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North Carolina collapses: 'This would be inexcusable for Hubert Davis'

VCU basketball completed a 19-point comeback against No. 6 seed North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 19, winning its first March Madness game since 2016 in thrilling fashion.

The Rams, one of the stingiest mid-major teams of the 2010s, secured the sixth-largest comeback and biggest of the first round ever, in their upset of the Tar Heels, who were playing without star true freshman Caleb Wilson, a projected top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

REQUIRED READING: March Madness live scores: Upsets, close calls, highlights from NCAA first round

VCU defeated North Carolina 82-78 in overtime behind Terrence Hill Jr.'s 34-point performance off the bench. He played 40 minutes in the game and also poured in five rebounds and five assists in the win, including a game-tying layup with 11 seconds left in the second half.

It's an impressive feat for VCU, who won the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament to earn an automatic bid before taking down North Carolina, all while being led by first-year coach Phil Martelli Jr., the son of former longtime St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli. VCU's former coach, Ryan Odom, left the program for Virginia last offseason.

VCU might not reach the Final Four in 2026 like it did in 2011, but the Rams did make first-round history nonetheless. Here's how social media reacted to VCU's comeback win:

VCU beats North Carolina in comeback win: Social media reacts

Here are the best reactions to VCU's 82-78 win over North Carolina on March 19:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: North Carolina collapses in first-round upset vs VCU in March Madness

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Southern closes on a 14-2 run to beat Samford 65-53 in the women's First Four

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Jaylia Reed scored 16 points, DeMya Porter had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Southern closed the game on a 14-2 run to beat fellow No. 16 seed Samford 65-53 on Thursday night in the NCAA Tournament.

Southern (20-13) won a game in the First Four for the second straight season, earning a chance to play top-seeded South Carolina on Saturday in the Round of 64. It's the Jaguars’ third appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last four years.

D’Shantae Edwards began the fourth quarter by converting a three-point play to give Southern a 47-44 lead. Samford tied it twice in the next three minutes, but could not get any closer.

Reed put Southern ahead for good with 6:47 remaining on a 3-pointer to begin the game-closing run. Six different Jaguars scored during the run.

Samford missed eight of its last nine field goals.

Jocelyn Tate added 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Southern, which had nine of its 13 steals in the first half. The Jaguars finished with 20 points off turnovers.

Briana Rivera led Samford (16-19) with 16 points and freshman Kaylee Yarbrough added 11 off the bench. The Bulldogs were making their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Both teams shot 31% from the floor in the first half, with 17 combined turnovers and Southern leading 27-24. No player had more than six points at the break.

Up next

Samford faces the high-octane Gamecock offense ranked fourth in the nation at 86.3 points per game. South Carolina enters its 22nd NCAA Tournament with its 14th-consecutive appearance at the event.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

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Flynn Clayman is a March Madness star. Learn more about the High Point coach

Among its many wonderful traits, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has a way of creating indelible moments and making heroes of the people at the center of them.

It took only the fourth game of the first full day of the 2026 NCAA Tournament for such a moment to arise.

High Point pulled off the first upset of the tournament, with the No. 12 seed Panthers getting a bucket from Chase Johnston with 11.2 seconds remaining to earn an 83-82 victory against No. 5 seed Wisconsin on Thursday, March 19.

REQUIRED READING: 'Nobody would play us': High Point coach gives fiery interview after Wisconsin upset

As impressive as High Point’s players were in earning the win, it was the team’s coach who stole the show in the minutes after the victory.

In a postgame interview with TBS, Panthers coach Flynn Clayman used the opportunity to talk up not only his own team, but other talented mid-major programs who struggle to get non-conference games against squads from the sport’s Power Five (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East and SEC) that don’t want to risk a loss to a team from one of college basketball’s smaller conferences.

"It looks pretty obvious to me that high-majors need to play mid-majors during the season," Clayman said. "Because they said we ain't played nobody? We played somebody now."

When later asked about how the win felt, he added that "It feels unreal, because nobody would play us, just like they wouldn't play Miami (Ohio). But they got to play us in this tournament."

The soundbites earned widespread attention and acclaim on social media, with college basketball fans won over by Clayman’s passion and the points he made.

As High Point moves on to face Arkansas in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday, here’s a closer look at Clayman:

Who is High Point basketball coach?

