPaul’s Drag Race”… Lewis was a founding member of the R&B group En Vogue, which had some jams like “Free Your Mind” and “Don’t Let Go”… Cooper played 17 years in MLB, 11 for Milwaukee and six for Boston. He was a five-time All-Star, a two-time Gold Glove winner and led the American League in RBIs in 1980 and 1983. He managed the Houston Astros from 2007-09, winning one more game than he lost (171-170).

LEHIGH

• Lee Iacocca
• Roger Penske
• Jesse Reno
• Cathy Engelbert
• CJ McCollum

On the bench: Robert Serber (Manhattan Project), Marty Baron (former Washington Post editor), Stephanie Ruhle (MSNBC host), Paul Guilfoyle (actor, “CSI”)

I titan of the automobile industry, Iacocca was an executive at Ford who developed the Mustang and Pinto before joining Chrysler and reviving that brand. His autobiography was a bestseller in 1984-85. He considered a run for U.S. president but was talked out of it… Engelbert may not be the most popular commissioner in sports, but the WNBA boss has led the league since 2019. She walked on to Lehigh’s women’s basketball under former Notre Dame coach Muffett McGraw and became a team captain. Get a deal done, Cathy!… Reno invented the escalator. I grew up terrified of escalators (the Atlanta airport, I’m looking at you), but they sure beat stairs… ‘The Captain’, Penske’s race team owned the Indy 500 with 20 wins at the Brickyard. Now, he actually owns the thing, as owner of the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway… McCollum was a two-time Patriot League Player of the Year for Lehigh and was drafted No. 10 overall in 2013 by the Portland Trail Blazers. He spent nine seasons in Rip City before stops in New Orleans, Washington and Atlanta. He’s averaged 19.6 points per game over his 800+ career games and may be one the NBA’s better players not to make an All-Star Game.

• Winner: Prairie View A&M. I pity the fool who had to go up against Mr. T. And did I mention I was petrified of escalators?

No. 1 Florida vs No. 16 Prairie View A&M

FLORIDA

• Erin Andrews
• Cris Collinsworth
• Darrell Hammond
• Toby Turner
• Abby Wambach

On the bench: Jesse Palmer (NFL quarterback, “The Bachelor” host), Laura Rutledge (ESPN), Ryan Lochte (Olympic swimmer)

Andrews has been among the top sideline reporters over the past 25 years, breaking through at ESPN before joining Fox in 2012. A member of Florida’s Dazzlers dance team, Andrews also co-hosted “Dancing With the Stars” from 2014-2019… Collinsworth was a standout receiver for the Gators (1977-81) before earning three Pro Bowls with the Cincinnati Bengals. Now an accomplished broadcaster, Collinsworth has been the primary analyst for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” since 2009… A “Saturday Night Live” veteran, Hammond has appeared in more than 300 episodes and gained attention for his impersonations of Bill Clinton, Dr. Phil and everyone’s favorite “Celebrity Jeopardy!” contestant Sean Connery… Turner, known as Tobuscus, is a popular YouTuber with more than 6 million subscribers to his primary channel and nearly 14 million subscribers overall… Wambach is among the greatest women’s soccer players in U.S. history and is USWNT’s all-time leading goal scorer. She was named 2012 FIFA Women’s Player of the Year.

• Winner: Prairie View A&M. In our first shocker of the tournament. Meg Thee Stallion gets the best of Erin Andrews in a dance off.

No. 8 Clemson vs No. 9 Iowa

CLEMSON

• Nancy O’Dell
• Dolph Lundgren
• Rob Huebel
• Dwight Clark
• Lee Brice

On the bench: Nikki Haley (former South Carolina governor)

Miss South Carolina in 1987, O’Dell graduated summa cum laude from Clemson in 1990 before embarking on a broadcast TV career. She hosted “Access Hollywood” from 1996-2009 and has been the host of my mom’s favorite show “Entertainment Tonight” from 2011-19… Lundgren studied chemical engineering at a few schools, including Clemson. But his biggest role involved getting his face bashed in. He’ll always be Ivan Drago from “Rocky IV” — which to this day has the best film soundtrack ever. He was He-Man in “Masters of the Universe” and Frank Castle in 1989 version of “The Punisher”… An actor/comedian, Huebel studied marketing at Clemson before joining the Upright Citizens Brigade. He’s appeared in a number of films and TV shows, including Amazon Prime’s “Transparent”…  A member of the Clemson Athletics Hall of Fame, Clark was a two-time Super Bowl champion and is known for “The Catch” in the 1981 NFC Championship game when he appeared out of nowhere at the back of the end zone to haul in a Joe Montana pass to beat the Dallas Cowboys… Brice has had eight songs reach No. 1 on the country music charts and attended Clemson on a football scholarship, serving primarily as a long snapper.

IOWA

• Caitlin Clark
• Ashton Kutcher
• Gene Wilder
• W.P. Kinsella
• Tom Arnold

On the bench: Tom Brokaw (NBC News), Jake Johnson (actor, “New Girl”), Mildred Wirt Benson (“Nancy Drew”)

Clark just might be the biggest star in sports right now. She became a phenomenon while becoming the all-time scorer in Division I basketball with the Hawkeyes. She’s now the face of the WNBA, pushing the league to all-time highs in popularity… Kutcher attended Iowa as a biochemical engineering major with hopes of finding a cure for his twin brother's cardiomyopathy, but he dropped out after gaining attention as a male model. He starred on TV hits "That 70s Show" and "Two and a Half Men" and went from playing a moron in “Dude, Where’s My Car?” to a genius Steve Jobs in the 2013 biopic “Jobs”. What range… The star of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", "Young Frankenstein" and "Blazing Saddles", Wilder also played opposite Richard Pryor in some of the greatest buddy comedies… So why is the “Field of Dreams” in Iowa? Kinsella wrote the book “Shoeless Joe”, which the film as adapted from, earned his Master’s degree in English from Iowa…  A native Iowan, Arnold went into stand-up comedy after studying business administration and writing. Roseanne Barr hired Arnold as a writer for her sitcom "Roseanne", divorced her husband, married Arnold and wrote him into the show. They eventually divorced, too. His role in “True Lies” alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger is outstanding.

• Winner: Iowa. Too many Caitlin Clark deep 3s.

No. 5 Vanderbilt vs No. 12 McNeese

VANDERBILT

• Dierks Bentley
• Chris Stapleton
• Bettie Page
• Jay Cutler
• Clay Travis

On the bench: Ron Daniel (director, “Teen Wolf”), Brandt Snedeker (PGA Tour), Mack Brown (college football coach)

Of course a Nashville school will have a country music flavor to its roster. Bentley graduated from Vandy in 1997 and has produced multiple platinum and gold albums, which have included 18 songs that reached No. 1 on the country charts… Stapleton attended Vandy with the intention of studying biomedical engineering. He engineered plenty of hits for other musicians as a songwriter before making it on his own as a solo artist in 2015. He’s won 11 Grammy Awards and 15 CMA Awards… A Nashville native, Page attended Peabody College, which later became part of Vanderbilt. She’s often referred to as the “Queen of Pin-Ups” as a model in 1950s… Cutler was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2005 and led the Commodores to their first win over Tennessee since 1982. He played 12 years in the NFL, including eight with the Chicago Bears where he holds franchise records for passing yards, passing touchdowns and believe it or not, wins… Another Nashville native, Travis graduated from George Washington University before returning to Nashville for Vanderbilt Law School. An avid SEC football fan, he wrote a book about it (“Dixieland Delight”) and worked at Deadspin. He founded OutKick and was hired by Fox as a college football personality. He has more than 1.3 million Twitter followers and was among those invited by President Trump to this month’s Saving College Sports roundtable.

MCNEESE

• Joe Dumars
• Doug Kershaw
• Rupert Richardson
• Taja V. Simpson
• Adam Johnson

On the bench: Douglas Fournet (Medal of Honor recipient)

Dumars graduated as the 11^th leading scorer in NCAA history after a four-year career at McNeese and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. A two-time NBA champion with Detroit, he spent his entire 14-year career with the Pistons, earning All-Star honors six times… A member of the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, Kershaw has produced 15 solo albums as a fiddle player/singer after graduating from McNeese with a degree in mathematics… Richardson received her two Master’s degrees from McNeese and served as president of the NAACP from 1992-95. One fellow civil rights activist said, "Rupert Richardson was in many ways the conscience of the NAACP"… A Lake Charles native, Simpson is known her role in BET soap opera “The Oval” but also appeared in “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Bold and the Beautiful”… Johnson earned a Master’s from McNeese’s writing program and put that to good use, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for his novel, “The Orphan’s Master’s Son”.

• Winner: Vanderbilt. Even the Bears fan in me won't let me pick against Jay Cutler.

No. 4 Nebraska vs No. 13 Troy

NEBRASKA

• Johnny Carson
• Larry the Cable Guy
• Warren Buffett
• Gerry Thomas
• Evan Williams

On the bench: Shelley Smith (ESPN)

Carson attended Nebraska after serving in the Navy and started his career in radio before the explosion of TV. Carson initially declined NBC’s offer to host “The Tonight Show”, but eventually agreed and took over in 1962. That was the start of a 30-year run that changed late night TV… Daniel Whitney, aka Larry the Cable Guy, was raised on a pig farm in Pawnee City, Nebraska and picked up his Southern accent from his roommates while attending Baptist University in Macon, Georgia. He transferred back to Nebraska but dropped out his junior year to pursue comedy. He hit it big with the “Blue Collar Comedy Tour” and turned his persona into a film career… An Omaha native, Buffett studied at the prestigious Wharton School of Business at Penn before returning home to Nebraska, graduating with a degree in Investment Management. Yeah, that worked out. He’s known as one of the best investors ever and ranks among the 10 richest people in the world… Long credited with inventing TV dinners, Thomas never actually ate them. He came up with the idea while working for Swanson, but after his death, the Swanson family tried to take credit for the invention. Pinnacle Foods, which owns Swanson, still gives Thomas credit. Good enough for us… Another Nebraska native, Williams is the co-founder of Twitter, serving on its board from 2007-19. Per Forbes, he’s worth $2 billion. Matt Rhule may want to send him a DM.

TROY

• Bray Wyatt
• Vecepia Towery
• James “JT” Thomas Jr.
• DeMarcus Ware
• Osi Umenyiora

Wyatt, a former WWE wrestler, played football at Troy as Windham Rotunda. In addition to Bray Wyatt, he wrestled under other names including The Fiend and Husky Harris. He won the WWE title once and tag team titles with Randy Orton and Matt Hardy. He died of a heart attack in 2023… If you want to win “Survivor”, go to Troy. It’ll enhance your chances. Towery won “Survivor: Marquesas”, the fourth season of the reality show now in its 50^th season. Troy also is alma mater of popular Survivor contestant Thomas, who won Season 18, “Survivor: Tocantins”. Thomas became just the second contestant to win the show by unanimous vote… In addition to “Survivor” winners, Troy can produce some NFL pass rushers. Ware is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame after making the Pro Bowl in nine of his 12 NFL seasons, finishing his career with 138.5 sacks, tied for 13^th all-time… Not as prolific as Ware, Umenyiora still had a productive 11-year NFL career with 85 sacks and two Pro Bowl trips.

• Winner: Nebraska. There's no surviving this one for Troy.

No. 6 North Carolina vs No. 11 VCU

NORTH CAROLINA

• Michael Jordan
• Lewis Black
• Mia Hamm
• James K. Polk
• Billy Crudup

On the bench: Dan Cortese (actor), Stuart Scott (ESPN), Caleb Bradham (invented Pepsi), Andy Griffith (actor)

The greatest basketball player of all-time, Jordan finally cracked the billionaire's club this year. A principal owner of the Charlotte Hornets, His Airness' greatest contribution might have been "Space Jam"... A comedian and social critic, Black came to prominence with appearances on "The Daily Show" with his intelligently crafted rage. He was perfectly cast as the voice of Anger in Pixar’s “Inside Out”... Hamm is arguably the greatest women’s soccer player of all-time. She helped UNC win four national titles in five years and was ACC Player of the Year three years in a row. She played in four Women’s World Cups and three Olympics for USWNT… The 11th President of the United States, Polk was called "easily our least-known consequential president" by Newsweek. However, he added Texas, California and the Southwest during the Mexican-American War and took Oregon from Great Britain. He served only one term and died three months after leaving office… Crudup has starred in a number of films everyone should see, such as “Almost Famous”, “Big Fish” and “Spotlight”. He’s also one of the main characters in Apple+ drama “The Morning Show” starring opposite Reese Witherspoon.

VCU

• David Baldacci
• Stephen Furst
• Patch Adams
• Jay Pharoah
• GWAR

Om the bench: Rama Duwaji (New York City First Lady), Debbie Matenopoulos (former co-host “The View”), Iron and Wine (musician), Chad L. Coleman (Cutty on “The Wire”)

One of my favorite authors, Baldacci has written many bestsellers, including "Absolute Power" and "The Camel Club" series. He's sold more than 130 million books worldwide… Flounder in "Animal House", Furst graduated from VCU, not Faber College… Adams' life was the subject of a Robin Williams movie bearing his name. He is known for dressing up as a clown to cheer up young patients and creating the Gesundheit! Institute… Pharoah briefly attended VCU before getting a degree from Tidewater Community College, but we’re taking it. He was a “Saturday Night Live” cast member from 2010-16 and hosts Fox’s game show, “The Quiz With Balls”… GWAR is the heavy metal band full of characters — literally. From Nippleus Erectus to Beefcake The Mighty, GWAR got its start in Richmond in 1984 and immediately began scaring the (expletive) out of parents. The band still tours and plays dress-up.

• Winner: North Carolina. We picked up the Southwest and Pacific Northwest under Polk's presidency. Sorry, Beefcake The Mighty.

No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 14 Penn

ILLINOIS

• Nick Offerman
• YouTube
• Hugh Heffner
• Gene Hackman
• Ed Boon

Others on the bench: Taylor Rooks, Tony Khan (AEW promoter), Shel Silverstein

A Joliet native, Offerman graduated from Illinois in 1993 and began his career in Chicago theater. He got his big break as Ron Swanson in NBC’s “Parks and Recreation”. Swanson’s love for Bob Knight means we’re running a motion offense and man-to-man defense with this squad… Steven Chen and Jawed Karim, two of the three founders of YouTube, attended Illinois before meeting third co-founder Chad Hurley while working at PayPal. The second-most visited website in the world sold for $1.65 billion to Google, the most visited website in the world… Playboy’s creator and editor-in-chief, Heffner graduated from Illinois in 1949 after serving in the Army writing for the military newspaper… After serving in the Marines, Hackman attended Illinois on the G.I. Bill. He had some iconic roles during his illustrious film career, Lex Luthor in “Superman”, Norman Dale in “Hoosiers” and Popeye Doyle in “The French Connection”… A video game programmer, Boon created “Mortal Kombat” which I sunk quite a few hours in during middle school.

