Bulldogs

The New York Knicks have high hopes for the 2024-25 season after a series of offseason moves to bolster their roster. Boasting a revamped starting lineup of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns, Coach Tom Thibodeau has leaned heavily on this five-man unit by relying on their defensive versatility and scoring prowess to carry the team night after night. Yet this dependency raises questions about sustainability, with risks of fatigue, injuries, and late-game breakdowns looming over a long NBA season.&nbsp;
The Knicks&rsquo; starting five are logging heavy minutes early in the season. Jalen Brunson, in particular, is averaging over 35 minutes per game as the team&rsquo;s primary playmaker and scorer. Meanwhile, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby are also averaging significant playing time, tasked with balancing offensive responsibilities while handling tough defensive assignments on opposing wings. Towns, who is crucial on both ends by providing floor spacing on offense and size on defense, is also averaging close to 35 minutes per game. These players are giving their all each night, but the mileage can add up as the season moves along.
NBA history shows that overextending starters early in the season can lead to burnout, and Thibodeau is no stranger to this trend. In his previous coaching stints, especially with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves, Thibodeau&rsquo;s teams experienced both early success and, ultimately, the cost of fatigue and injuries. During those stints, key players who logged high minutes often missed time later due to injuries or wore down in critical playoff moments.
The Knicks&rsquo; reliance on their starters has led to noticeable fatigue in the fourth quarter. The high-minute load impacts shooting accuracy, defensive effectiveness, and overall energy levels down the stretch. In recent games, the Knicks&rsquo; fourth-quarter stats reflect a slight decline in scoring efficiency, with players missing more shots and committing more fouls late in the game. This is particularly concerning in close matchups, where even minor drops in performance can shift the game&rsquo;s outcome. Opposing teams, with fresher players, often capitalize on the Knicks&rsquo; tired legs, exploiting gaps on defense and taking control in the final minutes.
If the Knicks are to reach their potential, Thibodeau may need to expand his rotation to preserve the health and effectiveness of his starters.
A balanced rotation could alleviate these issues. However, it doesn&rsquo;t help that starting center Mitchell Robinson is still yet to come back from an injury, as well as regular contributor Precious Achiuwa. The Knicks&rsquo; bench is shallow as of the moment with only Cameron Payne, Miles McBride, and at times Jericho Sims as players who can step in to relieve starters and bring fresh energy. Rookies Tyler Kolek, Pacome Dadiet, and Ariel Hukporti have had good summer league performances and showed something interesting in the preseason, but Coach Thibs has yet to commit to trusting rookies during the regular season. However, by giving a little bit more minutes on their reserves, the Knicks would have the flexibility to keep their starters fresh, reducing the risk of late-game lapses and helping maintain energy throughout the season.
High minutes also correlate with an increased risk of injury, a risk that only compounds as the season progresses. For players like Brunson and Anunoby, who play physically demanding roles, the toll of heavy minutes can lead to strains and nagging injuries. Towns and Bridges, though durable, have histories of minor injuries, and prolonged wear could increase their risk as well. If any starter were to miss time, it could disrupt the team&rsquo;s chemistry and potentially derail their season.
The Knicks have already invested heavily in this core, both financially and strategically, so ensuring their health and longevity is critical. Coach Thibodeau&rsquo;s emphasis on conditioning may help, but even the best-conditioned athletes can fall prey to injuries when overworked.
One solution lies staggering the starters with the bench guys. An expanded rotation would also provide versatility and unpredictability, as the Knicks could mix lineups to create favorable matchups and keep opponents off-balance.
Last season, teams with deep rotations generally fared better in the later months and into the playoffs. The Denver Nuggets, for example, leaned on a nine-man rotation that kept players fresh and ready for postseason intensity. The Knicks have the personnel to replicate this approach, but it requires a willingness to let the bench play through mistakes and grow into their roles.
The Knicks&rsquo; high-minute starters have impressive stats, but the numbers suggest potential pitfalls. Brunson and Towns lead the team in points, yet their fourth-quarter shooting percentage has dropped as games wear on. Hart, Bridges, and Anunoby rank among the league leaders in defensive metrics, but all three have seen dips in effectiveness late in games. These stats underline the wear on the Knicks&rsquo; starting five, and without adjustments, the team could face challenges maintaining performance over the long haul.
Thibodeau&rsquo;s strategy has yielded early success, but balance is the key to a sustainable season. By trusting his bench and managing his starters&rsquo; minutes, he can preserve the team&rsquo;s health and performance for the playoffs. The Knicks have the depth to make this adjustment, and doing so would likely pay dividends as they aim for a deep postseason run. In a grueling 82-game season, longevity and resilience are paramount, and a balanced rotation could be the key to the Knicks realizing their potential.

Heavy minutes for the Knicks’ starting five could lead to fatigue, injuries, and late-game struggles.

Knicks’ Overreliance on Starting 5 a Double-Edged Sword

With just one spot left in the quarterfinals, Serbia and South Sudan played a game down to the wire. In the end, however, it was Serbia who came out on top to beat South Sudan in Group C of the Paris 2024 Olympics, 96-85, at the Pierre de Mauroy Stadium in Lille, France.&nbsp;
After Brazil clinched their quarterfinal spot by beating Japan, South Sudan needed a win to book their slot and deny Greece in the process. However, Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Serbia had other plans in mind.&nbsp;
The NBA duo of Jokic and Bogdanovic shined when it mattered the most for Serbia. Bogdanovic top-scored for the Serbians with 30 big points, on an efficient 10/14 shooting game, knocking in 6 threes. Jokic had yet another double-double performance with 22 points and 13 rebounds as Serbia shot an absurd 60% from the field.
Despite the loss, South Sudan fought and had plenty to be proud of. They won their first Olympic game in their history and put up strong performances against basketball juggernauts USA and Serbia. The SSD basketball federation has come a long way with its journey led by former NBA player Luol Deng, and this program figures to be ascending to the basketball hierarchy sooner rather than later.&nbsp;
South Sudan point guard Carlik Jones gave it his all after playing all 40 minutes, scoring 17 points, dishing out 10 assists, and grabbing 5 rebounds in an all-around effort. Former NBAer Marial Shayok also provided the necessary support for Jones with 17 points, while former Baylor standout Nuni Omot added 14 points.&nbsp;
South Sudan made 14-34 threes overall, but Serbia had a huge advantage in free throws, making 21/31 to South Sudan&rsquo;s just 6 attempts with 5 makes.&nbsp;
Up next for Serbia is a quarterfinal bout with Australia.

With just one spot left in the quarterfinals, Serbia and South Sudan played a game down to the wire which Serbia eventually won.

Serbia overcomes South Sudan to finish 2nd in Group C, book last QF spot

After a long four-month offseason, the 2023-24 NBA season officially kicks off on October 24. Preseason action is currently underway, with teams evaluating their roster and getting ready for the start of the regular season.
There were a few roster rule changes of note this offseason that were introduced as part of the new CBA. Now, each team can sign up to three two-way players (up from two) who are able to play up to 50 games with their NBA team and spend the rest of their season in the G League. Also, offseason rosters were originally limited to 20 players but have since increased to 21.&nbsp;
Each team needs to be at 15 standard contracts prior to the start of the season, which means a few players on guaranteed deals will have to be cut prior to the season. While some teams have a pretty set roster, others (like the Oklahoma City Thunder) will be forced to part ways with talented players to reach their roster limit.&nbsp;
Looking at the Atlantic Division, let's see how each team&rsquo;s lineup is shaping up and what questions they may need to answer before the start of the season.
(This is part one of a six-part series, with more divisional previews coming soon).
<h1>BOSTON CELTICS</h1>
Outside of the top-six players, who will be the most reliable depth option?
After acquiring Jrue Holiday, the Boston Celtics may have the best top-six of any team in the league. While we can add the Holiday trade to their list of aggressive offseason transactions, their depth has taken somewhat of a step back.&nbsp;
They will have to replace four rotation players from last year&rsquo;s Conference Finals team with a few players who don&rsquo;t have much experience in playoff situations. Three players who should definitely see more minutes are Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet. Pritchard has played well on both ends of the floor when given an opportunity, notably shooting 40% from three-point range over his first three seasons. The Celtics rewarded him with a team-friendly extension that should see him take up about 5% of the salary cap over the next four years. Hauser has also been a stellar three-point shooter, knocking down 42% since coming into the league.&nbsp;
The frontcourt is probably the most notable weakness on the team&rsquo;s depth chart. Joe Mazzulla has expressed confidence that <a href="https://www.celticsblog.com/2023/10/7/23907608/boston-celtics-depth-sam-hauser-luke-kornet-payton-pritchard-joe-mazzulla-blake-griffin-bus-one-boys" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kornet should be successful on both ends of the floor and will be their go-to backup center to start the season.</a> The preseason will be important in determining who else (i.e. Oshae Brissett, Jordan Walsh, Svi Mykhailiuk, etc.) may stand out for Mazzulla and get an opportunity for playing time behind Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
The Celtics have the least amount of players on guaranteed contracts in the league (10). However, their roster for opening night is likely set unless they want to open up flexibility to sign other veteran players or buyout candidates later this season. If they choose to cut someone, it would very likely be a player on a non-guaranteed deal. Mykhailiuk and Dalano Banton each have a partial $200,000 guarantee that increases to over $1,000,000 if they make the roster. Kornet, Wenyen Gabriel and Lamar Stevens all have non-guaranteed contracts.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 19 players (10 guaranteed, 2 partially guaranteed, 3 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 1 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Jrue Holiday, G/F Jaylen Brown, F Jayson Tatum, F/C Al Horford, F/C Kristaps Porzingis
Projected Rotation Players: G Derrick White, G Payton Pritchard, C Luke Kornet (non-guaranteed), F Sam Hauser, F Oshae Brissett
Projected Reserves: F Jordan Walsh, G/F Svi Mykhailiuk ($200K guaranteed), F Wenyen Gabriel (non-guaranteed), G Dalano Banton ($200K guaranteed), F Lamar Stevens (non-guaranteed)
Projected Two-Way Players: C Neemias Queta, G JD Davison, G Jay Scrubb (Injured)
Projected Roster Cuts: G DJ Steward (Exhibit-10)
<h1>BROOKLYN NETS</h1>
What is Ben Simmons' role?
Ben Simmons has only played 42 games since being acquired by the Nets in February 2022, dealing with physical and psychological hurdles that have made him somewhat of an afterthought. Head coach Jacque Vaughn has expressed confidence that Simmons is now 100% healthy and ready to contribute again at a high level.&nbsp;
He seems to be penciled in as the team&rsquo;s starting point guard, starting in the Nets&rsquo; first preseason game. Though it was just a small 14-minute sample size, Simmons looked a lot like his former All-Star self. Having not played since February 15, he looked athletic, aggressive and confident before sitting out the second half.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He attacked the rim, I think he played with pace, looked pretty natural out there getting up and down the floor, communicating with guys into the flow of the game,&rdquo; Vaughn said, <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/10/10/ben-simmons-passes-eye-test-in-nets-preseason-opener/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praising his $38-million man</a>. &ldquo;Really good to see.&rdquo;
Vaughn has some options when it comes to starting lineups where he could go smaller, with a backcourt of Simmons and Spencer Dinwiddie, or decide to start Dorian Finney-Smith and use Mikal Bridges as a big two-guard.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
Darius Bazley, Harry Giles and Trendon Watford are all on non-guaranteed deals and are vying for the final two roster spots. The Nets also have an open two-way spot, which I believe they could potentially use on a player like <a href="https://www.si.com/college/tennessee/mens-basketball/kennedy-chandler-starring-in-nba-summer-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Summer League standout</a> and former Memphis Grizzlies second-rounder Kennedy Chandler.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 18 players (13 guaranteed, 3 non-guaranteed, 2 two-way)
Projected Starters: G/F Ben Simmons, G Spencer Dinwiddie, F Mikal Bridges, F Cameron Johnson, C Nicolas Claxton
Projected Rotation Players: F Dorian Finney-Smith, F Royce O&rsquo;Neale, G Cameron Thomas, G Dennis Smith Jr., C Day&rsquo;Ron Sharpe
Projected Reserves: G/F Lonnie Walker IV, C Noah Clowney, F Dariq Whitehead, F Darius Bazley (Non-Guaranteed), C Harry Giles (Non-Guaranteed)
Projected Two-way Players: G Armoni Brooks, F Jalen Wilson, G Kennedy Chandler* (Projected Signing)
Projected Roster Cuts: F Trendon Watford (Non-Guaranteed)
<h1>NEW YORK KNICKS</h1>
Who will be the first option off the bench?
New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has his fair share of options to headline his second unit. In his third year, Immanuel Quickley had his best season to date, finishing as the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award behind Malcolm Brogdon. Quickley was the primary scorer for the second unit, but he shouldn&rsquo;t have to carry the entire load on offense with the addition of Donte DiVincenzo.&nbsp;
DiVincenzo impressed last season with the Golden State Warriors as a reliable bench shooter and should spot minutes for Quentin Grimes and R.J. Barrett when offensive pushes are needed. Josh Hart could also be the team&rsquo;s sixth man, just like he was during the Knicks&rsquo; playoff run. After being traded from Portland, Hart averaged 30 minutes per game despite coming off the bench most of the time. It is worth noting the Knicks-Villanova connection between Hart, DiVincenzo and Jalen Brunson, who should fit seamlessly together on the floor thanks to their pre-existing chemistry. While unlikely to be the first off the bench, Isaiah Hartenstein also deserves mention since he has been one of the league&rsquo;s better backup centers and could see more time if Mitchell Robinson gets in foul trouble. In terms of rotation issues, Thibodeau should see this as a good problem to have regardless of who he brings off the bench first.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
The Knicks have three spots up for grabs between Ryan Arcidiacono, DaQuan Jeffries, Isaiah Roby and Duane Washington Jr. All are on non-guaranteed deals that won&rsquo;t be fully guaranteed until the league-wide guarantee date on January 10.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (12 guaranteed, 4 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Jalen Brunson, G Quentin Grimes, G/F R.J. Barrett, F Julius Randle, C Mitchell Robinson
Projected Rotation Players: G Josh Hart, G Immanuel Quickley, G Donte DiVincenzo, C Isaiah Hartenstein, G Miles McBride
Projected Reserves: G Evan Fournier, C Jericho Sims, F Isaiah Roby (non-guaranteed), G Ryan Arcidiacono (non-guaranteed), G/F DaQuan Jeffries (non-guaranteed)
Projected Two-way Players: F/C Nathan Knight, G/F Dylan Windler, F Jaylen Martin
Projected Roster Cuts: G Duane Washington Jr. (non-guaranteed), G Charlie Brown Jr. (Exhibit-10), F Jacob Toppin (Exhibit-10)
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/embiid332.jpg" alt="" width="672" height="440" />
<h1>PHILADELPHIA 76ERS</h1>
Will Tyrese Maxey become more of a creator and how can that adjust the rotation?
The Sixers&rsquo; ceiling is contingent on how much Tyrese Maxey can improve this season. Maxey hasn&rsquo;t needed to be the team&rsquo;s primary distributor since James Harden joined the team, allowing him to blossom into a reliable 20-PPG scorer. Regardless of whether Harden&rsquo;s trade situation is resolved, Maxey will need to become a better creator and distributor if he wants to take his game to the next level. Prior to Harden&rsquo;s arrival, Maxey had an impressive 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio despite his small frame and risk-averse tendencies.&nbsp;
Interestingly, team president Daryl Morey has held off on giving Maxey an extension this offseason, electing to wait until next summer to pay his budding young guard. Maxey will likely demand near max-level money that could harm Philly&rsquo;s flexibility to go after star players next offseason. If he can improve his ball-handling and distribution tendencies, the Sixers&rsquo; offense should benefit tremendously, helping the offensive output of players like P.J. Tucker and Paul Reed and easing the reliance on De&rsquo;Anthony Melton and Patrick Beverley.
Roster Decisions
Two players will likely be fighting for the Sixers&rsquo; final roster spot. The team re-signed veteran Danny Green, who played for the team from 2020 to 2022, to a non-guaranteed deal. They also brought over young big Filip Petrusev, who was drafted by Philadelphia in 2021. Petrusev signed a multi-year deal that was partially guaranteed for $559,782 this season and non-guaranteed next year. Although unlikely, the 76ers could also elect to waive Montrezl Harrell despite his deal being fully guaranteed, as he should miss this season with a torn ACL.
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (14 guaranteed, 1 partially Guaranteed, 1 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Tyrese Maxey, G James Harden, F P.J. Tucker, F Tobias Harris, C Joel Embiid
Projected Rotation Players: G De&rsquo;Anthony Melton, G Patrick Beverley, F/C Paul Reed, F/G Kelly Oubre Jr., F Danuel House
Projected Reserves: C Mo Bamba, F Furkan Korkmaz, G Jaden Springer, G/F Danny Green (non-guaranteed), C Montrezl Harrell (injured)
Projected Two-way Players: G Terquavion Smith, G Ricky Council IV, F Azuolas Tubelis
Projected Roster Cuts: F/C Filip Petrusev ($559,782 guaranteed), G David Duke Jr. (Exhibit-10), G Javonte Smart (Exhibit-10)
<h1>TORONTO RAPTORS</h1>
What style does Darko Rajakovic bring to Toronto and who will benefit the most?
New coach Darko Rajakovic inherits an interesting Raptors team with plenty of talent, but they may be facing a crossroads in terms of how successful they can be as a group. Rajakovic is in his first NBA head coaching gig after three seasons as an assistant with the Grizzlies and is known around the league as a pick-and-roll guru.&nbsp;
The idea of the Raptors being a primary pick-and-roll team became less appealing when they were unable to retain Fred VanVleet in free agency, replacing him with a less reliable shooter in Dennis Schr&ouml;der. Instead, Rajakovic will likely rely on Schr&ouml;der and his newly paid center Jakob Poeltl for more ball movement and playmaking. Rajakovic compared Poeltl to Domantas Sabonis before the Raptors&rsquo; preseason win over the Sacramento Kings on October 9 and could use him in a similar role. If Poeltl can be 70% of what Sabonis was last season, it can be a huge boost to an inconsistent offense.
Roster Decisions
The Raptors have 15 players on guaranteed deals going into the season, but also carry Jeff Dowtin Jr. on a non-guaranteed deal. Dowtin played on a two-way contract with Toronto last season, appearing in 25 games. With the roster full, Dowtin is unlikely to make the regular-season roster but he has still <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/raptors/news/toronto-raptors-praise-jeff-dowtin-jr-as-roster-decisions-await" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impressed the coaching staff this preseason</a>. If any player is in danger of losing their roster spot to Dowtin, it would likely be former first-round pick Malachi Flynn. Dowtin&rsquo;s deal becomes guaranteed for $900,000 on October 21, four days before the team&rsquo;s season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves. I would expect the Raptors to make a decision on Dowtin before then.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (15 guaranteed, 1 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Dennis Schr&ouml;der, F/G Scottie Barnes, F OG Anunoby, F Pascal Siakam, C Jakob Poeltl
Projected Rotation Players: G Gary Trent Jr., F Precious Achiuwa, F/C Chris Boucher, F Jalen McDaniels, G/F Gradey Dick
Projected Reserves: F Thaddeus Young, G Malachi Flynn, F Otto Porter Jr., C Christian Koloko, G/F Garrett Temple
Projected Two-way Players: G/F Ron Harper Jr., G Markquis Nowell, G Javon Freeman-Liberty
Projected Roster Cuts: G Jeff Dowtin (non-guaranteed), F Mouhamadou Gueye (Exhibit-10), C Makur Maker (Exhibit-10)
Other news from around the web: <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dress-to-impress-why-barbie-and-ken-are-the-hottest-couples-costume-this-halloween/ar-AA1iaTEh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbie and Ken are the hottest couples costume this Halloween</a>

