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FRESHMAN STARS CAMERON BOOZER, AJ DYBANTSA AND DARIUS ACUFF JR. PICKED FOR AP ALL-AMERICA FIRST TEAM

Duke forward Cameron Boozer, BYU star AJ Dybantsa and Darius Acuff Jr. of Arkansas arrived this season as part of what could go down as one of the most heralded freshman classes in college basketball history.

They lived up to their billing, too, and were announced Tuesday as first-team AP All-Americans.

Boozer was a unanimous choice among the 61 voters that select the weekly Top 25 for The Associated Press, following in the footsteps of Cooper Flagg, who also was a unanimous choice as a freshman for the Blue Devils last season. Dybantsa was a first-team pick on all but four ballots, while Acuff was a first-team selection on 47 of the ballots.

Yaxel Lendeborg of Michigan and JT Toppin of Texas Tech rounded out the five-member first team.

“He’s all about his teammates,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said of Boozer, who was the AP’s national player of the week twice during the season. “He’s not about numbers. He’s about winning. And I think when your best player’s that way, it becomes contagious, and it has a big effect on the rest of the group.”

Such a team-first attitude was on display by all the first-team picks; each helped their team to the NCAA Tournament.

Boozer took the Blue Devils to ACC regular-season and tournament titles and helped them earn the top overall seed. Lendeborg also helped the Wolverines earn a No. 1 seed. Arkansas is seeded fourth, Texas Tech seeded fifth and BYU seeded sixth.

“This has been the best year of my life, honestly. I’ve had so much fun,” said Lendeborg, the first Michigan first-team All-American since Trey Burke in 2012-13. “Just how much I’ve learned this year in general has really helped me out, and is really molding me to be better in the future no matter what I’m doing in my life.”

Arkansas had not had a first-team pick since Sidney Moncrief in 1978-79 before Acuff was chosen. Dybantsa, the nation’s top scorer at 25.3 points per game, joins Jimmer Fredette and Danny Ainge as the Cougars’ only first-team selections.

“When I left the NBA to come to college,” BYU coach Kevin Young said, “one thing I noticed is just a lot of guys, their processing speed was way slower. AJ’s is extremely high. So I can tell him something in the game, or in a film session, and he’s going to carry it over.”

Toppin was a second-team All-American for the Red Raiders last season, when he helped them reach the Elite Eight. Now, he is the only first-team pick in Texas Tech history, even though his season ended in February with a torn ACL in his right knee.

“JT Toppin is genuine. He’s an unbelievable competitor. He’s real,” Red Raiders coach Grant McCasland said following the injury. “You know how much JT loves our team and how hard he competed and how much he cared about that group. To understand that this is difficult and JT has a long road, to watch him weep and see how much this meant to him is hard.

“I’m excited to see what comes of this, because the joy comes in the morning,” McCasland continued. “There’s also a lot of hope in this, and even for JT there’s a lot of hope that he’ll get better because of this.”

Second team

Braden Smith of Purdue, who needs two assists to break Bobby Hurley’s career Division I record, earned 12 first-team votes and was chosen a second-team All-American. Smith was a first-team pick last season and honorable mention for the 2023-24 season.

The senior from Westfield, Indiana, was joined on the second team by Big Ten rivals Jeremy Fears of Michigan State and Keaton Wagler of Illinois. Joshua Jefferson of Iowa State and North Carolina freshman Caleb Wilson rounded out the team.

Third team

Gonzaga senior Graham Ike, an honorable mention pick two years ago, earned third-team honors this season. He was joined on the team by Houston freshman Kingston Flemings, sophomores Christian Anderson of Texas Tech and Labaron Philon Jr. of Alabama, and junior forward Thomas Haugh of Florida.

Honorable mention

Jaden Bradley and Brayden Burries gave Arizona two honorable mention All-Americans this season, and Bennett Stirtz of Iowa earned the honor for the second consecutive year after making it onto the team with Drake last season.

Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson, who missed time with injuries this season, also was honorable mention, which is given to the next 10 players and ties after the first three All-American teams. So were Zuby Ejiofor of St. John’s, Rueben Chinyelu of Florida, Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton, Michael Ajayi of Butler, Kansas State’s PJ Haggerty, Ebuka Okorie of Stanford and Tyler Tanner of Vanderbilt.

IT ISN’T ONLY FRESHMEN MAKING THIS MARCH MADNESS SPECIAL. HERE ARE TOP PROSPECTS IN OTHER CLASSES

This is the type of NCAA Tournament that should delight college basketball and NBA fans alike because it features plenty of guys who figure to be part of an extraordinarily deep draft this summer.

It hasn’t always been this way lately.

Just two years ago, Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard and UConn’s Stephon Castle were the only two college players selected among the NBA’s first six draft picks. Alabama’s Brandon Miller was the only college player taken in the top five of the 2023 draft.

The trend started to change last year, when college players dominated the lottery selections. Two of the top four picks were Duke teammates Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, who now are competing for NBA rookie of the year honors.

Even then, two of the top five players taken were Rutgers teammates Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, whose Scarlet Knights failed to reach the NCAA Tournament.

This year, college players again figure to dominate the draft, and nearly all of them are competing in March Madness.

Most of the attention regarding this draft has focused on the phenomenal freshman class. The No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft almost certainly will be one of three freshmen: BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson or Duke’s Cameron Boozer. Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., Tennessee’s Nate Ament, Arizona’s Brayden Burries, Houston’s Kingston Flemings and Illinois’ Keaton Wagler are among the other potential lottery picks competing in this tournament as freshmen.

In a draft class this deep, there also must be plenty of non-freshmen who should go on to have long NBA careers:

Christian Anderson, Texas Tech

This 6-foot-3 guard has taken a major step forward in his sophomore season.

Anderson is scoring 18.9 points per game, up from 10.6 last season. He was an Associated Press first-team All-Big 12 selection. Anderson is shooting 42.5% from 3-point range while making 3.4 3-point baskets per game. Anderson also has averaged 7.6 assists. He ranks third among all Division I players in assists per game and 13th in 3-pointers per game.

Thomas Haugh, Florida

Haugh made a combined seven starts his first two years at Florida but has come into his own as a junior.

The 6-9 forward has averaged 17.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.1 steals and 1 block while earning AP first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors. He closed the regular season by scoring 22 points in a victory over Arkansas and 20 in a win over Kentucky.

Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan

The 23-year-old Lendeborg will be older than most players in his draft class, which could cause him to get taken later than his college production would suggest.

The 6-foot-9 graduate student and UAB transfer has starred in his lone season with Michigan. He was named the AP Big Ten player of the year. Lendeborg is averaging 14.6 points, 7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.2 steals.

Patrick Ngongba II, Duke

The 6-foot-11, 250-pound sophomore has stepped up while playing a complementary role to Boozer.

Ngongba has averaged 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in just 22.4 minutes per game while shooting 60.2%. He has the ability to impact the game at both ends, first as a strong space-eater inside who can block or alter shots. He also has shown nice touch as a passer (1.9 assists).

Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama

Philon is a first-team AP All-SEC guard who is scoring 21.7 points per game.

The 6-4 sophomore has made 2.3 3-pointers per game and is shooting 40.2% from beyond the arc. He also has 4.7 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game. Philon has scored at least 21 points in each of his last four games, and he has shot 12 of 24 from 3-point range during that stretch.

Bennett Stirtz, Iowa

Stirtz has made a remarkable transformation from Division II player to NBA prospect.

After playing two years at Division II program Northwest Missouri State, Stirtz followed coach Ben McCollum to the Division I level and helped Drake reach the NCAA Tournament. Now he’s back in March Madness with Iowa, again playing for McCollum. Stirtz earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from a league media panel. The 6-4 guard averages 20 points and 4.5 assists per game.

FLORIDA’S RUEBEN CHINYELU WANTS TO BE ABLE TO FIX THE TEETH HE COULD KNOCK OUT IN MARCH MADNESS

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida center Rueben Chinyelu is as much a force in the classroom as he is in the paint — a double major and a walking double-double.