PENN

• Elon Musk
• Donald Trump
• Elizabeth Banks
• John Legend
• Maury Povich

The wealthiest person on Earth, Musk got degrees in physics and economics from Penn in the 90s. The Tesla, SpaceX and X CEO  was the largest donor for another Penn grad’s presidential run in 2024 and even served as a senior advisor to the president... Trump got a degree in economics from Penn’s Wharton School and began work at his dad’s real estate company. Trump took over the family business in 1971 and was among the world’s premier real estate moguls, building skyscrapers and golf courses across the globe. His book, “The Art of the Deal” was a New York Times bestseller and he gained even more fame from his NBC reality show “The Apprentice” from 2004-15. He won the 2016 presidential election over Hillary Clinton, lost to the 2020 race to Joe Biden, and then won again in 2024, making him just the second president to serve non-consecutive terms (Grover Cleveland)… Banks graduated magna cum laude with a degree in communications. She got her big break in 2001 comedy “Wet Hot American Summer”.  She played Betty Brant in the “Spider-Man” trilogy and was Effie in “The Hunger Games” movies… Legend enrolled at Penn when he was just 16 and graduated magna cum laude. He’s released 10 studio albums, winning 13 Grammy Awards. His songs “All of Me” and “Ordinary People” hit No. 1 on the charts and he’s sold over 10 million albums… Povich got a degree in TV journalism from Penn and is known for his talk show “Maury”, which ran from 1991 to 2022. “You are the father!”

• Winner: Illinois. Another tough one, but it boils down to YouTube > Twitter. "Finish him."

No. 7 Saint Mary's vs No. 10 Texas A&M

SAINT MARY’S

• Mahershala Ali
• Corbin Burnes
• Todd Golden
• Brother Timothy Diener
• Brian Doyle-Murray

On the bench: Tony Martin, Jennifer Chambliss Bertman (author), Tom Candiotti (former MLB pitcher)

Ali is the headliner here. He played Remy in Netflix political drama “House of Cards” and won two Academy Awards for his roles in “Moonlight” and “Green Book”. He also starred in the latest Jurassic Park alongside Scarlett Johansson… The 2021 NL Cy Young award winner, Burnes is a four-time All-Star and led the NL in strikeouts in 2022… Golden started 82 games at guard for the Gaels basketball team between 2004-08. Now, Florida’s head coach, he’s looking to guide the Gators to back-to-back national championships… Diener is credited with helping rebuild the nearby Napa Valley as wine hub after Prohibition… Bill Murray’s younger brother, you know Doyle-Murray for his roles in “Caddyshack” and “Groundhog Day” alongside his brother, but also as Jack Ruby in Oliver Stone’s “JFK” and Noah Vanderhoff in “Wayne’s World”.

TEXAS A&M

• Myles Garrett
• Rip Torn
• Lyle Lovett
• Marc Menchaca
• Brittany Broski

On the bench: Johnny Manziel (Heisman Trophy winner), PC Principal (“South Park”), Rick Perry (former Texas governor)

A two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year (including last season), Garrett is an absolute game-wrecker. Cleveland made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft and Garrett has provided 125.5 sacks, including an NFL single-season record of 23 last season… Torn is perhaps best known for his role as Artie on "The Larry Sanders Show," which earned him six Emmy nominations. He's appeared in a number of comedies, including as Zed in "Men in Black" and Patches O'Houlihan in "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story." ... A fixture on the country music scene, Lovett has won four Grammy Awards, but is really remembered for shockingly marrying Julia Roberts in 1993. They divorced less than two years later but imagine all the heartbreak songs that came from it... Menchaca graduated from A&M with a degree in English. He’s appeared in shows such as HBO’s “Generation Kill”, Amazon Prime’s “Jack Ryan”, Showtime’s “Homeland” and Netflix’s “Ozark”. Not a bad list… You may not know Broski’s name, but you likely know her face. She’s the “Kombucha girl” meme. Did it taste good? No. Maybe. Yes. No. She graduated magna cum laude from A&M and has more than 7 million followers on TikTok.

• Winner: Saint Mary's. No offense to Kombucha Girl, but I had to use Kombucha Girl to fill out A&M's roster.

No. 2 Houston vs. No. 15 Idaho

HOUSTON

• Jim Parsons
• Jim Nantz
• Dennis Quaid
• Lil Wayne
• Kenny Rogers

On the bench: Chamillionaire (rapper), Randy Quaid (actor), Brent Spiner (Data in “Star Trek”)

Parsons played theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper in CBS' "Big Bang Theory" for 12 seasons. His character was so popular, CBS created a spinoff called "Young Sheldon"... Nantz golfed for the Cougars (Fred Couples was his roommate) and majored in broadcasting. He joined CBS in 1985 and became the face of the network's sports coverage, calling The Masters, Final Four and NFL… Quaid has an impressive filmography that includes "Breaking Away," playing Jerry Lee Lewis in “Great Balls of Fire!”, Jim Morris in "The Rookie" and Sam Houston in "The Alamo."... Lil Wayne got his GED and attended Houston before dropping out because of his busy schedule. It worked out. He’s gone on to become one of the most successful rappers of his generation and one of the world’s best-selling artist. He surpassed Elvis Presley as the male musician with most Billboard Hot 100 hits (he has 109)… A country music icon, Rogers had plenty of hits too and sold more than 100 million albums. But to me at Kramer, he’ll always be known him for some damn fine rotisserie chicken...

IDAHO

• Mark Felt
• Sarah Palin
• Bill Fagerbakke
• Dan O’Brien
• Jerry Kramer

On the bench: Kristin Armstrong (three-time gold medal cyclist), Bill Stoneman (MLB pitcher, former Angels GM), Bob Dillinger (MLB third baseman), Tom Cable (former NFL coach), Mark Schlereth (former NFL lineman, TV analyst)

A Twin Falls, Idaho native, Felt worked at the FBI from 1942 to 1973, and in 2005 he revealed he was “Deep Throat” in the Watergate scandal who provided leaks to Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein… The former governor of Alaska, Palin was thrust into the national spotlight when she was added as John McCain’s running mate in the 2008 presidential campaign. If she could see Russia from her house, it almost makes sense she went to a college in Moscow (Idaho, that is)… A defensive and offensive lineman for the Vandals, Fagerbakke is known for his role as “Dauber” in ABC’s 90s football sitcom “Coach”. Perhaps more importantly, he voices Patrick Star in “SpongeBob SquarePants”…  The reigning decathlon world champion, O’Brien was supposed to be one of the poster boys for 1992 Barcelona Olympics with plenty of Reebok commercials but failed to qualify at the U.S. trials. He rebound in the 1996 Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal in Atlanta… A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Kramer played both ways for the Vandals before being drafted by Green Bay in 1957. He won five NFL championships (pre-Super Bowl) and the Packers’ Super Bowl I and II title teams. He was named to the NFL’s 50^th Anniversary All-Time team and his number 64 is retired at Idaho.

• Winner: Houston. Felt ruined one presidency and Palin prevented another.

SECOND ROUND

• Prairie View A&M vs. Iowa: Gene Wilder goes "Stir Crazy". Iowa wins.
• Vanderbilt vs. Nebraska: The Cornhuskers git-r-done. Nebraska wins.
• North Carolina vs. Illinois: The folks in Chicago are conflicted because of Jordan's greatness. But an entire generation only know about it by watching YouTube highlights. Illinois wins.
• Saint Mary’s vs. Houston: Sheldon Cooper comes up with the right equation. Houston wins.

SWEET 16

• Iowa vs. Nebraska: “Is this heaven?” “No, it’s Iowa.” Hawkeyes win.
• Illinois vs. Houston: As Kenny Rogers sang, "You've got to know when hold 'em. Know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away. And know when to run." It's time for the Cougars to run. Illinois wins.

ELITE EIGHT

• Iowa vs. Illinois: Went to the actor-played-football coach tiebreaker. Dennis Quaid played Ben Schwartzwalder in "The Express". Gene Hackman played Jimmy McGinty in "The Replacements". It wasn't even his best coaching role. Illinois wins.

Midwest

First Four

No. 16 UMBC vs No. 16 Howard

UMBC

• Kathleen Turner
• Duff Goldman
• Stavros Halkias
• Young Mazino
• Scott Seiss

On the bench: Jonathan Schaech (actor, “That Thing You Do!)

Turner earned a degree in fine arts from UMBC in 1977, the same year she made her TV debut in the NBC soap opera “The Doctors”. She’s known for her role opposite Michael Douglas in “Romancing the Stone” (1984) and “Peggy Sue Got Married” (1986). Turner also voiced Jessica Rabbit in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit… The “Ace of Cakes,” Duffman’s custom cake shop in Baltimore is the basis for the popular Food Network reality TV show. The show lasted 10 seasons. Duffman made the cake for President Obama’s second inauguration… Halkias finished a few credits short of graduating, but he’s doing alright for himself as a stand-up comic. He also co-hosts a podcast, with most of his material is NSFW. He’s also starred on Netflix comedy “Tires” alongside Shane Gillis… Mazino’s breakout role was as Paul Cho in the Netflix comedy “Beef”. He also starred in the second season of HBO’s zombie drama “The Last of Us”…  Seiss is the “IKEA TikTok” guy, producing hilarious videos pretending to be a customer service rep who doesn’t give a flip. He turned that popularity into a role in “Cocaine Bear”.

HOWARD

• Chadwick Boseman
• Thurgood Marshall
• Anthony Anderson
• Taraji P. Henson
• Gus Johnson

On the bench: Kamala Harris (former U.S. vice president), Roberta Flack (singer), Toni Morrison (author, “The Color Purple”), Phylicia Rashad (actress, “Cosby Show”), Nick Cannon (TV host, actor), Marlon Wayans (comedian, actor)

Boseman played Jackie Robinson in “42” and Vontae Mack in “Draft Day”. Vontae Mack, no matter what. He was the title character in Marvel’s “Black Panther”. He died in 2020 at just 43 years old from colon cancer… One of Boseman’s role was to play fellow Howard alum Thurgood Marshall in the biopic about the nation’s first Black Supreme Court justice. Marshall served on the Supreme Court from 1967 to 1991… Anderson attended Howard but left without graduating. He returned nearly 30 years later, earning a degree from the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts. Anderson has been in plenty of comedic roles, including a starring role in ABC sitcom “Black-ish”… Henson was nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, but she’s known for her role as Cookie Lyon in “Empire”. She also was great in “Hidden Figures”… Johnson played baseball at Howard, and has to make this list for his contributions to March Madness as a broadcaster. He works for Fox now, so no more, “The glass still fits!”

• Winner: Howard. I'm not trying to hurt Gus Johnson's feelings.

No. 11 Miami Ohio vs No. 11 SMU

MIAMI (OHIO)

• Ray Combs
• Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick
• Nick Lachey
• Tina Louise
• Benjamin Harrison

On the bench: Chris Rose (sports announcer), Ben Roethlisberger (NFL quarterback), Bill Hemmer (Fox News)

Combs hosted “Family Feud” from 1988-94… Emrick, who received his Masters from Miami, was among the best hockey play-by-play announcers of his generation. He retired in 2020 after a nearly 50 year-run and was the first media member elected to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame… Lachey burst onto the scene with boy band 98 Degrees and went solo before going into reality TV with “Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica” with then-wife Jessica Simpson. He’s hosted a number of shows since, including Netflix’s “Love is Blind” with wife Vanessa Minnillo… Known for her role as Ginger in “Gilligan’s Island”, Louise also made plenty of cameos in shows like “Dallas”, “Knight Rider”, “Roseanne” and “Married… with Children”…  The United States’ 23^rd president, Harrison served just one term (1889-1893). He served in the Union army during the Civil War and is the grandson of Benjamin Harrison, who was the ninth U.S. president. The building that houses Miami’s political science department was renamed Harrison Hall in his honor.

SMU

• Kathy Bates
• Brian Baumgartner
• Laura Bush
• Lauren Graham
• Aaron Spelling

On the bench: Jim Irsay (former Colts owner), Stephen Tobolowsky (Ned Ryerson in “Groundhog Day”), Powers Boothe (actor), Whitney Wolfe Herd (co-founder of Tinder)

Bates won an Oscar for her chilling portrayal of the feet-smashing kidnapper in "Misery" and has appeared in countless other films. We won't forget her role as Bobby Boucher's mother in "The Waterboy"… Kevin from “The Office”, Baumgartner graduated from SMU in 1995. He was one of the unsung heroes of one of the greatest sitcoms of our generation… The former First Lady of the United States, Bush graduated with an education degree from SMU in 1968, nine years before meeting her future husband and 43rd President George W. Bush, She is among the more popular First Ladies, dedicating her time to causes such as education and women's health… Graham, who received her master's in acting from SMU was the lead role the WB's "Gilmore Girls" which enjoyed a seven-year run. She played a main role in NBC drama "Parenthood”… Among his 200-plus producer credits are hits like "Charlie's Angels", "The Mod Squad" and "Beverly Hills 90210", Spelling was a cheerleader during his days at SMU.

• Winner: SMU. The 19th president of the United States is no match for Kevin from "The Office".

First Round

No. 1 Michigan vs No. 16 Howard

MICHIGAN

• James Earl Jones
• Tom Brady
• Madonna
• David Alan Grier
• Sanjay Gupta

On the bench: Lucy Liu (actress), Gilda Radner (comedian), Mike Wallace (“60 Minutes”), Ann B. Davis (Alice in “The Brady Bunch”)

Jones attended Michigan with hopes of becoming a doctor but soon found theater more interesting. He also served in the school’s ROTC and served in the Army during the Korean War. The voice of Mufasa, Darth Vader and CNN, Jones’ booming voice is unmistakable... Arguably the greatest quarterback of all-time, no one predicted that for Brady ahead of the 2000 NFL draft. The 199^th overall pick that year, Brady won seven Super Bowls, three MVPs and holds the NFL records for career passing TDs and yards… Madonna attended Michigan on a dance scholarship but dropped out and moved to New York. She then went on to become one of the most iconic pop stars in music history…  A Detroit-born actor/comedian, Grier rose to prominence for his work on Fox's sketch comedy show "Living Color." He also appeared in "Boomerang," "Blankman" and "Jumanji"... A neurosurgeon with two degrees from Michigan, Gupta is CNN’s chief medical correspondent and has multiple Emmy Awards and gave the U-M commencement speed in 2012.

• Winner: Michigan. Papa don't preach. The maize and blue move on.

No. 8 Georgia vs No. 9 Saint Louis

GEORGIA

• Ryan Seacrest
• Ernie Johnson
• Wayne Knight
• R.E.M.
• Kyle Chandler

On the bench: Goldberg (wrestler), Josh Holloway (actor, “Lost”), Parvati Shallow (“Survivor” contestant), Kim Basinger (actress)

Growing up in Atlanta, Seacrest and I attended the same elementary school (Austin Elementary in Dunwoody, Ga.; not at the same time) and at that very school on career day, Johnson stopped by to tell us about his blossoming TV career and to hand out signed cards. I remember it vividly. Seacrest has rode the "American Idol" wave to fame and Johnson was perfect as “Inside the NBA” ringleader… Knight is known primarily for his role as irrational postman Newman on "Seinfeld". He also was gobbled up by dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park"… All four members of R.E.M. met at UGA and got their start in the Athens music scene. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and sold more than 90  million albums… Coach Eric Taylor on the TV-version of "Friday Night Lights", Chandler has also starred in Netflix drama “Bloodline” and will portray superhero Green Lantern in a new HBO series later this year.