Clayman is in his first season as High Point’s case, having assumed the role after Alan Huss left after last season to become the associate head coach and head-coach-in-waiting at Creighton, his alma mater.

Clayman had been Huss’ top assistant for the previous two seasons, a time in which the Panthers went 56-15 and made one NCAA tournament appearance. When Huss left, Clayman was promoted.

“As associate head coach, Flynn Clayman has played a pivotal role in HPU's recruiting and offensive success during the past two seasons," High Point president Nido Qubein said when Clayman was hired. "Players appreciate his leadership, and his values align with the values of our university. We are excited to have him lead the men's basketball program as head coach."

Clayman has made the most of the opportunity, improving to 30-4 this season after the win over Wisconsin. The 30 wins are a single-season program record and the NCAA tournament victory was the first in High Point’s history.

REQUIRED READING: High Point upset was going to take everything — including a first layup of the season

Flynn Clayman coaching career

Before arriving at High Point ahead of the 2023 season, Clayman had spent the entirety of his Division I coaching career at Southern Utah, where he was an assistant from 2017-23, before serving as the interim head coach for the final three games of the 2022-23 season. He went 2-1 in those contests.

In his two seasons as the associate head coach at High Point, he served as the team’s offensive coordinator. In each of those seasons, the Panthers finished among the top 40 teams nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, according to KenPom, a remarkable feat for a program from a mid-major conference like the Big South.

Prior to getting into coaching, Clayman played college basketball, first at Colorado State before transferring to Troy, where he played from 2009-11. He played one final college season at the University of the Cumberlands, an NAIA school in Kentucky where his team won the Mid-South Conference Championship and reached the NAIA national tournament. That season, he led the NAIA in 3-point field goal percentage, at 48.1%.

Flynn Clayman record

After Thursday’s upset win over Wisconsin, Clayman has a career record of 32-5 as a Division I head coach, which includes a 2-1 mark as the interim head coach at Southern Utah in 2023.

This season, his first as High Point’s head coach, he was named the Big South Coach of the Year.

When it came to his team’s schedule this season, Clayman wasn’t lying in his post-game interview. The first-round NCAA Tournament game against Wisconsin marked the first time this season the Panthers have played against an opponent from one of the sport’s five major conferences.

Flynn Clayman age

Born Sept. 27, 1988, Clayman is 37 years old.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness: Who is High Point basketball coach Flynn Clayman?

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AJ Dybantsa points tonight: How many points did BYU star score in upset loss to Texas?

BYU freshman star AJ Dybantsa showed why he's one of the top college basketball players in the country and a surefire lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Dybantsa scored 35 points in a 79-71 upset loss to No. 11 seed Texas in the first round of the 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. His BYU squad was a No. 6 seed going into the game.

Texas was led by sophomore Matas Vokietaitis, who scored 23 points and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds and added a block. Three other players scored in double figures for the Longhorns: Tramon Mark with 19 points, Dailyn Swain with 14 and Jordan Pope with 11.

Dybantsa led all of college basketball players in scoring with 25.3 points per game during the 2025-26 season.

Here's how he did in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament:

USA TODAY Sports: March Madness: NCAA Men's basketball Tournament

AJ Dybantsa: Second half performance

BYU opened the second half on a 7-1 run, thanks to their ball-hawking perimeter defense on guys sliding over in help. The lead was cut to four, 48-44, with 17:31 left in the game. 

Texas responded and built their lead up to 12, leading 63-51 with 12:15 remaining. Dybantsa was held scoreless in the second half until a baseline reverse, two-hand slam in transition with about 13 minutes left in the game. He scored 15 second half points.

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How Rick Pitino experimented with transfer portal at St. John's — and won

SAN DIEGO – Much like Deion Sanders in football, Rick Pitino has developed a bit of a reputation for himself in this new era of men’s college basketball.

He’s a Hall of Famer who pioneered the art of flipping a team roster and becoming king of the transfer portal, following a blueprint similar to the one used by Sanders, the football coach at Colorado.

The big difference so far is sustained results. Pitino has revived St. John’s with three straight winning seasons, including a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, this time as a No. 5 seed here against Northern Iowa on Friday, March 20.

