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The second-round odds look more like a No. 16 vs. No. 1 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Lakers open the series as +945 underdogs. Some books even pushed it to +1000. The Thunder are -1700 favorites. That means you’d have to lay $1,700 on OKC to win the series just to win $100. Those opening lines are unprecedented for the Lakers’ franchise. According to Sports Odds History, the Lakers have never been this big of an underdog in a conference semifinal in the NBA’s modern era. And maybe not in any era!
Michigan basketball is wasting no time locking in its roster for its defense of the 2026 NCAA Tournament championship, even before it finishes celebrating that title. Guard Trey McKenney is the latest Wolverine to return to the fold, as he agreed to a deal to run it back in Ann Arbor for his sophomore season on Friday, April 10, the Free Press confirmed.
Dan Wolken: Arizona had an enforcer in the locker room today near Bryce James to tell reporters that he wasn’t going to do interviews. Carron J. Phillips: You can get really good stuff from the guys at the end of the bench at the NCAA Tournament during locker room availability. This is dumb. Dan Wolken: To be clear, Bryce’s media availability is being dictated by LeBron/Klutch, not Arizona.
One of the most coveted and prestigious college coaching jobs in the country is now open. North Carolina has fired head coach Hubert Davis, the school announced on Tuesday, ushering in a new chapter for the legendary blue blood program. Davis spent five seasons at the helm, compiling a 125-54 overall record and making four NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the 2022 national championship game. UNC will pay out the remaining $5.3 million on his contract. “Tonight, I was let go by the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill,” Davis said in a statement on Instagram. “My desire was to continue to coach here. This opportunity has truly been such a blessing. I thank Jesus literally every day for giving me the opportunity, relationships and experiences with the kids and my staff. I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish together. My goal is to coach again in the very near future.”
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Darryn Peterson made his NCAA Tournament debut while Brooklyn was hosting the Knicks on Friday, while Boozer made his Thursday afternoon. Dybantsa put on an all-time performance in BYU’s loss to Texas, looking like a potential No. 1 overall pick. “He’s going to be a great player. People talk about comparisons to [Kevin Durant], Jayson Tatum, and it does look like it to me,” Nets rookie Egor Dëmin told The Post of his BYU successor. “It’s a lot of midrange, really aggressive driver, slasher, the transition game, physicality, crazy athlete. He’s got everything to be able to play on the highest level.”
Ex-Alabama player Charles Bediako, who has spent the past 2 1/2 years competing in the NBA Summer League and G League, had his college eligibility temporarily reinstated Wednesday by a judge who blocked the NCAA from retaliating for his return to the 17th-ranked Tide. Bediako had signed several NBA developmental contracts since going undrafted in 2023. He played two seasons (2021-23) at Alabama, averaging 6.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks a game, and helped the Crimson Tide make the NCAA Tournament twice.
Chema de Lucas: BREAKING NEWS: Baskonia has secured the former Raptors point guard Markquis Nowell (25 years old; 1.75 m.). He holds the NCAA Tournament single-game assists record with 19. In 2023, he received the Bob Cousy Award for the best point guard in NCAA-I. Baskonia has a deal with Markquise Nowell.
Gamecocks great Sindarius Thornwell was arrested Tuesday on a domestic violence charge, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. The player who led the University of South Carolina men’s basketball team to the Final Four in the 2017 NCAA Tournament was charged with second-degree domestic violence in addition to unlawful conduct toward a child, the sheriff’s department said in a news release. Thornwell, who was taken to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, was granted a $25,000 personal recognizance bond at 2 p.m. Tuesday, his attorney Seth Rose said. “We are asserting Sindarius’s innocence to these accusations and ask the everyone to withhold judgment until this is resolved in a court of law,” Rose said in a text message to The State.
Egor Demin: Asked Egor Demin about adjusting to physicality and ball pressure of NBA defenders and what he needs to do to be able to handle it: "It’s a big transition. Same as it was when I just got to college and started playing conference games. The Providence game. Everybody saw this game. I can’t say it was the best experience I’ve ever had. But it was a really useful game because those games prepared me for the most important part of the season in March Madness where I was playing point guard full time. The games against Houston, the games against Iowa State, the games against Arizona, Baylor, where they’re really trying to break you. Especially me when they see me with the high dribbling, right? They’re really trying to, the coach is like, Yo! pressure! Pressure! For me, it’s just time and adjustment. I need to get used to that. Spend more time in practices handling the ball thanks to our guys who are not being selfish by not playing great defense against me. Tyson, Q, TJ, Dre, all these guys were guarding me in the practices, and it’s pretty hard. So, for me having these experiences, not just in the games, but in practice is huge.”
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Jon Rothstein: Vanderbilt's Devin McGlockton tells me that he plans to withdraw from the 2025 NBA Draft and return to school next season. Averaged 10.3 PPG and 7.9 RPG last season for the Dores, who advanced to the NCAA Tournament in Year One under Mark Byington.
A federal judge on Monday dismissed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit brought by Mario Chalmers and other prolific college basketball players against the NCAA. Chalmers, the former Kansas Jayhawk, filed the antitrust class action last year alongside 15 other former college hoopers, who claimed that the NCAA is unjustly enriching itself off the name, image and likeness (NIL) of its athletes to promote the annual March Madness basketball tournament.
Ira Winderman: Jaime Jaquez Jr. said he is looking into the possibilities of seeing his sister and UCLA play in the NCAA Tournament Final Four in Tampa on Friday, with that championship game on Sunday. The Heat are at home and off both of those days.