Blake Stern previews the Atlantic Division, breaking down each team's projected lineup and a burning question entering the season.

NBA Atlantic Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

Shaka Smart has packed an entire career&rsquo;s worth of experiences into 14 years as a college head coach.
He led VCU to an improbable Final Four as a 30-something wunderkind in 2011, guided mighty Texas to a Big 12 Tournament title during six otherwise tepid years in Austin, and now has turned Marquette into a Big East beast.
It&rsquo;s sometimes easy to forget he&rsquo;s still just 45 years old.
Yet his work with the Golden Eagles this season might have been his best: Picked ninth in the 11-team league by its coaches, they won the regular-season title going away, then beat Xavier to win&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/big-east-marquette-xavier-df67d940335f3a9d69f2f6e7b626beaf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">their first Big East Tournament championship</a>.
That earned Smart the AP coach of the year award Friday. He garnered 24 of 58 votes from a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-college-basketball-player-of-year-b2820fee259952b664327b49a112f193" target="_blank" rel="noopener">national media panel</a>&nbsp;to edge&nbsp;Kansas State&rsquo;s Jerome Tang, who received 13 votes before guiding the Wildcats to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, and Houston&rsquo;s Kelvin Sampson, who earned 10 before taking the Cougars to the Sweet 16.
Voting opened after the regular season and closed at the start of the NCAA Tournament, where the No. 2 seed Golden Eagles were&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-michigan-state-marquette-izzo-690d24a67256a2bf187353c0bfed577a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">knocked out in the second round</a>&nbsp;by Michigan State and Smart&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-east-regionalmichigan-state-marquette-shaka-smart-405b0ccc948ec1480a2749496b3c5ef8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">longtime mentor, Tom Izzo</a>.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very grateful to win this award,&rdquo; said Smart, the second Marquette coach to take it home after Hall of Famer Al McGuire in 1971, &ldquo;but obviously it always comes back to the guys you have on your team.
&ldquo;Early on,&rdquo; Smart said, &ldquo;we had a real sense the guys had genuine care and concern for one another, and we had a very good foundation for relationships that we could continue to build on. And over the course of seasons, you go through so many different experiences as a team. And those experiences either bring you closer together or further apart. Our guys did a great job, even through adverse experiences, even through challenges, becoming closer together.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s hardly surprising such cohesion is what Smart would choose to remember most from a most memorable season.
The native of Madison, Wisconsin, who holds a master&rsquo;s degree in social science from California University of Pennsylvania, long ago earned a reputation for building close bonds with players and a tight-knit camaraderie within his teams.
No matter how high or low the Golden Eagles were this season, those traits carried them through.
&ldquo;Everything that we go through, whether it be the retreat that we went on before the season, all the workouts in the summer, he&rsquo;s preaching his culture,&rdquo; said Tyler Kolek,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-all-america-mens-basketball-team-2ab037abcde5157ad840f7dcd22cc8a4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a third-team All-American</a>. &ldquo;And he&rsquo;s showing his leadership every single day, and just trying to impart that on us, and kind of put it in our DNA. Because it&rsquo;s definitely in his DNA.&rdquo;
That&rsquo;s reflected in the way Smart, who&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-basketball-wisconsin-coronavirus-pandemic-texas-longhorns-mens-basketball-972b7ad63710f78f34b9a35797ed031c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accepted the Marquette job</a>&nbsp;two years ago after an often bumpy tenure at Texas, has rebuilt the Golden Eagles program after it had begun to languish under Steve Wojciechowski.
Sure, Smart landed his share of transfers &mdash; Kolek among them &mdash; in an era in which the portal has become so prevalent. But he largely built a team that finished 29-7 this season around high school recruits, eschewing a quick fix in the hopes of long-term stability. Among those prospects were Kam Jones, their leading scorer, and do-everything forward David Joplin.
&ldquo;He teaches us lots of things about the importance of each other,&rdquo; Joplin said. &ldquo;He lets us know, time and time again, that we can&rsquo;t do anything without each other, but together we can do anything.&rdquo;
That sounds like a decidedly old-school approach to building a college basketball program.
One embraced by a still-youthful head coach.
&ldquo;I think being a head coach has never been more complicated, never been more nuanced, and never more all-encompassing,&rdquo; Smart told the AP in a wide-ranging interview last week. &ldquo;Does that mean it&rsquo;s harder? You could say that.
&ldquo;What makes your job less hard,&rdquo; Smart said, &ldquo;is having a captive audience in your players, and guys that truly understand and own what goes into winning, and that&rsquo;s what we had this past year. But those things just don&rsquo;t happen. There are a lot of steps that have to occur on the part of a lot of people, not just the coach, to get to where you have a winning environment.&rdquo;

After helping Marquette dominate the Big East, Shaka Smart earned the AP men's college basketball coach of the year award.

Marquette’s Shaka Smart voted men’s AP coach of the year

Spencer Davies tells the complex story of Eban Hyams, the first Indian-born international professional basketball player.

Setbacks and bouncebacks: On Eban Hyams, India's first pro ballplayer

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; The final night of the Big East Tournament never sounded like this before.
Tyler Kolek and No. 6 Marquette raced out to a hefty lead and didn&rsquo;t look back, beating No. 15 Xavier 65-51 on Saturday to win its first Big East championship after 18 seasons in the conference.
As the clock wound down on an historic victory by a storied program that had been longing for an elusive title, chants of &ldquo;We are, Mar-quette!&rdquo; echoed through Madison Square Garden.
&ldquo;Marquette is a special place that has had a special basketball program for a long, long time,&rdquo; coach Shaka Smart said as he accepted the trophy. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re so proud to bring a championship back to Milwaukee.&rdquo;
Kolek had 20 points and eight rebounds as the top-seeded Golden Eagles (28-6) dominated a Big East final that brought a Midwestern flavor to Midtown Manhattan.
The brash Big East player of the year, who vowed his team would prove doubters wrong before the season, shared hugs with his family and friends as confetti poured down on the Golden Eagles after the game.
&ldquo;All the moments they&rsquo;ve been through with me have led up to this moment right here,&rdquo; Kolek said. &ldquo;To share that with my high school coach, my brother, my dad, my two best friends, it&rsquo;s special. There is no better feeling.&rdquo;
Smart&rsquo;s surprising team will head into the NCAA Tournament with a nine-game winning streak. Marquette&rsquo;s first appearance in the Big East championship game resulted in one of its best performances of a scintillating season.
Kolek&rsquo;s steal and layup made it 51-27 with 14:12 left. Less than a minute later, after two offensive rebounds by the Golden Eagles, David Joplin made a corner 3 to double up second-seeded Xavier (25-9).
Joplin finished with 12 points. Kolek was selected the tournament&rsquo;s Most Outstanding Player.
Adam Kunkel scored 12 points to lead the Musketeers, who had a five-game winning streak snapped. Leading scorer Souley Boum was held to one point on 0-for-9 shooting.
&ldquo;I thought tonight there are times when their effort level and their quickness, their togetherness, their communication, it was like there were six players on defense against us,&rdquo; Xavier coach Sean Miller said. &ldquo;We couldn&rsquo;t get a good shot, and that is to their credit.&rdquo;
Smart described his team&rsquo;s defense as &ldquo;violent.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Coming up here to New York, we&rsquo;ve really played for the most part very, very sticky, tough defense,&rdquo; Smart said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to need that if we want to advance in the NCAA Tournament.&rdquo;
This was the first Big East title game since the conference dropped football in 2013 to not feature any of its longstanding Northeast members.
Still, the Milwaukee school, which joined in 2005, and the Cincinnati school, which joined in 2013, filled The Garden for the first 1 vs. 2 seed Big East Tournament final in 19 years.
It looked more like a 1-16 NCAA Tournament game for a while.
Marquette jumped out to a 21-4 lead, and never relented.
&ldquo;It was huge,&rdquo; Smart said. &ldquo;And our guys played with real force to start the game.&rdquo;
During a particularly splendid 2 1/2 minutes, Stevie Mitchell swished a corner 3, Kolek came off a screen to make another 3, Kam Jones got free for a reverse layup after a nifty hesitation move on the baseline and Kolek converted a layup off a give-and-go with Oso Ighodaro.
At that point, Marquette was up 33-10 with 7:02 left in the first half and the Golden Eagles had not yet committed a turnover.
Marquette&rsquo;s only previous league tournament title was as a member of Conference USA in 1997.
Twenty-six years later, the Golden Eagles were able to clear the bench in the final minute of the Big East championship and their fans were finally able to make The Garden feel like home.
BIG PICTURE
Xavier: The Musketeers played what Miller called one of their best two-way games of the season in the semifinals Friday night against Creighton. Less than 24 hours later, they did almost nothing well. Xavier shot 34% from the field, forced only four turnovers and was held 12 points under its previous season low. The Musketeers fell to 0-2 in Big East championship games.
Marquette: Smart, who took VCU to a Final Four but never could find that consistent winning formula at Texas, guided a team picked to finish ninth in the Big East in the preseason coaches&rsquo; poll to maybe its best season since Dwyane Wade led Marquette to a Final Four in 2003. The Golden Eagles tied a school record for victories set in 1970-71.
UP NEXT
Xavier: Miller will have the Musketeers back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.
Marquette: The Golden Eagles will be making their second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and figure to earn perhaps a No. 2 seed.

