Column: Is it OK to still hate Duke? 3 pressing questions about this year's NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA Tournament is here, and that can mean only one thing.
TV timeouts.
So let's take a quick one while we check the video monitor and answer three pressing questions about this year's month of Madness.
1. Is it OK to still hate Duke?
It's never not OK to hate Duke, though it's hard to dislike freshman star Cooper Flagg, the top player in the nation and consensus No. 1 pick in this year's NBA draft.
Duke earned its reputation as an unlikable program during the Christian Laettner era, when coach Mike Krzyzewski was in his heyday. T-shirts reading, 'I Still Hate Christian Laettner,' were spotted in the stands at the ACC Tournament last weekend. Laettner welcomed the hate.
'No one thinks more highly of me than probably myself,' Laettner told the Tribune's Skip Myslenski during the 1992 Final Four. 'I think that's fine.'
His Duke teammate Bobby Hurley was asked during that '92 tournament whether he ever wanted to reach up and grab Laettner by the throat.
'At times,' Hurley replied. 'But I couldn't reach that high.'
Both have moved on, but the reputation remains.
A made-for-March Madness title game would pit Duke against No. 2 seed St. John's, coached by Rick Pitino, who as Kentucky's coach in '92 famously neglected to have a player guard the inbound pass to Laettner that led to the iconic buzzer-beater in the East Region final. Either way, you'll be treated to that shining moment a few dozen times if Duke makes a run.
We're getting ahead of ourselves a little bit, but this is Duke's best shot at winning a national title since Jon Scheyer took over from Coach K in 2022-23. The Blue Devils enter as a No. 1 seed after winning the ACC Tournament without Flagg, who sprained his right ankle in a quarterfinal. There are no real villains on this Duke team like Laettner or the always-annoying Grayson Allen, who perfected the role and even carried it over to the NBA.
With Flagg back, the Blue Devils should cruise to the Sweet 16, where a possible matchup against No. 4 seed Arizona awaits. Scheyer, a former Mr. Basketball of Illinois at Glenbrook North who once scored 21 points in 75 seconds against Proviso West, has had the weight of the world on his shoulders since replacing Krzyzewski.
Scheyer never has backed down from a fight, and this month figures to be a series of street brawls — with Duke back as the villain you never knew you needed.
2. Why are there so many SEC teams?
The SEC set an NCAA Tournament record with 14 selections from the 16-team conference better known for football and Finebaum. Either it's the best conference in history or conference realignment has watered down the sport.
Any of five SEC teams has a realistic chance to win it all: top-seeded Auburn and Florida, No. 2 seeds Alabama and Tennessee and third-seeded Kentucky, which had 11 Quad 1 wins, fifth in the country. Even No. 6 seed Missouri is … uh, never mind.
SEC teams won 89% of their nonconference games, so there's a reason for the hype. But even teams that struggled in conference play were rewarded, including Porter Moser's Oklahoma Sooners, who went 6-12 in SEC games.
Texas made it in with a First Four berth despite also going 6-12 in the conference and 19-15 overall. Matthew McConaughey was not on the selection committee, yet the Longhorns made it anyway, so look for him loitering near the bench when Texas takes on Xavier on Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio, for a shot at upsetting sixth-seeded Illinois.
The Big Ten, by the way, sent eight teams, and they all finished above .500 in conference play. Not that anyone in the conference is complaining.
3. How do I win my office pool?
Having never won the Tribune office pool in 43 years, despite running it for 15 years in the 1980s and '90s, I can't dispense any real advice.
My heart says Michigan State. My head says Florida. But my alma mater is Missouri, which has mastered the art of heartbreaking losses for so long, I always pick the Tigers to lose in the first round (to No. 11 seed Drake this year). That's why my old college roommates banned me from participating in any group texts during Mizzou games in March.
