Kansas earns No. 1 seed in Midwest Region; Auburn gets No. 2
Kansas earned a No. 1 seed for the 15th time on Sunday, second only to North Carolina for most in college hoops history, and will open the NCAA Tournament in the Midwest Region against the play-in winner between Texas Southern and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Fort Worth, Texas.
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ACC ends forgettable season with early NCAA Tournament exit
ACC teams finished with a 4-7 NCAA Tournament record, marking the league's lowest win total and winning percentage in this event since 1979. Duke went 13-11, withdrew from the ACC Tournament due to a positive COVID-19 test and ended a string of 29 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. When the NCAA Tournament brackets came out, the ACC teams with the best seeds were Florida State and Virginia at No. โWe werenโt quite as good at the top,โ Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said after the first round of the NCAA Tournament. AdThe ACCโs one pleasant NCAA Tournament surprise was Syracuse, which sneaked into the field with a No.
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Sister Jean gets the vaccine and seat at the NCAA Tournament
The best COVID-19 vaccine shots in America just might be the two that went into Sister Jeanโs arm. The breakout star and model for the most coveted bobblehead of the 2018 NCAA Tournament is now eight months beyond her 101st birthday and still serving as chaplain for the Loyola Chicago basketball team. 1 seed Illinois, is bound to provide a much stiffer test of Sister Jeanโs faith. AdYet her celebratory fist bump at the buzzer was one of the signature moments of the first full day of an NCAA Tournament canceled a year ago due the pandemic. 8 North Carolina hardly qualified as an upset, unless you count Tar Heels coach Roy Williamsโ first-ever loss in a tournament opener.
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Wisconsin routs UNC, Williams falls to 29-1 in NCAA openers
โ North Carolina coach Roy Williams lost his first opening-round NCAA Tournament game in 30 tries as ninth-seeded Wisconsin blew out his eighth-seeded Tar Heels 85-62 on Friday night. โI thought (Wisconsin) played very well and Roy Williams didnโt coach very well,โ Williams said. Brad Davison scored 29 points and DโMitrik Trice added 21 points for Wisconsin. โObviously, our league has been phenomenal and it was such a grind to go through, specifically the schedule we had down the stretch,โ Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. North Carolina never won more than three straight games all season.
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Closed circuit: March Madness trip leads to life on lockdown
The Texas basketball team walks around the concourse at Victory Field at the NCAA college basketball tournament, Wednesday, March 17, 2021, in Indianapolis. This is life at a basketball tournament being played in a pandemic. Starting Thursday, in an attempt to get through 67 games uninterrupted, the NCAA has placed players, coaches and staff under a virtual lock and key. โBut it was not NCAA staff that encouraged meals to be had in restaurants,โ he said. โGotta make sure the gameโs sharp by the time springtime comes.โAd___More AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket
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The Latest: North Carolina men's hoops seeking a home game
The programโs official Twitter account posted Monday that the Tar Heels are seeking a home game for this week. 18 Virginia Tech was postponed, the third Atlantic Coast Conference home game called off for the program. ___Vanderbilt says a limited number of students from its senior class can attend the menโs basketball home game Wednesday with Kentucky. ___The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Monday that Clemson's men's basketball game at Notre Dame scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues. AdThe conference says in a release that the postponement follows a positive test, subsequent quarantining, and contact tracing within the Clemson menโs program.
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Elite programs stuck on the NCAA Tournament bubble
So is North Carolina. The Blue Devils are 8-8 and 6-6 in the ACC after beating North Carolina State on Saturday, a win that ended a three-game losing streak. The Scarlet Knights were poised to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991 before the tourney was canceled last season. A team on the NCAA Tournament bubble can't really afford consecutive losses late in the season. ___AP Basketball Writer Aaron Beard in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report.
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Tar Heels sorry for breaching COVID-19 protocols
(AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek, File)North Carolina players apologized Tuesday for not following school and athletic department COVID-19 guidelines during a celebratory gathering after a win at rival Duke. โOur intention was to celebrate privately within our group,โ the players and managers said in a statement released by the school. โBut they realize they did make a mistake, for which they are paying a very significant price,โ Williams said. The Tar Heels (12-6, 7-4 ACC), who have won seven of nine, are scheduled to visit ninth-ranked Virginia on Saturday. โWe have worked too hard for eight months doing the right things to make those kinds of mistakes at this point in the season,โ the players and managers said.
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Harmon's 22 points sends Oklahoma past No. 9 Kansas 75-68
Oklahoma guards De'Vion Harmon (11) and Elijah Harkless (24) react during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Kansas in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Garett Fisbeck)NORMAN, Okla. โ DeโVion Harmon scored 22 points and Oklahoma beat No. Reaves scored 16 points, all in the second half, and made 10 of 11 free throws. Kansas put Oklahoma in the bonus early in the second half and the Sooners took advantage, making 18 of 22 foul shots after not having a free-throw attempt in the first half. Oklahoma: Oklahoma hasnโt cracked the Top 25 this season, but now is in sole possession of third place in a league with five top-15 teams.
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Culver leads No. 14 West Virginia from 19 down past Okla St
14 West Virginia rally from 19 down in the second half to beat Oklahoma State 87-84 on Monday night. Miles McBride scored 19 of his 21 points after halftime for the Mountaineers (9-3, 2-2 Big 12), including 14 in the final four minutes. โHe loves those moments,โ West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said of McBride, who had two fouls in 10 minutes during the first half. Oklahoma State: The Cowboys led for virtually the entire first half and well into the second. Oklahoma State: The Cowboys head out on the road to face Kansas State on Saturday.
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No. 22 Tar Heels top Kentucky for Wildcats' 5th loss in row
North Carolina won 75-63. 22 North Carolina from a double-digit deficit to beat Kentucky 75-63 at the CBS Sports Classic. BIG PICTURENorth Carolina: The Tar Heels are 0-2 against teams ranked in the AP Top 25, losing 69-67 to No. ... North Carolina has completed its nonleague schedule and will play its next 20 games in the Atlantic Coast Conference. UP NEXTNorth Carolina: Plays at North Carolina State in its ACC opener Dec. 22.
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Famed basketball coach Roy Williams pays tribute to Budig
FILE - In this March 27, 1993, file photo, Kansas coach Roy Williams raises his arms in victory after cutting a piece of the net after the NCAA Midwest Regional final in St. Louis. He was the guy that gave Roy Williams a chance, Williams told The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)A Hall of Famer with three national championships and a familiar face at the Final Four, it would seem Roy Williams was destined for big things in basketball. He was the guy that gave Roy Williams a chance, Williams told The Associated Press. They wanted a high-profile coach and told Budig it would be a huge mistake to hire Williams.
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Gene Budig, academic who ran American League, dies at 81
NEW YORK Gene Budig, the self-effacing educator and baseball fan from small-town Nebraska who became the head of three major universities and the last president of the American League, died Tuesday. Mixing his passion for academics and athletics at Kansas, Budig oversaw a smart move in 1988. Budig became an assistant professor of educational administration at Nebraska in 1967 and rose to full professor, assistant vice chancellor and assistant vice president and director of public affairs. He moved to Illinois State in 1972 as a vice president, dean and professor of educational administration and its youngest full professor. Budig is survived by his wife, Gretchen Van Bloom Budig, and three children: Christopher Budig, Mary Frances Budig and Kathryn Budig; sister Mary Ann Myers; brother Richard Budig; and five grandchildren.