Spartans

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

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Stories of New York City point guards have an almost mythical quality.
There are Hall of Famers and trailblazers such as Bob Cousy and Nate &ldquo;Tiny&rdquo; Archibald. In the 1980s, Kenny Smith and Kenny Anderson followed a similar path &mdash; from the same Catholic high school in Queens to the Atlantic Coast Conference to the NBA.
From Pearl Washington to Mark Jackson, Stephon Marbury to Sue Bird, tenacious players forged by rugged games played at the famous courts at Rucker Park and West Fourth Street are a part of basketball lore.
And while New York City high schools haven&rsquo;t been pumping out stars in recent years the way they used to, three of the four teams that have reached the NCAA Tournament's&nbsp;East Regional at Madison Square Garden have point guards with Big Apple backgrounds.
Michigan State&rsquo;s Tyson Walker and Kansas State&rsquo;s Markquis Nowell will renew their acquaintance in the Sweet 16 when the seventh-seeded Spartans (21-12) face the third-seeded Wildcats (25-9) on Thursday night.
&ldquo;I grew up playing in parks with him,&rdquo; Nowell said. &ldquo;I just want to give a big shoutout to New York City for breeding tough and gritty guards and just give him a shoutout.&rdquo;
The other point guard who&rsquo;s making a homecoming this week will only be able to watch his team at The Garden. No. 4 seed Tennessee managed to reach the second weekend of the tournament without the injured Zakai Zeigler,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/zakai-zeigler-injury-tennessee-basketball-0fa91f6e3e517321879a013285ed97d9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who blew out his left knee on Feb. 28.</a>
&ldquo;I had no doubt in my mind that we were going to be here in this situation,&rdquo; said Zeigler, who grew up on Long Island and finished his high school career in the Bronx. &ldquo;So now that I&rsquo;m back here and I can have some pizza, I feel great.&rdquo;
The Volunteers (25-10)&nbsp;face&nbsp;ninth-seeded FAU (33-3)&nbsp;in the late game of the doubleheader.
The 5-foot-8 Nowell became one of the breakout stars of this NCAA Tournament when he went off for 27 points in a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-kentucky-kansas-state-e0f322d3422ce45e56ec92d210ea55d8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">second-round victory against Kentucky.</a>
Nowell, whose Twitter handle is&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/MrNewYorkCityy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@MrNewYorkCityy</a>&nbsp;and is&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/mr.newyorkcity/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@mr.newyorkcity</a>&nbsp;on Instagram, grew up in Harlem, attended high school in the Bronx and went to college at Arkansas Little-Rock before transferring to Manhattan &mdash; Kansas, that is.
&ldquo;I made a promise to myself back when I was in high school that I was going to do anything and everything in my power to be the best player that came out of New York,&rdquo; Nowell said. &ldquo;So I kind of keep that edge and that kind of just reminds me every day that I wake up that I still have more work to do. Guys like Carmelo (Anthony), Bernard King and all the greats came out of New York, so that just keeps me grounded and keeps me working hard.&rdquo;
Ask Nowell about the New York City point guards he idolized in high school and he brings up the Mavericks&rsquo; Kemba Walker, who led UConn to a national championship and was a first-round pick in the NBA draft in 2011, and the Pelicans&rsquo; Jose Alvarado, who played at Georgia Tech.
Alvarado went to Christ the King High School in Queens, a power in both boys and girls basketball that also produced Bird and the Spartans&rsquo; Walker.
Like Nowell, Walker started his college career at a mid-major (Northeastern) and transferred after two seasons to Michigan State in 2021.
According to 247 Sports rankings, the last top-30 national recruit to come from a New York City high school was Moses Brown, a 7-footer who went to UCLA from Archbishop Molloy, where Smith and Anderson starred in the &rsquo;80s.
&ldquo;Are we as good as we once was? Well, if you take away all the kids that grew up in New York that go to prep school outside of New York ... and consider them New York, yes, we are,&rdquo; said Cardozo High School coach Ron Neclario, the winningest NYC public school coach ever. &ldquo;Do we have as many high, high, high majors? Maybe not, but we have plenty of low-majors. We have plenty of mid-majors.&rdquo;
Where Nowell leans into his New York roots, Walker takes a low-key approach.
&ldquo;Just got to be tough. Got a different type of finesse with you,&rdquo; he said.
Walker was also a difference-maker in the second round of the tournament, scoring 23 points to lead&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-michigan-state-marquette-izzo-690d24a67256a2bf187353c0bfed577a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michigan State past second-seeded Marquette.</a>
&ldquo;I think sometimes the New York swagger is a very cocky swagger, and sometimes that&rsquo;s good,&rdquo; Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s kind of had the happy medium. He&rsquo;s got enough cockiness to be confident, and yet he&rsquo;s an unbelievable kid.&rdquo;
Izzo joked after beating Marquette about how Walker owed him cab ride and a slice of pizza for helping him earn a trip home.
&ldquo;Got me my pizza last night,&rdquo; Izzo said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking for the cab ride today.&rdquo;
Nowell is one of four Kansas State players from the New York area, along with Tykei Greene, Nae&rsquo;Qwan Tomlin and Ismael Massoud. None has ever played at The Garden, only dreamed about it.
&ldquo;I had my big brother, my father, my uncles working me out every day for a moment like this,&rdquo; Nowell said. &ldquo;Standing here, being here at Madison Square Garden.&rdquo;

Three of the four teams that reached the NCAA Tournament's East Regional at MSG have point guards with New York backgrounds.

NYC guards lead Michigan State, Kansas State to Sweet 16 at MSG

Princeton forward Tosan Evbuomwan spent his first three college seasons enduring one disappointment after another.
Reaching the NCAA Tournament and advancing to the Sweet 16 made it all worthwhile.
After the 2020 Ivy League Tournament was canceled, after the entire 2020-21 season was canceled, after losing by two points in the conference&rsquo;s 2022 tourney title game and after watching three friends transfer just to keep playing in 2022-23, this resilient 6-foot-8 Brit has taken the Tigers on their deepest NCAA Tournament run since 1967 and has emerged as survivor of one of college basketball&rsquo;s strangest journeys.
&ldquo;I think it did start with that COVID year,&rdquo; Evbuomwan said. &rdquo;There was a togetherness with that group. One of my favorite things about that time was the Zooms with one another, the Face Times, just talking about what we wanted the next season. We wanted a championship.&rdquo;
Now,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-princeton-3e7e64d87d64a24587f258af065e7ce0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Ivy League tourney champions are the talk of the nation</a>&nbsp;and an illustration of the impact two pivotal COVID years have had on the college basketball world.
Nobody outside the Princeton locker room expected this run &mdash; especially when three of last year&rsquo;s top five scorers left to take advantage of the NCAA&rsquo;s extra season. League rules allowed them only to use that season at a non-conference school.
But these Tigers pride themselves on perseverance. So instead of allowing the obstacles to derail their dreams or steal their spirit, they dug in, stuck around, forged a bond and finished the job.
&ldquo;We missed out on a whole year. That hurt, watching essentially every other team in the country play,&rdquo; Princeton guard Matt Allocco said. &ldquo;But I think it actually helped us in the long run. We were able to get together in the spring and practice, be with each other, build those relationships. It ended up being a great experience.&rdquo;
Not everyone remembers the COVID years fondly.
San Diego State and Dayton saw their 2020 title hopes dashed by the NCAA&rsquo;s announcement. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo thought he had a Final Four team, too.
Northern Kentucky coach Darrin Horn&rsquo;s long-awaited return to March Madness was extended by three more years, prompting him to acknowledge two weeks ago that winning the 2020 Horizon League crown almost seemed like it never happened.
There&rsquo;s no way to replace what was lost &mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-march-madness-san-diego-state-charleston-orlando-0d6d6cd47a1ff1baa3bfb448286b0ff6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">even for this year&rsquo;s 16 regional semifinalists</a>.
Just ask San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher, whose team faces top-seeded Alabama on Friday in the Louisville Regional. The Aztecs were supposed to be a top-two seed three years ago.
&ldquo;As I said all those years ago, as good as Malachi Flynn and KJ Feagin and Yanni Wetzell were, they never played in the NCAA Tournament one time in their careers. That&rsquo;s unbelievable,&rdquo; Dutcher said. &ldquo;Sometimes we take for granted just going and losing in the first round. Just to have a chance to play would have meant the world to those guys so I feel bad for that, that they never got a taste of March Madness.&rdquo;
Meanwhile, at Creighton, it was a different scenario.
In 2021, the tourney provided the Bluejays with a bittersweet memory: Celebrating their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1974 inside the lonely Indianapolis &ldquo;bubble.&rdquo;
So when&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-creighton-nembhard-d5b5da14046dffc8c7fb28e2f8b2da13" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sixth-seeded Creighton knocked off third-seeded Baylor 85-76 last weekend</a>&nbsp;to return to the Sweet 16, something suddenly felt far more satisfying about Friday&rsquo;s matchup against 15th-seeded Princeton in Louisville.
&ldquo;We had a lot of fans there to celebrate at the end of the game with us (in Denver) and then you go back to the hotel with family and friends and have a chance to celebrate rather than go back to your room and eat another piece of rubber chicken out of a Styrofoam box, which is what we did in Indianapolis,&rdquo; Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. &ldquo;To get to the Sweet 16 is a difficult thing to do, it was just a little more fun to celebrate that particular night.&rdquo;
What about 2021 national champion Baylor? Of course, the Bears had no complaints.
Kansas State coach Jerome Tang was an assistant on that title team and has used the lessons from that run as the model for his third-seeded Wildcats, who take on Izzo&rsquo;s seventh-seeded Spartans on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-transfer-portal-0b9862a4e4e4b6da08ce56b3eb2c443a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tang believes the similarities in roster composition</a>&nbsp;will help Kansas State this weekend.
&ldquo;We spent 30 days in the &lsquo;bubble,&rsquo; right? And if you don&rsquo;t like each other, nobody wants to spend that amount of time together,&rdquo; Tang said. &ldquo;That team, we really liked each other. We loved being together. I mean, it was fun to be around them. I feel the same way around these guys. We could be in a bubble for 30 days and we&rsquo;ll be just fine. We&rsquo;re going to have a great time.&rdquo;
But nobody will have more fun than Princeton.
Just two years after watching everyone else&rsquo;s games, the Tigers need two wins to end a 48-year Final Four drought, two wins to become the first Ivy League team in the national semifinals since Penn in 1979 and two wins to cement their status as one of the greatest and most compelling advance-and-survive stories in tourney history.
And it might not have happened without Princeton&rsquo;s COVID experience.
&ldquo;Having to watch those games on TV, the tournament, hurt. I think looking back on it, it fueled us for the next year,&rdquo; Princeton guard Ryan Langborg said. &ldquo;I think this year, this Sweet 16 run so far, it&rsquo;s more than making up for it.&rdquo;

Princeton is on its deepest NCAA Tournament run since 1967 after surviving one of college basketball’s strangest journeys.

