Illinois faces tall task in matchup with No. 1 Texas and towering forwards Jones and Oldacre
AUSTIN, Texas — Illinois earned its first NCAA Tournament win in 25 years with a huge dose of muscle and finesse from rugged senior forward Kendall Bostic.
A matchup Monday with No. 1 Texas and its frontcourt rotation of 6-foot-4 Taylor Jones and 6-6 Kyla Oldacre is a much taller and even more physical challenge. The winner advances to the Sweet 16.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Ranking every SEC basketball stadium by seating capacity
Ranking every SEC basketball stadium by seating capacity The Georgia Bulldogs are not known for having the best basketball program in the SEC, but the Dawgs were part of the best conference in men's basketball during the 2024-2025 season when a record-breaking 14 (of 16) SEC teams made March Madness. The Florida Gators ended up as the national champions to cap the SEC's elite season. That means 87.5% of SEC basketball fan bases had a team that made the 2024-2025 NCAA Tournament. The Georgia Bulldogs were one of those teams to make March Madness. They went 20-13 in the 2024-25 season, good enough to earn a No. 9 seed in March Madness. The Bulldogs can welcome up to 10,253 fans in Stegeman Coliseum and in 2024-2025 those fans were treated to a Georgia team that reached new heights not seen in years. Stegeman Coliseum ranks just 13th in maximum seat capacity among all SEC basketball stadiums. Despite that, Georgia was still able to beat Kentucky and Florida in Stegeman Coliseum in 2024-2025, showing that UGA still has a strong home-court advantage. Ranking all 16 SEC men's basketball stadiums by capacity Tennessee Volunteers (Stadium: Thompson-Boling Arena, Max Capacity: 21,678) Kentucky Wildcats (Rupp Arena, 20,500) Arkansas Razorbacks (Bud Walton Arena, 19,368) South Carolina Gamecocks (Colonial Life Arena, 18,000) Alabama Crimson Tide (Coleman Coliseum, 15,383) Missouri Tigers (Mizzou Arena, 15,061) Vanderbilt Commodores (Memorial Gymnasium, 14,316) LSU Tigers (Pete Maravich Assembly Center, 13,215) Texas A&M Aggies (Reed Arena, 12,989) Oklahoma Sooners (Lloyd Noble Center, 11,528) Texas Longhorns (Moody Center, 10,763) Mississippi State Bulldogs (Humphrey Coliseum, 10,575) Georgia Bulldogs (Stegeman Coliseum, 10,523) Florida Gators (Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, 10,151) Ole Miss Rebels (The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss, 9,500) Auburn Tigers (Neville Arena, 9,121) Follow UGAWire on Instagram!
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
Pete Crow-Armstrong is one of baseball's loudest talents: The quiet work behind the scenes
CHICAGO — Roughly five hours before first pitch at a Wrigley Field night game, Pete Crow-Armstrong will begin part of his pregame routine. Amid the quiet and stillness of an empty ballpark, the Chicago Cubs' budding superstar will hit balls off a tee and observe the flight patterns, taking mental notes on how things look and feel. Advertisement Crow-Armstrong does not work alone. John Mallee and Dustin Kelly — two hitting coaches who helped implement last year's midseason overhaul of Crow-Armstrong's left-handed stance — remain a constant presence in the daily schedule. Teammates such as Michael Busch and Justin Turner also often join these early sessions. Before 40,000 fans stroll through the gates, this intimate setting offers a chance to connect and focus. For a player with loud talents, a magnetic personality and a soaring public profile, Crow-Armstrong very much appreciates his craft and enjoys the grind. 'When you're working on a swing pattern or movement and the ball's stationary, you can think your way through the order,' Mallee said. 'The more that the ball starts moving, the more timing is involved. The more timing that's involved, the harder it is to work on certain swings, because then it becomes an athletic event.' Within the sport, Crow-Armstrong's athleticism is almost unmatched. In the Statcast era, his arm strength and sprint speed are in the 94th and 96th percentiles, which allows him to play center field at a Gold Glove level. Still only 23 years old, he also has energy to burn. After hitting off the tee, Crow-Armstrong will go through flip drills, then hit the type of breaking ball he's expected to see that night and finish with more swings against fastballs. Tracking spin and velocity against this outdoor backdrop creates a different perspective from hitting in a cage. Establishing a consistent routine had been a priority for Cubs manager Craig Counsell and his coaching staff during Crow-Armstrong's rookie year. That process required time and patience. 'I've had a bunch of reality checks,' Crow-Armstrong said. 'The hand-holding that kind of went on the last year or two, I've had a lot of people just push me in the right direction.' Advertisement Mallee, the lead hitting coach for the 2016 World Series team, was uniquely qualified for this job. He had worked closely with Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Báez, the iconic player the Cubs traded for Crow-Armstrong at the 2021 deadline. Surprisingly dismissed after the Cubs lost the 2017 National League Championship Series, Mallee moved on from that disappointment by landing major-league coaching positions with the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Angels. Mallee, who had grown up as the son of a Chicago police officer and graduated from Mount Carmel High on the South Side, also maintained solid relationships within the Cubs organization. When the club rehired Mallee as a hitting coach for Triple-A Iowa in 2023, the big idea was to run the hitting program at that minor-league affiliate the same way the Cubs oversee their hitters at the major-league level. That season, Mallee overlapped with Crow-Armstrong, who was part of the next wave of young talent the Cubs soon expected to reach Wrigley Field. 'We had an advance meeting every day,' Mallee said. 'We spent a lot of time on game planning, how to read the data charts, how to understand their strengths and weaknesses in the zone, what they hit and what they can't hit. You try to build an approach and a plan according to their strengths and teach them how to do that according to the pitcher's strengths and how that matches up. So that when they came up here, they were used to the big-league environment.' Crow-Armstrong still looked overmatched as a September call-up in 2023, and he carried a .203 batting average and a .582 OPS into last year's All-Star break. Around that time, Mallee, now the club's assistant hitting coach, worked with Kelly to successfully readjust Crow-Armstrong's positioning and preparation. Advertisement Though that second-half momentum did not carry over into the start of this breakthrough season — Crow-Armstrong had a .197 batting average and zero home runs through the first 17 games — he also did not lose confidence. Once viewed as a defense-first player and a plus base runner, Crow-Armstrong's role has evolved to the point where he's a cleanup hitter for a first-place team. The Cubs are 15 games over .500 after Saturday afternoon's 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at the Friendly Confines, where you never know what might happen when Crow-Armstrong is at the plate. 'The biggest difference you see in the box is he's more spread out,' Counsell said. 'There's less of a leg kick. There's more rhythm. That's created an ability to be on time more. Frankly, that's mostly a function of a daily routine getting to a good place. You're kind of trying things, little things, all throughout that process. And then, from a hitting perspective, just don't forget the main thing, which is who you are as a hitter, what you're good at. It's kind of reinforcing that through the ups and downs … the results can whiplash you (a bit).' The ability to hammer pitches above the strike zone and near the dirt cannot be taught. At a certain point, Crow-Armstrong's instincts and fast-twitch reflexes take over. The Cubs, though, have provided structure, positive reinforcement and the runway to make mistakes and figure out what works. 'His adjustability is crazy,' Mallee said. 'You got to notice his ability to not hit the ball on the ground. Because he can run. And usually, guys that can run, they say, 'Oh, he's got just enough power to get himself in trouble.' That's not true. He's a power hitter that can run. 'He's trying to hit the ball in the air. He's trying to take a short, direct swing to the ball. But his ability to get the barrel below a ball and lift it (equals) a very low ground-ball rate on balls down in the zone, which is hard to do. 'Pete can pull anybody's fastball in the air when he's right. And he can hit below the zone as well as anybody and not hit it on the ground. Those are two gifts.' Advertisement The league will, of course, continue to adjust to Crow-Armstrong, who already has 18 homers, 23 stolen bases and 57 RBIs in the middle of June. At the same time, he is making his own adjustments, studying opponents and absorbing information. In a sense, he is only just getting started. 'The downs have been big, and great learning experiences, once I got out of my own way,' Crow-Armstrong said. 'You mix that in with a lot of good advice and being able to filter out the right things and the wrong things. That's hugely contributed to how I feel going to the park every day and stepping into the batter's box every day.'
USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
Texas A&M is reportedly pursuing Cal State Fullerton star short stop
Texas A&M is reportedly pursuing Cal State Fullerton star short stop Texas A&M baseball's roster will look significantly different in 2026, primarily due to the departure of junior star outfielder Jace LaViolette, who is expected to enter the 2025 MLB Draft, along with several pitchers, including Ryan Prager and Justin Lamkin, who have yet to announce their decisions. Still, nothing compares to the last month's news regarding Texas A&M Athletic Director Trev Alberts' decison to retain head coach Michael Earley, whose inagural season ended with a dissapointing 30-26 (11-19 SEC) record, including a series sweeping loss to lowly Missouri, which all but eliminated the Aggies from the NCAA Tournament. Given a second chance, Earely will need dominate the transfer portal, which, outside of adding three veterans, pitchers Michael (MJ) Bollinger (FAU), Preston Prince (Rutgers), and star outfielder Jake Duer, also an FAU transfer, he will need to continue bolstering the roster to have any chance at competing in the always stacked SEC next season. This week, it was revealed that star Cal Fullerton shortstop Maddox Latta has entered the transfer portal. According to AggieYell (Rivals) Editor Mark Passwaters, Texas A&M is in pursuit, which could lead to a future visit. Currently, junior shortstop Kaeden Kent has yet to announce his return for next season, and although his return is assumed, nothing is guaranteed. Last season, Latta was highly productive, leading Cal Fullerton with a .362 batting average, 72 hits, 27 RBI, and three home runs. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.
