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Good morning! Good news for those of you awaiting college basketball players in your video games. NBA 2K will feature licensed college athletes starting today.

And you thought this season couldn’t get any better.

Let's get to Thursday’s news.

1. Liberty rules CUSA after OT thriller

Why should Miami (Ohio) have all the fun as an unbeaten?

Liberty entered Thursday as one of two teams yet to lose a conference game, not to mention a win streak dating back to Dec. 16. It played host to FIU with a chance to clinch the regular-season CUSA title. And it nearly missed out after leading by double digits in the first half.

The Flames’ 90-89 overtime win had plenty of drama, including 18 lead changes, 12 ties, and a scoring drought at the end of regulation from both teams — they combined for 15 points over the final seven minutes — that only heightened the tension.

Liberty trailed by four points with 1:21 remaining until Kaden Metheny’s 3-pointer cut the deficit to 1. More missed shots and an offensive/flagrant foul on FIU allowed the Flames to tie the game and force OT.

FIU had a chance to win the game at the end, but Corey Stephenson’s 3-pointer didn’t fall, allowing Liberty (23-3, 15-0 CUSA) to hold on.

“Wanted to make sure everyone got their money’s worth,” coach Ritchie McKay joked afterward. “45 minutes instead of 40 was the plan all along.”

Four players had 15+ points for the Flames, led by Zach Cleveland with 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists. Metheny had 15 points, all coming from deep, including the clutch one at the end of regulation. That’s 17 wins in a row for Liberty, which is officially the CUSA regular-season champ and 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament. It’s the program’s second-straight CUSA title in just three years with the league.

Stephenson finished with 23 points to lead FIU (12-14, 5-10), which could be dangerous come postseason time. While it didn’t get the win, tonight was an indication that it won’t be a cakewalk for Liberty in the conference tournament.

2. South Florida controlling American + more results

South Florida’s emerged as the class of the American. And it got a chance to cement that against usual league power Memphis on Thursday night.

This was all Bulls, who led by 16 points at halftime and coasted to an 87-66 win.

Wes Ennis scored a game-high 20 points, while Izaiay Nelson chipped in with 17 points and 14 rebounds for South Florida (19-8, 11-3 American), which has won five in a row, and leads the league by two games.

For Memphis (12-14, 7-6), that’s now three-straight defeats, all coming on the road. And it’s clearly taking a toll on coach Penny Hardaway

Aaron Bradshaw had 12 points in nine minutes. He left with an arm injury, but did manage to come back into the game with a brace on it. The Tigers certainly can’t afford to lose Bradshaw, or else the spiral will continue.

Other notable Thursday results:

Winthrop 68, South Carolina Upstate 64: Winthrop (20-8, 12-1 Big South) never trailed in the second half, though SC Upstate (11-17, 3-10) had a chance to tie the game late. Logan Duncomb led the Eagles with 24 points and 16 rebounds.

High Point 74, UNC Asheville 48: Remaining tied with Winthrop at the top of the Big South standings is High Point (25-4, 13-1), which held Asheville (12-15, 6-7) to just 32% shooting from the field. 

Wright State 85, IU Indy 74: The game was tied at 60 with under 10 minutes to go, but a late run inched Wright State (18-10, 13-4 Horizon League) one step closer to a regular-season title. 

UNC Wilmington 79, Monmouth 69: Kavion McClain has thrived since being cleared to play for Monmouth (14-13, 8-6 CAA), with 27 points to lead all scorers. But it wasn’t enough to overcome first-place UNCW (23-4, 12-2), led by 13 points and 12 rebounds from Patrick Wessler.

Charleston 74, North Carolina A&T 61: After getting a stay from the court to play again, Connor Hickman scored eight points off the bench an easy win for Charleston (18-10, 11-4 CAA).

Campbell 84, William & Mary 83: Jeremiah Johnson finished with 32 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists for Campbell (13-14, 7-7 CAA), including the game-winning basket.

Hofstra 79, Hampton 43: In one of the better defensive performances of the season, Hofstra (18-10, 9-6 CAA) allowed just 19 points in the second half.

Chattanooga 94, Mercer 90: Both teams scored 50+ points in the second half, but Chattanooga (11-17, 5-10 SoCon) pulled off the upset road win, thanks to 61% shooting from the field.

Bethune Cookman 82, Alabama State 71: Bethune (14-13, 11-3 SWAC) maintained its league lead thanks to a 51-point first-half effort. Jacobi Heady led all scorers with 26 points.

Tulane 77, North Texas 71: Rowan Brumbaugh scored 17 points for Tulane (16-10, 7-6 American) to get a key road win among the mid-tier teams in the American.

Texas State 90, South Alabama 82: That’s seven-straight wins for Texas State (18-11, 10-6 Sun Belt), which got a road win to create a massive logjam at the top of the Sun Belt.

Marshall 94, Appalachian State 93: A 53-point effort in the final 20 minutes allowed Marshall (18-10, 10-5 Sun Belt) to pull off the comeback. Landen Joseph (24 points) was the hero.

