Villanova fired men’s basketball coach Kyle Neptune after three seasons, the school announced Saturday.

Neptune went 54-47 during his tenure at Villanova, and no NCAA Tournament appearances. His firing comes a day after the Wildcats lost to UConn in the Big East tournament quarterfinals, and the school said assistant coach Mike Nardi will serve as the interim head coach until a new coach is hired.

‘Since coming to Villanova, I have been struck by Kyle’s tireless work ethic and his dedication to the student-athletes he served,’ Villanova Vice President and Director of Athletics Eric Roedl said in a statement. ‘We are grateful to Kyle for his long service to Villanova and his mentorship to the many outstanding young men he has coached.’

The 40-year-old Neptune took over for Jay Wright in April 2022 after spending one season at Fordham and eight seasons as an assistant under Wright.

Following in Wright’s footsteps was easier said than done. Wright led Villanova to eight Big East regular-season titles and two national championships and was in the Final Four in 2022 before announcing his retirement at age 60.

Nepture’s 2024-25 squad was inconsistently losing to teams they were favored to beat, including Columbia in the season’s second game, having three Quad 3 and Quad 4 losses.

Even though the team was led by the nation’s leading scorer in forward Eric Dixon, the Wildcats finished with a 19-14 record and a sixth-place finish in the Big East Conference.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

There’s a saying by American author William Arthur Ward that says opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them.

For much of the season, North Carolina has hit the snooze button when dawn arrived. Despite the several instances of oversleeping, it kept getting chances to see the next sunrise. After beating Wake Forest in the ACC tournament semifinals, the Tar Heels knew another opportunity awaited Friday, facing rival Duke for a third time this season.

Win and an NCAA Tournament bid was on the horizon. Head coach Hubert Davis said his team was excited about the opportunity to face the Blue Devils once more, feeling like they’d be ready.

Instead, it was the same old story for North Carolina. The Blue Devils woke up with a fiery energy and it was far too late by the time the Tar Heels realized they overslept. Duke won 74-71 to advance to the ACC championship game and send North Carolina back home with a grim outlook on its March Madness chances.

Everything heading into Friday indicated it would be the signature night of the season for North Carolina. Not only did it take care of business in the first two games in Charlotte against Notre Dame and Wake Forest, it was facing a Duke team without star freshman Cooper Flagg and defensive specialist Maliq Brown after both suffered injuries against Georgia Tech. A hobbled Blue Devils team couldn’t have come at a better time for North Carolina.

But out of the gate, it was almost as if the national championship-contending Blue Devils were the ones playing like their NCAA Tournament hopes were on the line. They played with a sense of urgency and intensity as if they needed the automatic bid. On the other hand, North Carolina was sleepwalking, almost as if the game didn’t have much significance.

Just look at the end of the first half. Duke was hustling for every loose ball, running down the court and playing meaningful defense. It went into halftime on a 15-0 run in the last five minutes for a 19-point lead. Sitting on the bench in workout clothes, Flagg showed more energy than anyone in Carolina blue.

To North Carolina’s credit, it finally woke up and went on a late run to make it a one-point game in the final seconds. It had a chance to tie it at the free throw line with four seconds to go, but a costly lane violation by Jae’Lyn Withers canceled the attempt and doomed the comeback. Another instance of waiting until it was too late to win.

North Carolina’s NCAA Tournament resume

Now it’s time to reexamine whether North Carolina should be in the NCAA Tournament.

In the recent USA TODAY Sports Bracketology, it was among the last four teams in the field after spending several weeks outside of the bracket. What was key to North Carolina’s rise into the First Four area was as it avoided any disastrous loss this week, other bubble teams like Indiana and Ohio State crumbled, opening the door for others to pass them up.

However, North Carolina hasn’t been able to move up any further because it hasn’t proved it could beat quality teams. It has a solid No. 35 NET ranking and a 22-13 record, but only one win was a Quad 1 victory − over UCLA in December − in the ever so important NET rankings. The Tar Heels finished with a 1-12 mark in the category, and that doesn’t even include the Quad 3 loss they suffered from Stanford in January.

