NCAA basketball

“The House case was front and center in our thinking,” Eric MacMichael said.

CLEVELAND – A remarkable NCAA Tournament national semifinal and a controversial illegal screen call in the waning moments, saw No. 1 seed Iowa advance 71-69 over No. 3 seed Connecticut .

CLEVELAND – The South Carolina Gamecocks aren’t done dancing just yet.

Since he was a boy, DJ Burns Jr. has stood out for his bigness: big personality, big body, big talent, big joy.

Gonzaga assistant coach R-Jay Barsh and South Carolina sophomore forward Chloe Kitts go back so far that Barsh isn’t exactly sure how long. “She was a little kid,” Barsh said. “Nearly her entire life.” Barsh has helped train Kitts on the basketball court and he’s been a mentor away from the game.

PULLMAN – Days before David Riley took the head coaching job at Washington State, before he made the 90-minute drive from Cheney for his introduction on Thursday, his job became dramatically tougher.

Alabama basketball was struggling late in the season. The Crimson Tide were having trouble on defense and seemed to be limping to the finish line, with a one-and-done finish in the SEC Tournament.

CLEVELAND – UConn’s senior guard Nika Muhl talked Thursday about going through a period of shock then mourning when injuries started taking out her UConn teammates during the season.

With coach David Riley headed to Washington State, one of his top players from Eastern Washington has entered the transfer portal.

Former Eastern Washington coach, Whitworth player and nephew of a former Pac-12 football coach knows the Northwest terrain as well as anyone.

PULLMAN – Jaylen Wells is ready to realize his dream of going pro.

Rui Hachimura and the Lakers had just wrapped a 5-1 road trip as he stood by his locker near the door.

Tim Collins met with the Eastern Washington men’s basketball team on Wednesday morning with the goal of assuring the team that he, the EWU athletic director, had their back.

Abundant kudos are due for the rare show of program loyalty at a time when college sports have disrupted most normal notions of object permanence.

After a record-breaking 32-4 season, Gonzaga forward Yvonne Ejim and coach Lisa Fortier earned some big recognition on Wednesday.

Somehow, after almost comically botching the job search for the new coach, the landing of Riley could be a winner for the WSU basketball program. But the process was an embarrassment.

PULLMAN – Washington State’s next head basketball coach won’t have to travel far to his new home.

Washington State’s Charlisse Leger-Walker has decided to put off a professional career to play one more college basketball season, but it doesn’t appear that season will happen in Pullman.

Other programs with Arizona’s expectations might respond to the 77-72 loss to Clemson with months of second-guessing and hand wringing. For the Wildcats, it was merely standard fare.