Category: Basketball

The Milwaukee Bucks made up for their stinker in Utah, beating the Phoenix Suns 108-105, mainly due to a bunch of huge plays down the stretch. The Bucks moved the ball more and turned it over less than they did against the Jazz, resulting in a much more polished performance. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast, Bucks In Six Minutes, below.

Player Grades

Ryan Rollins

33 minutes, 26 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers, 10/19 FG, 3/7 3P, +6

Obviously, Ryan made the biggest shot of the night, but I thought this was one of his best all-around games of the year. Had significant usage with KPJ out, and made good decisions with the ball, creating for himself and others. Showed great ability to play with the drop-man in pick-and-roll, pulling up from three and the mid-range, whether it was off a snake or a straight pull-up. Made an impact defensively as well.

Grade: A+

Myles Turner

20 minutes, 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2/3 FG, 1/2 3P, -7

Made a massive three late, but was caught a tad too deep in the drop on a few occasions, allowing Oso Ighodaro too much space in the pocket to get that floater off.

Grade: C+

Kyle Kuzma

23 minutes, 20 points, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 7/12 FG, 3/8 3P, +7

I thought Kuz was solid in this one, especially in the first half. Not much impact outside of scoring, but he made all his two-point shots (along with some timely threes), which is a good sign for him.

Grade: C+

AJ Green

17 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3/6 FG, 2/5 3P, -8

Scored six of his eight points in the second quarter, but all came in a crucial stretch where the game could have gotten away from the Bucks. Also made an impact by rebounding and setting some of the grittiest screens I’ve seen from a dude his size.

Grade: C+

Ousmane Dieng

32 minutes, 11 points, 5/11 FG, 1/3 3P, -2

If you just looked at the box score, you might think Ous played just OK. No, he was really good. Dieng was given the primary assignment on Devin Booker, and held him to 4/17 shooting. Ous had him in hell, especially throughout the fourth quarter; his size seemed to bother Booker, and crucially, his foul discipline was excellent. Yes, it wasn’t Dieng’s night from a scoring standpoint, but his defence might have won them the game.

Grade: B+

Pete Nance

27 minutes, 5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2/3 FG, 1/1 3P, +1

Sneakily, Doc rolled with Nance over Kuzma to close this one, and it paid off in a huge way. It was him who located Myles Turner in semi-transition as the Bucks had a numbers advantage with just over a minute to go; ran down the middle of the lane and, without any wasted motion, caught it knowing he’d be swarmed, hitting Turner in the corner.

Grade: B

Jericho Sims

24 minutes, 5 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1/1 FG, +5

Back to his elite rebounding ways, eight of Sims’ 11 boards were of the offensive variety. Guess how many O-boards the team had? eight! Also had some great passes and, per usual, was great switching onto their guards and containing.

Grade: B+

Cam Thomas

15 minutes, 7 points, 3 turnovers, 2/5 FG, 0/1 3P, -6

Had some important buckets to start the fourth with Rollins resting, but still wasn’t great on the whole.

Grade: C-

Taurean Prince

21 minutes, 8 points, 3/8 FG, 2/6 3P, +6

Even ventured inside the three-point line for a dunk. Defence was solid.

Grade: C-

Gary Trent Jr.

23 minutes, 11 points, 4/10 FG, 3/6 3P, +13

Made two huge threes in the fourth—one self-created (which is rare for GT) and one out of an ATO. He’s been building lately.

Grade: B-

Doc Rivers

Thought Doc coached a solid game. Opting to use Ous on Booker was great thinking. He got the likes of AJ Green and Gary Trent Jr. shots out of ATOs when the team was desperately looking for a basket. Closing with Pete Nance for some extra size helped on defence down the stretch (along with his connective passing). Finally, I liked the strategy to blitz ball screens involving Suns rookie Khaman Maluach, who, at this stage in his career, needs a lot of work as a decision-maker on the short roll.

Grade: B+

DNP-CD : Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Cormac Ryan, Andre Jackson Jr.

Inactive: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Porter Jr., Alex Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis, Gary Harris

Bonus Bucks Bits

• Dieng on being given the assignment to guard Booker:

“I just love the challenge of guarding those players. Wasn’t my best night offensively, so just trying to make winning plays on the defensive end. He’s great at getting those fouls and getting to the free throw line, so just trying to show my hands, guarding him with my chest, and that’s it.”

• Doc called this game “a team win,” highlighting how so many dudes contributed.
• The Bucks had no turnovers in the entire second quarter.
• The Suns had four fouls with 9:41 left in the fourth, which has to be some type of record.
• Wisconsin Badgers legend Frank Kaminsky joined Lisa and Marques on the broadcast to reminisce on his college days, among other topics.
• The game had nine lead changes.

Up Next

The West Coast trip rolls on tomorrow, when the Bucks face the LA Clippers. Catch the game at 9:30 p.m. CDT on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.

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The Washington Wizards attempt to end a 15-game losing skid when they visit Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks.

Washington’s defense has been difficult to watch and easy to score on, and my Wizards vs. Knicks predictions and NBA picks expect a fast-paced, high-scoring affair at MSG. 

Wizards vs Knicks prediction

Wizards vs Knicks best bet: Over 228 (-110)

This Washington Wizards defense is awful. Over the last 10 games, the Wizards rank 29th in defensive NET and 129 points allowed per game.

Washington plays at the third-fastest pace in the league, and the combination of a fast tempo and leaky defense is why Washington is 7-3 to the Over in their last 10.

Meanwhile, the New York Knicks' offense has been mediocre recently, but they’ll get clean looks all night long, and the faster pace should provide enough possessions to push this game Over the total. 

Wizards vs Knicks same-game parlay

Mikal Bridges is in the middle of an eight-game scoring slump, thanks to a cold stretch from deep where he’s hit just 31% over his last 11 games.

That’s well below his season norm of 37%, but he’s been more productive at home, averaging nearly 14 points per game at MSG.

This sets up as a get-right spot, and I expect the 3-ball to fuel a strong scoring night for the former Villanova star. 

Wizards vs Knicks SGP

• Over 228
• Mikal Bridges Over 12.5 points
• Mikal Bridges Over 1.5 threes

Our "from downtown" SGP: Bombs away!

If NY has a defensive weakness, it's the perimeter. Across the past 10 games, opponents have connected on nearly 14 triples per night.

To that end, we’ll add Bilal Coulibaly and Tre Johnson's 3-point props as Coulibaly has cleared his total in four straight, and Johnson averages two made threes in his previous 10 contests. 

Karl-Anthony Towns has hit 2+ triples in three of his previous five games and has the same good fortune as Bridges against this leaky Washington defense.  

Wizards vs Knicks SGP

• Tre Johnson Over 1.5 threes
• Bilal Coulibaly Over 1.5 threes
• Mikal Bridges Over 1.5 threes
• Karl-Anthony Towns 1.5 threes

Wizards vs Knicks odds

• Spread: Wizards +20 | Knicks -20
• Moneyline: Wizards +1250 | Knicks -2500
• Over/Under: Over 228 | Under 228

Wizards vs Knicks betting trend to know

The Wizards have gone Over the total in 17 of their last 24 games for +9.3 units and a 35% ROI. Find more NBA betting trends for Wizards vs. Knicks.

How to watch Wizards vs Knicks

Wizards vs Knicks latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Houston Rockets were locked into a close game with the Miami Heat in which they had given up a big Heat run, including a goaltend on Jabari Smith Jr. to give the Heat the late lead, but Amen Thompson tipped in the game winner at the buzzer off of a Kevin Durant miss to give the Rockets the 124-123 win.

AMEN SAVES KEVIN DURANT'S HISTORIC NIGHT 🚨

Amen Thompson hits the game-winner for the Rockets the same night KD passed MJ on the all-time scoring list 🚀 pic.twitter.com/CCcDP8ANAU

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 22, 2026

The Rockets were led by Kevin Durant’s 27 points, as he passed Michael Jordan for fifth on the all-time scoring list. KD also added 3 rebounds and 3 assists. He was 9-for-17 from the field and 5-for-9 from three. Thompson had 24 points and 18 boards on 10-for-17 shooting, as well as the game-winner. He was even 1-for-1 from three.