Princeton’s journey becomes face of March Madness’ COVID era

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Michigan State coach Tom Izzo is not a big fan of the transfer portal, lamenting that it gives young athletes an easy out instead of an opportunity to overcome challenges.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll say until the day I die, I do not see anything good for the players in it,&rdquo; Izzo said Tuesday.
The seventh-seeded Spartans, however, would not be in the Sweet 16 for the 15th time under their Hall of Fame coach without former Northeastern guard Tyson Walker and ex-Marquette forward Joey Hauser.
The Spartans, of course, are not alone in relying on transfers. Not anymore. They are all over March Madness.
Third-seeded Kansas State, which will face the Spartans on Thursday night in New York, has relied heavily on transfers with 12 on its roster under first-year coach Jerome Tang. Former Florida forward Keyontae Johnson and ex-Arkansas-Little Rock guard Markquis Nowell, both of whom earned third-team All-America recognition, are starring for the Wildcats.
UCLA and Princeton are bucking the trend because they&rsquo;re still in the Tournament without a transfer player.
Izzo could have dipped back into the portal to bolster this season&rsquo;s team after losing his top three scorers and a solid post player from last year&rsquo;s team. Instead, he chose to stick with the players he had after they chose to stay.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s something they believed in here,&rdquo; Izzo said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the beauty of sticking together. And if it carries us through the weekend, it&rsquo;ll be one of the great life lessons learned.&rdquo;
EAST REGION
No. 4 seed Tennessee vs. No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic
Like many transfers, Tyreke Key left a smaller program (Indiana State) for a bigger one and the Volunteers are glad he did. After sophomore point guard Zakai Zeigler tore a knee ligament in the final week of the regular season, Key became even more valuable for the postseason.
Vladislav Goldin, meanwhile, went against the grain by leaving a larger school for a mid-major program. The 7-foot-1, shot-blocking Russian bolted from Texas A&amp;M to play for the Owls in search of more playing time. He found what he was looking at FAU, starting in 33 games.
SOUTH REGION
No. 1 seed Alabama vs. No. 5 seed San Diego State
All-America freshman forward Brandon Miller leads the Crimson Tide on the court, but key roles have been filled by a few transfers, including Mark Sears. The former Ohio University guard trails only Miller in scoring and has provided much-needed, 3-point shooting.
Four of San Diego State&rsquo;s top five scorers are transfers, including former California standout Matt Bradley, who is averaging a team-high 13 points per game.
No. 6 seed Creighton vs. No. 15 seed Princeton
The Bluejays have two transfers, two more than the Tigers. Baylor Scheierman starts and Francisco Farabello comes off the bench for Creighton. Scheierman was the Summit League player of the year last year at South Dakota State and Farabello played at TCU for three seasons.
MIDWEST REGION
No. 1 seed Houston vs. No. 5 seed Miami
The Courgars have recruited and developed most of their best players, but former Arkansas forward Reggie Chaney is in the rotation. The Hurricanes second-, third- and fourth-leading scorers are transfers: Jordan Miller (George Mason), Norchad Omier (Arkansas State) and Nijel Pack (Kansas State).
No. 2 seed Texas vs. No. 3 seed Xavier
The Longhorns often have four transfers in their starting lineup and leading scorer, Marcus Carr, has left two schools. The former Pittsburgh and Minnesota guard along with ex-New Mexico State guard Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice, the team&rsquo;s second-leading scorer, are in their sixth season of college. Carr and Rice took advantage of an extra year of eligibility that the NCAA gave athletes if they were in school when the pandemic started.
Souley Boum, who started his career at San Francisco and went on to become a star at New Mexico State, leads the Musketeers with 16.5 points a game and is also in his sixth year of college. Former Iowa forward Jack Nunge, ex-Belmont guard Adam Kunkel and former Indiana forward Adam Kunkel are also among Xavier&rsquo;s top players.
WEST REGION
No. 2 seed UCLA vs. No. 3 seed Gonzaga
While the Bruins have no transfers, the Zags have Rasir Bolton, who ranks fourth on the team in scoring, played at Penn State and for Iowa State before landing at Gonzaga. Malachi Smith went from Wright State to Chattanooga before choosing a lesser role at Gonzaga.
No. 4 seed UConn vs. No. 8 seed Arkansas
The Huskies&rsquo; backcourt is full of transfers. Former East Carolina star Tristen Newton runs the point, averaging 10-plus points and nearly five assists per game. Grad student Joey Calcaterra spent four years at San Diego and Nahiem Alleyne was a three-year starter at Virginia Tech.
The Razorbacks are in the Sweet 16 for a third straight year in part because coach Eric Musselman has made good use of the portal. Former Wichita State guard Ricky Council leads Arkansas in scoring and Makhi Mitchell, who played at Maryland and Rhode Island, is one of team&rsquo;s top rebounders and scores seven points a game.
___
AP Sports Writer John Zenor, Bernie Wilson, Eric Olson, Tom Canavan, Teresa M. Walker, Dave Skretta, Tim Reynolds, Jim Vertuno and Beth Harris contributed.

Nearly every team of the men's Sweet 16 field has been significantly impacted by the NCAA transfer portal.

Transfer portal provided boost for most March Madness teams

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Michigan State coach Tom Izzo gazed into the crowd, tears welling in his eyes, moments before his team played its first home game since a mass shooting on campus killed three students and hospitalized five students.
&ldquo;It was one of those moments where I just said, `I&rsquo;m a lucky guy,&lsquo;&rdquo; Izzo recalled as his voice cracked with emotion. &ldquo;I said to myself, `I hope we can come through for you.&rsquo;&rdquo;
The Spartans did.
Tyson Walker shook off a slow start to score 23 points and lifted Michigan State to an 80-65 win over No. 17 Indiana on Tuesday night, eight days after a mass shooting ended lives, endangered others and frightened an entire community.
&ldquo;It was definitely a emotional,&rdquo; Walker said. &ldquo;Everybody was involved in some way because everybody&rsquo;s on campus. So, it was definitely good to go out there and play well for everybody.&rdquo;
The Spartans (17-10, 9-7 Big Ten) surged into the lead late in the first half after Walker started making 3-pointers following an 0-for-4 start from the field and were ahead by double digits for much of the second half.
&ldquo;Izzo&rsquo;s teams play great. They play hard,&rdquo; Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. &ldquo;They force you to play hard. If you don&rsquo;t meet that, you&rsquo;re going to lose.&rdquo;
The Hoosiers (19-9, 10-7) relied heavily on Trayce Jackson-Davis, as usual, and he had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Michigan State had its previous home game against Minnesota postponed after the shootings and resumed playing Saturday night in a loss to rival Michigan on the road.
The victims, survivors and first responders from last week&rsquo;s shootings were recognized with pregame remarks. There was also a moment of silence that was broken by the Michigan State band playing &ldquo;MSU Shadows,&rdquo; when Izzo looked left, right, high and low at fans in the stands.
&ldquo;I wish I could have ran up to that top row and thank the people that were there,&rdquo; Izzo said.
In the front row of the student section, white shirts were placed on eight seats to save them for the eight students shot on campus. The funeral for the last of the three students killed was earlier Tuesday.
The Spartans, after the emotional pregame, got off to a sluggish start before turning the game around with 3-pointers, defense and rebounding.
Michigan State&rsquo;s A.J. Hoggard had three turnovers early in the game, then didn&rsquo;t have another turnover and finished with 22 points and five assists. Joey Hauser and Malik Hall each scored 10 points for the Spartans, who have won three of their last four games.
Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 16 and Trey Galloway had 11 points for the Hoosiers.
BIG PICTURE
Indiana: The Hoosiers, who have lost two of their last three games, may have some work to do to earn an NCAA Tournament bid.
Michigan State: After collapsing late against Michigan and returning to play at home on an emotional campus, Izzo&rsquo;s team earned a much-needed win.
HE SAID IT
&ldquo;As the game wore on, they smashed us and I don&rsquo;t like that,&rdquo; Woodson said.
IN THE FACE
Midway through the second half, Michigan State&rsquo;s Mady Sissoko blocked Malik Reneau&rsquo;s shot and the ball hit Kaleb Banks in the head so hard that he staggered and fell to the court.
BRIDGES SAYS
Former Michigan State star Miles Bridges sat behind the team&rsquo;s bench and said he may be back in the NBA soon, returning to play for the Charlotte Hornets.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a long process,&rdquo; Bridges told The Associated Press at halftime. &ldquo;I might be back in March.&rdquo;
Bridges has not played this season while under an NBA investigation. He pleaded no contest three months ago to a felony count of injuring a child&rsquo;s parent, agreeing to do so in exchange for three years probation and no jail time.
INJURY REPORT
Michigan State&rsquo;s Carson Cooper missed the game after Izzo said the freshman center sprained his ankle during practice on Monday. Indiana senior guard Xavier Johnson is still out with a foot injury.
UP NEXT
Indiana: Plays rival and fifth-ranked Purdue on the road Saturday night.
Michigan State: Travels to play Iowa on Saturday.

The Spartans (17-10, 9-7 Big Ten) surged into the lead late in the first half after Walker started making threes following an 0-for-4 start.

Michigan State tops Indiana in first home game since shootings

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Cam Johnson got an All-Star level ovation from the home crowd in the first quarter when he came to the scorer's table, returning to the floor after losing 37 games to a knee injury.
He's not the best player on the Phoenix Suns. But he's a very good player, and right now, they need all the help they can get.
Mikal Bridges scored 28 points, Johnson added 19 off the bench and the still very short-handed Suns held off the Brooklyn Nets 117-112 on Thursday night.
&ldquo;I just thought he brought a level of juice to the arena that we hadn't felt in a while,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;He got up off the bench and you could feel the fans, the community &mdash; &lsquo;That&rsquo;s our guy.'"
Brooklyn fought back from 20 points down in the fourth quarter to make things tight in the final minute.
Kyrie Irving &mdash; who scored 21 points of his 30 points in the fourth quarter &mdash; hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 113-110 with 10.9 seconds remaining, After the Suns hit a free throw, Nic Claxton's dunk with 7.4 seconds made it 114-112, but that's as close as the Nets would get to taking the lead.
&ldquo;Sometimes, the hole is too big to come back from," Irving said.
Deandre Ayton had 24 points and 14 rebounds to help the Suns snap a three-game losing streak. Brooklyn has lost four straight.
Johnson's return is welcome good news for a team that had lost 12 of 14 games coming into Thursday. He had a crucial steal late in the fourth quarter along with four important free throws.
&ldquo;Man, I can't tell you how good it felt to be back out there," Johnson said.
Both teams were missing some of their star players. Brooklyn's Kevin Durant was out with a knee injury while Phoenix was missing its All-Star backcourt of Devin Booker (groin) and Chris Paul (hip).
The Suns controlled most of the game, pushing to a 94-74 lead by the end of the third quarter. The Nets cut it to 107-102 with about 3:30 left, but then had three straight turnovers to blunt their momentum.
Irving also had seven rebounds and seven assists. He was 11 of 27 from the field.
The Suns pushed to a 65-51 halftime lead after shooting 58.5% from the field. Ayton had 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists before the break.
SIMMONS TOSSED
Nets guard Ben Simmons was ejected early in the third quarter after picking up two quick technicals for arguing.
Simmons was called for an offensive foul on a screen and then started arguing with official Eric Lewis as both went down the court. Lewis called him for his first technical and then Simmons was subbed out of the game. As Simmons sat down, he continued arguing and got his second technical.
After he was ejected, Simmons immediately got up and walked back to the locker room. He finished with seven points, four rebounds and six assists.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough,&rdquo; Simmons said. &ldquo;I am a 6-10 guy who likes to guard certain guys. I am going to be physical. I am not going to tone it down because the refs don't want to see the physicality.&rdquo;
NEW OWNER COURTSIDE
Incoming Suns owner Mat Ishbia was courtside Thursday night, sitting close to the same area that outgoing owner Robert Sarver used to sit.
Ishbia agreed to purchase the Suns from the embattled Sarver for $4 billion in December. The sale is still in the process of being completed. Ishbia is a former Michigan State player under coach Tom Izzo, and was a member of the Spartans&rsquo; NCAA championship team in 2000.
The NBA suspended Sarver in September for one year, plus fined him $10 million, after an investigation found he had engaged in what the league called &ldquo;workplace misconduct and organizational deficiencies.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Suns: Paul, Booker, G Josh Okogie (nasal fracture), G Cameron Payne (right foot sprain), G Landry Shamet (right foot soreness) didn't play. ... Had a 25-11 rebounding advantage in the first half ... Hosted a 48th consecutive sellout crowd. ... Saben Lee, who is on a 10-day contract, scored 15 points. ... Has a
&nbsp;

Mikal Bridges scored 28 points, Johnson added 19 off the bench and the still very short-handed Suns held off the Brooklyn Nets 117-112.

