ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Kobe Bufkin scored 23 points, Joey Baker added 21 and Michigan beat Toledo 90-80 in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday night.
Bufkin sank 8 of 13 shots with three 3-pointers for the Wolverines (18-15), who will advance to play Vanderbilt in a second-round matchup. Bufkin added eight rebounds and five assists. Baker hit 8 of 11 shots, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range. Hunter Dickinson pitched in with 19 points and nine rebounds. Dug McDaniel finished with 16 points and eight assists.
Setric Millner Jr. led the Rockets (27-8) with 19 points. JT Shumate hit four 3-pointers and scored 18 with seven rebounds. Ra’Heim Moss had 15 points, while RayJ Dennis totaled 13 points and eight assists.
Shumate had 11 points in the first half to lead Toledo to a 42-40 lead at intermission. Bufkin scored 16 points in the second half to help Michigan pull away for the victory.
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Steven Crowl scored a career-high 36 points and Wisconsin cruised to an 81-62 victory over Bradley in the first round of the NIT. Crowl buried 12 of 16 shots from the floor, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and all seven of his free throws for the second-seeded Badgers, who advance to play No. 3 seed Liberty in the second round. Crowl, a junior, topped his previous high by 11 points. He also grabbed nine rebounds. Max Klesmit totaled 16 points and three steals, while Connor Essegian was 9 of 9 at the foul line and scored 14. Rienk Mast scored 14 points to lead the Braves (25-10). Zek Montgomery added 12 points.
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State coach Tom Izzo is the first coach to earn 25 straight bids to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The seventh-seeded Spartans will face No. 10 Southern California on Friday in Columbus, Ohio, in the East Region. Izzo’s streak breaks the record he shared with former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. The Basketball Hall of Fame coach was praised by the school’s university president for bringing the community together in the days following last month’s shootings on campus that killed three students and hospitalized five students.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Kobe Bufkin scored 23 points, Joey Baker added 21 and Michigan beat Toledo 90-80 in the first round of the NIT. Bufkin sank 8 of 13 shots with three 3-pointers for the Wolverines (18-15), who will advance to play Vanderbilt in a second-round match-up. Bufkin added eight rebounds and five assists. Baker hit 8 of 11 shots, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range. Hunter Dickinson pitched in with 19 points and nine rebounds. Dug McDaniel finished with 16 points and eight assists. Setric Millner Jr. led the Rockets (27-8) with 19 points.
UNDATED (AP) — Purdue’s Zach Edey and Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis have given the Big Ten Conference a third straight year with multiple first-team Associated Press All-America picks. Kansas had a second straight first-teamer in Jalen Wilson. The 7-foot-4 Edey appeared on all 58 ballots as a first-team selection from AP Top 25 voters. He was the lone unanimous pick in results released Tuesday. Houston’s Marcus Sasser and Alabama’s Brandon Miller were also first-team picks. The second team included UCLA’s Jamie Jaquez Jr., Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe and Gonzaga’s Drew Timme. The third team included the Kansas State duo of Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson.
NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time in more than a decade, NCAA and college sports leaders are committed to a serious and thorough examination of expanding March Madness. The tournament generates hundreds of millions in revenue annually for the NCAA and its 1,100 member schools. Making significant changes to the tournament in the near term will be difficult, if not impossible. There are logistical, financial and even political obstacles. A major factor is the role of broadcast partners. The current $8.8 billion contract with CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery runs through 2032.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — March Madness isn’t just about filling out — and later trashing — brackets. There are more ways to bet the field in the NCAA Tournament, an event that will consume basketball fans over the next three weeks. Top-ranked Houston is the plus-120 favorite to emerge as the Midwest Region representative and play in Houston, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. That means a $100 bet pays $120. The next top team in the region is Texas at plus-450.
UNDATED (AP) — Picking the NCAA Tournament bracket comes with plenty of potential pitfalls. How do you account for injuries at Houston and UCLA? Can defending champ Kansas make another run after losing handily in the Big 12 Tournament final? Is this the year you can trust the Big Ten? Here’s a very preliminary Final Four pick: Alabama, Marquette, Houston and Gonzaga. Houston beats Alabama in the title game, giving the Cougars the championship on the 40th anniversary of Phi Slama Jama’s heartbreaking loss to N.C. State.
UNDATED (AP) — Athletes and coaches aren’t the only ones putting in extra time this week to help their teams get ready for the NCAA Tournament. Doctors and trainers are playing a big role, with injuries leaving question marks on some top teams. The No. 3-seeded Notre Dame is still waiting to see if star Olivia Miles will be healthy enough to play. UConn, a No. 2 seed, will have leading scorer Azzi Fudd for the tournament after she missed 22 games during the regular season with a knee injury.
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
