42 years ago today

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March Madness: Four Teams With the Hardest Path to the Men’s Final Four​

Usually earning the No. 1 overall seed gets you an easier path in the NCAA tournament, but Duke—along with these teams—finds its road tougher.

No. 1 Duke, East Region​

Somehow, being the No. 1 overall seed is supposed to come with the easiest path to Indianapolis, but that didn’t quite work out in practice for the Blue Devils. To start with, they’ve had a history in their sub-regional of subpar results and draw a tricky Siena team to open before facing off against what would be the strongest No. 8 vs. No. 9 pairing in either Ohio State or TCU. Then, unless there are some notable upsets, the road goes through at least one Hall of Fame coach in Bill Self or Rick Pitino to reach the Elite Eight. Oh, and there are fellow bluebloods like UConn, Michigan State, UCLA and even Louisville beyond that. Good luck to Jon Scheyer & Co. because a trip through the nation’s capital in this region is brutal.

Just sayin': I am surprised to read that someone actually considers a possible game against Ohio State as part of the "hardest path to the Final Four"...

Login to view embedded media Stopped wrestling as a "business decision" for football. Great interview... and OSU WILL be in until the end

Buckeneye said:

Traded to the Chiefs

New York Jets trade Justin Fields to Chiefs for 2027 draft pick

The Kansas City Chiefs traded a 2027 NFL draft pick to the New York Jets in exchange for quarterback Justin Fields, according to multiple reports.

www.usatoday.com

@BuckeyeNation27. I haven't forgotten about our talk. Eventually, I'll have more on that. Life just gets in the way, as you know.

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For Fields, it’s a great development. After the Jets traded for Geno Smith last week, he was slated to be in competition with Brady Cook for the backup spot. Now, while he’s certainly going to sit behind Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City, he’s being allowed to learn from not only a future Hall of Fame quarterback but also a Hall of Fame coach in Andy Reid.

Over the years, Reid has taken plenty of quarterbacks and revitalized their careers, whether it’s been a young, unproven name such as Kevin Kolb or a veteran like Michael Vick or Jeff Garcia. Fields, 27, is entering the last year of his contract and is playing on his fourth team in as many years, jumping from the Bears to the Steelers, the Jets and now the Chiefs.

In 2025, Fields signed a two-year, $40 million contract with New York but only started nine games before being benched. He threw for 1,259 yards and seven touchdowns against one interception while posting a 38.7 QBR.

From Kansas City’s perspective, this is an on-brand move for general manager Brett Veach. Veach has long been willing to take on former first-round picks and has done so with mixed results. Over the years, the Chiefs have either signed or traded for linebacker linebackers Darron Lee and DeAndre Baker, receiver Kadarius Toney, corners DeAndre Baker cornerbacks Damon Arnette and Damon Arnette DeAndre Baker, offensive lineman Cam Erving, and others, hoping to find the talent which that made them early selections to begin with.

In Fields, Kansas City will be getting a replacement for Gardner Minshew II, who signed a one-year, $8.5 million contract with the Cardinals last week. Fields had success in Chicago, throwing 17 touchdown passes while rushing for 1,143 yards in 2022. However, he also took a league-high 55 sacks and fumbled 16 times that year, showcasing his intrigue and issues.

In Kansas City, Fields will have an opportunity to learn and reset, potentially setting him up for a rebirth in the way we’ve seen Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold have over recent years.

Former Ohio State Basketball Coach Thad Matta Retires After Four Seasons at Butler​

Thad Matta is concluding his coaching career.

The former Ohio State basketball coach announced his retirement from coaching on Monday following a four-year return to coaching at Butler. Matta will remain with Butler, his alma mater, as a special assistant to the university president and athletic director.

"After taking some time to reflect following the end of the season, I have decided that the time has come for me to step away from the sidelines," Matta said in a news release by Butler. "The love my wife, my daughters and I have for Butler is what brought us back four years ago, and it feels especially meaningful that I conclude my coaching career here. Butler has always meant more to us than just basketball—and that connection is why I'm grateful to continue working with the University and offering my help in any way I can. My commitment to Butler and to the future of this program remains as strong as ever. I want this program to compete at the highest levels of the Big East and national landscape, and I am excited to be part of what we continue to build here.”

