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

NBA Expansion Mock Draft: What would a new expansion team look like?

LeBron James, one of the most celebrated and accomplished basketball players in the history of the sport, has never been shy about revealing his off-court ambitions.&nbsp;&nbsp;
In 2016, during an episode of UNINTERRUPTED's "Open Run" podcast, <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lebron-james-says-his-dream-is-to-own-an-nba-team/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James declared</a>: "My dream is to actually own a team." While it may have seemed somewhat fantastical at the time, that dream is far closer to reality nowadays.&nbsp;
In the six years since making that statement, James has continued to grow his financial empire. Last week, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2022/06/02/lebron-james-is-officially-a-billionaire/?sh=45be91f0453e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forbes reported</a> that James' net worth has reached $1 billion, making him the first active NBA player to hit this milestone.&nbsp;
James has pocketed nearly $350 million in on-court earnings throughout his career, making him the second-highest-paid athlete in the world behind only soccer superstar Lionel Messi. However, LeBron has also made massive sums of money via his investments in companies such as Lyft, Tonal, Blaze Pizza and SpringHill Entertainment as well as his endorsement deals with Nike, AT&amp;T, PepsiCo and Walmart among others. Forbes estimates that James has netted $500 million from his investments.
Speaking with reporters after a game last season, <a href="https://www.nba.com/lakers/video/teams/lakers/2021/03/16/178126/1615963311578-webpostlbj-178126">James reaffirmed his desire to own an NBA franchise someday</a>. 
"I've always said that my goal was to own a team, own an NBA team," James said. "I've got so much to give to the game. I know what it takes to win at this level. I know talent. I also know how to run a business as well, and so that is my goal. My goal is to own an NBA franchise, and it'll be sooner than later."
At around the same time that James made those comments, it was announced that he had become a partner in Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club of the English Premier League among other properties. Earlier this week, James shared interesting specifics related to his future ownership objectives.&nbsp;
"Yeah, I wanna buy a team, for sure. I want a team in Vegas," James said in a clip from the latest episode of his show, "The Shop," which will debut Friday.
On Thursday, James <a href="https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1534940135967510533?s=20&amp;t=i-pFnJOA7Au_G32vhfkPHQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted the clip</a> alongside the caption, "Speaking it into existence!"
The first major obstacle in the way is the fact that the NBA does not currently have a team in Las Vegas. However, many league insiders firmly believe that the NBA will announce plans to expand in the near future and that Vegas is all but a lock to land one of the coveted slots.&nbsp;
In a press conference before Game 1 of the NBA Finals last week, commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that "at some point, this league invariably will expand," before adding, "it's not at this moment that we are discussing it."
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When the NBA officially expands, it is assumed that they will add two franchises simultaneously to keep the league balanced with an even number of teams. Along with Vegas, Seattle is the other city considered a heavy favorite to secure the rights to a new franchise. Seattle served as the home of the SuperSonics from 1968 through 2008 before the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City, leaving basketball fans in the Pacific Northwest heartbroken. In the years since, there has been a concerted effort from fans, players and coaches to bring a team back.&nbsp;
When asked about Las Vegas specifically, Silver noted that the city is the home to the NBA Summer League and that Vegas "has shown itself to be a great sports market." Last October, in an interview with Sports Business Journal, <a href="https://www.si.com/fannation/nba/fastbreak/rumors/nba-rumor-could-a-team-be-coming-to-las-vegas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silver acknowledged</a> that when the league starts seriously exploring expansion, there is "no doubt Vegas will be on the list."
With sports betting becoming legal in more and more states, propelled by the windfall of profits mobile wagering has generated, pro sports teams are no longer afraid to lay down roots in Sin City. Las Vegas is currently home to the NFL's Raiders and NHL's Golden Knights. In 2017, the NBA and WNBA approved the sale of the San Antonio Silver Stars to MGM Resorts in Las Vegas.
Earlier this year, the Oak View Group <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2022/03/30/las-vegas-nba-arena-rumors-sports-entertainment-district-oak-view-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it had purchased 25 acres of land in Vegas to build a $3 billion sports and entertainment district that will include a 20,000-seat arena.
"The arena will be world-class," <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2022/03/30/las-vegas-nba-arena-rumors-sports-entertainment-district-oak-view-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said CEO Tim Leiweke</a>. "It will be for music, it'll be for sports, it'll be for cultural activities, and should the NBA decide to come &mdash; and by the way, there's no certainty or no guarantees that the NBA is ever coming to Vegas but should they come &mdash; we certainly will be NBA-ready and make sure that we hit all of their standards."
The arena will be located 10 minutes from the strip and it's expected to break ground sometime in 2023.
When attempting to speculate how much a new franchise might be worth, it should be noted that the most recent NBA team to go on the market was the Minnesota Timberwolves. In April, former MLB star Alex Rodriguez and former Walmart e-commerce CEO Marc Lore agreed to purchase the Timberwolves for $1.5 billion. Like Rodriguez, James would need to recruit a partner or form an ownership group to make a competitive bid. Last week, Nike founder Phil Knight<a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34026351/sources-nike-phil-knight-dodgers-alan-smolinisky-make-offer-buy-portland-trail-blazers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a>offered to pay more than $2 billion to purchase the Portland Trail Blazers.
It's also important to note that, per the league's collective bargaining agreement, James would be unable to purchase any stake in an NBA franchise while he is an active NBA player. And although he turns 38 years old later this year, James is still playing at an incredibly high level. This past season, James averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.2 assists and a career-high 2.9 made three-pointers per game.
In an <a href="https://theathletic.com/3138844/2022/02/19/could-lebron-james-return-to-cleveland-again-the-doors-not-closed-on-that-he-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview with The Athletic</a> published in February, James stated definitively that he plans to play long enough to share the floor with his oldest son, Bronny.
"My last year will be played with my son," James said. "Wherever Bronny is at, that's where I'll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It's not about the money at that point."
Bronny won't be draft-eligible for another two years under the NBA's current CBA.&nbsp;
Regarding the league's potential timeline, it has been rumored that Silver and Co. plan to hold off on formally announcing serious steps toward expansion until after the NBA's current media rights deal expires in 2024. It's possible that the NBA's timeline and James' long-term plan could perfectly align.
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LeBron James says he wants to own an NBA team in Las Vegas. Tommy Beer breaks down James' goal and whether it's feasible.

Examining LeBron James' goal of owning an NBA team in Las Vegas

In a remarkable display of superb basketball, the 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament will feature all four No. 1 seeds&mdash;Florida Gators, Auburn Tigers, Duke Blue Devils, and Houston Cougars&mdash;advancing to the Final Four. This marks the first occurrence since 2008 that all top seeds have reached this stage.​
The Final Four matchups are set to take place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday, April 5. The semifinal games feature Florida facing Auburn at 5:09 p.m. ET, followed by Houston against Duke at 7:49 p.m. ET. Both games will be broadcast on CBS and streamed on March Madness Live and Paramount+.​
Each team's path through the Elite Eight was marked by decisive victories. The Florida Gators secured their Final Four berth by defeating the Texas Tech Red Raiders with a final score of 84-79. The Auburn Tigers overcame the Michigan State Spartans in a 70-64 contest despite a scare from star player Johni Broome, who suffered an elbow injury during the game. Broome returned to contribute crucial points, helping Auburn advance and keep dancing in March Madness.
The Duke Blue Devils dominated the Alabama Crimson Tide with an 85-65 win led by standout freshman Cooper Flagg. The Houston Cougars delivered a commanding 69-50 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers. The Cougars' strong defense and cohesive play have been instrumental in their journey, and this will once again be needed for them to win in the Final Four.
In the Final Four, each team will bring a compelling narrative to the tournament.
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Florida Gators: Making their first Final Four appearance since 2014, the Gators aim to capture their third national title.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Auburn Tigers: Under the leadership of Coach Bruce Pearl, Auburn seeks its first national championship, adding to the excitement surrounding their journey.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Duke Blue Devils: Led by standout freshman Cooper Flagg, Duke continues its storied tradition in the tournament, with insights from Coach K and current coach Jon Scheyer highlighting their path to the Final Four.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Houston Cougars: With a strong bond and loyalty praised by alumnus and legendary broadcaster Jim Nantz, Houston aims for its biggest achievement since the 1980s.</li>
</ul>
This convergence of top seeds sets the stage for an electrifying conclusion to March Madness 2025, as fans eagerly anticipate which team will emerge as the national champion.​

In a remarkable display of superb basketball, the 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament will feature all four No. 1 seeds.

March Madness 2025: All No. 1 Seeds Advance to Final Four

The 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament has reached the Elite Eight stage, featuring a mix of top seeds and formidable challengers. The matchups are as follows:​
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">South Region: #1 Auburn Tigers vs. #2 Michigan State Spartans​</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">West Region: #1 Florida Gators vs. #3 Texas Tech Red Raiders​</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">East Region: #1 Duke Blue Devils vs. #2 Alabama Crimson Tide​</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Midwest Region: #1 Houston Cougars vs. #2 Tennessee Volunteers​</li>
</ul>
This after the respective teams defeated their opponents in the Sweet Sixteen. Duke superstar freshman Cooper Flagg took the center of the spotlight with an outstanding performance of 30 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocks against Arizona.
Notably, all four No. 1 seeds&mdash;Auburn, Florida, Duke, and Houston&mdash;have advanced to the Elite Eight, underscoring their dominance throughout the tournament.
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) boasts a strong presence, with four teams&mdash;Auburn, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee&mdash;competing in this stage. ​\\
These matchups promise high-caliber basketball as teams vie for a coveted spot in the Final Four, as fans anticipate the intense competition and memorable moments as the tournament progresses.​

The 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament has reached the Elite Eight stage, featuring a mix of top seeds and formidable challengers.

