No. 25 Auburn Put Streak On The Line As They Welcome Texas A&M

Auburn Men's Basketball Offensive Highlights vs Arkansas

Auburn heads home fresh off of handing Arkansas the worst loss in the 31-season history of Bud Walton Arena in its Southeastern Conference opener.

The Tigers can extend their winning streak to eight games when it welcomes Texas A&M on Tuesday night.

Behind Chad Baker-Mazara, Johni Broome, Jaylin Williams, and Tre Donaldson, the visiting Tigers rolled to an 83-51 victory over the Razorbacks on Saturday. Baker-Mazara scored a team-high 16 points off the bench, while Broome added 14 points and eight rebounds in the historic 32-point win.

Williams and Donaldson added 11 points each, while Dylan Cardwell (six points, eight rebounds) provided a spark off the bench for coach Bruce Pearl‘s team.

The Tigers (12-2, 1-0) outrebounded the Razorbacks 46-32 and outscored them 48-18 in the paint. Auburn’s bench also outscored Arkansas’ bench 46-9 and limited the Razorbacks to 31 percent shooting (18 of 58) from the field.

It was one of Auburn’s best performances of the season, considering the Tigers led only 37-30 at halftime.

“We played really well,” Pearl said. “We got off to a rough start, and you could see the moment almost got the best of us at the beginning. Arkansas is a talented team. We didn’t play very well early. They made some shots early. And it could have gotten away from us right there. But the second group of Tre Donaldson, K.D. Johnson, Chad Baker-Mazara, Dylan (Cardwell) — they really settled us down.”

“From that point forward, we just played great basketball.”

Broome is Auburn’s leading scorer (15.6 points per game) and rebounder (8.6 per game). He scored all 14 of his points in the second half on Saturday.

“Johni had a great second half,” Pearl said. “He was dominant offensively. But he didn’t start well, he didn’t play well early. We’re going to go as far as Johni Broome takes us. But the great thing about maybe being on a great team is you’ve got other guys you can count on.”

Texas A&M (9-5, 0-1) lost to LSU at home, 68-53, in its conference opener Saturday despite 23 points and a career-high six assists from leading scorer Wade Taylor IV.

Taylor enters the matchup against Auburn averaging 18.0 points and 4.2 assists per game, while Tyrece Radford, who had 11 points and six rebounds in the loss to LSU, is averaging 12.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

Henry Coleman III and Hayden Hefner also are key contributors for Texas A&M. Coleman is averaging 12.2 points and 8.7 rebounds, while Hefner, despite a tough night shooting against LSU (0 of 8 from the field), is chipping in an average of 9.0 points per game.

Texas A&M entered the matchup with LSU as the top offensive-rebounding team in the country at 18.7 per game. But LSU won the battle on the offensive glass against the Aggies 14-13 and limited coach Buzz Williams‘ team to 25.4 percent shooting from the field (15 of 59).

“We do need to shoot the ball better,” Williams said. “That’s easy to point to. We weren’t our best in things that we have to be good at.”

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    WCC to Add Grand Canyon and Seattle in 2025

    WCC adding Seattle U and Grand Canyon University

    WCC adding Seattle U and Grand Canyon University

    Seattle and Grand Canyon will be leaving the Western Athletic Conference and moving to the West Coast Conference starting July 2025.

    The nine current members of the conference are private universities with a religious affiliation. Seattle is a Jesuit institution, while Grand Canyon, situated in Phoenix, is a Christian college.

    Grand Canyon’s basketball achievements were a significant factor in attracting WCC commissioner Stu Jackson. The team has participated in the last two NCAA Tournaments and three of the previous four under the leadership of coach Bryce Drew.

    As the 12th-seeded Antelopes defeated fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s before losing to Alabama in the tournament this season.

    Saint Mary’s is currently a member of the West Coast Conference.

    The WCC, while also integrating Oregon State and Washington State this autumn (excluding football), will expand from 11 to 13 members by the 2025-26 season.

    The future beyond 2026 looks uncertain, with Oregon State and Washington State appearing unlikely to continue with the WCC.

    The former Pac-12 schools are under a two-year contract, expiring on June 30, 2026. Sources from CBS Sports suggest that the odds of the two Pacific Northwest institutions staying are slim, with a move to the Mountain West or a new conference formation being more probable.

    Following the departures of Sam Houston and New Mexico State last year, Seattle and Grand Canyon’s exit from the WAC will reduce the conference’s membership to just eight by July 2025.

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  2. College Sports News

    Ex-Cal State Fullerton G Max Jones Commits to Kansas State

    Kansas State adds athletic wing in left-handed shooter Max Jones

    Kansas State adds athletic wing in left-handed shooter Max Jones

    Former guard of Cal State Fullerton Max Jones has made a decision to join Kansas State for his upcoming collegiate season, according to reports.

    Notable alternatives that Jones purportedly pondered were New Mexico, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Florida Atlantic, and Loyola Chicago.

    During the previous season with the Titans, Jones maintained an average of 15.3 points and 3.0 rebounds across 24 games, in which he started 21. He secured the second-highest scoring position within the team, alongside being the second in 3-pointers with 42 baskets and 41 steals.

    In the season prior, Jones held an average of 12.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in 32 games, amassing 34 three-pointers and 30 steals.

    Before making his way to Cal State Fullerton post the 2021-22 season, Jones spent two years at Division II Tampa, where he managed to achieve an average of 21.9 points across 21 games during his sophomore year with the Spartans.

    In the recent offseason, Kansas State acquired Dug McDaniel, a former player from Michigan recognized as one of the premier point guards available in this year’s transfer portal.

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  3. College Sports News

    Stanford Names Basketball Court in Honor of Tara VanDerveer

    View From The Top with Tara VanDerveer, Former Coach of Stanford Women’s Basketball

    View From The Top with Tara VanDerveer, Former Coach of Stanford Women’s Basketball

    Tara VanDerveer’s legacy at Stanford will now be visibly acknowledged, with the school revealing on Thursday that the basketball arena’s floor will bear the name of the esteemed Hall of Fame coach.

    At the age of 70, VanDerveer stepped down following her 38th season at the helm of the Cardinal.

    She steered Stanford to 14 Final Fours and secured three national championships (1990, 1992, 2021). VanDerveer embarked on her coaching journey at Idaho (1978-80) and later coached at Ohio State (1980-85).

    In January, she surpassed Mike Krzyzewski to clinch the title of the most successful college basketball coach in history, across both men’s and women’s teams. VanDerveer concluded with a remarkable 1,216-271 record, boasting a 1,064-220 tally with the Cardinal.

    Alongside the unveiling of the Tara VanDerveer Court at Maples Pavilion this November, Stanford also established an endowed position in women’s basketball for an assistant coach in VanDerveer’s honor.

    VanDerveer said in a statement, “This endowment will go a long way to strengthening the future of Stanford women’s basketball. I have many wonderful memories of leading the women’s basketball program at Maples Pavilion.”

    “It’s an honor, and a little surreal, to know that my name will be linked to both in these ways, and I look forward to celebrating with all our fans this fall.”

    Last month, Stanford appointed Kate Paye, one of VanDerveer’s longtime assistant coaches who played for the Cardinal from 1991-95 and began coaching under VanDerveer in 2007, as the new head coach.

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