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USA Today
18-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Texas Longhorns baseball gets No. 1 seed in SEC tournament, two round bye
Texas Longhorns baseball gets No. 1 seed in SEC tournament, two round bye The SEC baseball regular season is over and the postseason tournament bracket has been set. The Texas Longhorns have won the regular season title and will be the top seed in the SEC tournament, which starts on Tuesday, May 20. The top four seeds in the single-elimination tournament get a bye through to the quarterfinals. The Longhorns added to it's lead in the conference standings on the final day of the regular season with a convincing 9-1 win over the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman. The game featured a two-hour weather delay, but it didn't dampen the Longhorns bats. The Longhorns had two home runs and eight hits in the blowout win. UT will now get a few days of rest before hitting the diamond in the third round of the SEC tourney in Hoover, Alabama. Texas will either face No. 8 seed Tennessee, No. 9 seed Alabama or No. 16 seed Missouri in the quarterfinals on Thursday, May 22 at 3 p.m. CT. Winning the regular season SEC crown should move the Longhorns back into the No. 1 spot in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll on Monday and it could mean the No. 1 overall seed on Selection Monday, when the NCAA Tournament bracket is announced. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) at @LonghornsWire.
USA Today
28-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Tennessee's latest top 25 ranking after LSU baseball series
Tennessee's latest top 25 ranking after LSU baseball series Tennessee (35-9, 13-8 SEC) has 12 games remaining in the 2025 regular season. The Vols will host Northern Kentucky on Tuesday (6 p.m. EDT, SEC Network+) and a three-game SEC series, Friday-Sunday, against Auburn at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Friday's series opener between the Vols and Tigers is slated for 6:30 p.m. EDT. Saturday's game No. 2 will take place at 6 p.m. EDT and Sunday's series finale is scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT. All three games can be watched on SEC Network+. Following this week's contests, Tennessee will have nonconference games against Indiana State and Belmont, while hosting Vanderbilt and traveling to Arkansas to conclude SEC play. The SEC Tournament will be contested May 20-25 at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama. The latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll was released Monday. The Vols remain ranked No. 6 after losing a road series, 2-1, at LSU. The entire USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll top 25 rankings can be viewed here. Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
USA Today
14-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Tennessee baseball's latest top 25 ranking after winning Ole Miss series
Tennessee baseball's latest top 25 ranking after winning Ole Miss series Tennessee (31-5, 11-4 SEC) all return to action Tuesday against Bellarmine at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. EDT and can be watched on SEC Network+. Tennessee will also host Kentucky this week in SEC play. First pitch for Friday's series opener is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EDT. Game No. 2 on Saturday will take place at 6 p.m. EDT, while Sunday's series finale is slated for 1 p.m. EDT. All three games between the Vols and Wildcats can be watched on SEC Network+. Tennessee is up one spot in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll to No. 3. The Vols won a three-game series at Ole Miss, 2-1, and defeated Alabama State last week. Texas is ranked No. 1, followed by No. 2 Arkansas ahead of the Vols. Georgia (5), LSU (7), Auburn (9), Ole Miss (11), Alabama (15), Oklahoma (16) and Vanderbilt (17) are also ranked from the SEC. The entire USA TODAY Coaches Poll top 25 rankings can be viewed here.
USA Today
08-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Auburn ends season at No. 4 in USA TODAY Coaches Poll after March Madness
Auburn ends season at No. 4 in USA TODAY Coaches Poll after March Madness The Tigers close its best season in history as the No. 4 team in the nation. The 2024-25 college basketball season has concluded, but there is one more USA TODAY Coaches Poll to be released. Where did the Auburn Tigers fall in the final poll? Auburn stays at No. 4 after their Final Four appearance that resulted in a 79-73 loss to the eventual National Champions the Florida Gators. Ahead of the Tigers are the Florida Gators (No.1), the Houston Cougars (No.2), and the Duke Blue Devils (No.3). It was a historic season for the Auburn Tigers where they spent several weeks as the No.1 team in college basketball with more Quad 1 wins than any other team in the country. Auburn ended the season with a 32-6 record as the winningest team in program history. Despite being in a tough SEC that placed 14 teams in the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers clinched the SEC Regular Season Championship with two games remaining on the schedule. This team was loaded with seniors and veterans led by SEC Player of the Year Johni Broome, five-year player Dylan Cardwell, and defensive specialist Denver Jones. Those are just to name a few. Auburn will look different for the 2025-26 season but hope to have some contributors back. Chad Baker-Mazara has teased a return, and Chaney Johnson could still have some eligibility. A big boost for next season will be if freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford returns. He did declare for the NBA Draft but is keeping his NCAA eligibility. The SEC finished with eight teams in the final USA TODAY Coaches Poll. Behind Auburn is Tennessee (No.5), Alabama (No.6), Kentucky (No.14), Ole Miss (No.18), Texas A&M (No. 19), and Arkansas (No.25). The Missouri Tigers dropped out of the rankings. It was not just a historic season for Auburn, but the conference as a whole with 14 teams making the NCAA Tournament. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Phillip on Twitter @PJordanSEC
USA Today
01-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
This Final Four isn't the 2008 March Madness party of 1-seeds. Here's why