Reed Sheppard came to play, as he once again was the Rockets starting point guard. He finished with 23 points on 8-for-12 shooting and 5-for-8 from deep. He also added a game-leading 14 assists as well as 4 steals and turned the ball over zero times. Keep the kid out there, coach! The Rockets are now 10-2 when Reed starts.

Alperen Sengun had 19 points and 12 boards and Jabari Smith Jr. Had 13 points to send all five Rockets starters into double-figures.

The Heat were led by Bam Adebayo, who had a monster 32-points, 21-rebound night, but the Rockets were able to overcome that with a second straight night of quality team baskteball. They shot 52 percent and had 33 team assists to just 13 turnovers. What we’ve been learning is that the Rockets look way better with a point guard who can shoot in the lineup. It’s just a shame that it took Ime Udoke three-quarters of a season to figure that out as well.

The Rockets now move to 43-27 on the season and hold a half game lead over the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. They’ll be back in action on Monday, as they head over to Chicago to take on the Bulls.

Chances are, you no longer have a perfect bracket.

Well, scratch that: It's almost guaranteed you don't have a perfect bracket through three days of the 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament with half the field set for the Sweet 16 through Saturday, March 21.

REQUIRED READING: March Madness games today: Breaking down Sunday's men's NCAA Tournament matchups

Fans already faced impossibly long odds of creating a perfect bracket. So having upsets on Day 1 took out a massive chunk of brackets. However, the chalkiness of the ensuing games — with just one double-digit seed headed to the Sweet 16 — likely also eliminated a bunch of brackets.

Blame Texas. Blame Gonzaga.

Here's a look at how many perfect brackets remain in March Madness, with plenty more opportunities for upsets on the horizon:

How many people still have perfect bracket in March Madness?

Last updated 8 a.m. ET on March 22

• ESPN: 2 perfect brackets remain (beginning with 26,029,409)
• NCAA: 2 perfect brackets remain

As of 8 a.m. ET on March 22, four perfect brackets remain in either the ESPN or NCAA bracket challenges. The NCAA did not provide the full number of brackets entered, but ESPN did. Only two of the 26,029,409 remain.

The biggest culprit on Saturday was No. 11 Texas' upset win over No. 3 Gonzaga. Before the game, 120 perfect brackets remained. Following the Longhorns' win, we were down to 27.

The four remaining perfect brackets

Here they are. The four smartest (or luckiest) bracketologists (of more than 26 million) of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, according to the NCAA:

• "Cody underdog" on MBCG — Purdue, Kentucky, Kansas, Virginia, Florida, Arizona, UCLA, Texas Tech
• "megs4525875" on MBCG — Purdue, Iowa State, Kansas, Virginia, Florida, Arizona, UConn, Alabama
• "christienter" on ESPN — Purdue, Iowa State, St. John's, Virginia, Florida, Arizona, UConn, Texas Tech
• "Mini-mi-2448's Picks 24" on ESPN — Purdue, Iowa State, Kansas, Tennessee, Florida, Arizona, UCLA, Texas Tech

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How many brackets are still perfect in March Madness? Tracking brackets

Minnesota Timberwolves at Boston Celtics
Date: March 22nd, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM CDT
Location: TD Garden
Television Coverage: NBC, Peacock, Telemundo
Radio Coverage: KFAN FM, Wolves App, iHeart Radio

There’s a certain kind of loss that tells you everything you need to know about a team.

Not the buzzer-beater losses. Not the “we got unlucky” losses. Not even the “their best guy went nuclear” losses. I’m talking about the ones where you can rewind the tape, pause it in the middle of the second quarter, and say, “this is where it slipped away”, even if the final margin comes down to one possession and a corner three.

Friday night against Portland? That was one of those.

The Timberwolves had the opportunity sitting right there in front of them: finish the homestand 3–0, stack another win without Anthony Edwards, and create a little breathing room in the Western Conference standings. Instead, they walked away with a loss that dropped them from the fourth seed to the sixth. Minnesota now finds itself in a three-way tie with Houston and Denver, and, because the Wolves won’t allow themselves to have nice things, they hold none of the tie-breakers.

The worst part? You can’t even chalk it up to bad luck.

Yes, the final defensive sequence is what everyone will remember. Minnesota was clinging to a one-point lead and needed one defensive stop. Just one. And instead, they give up offensive rebound after offensive rebound, can’t secure the ball, can’t finish the possession, and eventually Jerami Grant is standing in the corner with six seconds left on the shot clock like he’s at an open gym, calmly drilling the go-ahead three.

Game over.

But if you think that’s why the Wolves lost, you weren’t paying attention. This game was lost long before Grant’s shot. It was lost on the glass. It was lost in the paint. And most of all, it was lost during a second quarter stretch that felt like watching a car skid off black ice in slow motion.

Portland scored on 10 of 11 possessions. It wasn’t just bad defense. It was a complete breakdown of structure, communication, and effort. The perimeter defense fell apart, which meant driving lanes opened up like automatic doors at a grocery store. The Blazers got uncontested looks at the rim. Minnesota couldn’t string together stops. And on the other end, the Wolves looked like five guys who had just met each other in the parking lot.

Ball movement? Gone. Shot selection? Questionable at best. Rhythm? Nonexistent.

By the time the dust settled, Minnesota was down 17 points, and the game had already tilted in a way that made everything else harder than it needed to be.

Now, to their credit, the Wolves did what they’ve done a handful of times this season. They fought back. They erased the deficit. They actually took the lead by the end of the third quarter and gave themselves a chance to win.

But that’s kind of the problem with this team, isn’t it? They’re constantly asking themselves to be perfect late because they weren’t disciplined early.

If they don’t dig that 17-point hole, they don’t need that final stop. If they don’t get outworked on the boards all night, maybe Portland doesn’t even have a chance to take that shot. If they defend with purpose for 48 minutes instead of 40, maybe we’re talking about a professional, workmanlike win instead of another postmortem.

At this point in the season, there are no moral victories. Not with the standings this tight. Not with the playoffs looming. Not when every game swings three spots in the bracket depending on how things break. Here’s the reality now: the Wolves have gone from flirting with the three seed to sitting in the six, tied with Houston and Denver, holding zero tiebreakers, and staring at a schedule that does them absolutely no favors. And oh yeah… Anthony Edwards is still out.

So now the conversation shifts from “can they climb?” to “can they survive?” Because coming up next is Boston, then Houston, and then Detroit. That’s not a stretch you ease into while trying to rediscover your identity. That’s a stretch that exposes you if you don’t have one.

Let’s start with Boston, because that’s the immediate problem. The Celtics are getting healthier. Jayson Tatum is back. Jaylen Brown is still Jaylen Brown. They’re one of the most complete teams in the league when they’re right, and unlike Minnesota, they’ve shown an ability to weather adversity without completely losing their footing.

And if we’re being honest, it’s not entirely clear how the Wolves match up with them right now without Edwards. Which doesn’t mean they can’t win. It just means the margin for error is basically nonexistent. So if they’re going to pull this off, it’s going to require a level of discipline and execution we haven’t consistently seen.

Here are the keys to the game…

---

#1 – Value every single possession.

The Wolves have had a bad habit lately of being careless with the ball and sloppy with their decisions, which often turn into easy transition opportunities. You cannot give Boston free points. Every possession has to mean something. Every pass has to have purpose. If Minnesota starts gifting the Celtics extra chances, this thing could get out of hand quickly.

#2 – Win the rebounding battle.