Mikal Bridges scores 28 points, Suns beat Nets to snap skid

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Destiny Littleton scored 18 points with six assists as Southern California pulled off a program-defining victory Sunday with a 55-46 upset victory over No. 2 Stanford.
Okako Adika scored 11 points with 11 rebounds, while Taylor Bigby and Kayla Williams added nine points each as the Trojans set the tone with their defense and held on late to end a 14-game losing streak against the Cardinal, who had won 51 straight against unranked opponents.
It was USC&rsquo;s first victory over Stanford (17-2, 5-1 Pac-12) since the 2014 conference tournament. Cameron Brink scored 11 points with 14 rebounds for Stanford, which saw its 12-game winning streak come to an end.
USC (13-4, 3-3) held Stanford to four points in the first quarter, its low for any period this season.
NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 81, MISSOURI 50
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Aliyah Boston had 20 points and 10 rebounds for her 71st career double-double and South Carolina won its 24th straight by beating Missouri.
Boston&rsquo;s 11th game with double-figure points and rebounds moved her with one of program-record holder Sheila Foster &mdash; and kept the Gamecocks perfect at 18-0 and 6-0 in the Southeastern Conference.
Zia Cooke added 16 points and Ashlyn Watkins 13 for the Gamecocks.&nbsp;
Missouri (14-5, 3-3) lost its third straight after opening SEC play with three consecutive victories. Lauren Hansen finished with 14 points to lead the Tigers.
NO. 4 UCONN 65, GEORGETOWN 50
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Aaliyah Edwards scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as UConn opened up a close game against Georgetown in the second half.
Huskies leading scorer Azzi Fudd left the game in the first half when she appeared to reinjure her right knee. Fudd was playing in just her second game back after missing the previous eight after hurting that knee in December.
Dorka Juhasz had 13 points for the UConn (15-2, 8-0 Big East), and Nika Muhl and Lou Lopez Senechal each added 12.
Brianna Scott led Georgetown (8-9, 1-7) with 11 points.
NO. 5 LSU 84, AUBURN 54
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese had 23 points and 15 rebounds to maintain her streak of double-doubles in every game this season, and LSU improved its program-record best start to 18-0 with a win over Auburn.
Jasmine Carson scored 18 points, and Alexis Morris had 12 points and 10 assists for LSU, which led the entire way to end up 6-0 in Southeastern Conference play &mdash; winning each of those by 19 or more points.
Precious Johnson scored 13 points and Kharyssa Richardson added 10 for Auburn (10-7, 0-5), which lost its fifth straight since opening SEC play.
NO. 6 INDIANA 93, WISCONSIN 56
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Mackenzie Holmes scored 29 points and Yarden Garzon added 19 to help Indiana run to a 93-56 win over Wisconsin.
Indiana (16-1, 5-1 Big Ten) shot 55% from the field, including 8-for-20 from beyond the arc, while its defense held Wisconsin (6-12, 2-5) to 35% shooting.
The Badgers had no answers for Holmes, who shot 11-for-15 from the field in her 26 minutes.
Wisconsin was led by Brooke Schramek&rsquo;s 13 points and Serah Williams&rsquo; 10.
NO. 7 NOTRE DAME 72, SYRACUSE 56
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) &mdash; Olivia Miles scored 13 of her game-high 23 points during the second half of Notre Dame&rsquo;s win over Syracuse.
Dara Mabrey chipped in 15 points for the Irish (14-2, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who were coming off a dominant 86-47 victory over Wake Forest on Thursday. Miles also had seven boards and seven assists.
Dyaisha Fair&rsquo;s 14 points led the way for the Orange (13-5, 4-3), who entered Sunday on a three-game winning streak.
NO. 8 UCLA 87, CALIFORNIA 70
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Freshman Londynn Jones had 18 points and Charisma Osborne added 17 to lead UCLA past Cal.
UCLA star freshman Kiki Rice had a double double with 15 points and a career-high 12 assists.
The Bruins (15-3, 4-2 Pac-12) trailed by as many as 12 points in the first quarter but came back. Cal played well on the road and kept it close until the fourth, when UCLA, trailing by two points, went on a 12-2 run.
Kemery Martin had a game-high 23 points for the Bears ((10-7, 1-5).
NO. 9 MARYLAND 80, RUTGERS 56
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; Diamond Miller had 17 points, six rebounds and five steals, and Maryland forced 17 first-half turnovers in a victory over Rutgers.
The Terrapins (14-4, 5-2 Big Ten) rebounded from a loss at No. 6 Indiana earlier in the week. Brinae Alexander led Maryland with 20 points, surpassing 1,000 for her career, and Abby Meyers added 14 with three steals.
The Terps beat Rutgers (8-11, 2-5) for the second time in 14 days. The Scarlet Knights turned the ball over 22 times in the first meeting, and they had 23 on Sunday against Maryland&rsquo;s pressing defense.
Kaylene Smikle scored 21 points for Rutgers and Chyna Cornwell contributed 15.
NO. 10 UTAH 80, NO. 14 ARIZONA 79
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Alissa Pili scored 27 points, including the winning free throws with 0.3 seconds left, to lead Utah past Arizona.
Pili went 11 of 16 from the field, while Gianna Kneepkens finished with 20 points and seven rebounds for the Utes (15-1, 5-1 Pac-12). Issy Palmer added 10 points.
Cate Reese tallied 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead Arizona (14-4, 4-3). Jade Loville finished with 17 points and Esmery Martinez and Shaina Pellington chipped in 10 apiece for the Wildcats, who lost their second straight game.
NO. 22 NORTH CAROLINA 56, NO. 11 N.C. STATE 47
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kennedy Todd-Williams scored eight of her 15 points in the fourth quarter, Destiny Adams scored all of her eight points in the final 4 minutes and North Carolina beat rival N.C. State.
Alyssa Ustby added nine points and a career-high 18 rebounds for North Carolina (12-5, 3-3 ACC).
Jakia Brown-Turner led N.C. State (13-4, 3-3) with 14 points and Camille Hobby scored 13 in a game that saw 10 lead changes and six ties through the first three quarters.
TEXAS 68, NO. 15 IOWA STATE 53
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; DeYona Gaston scored 17 points and Shaylee Gonzales had five of her 11 in a game-breaking 13-0 run in the fourth quarter and Texas defeated Iowa State.
Izzi Zingaro&rsquo;s layup to open the fourth quarter pulled the Cyclones within 52-49 but they went scoreless for the next 6:17, missing five shots with five turnovers as the Longhorns increased the defensive pressure.
Sonya Morris added 11 points for the Longhorns (13-5, 4-1 Big 12 Conference), who have won 10 of 11 since a 5-4 start knocked them out of the rankings.
Ashley Joens scored 21 points for Iowa State (11-4, 3-2) and grabbed six rebounds to become the Cyclones&rsquo; all-team leading rebounder.
NO. 16 DUKE 65, GEORGIA TECH 47
ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Celeste Taylor scored 13 points, Elizabeth Balogun added 12 and Duke overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Georgia Tech for its 11th straight win.
The Yellow Jackets managed only six of their 19 second-half points in the fourth quarter and Duke (16-1, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) did not allow a point in the final 5:45 of the game, outscoring Georgia Tech 9-0 down the stretch.
Kayla Blackshear led Georgia Tech (9-9, 0-7 ACC) with 14 points. She made 7 of 10 shots and grabbed eight rebounds. Tonie Morgan added 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.
WEST VIRGINIA 74, NO. 18 BAYLOR 65
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) &mdash; Madisen Smith and Ja&rsquo;Naiya Quinerly scored 17 points apiece, Jayla Hemingway added 15 points and 14 rebounds and West Virginia&rsquo;s defense forced seven fourth-quarter turnovers in its win over Baylor.
West Virginia (12-4, 3-2 Big 12) has won three consecutive games and improved to 4-22 all-time against Baylor.
Sarah Andrews hit four 3-pointers and finished with 24 points, Darianna Littlepage-Buggs added 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Caitlin Bickle scored 10 points for Baylor (12-4, 3-1).
WASHINGTON STATE 85, NO. 21 OREGON 84, OT
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Bella Murekatete scored 20 points, Jessica Clark scored six of her career-high 14 in overtime and Washington State defeated Oregon for its first win over a ranked team since 1998.
Washington State won despite giving up a 14-point lead in the final four minutes, allowing the tying free throws with 0.1 left in regulation and surviving an Oregon shot in the closing seconds of overtime. The Cougars never trailed in the extra session, which started with a Clark layup for a 78-76 lead.
Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 17 points for Washington State (13-3, 3-3 Pac-12 Conference), Johanna Teder had 15 and Ula Motuga had 14 with 10 rebounds.
Endyia Rogers scored 33 points, making 6 of 8 3-point attempts, for Oregon (13-5, 4-3), Chance Gray added 22, Te-Hina Paopao 11 and Grace VanSlooten 10.
NO. 24 ILLINOIS 70, MINNESOTA 57
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Makira Cook scored 20 points, Genesis Bryant added 18 and Illinois celebrated its first game as a ranked team in 23 years with a win over Minnesota.
Brynn Shoup-Hill and Adalia McKenzie both added 13 points for the Illini (15-3, 5-2 Big Ten Conference), who haven&rsquo;t had a winning season since 2012-13, haven&rsquo;t made the NCAA Tournament since 2003 and were last ranked on Nov. 27, 2000.
Alanna Micheaux scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Golden Gophers (8-10, 1-6), who have lost five straight. Micheaux was 11-of-16 shooting, her teammates 12 of 46 (26%).

A recap of Sunday's top-25 action in women's college basketball includes the Trojans' first victory over the Cardinal in nine years.