No. 6 Marquette raced out to a hefty lead and didn’t look back, beating No. 15 Xavier 65-51 on Saturday to win its first Big East title.

No. 6 Marquette routs Xavier 65-51 to win first Big East title

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Miller scored 24 points and Mark Sears made seven of eight free throws over the final 1:04 to help No. 2 Alabama top Arkansas 86-83 on Saturday.
Miller delivered his second straight huge game for the Crimson Tide (25-4, 15-1 Southeastern Conference) since police alleged in courtroom testimony that he brought a gun to former teammate Darius Miles, who is charged with capital murder in a fatal shooting.
The week&rsquo;s details cast a different light on Miller&rsquo;s regular pregame introduction, which is a Tide staffer giving him a pat down. Coach Nate Oats said after the game that intro for Miller is now over.
Fellow freshman Nick Smith Jr. of Arkansas (19-10, 8-8), another potential NBA draft lottery pick who helped keep the Razorbacks in it with a late 3-pointer, scored 24 points. Davonte Davis added 21 points for Arkansas, Council scored 20, and the rest of the team combined for 18 points.
Jahvon Quinerly had 16 points and seven assists for the Tide, and Noah Clowney had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
NO. 1 HOUSTON 76, EAST CAROLINA 57
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Marcus Sasser scored 22 points to help Houston clinch outright possession of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title.
Tramon Mark added 20 points for the Cougars (27-2, 15-1), while J&rsquo;Wan Roberts had 17 points and 12 rebounds in Houston&rsquo;s ninth straight victory.
East Carolina (14-14, 5-10) had an energetic home crowd for the first-ever visit from a No. 1-ranked team to Minges Coliseum, as well as the program&rsquo;s first game against a top-ranked opponent in more than 31 years. But the Cougars never trailed and led for all but 56 seconds. Ezra Ausar scored 15 points to lead the Pirates.
NO. 3 KANSAS 76, WEST VIRGINIA 74
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Dajuan Harris was one point shy of a career high, scoring 17 points to help lift Kansas over West Virginia.
The Jayhawks&rsquo; stifling defense kept West Virginia from attempting a shot in the final 20 seconds. The Mountaineers&rsquo; Joe Toussaint traveled on their final possession of the game. Baskets by K.J. Adams and Kevin McCullar extended the Jayhawks&rsquo; lead to 75-68 late as they grinded out the victory.
Harris led Kansas (24-5, 12-4 Big 12) with 7-of-9 shooting from the field and had six assists and six steals.
Erik Stevenson led West Virginia (16-13, 5-11) with 23 points. Tre Mitchell scored 20, Kedrian Johnson scored 15 and Emmitt Mathews Jr. had 13.
NO. 17 INDIANA 79, NO. 5 PURDUE 71
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Hood-Schifino scored a career-high 35 points and Trey Galloway added 10 of his 13 in the second half to lead Indiana over Purdue.
The Hoosiers (20-9, 11-7 Big Ten) snapped a seven-game losing streak in West Lafayette and pulled their first season sweep in this bitter rivalry since 2012-13.
Zach Edey led the Boilermakers with 26 points and 16 rebounds and Fletcher Loyer added 14 points. Purdue (24-5, 13-5) has lost three of four and blew a chance to clinch a share of the conference crown in front of its home fans, who stood outside in chilly temperatures and snaking lines for hours before tip-off.
NORTH CAROLINA 71, NO. 6 VIRGINIA 63
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pete Nance scored 22 points to lead North Carolina past Virginia.
Nance shot 7 of 10 from the floor and was 4 of 4 from behind the arc, the most 3-pointers the fifth-year forward has made in ACC play. He added two assists and four blocks.
R.J. Davis notched the fourth double-double of his career with 16 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina (18-11, 10-8 Atlantic Coast Conference), which got a much-needed boost to its NCAA Tournament resume with a Quadrant 1 win &mdash; the first of the season for the Tar Heels.
Jayden Gardner had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead Virginia (21-6, 13-5), which lost its second in a row. Armaan Franklin added 14 points.
ARIZONA STATE 89, NO. 7 ARIZONA 88
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Desmond Cambridge Jr. hit a 60-foot shot at the buzzer and Arizona State rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Arizona.
The Wildcats (24-5, 13-5 Pac-12) built a 10-point lead midway through the second half before going more than six minutes without a field goal as Arizona State pulled ahead by one.
The Sun Devils (20-9, 11-7) went up 86-85 on Warren Washington&rsquo;s layup with just a minute left, but Pelle Larsson put Arizona back up on a layup with 29 seconds left. Arizona State&rsquo;s DJ Horne missed a jumper with 4 seconds left and the Sun Devils had a final shot after Oumar Ballo hit one of two free throws.
Catching the ball with 2.4 seconds left, Cambridge launched a shot from beyond half-court to finish with 19 points and give the Sun Devils a big boost in their bid to make the NCAA Tournament.
NO. 9 BAYLOR 81, NO. 8 TEXAS 72
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Jalen Bridges had 17 points for ninth-ranked Baylor, which overcame a huge deficit with an impressive run right after freshman standout Keyonte George left injured early and beat Big 12 co-leader Texas.
Adam Flagler had 14 points for the Bears (21-8, 10-6). Dale Bonner added 13 points, including seven in an quick spurt after halftime while Flo Thamba had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Dylan Disu had a season-high 24 points for Texas (22-7, 11-5), which twice got even early in the second half but never could regain the lead.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 90, DEPAUL 84
MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones and Tyler Kolek each scored 22 points while helping Marquette clinch a share of its first Big East regular-season championship in a decade.
Kolek also had 14 assists as Marquette (23-6, 15-3) rolled to a 49-28 halftime lead and hung on after DePaul (9-20, 3-15) got close down the stretch. Marquette has won nine of its last 10, while DePaul has lost 10 straight.
This is Marquette&rsquo;s first conference title in 2013, when the Golden Eagles shared the Big East crown with Georgetown and eventual national champion Louisville.
Umoja Gibson led DePaul with 20 points and eight assists. Nick Ongenda added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
NO. 11 TENNESSEE 85, SOUTH CAROLINA 45
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Josiah-Jordan James came back from missing four games with an injury to score 18 points to lead Tennessee to a rout of South Carolina.
James, who suffered an ankle injury against Vanderbilt on Feb. 8, shot 4 of 7 on 3-pointers for the Volunteers (21-8, 10-6 Southeastern Conference). Jahmai Mashack scored 14 points, Zakai Zeigler had 13 points and 11 assists, and Olivier Nkamhoua and Uros Plavsic scored 10 each.
Hayden Brown led the Gamecocks (10-19, 3-13) with 18 points.
NO. 12 GONZAGA 77, NO. 15 SAINT MARY&rsquo;S 68
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 19 points and Gonzaga earned a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title with a win over Saint Mary&rsquo;s.
Anton Watson had 17 points and Malachi Smith added 13 off the bench for the Bulldogs, who have won or shared the conference title in 11 straight seasons. Gonzaga (25-5, 14-2) also reached the 25-win mark for the 16th season in a row &mdash; and avenged a loss to the Gaels earlier this month in Moraga.
Logan Johnson led the Gaels (25-6, 14-2) with 27 points.
Because the teams shared the regular-season title, the WCC will use the NCAA&rsquo;s NET rankings to determine the top seed for the conference tournament.
FLORIDA STATE 85, NO. 13 MIAMI 84
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Matthew Cleveland&rsquo;s 3-pointer as time expired capped Florida State&rsquo;s comeback from a 25-point second-half deficit and a win over Miami.
Jordan Miller had given Miami the lead on a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left. But Cleveland let fly from about 25 feet and the ball swished to give the Seminoles (9-20, 7-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) their best moment of the season.
Cleveland and Darin Green Jr. each had 20 points for Florida State, which also got 13 from Caleb Mills and 11 from Jalen Warley.
Miller led Miami (23-6, 14-5) with 21 points. Norchad Omier had 15, Isaiah Wong scored 14 and Bensley Joseph added 12 for the Hurricanes, whose seven-game winning streak and perfect home season were ended.
NO. 18 UCONN 95, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 86
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points, Adama Sanogo added 18 points and nine rebounds, and UConn beat St. John&rsquo;s.
Andre Jackson Jr. had 15 points, Joey Calcaterra also scored 15 to lead a strong effort by Connecticut&rsquo;s bench and the resurgent Huskies (22-7, 11-7 Big East) avenged an 11-point loss to St. John&rsquo;s at home last month.
UConn won for the sixth time in seven games, closing in on a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament.
AJ Storr had 20 points and Posh Alexander added 18 for the Red Storm (17-13, 7-12), who had won three of four.
NO. 14 KANSAS STATE 73, OKLAHOMA STATE 68
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell had 22 points, eight assists and four steals in Kansas State&rsquo;s third straight win, beating Oklahoma State.
Keyontae Johnson added 17 points for the Wildcats (22-7, 10-6 Big 12), who swept the regular-season series.
Kalib Boone scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half on Senior Day for Oklahoma State. Caleb Asberry scored 13 points and John-Michael Wright added 12 for the Cowboys (16-13, 7-9), who have lost four straight.
VILLANOVA 79, NO. 19 CREIGHTON 67
PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Eric Dixon scored 18 of his career-high 31 points in the first half, Cam Whitmore added 17 and Villanova defeated Creighton.
Dixon also set a career high with six 3-pointers for Villanova (15-14, 9-9 Big East), which has won five of six.
Arthur Kaluma scored 19 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner had 18 for Creighton (18-11, 12-6). The Bluejays have lost three of four following an eight-game winning streak.
NO. 22 SAN DIEGO STATE 73, NEW MEXICO 71
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) &mdash; Lamont Butler&rsquo;s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave San Diego State a win at New Mexico.
After Jaelen House&rsquo;s steal and end-to-end run for a layup with 5.6 seconds left gave New Mexico a 71-70 lead, Butler unhurriedly brought the ball up court before dropping his shot, giving him 10 points for the Aztecs (23-5, 14-2 Mountain West).
Darrion Trammell scored 18 points to lead the Aztecs. Matt Bradley added 11 as San Diego State won its sixth straight.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. finished with 20 points for New Mexico (20-9, 7-9) and House had 15.
OKLAHOMA 61, NO. 23 IOWA STATE 50
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Jacob Groves led Oklahoma with 16 points as the Sooners knocked off Iowa State.
The Sooners (14-15, 4-12 Big 12) had lost nine of their previous 11 games but erased an early 11-point deficit and seized control with a 17-2 run in the second half.
Groves shot 4 of 5 from the 3-point line. Tanner Groves added 9 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
The Cyclones (17-11, 8-8) shot just 31%. Gabe Kalscheur led Iowa State with 12 points.
NO. 24 TCU 83, TEXAS TECH 82
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash; JaKobe Coles made two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining, and TCU beat Texas Tech despite blowing a 12-point lead in the final eight minutes.
After De&rsquo;Vion Harmon&rsquo;s steal and layup put the Red Raiders in front by one with 12 seconds remaining, Coles caught a pass from Emanuel Miller in the lane and was fouled by Fardaws Aimaq going up for the shot. The Horned Frogs (19-10, 8-8 Big 12) weren&rsquo;t in the bonus.
Harmon&rsquo;s desperation 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded wasn&rsquo;t close, ending a four-game winning streak Texas Tech (16-13, 5-11).
Mike Miles Jr. scored 24 points for the Horned Frogs, who had lost five of six and were coming off a loss to No. 3 Kansas at home. Miller had 14 points and 12 rebounds for TCU.
Aimaq scored 19 points, Harmon had 18 and Kevin Obanor finished with 17 points and nine rebounds for Texas Tech.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 69, NO. 25 TEXAS A&amp;M 62
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Tolu Smith had 17 points and Shakeel Moore had 14 as Mississippi State knocked off Texas A&amp;M.
Cameron Matthews had 11 points for the Bulldogs (19-10, 7-9 Southeastern Conference), who held the Aggies to one field goal in the final 14 minutes and outscored them 34-18 during the same time period.
Wade Taylor IV led Texas A&amp;M (21-9, 13-3) with 21 points, including four 3-pointers, and Henry Coleman III and Andersson Garcia each had 11.

A recap of Saturday's slew of action in top 25 NCAA men's college hoops.