The 6-foot-10 junior from Nigeria is the second in Southeastern Conference history to be named scholar-athlete of the year and defensive player of the year in the same season, joining former Florida standout Patric Young from 2014.

Chinyelu is majoring in biology and sociology, with hopes of becoming a dentist. Yes, the guy most likely to knock out an opponent’s teeth in the upcoming NCAA Tournament also wants to be able to fix them.

“I just try to make sure that I’m all business,” said Chinyelu, who boasts a 3.48 GPA.

He’s no joke in the lane, either. He can often be found giving opponents the business end of an elbow while dominating down low.

Chinyelu ranks third nationally in rebounding, averaging 11.5 boards a game, and is on pace to become the first Florida player in 50 years to average a double-double over the course of a season. He’s averaging 11.2 points.

He’s arguably the most important player in Florida’s bid to repeat as national champion, which begins Friday night in nearby Tampa. Sure, fellow big men Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon have better scoring numbers. And point guards Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee make everything run smoothly.

But Chinyelu’s physicality sets the tone.

“He’s one of the most valuable guys out there, the way he makes teams pay on both sides of the floor even if it is just the way he wears teams down,” coach Todd Golden said. “That shows up. … We feel like we’re playing downhill on some teams because they’re wanting a break.

“It’s definitely been a huge value for us all year and something we don’t take for granted.”

The Gators are 18-0 this season when Chinyelu records a double-double, reaching double figures in scoring and rebounding.

He was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection by The Associated Press and has a chance to be the national defensive player of the year.

There are countless clips of Chinyelu scoring in the post, battling for rebounds, blocking shots and infuriating opponents, but the one that could seal the award is the one of him against Alabama in early February.

He walled off forward Aiden Sherrell near the basket, prompting a pass back outside, and then picked up speedster Labaron Philon during a ball screen. He shut down every move Philon tried, forcing a pass to fellow guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. He rotated onto Wrightsell amid another screen and covered him so tightly that he forced a shot-clock violation.

It was feasibly the most impressive 30 seconds of defensive basketball played this season and quite possibly the best individual effort turned in by anyone — let alone a 260-pound center — in years.

“He’s turned himself into one of the best centers in America,” Golden said. “The guy grabs every rebound. I don’t know what to tell you. The maturation and growth that he’s had, just really elevating his game over the course of his time here, has been incredible.”

“He’s a tireless worker.”

Not just on the court and in the classroom, either. Chinyelu, who grew up idolizing Hall of Famer and fellow Nigerian Hakeem Olajuwon, created a program last offseason to deliver basketball shoes to kids back home. He gets most of them donated from teammates.

It’s just the latest step in a journey filled with unexpected turns: his father dying when Chinyelu was 6 years old; landing at the NBA Academy after a stranger suggested he should be playing basketball because of his height; and transferring to Florida after one year at Washington State.

He made a huge leap in his second season in Gainesville, bulking up, honing post moves and improving stamina.

“To me, it’s just going out there and playing, enjoying the game,” he said. “Whatever comes with it, comes with it.”

It could be another national title — and eventually a doctorate in dentistry. That would be the ultimate double-double for the player who is one away from breaking the school mark set in 1976.

“It’s a pretty standard thing for Rue now,” Condon said. “I look up in the first half and he’s almost got a double-double every game. It’s a standard that he set for himself now.”

MARCH MADNESS HAS BROUGHT NOTHING BUT SADNESS TO NEBRASKA SO FAR. IS THIS THE YEAR THE CURSE ENDS?

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Whenever Pryce Sandfort stops by the downtown Chipotle to grab a bite, someone in line will ask to take a picture with him and offer congratulations on what so far has been the greatest of all Nebraska basketball seasons.

Invariably, Sandfort also gets the same question his teammates and players of the past have been asked: Will this be the year the Cornhuskers’ curse is broken?

All Sandfort can do is smile and say he hopes so.

For all the firsts this season has brought — the 20-0 start, top-five ranking and most conference wins, to name a few — there is one still out there yet to be accomplished that hangs over the program like an albatross.

