It was Dec. 4, 2021.

Villanova fired Kyle Neptune after a three-year run where he succeeded Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright and failed to ever make the NCAA Tournament.

A tearful Tony Bennett has explained he suddenly retired from coaching at Virginia because he wasn’t suited to navigate the current landscape of college basketball.

Josh Hart made a go-ahead 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 24.4 seconds left, and the New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 118-115 in Game 6 to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Alex Karaban hit the decisive 3-pointer for No. 1 UConn with 2:43 left in the game that settled a fantastic Big East matchup, Tristen Newton scored 25 points, Cam Spencer had 14 and the Huskies held off persistent Villanova 66-65 at a packed Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night.

When Nick Saban retired after 17 seasons and six national title with the Crimson Tide, he joined Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Roy Williams, Notre Dame’s Muffet McGraw and Villanova’s Jay Wright has championship-winning college coaches in high-profile sports to call it a career over the last four years.

Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart have turned press conferences into press comedy.

Eric Dixon scored 18 of his career-high 31 points in the first half, Cam Whitmore added 17 and Villanova defeated No. 19 Creighton 79-67.

North Carolina and Gonzaga are 1-2 in the first regular-season men’s college basketball poll from The Associated Press.

Damian Dunn drew a foul on a driving layup with 1.1 seconds left and made both free throws to send Temple past No. 16 Villanova 68-64 on Friday night.

The Philadelphia Phillies are leading a sports renaissance in the city.

North Carolina is No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 men's basketball poll.

Jay Wright says he no longer had the mental edge he needed to continue his career and that's why he decided to retire at Villanova.

Jay Wright shocked college basketball Wednesday night with his immediate resignation at Villanova, the Big East program he led to two national championships and four Final Fours in a Hall of Fame career.

North Carolina, Duke and Kansas are bona fide basketball bluebloods, the best of the best in the men's college game.

Exactly 10 years after a bunch of one-and-done phenoms for Kentucky cut down the nets in the Big Easy, there is a much more old-school feel to this year’s Final Four.

Villanova guard and second-leading scorer Justin Moore will undergo surgery this week for a torn Achilles tendon.

Duke and North Carolina will meet for the 257th time but first in the NCAA Tournament when they tip off Saturday night in the Final Four in New Orleans.

Jermaine Samuels had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Villanova advanced to its third Final Four in the last six NCAA Tournaments with a 50-44 victory over Houston in the South Region final.

Mike Krzyzewski would pass famed UCLA coach John Wooden for most Final Four appearances if No. 2 seed Duke can beat fourth-seeded Arkansas in the West Region final in San Francisco.

Duke keeps winning games in the NCAA Tournament and Mike Krzyzewski keeps telling anyone who will listen, “It’s not the coaching.”.

Jermaine Samuels scored 22 points and Villanova controlled Michigan in a 63-55 Sweet 16 victory in the NCAA Tournament.

Collin Gillespie scored 20 points, Eric Dixon hit a big 3-pointer late and second-seeded Villanova fended off seventh-seeded Ohio State 71-61 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The matchup between Hall of Fame coaches Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and Tom Izzo of Michigan State highlights the final day of the NCAA Tournament's opening weekend.

College basketball fans hungering for a return to normal this March should feel happy.

The March Madness bracket is out.

Collin Gillespie nailed consecutive 3-pointers late in the game that put No. 8 Villanova ahead for good, and the Wildcats beat Creighton 54-48 to win the Big East Tournament championship at Madison Square Garden.

Collin Gillespie hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points, and Justin Moore scored 15 points to lead No. 14 Villanova to an 82-42 win over Butler.

James Akinjo had 16 points with seven rebounds and second-ranked Baylor defensively dominated No. 6 Villanova 57-36.

Zach Edey scored 21 points and No. 6 Purdue overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to beat No. 5 Villanova 80-74 and win the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.

Jermaine Samuels scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as No. 5 Villanova eased to a 71-53 win over No. 17 Tennessee Saturday in the opening round of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament in Connecticut.

The opening week of the college basketball season, as it usually is, was filled with marquee games.

Johnny Juzang scored 25 points and No. 2 UCLA overcame a 10-point, second-half deficit before taking control in overtime to beat fourth-ranked Villanova 86-77.

Drew Timme of Gonzaga is the lone unanimous selection on The Associated Press preseason All-America team.

Four months after the pandemic-delayed induction of the Class of 2020, the Basketball Hall of Fame gathered to enshrine 16 more new members.

Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce was in a class of 16 scheduled to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend.

Erik Spoelstra and Gregg Popovich have often spoken of how much they enjoy coaching against one another.

Jay Wright used to sell tickets to games in the long-defunct United States Football League.

Davion Mitchell, a 46% shooter from 3 this season, went 0 for 3 from long range on a 14-point day. Jared Butler scored nine points on 1-for-9 shooting from 3, and MaCio Teague had five points without a 3. The guards did a great job of not settling and probing more.”Because of that, Baylor shot 53% in the second half, even though it made only one 3. Constantly harassing Villanova shooters who'd carved out space in the first half, Baylor held Villanova to 37.5% shooting in the second and 0 for 9 from 3. Forward Brandon Slater left the game about midway through the second half after landing awkwardly during a fight for a rebound.

In 2016, 2013 and 1991, seed lines 1-15 all had a team reach the second round. UMBC in 2018 is still the only 16 seed to make the round of 32, but no 15 seed won that year. Ad___8:00 p.m.Don’t expect a track meet when Villanova and North Texas play in the second round of the South Region on Sunday. The matchup between the fifth-seeded Wildcats and 13th-seeded Mean Green features two of the most deliberately paced teams in the NCAA Tournament. UNC Wilmington’s John Goldsberry holds the record for most 3-point attempts without a miss in an NCAA Tournament game.

The Hoyas are back in the Big East Tournament semifinals for the first time in six years, with the former Georgetown and Knicks star leading the way. Georgetown last reached the Big East semifinals in 2015. “We played against the Cadillac, the Bentley, whatever you want to call them, of the Big East — the class of the Big East. The quarterfinal day at the Garden is often the best of the Big East Tournament. They had not won even a single Big East Tournament game since 2016 before beating Marquette in the first round Wednesday.

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) shoots against Washington Wizards center Moritz Wagner, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, March 4, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)Kawhi Leonard is planning to play for Gregg Popovich again and chase a gold medal. Leonard said Sunday at the All-Star Game in Atlanta that he is planning to compete with USA Basketball this summer at the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics — which would reunite him with Popovich. Popovich will serve as head coach at the Olympics for the first time. “If I feel up to it and feel ready to go around that time, then I'm going to play," Leonard said.

(AP Photo/Stew Milne)David Duke made a tiebreaking tip-in with 2.8 seconds left on Saturday and Providence held on after blowing a 20-point lead to beat No. Duke and Nate Watson scored 20 points apiece, and Noah Horchler had 10 points and 13 rebounds for Providence (13-12, 9-10 Big East). PC led 38-18 in the first before Villanova scored the first 11 points of the second. He joined Gillespie on the bench for the second half, wearing a boot. SECOND HALF WOESProvidence took an 11-point lead into halftime in its last game, against St. John’s on Wednesday.

McDermott’s use of a phrase evoking slavery overshadowed what was expected to be fantastic showdown between the top two teams in the Big East. 10 Villanova capture the Big East title with a 72-60 win over 14th-ranked Creighton. “The pain I saw in their eyes was immense,” McDermott said after the game. The Big East title was a formality on the Main Line — Villanova is 114-26 with two national titles since the conference was reconfigured in 2013. BIG PICTURECreighton: McDermott isn’t off the hot seat yet.

Coyle becomes just the second Bruins’ player added to the protocol, and first since Karson Kuhlman spent the first two days of the season on the list in January. Each person attending the games will be required to comply with all state public health regulations and arena policies. ___The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Wednesday that Virginia Tech's men's basketball game at North Carolina State on Saturday has been canceled. The cancellation follows quarantining and a contract tracing review within the Virginia Tech men’s program. NC State says it would like to find another league game to replace it if they can.

The Bluejays pulled away early in the second half of the meeting of the Big East's top two teams. Early in the second half, Zegarowski made a move to get Gillespie to go the other way, then swished a one-handed floater in the lane. The Wildcats had shot 70% in the second half of that game and a season-best 63% overall. The Wildcats weren't nearly as good at CHI Health Center, shooting 33% in the second half and 37.5% for the game. Creighton: This was the performance the Bluejays had been looking for from Zegarowski, who had been up and down following offseason knee surgery.