March Madness 2025: Elite Eight set for NCAA Men's Basketball

The 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament has reached the Sweet Sixteen stage, highlighted by Duke's commanding victory over Baylor and the elimination of reigning champions UConn.​
In their second-round matchup, the No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils showcased their dominance against the No. 9 seed Baylor Bears. The game, played on March 23, 2025, saw Duke's offense and defense operating at peak performance, leading to a decisive win. Fans can view extended highlights of this game on the NCAA's official website.
Conversely, the University of Connecticut Huskies, aiming for a third consecutive national title, faced a narrow defeat against the No. 1 seed Florida Gators. The intense game concluded with a 77-75 victory for Florida, ending UConn's bid for a third consecutive national title.&nbsp;
The tournament now advances to the Sweet Sixteen, with matchups scheduled as follows:​
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Purdue Boilermakers vs Houston Cougars</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Michigan Wolverines vs Auburn Tigers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Kentucky Wildcats vs Tennessee Volunteers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Ole Miss Rebels vs Michigan State Spartans</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Arkansas Razorbacks vs Texas Tech Red Raiders</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Arizona Wildcats vs Duke Blue Devils</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Maryland Terrapins vs Florida Gators</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">BYU Cougars vs Alabama Crimson Tide</li>
</ul>
As the competition intensifies, fans eagerly anticipate the forthcoming games that will determine the teams advancing to the Elite Eight.​

The 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament has reached the Sweet Sixteen stage, with the games starting today, March 28, 2025.

March Madness 2025: The Sweet Sixteen commences

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice, reflecting on the career-high seven 3-pointers he made for Texas, was asked by a reporter when he last felt that confident.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t necessarily feel hot, because I missed three,&rdquo; Rice said with a straight face as teammate Marcus Carr doubled over in laughter next to him at the podium. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m just trying to keep it going.&rdquo;
The No. 2 seed Longhorns are off to a strong start.
Rice scored 23 points and Texas shut down sharpshooting Colgate for an 81-61 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament&nbsp;on Thursday night.
Carr finished with 17 points and Dylan Disu had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Longhorns (17-8), who shot 13 for 23 from 3-point range to beat the Raiders at their own game. Texas will play 10th-seeded Penn State in the second round on Saturday in the Midwest Region.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re fortunate to get a real game the first game of the tournament. Colgate is an elite, legit team. We won by 20, but it felt like we really won by five or seven,&rdquo; said Timmy Allen, who returned from a leg injury that kept him out of the Big 12 Tournament.
In another inspired performance under&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-terry-texas-b5a4abdc1dee50bb96dfd70920d0b798" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interim coach Rodney Terry</a>, his first NCAA Tournament win as a head coach, Rice and the Longhorns picked the perfect time to get hot on the perimeter against the nation&rsquo;s leading outside shooting team. They matched their season best for 3-pointers made.
&ldquo;I just feel every single guy that walked on the court today had a game plan,&rdquo; Carr said. &ldquo;The coaches had us prepared, and we executed.&rdquo;
The Raiders (26-9) went just 3 for 15 from deep against a relentless and long-armed Longhorns defense. Colgate shot better than 40% before the tournament. The leading individual 3-point shooter in the country, Oliver Lynch-Daniels, went 1 for 4. He was a 50% shooter from long range this season.
&ldquo;They could beat us with 3s, but they were going to have a hard time beating us with 2s,&rdquo; Terry said.
Keegan Records and Ryan Moffatt each scored 13 points for the 15th-seeded Raiders, who have not won an NCAA Tournament game in six appearances. Tucker Richardson, the Patriot League Player of the Year, had nine points on 4-for-11 shooting.
&ldquo;Especially those guards when they&rsquo;ve got Rice in there as a third guard, they&rsquo;re just really quick,&rdquo; Richardson said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of hard for us to get open.&rdquo;
With most of the fans in Wells Fargo Arena rooting for the upset, the Longhorns adjusted to Colgate&rsquo;s second-half zone defense and never let the lead get smaller than seven points.
About an hour before Texas took the court, No. 2 seed Arizona was&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-ncaa-arizona-princeton-4b28e0acabe2b75ccdbac81d40a6fd66" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ousted by Princeton</a>&nbsp;in the West Region. The Tigers became the 11th team seeded 15th to win a first-round game&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2022-03-17/history-2-seeds-vs-15-seeds-march-madness" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in 149 tries</a>&nbsp;and the third in three years.
The Longhorns played hard enough &mdash; and shot well enough &mdash; to make sure they didn&rsquo;t land on that list.
After driving hard toward the block, Carr kicked the ball back out to the top of the key to set up&nbsp;Rice&rsquo;s fourth 3-pointer&nbsp;for a 29-17 lead. As the calm and deliberate Rice flashed a sheepish smile, Carr gave him an exaggerated hand slap as he jumped up and down on the retreat for defense.
Rice, the lanky super sub and graduate transfer from New Mexico State who is aiming to play in the Final Four in his native Houston, went 8 for 14 from the field.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s as good of an overall basketball player as I&rsquo;ve seen all year &mdash; his intelligence, his IQ, his poise, his defense, his recognition of his teammates, but his ability to step up,&rdquo; Colgate coach Matt Langel said.
The Longhorns have&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-midwest-texas-d2cf4f137d9cd1f2228b8bc9aa899942" target="_blank" rel="noopener">come a long way</a>&nbsp;since coach Chris Beard was arrested on a later-dropped domestic violence charge and fired soon after that.
They hit the NCAA Tournament in stride under Terry&rsquo;s even-keeled guidance with two decisive wins over Kansas, the regular-season Big 12 champion and No. 1 seed in the West Region, that included the conference championship.
These Longhorns have a strong bond that has carried them to the verge of a trip to the tournament&rsquo;s second weekend for the first time since 2008. The last Final Four for Texas was in 2003, when Terry was an assistant under coach Rick Barnes.
&ldquo;I think we prepare really well, better than a lot of teams in the country,&rdquo; Rice said. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re really locked into the details and locked into the things that we have to do to win.&rdquo;

Sir’Jabari Rice scored 23 points and Texas shut down sharpshooting Colgate for an 81-61 victory in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

No. 2 seed Texas tops Colgate 81-61 behind Rice’s 7 made 3s

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Mississippi has hired Chris Beard as its basketball coach five weeks after his firing from Texas following a domestic violence arrest.
The Rebels announced Beard&rsquo;s hiring on Monday and will introduce him Tuesday in a public event at the SBJ Pavilion. Beard is a four-time conference coach of the year and was AP&rsquo;s national coach of the year in 2019.
But his two-year tenure at alma mater Texas ended abruptly in January, though felony domestic charges were ultimately dismissed on Feb. 15. A prosecutor said his office determined that the charge of assault by strangulation/suffocation-family violence could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Texas suspended Beard after his Dec. 12 arrest and fired him three weeks later when Texas officials told Beard&rsquo;s attorney he was &ldquo;unfit&rdquo; to lead the program. Beard was arrested when his fianc&eacute;e, Randi Trew, called 911 and told officers that Beard strangled, bit and hit her during a confrontation in his home.
She later said that Beard didn&rsquo;t choke her, and was defending himself, and that she never intended for Beard to be arrested and prosecuted.
Beard replaces Kermit Davis, who was ousted on Feb. 24 after going 74-79 in nearly five full seasons.
&ldquo;We thoroughly evaluated a number of outstanding candidates, and there is no doubt Coach Beard is one of the top coaches in the nation,&rdquo; said Keith Carter, the school&rsquo;s vice chancellor for athletics. &ldquo;After conducting due diligence and speaking to a number of individuals on and off the court, it was evident he is the right person to guide our team to greatness.&rdquo;
Beard has led three different programs to the NCAA Tournament since 2016, including an appearance in the 2019 championship game and an Elite Eight run the year before at Texas Tech. He is 237-98 as a head coach and 11-5 in the NCAA Tournament.
&ldquo;I am honored to be joining the Ole Miss family and excited to get started at this great university,&rdquo; said Beard, who was 29-13 at Texas. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t express how grateful I am to Chancellor (Glenn) Boyce, Keith Carter and the rest of the search committee for their belief in me to lead this program. I am really looking forward to being an active part of the Oxford community.&rdquo;
Beard spent five seasons at Texas Tech, going 112-55 at a program that had endured five losing seasons in the previous six years. The Red Raiders went to their first Elite Eight in his second season and made it to the national championship game in 2019.
Beard led Little Rock to a 30-5 record and a Sun Belt Conference title in his lone season, making the second round of the NCAA Tournament.&nbsp;

Beard replaces Kermit Davis, who was ousted on Feb. 24 after going 74-79 in nearly five full seasons.

