UNDATED (AP) — NCAA Tournament teams rise and fall with guard play. Look no further than last year for evidence. Second-seeded Ohio State lost to No. 15 Oral Roberts in overtime after guard Duane Washington Jr. missed a career-high 14 shots, including a step-back jumper in the closing seconds of regulation with the score tied. Baylor won its first national title in men’s basketball, leaning heavily on three guards in a 16-point win over over Gonzaga. In this year’s tournament, there are backcourt wizards to watch such as Kansas’ Ochai Agbaji, Purdue’s Jaden Ivey and Baylor’s James Akinjo.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan has hired Milan Bolden-Morris to be the first female graduate assistant football coach in the Big Ten. The former college basketball player, who started for Georgetown this past season, will start June 1 and work with quarterbacks. Graduate assistants usually receive a stipend and have their tuition covered by the school. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh says Bolden-Morris will work with the quarterbacks. She is a Florida native who played three seasons at Boston College before transferring as a graduate student to Georgetown. She played guard and led Georgetown in scoring at 12.3 points per game.
UNDATED (AP) — Keegan Murray has given Iowa a first-team Associated press All-American for the third straight year. He is joined on the first team by Kofi Cockburn of Illinois, Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis, Kentucky big man Oscar Tshiebwe and Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji. Drew Timme of Gonzaga led the AP second team for the second straight year and was joined by freshman teammate Chet Holmgren. Jaden Ivey of Purdue, Jabari Smith of Auburn and Benedict Mathurin of Arizona rounded out the second team.
UNDATED (AP) — The women’s NCAA Tournament field is set and now the fun begins, with 68 teams trying to win the national championship — starting with the first-ever First Four games. The tournament returned to some normalcy this year after it was played in its entirety in San Antonio last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The top 16 seeds will host the first rounds with the Final Four in Minneapolis. A No. 1 seed has won the last nine national championships and 13 of the last 14. Here’s a look at what could happen when the tournament tips off this week.
UNDATED (AP) — Three congressional lawmakers say the NCAA has made “inadequate progress” in addressing the inequities in the treatment of male and female athletes. The lawmakers singled out the college basketball tournaments that begin this week and sent a six-page letter to NCAA President Mark Emmert. The lawmakers say he has failed to implement some of the key recommendations from an external review last year. The NCAA says its work is not done and many improvements have been made.
UNDATED (AP) — March Madness is about to get its roar back. A year after capacities were limited in the Indianapolis bubble, the 2022 NCAA Tournament is a full-go for fans again. Arenas will be packed from San Diego to Buffalo, the road to New Orleans paved with the sounds we’ve come to expect with all those buzzer beaters and breakout performances. Two years of pent-up energy is about to be released and it’s going to be a noisy ride. A guide of what to look for as the NCAA Tournament kicks off with the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.
UNDATED (AP) — Minnesota’s Gable Steveson can put a memorable final touch on one of the most impressive collegiate wrestling seasons and careers ever this week. The defending heavyweight champion takes a 47-match win streak into the NCAA Division I wrestling championships March 17-19 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Steveson returned to school after winning an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo and signed an NIL deal with World Wrestling Entertainment. He is 13-0 this season and has outscored his opponents 205-64. All but one of his opponents’ points have come via escape.
