Latest news with #JonRothstein
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Iowa basketball draws early-season SEC test in Acrisure Series
Iowa basketball will get a tough non-conference matchup early in the 2025-26 season. The Hawkeyes will travel over to Palm Springs, California, to compete in the 2025 Acrisure Classic on November 25. They're in a group with Utah, Ole Miss, and Grand Canyon, and they found out their matchup on Friday morning from longtime college basketball writer Jon Rothstein. They'll match up with the Rebels of Ole Miss in the opening game of the tournament. Ole Miss is coming off a successful NCAA Tournament run last season, where they beat North Carolina and Iowa State on their way to the Sweet 16, ultimately losing by three to Michigan State. They're coached by veteran winner Chris Beard, who's building quite the program down in Oxford. The Rebels lost some really good players from last year's team in Sean Pedulla and Dre Davis, but Beard has reloaded extremely well entering the 2025-26 season. He's bringing in the 16th-best recruiting class according to 247Sports, which includes four-stars Niko Bundalo, Tylis Jordan, and Patton Pinkins. He's also brought in some talented transfers in Koren Johnson, AJ Storr, and Travis Perry. This will be a good measuring stick opponent for the Hawkeyes early on this season. The Rebels are a good program in an elite basketball conference, and if Iowa hangs with them or even picks up a win, it'll say a lot about the direction of the program. All eyes will be on the Hawkeyes as they take on the Ole Miss Rebels at the Acrisure Classic. The winner of this game will face the winner of Utah and Grand Canyon on November 26 in the final. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Zach on X: @zach_hiney
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Spartans remain positioned near top 20 in latest preseason rankings from Jon Rothstein
Michigan State basketball landed just outside the top 20 in the latest released preseason poll for the 2025-26 season. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports released an updated preseason poll for the next college basketball season, and he has the Spartans sitting just outside the top 20. Michigan State came in at No. 21 in the updated poll from Rothstein. Among Big Ten teams, Michigan State is ranked fifth. The Spartans are behind Purdue (No. 1), Michigan (No. 5), UCLA (No. 7) and Oregon (No. 20). Rothstein's rankings include the top 45 teams in the country, so he also had six Big Ten teams listed below the Spartans on the list: Illinois (No. 22), Wisconsin (No. 23), Ohio State (No. 26), Washington (No. 30), Maryland (No. 35), USC (No. 38) and Nebraska (No. 41). Michigan State has typically been sitting right around this same spot in each of Rothstein's updated rankings throughout the offseason. This seems like the perfect landing spot for a Spartans team that has plenty of unknowns going into next season, but certainly has the potential to again be a contender in the Big Ten should everything come together. Click on the post below to see the complete updated rankings from Rothstein: Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
USA Today
16-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Wisconsin basketball officially announces non-conference matchup against Big East power
Wisconsin basketball officially announced its Dec. 19 neutral-site non-conference game against Villanova on Friday. Initially reported by CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein, the contest will transpire at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as part of a two-game series. The latter match is set to tip at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a part of the 2026-27 slate. "Any time you get the chance to schedule a powerhouse program like Villanova it's a win-win," Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard told "We get the chance to measure ourselves in the non-conference and Badgers fans in Wisconsin get to see a big-time college basketball game. Much like our exhibition against Oklahoma, I'm excited for our fans and alumni in Milwaukee to get a game in their backyard. The atmosphere has been awesome every time we've played in that area and I have no doubt Fiserv will be filled with red for these games as well." The Dec. 19 showdown will also mark the first bout between the two programs since No. 8 Wisconsin upset No. 1 Villanova on a Nigel Hayes game-winner in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. UW will also suit up against opposing head coach Kevin Willard, who has served as Maryland's head coach since the 2022-23 season. 2025-26 will be his first year at the helm with the Wildcats. Of note, Willard's Terrapins defeated the Badgers 76-68 in College Park a season ago with strong performances from big men Julian Reese and Derik Queen. He owns a 2-3 clip all-time against Greg Gard's program. Wisconsin's other notable regular-season non-conference matchups include BYU in Salt Lake City, Utah, Marquette in Madison, Providence at the Rady's Children's Invitational, and the winner of TCU vs. Florida. UW will also take on the UW-Milwaukee Panthers on Dec. 30, the Oklahoma Sooners in an October exhibition and the Campbell Fighting Camels on Nov. 3 at the Kohl Center. Villanova, which won a pair of NCAA titles under legendary head coach Jay Wright in 2016 and 2018, is in search of its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2021-22 season. Wisconsin, meanwhile, aims to lean on top returning starters John Blackwell and Nolan Winter, plus transfers Nick Boyd, Andrew Rohde and Austin Rapp, to return to the postseason after a 27-10 output during the 2024-25 campaign. Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
