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East Region opponents Saint Mary's and Vanderbilt meet in the first round Friday in Cleveland, bringing squads of considerably different makeup but with a similar goal: reaching the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in more than a decade.
Seventh-seeded Saint Mary's (28-5) has one of the sport's longest-tenured head coaches, Randy Bennett, at the helm since 2001-02. His roster features several players who have been with the program for years.
The Gaels come into the NCAA Tournament looking to parlay their signature tough defense into the program's first Sweet 16 since 2010.
Vanderbilt (20-12), meanwhile, is in the tourney for the first time since 2017 and looking for the program's first trip to the second weekend since 2007. Guiding the 10th-seeded Commodores is first-year coach Mark Byington, who led James Madison to the second round last March.
Vanderbilt's lineup features a trio of double-digit scorers in Jason Edwards (17.0 points per game), Tyler Nickel (10.5) and Devin McGlockton (10.4), who were all transfer additions last offseason.
"We're fortunate to be in," Edwards said. "We knew we were a tournament team from the beginning of the year, but we had some ups and downs. But that comes from playing in a league like this."
That league, the Southeastern Conference, landed a record 14 tournament bids. That includes Alabama, which is the No . 2 seed in the East and the likely second-round opponent for Friday's winner.
While the Commodores had to sweat out their tournament placement on Selection Sunday after going 4-8 to close the regular season, Saint Mary's returned to the postseason comfortably.
The Gaels spent the latter half of the season ranked in the Top 25 and won the West Coast Conference regular-season championship. Saint Mary's is in its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 11th since 2005 under Bennett.
The Gaels had winning streaks of seven, eight and 10 games during the regular season, one of which only ended in the WCC title game against Gonzaga. Despite the 58-51 loss on March 11, Saint Mary's won the season series over the perennial March Madness fixture Bulldogs.
"It was pretty drama-free this year," Bennett said during an appearance on "The Tom Tolbert Show." "Year before we started 3-5 and had to overcome that. ... But this year, the leadership from our three seniors has been incredible -- as good as any three seniors we've had."
The seniors -- forward Mitchell Saxen and guards Augustas Marciulionis and Luke Barrett -- combine to average 34.7 of Saint Mary's 73.5 points per game. Paulius Murauskas leads the team with 8.0 rebounds and Marciulionis' 6.1 assists per game rank seventh among all players in the NCAA Tournament field.
The trio also help key a typically stout Saint Mary's defense. Saxen averages 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocked shots per game, while Marciulionis produces 1.4 steals for a unit that allows only 60.7 points per game.
The Gaels finished the regular season ranked fifth in Division I for scoring defense. The Gaels held opponents to 31.2 percent shooting from 3-point range.
Vanderbilt ranked 48th nationally this season in scoring at 79.6 points per game.
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Angry Mike Vrabel vows to find 'rats' within Patriots organization who leaked major news
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel wasn't mad about how the backups performed in the team's 42-10 preseason loss to the New York Giants. He was angry that someone had leaked the news that wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk would need season-ending shoulder surgery. When asked if he had anything to add to the reports that Polk would miss the season, Vrabel didn't give the media anything aside from his unvarnished feelings. "I'd like to find out where some of these [reports] come from. Some of these rats around here. So, we'll figure that out," he added in a news conference on Thursday. Coaches and reporters are hardly the best of friends on a good day. Often, a coach will deflect if they don't want to add fuel to a report the team hasn't made official, but usually they won't deflect and promise to get the "rats" providing this information. NFL insider Jordan Schultz broke the news ahead of the Patriots' preseason finale against the Giants. According to Schultz, the decision for Polk to undergo surgery was made to ensure the 2024 second-round pick would be healthy for the 2026 season. Polk dealt with health issues throughout the offseason. It was during the second quarter of New England's preseason opener against the Washington Commanders that he took a nasty hit on a one-yard run, leading to the shoulder injury that will sideline him for 2025. Last season, Polk had a tough rookie debut, catching just 12 receptions for 87 yards and recording two touchdowns. The hope for 2025 was that he could redeem himself and become a reliable enough target for second-year quarterback Drake Maye. Expectations for Maye are much higher now with the return of Tom Brady's old offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels. Without Polk to run routes, though, the already-thin wide receiver room is nearly devoid of talent behind veteran receiver Stefon Diggs. The Patriots signed Diggs to a three-year, $69 million contract in the offseason. However, Diggs has brought some unwanted attention to the team through his offseason antics and is recovering from a torn ACL that ended his time with the Houston Texans. While Patriot fans should feel some hope in the direction of the team under Vrabel — a former defensive star for New England during the dynasty years — this roster is still in the midst of a rebuild. And with such a troubled roster, losses may pile up, and the team's relationship with the media could worsen if another season feels like a waste. So, Vrabel being upset by Polk's injury is fair, but what doesn't feel fair is to single out Patriots staff and players who are potentially talking to reporters as hostile to the organization. It's perhaps not surprising that Vrabel is willing to voice his frustrations, as he's shown no fear when breaking up practice scrums. Still, it's the job of any journalist to build relationships with staff and team members to gain reliable sources who can help them accurately report the news. While the "rats" moniker for those in the building talking to NFL insiders and the New England sports media will be swallowed up by all the other headlines as Week 1 nears, it's notable that Vrabel's time as head coach in New England is already off to a contentious start.