SAINT LOUIS

• James Gunn
• Andreas Katsulas
• Gene Kranz
• Dennis O’Neil
• Brian McBride

On the bench: Robert Guillaume (actor, “Sports Night”)

Director of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, Gunn also wrote and directed the 2025 version of “Superman”… The one-armed man in “The Fugitive”, Katsulas was also known for his role in sci-fi shows “Babylon 5” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation”… Ed Harris portrayed Kranz in “Apollo 13”, which told the story of how Kranz led Misson Control’s efforts to return the crew home safely after a failed mission. He also led the Apollo 11 mission, the first lunar landing with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.,, A comic book writer and editor, O’Neil is known for his work with Green Lantern and Batman. O’Neil’s version of Batman was darker and the inspiration for Christopher Nolan’s version in his Batman films… McBride was a two-time All-American soccer player at SLU and played 96 times for the U.S. national team, including at three World Cups, and scored 30 goals for USMNT.

• Winner: Georgia. "Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can't lose."

No. 5 Texas Tech vs No. 12 Akron

TEXAS TECH

• John Denver
• Colby Donaldson
• George Eads
• Brad Leland
• Patrick Mahomes

On the bench: G.W. Bailey (actor, “Police Academy”), John Hardwick (voice of Dale on “King of the Hill), Scott Pelley (CBS News, “60 Minutes”)

Denver, who studied architecture at Texas Tech, recorded roughly 300 songs and sold more than 33 million albums worldwide during his career. He’s one of the most iconic folk/country singers with hits like “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, “Rocky Mountain High” and “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”… Runner-up on “Survivor: The Australian Outback” in 2001, Donaldson has appeared in three more seasons of the reality TV show, including this year’s 50^th season… Eads is best known for his role as Nick Stokes on CBS drama “CSI”, appearing in 323 episodes from 2000-15. He also starred in the “MacGyver” reboot for three seasons… Leland featured in “Friday Night Lights” the movie and the TV show. In the NBC drama, Leland starred as Buddy Garrity, Dillon’s biggest booster. He also appeared in six episodes of HBO’s “Veep” as Senator Bill O’Brien… Mahomes led the NCAA with 5,052 passing yards in 2016 and was taken No. 10 in the 2017 NFL draft by Kansas City. He’s led the Chiefs to three Super Bowls, won two NFL MVPs and led the NFL in passing TDs twice. 

AKRON

• Yvette Nicole Brown
• Alexa Bliss
• Dominique Moceanu
• The Black Keys
• George Wallace

On the bench: Jason Taylor (NFL)

Brown starred as Shirley on NBC sitcom “Community” and before that was Helen on Nickelodeon’s “Drake & Josh”. She’s also lent her voice to plenty of animated shows/films… A former Akron cheerleader, Bliss (born Alexis Kaufman in Columbus, Ohio) is one of the more popular female wrestlers in WWE. She’s won multiple titles and was featured on the ninth season of “The Masked Singer”… A gold medalist at the 1996 Olympics as a member of USA gymnastics’ team win, Moceanu attended Akron after her Olympic exploits and runs the Dominique Moceanu Gymnastics Center in nearby Medina, Ohio… The Black Keys rock group originated in Akron with Dan Auerbach (guitarist) and Patrick Carney (drummer), who grew up in same neighborhood and attended Akron before dropping out… Wallace, the Black comedian not the segregationist politician, enrolled at Akron as part of Firestone Tire’s tuition reimbursement program. Despite not being that George Wallace, he still had a role in politics, playing The Mayor in “Batman Forever”, Mayor Randolph in “Little Nicky” and Mayor Benson in “Hubie Halloween”.

• Winner: Akron. Personal preference, Black Keys over John Denver.

No. 4 Alabama vs No. 13 Hofstra

ALABAMA

• Joe Namath
• Forrest Gump
• Benjamin C. Russell
• Rece Davis
• Kaitlin Collins

On the bench: Justin Thomas (PGA Tour golfer), Harper Lee (author, “How to Kill a Mockingbird)

Before he was “Broadway Joe”, Namath led the Tide to a national title in Tuscaloosa. A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he backed up his Super Bowl III guarantee with an MVP performance leading the Jets past the Baltimore Colts… Gump also played for the Tide, “Run, Forrest, Run.” While the fictional character attended Alabama, so did the man who wrote the book, Winston Groom… Russell is credited with inventing the sweatshirt and founded what became the Russell Athletic brand… Davis was raised in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and got his start in TV at a local Tuscaloosa station. He joined ESPN in 1995 and is now the one of the network’s stars, hosting “College GameDay”… Another TV host, Collins’ star has risen from starting at The Daily Caller as an entertainment reporter to being CNN’s chief White House correspondent with a primetime slot, too.

HOFSTRA

• Christopher Walken
• Francis Ford Coppola
• Mike Starr
• Joe Morton
• Robert Davi

On the bench: Madeline Kahn (actress, “Blazing Saddles”), Peter Dante (actor, “Grandma’s Boy”, “The Waterboy”), Peter Friedman (actor, “Succession”), Bernie Madoff, Katie Nolan (sports personality, podcast host)

The amount of familiar faces on Hofstra’s alumni list is staggering. You may not know them all by name, but you most certainly know their faces. We’ll start with the headliners: Walken and Coppola. Walken attended for a year, studying dance. And now that Fatboy Slim music video makes all the sense in the world. He won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in “The Deer Hunter”. He’s been in too many movies to count, but some of my favorites would be “Pulp Fiction”, “Suicide Kings” and “King of New York”… Considered one of the greatest directors of his era, Coppola is a five-time Oscar winner and directed classics like “Apocalypse Now” and “The Godfather” trilogy… Starr’s filmography includes “Goodfellas”, “Uncle Buck” and “The Bodyguard”, but he’ll always be Joe Mentalino (“Gas man”) from “Dumb and Dumber”, the guy stuck in the middle of the front seat between Lloyd and Harry: “Want to hear the most annoying sound in the world?”… Morton is another name you may not know, but you know his work. He was Dr. Miles Bennett Dyson in “Terminator 2”, Mac in “Speed” and Silas Stone in the “Justice League” movies. He also won a Primetime Emmy for his role in ABC drama “Scandal”… Noticing a theme? How about one more character actor? Davi was in “Goonies” and “Die Hard”. That’s instant inclusion.

• Winner: Hofstra. I had more fun looking up Hofstra alumni than any other school.

No. 6 Tennessee vs No. 11 SMU

TENNESSEE

• Peyton Manning
• Jim Haslam
• Paul Finebaum
• Tramell Tillman
• Bianca Belair

On the bench: Deanna Carter (country music singer), Logan Marshall-Green (actor), Cormac McCarthy (actor), Al Gore (former vice president)

Manning won two Super Bowls, five MVPs and was voted to 14 Pro Bowls. He’s arguably the greatest quarterback over the past quarter century. He’s also one helluva “Saturday Night Live” host and pitchman… A billionaire booster for Tennessee athletics, Haslam is the founder of Pilot Flying J convenience stores and gas stations. The UT business school bears his name. His son, Jimmy, owns the Cleveland Browns, and his other son, Bill, is Tennessee’s governor… Love him or hate him, Finebaum is one of ESPN’s top college football voices. An unapologetic SEC homer, Finebaum’s call-in radio show is a staple in the South…  Tillman, known as Seth on Apple+ hit “Severance”, graduated summa cum laude from Jackson State before becoming the first Black man to earn a Master of Fine Arts at Tennessee. He starred in the latest “Mission: Impossible” film and will play Ghost of Christmas Present in the upcoming film “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol”, starring Johnny Depp… Belair was an All-American in track for the Volunteers and used her athletic background to launch a career in pro wrestling. She’s among WWE’s top female stars on its rosters, winning multiple championship belts.

• Winner: Tennessee. My boss is a Tennessee grad. This is about self-preservation.

No. 3 Virginia vs No. 14 Wright State

VIRGINIA

• Tina Fey
• Katie Couric
• Edgar Allen Poe
• Reddit
• Charles T. Pepper

On the bench: Don Shula (NFL coach), Boyd Tinsley (Dave Matthews Band), Sean Patrick Thomas (actor)

One of the funniest women around, Fey was fantastic on "Saturday Night Live” and NBC sitcom "30 Rock", which she created. She also created "Mean Girls", which holds personal significance to me because I proposed to my wife while she was watching it (take notes, gentlemen)… Couric enjoyed a 15-year run on NBC's "Today Show” and now hosts a podcast… At UVA to study ancient and modern languages, Poe attended the school in just its second year of existence (1826). A poet and author, Poe's work was often steeped in mystery and darkness, like his most notable works, "The Raven" and "The Tell-Tale Heart"… The co-founders of Reddit, Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman were roommates at Virginia. It’s one of the most-visited websites in the world and you can cater it to any rabbit hole you want to go down… The original Dr. Pepper, he got his degree in medicine from UVA. One of Pepper’s employees, Wade Morrison, later invented a soft drink named Waco in the 1800s, but renamed it Dr. Pepper to make it sound healthier.

WRIGHT STATE

• Nicole Scherzinger
• Eddie McClintock
• Brad Sherwood
• Robert Pollard
• Hannah Beachler

On the bench: Vitaly Potapenko (former NBA player)

Scherzinger led the pop group Pussycat Dolls, which became one of the world’s best-selling female groups. She won Buzz Aldrin’s season of “Dancing With the Stars” and has been a judge on “The X Factor”, “The Sing Off” and “The Masked Singer”… McClintock was a regular on SyFy’s “Warehouse 13,” which had a six-yar run, and USA action drama “Shooter”. He’s appeared in “Modern Family”, “Desperate Housewives” and “Bones”… An actor/comedian, Sherwood was a regular on the improv comedy show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”, popped up on VH-1 shows “I Love the 70s”, “I Love The 80”, “I Love the 90s”, and even had a 20-episode run as a guest announcer on “The Price is Right”… Pollard is the founder, lead singer and only omnipresent member of Guided By Voices, a Dayton, Ohio indie rock band, which broke up a few times and has made up a few times... Beachler was the first Black Oscar winner in Best Production Design for her work on “Black Panther”. She also worked on the Rocky sequel “Creed” and most recently “Sinners”, where she’s once again nominated for an Oscar.

• Winner: Virginia. Dr. Pepper is my official drink. Wright State stood no chance.

No. 7 Kentucky vs No. 10 Santa Clara

KENTUCKY

• Ashley Judd
• Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
• Pat Riley
• Glenn Kotche
• John T. Scopes

On the bench: Michael Eaves (ESPN), Harry Dean Stanton (actor), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (NBA), Tom Hammond (NBC Sports)

Big Blue Nation’s superfan, Judd starred in films such as “Kiss the Girls”, “A Time to Kill” and “Double Jeopardy”. She's been active in humanitarian work and as an activist for women’s rights… A four-time Olympic gold medalist, McLaughlin-Levrone is the world record holder in the 400 meters. She set multiple records in her lone season at UK and is in the school’s athletics hall of fame… Riley was SEC Player of the Year in 1966 and led the Wildcats to the national title game, which ended with that famous loss to Texas Western. He had a meh pro career as a player but became one of the most-accomplished coaches in NBA history, winning five titles with the Showtime Lakers and the Miami Heat. He's added two titles with the Heat as an executive and is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame… Kotche, the drummer for Grammy-winning band Wilco, received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Kentucky's College of Fine Arts… Scopes was charged with teaching evolution in Tennessee in 1925, a no-no back then. The trial drew national publicity, becoming the first to be nationally broadcast via radio. You were probably taught about it in high school.

SANTA CLARA

• Steve Nash
• Gavin Newsom
• Brandi Chastain
• Shemar Moore
• Mike Pereira

On the bench: Julie Ertz (women’s soccer), Jerry Brown (former California governor), Khaled Hosseini (author, “The Kite Runner”), Mike Carey (NFL referee)

Nash led the Broncos to a first-round upset of No. 2 seed Arizona in the 1993 NCAA Tournament and led Santa Clara to two more NCAA trips before going No. 15 in the 1996 NBA draft. After two seasons in Phoenix, he was traded to Dallas before returning to Phoenix in 2004. He won back-to-back MVPs, was an eight-time All-Star and is fifth on the league’s all-time assists list… The former San Francisco mayor, Newsom is in his second term as California governor and is expected to run for the Democratic nomination for president in 2028… Chastain transferred to Santa Clara from California and led the Broncos to back-to-back College Cup appearances. She played 192 times for the U.S. women’s national team, scoring 30 goals. Her penalty kick that won the 1999 World Cup over China – and subsequent shirt-shedding celebration – is one of the most iconic moments in American women sports history… The star of “S.W.A.T.”, Moore attended Santa Clara on baseball scholarship as a pitcher/outfielder and got a minor in Theater Arts. His breakthrough role was as Malcolm Winters in CBS soap opera, “The Young and the Restless”… A former NFL referee, Pereira was promoted to NFL supervisor of officiating and joined Fox Sports as rules analyst in 2010. He’s usually the one who tells you whatever you thought about a penalty or fumble is wrong.

• Winner: Santa Clara. Steve Nash is a Tottenham fan. Have I mentioned they're the greatest team in the world?

No. 2 Iowa State vs No. 15 Tennessee State

IOWA STATE

• George Washington Carver
• Russell Stover
• Tyrese Haliburton
• Cael Sanderson
• Chris Soules

On the bench: Thomas Harris MacDonald (father on interstate highways), Carrie Chapman Catt (women’s suffrage leader)

The first Black student at Iowa State, Carver studied botany and agriculture and as an elementary school student, you’re taught about his 100 different ways to use peanuts. He was also big on sweet potatoes and soybeans… A member of the Candy Hall of Fame, Stover studied chemistry at ISU and his name is synonymous with Valentine’s Day chocolate… Haliburton nearly pushed the Indiana Pacers to their first NBA championship last season before suffering a torn Achilles in Game 7. A two-time All-Star, he’ll miss the entire 2025-26 season, but will hope to get Indiana back on track next year… Sanderson went 159-0 as an Iowa State wrestler and went on to win gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics. He coached three seasons at his alma mater before heading to Penn State and has turned the Nittany Lions into an absolute dynasty, winning 12 team national championships since 2010… Soules appeared on the 10^th season of “The Bachelorette” but was friend-zoned in the final three. But he won over enough fans to be brought back as “The Bachelor” in season 19. (Spoiler alert: It didn’t work out.) He’s also appeared on “Dancing with the Stars”.