USA Today
19-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Wisconsin basketball finalizes another notable nonconference opponent
Wisconsin basketball finalizes another notable nonconference opponent Wisconsin basketball will begin the Rady Children's Invitational against the Providence Friars, according to CBSSports' Jon Rothstein. The Badgers are part of a four-team field at the 2025 'Feast Week' event in San Diego, California, along with Providence, TCU and defending national champion Florida. The tournament will take place on Nov. 27 and 28, with the semifinal games on the 27th and the championship and third place game on the 28th. Wisconsin will face a Providence team that went 12-20 (6-14 Big East) in 2024-25 and finished ranked No. 96 in KenPom. The program has struggled in its first two years under Kim English, following an impressive 12-year run under Ed Cooley. However, CBSSports believes it could be primed for a resurgent 2025-26 campaign after a transfer-heavy offseason. The Badgers' matchups against Providence and either TCU or Florida, depending on the semifinal results, add to a loaded nonconference schedule. The team will begin with an exhibition against Oklahoma in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in late October. It will then travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, in mid-November for a high-profile rematch against BYU, a projected national title contender entering the season. That game precedes the Rady Children's Invitational, as well as the annual matchup against in-state rival Marquette (date is to-be-determined) and a mid-December contest against Villanova at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Wisconsin's full nonconference schedule has yet to be finalized. But the team already has five high-profile contests, not including the exhibition against the Sooners. Wisconsin's new-look starting lineup, led by returning starters John Blackwell and Nolan Winter, plus high-profile transfer additions Nick Boyd, Andrew Rohde and Austin Rapp, will be tested from the first game of the season. The team's nonconference schedule should accurately preview what to expect when Big Ten play picks up in January 2026. If the team performs against the listed gauntlet nonconference slate like it did against then-No. 9 Arizona to start the 2024-25 season, a win that was led by a dominant 41 points from future All-American wing John Tonje, Badgers fans could brace for a special season. Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
UConn, Illinois basketball finalizing Black Friday showdown at MSG
The post UConn, Illinois basketball finalizing Black Friday showdown at MSG appeared first on ClutchPoints. The UConn Huskies and the Illinois Fighting Illini are reportedly on the verge of making official a Black Friday date at Madison Square Garden in New York, according to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports and College Hoops Today. Advertisement 'NEWS: UConn and Illinois are finalizing an agreement to meet on November 28th — Black Friday — at MSG, according to multiple sources,' Rothstein shared in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday. The news of the matchup has left fans buzzing with reactions online. 'Should be a home and home!!!' one said. 'Illinois will just get blown out of the water in MSG like they did against Duke this year,' a fan predicted. From a different commenter: 'They want that crucial rematch 😭😭' 'We should get another game in Chicago in 2027,' an Illinois fan suggested. 'REMATCH BABY,' commented an excited fan, who's already looking forward to that Black Friday showdown in the Big Apple. Advertisement Should this game get finalized, Illinois will get a chance to score some measure of revenge against the team that eliminated it from the Elite Eight round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. In that contest, Dan Hurley's No. seed Huskies flummoxed Brad Underwood's No. 3 seed Fighting Illini on both ends of the floor to score a 77-52 victory at TD Garden in Boston. Donovan Clingan, who now plays for the Portland Trail Blazers, led the way for UConn with 22 points and 10 rebounds to go with five blocks and three steals. Marcus Domask paced Illinois with 17 points, as his team shot just 25.4 percent from the floor. The Huskies then proceeded to beat the No. 4 seed Alabama Crimson Tide in the Final Four and the No. 1 seed Purdue Boilermakers in the national championship game to successfully become two-peat champions. Having Illinois on UConn's 2024-25 assignments will strengthen the Huskies' schedule that already features non-conference games against the likes of the BYU Cougars, Arizona Wildcats, Texas Longhorns and reigning NCAA champions Florida Gators. The Fighting Illini, on the other hand, have out-of-conference games versus Alabama and Missouri. The Huskies went 24-11 in the 2024-25 season and exited the Big Dance in the second round, while the Fighting Illini put together a 22-13 record and also struck out of the national tourney in the second round.
