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PHOENIX — Grand Canyon University (GCU) continues to build its national basketball reputation, earning a spot among the winningest programs of the 2020s. GCU is tied for No. 16 in total wins this decade with 120 victories, according to College Basketball Report.
Schools with the most wins in college basketball in the 2020s pic.twitter.com/wwXPwYyWPk
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) May 17, 2025
The Lopes share a spot with VCU and North Texas, joining a list dominated by long-established basketball powers. GCU’s rise is especially notable given the university’s relatively recent transition to Division I and the continued growth of both its men’s and women’s basketball programs.
Under head coach Bryce Drew, the GCU men’s team has become a staple in March. Drew has led the lopes to three NCAA Tournament appearances and a winning campaign to a WAC title. With a combination of strong defense, deep rosters, and electric home crowds at GCU Arena, the program has firmly positioned itself as a mid-major force.
On the women’s side, former head coach Molly Miller took the team to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and a conference title. Under new leadership behind Winston Gandy, they look to continue their success and bring more national attention to a program on the rise.
Both programs are competing at a high level as the WAC continues to grow in competitiveness and visibility. The 120-win mark is a testament to the culture of consistency and development that GCU has built across its basketball programs.
As the second Arizona school. to make the list, GCU emergence highlights a broader shift in the college basketball landscape — and they’re far from finished.
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Biggest takeaways from Wisconsin Badgers' 74-63 loss to TCU in the Rady Children's Invitational
The University of Wisconsin held TCU to 2-for-14 shooting over the final 10 minutes of a game where junior John Blackwell scored 30 points. That in itself should be a recipe for a Badgers victory. The fact that the Badgers lost a game in which they never really looked competitive should be really disconcerting. Wisconsin coaches and players hoped the Badgers had already got its bad game out of its system, but the Badgers' one-upped themselves with the 74-63 loss to TCU in the finals of the Rady Children's Invitational. In fact, the mistakes Wisconsin (5-2) showed against the Horned Frogs were largely the same ones that plagued them a week ago against No.9 BYU. Wisconsin's defense was terrible, an adjective aptly used by head coach Greg Gard during an on-court interview during an early first-half media timeout. The Badgers were sloppy with the ball with a season-high 17 turnovers, and their lack of an inside presence made their offense collapse. On an 11-day West Coast trip that was supposed to generate momentum heading into Wednesday's Big Ten opener, the Badgers went 1-2 with the only victory coming over a team rated No.72 in KenPom. "We have to keep pushing forward and improve as time goes on," head coach Greg Gard said. "We will. It's good to get knocked around a little bit and get things exposed. We have a long road in front of us, and we have to get better to keep running down that road." Here are my takeaways. Tone Setting Wisconsin set the tone in Thursday's victory over Providence with 11 points on its first seven possessions, four coming off Nolan Winter's two offensive rebounds and all coming as a result of attacking the rim. That level of play was delivered by TCU a day later. The Horned Frogs scored at the rim on the first two possessions as the result of ball movement and proper positioning. TCU's next basket was a missed jump shot that turned into a two-point possession because UW couldn't clean up the offensive glass. The Horned Frogs were more aggressive and physical than UW was, especially in the paint. TCU outscored UW, 36-24, in the lane. "We got to have more fight, be physical," UW guard John Blackwell said. "There is going to be way more teams out there that are just as physical or more physical inside." The Badgers also looked out of sorts with who was supposed to be guarding who, leaving guard Liutauras Lelevicius open for perimeter shots that he knocked down. Lelevicius was shooting only 29.6 percent from three on the season but went 3-for-4 against UW because he had time and space to shoot. UW missed its first seven shots and just stayed in a funk it never could shake. "Very little of the first half did we do a good job of playing out of the ball screens," Gard said. "We had some around the rim that we threw away when we rolled, but we put no pressure on the rim out of those ball screens. When teams are that aggressive with it, you've got to make them pay at the rim. Our ability to get out of those ball screens faster, put pressure at the rim, and not always rely on popping and changing sides of the floor. i don't think we had one ball screen roll bucket all day." Little momentum wasted Wisconsin's only spark of life came from Blackwell, who made up for his uncharacteristically off-the-mark performance against Providence (11 points, 2-for-10 shooting) by dropping 30 against TCU. Over the last two minutes of the first half, Blackwell delivered a driving layup, hit a spot up three-pointer, delivered a steal on a drive into the paint, and