On Friday night, Portland outworked them, plain and simple. Boston doesn’t have a Donovan Clingan-type rim presence, but they absolutely will scrap, rotate, and crash when the opportunity is there. Rudy Gobert needs to be a vacuum. Julius Randle, who, let’s be honest, had a rough night against Portland, needs to be better. Nothing deflates a team faster than playing 20 seconds of good defense and then giving up an offensive rebound and a reset.

#3 – Hunt high-efficiency offense.

The second quarter against Portland was a masterclass in what not to do. Forced shots. Stagnant possessions. Hero ball without the hero. Against Boston, that’s a death sentence. This needs to be a connected offense. That means feeding Gobert around the rim, getting McDaniels and Randle downhill, and creating clean looks for guys like DiVincenzo, Bones, and Ayo. You’re not going to out-talent Boston without Edwards. You have to out-execute them.

#4 – Do not allow the avalanche. We’ve seen it too many times this season. A bad three-minute stretch turns into a bad five-minute stretch, which turns into a double-digit deficit that suddenly feels insurmountable. Boston is one of the best “run” teams in the league. They smell blood, and they go on those 12–2 bursts that flip games. Minnesota has to recognize those moments early. That’s on the players to stay mentally locked in, and it’s on Chris Finch to hit the timeout button before things spiral.

#5 – This has to be a Julius Randle game.

There’s just no way around it. Without Edwards, there isn’t a version of this game where the Wolves win and Randle is just “fine.” He has to be great. Not just as a scorer, but as a leader, a rebounder, a defender, a facilitator. Friday night was probably his worst performance of the week, and it showed. The engagement wasn’t there. The physicality wasn’t there, and it cost Minnesota the game.

The good news? We’ve seen the version of Julius that can carry this team. The one who attacks, who bodies people, who makes quick decisions, who bends the defense and opens everything up for everyone else. That version exists. Minnesota needs him to find it again… immediately.

---

This week isn’t about aesthetics. It’s not about style points. It’s not about proving anything to the national media or climbing some imaginary power rankings.

It’s about survival.

The Wolves had a chance to make things easier on themselves Friday night, and they let it slip. Now the margin is thinner, the schedule is tougher, and the stakes are higher.

They don’t have to be perfect, but they do have to be better.

And they have to figure it out quickly, because the standings aren’t going to wait for them to get comfortable.

Saturday night marked the fifth straight loss for the Phoenix Suns, and you can feel the frustration starting to seep in. On the surface, the reasons are clear. The team is banged up. The injury report before games reads like a CVS receipt. It is long, it is exhausting, and it impacts everything. But even with that, they are right there late. But their poor decisions are costing them the opportunity to win.

They are in the game, within reach, close enough to grab it, and then it slips. They run out of gas. They run out of options. They run out of answers. Execution fades, possessions tighten, and the game gets taken from them. That is where this frustration lives. Because it is not about being blown out, it is about being close and not finishing.

After the loss to San Antonio, I was not mad. I was disappointed. There is a difference.

This one hits different. Losing to Milwaukee without Giannis brings out something else. This is not a powerhouse version of the Bucks. This is a team that is navigating the end of its season with a different agenda, one that includes positioning for the future. You can see it, and you can feel it. And still, the Suns could not take advantage.

That is where the frustration comes from. Because the opportunity was there. Another winnable game, another moment to stop the slide. And once again, it slipped away.

And it keeps coming back to the same place late in games. Devin Booker.

Devin Booker in Q4 tonight:

1-of-6, 4 points

Suns lose 108-105 to the Bucks and have lost 5 in a row https://t.co/9FBvIvsR4Zpic.twitter.com/07MR3xE5pc

— John Voita, III (@DarthVoita) March 22, 2026

He is the highest-paid player on the floor. He is the one who is supposed to take control when things tighten, when possessions matter most. That is the expectation and that is the responsibility. Right now, it is not showing up consistently. You watch Ryan Rollins (who?) attack the rim without hesitation, getting downhill, putting pressure on the defense. Then you watch Booker settle. Midrange looks that are not falling. Turnovers at the worst times. Situational decisions that leave you scratching your head, like taking a two when you are down three with under 20 seconds left.

Those are the moments. Those are the possessions that define games, and right now, they are not going Phoenix’s way. Booker is the one who has to change that.

Did he look hurt? Yeah, there were moments where you could see it. A slight hobble, a lack of burst, something that did not look quite right. And maybe that is part of the explanation for a 4-of-17 night and only 14 points. But if that is the case, then adjust. Dictate the offense, do not become it. Lean into the guys around you. Let Collin Gillespie organize. Let Jalen Green attack. Let Jordan Goodwin bring that energy and pressure. Use your gravity to create opportunities rather than forcing yourself into every possession.

Because when you try to carry it while not at full strength, it can swing the wrong way. And in this one, it did. Yes, the team is injured. That is real. But it cannot be an excuse for poor decision-making. That is what is fueling this losing streak.

You look at a moment like tonight, up 91–84, with control of the game starting to tilt your way. Jalen Green was rolling, feeling it, and instead of settling into a quality possession, he pulled up for a 27-foot three. A heat check. And it missed. Momentum gone. That is the difference. Those are the possessions that matter. Not the highlight plays, not the runs, the decisions in between. The ones that either steady you or derail you. Right now, they are derailing the Suns.

Jalen Green cooking in the fourth…and then he takes a 27-footer. Decision making…will it ever improve?

— John Voita, III (@DarthVoita) March 22, 2026

The injuries make everything harder. They shorten the margin and they force different lineups and roles. But the decisions are what swing games, and too often, Phoenix is making the wrong one at the wrong time.

We know help is coming. The troops are on the sideline, and at some point, the opportunity to turn this around should be there. The problem is that the clock is not slowing down. The season is entering its final stretch, and the runway is getting shorter.

We gave Jalen Green about 20 games to find his legs and get comfortable again. What does that timeline look like for Dillon Brooks or Mark Williams? That is where this gets tricky.

It is a strange place to be. This is a team that has overachieved relative to preseason expectations, and now it feels like it is drifting back toward them. Injuries are the primary driver, everyone understands that. Still, you need more from your max player. That is part of the deal. Because even with everything working against them, the Suns have been in these games. They are right there. They simply cannot finish, and that is where the frustration turns into anger.

Bright Side Baller Season Standings

It is funny how this works. I sit here writing about different players and how the Suns could best utilize them, and then they hear it. I say Collin Gillespie should probably move to the bench now, start getting comfortable in the role he will have once Dillon Brooks returns.

His response? 24 points. 6-of-11 from beyond the arc.

So maybe there is a lesson in there somewhere. Maybe I should keep writing those pieces, keep pushing buttons, keep saying what players cannot do. Because every time it happens, it feels like they go out and prove the opposite. And Gillespie did exactly that against San Antonio.

That performance gave him his 11th Bright Side Baller of the season, second only to Devin Booker. That says a lot about this season, about who he is, and about what he is becoming.

Bright Side Baller Nominees

Game 71 against the Bucks. Here are your nominees:

Jalen Green
24 points (9-of-17, 3-of-6 3PT), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, -14 +/-

Collin Gillespie
18 points (6-of-13, 4-of-11 3PT), 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 turnover, -1 +/-

Devin Booker
14 points (4-of-17, 2-of-5 3PT), 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, +3 +/-

Ryan Dunn
12 points (5-of-9, 2-of-5 3PT), 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1 block, +1 +/-

Oso Ighodaro
12 points (6-of-8), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, -11 +/-

Jordan Goodwin
11 points (4-of-9, 2-of-6 3PT), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, -3 +/-

---

How’s about a ‘lil Sunday morning voting?

What’s the point of all this?

Not just the last 12 games of this Dallas Mavericks season. They’re probably going to lose a lot of those games, so you’re not watching for the thrill of victory. A lot of the players on the team right now will likely be gone after this summer, so you’re not seeing the beginning of some blossoming young team.

I’m going to watch at least half those games, if not more. Why?