TENNESSEE STATE

• Oprah Winfrey
• Wilma Rudolph
• Dick Barnett
• Richard Dent
• Ed “Too Tall” Jones

On the bench: Chandra Cheeseborough (Olympic gold medalist), Young Buck (rapper)

Oprah is a good place to start. One of the most influential women in the world and a billionaire, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” ran for 25 years and was the gold standard for daytime TV talk shows, winning 19 Daytime Emmys. She launched her own network and has been active in philanthropy and politics… Rudolph won three gold medals in the 1960 Rome Olympics (100m, 200m and 4x100m relay), becoming the first American woman to win three gold medals in one Olympics… Barnett was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024. Well overdue. A three-time All-American at Tennessee State, he led the team to three straight NAIA national titles, becoming the first historically Black college to win an integrated men’s basketball title. He played 14 seasons of pro basketball, was a two-time NBA champion with the New York Knicks (1970 and 1973) and has his No. 12 jersey retired… A dominant force for the Monsters of the Midway, Dent hunted quarterbacks for the vaunted 1985 Chicago Bears defense and won Super Bowl XX MVP honors. He played 15 seasons in the NFL, finishing with 137½ sacks and 37 forced fumbles. When he retired, only Bruce Smith and Reggie White had more career sacks… At 6-foot-9, Jones attended TSU on a basketball scholarship but quit to play football instead. A two-time All-American, he was the first player from a historically Black college to be drafted No. 1 overall when the Dallas Cowboys took him with the first pick in 1974. The gigantic defensive end was a three-time Pro Bowler and he helped the Cowboys win Super Bowl XII.

• Winner: Tennessee State. Iowa State gave us peanut butter and chocolate, but Tennessee State gave me the only Chicago Bears Super Bowl MVP in history.

SECOND ROUND

• Michigan vs. Georgia: Newman was a greater villain than Darth Vader. Georgia wins.
• Akron vs. Hofstra: Just too many character actors for Akron to handle. Hofstra wins.
• Tennessee vs. Virginia: Reddit is great for college football and history rabbit holes. This is no contest. Virginia win.
• Santa Clara vs. Tennessee State: Too tall? Too much for Santa Clara. Tennessee State wins.

SWEET 16

• Georgia vs. Hofstra: I got a fever, and the prescription is more Hofstra. Hofstra wins.
• Virginia vs. Tennessee State: "You get a car! You get a car!" And at some point, we had to use the Oprah card. Tennessee State wins.

ELITE EIGHT

• Hofstra vs. Tennessee State: We're going to forget "Godfather III" was ever made. Hofstra wins.

West

First Four

No. 11 Texas vs No. 11 NC State

TEXAS

• Matthew McConaughey
• Renee Zellweger
• Glen Powell
• Owen Wilson
• Farrah Fawcett

On the bench: Robert Rodriguez (director), Michael Dell (computers), Scottie Scheffler (PGA Tour), Wes Anderson (director)

McConaughey graduated from UT in 1993 and can often be spotted on the sidelines of big Longhorns games. He got his big break in "Dazed and Confused” and won an Academy Award for best actor in 2013 for "Dallas Buyers Club". He’s generally great in all his roles, including personal favorites “Interstellar” and “Contact”… Zellweger also starred in “Dazed and Confused”, which was directed by Texas alum Richard Linklater, but got her big break as Tom Cruise’s love interest in “Jerry Maguire”. She also starred as the lead in “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and the subsequent sequels… Powell spent one year at Texas — "the greatest year of my entire life” — but re-enrolled in hopes of finishing his degree by next spring. Powell is one of the new “it” actors, starring in “Top Gun: Maverick”, “Twisters”, “The Running Man” remake and the Hulu comedy “Chad Powers”… Whether it's in "Zoolander", "Wedding Crashers" or "Meet the Parents", Wilson has done a great job making us laugh, but he also made us cry in “Marley and Me”… The star of "Charlie's Angels", Fawcett studied microbiology at Texas before getting her start in modeling when she was named among the campus' 10 most beautiful co-eds. The rest is history after that…

NC STATE

• Bill Burr
• Zach Galifianakis
• Charlotte Flair
• John Tesh
• Bill Cowher

On the bench: Spud Webb (NBA), Terry Gannon (golf announcer), Lara Trump

Burr, who attended NC State for two semesters before headed back to his home state of Massachusetts, is one of the most popular stand-up comedians right now and has appeared in numerous films and TV shows, including recurring roles in “Breaking Bad” and “Chapelle Show”... A Wilkesboro, N.C. native, Galifianakis attended, but didn't graduate from NC State. A comedian with bit roles early in his career, he gained fame for his role as Alan in "The Hangover" trilogy… The daughter of Nature Boy Ric Flair, Flair has had a successful pro wrestling career of her own. A 14-time WWE champion, Flair’s 2019 match against Becky Lynch and Rhonda Rousey was first time a women’s match headlined a WrestleMania… A former co-host of "Entertainment Tonight" and sportscaster, Tesh is also an accomplished pianist, whose greatest achievement was providing us "Roundball Rock," better known as the NBA on NBC theme song in the 90s – which has made a comeback… A linebacker and team MVP his senior year for the Wolfpack, Cowher was mostly a special teams player during his five-year NFL playing career. As a coach, Cowher led the Steelers to the Super Bowl title in 1995 and he retired with a 161-99-1 coaching record before joining CBS' football coverage.

• Winner: Texas. Alright, alright, alright. Longhorns in a romp.

First round

No. 1 Arizona vs No. 16 LIU

ARIZONA

• Greg Kinnear
• Kristen Wiig
• John Hughes
• Craig T. Nelson
• Kourtney Kardashian

On the bench: Savannah Guthrie (‘Today Show’ host), Jerry Bruckheimer (director/producer), Geraldo Rivera (TV host).

Kinnear got his start with E!’s “Talk Soup” and was nominated for an Oscar for his role opposite Jack Nicholson in “As Good As It Gets.” He’s been in a bunch of other stuff, including playing Dick Vermeil in “Invincible”… A “Saturday Night Live” mainstay from 2005-12, Wiig broke out on the big screen with the hilarious “Bridesmaids”… No one had a better run of movies in the 80s/early 90s than Hughes. He either wrote or directed the following: “National Lampoon’s Vacation”, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”, “The Breakfast Club”, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, “Weird Science”, “Pretty in Pink”, “Home Alone”, “Uncle Buck” and “The Great Outdoors”, among many others… Nelson will always be known for his role in “Coach” as Hayden Fox leading the Minnesota State Screaming Eagles (and later Orlando Breakers). Other notable roles included Steve Freeling in “Poltergeist”, Coach Nickerson in “All the Right Moves”, voice for Mr. Incredible in Disney’s “The Incredibles” and Zeek in “Parenthood”…  The socialite and reality TV star, Kardashian began college at SMU before finishing at Arizona, earning a degree in Theatre Arts.

LONG ISLAND

• John Leguizamo
• Jackee Harry
• Dina Meyer
• Larry Doby
• Nicholas Pileggi

On the bench: Brian Kilmeade (Fox News), Denise Vasi (actress, “All My Children”)

Lequizamo has an impressive filmography, including “Carlito’s Way” “Romeo + Juliet”, “Spawn” and “Crash.” He played Luigi in the 1993 version of “Super Mario Bros” and provides the voice for Sid the Sloth in the “Ice Age” films… Jackee played Sandra in the 1980s sitcom “227” and Lisa in the WB comedy series “Sister, Sister.” She also featured alongside Rodney Dangerfield in a personal favorite “Ladybugs”… Meyer is best known for her role in “Starship Troopers” but also had starring roles in the “Saw” horror film series and “Star Trek: Nemesis”… Doby attended LIU on a basketball scholarship but signed to play baseball with the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League three months into his LIU stint. He joined the Navy during World War II and returned to baseball after the war. He was the second Black player to reach Major League Baseball, and the first to join from the Negro League. A center fielder for Cleveland, Doby went to seven straight All-Star games and finished second in the AL MVP vote in 1954 after leading the league with 32 home runs and 126 RBIs. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998… A former journalist with the AP and New Yorker Magazine, Pileggi wrote the non-fiction books that were the basis for iconic mob movies “Goodfellas” and “Casino.”

• Winner: Arizona. John Hughes didn't miss in the 80s. The Wildcats don't miss here.

No. 8 Villanova vs No. 9 Utah State

VILLANOVA

• Toby Keith
• Pope Leo XIV
• Howie Long
• Maria Bello
• Michael Rubin

On the bench: Jim Croce (musician), Jill Biden (former First Lady), Tim Donaghy (former NBA referee)

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Keith attended Villanova from 1979-1980 in hopes of becoming a petroleum engineer. He returned to Oklahoma and was a member of the Sooners' football team, but never actually played. One of country music's most successful artists, Keith sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and received an honorary degree from 'Nova… The first American pope, Robert Francis Prevost – now Pope Leo XIV – attended Villanova received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1977 and was awarded an honorary doctor of humanities in 2014… The King of the Flat Top, Long played 13 years for the Raiders in his Hall of Fame career before transitioning to TV as part of Fox's "NFL Sunday" crew. He's also tried his hand in acting with roles in "Broken Arrow" and "Firestorm"… A political science major at Villanova, Bello was nominated for a best actress Golden Globe for her role in "A History of Violence" and played Kevin James' wife in "Grown Ups" and "Grown Ups 2". She appeared in the Amazon series “Goliath” opposite Billy Bob Thornton and was a regular on CBS drama “NCIS”… Rubin, who attended Villanova for a semester, is the founder and CEO of Fanatics and has made billions selling sports team gear.

UTAH STATE

• Nolan Bushnell
• Nathan Baldwin
• LaVell Edwards
• Jordan Love
• Sawyer Hemsley

A Clearfield, Utah native, Bushnell was named among Newsweek’s “50 Men Who Changed America”. I’m assuming it had more to do with him establishing Atari and less Chuck E. Cheese, though he founded both. A member of the Video Game Hall of Fame, he began at Utah State before finishing at Utah and getting an MBA at Stanford… Baldwin attended BYU then Utah State and Stanford, getting a degree in electrical engineering. He’s credited with inventing headphones, which anyone sitting next to kid playing on their iPad on a plane can very much appreciate… Edwards played football at Utah State before becoming one of the most-successful college football coaches of his era. He led BYU to 257 wins from 1972-2000, including the 1984 national championship… Love threw more than 8,500 yards in his three seasons at Utah State and was drafted in the first round by the Green Bay Packers in 2020 as Aaron Rodgers heir apparent. After three years as Rodgers’ understudy, Love got his chance and has thrown 80 touchdowns over the past three seasons and signed a $220 million contract in 2024… Hemsley co-founded Crumbl Cookie while attending Utah State. And now the company is worth nearly $2 billion – and helping BYU keep its coach from the likes of Penn State.

• Winner: Utah State. Hard to pick against the Pope. But Atari? His Holiness will understand.

No. 5 Wisconsin vs No. 12 High Point

WISCONSIN

• Charles Lindbergh
• Steve Miller
• Tom Hall
• Joan Cusack
• Seann William Scott

On the bench: Dan “Big Cat” Katz (Barstool Sports), Drew Binsky (travel vlogger), Bud Selig (former MLB commissioner), Anders Holm (“Workaholics”)

Lindbergh dropped out in the middle of his sophomore year at Wisconsin before pursuing a career in aviation, which included the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean as well as 50 combat missions over the Pacific… Speaking of "Fly Like an Eagle", Miller headlined the aptly named “Steve Miller Band”, which also had hits "The Joker" and "Take the Money and Run"… Hall is the video game designer behind “Doom” and “Wolfenstein 3D”. IYKYK… Cusack has appeared in more than 50 movies, starting in 1980. Among her best films, “My Blue Heaven”, “Working Girl”, “Grosse Pointe Blank” and “In & Out”. She’s also the voice of Jessie in the “Toy Story” movies… No matter what role he plays, Scott will always be known as Stiffler from “American Pie.” That said, he was great as Doug the Thug in hockey comedy “Goon”.

HIGH POINT

• Austin Dillon
• Tubby Smith
• Charles F. Price
• Donna Fargo
• Cody Allen

The 2018 Daytona 500 winner, Dillon has nearly 450 NASCAR races under his belt over 16 years. He has six NASCAR Cup Series wins and 85 top 10s. He also competed in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania… Smith attended High Point after having a basketball scholarship offer from Maryland rescinded. He was all-conference his senior year at High Point and got his coaching start at high schools. His first college head coaching job was at Tulsa, before moving on to Georgia and then Kentucky where coached from 1997-2007. He won the NCAA title in 1998 and led the Wildcats to five SEC titles. He also coached at Minnesota, Texas Tech and Memphis before finishing his career at his alma mater from 2018-22. His career record was 642-369 (.635)… A novelist and non-fiction writer, Price has published books on the Civil War, American Revolution and the Wild West… Fargo had a few top 10 hits on the country music charts in the 1970s, including , “The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA” and “Funny Face”. She won one Grammy and five Academy of Country Music Awards… Allen played eight Major League seasons, exclusively as a relief pitcher. He spent seven years with Cleveland, who drafted him out of High Point in the 23^rd round of the 2011 MLB draft. He had a career 24-31 record with 153 saves and 3.14 ERA in 481 games.

• Winner: Wisconsin. Since “Fly Like an Eagle” was playing on the radio when I drove my wife to the hospital while she was in labor in a snowstorm, Badgers win.

No. 4 Arkansas vs No. 13 Hawaii

ARKANSAS

• S. Rob Walton
• Jerry Jones
• Jimmy Johnson
• John Daly
• Walter Keller

On the bench: Pat Summerall (longtime football broadcaster), Tyson Gay (Olympic sprinter), Ben Rector (musician).

We couldn’t do an Arkansas list and leave off a Walton. Samuel Robson Walton is the billionaire heir to the family fortune and was Walmart chairman from 1992-2015. He’s worth an estimated $145 billion and owns the Denver Broncos… Another NFL owner, Jones was an offensive lineman and co-captain on the 1964 national championship team. He struck it rich in oil and gas and bought the Dallas Cowboys in 1989. Dallas has won three Super Bowls under his ownership, however the team has just two playoff wins over the past 10 years… Johnson was a teammate of Jones in Fayetteville and was hired to coach the Cowboys in 1989 and led America’s Team to back-to-back Super Bowl titles (1992-93). He then coached the Dolphins for four seasons before going into TV and was a fixture on Fox’s pregame show… Daly burst onto the scene winning the 1991 PGA Championship. Known for drinking beers and smoking cigarettes on the course, and his I-don’t-give-a-blank attitude, Daly added a British Open title in 1995. He won five times on the PGA Tour… An inventor and physicist, Keller designed and owns the patent for first implantable atrial synchronous heart pacemaker.

HAWAII

• Bette Midler
• Larry Biel
• Jason Elam
• Daniel Inouye
• Barack Obama Sr.