Miller has another big game as No. 2 Alabama tops Arkansas

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Colin Castleton is accustomed to being double-teamed every time he touches the ball, so he was pleasantly surprised &mdash; maybe even downright stunned &mdash; when Tennessee opted to guard him with a single defender in the second half.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to take advantage of that,&rdquo; Castleton said.
He did. Castleton scored 20 points, including 16 in the second half, and Florida upended the second-ranked Volunteers 67-54 on Wednesday night.
Kyle Lofton added 14 points for the Gators, who delivered coach Todd Golden his most significant victory in his first season in Gainesville. It was Florida&rsquo;s second Quad 1 win in the last two weeks.
The Volunteers, playing with their highest ranking in four years, lost for the first time in five games. They had won nine of 10.
&ldquo;Our guys are disappointed,&rdquo; Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re better than this, but tonight we weren&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
Tennessee (18-4, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) looked like it had taken control midway through the second half. They outscored Florida by 10 points in the early going to take a six-point lead.
But the Gators (13-9, 6-3) stormed back behind Castleton, who scored 11 of 14 points as Florida rallied. The senior had a dunk, two free throws, a three-point play, a layup and a short jumper &mdash; essentially putting the team on his back down the stretch.
&ldquo;They went small, and I felt like I had a mismatch,&rdquo; Castleton said.
Myreon Jones and Will Richard chipped in nine points apiece for the Gators.
Zakai Ziegler led the Vols with 15 points on 6-of-19 shooting. Olivier Nkamhoua added 11 points and nine rebounds for the visitors, who also got 11 points and eight boards from Vescovi Santiago.
The Gators were red hot to start the game, making six of their first eight shots &mdash; including all three from 3-point range &mdash; while building a 17-4 advantage. But they quickly cooled against the nation&rsquo;s best defense, missing nine of their next 11 as Tennessee made cut it to 22-21.
The Vols had it going coming out of the locker room, with Ziegler getting into the paint and making things happen. But it was short-lived &mdash; thanks mostly to Castleton.
&ldquo;We gave them a chance to start believing in what they&rsquo;re doing, and they took it,&rdquo; Barnes said.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Tennessee surely will drop a few spots in next week&rsquo;s AP Top 25 college basketball poll.
BIG PICTURE
Tennessee: The Volunteers gave up 10 points in the opening four minutes of the games, a rare sluggish start for the nation&rsquo;s best defense. Tennessee had held four of its first eight SEC opponents scoreless at the first media timeout, roughly the first four minutes of games. It was a sign of things to come.
&ldquo;We kept fighting uphill all night long,&rdquo; Barnes said.
Florida: The Gators are two games into the toughest stretch of their season. Coming off a loss at Kansas State, they have road games against Kentucky and Alabama up next. So to say they needed this one would be an understatement.
&ldquo;It was a desperation game,&rdquo; Castleton said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a tough schedule here and we&rsquo;ve got to win games. We were able to claw and fight.&rdquo;
IN THE HOUSE
Football coach Billy Napier watched the game from a few rows behind Florida&rsquo;s bench alongside his two sons and receiver Ricky Pearsall. Former Florida tennis star Ben Shelton, the NCAA singles champion in 2022, also was in attendance. So was former Gators and NFL quarterback Doug Johnson.
UP NEXT
Tennessee hosts No. 25 Auburn and former coach Bruce Pearl on Saturday.
Florida plays at Kentucky on Saturday. The Gators have lost seven of eight in the series.
NO. 1 PURDUE 80, PENN STATE 60
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Mason Gillis broke the Mackey Arena record by making nine 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 29 points as Purdue beat Penn State.
Gillis went 10 of 14 from the field and 9 of 12 from beyond the arc. Zach Edey added his 18th double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The Big Ten-leading Boilermakers (22-1, 11-1) have won nine straight overall, six straight in the series and are the only Power Five team with fewer than two losses this season.
Seth Lundy had 18 points to lead the Nittany Lions (14-8, 5-6).
NO. 14 MARQUETTE 73, VILLANOVA 64
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) &mdash; Tyler Kolek scored 20 points and Marquette rallied down the stretch to beat Villanova and maintain a share of the Big East lead.
Kam Jones added 18 points for Marquette (18-5, 10-2), which has won four straight games and nine of 10.
Eric Dixon and Caleb Daniels scored 14 each for Villanova (10-12, 4-7), which committed a season-high 19 turnovers. Brendan Hausen added 12 points.
In a game neither team led by more than six until the final minute, Kolek put Marquette ahead for good at 63-62 by sinking two free throws with 4:32 remaining, starting a 10-0 spurt.
NO. 16 XAVIER 85, NO. 17 PROVIDENCE 83, OT
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Jack Nunge had 23 points and 14 rebounds as Xavier held off Providence in overtime.
Colby Jones and Souley Boum each scored 20 for the Musketeers, who won a first-place showdown in the Big East without injured forward Zach Freemantle.
Noah Locke had 22 points and Ed Croswell added 21 for Providence (17-6, 9-3), which had beaten Xavier three straight times.
A layup by Boum put the Musketeers (18-5, 10-2) ahead 82-79 with 51 seconds remaining in overtime. A layup by Devin Carter cut Xavier&rsquo;s lead to one with 24 seconds left. Boum hit one of two free throws, and Jared Bynum&rsquo;s 3-point attempt from the left corner rimmed out at the buzzer.
NO. 25 AUBURN 94, GEORGIA 73
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Johni Broome scored 19 points and matched a career high with 18 rebounds, Allen Flanigan scored a season-high 22 points, and Auburn beat Georgia.
Wendell Green Jr. added 18 points and six assists and made two 3-pointers during a 17-0 first-half run for the Tigers (17-5, 7-2 Southeastern Conference).
Broome secured his seventh double-double of the season with 2:54 remaining in the first half, then added six points and six rebounds in the second half.
Mardrez McBride led the Bulldogs (14-8, 4-5) with 20 points.

A recap of Wednesday night's action in men's college basketball includes an impressive upset in SEC play from the Gators.

Florida upends No. 2 Tennessee 67-54 behind Colin Castleton

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Grant Sherfield scored a season-high 30 points, and Oklahoma beat No. 2 Alabama 93-69 on Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge to end the Crimson Tide&rsquo;s nine-win streak.
Jalen Hill added a career-high 26 points, helping second-year Oklahoma coach Porter Moser to his biggest win with the program. Tanner Groves had 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Sooners (12-9) had lost three straight, but against the Crimson Tide shot 58% from the field.
Rylan Griffen led Alabama (18-3) with 15 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Brandon Miller, who came in averaging 19.5 points per game, finished with 11.
NO. 3 HOUSTON 75, CINCINNATI 69
HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Jarace Walker had a career-high 25 points and seven rebounds, and Houston rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat Cincinnati.
Walker, who scored 13 points in the second half, was 10 of 14 from the field. J&rsquo;Wan Roberts added 14 points and six rebounds, and Jamal Shead scored 13 points for Houston (20-2, 8-1 American Athletic Conference).
Houston has won at least 20 games in eight straight seasons under coach Kelvin Sampson.
Landers Nolley II had 24 points, including 6 3-pointers. Vicktor Lakhin added 15 points, and David DeJulius had 14 points and nine assists for Cincinnati (14-8, 5-4).&nbsp;
NO. 4 TENNESSEE 82, NO. 10 TEXAS 71
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Olivier Nkamhoua scored 27 points and Zakai Zeigler had 22 points and 10 assists to lead Tennessee over Texas in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Josiah-Jordan James added 14 and Santiago Vescovi had 12 for Tennessee (18-3), which led by as many as 22 midway through the second half.
Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 21 to lead Texas (17-4). Marcus Carr and Brock Cunningham finished with 11 each.
NO. 5 KANSAS STATE 64, FLORIDA 50
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Keyontae Johnson had 13 points and 11 rebounds against his former team, Markquis Nowell flirted with the first triple-double in Kanas State history, and the Wildcats beat Florida in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Nowell finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Nae&rsquo;Qwan Tomlin also had 11 points. The Wildcats improved to 18-3 to match the 1972-73 team for the best start through 21 games in school history.
Johnson struggled from the field, going just 5 of 16 and even getting stuffed by the front of the rim during a windmill dunk on a second-half fast break. But it was nevertheless a special night for the senior forward, who collapsed on the Gators&rsquo; sideline due to a heart condition during a game against Florida State just over two years ago.
Colin Castleton scored 13 points for the Gators (12-9). Myreon Jones and Will Richard had 11 apiece.
NO. 6 ARIZONA 95, WASHINGTON 72
SEATTLE (AP) &mdash; Azuolas Tubelis had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Oumar Ballo added 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Arizona used a big second-half run to pull away to win its fourth straight.
Tubelis topped 20 points for the first time in five games and his rebound putback while being fouled with 4:29 remaining gave the Wildcats a 78-63 lead and sent Washington fans headed for the exits.
Kerr Kriisa added 18 points, hitting six 3-pointers, and Courtney Ramey scored 14 for the Wildcats (19-3, 8-3 Pac-12).
Keion Brooks Jr. led Washington with 25 points and Keyon Menifield added 21. But the Huskies (13-10, 5-7) suffered from too many scoring droughts and didn&rsquo;t have an answer for Arizona&rsquo;s 19-1 run in the early stages of the second half.
NO. 7 VIRGINIA 76, BOSTON COLLEGE 57
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Armaan Franklin and Jayden Gardner scored 18 points each and Virginia used a big first-half run to take control over Boston College for its sixth straight victory.
The Cavaliers (16-3, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed 18-15 before starting an 18-4 run over the next 11 minutes. Virginia put the game away with a 16-4 second-half spurt.
Quinten Post scored 24 to lead the Eagles (10-12, 4-7) and Makai Ashton-Langford added 12 points.
Virginia&rsquo;s Isaac McKneely finished with 12 points and Reece Beekman had 11 and eight assists.
NO. 9 KANSAS 77, KENTUCKY 68
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson scored 22 points, including one in a series of huge 3-pointers down the stretch, and Kansas avoided its first four-game losing streak under coach Bill Self.
Wilson made 9 of 18 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds for Kansas (17-4), which finished even with Kentucky at 49% shooting. K.J. Adams Jr. added 17 points, Dick had 13 and McCullar 11 with 12 rebounds as the Jayhawks edged Kentucky 34-29 on the glass.
Oscar Tshiebwe had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Jacob Toppin and Cason Wallace each added 14 for Kentucky (14-7), which had won its previous four.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 81, NO. 11 TCU 74, OT
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Tolu Smith had 27 points, 13 rebounds and five assists to lead Mississippi State to an overtime victory.
Dashawn Davis added 16 points to help Mississippi State (13-8) snap a five-game losing streak. Shakeel Moore had 11, including six in overtime, while Cameron Matthews had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Tyler Stevenson also added 10 points off the Bulldogs&rsquo; bench.
Damion Baugh led TCU (16-5) with 19 points and Emanuel Miller had 13. Shahada Wells and Jakobe Coles each had 12 for the Horned Frogs and Chuck O&rsquo;Bannon had 10.
Davis&rsquo; 3 pointer with 55 seconds left in the second half gave the Bulldogs a 66-64 advantage. Emanuel Miller scored with 32 seconds remaining and then both teams missed chances to win in regulation.
MISSOURI 78, NO. 12 IOWA STATE 61
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) &mdash; Kobe Brown scored 20 points, and D&rsquo;Moi Hodge scored 17 points to help Missouri take down Iowa State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Brown scored 14 of his points in the first half and led Missouri (16-5) with 12 rebounds. Nick Honor added 12 points and DeAndre Gholston scored 10.
Jaren Holmes led Iowa State (15-5) with 19 points, and Gabe Kalscheur added 14.
The Tigers&rsquo; 78 points were a season-high for an Iowa State opponent in regulation; the Cyclones are 0-3 this season when allowing at least 70 points in regulation.
CREIGHTON 84, NO. 13 XAVIER 67
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Arthur Kamula scored 20 points, Creighton&rsquo;s four other starters finished in double-figures and the Bluejays earned their fourth straight Big East win.
Creighton (13-8, 7-3) steadily built a double-digit lead throughout the game and made 34 of its 60 field goal attempts (56.7%) before a sold-out crowd.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 17 points, Baylor Scheierman had 14, Trey Alexander finished with 13 and Ryan Nembhard added 11 for the Bluejays, who avenged a 90-87 loss at Xavier on Jan. 11.
Zach Freemantle led Xavier (17-5, 9-2) with 18 points, followed by Colby Jones and Adam Kunkel with 13.
NO. 14 GONZAGA 82, PORTLAND 67
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Julian Strawther had a career-high 40 points, including eight 3-pointers, and Gonzaga pulled away down the stretch for its 16th consecutive victory over Portland.
Anton Watson added 17 points for Gonzaga (18-4, 7-1 West Coast Conference).
Strawther is the first player to reach 40 points for the Zags since Kyle Wiltjer had 45 against Pacific in 2016.
Portland (11-13, 3-5) was led by Moses Wood with 19 points. Juan Sebastian Gorosito, a freshman, finished with a career-high 17 points.
WEST VIRGINIA 80, NO. 15 AUBURN 77
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) &mdash; Erik Stevenson scored a career-high 31 points and West Virginia withstood a furious late rally from Auburn to win an SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup.
The Mountaineers (13-8) have won two straight for the first time in a month. Jimmy Bell Jr. added 15 points for the Mountaineers.
Charles Barkley cheered on his alma mater from a courtside seat, but Auburn (16-5) couldn&rsquo;t overcome another slow start. The Tigers have lost two straight for the first time in two years.
Jaylin Williams led Auburn with 18 points. Johni Broome added 15 and Allen Flanigan scored 13.
NO. 16 MARQUETTE 89, DEPAUL 69
CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; David Joplin went 8 for 11 from 3-point range for a career-high 28 points, Tyler Kolek had 24 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds, and Marquette defeated DePaul.
Marquette has won eight of its last nine games, and moved into a tie with No. 13 Xavier atop the Big East.
Marquette (17-5, 9-2) pulled away in the second half. Oso Ighodaro had 10 points, making all five of his shots, and Olivier-Maxence Prosper scored 13 and had 8 rebounds.
Umoja Gibson scored 25 points for DePaul (9-13, 3-8) on 8-of-12 shooting.
NO. 17 BAYLOR 67, ARKANSAS 64
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Keyonte George scored 24 points, including seven in a row down the stretch, and Baylor beat Arkansas in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Baylor (16-5) fell behind by as many as eight points in the second half after an early 11-point lead. But the Bears closed it out after Flo Thamba made two free throws for a 55-53 lead with 3:37 left.
LJ Cryer added 20 points and Jalen Bridges had 10 for the Bears, who won their sixth game in a row despite shooting a 34% (20 of 59) from the field. They offset the season-worst shooting from the field by making 21 of 24 free throws, including two by Cryer with 10 seconds left and two by George with 4.3 seconds remaining.
Ricky Council IV scored 25 points for Arkansas (14-7). Davonte Davis had 16 points, but missed the front end of a 1-plus-1 with 2.3 seconds left, though Joseph Pinion got the ball in the right corner only to miss wildly on a 3-pointer as time ran out.
HOFSTRA 85, NO. 18 COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 81
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Aaron Estrada scored 25 points and Darlinstone Dubar added 18 as Hofstra ended College of Charleston&rsquo;s 20-game winning streak.
The Pride (15-8, 8-2 Colonial Athletic Association) were down 28-20 early before rallying past the Cougars (21-2, 9-1), who had not lost since falling to then-No. 1 North Carolina on Nov. 11.
Tyler Thomas had 17 points and eight rebounds for Hofstra.
Ante Brzovic finished with 18 points to lead Charleston.
PITTSBURGH 71, NO. 20 MIAMI 68
PITTSBURGH (AP) &mdash; Blake Hinson tipped in a Jamarius Burton miss with 31 seconds remaining and Pittsburgh rallied past Miami.
The Panthers (15-7, 8-3 ACC) held the Hurricanes (16-5, 7-4) scoreless over the final 2:26 while closing on an 11-0 run to beat a ranked team for the third time this season to bolster its increasingly impressive NCAA tournament resume.
Hinson finished with 21 points for Pitt. Burton had 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Panthers stunned Miami in front of a rare sell-out crowd at the Petersen Events Center.
Jordan Miller led the Hurricanes with 18 points. Isaiah Wong added 14 but Miami committed three of its 12 turnovers in the final 35 seconds as the Panthers stormed back.
NO. 21 FAU 70, W. KENTUCKY 63
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Weatherspoon scored 14 points and Florida Atlantic remained undefeated at home.
The victory extended FAU&rsquo;s winning streak to a program-record 20 games, which is now the nation&rsquo;s longest. The Owls&rsquo; 21 victories on the season ties their Division I record set in 2010-11. Western Kentucky (11-11, 3-8 Conference USA) has lost five straight.
Alijah Martin scored eight while grabbing seven rebounds for the Owls (21-1, 11-0).
Jordan Rawls led all scorers with 17 for W. Kentucky. Dayvion McKnight and Emmanuel Akot each had 16.
NO. 22 SAINT MARY&rsquo;S (CAL) 57, BYU 56
PROVO, Utah (AP) &mdash; Logan Johnson had 14 points and freshman Aidan Mahaney scored all 10 of his points, including a fade-away jumper just before the buzzer, in the second half and Saint Mary&rsquo;s (Cal) won its 10th in a row.
Mitchell Saxen had 11 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks for Saint Mary&rsquo;s (19-4, 8-0 West Coast Conference). Alex Ducas scored 12 points and Augustas Marciulionis added 10.
Dallin Hall was fouled on a driving lay-up attempt with 10.2 seconds left and made 1-of-2 free throws to give BYU a 56-55 lead but Mahaney took the inbounds pass, probed the defense before he drove the lane, stopped near the right block and pivoted away from the basket before hitting the winning jumper over the out-stretched arm of defender Fousseyni Traore.
Hall scored a career-high 23 points on 9 of 14 shooting but made just 3 of 6 from the free-throw line for BYU (14-10, 4-5). Fousseyni Traore added 11 points and eight rebounds.
NO. 24 CLEMSON 82, FLORIDA STATE 81
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Chase Hunter drove the lane and drew a foul, sinking the free throw, to help Clemson escape with a win over Florida State.
Hunter Tyson scored 27 points on 10 of 17 shooting for Clemson (18-4, 10-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), which halted an eight-game road losing streak to Florida State. Hunter finished with 25.
Matthew Cleveland scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half for Florida State (7-15, 5-6), which made a season-high 13 3-pointers. Caleb Mills and Darin Green Jr. each hit four 3-pointers for the Seminoles. Freshman forward Baba Miller had his best game, scoring 11 points and pulling down four rebounds in 20 minutes.

