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Two potential NCAA Tournament bracket busters
Championship week is upon us, with teams on the bubble aiming to claw their way into one of the coveted 68 NCAA Tournament spots. For those fortunate to hear their schools called on Selection Sunday, a new season will begin with records wiped clean.
With the NCAA Tournament beginning soon, here are two potential bracket busters.
Furman Paladins (27-7)
The Paladins, one of the country's hottest teams, are dancing for the first time since 1980 following their win over Chattanooga in the Southern Conference title game.
When you're going to your first Big Dance in 43 years ️
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) March 7, 2023
Welcome back to March Madness, @FurmanHoops!pic.twitter.com/nbIIfvvEB2
A last-second buzzer beater by Chattanooga in last season's conference tournament kept Furman out of the NCAAs.
“They thought last year was gonna push us back,” Furman coach Bob Richey said, per the Greenville News. “But instead all it did was motivate us to come together.”
Furman has won 17 of its past 19 games. Early season victories over South Carolina and Belmont, plus a narrow loss against Penn State, proved that the Paladins can hold their own against legit competition.
Furman relies heavily on a veteran duo of Mike Bothwell and Jalen Slawson, both in their fifth year, who have played a combined 306 games. Slawson (15.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG) is SoCon Player of the Year and Bothwell (18 PPG) joined him on the all-conference first team.
The Paladins, while undersized, have two guards (JP Pegues and Marcus Foster) who average 10-plus points per game. As a team, Furman averages 82.1 points and shoots 34.7% from three.
Drake Bulldogs (27-7)
Fresh off a 77-51 drubbing of Bradley in the Missouri Valley championship game, Drake will make its second NCAA Tournament appearance in three years. Like Furman, it will enter the dance with momentum, having won 13 of its past 14 games.
The Bulldogs are led by Missouri Valley Player of the Year Tucker DeVries, son of head coach Darian DeVries.
DeVries is a gifted scorer who can beat opponents at all three levels offensively, but others must step up to alleviate pressure for their star, who averages 19 points -- roughly a quarter of the team's per-game total (75.3).
The most likely candidate is do-it-all guard Roman Penn, a fifth-year player who stuffs the stat sheet (12.6 PPG, 5.4 APG, 4.6 RPG) and runs an offense that has averaged 82 points over the past month.
More must-reads:
- Coach K calls out Syracuse over handling of Jim Boeheim exit
- Meet Adrian Autry, the coach tasked with replacing Jim Boeheim at Syracuse
- The '2023 NFL AP second-team All-Pro' quiz
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Who is the most important player on the 2025-26 Kentucky Basketball team?
Suppose a Kentucky fan was asked who they think the most important player on the 2025-26 basketball team was, most would say Otega Oweh. While this would likely be the universal answer, could it be wrong? There is no question that Oweh is the best player on this team, but sometimes best and most important can be different. Oweh has worked this offseason to improve his shooting, and if he does this, he very well could be a top-five player in college hoops. The player that should be looked at as the most important player on this Kentucky basketball team is Jaland Lowe. He averaged 16.8 points per game, but the knock on him that all fans know is his efficiency shooting the basketball. The goal is that in the Pope offense, Lowe is going to improve when it comes to his efficiency from the field and beyond the three-point line. Last season, Lowe was on a bad Pitt team, and he had to force up some ugly shots to give his team a chance to win ball games. Lowe shot the ball over 14 times per game, and this won't be the case this season at Kentucky. Lowe has turned heads so far during summer practice, and fans really do believe that he is going to improve his shooting splits this season in Lexington. The Wildcats' starting point guard has a real shot to average over 15 points again this season, but hopefully, he does it while being efficient. Fans already know what Oweh is going to bring to the table as a player this season for Kentucky. There is a world where he improves his points per game by a few points if he shoots the ball better from three, but mostly, fans know what they are getting in their star player. This is why Lowe is the x-factor for the Wildcats. He was solid last season at Pitt, and if he has a similar season in Lexington this year, the Wildcats are a top 15 team in the nation. If Lowe is able to take his game to the next level, that is when Kentucky could be considered the best team in college hoops. Lowe is a speedy point guard who helps on the glass and passes the ball well. He is the most important player on this team because if he is able to improve his efficiency, Kentucky will be unstoppable.