USC topples No. 2 Stanford, its first vs Cardinal since 2014

Bobby Hurley knows what&rsquo;s coming.
At some point in the months ahead, one of his Arizona State players will walk into his office with surprising news.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a guy on my team right now that mostly likely is going to transfer that I won&rsquo;t even think that he&rsquo;s going to transfer,&rdquo; the coach said.
Just like that, it will be time to rework roster plans and search for a potential replacement. And that scenario is playing out across college basketball in the transfer portal era, illustrating how roster management has become a major challenge for coaches facing abrupt &mdash; and sometimes drastic &mdash; changes in a wild world of free agency.
&ldquo;Coaches love to control things &hellip; control offense, control defense, control everything in your program so it doesn&rsquo;t go haywire,&rdquo; said coach Scott Drew of fifth-ranked Baylor. &ldquo;And roster management is the hardest thing to control because you never know from one year to the next who will transfer, who will turn pro.
&ldquo;It used to be most college (teams) were dealing with three, four new players a year,&rdquo; Drew added. &ldquo;Now more and more are dealing with six, seven, eight new players.&rdquo;
The days are gone of confidently projecting how a team will look after a few years of players developing together. Instead, it&rsquo;s a guess now that players can freely move to chase minutes or endorsement opportunities elsewhere &mdash; especially if they have an extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic.
That has created a new coaching routine: spend the season essentially re-recruiting your own players to stay, then dive into the portal afterward to fill inevitable new roster holes.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s more work intensive than ever in the spring,&rdquo; said Hurley, who has four transfers and two scholarship freshmen as the season begins. &ldquo;Even as your season&rsquo;s winding down, you&rsquo;re constantly communicating with your own players, trying to get a feel for where they are, what they might do or not do.
&ldquo;And so that would give me an idea of what our roster could potentially look like based on what everybody&rsquo;s going to decide to do here first. ... Then the conversations begin in terms of trying to retool your roster.&rdquo;
The October 2018 launch of the portal allowed athletes to declare transfer plans and for schools to contact them. But the NCAA&rsquo;s move in April 2021 to grant athletes a one-time transfer without sitting out a year amounted to seismic change.
In its most recent data, the NCAA reported that 1,480 men&rsquo;s basketball athletes in Division I entered their names in the portal from March to July 2021 as the rule was discussed and enacted, up from 810 for that range a year earlier. And 1,138 players &mdash; 769 undergraduates and 369 graduates &ndash; ultimately transferred during the 2020-21 sports season compared with 713 the previous year.
That would be the equivalent to nearly a quarter of scholarships (more than 4,700) available for 363 teams in Division I. And that accounts for only the first few months of what is now a full-on portal rush that has left coaches scrambling.
&ldquo;You have to be in a position to pivot, alter and change,&rdquo; said Hubert Davis at top-ranked North Carolina, which reached last year&rsquo;s NCAA championship game.
Jon Scheyer, preparing for his debut season at seventh-ranked Duke, put it bluntly: &ldquo;You do have to plan for chaos.&rdquo;
At minimum, coaches face tougher decisions for building a roster for the season ahead, much less trying to map out years beyond.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a headache,&rdquo; said Miami coach Jim Larranaga, fresh off the program&rsquo;s first run to the NCAA Elite Eight. &ldquo;Right now we have four seniors. I&rsquo;d love to replace four seniors with four kids in high school. But that will make us so young next year that we can&rsquo;t compete against the older and more experienced teams. So it&rsquo;s a constant balancing. It&rsquo;s like a seesaw.&rdquo;
The challenge begins with determining how to use a program&rsquo;s annual allotment of 13 scholarships. For many coaches, there&rsquo;s little benefit to using them all, starting with the odds that players seeing little action will bolt.
&ldquo;Are 13 guys going to play? No. So then who&rsquo;s going to be unhappy?&rdquo; Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said. &ldquo;Back in the days when I started, I redshirted guys. You say redshirt to somebody now, they think you&rsquo;ve lost your mind.&rdquo;
Scheyer &mdash; who is taking over for retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski &mdash; would prefer to hold back at least one scholarship annually to react to the unexpected.
&ldquo;We want to be careful not to over-recruit to get where we have 13 scholarships,&rdquo; said Scheyer, whose first team has two power-conference transfers among 11 new players. &ldquo;Things happen late now so you want to make sure you have wiggle room and flexibility. That can be hard to predict.&rdquo;
Hall of Famer Tom Izzo at Michigan State has noticed lower scholarship numbers across the sport &mdash; even with his own team having 10 recruited players this season.
&ldquo;Why do a lot of schools have 11, 12, 10 guys on scholarship? Because they&rsquo;re holding off for this, they&rsquo;re holding off for that,&rdquo; Izzo said. &ldquo;Or they know they can&rsquo;t keep 13 happy anymore. So there are kids that are not getting a scholarship in high school because everybody&rsquo;s just going with the transfer. There&rsquo;s some unintended consequences with this whole thing.&rdquo;
Yet even as Izzo expressed qualms about the portal&rsquo;s impact, he also was quick to say coaches &ldquo;have to do what they have to do&rdquo; in a time of quicker firings. He also said &ldquo;I&rsquo;m good&rdquo; with however coaches adapt.
It was a reminder that change is here, and coaches can do little other than be ready for anything.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to do the best you can,&rdquo; Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner said. &ldquo;I know that sounds kindergarten-ish. &hellip; You can&rsquo;t be negative about it or complain about it. You&rsquo;ve just got to accept: this is the deal, this is the climate we&rsquo;re in, this is the landscape.&rdquo;
___
AP Sports Writers Stephen Hawkins in Dallas and Larry Lage in East Lansing, Michigan, contributed to this report.

Roster management has become a major challenge for coaches facing abrupt — and sometimes drastic — changes.

‘Plan for chaos’: Roster upheaval dominates college hoops

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Jay Wright famously mouthed &ldquo;bang&rdquo; after Kris Jenkins won the 2016 national championship on a buzzer beater. Wright went back to the catchphrase well this month in his latest motivational video --- &ldquo;just when you think you know what&rsquo;s going to happen, bang&rdquo; -- for the Philadelphia Union.
Wright squeezed in the extra work when he wasn&rsquo;t rooting for the Phillies in a playoff game. Or as he acted as an adviser for Eagles coach Nick Sirianni. Wright even gave the commencement speech at Villanova&rsquo;s spring graduation.
The former Wildcats coach has been spotted just about everywhere in the city since his stunning retirement at the end of last season.
His successor wouldn&rsquo;t mind if Wright&rsquo;s travels lead him back to the practice court.
&ldquo;I try and beg him to come around,&rdquo; Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said.
The Hall of Fame coach has tried to stay out of the spotlight on campus and let the 37-year-old Neptune find his own way with the program.
Much like Hubert Davis at North Carolina and Jon Scheyer at Duke, Neptune takes over a program that has hummed along as one of the nation&rsquo;s best and expectations are as high as the championship banners that hang in the rafters. Wright won two of them -- and led Villanova to two more Final Fours, including last season -- before he stepped down and essentially made Neptune his hand-picked choice to keep championships coming.
Neptune certainly knows Wright&rsquo;s blueprint following a lengthy stint that started in 2008 as a video coordinator and ended with him as the longest-tenured member on the coaching staff that won the 2016 and 2018 national championships. While some new coaches in any sport often try and shy away from comparisons to their successful predecessors, Neptune has embraced Wright&rsquo;s methodology in building a Big East behemoth.
&ldquo;I never focused on not being him,&rdquo; Neptune said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a Hall of Famer. To me, the best coach in college basketball the last 10 years. I would like to be a lot like him.&rdquo;
A season ago, Villanova posted a 30-8 overall record and advanced to its third Final Four since 2016. It also won the Big East Tournament title, the ninth consecutive season in which it claimed a regular season or league tourney crown. Neptune went 16-16 in his lone season at Fordham, an Atlantic 10 program with just four NCAA Tournament appearances.
Neptune said it was easy to slide back into the program after a year away.
&ldquo;I think I learned to cherish how unique our players are,&rdquo; Neptune said. &ldquo;How locked in they are every day for what we do and not take that for granted. No knock against anyone at Fordham, but they just didn&rsquo;t know exactly what we were looking to do.&rdquo;
The Wildcats are again dotted with likely all-Big East picks and future NBA draft picks. The coach might not be the same -- but the winning streaks should have a familiar feel.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not trying to say I&rsquo;ll do exactly the same thing. It just so happens that so much of what this place is, I believe in,&rdquo; Neptune said. &ldquo;So much of what coach Wright did, I believe in, as well. That&rsquo;s why it will probably look very similar.&rdquo;
DEMOTED RANKS
Villanova was picked to finish third in the Big East by the league&rsquo;s coaches. It&rsquo;s the first time since 2013-14 that the Wildcats were not picked first or second. Villanova is No. 16 in the AP Top 25, the lowest preseason ranking for the Wildcats since 2008.
MOORE PROBLEMS
Justin Moore still has no timetable for a return as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon suffered in the Elite Eight win over Houston. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 34.4 minutes, 14.8 points and 4.8 rebounds. He was a second-team All-Big East selection.
&ldquo;When it first happened, I couldn&rsquo;t grasp what was going on,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When I got back home, I got to relax, sit down with my family and friends and take into account what was really going on.&rdquo;
Moore said he won&rsquo;t come back until he&rsquo;s &ldquo;110%&rdquo; and has done light individual workouts and other non-contact drills. Neptune said Moore &ldquo;looks fine to me&rdquo; but that team doctors will decide when he can return.
CAM DO
Cam Whitmore is the Big East pick to be Freshman of the Year but he is likely to miss the start of the season after recent surgery on his right thumb. Whitmore, a 2022 McDonald&rsquo;s All-American, was injured in practice earlier this month.
SCHEDULE
The Wildcats open the season Nov. 7 against coach Fran Dunphy and La Salle. It&rsquo;s another Big 5 team Nov. 11 against Temple. Villanova will face Tom Izzo&rsquo;s Michigan State team on Nov. 18 in one of the major attractions of the seventh Gavitt Tipoff Games.

Much like Hubert Davis at UNC and Jon Scheyer at Duke, Kyle Neptune takes over a team that has been one of the nation’s best.

Villanova moves on from Wright with former assistant Neptune

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Iowa has had a first team All-American in three consecutive seasons, two for Luka Garza and one for Keegan Murray, raising the natural question about who the next star will be for the Hawkeyes and how quickly he can emerge.
Kris Murray, predictably, has everyone who follows the program staring straight at him.
The third-year forward has the sleek frame at 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, the unflappable demeanor on the court and the track record of sharp improvement after increasing his scoring average by more than nine additional points per game.
But the tendency for comparison is unavoidable for the human brain, never more in the analysis of sports, and the fact that Kris Murray is Keegan Murray&rsquo;s identical twin brother will hover over him as long as he puts on a Hawkeyes uniform.
&ldquo;If he didn&rsquo;t look the same as me, we probably wouldn&rsquo;t be having this conversation,&rdquo; Kris Murray said at Big Ten media day in Minneapolis. &ldquo;Nobody expected Keegan to make the jump he did when Luka left. I think that&rsquo;s kind of the big difference. We have a really balanced team this year.&rdquo;
Keegan Murray, who averaged 23.5 points to lead the conference last season, left Iowa after his sophomore year to enter the NBA draft. He was the fourth overall pick by Sacramento.
&ldquo;It was a good thing having Keegan in every single way, so I&rsquo;m not taking away anything from him,&rdquo; sixth-year reserve Connor McCaffery said. &ldquo;But that&rsquo;s a lot of shots that were in that lineup that you have to make up. So now it&rsquo;s different guys coming in, every day in practice.&rdquo;
One look across the Big Ten this fall reveals a trend of departed stars, rosters still in a rather awkward state caused by the eligibility waiver for the pandemic season, the relaxed rules around transfers playing right away and, as always, the allure of an NBA career.
Only eight of the top 25 scorers in the conference in 2021-22 returned to their teams. Just nine of the top 25 most-used players in terms of minutes per game are back.
There are some established standouts on the consensus title contenders like Indiana&rsquo;s Trayce Jackson-Davis, Michigan&rsquo;s Hunter Dickinson and Purdue&rsquo;s Zach Edey who will headline every game they play in 2022-23, but there is a wide-open stage in the league for less-heralded players like Kris Murray, Wisconsin&rsquo;s Tyler Wahl or Rutgers&rsquo; Cliff Omoruyi to step up onto it.
The Big Ten had three top-10 draft picks, with Keegan Murray, Purdue&rsquo;s Jaden Ivey (No. 5) and Wisconsin&rsquo;s Johnny Davis (No. 10). Seven other players were drafted, including two each from Ohio State (Malaki Branham and E.J. Liddell) and Michigan (Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate).
The transfer portal, of course, had exits around the conference with potential instant-impact arrivals such as Michigan&rsquo;s Jaelen Llewellyn (Princeton), Minnesota&rsquo;s Dawson Garcia (North Carolina) and Illinois&rsquo; Terrence Shannon Jr. (Texas Tech).
But the Big Ten has long been shaped by a core of established head coaches who have remained as committed as they can be in this era to running developmental programs.
Michigan State&rsquo;s Tom Izzo lost his top three scorers from last season but declined to pursue any transfer replacements &mdash; even with a nonconference schedule he called &ldquo;the most brutal&rdquo; he&rsquo;s ever had. The Spartans play Gonzaga, Kentucky, Villanova and Notre Dame, plus a trip to Oregon for the Phil Knight Invitational that matches them up against Alabama and likely two other tough opponents depending on how the bracket unfolds.
&ldquo;I choose the route I choose. I stand behind it,&rdquo; Izzo said. &ldquo;Chemistry, camaraderie, culture, loyalty are all really, really important to me. It&rsquo;s worked. New era? Maybe it won&rsquo;t work. But I like where we are right now.&rdquo;
Established coaches who have produced consistent success have more of a latitude to be patient, to be sure. Purdue&rsquo;s Matt Painter, Wisconsin&rsquo;s Greg Gard and Iowa&rsquo;s Fran McCaffery have all followed a similar philosophy. Ohio State&rsquo;s Chris Holtmann will lean on freshmen as much as ever, with prized rookies Bruce Thornton, Brice Sensabaugh, Roddy Gayle Jr., Felix Okpara and Bowen Hardman putting the Buckeyes at the top of just about all the Big Ten recruiting rankings.
This season, then, ought to serve as a test case of sorts for several of the conference&rsquo;s top teams as they put the value of stability up against some of the other powerhouse programs across the country who might be relying more on game-ready transfers.
&ldquo;We all make jumps year after year,&rdquo; Kris Murray said. &ldquo;The thing about Iowa basketball is we&rsquo;re always improving.&rdquo;

