Now that the college football season is over, it’s time to the attention to the court and the march toward the madness of the NCAA men’s tournament.

On Monday night, confetti fell from the rafters of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta as Ohio State hoisted the College Football Playoff trophy as the champions of the 2024 season.

While the moment was meant to celebrate the Buckeyes, it inadvertently served another purpose. After the longest season in modern college football history, much of the college sports world will now shift its attention to college basketball.

There’s been plenty of storylines in the first half with expanded conferences, domination by the southeast and freshman sensations. If you haven’t been paying attention to what’s been going on in men’s college basketball, here are some of the key points this season with Selection Sunday only eight weeks away,

Who is the college basketball best team so far?

Auburn has separated itself as the top team in the country − the No. 1 team in the country has the best record in Division I at 17-1.

While the record is fantastic, it doesn’t tell the full story of how good the Tigers are. They emerged from the crowded Maui Invitational as champions and have played their best against quality opponents. Auburn has a 10-1 record against Quad 1 opponents while no other team has more than seven victories in the category. The only defeat Auburn suffered was a tough road contest at Duke (more on the Blue Devils later).

The Tigers were led by center Johni Broome, and even though he suffered an injury that has sidelined him for a few weeks, Auburn hasn’t skipped a beat during its 10-game winning streak. It certainly looks like a team headed toward being the top overall seed in the tournament.

SEC dominance

Auburn leads a pack of a conference that has dominated the first few months of the sport, proving that it does just mean more in hoops.

Before conference play began, SEC teams were a combined 185-23, with no team having more than three losses. It was an astounding start to the season that has led many to believe could send a record amount of teams to the tournament (the current best is 11 bids by the Big East in 2011).

Since conference play started, the SEC has started to cannibalize itself with some of those teams already struggling as a result of the difficulty. But it won’t be that harmful considering teams with losing SEC record will make the tournament. At the moment, 13 SEC teams are in the top 50 of the NET rankings, nine are in the Top 25 of the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll with five in the top 10.

The Cooper Flagg show rolls on

The 6-foot-9 Maine native is perhaps the most ballyhooed freshman since Zion Williamson was also turning heads for Duke six years ago. Already the No. 1 recruit in the 2024 class, Flagg boosted his profile the summer, when he competed on the United States select team and held his own in a scrimmage against the NBA’s best players on the men’s national team preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

At Duke, he has largely lived up to his lofty billing and shown major improvement. He is averaging 23.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists in his team’s past eight games, a run highlighted by an ACC-freshman-record 42 points in a win over Notre Dame. He even got a viral moment, too, when he threw down a transition dunk over Pitt seven-footer Guillermo Diaz Graham on Jan. 7.

If that progress continues, it’s possible that when he leaves Durham for the NBA after this season, he’ll do so after a run to the national title.

Connecticut looks vulnerable in quest for three-peat

Dan Hurley’s Huskies faced little resistance on their way to back-to-back national titles, winning each of its 12 tournament games by at least 13 points.

Nearly 20 games into this season, they haven’t looked nearly as invincible, with a 13-5 record that includes losses in two of their past three outings. UConn lost four of its top five scorers from last season’s championship team, including a pair of top-10 NBA draft picks – Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan.

Still, there’s plenty of talent in Storrs, with Alex Karaban and five-star freshman Liam McNeeley, and it’s worth remembering that Hurley’s first title team, dominant as it was by the end of the season, was 15-5 this time two years ago.

The Big 12 is reliably entertaining

After it helped cannibalize the Pac-12, the Big 12 helped fill the void as the go-to league for chaotic late-night football. There hasn’t been a lack of drama in basketball, either.

In nine of the past 11 seasons, the Big 12 was rated by KenPom as the best conference in the sport and while it’s not quite to the level of the SEC so far this season, it remains the home to some of the best programs in the sport. Iowa State looks like the class of the conference so far, especially after a 17-point thumping of Kansas last Wednesday. The Jayhawks aren’t too bad themselves, lurking just outside of the top 10 of the coaches poll. Houston is yet again one of the country’s toughest teams. West Virginia has emerged from Bob Huggins’ messy exit with a superb first season under coach Darian DeVries. And after a rough start, newcomer Arizona has been one of the top teams in the nation over the past month.

How are new teams doing in new conferences?

For the most part, it’s been a tough start for the Power Four teams in new homes. Of the new additions, only four − Oregon, Arizona, SMU and Stanford − have winning records in conference play, with the Ducks the only team ranked in the coaches poll.

