End of an era

Wednesday brought us three teams joining the tournament field, but we really focused on a college basketball coaching legend saying goodbye to the game one final time... 

Let's get to the news

1. After 47 years, Jim Boeheim calls it a career

Plenty of adjectives will get tossed around when describing Jim Boeheim: Cantankerous. Sarcastic. Cranky. Nasally. Pointed. Part of the deal when you're 78 and have hit the "IDGAF" phase of life.

But one should also expect quite a few glowing terms as well. Brilliant. Focused. Insightful. Dedicated. Winner. Some might take issue with some of those. But there's no arguing the last one.

Jim Boeheim won. Simple as that. 

Syracuse's legendary coach had a sudden, surprising (maybe not so surprising?) retirement announcement on Wednesday after a loss to Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament. No fanfare. The last few seasons didn't have any trips to the NCAA Tournament. No titles. A sub-.500 record. But there's no denying the man could coach. The 1,015 career wins, five Final Fours, 10 conference titles and the 2003 national championship are proof enough of that. But so were the years spent as a USA Basketball assistant coach or the impromptu strategy discussions with the media. (And sometimes some touching moments.)

Or the preparation of dozens of players for the NBA. After 47 years, or 17,161 days (!) coaching Syracuse, a new frontman will be on the sideline next season. It'll be jarring as few coaches are more associated with a single program than Boeheim. Kind of how it goes after you spend your entire playing and coaching career in one place.

How will Cuse change? How will people remember Boeheim? What's the lasting memory of his time there? The AFTER DARK crew weighed in.

The ACC has lost Mike Brey, Coach K, Roy Williams and now Jim Boeheim in the last 24 months. North Carolina and Duke promoted from within, and Syracuse did the same. Associate head coach Adrian "Red" Autry, Boeheim’s top assistant since 2016, will assume duties. Autry started at point guard for Syracuse from 1990-1994 and has been an assistant since 2011. - Mike Miller

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2. Can Colgate be the next 15-seed Cinderella?

Colgate dominated the Patriot League and put a stamp on its season with an impressive 79-61 win Wednesday night in the conference tournament championship game. 

The Raiders (26-8), led by double digits after just 10 minutes, cruised from there, shooting 58.5 percent from the field and a tick below its season average from deep (7-of-18). Guard Tucker Richardson tallied a triple-double — the first of his five-year career.

So. Could they make a run in March?

The Raiders are one of the country's most consistent programs, appearing in four straight NCAA Tournaments. They lead the country in 3-point shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage (58 percent) and are among the top 20 teams at limiting turnovers. They could face issues against an athletic squad, but they have terrific chemistry, high basketball IQ and no shortage of players who can score.

Richardson and freshman point guard Braeden Smith average more than four assists per game and more than 11 points per game. Add post production from Keegan Records and the elite shooting prowess of Oliver Lynch-Daniels and Ryan Moffatt — and you have a dangerous 14- or 15-seed capable of winning a couple of games if the bracket breaks right. As Saint Peter's and Oral Roberts showed the past two years, teams that can shoot can pull off a couple of wins.

3. Two more tickets punched, plus full tournament results

Along with Colgate, two more automatic bids were secured on Wednesday, plus a host of other tournament scores. Let's dive in.

Montana State 85, Northern Arizona 78After the Bobcats' double-overtime thriller on Tuesday night, one wondered if they'd have enough in the tank to beat Northern Arizona. No concerns there. RaeQuan Battle scored 25 points and pushed Montana State (25-9) to its eighth straight win and its sweetest of the season. It's the second consecutive Big Sky Tournament title for the Bobcats, who'll likely be a 14-seed.