One look across the Big Ten this fall reveals a trend of departed stars, but there are more players set to shine this season.

Next wave of Big Ten stars primed to shine after many exits

YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Emoni Bates was reinstated to the Eastern Michigan basketball team and as a student Thursday after prosecutors agreed to drop felony charges against him, his attorney and the school said.
The 18-year-old Bates was a top prospect out of high school who transferred to Eastern Michigan in August after playing his freshman season at Memphis. He was charged after police found a gun in a car he was driving last month. Defense attorney Steve Haney said the vehicle and the gun didn&rsquo;t belong to Bates.
Bates was &ldquo;immediately reinstated to all athletic and campus activities&rdquo; because of the agreement between prosecutors and Bates&rsquo; attorneys, the school said in a statement, adding that the move was made in accordance with athletic department policies.
Bates was charged with two felonies &mdash; carrying a concealed weapon and &ldquo;altering ID marks&rdquo; &mdash; on Sept. 19 after a traffic stop. Bates failed to stop at an intersection and a search turned up the weapon, the Washtenaw County sheriff&rsquo;s office said. He pleaded not guilty at his probable cause hearing last week.
Bates will plead down to a misdemeanor charge, Haney said. A hearing was scheduled for next Wednesday. Bates also must complete a diversion program to have his record expunged.
Bates attended Eastern Michigan&rsquo;s practice on Thursday, the Detroit Free Press reported.
The 6-foot-9 guard will play for his hometown school after averaging 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds last season as a freshman at Memphis, where he enrolled after reclassifying to skip a year of high school.
Bates became the first sophomore to win the Gatorade national player of the year award in 2020, beating out Cade Cunningham and Evan Mobley. The Detroit Pistons drafted Cunningham No. 1 overall last year, two spots before Cleveland took Mobley in the draft.
Bates initially committed to playing for Tom Izzo at Michigan State. He later de-committed and signed with Memphis and coach Penny Hardaway. Bates played in 18 games for the Tigers, missing several weeks with a back injury.
In 2019, as a high school freshman, the slender and skilled guard led Ypsilanti Lincoln to a state title and was named Michigan&rsquo;s Division 1 Player of the Year by The Associated Press. His sophomore season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic and he attended Ypsi Prep Academy as a junior, his final year of high school.

Bates attended Eastern Michigan’s practice on Thursday, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Emoni Bates reinstated at Eastern Michigan after charges dropped

East Lansing, Mich. &ndash; Michigan State men's basketball head coach&nbsp;<a href="https://msuspartans.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1011" rel="smarttag" rev="1011">Tom Izzo</a>&nbsp;has agreed to terms on a new contract, MSU Vice President and Director of Athletics&nbsp;<a href="https://msuspartans.com/staff.aspx?staff=9" rel="smarttag" rev="9">Alan Haller</a>&nbsp;announced Thursday. The contract will require formal approval by the MSU Board of Trustees at their next meeting (Sept. 9, 2022). "We greatly appreciate Coach Izzo's commitment to our outstanding university and his competitive drive to keep Spartan Basketball as a national powerhouse," said MSU President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D. "He is a committed Spartan, full of pride for all that we do &ndash; for all our athletics programs and student athletes, but also for our academic programs and every single student on our campus. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we are all grateful for his continued leadership at MSU." "Twelve years ago,&nbsp;<a href="https://msuspartans.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1011" rel="smarttag" rev="1011">Tom Izzo</a>&nbsp;said he would be a Spartan for Life, and today's announcement further demonstrates and renews this commitment," said Haller. "We have worked collaboratively to come up with a contract which benefits the University, Coach Izzo and his family. "Not only is&nbsp;<a href="https://msuspartans.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1011" rel="smarttag" rev="1011">Tom Izzo</a>&nbsp;a Hall of Fame basketball coach, he's a terrific ambassador for Michigan State University and Spartan Athletics. He means a great deal to our university, our department, our community and Spartans around the world. Although his legacy is cemented with a championship-filled resume, it's very clear that Coach Izzo's hungry to accomplish even more and bring great pride to Spartans everywhere. Michigan State is beyond lucky to have&nbsp;<a href="https://msuspartans.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1011" rel="smarttag" rev="1011">Tom Izzo</a>&nbsp;as our head basketball coach!" "Michigan State has been a home to me and my family for 40 years and I'm ecstatic to sign this contract," said Izzo. "It means a great deal to me that the Board of Trustees, President Stanley,&nbsp;<a href="https://msuspartans.com/staff.aspx?staff=9" rel="smarttag" rev="9">Alan Haller</a>&nbsp;and the University continue to have the confidence in our program as we strive to be not only the best men's basketball team in the country, but to play a role in helping every program in the department achieve success. "We have worked hard to maintain championship standards and I'm as energized to coach now as I was when I started as the head coach in 1995. When you look at the last 10-12 seasons in men's basketball and football, both under Coach Dantonio and Coach Tucker, you'd be hard-pressed to find a school with more success. But I know the best is yet to come &ndash; not only for our two programs, but for the entire department. This is an exciting time for Michigan State and there's no better place to be in college athletics, with the support we have from the University, our students, our community and the tremendous Spartan alumni. I love Michigan State and I am proud and excited to continue the hard work to bring another national championship to East Lansing." Izzo's five-year rollover contract includes non-performance related compensation of $5.92 million per year, including a $2.43 million base (up from an initial $430K base on his 2018 contract), $3.09 million in supplemental compensation and $400K from footwear and apparel provider Nike. Total compensation including airplane use and additional fringe benefits adds up to a yearly compensation package with a value of approximately $6.2 million per year. &nbsp; The 2022-23 season will mark Izzo's 28th year as head coach on the Spartan sideline. A 2016 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, he's already established his status as one of the game's all-time greats. The new contract serves as a reminder that he's still looking to reach even greater heights.
Izzo's list of accomplishments includes the 2000 NCAA National Championship, 10 regular-season Big Ten Championships, six Big Ten Tournament titles, eight Final Four appearances and eight National Coach of the Year awards. He has guided Michigan State to a Big Ten-record 24 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, while also equaling the record for most NCAA Tournament appearances by a Division I men's coach. Izzo's eight Final Four appearances rank fifth in college basketball history and first among active coaches, with no other active coach totaling more than five appearances.
With a career record of 666-267, Izzo has compiled more overall wins at a Big Ten school than any coach in conference history. The 666 victories are the fifth most by a coach through his first 27 seasons in college basketball history.&nbsp;
A native of Iron Mountain, Michigan, Izzo has lived in Michigan all of his life other than a seven-week stint at the University of Tulsa in 1986. He's an active volunteer in the community and in 2019, he and wife Lupe, and children Raquel and Steven, launched the Izzo Legacy Family Fund to support local charities and other organizations.

Michigan State's Tom Izzo has agreed to new contract terms with the Spartans.