Ole Miss hires former Texas coach Chris Beard

With five conference tournament finals capping a wild week of men's college hoops, Sunday afternoon officially marked the end of the 2022-23 men's college basketball regular season, which means only one thing: March Madness is upon us.
Princeton (Ivy), Virginia Commonwealth (A-10), Alabama (SEC), Purdue (Big Ten) and Memphis (AAC) punched their official ticket to the men's 2023 NCAA Tournament to round out the group of 32 receiving an automatic bid.
Those teams joined: Vermont (America East), Duke (ACC), Kennesaw State (ASUN), Texas (Big 12), Marquette (Big East), Montana State (Big Sky), UNC Asheville (Big South), UC Santa Barbara (Big West), College of Charleston (CAA), Florida Atlantic (C-USA), Northern Kentucky (Horizon), Iona (MAAC), Kent State (MAC), Howard (MEAC), Drake (Missouri Valley), San Diego State (Mountain West), Fairleigh Dickinson (Northeast), Southeast Missouri State (Ohio Valley), Arizona (Pac-12), Colgate (Patriot), Furman (Southern), Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi (Southland), Texas Southern (SWAC), Oral Roberts (Summit), Louisiana (Sun Belt), Gonzaga (WCC), Grand Canyon (WAC).
The selection committee revealed at 6 p.m. that the No. 1 overall seed is Alabama. The other three top seeds are Houston, Kansas and Purdue.
The First Four in Dayton will consist of a 16-seed matchup between Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi and Southeast Missouri State plus an 11-seed matchup between Mississippi State and Pittsburgh. In the other two games, there will be a 16-seed matchup between Texas Southern and Fairleigh Dickinson and an 11-seed matchup between Arizona State and Nevada.
Who else was invited to join The Big Dance on the road to the Final Four in Houston?
Following Selection Sunday, here is the official field of 68 in the men's 2023 NCAA Tournament:
South Region
(1) Alabama Crimson Tide vs. (16) Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi Islanders/Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
(8) Maryland Terrapins vs. (9) West Virginia Mountaineers
(5) San Diego State Aztecs vs. (12) College of Charleston Cougars
(4) Virginia Cavaliers vs. (13) Furman Palladins
(6) Creighton Blue Jays vs. (11) NC State Wolfpack
(3) Baylor Bears vs. (14) UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
(7) Missouri Tigers vs. (10) Utah State Aggies
(2) Arizona Wildcats vs. (15) Princeton Tigers
Midwest Region
(1) Houston Cougars vs. (16) Northern Kentucky Norse
(8) Iowa Hawkeyes vs. (9) Auburn Tigers
(5) Miami Hurricanes vs. (12) Drake Bulldogs
(4) Indiana Hoosiers vs. (13) Kent State Golden Flashes
(6) Iowa State Cyclones vs. (11) Mississippi State Bulldogs/Pittsburgh Panthers
(3) Xavier Musketeers vs. (14) Kennesaw State Owls
(7) Texas A&amp;M Aggies vs. (10) Penn State Nittany Lions
(2) Texas Longhorns vs. (15) Colgate Raiders
West Region
(1) Kansas Jayhawks vs. (16) Howard Bison
(8) Arkansas Razorbacks vs. (9) Illinois Fighting Illini
(5) Saint Mary's Gaels vs. (12) VCU Rams
(4) UConn Huskies vs. (13) Iona Gaels
(6) TCU Horned Frogs vs. (11) Arizona State Sun Devils/Nevada Wolfpack
(3) Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. (14) Grand Canyon Antelopes
(7) Northwestern Wildcats vs. (10) Boise State Broncos
(2) UCLA Bruins vs. (15) UNC Asheville Bulldogs
East Region
(1) Purdue Boilermakers vs. (16) Texas Southern Tigers/Fairleigh Dickinson Knights
(8) Memphis Tigers vs. (9) Florida Atlantic Owls
(5) Duke Blue Devils vs. (12) Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
(4) Tennessee Volunteers vs. (13) Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
(6) Kentucky Wildcats vs. (11) Providence Friars
(3) Kansas State Wildcats vs. (14) Montana State Bobcats
(7) Michigan State Spartans vs. (10) USC Trojans
(2) Marquette Golden Eagles vs. (15) Vermont Catamounts
THE BRACKET
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&mdash; NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1635049575483580416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2023</a>
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An overview of the official men's 2023 NCAA Tournament schedule and March Madness matchups on the road to Houston.

2023 NCAA Tournament: Men's field of 68 teams announced

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) &mdash; Texas Tech coach Mark Adams, who had been suspended recently for racially insensitive comments made toward one of his players, resigned shortly after the Red Raiders were eliminated from the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday night.
Second-year assistant Corey Williams had led the Red Raiders in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-tech-west-virginia-big-12-def5997a4d216200911c3dc30f2c2c52" target="_blank" rel="noopener">their 78-62 loss to West Virginia</a>.
The incident involving Adams occurred in a meeting with a player, who wasn&rsquo;t identified, Texas Tech said Sunday in announcing his suspension. The school said Adams &ldquo;was encouraging the student-athlete to be more receptive to coaching and referenced Bible verses about workers, teachers, parents, and slaves serving their masters.&rdquo;
Red Raiders athletic director Kirby Hocutt learned of the incident last Friday and issued a written reprimand, and Adams coached them in a regular season-ending loss to Oklahoma State the next day. But after Hocutt investigated the situation further,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-tech-mark-adams-suspension-f7c584acefdac8275e0661c4a3e34f73" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he decided to suspend Adams</a>&nbsp;just three days before the start of the Big 12 Tournament.
In its release Wednesday about Adams stepping down, the school said Hocutt determined after the inquiry that the racially insensitive comment was unintentional and an isolated incident.
Adams waited until his team was eliminated before announcing that he was stepping down.
&ldquo;My lifelong goal was to help and be a positive influence on my players, and to be a part of the Texas Tech men&rsquo;s basketball team,&rdquo; Adams said in a statement. &ldquo;However, both the university and I believe this incident has become a distraction for the Texas Tech men&rsquo;s basketball team and the university, which I care about so deeply.&rdquo;
This isn&rsquo;t the first time that high-profile coaches have been in trouble for insensitive comments.
Three years ago, Pat Chambers resigned at Penn State after one of his former players revealed the coach said he wanted to &ldquo;loosen the noose that&rsquo;s around your neck&rdquo; when talking to the player about helping him reduce stress; he wsa hired at Florida Gulf Coast this season. And during the 2020-21 season, Creighton coach Greg McDermott apologized for telling his team after a loss to &ldquo;stay on the plantation&rdquo; as a way to reminding them to stick together; he was suspended for one game.
The 66-year-old Adams graduated from Texas Tech in 1979 and had been on the staff there since 2016, beginning as director of basketball operations under Tubby Smith and then spending time on Chris Beard&rsquo;s staff. He was elevated to head coach when Beard departed for Texas, and signed a $15.5 million, five-year contract extension last spring.
The extension came after Adams led the Red Raiders to the finals of the Big 12 Tournament, where they lost to eventual national champion Kansas. They went to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in his first season in charge.
Things soured quickly this season, though. Texas Tech lost its first eight conference games, and any hope of making a run to the Big 12 Tournament title and a return to the NCAA tourney ended with a dismal effort against the Mountaineers.
&ldquo;If I&rsquo;m being honest, it&rsquo;s a lot of weight on these kids right now. They&rsquo;ve been through a lot in the last week or so,&rdquo; Williams said afterward. &ldquo;And in some ways, I just feel like it caught up with them, and they wanted to win.
&ldquo;They gave their best. And once the ball stopped falling in a little bit, it got a little bit more tougher,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;The hill became a lot steeper, and unfortunate we weren&rsquo;t able to make up the difference.&rdquo;

Texas Tech coach Mark Adams, who was suspended for making racially insensitive comments to a player, resigned on Wednesday.

Texas Tech coach Mark Adams resigns after insensitive comments

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

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

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

South Carolina survived one of its stiffest tests of the season to remain No. 1 in The Associated Press women&rsquo;s college basketball poll released Monday.
The Gamecocks (27-0) topped Mississippi in overtime on Sunday to win their 33rd consecutive game and secure the top spot in the poll for a 35th consecutive week. That is the third-longest run atop the poll, with UConn (51 weeks) and Louisiana Tech (36) having had longer streaks at No. 1. The Gamecocks broke a tie with UConn for third place.
South Carolina received 27 of the 28 first-place votes from the national media panel. It was the first time this season that the team wasn&rsquo;t a unanimous choice at No. 1.
Indiana got the other first place vote and stayed second in the poll. The Hoosiers have won 14 consecutive games and are 9-0 against AP Top 25 teams this season &mdash; the most wins against ranked opponents of any team in the country. The Hoosiers clinched at least a share of their first Big Ten title since 1983 with Sunday&rsquo;s win over Purdue.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nothing against South Carolina, but the Big Ten is incredibly strong this season and Indiana has played a tougher conference schedule,&rdquo; voter Mitchell Northam said. &ldquo;While the Gamecocks needed OT to get by Ole Miss, the Hoosiers handily beat ranked teams in Ohio State and Michigan this past week. I wanted to reward them for that. Indiana also has five wins against top 10 teams this season, the most in the country, and hasn&rsquo;t lost since Grace Berger has been healthy.&rdquo;
Stanford, UConn and LSU round out the top five teams.
Iowa, which hosts Indiana on Sunday, was No. 6. The Hawkeyes were followed by Maryland, Utah, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame. The Utes dropped four places after falling to then-No. 18 Arizona. The Wildcats moved up four spots to 14th.
RE-ENTRY
Middle Tennessee and Illinois re-entered the poll tied at No. 25. The Blue Raiders and Illini had spent some time in the AP Top 25 before falling out. They replaced USC, which dropped games to Stanford and Cal over the weekend.
STRUGGLING SEC
The conference has two of the top five teams in South Carolina and LSU, but no other school is ranked. With three polls left in the season, the SEC is in danger of not having at least three teams ranked in the final AP Top 25 for the first time since the 1980-81 season, when the conference had only two.

The Gamecocks have the third-longest run atop the poll, with UConn (51 weeks) & La. Tech (36) having had longer streaks at No. 1.

South Carolina’s No. 1 run in women’s Top 25 hits 35 weeks

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash; De&rsquo;vion Harmon scored 25 points and Kevin Obanor added 19 as Texas Tech defeated its second ranked opponent in three days, upending No. 6 Texas 74-67 on Monday night.
Fardaws Aimaq had a season-high 12 points for the Red Raiders, who led by 13 in the second half before fending off the Longhorns down the stretch.
Texas Tech (14-12, 3-10 Big 12) also topped No. 12 Kansas State on Saturday.
&ldquo;Obviously, I&rsquo;m extremely excited for these guys,&rdquo; Red Raiders coach Mark Adams said. &ldquo;It was a great team effort. That is a good basketball team that we beat. Texas plays hard. We matched their intensity and played, I thought, 40 minutes of great basketball.&rdquo;
Texas (20-6, 9-4) tied the game at 64 on a 3-pointer by Dylan Disu, but Tech responded by scoring the next six points as Obanor had two dunks and Aimaq converted a tip-in. Harmon added a driving basket with 35.1 seconds remaining, and the Red Raiders held on.
&ldquo;Give them credit,&rdquo; Texas interim coach Rodney Terry said. &ldquo;They made shots. Our guys had great effort. We just didn&rsquo;t do enough to put ourselves in position to win. In our league, anybody can beat anybody.&rdquo;
Marcus Carr led the Longhorns with 23 points, and Disu scored 11.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re a team that has been through a lot of adversity this season,&rdquo; Obanor said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like being in a boxing match, and you get beat up, but it speaks to your character when you get back up, have a sense of urgency and refuse to give up.&rdquo;
Texas Tech scored on seven consecutive possessions spanning halftime, taking a 51-38 lead. Texas used a 12-4 spurt to get within 59-54, and a 3 by Tyrese Hunter trimmed it to 64-61 before Disu&rsquo;s tying shot.
Harmon had 21 points in the first half and scored his team&rsquo;s final seven as the Red Raiders took a 44-35 lead at the break. Both teams connected on more than 45% of their shots. Tech went 7 of 12 from 3-point range, and Texas countered by shooting 6 for 11 from beyond the arc.
After the Longhorns pulled to 37-35 on Carr&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining in the half, Harmon answered with a short jumper in the lane, two free throws and a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded.
Texas&rsquo; shooting cooled in the second half as the Longhorns connected on 10 of 30 shots overall and went 5 of 16 from 3-point range. Texas Tech tightened its defense after halftime, forcing the Longhorns to work on every possession.
&ldquo;They play well here,&rdquo; Terry said. &ldquo;Texas Tech has good personnel and a coach who does a great job getting them in position.&rdquo;
BIG PICTURE
Texas Tech has won 10 of the past 12 meetings and holds a 37-29 edge in Lubbock. ... The Red Raiders have beaten three ranked Big 12 opponents at home this season, including Iowa State in overtime.
UP NEXT
Texas hosts Oklahoma on Saturday.
Texas Tech visits West Virginia on Saturday.

