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The NCAA Tournament is one of the most popular sporting events of the year, not only for the non-stop action that takes place during the first two rounds of the tournament from Thursday to Sunday, but also because of the insanity that can occur.
With millions of March Madness brackets submitted across the nation, upsets are predicted and rooted for. Sometimes those bold predictions work out, but other times we are left with blowouts that make the bold look foolish.
That's what happened this year for ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas, who predicted a major upset in the second round of the tournament.
When picking the winner of Saturday's first game between No. 4 Purdue and No. 12 McNeese State, Bilas sided with the underdog.
"I'm going with McNeese," Bilas said. "I think they're going to be able to cause a lot of problems for Purdue by turning them over. Just keep the ball out of Braden Smith's hands, and go after everybody else. But they can't let them get it inside to Trey Kaufman-Renn, because he is their best player."
That prediction didn't end up panning out for Bilas or the Cowboys, who saw their tournament run come ton an end after a 76-62 final on Saturday afternoon. Kaufman-Renn ended up dominating, with a game-high 22 points and 15 rebounds.
The Boilermakers will now move on to the Sweet Sixteen, where they will face either No. 1 Houston or No. 8 Gonzaga next Thursday.
Meanwhile, it was a Cinderella story cut short for the Cowboys, who captured the attention of the nation with their "aura" and walk-outs led by student manager Amir Khan over the past couple of weeks. Khan has reportedly made six figures in NIL deals during this tournament trip, which was highlighted by McNeese State's upset win over Clemson in the first round.
Nobody can blame Bilas for going out on a limb and picking the Cowboys to continue their hot streak and beat Purdue on Saturday, that's the beauty of March Madness. Sometimes it's the teams that you least expect to make a run that capture the hearts of America as the next Cinderella.
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UCLA Four-Star Target Fits Perfectly with Coach Mick Cronin
The grind never stops whether it be on the court, or on the recruiting trail, and Mick Cronin has his eyes set on a few players. One of them is small forward, Anthony Felesi out of Utah Prep in Hurricane, UT, the same exact school that molded AJ Dybantsa, the number one recruit of the 2025 class. After a high profile negotiation between BYU and Alabama, Dybantsa decided to stay in town with the BYU Cougars. But now, Dybantsa wants to take his buddy along with him. “My teammate (Dybantsa) is going there, and he keeps telling me that it’s the move,” Felesi told On3. “Coach (Kevin) Young is a very good coach, and with his experience off the court and knowledge on the court, AJ tells me I should be going there.” But just because BYU is calling, doesn’t mean that it’s the be-all end-all. UCLA made an offer to Felesi back in May, and 247Sports has the interest level as “warm,” while every other offer is listed as “cool,” including BYU. Felesi also emphasized that the relationships he makes are going to be crucial in attaining his services, while also leaning on his loved ones for guidance and support. “When I got on my visits, I’m going to be looking for a relationship. Really, with everyone in the program. And I’m going to lean on my family with that, too. If my family feels comfortable in the setting, with the coach and the person. Development is big for me, so I’ll be talking with the schools about what their plan is for me and my development.” Well what better place to develop than UCLA? When you play for coach Cronin, you’re not seeing the floor unless you play some sort of defense. And the great part about Felesi’s game is that he plays like a junkyard dog. He’s the type of player who will happily chase after a loose ball, dive to save the ball from going out of bounds, or whether it be driving to the rim with a head full of steam. On top of that, Felesi has a polished jumpshot that can be effective even with a hand in the face, off the dribble, or spot up. Felesi is the type of player that Cronin would love, and given that this upcoming 2025 Bruins team is filled with veterans, it opens up a spot in the rotation for Felesi to see the floor. The 2026 class is still up in the air, with most of the class not figuring out where they want to play. And for Felesi, the offers will keep piling up for the four-star winger.
New York Knicks Predicted to Trade Karl-Anthony Towns For Dallas Mavericks Star
The New York Knicks have had a busy summer thus far as they have made multiple additions to their roster to try and improve off their run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Of course, the Knicks also made a head coaching change to begin the summer as they fried Tom Thibodeau and replaced him with two-time Coach of the Year winner Mike Brown. During free agency, New York added Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele to upgrade their bench at a cheap cost, which is an area that they struggled with last season. The Knicks do have one more roster spot open which they will likely use to add another veteran player to their bench. While the Knicks have focused on upgrading their depth this summer, Sports Illustrated’s Jackson Caudell recently created a mock trade that would see New York send Karl-Anthony Towns to the Dallas Mavericks for one of their star players along with depth. In the trade, the Knicks would acquire Klay Thompson, Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington from the Mavericks while Dallas would land Towns and Vit Krejci. The Atlanta Hawks are the third team involved in the trade and they would receive Caleb Martin and two second-round picks from the Mavericks. For the Knicks, it would be a tough decision to move on from Towns but they would be able to fill some glaring holes in their roster with their return in this deal. Thompson would give them a much-needed three-point sharpshooter in their starting lineup while both Washington and Gafford would be major additions to their frontcourt, especially on the defensive end. Despite this, the Mavericks may not want to move on from three of their key players to acquire Towns, who struggled in the playoffs last season, primarily on defense. While that may be the case, making this trade would be a massive upgrade to the Knicks’ lineup and depth that could make them the team to beat in the Eastern Conference next season.