“We don’t build through the high school ranks,” Pitino said Thursday. “We build through the portal. And we keep the ones we want coming back, and the ones that want to leave should leave.”

More: How Rod Strickland took LIU from college basketball's worst team to March Madness

If that sounds familiar, Sanders said something like it when he was hired at Colorado in December 2022. He told his inherited players to “go ahead and jump in that portal” to make way for change.  

Pitino effectively did the same when hired at St. John’s in March 2023. He brought in 10 transfer players and two freshmen on a roster of 14 that finished with a 20-13 record but fell short of the NCAA Tournament.

Check him out now. He revived a dormant program and could make a run in the tournament at age 73, largely due to this peculiar roster-building strategy.

How Rick Pitino built his St. John's roster

Pitino has landed one of the nation’s top-five transfer classes the past two years, including the nation’s No. 1 transfer class with seven players in 2025-26, according to 247Sports. One of them was Ian Jackson, a guard who ranked second in the team in scoring at North Carolina (11.9 points per game) before transferring to St. John’s.

“I came here to learn,” Jackson told USA TODAY.

That’s a common refrain among transfer recruits. Pitino has won more than 900 games in college, in addition to having coached in the NBA.

“When I came on my visit, I was star-struck, like I was meeting a celebrity, which I pretty much was, 100%,” said senior forward Dillon Mitchell, a transfer from Cincinnati.

The end result is a 15-player roster this season that lists nine transfers, four freshmen and two returning sophomores from Portugal and Greece. The team is led by Big East Conference player of the year Zuby Ejiofor, a senior who transferred from Kansas in Pitino’s first class in 2023 and now leads the team in four categories: 16.3 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game, 119 assists and 73 blocks.

“I don't think I've enjoyed coaching a player as much since 1987, when I coached Billy Donovan (at Providence),” Pitino said of Ejiofor. “And I'm going to miss him terribly. And I'm just going to appreciate him while I have him."

Rick Pitino interviews each transfer recruit

Pitino’s success has reignited the college basketball scene in New York, where the Red Storm play in Madison Square Garden.

Before Pitino, St. John’s had sunk to as low as an 8-24 finish in 2016 and hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019. Pitino’s first-round NCAA tournament victory last year against Omaha was the school’s first since 2000, which also helped erase memories of his own scandal-plagued past at Louisville before he moved on to Iona.

Such a quick turn of events is easier these days with the transfer portal, where new coaches can remake a roster overnight, unlike before 2021, when transfer players were required to sit out a year before playing at their new schools.

But few have been as good at it as Pitino. Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, took over a football team that was 1-11 at Colorado in 2022 before he flipped the roster in 2023. He brought in more than 45 transfer players out of a roster limit of 85 and finished 4-8 in Year 1. He then finished 9-4 in 2024 and 3-9 in 2025.

In Pitino’s case, he’s changed his portal strategy a bit and got a big return on his investment this year.

“This year we just went after culture guys, guys that we felt were really going to play for the name on the front, not worried about stats or making it somewhere else,” Pitino told USA TODAY Sports Thursday. “Just totally bought in. And we spent so much time interviewing and researching every individual from Dillon Mitchell, to (forward) Bryce Hopkins, to (guard) Dylan Darling, to (guard) Oziyah Sellers. Every single guy we did our homework and beyond that. And we got great culture guys. And it's paid off very well for us.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What does Rick Pitino have in common with Deion Sanders? Portal madness

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What is Greg Gard's buyout? After another early March Madness exit, Wisconsin fans want to know

Everyone loves an NCAA Tournament upset, unless you're on the wrong side of the result. For Greg Gard and Wisconsin, they were the latest high-seeded team to get bounced in the first round.

No. 12 High Point defeated No. 5 Wisconsin 83-82 on Thursday, March 19, in Portland, Oregon, to win its first March Madness game. It's a disappointing end to the season for the Badgers, who lost to Michigan on a game-winning 3-pointer in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament after beating No. 3 seed Illinois in the previous round.

'Nobody would play us': High Point coach gives fiery interview after Wisconsin upset

Gard has led Wisconsin to 73 combined wins in three seasons, although it hasn't surpassed the first weekend in any of the past three years. It defeated No. 14 seed Montana State last season in the first round but was upset by No. 6 BYU 91-89 in the second round. The season prior, Wisconsin was upset by No. 12 James Madison in the first round in a similar situation to Thursday's game.