Tom Izzo agrees to five-year rollover contract with Michigan State

On Aug. 6 at 8 p.m. ET, former Maryland and Georgetown men&rsquo;s basketball players will look to rekindle a local rivalry when they face off in an alumni game at the Xfinity Center in College Park.
This will be the first event under the Alumni Basketball League, which was co-founded by former Missouri and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kareem Rush. In his three years at Missouri, Rush was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year, a two-time selection on the All-Big 12 First Team and even Missouri&rsquo;s men&rsquo;s basketball player of the decade for the 2000s.
I sat down with Rush to discuss how this league came about, how the Alumni Basketball League differs from other established leagues (such as The Basketball Tournament and the BIG3), their plans moving forward as far as other historic rivalry games and what fans can expect on Aug. 6 when Georgetown faces off against Maryland.
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Etan Thomas: So tell me about the Alumni Basketball League and how it all came about.
Kareem Rush: "Sure, The Alumni Basketball League is the first professional league exclusively for college alumni teams. So back in 2017, I was watching the TBT tournament and looking at the roster, I saw that 27 of these teams were alumni teams, and I was like, 'Man, why not just create a league specific for alumni teams?' Also, I was a part of the first year of the BIG3, so I understood when I went through that try-out, it was literally hundreds of guys with tons of NBA experience vying for 20 spots. So I was like, 'Man, I know guys are always looking for an opportunity to play.' The NCAA is really the only entity that's capitalizing on the collegiate marketplace, so I was like, 'Man, why not just create a league specifically for those guys?' So 2018, being a Mizzou guy, and my younger brother being a KU guy, which is a huge rivalry in Kansas City...
Etan Thomas: Right.
Kareem Rush: "So, the first game, centered around a charity, we were doing it for The Boys and Girls Club, but the response was amazing. We had over 2,500 people there. I was like, 'This could be something.' So, the following year, we wanted to expand the concept. We had Kansas State and Arkansas scheduled to come in, but ended up running into some scheduling conflicts because of the TBT and the BIG3. So we put the second year on the shelf. And then COVID hit, so it sat there for two years. Fast forward to March of this past year, I'm down in Missouri for our 20-year reunion and one of my buddies and former teammates, Jack Jackson, who's now a big DMV guy, asked me what I've been up to. I told him a little bit about the concept, he's like, 'Man, I love it.' So he decided he was going to back it, then the last three months, we've been pushing forward.
"We ended up bringing another former teammate, Jason Conley, aboard and he's based in the DMV area. We asking him like, 'What can we pull off for a couple exhibition games in this first year?' And so, he knew the guys over at Georgetown and Maryland and really led that charge to get the game going. We've been just going as we go for the last month, brought in a couple of the guys, Ricky Goings and Marc Stern, added to our organization and now, here we are a month later; we got this game scheduled for August 6. Our plan is to do another one here in Kansas City in late August or early September to get two proof-of-concept games under our belt. And then, really zero in on identifying teams for the 2023 season where we play between eight-to-16 games. Ideally, having between 16 and 32 of these teams put together."
Etan Thomas: Word traveled fast about this. People are really excited about it in the DMV.
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Kareem Rush: "I know, and that&rsquo;s mostly just from the initial marketing through social media and me reaching out to some of these GMs on some of these TBT teams who already got these teams established. The response has been great from players. Being a former player, I understand that guys just want an opportunity to stay in shape, make a little money. Our target guys are those guys either fresh out of college, guys who play overseas. You come back in town, you want to stay in shape, make a little money. This is the league for them. Then another unique aspect of what we're doing, all these leagues are built off the back of these players but very few have actual ownership. So another piece that we're doing is once we get the model established and we can really see what we're doing, we want to allow these guys to be able to buy in and own their own franchises.
"So you see these former NBA guys or current NBA guys who still have huge events for their colleges may want to come in and buy a franchise and operate and run it like the businessmen they are today. So, we believe we have a good starting point. Like I said, the response has been great. We&rsquo;re just looking forward to getting these first two exhibitions off the ground, really focusing in on that 2023 season where we launch media partners, streaming, eventually gambling. So we got a lot of things that we're working on."
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Etan Thomas: I really like the player-empowerment part. You don't see that in most of these leagues. The people who are usually benefiting the most are people outside of the player boundaries. How did you decide to add that component to everything that you're doing?
Kareem Rush: "Being a former player and really seeing that first year in the BIG3, where a lot of those guys &mdash; you got Baron Davis, the Junkyard Dog, Al Harrington, all those guys &mdash; where that little per-game check was not really moving the needle for them; they really want to own some things. And now today, as you see what LeBron and KD and all these guys are doing business-wise, I was like, 'Man, a lot of these guys are really business savvy, so why not give them an opportunity to be on the ground level of a league where they lend their celebrity and influence to the league and they grow with the league?' And so, that's where the concept came from. Like I said, as a former player, I would love to have some ownership in what I'm doing and as we see how much these franchises are worth, why not give the opportunity back to the players who build the league?"
Etan Thomas: So you're planning on taking this show on the road in 2023. Do you already have teams in mind? People are buzzing about the different possibilities or potential rivalry games that we could see. Have you keyed in on the other possible rival games?
Kareem Rush: "I&rsquo;m glad you asked that and yes, we actually have. Once the TBT started putting out their schedule, I was able to literally just reach out to some of those GMs from those teams and have initial conversations. This is a few months back before we started having some development and shape into our league. So we got a pretty good list of teams that we want to target. A lot of these teams are already established, so it's really just about getting the scheduling on our end. But I would say we probably talked to 12-or-16 teams at this point who all have shown interest. And I think for the first part of the league, our first couple of years, we really want to zero in on those historic college rivalries where we can build the concept around those fan bases and that madness and hoopla that build around those rivalries.
"Think of a Duke/North Carolina or a KU/MU or UCLA/USC. From my playing days, I still got connections to a lot of those teams and I think once the concept is out there and marketed properly, we're going to have guys reaching out to us, beating down our door to be a part of it."
Etan Thomas: And correct me if I&rsquo;m wrong, but your model differs from TBT because you offer an actual per-game salary for the players, correct?&nbsp;
Kareem Rush: "I see you did your homework, that&rsquo;s exactly correct. So, unlike TBT, where one team gets all the money and the other teams who come out and prep for months and months on end don't really see anything on the back end. So we're allowing guys to make a decent amount of money in the summertime, stay in shape, and then, once the overseas season goes, 'Go ahead and go back over there,' we want to be that league where you come home and play in front of your fans. You can really tap into that network."
Etan Thomas: Could the players also benefit from NIL deals or sponsorships as well?&nbsp;
Kareem Rush: Definitely. Now with the NIL, we can actually present some of the current players that come back [with deals] because I don't see any university that doesn't want to keep that connection with their former alumni. So bridging the gap there, allowing these guys to come back and play on campus is beneficial for everyone involved."
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Etan Thomas: So for this game in Maryland, you got the Xfinity Center. That shows right there that it&rsquo;s beneficial for the college. It's not like y&rsquo;all are playing at the YMCA or something.
Kareem Rush: "Exactly, I was actually surprised I was able to get the Xfinity Center for this first game in Maryland. We originally had Georgetown Prep scheduled. So that shows you that the schools will eventually want to jump on board and be a part of this because we have between eight-to-16 former legends coming back to be a part of the game. So we're excited about it, man. Like I said, we think we've got some legs. We're looking forward to pushing it full scope in 2023."
Etan Thomas: Sounds great. Don't forget to throw Syracuse in that mix when you&rsquo;re moving forward!
Kareem Rush: "Oh definitely, I already talked to the Boeheim Army guys so we got you! (laughing)"
Etan Thomas: Great, great. Yeah, because especially from that Big East, there are some great rivalries &mdash; I mean the original Big East. Now, of course, the conference is all messed up. Don't even get me started on that. But yeah, the original Big East rivalries, there's Syracuse/Georgetown, Syracuse/St. John's, Villanova/UConn. Those are classic Big East rivalries. But let's talk about this one that's coming up with Maryland and Georgetown and what everybody can expect. Both Maryland and Georgetown have a huge fan base here. I live here in Maryland, so I see it. Everybody was excited when you put out the roster of players, and they get more excited every time they announce another alumni who's going to be in attendance. I saw Georgetown legends like JYD, Michael Graham, Mark Tillmon, Gene Smith and Maryland legends like Joe Smith, Walt Williams, Duane Simpkins, Tony Massenburg. Every name creates more buzz, but talk about what everybody can expect for this game coming up on the 6th.
Kareem Rush: "We just want to put a good product on the court. Like I said, we have a nice mix of young and older players, because we always want to tap into those older fans who saw Juan Dixon, Steve Blake, Lonny Baxter and that group when they won the championship. So trying to get those guys to come up for those people who love the University of Maryland and Georgetown from top to the bottom. Come out, expect a good time! And as this concept grows, we plan on having a family night when we can come in and do some networking events with the guys, interacting with the former alumni and all that type of stuff. So we plan on building much more than just a game. It's going to be more of an entertainment-and-networking event component for them to do moving forward. So just come out, see some old players, have a good time, get a chance to honor and meet-and-greet some of the legends and then, just get ready for 2023!"
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Kareem Rush speaks to Etan Thomas about the Alumni Basketball League and the first matchup between Maryland and Georgetown.

ABL: Maryland, Georgetown alum set to battle Aug. 6 at Xfinity Center

Ja Morant scored 47 points to match his postseason high and carry the Memphis Grizzlies into a tie in the Western Conference semifinals with a 106-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
Morant scored the last 15 points for Memphis, starting with 4:16 left. He drove and turned around a defender before hitting a 7-foot jumper with 1:42 left to put Memphis ahead to stay at 100-99. He added four free throws and a 9-footer finishing with 18 in the fourth quarter.
The NBA&rsquo;s Most Improved Player, who also had 47 in Game 2 against Utah last year, became only the third player in league history to have multiple 45-point games in the postseason before turning 23. The other two? LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
Ziaire Williams hit four 3s and finished with 14 points off the bench. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 12 points before fouling out for the third time in eight games this postseason. Brandon Clarke added 10 points.
Now the youngest team to reach the semifinal round in the last 25 years heads to San Francisco for Game 3 on Saturday night knowing the series will return to Memphis for Game 5.&nbsp;
Stephen Curry finished with 27 points on 3-of-11 shooting outside the arc. Jordan Poole added 20 off the bench but was 1 of 6 from 3. Andrew Wiggins had 16, going 1 of 7 from 3. Klay Thompson finished with 12 points and was 2 of 12 from 3. The Warriors shot just 7 of 38 from 3-point range.
The Warriors, in the semifinals for the seventh time in 10 years, had their chances. Trailing 104-101, Curry passed to Green, who tossed it to Thompson, who traveled with 17 seconds left. Morant hit two free throws for the final margin.
The Grizzlies are coming off the franchise&rsquo;s first series win in seven years. But a team that was the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest squad during the regular season is trying to take Memphis past the second round, something this franchise has done only once back in 2013.
It didn&rsquo;t get easier when Dillon Brooks, averaging 15 points this postseason and whose job was defending Curry, was ejected with 9:08 left in the first quarter after a hard foul on Warriors guard Gary Payton II. Payton went to the locker room for X-rays on his left elbow. He didn&rsquo;t return.
Green, ejected from Game 1 for his own Flagrant 2, went down a couple minutes after Brooks&rsquo; ejection. He went to the locker room, flashing the middle digit on each hand at the fans. He returned for the second quarter after getting stitches for a cut at his right eye that was nearly swollen shut by halftime.
Memphis scored the first eight points of the game and led 33-25 after the hectic first quarter with Morant scoring 14, Jackson 10. Curry had 11 for Golden State with Brooks in the locker room. The second quarter got a bit sloppy at times with the Warriors going 2 of 11 outside the arc with five turnovers.
The Grizzlies led 56-51 at halftime with Morant scoring the final four points of the second for Memphis, giving him 23.
Curry and Poole fueled a big third quarter in Game 1 combining for 23 points. This time, Curry scored four points and Poole had six, but Golden State finished the third on a 13-3 run to tie it up at 77. Morant was hit in the face in the final seconds and went to the bench saying he couldn&rsquo;t see out of his left eye.
Golden State took its first lead of the game within the opening minute of the fourth on a layup by Poole, and the Warriors led by as much as 81-77. Memphis answered with a 9-2 run capped by back-to-back 3s from Williams, who missed the last two playoff games with a sore right knee.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Now are 39-34 in Game 2s and 18-9 since the 2015 playoffs. ... Thompson needed only one 3 to reach 400 for his career in the playoffs. He knocked that down with 7:16 left in the first quarter. ... They outrebounded Memphis matching their postseason high for a second straight game at 52-47.
Grizzlies: Morant snapped a streak of six straight double-doubles that made him the youngest in 30 years with that long a streak in one postseason. ... Jackson tied Zach Randolph for third on the franchise&rsquo;s career blocks list in the postseason with his 24th a minute into the third quarter. ... They shot 14 of 45 from 3.
IN THE CROWD
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was at the game with three former Spartans in this game, including Warriors forward Draymond Green. Izzo posed for a photo before the game with Xavier Tillman Sr. and Jackson.&nbsp;

Ja Morant scored 47 points to match his postseason high and carry the Grizzlies into a tie in the West semifinals with a 106-101 victory.