The Quad 1 record has been at the center of debate of whether North Carolina should be in the NCAA Tournament, with people arguing it won 22 games with a tough non-conference schedule but only one of them was against a likely tournament team.

For the people who believe a team with only Quad 1 win shouldn’t be in the tournament, it has happened before on several occasions since the NET ranking was introduced in the 2018-19 season. Nevada in 2019, Syracuse in 2021 and North Carolina State in 2023 all got at-large bids with just one Quad 1 wins.

To aid North Carolina’s argument, both Syracuse and North Carolina State had a worse NET ranking on Selection Sunday. But what none of the aforementioned teams did have was double-digit Quad 1 losses. Syracuse had the most of the group at seven, far less ugly than North Carolina’s 12.

Had North Carolina pulled off the improbable comeback, it would have been safe to assume it would be in the field regardless what happened in the ACC title game. While two Quad 1 wins isn’t much, plenty of teams have gotten a ticket to the big dance with it.

Instead, North Carolina will leave its fate to the selection committee, which will again face the challenge of how much the name on the front of the jersey outweighs the resume. If it weren’t a blue blood, everyone would have dismissed this team. But the Tar Heels are the Tar Heels, and that alone gives them some consideration.

What the committee must remember, though, is when it comes to determining the at-large candidates, it’s supposed to put the best teams in that can have success, not maybe have it. Throughout the season, North Carolina showed it could possibly compete with the contenders. Of the 12 Quad 1 losses, six were by single-digits, and four were by three points or less. It got close, but that doesn’t mean it deserves another crack when it has consistently proved it can’t get the job done.

The Tar Heels kept missing the sunrise, and barring some more incredible luck, they will likely instead see the sun set on another disappointing season.

For years, Kyler Murray has been vocal about his Korean heritage. He’s worn a South Korean flag on his helmet and spoken out on social media against acts of hate targeting Asian Americans.

Now, he’s making his first trip to the country. And this week, in an interview with KBS Radio in Seoul, he hinted at potentially representing South Korea on the global stage in 2028, when flag football will make its debut as an Olympic sport.

NFL teams scooped the top defensive talents off the board early during the league’s ‘legal tampering’ period. The offensive market has moved a bit slower, especially at quarterback and receiver, but many of the league’s best offensive linemen have found new homes for the 2025 season and beyond.

Among USA TODAY’s top 25 free agents of the 2025 offseason, 19 have already signed free agent contracts. Below are the grades for those signings based on the value of each player’s deal and their fit with their club.

NFL free agent signing grades

Jevon Holland, S, New York Giants

Contract: Three years, $45 million ($30.3 million guaranteed)
Grade: B+

Holland turned 25 on the eve of free agency and is an instinctive safety who has 301 tackles in 60 career games (57 starts). It’s worth wondering why the Giants were comfortable giving Holland $15 million in average annual value (AAV) after letting Xavier McKinney walk with a $16.75 million price tag last season, but there’s little doubt that Holland will be a strong long-term partner for Tyler Nubin.

Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Contract: Three years, $66 million ($44 million guaranteed)
Grade: A

Godwin reportedly received a contract offer worth $20 million more than what the Buccaneers paid him from the Patriots. He decided to stay in Tampa Bay, which should aid the team in its quest to make the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season.

Godwin was one of the NFL’s most productive receivers last season before suffering an ankle dislocation in Week 7. The 29-year-old will continue to complement Mike Evans and serve as Baker Mayfield’s No. 1 target.

D.J. Reed, CB, Detroit Lions

Contract: Three years, $48 million ($32 million guaranteed)
Grade: A-

The Lions lost Carlton Davis in free agency but may have landed an upgrade in Reed, who hasn’t allowed a passer rating greater than 91.7 in a season since the 2019 campaign. Having both Reed and Amik Robertson in the same cornerback room could be challenging since both are on the smaller side at 5-9, but Reed’s veteran presence will be welcome as the Lions look to develop Terrion Arnold.

Khalil Mack, EDGE, Los Angeles Chargers

Contract: One year, $18 million (fully guaranteed)
Grade: B+

Mack has appeared in 50 of 51 possible games during his three seasons with the Chargers and logged 31 total sacks across them. He had just six sacks in 2024, tied for his second-lowest single-season total, but still ranked 26th league-wide in pressures with 49.