Although Wisconsin won games over Michigan, Illinois (twice), Michigan State and Purdue this season, all it has to show for it is a first-round exit.

While Gard likely isn't on the hot seat following Wisconsin's regular season success in recent seasons, here's a look at what he'd be owed on his contract if the Badgers decide their recent March Madness blunders are enough to move on from their longtime coach:

Greg Gard buyout

Gard would be owed $8 million from Wisconsin if the school were to fire him before May 31, 2026, according to his contract obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

Greg Gard contract

Gard's base salary for 2025-26 is $3.85 million, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network. His salary is set to raise to $3.95 million in 2026-27, $4.05 million in 2027-28, $4.15 million in 2028-29 and $4.25 million in 2029-30.

He has a myriad of on-court salary incentives, which ranges from $75,000 for a conference tournament win to $1.7 million for winning a national championship.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Greg Gard buyout: What to know of Wisconsin coach's contract

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Iran women’s soccer team greeted with a 'welcome ceremony' in Tehran

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Members of Iran’s national women’s soccer team were greeted with a “welcome ceremony” upon their return to the Islamic Republic after several of the players had sought asylum in Australia.

“First of all we are so happy to be in Iran, because Iran is our homeland,” midfielder Fatemeh Shaban said.

People in the crowd waved flags while some of the players held bouquets of flowers and signed what appeared to be mini-soccer balls. Iranian media had reported that the team returned on Wednesday.

“I wasn’t expecting this many people to come to welcome us, and I am happy to be the daughter of Iran,” Shaban said in translated comments.

Two Iranian female players, Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh, chose to remain in Australia and have been training with the Brisbane Roar club.

Others who initially sought asylum after the team was knocked out of the Women’s Asian Cup later changed their minds and said they would return to Iran.

Iran’s squad arrived in Australia for the tournament shortly before the Iran war began on Feb. 28. The team initially gained global attention after some players stayed silent during Iran’s national anthem before their first game in the Asian Cup. The silence was cast as an act of resistance or protest by some commentators and a show of mourning by others.

The players didn’t publicly disclose their views or explain their actions and sang the anthem before their next two matches.

Iranian first Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref last week dismissed suggestions the women would be unsafe if they returned home, saying the country “welcomes its children with open arms and the government guarantees their security.”

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

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'Nobody would play us': High Point coach gives fiery interview after Wisconsin upset

Flynn Clayman has led what is thus far the biggest upset of March Madness on Thursday, March 19, leading No. 12 seed High Point to an 83-82 victory over No. 5 seed Wisconsin.

Mere moments after securing the biggest win of his young coaching career, Clayman let his feelings be known on the sentiment mid-majors "don't play anybody."

Toppmeyer: Miami (Ohio) shows it belongs in March Madness. Pipe down, Bruce Pearl

In a postgame interview with TBS' Jared Greenberg, Clayman gave a fiery interview, saying, "We played somebody now."

"It looks pretty obvious to me that high-majors need to play mid-majors during the season," Clayman said. "Because they said we ain't played nobody? We played somebody now."

Asked how the win feels, Clayman continued, "It feels unreal, because nobody would play us, just like they wouldn't play Miami (Ohio). But they got to play us in this tournament."

REQUIRED READING: Miami (Ohio) shows it belongs in March Madness. Pipe down, Bruce Pearl

Speaking in his postgame news conference, Clayman continued by saying his team deserved the opportunity to be at March Madness — and that they weren't just happy to be here, either.

"High Point and Miami (Ohio) are 2-1 in Quad 1 games. We couldn't get games. They couldn't get games," Clayman said. "Akron, UNC Wilmington, Belmont couldn't get games. We won 22 of our last 23 games and we didn't move up one spot in the metrics. Not one. We won 22 of our 23. We've won 25 games by double-digits.

"That team (Wisconsin) right there is a fantastic team that beat five top-10 teams. If we can get games like this on neutral courts and some home games, I think we'd know who's really the best teams. I'm proud of these dudes. We're not just here to win one game; we're here to get to the Sweet 16."