Morant scores 47 points, Grizzlies tie Warriors at one apiece

DETROIT (AP) — Luka Doncic has helped the Dallas Mavericks win 50 games, a relatively rare feat lately for the franchise.
The All-Star guard had 26 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds to lead Dallas in a 131-113 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
The Mavericks reached the 50-win mark for the first time in seven years, and just the second since winning their only NBA title.
“It’s a great accomplishment," coach Jason Kidd said. “The guys in that locker room can’t take that lightly because it’s not easy to do."
Dallas is 20 games above .500 for the first time since 2011, when they went on to win the NBA title. The franchise is set up to earn home-court advantage in the playoffs, for the first time since Kidd was their point guard during the championship season, after starting 2022 with a losing record.
“I think it’s pretty impressive," Doncic said. “We started the season kind of slow. I’m proud of how we played and hopefully we get to 52 (wins)."
Jalen Brunson had 24 points for the Mavericks, who have won five of their last six to build momentum going into the playoffs next week.
Rookie of the Year candidate Cade Cunningham had 25 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Pistons, who had won three straight to match what was their longest winning streak of the season.
Even with the game out of reach in the final minutes, coach Dwane Casey had his starters on the floor.
“That’s going to be a top team in the West," Casey said. “I wanted them to feel it and experience it."
Dallas led by as much as eight in the first, but trailed 34-32 after Doncic and Cunningham each had their fourth assist over the last 3.4 seconds of the quarter.
The Mavs moved back ahead in the second quarter and led 65-58 at halftime with Doncic scoring 16 points, making six assists. 
Doncic was called for his fourth foul at the 8:05 mark of the third. Kidd left him in the game and it turned out to be a wise move as Doncic was dominant, making a 3-pointer and assist that put the Mavs ahead 93-77 late in the quarter.
Dallas didn't have any trouble keeping its comfortable cushion in the fourth, finishing with 15 3-pointers on 33 shots beyond the arc.
“They do a great job of spreading out and making 3-point shots," Casey said. “You make one mistake and they make you pay. They’re a great offensive team, exactly what we want to be in terms of moving the basketball and knocking down 3s," 
CROSSOVER
Kidd is among the many marveling that Tiger Woods is teeing off at the Masters on Thursday morning, 14 months after a car crash left him in a hospital bed for three months.
“What Tiger is doing has already broken the internet,” Kidd said. “If he’s in the running for winning it, he definitely will shut down the internet. What he’s done to just come back, is incredible. I think everyone will be watching.”
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Reserve Sterling Brown missed the game for personal reasons. ... Forward Maxi Kleber (right ankle) missed a second straight game. ... The Mavs have won five straight against Detroit, winning each game by double digits.
Pistons: The banged-up, rebuilding team was without several injured players Marvin Bagley (hip), Hamidou Diallo (finger), Jerami Grant (calf), Cory Joseph (back), Rodney McGruder (hip) and rested Kelly Olynyk. “I think we have a couple of coaches, and we are ready to go," Casey joked. ... Faces in the crowd included Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, sitting with former players Mateen Cleaves and Mat Ishbia, who has courtside seats.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Close the regular season at home against Portland on Friday night and San Antonio on Sunday.
Pistons: End the regular season against Milwaukee on Friday night at home and at Philadelphia on Sunday.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Luka Doncic leads the Dallas Mavericks over the Detroit Pistons for Dallas' 50th win on the season.

Luka Doncic-led Mavericks beat Pistons 131-113 for 50th win

Nearing the end of the NCAA regular season, Derek Murray takes a dive into the state of the Big Ten.

State of the Conference: Evaluating the Big Ten

War Eagle is flying high over men&rsquo;s college basketball for the first time in history.
A barely ranked afterthought to begin the season, Auburn climbed past Gonzaga to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll released Monday. The Tigers beat Kentucky over the weekend for their 15th consecutive win, then scooped up 45 of 61 first-place votes to become the nation&rsquo;s top-ranked team for the first time since the poll began with the 1948-49 season.
The Bulldogs dropped to No. 2 with 15 first-place votes. Arizona remained third and earned the other No. 1 vote.
&ldquo;I think for us, it&rsquo;s the sum of our parts,&rdquo; said Bruce Pearl, who led the Tigers to the Final Four in 2019. &ldquo;If we&rsquo;re playing nine guys on a regular basis, or sometimes 10, you&rsquo;ve got to account for all of them. And I thought (against Kentucky) we got really great contributions, you know, from everybody.&rdquo;
Including the teeming crowd inside Auburn Arena, and the boisterous student section known simply as The Jungle, who are no doubt celebrating the return to prominence of a school known more for its football than its basketball.
The Tigers (18-1, 15-0 SEC) spent most of the 1999-2000 season ranked in the top 10, including one week at No. 2. They also spent a week at No. 2 late in the 1988-99 season and another week at No. 2 back in February 1959.
But being No. 1? That&rsquo;s a whole new experience. The Tigers are the fifth team to reach that spot this season, following two stints by the Bulldogs and runs by Duke, Purdue and defending national champion Baylor.
The Bears rebounded from consecutive losses while ranked No. 1 to beat West Virginia and Oklahoma, and climbed one position to fourth. Big 12 rival Kansas was right behind in fifth after a pair of heart-stopping wins.
The Boilermakers fell two spots to sixth after losing to Indiana early last week. They were followed by Houston and UCLA, deadlocked at No. 7, with Duke and Michigan State rounding out the top 10.
The Spartans, unranked to start the season, blew out then-No. 8 Wisconsin last week and have lost once since November.
&ldquo;We got after it, and that&rsquo;s the way it had to be, and a lot of it falls on me, too,&rdquo; Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. &ldquo;I think we got some things accomplished last week.&rdquo;
The Badgers fell to No. 11 and were followed by Kentucky, Texas Tech, Villanova and Southern California, which bounced back from a loss to Oregon with wins over Colorado and Utah on the road.
Ohio State climbed three spots to give the Big Ten a fourth team within the top 16. Providence, Tennessee, LSU and UConn rounded out the top 20, while Xavier, Marquette, Iowa State, Illinois and Davidson completed the poll.
Stephen Curry&rsquo;s alma mater is ranked for the first time since spending a Week at No. 24 in March 2015.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to learn lessons, and it seems every game has given us lessons to learn,&rdquo; Davidson coach Bob McKillop said, &ldquo;and one of the joys of learning those lessons is we&rsquo;re learning them with victories and not losses.&rdquo;
IN AND OUT
Marquette returned to the Top 25 for the first time under Shaka Smart, landing at No. 23 after the Golden Eagles didn&rsquo;t have a single vote last week. That&rsquo;s what happens when you beat three straight ranked teams &mdash; Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier &mdash; to run your winning streak to six heading into another showdown with the Pirates on Tuesday night.
Dropping out were Texas, which has lost three of its last five, and Loyola, which lost to Missouri State on Saturday.
UP AND DOWN
Tennessee made the biggest leap this week, climbing six spots to No. 18 following wins over Vanderbilt and LSU. Texas Tech and UConn each jumped five spots with the Red Raiders reaching a season-best No. 13 in the poll.
Iowa State tumbled the farthest, eight spots to No. 23, after losses to Texas Tech and TCU gave the Cyclones five in their last seven games. Illinois fell seven spots to No. 24 after losing a heartbreaker to Purdue and getting drilled by Maryland.
CONFERENCE WATCH
The Big Ten and Big East have five ranked teams apiece, followed by the SEC and Big 12 with four each. The Pac-12 has three and the ACC, American Athletic, West Coast and Atlantic 10 each had one.

A barely ranked afterthought to begin the season, Auburn climbed past Gonzaga to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll released Monday.

Auburn flies to No. 1 in AP Top 25 for first time in history

In recent years, the NBA has seen a wave of superstar point guards come in and command the spotlight right away &mdash; no matter their size. Ja Morant, Trae Young and Darius Garland are a few names that come to mind, and they're setting the tone for those who want to follow suit and be next in line.&nbsp;
As the top point guard in his class, University of Tennessee commit Kennedy Chandler is determined to cut in and join them, and he happens to know all three talented pros personally.
&ldquo;Ja and Trae and Darius, they came from being unknown to being top players in the world,&rdquo; Chandler told BasketballNews.com in a phone interview. &ldquo;Trae, everybody thought he was small, wouldn't be able to make it. Ja, same way, too skinny; nobody knew who Ja was. Just the hunger, I feel like we have a lot in common from being nobody to being one of the top players in the nation, I feel like I can do the same thing they did."
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A recently-turned 19-year-old five-star recruit out of Eads, Tennessee just east of Memphis, Chandler has befriended each at different points in his life. In his younger years, he was a part of &ldquo;We All Can Go,&rdquo; an AAU program that featured Garland and Marvin Bagley III headlining the eighth-grade squad. During that time, Chandler grew close to the Garland family, particularly Darius&rsquo; father, Winston.
&ldquo;His dad and my dad talk probably every day,&rdquo; Chandler said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s when [WACG] were <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3m1DmlHzTE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">competing against a team called Izod</a>. And ever since then, we just built the relationship, my family and his family built the relationship, and I just call him for any advice I [need]. His dad told me I can ask him any questions. His dad was a great basketball player, and I've got a great relationship with him and his family.&rdquo;
The Garlands have told Chandler the amount of work that is required if he wants to make it to the league. (&ldquo;If you really want to do it, you&rsquo;ve got to do it.&rdquo;) They&rsquo;ve also told him about the differences in the level of competition between high school, college and the pros. Winston was a seven-year NBA player, so Chandler has soaked in the knowledge he&rsquo;s been presented.
When he reached eighth grade himself, Chandler began to realize that he could make a career out of basketball. After his first session at the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League with MOKAN Basketball, the offers flooded in.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I was like, 'I really could take this basketball [thing] to a higher level,'&rdquo; Chandler said. &ldquo;And from that point on, I just changed who I was and changed how I needed to work and my work ethic. I just changed everything.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I had a great work ethic from my eighth grade year, but it wasn&rsquo;t how it was after my first EYBL session. Because at first, nobody really knew who I was. I had maybe one offer, two offers. And, you know, it was just me continuing trying to work to prove everybody wrong. From that point on, I picked up more offers after my first game. That made me really think about who I was and what I could do with this game of basketball. And MOKAN helped me be the player I am today.&rdquo;
Part of the reason Chandler came aboard the MOKAN program was because of Young&rsquo;s influence. (Chandler was so committed to MOKAN that he'd actually fly out to Kansas City to practice on the weekends there when he was still at Briarcrest Christian School before he transferred to Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita.) He&rsquo;s also taking a page out of the Atlanta Hawks star&rsquo;s book by playing for a college in his home state.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s amazing. Nothing wrong with playing at your home state &mdash; notice how he played at Oklahoma, I&rsquo;m playing in Tennessee,&rdquo; Chandler said. &ldquo;Knoxville, Tennessee, it&rsquo;s about six hours away from home. So, for me to play here&hellip; the fan base is crazy here. They love basketball and football. And I just can&rsquo;t wait to put on a show for Knoxville.&rdquo;
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This is different Lil bro.... I LOVE IT!!! Ain&rsquo;t nothing like reppin the home state, trust me🙏🏽💯 Go Crazy! <a href="https://t.co/fcIm848v0L">https://t.co/fcIm848v0L</a>
&mdash; Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheTraeYoung/status/1294347799048392704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2020</a></blockquote>

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It just so happens that he&rsquo;ll share the Volunteer state with Morant, whom Chandler is closest with out of the point-guard trio. When the Memphis Grizzlies favorite was drafted, he followed Chandler on Instagram after IMG Academy assistant coach Trey Draper suggested the two connect. Morant then sent Chandler a direct message asking where he could get some sessions in.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I texted him back,&rdquo; Chandler said. &ldquo;I was just shocked, you know? I didn&rsquo;t think that he even knew who I was. Ever since then, we've played together in the hoop runs, played against each other, and ever since then, our bond has gotten closer and closer.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I call him anytime. They&rsquo;re like family to me, his family is like family. His dad gives me great advice all the time. He&rsquo;s like a big brother to me.&rdquo;
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my brother 🖤 <a href="https://t.co/EVRmhFCss6">https://t.co/EVRmhFCss6</a>
&mdash; Ja Morant (@JaMorant) <a href="https://twitter.com/JaMorant/status/1294284090057908224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2020</a></blockquote>