Mack is entering his age-34 season, so getting him on a one-year deal was a risk-free move for the Chargers. He can play a key role as the team’s top pass rusher after it moved on from Joey Bosa during the offseason.

Sam Darnold, QB, Seattle Seahawks

Contract: Three years, $100.5 million ($50 million guaranteed)
Grade: C-

Swapping Geno Smith for Sam Darnold makes the Seahawks younger, but will it make them better? Proponents of Darnold will say his familiarity with Seattle’s new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak will allow him to smoothly transition into the Seahawks offense.

Detractors will point out that Darnold had the third-longest time to throw in the NFL last season. Only the hyper-mobile combination of Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts took more time than him. That could be a recipe for disaster behind Seattle’s shaky offensive line.

Perhaps the Seahawks will upgrade their blocking or Darnold will quicken his release. Nonetheless, this feels like a boom-or-bust signing for the Seahawks; it’s a coin flip to see which way it goes.

Josh Sweat, EDGE, Arizona Cardinals

Contract: Four years, $76.4 million ($41 million guaranteed)
Grade: A-

Sweat led the Eagles with eight sacks last season and notched 2.5 sacks in the team’s Super Bowl 59 win against the Chiefs. The Cardinals have needed a top-tier edge rusher since Chandler Jones left the team following the 2021 NFL season and Sweat has previous experience with head coach Jonathan Gannon from their time together with the Eagles.

Haason Reddick, EDGE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Contract: One year, $14 million
Grade: B+

Reddick had a difficult 2024 season, notching just one sack for the Jets after missing the first seven games of the season while holding out for a new contract. As a result, he had to settle for a one-year deal. The Buccaneers needed a high-end pass rusher and they aren’t risking much long-term to see if Reddick – who had at least 11 sacks in four consecutive seasons from 2020 to 2023 – can regain his form.

Justin Reid, S, New Orleans Saints

Contract: Three years, $31.5 million ($22.25 million guaranteed)
Grade: A

Four safeties got more than $15 million in AAV on the open market. Reid got just $10.5 million, making him a solid bargain. The 28-year-old averaged 88 tackles, 1.3 sacks and one interception across his three seasons with the Chiefs and will give the Saints a hard-hitting safety who holds up well enough in coverage. He can also kick in a pinch, so the Saints did well with this deal.

Milton Williams, DT, New England Patriots

Contract: Four years, $104 million ($63 million guaranteed)
Grade: B

The Patriots paid a slight premium to beat the Panthers in the Williams sweepstakes. It could be worth it, as Williams ranked 19th among interior defensive linemen in pressures last season (40) despite playing just 47.85% of the Eagles’ snaps. Mike Vrabel should get the most out of Williams’ pass-rushing talents, so even at an a higher-than-expected price, Williams is a strong signing.

Talanoa Hufanga, S, Denver Broncos

Contract: Three years, $45 million ($20 million guaranteed)
Grade: A-

Hufanga got the same basic terms as Holland. The difference? Hufanga got $10.3 million less in guarantees because he has struggled with injuries the last two seasons. Still, this was a strong signing by the Broncos, as Hufanga has seven interceptions over the last three years and was an All-Pro first teamer in 2022. If he can stay healthy, he should outplay this contract.

Charvarius Ward, CB, Indianapolis Colts

Contract: Three years, $60 million ($35 million guaranteed)
Grade: B+

Ward is coming off a trying 2024 season during which he was mourning the death of his 1-year-old daughter. Before his down year, Ward was named a 2023 second-team All-Pro after allowing a 62.3 passer rating and logging five interceptions.

The Colts are banking on Ward bouncing back after a change of scenery. He is entering his age-29 season, so this is a rational deal for the Colts to make.

Byron Murphy, CB, Minnesota Vikings

Contract: Three years, $66 million
Grade: A

Murphy is a six-year NFL veteran but he is still just 27 years old. He had a career-high 81 tackles and six interceptions last season while earning a Pro Bowl nod for the first time in his career.

