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Maryland names Texas A&M's Buzz Williams as men's basketball coach
BALTIMORE — Two days after being dumped by Kevin Willard for Villanova, Maryland men’s basketball has moved swiftly and named Texas A&M’s Buzz Williams its next coach.
The school announced Tuesday afternoon that Williams will be introduced Wednesday at Xfinity Center in College Park.
“It is an honor and privilege to be named the head ...Read more

Timberwolves' Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo suspended for one game
DENVER – The NBA suspended Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo each for one game following an altercation between the Minnesota Timberwolves players and multiple members of the Pistons in Sunday’s win over Detroit.
The two will miss Tuesday’s game at Denver (10 p.m. ET, TNT) as the Wolves begin a five-game road trip.
For the Pistons, Isaiah ...Read more

Greg Cote: NCAA reaches crescendo with exciting Final Fours -- but college basketball is broken. Let's fix it.
MIAMI — College basketball stinks.
I hate what it has become — and not by sinister attack from the outside, but by its own hand. We are watching a sport cannibalize itself with the institutionalized chaos and greed of the transfer portal and NIL money. College hoops has become an unholy mess that needs major fixing, and I’m here to give ...Read more

Lakers hold off Rockets to score important home win amid playoff seeding race
The Lakers have “recognized the magnitude” of every game they have to play as the season winds down, their coach JJ Redick saying they have to play each of them with an urgency to determine their own playoff seeding fate in the super-competitive Western Conference.
It really is simple for the Lakers: Keep winning and that will improve their...Read more

Nets outlast Mavericks 113-109 to earn 25th win of season
The Brooklyn Nets were blown out 120-101 when they faced the Dallas Mavericks last week at Barclays Center.
Two nights removed from snapping a six-game losing streak against the Washington Wizards, Brooklyn showcased better effort at both ends of the court in Monday’s rematch against Dallas American Airlines Center, and it survived 113-109 on...Read more

Magic fall short to visiting Clippers
ORLANDO, Fla. — In a meeting between two of the top three defenses in the NBA, a lack of offense was on full display during a low-scoring affair between the Magic and the Clippers at Kia Center on Monday night.
Ultimately, Los Angeles came out on top, 96-87, when four scorers finished in double figures, including 21 points from six-time All-...Read more

Celtics cap longest perfect road trip in franchise history with win over Grizzlies
Before the Boston Celtics departed for their longest road trip of the season, Kristaps Porzingis set what seemed like a lofty goal.
Asked what would make Boston’s six-game road trip a success, the big man replied: “For us, probably 6-0, no?”
Well, mission accomplished.
The Celtics closed out a flawless trip Monday night with a 117-103 ...Read more

St. John's adding transfer Bryce Hopkins from Providence in major coup for Rick Pitino
NEW YORK — One of the top players in the NCAA transfer portal is headed to St. John’s.
The Red Storm are adding Providence forward Bryce Hopkins, head coach Rick Pitino announced Monday, in a major coup for the reigning Big East champions.
“We are so excited to have Bryce Hopkins [as] part of our family,” Pitino wrote on social media. ...Read more

Paul Sullivan: Bulls giving fans a reason for optimism -- no matter how this season ends
CHICAGO — Imagine leaving the United Center early Thursday night, getting into your car and turning on The Score to listen to the postgame show on the ride home.
You were satisfied with a competitive effort from the Chicago Bulls and a chance to watch Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić do his thing. Perhaps you were there to witness LeBron...Read more
Hawks guard Trae Young to become assistant GM of Oklahoma men's basketball
ATLANTA — Hawks guard Trae Young is heading to the front office. Well, Young is stepping into the Oklahoma men’s basketball front office.
Young announced Monday afternoon on ESPN’s “NBA Today” that he accepted a role as an assistant general manager of the Sooners’ basketball program. The 26-year-old guard also announced that he ...Read more

