Men's College Basketball

Anthony Black, a 5-star combo guard out of Duncanville (Texas) High School, has committed to play college ball for Arkansas on Monday.

"I believe in coach [Eric Musselman], and he knows what it takes to make it to the NBA," he said to ESPN's Paul Biancardi.

Musselman appeared to react to the news on social media:

Black is the third-highest rated Texan, the third-highest rated point guard and the No. 22 overall prospect in the class of 2022, per 247Sports' composite.

Brandon Jenkins, 247Sports' recruiting analyst, provided the following scouting report for Black on December 2, 2021.

A former dual-sport athlete (three-star wide receiver), Black is a big playmaking guard who is excellent in transition and can play and guard all three perimeter positions. He is smart with his decision-making and has a great understanding of how to play. He can play with the ball in his hands is a very reliable decision-maker. Black is very disruptive on the defensive end with quick and active hands and alert instincts.

He provides length, elite athletic ability, and the game comes naturally to him on the offensive end of the floor. An average shooter, Black could use some improvement on the consistency of his deep ball. But he is a versatile talent with great long-term tools who is only just beginning to tap into his upside.

Jenkins called him a future Power Five conference starter and compared him to retired point guard Shaun Livingston. 

Black joins a loaded recruiting class for the Razorbacks. Prior to his commitment, Arkansas was second on 247Sports' team composite rankings for 2022. Musselman already has letters of intent from a pair of 5-star talents, combo guard Nick Smith and small forward Jordan Walsh.

Arkansas lost to Duke in the NCAA tournament on Saturday, but reaching the Elite Eight was a sign of the progress being made. Now the program is poised for big things next year.

The No. 1 seed Arizona Wildcats survived a scare from the No. 9 seed TCU Horned Frogs en route to an 85-80 overtime win in San Diego on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

Arizona guard Bennedict Mathurin scored a season-high 30 points, including a three-pointer with 14 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 75.

That set up a chaotic final sequence in regulation.

TCU guard Mike Miles Jr. had trouble advancing the ball because of Arizona's defensive pressure. However, he appeared to get fouled as he lost the ball near half court by Wildcats guard Dalen Terry.

No call was made, and Terry picked up the loose ball and scampered to the hoop. He slammed the ball home as time expired, but he was a few tenths of a second too late.

In overtime, Mathurin and Wildcats big man Christian Koloko scored all 10 of Arizona's points.

Arizona found itself up just 81-80 with 1:44 left after a Miles Jr. three-point play.

On the next possession, Kerr Kriisa took a trio of three-point attempts but did not connect on any of them. 

Koloko came up with the offensive rebound after the first two to keep the possession alive, but Mathurin grabbed the third and put it home for an 83-80 lead.

TCU forward Chuck O'Bannon Jr. missed a three on the other end, but Mathurin responded with a missed triple of his own. Koloko, however, skied to grab Mathurin's miss and sealed this game with a put-back dunk.

Koloko had 28 points on 12-of-13 shooting, 12 rebounds and three blocks. O'Bannon Jr. (23 points), Miles Jr. (20) and center Eddie Lampkin Jr. (20) paced the TCU offense.

Arizona has now made the Sweet 16 for the 20th time in school history and first since 2017. The Wildcats improved to 33-3 with the win.

TCU, which hadn't made the second round of the NCAA tournament since 1987 before this year, ends the season at 21-13.

Notable Performances

Arizona G Bennedict Mathurin: 30 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals

Arizona C Christian Koloko: 28 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks

TCU F Chuck O'Bannon Jr.: 23 points, five rebounds, four steals

TCU G Mike Miles Jr.: 20 points, three assists

TCU C Eddie Lampkin Jr.: 20 points, 14 rebounds, two blocks

Mathurin, Koloko Lead Wildcats to Win

All Wildcats not named Mathurin or Koloko scored just 27 points on 11-of-36 shooting. It was an off-night for that crew, but Mathurin and Koloko were up to the task of leading this team to a gritty win over a tough TCU squad.

Mathurin starred all night, especially in the second half and overtime. He arguably delivered the dunk of the tournament to put Arizona up 54-52.

Meanwhile, Koloko was putting in work on offense, defense and the glass. He registered back-to-back blocks here to preserve a 59-56 edge.

It appeared Arizona was set to pull away after an 8-0 run to go up 67-58. Koloko hit a big shot during that span, putting in this layup plus the foul. That gave him a career high in points.

But TCU was relentless and stormed all the way back. The Horned Frogs even took a 70-67 lead, but Terry nailed a three to tie it back up at 70:

Mathurin and Koloko scored the rest of Arizona's points from there as the Wildcats outlasted the Horned Frogs in an instant classic.