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Continuing the theme of looking up to guards like him, Chandler mentions that he actually models his game after Chris Paul. His film sessions focus on how the All-Star maestro gets inside and gets players open. At the moment, Chandler is confident in his finishing around the basket and using his speed and vision to find open teammates. He trusts in his jumpshot and is looking to progress it and extend his range.
Chandler was able to showcase those talents this past summer on Team USA&rsquo;s U-19 World Cup gold medal squad headed by Jamie Dixon. Boasting a roster full of potential and collegiate studs &mdash; Chet Holmgren and Jaden Ivey, plus Mike Miles Jr. and Kenneth Lofton among others &mdash; the Americans jelled overseas in Latvia; however, it didn&rsquo;t come as easily as anticipated.
&ldquo;That was a great experience. That was my first time going across the country,&rdquo; Chandler said. &ldquo;I'd say for my sake, it's more physical over there. They let you play. Them teams there, their chemistry's really good. So for us, we didn't have the chemistry. I don't think nobody really knows, we lost our first scrimmage to Australia. So we had to get used to playing with each other, knowing what each other does, knowing that it's not for us [individually]; it's about what we're wearing on our chest.&nbsp;
&ldquo;For me to win gold was a dream come true as well. I learned a lot from playing over there and coming back over here, me playing for USA and going across to Latvia really helped me."
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Riding that momentum coming into this year, Chandler will have the opportunity to be under the tutelage of Rick Barnes, a well-respected coach in the basketball world who&rsquo;s worked with a number of notable players over the course of his career. Before Barnes came to Tennessee, he made waves with the Texas Longhorns. He coached quite a few guards who were shorter in size, including a highly-touted prospect in 2001 who made his way to the next level: T.J. Ford.
&ldquo;He thinks I'm just like T.J. the way I act. It's kinda funny,&rdquo; Chandler said. &ldquo;I didn't even know who T.J. Ford was, to be honest with you. I didn't know who he was once I committed there, and I started looking to watch his highlights; he was a great player. T.J. texted me and told me he was gonna be down here soon and talk to me 'cause I know he's a trainer down in Houston. So I know T.J. told me he'll come down here soon, work with me. I'm looking forward to meeting him, talking to him.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Coach Barnes had other guards like D.J. Augustin, a small guard. So that's why I came here as well, 'cause Coach Barnes knows what he's doing with his point guards."
Barnes already sees how intense Chandler is in practice. The Vols head coach is keying in on his newest point guard valuing possessions and getting into his assignments defensively. Chandler already has a set of goals for himself going into the season, and Tennessee fans will love to hear his high aspirations.
&ldquo;For me to come in, lead the team. Even though I'm a freshman, being able to lead the team and just bring a different dog,&rdquo; Chandler said. &ldquo;Bring a competitive player, for me, which he knows I am. Bring defense, bring anything to the table as well. But for me, as a small guard, just bringing the hustle... I want to have a great assist-to-turnover ratio. That's what I want to do, and lead the team to somewhere Tennessee's never been, as far as I can...
&ldquo;I just think I'm about to surprise people [with] how well I do this year."
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Basketball News Lead NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock happens to agree with Chandler:
Kennedy Chandler may be on the smaller side, but he possesses elite speed and quickness, which allow him to be a dynamic scorer and playmaker. Since I first watched him a couple of years ago, he&rsquo;s continued to improve his game all the way around. I&rsquo;ve gotten to know Kennedy on a personal level, and in doing so, I&rsquo;ve come to find Kennedy to be a hard worker that is very driven. I&rsquo;ve also been impressed with his eagerness to seek advice and his ability to accept constructive criticism. After a season at Tennessee with veteran head coach Rick Barnes, I&rsquo;m expecting Kennedy to be one of the first point guards selected in the 2022 NBA Draft, if not the very first one.
Chandler&rsquo;s already felt the level increase in the short time he&rsquo;s been in the gym with the Vols. He felt that his lone year at Sunrise Christian Academy was competitive, but he quickly realized that college is a step up. He feels blessed to be playing at a Power Five Division I school, welcoming the challenge that awaits. He can&rsquo;t wait to take on the best that the SEC &mdash; and NCAA as a whole &mdash; has to offer.
Being as notable of a prospect as he is, the bright lights and attention come with it. Chandler doesn&rsquo;t treat it any differently than when he was off the radar, though. He&rsquo;s keeping his head down and staying humble because his journey is still ongoing. He's also fully invested in his studies of Communication &mdash; he'd like to be a basketball commentator when he's finished with his career. It's a big reason he went to school in lieu of going a separate route. (Rod Strickland and the G League Ignite reached out to him when Chandler was a junior, but he was focused on getting an education).
Still, right now, reaching the NBA is the primary goal, and this upcoming campaign with the Vols is critical to achieving that. When asked if he believes that he&rsquo;s the top point guard in his class, the answer is a confident &ldquo;yes&rdquo; because of his work ethic.
&ldquo;I was nothing at first. Nobody knew who I was,&rdquo; Chandler said. &ldquo;My hard work really paid off, and people started recognizing who I was. And my hard work just showed who I really was and that I deserve my respect, you know? That&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;ll continue to do, and I&rsquo;ll continue to work hard every single day.&rdquo;
Underestimate Chandler at your detriment. While he doesn&rsquo;t let the perception around his size get to him, he absolutely takes it as a slight. Not only does he have the desire to outwork everybody, he also has a chip on his shoulder.
&ldquo;I don't think it's fair at all,&rdquo; Chandler said. &ldquo;People, they consider me a small guard, but I'm playing against all big guards you can name that are freshmen now in college that are 6-foot-2, 6-foot-3. Size is just nothing to me. I play as [if] I'm a big guard. I don't believe me saying I'm a small guard really should affect me being [able] to play at the level of the NBA or just wherever I want to play at. I just take that as... it makes me work harder. It just makes me work harder every day 'cause I know me being 6-foot has nothing to do [with] me to play against [anybody] at any level.
&ldquo;That's not gonna bother me, them being taller than me, being this height. 'Cause I know I'm gonna get stronger as I am in college, which I am right now. I'm getting stronger and stronger every single day. So for people to consider me a small guard really doesn't bother me 'cause I've seen lots and lots of small guards that are in the league right now. I know if they can do it, I know I can do it as well.&rdquo;

Spencer Davies chats with Tennessee point guard Kennedy Chandler about his NBA relationships, high aspirations and more.

Tennessee's Kennedy Chandler intent on showing size isn't everything

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 10, 2021) &ndash; USA Basketball and MGM Resorts International, a leader in the sports and entertainment industry, today announced an expanded, multi-year partnership, tipping off this July in Las Vegas. As part of the partnership, MGM Resorts will be the Official Training Camp Home of the USA Basketball Men&rsquo;s and Women&rsquo;s National Teams, as well as an Official Integrated Resorts Partner of USA Basketball and an Official USA Basketball Exhibition Tour Partner.
As the new Training Camp Home of the USA Basketball Men&rsquo;s and Women&rsquo;s National Teams, MGM Resorts, in partnership with USA Basketball, will host four additional countries in Las Vegas, creating a must-see international basketball competition prior to the teams&rsquo; departure for Tokyo.
Fans will have the opportunity to watch seven USA Basketball Men&rsquo;s and Women&rsquo;s National Team exhibition games July 10-18, as both teams take on top international opponents in preparation for this summer&rsquo;s historic competition. The lineup includes a rare opportunity to see both the USA Men&rsquo;s and Women&rsquo;s National Teams play live on the same day, July 16 and 18, as well as opportunities to see three additional matchups between the other foreign national teams. Each of the five days of exhibition games will be doubleheaders. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, June 16 at 10 a.m. PDT, and ticket information is available online at <a href="https://click.usabasketball-email.com/?qs=88fbd98d6fc9fe8449117206f0054af7511277b689768138d5a27e8e283fc46325163dd90d1c2b611380e5b94f4a9bb8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://axs.com/USABasketball</a>.
&ldquo;USA Basketball is proud to expand its partnership with MGM Resorts. We&rsquo;re excited to bring our national teams to their properties as we prepare for the challenging competition that lies ahead this summer,&rdquo; said Jim Tooley, USA Basketball CEO. &ldquo;Training camps are such an important foundation for our preparation and having such a strong commitment from MGM positions us for great success.&rdquo;
Lance Evans, Senior Vice President of MGM Resorts, Sports, said, &ldquo;MGM Resorts and Las Vegas have an extensive history with USA Basketball. This expanded partnership will allow us to showcase our resorts as we host multiple USA Basketball games at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay, as well as a variety of USA Basketball-related activities. We look forward to offering hoops fans another reason to visit the Sports Capital of the World.&rdquo;
After opening camp on July 6, the USA Men&rsquo;s National Team will tip off a five-game exhibition series against Nigeria on July 10 (5 p.m. PDT); followed by Australia on July 12 (5 p.m. PDT); Argentina on July 13 (3 p.m. PDT); Australia for a second time on July 16 (3 p.m. PDT); and Spain on July 18 (6 p.m. PDT).
The USA Women&rsquo;s National Team members will arrive from their respective WNBA teams at the start of the Olympic Break and are scheduled to face Australia on July 16 (11:30 a.m. PDT), immediately preceding the USA Men&rsquo;s National Team vs. Australia game, and then will take on Nigeria on July 18 (2:30 p.m. PDT), immediately preceding the USA Men&rsquo;s National Team vs. Spain game.
International teams also will play each other in Las Vegas, including the men&rsquo;s side Argentina vs. Australia on July 10 (8:30 p.m. PDT), Argentina vs. Nigeria on July 12 (1:30 p.m. PDT) and Australia vs. Nigeria on July 13 (6:30 p.m. PDT).
Comprehensive health and safety protocols will be in place, including mandatory and regular COVID-19 PCR testing, administered to athletes, coaches, officials and staff in accordance with FIBA and USA Basketball recommendations and CDC guidelines.
The rosters for training camps are to be announced, but they will be comprised of members of the USA Men&rsquo;s and USA Women&rsquo;s National Teams.&nbsp;
The USA men are led by head coach Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) with assistant coaches Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), Lloyd Pierce and Jay Wright (Villanova University), with Jerry Colangelo as the USA Men&rsquo;s National Team managing director.
The USA women are guided by head mentor Dawn Staley (South Carolina) and assistant coaches Dan Hughes, Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota Lynx) and Jennifer Rizzotti (Connecticut Sun president).
About USA Basketball
Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and chaired by retired Gen. Martin Dempsey , USA Basketball is a nonprofit organization and the national governing body for basketball in the United States. As the recognized governing body for basketball in the U.S. by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the United States Olympic &amp; Paralympic Committee (USOPC), USA Basketball is responsible for the selection, training and fielding of USA national teams that compete in FIBA-sponsored five-on-five, 3x3 and esport international competitions, as well as for some national competitions and for the development of youth basketball initiative that address player development, coach education and safety, while promoting, growing and elevating the game.
Connect with USA Basketball at USAB.com and on Facebook (USABasketball, USABYouth), Twitter &nbsp;(@usabasketball, @USABJNT, @USABYouth, @USAB3x3 ), Instagram (@USABasketball, @USABYouth, @USAB3x3) and YouTube.com/usabasketball.

USA Basketball and MGM Resorts International today announced an expanded, multi-year partnership, tipping off this July in Las Vegas.

USA Basketball and MGM Resorts announce expanded partnership

Fran Fraschilla discusses his upbringing, coaching career, transition to broadcasting, fatherhood, whether he'd coach again, and more.