As for the others, UCLA cooled off from a solid start with four-game losing skid as nearby Southern California has also struggled in the Big Ten. Utah is middling, and California, Washington, Arizona State, and Colorado are at the bottom of their new leagues. Meanwhile, Oklahoma and Texas are learning just how tough the SEC is with each at 1-4 in league play. If you want to see just how tough it’s been for these teams, just look at any postgame press conference from UCLA head coach Mick Cronin.

Oregon and Arizona are the best chances for the respective Big Ten and Big 12 newcomers to win their conference, but it’s been a rocky start in some new places for the majority of newcomers.

Veteran coaches off to fast starts

What’s old is new again with veteran coaches − Tom Izzo, Rick Pitino and Dana Altman − having successful seasons well into their careers.

After years mixed tournament results, Izzo has Michigan State relevant again with a 16-2 start that has the Spartans at the top of the Big Ten and ranked No. 8, its highest ranking this late in the season since 2020. Pitino has St. John’s at 16-3, and the Red Storm have an early lead in the Big East with a 7-1 mark, the best conference start since 1998-99. Then there’s also Altman and Oregon, which went perfect in non-conference play and its seven Quad 1 wins is second-most in the country.

All of the aforementioned coach’s have their teams on the way to the tournament, and experience is one of the greatest qualities a coach could have in March.

Who has disappointed?

While there’s been some impressive play, some squads aren’t living up to expectations are face the danger of not seeing their names in the bracket unveiling.

The biggest disappointment has been the arrival of John Calipari at Arkansas. The Razorbacks have been beaten up badly since conference play began and are off to an 0-5 start in the SEC that has them trending toward being one of the few in the league to miss the tournament. North Carolina is another squad that can’t capitalize against quality opponents. The Tar Heels, a preseason top 10 team, struggle to put together complete games are just 1-6 in Quad 1 contests, and coming off a bad loss to Stanford at home.

Other teams that started with high hopes and haven’t lived up to them include Gonzaga and Baylor − both teams that had losing weeks − and Indiana with a fanbase that is ready to fire Mike Woodson since the highly touted transfer haul hasn’t impressed.

The trend of hiring former NFL players as college coaches continued as Terrell Buckley was named the head coach at Mississippi Valley State University.

The 53-year-old Buckley was a decorated cornerback during his days at Florida State, winning the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back. He was drafted in the first round of the 1992 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers and played for the Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, New York Jets, and New York Giants, and won a Super Bowl title with the New England Patriots in 2001.

He spent 14 seasons in the NFL and finished with 50 interceptions.

‘We’re going to build a culture of accountability, hard work, and belief – because winning starts with the standards we set and the mindset we bring every single day,’ Buckley said in a statement.

Buckley replaces Kendrick Wade, who was fired after two seasons and a dismal 2-21 record. His only head coaching experience was one season with the Orlando Guardians of the XFL in 2023. The Guardians had a 1-9 record that season and folded after they were not part of the new UFL merger.

Buckley follows several high-profile former NFL players who have been hired at HBCUs, including Deion Sanders at Jackson State, who then moved on to Colorado; Eddie George, who is at Tennessee State; Michael Vick, who took the reins at Norfolk State and DeSean Jackson who was hired at Delaware State.

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Kenny Lofton, who has watched plenty of his peers get inducted into the Hall of Fame since his 2007 retirement, believes he simply came along at the wrong time or he’d be appreciated, sitting right alongside them in Cooperstown.

Lofton, a six-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove center fielder who hit .299 with 2,428 hits and 622 stolen bases in his 18-year career, had just one flaw in his game.

He didn’t hit home runs, producing just 130 homers while playing all but four years of his career during the steroid era.

“I was one of those guys that got overlooked because I played in the era of home runs and steroid guys,’’ Lofton told USA TODAY Sports. “That was a big part of the game, but it was like my part of the game meant nothing. I did my job hitting atop of the order. I was getting on base, just trying to help my team.

“Now, everything is about launch and home runs. Now, its about launch angles and home runs. In my era, I was doing my job.

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“It’s sad to see how the game has turned out.’’

This is one of the reasons why Lofton joined forces with former Philadelphia Phillies GM Ruben Amaro and his brother, David Amaro, who co-founded Sluggball. It’s a baseball version of Topgolf, utilizing a four-by-four situational hitting format that will be officially launched May 10 in Trenton, New Jersey, at the Trenton Thunder Ballpark in the first of at least six events.

