OJ Mayo, Agent Calvin Andrews Cut Ties

Rick Pitino nearly loses it in win over protege Billy Donovan

(AP) - Hated to do that to ya, kid. Rick Pitino nearly came unhinged and his point guard watched the end of the game from the bench. When it was over, though, it was Pitino and Louisville making plans for the Final Four and his protege, Billy Donovan, and the Florida Gators wondering what the heck happened. Chane Behanan made the go-ahead basket with 1:04 left today and the fourth-seeded Cardinals finished the game on a 23-8 run for a 72-68 victory over Donovan's stunned Florida team in the West Regional final. More»

Loathing Duke's basketball team is just part of March Madness

(NEWSER) - Think the Yankees are despised? Now that March Madness is here, Duke-hating "is as much a rite ... as marking up your bracket with a red pen," write Josh Levin and Jim Pagels in Slate . They not-so-kindly run down 18 of the Blue Devils' most loathsome moments:

• 1986: Duke fans fall in love with themselves after setting up tents in so-called "Krzyzewskiville"—a makeshift camp named after six-year head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Soon a simple setup "devolved into a Byzantine three-color classification system with wait lists and line monitors."

Lorenzo Charles remembered for stunning 1983 victory

(NEWSER) - Lorenzo Emile Charles, the hero of the 1983 NCAA championship game, died yesterday in a bus crash in North Carolina. Charles, who caught and dunked a last-second shot from his NC State Wolfpack teammate to win the title over heavily favored opponents, was alone and driving a charter bus when he apparently lost control and crashed into trees off an exit ramp. Police were still trying to determine the cause of the crash last night, the News & Observer reports. More»

The 11th-seeded team upsets No. 1 seed Kansas 71-61

(AP) - Jamie Skeen scored 26 points and 11th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth is crashing the Final Four after the upset of the NCAA tournament, shocking No. 1 seed Kansas 71-61 today. So doubtful were the Rams of even making the tournament that they didn't watch the selection show. Two weeks later, they're Houston-bound after an incredible takedown of the last No. 1 seed. More»

(NEWSER) - A quest to play pro football might keep a Duke basketball player in school for another year, ESPN reports. Greg Paulus, who has used up his basketball eligibility at Duke, has been offered a tryout for the school’s football team—but at receiver, not quarterback, where he starred in high school. Yesterday, Paulus visited the University of Michigan, which has an uncertain quarterback situation, the Detroit Free Press reports. More»