Steelers Teammates Are Noticing Great Differences From Aaron Rodgers: 'A Guy That's Bought In'
The Pittsburgh Steelers have an interesting quarterback situation that has been monitored by NFL fans throughout the 2025 offseason. The organization was in pursuit of four-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers for over three months, and the quarterback finally signed a one-year deal. He was then in Pittsburgh for mandatory minicamp. He is the unquestioned starter heading into the 2025 season, and he is coming off of a quietly good season with the New York Jets in 2024 statistically. He was bouncing back from a serious injury, so it should be expected for him to play even better in 2025. Rodgers got better as the 2024 season went along after missing all of 2023, and he is now further removed from his Achilles injury. He has a decent amount of weapons on Pittsburgh's offense, and the team is expected to rely on its run game and defense once again. Rodgers won't be asked to do too much, which should be a recipe for success for the 41-year old quarterback. Will Howard spoke to the media in Latrobe, PA on Thursday morning, and he had nothing but great things to say about the starting quarterback for Pittsburgh. The 41-year old has been heavily criticized in the media in the past for being a bad teammate, but every report that has come out of Pittsburgh has suggested otherwise. Rodgers has already expressed his willingness to mentor Howard and show him the ropes as he goes through his rookie season, which is something that has gotten a lot of the fan base in Pittsburgh excited about the addition of Rodgers. Rodgers has always been misunderstood throughout his career. He has been blamed for countless things that simply weren't his fault. It seemed that everything that went wrong with the Jets was somehow because of the quarterback, despite the fact that the Jets organization has been one of the worst in all of sports over the last decade or so. The fan base in Pittsburgh was frustrated with the way Rodgers handled his free agency, as he seemed to drag out his signing with Pittsburgh. The quarterback said he was dealing with some things in his personal life that made him want to take his time, which some fans took issue with. After these new comments from Howard, the fans should completely flip in their opinions on Rodgers. He is approaching this job with the Steelers in a positive manner, he is bought in, and he is helping the younger guys on the roster. Steelers’ Offense Has A Chance To Be The Best Its Been With Aaron Rodgers The offense in Pittsburgh has been inconsistent, and sometimes absolutely stagnant in recent years. The run game has fallen apart at times, and the quarterback play has been abysmal on occasion. That shouldn't be the case in 2025, as Rodgers' experience and talent should be able to take the unit to the next level, especially if the offensive line can take a step forward. This will open up the run game, which will only help the offense as a whole. Rodgers will have an absolute animal to throw to on the outside in DK Metcalf, as well as some speedsters in Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson. Pittsburgh also rosters one of the best tight end rooms in the league with Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith, and Darnell Washington. Rodgers will be able to end his career on a high note with these weapons, and the near-decade long draught of playoff success could come to a close.
Major 2024 NFL free-agency deals are aging very poorly
Several of the high-profile names of the 2024 free-agent class are really struggling to justify the massive contacts they received through the early stages of the 2025 season. Despite the generous contracts, some players have been very underwhelming after getting the big payday. In particular, these players who signed major deals are now playing on new teams or in new roles: Christian Wilkins — four-years, $110M with Raiders, now a free agent Kirk Cousins — four-years, $180M with Falcons, now a backup Bryce Huff — three-years, $51.1M with Eagles, now with 49ers Jonah Jackson — three-years, $51M with Rams, now with Bears Gabe Davis — three-years, $39M with Jaguars, now a free agent Gardner Minshew — two-years, $25M with Raiders, now with Chiefs Chidobe Awuzie — three-years, $36M with Titans, now with Ravens While certain free agents such as Saquon Barkley and Danielle Hunter have delivered massive returns on their contracts to the Eagles and Texans, respectively, these other big signings have taken a completely different trajectory. Whether it is due to injuries, underperformance or not fitting the schemes, these players have not lived up to their deals. Wilkins is a case in point. The Raiders decided to cut him after signing him to a four-year, $110M deal. He struggled with injuries that held him out in 2024, leading to the team and Wilkins disagreeing on how the injury has been handled. Because of this, the two split ways only one year into his contract. Huff only played in 12 games and had a total of 2.5 sacks for Philadelphia after inking a three-year, $51.1M deal. He was traded to the 49ers in June for a 2026 mid-round pick. Cousins might be the most egregious of these deals. The former Vikings QB signed a four-year, $180M, with $100M fully guaranteed. Yet, he only started 14 games in 2024, and now is the backup to Michael Penix Jr. The Falcons now are essentially stuck paying their backup quarterback an annual average of $45M. These signings highlight the risk of free agency. Paying top dollar for past performance runs the risk of overlooking team fit and future value of contracts. Too often, these high-profile veterans who get massive paydays decline very fast or simply fail to mesh with new systems. So far, these investments in 2024 appear to have aged very poorly. Unless these players turn their performances around in 2025, many of the teams will view these moves as a cautionary tale of overspending in free agency.
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