The trendy practice to fill out brackets this year is to ask AI, which saves time and theoretically equalizes the field if everyone in your pool uses the same AI chatbot. The Sporting News used Perplexity AI, which picked Michigan State, Florida, Alabama and Houston in the Final Four, with Alabama beating Tom Izzo's Spartans for the title. CNET.com used ChatGPT, which has all four No. 1 seeds in the Final Four and Duke beating Auburn. Boring?
The Athletic made projections based on 200,000 simulations of the 68-team bracket. Going by percentages, the four top seeds all advance to the Final Four, with Duke over Florida for the title. Duke has a 23% chance to win it all, while Illinois has less than 1%, according to the current projections. But those smug computers obviously haven't seen a shirtless Illini coach Brad Underwood and his Super Soaker squirt gun. You can't quantify coach-player bonding in March.
Unless you're filling out brackets for more than bragging rights or a sawbuck or two, it's best to fill out your own sheet while doing as little research as possible, then just live or die by the picks. Everyone knows by now the No. 12 seeds are usually the best first-round upset possibilities, along with whoever is playing Purdue, which has lost to Fairleigh Dickinson, North Texas and Little Rock in first-round games since 2016.
The fourth-seeded Boilermakers play No. 13 seed High Point, in case you're looking for omens. High Point University, located in High Point, N.C., was named 'the #1 Best-Run College in the nation' by the Princeton Review, according to the school's website. The Panthers are so overlooked, they make Cinderella look like a Kardashian, but it's hard to pick against the Big South champs.
Since the tournament expanded in 1985, No. 12 seeds have won 55 times, a decent 35% average. No. 13 seeds have won only 33 times, including Yale over Auburn last year and North Texas over Purdue in 2021. Yale, a 13 seed again, faces No. 4 Texas A&M with a chance to strike another blow for the Ivy League — the conference of upsets since Princeton's Pete Carril perfected the backdoor cut.
As for the rest of your picks, go with your heart. Or your head. Or your alma mater or your favorite mascot or whatever.
After all, it's just sports.
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Indianapolis Star
31 minutes ago
- Indianapolis Star
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He scores more and the Pacers win more when he's getting two feet in the paint, and that happens when he's orchestrating the Pacers whirling, ball-movement oriented offense the way that he wants to. The wispy 6-5, 185-pounder who was raised on Magic Johnson highlight videos is neither physically nor mentally built to doggedly drive into the lane to pile up shots and draw fouls in an effort to score 30 or 40 points every night. But when he gets the offense spinning, he can put up big scoring and assist numbers by letting the game come to him. Usually when he doesn't score much, that's a sign of a deeper dysfunction in execution, and Haliburton looks to find that issue rather than focus on his field goal attempts. And in Game 3 he made the adjustments he needed to make. 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In Game 3, he mixed up actions well enough to create space which was beneficial not only for him but everyone else on the Pacers' roster. Their 116 points were the most they've scored in a game this series, they shot a series-best 51.8% from the floor and scored 50 points in the paint after scoring just 34 in each of the first two games. "We did a great job of just playing off the pitch, off handoffs, screening, all those things," Haliburton said. "I thought we did a great job of -- this is a defense that you can't consistently give them the same look. If you try to hold the ball and call for screens, they crawl into you and pack the paint. It's not easy. It's really tough. That's why they are such a historical defense. You just have to continue to give them different looks as much as you can. I thought we did a great job of just playing and continuing to play random basketball. Against a team like this, there's not really play calls. You've just got to play." That's what Haliburton did and he let his own offense come to him as the game went along. He didn't take a shot for nearly six minutes to start the game and he missed his first field goal attempt, a 20-foot step-back pull-up jumper with 6:10 to go in the first quarter. But he followed that by driving past Thunder All-NBA second team defender Jalen Williams to the right side of the foul line and hitting a 16-foot floater over Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein with 