It’s the same when the team is good, too, even when they’re great. Take a moment and think about all the great teams who didn’t win a championship, and then broke apart within five years. If you’re a Golden State Warriors or San Antonio Spurs fan, you’ve seen four championships in the last 25 years. That means 21 years of disappointment for fans of the most successful teams. For fans of less successful teams…well, it’s a lot of disappointment.

But we keep coming back. We watch championship teams, mediocre teams, lottery teams. Mostly it ends badly, sometimes even heartbreak. So why do we do this?

One easy answer is to see Cooper Flagg’s development. It looks like he’s going to be a superstar, and it’s always fun to be there for the beginning of something like that.

There’s also the other young guys, Max Christie and Ryan Nembhard. They’ll likely be role players at best, but it’s fun to get to know players like that and see if they become more.

There’s the chance that Jason Kidd will awake from his slumber and show a human emotion once or twice during a game. Maybe he’ll even raise his voice and get ejected, just for fun or sheer boredom.

If Dwight Powell gets enough minutes, he might break the career record for getting hit in the face with a basketball. Or he might break a real Mavericks franchise record simply by being around for a while (he’s less than thirty rebounds away from passing Erick Dampier for eighth all time).

Maybe you’re in full tank mode and are rooting for them to lose every game for the rest of the season so they get a better pick. That’s one way to stay entertained! Make sure you’re staying up to date on all the mock drafts.

You might just like seeing Klay Thompson shoot 3-pointers. He likely won’t pass any more historical marks this season, but he’s got a great shot, and it’s fun to see him when he’s shooting the lights out. Maybe Thompson has a game where he goes on an absolute heater and hits double digit 3-pointers.

Maybe around mid-March the players will just be sick of this season and get in a fight with another team. It’s not what you’re watching for, obviously, but it would break up the monotony of one of the weirdest and blandest seasons in years.

Maybe the best reason to be here, watching these games, caring about what’s going on, is the relationships you build through this dumb team. It creates bonds with your parents, your kids, your brothers and sisters, your friends, that will likely never go away. It’s why we get so happy when this team succeeds, and why we get so despondent when a historically incompetent GM trades away a top five player for almost no return.

So we keep showing up to see them lose by twenty to a championship contender, or lose by two to a fellow lottery-bound team. We watch the good games and the bad, even if we turn it off and go to bed early sometimes (especially those West Coast games with late start times).

Maybe there’s no real legitimate reason to watch a soon-to-be deconstructed team finish out a miserable season, and we’re all some sort of addicts. Addicted to basketball, whether it’s in it’s best or worst forms. If you stop and think about it too long, it really doesn’t make sense. We’re going to watch this team finish out 2-10, together, for fun?

But here we are, getting excited about Flagg making a play way too advanced for someone his age, or getting mad about Daniel Gafford’s lack of rebounding, or just getting bored. But we’re in it together, in this basketball purgatory together, thinking about better days on the horizon.

The Jayson Tatum return has been riveting. Every shot attempt, rebound, pass, and even high-five over these first seven games has been scrutinized. The overall early returns on the Tatum comeback have been sensational; however, his performance against the Memphis Grizzlies is a good reminder that he still has a way to go before he fully regains his superpowers. 

Coming out of the game against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, the Jayson Tatum and Boston Celtics Hype Train had left the station. The three-point efficiency, the explosive drives…it was easy to envision the Boston Celtics playing in the NBA Finals, with Jayson Tatum playing an integral role.

For at least another couple of days, the hype train has returned to the station for some maintenance.

Tatum’s performance against the Grizzlies doesn’t need to be belaboured. It was easily his worst game since returning – missed layups, sloppy turnovers, questionable shot selection, and a general lack of the intensity that has become a staple of the 2025-2026 Boston Celtics. I don’t want that assessment to be misconstrued. Tatum played poorly by his standards. We have to remember how incredible Jayson Tatum was before he ruptured his Achilles. In his final game before the injury, Tatum had 42 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks in what was one of the best games anyone on the planet played last season. It was a rough outing against the Grizzlies, but that doesn’t mean Tatum hasn’t already exceeded expectations since returning. 

It has been 313 days since Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles, and he is playing impactful NBA basketball for the two seed in the Eastern Conference. That’s the real story through seven games. In 29.6 minutes per game, Tatum has put up 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists. The headline from that stat line to me is the 29.6 minutes per game. And over his last four games, Tatum is playing 31.6 minutes per game. I think if you told Jayson Tatum on the night of his injury that he would be back playing 32 minutes a night in just 313 days, both Jayson and Celtics fans would be overjoyed. They might even be tempted to fire up the duckboats. 

The fact that Tatum being out there playing basketball is the biggest win of all, but Tatum isn’t just out there. The Celtics have been crushing teams while Jayson Tatum has been on the court through seven games. With Tatum on the court, the Celtics are beating teams by 14.1 points per 100 possessions. And that’s despite Tatum struggling to put the orange ball in the basket consistently.

How is Tatum impacting the game at such a high level despite not being able to score efficiently? A significant factor is Tatum’s impact on the team’s turnover rate. The 2025-2026 Boston Celtics already led the league in fewest turnovers. Tatum has only amplified that strength. When Tatum has been on the court, the Celtics’ turnover percentage has been 9.5%. When Tatum is off the court this season (now 2,718 minutes), the Celtics’ turnover percentage has been 12.6% — best in the league. This year’s Celtics success has been driven by their dominance on the margins. Jayson Tatum has been a margins machine for years. He suppresses the team’s turnovers, he limits opponents’ offensive rebounding rate, he creates three-pointers for himself and others, and he defends without fouling. It’s almost as if Jayson Tatum was built in a lab for Mazzulla Ball. 

The most encouraging aspect of Jayson Tatum’s return has been his driving. There is still a lack of burst relative to pre-injury times. However, Tatum’s ability to get to the basket this early in his return is encouraging. Through seven games, Tatum is averaging 9.7 drives per game and shooting 54.3% on them, not far off his 2024-2025 season (10.3 drives per game, 56%). Tatum already being able to collapse defenses consistently should be a terrifying sign for opposing teams. 

One aspect of Jayson Tatum’s game that has been a glaring struggle since returning has been his scoring efficiency. Tatum currently has a true shooting percentage of 51.3%. For context, Tatum had a true shooting efficiency of 59% over his previous four seasons. The lackluster scoring efficiency can be mainly attributed to his cold start from three-point range. That number currently sits at 29.4%.

I’m not sure if we can attribute this cold shooting to rust or the Achilles injury. Sometimes players, and specifically Jayson Tatum, go through cold stretches. Derrick White has been ice-cold for large stretches this season. Tatum himself had a true shooting percentage of 50.5% and a three-point percentage of 26.3% in the 2024 NBA Finals. It’s hard to say if Tatum is missing shots due to getting back into rhythm or due to standard shooting variance. 

Lastly, the answer to the question that everyone was waiting for: could Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, a duo who have played over 14,000 minutes together, co-exist after Jaylen Brown submitted his resumé for the All-NBA First Team? A huge surprise to no one who has been paying attention to the previous eight years of Jays era basketball, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have been slaughtering opposing teams when they share the court through seven games. In 94 minutes on the court together, the Celtics are beating teams by 17.7 points per 100 possessions. Death, taxes, and Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum winning basketball games. 

It seems like a foregone conclusion that the NBA will lean toward adding more teams to its league.

The league's board of governors will meet next week to further discuss an expansion to a 32-league team and approve moving forward on bid offers for a future market in Las Vegas and returning to Seattle, according to ESPN.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said during a February news conference that in the March meeting the league won't be officially voting, but "will likely come out of those meetings ready, prepared to take a next step in terms of potentially talking to interested parties."

"It doesn't have to be a two-team expansion. Frankly, it doesn't have to be any number of teams. I think the logical next move would be to say, all right, we've had those discussions internally, we've made decisions about cities to focus on and what the opportunity is, and now we've got to go out into the marketplace," Silver said. "I think that's probably the most important step, to find out who is potentially interested in owning a franchise in particular cities, what's the value of that franchise. There's some work to do in terms of potential conference realignment. That's the next step there."