A recap of Saturday's action in men's college hoops includes five upsets in the AP top 15.

Oklahoma's rout of No. 2 Alabama one of many top-15 upsets on Saturday

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) &mdash; KC Ndefo grabbed a rebound and made a follow-up layup with 1.6 seconds remaining to give Seton Hall a 67-66 come-from-behind win over No. 15 UConn on Wednesday night.
Ndefo grabbed his eighth rebound of the game and scored the decisive points as he was fouled on the play. He missed the ensuing free throw, but helped Seton Hall rally from a 17-point first-half deficit. He finished with 14 points.
Kadary Richmond had a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds for Seton Hall (12-8, 5-4 Big East)
Adama Sanogo had 16 points and five rebounds and Jordan Hawkins added 13 points and six rebounds for UConn (15-5, 4-5), which was without coach Dan Hurley and associate head coach Kimani Young due to the coronavirus.
DEPAUL 73, NO. 8 XAVIER 72
CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Umoja Gibson scored 22 points, Javan Johnson added 16 and DePaul surprised Xavier.
The Musketeers (15-4, 7-1 Big East) came in rolling with 11 straight wins &mdash; their best run since the 2015-16 team got off to a 12-0 start. But they came up short against the Blue Demons (9-10, 3-5).
DePaul led by seven with about eight minutes remaining and made just enough plays to come away with its first win over a top-10 team since beating No. 5 Butler exactly three years earlier at Wintrust Arena.
Zach Freemantle had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Xavier. Jack Nunge finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds. But Big East scoring leader Souley Boum scored a season-low four.
NO. 10 VIRGINIA 78, VIRGINIA TECH 68
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark had 20 points and became Virginia&rsquo;s career victories leader as a player with No. 111 as the Cavaliers handed Virginia Tech its sixth straight loss.
Armaan Franklin added 15 points and Jayden Gardner 12 for the Cavaliers (14-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). Clark was tied with Mamadi Diane (2017-20) on the overall victories list and with 64 career ACC wins.
Darius Maddox led the Hokies (11-7, 1-6) with 13 points and Grant Basile had 12. Virginia Tech&rsquo;s losing streak has come winning 11 of its first 12 games.
WEST VIRGINIA 74, NO. 14 TCU 65
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) &mdash; Kedrian Johnson scored 20 points and West Virginia built a big early lead and outlasted TCU.
Jimmy Bell Jr. added 15 points and 12 rebounds for West Virginia (11-7, 1-5 Big 12), whose players slapped hands with the student section after breaking a five-game losing streak.
Mike Miles Jr. scored 21 points while Emanuel Miller and Damion Baugh had 13 apiece for TCU (14-4, 3-3), which has lost three of its last four after starting the season 13-1.
NO. 16 AUBURN 67, LSU 49
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Wendell Green Jr. and Jaylin Williams each scored 14 points to lead Auburn to its fourth straight victory.
KJ Williams and Trae Hannibal scored 16 points apiece for LSU (12-6, 1-5 Southeastern Conference), which dropped its fifth straight conference game.
Auburn (15-3, 5-1) never trailed in the game and was only seriously threatened in the early minutes of the second half.
LSU never trailed by fewer than 12 points over the last 10 minutes of the game. After reducing its deficit to two points at 37-35, LSU made four field goals the rest of the game.
NO. 20 MARQUETTE 83, NO. 22 PROVIDENCE 75
MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones had 21 points and Tyler Kolek scored 19 as Marquette defeated Providence for its sixth victory in seven games.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper added 13 points for Marquette (15-5, 7-2 Big East). Kolek also had eight rebounds and six assists.
Bryce Hopkins had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Friars (14-5, 6-2), who lost their second straight after a nine-game winning streak. Ed Croswell led Providence with 20 points, and Devin Carter had 18.
MISSOURI 79, NO. 25 ARKANSAS 76
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) &mdash; Kobe Brown scored 17 points and hit two free throws with 29 seconds to lift Missouri over Arkansas.
DeAndre Gholston added 16 points and Sean East II added 12 for the Tigers (14-4, 3-3 SEC), who avenged a 74-68 loss in Fayetteville on Jan. 4.
Davonte Davis scored 18 points and Ricky Council IV had 13 for Arkansas, which has lost four in a row. Anthony Black added 15 points for the Razorbacks (12-6, 1-5).

A recap of Wednesday night's men's college basketball action includes three top-15 upsets.

