UNDATED (AP) — One of the so-called fixers in a sprawling betting scheme to cash in on big bets on rigged NCAA basketball games has pleaded guilty. The federal prosecutors' office in Philadelphia says Jalen Smith appeared Monday in federal court and pleaded guilty to wire fraud and bribery charges. Prosecutors say the Charlotte, North Carolina, man trained local basketball players and used those connections to recruit players in the scheme. Charges against Smith were unsealed in January along with 25 others. Prosecutors say Smith helped fix games in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. They say he placed bets and recruited players with the promise of a big payment in exchange for purposefully underperforming during a game.
CHICAGO (AP) — No. 3 Michigan comes into the Big Ten Tournament this week with its sights set on a repeat and bigger goals on the horizon. The Wolverines would love nothing more than to secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA and take aim at the school’s second national championship. Winning the Big Ten Tournament for the second year in a row would be a sweet next step. Michigan, No. 8 Michigan State, No. 9 Illinois and No. 11 Nebraska earned byes through the first three rounds and will begin play in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Wolverines come to Chicago with 15 straight conference wins.
UNDATED (AP) — Duke was picked No. 1 in the AP men’s basketball poll for a record 150th time on Monday. The Blue Devils grabbed 56 of 61 first-place votes after beating NC State and North Carolina last week. It is their third consecutive week at No. 1. Arizona stayed second with four first-place votes, and Michigan also got a first-place vote after beating Michigan State. Wisconsin and Louisville returned to the poll, while Miami and Saint Louis dropped out.
UNDATED (AP) — No. 2 UCLA has closed the gap on top-ranked UConn in the latest AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll. The Bruins grabbed three first-place votes after crushing Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament championship game. UConn got the other 28 first-place votes. Texas jumped South Carolina to No. 3 after winning their head-to-head showdown in the SEC tournament final. The SEC leads the country with eight ranked teams.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska and men’s basketball coach Fred Hoiberg have agreed to a three-year contract extension after he guided the Cornhuskers to a school-record 15 wins in Big Ten Conference play. The school announced the deal days before the league tournament begins with 11th-ranked Nebraska as the No. 2 seed. Hoiberg is now under contract through the 2031-32 season. He previously signed a two-year extension in 2024. The Huskers have won 20-plus games in three consecutive seasons for the first time in school history. They enter the Big Ten Tournament with a 26-5 record after reaching a program-best No. 5 national ranking in January.
UNDATED (AP) — Rutgers has hired Gary Redus II as its women’s basketball coach to replace Coquese Washington. Redus has worked on Kim Mulkey’s staff at LSU since the 2022-23 season, which ended with the Tigers winning a national championship. Before LSU, the 36-year-old Redus spent time at SMU, Vanderbilt and Division II Delta State as an assistant. This will be his first head coaching position. He has been a chief recruiter for LSU, helping bring in two of the top classes in college basketball over the past three seasons.
UNDATED (AP) — Trey Campbell scored 23 points to lead Northern Iowa over UIC in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Tournament. The Panthers advance to the NCAAs for the first time since 2016. Also on Sunday, three other teams earned automatic bids to this year’s men’s NCAA Tournament: High Point in the Big South, Queens University in the Atlantic Sun and North Dakota State in the Summit League. Automatic bids are at stake Monday night in the Sun Belt and the Southern Conference.
UNDATED (AP) — Mason McKenzie has used Trinidad Chambliss’ jump from Division II to the Power Four as a blueprint for his own move. McKenzie heads into spring as the front-runner to start for Boston College after transferring from Saginaw Valley State. He says Chambliss’ success with Mississippi proves lower-division players can compete right away. Coaches also say the new transfer market pushes big programs to mine Division II and III for experienced players who cost less.