When is the vote and how does it work?

If passed, it potentially would bring NBA franchises to Las Vegas and back to Seattle, for the assumed return of the SuperSonics, starting in the 2028-29 season.

"I think in fairness to the cities, Seattle and Las Vegas in particular, I've been very clear I don't want to tease teams, I don't want to tease cities or mislead anyone," Silver said. "I think we wanted to get through collective bargaining, national television deals. We've done that, and now we've turned to it as a league."

The meeting is expected to take place March 24 or 25.

Although an official decision won't come until July, it gives reassurance to potential suitors and bidders that an NBA team could come to a city near them.

To make it happen, 23 of the 30 league owners would need to agree to add teams to the Association. Additionally, bids would cost anywhere between $7 and $10 billion per team, according to ESPN.

Seattle-raised NBA players building excitement

Just the thought of the possibility has brought excitement to many within the NBA community whom were raised in Seattle.

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero was born and raised in Seattle. He was a five-star power forward out of O'Dea High School, which he led to a Class 3A state title as a sophomore.

Banchero was 5 years old when the team relocated to Oklahoma City. Although he has no recollection of Sonics basketball, he understands the magnitude of a return and what that'd do for the city.

"If that was to happen that would be a crazy experience just for me. I never got to watch the NBA in Seattle so I don't know what that's like but I know that the city loves basketball," Banchero told USA TODAY Sports. "Big basketball town, even when the NBA did leave, obviously I grew up in that culture. Everyone's been talking about it for going on 10 years about them coming back so if the NBA was to make that happen then I'm sure that the city would be really excited."

Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II, another Seattle native, already has his sights set on suiting up for the same franchise that drafted his dad, Gary Payton Sr., with the second pick of the 1990 NBA Draft.

"I would probably request a trade immediately," Payton said, joking with reporter Brian "Scoop B" Robinson. "Even though I love where I’m at, it’s about being able to throw on that Sonics jersey before my career is over. I really hope they end up getting that done so I can go hoop for the hometown one time."

Playing NBA games in your hometown is special

There's a special feeling that comes with playing in your hometown as you see all your family members, old teammates and friends that you grew up with.

Memphis Grizzlies second-year guard Jaylen Wells still gets a joy out of going home to play the Sacramento Kings. The Grizzlies visited California's capital twice this season, winning both, most recently on Feb. 4 when Wells had nearly 100 people − fans, friends, you name it − waiting to greet him after the game.

"Never gets old man, just seeing familiar faces after a game. Can't complain," Wells, a Sacramento-native, told USA TODAY Sports. "It's fun. It kind of like, reminds me, kind of like a high school game where you kind of just know a lot of people in the crowd, so kind of just feels like a second home game.”

Wells graduated from Folsom (Calif.) High School, where he averaged 26.3 points and 3.2 rebounds as a senior. He said he made some of his best memories in Sacramento at Folsom and at Sacramento Country Day School, a private, co-ed college preparatory school which has served pre-kindergarten to 12th graders since 1964.

Whether he knows it or not, he's a hometown hero and a positive example to those who come from the same city, or even play on the same high school or AAU teams as he did growing up.

"I hope that's what I could be labeled as," Wells said. "I feel a lot of people kind of leave Sacramento to get the spotlight, so I was happy to be able to stay in Sacramento, go to Sacramento trainers and play on Sacramento teams just to make a name for myself in Sacramento instead of having to leave."

That homecoming feel that Wells gets at least twice a season is a feeling that Banchero would absolutely welcome given the opportunity.

Hypothetically, maybe in a venue in Uptown Seattle such as Climate Pledge Arena, in front of its capacity-filled 18,300 attendees who would be there to cheer on the SuperSonics but also show love to one of their many homegrown hoopers.

"For me to get to go back and play there one day, that would be a hell of an experience for me and my family. So if that was to happen I would definitely excited for that," Banchero told USA TODAY Sports.

SuperSonic significance in Seattle

If anyone knows how special the Sonics are to Seattle, it's Kings head coach Doug Christie.

Christie is born and raised in Seattle, having attended Rainier Beach High School after spending time in Longview, Washington. He saw the positive effects of the city's lone NBA championship in 1979, and he's seen the team leave for Oklahoma City in 2008.

He told USA TODAY Sports that he'd be "crazy excited" for the Sonics return.

"As a kid, growing up in the inner city of Seattle, that's what probably in many ways saved my life was the Sonics," Christie said. "Gus Williams and DJ [Dennis Johnson], and Jack Sikma and the '79 team that beat the Bullets. Like all of a sudden, you got hope that there's a greater capacity for your life than just what you're seeing everyday."

A city's sports team can have that affect. They breathe life and inspiration. Their presence allows some kid watching them to see a version of themselves they've never imagine.

It gives an opportunity for them dream. For the everyday working person to have a moment where they forget about the problems in their life but instead fraternize amongst fellow sports fans -alike.

"Those people in Seattle are rabid, they want a team," Christie told USA TODAY Sports. "There is everything that is built in there to make it happen. So I would be very excited, on top of the fact that, you know, Portland, Seattle, it just makes a lot of sense. A lot of money there. I would be super excited for that."

It's time that the NBA pays its debt to the city of Seattle and bring back the SuperSonics.

The team left after the city wouldn't renovate KeyArena or build an arena. The owner then decided to take the team to Oklahoma and rename them the Oklahoma City Thunder, taking their history with them in 2008.

The league pump faked the town with discussions of relocating the Kings to Seattle and rebranding them as the Sonics, however the vote was rightfully denied by the board of governors in 2013.

Years later, KeyArena is now Climate Pledge Arena and has since been redeveloped with private financing and reopened as of 2021.

It's one of the state-of-the-art facilities which house the four-time WNBA champion Seattle Storm and NHL's Seattle Kraken. The best part is it's co-owned by Seattle and a group known as Oak View Group.

Let bygones be bygones. Bring back Seattle's NBA team.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA expansion sparks thoughts from former and current NBA players

KD passes MJ on the NBA scoring list and reflects on the milestone, consistency, and legacy in a candid conversation for Boardroom Talks.

On a quiet night late in his career, with the rhythm of a season already deep in its grind, Kevin Durant squared up for another jumper with the same smooth motion basketball fans have watched for nearly two decades. The ball rose high, spun softly, and dropped through the net like it had thousands of times before, but each bucket now carries extra weight. Every point nudged him closer to Michael Jordan on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, with Durant finally passing him on Saturday night against the Miami Heat.

Durant sat down with Rich Kleiman for a special episode of Boardroom Talks to reflect on what it means to pass someone he's looked up to his entire life.

"It's cool because it speaks to how long I've been around and how consistent I've been as a player," Durant said. "It's cool to know that the formula works for you to be around for so long. But at the end of the day, it's really just another milestone that I'll hit, and I just want to keep going and see where I end up. But passing guys is just always cool to be in that same conversation as them more than anything."

Durant’s journey to this moment didn’t begin in packed arenas or under championship banners. It started in the gyms of Prince George’s County, Maryland, where a skinny kid with impossibly long arms learned that scoring wasn’t just about strength, it was about feel. Anyone who knows basketball noticed early that Durant didn’t shoot like other players his size. He glided across the floor, rose over defenders, and released the ball from a height few could contest.

By the time he arrived in the NBA in 2007, the league had seen prolific scorers before. But Durant’s game unfolded differently. He wasn’t just piling up points; he was perfecting a craft. The high-release jumper. The effortless handle for someone nearly 7 feet tall. The patience to let the game come to him. Four scoring titles followed, along with an MVP award and the sense that the league was watching one of the purest offensive players it had ever seen.