Dallas Stars lock up one of the league's best players with massive extension today in hockey history
Phillies get terrible injury news on ace starting pitcher
The Philadelphia Phillies received the update they did not want to hear on Saturday. Starting pitcher Zack Wheeler is going to miss the remainder of the 2025 season due thoracic outlet syndrome, the team announced. He will have surgery to correct the issue with a recovery time of six to eight months. There is no way to sugarcoat this for the Phillies — this is brutal news and a potentially crushing blow to their World Series chances in the National League. While they still have a strong rotation and two excellent front-line starters in Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez, Wheeler is their unquestioned ace and been one of the best overall pitchers in the National League since he joined the Phillies prior to the 2020 season. The Phillies are still pretty much a playoff lock at this point and entered the weekend with a six-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League East standings. But taking a front-line starter away from them this late in the season is going to be impossible to replace. With Wheeler, Sanchez and Suarez, they would have had a fierce trio to throw at teams in a short series (or a best-of-seven series) that could have stacked up with anybody. Sanchez and Suarez are still going to give them a great chance, but it's definitely not what they wanted. Prior to Saturday's announcement, Wheeler had a 2.71 ERA and was leading the league in both strikeouts (195) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.7) pitched. He also has the lowest WHIP (walks/hits per innings pitched) in the league (.935).
Browns have major injury concern on offense after starter exits game
The Cleveland Browns have a big concern on Saturday following an injury to a key part of the offensive line. The Browns played their starters against the Los Angeles Rams as a tune-up before the regular season. Per the NFL's website, center Ethan Pocic was ruled out of Saturday's game against the Rams when he suffered a knee injury. Via the NFL: "C Ethan Pocic suffered a knee injury against Los Angeles and will not return to the game. Pocic played eight snaps with starting quarterback Joe Flacco before exiting with his injury. Pocic was injured on a third-and-9 play in the first quarter when Rams defensive tackle Desjuan Johnson ran into his leg while he was engaged in a block on linebacker Brennan Jackson." Pocic's injury is a worry for the Browns ahead of their Week 1 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. The 2017 second-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks is a leader on Cleveland's offensive line. He's been with the Browns since 2022. Pocic has appeared in 101 games and started in 84 during his first eight years in the league. The upcoming season is important for the 30-year-old, as he's in the final year of the three-year, $18 million deal he signed in 2023. When Pocic came out of the game, the Browns inserted Luke Wypler in at center. The 2023 sixth-round pick has played in just five games in his career and has made one start. Wypler missed all of 2024 with an ankle injury that required surgery.
Bengals' Joe Burrow puts NFL on notice amid Trey Hendrickson contract standoff
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow finished fourth in Most Valuable Player Award voting for the 2024 season after his club missed the playoffs. During a recent chat with NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Burrow put the league on notice regarding how he's feeling heading into the upcoming campaign. "I’m not sure I would say anyone is playing the position better than I am right now," Burrow remarked. "I'm pretty confident in my ability to go out and do that every Sunday. Now, it’s just showing that consistency, showing it year in and year out. I think what separates the legends is being able to do it year in, year out for five, 10 years at a time. So, trying to be able to find that consistency in my discipline and my process, doing the easy stuff in my sleep and then making the hard stuff look easy, then making a couple of great plays here and there, that’s what I am trying to do every week." Pro Football Reference stats show that Burrow ended the 2024 regular season leading the league with 460 completions, 652 pass attempts, 4,918 passing yards, 43 passing touchdowns and an average of 289.3 passing yards per game. The Bengals subsequently rewarded their QB1 during the offseason by signing wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, wideout Tee Higgins and tight end Mike Gesicki to new deals. "We want to be the best offense in the NFL," Burrow told Breer. That said, Bengals pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson remains in the middle of what's become an ugly contract standoff. Hendrickson is in the final year of his existing deal, and the two sides seemingly aren't close to agreeing on the amount of guaranteed money that would be attached to an extension. Burrow has repeatedly made it known throughout the summer that he thinks the Bengals should "reward" Hendrickson with a pay raise. "...I think the more that I can explain the thoughts of the locker room, explain why doing one thing one way might affect feelings in the locker room, as opposed to doing something a different way, it’s my job as a quarterback to be able to relay information like that," Burrow said about campaigning for Hendrickson to get paid before Cincinnati opens the 2025 season at the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 7. "And whatever their decisions are with that information, that’s for them to decide." On Friday, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Bengals at -140 odds to make the playoffs this season. Having a happy Hendrickson in the lineup would only improve Cincinnati's chances of enjoying what could become a special campaign.
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