INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey spent this season reviving her alma mater’s program. When she wasn’t working, she eagerly accepted serving as the proud mother of Purdue guard Jaden Ivey. It’s a mother-son relationship in a league of its own. The Iveys will spend this week sharing the excitement of March Madness though they will be far apart when their teams open play Friday. The third-seeded Boilermakers face 14th-seeded Yale, the Ivy League champs, in Milwaukee while the fifth-seeded Fighting Irish take on 12th-seeded Massachusetts at Oklahoma in the women’s tourney.
UNDATED (AP) — It’s opening day for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. One of the best matchups pits 13th-seeded South Dakota State against fourth-seeded Providence. FanDuel Sportsbook lists Providence as just a two-point favorite. The Jackrabbits are on a 21-game win streak and shoot 45% on 3-pointers to lead the nation. Brothers Arthur Kaluma of Creighton and Adam Seiko of San Diego State square off. Michigan is without third-leading scorer DeVante’ Jones against Colorado State. And the Baylor Bears try to become the first team to win back-to-back national titles since Florida in 2007.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard has become the ninth player in women’s basketball history to earn first-team Associated Press All-America honors three times. Howard was joined on the first team by South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, Baylor’s NaLyssa Smith, Michigan’s Naz Hillmon and Stanford’s Haley Jones. Boston, Clark and Smith were all unanimous choices. It is the first time that there has been a tie for the first team since the AP started honoring women’s All-Americans in 1995.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin guard Johnny Davis drives to the basket with the same ferocity he used to show while escaping the pocket and running over defenders as a high school quarterback. Davis has emerged as one of college basketball’s biggest surprises this season. He is the Big Ten player of the year and a likely NBA lottery pick. The 6-foot-5 sophomore believes his football experience made him a better basketball player. The Badgers are seeded third in the NCAA Midwest Region and play Friday against Colgate in Milwaukee.
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) — Kim Barnes Arico left her close-knit family in New York and New Jersey a decade ago to turn Michigan’s women’s basketball program into a consistent winner for the first time. The former St. John’s coach has pulled off the feat. She is leading Michigan to the NCAA Tournament for a fifth time. The program’s previous eight coaches combined for just four appearances in the top-tier tournament. Third-seeded Michigan plays 14th-seeded American at home on Saturday in the NCAA Tournament.
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.