The concept will be for teams of six players to join tournaments to determine the best situational hitters, having players utilize their skills from pulling the ball to hitting to the opposite field to spraying the ball around the infield.

Sluggball is hoping to attract former players, particularly from high school and college, who want to keep playing baseball in a competitive style, but only by swinging the bat, just like popular Topgolf on the driving range.

“In this day and age,’’ Amaro said, “there are so many alternative sports like pickleball, 3-on-3 basketball, Topgolf and things like that. There’s no such thing in baseball. There’s really no other thing for former high school players and college players who truly love the most fun thing in baseball, and that’s hitting. We just felt like there was a demographic that was being ignored. We think there’s three-million plus people in this sort of 24-to-35-year age demographic who played high school baseball.

“So many people don’t have anything else to do, so they’re going to play softball, which is not the same thing.’’

Who knows, perhaps the advent of Sluggball will bring popularity back to small-ball, with Ichiro Suzuki representing the value of being able to control his bat with his Hall of Fame election on Tuesday.

Lofton, 57, can only hope.

“Can you imagine if Dave Kingman were playing now, he’d be all-world,’’ Lofton said. “Adam Dunn would have been a $50 million a year player. It’s just such a different game now. Situational hitting in the game is terrible. People get excited more about home runs and strikeouts.

“So once this was introduced to me, and the concept of it all, it interested me. I’m hoping this will get people excited about situational hitting and talked about more in today’s game. It’s not all about home runs. It’s about knowing how to hit.

“Hopefully, this Sluggball gets into people’s heads and let them know what’s important. It’s part of the game that’s exciting, but has gone away. Now, just like with Ichiro, hopefully this can wake people up.’’

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Young readers are getting an assist from Caitlin Clark.

Scholastic is donating 22,000 new books to the Caitlin Clark Foundation, which will then get them in the hands of kids who don’t have easy access to books — especially new and popular books that would be more likely to entice kids to read.

The books are for kids in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Clark’s foundation expects to distribute them to elementary schools, middle schools, children’s hospitals and other non-profit organizations, with an emphasis on Iowa, where Clark was born and raised, and Indiana, where she plays professionally in the WNBA.

‘Reading and education have always been hugely important in my life,’ Clark said in the release announcing the donation, which reflects both her birthday, which is Wednesday, and the Indiana Fever star’s No. 22 jersey.

‘I remember picking out the books from the Scholastic flyer and how empowering that was for me as a child, and how motivated I was to read,’ Clark said. ‘I want to help kids have the same experience, to develop their reading skills and open their imaginations to dream big.’

Reading was already in decline because of the increasing amount of time spent on screens — computers, cell phones and tablets — and it worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic when school, work and free time were all taking place on line. In Scholastic’s most recent Kids & Family Reading Report, the number of kids aged 6 to 17 who said they read five to seven days a week dropped from 37% in 2010 to 28% in 2022. About 40% of U.S. students cannot read at a basic level, according to the National Literacy Institute’s 2022-23 statistics.

Studies have shown that kids who are frequent readers often have role models who read. While that typically means parents, it can be their sports idols, too.

Scholastic often partners with NFL players to encourage reading, but Clark’s foundation is the first for an WNBA player. It’s a natural fit. Education is one of the three pillars of Clark’s foundation, with an emphasis on ‘strong reading skills.’

She’s also wildly popular with young girls and young boys, and her encouragement could help keep kids reading at an age when they start spending more time on screens and extracurricular activities.

‘We need to make radical moves and inspire meaningful improvement to change the trajectory of child literacy rates in America. To do this, we need champion-level advocacy and support, which is what makes collaborating with Caitlin so exciting,’ Judy Newman, the chief impact officer at Scholastic, said in the release.

‘As we’ve seen from the 65,000 students nationwide who participate in the United States of Readers program, access to quality books and positive reading role models are key to developing motivation and self-confidence and increasing literacy,’ Newman said. ‘Caitlin is a proven role model, and we are thrilled to work together with the Caitlin Clark Foundation to make reading more accessible to kids everywhere.”

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The college football season has wrapped up with Ohio State being crowned national champions after defeating Notre Dame in a title game that seemed like it would be a blowout before getting tense late. Then Buckeyes freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith made the critical play to secure the victory.

In the College Football Playoff, there was redemption for Ryan Day, who endured criticism after a fourth consecutive loss to Michigan before one of the most impressive postseason runs in college football with four victories.