De’vion Harmon scored 25 points and Kevin Obanor added 19 as the Red Raiders defeated their second ranked opponent in three days.

Harmon, Obanor lead Texas Tech to 74-67 win over No. 6 Texas

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; D&rsquo;Andre Gholston hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Missouri a stunning 86-85 victory over No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday night.
With 4.2 seconds left in the game and the Volunteers (19-6, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) leading 85-83, Santiago Vescovi missed a free throw. His second attempt was waived off when Tobe Awaka committed a lane violation, setting up a final chance for the Tigers (19-6, 7-5).
Gholston took the inbounds and dribbled up the court before taking an off-balance contested 3-pointer from about 30 feet that swished through the net at the buzzer for the win. He was mobbed by his teammates after hitting the shot.
Tennessee came back from a 17-point deficit early in the second half and led the last 7:11 of the game.
NO. 3 ALABAMA 77, AUBURN 69
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Rylan Griffen scored 16 points, Mark Sears added 15 and Alabama held off a big challenge from its in-state rival Auburn.
The Crimson Tide (22-3, 12-0 Southeastern Conference) remained the only Power 5 team without a league loss. Sears and Griffen helped Alabama overcome an off shooting performance from star Brandon Miller, who had 13 points but missed all seven 3-point attempts.
Wendell Green Jr. had 16 of his 24 points in the second half for Auburn (17-8, 7-5).
STANFORD 88, NO. 4 ARIZONA 79
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Spencer Jones scored all 18 of his points in the second half for Stanford and played a key role in neutralizing Pac-12 leading scorer Azuolas Tubelis, as the Cardinal stunned Arizona.
Stanford (11-14, 5-9 Pac-12) beat a ranked team for the first time this year and a top-five team for the second time in two seasons. Arizona (22-4, 11-4), hoping to stay a half-game behind UCLA for the conference lead, had a seven-game win snapped.
Courtney Ramey scored a season- and game-high 26 points for Arizona. Tubelis was held to four points and did not have any rebounds.
Stanford&rsquo;s Michael O&rsquo;Connell scored a team-high 22 points, helping the Cardinal outshoot the Wildcats 61% to 46% from the field.
NO. 5 TEXAS 94, WEST VIRGINIA 60
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabri Rice scored 24 points in just 17 minutes in Texas&rsquo; win over West Virginia.
Texas (20-5) remained in first place in the Big 12 at 9-3, while West Virginia (15-10, 4-8) lost for the sixth time in its last seven games against the Longhorns.
Rice, a guard who transferred this season from New Mexico State, was nearly perfect. He converted 5 of 6 field-goal attempts, including 4 of 5 3-pointers and all 10 free throws.
Emmitt Matthews led West Virginia with 13 points.
NO. 8 VIRGINIA 69, DUKE 62, OT
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Armaan Franklin scored 23 points, including a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left, to lift Virginia over Duke in overtime.
Kihie Clark added 16 points and Ben Vander Plas 13 for the Cavaliers (19-4, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won despite a 9 for 22 performance from the free-throw line.
Duke (17-8, 8-6) seemed poised to win when Kyle Filipowski drove on the final play of regulation and two defenders contested his shot. The officials initially whistled a foul, but waved it off after a lengthy review. Jeremy Roach led the Blue Devils with 16 points.
NO. 9 KANSAS 78, OKLAHOMA 55
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson scored 18 points, and Kansas rolled past Oklahoma.
Wilson, who entered the day leading the Big 12 with nearly 21 points per game, bounced back from a two-point outing against Texas on Monday.
Dajuan Harris scored 16 points and Kevin McCullar added 13 for the Jayhawks (20-5, 8-4 Big 12).
Jalen Hill scored 14 points and Otega Oweh added 11 for the Oklahoma (12-13, 2-10). Grant Sherfield, who leads the Sooners with nearly 17 points per game, was held to 10 on 4-for-14 shooting.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 89, GEORGETOWN 75
WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones, Oso Ighodaro and Tyler Kolek each scored 14 points to lead a balanced scoring attack for Marquette in its win over Georgetown.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper had 11 points and Chase Ross added 10 for Marquette (20-6, 12-3 Big East), which moved into first place in the conference.
Jay Heath scored 18 points to lead last-place Georgetown (6-20, 1-14), which has lost five straight after ending their league record 29-game conference losing streak on Jan. 24.
OKLAHOMA ST 64, NO. 11 IOWA ST 56
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; John-Michael Wright scored 19 points and Oklahoma State rallied past Iowa State.
The loss was the Cyclones&rsquo; fourth in five games.
Bryce Thompson added 12 points for the Cowboys (16-9, 7-5 Big 12) in their fifth straight win.
Aljaz Kunc scored 13 for Iowa State (16-8, 7-5).
TEXAS TECH 71, NO. 12 KANSAS STATE 63
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash;De&rsquo;Vion Harmon scored 20 points, including a crucial driving basket in the final minute, as Texas Tech upended Kansas State.
The Red Raiders (13-12, 2-10 Big 12) held the Wildcats to two field goals in the game&rsquo;s final four minutes.
Kansas State (19-6, 7-5) edged as close as one point throughout the second half, but Tech answered with key baskets to maintain the lead. The Wildcats were led by Markquis Nowell&rsquo;s 18 points. Desi Sills added 12 points.
NO. 14 BAYLOR 72, NO. 17 TCU 68
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; Adam Flagler scored 28 points, with 16 in a row for Baylor during the stretch when the Bears overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half and then held on to beat TCU.
LJ Cryer had 23 points for the Bears (19-6, 8-4 Big 12), who on Jan. 4 at home against TCU blew a 17-point lead in an 88-87 loss. They have won nine of their last 10 games.
Damion Baugh had 16 points and 10 assist for TCU (17-8, 6-6).
NO. 15 SAINT MARY&rsquo;S 81, PORTLAND 64
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Logan Johnson had 34 points, six rebounds and six assists as Saint Mary&rsquo;s handled Portland on the road.
Alex Ducas added 18 points and six rebounds for the Gaels (22-5, 11-1 West Coast Conference) and Aidan Mahaney contributed 10 points and five assists.
Kristian Sjolund led the Pilots (13-15, 5-8) with 12 points, and Juan Gorosito and Tyler Robinson each added 10 points.
NO. 18 INDIANA 62, MICHIGAN 61
Trayce Jackson-Davis had 28 points and 11 rebounds, Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 21 points and Indiana held on for a win over Michigan.
Freshman Jett Howard was short on a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, leaving the Wolverines without a point for the final 5:12.
The Hoosiers (18-7, 9-5 Big Ten) trailed by 11 in the first half and for much of the second, but went ahead for good with 2:58 left when Hood-Schifino made two free throws for their last points.
Michigan (14-11, 8-6) fell to 0-4 against teams in the AP Top 25, losing each game by five or fewer points.
Hunter Dickinson scored 16 points, Kobe Bufkin had 14 points and Howard added 12 for the Wolverines.
NO. 19 MIAMI 93, LOUISVILLE 85
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Nijel Pack scored 22 points in Miami&rsquo;s win over Louisville.
Five days following its dominant 22-point home win over Duke, Miami (20-5, 11-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) could not shake off the conference&rsquo;s last-place team until Pack&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 2:44 remaining made it 82-72. Pack shot 8 of 14, including 4 of 9 on 3-pointers.
Isaiah Wong and Norchad Omier finished with 21 points each and Jordan Miller added 10 for the Hurricanes, who are 14-0 at home.
El Ellis scored a career-high 33 points and had five assists while Jae&rsquo;Lyn Withers finished with 18 for the Cardinals (3-22, 1-13).
ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 73, NO. 20 PROVIDENCE 68
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; David Jones scored 16 points and AJ Storr added 15 for St. John&rsquo;s, which beat Providence.
Joel Soriano had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Red Storm (15-11, 5-10 Big East).
Bryce Hopkins equaled a career best with 29 points for the Friars (18-7, 10-4).
NO. 22 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 92, BOSTON COLLEGE 62
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Jarkel Joiner scored 26 points and D.J. Burns Jr. added 18 with 10 rebounds to lead North Carolina State over Boston College.
Terquavion Smith scored 17 points for the Wolfpack (20-6, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), giving him 1,000 points for his career.
Quinten Post scored 20 points for Boston College (12-14, 6-9).
NO. 23 CREIGHTON 56, NO. 21 UCONN 53
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Trey Alexander scored 17 points to lead Creighton past UConn after the Huskies had what would have been a tying 3-pointer erased on video review in the final seconds.
Creighton (17-8, 11-3) is a half-game behind Big East-leading Marquette with its eighth straight win. The Huskies (19-7, 8-7) lost for the first time in four games.
Adama Sanogo had 17 points and 10 rebounds for UConn.
ILLINOIS 69, NO. 24 RUTGERS 60
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Coleman Hawkins scored 18 points and Illinois held Rutgers scoreless for more than 10 minutes in the second half to rally for the win.
Illinois (17-7, 8-5 Big Ten) trailed 47-41 with 14 1/2 minutes left before Hawkins&rsquo; 3-pointer started a 19-0 run. Hawkins hit four consecutive shots &mdash; including a 3 &mdash; and gave the Illini the lead for good at 48-47.
Rutgers (16-9, 8-6) missed 15 straight shots during its drought.
NO. 25 SAN DIEGO STATE 82, UNLV 71
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Adam Seiko scored all 18 points on 3-pointers and Matt Bradley added 17 points for San Diego, the Mountain West Conference front-runner that beat UNLV for its third straight win and seventh in eight games.
The Aztecs (20-5, 11-2 MWC) buried the Runnin&rsquo; Rebels in a blizzard of 3-pointers and slam dunks, including during a 14-0 run midway through the first half, to sweep the season series and top UNLV the fifth straight time. Keshad Johnson scored 11 of his 14 points in the game&rsquo;s first 6 1/2 minutes and Nathan Mensah had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Elijah Harkless scored 24 for UNLV (16-9, 5-8) before fouling out with 2:05 to go. Keshon Gilbert added 19 for the Runnin&rsquo; Rebels, who didn&rsquo;t get their first assist until two minutes into the second half.