This Final Four isn't the 2008 March Madness party of 1-seeds. Here's why Show Caption Hide Caption Duke, Florida, Auburn, Houston punch their ticket to the Final Four The madness continues as Mackenzie Salmon previews the Men's Final Four matchups, which will feature all No. 1 seeds for the first time since 2008. Sports Seriously They're saying this Final Four repeats the history of 2008, and, by seed, they're right. In many other ways, this Final Four is so much different. Blue bloods populated 2008 Final Four, won by Memphis. Duke is only blue blood in this Final Four. The 2008 Final Four reflected teams' blue-chip recruits flourishing. Now, transfers like Florida's Walter Clayton Jr. and Auburn's Johni Broome are big party of college basketball's story. They're saying this Final Four repeats the history of 2008, and, by seed, they're right. Kansas, UCLA, North Carolina and Memphis populated the Final Four that season, marking the first time four No. 1 seeds seized all the semifinal spots. Never had that feat been repeated until now. Auburn, Florida, Duke and Houston rumble toward San Antonio, which also hosted the 2008 Final Four. The similarities mostly end there. In so many ways, this Final Four differs from the 2008. Here's why: ∎ Only one blue blood this time. John Calipari joked in 2008 that if you combined the national championships won by UCLA and Memphis, they'd have 11. The punchline he left unsaid, of course, was that UCLA owns 11 titles and Memphis has none. UNC and Kansas joined UCLA to supply three Final Four blue bloods. Back then, that trio owned a combined 17 national championships. Kansas and UNC won more titles since then. Duke, winner of five national championships, supplies the only blue blood within this quartet. Florida won back-to-back titles under Billy Donovan. Todd Golden joins Donovan and Lon Kruger as coaches to lift Florida to a Final Four. Bruce Pearl is the only coach to take Auburn to a Final Four. He's done it twice. Auburn pursues its first national championship. Kelvin Sampson lifted Houston to heights unseen since coach Guy Lewis and his Phi Slama Jama crew of the 1980s. This marks Sampson's second Final Four at Houston. Lewis supplied five. The Cougars have never won a national championship. ∎ Polls predicted the 2008 Final Four. The 2008 Final Four reflected preseason projections. The first four teams in the preseason USA TODAY Coaches Poll went like this: North Carolina, UCLA, Memphis and Kansas. The media picked it the same way. None of the four ever slipped outside of the top 10. The top four of the coaches' poll this season started with Kansas, Alabama, UConn and Houston. Kansas fizzled and lost in the first round as a No. 7 seed. Eighth-seeded UConn lost a second-round battle with Florida, and No. 2 Alabama succumbed to Duke in the Elite Eight. Duke ranked No. 5 in the preseason, Auburn checked in at No. 11 and Florida came in at No. 21. You can't label this Final Four cast underdogs, but they weren't runaway preseason favorites, either. ∎ More upsets occurred before 2008 Final Four. The 2008 1-seed party came after upsets filled the tournament's earlier rounds. In fact, that tournament supplied one of the greatest Cinderellas, Steph Curry and his 10th-seeded Davidson. Curry, wearing a baggy uniform appropriate for the time, became almost an overnight sensation as Davidson charged into the Elite Eight against Kansas. The Jayhawks prevailed, 59-57, after throwing two defenders at Curry in the closing seconds, forcing him to a pass to teammate Jason Richards, whose 3-pointer missed. Kansas then stomped UNC in the Final Four and survived Memphis in overtime of the national championship. Western Kentucky and Villanova, a pair of No. 12 seeds, joined Davidson as Sweet 16 Cinderellas. Even as the Final Four approached, some eyes lingered on Davidson in the rearview mirror. As veteran sports columnist Mike Lopresti wrote before the Final Four, 'If we can't have Davidson, this field will have to do.' In contrast, No. 10 Arkansas became this season's only Sweet 16 team seeded higher than No. 6. Calipari coaching an Arkansas team bought from the transfer portal made for an unusual Cinderella. Cinderella shined in 2008 before heading home before the clock struck midnight. This year, she left much earlier, just after cocktail hour. ∎ High school recruiting ruled in 2008. Transfers didn't factor into the equation nearly as much in 2008. Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers, veterans whom Bill Self signed as touted recruits, powered Kansas to the title. Runner-up Memphis' best players were Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose, blue-chippers signed by Calipari. Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook fueled UCLA. Tyler Hansbrough and Wayne Ellington powered North Carolina's engine. More examples of ballyhooed recruits flourishing with the program that signed them. This Duke squad offers 2008 vibes. Freshman studs Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel lead the charge, alongside Duke mainstay Tyrese Proctor. Houston, too, features impactful veterans who played their full careers with Sampson, but transfers L.J. Cryer and Milos Uzan also help form the Houston nucleus. Johni Broome leads transfer-laden Auburn. Broome began his career at Morehead State. Walter Clayton Jr. started his career at Iona before blossoming into Florida's scoring machine. In a transfer's world, a Duke title would mark a throwback. ∎ No Division I champions coaching in this Final Four. Golden, 39, had never won an NCAA Tournament game before Florida's Final Four run. This also marks the first Final Four for Jon Scheyer, 37, Duke's third-year coach. Pearl, 65, and Sampson, 69, chase their white whale, an elusive Division I national championship, to highlight winning careers. They have five Final Four appearances between them. Neither has reached a national championship game. Pearl is the only member of this coaching quartet to win a national championship. His title came at Division II Southern Indiana in 1995. In that 2008 Final Four, Roy Williams already had won his first national championship at North Carolina, in 2005. Self won the first of his two national championships in 2008. Calipari's national title came in 2012 at Kentucky. From that 2008 group, only UCLA's Ben Howland never won a national championship. Epic finish? Kansas-Memphis thrilled in the 2008 national championship game. Chalmers etched his name into Kansas lore with his 3-pointer to force overtime. That championship followed decisive semifinal results, though, despite projections that four No. 1 seeds would result in epic clashes. Seventeen years later, they're saying this Final Four will be epic. Based on the talent level in San Antonio, it should be. Three good games would be another way in which this Final Four differs from 2008. Blake Toppmeyer is a columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@ and follow him on X @btoppmeyer. Subscribe to read all of his columns.