Clayman's comments come after Miami (Ohio)'s metrics were questioned ahead of Selection Sunday, with former Auburn coach-turned-basketball analyst Bruce Pearl publicly stumping for the Tigers over the RedHawks. Pearl pointed to the RedHawks' poor strength of schedule and early exit in the MAC Tournament as reasons why other teams were more deserving.

As it stands now, High Point and Miami (Ohio) are a combined 2-0 in the 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament and are slated to play No. 4 seed Arkansas and No. 6 seed Tennessee, respectively.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: High Point coach Flynn Clayman viral postgame interview after Wisconsin upset

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Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell misses game against Bulls because of bruised left eye

CHICAGO (AP) — Cleveland star Donovan Mitchell missed the Cavaliers' game Thursday night against the Chicago Bulls because of a bruised left eye.

Mitchell was hurt in a collision in practice with Evan Mobley. The seven-time All-Star played through the injury in Cleveland’s victory at Milwaukee on Tuesday night and finished with 19 points on 4-for-14 shooting. He said after the game that he was having trouble seeing.

Coach Kenny Atkinson said the injury is “nothing serious,” but the Cavaliers need to “let it clear up.”

Mitchell is eighth in the NBA in scoring at 28 points per game while shooting a career-high 47.9%. He’s averaging 5.9 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals.

The Cavaliers entered the day fourth in the Eastern Conference at 42-27. They trailed New York by 2 1/2 games and led Toronto by 2 1/2.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

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Why No. 1 seed Arizona built with freshmen, not 'overpriced' transfers

SAN DIEGO – No other freshman class in America has scored more points this season than the five active freshmen on the Arizona men’s basketball team. They have combined for 1,461 points, which leads the nation heading into the NCAA Tournament this week, according to data provided by USA TODAY Sports by Stats Perform.

Which is pretty darn remarkable for two big reasons:

1. This team is on fire. The Wildcats (32-2) have won nine consecutive games and will start the tournament here as a No. 1 seed against Long Island University on Friday, March 20.

2. This kind of youth movement goes against conventional wisdom these days. Isn’t older supposed to be better in the era of wide-open player transfers?

More: John Calipari unleashed Darius Acuff by taking page out of NBA book

More: High Point upset was going to take everything — including a first layup of the season

Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd instead took a different approach than many others last year, veering away from the transfer portal, where more experienced players typically seek to earn more money from their names, images and likenesses (NIL).

“We were able to get involved with some freshmen that we felt could be just big-time impact players in college basketball, no matter what year or what class they were,” Lloyd told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday.

He had a strategy for it, as he explained Thursday.

Why Arizona built its roster this way

One reason Lloyd built his roster this way was because didn’t think there were going to be many “quality” transfers available in the portal.

Money was a factor, too.

“I thought it was going to be overpriced,” Lloyd said.

Then there was the Duke factor. Duke beat Arizona twice last year with several freshman players, including future No. 1 NBA draft pick Cooper Flagg. Duke even started three freshmen in the Final Four last year while other Final Four teams started mostly seniors. Lloyd noticed.

By the end of the season, Lloyd said the Blue Devils didn’t seem young.

“I just thought they were really good.”

The risks of a freshman-heavy roster at Arizona

Arizona lists seven total freshman players on its roster of 16, including Bryce James, son of LeBron, who is redshirting this year but still drums up interest in his team by having the fourth-biggest social-media following in Division I basketball as of this month, according to Opendorse.

It’s the kind of roster construction that is reminiscent of a bygone era in college sports — recruiting big freshman classes, developing those players and sometimes even redshirting some of them. The problem for Lloyd is that it comes with risk.

The good ones will leave for the NBA after a year. Others might even transfer away in pursuit of more money.

Such freshman-heavy teams also often don’t work out this well, unless they include superstar NBA prospects like Duke freshman forward Cameron Boozer or Arkansas freshman guard Darius Acuff.

Consider the 13 teams that invested eight roster spots or more in freshman players this season, all more than Arizona, according to Stats Perform. Only two of those 13 earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament — SMU and Queens University. New Haven listed the most freshmen on its roster this season with 11 but finished with a 14-17 record.

But there are outliers.

“Age don’t matter,” 19-year-old Arizona freshman guard Dwayne Aristode told USA TODAY Sports. “If you’re good, you’re good.”

