final four
Ride Tom Izzo's Spartans
Tom Izzo and Michigan State have been here before, but the Final Four is completely new territory for Chris Beard and Texas Tech. Here’s Howie Kussoy’s prediction for which of...
No Chuma Okeke means trouble for Auburn
No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 5 Auburn (6:09 PM, CBS): Virginia and Auburn play two very different styles. Virginia is very comfortable when playing a slow grinding type of game...
Virginia won't run away with this one
Auburn has beaten some of the NCAA’s top teams to get to its first-ever Final Four. But do the Tigers have enough to beat another No. 1 seed in Virginia?...
Bet underdog Auburn, under in Michigan State-Texas Tech
Some people are bemoaning the fact that Saturday’s NCAA Final Four in Minneapolis doesn’t include Duke or North Carolina or the other “blue bloods” of college basketball. However, we’re blessed...
NCAA Final Four: The best bars to watch in NYC
So, your team didn’t make the Final Four. Whether you were rooting for your alma mater or the team you picked to win your work bracket, there’s a good chance...
Former NCAA hero puts Final Four in perfect perspective
MINNEAPOLIS — Tom Izzo has waited 19 years to cut down the nets on the last night of the college basketball season. Everyone else — his current players, the other...
One player tips this even Michigan State-Texas Tech clash
Michigan State owns a timeshare at the Final Four. Texas Tech is a tourist making its first trip. However, both programs are worthy contenders for the crown — each upset...
As wedding nears, Spartans' Xavier Tillman eyes 'spring of two rings'
MINNEAPOLIS — One isn’t enough. Xavier Tillman envisions a “spring of two rings.” Long before the Michigan State standout booked a ticket to the Final Four, the sophomore had already...
Matchup edge won't keep Virginia from familiar heartbreak
MINNEAPOLIS — There’s redemption everywhere you look. Redemption for Virginia after becoming the first top seed to lose to a No. 16 a year ago. Redemption for Bruce Pearl and...
How confronting his basketball fears liberated Kyle Guy
MINNEAPOLIS — Kyle Guy was thankful for all that basketball brought him. It was responsible for so many of his best memories, so many of his best friends. It was...
NCAA Final Four betting guide: March Madness long shots now have real shot
LAS VEGAS — Long shots and underdogs are the essence of the madness. With the calendar flipping from March to April, most of the NCAA Tournament favorites have fallen by...
This is how much it costs for colleges to get to the Final Four
Over the past few weeks, everyone has gotten a chance to witness the basketball skills required to make it to the Final Four. Now, as Saturday’s tip-off approaches, it’s time...
The lifetime Michigan State fan who shot way into program lore
MINNEAPOLIS — The hospital. The wheelchair. The day job. The night job. The medical bills. The student loans. Kenny Goins spotted his parents from the court, and tears flooded his...
Clark Kellogg will be the hardest working man at the Final Four
Alongside the fans rushing to the bathrooms and concession stands inside U.S. Bank Stadium will be Clark Kellogg. The analyst will be pulling double duty during Final Four weekend, doing...
Virginia's Ty Jerome thrives on doubters and beating adversity
MINNEAPOLIS — Some kids dream of the NBA. Of hearing their name called on draft night. Ty Jerome hopes he can count both of those as accomplishments one day. But...
Why the NCAA has been so slow to act on corruption probe
MINNEAPOLIS — The NCAA has yet to move much on the FBI’s investigation into corruption within college basketball, and there is a reason for that. “We still don’t have all...
Auburn's Little Big Man was groomed for Final Four moment
MINNEAPOLIS — Far too often, wide-eyed dreams of young boys who imagined they could one day be Kobe Bryant or Steph Curry, or at least survive and advance to a...
Beyond the games: Top subplots to watch in the Final Four
MINNEAPOLIS — Four are left. A quartet no one expected. Football schools wearing a 3 seed (Texas Tech) and a 5 seed (Auburn) are in their first Final Four. Top...
Count on Villanova to stop Loyola short of March Madness miracle
Pete Gillen, who coached Providence to the Elite 8 and took Xavier and Virginia to the NCAA Tournament, is a college basketball analyst on CBS Sports Network. Throughout the Tournament,...
Loyola's chance at history just one Final Four story to watch
The Final Four no one predicted has everything that college basketball could hope to have. An incredibly chaotic first four rounds of the NCAA Tournament has brought three of the...