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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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Barry Bonds joins Netflix team for SF Giants season opener

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 9: Former San Francisco Giants player Barry Bonds watches batting practice before the game at Oracle Park on September 9, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Suzanna Mitchell/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Move over, Tiger King. The newest Netflix star is the home run king.

Netflix announced Thursday that Barry Bonds would be a special guest studio analyst for their telecast of the season opener between the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees Wed., March 25. Bonds will join Albert Pujols and Anthony Rizzo as part of the pregame and postgame shows, a panel that combined for 1,768 home runs. Much like chicks, Netflix digs the long ball.

Bonds won’t be the only legendary Giants outfielder who will be part of the broadcast. Hunter Pence will be in the booth, alongside Matt Vasgersian and Hall of Fame pitcher CC Sabathia, giving each of the teams an alumni voice in color commentary.

Netflix had teased the announcement of Bonds, originally only announcing that a “Special Guest” would join the broadcast. However, John Shea reported that the streaming giant would be filling McCovey Cove with 73 red kayaks bearing the Netflix logo in honor of the 25th anniversary of Bonds’ record-breaking 73-homer season in 2001. So there was a strong chance the secret unannounced studio guy would indeed be Bonds.

In fact, who were the other possibilities? Brandon Belt would have only agreed to join the crew if he could be the studio captain. Huey Lewis specializes in national anthems, not baseball analysis. Tim Lincecum is shy. Barry Zito would bring an acoustic guitar. Brandon Crawford would only get on board if the Cheese Steak Shop was a sponsor. Gavin Newsom would blow Netflix’s entire hair and makeup budget. Aubrey Huff might be banned from even having a Netflix account, much less appearing on a Netflix show.

If it goes well, we’d like to humbly suggest some more SF Giants Netflix programming”

“Lou Seal In Paris”

The cuddly seal with the amorphous body moves to Paris in order to school European mascots in American-style clownery and his signature “belly bump” move. Lou struggles with driving his golf cart on the correct side of the road, wins over a squad of soccer hooligans and finds love with his downstairs neighbor, a Cirque du Soleil acrobat who is also an otter.

“Jake Paul vs. Hunter Strickland”

Hunter Strickland loves starting fights. Jake Paul loves scheduling fights. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound former Giants closer has a size advantage over Paul, but Paul has more experience. As for punchable faces, they’re about even. However, Michael Morse and Jeff Samardzija are not allowed to intervene!

“The Blanco Lotus”

See what happens and who gets murdered at a luxury hotel in Venezuela run by former Giants outfielder Gregor Blanco, his twin brother Gregory Blanco, and his little brother, Gregson Blanco. Unlike that other Lotus show, these three brothers won’t have any inappropriate contact with each other.

“Bay Bridgerton”

Tony Vitello struggles to learn etiquette in the complicated society of major league baseball, all while dealing with malicious gossip published by “Lord Whistledown” (Joe Maddon).

“Squib Game”

Luis Arraez competes in an intense, life-or-death game show where players face a series of dangerous challenges that mainly require putting a baseball in play, no matter how softly. If his BABIP drops too low, the Giants offense dies.

“Danny Ozark”

Giants manager Danny Ozark has to launder money for a Mexican drug cartel, all while trying to keep the 1984 Giants out of last place in the National League West. Starring J.K. Simmons as Ozark and Pete Rose, Jr. as Pete Rose, Sr.

Congratulations to Mr. Bonds! Let’s hope Hall of Fame voters aren’t all watching Paramount Plus instead.

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Spring Game #27: A’s vs. Mariners Game Thread

MESA, AZ - FEBRUARY 18: Lawrence Butler #4 of the Athletics takes live batting practice during a spring training workout at the Lew Wolff Training Complex on February 18, 2026 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Justine Willard/Athletics/Getty Images) | Getty Images

We got a night game folks! The Athletics are set to play host to their division rivals the Seattle Mariners tonight in one of the final games of spring, a sold-out crowd that is ready to see our A’s take the win. With about a week to go before Opening Day things are going to start getting really ramped up here over the next few games. A’s fans should be seeing plenty of the regulars getting their at-bats in, the pitchers getting their final tune-ups, and the bullpen arms making their final cases for a ticket to Toronto. Should be an intense week and one that’ll also feature the Athletics’ Breakout game on Sunday afternoon. Gear up and prepare for the last exhibition contests before games begin to count.

The A’s have veteran right-hander Aaron Civale taking the ball for the club in what’ll be just his third appearance this spring. The 30-year-old veteran of seven big league seasons likely didn’t need much time to ramp up and be ready for Opening Day though. His first outing saw him allow a pair of runs on 60 pitches. His most recent appearance didn’t yield great results (six runs on nine hits) but he did get all the way up to 75 pitches. That’s probably been his biggest goal since arriving to the A’s at the last possible moment but it seems he’s going to be stretched out enough to take his spot in the Opening Day rotation, which has all been assured to him by the team. We’ll be hoping to see him produce better results tonight but as long as he gets his pitches in everything should be smooth sailing for the righty until the regular season. From there however we’ll need to start seeing results.

