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First three men's NCAA Tournament auto-bids make school history
We're exactly one week away from Selection Sunday where college basketball fans will find out which 68 teams are going to participate in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
This weekend, however, the first three automatic bids to March Madness were clinched.
All three early conference tournament champions made school history by lifting their respective trophies.
Ohio Valley Conference champions Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), Summit League champions Omaha and Big South champions High Point will all be dancing for the first time ever.
SIUE (21-11) defeated top-seeded Southeastern Missouri, 69-48, on Saturday night, prompting Cougars head coach Brian Barone to break out a special pair of scissors on the ESPN broadcast he saved from six years ago for this very occasion.
SIUE head coach Brian Barone put scissors in a case six years ago and refused to open the case until making the NCAA tournament.
— ESPN (@espn) March 9, 2025
Today he broke them out to cut down the nets pic.twitter.com/Uj4oL2lahX
Omaha (21-12) clinched its bid by virtue of conference tournament final opponent St. Thomas being ineligible for the postseason due to its NCAA Division I transitionary period.
High Point (29-5) rallied from down 15 points on Sunday to defeat Winthrop 81-69, sending the North Carolina-based school into the NCAA history book.
HIGH POINT IS DANCING FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ‼️
— ESPN (@espn) March 9, 2025
The Panthers rallied from 15 down to win the Big South tourney pic.twitter.com/mse0WiiJxl
They will represent the 333rd, 334th and 335th teams to participate in the NCAA Tournament all-time.
Later Sunday, the Lipscomb Bisons conquered the Atlantic Sun Conference, becoming the fourth team into March Madness and earning their second-ever bid.
All four programs will likely find themselves as 15 or 16 seeds considering they're all ranked outside the Top 68 in the all-important KenPom and NET rankings.
But college basketball fans are well aware what kind of noise unknown programs can do in March Madness. They're quite literally the origin of the tournament's nickname.
More must-reads:
- SIU-Edwardsville punches first men's March Madness ticket
- High Point completes dominant season, wins Big South championship
- The 'Active NBA players from the 2018 NCAA Sweet Sixteen teams' quiz
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Former Green Bay Packers RB to miss entire 2025 NFL season due to injury
The Green Bay Packers are dealing with some concerning injuries to significant members of their roster. As their fans are well aware, the Packers have seen multiple wide receivers projected to be at the top of the depth chart go down during training camp with various injuries. Christian Watson, of course, has not been practicing all offseason as he is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Week 18 against the Chicago Bears. In addition to him, the Packers also played their previous preseason game without Romeo Doubs (back), Jayden Reed (foot) and Dontayvion Wicks (calf). And while Doubs returned to practice this week, Reed and Wicks remain out. Elsewhere around the NFL, other teams are dealing with injuries of their own, and some involve players who are former Packers. Former Green Bay Packers running back Patrick Taylor Jr. is out for the 2025-26 NFL season One of these players is former Packers running back Patrick Taylor Jr., who played in Green Bay from 2021-23. An undrafted free agent who often filled in as Green Bay’s third running back, he accumulated 261 rushing yards and a touchdown in his three seasons with the Packers. He found himself out of a job when the Packers revamped their running back room before the 2024 NFL season. Taylor ended up with the San Francisco 49ers last season and had the best year of his career with 183 rushing yards and a touchdown while appearing in 13 games. He will not be playing any games this season as San Francisco just put him on season-ending injured reserve: NFL teams can only have so many players on an injured reserve list. Interestingly, Taylor’s injury led the 49ers to release another former Packer, wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, who was placed on injured reserve last week. In order to release an injured player, teams and that player must come to an injury settlement, which St. Brown received. He is now free to sign with any team in the NFL should he be able to pass a physical.
Giants have firm stance on possible Jameis Winston trade
The New York Giants have one of the deepest quarterback rooms in the NFL, and there has been speculation that Jameis Winston could be the odd man out when the regular season begins. It does not sound like Winston is going anywhere, however. Russell Wilson is expected to be the Giants' starting quarterback in Week 1. The big question is whether Jaxson Dart or Winston will enter the year as Wilson's primary backup. Dart has played well through two preseason games, and Brian Daboll and his coaching staff have raved about the former Ole Miss star. Some have wondered if the Giants could entertain trade offers for Winston should they decide they view Dart as their No. 2 quarterback. Assistant general manager Brandon Brown was asked about that on Tuesday, and he all but ruled it out. "I appreciate people that are interested, but Jameis is a New York Giant. The way that he's gone about his business from day one, he's made it very intentional of the fact that he wants to be here and he wants to be here for the long haul," Brown said. "Teammates love him. His preparation process, whether it's the off-field things that he does in terms of community relations, Bible studies, things in the locker room, galvanizing the group together — not just the quarterback room, but the offense as a whole. "He's been comic relief, but he's also been a really good example of how to be a pro and handle your business in terms of prehab, rehab and postgame care. So, I'm happy he's here, and he's gonna continue to do those things. He hasn't wavered, and he hasn't been shaken by any distractions at all." Winston signed a two-year, $8M contract with the Giants in free agency this offseason. The deal could climb as high as $16M with incentives, but he would need to play quite a bit to hit those. The Giants value Winston's extensive experience, just as they value Dart's upside. There is a reason they signed both Wilson and Winston and traded up to draft Dart. They believe in all three players, and they likely will not be inclined to trade Winston unless they receive an excellent offer.
