Big Ten Basketball

Illinois star Ayo Dosunmu is taking the blame for his team's loss to No. 8 Loyola-Chicago. 

"I let my team down today," he said, via Jeremy Werner of 247Sports. "I can take it. I can take the criticism. I've taken it all. It's another bump in the road." 

"We couldn't throw a penny in the ocean," Dosunmu added regarding the team's play, per Werner.

Dosunmu, who averaged 20.6 points per game through 27 appearances entering Sunday, recorded just nine points as the Fighting Illini fell 71-58. 

The Chicago native, who is the first NCAA player in 11 years to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and five assists per game, was a consensus first-team All-American this season and was named the Big Ten's Most Outstanding Player. He is a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award and Naismith Trophy and appears on the national ballot for the Wooden Award.

But he struggled Sunday against the top defensive team in the country. 

Dosunmu was limited to 4-of-10 shooting with two rebounds and two assists. Kofi Cockburn carried scoring for the Illini, with 21 points and nine rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. But the pair were overcome by 19 points from Loyola big Cameron Krutwig and 14 each from Marquise Kennedy and Lucas Williamson.

While it will be the Ramblers rather than the Illini who will face the winner of Sunday's Oregon State/Oklahoma State matchup, Dosunmu is likely headed to the NBA, where Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley mocked him to the Golden State Warriors at No. 14. 

Michigan forward Isaiah Livers wore a T-shirt that raised awareness for the #NotNCAAProperty movement Saturday when the Wolverines played Texas Southern in the first round of the Division I NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Livers, who is currently sidelined with a foot injury, is leading the charge alongside Rutgers guard Geo Baker and Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon. The movement's stated goals can be found here via Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic:

All three players (and many others) have spread awareness on Twitter, with Baker providing more commentary in support of all NCAA student-athletes:

The movement notably has the support of longtime college basketball commentator Dick Vitale:

NCAA President Mark Emmert has stated that he is "really supportive of what they're asking for" during an interview with reporters.

A meeting with Emmert, who has been the NCAA's president since 2010, is listed as the second action item for the #NotNCAAProperty movement.

Juwan Howard wants to build a long-term winner with Michigan.

While ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz reported "many NBA executives feel Howard will be in high demand once again this offseason," the head coach of the Wolverines men's basketball team appeared on Thursday's episode of ESPN's Jalen & Jacoby (h/t Garrett Stepien of 247Sports) and said he is staying with his alma mater:

"I'm in Ann Arbor to stay, baby. I love Michigan, I love my job and I'm enjoying it and this experience. I'm also looking forward to growing each and every year and developing these young men to become the best versions of themselves as a student-athlete.

"This is a dream job for me. I think my passion last year showed how much I appreciate being in this position.

"The NBA, it's a beautiful game. They have great coaches there, amazing, talented players, a beautiful brand. But I enjoyed that experience for 25 years, 19 as a player and six as a coach. I'm going to stay and keep growing with Michigan. Go Blue."

It should come as no surprise the NBA would potentially be interested.

For one, he has found immediate success on a big stage with the Wolverines. This is just his second season as head coach, and the Chicago native has already won the Big Ten Coach of the Year award and the conference regular-season title. The 48-year-old has his team positioned to challenge for a national title as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA men's tournament.

The Chicago native also has connections to the NBA that go beyond his 19-season playing career.

The 6'9" forward was an assistant coach for the Miami Heat from 2013-19. Miami went to the NBA playoffs three times during that span and advanced to the NBA Finals in his first season as an assistant coach, although it lost to the San Antonio Spurs.

However, it sounds like the NBA will have to wait, which is welcome news for Michigan fans. 

After all, Howard has the No. 1 class in the country for the 2021 recruiting cycle, per 247Sports' composite rankings. The Wolverines figure to be championship contenders for years to come with Howard on the sidelines.

Move along, nothing to see here.

That is what former Michigan State player and current Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said about the exchange between Spartans head coach Tom Izzo and forward Gabe Brown at the end of the first half of Thursday's game against UCLA:

Although the Spartans finished the half with an 11-point lead, Izzo was not happy with their defense after they allowed a basket on the final possession before the buzzer. He and Brown exchanged words, with Izzo even grabbing his player's arm to get his attention:

If anyone would know about Izzo's famous intensity, it is Green.

