Monday Overreactions: Tennessee’s fine, P.J. Washington the GOAT, Texas Tech Big 12 champs?

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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cameron Young, Quinnipiac

It’s been a decade since someone in the college ranks has done what Cameron Young did on Sunday afternoon.

A senior guard from California, Young scored 55 points in a triple-overtime win on the road against Siena. He was 15-for-24 from the floor, shot 9-for-13 from three and made 16-of-20 free throws. It’s the first time since Dec. 12, 2008, that a Division I basketball player has gone for 55 points. The last time it was was when North Dakota State’s Ben Woodside had 60 against Stephen F. Austin, also in triple-overtime.

Young also added 10 rebounds in the game, making him the first player to do that in the last 20 seasons. In three games last week, Young averaged 36 points.

But that’s not the end of it.

Jalen Pickett, a freshman point guard for Siena, finished with 46 points and 13 assists in the loss. That’s the first time that a Division I player has posted at least 45 points and 10 assists since 2003, with LIU’s Antawn Dobie did it against St. Francis. The 101 combined points that they scored is the most by a pair of opposing players since 1996.

What a wild, wild basketball game.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: LSU Tigers

As wild as this sounds, the SEC regular season title is now LSU’s to lose.

On Saturday, the Tigers avoided a letdown by going into Athens and knocking off Georgia. It was their second road win of the week, as they went into Lexington and knocked off Kentucky on Tuesday evening. The Tigers are now 21-4 overall and 11-1 in the SEC. They’ve played five of their last seven games on the road and now head back to Baton Rouge for a three-game homestand.

And with six games left in the regular season, LSU’s SEC regular season title is in their control.

As things currently stand, the Tigers are tied for first in the conference with Tennessee, a game in front of Kentucky. LSU hosts the Vols next Saturday, meaning that if they find a way to win out, they will be the outright SEC regular season champions over a pair of top five teams and national title contenders.

MONDAY OVERREACTIONS

1. TENNESSEE IS JUST FINE AFTER GETTING EMBARRASSED BY KENTUCKY

It feels weird that I need to say this after Tennessee had their 19-game winning streak snapped on the road against a top five team, but here we are.

As bad as Saturday night went for Tennessee, I’m convinced that this had as much to do with the situation and the matchup as anything. Tennessee’s offense runs through the paint and it runs through Grant Williams. The problem is that Williams — whose talent is his ability to use his strength, leverage and understanding of angles — rans into the one player that can nullify the things that he does best in Reid Travis, who may be, pound for pound, the strongest player in the country.

Once that happened, Tennessee didn’t really have an answer, not after Kyle Alexander got into foul trouble and the Vols were forced to play against what has arguably been the best frontline in the country the last month of the season without a player taller than 6-foot-6 on the floor.

And don’t forget, this game was played on Kentucky’s home floor just 96 hours after they suffered a disappointing, controversial loss against LSU with their chances of an SEC regular season title on the line.

Tennessee is still a top five team, one that’s good enough to put together six straight wins in March.

Sometimes even good teams get their tails kicked.

2. P.J. WASHINGTON WILL BE THE SEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR AS OF TODAY

There has been no one in college basketball that has been better than P.J. Washington over the course of the last month, and it is what has turned Kentucky from a good team to one of the nation’s very best. Over the course of the last eight games, Washington is averaging 21.0 poits, 8.1 boards, 1.3 blocks and 1.1 steals. He was the best player on the court for the Wildcats in Saturday’s demolition of Tennessee, scoring at will in the post and leading Kentucky to an 86-69 win that they needed to get if they had any hope of winning an SEC regular season title.

Now, Grant Williams has been terrific all season for Tennessee, and it’s impossible to ignore what Tremont Waters means for LSU, but if Washington keeps up the pace that he has been playing at over the course of the final six regular season games on Kentucky’s schedule, I don’t know how you can come to any conclusion other than him being the best player in the conference.

(Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

3. KANSAS IS GOING TO WIN THE BIG 12 AGAIN

Despite the fact that the Jayhawks have been playing without Marcus Garrett and Lagerald Vick to go along with the absence of Udoka Azubuike and Silvio De Sousa, and despite the fact that they are currently starting four freshmen, one of whom was supposed to redshirt this season, the Jayhawks are currently sitting one game out of first place in the Big 12, trailing a Kansas State team that is looking at a future potentially without Dean Wade on the floor.

The standings, as of today, look like this:

  • Kansas State (9-3)
  • Texas Tech (9-4)
  • Kansas (9-4)
  • Iowa State (8-4)

Kansas still has to play at Texas Tech next Saturday in the game that appears to be the most likely to keep Kansas from calling themselves Big 12 champions one again. The Jayhawks also host Kansas State while Texas Tech pays a visit to Iowa State on the last day of the regular season.

Those are the games that will decide the Big 12 regular season title. For what it’s worth, KenPom is currently projecting that all four of those teams will finish the season at 12-6 in Big 12 play.

Is anyone really going to bet against Kansas finding a way to get it done and keep the streak alive?

4. BUT DON’T SLEEP ON TEXAS TECH

The Red Raiders are currently the highest-ranked team in the Big 12 on KenPom, and that’s because they’ve started steam-rolling Big 12 competition. They’ve won their last four games by an average of 24 points, and in their last three games, they are shooting 34-for-76 (44.7 percent), and in the process have gone from being ranked 106th in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency metric to 65th.

This is a team that is starting to hit their stride, and with the nation’s best defense, they don’t really need to do much more.

But the reason that it’s important to keep an eye on this team is because of who they have left on their schedule. They play Kansas at home. They play at Iowa State. A win in both of those games puts them a game up on them in the standings, and with just three other games on their schedule — Oklahoma State, at TCU, Texas — seeing them win out would not be too unrealistic.

Then all it would take for the Red Raiders to win the outright regular season title is for Kansas State to lose one game other than at Kansas with a banged up Dean Wade.

It could happen …

5. MICHIGAN STATE CAN BE TAKEN OUT OF THE TITLE CONVERSATION WITHOUT NICK WARD

This probably isn’t even an overreaction.

This is mostly just the truth.

The Spartans entered the season as a team that didn’t have all that much high-end talent on the roster, and now they are down their second and third best players with Josh Langford done for the year and Nick Ward dealing with a hairline fracture in his left (shooting) hand. Without Ward finding a way to get healthy before the tournaments start, we can take Michigan State out of the discussion as a title contender.

Cassius Winston is really, really good, but what he does best is pass. Now, without those two, the players he’s going to be passing to are Matt McQuaid, Kenny Goins and Aaron Henry? Goins is a former walk-on that wears six knee braces and four shoulder braces every game. Henry is a promising freshman that is a year or two away from being something more than a role player. McQuaid is one of the most improved players in the country and a vital cog to what Michigan State wants to do, but if he’s your second-best weapon offensively you are going to struggle to score.

There appears to be a chance that Ward is back before the season comes to an end.

Michigan State better hope that proves to be true.

Marquette extends Shaka Smart’s contract through 2029-30 season

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MILWAUKEE — Marquette coach Shaka Smart has received a contract extension after leading the Golden Eagles to their first outright regular-season championship and tournament title in the Big East.

Smart’s contract now runs through the 2029-30 season. This is the first extension Smart has received since signing a six-year deal when he took over as Marquette’s coach in 2021.

Marquette didn’t release financial terms of Smart’s deal.

“In a very short period of time, Shaka and his staff have done a tremendous job of establishing a winning culture, both on and off the court,” athletic director Bill Scholl said in a statement. “Shaka’s vision for the program is focused on extended, sustainable success. The individuals who interact with the team on a daily basis are able to observe frequent examples of growth and the excitement around the program is contagious.”

Marquette has gone 48-20 in Smart’s two seasons and reached the NCAA Tournament each of those years.

The Golden Eagles went 29-7 and won the Big East’s regular-season and tournament championships last season after the league’s coaches had picked them to finish ninth out of 11 teams. Marquette’s season ended with a 69-60 loss to Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 32.

Purdue’s Edey returning to school at NBA draft deadline; Kentucky’s Tshiebwe stays in

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Purdue’s Zach Edey decided it was the right call to go back to school instead of staying in the NBA draft. His predecessor as national player of the year, Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe, is sticking with his pro pursuit.

And Connecticut’s reign as NCAA champion will begin with multiple starters having left for the NBA draft and one returning after flirting with doing the same.

The 7-foot-4 Edey and UConn guard Tristen Newton were among the notable names to announce that they were withdrawing from the draft, the NCAA’s deadline for players who declared as early entrants to pull out and retain their college eligibility.

Edey’s decision came in social media posts from both the center and the Boilermakers program that earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament behind Edey, The Associated Press men’s national player of the year.

But Tshiebwe announced late in the afternoon that he would remain in the draft after a college career that included being named the AP national player of the year in 2022.

For the current champions, Newton (10.1 points, 4.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds) is returning after being one of four Huskies to declare for the draft after a run to UConn’s fifth national championship in early April. He scored a game-high 19 points to go with 10 rebounds in the victory over San Diego State in the title game.

The others were Final Four Most Outstanding Player Adama Sanogo, wing Jordan Hawkins and versatile guard Andre Jackson Jr. Sanogo (17.8 points) and Hawkins (16.3) have made it clear they have closed the door on their college careers, while team spokesman Phil Chardis said that Jackson (6.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists) would remain in the draft.

The Huskies have 247sports’ No. 3-ranked recruiting class for next year to restock the roster, led by McDonald’s All-American point guard Stephon Castle.

The NBA’s withdrawal deadline is June 12, but is moot when it comes to college players returning to school due to the NCAA’s earlier timeline to retain playing eligibility.

STAYING IN SCHOOL

TREY ALEXANDER: Creighton gets back a 6-4 guard who averaged 13.6 points and shot 41% from 3-point range in his first full season as a starter.

ADEM BONA: The 6-foot-10 forward and Pac-12 freshman of the year is returning to UCLA after starting 32 games as a rookie and averaging 7.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks – with coach Mick Cronin praising his toughness for “competing through multiple injuries for as long as he could” in a statement Wednesday.

EDEY: He averaged 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.5 assists while shooting 60.7% from the field. His presence alone helps Purdue be a factor in the Big Ten race.

JOSIAH-JORDAN JAMES: The 6-6 guard went through the NBA G League Combine and had workouts with multiple teams before opting to return to Tennessee for a fifth season alongside teammate Santiago Vescovi.

JUDAH MINTZ: The 6-3 freshman averaged 16.3 points and 4.6 assists for Syracuse, ranking third among Division I freshmen in scoring behind only Alabama’s Brandon Miller and Lamar’s Nate Calmese.

OWLS’ RETURNEES: Florida Atlantic got good news after its surprise Final Four run with the return leading scorers Johnell Davis (13.8) and Alijah Martin (13.4). ESPN first reported their decisions, while Martin later posted a social media statement.

TERRENCE SHANNON JR.: Illinois got a big boost with Shannon announcing his night in a social media post. The 6-6 guard is returning for a fifth college season after averaging 17.2 points.

SPARTANS’ RETURNEES: Michigan State announced that guards Jaden Akins and A.J. Hoggard have withdrawn from the NBA draft. Standout guard Tyson Walker had previously withdrawn in April, setting up Tom Izzo to have five of his top scorers back.

GOING PRO

KOBE BROWN: Missouri’s 6-8 swingman opted against returning for a fifth college season after being an AP first-team all-Southeastern Conference pick averaging 15.8 points last season.

JAYLEN CLARK: The third-year UCLA guard averaged 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds while leading the Pac-12 with 2.6 steals en route to being named Naismith national defensive player of the year. Cronin called him a winner with strong intangibles who made UCLA “a better program because he chose to be a Bruin.”

BRICE SENSABAUGH: The Ohio State freshman averaged 16.3 points and 5.4 rebounds in 31 games before missing his final two in the Big Ten Tournament due to a knee injury. He’s a potential first-round prospect.

TSHIEBWE: The 6-9, 260-pound forward is a tough interior presence who led the country in rebounds for two straight seasons (15.1 in 2022, 13.7 in 2023) while racking up 48 double-doubles. But he faces an uncertain next stop and is projected at best as a second-round prospect.

North Carolina transfer Caleb Love commits to Arizona

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Caleb Love is now headed to Arizona.

The North Carolina transfer tweeted, less than a month after decommitting from Michigan, that he will play next season with the Wildcats.

“Caleb is a tremendously talented guard who has significant experience playing college basketball at a high level,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said in a statement. “We look forward to helping Caleb grow his game at Arizona. And as we near the completion of the roster for the upcoming season, we feel great about how everything has come together. Now it’s time for the real work to start.”

A 6-foot-4 guard, Love averaged 14.6 points and 3.3 assists in three seasons at North Carolina. He averaged 17.6 points in seven NCAA Tournament games, helping lead the Tar Heels to the 2022 national championship game.

Love entered the transfer portal after leading North Carolina with 73 3-pointers as a junior and initially committed to Michigan. He decommitted from the Wolverines earlier this month, reportedly due to an admissions issue involving academic credits.

Love narrowed his transfer targets to three schools before choosing to play at Arizona over Gonzaga and Texas.

Love will likely start on a team that will have dynamic perimeter players, including Pelle Larsson, Kylan Boswell and Alabama transfer Jaden Bradley.

Biden celebrates LSU women’s and UConn men’s basketball teams at separate White House events

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WASHINGTON – All of the past drama and sore feelings associated with Louisiana State’s invitation to the White House were seemingly forgotten or set aside Friday as President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden welcomed the championship women’s basketball team to the mansion with smiles, hugs and lavish praise all around.

The visit had once appeared in jeopardy after Jill Biden suggested that the losing Iowa team be invited, too. But none of that was mentioned as both Bidens heralded the players for their performance and the way they have helped advance women’s sports.

“Folks, we witnessed history,” the president said. “In this team, we saw hope, we saw pride and we saw purpose. It matters.”

The ceremony was halted for about 10 minutes after forward Sa’Myah Smith appeared to collapse as she and her teammates stood behind Biden. A wheelchair was brought in and coach Kim Mulkey assured the audience that Smith was fine.

LSU said in a statement that Smith felt overheated, nauseous and thought she might faint. She was evaluated by LSU and White House medical staff and was later able to rejoin the team. “She is feeling well, in good spirits, and will undergo further evaluation once back in Baton Rouge,” the LSU statement said.

Since the passage of Title IX in 1972, Biden said, more than half of all college students are women, and there are now 10 times more female athletes in college and high school. He said most sports stories are still about men, and that that needs to change.

Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in federally funded education programs and activities.

“Folks, we need to support women sports, not just during the championship run but during the entire year,” President Biden said.

After the Tigers beat Iowa for the NCAA title in April in a game the first lady attended, she caused an uproar by suggesting that the Hawkeyes also come to the White House.

LSU star Angel Reese called the idea “A JOKE” and said she would prefer to visit with former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, instead. The LSU team largely is Black, while Iowa’s top player, Caitlin Clark, is white, as are most of her teammates.

Nothing came of Jill Biden’s idea and the White House only invited the Tigers. Reese ultimately said she would not skip the White House visit. She and co-captain Emily Ward presented team jerseys bearing the number “46” to Biden and the first lady. Hugs were exchanged.

Jill Biden also lavished praise on the team, saying the players showed “what it means to be a champion.”

“In this room, I see the absolute best of the best,” she said, adding that watching them play was “pure magic.”

“Every basket was pure joy and I kept thinking about how far women’s sports have come,” the first lady added, noting that she grew up before Title IX was passed. “We’ve made so much progress and we still have so much more work to do.”

The president added that “the way in which women’s sports has come along is just incredible. It’s really neat to see, since I’ve got four granddaughters.”

After Smith was helped to a wheelchair, Mulkey told the audience the player was OK.

“As you can see, we leave our mark where we go,” Mulkey joked. “Sa’Myah is fine. She’s kind of, right now, embarrassed.”

A few members of Congress and Biden aides past and present with Louisiana roots dropped what they were doing to attend the East Room event, including White House budget director Shalanda Young. Young is in the thick of negotiations with House Republicans to reach a deal by the middle of next week to stave off what would be a globally calamitous U.S. financial default if the U.S. can no longer borrow the money it needs to pay its bills.

The president, who wore a necktie in the shade of LSU’s purple, said Young, who grew up in Baton Rouge, told him, “I’m leaving the talks to be here.” Rep. Garret Graves, one of the House GOP negotiators, also attended.

Biden closed sports Friday by changing to a blue tie and welcoming the UConn’s men’s championship team for its own celebration. The Huskies won their fifth national title by defeating San Diego State, 76-59, in April.

“Congratulations to the whole UConn nation,” he said.

Marquette’s Prosper says he will stay in draft rather than returning to school

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MILWAUKEE — Olivier-Maxence Prosper announced he is keeping his name under NBA draft consideration rather than returning to Marquette.

The 6-foot-8 forward announced his decision.

“Thank you Marquette nation, my coaches, my teammates and support staff for embracing me from day one,” Prosper said in an Instagram post. “My time at Marquette has been incredible. With that being said, I will remain in the 2023 NBA Draft. I’m excited for what comes next. On to the next chapter…”

Prosper had announced last month he was entering the draft. He still could have returned to school and maintained his college eligibility by withdrawing from the draft by May 31. Prosper’s announcement indicates he instead is going ahead with his plans to turn pro.

Prosper averaged 12.5 points and 4.7 rebounds last season while helping Marquette go 29-7 and win the Big East’s regular-season and tournament titles. Marquette’s season ended with a 69-60 loss to Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 32.

He played two seasons at Marquette after transferring from Clemson, where he spent one season.