Murphy has two seasons of experience in Brian Flores’ defense and has comported himself well as a No. 1 cornerback. The Vikings know what they’re getting in re-upping with the veteran corner, so this seems like a great deal for all involved.

DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Baltimore Ravens

Contract: One year, $6 million
Grade: B

Hopkins will turn 33 before the 2025 NFL season and is likely past his prime. The Ravens aren’t risking much to find out if Hopkins has anything left in the tank, though it’s hard to imagine him improving significantly upon his 56 catches, 610 yards and five touchdowns from last season.

Joey Bosa, EDGE, Buffalo Bills

Contract: One year, $12.6 million ($12 million guaranteed)
Grade: B+

Bosa has struggled to stay healthy in recent seasons, but the Bills managed to ink him to a one-year deal after the Chargers released him. He profiles as a solid replacement for the soon-to-be 36-year-old Von Miller, who played just 25.27% of Buffalo’s snaps last season. Bosa, 30 in July, comes at a much cheaper cost than Miller so this was a solid swap for Buffalo.

Jonathan Allen, DT, Minnesota Vikings

Contract: Three years, $51 million
Grade: B-

Allen’s deal was initially reported to be worth $60 million, but it actually came in at $51 million. That’s a reasonable sum for the 30-year-old defensive tackle, who made back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2021 and 2022.

That said, Allen has seen his sack numbers decline in each season since 2021, so this deal isn’t without risk. Brian Flores should still be able to get the most out of the talented veteran, so this isn’t a bad deal.

Carlton Davis, CB, New England Patriots

Contract: Three years, $60 million ($34.5 million guaranteed)
Grade: B

Davis essentially got the same deal as Ward got in free agency. Davis had the better season in 2024, allowing just an 87.9 passer rating in 13 games with the Lions, but he has never played more than 14 games in a season because of injury. That makes him a slightly riskier signing than Ward, even if the 28-year-old is still a strong starting cornerback.

Drew Dalman, C, Chicago Bears

Contract: Three years, $42 million ($28 million guaranteed)
Grade: A-

Dalman was Pro Football Focus’ fourth-best center in 2024 and made 40 starts in 57 career games with the Falcons. The Bears had a big need at center so it’s hard to complain about the team making him the second-highest-paid center in the league behind only Creed Humphrey.

Dre Greenlaw, LB, Denver Broncos

Contract: Three years, $35 million
Grade: A

Greenlaw missed always all of the 2024 season while recovering from a torn Achilles he suffered in Super Bowl 58. Before that, he was a strong three-down starter for the 49ers and was one of the best run-stoppers in the league.

A couple of linebackers with less starting experience, Zack Baun and Jamien Sherwood, got considerably more in AAV than Greenlaw, at $17 million and $15 million respectively. Greenlaw turns just 28 in May, so he should be a bargain if he can return to form as he gets further removed from his injury.

Justin Fields, QB, New York Jets

Contract: Two years, $40 million ($30 million)
Grade: B

Fields got a rare middle-class quarterback contract worth $20 million in AAV. That ranks him 20th league-wide in AAV with Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson still yet to sign free agent contracts.

Fields hasn’t been a great passer during his career but completed a career-high 65.8% of his passes last season. Between that and his top-end running abilities, he’s a worthwhile gamble with the Jets.

Bill Hancock stopped himself before saying never. 

He still considers the Bowl Championship Series to be “a brilliant mathematical system,” even though it’s remembered today as another lukewarm attempt at improving college football’s postseason.

There were no meetings and no deliberation like the College Football Playoff or NCAA Tournament selection committees conduct now. The way the BCS worked at its most granular level as recently as a decade ago, according to Hancock, is he would receive emails each week containing the computer rankings that constituted one portion of the BCS. 

The former BCS executive director would then send those figures to a neutral entity to be compiled along with the national polls and strength of schedule components that made up the remainder of the formula to determine the sport’s national championship game beginning in 1999 through the start of the CFP ahead of the 2014 season. 

And Hancock, who retired last month after serving as the CFP executive director since its inception, never wants college football to use something like that again.  