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Matta ends his coaching career with a 502-223 record over 21 seasons as a head coach, earning his 500th win in February. Thirteen of those seasons were at Ohio State. The winningest coach in Ohio State basketball history, Matta went 337-123 with the Buckeyes, leading Ohio State to a national championship game appearance, two Final Fours, three Elite Eights, five Sweet 16s and nine total NCAA Tournament appearances.

Let go by Ohio State after the 2016-17 season, Matta took five years off from coaching before returning to the sideline in 2022 at Butler, where he started his head coaching career in 2000 after multiple stints as an assistant. Matta was unable to recapture his previous success in his second stint at Butler, however, going just 63-69 across four seasons.
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Everyone touting those early season wins makes no sense. Rather have the team peaking at the right time than a team that is in the tourney off what they did 3 months ago.

Take the Bucks. Might even be this years Cinderella

calibuck said:

Just curious, maybe someone can clear the fog from my eyes. OK, so we're at war with Iran. And gas prices go up. Even though USA is oil self-sufficient, how come does gas at the pump rise? Clearly what's already in the oil to gasoline pipelines was extracted at lower costs, (before this Iran thing), retailers are upping the prices. Anticipation of higher cost crude? Maybe, 'market prices'? Maybe, but seems more like the big oils are making a ton more money but raising gasoline prices (OF GAS IN THEIR HOLDING TANKS) before increased cost of crude hits the refineries. Recognize my econ degree was decades ago, but no one quesions, nor do we consumers balk at filling up at a buck or so more than the day before this war erupted.

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Because oil is a global commodity. US based production will naturally rise to the global price. And that price shift will be somewhat sticky and not immediately come down when (if) the straight opens back up since Gulf states are being forced to shut down wells and refineries, and those don't come back on line at the flip of a switch.

Teams to decline 2026 NIT tournament​

List as of 10 p.m. ET Sunday, March 15

• Belmont
• Virginia Tech
• San Diego State
• Seton Hall
• Indiana
• Florida State
• Oklahoma

Teams to announce it is declining NIT​

Virginia Tech​

The first team to announce it was not participating in the NIT was Virginia Tech. It made the decision on Friday, March 13 after it lost in the first round of the ACC tournament to finish the season 19-13.

Belmont​

The Missouri Valley Conference regular season champion was given an automatic spot in the NIT, but declined it on March 14. The Bruins finished 26-6 but coach Casey Alexander left and accepted the job at Kansas State.

San Diego State​

The Mountain West runner-up declines participating in any other tournament after missing out on March Madness for the first time since 2019.

"I don't feel that playing in another postseason event would benefit us," coach Brian Dutcher said in a statement.

Seton Hall​

The Pirates decided it will decline all non-NCAA tournaments, including the NIT and Crown.

Indiana​

IndyStar, part of the USA TODAY Network, reports the Hoosiers do not intend to participate in any secondary postseason competition. Indiana was among the first four team to miss the field.

Florida State​

The Seminoles ended their season strong but will not accept an NIT bid, according to the The Tallahassee Democrat, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Oklahoma​

The Sooners were eligible for the NIT due to being in the first team out of the NCAA Tournament, but they were not in the NIT field.

NJ-Buckeye said:

Wonder why his older brother wasn't wrestling? maybe because they'd both be in the same weight class?

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Ive just seen that he may be focusing more on football and may have been dinged and chose to help his brother this season. Brydon was wrestling as a HW around 240lbs, and his opponent in the final was 285lbs

brodybuck21 said:

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That's awesome!

buckeyemania11 said:

High Point feels like they are going to be that 12 seed that a lot of people pick but they end up losing pretty badly.

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I don't think High Point will win, but it's possible, especially if Wisconsin's big man Winter isn't playing. The Badgers have been a team that has been really bad on defense at times, and that makes you susceptible to the upset.

DZ83CK said:

As far as B1G teams that might get upset, I'd look to UCLA first, they just had two starters get injured, and they're against a #10 seed UCF. After that, there are a few serious possibilities. Nebraska against Troy and Wisconsin against High Point are solid spots if you want to go for an upset pick. If you really want to go out on a limb, Purdue against Queens might be an upset, because Purdue.

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High Point feels like they are going to be that 12 seed that a lot of people pick but they end up losing pretty badly.