Now, as Durant passes Jordan on the scoring list, the moment feels less like a surprise and more like the natural evolution of a career defined by one thing: buckets. Because Durant didn’t chase scoring history loudly. He built it quietly, jumper by jumper, until one day, the numbers placed him alongside the legends he grew up watching.

“His imprint, his impact on the game is so big that it’s always historical, even coming close to what he’s done,” Durant said.

Be sure to catch the full conversation on Boardroom's YouTube page here.

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If you skipped watching this game and just saw the box score, you’d probably think this was a pro forma elite team stomps on tanking team NBA win. And you wouldn’t be totally wrong: Oklahoma City Thunder scored 132 points, won by 21, and got 40 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 20 rebounds and 10 assists from Isaiah Hartenstein.

But the details? Worth the watch.

First, the Wizards stayed close for three quarters because they made seemingly every open three-pointer they got, and even a few that weren’t open.

Second, the first half closed with I think the weirdest out-of-nowhere “fights” I’ve seen since I started watching the NBA. In 1978.

It was a competitive affair, but well- and fairly played. No obvious cheap shots or cowardly shoves or even much of the grifter bull butter that can grate on an opponent’s nerves.

And then, Oklahoma City’s Jaylin Williams and Justin Champagnie bumped into each other after Washington scored. And for whatever reason, they both decided that what really needed to happen was that they should bump into each other again. And then push each other.

The two separated, Bilal Coulibaly went over to Champagnie to calm him down, and a ref rushed in to defuse the skirmish. All routine pissing match stuff.

And then, Ajay Mitchell thought it would be a good idea to run up and yell at Champagnie while pushing Coulibaly and Champagnie. To which Champagnie responded by pushing Mitchell in the face. For some reason, Mitchell took umbrage, and he went after Champagnie — somehow kinda getting past Coulibaly, whose reflexes surely rank in the top 1% in all of human history.

At which point frigging everyone on the court and all the assistant coaches from both teams and arena security piled up in a huge scrum that spilled into courtside seats and…well…looked bad, at least live. The actual fight-fight was mostly a few guys pushing and shoving and a bunch of guys trying to break up the fight. While the whole group staggered into the mostly-deserted seats.

As an aside, big-time kudos to the man in black who shielded the woman sitting next to him from the incoming tsunami of NBA players by holding up his drink. Even bigger kudos to the woman, who never flinched from a ton-plus of humanity spilling off the basketball court directly at her.

Another aside: if the team didn’t give the man in black a replacement drink after Anthony Gill accidentally slapped it out of his hand, Gill needs to send the guy a $20.

Anyway, the refs reviewed the footage and emerged from their conclave to announce the ejections of Champagnie, Mitchell, Williams, and Cason Wallace. In the whole fracas, Mitchell and Wallace were the only guys interested in genuine conflict. Even Champagnie mostly seemed like a cranky unc who just wanted people to get out of his way and leave him alone.

My guess is that tomorrow, the NBA will fine and suspend Champagnie, Mitchell and maybe Wallace. It’d be a stretch to turn that push into a punch, but Champagnie’s hand did touch Mitchell’s face in anger, which is a big no-no. So, I’d be surprised if Champagnie gets less than two games. I’d guess one for Mitchell, and maybe two or three for Wallace, who provided much of acceleration of force that moved the conflict from the baseline into the stands.

Oh yeah, there was a game. The general gist of this one was that from the first quarter, it felt like the Wizards would be quickly vanquished if they ever cooled off from three-point range. In the meantime, Oklahoma City bludgeoned Washington on the boards, clowned them with skilled passing, and rode elite scoring from Gilgeous-Alexander. The Wizards started missing in the fourth quarter, and they were quickly vanquished.

How quickly? The Thunder didn’t need to bring Gilgeous-Alexander back in the game, but they did it anyway while up 18 so he could get to 40.

Thoughts & Observations

• What is the decision-making process that has the Wizards celebrating “Cherry Blossom Night” and the team NOT wearing those cherry blossom uniforms? Lemme just say, “BOOOOOO!” Those pink cherry blossom duds were the best ones the team has had, maybe ever.
• Kinda weird considering Gilgeous-Alexander went for 40, but I didn’t think the Wizards defended him badly. He’s just that good.
• The preceding bullet should not be construed as me saying the Wizards defended well. They did not.
• Odd and interesting offensive possession at 5:10 of the first quarter. The Wizards set a pindown screen for Coulibaly. For some reason, Gilgeous-Alexander top-locked (sought to deny Coulibaly from getting the ball from the off-ball screen). Coulibaly went back door, Sarr hit him with the pass, and Coulibaly converted the layup. Why was Gilgeous-Alexander trying to deny the ball? I have no idea. Most teams are happy to concede threes to Coulibaly. Perhaps Oklahoma City was working on something for a different opponent.
• At 1:37 of the first quarter, the Wizards ran a nifty backdoor action that got Anthony Gill an and-one. I rewound the play, wanting to give credit to Gill for the cut and Cooper for the pass only to learn that it was a case where OKC simply didn’t guard Gill. Seriously, Alex Caruso matched up with Jamir Watkins and let Gill go by…and there was no one behind him. Oops.
• General observation: OKC switches on defense are a work of art — and they weren’t even at their best last night.
• Coulibaly got aggressive offensively in the third quarter — repeatedly attacking and carrying the Wizards offense. Check out the possession at 4:27 of the third — he attacked off the bounce with multiple moves (made necessary by Tristan Vukcevic getting in the way on his first drive attempt). He kept his dribble alive despite aggressive pressure defense from Gilgeous-Alexander, and then finished by snaking past Kenrich Williams for a floater. That was high-level stuff.
• NBA defenders have a lot of trouble staying in front of Coulibaly when he goes into attack mode.
• The more he plays, the less like an NBA player Sharife Cooper looks.
• Cool moment: Early in the fourth quarter, Caruso turned down an open three and Oklahoma City had to reset after Washington nearly got a steal and knocked the ball out of bounds. During the stoppage, Hartenstein came over to Caruso and told him he needed to take that shot.
• The Wizards commit a lot of dumb and pointless fouls.
• Amusing moment: Gill erased a Coulibaly score by hanging on the rim while Coulibaly’s shot was in the cylinder. OKC broadcaster Michael Cage called it a youthful mistake.
• This victory marks 11 in a row for Oklahoma City. The loss is Washington’s 15th in a row.

Four Factors

Below are the four factors that decide wins and losses in basketball — shooting (efg), rebounding (offensive rebounds), ball handling (turnovers), fouling (free throws made).

The four factors are measured by:

• eFG% (effective field goal percentage, which accounts for the three-point shot)
• OREB% (offensive rebound percentage)
• TOV% (turnover percentage — turnovers divided by possessions)
• FTM/FGA (free throws made divided by field goal attempts)

FOUR FACTORS	THUNDER	WIZARDS	LGAVG
eFG%	59.7%	53.8%	54.3%
OREB%	40.5%	19.1%	26.1%
TOV%	12.8%	14.7%	12.8%
FTM/FGA	0.226	0.143	0.208
PACE	102		99.3
ORTG	130	109	115.4

Stats & Metrics

PPA is my overall production metric, which credits players for things they do that help a team win (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defending) and dings them for things that hurt (missed shots, turnovers, bad defense, fouls).

PPA is a per possession metric designed for larger data sets. In small sample sizes, the numbers can get weird. In PPA, 100 is average, higher is better and replacement level is 45. For a single game, replacement level isn’t much use, and I reiterate the caution about small samples sometimes producing weird results.

POSS is the number of possessions each player was on the floor in this game.

ORTG = offensive rating, which is points produced per individual possessions x 100. League average so far this season is listed in the Four Factors table above. Points produced is not the same as points scored. It includes the value of assists and offensive rebounds, as well as sharing credit when receiving an assist.

USG = offensive usage rate. Average is 20%. Median so far this season is 17.7%.

ORTG and USG are versions of stats created by former Wizards assistant coach Dean Oliver and modified by me. ORTG is an efficiency measure that accounts for the value of shooting, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. USG includes shooting from the floor and free throw line, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers.