5:10 to play in the first quarter. Then he hit his first 3-pointer in first-team All-Defensive Team pick Luguentz Dort's face with 3:00 to go in the period and suddenly he had his rhythm established early. Haliburton put faith in his floater -- a weapon he's admittedly sometimes too reluctant to use -- hitting three mid-range shots in that fashion over top of charging big men. He scored two buckets at the rim -- one an impressive finish on a drive through contact and the other an easy two-handed fast-break dunk off a steal. He was 4 of 8 from 3-point range, hitting his most 3s since he made five in his 32-point, 15-assist, 12-rebound triple-double in the Pacers' win over the Knicks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. But he didn't just look for his own offense. He helped get fellow All-Star Pascal Siakam started early as Siakam scored the Pacers first six points en route to a 21-point night. Haliburton still got center Myles Turner involved with pick-and-roll and pick and pop actions even though the Pacers tried not to live off those as much. He made plays "off the pitch," using give-and-go actions with bigs operating near the top of the key with their back to the basket catching his passes and tossing them right back to him and that got Haliburton downhill momentum that he could use to either go to the rim or pass and it helped keep the Thunder from loading up their defense quickly. The Pacers managed 41 field goal attempts in the paint after taking just 27 in Game 2. 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But part of that is a product of focus on making the textbook right play and keeping in mind the importance of involving his teammates. In turn, they trust his judgment. "Ty's got to do him," Siakam said. "That's what he's got to do, he's got to be himself every time he's out on the floor. He can impact the game in so many ways. So I'm really not worried about his scoring. I just know that he's going to make the right play. But when he's intentional about doing that every single play, I know something good is going to happen. So as long as he keeps doing that, we're going to be all right."
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Ranking all 16 Southeastern Conference football helmets heading into the 2025 campaign
Ranking all 16 Southeastern Conference football helmets heading into the 2025 campaign The Southeastern Conference is the most iconic league in college football, with a history dating back to 1932 when 13 members of the then-recently defunct Southern Conference joined together to form what is now known as the SEC. Over the 90-plus years of existence, the league has boasted some of the best teams of all time. The SEC has also carried a reputation for sporting some of most iconic helmets on the collegiate gridiron. With the additions of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners to the league last season, the conference is now truly stacked, as even the weaker offerings are still among the best the sport has to offer. Below is a look at Gators Wire's updated rankings of all 16 member schools' helmets ahead of the 2025 campaign, including the Florida Gators. No. 16: Ole Miss Rebels Even though Ole Miss's helmets are last in this ranking, their toppers are not terrible. It just lacks the oomph one looks for in a sport that is fueled by violence. The script university nickname just does not inspire much fear or excitement — it makes me want to drink a mint julep in a calm grove. No. 15: Tennessee Volunteers The shade known as Tennessee Orange is an abomination and the T logo's font just does not work for me. The design and color scheme are far outdated, making it difficult for me to take the team seriously sometimes while watching the games. No teeth at all to it. Read more at Vols Wire No. 14: Mississippi State Bulldogs There is simply nothing remarkable about Mississippi State's football helmet. The logo is dated as is the primary color; on the other hand, that vintage shade is rarely seen, giving it a bit of novelty. That said, the overall design is the epitome of mid. No. 13: Vanderbilt Commodores Commodores have a tough act to follow in the SEC, but their helmets are fairly solid. The star and capital V logo is admittedly tidy, as is the black-on-gold color theme, but it is a little bit bland. Perhaps if they were better on the field, I would have a rosier view of them. No. 12: Georgia Bulldogs Sure, the 'Dawgs have been a powerhouse program this past half decade but face it, the logo is pretty generic: Grambling State uses it as well as does the Green Bay Packers. The red, black and white color scheme is robust but just not enough to overcome the lack of originality. These