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BRACKET RESET: NCAA TOURNAMENT DOWN TO A SWEET 16 OF HIGH-MAJORS

Cinderella has been kicked out of the dance early for the second straight season.

Following a madness-promising first day of upsets, the NCAA Tournament has turned into a high-major affair.

The Sweet 16 invite is for power-conference programs only.

Advocates for fewer automatic qualifiers and bracket expansion will have a field day with this one.

“I think parity is great for the game, but things change,” said Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, who spent 21 seasons as an assistant at Gonzaga.

The Big Ten is the big conference on the block, pushing through a league-record six teams into the Sweet 16 — three in the same region.

The SEC has four Sweet 16 teams, the Big 12 three, the Big East two, the ACC one.

Mid-majors: zero for the second straight season.

East Region

The top three seeds made it through the East.

St. John’s is the Darling.

The fifth-seeded Red Storm (30-6) blew a 12-point lead against Kansas, but Dylan Darling, who hadn’t hit a shot all day, scored at the buzzer for a 67-65 win that sends St. John’s to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999.

Next up for the Johnnies is a date with Duke on Friday in Washington.

The Blue Devils (34-2) and star freshman Cameron Boozer had an opening 1-vs.-16 scare against Siena but took it out on TCU with an 81-58 win to reach the Sweet 16 for the third straight season.

The second regional semifinal likely will leave both teams bruised and battered.

UConn (31-5) lost in the second round last season following consecutive national championships but clamped down on UCLA to earn a Sweet 16 return.

Michigan State (27-7) is in the Sweet 16 for the 17th time under coach Tom Izzo, led by the dynamic duo of Jeremy Fears Jr. and Coen Carr.

South Region

No. 2 seed Houston avoided having to play reigning national champion Florida — Iowa made sure of that — and will be playing at home for the South Region.

The Cougars (30-6) will be surrounded by Big Ten teams, starting with a 2-mile trip from campus against Illinois on Thursday.

The Illini (26-8) are big — bigger than any team in the country.

They used that size to their advantage, clobbering Penn and VCU to reach the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons under coach Brad Underwood.

The second East semifinal will be the battle of the corn.

No. 4 seed Nebraska (28-6) is the closest thing the Sweet 16 has to an underdog — only because it had never won an NCAA Tournament game prior to this season.

No. 9 seed Iowa (23-12) finished 10-10 in the Big Ten but has bullied its way through the bracket so far, reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999 by ending Florida’s repeat bid.

Midwest Region

Michigan has looked every bit a top seed, winning its first two games by an average of 22 points.

Next up is a showdown with No. 4 seed Alabama on Friday in Chicago.

The Crimson Tide (25-9) washed away Texas Tech by raining down 19 3-pointers in a 90-65 thrashing to reach the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season.

No. 2 seed Iowa State took a big hit when All-America forward Joshua Jefferson sprained his ankle in the Cyclones’ opener and didn’t play against Kentucky.

It did little to slow them down; the Cyclones (29-7) spun away from Kentucky 82-63 to reach the Sweet 16 for the third time under coach T.J. Otzelberger.

Iowa State hopes to have Jefferson back for Friday’s game and will likely need him against Tennessee.

The No. 6 Vols (24-11) have been Sweet 16 regulars under coach Rick Barnes and made it four straight by outlasting Virginia 79-72.

West Region

The West has an SEC team disguised as Cinderella.

Texas has a world of resources and plays in the SEC yet found itself in Dayton, Ohio, as a No. 11 seed.

The Longhorns (21-14) pulled it together at just the right time in their first season under coach Sean Miller, knocking off No. 3 seed Gonzaga to become the sixth First Four team to reach the Sweet 16.

That earns them a spot in the West semifinals against No. 2 Purdue on Thursday in San Jose, California.

Coach Matt Painter has molded the Boilermakers (29-8) into a model of consistency, reaching the Sweet 16 seven times the last nine seasons — including the 2024 title game — with their 79-69 win over Miami.

The showdown between No. 1 Arizona and No. 4 Alabama will be an NBA scout’s delight.

The Wildcats (34-2) go eight deep in potential future pros and guard Jaden Bradley has a knack for making the biggest plays at the biggest moments.

John Calipari set the standard for recruiting NBA lottery picks at Kentucky, and it’s been no different in his second season in Fayetteville. Fabulous freshman Darius Acuff Jr. was the star in Arkansas’ 94-88 win over High Point, scoring 36 points as the Razorbacks secured their second straight Sweet 16 berth.

IN THE ERA OF NIL AND TRANSFERS, THE SWEET 16 IS FILLED WITH VETERAN TEAMS THAT HAVE STUCK TOGETHER

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Purdue was struggling to put away Miami in the second half of their second-round NCAA Tournament game on Sunday when Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kauffman-Renn combined to score the Boilermakers’ next 22 points, helping them to turn a three-point lead into a 79-69 victory and a spot in the Sweet 16.

It was exactly what coach Matt Painter has come to expect from his guys over the last four years.

The antithesis of college basketball in the age of free transfers and name, image and likeness money, the Boilermakers are two wins away from a second Final Four appearance in the last three years by keeping things decidedly old-school: They recruit players that fit their program, develop them over time, and then they lean on them when it matters the most.

“It comes down to culture,” Smith said. “Having what we have here in the last four years is really special. I think we’ve had maybe four transfers in my four years that we have had, and I think that’s pretty special, and not a lot of teams ever have that.”

It’s unique in college basketball, to be sure, but not necessarily unique in the Sweet 16.