+PTS = “Plus Points” is a measure of the points gained or lost by each player based on their efficiency in this game compared to league average efficiency on the same number of possessions. A player with an offensive rating (points produced per possession x 100) of 100 who uses 20 possessions would produce 20 points. If the league average efficiency is 115, the league — on average — would produced 23.0 points in the same 20 possessions. So, the player in this hypothetical would have a +PTS score of -3.0.

Players are sorted by total production in the game.

WIZARDS	MIN	POSS	ORTG	USG	+PTS	PPA	+/-
Bilal Coulibaly	34	72	133	20.0%	2.5	142	4
Anthony Gill	26	55	135	17.0%	1.8	133	-13
Jamir Watkins	26	55	134	17.1%	1.7	121	-5
Bub Carrington	33	69	125	19.2%	1.3	88	-7
Alex Sarr	22	47	109	32.9%	-0.9	109	4
Jaden Hardy	19	41	149	15.6%	2.1	114	-22
Justin Champagnie	14	29	127	9.6%	0.3	76	-2
Will Riley	28	60	81	20.9%	-4.3	-26	-21
Sharife Cooper	19	40	58	15.3%	-3.5	-73	-19
Tristan Vukcevic	20	42	54	29.6%	-7.7	-94	-24

THUNDER	MIN	POSS	ORTG	USG	+PTS	PPA	+/-
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	32	68	131	40.2%	4.2	246	11
Isaiah Hartenstein	25	53	137	23.6%	2.7	272	11
Chet Holmgren	27	57	158	18.5%	4.5	177	24
Ajay Mitchell	15	32	139	27.1%	2.1	273	-5
Jared McCain	28	60	125	21.0%	1.2	121	15
Kenrich Williams	14	29	174	19.8%	3.3	207	7
Cason Wallace	15	31	185	10.3%	2.2	135	1
Alex Caruso	20	42	120	11.9%	0.2	86	19
Isaiah Joe	31	65	104	12.9%	-0.9	42	12
Brooks Barnhizer	5	11	255	2.2%	0.3	150	1
Jaylin Williams	9	19	0	3.8%	-0.8	32	8
Aaron Wiggins	21	44	50	16.8%	-4.8	-65	1

Selection Sunday was just one week ago, but the men's NCAA Tournament has already seen 44 teams eliminated from the field of 68. And by the end of Sunday, we will have our Sweet 16 locked in after eight second-round matchups take place across the country.

There's plenty of storylines to watch. No. 1 seeds Florida and Arizona hoping to avoid the upset bug that has typified previous editions of March Madness. Likewise, there's some potential danger for No. 2 seeds Purdue and Connecticut.

So how will the day unfold and where should you be focusing your attention with 12 hours of action on tap? We ranked all eight games and broke down each of the matchups. Enjoy the drama sure to unfold.

1. No. 4 St. John's vs. No. 5 Kansas

Time/TV: 5:15 p.m. ET, CBS

These are the classic matchups in the second round that match traditional powerhouses with teams capable of making deep tournament runs. And you've got one of the best coaching matchups of the second round with Rick Pitino facing off against Bill Self. Only one get advance to the regional round. St. John's, which has won 20 of its last 21 games, made light work of Northern Iowa with a balanced effort. Kansas got a needed big game for freshman standout Darryn Peterson, which could bode well for their hopes of advancing.

2. No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 5 Texas Tech

Time/TV: 9:45 p.m. ET, TBS

Both teams with be without standout players with the Crimson Tide missing point guard Aden Holloway after his arrest earlier this week and the Red Raiders dealing with a season-ending injury to forward JT Toppin. This game should be played at a frenetic pace with both teams shooting first and asking questions later. The depth of Alabama could play a critical role, but Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson has the ability to carry his team to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.

CINDERELLA'S TIME: Ranking the most likely upsets in the second round

3. No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 7 Kentucky

Time/TV: 2:45 p.m. ET, CBS

The Wildcats were seconds away from being out of the tournament before heroics by Otega Oweh forced overtime and they got past Santa Clara. The challenge will be much greater now with the Cyclones playing their best basketball of the season. Iowa State blew away Tennessee State in its opener with role players Killyan Toure and Nate Heise doing much of the damage. Veteran guard Tamin Lipsey may have more of the heavy lifting against Kentucky with forward Joshua Jefferson dealing with an ankle injury suffered in the first round.

4. No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 6 Tennessee

Time/TV: 6:10 p.m. ET, TNT

Orange will be the color of the day in Philadelphia with these border-state schools squaring off. The Cavaliers had a bumpy start against Wright State before pulling away late. They've not faced many teams of the caliber of the Volunteers in their ACC schedule, so a more-complete effort is needed. Ja'Kobi Gillispie was outstanding in Tennessee's blowout of Miami (Ohio) and will need to be on point again with freshman Nate Ament struggling to play effectively due to an ankle injury.

5. No. 2 Connecticut vs. No. 7 UCLA

Time/TV: 8:45 p.m. ET, TNT

It was a smooth start for the Huskies against pesky Furman in the first round, but a remarkable 31-point, 27-rebound effort by Tarris Reed carried them through. The bid for third national title in three years gets more difficult against the Bruins, who are playing their best basketball of the season. Others stepped up after an off night by Donovan Dent in the first round. Dent's ability to control the game will be critical as UConn will be forced to defend a group of five scorers that all average double figures.

6. No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 7 Miami (Fla.)

Time/TV: 12:10 p.m. ET, CBS

Riding the momentum of their Big Ten tournament title, the Boilermakers look to get back into the Sweet 16 for the third year in a row. They have the enough veterans, including Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn, that know not to overlook the Hurricanes. It's been a resurgent year for Miami under first-year coach Jai Lucas. Showing resolve in a hostile environment, Malik Reneau and sub Tru Washington led the way in a first-round defeat of Missouri. Point guard Tre Donaldson, who previously played at Michigan, will know Smith well, and that matchup could prove pivotal.

7. No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 9 Utah State

Time/TV: 7:50 p.m. ET, truTV

It was an easy day for the Wildcats in their opener against Long Island. After their recent tournament disappointments, they should be focused against the Aggies, who have been consistent NCAA participants but haven't put together a run to the Sweet 16 since 1970. The task of taking down Arizona will fall to the veteran backcourt of Mason Falslev and MJ Collins Jr. But the interior defense must also do its part against the bigger Wildcats.

8. No. 1 Florida vs. No. 9 Iowa

Time/TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, TBS

The quest to be the second Gators to defend a national title got off to easy start with seven players scoring double figures. Frontcourt stalwarts Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon will look to assert themselves more in this round. Finally past the first round for the first time since 2021, the Hawkeyes are playing with house money. They'll look to slow the tempo and limit possessions. Bennett Stirtz should attract much of the attention from the Florida defense, meaning secondary scorers Tavion Banks and Alvaro Folgueiras will have to take advantage of openings.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness schedule: Ranking best NCAA Tournament Round 2 games today

SAN DIEGO –  St. John’s men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino wasn’t ready to announce his retirement yet or anything. But a day before his team played a first-round game here in the NCAA tournament, the Hall of Fame coach did look into a future where nothing is certain, especially at age 73.

“I could be out of coaching next year,” Pitino said Thursday, March 19. “I really can be. You're 73.  And I want to have the greatest time of my life.”

Judging by what's happened so far in San Diego, he might be doing that right now. No. 5 seed St. John’s defeated No. 12-seed Northern Iowa 79-53 in the first round Friday.

And now comes the main event on Sunday:

Pitino and St. John’s vs. fellow Hall of Fame coach Bill Self and No. 4 seed Kansas.

Rick Pitino, Bill Self are 'standing the test of time'

Pitino has won more than 900 games in his career. Self, 63, has won more than 800.

Each has won two national championships.