Texas A&M Corpus-Christi 75, Northwestern State 71Speaking of consecutive bids, Steve Lutz has the Islanders dancing again. But it wasn't a sure thing. Northwestern State led 26-10 before Corpus-Christi (23-1) stormed back to tie at the half, then started to pull away midway through the final 20 minutes. A DeMarcus Sharp layup cut the Islanders' lead to one with just under a minute left, but those would be the last points the Demons would score. It's even more impressive for A&M-CC, which lost starting point guard Terrion Murdix just three minutes into the game. Credit to Lutz, who was shaken discussing Murdix after the game, for keeping the team focused. 

Other tournament results: 

Atlantic 10: Davidson 65, St. Bonaventure 54; George Mason 62, Richmond 57; Saint Joseph's 87, George Washington 76; La Salle 81, Duquesne 70Big East: St. John's 76, Butler 63; DePaul 66, Seton Hall 65; Villanova 80, Georgetown 48Big Ten: Minnesota 78, Nebraska 75C-USA: Western Kentucky 73, UTEP 67; Louisiana Tech 81, FIU 76 (OT); Rice 72, UTSA 71MAAC: Iona 74, Mount St. Mary's 54; Saint Peter's 70, Rider 62MEAC: Howard 91, SC State 55; NC Central 89, Delaware State 59MWC: Colorado State 67, Fresno State 65; UNLV 78, Air Force 70Pac-12: Colorado 74, Washington 68; Washington State 69, California 52; Stanford 73, Utah 62SEC: Ole Miss 67, South Carolina 61; LSU 72, Georgia 67SWAC: Grambling 87, Bethune-Cookman 72; Texas Southern 66, Alcorn State 62

4. Conference tournaments get bubbly

The NCAA Tournament bubble is as delicate as ever after a dozen teams (or so) had results Wednesday that will affect their chances for an at-large bid. At least one bubble popped. Here's a rundown:

Ohio State 65, Wisconsin 57This was a must-win game for Wisconsin, and it wasn't ready. Ohio State (14-18) looked great early on, leading by as much as 23 in the first half until the Badgers clawed back. Tyler Wahl’s paint scoring sparked a mini-rally, but Wisconsin's inability generates late offense undermined the comeback. So it’s safe to say Wisconsin (17-14) isn’t making the NCAA Tournament. Postseason destination: NIT

Pittsburgh 89, Georgia Tech 81The Panthers (22-10) crushed Georgia Tech’s defense in the first 20 minutes, scoring 44 points and leading by 14 at the break. The second half was a different story: Georgia Tech sophomores Deebo Coleman and Miles Kelly started making shots, and the Jackets (15-18) tied Pittsburgh multiple times in the second half. However, Pittsburgh’s veteran group didn’t waver, pulled away late, and avoided a Quad 3 loss. Postseason destination: NCAAT

NC State 97, Virginia Tech 73NC State throttled the Hokies (19-14), who needed to win at least three games to have a chance at an at-large. NC State (23-9) is comfortably in the field. Its offense was clicking — Terq Smith scored 30 — and was a reminder of why the Wolfpack are dangerous. They'll play Clemson tonight in the ACC quarterfinals. NC State status: dancing; Va Tech: NIT

North Carolina 85, Boston College 61Another team that didn't leave anything in doubt. Caleb Love (22 points) and RJ Davis (18) looked like the best iterations of themselves, but it wasn't all positive news. Armando Bacot suffered an ankle injury in the first half. He returned briefly in the second half, but that'll be a significant factor when the Heels (20-12) play Virginia tonight in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. UNC status: TBD. 

Oklahoma State 57, Oklahoma 49Caleb Asberry scored 15 points and helped the Cowboys (18-14) to a win that should keep them on the right side of the bubble. A victory tonight against Texas would make that discussion a mere formality. Oklahoma State status: Feeling good.

West Virginia 78, Texas Tech 62Any doubt about the Mountaineers (19-13) should be over. They ran away from the Red Raiders, who didn't have coach Mark Adams on the sideline (more on that farther down). West Virginia will now play top-seed Kansas. They don't need to win that to clinch an at-large bid, but it wouldn't hurt. West Virginia status: Making travel plans.