It won't get any easier against a Houston team that just beat a stout Illinois squad 68-53, but the Mathurin-Koloko duo can keep the Wildcats in any game.

Tremendous Effort From TCU

It's easy to play the "What if?" game after this one following the uncalled foul near the end of regulation. Miles, a 77.3 percent career free-throw shooter, would have gone to the line for two shots with about three seconds left.

Far more likely than not, TCU would have won the game.

Alas, that did not happen. Still, TCU showed a lot of heart against a No. 1 seed largely considered the second- or third-best team remaining in the field.

O'Bannon Jr. punctuated a great start for the Horned Frogs, putting home this dunk for a 10-2 edge:

Lampkin Jr. made his home in the paint in a great battle with Koloko, slamming down this powerful dunk to tie it up at 29:

TCU didn't wilt in the second half, with O'Bannon Jr. hitting his fourth three-pointer of the game for a 43-41 lead:

Arizona jumped out to a 67-58 advantage, but TCU fired back with a 12-0 run. O'Bannon Jr. scored the first five points before Lampkin hit this baby hook to cut the deficit to two.

Terry's big three ended the Arizona drought, but Lampkin Jr. responded yet again with a layup for a 72-70 lead:

Lampkin Jr. scored TCU's last five points in regulation, including a free throw following an offensive rebound as well as a layup with 37 seconds remaining that gave TCU a 75-72 lead.

The rest of the game didn't go in TCU's favor, but credit to the Horned Frogs for a valiant effort. Head coach Jamie Dixon's crew has a lot to be proud of after a great tournament appearance that started with a resounding 69-42 win over Seton Hall.

What's Next?

Arizona will play No. 5 seed Houston in the South Regional semifinals on Thursday at San Antonio's AT&T Center. The game will occur after the conclusion of the other semifinal between No. 2 seed Villanova and No. 11 seed Michigan, which tips off at 7:15 p.m. ET.

The semifinal winners will play Saturday at a to-be-determined time in San Antonio.

The Miami Hurricanes are on their way to the Sweet 16 for the first time in six years after their 79-61 win over the Auburn Tigers in the 2022 NCAA men's basketball tournament on Sunday.

Miami made the tournament as the No. 10 seed in the Midwest Region, as head coach Jim Larranaga's team had its best regular season since 2015-16 (23-10). It had to hold off a furious second-half rally from USC in the first round to advance this weekend.

Meanwhile, Auburn looked like a potential national-title contender coming into the tournament. The Tigers earned their highest seed (No. 2) since the 1998-99 campaign after going 27-5 during the regular season. They had no problems against Jacksonville State with an 80-61 win in the first round Friday.

After a close first half, Miami outscored Auburn 46-29 in the second half to cruise to an easy win. 

Isaiah Wong, Jordan Miller, Charlie Moore and Kameron McGusty combined to score 68 of the Hurricanes' points in the win. 

Auburn's offense vanished with just 61 points, its fewest in a game since Jan. 25. The Tigers' inability to put the ball in the basket offset their 17-6 offensive-rebound advantage. 

Notable Game Stats

• Isaiah Wong (MIA): 21 points (8-of-18 FG), 6 rebounds, 2 assists
• Kameron McGusty (MIA): 20 points (10-of-18 FG), 7 rebounds, 4 assists
• Charlie Moore (MIA): 15 points (4-of-8 FG), 9 rebounds, 8 assists
• Jaylin Williams (AUB): 12 points (5-of-8 FG), 4 rebounds
• K.D. Johnson (AUB): 12 points (4-of-10 FG), 3 rebounds
• Jabari Smith (AUB): 10 points (3-of-16 FG), 15 rebounds, 4 assists

Balanced Offense Carries Hurricanes to Sweet 16

The formula for Miami to succeed this season has been outscoring opponents. Larranaga's team finished the regular season ranked 35th in offensive rating (110.1).

Miami's offense didn't put its best foot forward against USC in the first round. It scored 68 points on 42.9 percent shooting (1-of-14 from three-point range). 

On Sunday, even though the three-point shooting still wasn't there for Miami (3-of-15), everything else for the offense was on point. 

Four of their five starters scored in double figures. Wong has been fantastic so far in the tournament, scoring 22 points against USC. The sophomore guard followed that up with 21 points against Auburn. 

Wong also had arguably the best highlight of the tournament thus far when he put Jabari Smith on a poster in the first half. 

McGusty had a solid bounceback game after a 5-of-18 performance against the Trojans. He had 20 points on 10-of-18 shooting vs. Auburn. 