“It lost favor quickly, and what it was missing was the human element,” he said. “I was going to say I don’t ever see the loss of the human element, but I’ve been following what’s been happening with the Big Ten and SEC. I think it would only go back if people forget their history.”

Would March Madness metrics work for the College Football Playoff?

As Selection Sunday approaches and March Madness begins, there will be seven different metrics on team sheets to help the 12 members of the men’s basketball selection committee fill out the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket. There are predictive ratings that reflect a team’s performance based on offensive and defensive efficiency and results-based ratings that judge a team’s resume.

There was nothing near that in place for the CFP selection committee when the college football’s playoff expanded to 12 teams last season and chose SMU over Alabama for the final at-large spot last December. Conference commissioners have discussed changes to the format since then, most notably an increase in the number of teams in the bracket and more automatic bids for the Big Ten and SEC, in particular.

Given the likelihood this will continue to yield more subjective decisions ripe for controversy, might college football benefit from relying more on objective metrics? At least one prominent member of the college basketball analytics community wonders why it hasn’t already gone down that path.

“There’s a huge contrast between college football and college basketball in my mind, which doesn’t make sense because there’s a ton of rating systems out there for college football as well,’ said Ken Pomeroy, who created kenpom.com in 2002 and is credited with ushering in the modern analytics movement in college basketball. “Obviously they went through the whole BCS thing and maybe people are scarred from that or something. But it just feels like there’s so little objective criteria in college football, which is extremely weird to me.”

Matt Morris, ESPN’s director of analytics, confirmed the CFP selection committee did have access to ESPN’s Football Power Index and Strength of Record metrics for its deliberations on selection day this year. But he is among those who believe the smaller sample size in college football – teams play 12 regular-season games as opposed to as many as 31 in college basketball – makes the endeavor much harder and more likely to produce anomalies or outliers on the gridiron. 

Michigan State athletic administrator Kevin Pauga, who created the results-based Kevin Pauga Index used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee and has a separate business that helps conferences build schedules, noted whereas each game in college basketball counts for 3% of a team’s resume, that figure rises to 8.5% in college football.

‘You can come up with adjusted efficiency numbers … a lot easier in basketball just by the nature of how the sport is played,’ Pauga said. ‘The availability of the predictive data in basketball is just more prevalent. There’s some ways to do better in terms of football data, but it’s far less a perfect science.”

How to measure CFP’s ‘eye test’

Morris and his team at ESPN nonetheless formulated a “playoff predictor” for this past season, but found predicting what football committee members might do to be a lot trickier than their basketball counterparts.

Not only did the model need to project the winner of each game, but it also had to predict what a committee might do on selection day with a format being implemented for the first time.                            

“The nebulous eye test just becomes so much more paramount,” Morris said. “You had a little bit more opportunity to leverage the data with 12 (teams), and it seemed like they did that to some degree. But I think there were some thumbs on scales a little bit this year. I don’t mean that controversially. I don’t mean they wanted certain teams in and certain teams out. I just meant the narrative played a little bit of a bigger role in not having another SEC team, for example, when the metrics in the past might have indicated they would have picked (Alabama) for that 12th spot.”

The 16-team NCAA men’s hockey tournament adopted something akin to a metrics-based selection process in recent years, awarding its 10 at-large berths through a computer system that uses record against common opponents, head-to-head record and the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) to measure a team’s season. There are only 40 Division I men’s ice hockey programs in the country, compared with 134 Football Bowl Subdivision teams and 364 Division I men’s basketball teams this year.

Hancock, who was also the first full-time director of the men’s basketball Final Four from 1989 to 2002, believes there will always be teams that feel unfairly left out no matter which system is put in place over college football and college basketball in the future.

‘It just really works best with a human committee that can use human judgment – informed by the data, of course,’ Hancock said. ‘Consulting the data, using the data, but I’m a big believer in that it’s the best the way it is, both in basketball and football.”

He just knows better at this point than to say that won’t change.

Follow Mark Giannotto on social media @mgiannotto and email him at mgiannotto@gannett.com.