Nebraska is the only school in a power conference that has never won a game in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers are 0-8 on the sport’s biggest stage.

“It’s definitely a thing,” said Sam Hoiberg, the fifth-year senior starting guard and son of coach Fred Hoiberg. “It’s not like we don’t talk about it. Everybody knows it.”

The Huskers (26-6) will make their ninth appearance in March Madness on Thursday when they play Troy (22-11) in the first round in Oklahoma City. They’re the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region and 13.5-point favorites against their 13th-seeded opponent from the Sun Belt Conference, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

Fans accustomed to having hope turn to heartbreak will find no comfort in the fact No. 4 seeds are 127-33 in the round of 64. After all, the Huskers were a No. 3 seed in 1991 and lost to No. 14 Xavier.

The Huskers’ most recent attempt at a breakthrough came in 2024. They lost 98-83 to Texas A&M. Current players Sam Hoiberg, Rienk Mast, Jamarques Lawrence and Cale Jacobsen were on that team and hope the experience serves them well.

“I remember just thinking we were going to win because we wanted it more,” Sam Hoiberg said of the A&M game. “We’re the team without the tournament win, only Power Five team without one, you know. You feel that once you get to that position, you’re going to be so desperate it’s going to fall into your hands. That’s not the case.”

Fred Hoiberg, who took the last four of his five Iowa State teams to the NCAA Tournament from 2012-15, said winning in the tourney requires sharing the ball, making simple plays, communication on the court, getting back in transition and not giving up easy baskets.

Dad’s point is well taken, Sam said.

“You just have to do everything in your power to prepare the best you possibly can because you only get one chance at this,” he said. “Especially for Rienk and I, being seniors, it’s our last chance to get this tourney win for this program. I think we’re bringing that urgency and trying to spread that to the rest of the team.”

Nebraska started the season on a heater. The Huskers carried momentum from winning the inaugural Crown postseason tournament in Las Vegas in April, and their streak grew to 24 games following their 20-0 start. They are 6-6 since and coming off a first-round blowout loss to eventual champion Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament.

“The Big Ten Tournament got away from us against Purdue, but guess what? They’re playing pretty damn good,” Fred Hoiberg said.

The Huskers are healthy and will be well-rested with five days since their last game when they play Troy.

Undoubtedly, how this special Nebraska season will be remembered hinges on whether the Huskers end the curse. A win certainly would make Sandfort’s interactions with those fans at Chipotle, good as they are now, even better.

“It would really suck,” he said, “if we weren’t able to get that first win.”

CHARLOTTE FIRES MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH AARON FEARNE AFTER 3 SEASONS

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Charlotte 49ers fired head basketball coach Aaron Fearne on Tuesday after he went 47-51 in three seasons at the helm.

Charlotte was 17-17 this season and lost 86-64 to South Florida in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. The 49ers finished tied for fifth in the regular season AAC standings with a 9-9 record.

After going 19-12 in Fearne’s first season in 2023-24, the 49ers lost several players through the transfer portal and were 11-22 the following season.

Charlotte director of athletics Kevin White said “while difficult, making a head coaching change is necessary to allow for greater success.”

White said a search for Fearne’s replacement will begin immediately.

REPORT: EASTERN MICHIGAN TABS CLEMSON ASSISTANT BILLY DONLON AS COACH

Eastern Michigan has hired Clemson assistant Billy Donlon as its next head basketball coach, CBS Sports reported on Tuesday.

The report comes on the heels of the school parting ways with head coach Stan Heath on March 8.

Donlon, 49, will take over a team that finished 10-21 overall this season and 4-14 in the Mid-American Conference.

He previously posted a 109-94 record as head coach at Wright State from 2010-16 before serving as an assistant under John Beilein at Michigan and Chris Collins at Northwestern. He then became the head coach at Kansas City in 2019, earning a 49-39 mark in three seasons.

Donlon joined the staff of Brad Brownell at Clemson before the 2022 season.

Heath, a Detroit native, posted a 57-99 record during his time with his alma mater.

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