The duo of Wong and McGusty scored Miami's first eight points to start the second half when the team opened up a 41-32 lead. 

In addition to their efficiency on two-point attempts, the Hurricanes were great at protecting the ball and creating additional opportunities. They had 19 assists to 4 turnovers in the win. 

Consistency hasn't been there for Miami throughout the season. It went from beating Duke on Jan. 8 to losing to Florida State in its next game. It needed overtime to beat a 13-20 Boston College team in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. 

If Larranaga and his staff can harness this performance going forward, though, the Hurricanes will continue to be a major factor in the tournament with their offensive upside. 

Shooting Lets Tigers Down in Loss

A matchup with Miami seemed like it was designed to highlight a lot of the things that Auburn does well.

The Tigers ranked in the top 50 in offensive (108.9) and defensive efficiency (92.4), per Basketball Reference. Miami's defense was 227th in points allowed (70.9) and 281st in efficiency (104.6).

Instead, everything that could go wrong for Auburn pretty much did across the board. The team's 30.4 field-goal percentage matched its performance in a 67-62 loss against Texas A&M in the SEC tournament quarterfinals.

Miami nearly pitched a shutout on fast-break points in the game:

Walker Kessler, who was fourth on the Tigers with 11.7 points per game during the regular season, scored two points and didn't make a field goal Sunday.

Jabari Smith did have a double-double of 10 points and 15 rebounds, but he only made three of his 16 shot attempts. Smith and K.D. Johnson were the only Auburn starters to score in double figures.

Jaylin Williams was the only Auburn player who can legitimately claim to have played a good game. The junior forward scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting off the bench, as he tried to provide a spark.

But nothing was working for head coach Bruce Pearl's team. He didn't have any way to stop the slide once it started, leading to a blowout loss and a frustrating end to what was one of the best seasons in program history.

Auburn's 28 wins are the third-most in school history. It reached No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time ever Jan. 24 and remained there for three weeks.

Pearl has done a fantastic job of making the Tigers into an annual title contender. He will almost certainly be able to reload for next season, but this loss will likely linger for some time because of how high the expectations were coming into the tournament.     

What's Next?

Miami will play Iowa State in the Sweet 16 on Friday.

The Duke men's basketball team survived a tough test Sunday in the second round of the NCAA tournament, holding off Michigan State 85-76.

It not only kept the Blue Devils alive in the tournament and kept the final season of Mike Krzyzewski's coaching career alive, but it also was the 1,200th win of Coach K's historic career. No other coach in Division I history has ever reached that milestone.

"Turning around and seeing all my grandkids right behind the bench and they are crying and they're cheering. Wow. I mean, god bless, how lucky,"  Krzyzewski told reporters after the game. "I mean, it's so good. It's so good. So 1,200 is great. But that scene was better."

Add it to the list of Coach K's accomplishments. He's led Duke to five national championships, 12 Final Fours, 13 ACC regular-season championships, 15 conference tournament championships and 36 NCAA tournament appearances.

"I'm proud of the fact that we've been there for four or five, for four decades, that we're at least knocking on the door and five times the door completely let us in," Krzyzewski said. "I got guys who want to win and our goal is to win the whole thing all the time, even if we're young."

He also won gold medals as the head coach of the men's national team at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics.

But his legacy will be most closely tied to his time at Duke, where he's now gone 1,127-308. He also coached Army from the 1975-76 to 1979-90 seasons, going 73-59 at the school.

"The 1,200 wins is substantial," he said. "Obviously, it's a lot of wins, but it's a lot of wins against quality competition. And that's what I'm most proud of. It's not just the number of wins, it's the competition we've had in order to win. Today was a good example of it."

The second-seeded Blue Devils will have a tough road to add four more wins to Coach K's record and earn him a sixth national title. They'll have to go through a scrappy Texas Tech team Thursday, and Drew Timme, Chet Holmgren and No. 1 seed Gonzaga might be waiting for the Blue Devils in the Elite Eight.

So Coach K's curtain call might not end in a bow. But he's had plenty of those in his career already.

Texas Tech is heading to the Sweet 16 in the West Regional, but it sure didn't come easy. 

The Red Raiders beat Notre Dame 59-53 on Sunday in what was a scrappy, tight matchup at the NCAA men's basketball tournament. 

The largest lead for either side was just seven points, held by third-seeded Texas Tech, as neither team created a comfortable cushion and traded the lead back and forth in the second half. The Red Raider defense, in particular, clamped down, holding No. 11 seed Notre Dame to just 32.7 percent shooting from the field. 