Mark Story: There were questions when Kentucky hired Mark Pope. His first team answered many of them.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — It turned out, it was hard to beat a good team three times. For Kentucky, a third straight victory over Tennessee this season proved impossible.
Pounding UK on the offensive glass and slicing and dicing the Wildcats’ leaky pick-and-roll defense, Rick Barnes’ Volunteers avenged two regular-season defeats to Kentucky with a...Read more

Sean Keeler: Colorado State coach Ali Farokhmanesh, who once rocked Kansas, sets sights on Pac-12: 'I didn't come here to not win championships'
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Before Ali Farokhmanesh found a soft spot in Ben Jacobson’s heart, his coach thought he was Charmin soft.
“This isn’t Kirkwood anymore!” Jacobson screamed.
The gasket blew 17 years ago under a grey sky in Cedar Falls, one of those sleepy Iowa towns where the horizon and the sweet nothing beyond it seem to roll ...Read more

Sixers pull a game ahead of Nets for NBA's fifth-worst record following loss to Raptors
PHILADELPHIA — For either the 14th or 15th consecutive game, depending on your reconciliation, the 76ers have fielded a makeshift roster built to lose.
The latest quest ended Sunday night with a much-needed 127-109 loss to the Toronto Raptors at the Wells Fargo Center.
The setback dropped the Sixers to 23-52, extending their losing streak to...Read more

Timberwolves bounce back after brawl, pull away from Pistons
MINNEAPOLIS — With 8:36 left in the first half of the Timberwolves’ game with Detroit on Sunday night at Target Center, in a game that was a physical battle from the opening tip, all heck broke loose.
Down 10, Wolves forward Naz Reid was fouled by Ron Holland II. Holland and Reid started talking. Perhaps due to lingering feelings from a ...Read more

Bridges, Anunoby help fuel Knicks past Trail Blazers
NEW YORK — With Jalen Brunson still rehabbing from a sprained right ankle, the Knicks have had to find new ways to fuel the offense.
The answer in Sunday’s victory over the Portland Trail Blazers?
A heavier dose of wings.
OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges each scored 28 points, as the pair of Knicks forwards affectionately referred to as “...Read more

Maryland men's basketball coach Kevin Willard leaving to take job at Villanova
BALTIMORE — Maryland men’s basketball coach Kevin Willard has left the program to become the next coach at Villanova, which announced the hire Sunday morning.
In a statement published a few hours after Villanova’s announcement, University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines credited Willard and the players for a thrilling march to the ...Read more

Duke, Florida favored in 2nd Final Four with 4 No. 1 seeds in 40 years
LAS VEGAS — The Final Four will feature four No. 1 seeds for the first time since 2008 and only the second time since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Duke is a consensus 4 1/2-point favorite over Houston in the national semifinals Saturday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The consensus total is 137 and the Cougars are ...Read more

Warriors start fast, blow out Spurs, move back into No. 6 playoff spot
The Golden State Warriors got off to a torrid start Sunday, as they evened their road trip record at 2-2 and moved back into the No. 6 playoff position in the Western Conference.
After starting slowly in their first three games of the the trip, the Warriors exploded out of the gate for 44 points in the first quarter and kept it up throughout a ...Read more

Michigan State's NCAA Tournament run crumbles against Auburn, Johni Broome
ATLANTA — More than a year ago, Tom Izzo vowed a resurrection. He’d take his Michigan State team deeper in the NCAA Tournament. A blueblood whose March pulse had cooled set course for a return to lofty expectations. The Big Ten throne. A shot at the Final Four.
Do it or die trying.
Michigan State's season ended in the Elite Eight with a 70...Read more

Jim Alexander: UC Irvine basketball savors NIT experience others dismiss
There are those who say the National Invitation Tournament, that venerable college basketball institution that dates to 1938 – one year before the NCAA Tournament was founded – is on its last legs.
Too much competition in the postseason basketball sector, you see. Too many big schools who aren’t interested, and too much talk about ...Read more
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