How Tommy Lloyd built this roster

Lloyd searches for top players overseas and has eight players from other countries, including freshman forward Ivan Kharchenkov from Germany, Aristode from The Netherlands and 6-11 freshman forward Sidi Gueye from Senegal.

Lloyd also has five transfer players, including senior guard Jaden Bradley, who came to Arizona from Alabama in 2023.

But 49.9% of the team’s scoring has come from five freshmen, who were part of a recruiting class that ranked No. 2 nationally behind fellow No. 1-seed Duke. These Arizona freshmen have scored even more than the four freshman contributors at Duke, which ranked second nationally in freshman scoring before the tournament with 1,417 points, more than half of which comes from Boozer.

The difference is Arizona’s freshmen aren’t projected to be high-lottery NBA draft prospects like Boozer. The Wildcats instead spread it around more between freshman guard Brayden Burries (15.9 points per game), freshman forward Koa Peat (13.6) and Kharchenkov (10.1).

Now comes the NCAA Tournament.

How will freshmen handle this environment?

Arizona senior forward Tobe Awaka had simple answer for this.

“Don't try and reinvent the wheel,” he said Thursday at Viejas Arena in San Diego.

Lloyd doesn’t see a problem.

“I haven't sensed that our freshmen don't know what this is about,” Lloyd said. “And I told our freshmen, 'Hey, you guys won a state championship?' Yeah. Then let's go win another state championship. And the way you win a state championship, you win a state championship game by game.  This just happens to have the word 'national' in front of it.  But it's no different approach.

Ranking college basketball teams with most points by freshmen in 2025-26

As of March 17 in Division I, according to Stats Perform:

  1. Arizona 1461
  2. Duke  1417
  3. Arkansas 1334
  4. Central Arkansas 1326
  5. New Mexico  1275
  6. Fairfield 1270
  7. North Carolina-Greensboro 1149
  8. Colorado 1138
  9. Air Force 1123
  10. Houston 1119

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arizona basketball enters March Madness with roster led by freshmen

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Game Thread: Suns @ Spurs

SAN ANTONIO, TX - FEBRUARY 19: Luke Kornet #7 of the San Antonio Spurs handles the ball as Oso Ighodaro #11 of the Phoenix Suns plays defense during the game on February 19, 2026 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photos by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

Game 70.

Let’s get to win number 40.

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It’s time for Basketball: San Antonio Spurs vs Phoenix Suns

SAN ANTONIO, TX - FEBRUARY 19: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs dunks the ball during the game against the Phoenix Suns on February 19, 2026 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photos by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much.

It’s the final stretch of the season, and your intrepid game thread writer has gone on vacation. While I’m on a boat in the middle of the ocean, you people get to watch the Spurs, and talk to each other in the game thread. No worries, I’ll be back before the playoffs. In the meantime: GO SPURS GO!!

[NOTE: while Mark is on vacation, the game prediction will be replaced by a random fact from the archives.]

Random Fact:

You can make a perpetual motion machine with a wad of chewing gum and a paperclip. I leave the details of how to accomplish this as an exercise for the reader

San Antonio Spurs vs Phoenix Suns
March 19, 2026 | 7:00 PM CT
Streaming: NBA League Pass
TV: FanDuel Sports Southwest
Reminder: It is against site policy to post links to illegal streams in the comments.

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Cavs at Bulls open gamethread

CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 9: Issac Okoro #35 of the Chicago Bulls plays defense as Evan Mobley #4 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives to the basket during the game during Preseason on October 9, 2025 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

The shorthandedCleveland Cavaliers will take on the more shorthanded Chicago Bulls. We’ll see if the Cavs can even up the season series with a win tonight.

Share your thoughts as the game unfolds. If you aren’t a member of the community, sign up so you can talk to your fellow Cavalier fans and make your voice heard!

Join our March Madness conversation!

Drop in SB Nation’s March Madness open thread during Thursday’s games where we’ll be talking about all the wild upsets, buzzer beaters, and Cinderella runs!

SB Nation’s cast of characters will be enjoying the game together, so join Chris Dobbertean, Mike Rutherford, Ricky O’Donnell, Mark Schofield, James Dator, and others for 12 hours of basketball chaos!

Go Cavs!

