College Basketball

MADISON – The Wisconsin men’s basketball team tipped off the season Tuesday night shortly after 7 p.m. When the Badgers actually started to play was closer to 7:30. Undaunted by a slow start, Wisconsin overcame a 16-point first half deficit to score an 85-61 victory over Holy Cross Monday night at the Kohl Center. The game was the season opener …

Tennessee guard Jordan Gainey (11) goes up for the basket during an NCAA college basketball game against Gardner-Webb on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. No. 12 Tennessee (1-0) tipped off its 2024-25 college basketball season on Monday at Food City Center. Rankings reflect the preseason USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll. The Vols defeated Gardner-Webb (0-1), 80-64. …

Michigan State’s Frankie Fidler shoots against Monmouth during the first half on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Michigan State basketball opened the 2024-25 season with a convincing 81-57 win over Monmouth in front of a hometown Breslin Center crowd. The win saw a variety of Spartans shine, but most notably, Jaden Akins provided a …

EAST LANSING – Monmouth wasn’t James Madison. Far from it. Then again, Michigan State basketball didn’t look like the same team from last year’s season-opening loss. Or even the one from two exhibition games. The Spartans smothered the Hawks defensively from the outset, jumping out to a 17-2 lead in the first seven-plus minutes and getting tested afterward before pulling …

Purdue basketball’s 2024-25 season began with two freshmen in the starting lineup and two more who saw the court in Monday’s season-opening win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. While most program in college basketball rely on the transfer portal to replenish their roster, Purdue is an outlier, focusing nearly primarily on high school seniors. Matt Painter took five freshmen in the …

WEST LAFAYETTE − Purdue basketball passed its first post-Zach Edey test. Sort of. The Boilermakers’ 90-73 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday night at Mackey Arena left a lot to be desired for a team coming off a national championship game appearance. Despite five double-digit scorers, it took key plays from Fletcher Loyer, Daniel Jacobsen, Braden Smith and Gicarri …

Purdue got a little more than it bargained for in its season opener against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, getting tested in the second half before pushing away, 90-73. On a night where Purdue unveiled its second Final Four banner in the rafters of Mackey Arena, the Purdue fans had a lot to cheer for early. A 9 of 13 from …

As Iowa men’s basketball gets ready to tip off their 2024-25 campaign tonight, they will do so without forward Seydou Traore, who appeared in a walking boot and was not warming up. Traore joined the Hawkeyes this offseason through the transfer portal from Manhattan after playing one season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. In his lone season with the …

HIGH POINT – High Point University is still trying to figure out what the finished puzzle will look like. But the pieces are falling into place. The Panthers shot better than 50% from the field in both halves, made 14 shots from 3-point range and held their opponent in check throughout in rolling to an 85-57 victory against Averett in …

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Oziyah Sellers scored a career-high 24 points, Maxime Raynaud added 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists and Stanford beat Denver 85-62 on Monday in Kyle Smith’s debut as the Cardinal’s head coach. Smith spent five years at Washington State and last season was the Pac-12 Conference coach of the year when the Cougars reached the …

With a strong blend of returners and impactful newcomers, St. Francis men’s basketball coach Rob Krimmel sounded quite optimistic about his team’s prospects this coming season. The Red Flash bring back seven letterwinners and three starters from the 2023-24 team. Krimmel expects his squad to shoot at a higher clip this winter. “We’re going to shoot the ball a lot …

Monday night is the opening of the Big East college basketball season, which means, instead of full games on FS1, fans will get “Big East whip-around” coverage. Portions of all eight games involving conference teams, including Marquette’s matchup with Stony Brook, will be shown live on the league’s flagship network. But if you want to watch the full 40 minutes …

Bradley basketball faces Southeast Missouri State on Monday in the opening game of the 2024-25 college basketball season at Carver Arena in Peoria. The Braves, which finished 23-12 last season and made the NIT, have high expectations. They are picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference under 10th-year coach Brian Wardle and Duke Deen, the preseason MVC Player of the …

Cuonzo Martin will make his first official return to the Missouri State basketball sideline when the 2024-25 season tips off on Monday evening in Indianapolis. Missouri State will open its season at Butler when the two tip off at 5:45 p.m. at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports 1. The Bears are coming off a 17-16 season that …

UCLA guard Londynn Jones got a last-second three-pointer to give the Bruins the lead heading into halftime. (Photo by Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images) As a busy opening day of women’s basketball continues, the second ranked matchup of the day got off to an odd start. As No. 17 Louisville prepared to take on No. 5 UCLA in Paris, the Cardinals got …

Women’s college basketball has never been in a better place. Yes, there has always been great talent in the sport, but now the entire world sees it. Last year’s Iowa-South Carolina national championship game drew an average of 18.7 million viewers — with a peak viewership of 24 million. That shattered previous records set earlier in the NCAA tournament, which …

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Ante Brzovic’s 27 points helped Charleston defeat Southern Illinois 90-80 on Monday in a season opener. Brzovic also contributed nine rebounds for the Cougars. Deywilk Tavarez scored 17 points while shooting 5 for 7 (3 for 3 from 3-point range) and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. CJ Fulton went 6 of 12 from …

The South Carolina Gamecocks are the defending national champions entering the 2024-25 women’s college basketball season, and if history is any indication, they will be right in the mix for a repeat victory. Dynasties have dominated women’s college basketball since the NCAA started sponsoring the championship in 1982. The teams come in waves, but each era has a team that …

Jordan Prather-Imagn Images College basketball fans will see someone new on the sidelines coaching the Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team this season. After a decade and a half with Kentucky, former Wildcats head coach John Calipari is no longer leading the program. Now the head coach at Arkansas, the longtime face of the team brought a few of his former …

PARIS (AP) — Kiki Iriafen made a pair of free throws with seconds remaining to lift No. 3 Southern California over Mississippi 68-66 on Monday in a season-opening doubleheader in France. The score was tied 66-66 with 10 seconds left when Iriafen — an Associated Press preseason All-America selection — hit her two free throws. Iriafen finished with 22 points …

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff celebrates after scoring a touchdown against UCF on Oct. 26, 2024 in Orlando. | BYU Photo BYU couldn’t have asked for a better bye week. As the Cougars rested this past weekend, they slipped into sole possession of first place in the Big 12 thanks to some helpful chaos around the conference. With Iowa State and …

Star sophomore guard JuJu Watkins (#12) led USC with 27 points. (Photo by Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images) NCAA women’s basketball is back, and it started off with a bang. In the first ranked matchup of the season, No. 3 USC staved off a comeback from No. 20 Ole Miss in a 68-66 win for the season opener. The matchup marked the …

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Alyssa Ustby had 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Lexi Donarski added 14 points, and No. 15 North Carolina beat Charleston Southern 83-53 on Monday to begin the season. UNC has won 12 straight games against Charleston Southern and seven consecutive season openers. The Tar Heels open the season ranked for the third consecutive …

Audi Crooks AMES, Iowa — Iowa State coaches and athletes were at the Algona stop on the Cyclone Club statewide meet-and-greet tour this summer when Audi Crooks’ popularity truly registered with women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly. Her autograph line dwarfed that of football coach Matt Campbell. “That never happens,” Fennelly said. Crooks has been beloved by the Algona community for …

John Calipari Arkansas only has one scholarship player back from a team that finished a game below .500 last year, yet the Razorbacks open this season in the AP Top 25. Consider that a testament to the way new coach John Calipari reshaped his roster by adding transfers and freshmen. Arkansas added three top-30 recruits and also was among the …