SHAKA SMART

The Michigan State Spartans advanced to the second round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament with their victory over USC on Friday afternoon.

Joey Hauser scored 17 points and No. 7 seed Michigan State clamped down defensively on No. 10 seed Southern California in the second half for a 72-62 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s East Region.

Picking the NCAA Tournament bracket comes with plenty of potential pitfalls.

Purdue and Marquette were far from the favorites in their own conferences going into the season.

Tyler Kolek and No. 6 Marquette raced out to a hefty lead and never looked back, beating No. 15 Xavier 65-51 to win the Big East Tournament for the first time.

Tyler Kolek and David Joplin each scored 17 points, and No. 6 Marquette moved into the Big East championship game for the first time by holding off No. 11 UConn 70-68.

Purdue remains atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll despite losing its second game of the season.

Breaking down the strengths and weaknesses of Providence, Xavier, Marquette and Creighton.

After a disappointing run at Texas, Shaka Smart has found comfort in his home state of Wisconsin and has the Golden Eagles on the rise in the Big East.

They overcame the ravages of a hurricane to win a national title at their old school.

Andrew Jones scored 21 points, Marcus Carr beat the halftime buzzer with a shot from well beyond halfcourt to put Texas ahead for good, and the Longhorns beat Virginia Tech 81-73 for their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2014.

Brady Manek scored 28 points, Caleb Love had 21 of his 23 points before halftime and North Carolina routed Marquette 95-63 in first-year coach Hubert Davis’ NCAA Tournament debut.

Auburn is No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for the third straight week.

Auburn has climbed past Gonzaga and into the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll for the first time ever.

Fans started filing into Indiana’s Assembly Hall as soon as the doors swung open.

The University of Texas has hired Chris Beard away from Texas Tech to lead the Longhorns basketball program.

The University of Texas has hired Chris Beard away from Texas Tech to lead the Longhorns basketball program.

The move came six days after Smart’s Texas team was upset 53-52 by Abilene Christian in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Texas went 19-8 this season and won the Big 12 Tournament before its early NCAA exit. Texas hired him to replace Rick Barnes, who was fired after making the NCAA Tournament 16 times in 17 seasons. 4 in the Associated Press Top 25 and were ninth heading into the NCAA Tournament. This season, Texas had two players, Greg Brown and Kai Jones, who project as likely first-round picks.

(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)INDIANAPOLIS – Shaka Smart pulled off one of the most memorable Cinderella runs in NCAA Tournament history, taking VCU from the First Four to the Final Four in 2011. But as Texas coach, Smart is 1-3 in three tournament appearances during his six seasons. Texas was bounced from the NCAA Tournament as a No. He seemed like a slam dunk hire in 2015 after he had turned VCU into an NCAA Tournament regular. “Really feel for our guys right now because up until tonight we had a phenomenal season,” Smart said.

(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)INDIANAPOLIS – Abilene Christian and its frantic, havoc-causing defense sent Shaka Smart and Texas out of the NCAA Tournament in the first round yet again as the 14th-seeded Wildcats stunned the third-seeded Longhorns 53-52 on Saturday night. The Wildcats caused all kinds of headaches for the bigger, more talented Longhorns all night and got just enough offense to pull off their first NCAA Tournament victory in their second appearance. 11 seed UCLA in the second round on Monday. Andrew Jones scored 13 points for Texas (23-5) and was nearly the hero. Jones hit two free throws with 56 seconds left and his 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining put the Longhorns in front 52-51.

– Texas finally won the Big 12 Tournament championship. 12 Oklahoma State. Isaac Likekele added 13 points and Kalib Boone had 12 for the Cowboys, who fought past No. 10 West Virginia and the second-ranked Bears the previous two days to reach their first Big 12 Tournament title game since 2009. BIG PICTUREAdOklahoma State finished the season on a roll, winning eight of its last nine before the Big 12 title game with a pair of OT victories.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)FORT WORTH, Texas – Andrew Jones and the Texas Longhorns took a busy bonus week of Big 12 road games and turned it into momentum for the postseason. 15 Texas finished the regular season with a third consecutive road victory, beating TCU 76-64 on Sunday night. They also won at Iowa State and 15th-ranked Oklahoma to reach 9-2 away from home and 6-2 in true road games. “It’s hard to win three road games in one week,” Coleman said. The Horned Frogs will have to win twice in the Big 12 tournament for him to avoid his first.

Texas head coach Shaka Smart directs his team against Kansas State during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)NORMAN, Okla. – The wintry weather blast in Texas and Oklahoma has led to another postponement for the Dallas Stars while adding to the list of Top 25 college basketball games now on hold. 12 Texas and No. The postponement of the Alabama game makes it five straight games called off for the Aggies. Earlier in the week, the Oklahoma men’s game at Oklahoma State was moved from Feb. 25 to March 1.

Baylor forward Flo Thamba (0) celebrates a score against Texas during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)AUSTIN, Texas – Texas played Baylor tougher than most teams have this season. 2 Baylor used a big run to pull away for an 83-69 victory over sixth-ranked Texas on Tuesday night. Texas (11-4, 5-3) was within six points late before Baylor pulled away behind open 3-pointers from Adam Flagler and Mitchell. Instead of rallying the Longhorns, Jared Butler made his free throws and another quick basket put Baylor up by 10.

