EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Northwestern coach Chris Collins will get at least another year to turn around his struggling program. Athletic director Dr. Derrick Gragg said in a statement he and Collins met Monday “to discuss the high expectations we have for our men’s basketball program, and the path forward for it.” Gragg said he “tasked” Collins with “making necessary changes to build towards success in the 2022-23 campaign.” Collins is 133-150 overall and 56-113 in the Big Ten in nine seasons at Northwestern. He led the Wildcats to their only NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017. Since then, they have five straight losing seasons. Northwestern was 15-16 overall and 7-13 in the Big Ten this season.
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — The First Four is back in Dayton for the first time in three seasons. The selection committee made sure there will be extra excitement in the building by dropping a local team into the play-in mix. Wright State’s own basketball arena is just 15 minutes across town and it will play Bryant on Wednesday. The games Tuesday night include Indiana vs. Wyoming, and Texas Southern against Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The University of Dayton Arena always rolls out the red carpet for the First Four because it’s a high-profile event for the city and brings millions to the local economy.
UNDATED (AP) — Gonzaga will head into the NCAA Tournament exactly where it ended up in the final AP Top 25 — right on top. The Bulldogs received 54 of 61 first-place votes from a national media panel after romping through the West Coast Conference Tournament to land at No. 1 in the final AP Top 25 for the second straight year. The next three teams also landed No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, with Arizona earning the other seven first-place votes to finish at No. 2. Kansas was third and Big 12 rival Baylor was fourth. Tennessee was the biggest departure between the poll and bracket, finishing fifth among voters but only earning a 3-seed.
UNDATED (AP) — South Carolina finished the season where it started — at No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll. The Gamecocks were the top choice all season long and became the first team since UConn in the 2017-18 season to be No. 1 from start to finish. It’s the second time that South Carolina finished the season first in the poll. South Carolina is the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament that begins this week and received 20 first-place votes from the 30-member national media panel Monday. Stanford was second in the poll, getting nine first-place votes. North Carolina State, Louisville and UConn rounded out the top five. It’s the 16th consecutive season that the Huskies have finished in the top five.
UNDATED (AP) — There are some remarkable numbers when it comes to the teams that made the NCAA Tournament. The youngest team in terms of experience? That would be top-seeded Arizona, one of the favorites to win the championship. The oldest team in the field by that measurement is Texas Southern. The number 25.1 is how many points Bryant’s Peter Kiss scores per game, best in the nation. Alabama puts up 30 3-point attempts every game. The team that makes the most of those long-range shots? That would be South Dakota State, which makes 45 percent of its 3-point tries.
UNDATED (AP) — Southern California’s blueblood baseball program hasn’t been much of a factor nationally for two decades. The Trojans are showing signs of re-emerging. They’re coming off their first series win at UCLA since 2016 and are out to an 11-3 start. That’s their best since the 2015 team opened with 12 straight wins. Coach Jason Gill says taking two of three against the Bruins helps his program earn respect. USC entered the national polls for the first time at No. 25. Mississippi is No. 1 by D1Baseball.com, Notre Dame by Baseball America and Vanderbilt by Collegiate Baseball newspaper.