New Mexico 87, Wyoming 76Hunter Maldonado tried to kibosh New Mexico’s NCAA tourney hopes with 36 points on 11-of-19 shooting, but it wasn’t enough as Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn Jr. combined for 50 points. Odds are New Mexico (22-10) needs at least two more wins to have a chance for an at-large bid, starting with tonight's MWC Tournament quarterfinal against Utah State. New Mexico status: Way back in the NCAA tourney line

Arizona State 63, Oregon State 57This was too close for comfort, which speaks volumes about Arizona State (21-11) and its chances. It plays USC in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals tonight and needs another win. ASU status: Trying to buy dance tickets

5. Big blow to UCLA's title hopes

After days of speculation, it's now official: UCLA wing Jaylen Clark is done for the season.

The Bruins announced Wednesday that their best defender and second-leading scorer suffered an Achilles injury in Saturday's win over Arizona. His defensive ability will be the biggest loss — he's perhaps the sport's most versatile defender — but the production isn't a small thing either. Clark averages 13 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.6 steals a game.

Where does that leave UCLA?

Expect David Singleton to shoulder more of an offensive load, but he is primarily a catch-and-shoot threat. It’s awesome to have Jaime Jaquez and Tyger Campbell as your top two players, but without a reliable third scorer, the Bruins' offense will endure some droughts. We'll learn more when they play Colorado in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals tonight.

The injury also may derail their chance for a 1-seed, but that's not a game-breaker. UCLA's résumé would still make it a No. 2 seed — and would most likely land it in the West Region.

Mark Adams is done at Texas Tech

Jim Boeheim wasn't the only coaching news from Wednesday. Shortly after its loss to West Virginia, Texas Tech decided Mark Adams' two-year tenure was over.

Amid an inquiry into Adams' alleged bad behavior with players, he stepped down as coach and released this statement:

“My lifelong goal was to help and be a positive influence on my players, and to be a part of the Texas Tech men’s basketball team,” Adams said in the release. “However, both the university and I believe this incident has become a distraction for the Texas Tech men’s basketball team and the university, which I care about so deeply.”

Adams was 43-25 in two seasons. He agreed to a five-year, $10 million deal when he replaced Chris Beard in 2021, but signed a new contract when he led the Red Raiders to the 2022 Sweet 16. Wednesday's move means the two sides will likely come to a settlement on the remaining money owed.

Win and in?

Win and in? Michigan (17-14) vs. Rutgers (18-13) could decide how many bids the Big Ten gets — or is this a repeat of the Clemson/NC State game from the 2018 ACC Tournament when many thought the winner made the NCAA Tournament and the loser falls short? Instead, NC State won, then lost the next game and missed the tournament along with Clemson. Can Michigan make the tournament with a victory after two gut-punch losses last week to Illinois and Indiana in road games that would have secured a tourney bid? 

More games to watch (All times ET)

• Baylor (22-9), Iowa State (18-12), 12:30 pm (ESPN)

• UConn (24-7), Providence (21-10), 2:30 pm (FS1)

• New Mexico (22-10), Utah State (24-7) 11:30 pm (CBSSN)

OK, that's just three games, but here's the thing: It's conference tournament week. There aren't any championship games today. Yet we could basically list every matchup. And that seems like a waste of newsletter space. So just knock off early from work and watch what you can.

Huggy Bear's time

Guess who the nation's oldest coach is now? Given the image below, it's an easy guess. We're not here to speculate on Bob Huggins' coaching future, but the AFTER DARK crew does foresee good things for the Mountaineers in the postseason.

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Links as you cancel those afternoon meetings.

• Alabama's Brandon Miller spoke publicly for the first time about the fatal shooting in Tuscaloosa.

• Two coaches were fired Wednesday: Army's Jimmy Allen, and McNeese State's John Aiken.

• A Grambling State player was among four arrested for a campus home invasion.

• Allen Fieldhouse is getting a facelift.

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