Greg Roman's comments hint at the Chargers making a much-needed move
The LA Chargers banked on having their offensive line situation fixed for this season with the addition of right guard Mekhi Becton and all of their other projected starting offensive linemen having another year in the system. A second-year leap from Joe Alt was expected at the right tackle spot. That all changed when Rashawn Slater left practice with a season-ending torn patellar tendon injury. For now, the Chargers are rolling with the line they're most confident in. Alt has moved over to left tackle while projected swing tackle Trey Pipkins III is now a starter on the right side. It's had downstream impacts on the roster. For the time being, the Chargers haven't exactly decided on who their swing tackle is. It would currently project to be backup guard Jamaree Salyer. Here was Greg Roman's full quote from yesterday when asked who the swing tackle was: "That's up for debate really," Roman started. "We feel very comfortable with definitely Jamaree (Salyer). I mean, he's played tackle in the past, and we feel very comfortable with Jamaree as guard and tackle. Really, I would say that's probably the answer to that." Roman was asked a follow up about the fact that Salyer had never played right tackle before. He said that it didn't worry him. The word Roman used was "ambidextrous" when describing his current NFL experience on both sides of the line. Salyer has played left tackle and right guard. Chargers' plan for Jamaree Salyer highlights need for an offensive line addition For the moment, it appears that Salyer is both backup guard and swing tackle. The Chargers also signed OT David Sharpe on August 9th. He finally got into some preseason action on Saturday. Roman credited him for his effort so far but also said, "he needs time to get into real football shape." The last time Sharpe played any regular season snaps was during the 2023 NFL season. "He's working his way through it, for sure," Roman said. Roman also hasn't been particularly definitive on the status of RG Mekhi Becton during his media availability sessions. Becton returned to practice yesterday for the first time in three weeks, but did not participate in team drills. The Chargers OC said he wasn't sure when he would be able to participate in team drills. Last week, Roman said he was not "putting anything in concrete" about Becton playing in Week 1. Yesterday, he said that he thinks Becton will be "good to go" for the season opener. Salyer pulling double duty at both swing tackle and swing guard doesn't seem particularly tenable for an entire season. Unless the Chargers see a rapid progression from Sharpe, one has to wonder if they consider the free-agent market, roster cutdown week, or a trade to find external offensive line help. There should also be a more proper contingency plan in place if Becton can't go Week 1, even with a relatively positive return to practice yesterday. How the Chargers really feel about their offensive line depth will probably be revealed closer to roster cuts next week. For now, the current attrition along the line feels like more than a team that is supposed to be a playoff contender can absorb.
Jets HC Aaron Glenn addresses Breece Hall trade speculation
New York Jets running back Breece Hall has been the subject of trade speculation this offseason, but head coach Aaron Glenn insists he is not anticipating the departure of his star running back. Glenn told reporters on Tuesday that the Jets plan to rotate three running backs at the start of the season. The first-year coach said he believes Hall and second-year backs Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis all have different skill sets that will complement each other. "We have like three good running backs, and I keep saying that," Glenn said, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com. "Listen, they all have different skill sets that we’re going to utilize. And that does not mean that I’m trading Breece. OK? Does not! So, I’m going to say that right now. I just like having three good guys. Hell, I wish I had more, but we don’t." Hall led the Jets with 876 rushing yards last season. He has five rushing touchdowns in each of the last two seasons. The former second-round pick was shot out of a cannon during the first half of his rookie season in 2022, but he suffered a torn ACL in Week 7. He has still been plenty effective since returning and fell just short of 1,000 rushing yards in 2023. Allen rushed for 334 yards and averaged a modest 3.6 yards per carry as a rookie last season. Davis averaged 5.8 yards per carry on limited opportunities in 2024, and there has been talk that he is a "favorite" of Glenn’s coaching staff. Where Hall has been particularly valuable is in the passing game. He had 76 catches for 591 yards and four touchdowns in 2023 and 57 catches for 483 yards and three receiving scores last season. The Jets signed both wide receiver Garrett Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner — two of their other 2022 draft picks — to big contract extensions this offseason. One line of thinking is that they will not want to give Hall a lucrative extension as well, so they could shop him ahead of the trade deadline if he gets off to a hot start. Hall had a cryptic post on social media back in April after a report claimed he was being shopped in trade talks. For now, Glenn wants everyone to think his most explosive back is not going anywhere. That could easily change in the coming weeks or months.
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