Boxing star Claressa Shields still faces possible enforcement action for testing positive for marijuana last month in Michigan even though her suspension was ‘dissolved’ Friday, according to an order issued by the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission (MUCC), which regulates boxing in the state.

Shields, 29, announced the news on her social media account.

‘Officially unsuspended!’’ Shields wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “But y’all a little quiet! Y’all was real loud about me ‘supposedly’ smoking marijuana and being suspended! No worries! And still an Undisputed heavyweight champ! I have the Order to prove it!!!’

However, the last line of the Order issued by the MUCC reads, ‘The Order does not resolve the Formal Complaint … and does not close the enforcement action.’

Anne Morrell, newly elected chair of the MUCC, told USA TODAY Sports she could not comment on the matter.

Shields faces a fine and the possibility of having the victory from her last fight overturned. That bout took place Feb. 2, when she became the undisputed heavyweight champion after beating Danielle Perkins by unanimous decision in her hometown of Flint, Michigan.

But after the fight, Shields has said, she tested positive for ‘trace” levels of marijuana.

Shields was one of eight boxers on the card that night randomly drug tested, in adherence with MUCC rules. Marijuana is legal in Michigan but banned at Dort Financial Center, where the Feb. 2 fight was held.

Shields attorney, David Slutsker, said he and Shields were ‘happy and relieved that the suspension issue has been resolved in her favor.” But Slutsker also said he is ‘astounded’ the Formal Complaint – that Shields violated MUCC rules by testing positive for marijuana – is not resolved.

The Complaint led to an order of suspension, which was issued Feb. 12 stated the MUCC ‘investigated and determined that sufficient and good cause exists to find that the conduct of Respondent Claressa M. Shields, a licensed professional boxer, constitutes an imminent threat to the integrity of the sport of professional boxing, the public interest, and the welfare and safety of a professional requiring emergency action.’

Slutsker represented Shields at a compliance meeting March 6 with Michigan officials and told USA TODAY Sports, ‘the Complaint was most definitely part of our defense presentation. It was in the evidence booklet we presented.’ He also sought to have the suspension dissolved, and succeeded.

The order issued by the MUCC Friday stated, ‘Based on the information the Respondent provided at the compliance conference, the Department (of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs), on behalf of the MUCC, finds there is no longer immiment threat to the integrity of the sport, the public interest, or the welfare and safety of a contest that requires emergency action. … The Department will remove Respondent’s name from the suspension list of the sanctioned record-keeping organization (Friday).”

Mark Taffet, Shields’ manager, expressed gratitude for the suspension being dissolved.

‘We appreciate the Michigan Commission’s swift elimination of the suspension, and look forward to Claressa getting right back to business as boxing’s GWOAT.”

Slutsker, however, said he is unsure what will be required to resolve the Formal Complaint and avoid enforcement action.

Shields’ victory over Perkins by unanimous decision improved her record to 16-0 and elevated her to the undisputed women’s heavyweight champion. But things subsequently unraveled for Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist whose rise to fame from poverty and abuse was chronicled in ‘The Fire Inside,’ a feature-length film released Christmas Day.

Her story took on a new chapter of adversity.

Shields was one of eight boxers drug tested after the event Feb. 2, according to her attorney and Dmitriy Salita, the event promoter. Boxers are chosen for drug testing by random, according to MUCC rules.

Shields has said a saliva test after her fight against Perkins showed trace levels of marijuana in her system, but her drug results were not publicly released.

She denied ever using the drug.

Informed about the failed drug test Feb. 7, Shields fought back against critics who attacked her integrity on social media.

One theory about the failed test is it could have been triggered by secondhand smoke.

Three boxers on the Feb. 2 card at the Dort Financial Center in Flint tested positive for marijuana. Joe Hicks, one of those boxers, said he tested positive for trace levels of marijuana and that the smell of the drug permeated areas of the facility. Mark Taffet, Shields’ promoter, and Salita also said marijuana could be smelled at the event.

Shields also was expected to argue that protocol was not followed when the saliva test was administered, according to Victor Conte, who describes himself as a ‘dietary supplement and training adviser” for Shields. She is sponsored by Conte’s supplement company, SNAC.