But they’ve only faced each other once. And this time there are huge stakes as both keep battling two larger forces – time and change. Almost nobody has survived them quite like these two.

CINDERELLA'S TIME: Ranking the most likely upsets in the second round

“There's so many great coaches out there, but they have a tough time standing the test of time,” Pitino said Saturday. “Bill has stood the test of time every single year.”

Self took it a step further when asked about Pitino Saturday. Consider the fact that Pitino is the answer to a certain trivia question.

Who’s the oldest head coach in Division I men’s basketball?

That would be Pitino, but then consider this: Pitino has thrived despite massive change to the game since he started his head coaching career at Boston University in 1978. A 45-second shot clock was introduced in 1985. Then the 3-point shot came in 1986. Pitino led Providence to the Final Four in 1987.

“The coaches that are so impressive to me are the coaches that coached without a 3-point line and then became efficient with the 3-point line, without a shot clock, then became one of the best with the shot clock, always evolving with the game,” Self said Saturday. “And I think that he's done that as well as anybody maybe ever has.”

In recent years, more change has roiled the game, leading some top coaches to quit.  Since 2024, players have been allowed to transfer without restriction after previously being required to first sit out a year before playing with their new team. Since 2021, players were allowed to earn money for the first time from their names, images and likenesses.

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

Pitino then adapted to become the transfer portal king at St. John’s in 2023, when he flipped the roster and revitalized the program by bringing in 10 transfer players.

Likewise, Self has adjusted successfully, too, after starting his head coaching career at Oral Roberts in 1993. He’s kept Kansas at a high level and successfully lured phenom freshman guard Darryn Peterson, who might be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft later this year.

Not everyone can do that or even wants to. Top coaches have quit amid the turmoil and changes to the sport, including Virginia’s Tony Bennett and Miami’s Jim Larrañaga.

Then there’s Pitino, who has evolved strategically, too.

“He's done it different ways,” Self said. “He's done it by pressing and zone pressing.  He's done it by just man-to-man pressure.  He's done it by being one of the first to take advantage of the 3-point line.  And now he's doing it by pummeling people inside and stuff, too. He's certainly adjusted to his roster, I think, probably as well as anybody in the game.”

This is the second time Pitino and Self have faced off

Pitino and Self are among three active head coaches with two national championships, though Pitino’s at Louisville in 2013 technically was vacated because of NCAA rules violations. Dan Hurley at Connecticut is the other.

One of those three still could win a third national title this year, but the road to it goes through Sunday’s game at 5:15 p.m. ET on CBS.

“We’re going to play probably a little bit of a road game tomorrow,” Pitino said Saturday. “They're going to have most of the fans.  But that's OK. We've played a lot of road games this year where we've played well.”

The two coaches faced each other previously, in November 2021, when Pitino was coach at Iona. His team lost against Kansas, 96-83, in the ESPN Events Invitational in Florida.

“He sent us home crying,’ Pitino said. “So we're looking forward to this matchup.”

In Pitino’s case, it could be a career capstone if he leads St. John’s to its first Sweet 16 since 1999.  He declined to reflect on that possible breakthrough for his program Saturday.

That's because he was up against an even larger adversary once again, even bigger than Self.

Time.

“I don't really look at the significance of it,” Pitino said. “We just have to play for 40 minutes as hard as we can.  If we win, we're going to be in the Sweet 16.  I'm not looking ahead.  I'm just looking at every possession.”

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

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rick Pitino, Bill Self embrace March Madness clash after long history

SAN DIEGO – The big man of the moment here in Southern California goes by the name of “Zuby,” which is pronounced as “Zoobie” and is the nickname his mom gave him because it was easier to say than his real name – Chukwuebuka Ejiofor.

Get ready to hear it a lot on Sunday.

Zuby Ejiofor, a 6-foot-9 forward, started his college career at Kansas in 2022,  where he played for Hall of Fame coach Bill Self. Then he transferred to St. John’s in 2023 to play for Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.

Three years later, Ejiofor, Pitino and No. 5 seed St. John’s face off against Self and No. 4 seed Kansas in a second-round men's NCAA Tournament game at Viejas Arena.

“We didn’t want him to leave,” Self said Saturday. “We’re really happy for his success. We just don’t … We just hope it doesn’t come against us.”

CINDERELLA'S TIME: Ranking the most likely upsets in the second round

Unfortunately for Self, Ejiofor happens to be on a monster run right now. He is the reigning Big East Conference player of the year, reigning Big East defensive player of the year and the leader of his team in scoring (16.3 ppg), rebounding (7.3 rpg), assists (121) and blocks (77).

Now comes the peak of his college career against his old team. Just don’t call it a revenge game. It’s not.

Why did Zuby Ejiofor transfer from Kansas to St. John’s?

Ejiofor (pronounced “edge-o-for”) sat in a chair Saturday surrounded by about 15 reporters and photographers at Viejas Arena. They wanted to know the story again: What happened at Kansas and why did he choose St. John’s?

“I had a fun time at Kansas,” Ejiofor said. “I wouldn’t lie: I didn’t really want to leave. But I knew that in order for my future to keep progressing the way I wanted to go, that I had to probably look elsewhere for a bigger opportunity.”

Ejiofor played in 25 games for Kansas as a freshman, when he averaged only 5.1 minutes per game. The Jayhawks finished with a 28-8 record that season and lost in the second round of the tournament against Arkansas. Ejiofor played seven minutes in that game and tallied two rebounds, one block and no points.

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

Then Kansas brought in a big transfer from Michigan in May 2023: 7-foot-1 Hunter Dickinson, who made the move in pursuit of more money for his name, image and likeness (NIL).

One day later, Ejiofor announced he was transferring out. He simply wanted more playing time and didn’t see him getting much of it with Dickinson there.

So Ejiofor signed with St. John’s, where Pitino had just been hired and was remaking his roster with 10 transfer players out of a roster of 14, including Ejiofor.

“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.”

No hard feelings between Kansas and Zuby Ejiofor

Self recruited Ejiofor out of Garland, Texas, where he was a late bloomer of sorts. He didn’t start playing basketball until eighth grade. He has Nigerian-born parents and another set of basketball “parents” of sorts, including his “dad,” Andy Philachack, a 5-foot-4 coach who influenced his decision to leave Kansas.

“Everybody embraced me my first year (at KU), so there’s no bad blood there,” Ejiofor said

Self confirmed the same.

“I love Zuby,” Self said.

And he’s not surprised by how well he’s done.

“Rick was obviously a great fit for him,” Self said. “I've enjoyed watching him grow, be a complete player, because when you talk about complete, you're talking about a skill set, posting, drawing fouls, using both hands, passing, stretching it, blocking and altering. When you lead a team that good in four major categories, you know you're a good player.”

Zuby Ejiofor considered other schools besides St. John’s

He took his first visit Villanova and considered Kentucky and Texas.

Why St. John’s?

“New York is a great city,” Ejiofor told USA TODAY Sports. “I had never been to New York before I visited St. John’s. And then everything that Coach Pitino stood for.”

Pitino credited assistant coach Ricky Johns for finding him. He came in for a visit and worked out in front of Pitino.

“I worked him out for about an hour, put him through a really tough work out, and I thought he was a terrific athlete, but he never – I gave him an extra hard workout to see if he could hold up against it, and he never tired,” Pitino said. “He just worked his butt off, and I said to his ‘dad,’ `I'd really love to have him.’”

Ejiofor since helped Pitino restore a dormant program in the heart of New York City. His photo recently even loomed large in Times Square in New York City.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a dream come true,” Ejiofor said. “I never dreamt of my picture ever being in Times Square. But man, it’s just crazy, you know, from where I came from and everything I had to go through.”                    Now comes his next big moment in the spotlight, this time against his old team at 5:15 p.m. ET on CBS. The winner advances to the Sweet 16 in Washington, D.C.

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

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: St. John's star Zuby Ejiofor left Kansas, now wants to beat them