It feels like Christmas

Well, did you call in sick today? Officially take time off? Because there’s roughly 12 hours of college basketball to watch.

Hope you’re ready!

1. News nuggets and fun links before tip off

Dunno about you, but I’m full to the brim on analysis, bracket tips, takes and everything else that comes with the days leading up to the NCAA Tournament.

So how about a pivot into actual news from the tournament media sessions, plus a little bit of humor.

First off, some news:

• Tyler Kolek has practiced all week and “looked like himself,” per the Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel. The All-Big East guard has missed six games with an oblique injury.

• Texas Tech center Warren Washington has missed six straight games with a foot injury. He’s a game-time decision today against NC State. Forward Darrion Williams is expected to play.

• Northwestern’s starting center, Matt Nicholson, is officially out of the tournament because of a foot injury. That means the Wildcats are down their center and guard Ty Berry.

• Kansas dominated the news cycle on Tuesday when news emerged that Kevin McCullar was done for the year. Some (potentially) upbeat news today: freshman Elmarko Jackson, who had an up-and-down season, says he plans to be in Lawrence next season.

• Coleman Hawkins is motivated to avoid another “embarrassing” first-round exit.

Next, some quotes about coaches, and NCAA Tournament expansion.

• Will Wade’s known Samford coach Bucky McMillan for years. And he knew McMillan, a former high school coach, would win at Samford. Same goes for Bill Self. Maybe they’re both doing the LeBron thing.

• This tweet about Tom Izzo’s view about autobids generated serious buzz initially, but since it’s Twitter/X, the quote needed more context. The full presser is here, and here’s video. (fwiw, the original tweet did produce a story that’s worth reading.) Does it sound a little cranky? Maybe. But as someone who agrees that regular-season success should be prized over conference tournament success, I empathize.

• Meanwhile, John Calipari and Greg Kampe both say don’t mess with the tournament.

Wednesday wasn’t all serious or game-related. Some of my favorite quotes or videos didn’t have much to do with the tournament.

• Rick Barnes maintains “North Carolina has the best barbecue.” Not a small thing coming from a guy who coached at Texas for 17 seasons. Also notable? Barnes realllllly loves deviled eggs.

• Here’s a big brotherly hug from Zakai Zeigler to his brother, Armoni. Tennessee and Saint Peter’s play today.

• Dug this story on Mady Sissoko, a Muslim, is practicing and playing during Ramadan. It’s not a new thing for athletes, but how they manage fasting during daylight hours is quite the feat. Michigan State plays at 12:15 ET today.

But there might not have been anything better than Long Beach State coach Dan Monson holding court. He made Seinfeld references, maintained his humor about preparing to play Arizona, and what a wild week it’s been.

He, Mark Few and Tommy Lloyd — good friends from their time at Gonzaga — all had dinner this week since Beach, Gonzaga and Arizona are all in Salt Lake City together. Few sounded especially happy about the gathering.

2. Grambling gets historic win; Boise now 0-10

Talk about deja vu. Wednesday’s First Four games sure felt a lot like Tuesday’s.

Grambling State’s 88-81 overtime win was everything you’d want in an NCAA Tournament game: A healthy pace, plenty of offense, a comeback that eventually forced OT and a little history in the process.

The nightcap … was a little more arduous. So let’s stick with the Tigers.

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