Here’s the Athletics’ lineup for tonight’s contest:

No surprise that manager Mark Kotsay is trotting out most of the regulars tonight. In fact, dare I say that this looks like the probably Opening Day lineup? I don’t want to start an argument about Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers’ spots in the lineup. No matter how you feel about it, the Athletics are going to prioritize getting them the most at bats possible this coming year. We’ll see if it lasts for six months but this is how the A’s will likely stack up next week in Toronto against their right-handed ace Dylan Cease.

We have Lawrence Butler back in the lineup but not manning right. While he’s been behind the rest of his teammates during camp as he completes his rehab for a torn patellar tendon, Butler’s been getting in his at-bats in controlled settings and finally made it into a game earlier this week. He’s yet to fully get right field under his belt much during camp, which is the final step in his rehab. He’s DH’ing tonight so that’s a positive, but the hope is that we see him out on the outfield grass a few more times before games start to really count.

The Mariners kept their cards close to the chest all afternoon, only announcing their starter a couple hours before first pitch. Seattle will counter Civale with right-hander Randy Dobnak. The 31-year-old is with the M’s on a minor league deal after spending the previous five years with the Minnesota Twins. He’s unlikely to make their Opening Day roster but could be an option for them later in the season if Seattle’s vaunted rotation suffers any injuries. Shouldn’t be too hard of an assignment for the A’s starting nine tonight but you never know!

And here’s how the M’s lineup breaks down for tonight’s game:

While the A’s are sending out their expected regular starting lineup the Mariners have more replacements than everyday guys in today’s starting nine. Civale needs to be careful with first baseman Josh Naylor but other than him he should try to be aggressive against Mariners batters this evening.

The A’s are 12-14 during camp and with five games left there’s still time to finish at or above .500. I know, meaningless, but still would be nice to break camp with a winning record. Let’s go A’s!

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Islanders Rookie Defenseman Matthew Schaefer Reaches 50-Point Mark vs. Senators

New York Islanders No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer recorded his 50th point of the season Thursday night at 4:45 of the second period against the Ottawa Senators.

With the assist, Schaefer became the second 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history to record 50 points in a season, following Phil Housley (57 in 1982-83). 

He also became the fourth Islanders rookie defenseman to record 50 points in a season. 

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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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Spring Training Game Thread #25: Milwaukee Brewers (10-14) vs. Texas Rangers (15-10)

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 16: Joey Ortiz #3 of the Milwaukee Brewers stands at the top of the dugout during a Spring Training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch on March 16, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images

We’re officially one week away from Opening Day. The roster is coming more into focus as the day gets closer, but there are a few games to still play this spring. Tonight, the Brewers host the Rangers.

Prior to today’s game, the Brewers announced a few (perhaps surprising) roster moves. Blake Perkins, Tyler Black, and Logan Henderson were optioned to Triple-A, and Cooper Pratt was reassigned to the minor league camp. Perkins appeared to be in line for a spot on the Opening Day roster, but he will start in Nashville instead. While Perkins has not had a bad spring, Brandon Lockridge’s spring has been strong enough that he may have played his way into a roster spot. This also means Garrett Mitchell is likely ready for the regular season, especially if the Brewers are making this move a week before the start of the season. With these roster moves, 34 players — 18 pitchers and 16 position players — remain in camp, with eight more cuts between now and next Thursday.

Both Lockridge and Mitchell are in tonight’s lineup for their game against the Rangers. Sal Frelick takes the other spot in the outfield and is batting leadoff. Joey Ortiz and Christian Yelich fill out the top of the lineup, and Andrew Vaughn bats fourth behind them. Gary Sánchez and Luis Rengifo bat sixth and seventh, and David Hamilton finishes out the lineup for tonight. Many of the projected Opening Day starters are in the lineup, but the full lineup won’t come together until the remaining Brewers return from the World Baseball Classic.

Brandon Woodruff gets the start tonight for the Brewers. This will be an important start for Woodruff to see if he will be ready for the start of the season. He has only appeared in one game this spring, a two-inning scoreless start against the Angels on March 13. He allowed two hits and a walk while striking out three. In today’s start, the plan is for him to pitch four innings. Also scheduled to pitch tonight are Grant Anderson, Trevor Megill, and Jared Koenig.

First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Brewers Radio Network.

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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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ST Game 27: Chicago White Sox at San Diego Padres

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 27: Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres hits an RBI sacrifice fly against the Colorado Rockies during the third inning of a spring training game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on February 27, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Chicago White Sox at San Diego Padres, March 19, 2026, 6:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Peoria Sports Complex – Peoria, AZ

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.

  • Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
  • Remember Gaslamp Ball is basically a non-profanity site
  • Out of respect to broadcast partners who have paid to carry the game, no mentions of “alternative” (read: illegal) viewing methods are allowed in our threads

GB community, this is your thread for today’s game. Enjoy!

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Colorado Rockies spring training game no. 27 thread: Logan Webb vs Tomoyuki Sugano

TOKYO, JAPAN - MARCH 08: Tomoyuki Sugano #19 of Team Japan pitches in the first inning during the 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool C game between Australia and Japan at Tokyo Dome on March 08, 2026 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Gene Wang - Capture At Media/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Colorado Rockies are hosting the San Francisco Giants at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick this evening. The game was bumped into the evening because of blistering hot temperatures in Arizona.

Speaking of hot topics, who says we need to put the World Baseball Classic behind us? Venezuela may have ended the tournament victorious, but they had to get through the teams represented by both of today’s starting pitchers to do so.

On the mound for the Rockies—representing Samurai Japan—is the right-handed Tomoyuki Sugano. Sugano will be making his first appearance in a Rockies uniform this spring, as he had to depart for Japan’s training camp just shortly after signing in free agency. The 36-year-old decorated Japanese pitcher made one start during the World Baseball Classic, shutting out Australia for four innings. He pounded the strike zone without walking a batter and tallied two strikeouts.

Starting for the Giants—and representing Team USA—is right-handed ace Logan Webb. The Rockies are no stranger to Webb, who has dominated them throughout his career. Webb has posted a 2.97 ERA in 19 career appearances against the Rockies. During the World Baseball Classic, Webb was excellent for Team USA. He gave up just one run via a solo home run in 8 2/3 innings across his two starts. He struck out 11 batters and walked just one.

First Pitch: 7:10 PM MDT

TV: None

Radio: None

Lineups:

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

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‘A shithouse stadium’: NRL coach left needing stitches to hand after glass shatters at Canberra stadium

  • Visiting Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo sustains deep gash

  • Calls intensify for ageing GIO Stadium to undergo refurbishment

Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo has joined growing calls for Canberra’s GIO Stadium to undergo a face lift after revealing he would need stitches after glass shattered on him in the ageing arena.

While the visiting coach was left with a deep gash in his hand, Raiders boss Ricky Stuart also weighed in, calling his side’s home arena a “shithouse stadium” and claiming authorities didn’t care about the state of the 1970s-built venue.

Continue reading...
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Premier League and Carabao Cup: things to look out for this weekend

Igor Thiago looms over Leeds, Newcastle need to bounce back from Barça and Viktor Gyökeres aims for hero status

Though Manchester United continued to win after playing brilliantly against Manchester City and Arsenal in Michael Carrick’s first two games as manager, the quality and coherence of their performances decreased thereafter. Lacking balance without the injured Patrick Dorgu, they’ve been rescued on three separate occasion by Benjamin Sesko’s goals – goals which eventually forced him into the team at the expense of Amad Diallo. But though Amad is easier to omit than Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, both of whom are older, dearer and more productive, without him United lacked a dribbler: a player eager to run at opponents, who isn’t necessarily seeking the quickest route to goal, and whose quick feet in tight spaces are invaluable against disciplined defences. It is no coincidence that on his return to the starting XI, against Villa last weekend, United delivered their best display since those early weeks. Though, at some point soon, Sesko’s form will again demand his inclusion, this time it is unlikely to be Amad who makes way. Daniel Harris

Bournemouth v Manchester United, Friday 8pm

Brighton v Liverpool, Saturday 12.30pm

Fulham v Burnley, Saturday 3pm

Everton v Chelsea, Saturday 5.30pm

Leeds v Brentford, Saturday 8pm

Newcastle v Sunderland, Sunday 12pm

Continue reading...
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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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Nashville Predators Goalie Juuse Saros Out vs. Seattle Kraken With Upper-Body Injury

The Nashville Predators will be without their starting goalie in one of the most important games of the season. 

It was announced ahead of Thursday's game against the Seattle Kraken that Juuse Saros is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He was reportedly injured during morning skate. 

Justus Annuen will start in his place with Matt Murray as the late call-up from Milwaukee. 

This is the first injury that Saros has officially sustained this season, and the Predators have gone as he has. Saros has a 24-19-7 record this season with a 3.14 goals-against and .894 save percentage. 

His last start was a 4-3 shootout win over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, where he made 36 saves on 39 shots, and stopped all three of the Jets in the shootout. 

Annunen sits at 6-9-2 on the year with a 3.10 goals against and a .890 save percentage. Murray has not played for the Predators this season and has not played an NHL game since the 2023-24 season, when he was with the Dallas Stars. 

Thursday's matchup is critical, as a Predators victory would tie the Kraken for the final Wild Card spot. A loss would set the Predators four points behind Seattle in the playoff race. 

Puck-drop is at 7 p.m. CST at Bridgestone Arena.