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

Three-pointer at buzzer lifts Missouri over No. 6 Tennessee

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Dajuan Harris Jr. was willing to acknowledge that Kansas was facing something rare when fifth-ranked and Big 12-leading Texas arrived at Allen Fieldhouse on Monday night: a must-win game.
The defending national champs played like it.
Gradey Dick scored 21 points, Harris had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists, and the ninth-ranked Jayhawks held on after blowing a 14-point first-half lead to beat the Longhorns 88-80 and tighten the league race.
Kevin McCullar Jr. added 16 points, Joseph Yesufu scored 14 off the bench and KJ Adams finished with 10, helping the Jayhawks (19-5, 7-4) overcome an off night from Jalen Wilson. The league&rsquo;s leading scorer at 21.5 points per game battled foul trouble and was held to just two, ending his streak of 25 straight double-figure games.
&ldquo;We knew we had to come in here and get a win,&rdquo; said Dick, who had the Jayhawks&rsquo; only two 3-pointers. &ldquo;The big thing, just in preparation for the week, was coming out with energy. When we do that, we&rsquo;re a scary team.&rdquo;
The Jayhawks needed everyone&rsquo;s help holding off the Longhorns&rsquo; Marcus Carr.
The Minnesota transfer, who had a game-high 29 points, kept answering Kansas baskets down the stretch. His 3-pointer got the Longhorns within 77-68 with 2:25 left, three free throws made it 78-71 with 1:31 to go, and his three-point play got the Longhorns (19-5, 8-3) within 86-80 with 23.5 seconds remaining.
Texas quickly fouled Dick at the other end, and his free throw with 18 seconds left helped to put the game away.
&ldquo;It was as close to a must-win as you could have this early in the season to win the league,&rdquo; Kansas coach Bill Self said. &ldquo;You go down three games with seven left, you&rsquo;d have to win out and get a lot of help from others. Now, we still have as hard a schedule as everybody, but we can kind of control our own destiny where if we play well, we have a shot.&rdquo;
Timmy Allen finished with 18 points for the Longhorns. Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice had 12 before fouling out.
&ldquo;It was their night tonight in terms of what they got done,&rdquo; Texas interim coach Rodney Terry said.
The Longhorns have made a habit of overcoming double-digit deficits: 18 down to beat TCU, 12 down to beat Texas Tech and 14 down to beat No. 12 Kansas State last Saturday in a game played just down the road.
So it wasn&rsquo;t that surprising when Texas dug another 14-point hole Monday night.
Just like the Longhorns did in Manhattan, though, they began to rally. Texas shook off 10 first-half turnovers to get within 42-35 by the break, then kept coming in the second half. Hunter hit a 3-pointer, Carr added a couple of buckets and it was 43-all when Self called a timeout to slow Texas&rsquo; momentum.
Unlike the Horned Frogs, Red Raiders and Wildcats, the Jayhawks rose to the challenge.
McCullar&rsquo;s three-point play while they were clinging to a 49-48 lead gave them a boost, and Dick added a couple of free throws. But it was back-to-back buckets by Harris, who is known more as a distributor than as a scorer, that pushed the lead to 58-50 with about 12 minutes to go.
Texas closed within 66-60 but, after the Jayhawks pulled down two offensive boards, Dick hit another 3-pointer. And when Yesufu bookended a couple of free throws by Harris, the lead had stretched to 75-62 with 3 minutes to go.
The Jayhawks were able to fend off Carr and the Longhorns from there.
&ldquo;Give those guys credit. They came in and played at a very high level,&rdquo; Terry said, &ldquo;and we knew that would be the case.&rdquo;
BANGED-UP BIRDS
The Jayhawks were missing several backups. Zack Clemence has a hurt knee, Bobby Pettiford Jr. is dealing with a hamstring injury and Zuby Ejiofor a foot injury. Kyle Cuffe Jr. (knee) and Cam Martin (shoulder) also were out.
&ldquo;I thought the bench was great. As good as they&rsquo;ve been all year,&rdquo; Self said. &ldquo;We had nine guys we could put in the game.&rdquo;
BIG PICTURE
Texas has struggled to get off to good starts this season, and it seemed the energy the Longhorns expended climbing back into Monday night&rsquo;s game was missing by the end. Carr tried to carry them but he needed more help.
Kansas got the production it needed from the bench. Yesufu provided the scoring pop but big man Ernest Udeh Jr. and guard MJ Rice, both seldom-used freshmen, also provided important minutes for the Jayhawks.
UP NEXT
Texas heads home after its Sunflower State swing to play West Virginia on Saturday.
Kansas has a two-game trip next with Oklahoma on Saturday and Oklahoma State on Tuesday.

Gradey Dick scored 21, Dajuan Harris Jr. added 17 and the Jayhawks held on after blowing a 14-point first-half lead.

No. 9 Kansas blows lead, then holds off No. 5 Texas, 88-80

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash; Texas Tech coach Mark Adams was just happy fans stuck around for the biggest comeback in school history, and the first Big 12 win of the season for a Sweet 16 team from a year ago.
The Red Raiders erased a 23-point deficit after halftime to end an eight-game conference skid, with De&rsquo;Vion Harmon scoring all 16 of his points after the break in an 80-77 overtime victory against No. 13 Iowa State on Monday night.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m still in shock here,&rdquo; Adams said. &ldquo;I was just so proud of our guys. They didn&rsquo;t give up on themselves. I was proud of the fans. I was afraid they were going to leave at halftime.&rdquo;
The 23-point comeback matched the largest in a win in Division I this season and the largest in a power conference game since Boston College overcame the same deficit to beat Clemson on Jan. 15, 2022, according to KenPom.
The Red Raiders trailed 59-36 with 12:36 remaining after one of Caleb Grill&rsquo;s career-best eight 3-pointers, but a 20-3 run started not long after to make it close down the stretch.
Kevin Obanor had 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Red Raiders (12-10, 1-8 Big 12), who won their second consecutive game including a victory over LSU in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Grill scored 24 points but missed his final three 3-pointers after starting 8 of 9. One miss was an off-balance air ball on a frantic game-ending sequence in which the Cyclones (15-6, 6-3) missed three from long range trying to force a second overtime.
&ldquo;They just decided they were going to crank up the pressure, really come after us and try to spread us out,&rdquo; said Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger, whose team was coming off a double-digit loss to Missouri in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge that followed a win over fifth-ranked Kansas State. &ldquo;We got out of sorts.&rdquo;
Iowa State still led by five with 40 seconds remaining in regulation when Obanor hit a 3-pointer and the Red Raiders forced one of 13 second-half turnovers from the Cyclones on the inbound play.
Harmon, who had 11 points in the second half and five in OT, was fouled on a drive and made both free throws for the first tie of the game at 71-all with 21 seconds remaining after Iowa State had led from the opening bucket.
Iowa State&rsquo;s Gabe Kalscheur had 19 points but went 0 of 6 from 3, with one of the misses coming up short at the buzzer in regulation.
The Red Raiders took their first lead early in overtime on a layup by D&rsquo;Maurian Williams, and their biggest lead was the final margin.
Harmon put them ahead for good with one of two free throws with 42 seconds remaining in overtime, and Obanor hit two more after another of Grill&rsquo;s late misses on an off-balance 3.
Grill had the first long try in the final seconds, Jaren Holmes got the rebound but also was short from beyond the arc. Holmes ended up with the ball one more time, but was short again as the buzzer sounded.
Texas Tech&rsquo;s biggest previous comeback was from 17 down in a 99-94 overtime victory at Nevada on Dec. 27, 1997.
&ldquo;I thought our defense was much better (in the second half), but the big thing was just we were the most aggressive team on both ends of the floor the second half,&rdquo; Adams said. &ldquo;That was the difference.&rdquo;
The Cyclones, who beat Texas Tech by 34 points at home last month, led by 17 at halftime and took their first 20-point lead one of Grill&rsquo;s 3s in the opening seconds of the second half.
BIG PICTURE
Iowa State: The Cyclones entered with the Big 12&prime;s best scoring defense and had held their first seven conference opponents under 70 points for the first time since joining the conference in the mid-1990s. But three straight teams, including the SEC&rsquo;s Missouri in a 78-61 win Saturday, have surpassed that mark.
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders rallied without freshman point guard Pop Isaacs, their leading scorer scorer in conference play. He missed a second consecutive game with an ankle injury while 6-foot-11 senior center Fardaws Aimaq was out with a foot injury.
GOING COLD
Iowa State&rsquo;s only field goal in the final 10 minutes of regulation was the 3-pointer that gave Grill his career high of eight. The Cyclones were 3 of 16 in the final 10 minutes of regulation and OT.
&ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t a time to figure out who&rsquo;s fault it was and doom and gloom,&rdquo; Otzelberger said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had some really great moments. We&rsquo;re going to continue to have some great moments.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Iowa State: No. 8 Kansas visits Saturday. The Jayhawks beat the Cyclones by two at home on Jan. 14.
Texas Tech: At No. 11 Baylor on Saturday. The Bears can sweep the season series after the Red Raiders swept last season, including a victory in Waco when Baylor was No. 1.

The 23-point comeback matched the largest in a win in Division I this season. The Red Raiders trailed 59-36 with 12:36 remaining.