Texas head coach Shaka Smart directs his team against Kansas State during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)AUSTIN, Texas – Texas coach Shaka Smart said Monday he had “significant” symptoms while in extended isolation from his team and family after testing positive for COVID-19 as he and the No. He didn't detail the extent of the symptoms he experienced, but appeared frustrated that Texas played last week's home loss to No. 9 Oklahoma when the Longhorns were missing their head coach, two starters and a key reserve because of COVID-19 protocols. Baylor guard Davion Mitchell predicted Texas will have to adjust after having so many players, and Smart, forced to sit out.

Longhorns guard Matt Coleman, who sat out most of the second half, fouled out when he sent Reaves to the line for the decisive free throws. Texas got back within one when Andrew Jones made two free throws seconds later. “We'll have to work on missing free throws, I guess," Kruger said. Before his late free throws, Reaves had a key three-point play with a drive and layup that drew a fifth foul on Texas forward Greg Brown. So I guess it was a good shot,” Reaves said.

___Boston College has postponed two men’s basketball games this week because of positive COVID-19 tests, prompting the Atlantic Coast Conference to juggle its schedule. Carolina, Dallas, Florida, Nashville and Tampa Bay have all had games postponed because of the pandemic. ___The Chattanooga Mocs have postponed a pair of men’s basketball games after a positive COVID-19 test among the team’s Tier 1 personnel. ___The Southern Conference postponed three games because of positive COVID-19 tests within the Furman and Chattanooga men’s basketball programs. Furman’s next scheduled game is Feb. 3 at Samford, while Chattanooga is slated to return to the court at Western Carolina the same day.

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)Gonzaga and Baylor maintained their grip on the top two spots in The Associated Press men's basketball poll Monday. “Everyone has dealt with this,” said Wright, whose team finally gets back on the court Tuesday night against Seton Hall. 12 Texas Tech in a narrow defeat earlier in the week. West Virginia and Ohio State were next, with Virginia Tech climbing four spots to No. “We’re still finding out about our team,” said coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose team nearly rallied from an 18-point deficit against Virginia Tech.

Texas Tech won 79-77. 15 Texas Tech rallied to beat No. “I've got a lot of confidence in Mac,” Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. Texas Tech has roughed up the Longhorns in recent years with six wins in seven matchups, including three in a row in Austin. After drawing an offensive foul on Texas Tech with 45 seconds left, Texas had the ball and the lead.

14 West Virginia on Saturday. West Virginia was poised to add to a 54-45 lead midway through the second half, then Texas got tough on defense. West Virginia: The Mountaineers became the first team to score 40 points in the first half against Texas this season. It was a reversal of fortunes for West Virginia after terrible starts in their two previous games. But it was the second half Saturday where West Virginia struggled this time, making just 10 of 34 field goals (29%).

The top-ranked Zags and second-ranked Bears remained 1-2 in Monday's latest Top 25 as they have all season. 25 Florida State had the week's biggest tumble, falling seven spots after losing at Clemson and then having its game against No. 6 Kansas fell three spots after the Texas loss, bringing the total of teams that fell from last week's rankings to 11. CONFERENCE WATCHThe Big Ten continues to have the biggest haul of ranked teams, though the Big 12 has a strong showing in the poll's top tier. But the Big 12 has three of the top six teams in Baylor, Texas and Kansas, and five teams overall.

(AP Photo/Michael Thomas)AUSTIN, Texas – After opening the season in a Connecticut “bubble,” Villanova went all the way down to Texas to get a big win. 17 Texas 68-64 Sunday, handing the Longhorns their first loss after a strong start. BIG PICTUREVillanova: The Wildcats won in their first trip to Texas since winning the 2018 national championship in San Antonio. STAT LINE:Kai Jones, who doesn’t start for Texas but is averaging 20 minutes per game, is shooting 19 of 22 this season. Texas hosts Texas State on Wednesday night in the Longhorns’ final non-conference game before starting Big 12 play.

2 Baylor will play in Indianapolis on Saturday for the ninth meeting between the top two teams in AP Top 25 since 2005. 2 Kentucky met last season in the previous 1-vs.-2 meeting, a game won by the Wildcats 69-62. Playing in Las Vegas, Baylor opened with a 112-82 win over Louisiana-Lafayette and followed with an 96-52 thumping of Washington. Jay Wright's Wildcats opened the season in Bubbleville and opted to stay in Connecticut to face Hartford. Villanova won that game 87-53 to bounce back from its first loss of the season, 81-73 to No.

FILE - In this April 2, 1984, file photo, Georgetown head coach John Thompson, left, gives a happy pat to the most valuable player Patrick Ewing, after Georgetown defeated Houston 84-75 in Seattle. He was a great coach but an even better person and his legacy is everlasting. Patrick Ewing, former Georgetown star and current coach. Coach Thompson, saved my life ... continuously motivating and molding me into the man that I am today. former Georgetown star Alonzo Mourning. He was a great coach, but he was also a role model for a lot of coaches white coaches and Black coaches. ___Last night, we lost a towering figure in coach John Thompson, whose shoulders many of us stand on.