Seton Hall rallies from 17 down, beats No. 15 UConn 67-66

Fresh off the 2023 Basketball Africa League Combine and heading toward the NBA Paris Game between the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons in France, retired 13-year basketball pro Joakim Noah is soaking up every second of the international scene.
With Noah on site for both, Basketball News had the chance to catch up with the longtime Bull and former national-champion Florida Gator to discuss the rise of the BAL, the Paris Game on Thursday, basketball expanding to a global stage and much more.
Being at the BAL Combine and seeing the momentum of the league going into its third season, what's the energy like there?
Joakim Noah: "Well, it's very special to be in Paris. This is a full-circle moment for me personally, and to be able to come to the Combine and to see the energy of the young men trying to get jobs and work in the BAL, I thought it was really special. Obviously, we're building a professional league and it's growing. To build something sustainable... to see the growth from year-to-year is really special, but also to see the energy of the kids who want to be a part of it. Kids who are from all around the world, and everybody, you can feel that the kids are just in really high spirits and want to be a part of it. This is obviously so much bigger than basketball, and everybody who was at the Combine felt that way."
There are many former players who are heavily invested in the BAL, including guys you've played with and against like Grant Hill, Dikembe Mutombo, Ian Mahinmi and Luol Deng to name a few. All of you coming together and contributing to this, how does that feel?
Noah: "I think the contributions of some of the players that were able to invest is great because it also changes our mindset. Because you know, we were raised as competitors and competition can be very divisive, and just to be able to be in a position to be able to grow and unite is special. Not everybody has an opportunity to have that, to be at the table with the big dogs and see how we can grow something from scratch is really special. And now that we have this platform, especially for African players, it's really powerful."
What is the ultimate goal for the league?
Noah: "I think just to have a really powerful league on the continent where African kids don't feel like they have to go anywhere to get paid off of basketball. The game is growing, it's the fastest growing sport in the world and a lot of the talent comes from the motherland. So just to be a part of this and to watch the growth and seeing it at the highest level, but also on a grassroot level, is what it's all about. And now, we're able to have those conversations at a table altogether and look at the big picture and see where the growth needs to happen.
"I mean, Africa's so big, so different culturally. I'm learning a lot, and I feel like not only am I involved in something that I know a little bit about &mdash; because basketball has been my whole life &mdash; but I feel like I found my purpose. And there's a lot to be proud of with that. I didn't grow up on the continent, I wasn't born on the continent, but this is my heritage, and I feel like a lot of people feel that way. I felt that at the Combine (Monday). It's like, people came from all around the world to be a part of this and the energy was that the people who were involved really understand that big picture, and just want to see this game grow. And it's bigger than them just playing and getting a check. A lot of the time with basketball, that's what it becomes, but with this opportunity, I think that people really feel the purpose and I'm proud to be a part of that."
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/2023_01_16_bal_combine_-151-1.png" alt="" width="732" height="366" />
You kind of mentioned it, but internationally, the game is becoming so popular and has a ton of momentum. Even in the NBA, you're seeing more of that at a rapid pace, as there were 58 European players and nine different players from France on opening night. We know that Victor Wembanyama is at the top of NBA Draft conversations. In general, the way basketball is growing across the world, why do you think it's happened so fast and is this going to continue in that trajectory?
Noah: "You know, I remember being in Paris and going to my first NBA game and seeing Michael Jordan play and the power of his influence all around the world. My father brought me to the game in Bercy. And 25 years later, the Bulls are coming to play in Paris again. The French players have had that kind of access. And now, the future of not just French basketball, but the future of basketball is this kid Wemby, who's an unbelievable talent. He grew up seeing a lot of winning, not just in basketball, but you think of France with winning the World Cup. He was raised and he saw what winning is all about and he knows that it's very possible.
"So when I was coming up, [Tariq] Abdul-Wahad was the only NBA player. And I remember seeing Tony Parker coming up at 15 years old playing at ABCD Camp and seeing the career that he had, that was my inspiration. And now, there's just a whole generation of French players and they're just taking it to the next level. But France is a country that has all the resources to be the best. They have everything. They have the coaching, they have the structures, they have the stadiums. They have everything. So you see the growth, and that's what we're trying to do in Africa. The structures aren't there yet, and we have to build it step-by-step."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
You brought up the Paris game. The Bulls are going to be taking on the Detroit Pistons, and Killian Hayes is a French player who's found his stride this year. How special is it to play in your home country in such an event?
Noah: "Well I can't even imagine how he feels, but it's a beautiful story being able to play in front of your family and friends in your country. Nothing gets better than that. So it's gonna be really special for him. And just understanding that there's gonna be younger kids there watching him, and he's gonna be inspiring as well. So not only is it an unbelievable feeling to play on that court, but understanding every layup, every dunk, every opportunity that he gets on the court is inspiring for the next generation."
Going back to finding your purpose in working with the BAL, but on a broader subject, what has your transition to retirement been like? It sounds like you have a solid feel of what you're trying to accomplish post-career.
Noah: "Oh, a hundred percent. I think that everybody who's in this position, our careers are short. It's crazy to know that I won't be playing basketball anymore. It happens so fast. You have a dream from when you're a kid and not everybody gets to live out their dreams as players, and I was able to do that. I got to do it at the highest level, and I'm really proud of that. Now, I have my family. I just got married this summer, I have my kids. So I'm really happy, trying to find that balance of working and working on my purpose work and raising my family."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Joakim Noah (<a href="https://twitter.com/JoakimNoah?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoakimNoah</a>) lending a hand to the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JrNBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JrNBA</a> ‼<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAParis?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAParis</a> <a href="https://t.co/23ejEVVfqz">pic.twitter.com/23ejEVVfqz</a>
&mdash; NBA Cares (@nbacares) <a href="https://twitter.com/nbacares/status/1615701027122036736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2023</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Do you still keep in touch with your college teammates like Al Horford who's still playing and Corey Brewer who's coaching in New Orleans and your old Bulls teammates?
Noah: "Oh of course. These are people that I shared some of the most special times of my life with. I love Corey. We just sat down not long ago. Obviously, I have strong relationships with everybody and was able to do a beautiful trip with Derrick [Rose] to Africa, where he brought the Simeon (Academy) kids to Senegal this summer. These are all trips, these are all moments that I'm really proud of the relationships that I build off the court. And I just want to keep building."
If there are any players in the NBA today that you have your eye on, who would you say stands out?
Noah: "I love Bol Bol. Bol Bol is probably my favorite player to watch right now. I love to see his growth. Obviously, his back story is unbelievable. His father was so much more than just a basketball player. And just to see him become the player that he is and you just see him... you're not used to seeing somebody who's that tall &mdash; 7-foot-2 African guy &mdash; with handles, with that kind of ability. It just shows how much the game has grown. I just love watching him play. He's just a really exciting player. I wish him nothing but the best."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
More infomation regarding the BAL and the NBA Paris Game:
<ul>
<li>The third BAL season will tip off on March 11 and once again feature the top 12 club teams from 12 African cities playing games in Dakar, Senegal; Cairo, Egypt; and Kigali, Rwanda over three months in 2023</li>
</ul>
<ol>
<ol>
<li>The 12 club champions will be divided into two conferences.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
</ol>
<ul>
<ul>
<li>The Sahara Conference will play a 15-game group phase at the Dakar Arena in Dakar from March 11-21.</li>
<li>The Nile Conference will play a 15-game group phase at the Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo from April 26 &ndash; May 6.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The top four teams from each conference will advance to an eight-game, single elimination Playoffs and Finals at BK Arena in Kigali from May 21-27.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Each of the 12 BAL teams will have up to 13 players, at least eight of whom will be citizens in their respective team&rsquo;s home country and up to four of whom can be from other countries, with no more than two players per team from outside of Africa.&nbsp;</li>
<ul>
<li>One roster spot on each team is reserved for an NBA Academy Africa prospect as part of the BAL Elevate program, which will once again provide an opportunity for the next generation of African prospects to participate in a professional league, showcase their talent on a global stage and help their respective teams compete for the 2023 BAL Championship.</li>
</ul>
<li>The BAL, a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the NBA, is a professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa that completed its second season in May 2022.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, the BAL builds on the foundation of club competitions FIBA Africa has organized in Africa and marks the NBA&rsquo;s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America.</li>
<li>On May 28, Tunisia&rsquo;s US Monastir defeated Angola&rsquo;s Petro de Luanda 83-72 to win the 2022 BAL Finals in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,000 at BK Arena.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The 2022 BAL season featured players from 23 countries across Africa, Europe, and the U.S, reached fans in 214 countries and territories in 14 languages - including all 54 African countries - and generated more than 600 million online engagements.</li>
</ul>
NBA Africa
<ul>
<li>With the support of strategic partners, in May the NBA launched NBA Africa as a new, standalone entity that conducts the league&rsquo;s business in Africa, including the BAL.</li>
</ul>
o&nbsp;&nbsp; The investors&rsquo; and strategic partners&rsquo; expertise in a wide range of industries and established relationships with African businesses, governments and NGOs will help accelerate the NBA&rsquo;s growth across the continent.&nbsp;
o&nbsp;&nbsp; The funding will contribute to the growth of the BAL, help expand the NBA&rsquo;s presence in priority African markets and Africa&rsquo;s basketball ecosystem, and deepen the league&rsquo;s engagement with players and fans through initiatives such as the launch of additional NBA Academies and social responsibility initiatives that improve the livelihoods of African youth and families.
<ul>
<li>The strategic investors include a consortium led by Babatunde &ldquo;Tunde&rdquo; Folawiyo, Chairman and CEO of Yinka Folawiyo Group; and Helios Fairfax Partners Corporation (HFP), led by Tope Lawani, Co-CEO of HFP and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Helios Investment Partners.</li>
</ul>
o&nbsp;&nbsp; NBA Legends Junior Bridgeman, Luol Deng (South Sudan), Grant Hill, Ian Mahinmi (France; ties to Benin), Dikembe Mutombo (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Joakim Noah (grandfather from Cameroon) have also invested in NBA Africa and will use their collective influence to contribute to our growth goals.
<ul>
<li>In July, the NBA announced that former President Barack Obama has joined NBA Africa as a strategic partner and will help advance the league&rsquo;s social responsibility efforts across the continent, including programs and partnerships that support greater gender equality and economic inclusion.</li>
<li>In December, global economist and New York Times best-selling author Dr. Dambisa Moyo and Academy Award-winning actor and social activist Forest Whitaker joined NBA Africa as strategic investors.</li>
</ul>
The NBA Paris Game 2023
<ul>
<li>The NBA Paris Game 2023 will feature the six-time NBA champion Chicago Bulls and the three-time NBA champion Detroit Pistons playing a regular-season game at the Accor Arena in Paris on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023.</li>
<li>The NBA Paris Game 2023 will mark the first NBA game in Europe since 2020 and the league&rsquo;s 12th game in France since 1991.&nbsp; The NBA Paris Game 2020 &ndash; the first regular-season NBA game in Paris &ndash; took place Jan. 24, 2020, and featured the Charlotte Hornets and the Milwaukee Bucks.</li>
<li>The NBA Paris Game 2023 will mark the Bulls&rsquo; third game in Paris, having played two preseason games in the French capital in 1997.
<ul>
<li>The Bulls are among the top three most-popular NBA teams in international merchandise sales (No. 2 in Europe), among the top five most-popular teams on NBA League Pass outside the U.S. (No. 5), and among the top five most-popular NBA teams on social media in terms of following (No. 2 on Facebook, No. 4 on Instagram, No. 4 on Twitter)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Pistons will be playing their first game in France, having previously played regular-season games in London (2013) and Mexico City (2019).</li>
</ul>
NBA in France
<ul>
<li>NBA games and programming have aired in France since 1985.</li>
<li>During the 2022-23 NBA season, fan in France can watch the NBA on beIN SPORTS, the NBA&rsquo;s exclusive Broadcast &amp; Digital partner in France, and NBA League Pass. beIN SPORTS airs up to 14 live games per week during the regular season, as well as the Play-In, Playoffs, all Conference Finals, Finals, All-Star Weekend, the Draft and Classic Games.</li>
<li>The 2022-23 regular season features 45 games that will air in primetime in Europe, the Middle East and Africa as part of &ldquo;NBA Saturdays and NBA Sundays presented by NBA 2K23,&rdquo; marking the 10th consecutive regular season that the league has scheduled weekend games that air in primetime in EMEA.</li>
<li>France ranks fourth among European markets in League Pass subscriptions.</li>
<li>Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 games &ndash; featuring French star and top 2023 NBA Draft prospect Victor Wembanyama &ndash; are available for free on the new NBA App throughout the 2022-23 including the LNB All-Star Game and select LNB Betclic ELITE Playoffs and Finals games.</li>
<li>The NBA&rsquo;s localized social media channels in France (Facebook and Twitter) have more than 1.5M collective followers.</li>
<li>The NBA Paris Game 2023 will mark the second regular-season game in France, the 12th NBA game overall in France (dating back to 1991) and the 94th NBA game in Europe (dating back to 1984).</li>
<li>Opening-night rosters for the 2022-23 NBA season featured 58 European players, including nine players from France.
<ul>
<li>France has had more players drafted into the NBA than other country outside North America and has been the most-represented European country in the NBA for each of the last 16 seasons.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The <a href="https://pr.nba.com/nba-fanatics-paris-store-open/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pr.nba.com/nba-fanatics-paris-store-open/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1674099893476000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2Pk9FJqixBAsT8n3qeg9n7">NBA Paris Store</a> &ndash; the first in France &ndash; opened&nbsp;in July 2022 and has featured player appearances by Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat and Alex Caruso of the Chicago Bulls. Top selling teams Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors.</li>
<li>The NBA works with 18 marketing partners in France: adidas, EA, FDJ/ParionsSport, Foot Locker, Hennessy, Hotels.com/Expedia, ISG, Kellogg&rsquo;s, Microsoft, Mitchell &amp; Ness, New Balance, New Era, Nike, Rakuten, SAP, Tissot, Under Armour, Yop, and 2K Sports</li>
</ul>

Spencer Davies speaks with Joakim Noah ahead of the 2023 NBA Paris Game about his BAL passion, international hoops and more.

Joakim Noah Q&A: NBA Paris Game, investing in BAL, basketball's growth

TORONTO (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam scored 28 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 24 and the Toronto Raptors beat the Charlotte Hornets 132-120 on Tuesday night.
O.G. Anunoby scored eight of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and matched his career high with six 3-pointers as Toronto won its fourth straight home meeting with the Hornets and reached the midway point of the regular season at 18-23.
The Raptors made a season-high 20 3-points in 44 attempts.
&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s have a party,&rdquo; guard Fred VanVleet joked.
Toronto won consecutive games for the sixth time this season. The Raptors have yet to win three in a row.
Toronto had 18 offensive rebounds to Charlotte&rsquo;s six and outscored the Hornets 20-4 in second-chance points.
&ldquo;That was the game,&rdquo; Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. You can&rsquo;t pick and choose when you want to do the tough things. That&rsquo;s what we did tonight.&rdquo;
Terry Rozier scored 33 points for Charlotte, and LaMelo Ball had 24 points and a season-high 14 assists. The Hornets lost for the fifth time in six games.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve just got to start holding each other accountable,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re all grown. It&rsquo;s just what we&rsquo;ve got to do. Obviously, our way hasn&rsquo;t been working, so we&rsquo;ve got to turn it around.&rdquo;
Mason Plumlee scored 21 points for Charlotte, P.J. Washington Jr. had 13 and Jalen McDaniels 11.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re playing for our season right now,&rdquo; Plumlee said.
Bell&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 7:05 left in the fourth quarter cut it to 108-107, but Anunoby replied with back-to-back 3-pointers, his fifth and six.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re super explosive,&rdquo; Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. &ldquo;We just did enough there in the last six minutes.&rdquo;
VanVleet also connected from long range, putting Toronto up 117-107 with 4:32 to play.
&ldquo;Our individual defense, which had been good lately, was awful,&rdquo; Clifford said.
SURGERY FOR PORTER
Toronto F Otto Porter Jr. will miss the remainder of the season following left foot surgery, the team announced Tuesday. Porter signed with the Raptors last summer but was limited to eight games because of toe and hamstring injuries.
TIP-INS
Hornets: F Gordon Hayward (left hamstring) missed his fourth straight game while G Kelly Oubre Jr. (left hand surgery) missed his sixth. &hellip; Missed their first field goal of the game, then made the next 11 straight. &hellip; Matched a season-high with 33 assists.
Raptors: Made 19 3-pointers in a Dec. 23 win at Cleveland. &hellip; VanVleet had 11 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. &hellip; Precious Achiuwa scored 13 points and Chris Boucher had 12. &hellip; Rookie Christian Koloko had six offensive rebounds, one shy of his career-high. &hellip; Rapper J. Cole sat courtside.
&nbsp;

Pascal Siakam scored 28 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 24 and the Toronto Raptors beat the Charlotte Hornets 132-120.

Siakam has 28 points, Raptors beat slumping Hornets 132-120

TORONTO (AP) &mdash; Ja Morant had a career-high 17 assists and scored 19 points and the Memphis Grizzlies won for the first time in three games, beating the struggling Toronto Raptors 119-106 on Thursday night.
Dillon Brooks scored 25 points, Desmond Bane had 16 before fouling out and Steven Adams had 14 points and 17 rebounds. Memphis recorded a season-high 37 assists and won its third straight north of the border after losing its previous seven trips to Canada.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s super impressive,&rdquo; Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said about Morant&rsquo;s 17 assists. &ldquo;Tons of credit to Ja. It just sets a tone for us. His unselfishness, we talk about that all the time.&rdquo;
Pascal Siakam had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto before fouling out, extending his career-best streak with 25 or more to six. Gary Trent Jr. scored 20 points and O.G. Anunoby had 16 as Toronto&rsquo;s home losing streak reached five. The Raptors have lost eight of 10 overall.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s pretty unacceptable with the effort we gave,&rdquo; Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to get focused and connected and get serious about playing harder.&rdquo;
The Grizzlies came in having lost four of five, but beat Toronto by outscoring the Raptors 70-50 on points in the paint.
&ldquo;If we&rsquo;re clicking like this, a lot of teams can&rsquo;t beat us,&rdquo; Brooks said.
Morant shot 9 for 19 and had a pair of eye-popping dunks in his first career game in Toronto. He missed last season&rsquo;s road game against the Raptors because of a sprained left knee, while the two previous meetings were played outside Canada because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cheered in the pre-game introductions, Morant drew gasps and cheers from the crowd with his only basket of the second quarter, using a pump fake to evade Anunoby at the 3-point line before exploding to the rim for a two-handed slam.
&ldquo;I think they&rsquo;ve been watching what&rsquo;s all over the internet of him flying around, dunking on guys, putting on a show,&rdquo; Brooks said of the welcome Morant received from Toronto fans. &ldquo;They were ready to watch and he didn&rsquo;t disappoint.&rdquo;
Morant reached his assist mark by racking up seven in the third quarter.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s able to get three, four guys on him and find us for 3s, find us for dump offs,&rdquo; Brooks said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a one-in-a-generation talent.&rdquo;
Siakam and Nurse got technical fouls after Siakam shoved Brooks following a defensive foul by Brooks late in the fourth.
Raptors guard Fred VanVleet was not available because of continued soreness in his lower back, the same injury that knocked him out a home loss to the Clippers on Tuesday night.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Adams had eight rebounds in the first quarter. &hellip; Brooks was born and raised in nearby Mississauga. &hellip; Morant reached his previous high of 14 assists four times, most recently Nov. 27 at New York.
Raptors: Anunoby, Siakam, Barnes, Juancho Hernangomez and rookie Christian Koloko started, Toronto&rsquo;s 18th different lineup in 35 games. &hellip; Shot 6 for 20 in the second quarter. ... Following the game, Toronto waived F Justin Champagnie.
SHARE MORE, WIN MORE
Memphis is 13-1 this season when recording more assists than its opponent.
BAD START, BETTER FINISH
Toronto&rsquo;s Scottie Barnes missed his first seven shot attempts and didn&rsquo;t score in the first half but made seven of his final 11 attempts. He finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
&ldquo;Just got to be more aggressive from the start,&rdquo; Nurse said.
&nbsp;

Ja Morant had a career-high 17 assists and the Grizzlies won for the first time in three games, beating the Raptors 119-106.