As far as B1G teams that might get upset, I'd look to UCLA first, they just had two starters get injured, and they're against a #10 seed UCF. After that, there are a few serious possibilities. Nebraska against Troy and Wisconsin against High Point are solid spots if you want to go for an upset pick. If you really want to go out on a limb, Purdue against Queens might be an upset, because Purdue.

sparcboxbuck said:

Sorry if my dad or one of his buddies wrote you a ticket while you were fishing. He was an ODNR Officer just down the river a bit.

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Haha i am/was so good at fishing and know the holes so good i always caught more Walleye than what i needed for the year. All legal. always had to throw a lot back. where did you grow up?

11W Forums

KYBuck4858 15 Mar 2026, 11:00 am
With no visits this week with Spring Break. A quick recap of top events from this past week:

Stock Up:
DT Marcus Fakatou - His first visit to campus went extremely well. We have a great chance now in this one.
Elite Safeties - We knocked it out of the park with Gamble and Aparicio-Bailey, and will be getting OV’s from both.
Caden Moss - Long-time top target for Bowen made it back to campus. We’re now in the mix with Bama and Ole Miss. If he’s graded as a “1st Rd Pick”, we can win this.
Sean Currie - Decommitted from UVA, and is looking like a PSU vs OSU battle.
Khalil Taylor - Re-offered by Hankton a few weeks ago, and visited this week. Says he will take an OV now.
OT Options - Bowen has set things up nice with an army of guys who visited this week. Some with offers, and some he’s still evaluating. Plenty of good options to choose from.
CB Options - Moon, Malone, and Telfair all visited this week. Just need 1 of them in this class (or Jaden Carey) to pair with Woods.
Being smart at Edge - Munir Lewis Visited and was offered. We already have a 1st Rd Pick in this class, and great Edges in the prior two classes. I’m glad LJ is giving himself more realistic options.

Stock Down:
OLB Options - AJ Randle was already going to be an expensive battle with Miami and FL. And now he visited Oregon and loved it and wants to run track. Elsewhere, Nelson got predicted to TT. And Igwebuike left us off his visit list.
Kasi Currie - On the positive side, he continues to list OSU in his top3. Which is great, since he hasn’t even been on campus yet. But he just made it back to TX again for the 2nd time to two months. TX insiders say he’s the #1 prospect on their board. We’ve seen how reckless they can be on spending for guys they truly want. Even if he loves the visits to us, it’s hard to see us outspending TX.
Mekai Brown - Initially said he wasn’t going to visit his top3 of OSU, USC, and TN this spring as he’s already been to them. Then this week randomly added a trip to USC anyways. With his dad being from LA, this one looks like it’s trending USC.

Jay Bilas picks TCU, claiming they're underrated. I guess he thinks OSU is not underrated?

No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 9 TCU Horned Frogs

The Buckeyes have Bruce Thornton, Ohio State's all-time leading scorer and a respected player across the country. TCU has David Punch, who scored a season-high 26 points against Oklahoma State in this week's Big 12 quarterfinals. This is an underrated team, one that beat Florida early in the season. The 8-9 matchup is a coin flip, but I am taking TCU.

Winner: TCU

buckeyemania11 said:

I fully expect them to have some sort of lucky bullshit propel them to at least the elite 8.

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I don't think it's going to take luck for UM to reach the Elite 8, they got such an easy draw. Georgia and St Louis stink. Their draw just got better because Bama's star guard Holloway (#2 scorer) got arrested after the bracket was released for having over a pound of marijuana. Maybe Holloway was the team plug? Bama is one of the few potential roadblocks for them in that region. Texas Tech lost their star forward Toppin for the season in February. So if Bama isn't going to stop them, they'll walk to the Elite 8. Virginia could cause them problems, as could Iowa State. Iowa State is a team that is very boom or bust depending on how teams guard them - I think they could definitely knock off UM, because they have a guy who can drill 3s similar to what Rapp did for Wisconsin did against UM.

lets go people!!

buckeyemania11 said:

I fully expect them to have some sort of lucky bullshit propel them to at least the elite 8.

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guaranteed

Mike80 said:

All the whining about the last strike of the game is ridiculous.

A good batter fouls that pitch off. It's WAYYYYY too close to take in that situation. Was it a ball? Borderline - the k zone shit has warped everyone's sense of what a strike really is - but ultimately, in a last pitch of the game type situation, batters should be more defensive in their stance and be looking to swing at anything remotely close to foul it off (Pete Rose was an EXPERT at this) and get a better pitch.

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A MILLION TIMES THIS