Texas Tech rallies from 23 down, beats No. 13 Iowa St. in OT

For the first time in the 47-year history of The Associated Press women&rsquo;s basketball poll no team from Texas is in the Top 25.
The Texas Longhorns fell out of Monday&rsquo;s poll, ending a 835-week run that had at least one team from the Lone Star state in the rankings. From Wayland Baptist, Stephen F. Austin and Baylor appearing in the first poll in 1976 to Texas&rsquo; No. 25 ranking last week, there has always been at least one team from the state in the poll until now.
&ldquo;Texas is the oil state and also has certainly been rich in women&rsquo;s basketball as well,&rdquo; said Mel Greenberg, who started the poll in the 1976-77 season while with the Philadelphia Inquirer. &ldquo;When I started, the state had some of the best teams with Wayland and Stephen F. Austin. Then Jody (Conradt) at Texas and eventually Kim (Mulkey) at Baylor continued the tradition.&rdquo;
Middle Tennessee entered the rankings for the first time in nine years at No. 23. The Blue Raiders (16-2) have won 14 consecutive games, including a victory over Louisville, which is the fourth-longest winning streak in the country behind the last three unbeaten teams.
That group is topped by No. 1 South Carolina (20-0), which has 26 consecutive victories dating to its run to the NCAA championship last season. The Gamecocks, who were again a unanimous choice from the 28-member national media panel, have been ranked atop the poll for 31 consecutive weeks &mdash; the fourth-longest streak ever. Only UConn (51 and 34 weeks) and Louisiana Tech (36) have had longer runs at No. 1.
Ohio State (19-0) remained No. 2 behind the Gamecocks going into a week that includes games against No. 11 Iowa and sixth-ranked Indiana.
Stanford flipped places with LSU for No. 3 after beating then- No. 8 Utah and No. 25 Colorado, which dropped a spot after the loss. LSU (19-0) is fourth and UConn fifth.
Notre Dame, UCLA, Utah followed the sixth-ranked Hoosiers. Maryland and Iowa were tied for 10th.
The Blue Raiders are making their first appearance in the A( Top 25 since the final rankings in 2014 when coach Rick Insell&rsquo;s team was 22nd.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a special group,&rdquo; Insell said. &ldquo;This year, we were able to beat (Louisville) which was a big win that showed we had a pretty good basketball team.&rdquo;
Insell credits his team&rsquo;s run to the WNIT semifinals last year for being a springboard to this season&rsquo;s success.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s big to be able to take your team in there,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m fortunate I had a young team, give them that type of competition. You&rsquo;ll have good crowds and it&rsquo;s an atmosphere you can build on. That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ve done with that. That&rsquo;s why we&rsquo;re at where we are.&rdquo;
Florida State entered the poll at No. 24, its first ranking since 2021. Oregon fell out.
LONE STAR STRUGGLES
Baylor and Texas have been carrying the state flag over the past two decades in the women&rsquo;s Top 25; at least one had been ranked every week since Dec. 4, 2000. Teams from the state have won six NCAA titles (Baylor has three while Texas Tech, Texas A&amp;M and Texas each have one). At one point over the last 47 years, at least one of these teams had been ranked until the current poll: Baylor, Houston, Lamar, Rice, Stephen F. Austin, TCU, Texas, Texas A&amp;M, Texas Tech, UTEP and Wayland Baptist.
STREAKING
With Texas&rsquo; run over, Connecticut now owns the longest active run for a state thanks to the Huskies, who have appeared in 557 consecutive polls. California has the longest run for a state with more than one different team being ranked: 412 consecutive weeks, with Stanford, California and UCLA all spending time in the Top 25 over that stretch dating to the preseason poll in 2001.

For the first time in the 47-year history of The Associated Press women’s basketball poll no team from Texas is in the Top 25.

In a first, women’s AP Top 25 has no teams from Texas

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Texas fired basketball coach Chris Beard on Thursday while he faces a felony domestic family violence charge stemming from a Dec. 12 incident involving his fianc&eacute;e.
The Associated Press obtained the termination letter that was sent to Beard&rsquo;s attorney.
Beard had five years left on a seven-year guaranteed contract that includes a provision he could be fired for cause if he was charged with a felony. The charge of assault by strangulation/suffocation family violence carries a possible prison sentence of two to 10 years if convicted; the woman told police he strangled and bit her, but later denied Beard choked her.
Beard had been suspended without pay since he was arrested, and school officials have said there is an ongoing internal investigation.
Police responded to an emergency call at Beard&rsquo;s house after midnight on Dec. 12 and arrested him after Beard&rsquo;s fianc&eacute;e, Randi Trew, told officers he choked her from behind, bit her and hit her when the two got in an argument. Beard&rsquo;s attorney has said the coach is innocent.
The Associated Press does not typically identify alleged victims of extreme violence, but Trew issued a public statement on Dec. 23 in which she denied telling police Beard choked her. She also said she never intended for him to be arrested or prosecuted.
&ldquo;Chris did not strangle me, and I told that to law enforcement that evening,&rdquo; Trew said in her statement. &ldquo;Chris has stated that he was acting in self-defense, and I do not refute that. I do not believe Chris was trying to intentionally harm me in any way.&rdquo;
Trew&rsquo;s statement did not address why she made the emergency call or other details in the police report, such as bite marks and abrasions on her face and telling officers that she couldn&rsquo;t breathe for about five seconds.
According to the arrest affidavit, Trew initially told police that she and Beard they had been in an argument where she broke his glasses before he &ldquo;just snapped on me and became super violent.&rdquo; Police reported Trew said Beard slapped her glasses off her face and &ldquo;choked me, bit me, bruises all over my leg, throwing me around and going nuts.&rdquo;
The Travis County district attorney&rsquo;s office has not responded to previous requests for comment on Beard&rsquo;s case or whether Trew&rsquo;s Dec. 23 statement would change how prosecutors proceed with the felony charge.
A Jan. 18 court hearing is scheduled, according to online records.
Beard led Texas Tech to the 2019 NCAA Tournament championship game and was hired at Texas in 2021 with the expectation that he would lift his alma mater to the same elite level. He had the Longhorns program humming this season, starting 6-0 and ranked as high as No. 2.
Associate head coach Rodney Terry took Beard&rsquo;s place during the suspension. The Longhorns (12-2, 1-1 Big 12) won their first five games under Terry before losing 116-103 to Kansas State on Tuesday.
A Texas graduate, Beard spent 10 seasons at Texas Tech as an assistant under Bob Knight from 2001-2011, then returned there as head coach in 2016.
He was 112-55 in five seasons with the Red Raiders and was named The The Associated Press coach of the year in 2019 as he guided Texas Tech to a 31-7 finish and lost in an overtime thriller to Virginia in the national championship game.
His departure for Texas &mdash; a deal reached after a meeting with Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte that included a McDonald&rsquo;s breakfast an hour&rsquo;s drive north of Lubbock &mdash; left Texas Tech officials frustrated.
As soon as he landed in Austin, Beard set out to rebuild a program from the ground up as he rebuilt the Texas roster and tried to whip up new enthusiasm for the program as he engaged with students and held often comedic &ldquo;fireside chats&rdquo; on campus. In his first season, he led Texas to a first-round victory over Virginia Tech that was the Longhorns&rsquo; first NCAA Tournament win since 2014.

Beard had been suspended without pay since he was arrested, and school officials have said there is an ongoing internal investigation.

