Arizona coach Sean Miller could probably use a new shirt Participating in the NCAA tournament is an exciting but stressful experience for all involved, from players to coaches to referees to fans. For the most part, though, everyone does a good job of keeping their cool apart from the occasional technical foul or sideline freakout. Like many coaches, Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller … [Read more...]

Where Butler's mascot watched his team while banned from the arena As tip-off of Thursday's opening-round game between Butler and Texas Tech approached, the owner of the Bulldogs' mascot packed up Blue III and headed back to his hotel. Michael Kaltenmark could not bring the English Bulldog into PNC Arena for Butler's 71-61 victory because the NCAA has prohibited live mascots from attending … [Read more...]

Purdue suffers another first-round upset as Arkansas-Little Rock pulls off stunner   DENVER – The improbable one-year turnaround at Arkansas-Little Rock is now flirting with amazing. Coach Chris Beard added 10 players to his roster after being hired in April last year and guided that team to a Sun Belt Conference championship and an NCAA tournament bid. Now the team has won an NCAA tourney … [Read more...]

NCAA Tournament Round of 64 Live Blog: Thursday Follow along with The Dagger team for updates on the Thursday, March 17 NCAA Tournament games. … [Read more...]

Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall making players earn their numbers Virginia players will have nothing handed to them this offseason, not even their jersey numbers. Players will go through spring drills without numbers on their jerseys or helmets as new coach Bronco Mendenhall tries to instill an appreciation by the players for being able to play for the Cavaliers. “To be able to play for … [Read more...]

NCAA tournament viewing guide: What to watch and skip on Thursday For one glorious 36-hour stretch between 12 p.m. EST on Thursday and 12 a.m. EST on Saturday, CBS and Turner Sports will televise 32 opening-round NCAA tournament games. Here's a look at which games on Thursday's slate are must-see and which you can afford to click away from until the final two minutes: THURSDAY AFTERNOON … [Read more...]

First openly gay NCAA tournament player hopes he's inspired others Play Tourney Pick'em  |  Fill out your bracket  |  Print it  |  Celebrity Challenge DENVER, Colo – Sitting in front of his locker on the first day of his last NCAA tournament, Seton Hall guard Derrick Gordon fielded a question from a reporter that surprised him. And that just doesn’t happen very much these days. Gordon … [Read more...]

Clemson DB Kaleb Chalmers hit with drug charges Clemson cornerback Kaleb Chalmers ran into some trouble earlier this week. According to a report from the Anderson Independent Mail, Chalmers was arrested Monday in Clinton, S.C., on several drug charges, including possession of marijuana. Chalmers was also reportedly in possession of several prescription drugs. From the report: According to … [Read more...]

C.J. McCollum trolls teammate Mason Plumlee about Lehigh-Duke upset With the NCAA tournament underway, many NBA players reminisce about their collegiate glory. Former Duke forward Mason Plumlee probably wishes his Portland Trail Blazers teammate C.J. McCollum hadn’t. Play Tourney Pick'em  |  Fill out your bracket  |  Print it  |  Celebrity Challenge McCollum was a star at Lehigh of the … [Read more...]

Ranking the 68 best players in this year's NCAA tournament They come from every corner of the globe the stars of this year's college basketball season, from the beaches of the Bahamas, to the snow-capped mountains of Austria. There are sons of everyday Joes and sons of former NBA stars. There are centers who eclipse 7 feet tall and point guards who don't even stand 6 feet. There are guys … [Read more...]