In fact, the NCAA Tournament this year has underscored the value of continuity within a program, and that simply restocking with a new wave of transfers each offseason is not necessarily the best way to build a championship roster.

Five teams still alive have at least four starters who have played multiple seasons for their current coaches, according to a roster survey from The Associated Press, and nine of the 16 have at least three. Duke and Michigan State have starting lineups that consist entirely of guys who have played nowhere else in college, and 11 of the 16 teams have at least three such starters.

Those numbers exist despite the fact that Iowa (Ben McCollum) and Texas (Sean Miller) have new coaches, and both were forced to mine the transfer portal after the typical and unavoidable outflow of players from the previous regime.

At Purdue, Smith — now the NCAA career assists leader — and Loyer have been starters the last four years. Kaufman-Renn, also a senior, has been in the starting lineup the last three. Together, they are tied for the winningest class in school history.

“Who wouldn’t want to stay?” Smith asked. “Obviously if our situation was different, whatever. For us just being around a great group of people as a whole, the community at Purdue, the coaching staff, just staff in general — it just makes it super special.”

In the case of the Hawkeyes, four of the starters — Bennett Stirtz, Tavion Banks, Cam Manyawu and Kael Combs — followed McCollum from Drake, creating the same sort of continuity. The other starter, Jacob Koch, played for Fran McCaffery at Iowa last season.

“We’ve got really loyal kids, and I knew that going in,” said McCollum, who two years ago was coaching Division II ball. “Whether or not they’re perfect — they’re not. We’ve got our issues, I’ve got my issues, but what they’re perfect at is loyalty, and they’re tough, and they’ve established a foundation and a solid core.”

The Hawkeyes’ in-state rival, Iowa State, is back in the Sweet 16 behind Tamin Lipsey, a fourth-year senior who grew up near its campus in Ames. Milan Momcilovic and injured forward Joshua Jefferson have been with T.J. Otzelberger for multiple years.

Over time, they have embraced what it means to be a part of the Cyclones program.

“We have a lot of pride that this program continues to do really well,” Otzelberger said, “and the consistency of it means a whole lot to us. We’re going to continue to have those work habits that reflect that day-in and day-out.”

Spartans coach Tom Izzo doesn’t just have five starters that he recruited out of high school but four who have stuck with him at least three seasons. That includes Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler, a pair of college basketball unicorns: fourth-year seniors.

“When you end up coaching and you have guys for three and four years, they do become like your own kids,” Izzo said. “In fact, I spent more time with some of my players than I did my own kids as they were growing up. I’m not really proud of that, just the fact of life.”

Yet it’s a somewhat pleasant way of life for those who remember what college sports was before administrators began chasing money above all else, and players followed suit. Teams were embraced by fans when March Madness rolled around because they had watched their players grow up; they had a vested interested after years of shared joy and suffering.

In some ways, this year’s Sweet 16 is a throwback to an increasingly bygone era.

“I kind of go back to just how we are right now, even in like, our meals in the hotel rooms, and just hanging out with the guys. I think that’s something that we’re all going to take for granted at some point,” Cooper said. “When we graduate, wherever the next step takes us, we’re going to think back and wish that we were back there, being able to hang out with the guys.”

CHARLOTTE HIRES WES MILLER AS MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH AFTER HE WAS FIRED BY CINCINNATI

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Charlotte 49ers have hired Wes Miller as their basketball coach.

Miller spent the past five seasons at Cincinnati before being fired on March 13 with three years left on his contract after failing to get the Bearcats to the NCAA Tournament.

He was 100-74 at Cincinnati.

The Bearcats finished 18-15 this season. They had recovered from a disappointing start to win seven of nine games down the stretch and were considered an NCAA Tournament bubble team heading into the Big 12 Tournament. But the Bearcats lost to UCF 66-65 in overtime in the second round after surrendering an eight-point lead in the final two minutes of regulation, paving the way for Miller’s departure.

The 43-year-old Miller has strong ties to North Carolina, leading the Tar Heels to a national championship as a player. He also coached a decade at UNC Greensboro, where he earned Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2012 and 2018.

He helped UNC Greensboro win 25 or more games in three consecutive seasons, won three conference titles and led the Spartans to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2018 and 2021. He left UNCG for Cincinnati considered one of the bright young coaches in the game after recording a school-record 185 wins, including an average of 25 wins per season over his final five years.

CREIGHTON COACH GREG MCDERMOTT ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT AFTER 16 SEASONS; ALAN HUSS WILL SUCCEED HIM

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — After leading the Creighton basketball program to unprecedented heights over his 16 years as coach, Greg McDermott announced Monday he would retire at the end of the season and turn the program over to right-hand man Alan Huss.

McDermott will step down after the Bluejays’ final game in the College Basketball Crown tournament next month.

“It has been an incredible honor to lead the Creighton men’s basketball program for the past 16 years,” the 61-year-old McDermott said in a statement. “I’m very proud of the young men that have proudly worn the Bluejay uniform and represented our program in a first-class manner. Witnessing their growth and development on and off the playing floor was especially gratifying.

“I’m deeply grateful for the support of my family, our players, coaching staff and support staff, as well as the presidents, athletic directors, and all the University and athletic administrators. The support of the Omaha community consistently packing our arena with 17,000 fans has created many fond memories.”

McDermott is 365-188 at Creighton and 514-319 in 25 years as a Division I head coach. Only one of his Creighton teams finished below .500, but the Bluejays are 15-17 heading into their April 2 game against Rutgers in the Crown in Las Vegas.

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