On the bench: Kolten Wong (baseball player), Ken Niumatalolo (college football coach)

Midler is the headliner here. I may or may not have danced with my mom at my wedding to “You Are the Wind Beneath my Wings”. Midler has won four Golden Globes, three Grammy Awards, was awesome in “Hocus Pocus” and “The First Wives Club”… “Aloha means goodbye,” was Biel’s home run catchphrase on ESPN’s “SportsCenter”. Appropriate considering Biel graduated from the island university… Elam spent 15 of his 17 years in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, winning two Super Bowls and earning three Pro Bowl trips. In 1998, he tied the NFL record for longest field goal, hitting one from 63 yards out. That record has since been broken. He’s eighth in NFL history with 1,983… Inouye, who received a Medal of Honor for heroism during World War II, was a US senator from Hawaii from 1963 to his death in 2012. Heckuva run. When Hawaii was named a state, he was its first member of the US House of Representatives. The airport in Honolulu bears his name… Obama Sr. was born in Kenya and was Hawaii’s first African foreign student in 1959. He met his wife there and in 1961, she gave birth to Barack Obama II, who would later become US president.

• Winner: Arkansas. Despite my appreciate for Bette Midler, John Daly won the PGA Championship two miles from my front door.

No. 6 BYU vs No. 11 Texas

BYU

• Ken Jennings
• Aaron Eckhart
• Jon Heder
• Philo T. Farnsworth
• Harvey Fletcher

On the bench: Mitt Romney (politician), Steve Young (Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback, analyst), Stephanie Meyer (‘Twilight’ author).

Jennings set a “Jeopardy!” record with 74 straight wins, claiming $2.5 mullion in prize money during the streak. After Alex Trebek’s death, Jennings split hosting duties with Mayim Bialik before being made full-time host in 2023… Eckhart’s acting credits include coach Nick Crozier in “Any Given Sunday”, Harvey Dent in “The Dark Knight” and President Benjamin Asher in “Olympus Has Fallen”… Heder’s filmography is less impressive than Eckhart’s but his role as the title character in “Napoleon Dynamite” was a cultural phenomenon.  He also appeared in “The Benchwarmers” and “Blades of Glory”… An inventor, Farnsworth was granted the first patent for the television in 1927 and commercially produced fully functioning TVs. According to an interview with his wife, Farnsworth wasn’t sure about his invention’s value until they saw Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. “This has made it all worthwhile.” … Another inventor, Fletcher is credited with creating the first electronic hearing aid.

• Winner: Texas. It's so hard to pick against the TV. But Texas has stars on the big screen.

No. 3 Gonzaga vs No. 14 Kennesaw State

GONZAGA

• Bing Crosby
• John Stockton
• Jim Wickwire
• Ryan Flaherty
• Tony Canadeo

On the bench: Carl Pohland (former Minnesota Twins owner)

An American icon, Crosby was the nation's top singing and acting star for 20 years (1934-54) and in the mid-1940s, the American public declared him the "most admired man alive" — ahead of the Pope. How big was Crosby? He has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame… The NBA's all-time assists and steals leader, Stockton was a 10-time All-Star, member of the 1992 U.S. Dream Team and is in the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame… In 1978, Wickwire became the first American to reach the summit of K2, the world's second-highest, and perhaps most dangerous mountain… Gonzaga dropped its football program in 1941, but still managed to produce two Pro Football Hall of Famers in Canaedo and Flaherty. A running back and defensive back, Canaedo played his entire career with the Packers, who retired his No. 3. Flaherty, a three-time NFL champion (once as a player and twice as a coach), had his number retired by the Giants (No. 1) and is credited with inventing the screen pass in 1937.

KENNESAW STATE

• Bron Breakker
• Jasmine Burke
• ReeseTeesa
• theRadBrad
• Larry Nelson

Born Bronson Rechsteiner, Breakker is the son of WWF Hall of Famer Rick Steiner. Breakker played football at Kennesaw State and signed with Baltimore as an undrafted free agent. Football didn’t work out, but Breakker is one of the top WWE stars right now and has won multiple titles. His signature spear move is basically textbook tackle form and is devastating… Burke is known for her role in “Saints & Sinners”, a soap opera that aired on Bounce TV from 2016-2022. She’s also starred in “The Vampire Diaries” and CBS’ new soap opera “Beyond the Gates”… ReeseTeesa has 3.3 million TikTok followers thanks to her “Who TF Did I Marry” 50-part series. The series focused on her husband’s deception and fabricated identity and it was announced a TV adaptation was in the works… theRadBrad, Bradley Colburn, is a YouTuber with nearly 14 million subscribers. He provides video game tips and walkthroughs. Basically what the GamePro magazine used to do. Cheat codes… Nelson won 10 times on the PGA Tour, including three majors (1981, 1987 PGA Championship and 1983 US Open). He won 19 times on the Champions Tour and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

• Winner: Kennesaw State. Just trying to avoid getting speared by Breakker.

No. 7 Miami vs No. 10 Missouri

MIAMI (FL.)

• The Rock
• Ray Liotta
• Sylvester Stallone
• Gloria Estefan
• Alix Earle

On the bench: Jeff Garlin (actor/comedian), Gene Roddenberry (“Star Trek” creator), Gianmarco Soresi (comedian/podcaster), Drew Rosenhaus (sports agent)

Johnson, formerly The Rock, played football for Miami, winning a national title in 1991. He turned to wrestling and became a star. He made the crossover to film and has been one of Hollywood’s leading men the past decade. They’ll be rolling him out for “The Fast and the Furious 53” in no time… Liotta will forever be remembered for his role as Henry Hill in “Goodfellas”, but he was awesome as Shoeless Joe Jackson in “Field of Dreams” too… Stallone attended, but never graduated from Miami, but he was awarded a bachelor of fine arts degree in 1999. He gave us “Rocky,” “Rambo,” “Cliffhanger” and “Don’t Stop or my Mom Will Shoot”… The lead singer of the Miami Sound Machine, Estefan graduated from Miami in 1979 with a degree in psychology. She’s sold more than 120 million records worldwide and won five Grammy Awards… A social media influencer, Earle has 8.3 million followers on TikTok, was on the latest season of “Dancing with the Stars” and is reportedly dating Tom Brady.

MISSOURI

• Jon Hamm
• Brad Pitt
• Sheryl Crow
• Chris Cooper
• Tom Berenger

On the bench: George C. Scott (actor, “Patton”), Andrew Cherng (founder of Panda Express), Samuel M. Walton (founder of Walmart)

Team heartthrob with Pitt and Hamm. Pitt left weeks before finishing a degree to move to L.A. It worked out. Among the most recognizable actors of the past 30-plus years, Pitt has two Academy Awards and his performance as Billy Beane in “Moneyball” makes it one of the most rewatchable sports films… A St. Louis native, Hamm transferred to Missouri after a hazing incident at Texas. He started acting in 1995 but got his big breakthrough as Don Draper in AMC drama “Mad Men” (2007-15), which earned him Golden Globe, Emmy and SAG awards… A folk singer with a music education degree from Mizzou, Crow has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide and has won nine Grammy Awards… An Oscar winner for best supporting actor (“Adaptation”), Cooper had standout roles in “American Beauty”, “The Patriot” and “A Time To Kill”… Berenger is on this list solely for his role as Jake Taylor in “Major League” – the greatest sports movie of all-time.

• Winner: Missouri. There's some real star power in this matchup, but Brad Pitt is still at the top of his game. "F1" was awesome.

No. 2 Purdue vs No. 15 Queens

PURDUE

• Neil Armstrong
• Jim Gaffigan
• John Wooden
• Orville Redenbacher
• Millie Bobby Brown

On the bench: Elwood Mead (oversaw Hoover Dam construction), Drew Brees (NFL quarterback), Robert C. Baker (invented the chicken nugget)

The first man to walk on the moon, Armstrong has a statue on Purdue’s campus, celebrating his achievement and school’s aeronautical prowess… A Chesterton, Indiana native, Gaffigan attended Purdue for a year before transferring to Georgetown. A former Purdue football walk-on, Gaffigan went into comedy/acting and is a popular pitchman… At Purdue, Redenbacher competed in track, performed in marching band and graduated with a degree in agronomy. He developed his famous popcorn in Valparaiso, which still hosts an annual popcorn festival in Redenbacher's honor… Before he was building a dynasty at UCLA, Wooden won a national title as a player with the Boilermakers in 1932 (prior to the advent of the NCAA tournament). He won 10 more titles in a 12-year span as a coach with the Bruins, giving birth to the Wizard of Westwood legend… We’re cheating a little here with Brown, who studied via Purdue’s online university. But since “Stranger Things” is set in fictional Hawkins, Indiana, we’ll let it slide.

QUEENS

• Conrad Ricamora
• Sally Wheeler
• Vi Lyles
• Chuck Wendig
• Hannah Aspden

Best known for playing Oliver Hampton on ABC drama “How to get Away with Murder”, Ricamora has also appeared in Broadway musicals, including “The King and I” and was nominated for a Tony Award and two Grammy Awards for Best Musical Theater Album. His film acting credits include the DMV officer in “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”… Wheeler starred in the Olsen twins-led comedy “Two of a Kind”. She played Mary-Kate and Ashley’s babysitter. She’s also had cameo’s in “Spin City”, “As the World Turns”, “Guiding Light” and “Blue Bloods”… Charlotte’s mayor since 2017, Lyles got a political science degree from Queens… An author and comic book writer, Wendig is best known for his “Star Wars: Aftermath” trilogy… Aspden won two gold medals swimming at the 2020 Paralympic Games (100 backstroke and 4x100 relay).

• Winner: Purdue. Boilers' bench would have won this one.

SECOND ROUND

• Arizona vs. Utah State: Was leaning Utah State, but those $10 cookies ain't for me. Arizona wins.
• Wisconsin vs. Arkansas: "Goon" is too good to let Jerry Jones advance. Wisconsin wins.
• Texas vs. Kennesaw State: McConaughey was so good "Interstellar". Texas wins.
• Missouri vs. Purdue: The man who walked on the moon or the man who starred in "Major League"? Missouri wins.

SWEET 16

• Arizona vs. Wisconsin: Again, you can't understate John Hughes' filmography. And Craig T. Nelson was great in "Troop Beverly Hills". Arizona wins.
• Texas vs. Missouri: The hearthrob matchup. McConaughey & Powell vs. Hamm & Pitt. They cancel each other out. Owen Wilson is the wild card. Texas wins.

ELITE EIGHT

• Arizona vs. Texas: We haven't had to lean into Farrah Fawcett yet. Now's the time. Texas wins.

Final Four

• Illinois vs. UCLA: My mom went to Illinois, but that's not enough to tip the scales here. UCLA's star power overcomes my appreciation for Ron Swanson. UCLA wins it.
• Texas vs. Hofstra: Hofstra's Cinderella run ends here. While the character actors helped get them here, their lack of name recognition catches up to the Pride. Texas wins it.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

• UCLA vs. Texas: As cool as Alyssa Liu was in Milan, the Bruins stick the landing here. And a deep bench of Mila Kunis, The Doors, Sean Astin, Dax Shepard, Heather Locklear, Gabrielle Union and Ben Stiller helps push UCLA to the title. Sorry, I went Hollywood. UCLA wins it.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness celebrity bracket: Which school has most famous alumni

Stars are born during the regular season. Legends are made in March Madness.

Players like Ali Farokhmanesh, D.J. Burns, Steph Curry and most recently Walter Clayton Jr. in 2025 have morphed from star players to superstars when the lights are the brightest in March Madness to guide their teams to deep runs.

REQUIRED READING: March Madness heroes, breakout stars of the past: Where are they now?

When the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament kicks off on Tuesday, March 17, a few more players will have a chance to join them in March Madness lore with breakout performances.

Here's a look at 10 potential breakout players, stars to watch out for during March Madness 2026:

Think you can beat our experts? Join USA TODAY’s Bracket Challenge today!

Ready to win March Madness? Join USA TODAY’s Survivor Pool today!

Robbie Avila, Saint Louis

The Atlantic 10 Player of the Year has always garnered hype as the "most interesting college basketball player," but he will make his NCAA Tournament debut with the Billikens this season. Avila's decision to follow coach Josh Schertz from Indiana State to Saint Louis is paying off.

The 6-foot-10 center from Oak Forest, Illinois, is averaging 12.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game for Saint Louis. He's shooting 41.6% from 3-point range on a team that was seventh in the nation in scoring.

If it's not his game, Avila's goggles will definitely draw your attention while watching the Billikens play.

Thomas Haugh, Florida

Haugh picked Florida due to his love for Tim Tebow. He has a chance to end his collegiate career by contributing the same number of national championships as the former Gators great quarterback.

After coming off the bench last season for the national champions, Haugh stepped into a starter role for the Gators this season and quickly became their best player. He's averaging 17.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.

Generally, Haugh has been the engine for Todd Golden's high-powered offense.

Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama

With teammate Aden Holloway in the doghouse for legal troubles, Alabama's leading scorer might have to bear even more of a load to help the Crimson Tide reach the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in six seasons.

Last season, Philon was fifth on Alabama with 10.6 points per game. This season, with the departure of Mark Sears, he's averaging 21.7 points per game and leading the team with 4.7 assists.

The sophomore scored 35 points in a double overtime win over Arkansas on Feb. 28 and scored at least 20 points twelve times this season. He has the potential to put Alabama on his back and carry them.

Tarris Reed Jr., UConn

UConn coach Dan Hurley called Reed the "barometer" for the success of the Huskies following the team's loss in the Big East Conference tournament championship game. The 6-foot-11 Michigan transfer was outplayed by Big East Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor in UConn's loss to St. John's.

Reed had 20 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks when UConn beat St. John's. He is averaging 13.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.1 blocks per game for the Huskies, making a huge difference at the rim to impact games.

Christian Anderson, Texas Tech

It would have been easy to write off Texas Tech as a threat in the NCAA Tournament following the season-ending injury to JT Toppin. However, Christian Anderson has really stepped into his absence.

The sophomore point guard is averaging 18.9 points, 7.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 47.9% from the field. Anderson has a pair of 30-point games this season, but is equally great at distributing them to his teammates for scoring opportunities

Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State

While the 2026 freshmen class have taken much of the attention when it comes to the 2026 NBA Draft, Jefferson should hear his name in the top-five, if he has the tournament he is capable of. The 6-foot-9 forward is averaging 16.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game for the Cyclones.

The Saint Mary's transfer is a stat-sheet stuffer, a solid playmaker at his size and can also knock down the 3-pointer at a decent clip at 34.5% this season. He also brings solid defense to the table, which makes him one of the better overall players in the tournament.

Boopie Miller, Southern Methodist

SMU has a tough road ahead of itself after limping to the finish line in the regular season with just one win in its final six games. However, if Miller can catch fire in the postseason, he can take the Mustangs for a deep run.

Miller is averaging 19.2 points, 6.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game for SMU. He recently had a 32-point effort, knocking down seven 3-pointers. He followed that up with a 25-point performance against Syracuse in the ACC Tournament.

Bruce Thornton, Ohio State

The 6-foot-2 senior guard will finally make his NCAA Tournament debut, entering the tournament already registered as the all-time leading scorer in Buckeyes history. Much of the nation will get to know more about Thornton, one of just two Big Ten players with 2,000+ career points, 500+ career assists and 500+ rebounds.

Thornton has averaged a career-best 20.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists on 56% shooting from the field, including shooting at a 40% clip from 3-point range.