There was also a second consecutive championship for the Big Ten which points to somewhat of a power shift in the sport after the SEC was routinely expected to being at the top of the mountain. One thing that the first expanded College Football Playoff field of 12 illustrated is that depth of talent might be the most critical part of winning three or four games. And that might favor the biggest programs.

So what does this all mean as we look ahead to the 2025 season?

Dan Wolken and Paul Myerberg address these topics and more in the final College Football Fix of the 2024 season.

REPORT CARD: Handing out letter grades for every college football team

LOOKING AHEAD: Our way-too-early college football Top 25 for 2025

RE-RANK: See where every college football team falls in final NCAA 1-134

BEST OF BEST: Ranking every national champ in the College Football Playoff era

STEPPING UP: Jeremiah Smith delivered when Ohio State needed him the most

TOUGH LOSS: Notre Dame angry and motivated after loss in title game

Where, oh where, did you go, SEC football? An Ohio State star sent a message to the rival conference after national championship: ‘We beat SEC teams.’
Buckeyes celebrate in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which often hosts key games involving SEC teams.
Big Ten produces back-to-back national champions, pausing the SEC’s reign of college football.

ATLANTA – The SEC played hooky from the national championship game for a second consecutive season, but the nation’s most braggadocious conference showed up Monday night in spirit – or in, stripes, rather.

The SEC supplied the officiating crew for the title tilt between Ohio State and Notre Dame, and when the public address announcer introduced the referee and stated his conference affiliation before the pregame coin toss, a chorus of boos greeted the referee inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, rather than the familiar refrain of “S-E-C! S-E-C!” that’s most often heard in this venue that hosts the SEC championship game.

In the SEC’s absence, Ohio State scored a second national championship in a row for the Big Ten with a 34-23 coronation.

Kings of the North, and humblers of the South.

“Everyone says we can’t beat SEC teams. We beat SEC teams,” Buckeyes safety Lathan Ransom said.

SEC watching from home ‘Priceless’ in eyes of Ohio State fan

Buckeyes and Irish fans felt delight in ascending to this stage, but also pleasure in who wasn’t here – a representative from the almighty conference that produced 13 national champions during the 17-year span from the 2006-22 seasons. Five SEC programs produced at least one national title during that run of unchecked power.

A photo of a Buckeyes fan began circulating online Monday that showed the man with a red and white wig on his head and a sign noting that his tickets and hotel cost $9,000 but that the SEC watching from home was “PRICELESS.”

The SEC’s stranglehold loosened last season, when Michigan beat Washington in the national championship game after surviving Alabama in the Rose Bowl.

But, SEC loyalists could point to Georgia’s snub from the four-team playoff and speculate as to how the Bulldogs would have fared against Michigan.

No need to speculate this season. The SEC was as down as it’s been in some time. Notre Dame humbled Georgia, the SEC’s champion, in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal.

Ohio State shattered Tennessee in the first round, before turning back SEC runner-up Texas in the semifinals. Including the regular season, the Buckeyes amassed victories against six teams that qualified for the playoff.

The SEC limped away with a 1-3 record in CFP games and a 7-7 postseason mark overall. Not as embarrassing as the ACC’s postseason vamoose, but, still, feeble stuff by the SEC’s standards.

Even in its absence Monday, the SEC lingered on the brain. Without prompting, Ransom brought up the Big Ten’s rival conference during his postgame interview session, and he also steadfastly defended Ryan Day, who went from embattled Buckeyes coach to vindicated conquerer at warp speed.

“We beat undefeated teams. We beat Texas,” Ransom said. “Anyone want to come for Coach Day’s head? Y’all can’t.”

The SEC would appreciate Ransom’s bravado, if not his sentiment.

Big Ten’s elite surpassed the SEC

For a nuanced take in this Big Ten vs. SEC debate, let’s consider the opinion of Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, who starred last season for Alabama, giving him perspective on both leagues.

So, how do the conferences compare?

Well, for starters, Downs said Big Ten offenses deploy formations using two tight ends more frequently. Also, aside from Ohio State’s games against Oregon, he didn’t encounter tempo offenses as often this season.

“In the SEC, there’s a lot more tempo,” Downs said.

Fair insight, indeed, but that’s a little technical.

Brass tacks, which conference is stronger?

“For a lot of the games, the level of talent is very comparable,” Downs said. “At the end of the day, they’re both elite conferences.”