He was a Big Ten Player of the Year and consensus All-American during his time at Michigan State while playing for Izzo and clearly didn't have a problem with his former coach's tactics during the heated NCAA tournament game.

The head coaching job for men's basketball at Indiana is open after the firing of Archie Miller, but a pair of potential candidates have said they have no interest in the gig.

Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens told Zolak and Bertrand on Tuesday that he does not want to return to the college level, while Iona head coach Rick Pitino said he wants to end his career in New Rochelle, according to Mike Rodak of AL.com.

Miller had coached the Hoosiers since 2017. 

Stevens made his NBA coaching debut in 2013-14, but many hoped he'd want to return to his home state. 

"That's nice of them. That really is," he told Zolak and Bertrand. "That's home. I get it. I appreciate all the nice sentiments. It certainly doesn't go unnoticed, and it's certainly very kind." 

A native of Zionsville, Indiana, Stevens went to college at DePauw and coached at Butler before making the jump to the NBA. But he's made a strong case for himself in Boston, where he has emerged as the fifth-longest-tenured coach in the league and the fourth-winningest coach in franchise history. 

The Celtics have reached the Eastern Conference Finals in three of the past four seasons. They're sitting at 20-18 on the 2020-21 campaign, winning five of their last six to sit at fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Pitino, a two-time NCAA champion as a head coach, took the job at Iona after being fired by Louisville in 2017 amid an FBI investigation into recruiting violations. The Gaels made the NCAA men's tournament as a 15th seed in his first year as head coach after a 12-5 record and a MAAC championship.         

Indiana, meanwhile, will continue its head coaching search as it looks to move on from a 12-15 season.

Minnesota has fired men's basketball coach Richard Pitino.  

"I recently met with Richard and told him that we were moving in a different direction," athletic director Mark Coyle said in a statement. "Richard is a tremendous person and coach, and I want to thank him, Jill and their family for their commitment to Minnesota. We wish them well in their next endeavor."

According to Stadium's Jeff Goodman, Pitino is already a strong contender to land the vacant New Mexico job.

According to the Associated Press' Dave Campbell, Minnesota is on the hook to pay Pitino a $1.7 million buyout. The Star Tribune's Chip Scoggins noted it's unclear whether the buyout would apply if the 38-year-old immediately lands on his feet with the Lobos.

Pitino, the son of legendary college coach Rick Pitino, was only at Florida International for one season before moving north to Minnesota. The Golden Gophers showed early promise, winning 25 games and claiming an NIT title in 2013-14.

That proved to be the high-water mark of the Pitino era. Minnesota made the NCAA tournament twice, exiting in the first round in 2017 and falling to Big Ten rival Michigan State during the second round in 2019.

The program posted sub-.500 records in three of the last four years. So while Pitino wasn't a failure in Minneapolis, it was fair to wonder whether a change was necessary.

The Athletic's Brian Hamilton laid out the drawbacks of the Minnesota vacancy, citing a lack of history, a market that gravitates more toward pro sports over the college game and plenty of surrounding schools to poach the best local talent.

It's not a total coincidence the Golden Gophers' greatest triumph of the modern era—a trip to the 1997 Final Four—was later vacated because of NCAA violations.

Coyle identified the right candidate to guide the football program with P.J. Fleck delivering an 11-win season in 2019. Perhaps he has a similar vision for the men's basketball team with the search for a new head coach now underway.

Part of Fran McCaffery's preparation for the NCAA tournament included signing a four-year contract extension with Iowa that will keep him with the team through the 2027-28 campaign, per the Associated Press. 

The Hawkeyes finished the season 21-8 and 14-6 in the Big Ten, good to finish third in the conference. They were knocked out of the Big Ten tournament in the semifinals by eventual champion Illinois, which drew a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, as did Michigan. 

The Hawkeyes, one of nine Big Ten teams to make the NCAA tournament, drew a No. 2 seed, their highest since 1987. 

Despite playing in a loaded conference, the Hawkeyes managed to maintain a Top 15 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll throughout the season, topping off at No. 5 last week as they enter their fifth tournament since 2014. 

This year's run was led by national player of the year candidate Luka Garza, who is the school's career scoring leader. 

