SAN FRANCISCO — In summer 2022, the new Florida men’s basketball staff had zero wins, an auspicious but limited track record and one guarantee: Thomas Haugh, the lanky three-star recruit in the practice gym, was not leaving Gainesville without plans to come back. He was possibly the only human ever to be both a native … Read more
Making it to the WNBA or setting incredible NCAA records never crossed Shakyla Hill’s mind when she arrived at Grambling State in 2015. She had other aspirations. She wanted to be a lawyer. Recording a quadruple-double in a game was never part of the plan. Getting two in a career wasn’t even a thought. But … Read more
More than 1,000 Division I men’s basketball players have entered the transfer portal since it opened on March 24. That’s a lot of names and faces to learn as college basketball’s roster management busy season increasingly resembles NBA free agency. This is where The Athletic’s transfer portal rankings come in. The rankings are a living … Read more
Jay Williams has reached what he calls an “inflection point.” “If I can’t be the best version of myself, then I can’t be that for the people that I love,” Williams said. “I think that’s what I’m processing now.” Williams wears many hats these days: ESPN college basketball analyst, a regular contributor to the network’s … Read more
CLEVELAND — Trailing by one with less than eight minutes remaining, Robert Morris guard Amarion Dickerson swatted a shot attempt by Alabama guard Mark Sears, sending the first-team All-American to the floor and the ball caroming out of bounds. Then Dickerson, the suddenly not-so-anonymous Horizon League defensive player of the year who scored 25 points … Read more
The NCAA Tournament’s 32-game feast across Thursday and Friday is one of the most highly anticipated TV stretches of the sports year. You should watch as many games as you can, but if you need to prioritize, here are the “can’t-miss” ones to watch, informed by full-bracket predictions from The Athletic’s Brendan Marks, C.J. Moore … Read more
The men’s basketball selection committee had an easy job at the top of the bracket this year. The 2025 NCAA Tournament might have the best collection of No. 1 seeds in March Madness history. By the numbers, it is the best, at least in college basketball’s advanced analytics era, which dates to 1997, when Ken … Read more
ESPN college basketball broadcaster Dick Vitale had an emotional moment at the end of the ACC men’s basketball championship game Saturday, expressing how grateful he was to be back in the broadcast booth after nearly two years away due to health issues. “It’s been, to me, a miracle, really, to sit here with you guys. … Read more
The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 Men’s March Madness Selection Show Ever the gentleman, Greg Gumbel reached out to offer a welcoming handshake. Ernie Johnson responded with … a fist bump? The awkward exchange — one Johnson still describes, a decade later, as “so embarrassing” — lasted maybe two seconds. To Johnson, a … Read more
There’s not too much shame in a botched March Madness bracket. The NCAA Tournament is compressed chaos in single elimination, upsets are part of the game, and only one entrant can actually win it all. What we can’t forgive is a lazy, uninspired bracket name. The men’s and women’s tournaments give us a wealth of … Read more