Nasir Whitlock, Lehigh

Lehigh faces a long shot to pull off multiple upsets in the NCAA Tournament. In fact, the Mountain Hawks need a win over Prairie View A&M in the First Four to even have the opportunity to play as the No. 16 seed against No. 1 Florida.

If anyone has a chance to get Leigh some upset wins, it's Whitlock. The 6-foot-2 junior guard was 18th among Division I players with 21 points per game, hitting 44.5% from 3-point range this season on 5.1 attempts per game.

Three-point shooting can be the "great equalizer" in the NCAA Tournament, and Whitlock does this very well. Even if he does not get past the first round, Whitlock is going to be near the top of every Power 4 school's wish list in the transfer portal.

Cruz Davis, Hofstra

Davis has already had a pair of impressive scoring games against Power 4 opponents this season. He scored 36 points against Pitt on Dec. 7 and followed it up with a 22-point performance against Syracuse just six days later.

On the season, Davis is averaging 20.2 points per game and has had four other 30-point performances. Against a high-powered Alabama offense, it might take more of the same for Hofstra to pull off the upset win over Alabama.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NCAA tournament potential breakout players, stars this March Madness

The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to bounce back from an awful loss to the Dallas Mavericks as they take on the Milwaukee Bucks on the road.

The Cavaliers have fallen on hard times. They’ve lost three out of their last five games. That stretch has coincided with Jarrett Allen being out. His absence has been sorely missed on both ends of the court as the Cavs haven’t been able to consistently establish a downhill offense, and their defense has lacked rim protection.

Cleveland will be without Allen once again on Tuesday. We’ll see if they can find a better way to compensate for his absence than they did last game against the Mavs.

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (41-27) at Milwaukee Bucks (28-39)

Where: Fiserv Forum – Milwaukee, WI

When: Tue. March 17 at 8 PM

TV: NBC, Peacock, FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, FanDuel Sports App

Point spread: Cavs -10

Cavs injury report: Jarrett Allen – OUT (knee), Sam Merrill – QUESTIONABLE (hamstring), Jaylon Tyson – PROBABLE (ankle), Craig Porter Jr. – OUT (groin), Tyrese Proctor – OUT (quad), Olivier Sarr – OUT (G League)

Bucks injury report: Giannis Antetokounmpo – QUESTIONABLE (ankle), Myles Turner – QUESTIONABLE (calf), Ousmane Dieng – QUESTIONABLE (illness), Alex Antetokounmpo – OUT (G League), Cormac Ryan – OUT (G League)

Cavs expectedstarting lineup: James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Keon Ellis, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley

Bucks expected starting lineup: Kevin Porter Jr., Ryan Rollins, Kyle Kuzma, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Myles Turner

Previous matchup: The Cavs lost to the Bucks 118-116 in February when Allen’s potential game-tying basket came just after the buzzer.

Here’s a look at both teams’ impact stats via Cleaning the Glass.

	Offensive Rating	Defensive Rating	Net Rating
Cavs	118.5 (6th)	114.2 (13th)	+4.3 (7th)
Bucks	114.4 (21st)	119.3 (26th)	-4.9 (25th)

The Two-Timelines Bracket is rolling. The question isn’t who performed best; it’s who did you believe in the most?We’re talking eight ex-Warriors drafted after Kevin Durant left.

Jordan Poole ran through Alen Smailagic 85% to 15% in the first matchup, and James Wiseman crushed Ryan Rollins 80% to 20% in the second. Trayce Jackson-Davis just scored the first upset by upending Eric Paschall, 67% to 33%.

Now we’re here in the final matchup of the first round. And this one is different. Jonathan Kuminga was a top-five talent on a team that couldn’t figure out where to put him. Patrick Baldwin Jr. was a first-round pick who played 31 games in a Warriors uniform and never got a real shot. One relationship lasted five years and ended with a trade nobody wanted to process. The other lasted one season and ended up as a footnote in a trade. The bracket doesn’t care about that. It only asks one question: which one did you believe in more?

Remember folks, this isn’t about who was better. It’s about which kind of belief stays with you longer: the player you lived through, or the one you never got to fully see.

That’s the fight. And it refuses to let you off easy.

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(3) Jonathan Kuminga — “The Almost”

Five years.

That’s how long Warriors fans ran this particular emotional marathon. #7 overall pick in the 2021 draft Jonathan Kuminga arrived in Golden State at 19 years old, the second-youngest player in NBA history to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The hype was enormous. And it was warranted. There were SO MANY flashes of freakish athleticism, impressive scoring, and feisty defense. Year Three brought that perfect 11-for-11 game against Atlanta, the kind of performance that rewired your expectations for a random game in January.

Year Four forced the question of what Kuminga’s ceiling in Golden State actually was:

• December: Back-to-back 34-point performances against the Clippers and Suns, including the go-ahead free throw with 29 seconds left to seal the Phoenix win. Over four games that month he averaged 27 points on 64.3% true shooting. Kevin O’Connor posted “What if the Kuminga Truthers were right?” and it had 188,000 impressions. December felt like prophecy finally arriving.
• January: Ankle sprain on the 4th against Memphis. Missed 31 straight games. While he was out, the Warriors traded for Jimmy Butler and went 12-1 with the new core. By the time Kuminga returned, the rotation had moved on without him.
• The verdict: He averaged 26 minutes and 16.8 points before the break. That dwindled to 20.8 minutes and 12.2 after. The league doesn’t announce your demotion. It just cuts your minutes.

Then May 10, 2025 we witnessed Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Timberwolves. Steph Curry out with injury. Minnesota’s suffocating defense. The kind of playoff atmosphere that chews up young players. Kuminga walked into Chase Center and scored 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting against one of the best defenses in basketball. Steve Kerr called it one of the best games of his life.

Curry on Kuminga: "If we're going to win at the highest level, he has to be a part of it."

— Sam Gordon (@BySamGordon) April 4, 2025

By the summer of 2025, I was writing his season review at Dub Nation HQ with a title that asked the central question of his entire Warriors tenure: What is the happy ending in this relationship?

This season we learned after hella DNP’s and confusion about Kuminga’s role that the problem was structural and it never went away. Curry’s offense demands surrender to the ethos of Strength In Numbers. Kuminga’s game demanded ownership. Apparently, there was no version of Golden State where both could be true.

Then the Warriors traded him to Atlanta on February 5, 2026, for Kristaps Porzingis, four months after he had signed a two-year, $48.5 million extension with Golden State. He debuted for the Hawks on February 24th and scored 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting in 24 minutes off the bench. The first player in Hawks franchise history to score 25-plus in under 30 minutes in a debut. The Warriors spent five years trying to figure out what he was. He’s answering that question somewhere else.

Here is the thing about the emotional case for Jonathan Kuminga in this bracket: five years of hope isn’t a closed chapter. The Kuminga feelings aren’t past tense. They never fully arrived and they never fully ended. That’s The Almost. That’s the 3 seed in this bracket. And it’s perhaps the most complicated relationship anyone in this bracket ever had with Dub Nation.

Hawks announcers saw Jonathan Kuminga switch hands in the air on a dunk and IMMEDIATELY started clowning the Warriors for giving up on him 😭😭

"THANK YOU GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS! WE APPRECIATE IT”

“How you give up on a guy that young with that ability is beyond me” pic.twitter.com/7faJmMPiI5

— Hater Report (@HaterReport) March 2, 2026

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(6) Patrick Baldwin Jr. — “The Kid Who Deserved Better”

On draft night 2022, GSOM’s Marc Delucchi wrote that the 28th pick Patrick Baldwin Jr. arrived as a former top high school recruit with the potential to be an excellent floor spacer, joining a championship roster alongside Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and James Wiseman. The vision was real. You could see the shape of it. A 6’10” forward with a 7’2″ wingspan, and a shooting stroke that scouts loved. There was a path.

But PBJ only saw 31 games in a Warriors uniform with zero starts. He averaged 7.3 minutes per game and 3.9 points. That’s not a development failure; that’s a door that never opened.

"I'm 6'10 that can pass, dribble, and shoot. The three most important skills in basketball."

Patrick Baldwin Jr. giving @SteinyGuru957 a scouting report on himself.

— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) June 24, 2022

Then the Poole-Chris Paul trade happened on draft day 2023 and Baldwin went to Washington as fine print. Nobody celebrated it or really processed it. He was just suddenly gone from a team that had never fully given him the chance the draft night hype suggested he’d earned. Washington didn’t give him much either as he ended up bouncing to the Clippers, then the Sixers, and finally the Kangz. We’re talking ten-day contracts and the G League. The circuit of players the league keeps alive on the margins because they’re young enough and skilled enough that somebody might eventually get it right.

Look at this career stat line. Four years. Five organizations? 100 games total averaging 8.8 minutes per game lifetime. You cannot show what you are in 8.8 minutes a night. You cannot become what draft night suggested you might be in 8.8 minutes a night.

And here’s the thing that makes the Baldwin emotional case for this bracket real: he’s been showing, consistently, in the environments where he actually plays, that there’s something there. He’s been putting up 21 points and 8 rebounds a night in the G League this season in 35 minutes a game. That’s not a fringe player. That’s a player who never got the minutes.

Klay Thompson on Patrick Baldwin Jr.:

"PBJ has a beautiful shot. … What a steal we got in him. Just oozing with potential."

— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) February 25, 2023

The emotional case for Baldwin in this bracket isn’t complicated. You rooted for him because you liked him and because the door never opened wide enough for him to walk through. The potential was visible on draft night, the tools were real when he played, and the situation kept being exactly wrong in a way that felt like it had nothing to do with him. You checked the rotation for his name longer than the evidence warranted. You kept the faith because walking away from a player with a 7’2″ wingspan and a pretty stroke at 23 years old feels like giving up too early.

He’s still out there. The story isn’t over. And that’s exactly why the 6 seed belongs to him.

Patrick Baldwin Jr. might be the next great underdog story for the Kings 🔥 pic.twitter.com/cKPvn8B93w

— Allen Stiles (@The_StilesFiles) February 23, 2026

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This is where the bracket gets genuinely hard.

Kuminga’s ceiling was higher and the belief was deeper. Five years of emotional investment and a ceiling you watched flash in real time before a trade that still hasn’t fully landed. The feelings are complicated and unresolved.

Baldwin’s case is smaller in scale and cleaner in grief. You never got to see enough of him to know what he actually was. The Warriors didn’t give him a real shot, and now he’s out there putting up buckets in the G League.

One player gave you five years and left you with the residue of a complicated breakup. One player gave you 31 games and left you wondering about a road that never got traveled.

Which one stayed with you longer? That’s the vote.

The Houston Rockets continued with their sloppy and ugly offensive basketball, turning the ball over 22 times and falling apart down the stretch for a 100-92 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Rockets scored four points in about a seven-minute stretch of the fourth quarter, as the Lakers went on a 13-4 run that closed out the game. Houston had no answers for a trap, a reoccurring problem this entire season. It’s amazing Ime Udoka has yet to find a solution. The Rockets scored 12 total points in the fourth.

The Rockets were led in scoring by Jabari Smith Jr., who had 22 points and 8 boards on 9-for-17 shooting, while Amen Thompson had 19 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. Kevin Durant had 18 points and 5 rebounds on 8-for-16 shooting, but he was 0-for-3 from deep and turned the ball over 7 times. Just further proof of KD’s lack of playmaking chops, but Udoka keeps trotting him out as Houston’s primary playmaker. With Fred VanVleet out for the year and Alperen Sengun out right now, there was no one left to step up for the Rockets to make plays.

Reed Sheppard played 31 minutes, but he had just 11 points, 3 assists and 3 steals. He was just 1-for-6 from three. In fact, the Rockets were just 5-for-26 from three overall as a team, and while the Lakers weren’t much better at 8-for-34, Houston continues to struggle with the three ball and shooting in general.

The Lakers were led by Luka Doncic, who finsihed with 36 points, and Lebron James finished with 18.

L.A. now moves 1.5 games ahead of the Rockets in the west standings. While Houston is now just a half game ahead of the Denver Nuggets Minnesota Timberwolves.

These two teams meet again in Houston on Wednesday, but there’s not much reason to believe we see a different result.

Drake Powell is a man of very few, very polite words. Always smiling, an enthusiastic small-talker, though to this point, Powell is not one for detailed conversation with the media. That’s certainly fine, but if you’re craving more than a cliché from the #22 overall pick, you’re going to be disappointed. When asked what Head Coach Jordi Fernández has implored him to focus on over the final month of his rookie season, Powell says: “Just continue to trust the simple play, and just, consistency every night, and competing on the defensive end.”

This is a standard answer for the 20-year-old. Selfishly, I would love for Powell to provide more insight, just as many Nets fans would like to see him do more with the ball in his hands. Through 51 games with the Brooklyn Nets, Powell has taken 10+ field-goal attempts just four times. Given his pre-draft profile, which included one of the lowest NCAA usage-rates ever for a first-round pick, this isn’t too surprising. It can still be maddening, particularly because the flashes are so bright…

Drake really getting after it: pic.twitter.com/irDL7eVyEf

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) February 22, 2026

The rookie is shooting an abysmal 25.5% from three this calendar year, but 55% from two and 90% from the line for the season. Hey now. Powell is already one of the more interesting (or confounding, depending on your perspective) prospects the Nets have had in some time. It’d be nice to hear him discuss the vision for his offense beyond “continuing to be aggressive.”

He recently played three games with the G League’s Long Island Nets, averaging 15 points on 11 FGAs in three wins to begin March. In his first three games back with Brooklyn, Powell was more involved offensively (albeit with more minutes) culminating in a 4-of-13 performance with three assists against the Atlanta Hawks.

The tentative rookie praised the synergy between the G League and NBA sides, saying, “I think it’s just all one club. And the coaches down there, they’ve been up in Brooklyn during the summer, the time that I had over here, which was good.”

Powell also praised Head Coach Mfon Udofia, now in his third year, as a “great leader. Talks to me one-on-one, before and after the game. So yeah, he’s been great over there.”

This, however, is more than just a cliché from Powell. Udofia and his staff have been getting rave reviews since he took the job. Recall Noah Clowney’s breakout performances at the end of the 2023-24 season, when he was called up to Brooklyn to end his rookie campaign…

Clowney turns it over, but makes up for it with a game-saving block, his SEVENTH of the night pic.twitter.com/g1lRYU8sLS

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) April 11, 2024

Kevin Ollie, then the interim head coach in Brooklyn, had this to say about Clowney’s development: “He’s just growing down there, Mfon [Udofia] is doing a great job coaching him. Their coaching staff is doing a great job coaching him and putting him in positions to succeed, and he’s letting his seeds grow.”

Two years later, current head coach Jordi Fernández is delivering the same message, though after I used the phrase “down in Long Island,” he had to correct me: “One thing: We don’t like to call it ‘down’ or ‘up’ for obvious reasons. It’s a very good league where young players develop, and we’re the same club, so we have the same coaches. And to your question, I give them all the credit in the world. Like, [the players] come here, I don’t even have to practice with them. They’re ready to play, and they know what we’re doing. So a lot of credit to [Mfon] and the rest of the staff with how they’ve competed.”

