V.J. Edgecombe and Baylor hold off Mississippi State in final seconds to win 75-72 in March Madness
RALEIGH, N.C. — NBA lottery prospect V.J. Edgecombe had just four points at halftime of Baylor's first-round NCAA Tournament game against Mississippi State.
That didn't concern Bears coach Scott Drew.
The athletic Edgecombe responded with a big second half and finished with 16 points, including two clutch free throws down the stretch, to help the ninth-seeded Bears hold off the eighth-seeded Bulldogs 75-72 on Friday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
20 minutes ago
- USA Today
DENIED! 5 NBA coaches the Knicks were barred from pursuing
DENIED! 5 NBA coaches the Knicks were barred from pursuing It's kind of an awkward time for the New York Knicks, to say the least. The franchise that got close to the 2025 NBA Finals promptly fired head coach Tom Thibodeau after the Knicks' season ended, with buzz over some possible names they could interview and replace Thibs with. Thing is, thus far they've reportedly picked out some names that are under contract with other teams. I guess that was Plan A? To see if they could trade for a big name? It's led to some awkwardness (just ask Charles Barkley) So now it's on to Plan B. Because all of these names, per reports, have been denied to the Knicks given their current status. Let's run down those names as we wait to see who they gravitate towards now: Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks The rumblings were there was some "mutual" interest but ultimately the Dallas Mavericks said "NOPE!" Ime Udoka, Houston Rockets I guess the Knicks were just shooting for the best possible names, because I don't see there being a way Udoka would leave the emerging Rockets. Chris Finch, Minnesota Timberwolves Same here. Not sure if a team that's a contender would be OK with another contender grabbing their head coach, compensation or not. Quin Snyder, Atlanta Hawks At least you tried. Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls Maybe this one was seen as more attainable? I dunno. Hey Knicks: maybe consult our list of seven possible Knicks coaching candidates?
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
2025 NBA mock draft: A consensus survey shows the latest predictions from experts
The 2025 NBA Draft is less than two weeks away and we are finally starting to get a consensus of when each player could hear their name called. To get a sense of where prospects stand as of right now, For The Win has surveyed all of the leading mock drafts to provide a general consensus. For this exercise, we're using my latest mock along with other mainstream mocks from the following publications (sorted alphabetically): Our scoring methodology was based on a trade value chart from ESPN's Kevin Pelton. Meanwhile, for more prospect coverage, here is our latest NBA mock draft at For The Win. Note: These rankings do not reflect our personal opinions or team fit but rather where experts currently have each prospect slated. The best takes and the sharpest bets on all the hoops storylines you need to know. Sign up for our Layup Lines newsletter, hitting your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 1. Cooper Flagg TEAM:Duke POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 6-9 DRAFT AGE: 18.5 2. Dylan Harper TEAM: Rutgers POSITION: Guard HEIGHT: 6-6 DRAFT AGE: 19.3 3. Ace Bailey TEAM: Rutgers POSITION: Forward HEIGHT: 6-10 DRAFT AGE: 18.9 4. V.J. Edgecombe TEAM: Baylor POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 6-5 DRAFT AGE: 19.9 5. Tre Johnson TEAM: Texas POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 6-6 DRAFT AGE: 19.3 6. Kon Knueppel TEAM: Duke POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 6-7 DRAFT AGE: 19.9 7. Jeremiah Fears TEAM: Oklahoma POSITION: Guard HEIGHT: 6-4 DRAFT AGE: 18.7 8. Khaman Maluach TEAM: Duke POSITION: Big HEIGHT: 7-2 DRAFT AGE: 18.8 9. Derik Queen TEAM: Maryland POSITION: Big HEIGHT: 6-10 DRAFT AGE: 20.5 10. Egor Demin TEAM: BYU POSITION: Guard HEIGHT: 6-9 DRAFT AGE: 19.3 11. Kasparas Jakučionis TEAM: Illinois POSITION: Guard HEIGHT: 6-6 DRAFT AGE: 19.1 12. Noa Essengue TEAM: ratiopharm ulm (Germany) POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 6-8 DRAFT AGE: 18.5 13. Carter Bryant TEAM: Arizona POSITION: Forward HEIGHT: 6-8 DRAFT AGE: 19.6 14. Collin Murray-Boyles TEAM: South Carolina POSITION: Big HEIGHT: 6-8 DRAFT AGE: 20.1 15. Nolan Traoré TEAM: Saint-Quentin (France) POSITION: Guard HEIGHT: 6-3 DRAFT AGE: 19.1 16. Cedric Coward TEAM: Washington St. POSITION: Forward HEIGHT: 6-6 DRAFT AGE: 21.8 17. Nique Clifford TEAM: Colorado St. POSITION: Forward HEIGHT: 6-6 DRAFT AGE: 23.4 18. Jase Richardson TEAM: Michigan St. POSITION: Guard HEIGHT: 6-3 DRAFT AGE: 19.7 19. Asa Newell TEAM: Georgia POSITION: Forward HEIGHT: 6-11 DRAFT AGE: 19.7 20. Thomas Sorber TEAM: Georgetown POSITION: Big HEIGHT: 6-10 DRAFT AGE: 19.5 21. Liam McNeeley TEAM: Connecticut POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 6-7 DRAFT AGE: 19.7 22. Danny Wolf TEAM: Michigan POSITION: Big HEIGHT: 7-0 DRAFT AGE: 21.2 23. Joan Beringer TEAM: KK Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia) POSITION: Big HEIGHT: 6-11 DRAFT AGE: 18.6 24. Rasheer Fleming TEAM: Saint Joseph's POSITION: Forward HEIGHT: 6-9 DRAFT AGE: 21.0 25. Will Riley TEAM: Illinois POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 6-8 DRAFT AGE: 19.3 26. Walter Clayton Jr. TEAM: Florida POSITION: Guard HEIGHT: 6-3 DRAFT AGE: 22.3 27. Drake Powell TEAM: North Carolina POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 6-6 DRAFT AGE: 19.8 28. Maxime Raynaud TEAM: Stanford POSITION: Big HEIGHT: 7-1 DRAFT AGE: 22.2 29. Noah Penda TEAM: Le Mans Sarthe (France) POSITION: Forward HEIGHT: 6-8 DRAFT AGE: 20.5 30. Ben Saraf TEAM: ratiopharm ulm (Germany) POSITION: Guard HEIGHT: 6-5 DRAFT AGE: 19.2 SECOND ROUND 31. Ryan Kalkbrenner 32. Hugo González 33. Adou Thiero 34. Yanic Konan Niederhäuser 35. Hansen Yang 36. Alex Toohey 37. Chaz Lanier 38. Bogoljub Marković 39. Kam Jones 40. Tyrese Proctor 41. Johni Broome 42. Koby Brea 43. Jamir Watkins 44. Javon Small 45. Hunter Sallis 46. Sion James 47. John Tonje 48. Eric Dixon 49. Rocco Zikarsky 50. Micah Peavy 51. Ryan Nembhard 52. Alijah Martin 53. Vlad Goldin 54. RJ Luis Jr. 55. Kobe Sanders 56. Tamar Bates 57. Payton Sandfort 58. Amari Williams 59. Brice Williams 60. Michael Ružić