McCaffery, who took a 15 percent pay cut for the 2020-21 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, has a $2.3 million base salary for the next two seasons, a figure that is set to increase in the final five years of his contract, though the amount of the increases was not announced. 

The 61-year-old has coached at Iowa since the 2010-11 campaign and is the school's second-winningest coach of all time with a 215-151 record. That record includes seven 20-win seasons. 

Athletic director Gary Barta said the program originally was going to extend McCaffery's contract at the end of last year, but the decision was paused because of the pandemic, per the Associated Press. 

Iowa will begin its NCAA tournament run against Grand Canyon on Saturday. 

Indiana has fired Archie Miller as its men's basketball coach, athletic director Scott Dolson announced Monday:

Jeff Goodman of Stadium first reported the news while noting the coach has a $10 million buyout on his contract. 

The Hoosiers went 12-15 in 2020-21 during Miller's fourth year with the program. They ended the season with six straight losses, including a loss to Rutgers in their first game in the Big Ten tournament.

Indiana failed to reach the NCAA tournament in any of Miller's four years, although the 2020 version of March Madness was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 42-year-old coach finished with a 67-58 record at Indiana from 2017-21.

Miller initially signed a seven-year contract with Indiana after joining the team from Dayton. He led the Flyers to four straight NCAA tournament selections, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2014.

He was brought in to replace Tom Crean, who was fired after nine years at Indiana that included three trips to the Sweet 16 and two regular-season Big Ten titles.

There were even higher expectations in Bloomington with a program that has five national championships and eight trips to the Final Four.

Despite high hopes for Miller, the coach disappointed with a 33-44 record in the Big Ten and a 0-7 record against rival Purdue (h/t Matthew Glenesk of the Indianapolis Star).

According to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, Indiana has been quietly reaching out to potential candidates to gauge interest for at least a few weeks. 

If the Hoosiers find the right coach and convince sophomore Trayce Jackson-Davis to return, they could be an exciting team to watch in 2021-22.

Penn State has hired Purdue assistant Micah Shrewsberry as its next head men's basketball coach.

The Nittany Lions confirmed the hire in a release, making him the full-time replacement for Pat Chambers. 

Chambers resigned amid an internal investigation into his conduct before the 2020-21 season and was replaced by Jim Ferry on an interim basis.

The Lions went 11-14 in Ferry's lone season at the helm.

Jeff Goodman of Stadium first reported Shrewsberry's hiring. 

"I'm extremely humbled and excited to be the next head coach at Penn State University," Shrewsberry said in the release. "I want to thank Dr. Barron, Sandy Barbour, Lynn Holleran and the rest of the search committee involved in this process. The values of this university and its commitment to excellence are the major reasons why this job was so appealing to me. I can't wait to arrive on campus to begin working with our tremendous student-athletes. My family and I are looking forward to becoming a part of the Nittany Lion family!"

Shrewsberry, 44, has been the lead assistant on Matt Painter's bench for the last two seasons. He's been instrumental in guiding the fourth-seeded Boilermakers offense this season, with Purdue ranking 23rd nationally in Ken Pomeroy's offensive efficiency metric.

Prior to his most recent stint at Purdue, Shrewsberry served as an assistant under Brad Stevens with the Boston Celtics from 2013 to 2019. Shrewsberry played an important developmental role for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and Tatum credited the shooting coach with helping him build a bond with his young costar.

"When I first got here, first two years, we had the same shooting coach, Shrewsberry, so we always kind of shot together," Tatum said, per Brian Robb of MassLive. "And we just always in the gym, always working, always trying to get better, just trying to push each other. A lot of one on one games a lot of shooting drills. Just came kinda natural.”

Shrewsberry previously served as an assistant under Stevens at Butler from 2008 to 2011 before his first stint at Purdue (2011 to 2013). 

The veteran assistant's first run at being a head coach will be anything but easy. Penn State's men's basketball program has long been greatly overshadowed by its football team, a fact that's hurt the Lions in recruitment and in internal support at the university. 

The Lions have not reached the NCAA tournament in a decade—they would have qualified in 2019-20 if the COVID-19 pandemic had not wiped out the Big Dance—and have reached the second weekend just once in the past 60 years.

There's no question Shrewsberry faces an uphill battle. However, with a deep coaching pedigree that includes success at the NBA and collegiate level, he's the type of hire who would help spark a turnaround in State College.