And Fernández isn’t BS’ing. In each of the past four games, Brooklyn’s bench has far outperformed their starters. That’s a bench led by two-way players E.J. Liddell, Chaney Johnson, and Tyson Etienne, with appearances from Josh Minott, Ben Saraf, and recent 10-day contract signee Malachi Smith. And before that, who could forget The Grant Nelson Game? All have played for Long Island this season, some more than others (39 appearances for Smith). These players may not led Brooklyn to the Finals anytime soon, and if even one becomes an NBA rotation player, it’s a major success. Still, it’s tough to argue with the results. Over the past couple seasons — particularly in the spring — Brooklyn has taken healthy swings on players that thrived with their G League unit.

“It’s great group of guys down there,” said Josh Minott at Monday’s shootaround. “You know, the training staff really helped me with my ankle and things like that. So I don’t really notice any type of difference in terms of the professionalism, and just how those guys handle themselves, and we got to string together a couple wins. Overall, it’s just a great experience to get down there and, you know, get my bearings back.”

After the Nets acquired him in a trade with the Boston Celtics, Minott played three games in Long Island before quickly winning over some hearts in Brooklyn. March basketball, not always so miserable!

Josh Minott put up 24/3/1/3/3 today, a career-high in points while bringing defensive activity and general force/athleticism, the performance Nets fans have been waiting for: pic.twitter.com/rGGQqY6Lnz

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) March 13, 2026

Chaney Johnson hopes to be next up. Three years playing Division II basketball, two seasons with the Auburn Tigers, a stint with the Cleveland Charge, then a two-way signing with Brooklyn/Long Island. Now the 23-year-old is finally getting NBA minutes.

In Tuesday night’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, Johnson had a career night in his fifth NBA appearance despite playing a brand-new position…

Career night for Nets' two-way Chaney Johnson moonlighting as a back-up 5

17 points, five o-boards, four dunk attempts, 6 FTs: pic.twitter.com/CH8wqoToHE

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) March 17, 2026

Postgame, Johnson credited the Long-Island-to-Brooklyn-pipeline beyond the identical sets and terminology: “Coach [Udofia] and all the other coaches just give us confidence. I mean, basketball, you can put in all the work. You know, I hang my hat on hard work, but if you don’t have the confidence, then the work not gonna really get you nowhere, for real. So he just instilled confidence in us.”

General Manager Sean Marks has now held his position for a decade. Near the very beginning, in 2016, the Long Island Nets played their first game. In 2026, they are now a vital part of the franchise, particularly during a rebuild. Neither Joe Harris or Spencer Dinwiddie — two of Marks’ uncovered gems in the early days — played a single second for the Long Island Nets. It’d likely be a lot different today.

Jordi Fernández explains it simply: “They play the right way.”

The Long Island Nets play their next game on Tuesday night, continuing their playoff push with a visit to the Osceola Magic. The Brooklyn Nets, rostering plenty of Long Island call-ups, play their next game on Wednesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Three years into Mike Krzyzewski’s tenure as Duke’s basketball coach, he hadn’t sniffed the NCAA Tournament as Bill Foster’s successor. The local media cranked up the heat ahead of a pivotal Year 4.

The Durham Sun noted Krzyzewski had benefited from mostly “favorable press” up to that point, but it was time to start winning — or face the music. A headline in the Sun after Duke lost 17 games in Krzyzewski’s third season blared: Pressure builds for Krzyzewski to win.

As sportswriter Al Featherston wrote, Krzyzewski “has produced few miracles,” although the scribe added it was too soon to label him “a loser.” The hometown newspaper ramped up criticism of Krzyzewski’s insistence on playing man-to-man defense, as the hot seat made its way to Duke.

“I’m sensitive to pressure,” Krzyzewski told the media in 1983. “I’m sensitive to how it affects my players.”

March Madness Cinderellas: Eight underdogs to consider for your NCAA Tournament bracket

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Sensitive, maybe, but Coach K responded beautifully. His fourth season showed he had Duke on the upswing. He was onto something with that whole man-to-man defense idea, too.  

The Winston-Salem Journal predicted Duke would contend for last place in the ACC in 1984. Instead, Duke reached the NCAA Tournament, exiting in the second round.

Out with the pressure. In with the praise.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Duke’s 1984 season comes to mind because Jon Scheyer, Coach K’s hand-picked successor, faces some pressure, albeit of a different ilk, amid his fourth season.

Duke will get all of the pressure and none of the benefit of being the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed. The selection committee did the Blue Devils no favors by slotting them into a loaded East Region that features a who’s who collection of elite coaches.

Jon Scheyer: Duke 'where you wanted to be' entering March Madness

Pressure becomes an omnipresent companion when succeeding a legend and coaching Duke. Enviable resources and a powerful brand accompany the job, too, and Scheyer continued Krzyzewski’s assembly line of talent.

Fresh off one-and-done Cooper Flagg, now here’s another freshman sensation, Cameron Boozer. He’s a 20-10-5 guy. That’s 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists. Actually, make it 25 or 30 points, on certain nights.

And, if Duke doesn’t win the grand prize with such a star-studded squad, it begs the question: Why not?

Duke possesses everything it needs to win a national championship. Of course, you could say the same thing about Arizona and Michigan, too.

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“This is what you wanted,” Scheyer said on ESPN on Selection Sunday. “This is right where you wanted to be, in a position to play in the NCAA Tournament. You’re the 1-seed. You’ve earned this opportunity.”

The tournament remains a volatile journey, even for blue bloods as good as this one — or as good as Scheyer’s previous team. One minute you’re up by 14 points in the second half of a Final Four game, the next minute Flagg is left trying to find the words to describe Duke’s “heartbreaking” collapse against Houston.

Even after that stunning exit, you were smart to double down if you owned stock in Scheyer and Duke.

Duke’s succession-of-a-legend plan fared better than most do. Coach K executed a clean handoff to his understudy, and every season of Scheyer ball exceeded the last.

• 2023: Second round.
• 2024: Elite Eight.
• 2025: Final Four.
• 2026: ?

The thing about consistently raising the bar? It makes ensuing leaps more taxing.

Don’t pity Scheyer. He signed up for this. Anyway, what most coaches would give to have his roster full of blue-chippers. More are on the way in Duke’s latest recruiting class, meaning this won’t be Scheyer’s last shot at a national championship, just his next shot.

Duke history of NCAA Tournament success in a coach's fourth season

Year 4 tends to be an inflection point for Duke coaches. Vic Bubas reached the Final Four in his fourth season in 1963 and won the third-place game. (Remember that old thing? I don’t. The third-place game predates me.)

Foster's Blue Devils reached the 1978 national championship game in his fourth season. Kentucky beat Duke in the finals. Foster left Duke in 1980 to coach South Carolina and later Northwestern. He never again reached the NCAA Tournament after leaving Duke.

Coach K turned the corner in his fourth season before exiting in the NCAA’s second round after Tommy Amaker missed what would’ve been a game-winning jumper against Washington. A swift exit, but 24 wins were enough to relieve the pressure and quiet the Durham Sun.

The headline in the newspaper the next day?

Krzyzewski’s program takes a giant step.

No more questioning whether Coach K was up to the job. Instead, Durham Sun sports editor Frank Dascenzo wrote this: “Krzyzewski’s fourth season was a bonanza. He didn’t strike a match. He lit a fire.”

Now, Scheyer carries the torch, and the Blue Devils burn red hot in his Year 4, that historically golden season for Duke coaches.

Blake Toppmeyer is a columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pressure on Duke, Jon Scheyer in NCAA bracket? Coach K can relate

There’s nothing — not even the champion who cuts down the nets on the first Monday night of April — that defines the Men’s NCAA basketball Tournament quite like an upset.

The 68-team event is designed to set aside spots for teams from the smallest schools and conferences in the sport and give them an opportunity to take on some of college basketball’s biggest juggernauts on the brightest stage the sport has to offer.

While a healthy percentage of those games are blowouts, others produce the kinds of results and moments that are only possible in March Madness. Over these next three weeks, Cinderella stories will be crafted and unlikely heroes will emerge.

March Madness expert picks: Bracket predictions for 2026 NCAA Tournament

March Madness Cinderella predictions: VCU, Akron top NCAA Tournament upset picks

One of the many quandaries facing the millions of people filling out brackets across the country ahead of the 2026 NCAA Tournament this week are identifying those underdogs and trying to correctly guess what seemingly overmatched teams will topple their favored opponents.

To help with that task, and to offer up some advice that surely won’t backfire, here’s a look at the eight most likely upsets for the 2026 NCAA Tournament:

March Madness upset predictions

For this exercise, 7-versus-10 and 8-versus-9 games were not considered, as the seed-line difference in those matchups is relatively negligible.

1. No. 11 South Florida over No. 6 Louisville

This one’s a trendy pick for a reason. Louisville and South Florida are stylistically similar, with both squads employing up-tempo, 3-point-heavy offenses. That would seem to favor the more talented Cardinals, but there are a number of factors that should make the Bulls bullish. For one, there are lingering questions around Louisville freshman star point guard Mikel Brown Jr., who has dealt with persistent back issues this season and whose playing status for the NCAA Tournament is unclear. With Brown, the Cardinals are 16-5. Without him, they’re just 7-5. Even if the projected NBA draft lottery pick is available — and if he is, he’s unlikely to be 100% — Louisville’s underwhelming group of big men may struggle with 6-10 South Florida forward Izaiyah Nelson, the American Conference player of the year who averages 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.

The Bulls are one of the hottest teams in the country, riding an 11-game win streak into the tournament, and that could very well continue, even as their level of competition ramps up.

2. No. 11 VCU over No. 6 North Carolina

North Carolina’s another ACC program dealing with an injury to a superstar freshman, though the Tar Heels’ outlook is more definitive. They’ll be without standout forward Caleb Wilson, who is sidelined for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on a broken thumb. Since Wilson’s injury, coach Hubert Davis’ team is 5-4 after a 19-4 start. It has picked up some impressive wins in that time, beating tournament teams like Louisville and Clemson, but it will get a formidable challenge in the Big Dance from a VCU squad that has won 16 of its past 17 games — with the only loss coming on the road at Saint Louis in a game in which the Rams led for much of the night.

3. No. 11 Texas over No. 6 BYU

BYU still has its transformative freshman, A.J. Dybantsa, healthy and available, but it’s missing another critical piece in standout guard Richie Saunders, an 18-point-per-game scorer who’s out for the season. The Cougars are 5-5 since Saunders went down, but even before he tore his ACL on Feb. 14, his team was starting to slip, with a 2-5 mark after a 16-1 start. It’s a group that could struggle with Texas, which fits the time-honored mold of a talented power-conference squad that underachieves in the regular season before getting hot in March. The Longhorns have a bona fide stud in guard Dailyn Swain and a coach in Sean Miller who has experience advancing past the first week of the tournament.

This upset, of course, would require Texas knocking off NC State in a play-in game. And while Dybantsa has the talent and drive to single-handedly guide BYU on a deep tournament run, his team’s one of the more vulnerable top-six seeds heading into March Madness.

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4. No. 13 Hofstra over No. 4 Alabama

This upset pick was already generating traction shortly after the bracket was revealed, but it has become even trendier after Aden Holloway, Alabama’s No. 2 scorer, was arrested Monday and charged with two felony drug offenses. The university said Holloway has been removed from campus and won’t be with the team while his case is investigated, making a return for Friday’s game unlikely. The Crimson Tide shoot 3s at a higher rate than anyone else in Division I, making them an explosive squad offensively, but also making them more prone to an upset on an off shooting night and without Holloway, the team leader in made 3s, things get even more precarious.

Hofstra, meanwhile, has two road wins this season against power-conference opponents, Pitt and Syracuse, and has one of the country’s top scorers in guard Cruz Davis (20.2 points per game). The Pride are also third nationally in 2-point field goal percentage defense, according to KenPom, meaning they can neutralize Alabama inside the arc and hope its attempts from deep don’t connect.

5. No. 12 Akron over No. 5 Texas Tech

The Red Raiders have been a top-20 team throughout the season and were a popular Final Four pick as recently as a month ago, but once All-American forward JT Toppin was lost for the season due to a torn ACL, Texas Tech’s outlook changed dramatically. Since Toppin went down, the Red Raiders are 3-4 and, making matters worse, have more injury concerns after star guard Christian Anderson suffered what appeared to be a groin injury in the Big 12 tournament (the program has said Anderson will be available for the NCAA tournament). 

It’s a less-than-ideal situation heading into a matchup against a battle-tested Akron squad appearing in its fourth NCAA tournament in the past five years and boasting one of the best scorers in the country in guard Tavari Johnson (20.1 points per game). If the Zips — who have won 19 of their past 20 games and are 32nd in the country in tempo, according to KenPom — can dictate the pace of the game, watch out.

6. No. 11 SMU over No. 6 Tennessee

Like Texas-over-BYU, this is more of a matchup-dependent prediction, as Miami (Ohio) would have a much tougher time against a bigger, more talented Tennessee team should it continue its magical season with a First Four victory. SMU, though, could cause the Vols some problems. The Mustangs have one of the nation’s best backcourts in Boopie Miller, Jaron Pierre Jr. and BJ Edwards, who combine to average 49.5 points per game and could win a track meet against a Tennessee team that occasionally struggles to score.

7. No. 13 Troy over No. 4 Nebraska

Nebraska’s the only program from a power conference that has never won an NCAA tournament game, a drought that appears likely to end this year with a squad that went 26-6 in the regular season. The Cornhuskers stumbled down the stretch, though, going 6-6 in their final 12 games and could encounter some issues against a tough-minded Troy team that has a road win against San Diego State and a one-point, triple-overtime road loss to USC. This season, the Trojans are holding opponents to 31.3% on 3s, which could be a problem for a Nebraska team that makes its living beyond the arc.

8. No. 12 High Point over No. 5 Wisconsin

This one’s probably the least likely upset of all the games listed, if only because the Badgers are 15-5 since Jan. 6 and have as good of a guard tandem as there is nationally in Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, who combine to average 39.6 points per game. Still, High Point is far from your typical team from a one-bid conference, with a roster reportedly worth more than $4 million. The Panthers are 30-4 and have won their past 14 games, the longest active streak in the country. If nothing else, it wouldn’t be the first time in the past few years that Wisconsin has lost as a No. 5 seed to a purple-clad mid-major in the first round of the tournament.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness upset predictions: Ranking most likely first round surprises

It’s bracket season in America as millions of people are making their picks for the 2026 NCAA Tournament, hoping they draw up the perfect field en route to selecting the eventual national champion. Whether you’ve been following hoops all season or just participating for fun, we know how difficult it is to draw up a successful bracket, so we’re here to help.

In hopes of helping fill out brackets, we’re going to break down all 68 teams into tiers, from one-and-done to those with a real shot of making it to the Final Four.