Alexander scored 16 points and St. John's smothered No. The latest victory gave St. John's its first four-game Big East winning streak since the 2014-15 NCAA Tournament team. '”AdVillanova was the first top-5 opponent to play in the Queens gym since St. John's lost 72-71 to No. If we can get a Big East game, we’ve got to play the Big East game. St. John's: Saturday at Providence, which has won nine of the past 11 meetings.

___The sale of spring training tickets for St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins games in Jupiter, Florida, has been delayed because of uncertainty about the schedule for games. Major League Baseball last week proposed a one-month delay in starting spring training due to the coronavirus pandemic. Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter earlier had announced it would begin selling spring training tickets for the Cardinals and Marlins on Monday. ___The Cleveland Indians will not be allowing fans to watch their spring training workouts in Arizona due to the COVID-19 pandemic. AdThere has not yet been a decision on whether fans will be able to attend spring training games.

3 Villanova went up by 16 points in the second half, Jay Wright never felt comfortable against Seton Hall. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl scored 23 points in a foul-plagued 21 minutes and Villanova rolled to ninth straight victory with an unexpectedly easy 80-72 decision over Seton Hall on Saturday. Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard was disappointed. That kills you against really good teams.”UP NEXTVillanova: at St. John's on Wednesday. Seton Hall: at Providence on Wednesday.

3 Villanova win its first game in 27 days, 76-74 over Seton Hall on Tuesday night. Mamukelashvili scored 23 points and Rhoden had 19. Myles Cale pulled Seton Hall to 72-70 with 2:33 left and Nova’s Justin Moore was whistled for an offensive foul. Mamukelashvili tied it and the Seton Hall bench started chanting “Defense! Gillespie missed a 3 and Shavar Reynolds grabbed the defensive board to set up a late look for Seton Hall.

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)Gonzaga and Baylor maintained their grip on the top two spots in The Associated Press men's basketball poll Monday. “Everyone has dealt with this,” said Wright, whose team finally gets back on the court Tuesday night against Seton Hall. The Golden Gophers were followed by Auburn, one of this week's poll newcomers, Missouri and Clemson. “We’re still finding out about our team,” said coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose team nearly rallied from an 18-point deficit against Virginia Tech. IN AND OUTThe Bruins were the other newcomer to this week's poll after improving to 11-2 and 7-0 in the Pac-12 with consecutive wins over Washington State and Washington.

FILE - Villanova head coach Jay Wright gestures during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Georgetown in Washington, in this Saturday, March 7, 2020, file photo. South Carolina, 3-2 this season, has had seven scheduled games called off because of COVID-19. ___Xavier's scheduled men's basketball game Saturday at Seton Hall has been postponed because of COVID-19 related issues within the Xavier program. ___The Atlantic Coast Conference says Saturday’s men’s basketball game between Georgia Tech and North Carolina State has been postponed. ___Michigan State is postponing a second straight men's basketball game due to a COVID-19 outbreak within its basketball program.

___The Atlantic Coast Conference says Virginia’s women’s basketball game Tuesday against Wake Forest has been postponed and it has rescheduled the previously postponed Syracuse-North Carolina men’s basketball game for Tuesday. 19 Clemson has postponed men’s basketball games at North Carolina on Saturday and at Syracuse on Tuesday. LSU will visit Mississippi on Saturday night after both teams had their originally scheduled games postponed. ___The Washington women’s basketball team has postponed games scheduled at No. ___The Georgia State men’s basketball team postponed games against Troy on Friday and Saturday and paused all team activities following multiple positive COVID-19 tests.

3 Villanova’s next three games have been postponed because of COVID-19 issues within the program. The Wildcats (8-1) were scheduled to play Tuesday at DePaul, Friday vs. Marquette, and Jan. 13 at Xavier. Coach Jay Wright announced last week he had tested positive for COVID-19 and the program paused all activities. Wright was scheduled to return to practice on Tuesday. ___More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsThe Latest on xxxxxxx (all times local):

17 Michigan State — sets the stage for what could be an epic start to the new year in the improbably deep Big Ten. 15 Illinois and Michigan State visits the Cornhuskers. The weekend wraps up Sunday with Wisconsin visiting Penn State, Northwestern heading to Michigan and Ohio State traveling to Minnesota in a pair of matchups involving ranked teams. The Hokies already have wins over teams that were ranked in Villanova and Clemson. BIG 12 BATTLESThe Big Ten has the most teams in the Top 25 but the Big 12 may have the best — the league has five teams ranked in the top 13.