a pull-up jumper in the paint as time expired in the first half. A lead that was once 14 points was cut to four. Instead of using that as momentum, the Badgers came out flatfooted. TCU missed a pull-up jumper on the first possession but then attacked the rim on the next three and came away with a second-chance dunk, a hook shot jumper in the paint, and a layup, two of the three with an assist attached to it. Instead of pulling even or taking the lead, TCU pushed with an 8-0 run, the last of which came after a bad pass from Austin Rapp led to a breakaway dunk and a 12-point lead that never shrunk below seven. "It starts with me, got to come out with energy," said Blackwell, as the run eventually grew to 20-5. "Not just offensively, but defensively for sure. Frontcourt no shows The entire offensive had a power outage with a season-low 63 points, a product in Gard's eyes of the fours and five not doing a good enough job playing at the rim, setting screens, and rolling to the rim instead of drifting out toward the perimeter. Another way to put it, the Badgers forwards were overpassing, shifting the offense to the guards and the perimeter, instead of hunting their own shot. UW's four forwards combined for five points on 1-for-11 shooting, with starters Winter and Rapp going 1-for-9. Winter had scored in double figures in five of the first six games, so having an off night at some point was to be expected. However, Winter missed all three shots he attempted, including two from the perimeter where he's shooting 17.6 percent for the season and 32.5 percent for his career (Winter is a career 70.4 percent shooter from two). Rapp proved he can be powerful in the low post and did it the day before. After going 0-for-7 with no rebounds against BYU, only attempting two shots from two, Rapp admitted he came out with an aggressive edge with Providence. It reflected in his final stat line of 20 points, eight rebounds (four offensive) and three blocks. That fire was nonexistent Friday. His first rebound didn't come until the 13:57 mark. His first shot from two didn't come until the 13:01 mark. He didn't play the final 9:08 when Gard chose to go with a smaller lineup when it was evident the big lineup wasn't working. Rapp has the size to compete in the Big Ten but was more of a finesse player and perimeter shooter as a freshman at Portland. That's not what the Badgers staff needs from him, which Gard continues to demand from him. "Set expectations and you hold the bar high, and help each other get better and hold them accountable," Gard said. "We took a good step forward yesterday. Today not enough."
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NFL legend Jason Kelce refuses to apologize to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
NFL legend Jason Kelce has made his opinion of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones very clear. To be more specific, the Philadelphia Eagles icon shared his brutally honest view on how Jones’ big move before the NFL trade deadline transformed the Cowboys into a much more formidable team. Kelce had a lot to say about Jones and the Cowboys on a recent episode of his “New Heights” podcast alongside his brother, Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce. Jason Kelce praised Jones for bringing in Quinnen Williams in a blockbuster trade deal, but the legendary center is adamant that he will not be apologizing for his take on the Cowboys and their 83-year-old owner. For what it's worth, Jones had an outrageous claim himself recently. “New Heights” released a new episode on Wednesday, and as usual, the brothers discussed developments in the NFL. One of the topics they covered was that the Cowboys have gone undefeated since the trade deadline, when Jones pulled the trigger on a blockbuster deal with the New York Jets for All-Pro defensive lineman Quinnen Williams. However, when asked if he believes he owes Jones an apology, Kelce was confused. “Do we owe Jerry an apology? Who owes Jerry an apology? What do I have to apologize for?” Kelce asked. “They [expletive] sucked! What are we talking about? Their defense was horrendous. “So good job! What do we owe an apology for? Hey, your car doesn't work. Oh, I went and got it fixed. Oh, we owe you an apology for saying your car [expletive] broke down and didn't work on the side of the road? I don't owe [expletive] an apology.” The Cowboys have gone 3-0 since Williams’ arrival, including Sunday’s massive comeback victory against Jason's former team, the Eagles, and their Thanksgiving win over Travis' Chiefs. While Kelce has refused to apologize to Jones, he admitted that the Cowboys owner deserves praise for his decision to bring in an elite-caliber player in Williams. “We owe Jerry Jones a clap of approval,” Kelce said. “I'll say this, and I'll stand on this, and I think the guys will back me. When Jerry said we were gonna make a trade, I think everybody's expecting an edge player to replace Micah [Parsons]. When they said it was Quinnen, immediately, I thought this is better for that defense. “Because for years, they have lacked the raw, man strength, big power in the heart of that defense. They have lacked that type of presence, and Quinnen brings that. I just think for moving forward, this is a great piece to build around. I think it's a great move by Jerry. “I don't think I owe him a [expletive] apology, but I'll say great [expletive] job.”