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Celtics, Grizzlies injury reports show one team will be extremely depleted

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - NOVEMBER 12: Payton Pritchard #11 of the Boston Celtics drives to the basket against GG Jackson #45 of the Memphis Grizzlies during the second half at TD Garden on November 12, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Celtics center Nikola Vucevic will miss his 7th straight game when the Celtics face the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. But Jayson Tatum and the rest of the Celtics will be available, as the team otherwise fields a clean injury report. Tatum has only missed one game since returning to the lineup almost two weeks ago.

Vucevic fractured his right ring finger on March 6th, and the Celtics announced the next day that he would be re-evaluated in three to four weeks. That means we’ll likely get a Vucevic update between March 27th and April 3rd — and the big man could be cleared to return to the floor with a few regular seasons remaining (the regular season concludes on April 12th).

The Grizzlies, meanwhile, have been very injury-riddled and are one of the Western Conference’s worst teams. Several key players have been shut down for the season: Kentavius Caldwell-Pope (right pinky finger), Zach Edey (left ankle), Scotty Pippen Jr. (right big toe), and Santi Aldama (right knee). And, Brandon Clarke (right calf strain), Jahmai (left ankle sprain), and Ja Morant (left elbow UCL sprain) are out.

In addition, Taj Gibson (right foot soreness) and GG Jackson (left knee soreness) are doubtful to play.

How the Celtics, Grizzlies stack up

The Celtics are riding a three-game win streak and enter Friday’s game with a 46-23 record. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, have dropped 8 of their last 10 games and currently have the West’s 11th-best record at 24-44.

Last time the two teams faced off was in November, and the Celtics came away with a 131-95 win.

With so many key absences, the Grizzlies have been led by rookie Cedric Coward, who is averaging 13.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.

The Celtics, meanwhile, continue to be led by Jaylen Brown, who is having a career season. Brown is averaging 28.5 points per game on the season, alongside 7 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and a steal.

Tatum, who returned to the lineup on March 6th, has been the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 20.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4 assists per game.

The Celtics and Grizzlies will face off on Friday night at 8pm in Memphis’ FedEx Forum.

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Luka Dončić, LeBron James, Austin Reaves available vs. Heat

HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 16: LeBron James #23, Austin Reaves #15, and Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers interact during the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on March 16, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images) | Getty Images

UPDATE: Impressively and surprisingly, all three of the Lakers’ stars will play on Thursday. Less than 24 hours after battling the Rockets in Houston, LeBron James, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves are all available for the Lakers against the Heat in Miami.

Given both the quick turnaround between games and the distance traveled from Texas to Florida overnight, it felt like a foregone conclusion that the Lakers would be shorthanded against the Heat. However, only Maxi Kleber, who has been dealing with a back injury in recent weeks and is not with the team on this road trip, is out in this game.

Original story follows.

While the Lakers are currently on a roll, having won seven straight games after downing the Rockets on Wednesday, earning that eighth victory might be their toughest challenge yet.

The team is set to play on the second night of their back-to-back, and they have their three stars, Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, all listed as questionable.

Everything about Thursday’s game screams schedule loss. The tip-off time for the game is 22.5 hours after the Lakers and Rockets started their game on Wednesday. To add to that, the team arrived at the airport after 5 a.m. in Miami on Thursday, roughly 15 hours before the start of the contest.

When you also consider the fact that the Lakers’ star trio all played at least 34 minutes on Wednesday, it’s no surprise they are questionable for Thursday’s game.

Luka’s absence would be the biggest blow not just for the Lakers but also for his end-of-season awards eligibility.

Currently, Dončić has missed 12 games and can only miss five more and remain eligible. With just 13 games left in the season though, it’s unlikely that will become a factor.

LeBron and Reaves are both out of the running for any NBA awards, so it’s all about maintaining their health. James has been dealing with his left foot arthritis all year long, but Reaves’ right forearm contusion is a new injury. Given that he hasn’t missed any games from this ailment, it’s likely nothing for Lakers fans to be worried about.

Regardless, if any of the big three miss, it will make winning against Miami that much harder. The Heat are a pesky try-hard team and fighting for their spot in the postseason, so don’t expect them to take this game lightly.

Hopefully, enough key players on the Lakers can suit up and LA can avoid this scheduled loss.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.