Jon Gruden 'looking forward to having the truth come out' amid lawsuit against NFL
Jon Gruden sent another warning shot toward the NFL after scoring a major win in court. On Tuesday, Gruden welcomed a ruling that will force the NFL to litigate the circumstances of his firing in court rather than closed-door arbitration. The former Las Vegas Raiders coach made it clear that he intends to continue his legal challenge to the NFL, ensuring that they are held accountable. “I’m looking forward to having the truth come out, and I want to make sure what happened to me doesn’t happen to anyone else,” Gruden said in a statement provided to ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. “The league’s actions disrupted the whole season. We were leading the division at the time and they completely blindsided me and the team.” The Raiders were 3-1 in 2021 when Gruden was forced to resign after offensive emails he had sent between 2011 and 2018 were leaked. Gruden has alleged that the NFL leaked the emails to force him out of a job after obtaining them during an investigation into the Washington Commanders. The NFL is set to appeal Monday’s ruling, but if that appeal fails, the league may be forced into public discovery. One alternative would be to offer Gruden a settlement, but he has not said whether or not he would be interested in such a resolution. Gruden has not held an NFL coaching job since the Raiders forced him out. He has recently spoken about possibly making a return to coaching at the college level.
Shohei Ohtani named in lawsuit regarding $240M real estate project
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has been named in a lawsuit that was filed in Hawaii on Friday. Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo, are being sued by a real estate investor and a broker in Hawaii who have accused Ohtani and Balelo of sabotaging a $240M real estate deal for a development on the Big Island. According to court documents that were obtained by Jimmy Golen of The Associated Press, real estate developer Kevin J. Hayes Sr. and real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto say Ohtani and Balelo deliberately had them removed from the project “for no reason other than their own financial self-interest.” The lawsuit claims Ohtani was brought into the deal for his promotional value and that he and his agent pushed the founders of the project out using “threats and baseless legal claims.” “Defendants must be held accountable for their actions, not shielded by fame or behind-the-scenes agents acting with impunity,” the lawsuit states. “Plaintiffs bring this suit to expose Defendants’ misconduct and to ensure that the rules of contract, fair dealing, and accountability apply equally to all — celebrity or not.” Hayes and Matsumoto have also accused Ohtani and Balelo of trying to push them out of a similar neighboring development project. The $240M Big Island development is located along Hapuna Beach, which is rated one of the top beaches in the world. Matsumoto was supposed to be the listing agent for the properties, which average more than $17.3M each. A brochure for the project stated that Ohtani, who was called “Japan’s Babe Ruth” has committed to buying one of the 14 properties and acting as a “celebrity spokesperson” for the development. Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700M contract with the Dodgers prior to the 2024 season. The two-way star is having another monster year with a .284 average, 42 home runs, 78 RBI and a 1.013 OPS entering Tuesday. Ohtani has also returned to pitching this season and has a 2.37 ERA across 19 innings. Ohtani was also connected to a massive gambling scandal last year, though Major League Baseball determined that the 31-year-old was not guilty of any wrongdoing.
Perhaps Superman Paul Skenes has found his kryptonite
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes may continue to be one of the top contenders for the National League Cy Young Award, but there is one place where he has appeared mortal this season. On Tuesday night, the Milwaukee Brewers did to Skenes what they have done to plenty of MLB pitchers in 2025 ... put up big offensive numbers. For the second time this season (Skenes also pitched in Milwaukee on June 25), the Brewers forced him from the game after just 4.0 innings on Tuesday night, logging six hits and four runs during his time on the mound. Both of those performances came at Milwaukee's home stadium (American Family Field) and both are now Skenes' shortest outings of the season. While another NL Central team has put up more runs against Skenes this season (the St. Louis Cardinals nicked him for five runs in 6.0 innings on April 8), no other team has had the same kind of success over multiple starts by Skenes in 2025 as have the Brewers inside their home stadium. In all this season, Skenes has given up 10 hits and eight runs in 8.0 innings in Milwaukee. It was his third career outing on the road against the Brewers, with his lone 2024 start representing arguably the best outing of his rookie season. On July 11, 2024, Skenes struck out 11 and didn't allow a hit over 7.0 innings as the Pirates would eventually post a 1-0 victory. Tuesday's short outing was highlighted by a pair of Milwaukee home runs, including a leadoff solo shot by Sal Frelick that quickly set the tone for the Brewers. While Milwaukee's hit parade helped raise Skenes' ERA on the season to 2.13, it's hardly any reason for concern in a season where the 23-year-old right-hander is still a heavy favorite (-600) to win the NL Cy Young Award, per BetMGM. Skenes struggling in Milwaukee is likely more yet another stamp of approval on the Brewers' potential to be a threat once the postseason arrives. With an 18-4 record since the All-Star break entering Tuesday, Milwaukee has taken over the NL Central race from the Chicago Cubs. So what's the good news for Skenes? This is Pittsburgh's last trip to Milwaukee this season and the next-to-last series for the Pirates against the red-hot Brewers. Milwaukee will visit PNC Park for a three-game series on Sept. 5-7, and if Skenes gets a chance for revenge against Milwaukee, there couldn't be a better place for him to take the mound. This season, in 11 starts covering 68.2 innings, Skenes has a 1.70 ERA in the Steel City.
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