March Madness printable bracket: Fill out for NCAA Tournament pools, picks

March Madness expert picks: Bracket predictions for 2026 NCAA Tournament

Just happy to be here

Prairie View A&M, Lehigh, UMBC, Howard, Long Island, Siena, Queens, Furman, Idaho, Tennessee State, Kennesaw State, California Baptist

For some programs, making the NCAA Tournament is the ultimate dream. Then the tournament comes and getting a No. 13, 14, 15 and 16 pits them against some really heavyweights. The odds of winning a game are so slim, and there’s a good chance the game is a blowout. However, it doesn’t ruin the fact these squads earned the right to be in.

There of course is a chance these teams pull off the major upsets, with two No. 16 seeds and 11 No. 15 seeds winning in the first round. But it doesn’t seem likely.

Upset contenders

Wright State, Penn, North Dakota State, Hawai’i, Troy, Hofstra, High Point, Northern Iowa, SMU, Texas, NC State

If your bracket ends up busted, there’s a good chance one of these teams is responsible.

It’s bound to happen too. Since the tournament expanded in 1985, there’s been at least one upset every year from a team seeded at least five seed lines worse than their opponent, according to the NCAA. On average, there’s at least four upsets in the first round.

The only question is figuring out which one of these teams will provide the shocker.

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Cinderella run to Sweet 16 

Akron, McNeese State, South Florida, VCU, Miami (Ohio), Santa Clara

Someone grab the glass slippers with these double-digit seeds capable of winning not just one, but two games in the first weekend of the tournament.

It’s almost a guarantee for it to happen as a double-digit seed has advanced to the Sweet 16 in 38 of the past 40 tournaments. They may not make it to the Final Four, but they’ll get to be the national darling for a full week.

Spoilers

Texas A&M, Missouri, UCF, Iowa, Saint Louis, TCU, Georgia, Ohio State, Villanova, Clemson, Saint Mary’s, Kentucky, Louisville

You may have the top seeds on the path to the Final Four. This group is capable of wrecking that.

What’s always intriguing about the teams seeded 6-to-10 is they have proven they can knock down heavyweights, they just weren’t able to do it on a consistent basis. All it takes is for these teams to get hot at the right time to provide some major upsets. These are the squads that can really mess up your bracket by taking out Final Four picks.

Can make major run

Utah State, UCLA, Miami (Fla.), BYU, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama

On paper, these teams have difficult paths toward deep runs, but it’s more than possible for these higher-seeded teams. 

Do not sleep on the capabilities of these squads. Utah State, UCLA, Miami and BYU ended their season in strong fashion and can carry the momentum into the tournament. While North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama are first round upset candidates, they can easily shake them off to propel them toward a streak. Don’t be too shocked if a Final Four is in their sights.

Final Four is possible

Wisconsin, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, Virginia, Gonzaga

Every team wants to reach Indianapolis, but it’s not a realistic path for everyone. These ones are capable of reaching it.

They’re proven contenders that did very well in the regular season and in conference tournaments, putting confidence in them winning the four games necessary to reach the semifinals. There may be one major concern with each of them, but they can easily make it non-existent.

Final Four or bust

St. John’s, Illinois, Michigan State, Purdue, Houston

The Final Four and a national championship has been the goal all season. Now they are positioned to fulfill the dream.

They aren’t exactly the top favorites, but these teams have all the right pieces to win it all. They have the right look and have proven they can beat elite teams, with the clutch factor needed to win those close battles. If you are wary of picking No. 1 seeds to win it all, these are great candidates to hoist the trophy to cap off the season.

National championship or bust

Iowa State, Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, Arizona, Duke

The ultimate heavyweights. From the start of the season until now, they’ve shown they can win it all. Now it’s time to actually do it.

This elite tier has separated themselves from the rest of the pack, playing an unreal brand of basketball that has mostly dominated every team in their way. They’re the clear favorites, and destined to be in the Final Four.

When you have the right pieces for a championship, winning it all is the only way to declare it a successful season. Falling short of it would be a major disappointment. Being a championship favorite is a heavy burden, but these six teams can handle the pressure. 

When it’s time to cut down the nets inside Lucas Oil Stadium, these ones have a great chance to be the lucky ones holding the scissors. 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ranking every March Madness team: Who can win national championship?

It didn’t take as much effort as their last win over the Los Angeles Clippers, but the San Antonio Spurs’ Monday night victory in Southern California still went down to the wire. The Spurs nearly blew a 24-point lead in the 119-115 victory. Now the team will have a short rest before traveling north for the second game of a back-to-back against the Sacramento Kings.

The Spurs won both of their previous matchups with the Kings this season. Most recently, they defeated Sacramento 139-122 on February 21st, thanks to a dominant performance from Victor Wembanyama. Sacramento will be without key players like Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and Keegan Murray, and will rely on former Spur Demar DeRozan to generate offense.

On top of missing key players, the Kings are near the bottom of the NBA in offensive and defensive rating. If the Spurs can quickly recover from a tough game in Los Angeles the night before, they will have a favorable matchup awaiting them in Sacramento.

San Antonio Spurs (50-18) vs. Sacramento Kings (18-51)

March 17th, 2026 | 9 PM CT

Watch: KENS | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)

Spurs Injuries: Injury report filed at 1 p.m. CT

Kings Injuries: Devin Carter – Out (calf), Drew Eubanks – Out (thumb), De’Andre Hunter – Out (eye), Zach LaVine – Out (finger), Malik Monk – Questionable (ankle), Keegan Murray – Out (ankle), Domantas Sabonis – Out (knee)

What to watch for:

Sustaining defensive effort for 48 minutes

San Antonio thrived in spurts against the Clippers. When their defensive intensity was high, the Spurs locked down Los Angeles. When they took their foot off the gas, even a little bit, the Clippers went on big runs in the first, third, and fourth quarters that forced the Spurs to turn up the pressure. On paper, the game shouldn’t be close, but with limited rest and several players nursing injuries, the Kings can make things interesting. A consistent defensive effort could lead to a blowout Spurs victory.

Points in the paint

The Kings are particularly weak inside. Rookie center Maxime Raynaud shows a lot of potential, but he is not a rim protector. San Antonio should dominate on the interior. Wembanyama torched Raynaud in their last matchup, and the Spurs’ guards should have no issues getting into the paint and scoring against Sacramento’s defense. Relentlessly attacking the paint will be San Antonio’s best offensive strategy on Tuesday night.

Bench productivity

San Antonio’s bench struggled against the Clippers on Monday. Most of the Clippers’ late-game run came against second-unit dominated lineups. San Antonio is really missing Luke Kornet and Dylan Harper, who are recovering from minor injuries. The Kings are struggling with depth as well, as they battle injuries. Tuesday’s game represents a chance for the Spurs’ bench players to bounce back against a depleted Sacramento squad. San Antonio could use good performances from Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes to sustain momentum when the starters go to the bench.

There is a version of basketball history where Steve Kerr is simply a footnote. The sharp-shooting role player who happened to be in the right place at the right time with different dynasties under two of the greatest coaches who ever lived.

That version of history is not just incomplete; it fundamentally misunderstands how basketball history actually gets made.

Tonight in Washington, Steve Kerr became the fourth-fastest coach in NBA history to reach 600 wins, doing it in his 943rd regular season game. Only Phil Jackson (805), Pat Riley (832), and Gregg Popovich (887) got there faster. Red Auerbach needed 953. That is neither coincidence nor circumstance. That is a man who has been in the room where championship basketball gets made for so long that he eventually became the architect.

You cannot write the story of this league without Mr. Kerr, because he is one of the rare figures who didn’t just witness multiple eras of greatness. This gritty hooper carried their principles forward and helped reshape them into the modern game.

600th career win earns Coach Kerr the game ball! 👏 pic.twitter.com/TPmEEO6S27

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 17, 2026

As a player, he sat in Michael Jordan’s orbit and learned how to be lethal without needing the ball in his hands every possession. He shot 45.4% from three for his career, a number that still holds up against modern shooting standards. He won three consecutive titles with Chicago from 1996 to 1998, then left and won two more with the Spurs alongside Tim Duncan and David Robinson. Two different dynasties, two completely different systems, and two head coaches in Jackson and Popovich that Kerr soaked the game up from. Most players never figure out one championship culture. Kerr mastered both and contributed meaningfully to each.

That experience is exactly why his coaching career was never going to be ordinary. When he took over the Warriors before the 2014-15 season, Golden State was a team with talent, a developing identity, and a nagging feeling that they were underperforming their ceiling. Four years removed from their 2010 draft class, they had Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, but they needed someone who understood the difference between a good team and a great one from the inside out.

Kerr knew that difference personally because he had lived inside it long enough to recognize exactly what Golden State was missing and exactly how to unlock it.

What followed was one of the most sustained periods of excellence in modern NBA history. Four championships in eight seasons as head coach. The 2015 title ended a 40-year championship drought and the 73-win season in 2015-16 broke a record Kerr himself had helped set as a player with the 1995-96 Bulls. The 2022 title, won with an aging core navigating a different Western Conference landscape, may have been his best coaching performance of all. Then there’s his exploits coaching Team USA, including winning the last Olympic gold in Paris. The man simply does not stop collecting hardware.

And yet here we are watching a Warriors season that has been defined by injury and roster disruption, with Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler III both sidelined. The team is grinding through a play-in race with whatever pieces remain functional on a given night. It would be easy to let the weight of what this season has not been overshadow what is still being built.

Win 600 says otherwise.

The Wizards, bless their hearts, have become the canvas upon which NBA history keeps getting painted this month. One week ago Bam Adebayo put up 83 points on Washington’s head, passing Kobe and trailing only Wilt for scoring in a single game. I haven’t seen that many Wizards get served since the Battle of Hogwarts. Tonight they provided the backdrop for Kerr’s milestone in a 125-117 final. At this point, Washington has become a kind of accidental stage for the league’s milestones; a quiet backdrop where other teams come to carve their names into history.

But here is what win 600 actually represents beyond the number. It is a reminder that sustained excellence is not about avoiding difficult stretches. It is about continuing to work with discipline and precision through them until you look up and realize you have quietly been building something historic the entire time. He reached 600 not in spite of the difficult seasons, but because he kept coaching through them by adjusting, refining, and trusting a process most people abandon too early.

Kerr said the Warriors “needed the win” and shouted out his players and assistants for 600 wins.

“I owe, I guess, the honor to incredible talent and a great organization. … Most organizations are not this strong and this aligned. I’m very, very lucky.”

More: pic.twitter.com/eiWqQ6FJWb

— Sam Gordon (@BySamGordon) March 17, 2026

Nobody is perfect. No season is clean. No roster stays whole. You keep handling your business anyway, keep trusting the work, and one night in Washington you look up and realize you just set a career milestone. Kerr’s spent his entire basketball life absorbing greatness, refining it, and passing it forward. At 60 years old and 600 wins, he is no longer just part of the story.

He is one of the authors of the game as we know it.

When the Lakers and Rockets last met on Christmas Day, it was a very revealing game for LA. The Lakers were run off the floor and forced to really begin searching for answers to questions that it took them some time to solve.

Quite a bit has changed for the Lakers since that blowout loss, particularly over recent weeks. And while the Lakers are peaking, the Rockets are crumbling. The result was, at least on Monday, a much different game than the first meeting with LA surviving a rock fight of a fourth quarter to come away with a win.

It wasn’t pretty, but it had the feeling of a playoff game, which the Lakers have had many of recently. Grinding out a win on the back of defense and on a night when the offense was struggling is a notch in the belt for the Lakers, who haven’t done that much this year.

So, let’s dive into the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.

LeBron James

33 minutes, 18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 7-13 FG, 1-3 3PT, 3-4 FT, +13

There were some highs and some lows in this game defensively for LeBron. Early in the third quarter, the Rockets scored multiple times off whoever LeBron was guarding just cutting to the rim. One quarter later, he was a big part of the team’s fourth quarter defense that suffocated the Rockets.

He also had a couple of highlights early and late offensively. It wasn’t a great game from him on either end, but he’s definitely had worse.

Grade: B–

Marcus Smart

36 minutes, 11 points, 1 assist, 5 fouls, 4-9 FG, 3-7 3PT, +6

An odd game where Smart didn’t do a bit of everything and his stat line is pretty empty. However, anyone who watched the game knew Smart made a positive impact, including flying across the court to dive for a loose ball late in the game, a true peak Marcus Smart play.

40 seconds left when we're up 10 and he's still doing this. i love this fucking man so much pic.twitter.com/II4Ul2shJo

— vibesmerchants (@vibesmerchants) March 17, 2026

Grade: B+

Deandre Ayton

27 minutes, 7 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 3-6 FG, 1-2 FT, +11

For three-and-a-half quarters, this was going to be a below average grade at best as actual Clint Capela was outplaying Lakers Clint Capela. And then he entered the game late in the fourth, completely swung things and helped the Lakers go on a run that won the game.

Grade: B+

Austin Reaves

40 minutes, 15 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 5-18 FG, 0-8 3PT, 5-5 FT, +11

This was a pretty brutal Reaves game. If you have concerns about how he’ll fair against athletic defenders in the playoffs, this wasn’t a great game to disprove those narratives. Even if he also came up with a couple of big fourth-quarter steals, the Lakers need much more of him offensively.

Grade: C-

Luka Dončić

40 minutes, 36 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers, 1 foul, 14-27 FG, 4-12 3PT, 4-5 FT, +6

Luka absolutely carried the Lakers’ offense for big chunks of this game. He was back to his best with his shot-making and the Lakers needed every bit of it. If the Lakers had just a regular shooting night, those four assists are much higher, too.

Grade: A

Rui Hachimura

23 minutes, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 3-6 FG, 0-2 3PT, -3

A quiet game from Rui. If he doesn’t have it going offensively, he loses value on the floor and, like everyone not named Luka, he did not have it going offensively.

Grade: C

Luke Kennard

17 minutes, 2 assists, 0-2 FG, 0-2 3PT, +3

This was pretty safely Luke’s worst game as a Laker, which is a fact that should be marveled at for how great he’s been.

Grade: D

Jaxson Hayes

12 minutes, 1 steal, 1 foul, 0-1 FG, -6

I had to double-check this to make sure he actually played 12 minutes and didn’t record a rebound.

Grade: F

Jake LaRavia

12 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 1-2 FG, 5-6 FT, -1

This was an active game for LaRavia, both complimentary and derogatory. There were more than a few times where he found himself in a bad situation that he made worse. But he also got to the line six times, which was some much-needed points on a night where they were a premium as the game progressed.

Grade: B

JJ Redick

JJ has been coaching his ass off on this win streak. His best decision on Monday was going to Ayton late. After trying a small ball lineup that hemorrhaged offensive rebounds, Redick gave Ayton another shot and it immediately paid off. Spending the fourth quarter blitzing Kevin Durant worked wonders as well with Houston having no idea what to do.

Grade: A

Tuesday’s DNPs: Kobe Bufkin, Bronny James, Dalton Knecht, Adou Thiero, Jarred Vanderbilt

Tuesday’s inactives: Maxi Kleber, Drew Timme, Nick Smith Jr., Chris Mañon

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.