Jerry Jones claims Jets turned down absurd trade offer involving Micah Parsons, Quinnen Williams
Hal Steinbrenner’s comments on Yankees’ profits point to a larger issue
Over Thanksgiving week, New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner provided fans with plenty of news to digest. Among notable items that are circulating, four things stand out: his resolve to lower the payroll below $300 million, the insinuation that the Yankees are not a profitable ballclub, the assumption that the Los Angeles Dodgers’ astronomical payroll played no part in their dominance and his purported support for a salary cap. When seen together, these four items seem to suggest a severe reluctance to spend. Steinbrenner made it clear he wants to come in under the luxury tax threshold. Interestingly, he called the correlation between spending and championships weak, alluding to his Yankees as well as the New York Mets as examples of teams with high payrolls and limited success. However, this opens up a discussion about how said money was spent. The Mets notably dumped a record sum on signing Juan Soto, but did little elsewhere. But what about the Yankees? When asked if it was fair to say the Yankees turned a profit after engrossing over $700 million in revenue, Steinbrenner had this to say, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch: “That’s not a fair statement or an accurate statement. Everybody wants to talk about revenues. They need to talk about our expenses, including the $100 million expense to the City of New York that we have to pay every February 1, including the COVID year. So, it all starts to add up in a hurry. “Nobody spends more money, I don’t believe, on player development, scouting, performance science. These all start to add up.” Altogether, the Yankees spent slightly under $305 million on players’ salaries in 2025. For a breakeven season, the Yankees would have needed to spend over $395 million elsewhere. Where did it all go? Steinbrenner mentioned the $100 million expense to New York City. As for the bulk of their expenses, the Yankees owner pointed towards player development, scouting and performance science. This raises a more serious question about mismanagement. The Yankees are overspending on failing analytics If most of the money was spent on development, scouting and performance science, one could easily argue that the cost has outweighed the benefits. Despite having spent so much, these efforts have produced very little. Over the years, the Yankees have seen more failures than success stories when developing major league talent. Promising players and top prospects like Gary Sanchez, Clint Frazier, Deivi Garcia, Miguel Andujar, Domingo German, Chance Adams, Justus Sheffield, Oswald Peraza and Estevan Florial, among many others, never panned out. The team also gave up on Carlos Narvaez and Agustin Ramirez in favor of Austin Wells, who underperformed the pair of rookie backstops this past season. Another catching prospect, Yankees 2018 first-round draft pick Anthony Seigler, who struggled during his time in the Yankees’ farm system as recently as last year, excelled with the Milwaukee Brewers in Triple-A this year. Anthony Volpe, Will Warren, Luis Gil and Jasson Dominguez are four current works in progress. It might also be fair to say the torpedo bat craze the Yankees started has officially ended. Of their recent triumphs, the Yankees boast Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler. Going further back, one might add Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge to the list; however, Judge’s swing was actually developed by famed hitting coach Richard Schenck, not the Yankees. Spending on these efforts is by no means a waste; nonetheless, it’s clear the Yankees are grossly overspending for something that isn't even working. Whether it means an organizational shakeup or reallocation of funds to target proven major league talent, Steinbrenner’s approach needs to change.
'I’m Doing It': Scribe on Maple Leafs Trading Future Star in Quinn Hughes Deal
In another world, where the Toronto Maple Leafs have 30 points and are playoff contenders, looking to capitalize on a window to win, does the organization take a run at a generational defenseman that could put them over the top? One host and analyst thinks so, arguing that he would trade just about anything, including Matthew Knies, to acquire Quinn Hughes. Talk about whether the Vancouver Canucks will eventually trade Hughes is everywhere these days. The Canucks have told 31 other teams they are open to moving veterans and are making pending UFAs available via trade. To this point, that doesn’t include Hughes. However, he remains the big name, and the talking point around him is that he looks unhappy. Despite saying he’s committed to the team, it appears he’s moving on at some point. Perhaps the Canucks should get the most they can, while he can fetch a massive return. Would The Maple Leafs Be Interested? Who’s kidding whom? If Hughes becomes available, the Leafs will make a call to find out the asking price. And Bryan Hayes noted recently that if that price is Matthew Knies, he’s doing it. Should Toronto get two possible playoff runs out of Hughes — even if he eventually makes his way to New Jersey as a free agent to play with his brothers — Hughes is such a difference-maker, the Maple Leafs have to consider the trade. Hayes even said he’s throwing in picks and whatever else is required to acquire the second-best defensman in the world. Hayes said: “Let’s say the Leafs are really rocking right now, and it’s going to cost you Matthew Knies, I’m doing it, that’s what I’m telling you. I’m doing that, plus the picks and the prospects, like, that’s how good Quinn Hughes is.” Why Quinn Hughes Would Be A Risk For the Maple Leafs Hayes is suggesting the Leafs move on from arguably their best young forward. And, he’s suggesting they do so, even if they know that Hughes is ultimately not re-signing in Toronto. That makes any theorized deal all about how good Toronto thinks they can be with Hughes and without Knies over the next two seasons. It might not look like it so far this season, but the Maple Leafs’ window to win is now with Auston Matthews and William Nylander in their prime. In fact, that window is closing fast and if the team doesn’t push this season and next, they might be looking at starting over. How much of an impact can Hughes make with this roster? That’s the real question. If you were to describe the ideal fit, Hughes is it. Whether moving on from Knies to get what you need is the right play would be heavily debated. Getting Hughes would be huge. Losing Knies means immediately looking for another player to do what he does and at the same or a lower price. That’s no easy task, given how much the salary cap is rising and with what good forwards are commanding. Winning is the priority, but at what cost? Hughes is a long-term rental, probably nothing more. Hayes is behind the idea that you do what you have to, but is he right? There’s no indication a Hughes trade is close. There’s no sign that the Maple Leafs have eyes on him. But, if the opportunity fell into their lap, does GM Brad Treliving do whatever it takes to make that possibilty a reality?
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