But Texas Tech had its own offensive issues, shooting just 4-of-15 from three (26.7 percent). 

It wasn't an aesthetically pleasing win, but Texas Tech is heading to the Sweet 16 all the same. 

Key Stats

Bryson Williams, Texas Tech: 14 points

Kevin Obanor, Texas Tech: 15 points, 15 rebounds, one block

Kevin McCullar, Texas Tech: 14 points

Dane Goodwin, Notre Dame: 14 points, eight rebounds

Paul Atkinson Jr., Notre Dame: Five points, four rebounds

Blake Wesley, Notre Dame: 11 points, eight boards

Obanor Came Up Big

Obanor was Texas Tech's fourth-leading scorer on the season, but with the Red Raiders struggling to establish much flow offensively, they needed someone to get them buckets. 

So he did what was needed, particularly in the first half. 

Granted, he's come up big in March in the past:

Add in his work on the boards, and he was huge for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders rotated in 10 players on Sunday night, but Obanor's minutes proved particularly crucial.

With Atkinson Struggling and Notre Dame Running out of Steam, Goodwin Tried to Step Up

Atkinson averaged 16 points per game this season but was barely a factor against Texas Tech, shooting just 1-of-4 from the field. Wesley, the team's second-leading scorer, struggled from the field (3-of-15) as well. 

Thus, Goodwin answered the call, contributing 14 points while going a team-best 5-of-8 from the floor. Even so, almost every one of the Fighting Irish's buckets was a battle of attrition.

Notre Dame, playing its third game this week after being in the First Four, appeared to run out of gas down the stretch. But Goodwin did his part. 

What's Next?

Texas Tech will face No. 2 seed Duke on Thursday. The time is yet to be determined.

No. 2 Villanova will return to the Sweet 16 after surviving a 71-61 win over No. 7 Ohio State on Sunday.

Collin Gillespie had 20 points at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, avoiding a potential upset bid in the second round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Villanova was seemingly in full control of the game early, leading by 11 points at halftime and as much as 15 in the second half.

The Buckeyes still kept the game within striking distance, eventually making a move with under 12 minutes left. A 15-5 run cut the deficit to two, putting pressure on the South Region's No. 2 seed.

The Wildcats still came through when it mattered, with Eric Dixon hitting a huge three in the final minutes.

It was enough for Villanova to pull out a close win in a game it never trailed.

Malaki Branham and E.J. Liddell combined for 40 points for Ohio State, but it wasn't enough for the upset.

Villanova sometimes has trouble reaching the second weekend, but the squad is usually dangerous from that point on. Three of the last four trips to the Sweet 16 later featured a Final Four appearance, including two national championships.

The Wildcats will face No. 11 Michigan in the Sweet 16.

Notable Performances

Collin Gillespie, G, NOVA: 20 points, 4 assists

Jermaine Samuels, F, NOVA: 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals

Eric Dixon, F, NOVA: 13 points, 8 rebounds, 1 block

E.J. Liddell, F, OSU: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks

Malaki Branham, G, OSU: 23 points, 4 assists

Kyle Young, F, OSU: 6 points, 6 rebounds

Collin Gillespie Leads Balanced Effort for Villanova

It wasn't the best game from Gillespie, who finished 5-of-14 from the field and 2-of-9 from three, but he came through at important times for the Wildcats.

The senior helped Villanova build an early lead with excellent individual ability:

Gillespie outscored Ohio State for the first eight minutes of the game as Villanova quickly went up double digits.

The guard went quiet during the middle stretch of the game when his team held a double-digit lead, but he sprung back into action with clutch buckets down the stretch.

It was then Gillespie who drew extra attention in the post before kicking it out to Dixon for the key three-pointer.

Villanova had four players in double digits, including a strong showing by Jermaine Samuels. It was still Gillespie who made the key plays in the game's biggest moments, helping the Wildcats advance to the Sweet 16.

Ohio State Falls Short Despite Branham's Heroics

For much of the game, Ohio State simply seemed overmatched against an opponent that was better on both ends of the court.

Liddell did his part, but the squad needed a secondary scorer to even be competitive.

Branham apparently got the message, lighting it up in the second half to get his team back in the game.

The freshman helped Ohio State cut a 15-point second-half deficit down to two with some big shots.

It was seemingly a miracle for the Buckeyes to even be that close after being bailed out by difficult shots in the first half.

The Buckeyes still trailed by 11 at halftime, and the score could have been much worse:

Branham and Liddell put up a fight in the second half, but there simply wasn't enough scoring depth.

Once Kyle Young left the game with an apparent head injury, Ohio State couldn't keep up on the scoreboard.