helmets could be ranked lower if the program were less successful. Read more at UGA Wire No. 11: South Carolina Gamecocks Something just does not sit well with me when I look at the logo enclosed within a weirdly fonted capital C. The fighting cock does look formidable despite what appears to be a broken neck but the color scheme draws away from it a bit. It is a 3.6 Roentgen design overall: not great, not terrible. No. 10: Missouri Tigers The visage of the Tiger is an improvement over the old block M logo, but it still lacks a little oomph — not to mention there might be too many tiger mascots in the conference. The color scheme is strong and the roaring cat does get you amped, so it is nothing to be ashamed of. Alabama's signature helmet would be ranked even lower if they were not so iconic. Sure, simplicity is an important factor in getting the aesthetics correct but the player numbers on the plain red background is just too generic to land too high on this list. Read more at Roll Tide Wire No. 8: Oklahoma Sooners The Sooners also benefit from the iconic nature of their design, but like some of the previous entries, the excitement stops there. The crimson and cream color scheme works, but the block letter logo just lacks some pizazz. Still, not a bad landing spot in the grand scheme of things. Read more at Sooners Wire No. 7: Kentucky Wildcats Kentucky's overall design is clean with a blue and white palette to work with. The interlocking letters of the logo are somewhat of an overused design, but the execution is very well done, giving the Wildcats a fresher look than some of their SEC peers. Read more at UK Wildcats Wire No. 6: Auburn Tigers Auburn gets credit for its burnt orange and navy color scheme plus some iconic points as well. The logo design with the two colors used as outline and fill really pops off the white helmets and represents one of the better abbreviations seen on helmets. Read more at Auburn Wire I have to hand it to TAMU, their helmet design is one of the better ones in the SEC. The symmetry of the A and M underneath the larger T is top-notch, and while I do not particularly love the color maroon, it just works for them. Read more at Aggies Wire No. 4: LSU Tigers The highest-ranked Tigers on this list land in this spot due to a convergence of its iconic nature — particularly the old-school tiger visage — as well as its royal colors of purple and gold. These helmets look like they mean business, and while they do lack a more modern feel, they still are among the best in the SEC. Read more at LSU Wire No. 3: Arkansas Razorbacks The running razorback gets me, to be perfectly honest — anyone who knows anything about feral hogs knows that they are formidable threats when disturbed. Then add the cardinal red color which gives a feel of both anger and blood and you have a recipe for a great football helmet. No. 2: Texas Longhorns Originally, the 'Horns were the top of this list, but I had a change of heart when it came to this update. Texas and its Longhorn logo in burnt orange on a background of white is the perfect mix of clean, iconic and fearsome for a football helmet. The slight iridescence of the modern logo adds a nice final touch to an already near-perfect look. Read more at Longhorns Wire No. 1: Florida Gators Florida's strength in these rankings comes from a combination of its epic orange and blue color scheme as well as the iconic script Gators logo. Unlike Ole Miss' script-based design, these bad boys mean business, especially considering the success the program has seen since implementing it. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
NBA Finals Game 3 winners and losers: Pacers D contains SGA, Thunder turnovers are costly
NBA Finals Game 3 winners and losers: Pacers D contains SGA, Thunder turnovers are costly Show Caption Hide Caption Shaq talks NBA Finals matchup and NBA on TNT Shaquille O'Neal joins Sports Seriously to talk about all things NBA and his upcoming Netflix docu-series 'Power Moves'. Sports Seriously The Indiana Pacers are two wins away from their first-ever NBA title. Behind a second quarter spark and a barrage from its bench, Indiana controlled the Oklahoma City Thunder on June 11 in the pivotal Game 3 of the NBA Finals, 116-107. Backup Pacers shooting guard Bennedict Mathurin led all players with 27 points, while Tyrese Haliburton added 22 and Pascal Siakam chipped in 21. And for the Pacers, this was massive; when NBA Finals have been tied at 1-1, the winner of Game 3 has gone on to win the title 80.5% of the time. The Pacers are now 5-0 this postseason when coming off a loss. They still have not trailed in any of the four series they have played these playoffs. Here are the winners and losers from the crucial Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Pacers and Thunder: WINNERS Bennedict Mathurin, T.J. McConnell and the Pacers bench The Pacers' bench, overall, was outstanding, yes. They outscored Oklahoma City's reserves by a margin of 49-18. But two players, above all, lifted Indiana and were key in a second quarter run that changed the course of the game. Bennedict Mathurin led all players with 27 points on an absurd 9-of-12 shooting night — outscoring the entire Thunder bench — in 22:24. T.J. McConnell scored 10 timely points, but his five steals, three of them off inbounds passes, and five assists invigorated Indiana. Simply put, the Pacers' bench won them this game. 