Morant has career-high 17 assists, Grizzlies rout Raptors

Joe Dumars might have been destined for this job.
He played with the Bad Boys, those Detroit Pistons teams that were physical, aggressive and intimidating. And even in those rough-and-tumble times, he wound up becoming the first recipient of the NBA&rsquo;s sportsmanship award &mdash; now called the Joe Dumars Trophy.
He&rsquo;s now tasked with ensuring that players don&rsquo;t act like his old teammates often did. Dumars became Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations for the NBA in May, making him a major decider in all things related to player discipline for on-court actions.
His first big decisions related to player discipline came earlier this week, when the NBA <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/heat-forwards-caleb-martin-nikola-jovic-suspended-one-game" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suspended Miami Heat teammates Caleb Martin and Nikola Jovic</a> for their roles in a scuffle during a game against the Toronto Raptors.
&ldquo;You want to do something where you really feel like you&rsquo;re contributing,&rdquo; Dumars said. &ldquo;Basically, this is the only place I haven&rsquo;t contributed to in this game.&rdquo;
At 59, with two championships as a player, another as an executive and a lifetime within the game, he doesn&rsquo;t have to be working. He could be spending his days playing and watching tennis, the sport he started playing as a 10-year-old and has loved ever since.
Instead, he&rsquo;s moved to New York, with office views from a high-rise not far from Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall, smack in the middle of Manhattan.
&ldquo;I tell people that we are stewards of the game,&rdquo; Dumars said. &ldquo;And people go, &lsquo;What does that mean?&rsquo; Well, we make sure that the trains are taking off on time. We make sure that the game stays clean. We make sure that there&rsquo;s any time there&rsquo;s any disruption or things that should not be, we are here to clean this up and make sure we are presenting a great product and presenting it the right way.&rdquo;
When an altercation happens like the one Saturday in Miami, the players involved are asked to consent to an interview with league officials, video is reviewed, and Dumars and other top executives decide the best course of action.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Tensions are HIGH between the Raps and Heat! Caleb Martin and Christian Koloko get into it on the court. <a href="https://t.co/7bNwJf0sAI">pic.twitter.com/7bNwJf0sAI</a>
&mdash; TSN (@TSN_Sports) <a href="https://twitter.com/TSN_Sports/status/1583997790845161473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

It&rsquo;s reasonable to think this call by Dumars and his team was easy: Martin drove Toronto&rsquo;s Christian Koloko into some baseline seats &mdash; thankfully unoccupied at the time &mdash; and Jovic, even though he didn&rsquo;t really appear to do much to add fuel to the fire, clearly left the bench area and therefore broke one of the NBA&rsquo;s absolute no-no&rsquo;s.
Martin missed Monday&rsquo;s game against the Raptors and will lose roughly $45,000 in salary.
&ldquo;I definitely don&rsquo;t disagree with it,&rdquo; a contrite Martin, who reached out to Koloko to apologize and promised him that he&rsquo;d be picking up a future dinner check.
Jovic also had to sit out Monday, meaning the Heat rookie has now been suspended for more games (one) than he has played (zero).
What happened Saturday could have been much worse, since Martin, Koloko and about a dozen other people all wound up where fans were. Martin ended up next to a woman in the second row; her halftime acquisition of a large popcorn, somehow, was not spilled.
But things didn&rsquo;t escalate, Dumars acted swiftly, and case closed.
Not everything has been that easy for the league in recent weeks &mdash; Phoenix owner Robert Sarver will likely sell his NBA and WNBA franchises before his one-year suspension for boorish behavior ends, Boston coach Ime Udoka will miss this entire season because of an inappropriate workplace relationship, Golden State had to deal with Draymond Green punching teammate Jordan Poole in practice and video of that exchange leaking, and Detroit assistant general manager Rob Murphy was placed on leave following allegations of misconduct made by a female former team employee.
Sarver was suspended by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. The other incidents have been handled at the team level. On-court matters, those rise to Dumars&rsquo; desk high above Manhattan.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m super excited to work with him, and to learn from him, and to collaborate with him,&rdquo; said Monty McCutchen, the NBA vice president overseeing referee operations. &ldquo;The best collaborations are collaborations that both people, both groups, both departments benefit from. And in this short time, Joe has really proven to be a collaborator and to be a builder of relationships. I&rsquo;m excited about what that means for the future.&rdquo;
Dumars knows what it&rsquo;s like to be on the receiving end of the player-discipline side of stories. He might not have had the full &ldquo;Bad Boy&rdquo; reputation earned by Pistons teammates like Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn, Isiah Thomas and John Salley. But he certainly wasn&rsquo;t immune to scuffles; he was fined twice in December 1990 alone for dustups with twin brothers Harvey and Horace Grant, the second of those coming in a Christmas game. And as a Pistons executive, he was once fined $500,000 for leaking memos to a reporter.
He thinks having been on all sides of the NBA will only help him in this new gig.
&ldquo;If I didn&rsquo;t have the career I had, maybe my mentality would be different,&rdquo; Dumars said. &ldquo;But when you&rsquo;ve done stuff at the highest level in this in this business, that&rsquo;s kind of where you want to live.&rdquo;

In May, Dumars was named the Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations for the NBA. He discusses his new role.

Joe Dumars was made for his new role at the NBA

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Jimmy Butler scored 24 points, Max Strus added 20 off the bench and the Miami Heat topped the Toronto Raptors 112-109 on Saturday night to stop a season-opening two-game slide.
The teams will meet again Monday night in Miami.
Miami's Kyle Lowry had 17 points against his former club, Tyler Herro had 14 and Bam Adebayo added 10 for the Heat.
Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr. each scored 23 points for Toronto, which got 18 points and 11 rebounds from former Heat forward Precious Achiuwa. O.G. Anunoby scored 13 points and Scottie Barnes added 11 for Toronto.
The Heat saw a 24-point lead cut to six early in the fourth, with Toronto getting on a huge roll after a scuffle &mdash; which spilled into a row of baseline seats &mdash; seemed to inspire the Raptors.
<a href="https://twitter.com/BallyHEAT/status/1583997796121645056?s=20&amp;t=66OU2JQFXUq0yBQ8FPB9yQ">Toronto&rsquo;s Christian Koloko and Miami&rsquo;s Caleb Martin were both ejected</a> with 7:46 left in the third quarter. They were jostling for a rebound off a missed 3-pointer by Siakam, and Martin was whistled for a foul. Koloko wound up on the floor, and Martin stepped toward him as the Raptors&rsquo; rookie quickly bounced to his feet.
In a flash, they were tangled, Martin appearing to drive Koloko into a row of seats that toppled backward. Players from both teams quickly rushed to that spot, which was just a couple of feet in front of the Heat bench. The game was stopped for several minutes while referees reviewed the play and crews used towels to mop up the area.
Miami led 81-59 at the time; the Raptors outscored the Heat 17-2 over the next 5:11, and Toronto didn&rsquo;t go away.
Siakam&rsquo;s basket with 1:04 left got Toronto to 109-103, but Lowry drove the lane and scored on the ensuing possession to help ensure that Miami would escape.
TIP-INS
Raptors: Chris Boucher and Otto Porter Jr. were both out with strained left hamstrings. ... Scottie Barnes was shaken up twice in the first half; first he banged his left shoulder, then sprained his right ankle through the second quarter and was ruled out. ... The season&rsquo;s first back-to-back wasn&rsquo;t easy. Toronto lost in Brooklyn on Friday night, got into Miami around 2:45 a.m. Saturday and the hotel arrival was after 3 a.m.
Heat: Victor Oladipo (left knee) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle) remained sidelined. Neither has played this season. ... It was Lowry&rsquo;s second time facing the Raptors since he left Toronto for Miami. He played once at Toronto last season. ... The Heat avoided what would have been their first 0-3 start since 2007-08.
FRED&rsquo;S FOULS
Raptors guard Fred VanVleet had an odd first half: four fouls, zero points. Not surprisingly, that was a first for him. He became the 12th player in Toronto history to post the dubious and unique statline. And then he got his fifth 20 seconds into the third quarter, fouling Lowry on a 3-point attempt.

Jimmy Butler scored 24 points, Max Strus added 20 off the bench and the Miami Heat topped the Toronto Raptors 112-109.

After a scuffle, Heat hold on to top Raptors 112-109

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Arizona is a bit of an unknown quantity, with a key returning core surrounded by talented newcomers who hope to make up for the loss of NBA talent.
If it sounds familiar, that&rsquo;s just where the No. 17 Wildcats were heading into last season, Tommy Lloyd&rsquo;s first as a head coach.
That one turned out pretty well, so no reason to think it won&rsquo;t happen again.
Arizona enters its second season under Lloyd with several new players, but it&rsquo;s a mix that&rsquo;s expected to make the former longtime Gonzaga assistant two for two in NCAA Tournament opportunities.
&ldquo;We have some really good players,&rdquo; Lloyd said. &ldquo;As a team we still have to put everything together, but at the end of the day we&rsquo;re going to be really hard to beat.&rdquo;
Arizona proved that last season. Arizona lost three players to the NBA, but Lloyd added some key components to the players who opted to return. Arizona won 33 games, reached the Sweet 16 and Lloyd won multiple national coach of the year honors, including from The Associated Press.
The Wildcats have a similar feel this season.
Bennedict Mathurin, Christian Koloko and Dalen Terry are now in the NBA. Azuolas Tubelis, Kerr Kriisa, Pelle Larsson and Oumar Ballo are all back. The cast of new players Lloyd added are impressive.
Guard Courtney Ramey arrives after playing four seasons at Texas, most of the time as a starter. Cedric Henderson Jr. was a proven scorer at Campbell, averaging 13.7 points in three seasons.
Serbian forward Filip Borovicanin and Estonian forward Henri Veesaar have proven themselves against international competition. Arizona also added two highly touted freshmen, big man Dylan Anderson and point guard Kyland Boswell, who will be eased into the rotation after offseason foot surgery.
It may take the new crew time to gel, but the talent and pieces appear to be in place for another March run.
BAL&rsquo;S PROGRESS
Arizona could get a big boost from a player who was already on its roster: Adama Bal.
The 6-foot-6 French wing played a limited role last season, averaging 4.5 points in 23 games, but he played well for France in the FIBA under-20 championships this summer. Given a bigger role this season, Bal could be ready for a breakout season.
&ldquo;By the time November rolls around, I figure he&rsquo;s going to be a mainstay and have a chance to impact every single game,&rdquo; Lloyd said.
GETTING PHYSICAL
One of Lloyd&rsquo;s goals within his program is to add toughness after the Wildcats were manhandled by Houston in the Sweet 16.
Lloyd has pushed his players to be more physical in practice, particularly in the paint. He&rsquo;s also urged players like the 6-11, 245-pound Tubelis and 7-foot, 260-pound Ballo to use their size and leverage more to their advantage.
&ldquo;To me, there&rsquo;s nothing that bums me out more than physically being overmatched,&rdquo; Lloyd said. &ldquo;So what do we have to do to make sure when we tee it up we can physically bring the fight. To me, therein lies toughness. That&rsquo;s the price of entry: you&rsquo;ve got to be tough.&rdquo;
LARSSON&rsquo;S CLIMB
Larsson got a late start to his first season in Tucson due to offseason foot surgery. The Swedish transfer from Utah had a solid year, averaging 7.2 points and 3.4 rebounds, but Lloyd would like him to play with more confidence and ramp up his defense.
&ldquo;Pelle has to manifest a bit of his success and have more belief in himself,&rdquo; Lloyd said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a really good basketball player and definitely trending in the right direction.&rdquo;
SCHEDULE
Lloyd likes to schedule tough, something he learned from Gonzaga coach Mark Few. The Wildcats had a few games fall through for various reasons, but will still have some tough nonconference games.
Arizona&rsquo;s first big test will come at the Maui Invitational. The Wildcats open against Cincinnati, with potential games against No. 10 Arkansas, No. 25 Texas Tech, Louisville, Ohio State and No. 19 San Diego State later in the bracket.
Arizona also plays Indiana in Las Vegas and has a home game against No. 11 Tennessee.
&ldquo;I definitely think we scheduled well enough to give ourselves a chance to win an at-large bid, and if we perform well in our schedule, we probably have a chance to get a decent seed in the (NCAA) tournament,&rdquo; Lloyd said.

Ben Mathurin, Christian Koloko and Dalen Terry are in the NBA. Azuolas Tubelis, Kerr Kriisa, Pelle Larsson and Oumar Ballo are back.

No. 17 Arizona aims to keep momentum in Lloyd’s second season

This marks the first time that NBA opening-night rosters have at least 120 international players in consecutive seasons

NBA features 120 international players from 40 countries, 6 continents

Dating back to when he was 9 years old, Malcolm Brogdon has made plenty of trips to Africa, a place he <a href="https://www.nba.com/pacers/news/brogdon-helps-bring-clean-water-joy-east-african-communities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">truly loves and is passionate about</a>. This past week marked yet another visit with the NBA for Basketball Without Borders, where he along with several players and coaches from around the league played a part in grooming the next generation of basketball youngsters &mdash; on and off the floor.
&ldquo;I just have a heart for it over here, a heart for the continent and developing these guys and giving them a real opportunity,&rdquo; Brogdon told Basketball News via Zoom.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think it's always an amazing opportunity when I get to come over here and work with the young talent, because there's a wealth of it in Africa. They don't have the resources and they don't have the nutrition and the development that we have, but once they do, these kids are gonna take off. So I definitely applaud the NBA for being over here and giving them an opportunity.&rdquo;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/0c3a0557.png" alt="" width="700" height="350" />
(Photos via NBA Africa)
Held in Cairo, Egypt, for the first time since the program expanded into Africa, Basketball Without Borders returned after a brief hiatus. (The last event occurred in Dakar, Senegal, in 2019, which Brogdon also participated in at the time.) BWB Africa 2022 brought together over 60 of the top men and women&rsquo;s prospects under the age of 18 to learn and compete.
The camp featured a variety of activities, including movement efficiency drills, offensive and defensive skill stations, three-point contests and 5-on-5 games, plus sessions about life skills and leadership development. In addition, everybody involved was able to explore the country &mdash; most notably seeing the pyramids and going to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/_l5s4228-1-1.png" alt="" width="700" height="350" />
Finding himself coaching for the second consecutive time, Brogdon quips that such a responsibility &ldquo;is a whole different monster than playing.&rdquo; With that being said, the 29-year-old envisions he&rsquo;ll continue to be involved in developing the future talent that comes from Africa.
&ldquo;It's up to guys like myself in the NBA that have a platform and have a name that can come over [to] encourage these guys, shine some light in their life, work with them and learn from them, and allow them to learn from you,&rdquo; Brogdon said.
With BWB Africa coming to a close on Wednesday, Basketball News spoke with Brogdon about his foundation, the Boston Celtics&rsquo; upcoming season and more.
You&rsquo;ve long talked about how important your platform as an NBA player is and how it can be used to help people. Could you speak about your clean water initiative in East Africa and your <a href="https://www.brogdonfamilyfoundation.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brogdon Family Foundation</a> that started two years ago?
Brogdon: "For sure. I have a foundation, the Brogdon Family Foundation. It focuses on two things. One side is education domestically and the other side is clean water internationally. Especially on the clean water side, we've seen a lot of progress over the last couple of years. We're building clean water wells in East Africa &mdash; Tanzania and Kenya. We have over 20-to-25 wells in the ground in those two countries. We're doing a lot of really good work and really impacting people's lives."
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/brogdon1.png" alt="" width="560" height="448" />
It&rsquo;s got to be cool to be able to spend time with Grant Williams out there, especially now that you&rsquo;re teammates with him. Have you gotten the chance to get to know him better and talk ball?
Brogdon: "Yeah, we've talked a lot of basketball. We've spent a lot of time together. We've talked business, we've talked life. I got to meet his mom, she's here. Grant's a great guy. He's a smart guy. He takes the game serious, takes life serious. He's an impressive guy, so I've really enjoyed my time with him."
I&rsquo;m sure you&rsquo;re stoked for camp to start in a few weeks. You seem thrilled to be playing in Boston now. What makes that organization stand out to you?
Brogdon: "Their history, right? I mean, they're the most winning organization in the league, and I think they're more hungry to win than anybody. You can see that with the move they made for me and [Danilo] Gallinari. They want to improve. They want to win a championship. It's all about Banner 18 for 'em. Now that's all it's about for me as well, and I'm excited to be a part of that."
Have you had the chance to talk to Gallo after <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/danilo-gallinari-diagnosed-with-meniscus-tear-no-ligament-damage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his injury</a>?
Brogdon: "I reached out to him. I sent him a text that just said, 'Hey man, praying for you. Get healthy, we need you this year.' He said, 'I appreciate it, brother.' It was short. When you get injured, it's frustrating. You want people to check on you, but a lot of the time, you don't want to talk a lot about it, so I just sent a text out to let him know I was thinking about him and I was praying for him."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
How do you feel you can complement Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown best?
Brogdon: "I think I can just relieve pressure. Whether that's touching the paint, getting 'em easy shots. Whether that's guarding players that they need a break on the defensive end [against] so they can focus on offense.
"But [mostly], being a steady presence on the floor that can help control the end of games, that can help control the flow of the game to make sure that they're getting the ball in their spots, [so] they're never having to overdo it to get a look or run their bodies into the ground. I want to be that guy that can create for 'em."
You're joining a guard room with Marcus Smart, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard. It feels like the lineup combinations could be very fun.
Brogdon: "Yeah. We're talented, we're deep. A year ago, people were talking about, 'The Celtics didn't have depth.' Well, that's not gonna be an issue. I think this year we'll have a wealth of talent coming off the bench, and I'm excited about it. I'm excited. I think we've got smart, more-than-capable guys coming off the bench that are versatile on both sides of the ball, and we can really be dangerous."
What do you admire most about Ime Udoka? What have your conversations with him been like?
Brogdon: "I admire his authenticity, his realness. He's a straight shooter, he's very direct. There's not a lot of gray area with him. You can have coaches that don't want to tell you the truth, that sorta beat around the bush. He's far from that, so I really appreciate that about him. It's hard to find. I've had maybe two conversations with him. I can tell he's a player's coach. He was in the league for a while, he knows how to talk to you, he knows how to relate to you, but he also knows how to coach."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Background on Basketball Without Borders Africa
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">The first Basketball Without Borders Africa camp took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2003.</li>
<li aria-level="1">In total there have been 18 BWB Africa camps, with the most recent camp taking place in Cairo, Egypt, from Aug. 28-31, 2022.</li>
<li aria-level="1">More than 1,400 men and women from more than 30 African countries have participated in BWB Africa.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Camps have been attended and supported by more than 150 NBA and WNBA coaches, players and NBA team personnel.</li>
<li aria-level="1">BWB Africa camps have been conducted in South Africa (2003-2009; 2011-2015; 2017-2018), Senegal (2010, 2019), Egypt (2022) and Angola (2016).</li>
<li aria-level="1">Twelve former BWB Africa campers have been drafted into the NBA: Khalifa Diop (BWB Africa 2018), Christian Koloko (BWB Africa 2017), Pascal Siakam (BWB Africa 2012), Joel Embiid (BWB Africa 2011), Kostas Antetokounmpo (BWB Africa 2015), Chukwudi Maduabum (BWB Africa 2010), Gorgui Dieng (BWB Africa 2009), Christian Eyenga (BWB Africa 2005), Hamady N'diaye (BWB Africa 2004), Solomon Alabi (BWB Africa 2004), Mouhamed Saer Sene (BWB Africa 2004), Luc Mbah a Moute (BWB Africa 2003)</li>
</ul>
Background on Basketball Without Borders
<ul>
<li aria-level="2">Basketball Without Borders (BWB) is the NBA and FIBA&rsquo;s global basketball development and community outreach program that was launched in 2001.</li>
<li aria-level="2">The first-ever BWB camp took place in Europe in July 2001: Vlade Divac (Serbia) and Toni Kukoc (Croatia), together with former teammates from the Yugoslavia national team, reunited in Treviso, Italy, to work with 50 children from the former Yugoslavia.</li>
<li aria-level="2">The NBA and FIBA have staged 65 BWB camps in 40 cities across 30 countries on six continents.&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="2">BWB has hosted more than 3,800 participants from 133 countries and territories.</li>
<li aria-level="2">More than 310 current and former NBA/WNBA players have joined more than 240 NBA team personnel from all 30 NBA teams to share their expertise and knowledge with participants.</li>
<li aria-level="2">The NBA typically hosts four regional BWB camps over the summer (Africa, Europe, Asia, Americas), and in 2015 created the BWB Global camp, which is held annually at NBA All-Star for the top prospects from the previous summer&rsquo;s camps</li>
<li aria-level="2">There have been 105 former BWB campers drafted or signed by NBA or WNBA teams, including a record 41 players on opening-night rosters last season.
<ul>
<li aria-level="2">Notable former BWB campers include Deandre Ayton, Josh Giddey, RJ Barrett, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lauri Markkanen, Joel Embiid, Danilo Gallinari, Marc Gasol, Rui Hachimura, Jonas Valanciunas, Jamal Murray, Nicolas Batum, Pascal Siakam and Awak Kuier.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>

Spencer Davies chats with Malcolm Brogdon about his involvement with BWB Africa, his foundation, next year's Celtics and more.

Malcolm Brogdon Q&A: Fit with Celtics, BWB Africa experience

Pete Carril, the rumpled, cigar-smoking basketball coach who led Princeton to 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, where his teams unnerved formidable opponents and rattled March Madness with old-school fundamentals, died Monday. He was 92.
Princeton released a statement from Carril&rsquo;s family, which said he died &ldquo;peacefully this morning.&rdquo; It did not give a cause of death.
&ldquo;We kindly ask that you please respect our privacy at this time as we process our loss and handle necessary arrangements. More information will be forthcoming in the following days,&rdquo; the statement said.
Carril, a Hall of Famer, schooled his teams in a distinct and throwback brand of ball &mdash; the Princeton offense, a game marked by patience, intelligence, constant motion, quick passing and backdoor cuts that often ended in layups.
It was an offense that could be played at any level of basketball &mdash; as Carril proved when he left Princeton and joined the NBA&rsquo;s Sacramento Kings as an assistant.
At Princeton, Carril&rsquo;s offense was performed by players often dismissed or overlooked by some of the nation&rsquo;s basketball powers. Come the NCAA Tournament, however, Princeton&rsquo;s unforgiving discipline could offset the disparity of talent on the floor.
During Carril&rsquo;s 29 seasons as the Tigers&rsquo; coach, the system worked splendidly. His teams won 13 Ivy League titles and posted a 514-261 record without the benefit of scholarship players. Its deliberate approach draining the high octane from many opponents, Princeton led the nation in scoring defense in 14 of his last 21 seasons, including the last eight in a run that ended in 1996.
He guided Princeton to the National Invitation Tournament championship in 1975 and was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.
Basketball fans loved to watch the headaches Carril&rsquo;s teams caused in March. That was certainly the case in 1989 for Georgetown&rsquo;s John Thompson, the Hall of Fame coach sweating late in the game with his trademark towel draped over his shoulder.
Princeton gave a No. 1 seeded Georgetown team featuring Alonzo Mourning and Charles Smith all it could handle, and as a No. 16 seed was on the verge of a monumental upset. The Tigers had two shots in the closing seconds at sending Thompson and his team home but were denied, losing 50-49.
Carril&rsquo;s final season in 1996 was highlighted by a first-round NCAA victory over defending champion UCLA, an outcome many consider one of the biggest surprises in tournament history.
Former Princeton athletic director Gary Walters was taught civics by Carril in the classroom and played on the hardwood under Carril in high school in Pennsylvania. He later served as an assistant coach to him at Princeton and was a lifelong friend.
&ldquo;His adaptability as a coach and being able to put the pieces together in a constructive way, was very, very important,&rdquo; Walters told The Associated Press on Monday. &ldquo;He also understood the game so well fundamentally. Very few coaches had his ability to teach fundamentals.&rdquo;
There was an outpouring of sympathy and praise on social media for Carril.
&ldquo;I believe that in defining greatness in coaches u must determine if they get maximum out of their TEAM personnel,&rdquo; ESPN sportscaster Dick Vitale tweeted. &ldquo;PETE CARRIL is a prime example of a brilliant coaching mind that got max out of his talent. May Coach RIP !&rdquo;
Peter Joseph Carril was born on July 10, 1930, to Spanish immigrant parents in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He played at Lafayette College under a venerable coach in Butch Van Breda Kolff. After an Army stint, Carril coached in high school in Pennsylvania in the 1950s and &rsquo;60s before getting a college head coaching job at Lehigh. He spent the 1966-67 season there, going 11-12, and then was on his way to Princeton.
Carril was more than a basketball coach. Friends and former players say he was intelligent, philosophical, a great judge of character, honest and caring. He was not the country-club type. He was down to earth, his attire simple: open-collared shirts, wrinkled sweaters, his thinning hair never quite combed. Occasionally, there would be a sport jacket.
On the court, Carril was demanding. He worked his players hard and sought perfection. It would not be unusual for him to sit on the bench with a 20-point lead and a pained look creasing his face following a bad pass, a turnover or missed layup. It was the craft, the process that mattered, never mind the score.
If asked, he would recall what his father had told him growing up in Bethlehem, one of the country&rsquo;s steel capitals.
&ldquo;When you lower your standards, they can turn around and attack you,&rdquo; Carril said often.
Success on the court never changed Carril. He liked his cigars. He enjoyed a drink, a coffee or just chatting with people at Andy&rsquo;s Tavern in Princeton, that is until it became a sushi bar in the 1990s. Conte&rsquo;s Pizza remained one of his hangouts. He would occasionally stop at the Princeton basketball office to talk hoops with Mitch Henderson, who became Princeton&rsquo;s coach in 2011.
After leaving Princeton, Carril jumped to unfamiliar ground &mdash; the NBA. He spent 10 seasons as a Kings assistant, helping coach Rick Adelman&rsquo;s teams win two Pacific Division titles and a spot in the 2002 Western Conference finals.
He joined the Washington Wizards&rsquo; staff in 2007 and in 2009 returned to the Kings. He retired from coaching in 2011.

The Princeton offense was a game marked by patience, intelligence, constant motion, quick passing and backdoor cuts that led to points.

Pete Carril was an old-school offensive maestro at any level

Is the NBA ready to add an expansion team? Evan Sidery explores what kind of team you could build in a present-day expansion draft.

Kuol