Arkansas State 79, Louisiana 62: 31 points from Chandler Jackson were more than enough for Arkansas State (17-11, 8-7 Sun Belt) in a road win.

Utah Valley 65, Cal Baptist 46: The battle of the top WAC teams in the conference went to UVU (19-7, 9-4), now alone atop of the standings.

UT-Arlington 63, Utah Tech 50: After five straight losses, UT-Arlington (15-11, 7-7 WAC) finally got a W, pushing Utah Tech (16-12, 9-5) out of first place in the conference.

Austin Peay 77, North Florida 76: North Florida (6-22, 4-11 ASUN) was so close to the night’s biggest upset, but league-leading Austin Peay (20-6, 14-1) managed to win thanks to one of the craziest final plays you’ll see.

Rashaud Marshall starred for the Governors with 27 points and 14 rebounds.

Central Arkansas 88, Stetson 76: It’s now 10 straight wins for Central Arkansas (18-10, 13-2 ASUN). Camren Hunter led all scorers with 30 points.

Albany 81, NJIT 63: NJIT (15-13, 10-3 America East) lost at home to a mid-tier Albany (10-17, 6-6) squad, getting outscored by 28 points in the second half in the defeat. It’s now tied with UMBC atop the league.

UMBC 75, Vermont 62: Jah’Likai King led all scorers with 24 points for UMBC (17-8, 10-2), now alone in first place after beating Vermont (17-11, 9-4).

Long Island 91, Saint Francis 89: Saint Francis (6-21, 4-10 NEC) led by seven points with over four minutes to go. But LIU (19-9, 13-2) completed the rally thanks with free throws by Mason Porter-Brown in the final seconds.

Wagner 83, Mercyhurst 80: A 3-pointer by Eddie Placer forced the game to OT for Wagner (10-16, 5-10 NEC), which ultimately pulled off the road upset over Mercyhurst (13-15, 8-7).

Central Connecticut 78, Le Monye 77: Central Connecticut (16-10, 10-5 NEC) remained in second place in the Northeast.

Morehead State 73, Eastern Illinois 70: It’s the fourth-straight win for Morehead State (16-12, 12-5 OVC), led by 23 points from George Marshall.

Tennessee State 89, Lindenwood 80: Anias Futrell and Dontrez Williams combined for 51 points for Lindenwood (16-12, 10-7 OVC). It wasn’t enough to overcome the balanced attack of Tennessee State (18-9, 12-5), which is now in a three-way tie for first-place.

Tennessee Tech 62, SIU Edwardsville 52: JaJuan Nichols finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds for Tennessee Tech (12-16, 7-10 OVC) in an upset over SIUE (17-11, 10-7). The teams combined were 5-of-43 from 3-point range.

Little Rock 67, UT-Martin 65: After winning 11 of 12 games, UT-Martin (20-9, 12-6 OVC) has lost four of the last five games to slide out of first place in the Ohio Valley. Cameron Wallace finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds for Little Rock (11-17, 8-9).

Portland State 77, Idaho 67: Portland State (18-7, 12-2 Big Sky) moved one step closer to the regular-season title. Jaylin Henderson led the way with 20 points and 10 assists.

Idaho State 73, Montana 69: Last-place Idaho State (11-17, 4-11 Big Sky) pulled off the home upset over Montana (14-13, 8-6), led by 29 points from Gus Etchison.

Weber State 82, Montana State 79 (OT): Second-place Montana State (15-12, 9-5 Big Sky) came up short on the road to Weber State (14-14, 8-7), which got 19 points and seven rebounds off the bench from Trevor Hennig.

Eastern Washington 102, Sacramento State 94: Despite giving up 55 points in the second half, Eastern Washington (10-17, 8-6 Big Sky) held on. Isaiah Moses scored 26 points, had seven rebounds, and nine assists for the 3rd-place Eagles. 

UC Irvine 69, Long Beach State 58: UC Irvine (18-9, 11-4 Big West) maintained control of the Big West, led by 14 points, 11 rebounds, and six blocks from Kyle Evans.

Cal State Northridge 85, UC Santa Barbara 83 (OT): The best individual performance of the night came from Josiah Davis, going for 31 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists for Cal State Northridge (17-10, 10-5 Big West), which is one game out of first place.

Cal State Fullerton 93, UC Davis 92: Down by 13 points with under nine minutes to go, Fullerton (14-14, 9-7 Big West) rallied for a home win over UC Davis (16-11, 9-7).

UC Riverside 93, Cal State Bakersfield 65: The loss officially eliminated Bakersfield (8-19, 2-13 Big West) from the conference tournament and kept Riverside (9-19, 4-12) alive for at least a couple more days.

Cal Poly 86, Hawaii 75: Thursday ended with a notable upset as Hawaii (18-7, 10-5 Big West) dropped out of first place after this home loss. Hamed Mousa finished with 24 points and nine rebounds for Cal Poly (12-16, 8-8).

3. NCAA tourney expansion on pause (for now)

NCAA President Charlie Baker brought up everyone’s favorite topic on Wednesday: NCAA Tournament expansion. And Baker was as plain as can be: “I would like to see it expand.”

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