Texas fires Chris Beard amid felony domestic violence charge

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Olivia Miles had 21 points and eight rebounds for No. 7 Notre Dame, and UConn star Azzi Fudd was injured in a collision with a teammate as the Fighting Irish handed the third-ranked Huskies their first loss of the season, 74-60 on Sunday.
Fudd, who came in averaging 24.0 points per game, exited in the final minute of the first quarter following a collision with teammate Aaliyah Edwards. She returned midway through the second period to play four minutes, but sat the rest of the day, going scoreless on two shots over 13 minutes.
Maddy Westbeld added a season-high 17 points and nine rebounds for Notre Dame (7-1), which bounced back from a 74-72 loss to No. 20 Maryland three days earlier.
Lou Lopez Senechal led UConn (6-1) with 21 points. Edwards added 14.
No. 2 STANFORD 84, No. 23 GONZAGA 63
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Cameron Brink had 14 points and a season-high 16 rebounds and Brooke Demetre made five 3s and scored 17 points, leading Stanford past Gonzaga.
The Cardinal (10-1) have now won five straight games after falling to top-ranked South Carolina in overtime on Nov. 20.
Hannah Jump hit four 3s and scored 14 points and Haley Jones had 12 points for Stanford.
Short-handed Gonzaga (7-2), limited to seven players because of illness and injuries, had won three in a row.
No. 4 OHIO STATE 82, RUTGERS 70
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Rebeka Mikulasikova scored a career-high 31 points and Taylor Mikesell added 30 to help Ohio State beat Rutgers, a day that the Scarlet Knights honored former coach C. Vivian Stringer.
The school dedicated the court to Stringer, who retired after last season.
Buoyed by the return of their Hall of Fame coach, Rutgers played its best game of the season against a ranked opponent. Ohio State (8-0) jumped out to a 20-6 lead after one quarter, but the Scarlet Knights (4-6) wouldn&rsquo;t go away.
They were down 18 near the end of the half before Kaylene Smikle hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to get within 43-28. Rutgers continued that momentum in the second half and made it 53-45 with 3:25 left in the third quarter.
Mikulasikova and Mikesell then scored the next six points for Ohio State to restore the double-digit advantage, and Rutgers couldn&rsquo;t recover.
Smikle led Rutgers with 21 points.
No. 5 INDIANA 65, ILLINOIS 61
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Mackenzie Holmes scored 23 points, including a go-ahead layup with 37 seconds left, and Indiana got past Illinois in their Big Ten opener.
Indiana (9-0) had not trailed in the second half of any game this season before going back and forth in the closing minutes with Illinois (3-7).
Makira Cook scored 33 points to lead the Illini.
The Hoosiers were coming off an 87-63 win over No. 6 North Carolina.
No. 9 VIRGINIA TECH 59, TENNESSEE 56
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Kayana Traylor scored 18 points and Virginia Tech held off Tennessee in a Jimmy V Women&rsquo;s Classic matchup.
Jordan Horston led Tennesssee (4-5) with 26 points and 11 rebounds, but missed a pair of late shots that would&rsquo;ve tied it.
Trailing 58-56 with 3 seconds left, Horston was off on a jumper. Down three with 1.1 seconds remaining, her 3-point try from the top of the key bounced off.
Cayla King scored 11 points and Georgia Amoore and D&rsquo;asia Gregg each had 10 for the Hokies (8-0).
Tennessee played without leading scorer and rebounder Rickea Jackson, who was absent because of a coach&rsquo;s decision.
No. 10 IOWA 102, WISCONSIN 71
MADISON, Wis. (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for her seventh career triple-double to break the Big Ten record in Iowa&rsquo;s win over Wisconsin.
Clark surpassed the record of six career triple-doubles set by former Iowa player Samantha Logic, who achieved the feat from 2012-2015.
Iowa (6-3) stopped a two-game skid and beat the Badgers (3-7) for the 26th straight time.
No. 11 LSU 85, TULANE 72
NEW ORLEANS (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds and Jasmine Carson scored 21 and LSU beat Tulane.
The Tigers (9-0) are off to their best since winning their first nine in the 2009-10 season.
LSU led 27-20 in a first quarter in which it made 11 of 16 shots and Tulane 9 for 17. The Tigers extended their lead to 40-27 at halftime before the Green Wave unloaded with a 30-point third in which it shot 12 for 16 including 6 for 7 from 3-point range. Dynah Jones scored 16 of her team-high 25 points for Tulane in the quarter and the Green Wave closed to 61-58.
Reese made 1 of 2 foul shots for the Tigers and Kahia Warmsley responded with a layup for Tulane to get it within two, but LaDazhia Williams made a layup and Carson a 3 and LSU kept Tulane at bay from there. Reese made two foul shots with 5:01 left to extend the lead to 73-62.
Marta Galic scored 21 points for Tulane.
ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 66, No. 13 CREIGHTON 62
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jayla Everett scored 20 points and St. John&rsquo;s remained unbeaten by handing Creighton its first loss.
The Red Storm had a 47-32 lead in the middle of the third quarter before the Bluejays got it down to a one-possession deficit in the final 90 seconds.
After Emma Ronsiek&rsquo;s basket pulled Creighton within 61-59 with 1:27 to play, the Bluejays had a possession to tie or take the lead but couldn&rsquo;t score.
Kadaj Bailey and Unique Drake had 13 points apiece for St. John&rsquo;s (8-0, 2-0 Big East Conference).
Lauren Jensen scored 21 points for the Bluejays (7-1, 2-1) but couldn&rsquo;t get the tying jumper to fall with 13 seconds to go.
No. 14 ARIZONA 77, NEW MEXICO 60
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) &mdash; Jade Loville made 10 of 13 shots, including a career-best six 3-pointers, and scored 27 points to lead Arizona to a win over New Mexico.
Shaina Pellington added 19 points for the Wildcats (7-0), who had their lowest output of the year and won by less than 20 for only the second time this season.
Paula Reus scored 14 points for the Lobos (4-4).
No. 17 MICHIGAN 77, NORTHWESTERN 66
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Emily Kiser and Laila Phelia scored 18 points each and Michigan shut down Northwestern with an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter.
Leigha Brown added 10 points and 11 assists for Michigan (9-0), which won its Big Ten opener.
Jillian Brown had 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals for Northwestern (4-4, 0-1 Big Ten). Caileigh Walsh had 12 points and four blocks, and Sydney Wood scored 10 points.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 67, No. 18 LOUISVILLE 49
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Savannah Wheeler had 23 points, six rebounds and five assists, Courtney Whitson added 16 points and 10 rebounds and Middle Tennessee beat cold-shooting Louisville.
Middle Tennessee (5-2) won its first home game against a ranked opponent since the Lady Raiders beat No. 6 Kentucky 70-58 on December 28, 2011.
Kseniya Malashka added 15 points for Middle Tennessee (5-2).
Olivia Cochran scored a season-high 14 points for Louisville (5-4).
NEBRASKA 90, No. 20 MARYLAND 67
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; Jaz Shelley scored 29 points, Nebraska dominated the second half and the Cornhuskers surprised Maryland in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams.
Allison Weidner had 13 points and 15 rebounds for Nebraska (6-3). Isabelle Bourne had 18 points and Alexis Markowski added 14. Shelley had six 3-pointers, five assists and three steals.
Two free throws from Diamond Miller drew Maryland (7-3) to within 77-67 points with 4:03 remaining, but the Terrapins would not score again while Nebraska scored 13.
No. 21 BAYLOR 79, HOUSTON CHRISTIAN 35
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Freshman guard Bella Fontleroy came off the bench to score 17 points and grab 11 rebounds and Baylor romped to a victory over Houston Christian.
Fontleroy sank 6 of 10 shots with three 3-pointers for the Lady Bears (6-2) and notched her first double-double. Jaden Owens added 14 points and six assists. Kendra Gillispie scored 10 on 5-of-6 shooting.
Marilyn Nzoiwu was the lone bright spot for the Huskies (3-4). She finished with 13 points and five rebounds, sinking 6 of 9 shots from the floor. Her teammates made 8 of 40 shots, including 2 of 15 from beyond the arc.
The Lady Bears played a fifth straight game without injured leading scorer Aijha Blackwell.
No. 22 TEXAS 92, SOUTHERN 43
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Shaylee Gonzales scored 22 points, Sonya Morris added 20 points, and Texas routed Southern.
Aaliyah Moore scored 11 points and DeYona Gaston had 10 for the Longhorns (4-4). Rori Harmon had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Freshman guard Sirviva Legions led the Jaguars (2-5) with 13 points off the bench.
The Longhorns rolled to a 29-10 lead through the first quarter after making 10 of 14 shots. They scored 11 points off seven Southern turnovers. Texas went on to lead 46-16 at halftime.
SETON HALL 82, No. 24 MARQUETTE 78
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Lauren Park-Lane scored 17 of her 31 points in the fourth quarter, Sidney Cooks added 23 and Seton Hall knocked off Marquette.
Kae Satterfield added 12 points for Seton Hall (6-4, 2-0 Big East Conference), which has won four straight. The Pirates last beat a ranked team, No. 24 DePaul, in January 2019.
Chloe Marotta scored 30 points and had 12 rebounds for the Golden Eagles (7-2, 1-1). Jordan King added 14 points and Liz Karlen had 12 points and nine rebounds.
No. 25 VILLANOVA 79, PROVIDENCE 54
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Maddy Seigrist scored 20 of her 29 points in the first half and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Villanova past Providence.
Seigrist was 12-of-18 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. The Wildcats (7-2, 1-1 Big East Conference) made 12 of 28 behind the arc and shot 52% overall (33 of 63). Lucy Olsen added 14 points and Bella Runyan 10.
Janai Crooms led the Friars (6-4, 0-2) with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

A recap of Sunday's women's college basketball slate features a top-10 battle.

Notre Dame tops UConn as Azzi Fudd gets hurt

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) &mdash; Texas Tech&rsquo;s defensive identity was on full display against a Louisville team trying to find its way under first-year coach Kenny Payne.
The 21st-ranked Red Raiders held the Cardinals to their lowest point total in 74 years in a 70-38 victory in the Maui Invitational on Tuesday, a result that continued Louisville&rsquo;s worst start to a season since 1940-41.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to dive on the floor, we&rsquo;re going to play hard,&rdquo; Tech freshman Robert Jennings said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to make teams feel uncomfortable. We&rsquo;re going to be the team that people don&rsquo;t want to play.&rdquo;
Louisville had a tough enough time offensively in its 80-54 loss to ninth-ranked Arkansas on Monday. Things got much worse Tuesday. The Cardinals have shot 29% overall and 23% on 3-pointers and committed 40 turnovers in their two games.
&ldquo;The two things I take away from Arkansas and Texas Tech is their defense, their ability to create turnovers,&rdquo; Payne said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not about how skilled they are. It&rsquo;s about their will.&rdquo;
Kevin Obanor scored 15 points to lead the Red Raiders (4-1), who bounced back from a 76-65 loss to No. 10 Creighton on Monday with their most dominating defensive performance since holding Incarnate Word to 37 points in 2018.
&ldquo;They imposed their will on us consistently throughout the whole game and we turned the ball over and we shot a bad percentage because of them,&rdquo; Payne said. &ldquo;We have to learn from that and we have to play the similar way as they played.&rdquo;
Louisville (0-5) was held scoreless for more than 10 minutes spanning the halves. The Cardinals missed 13 field goals and two free throws and committed six turnovers during the drought.
When it started, Texas Tech led 20-13. When it ended with Sydney Curry&rsquo;s layup, the Red Raiders were ahead 45-15.
The Cardinals&rsquo; 38 points were their fewest since a 62-34 loss to Xavier on Jan. 7, 1948.
Jaylon Tyson&rsquo;s 3-pointer pushed the Red Raiders&rsquo; lead to double digits during a 17-2 spurt that ended with the Red Raiders ahead 32-13 at half.
The 13 first-half points were the fewest allowed by Texas Tech since Northwestern State scored 10 on Dec. 12, 2018. It was only the second time since the 2009-10 season that Louisville had scored so few points in a first half.
Of the 12 Texas Tech players who suited up, 11 scored, and the Red Raiders shot 43% for the game and made 14 steals.
El Ellis and Jae&rsquo;Lyn Withers each scored seven points for the Cardinals, who were 11 of 49 from the field (27%) and finished with 18 turnovers.
&ldquo;Well, I was on them pretty hard yesterday,&rdquo; Tech coach Mark Adams said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t necessarily like to be that way. But we just got so many new and young players and we got to get them to grow up. Sometimes you have to do that different ways. We&rsquo;ve been more stern with them and talk more about discipline and toughness.
&ldquo;Still have a long ways to go, but it was really satisfying to see these guys at least listen, be coachable, and I think make a step forward.&rdquo;
BIG PICTURE
Texas Tech: Adams, in his second season, has never lost back to back games with the Red Raiders. Tech&rsquo;s trademark defense is in midseason form, having allowed 55 points or less in three of its first four games.
Louisville: The Cardinals&rsquo; worst start in 82 years continues. They started 1940-41 with 11 straight losses.
UP NEXT
Texas Tech plays in the fifth place game Wednesday against the Ohio State-Cincinnati winner.
Louisville plays in the seventh&mdash;place game Wednesday against the Ohio-Cincinnati loser.

The 21st-ranked Red Raiders held the Cardinals to their lowest point total in 74 years in a 70-38 victory.