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Five questions facing Michigan State basketball heading into 2025-26 season
Five questions facing Michigan State basketball heading into 2025-26 season Michigan State basketball just came off one of their best seasons in recent memory, winning their first Big Ten Championship since the days of Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman before going on to make the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament. However, the Spartans lost multiple key players this summer, with Jaden Akins, Jase Richardson, and Tre Holloman all moving on. Now, Tom Izzo and his staff will need to answer a lot of questions this summer and next season. We outlined five questions that his staff will need to tackle, among others, if they want to sustain the success we saw last year: 1. Will Jeremy Fears Jr. become a double-digit per game scorer? Jeremy Fears Jr. is the classic Tom Izzo point guard. He defends, he gets out and runs in transition every chance he gets, and he's ostensibly a pass-first player. That was perfect last year, but now, MSU will need to replace their top two scorers last year, and I think for this team to replace that production, Fears will need to average double-digits in scoring. Fears is kind of a mystery box at this point. He missed most of his first year after being shot in the leg. That also cost him a summer of development. We know that he has not looked very comfortable shooting the ball thus far in his career, but could that change with a full summer of training under his belt for the first time as a college player? If not, there are other ways to become more of a scoring threat, and he will need to find a few weapons on that end to keep defenses honest. 2. Is Coen Carr a legitimate two-way star? The development of Coen Carr was possibly the biggest storyline of last season for the Spartans. Carr went from being a rotation player to being arguably the best player on the team. The biggest development last year was on the defensive end, where Carr seemed to finally unlock his athleticism and how to use it to frustrate some of the top scorers in the country. The next step he will look to take is on the offensive end. He has shown some skill as a driver, which could be where his offense comes from next year, but what would really throw gas on the fire is if he can develop himself into a reliable three-point shooter. If he can even get to about 35-percent from three, I am expecting him to be a lottery pick next year, he's just that good. 3. How ready is Cam Ward? When I wrote an article about which players on this year's roster have the most NBA potential, I had Cam Ward all the way at No. 2, just behind Coen Carr. Now, will he show that potential this year? We have no idea, but it's one of the most interesting questions going into the season. In another article where I tried to project the rotation for next year, I hypothesized that Cam Ward will end up getting minutes this year. I think his talent will be too undeniable to keep on the bench. But how ready will he be? Will we just see him get a few minutes here or there when MSU has a sizable lead? Or, will he be someone who helps actually drive winning? We should start to hear some whispers about how he's doing soon. 4. Does Jaxon Kohler have another leap in him? Jaxon Kohler was sneakily the Spartans' second-best three-point shooter last year, hitting 37.3-percent of his shots from distance. That's a very encouraging sign, because MSU has seemed insistent on playing Kohler, who is a bit of a 'tweener', at the four spot instead of at center. If he's going to remain in that role, he will need to keep hitting those shots. Kohler jumped all the way from two points per game in 2023-24 to just under eight points per game in 2024-25. Does he have another leap in him? Or, will he lose some ground to the aforementioned Cam Ward and incoming transfer Kaleb Glenn? Like Fears, the Spartans really need to get double-digit scoring out of that position to replace what they are losing, and Kohler, as an offensive-minded big, theoretically should be able to increase his production. 5. Will this team be able to match last year's defensive output? Last year, in my opinion, we saw one of Tom Izzo's best defensive teams ever. We saw them shut down multiple teams and they were in the top-50 for scoring defense. However, MSU is losing some of their best defenders in Jaden Akins and Tre Holloman. Even Jase Richardson was a positive on that end as well. Tom Izzo is replacing them with Kaleb Glenn and Trey Fort, and Glenn has not been known for his defensive acumen. They are also losing Szymon Zapala and those minutes should go to Jesse McCulloch, a player who recently converted to center. I personally think the defense will take a step back this year, but you just hope it's not a major step back if they want to try and make another deep run. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.