Wright says in a statement issued Sunday by Villanova that he another staff member tested positive. ___Syracuse has paused all women’s basketball-related activities and contact tracing is underway after a positive COVID-19 test was confirmed within the program. Their next scheduled game is Thursday at home against North Carolina. One of the Bulls players tested positive after the game. The Gamecocks last played Dec. 17 against Temple.

7 Villanova, and coach Jay Wright won his 600th career game in an 85-66 victory over Butler on Wednesday night. Wright (600-268) was already Villanova's winningest coach and he became the 39th coach in Division I history to reach 600 wins. Wright is 478-183 since he was hired in 2001 and he has built the Wildcats into one of the elite programs in college basketball. Villanova: The Wildcats hit 10 3s and showed they have the talent to again win the Big East. ___More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

2 Baylor will play in Indianapolis on Saturday for the ninth meeting between the top two teams in AP Top 25 since 2005. 2 Kentucky met last season in the previous 1-vs.-2 meeting, a game won by the Wildcats 69-62. Playing in Las Vegas, Baylor opened with a 112-82 win over Louisiana-Lafayette and followed with an 96-52 thumping of Washington. Jay Wright's Wildcats opened the season in Bubbleville and opted to stay in Connecticut to face Hartford. Villanova won that game 87-53 to bounce back from its first loss of the season, 81-73 to No.

Juwan Howard's coaching acumen was never in doubt when he took over as Michigan's coach in 2019. Howard's 2021 class, rated No. The first day of the early signing period was Wednesday, but Michigan won't officially announce its 2021 recruiting class until the last player in it has signed on Friday. 4 overall recruiting class, topped by Trey Patterson, a 6-7 forward from Somerset, New Jersey, rated No. Coach Leonard Hamilton and the Seminoles still have three more commits expected to sign soon, including five-star players Matthew Cleveland and Jalen Warley, in a class rated No.

FILE - Gonzaga players celebrate after defeating Saint Mary's in an NCAA college basketball game in the final of the West Coast Conference men's tournament in Las Vegas, in this Tuesday, March 10, 2020, file photo. Gonzaga will begin the college basketball season No. 1 for the first time after coach Mark Few's bunch earned 28 first-place votes in the preseason AP Top 25 poll released Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Iowa was picked fifth behind national player of the year front-runner Luka Garza, its highest preseason ranking in school history. The Bears, who also have their highest preseason ranking, spent five weeks at No. THE REST OF THE POLLCreighton lost Ty-Shon Alexander to the NBA and Davion Mintz to Kentucky but still landed the highest preseason ranking in school history at No. 17, its highest preseason ranking since the final Phi Slama Jama team of Hakeem Olajuwon began the 1983-84 season at No. 6 in the final poll last season but losing Mountain West player of the year Malachi Flynn and two other elite producers.

NEW YORK – Jay Wright and his fellow Big East coaches are hoping that the basketball season runs as smoothly as possible and that they can make it to March. “Marcus ended up having surgery in New York City the day before we opened in the Big East Tournament. Here are a few other tidbits from Big East media day:HONORING BIG JOHN: The Big East announced that it will establish an award named for former Georgetown coach John Thompson Jr. that will recognize his efforts to fight prejudice, discrimination and advance positive social change. PARTIAL SCHEDULE: The Big East announced its conference schedule through the month of December with play beginning on Dec. 11 with three games. The Pirates have to replace Big East Player of the Year Myles Powell.

That made the two-time national champion weary that college basketball teams can play a complete 25-game season without cancellations or severe disruptions. Citing confidentiality, Wright has not disclosed the names of the people who had it, but the winningest coach in Villanova history said he was not among them. Wright said he’s tested once a week — including Wednesday — and the worry of keeping his players and staff safe can leave him more restless than prepping for the Big East Tournament. Like all programs, Villanova also failed to run its usual summer program that cost them some in player development. He said the Big East is still considering some sort late December start and a form of a postseason bubble.

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)Golden State coach Steve Kerr was supposed to be in Tokyo for the Olympics this summer. Then again, Kerr isn't certain if he or anyone else from the NBA will be there at all. FIBA pushed back the dates for the four remaining qualifying tournaments to June 29 through July 4, 2021, meaning they would end 19 days before the rescheduled start of the delayed Tokyo Olympics. Toronto coach Nick Nurse is scheduled to coach Canada in that qualifying tournament and, he hopes, the Olympics. Nurse, Popovich and Kerr surely arent the only coaches wondering on this point.