The Big Ten offered more crème de la crème this season, though, and the Buckeyes smoked celebratory cigars to begin their reign in the building where so many meaningful SEC games are played, while a bitter cold descended upon the South.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer. Subscribe to read all of his columns.

American Madison Keys continues her quest for a first Grand Slam title on Thursday when she faces second-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland in the semifinal round of the Australian Open.

Keys, the tournament’s No. 19 seed, won a hardcourt tune-up event in Adelaide and is currently riding a 10-match winning streak. She will be looking to make it back to the finals in a major for the first time since the 2017 U.S. Open.

Meanwhile, Swiatek has been utterly dominant during her run in Melbourne – dropping a total of 14 games in her five matches.

Swiatek holds a 4-1 advantage over Keys in their previous meetings.

How Madison Keys reached the semifinals

Here is No. 19 seed Madison Keys’ path to her meeting with Iga Swiatek at the Australian Open:

First round: Def. Ann Li (USA) 6-4, 7-5
Second round: Def. qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse (ROU) 7-6 (1), 2-6, 7-5
Third round: Def. No. 10 Danielle Collins (USA) 6-4, 6-4
Fourth round: Def. No. 6 Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
Quarterfinals: Def. No. 28 Elina Svitolina (UKR) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

How Iga Swiatek reached the semifinals

Here is No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek’s path to her meeting with Madison Keys at the Australian Open:

First round: Def. Katerina Siniakova (CZE) 6-3, 6-4
Second round: Def. Rebecca Sramkova (SVK) 6-0, 6-2
Third round: Def. Emma Raducanu (GBR) 6-1, 6-0
Fourth round: Def. Eva Lys (DEU) 6-0, 6-1
Quarterfinals: Def. No. 8 Emma Navarro (USA) 6-1, 6-2

How to watch Madison Keys vs. Iga Swiatek

The women’s semifinal match between Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek will take place after the conclusion of the first semifinal between top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka and No. 11 seed Paula Badosa.

Time: The match is scheduled to begin around 5 a.m. ET on Thursday (9 p.m. in Melbourne).

TV: It will be broadcast live on ESPN and will be available to stream online on ESPN+.

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The NBA is bringing regular-season basketball back to Paris this week, and the face of France’s exploding basketball scene will be the star of the league’s latest international showcase event. Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs are facing the Indiana Pacers in back-to-back games over three days beginning Thursday at Accor Arena. It’s the first time the NBA is playing multiple games in Paris.

It’s a homecoming for Wembanyama, who grew up outside the French capital and starred for the Metropolitans 92 there before becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft. The 7-foot-3 center has blossomed further after his successful rookie of the year campaign, and the Spurs (19-22) are on pace for their best season since 2018-19. That’s the last time the franchise made the NBA playoffs.

The Pacers (24-19) got off to a rocky start after last year’s run to the Eastern Conference finals, but they’ve gotten hot to start 2025 to move up to fifth place in the East standings through Tuesday’s games. Point guard Tyrese Haliburton will be playing in the same arena in which he won a gold medal for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics in August against Wembanyama and France. The accomplishment came with mixed emotions, and perhaps a chance for redemption over the coming days, because Haliburton didn’t play in the gold medal game and hardly played at all throughout the Olympic tournament.

There are plenty of storylines as the NBA plays regular-season basketball in Paris for the third consecutive year, and fourth time since 2020. Here’s more information on this week’s schedule, as well as how to watch the San Antonio Spurs vs. Indiana Pacers at the NBA Paris Games 2025:

NBA Paris Games 2025 schedule

The San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers are scheduled to play two NBA regular-season games on Thursday, Jan. 23 and Saturday, Jan. 25 as part of the NBA Paris Games event.

Thursday, Jan. 23: San Antonio Spurs vs. Indiana Pacers, 2 p.m. ET (NBA TV)
Saturday, Jan. 25: San Antonio Spurs vs. Indiana Pacers, 12 p.m. ET (ESPN)

NBA Paris 2025: How to watch San Antonio Spurs vs. Indiana Pacers

Spurs vs. Pacers Game 1

When: Thursday, Jan. 23
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Location: Accor Arena (Paris, France)
TV: NBA TV
Streaming: Fubo, NBA League Pass

Watch NBA Paris Games 2025 with Fubo

Spurs vs. Pacers Game 2

When: Saturday, Jan. 25
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: Accor Arena (Paris, France)
TV: ESPN
Streaming: Fubo, NBA League Pass

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