'Those guys were tremendous,' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said after the game. 'T.J. just brought a competitive will to the game. Mathurin jumped in there and was immediately aggressive and got the ball in the basket. This is the kind of team we are: we need everybody to be ready. ... 'This is how we've got to do it, we've got to do it as a team.' For at least one night, the Indiana defense was better It looked, at least for one game, that it was the Pacers who were the No. 1 defense in the NBA. Indiana put forth a monstrous team effort, particularly on NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, sending multiple players at him, swarming and swatting at the ball when he had it in vulnerable spots. After Game 2, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said of Gilgeous-Alexander that 'you can mark down 34 points before (the Thunder) even get on the plane.' Perhaps it was a subtle way of sending a message to his players, but Indiana held SGA to 10 points fewer than that, on 9-of-20 shooting. The Pacers rotated players on Gilgeous-Alexander and put full-court pressure on him basically the entire game, and the spike in energy appeared to tire Gilgeous-Alexander, especially late. He had just three attempts in the fourth quarter and did not register an assist 'Their overall tone was better than ours for the majority of the game,' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after the game. Tyrese Haliburton finds his shot — early In Games 1 and 2, Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton had combined for just nine first half points. On Wednesday night, Haliburton had scored 12 on 5-of-8 shooting, adding seven assists, before intermission. It set the tone. When Haliburton — who finished with 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds — is aggressive and gets his shot, the Pacers tend to win. This season, they are 20-1 when he scores at least 20 points and dishes out at least 10 assists. LOSERS Thunder offense sputters without massive SGA game Oklahoma City has actually had nice spurts of offense this series from role players. Luguentz Dort has shot 10-of-17 (66.7%) from 3. Aaron Wiggins popped off for 18 points in Game 2. Alex Caruso poured in 20 in Game 2. But this felt like a game that, for the Thunder to have a chance to win, Gilgeous-Alexander was going to have to go off and score 35 or more. Oklahoma City shot just 35.3% from the field in the fourth quarter. With players pressing some, the Thunder also committed five turnovers in the period. Thunder ball protection The steals off the inbounds were indicative of a larger issue for Oklahoma City: the turnovers were debilitating. 'They sucked,' Jalen Williams said. 'Just bad, unforced turnovers.' Indiana had lost the turnover battles in Games 1 and 2 by 19 combined. But Wednesday night, the Thunder were more careless with the ball, committing 19 turnovers — compared to Indiana's 14. Not surprisingly, the Pacers won the battle in points off turnovers, 21-14. The decision to start Cason Wallace over Isaiah Hartenstein The Thunder — the team with the best record (68-14) in the NBA — had rolled through the NBA playoffs, going 12-4 before the start of the Finals. Center Isaiah Hartenstein had started each of those games, but Thunder coach Mark Daigneault opted to start Cason Wallace in all three games against the Pacers. It now seems like an overcorrection and perhaps even something of a panic move. Though it was just by two points, the Pacers outscored the Thunder in the paint for the first time this series, 50-48. Oklahoma City had carried a plus-20 advantage prior to Wednesday night. Keeping Indiana out of the paint and forcing them to settle for jump shots will be key for the Thunder in Game 4. Hartenstein, who played just 22 minutes and was not a factor, makes that prospect much easier. The biggest stories, every morning. Stay up-to-date on all the key sports developments with USA TODAY's sports newsletter. Your inbox will approve.
