Friday’s NCAA Tournament schedule brings 16 more Round of 64 games and draws perhaps the most exciting 36-hour stretch in sports to a close. Three No. 1 seeds, including the defending national champion and title favorite UConn Huskies, are on the docket on Day 2 of March Madness, but our attention is elsewhere with a pair of best bets in two games with tight spreads. [ March Madness 2024: News & Analysis | Schedule | Bracket ] (Odds via FanDuel.) No. 11 New Mexico Lobos vs. No. 6 Clemson Tigers Game Info: 3:10 p.m. ET | truTV Spread: New Mexico -2.5 (-102) | Clemson +2.5 (-120) Moneyl ..read more

Virginia Tech women’s basketball star Elizabeth Kitley will not play in the women’s NCAA tournament, coach Kenny Brooks announced on Thursday. Kitley, who injured her knee in a loss in the regular season finale against Virginia on March 3, did not play in the ACC tournament, and up until Thursday was listed as questionable for the NCAA tournament.  March Madness 2024: News & Analysis | Schedule | Bracket “Elizabeth Kitley will not participate in the NCAA tournament this year due to a lower leg injury that she suffered on March 3,” Brooks said. “We’re just praying for her and he ..read more

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I have so many questions about the firing of Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. In today’s SI:AM: ? Potential Cinderellas ⚾ Ohtani caught up in scandal ? Caleb Williams’s pro day If you’re reading this on SI.com, click here to subscribe to receive SI:AM in your inbox every weekday. Almost time for tipoff The best sports day of the year is here, as March Madness gets underway with 16 games over more than 12 hours. Here are the five games today and tomorrow that I’m most looking forward to. No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 13 Samford (9:55 p.m. ET Today on TBS) The ..read more

In the wake of Virginia’s disastrous offensive performance in the men’s NCAA Tournament’s First Four on Tuesday night in Dayton, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is calling for Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett to be fired. No, not because Bennett isn’t a good coach. Bennett won a national championship five years ago and is a future Hall of Famer. But instead, because Virginia basketball is boring. March Madness 2024: News & Analysis | Schedule | Bracket “It’s not funny. I take no joy in saying this. But if it were me, I’d fire him,” Smith said. “Strictly because of being boring. Literally.  ..read more

ESPN’s Dick Vitale has endured three bouts with cancer over the past two years, keeping the legendary college basketball broadcaster off television for much of that stretch. In December, Vitale announced that he is cancer-free and intends to make another comeback. He continues to rest his vocal cords, which recently required surgery due to affects of the radiation treatments he received for cancer. “It will take more time before I get the strength back in my voice,” Vitale told USA TODAY via text. “The 35 radiation treatments I had for my vocal cord cancer wiped out the cancer but cr ..read more

March Madness is finally upon us and on paper, the NCAA women’s tournament is primed for quite a bit of drama.  South Carolina leads the Albany 1 region as the No. 1 seed, with the Iowa Hawkeyes taking the top spot in the Albany 2 region. But it won’t be an easy road for Caitlin Clark & Co., who could come up against the defending champion LSU Tigers, and a pair of battle-tested Pac-12 teams in the Colorado Buffaloes and UCLA Bruins if the Hawkeyes want to return to the Final Four. In the Portland regions, the USC Trojans and the Texas Longhorns are the No. 1 seeds and both are poised ..read more

Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari would like to see the NCAA tournament remain as it is. The tournament featured a 64-team field from 1989 to 2010 and expanded to 68 teams with the initial First Four round in 2011. But recent reports have indicated there is ongoing speculation the NCAA could further expand the tournament to showcase no more than 80 teams. Calipari, who has taken Kentucky to the Big Dance in 12 of his 15 seasons at the helm, is not a fan of that idea ..read more

The Duquesne men’s basketball team is set to embark on its first NCAA tournament run in 47 years, and it received an awesome gift from one of its most renowned supporters ahead of the first-round battle. During a team meeting on Wednesday, the Dukes received a special delivery as a trolley of gifts were rolled into the room. It turns out, LeBron James had sent the entire squad some new sneakers ahead of their clash against the No. 6 BYU Cougars. In a video posted by Duquesne Basketball’s official X account, the team could be seen reacting to the arrival of the shoes, c ..read more

Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari would like to see the NCAA tournament remain as it is. The tournament featured a 64-team field from 1989 to 2010 and expanded to 68 teams with the initial First Four round in 2011. But recent reports have indicated there is ongoing speculation the NCAA could further expand the tournament to showcase no more than 80 teams. Calipari, who has taken Kentucky to the Big Dance in 12 of his 15 seasons at the helm, is not a fan of that idea. [ March Madness 2024: News & Analysis | Schedule | Bracket ] "I hope it stays where it is," Calipari said Wedn ..read more

At this year’s men’s NCAA tournament, Long Beach State coach Dan Monson is set to redefine the term “house money.” Dismissed from his post on March 11 but allowed to finish the season, all the Beach boss did afterwards was steer his team to wins over UC Riverside, UC Irvine and UC Davis—and the Big West tournament title. March Madness 2024: News & Analysis | Schedule | Bracket The run made Monson a minor celebrity, putting the ex-Gonzaga and Minnesota coach back on the map. On Wednesday, Monson had fun with his image ahead of Long Be ..read more