No. 21 Texas Tech holds Louisville to lowest score since 1948

The Thanksgiving week of holiday tournaments is almost always a feast of high-level college hoops.
While several top teams are playing home games against smaller-conference opponents, the programs in Maui, the Bahamas and Oregon are facing one stiff test after another.
Here&rsquo;s a look at the tournaments taking place this week:
MAUI INVITATIONAL
One of the deepest brackets in the tournament&rsquo;s history descended upon tiny Lahaina Civic Center. The tournament includes five teams ranked in the AP Top 25 and other big-name programs.
No. 10 Creighton (5-0) tipped off the paradise festivities with a 76-65 win over No. 21 Texas Tech, dominating the Red Raiders in the second half.
No. 9 Arkansas (4-0) was even better in the second Maui game, routing Louisville 80-54 behind high-flying freshman Anthony Black&rsquo;s 26 points.
That sets up Tuesday&rsquo;s semifinal between the Bluejays and Razorbacks. Both teams like to get up and down the floor, so the packed-in Lahaina Center crowd could set off some seismographs on the islands.
No. 17 San Diego State entered the season with high expectations and lived up to those pre-Maui, knocking off BYU and Stanford. The Aztecs kept it going in Maui, overcoming a slow start to beat Ohio State 88-77.
No. 14 Arizona dominated its first three games, averaging a nation-leading 105.3 points and 26.3 assists. The Wildcats kept their roll going with a 101-93 victory over Cincinnati at the Maui Invitational to set up a semifinal game against San Diego State.
BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS
The bracket for the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas isn&rsquo;t bad, either.
No. 3 Kansas and No. 22 Tennessee are the only ranked teams, but the tournament also includes North Carolina State, Southern California and Wisconsin.
The Jayhawks (4-0) moved up three spots to No. 3 in this week&rsquo;s poll and have a tough opener against NC State on Wednesday.
Kansas already picked up a win over No. 8 Duke in its bid to repeat as national champion, but had a hard time shaking Southern Utah before winning 82-76 on Friday.
Like Kansas, the Wolfpack are 4-0, but have yet to face a true test this season.
NC State has added several veteran transfers, including big man DJ Burns, who could give the Jayhawks some trouble inside at 6-foot-9, 275 pounds. Kansas also will have to keep track of sharp-shooting sophomore Terquavion Smith, who can get hot from the 3-point line in a hurry.
Get past NC State, and Kansas will face the winner between Dayton and Wisconsin.
The Volunteers (2-1) turned some heads by beating No. 6 Gonzaga in an exhibition, but weren&rsquo;t so impressive in a 78-66 loss to Colorado on Nov. 13. Tennessee was much better at both ends of the floor in an 81-50 win over Florida Gulf Coast last week.
The Vols open the Battle 4 Atlantis against a Butler team still trying to find the mid-major magic from several years ago, with a potentially tough next game against the USC-BYU winner.
PHIL KNIGHT INVITATIONAL
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo likes to test his teams early and this season has one of the nation&rsquo;s toughest nonconference schedules.
Another big test comes against No. 18 Alabama in the first round of the Phil Knight Invitational on Thursday.
The Spartans have stood up to the demanding schedule so far, losing by one point to No. 6 Gonzaga on an aircraft carrier, beating No. 15 Kentucky in double overtime and outlasting a late push by Villanova to win by two Friday night.
Michigan State moved into the AP Top 25 at No. 12 this week after starting the season unranked.
The Crimson Tide (4-0) are without Jahvon Quinerly, who&rsquo;s recovering from knee surgery, but have been better defensively so far this season after being among the nation&rsquo;s worst on that end of the floor a year ago.
The winner of that game faces either Oregon or No. 20 UConn.
North Carolina has been the nation&rsquo;s No. 1 team all season and doesn&rsquo;t figure to face much of a threat against Portland in the first round Thursday.
It figures to get much tougher after that, with the Tar Heels playing Iowa State or Villanova in the second round.
North Carolina (4-0) hasn&rsquo;t exactly faced the toughest competition through its first four games, but had a hard time putting away Gardner-Webb in a 72-66 win last Tuesday. The Tar Heels will need to play better no matter which team they face in the second round.

The Thanksgiving week of holiday tournaments is almost always a feast of high-level college hoops.

Ranked teams face tough tests in holiday tournaments

In his "Blazing the Trail" series, Mat Issa analyzes Penny Hardaway as a dual threat and how he stood out from other point guards.

Blazing the Trail: Anfernee 'Penny' Hardaway, the floor giant

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Chelsea Gray scored 20 points to lead the Las Vegas Aces to their first WNBA title in a 78-71 road win over the Connecticut Sun in Game 4 on Sunday.
Gray went 9 of 13 from the floor, and was named MVP after averaging 18 points over the run. The Aces improved to 4-0 in this year&rsquo;s playoffs with two days rest.
Riquna Williams added 17 points Kelsey Plum added 16 points for the Aces, Jackie Young had 13 and league MVP A&rsquo;ja Wilson added 11 points to go with 14 rebounds.
Vegas finished on an 8-0 run. As the buzzer sounded Wilson grabbed the ball and stomped the floor before being mobbed by her teammates.
We champs! We champs! We champs!&rdquo; Wilson screamed at teammates as they pulled on their championship hats and T-shirts before the trophy ceremony.
It&rsquo;s the first major pro sports title for a team from Las Vegas, and Wilson surely hopes this is just the beginning.
&ldquo;You see it. You see it,&rdquo; Wilson said in the on-court celebration. &ldquo;This is what we&rsquo;re building. This is what we&rsquo;re doing. This is it. I&rsquo;m so happy right now.&rdquo;
Courtney Williams had 17 points to lead Connecticut and Alyssa Thomas had her second straight triple-double with 11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Jonquel Jones added 13 points and DeWanna Bonner had 12.
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Las Vegas led by two points at the half and four points after three quarters.
For Aces coach Becky Hammon, who didn&rsquo;t get a title in her standout WNBA career, the ring completed a decades-long quest. She left an assistant coach position with Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs to take over in Las Vegas, and the move paid off.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re unbelievable on the court but they&rsquo;re unbelievable humans, first and foremost,&rdquo; Hammon said. &ldquo;They care about each other. They invest in each other. It&rsquo;s been an absolute honor to be their coach. I saw excellence and I wanted to be a part of it.&rdquo;
Hammon also paid tribute to former Aces coach Bill Laimbeer, who was on the floor for the ceremony. &ldquo;He put this team together and saw the pieces,&rdquo; Hammon said.
Aces owner Mark Davis, who also owns the NFL&rsquo;s Las Vegas Raiders, wasn&rsquo;t with his football team Sunday. He was in Connecticut to get a trophy. He hoisted it, then turned it over to gleeful players who did the same.
&ldquo;Las Vegas, we are world champions,&rdquo; Davis said.
It was a six-point lead in the fourth when Kelsey Plum was called for a flagrant foul after running into Bonner while the Sun guard was attempting a 3-pointer and sending her to the floor holding her right ankle. Bonner hit all three free throws before Jonquel Jones short jumper cut the lead to a point. The Sun then tied the game at 67 on free throw by Courtney Williams and took a 71-70 lead on two fouls shots from Brionna Jones.
But Las Vegas had the answers.
Riquna Williams 3-pointer put the Aces back on top and Chelsea Gray&rsquo;s step-back jumper extended the lead back to 75-71 with under a minute left A&rsquo;Ja Wilson then stole a pass and Plum hit a short jump shot to secure the win.
Bonner opened the scoring with a leaner from the left wing. But Kelsey Plum&rsquo;s 3-pointer from the left baseline sparked an early 12-0 run for Vegas that shot them out to a 16-6 lead. The Aces, who gave up 34 points to the Sun in in first quarter of Game 3, led 16-12 after 10 minutes on Sunday.
Gray &mdash; who overcame some serious injuries that threatened to sidetrack her career in the past &mdash; was WNBA Finals MVP, to no one&rsquo;s surprise after averaging 18.3 points and 6 assists in the series.
&ldquo;My teammates are awesome,&rdquo; Gray said as she broke into tears. &ldquo;I worked so hard for this.&rdquo;
She wasn&rsquo;t a WNBA All-Star this season, nor was she a first-team all-league pick, and voiced her displeasure about that.
In the end, she also got the last word.
&ldquo;They can keep that All-Star and first team,&rdquo; Gray said. &ldquo;I got the ring.&rdquo;
SCRAPPY GAME
As expected, it was a physical game appropriately played on an NFL Sunday. The Sun got a scare when Bonner took an inadvertent elbow to the gut from Gray late in the first quarter and and was on the floor for a few minutes before being helped to the bench. She came back into the game later in the half, apparently suffering no ill effects. Natisha Hiedeman and Plum got into a short pushing match in the second quarter, eliciting technical fouls on both players. That was all before Plum&rsquo;s flagrant in the fourth.
INCLUSIVE ORGANIZATIONS
Before the game, both coaches reflected on the makeup of organizations in the Final. The Aces are led by Hammon and two Black women executives in general manager Nikki Williams and Nikki Fargas, president of business operations. The Sun are owned by the Mohegan Tribe, have a woman president in Jen Rizzotti and are coached by Curt Miller, a gay man.
&ldquo;Women&rsquo;s basketball is such a story in terms of diversity and inclusion. I mean, our our league defines it and I&rsquo;m so proud to be a part of it, Miller said, adding that he hopes to be an inspiration to any gay child &ldquo;wondering if they can chase a career in sports.&rdquo;
Hammon said she believes the diversity in her team&rsquo;s front office has made it stronger.
&ldquo;You can make a lot better picture with a box full of crayons than just a pencil,&rdquo; she said.
RAIDERS&rsquo; SUPPORT
The start of the celebration was shown on the video screens at the Raiders&rsquo; stadium during the NFL game against Arizona on Sunday, with fans breaking into loud cheers. They can cheer more in a few days: a parade on the Las Vegas Strip is planned for Thursday evening.
&ldquo;What a team, what talent, what a victory! You have made Las Vegas so proud!&rdquo; Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said in a statement. &ldquo;Thank you for your effort, discipline &amp; focus. We can&rsquo;t wait for the celebrations &amp; a great parade!&rdquo;
TIP-INS
The Aces are the fourth WNBA team to win a title with both a league MVP and coach of the year ... The Sun have been among the last four WNBA teams standing for each of the last four seasons, making it back to the Finals for the first time since 2019.

The Aces took down the Connecticut Sun in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday.