Sports
Men’s Big Ten conference guide: 10 NCAA tournament-bound teams, plus 6 on bubble
If, come April 6, the Big Ten has ended its quarter-century national championship drought, it still won’t change an uncomfortable fact: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, no conference has done less with more in the NCAA tournament.
The Big Ten has averaged exactly eight NCAA tournament bids in each of the past five seasons. That’s 40 teams altogether — and all 40 have gone home with a loss. The record of this 18-team conference in the Big Dance is just six games over .500 (46-40), which should be impossible with a team seed average under six (5.97 to be exact).
So either five selection committees have underperformed when it counts, or the league itself has. And, well, we all know where the bodies are buried: No. 8 seed Loyola Chicago over 1-seed Illinois in 2021 (round of 32), No. 15 Saint Peter’s over 3-seed Purdue in 2022 (Sweet 16), No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson over 1-seed Purdue in 2023 (round of 64). You get the idea.
But it began to change this past March. Four of eight Big Ten teams made the second weekend, with Michigan State reaching the Elite Eight. For a change, the conference played to its seed across the board.
We’ll see this March (and April?) whether that was a trend or a one-off. This Bracketologist is betting on the former.
The Big Ten begins conference play on Dec. 2.

Final Four contenders
Michigan Wolverines
Purdue Boilermakers
Michigan State Spartans
Illinois Fighting Illini
0:49
Highlight: Kentucky falls to Michigan State in Champions Classic
The Wildcats shoot 35 percent from the field against the Spartans’ 50 percent as they struggle to keep up in the 83-66 loss in Madison Square Garden.
Michigan sits atop the first Bracketology of December and Purdue is No. 1 in both wire service polls. Both are legitimate national championship contenders. At least two others appear good enough to win four games and play into April.
Likely tournament teams
Indiana Hoosiers
USC Trojans
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Wisconsin Badgers
UCLA Bruins
1:15
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs. Indiana Hoosiers: Game Highlights
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs. Indiana Hoosiers: Game Highlights
Indiana and Nebraska are the most interesting names in this group. The Hoosiers haven’t gotten it right in a long time, winning only one tournament game in the past decade. With the benefit of hindsight, three Sweet 16 teams under Tom Crean from 2012-2016 is looking pretty good. Meanwhile, the Cornhuskers remain the only power conference team to never win an NCAA tournament game. That has a real chance of changing in 2026.
Possible tournament teams
Ohio State Buckeyes
Northwestern Wildcats
Washington Huskies
Oregon Ducks
Maryland Terrapins
0:48
Arrinten Page wins it for Northwestern as time expires
Arrinten Page wins it for Northwestern as time expires
If form holds, at least a couple from this group will be smiling on Selection Sunday. Ohio State fell just outside the previous group and should make it. Even if the Buckeyes are the only one from this group, the conference is going to send double-digit teams dancing for the first time.
Sleeper team
1:17
Ole Miss Rebels vs. Iowa Hawkeyes: Game Highlights
Ole Miss Rebels vs. Iowa Hawkeyes: Game Highlights
It’s hard not to be fascinated by the Hawkeyes, who are transitioning from the scoring machines of the Fran McCaffery era to the sub-350 tempo of the Ben McCollum era. Iowa fans will take whatever results in deep runs, and so far, so good. The Hawkeyes open Big Ten play in the top 30 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.
Long shots
Penn State Nittany Lions
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Rutgers might never again recruit the likes of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, and as such will always have an uphill climb to the NCAA tournament. Penn State and Minnesota can be good on a regular basis, but the sheer number of teams they need to pass in a league this deep is daunting.

Key games to watch
Illinois vs. Tennessee in Nashville (Saturday)
Michigan at Michigan State (Jan. 30)
Michigan at Purdue (Feb. 17)
Michigan vs. Duke in Washington, D.C. (Feb. 21)
Michigan State at Purdue (Feb. 26)
Sports
Former SMU cornerback Teddy Knox faces $2.88M judgment for crash linked to Rashee Rice’s Lamborghini race
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Kansas City Chiefs star receiver Rashee Rice isn’t the only one facing discipline for a March 2024 car crash in Dallas.
Theodore “Teddy” Knox, a former SMU cornerback and teammate of Rice’s in college, was driving a Corvette while racing Rice’s Lamborghini on a Dallas highway before it caused a multi-car crash.
Knox has been hit with a $2.88 million default judgment in a lawsuit from one of those crash victims, Kathryn Kuykendall, according to ESPN.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Teddy Knox and Rashee Rice (Getty Images)
Knox was ruled “grossly negligent” by Judge Kim Bailey Phipps, and a default judgment comes when a lawsuit has no response or a party does not appear in court. In this case, it was reportedly the latter.
“We’ve asked the court to grant the default judgment because we’re ethically required to as a matter of diligence,” Kuykendall’s attorney, Marc Lenahan, said in a statement to ESPN when the motion was filed.
“Personally, it pleases us that Teddy hasn’t made further mistakes that we’re aware of. If a team gives him a chance to prove that he’s walking the right path now, we’ll be rooting for him.”
PATRIOTS STAR STEFON DIGGS PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO FELONY STRANGULATION CHARGES DAYS AFTER SUPER BOWL
This marks the third default judgment issued against Knox from the March 2024 crash. He was also ordered to pay $1.99 million to Irina Gromova and $1.63 million to Edvard Petrovskiy in combined damages.
Knox and Rice pleaded guilty to charges from the crash, and Knox was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years of probation. Knox was charged with causing a collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury.

SMU wide receiver Teddy Knox on special teams during a game against the North Texas Mean Green Nov. 10, 2023, at Gerald Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas. (Chris Leduc/Icon Sportswire)
Rice had similar charges, receiving five-year deferred probation and 30 days in jail as a condition of the probation. His jail time was said to be flexible, according to the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office.
Rice was also required to pay the victims for their out-of-pocket medical expenses, which totaled around $115,000, as part of his plea agreement.
Rice was also suspended six games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, which he served last season.
The 25-year-old receiver said in a statement issued by his attorney at the time of the league’s decision that he’s had “a lot of sleepless nights thinking about the damages my actions caused, and I will continue working within my means to make sure that everyone impacted will be made whole.”

SMU Mustangs wide receiver Teddy Knox (18) prepares to make a catch during a game between against the TCU Horned Frogs Sept. 24, 2022, at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas. (Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Knox was suspended by SMU, and he hasn’t been in college football ever since. He began his career at Mississippi State before transferring to SMU.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Sports
Mike Trout crushes fifth Yankee Stadium HR in four games
NEW YORK — Mike Trout‘s latest homer against the New York Yankees put him in rare company, and going deep again made history at Yankee Stadium.
Trout homered for the fifth time during a four-game series Thursday, crushing a 446-foot drive in the seventh inning for the Los Angeles Angels in an 11-4 victory.
A three-time MVP, Trout joined Jimmie Foxx (1933), Darrell Evans (1985) and George Bell (1990) as the only players with five homers in a series against the Yankees, according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs.
Trout homered twice Monday before going deep again in the following two games. In the series finale Thursday, Trout drove a 2-2 slider from reliever Angel Chivilli about halfway up the left-field bleachers to give the Angels a 7-4 lead. That shot made Trout the first player to hit five homers in a series in the Bronx.
“I heard that after the game,” Trout said. “It’s pretty surreal. All the great players that came through here, so it’s pretty cool.”
“Honestly, not surprising,” Los Angeles manager Kurt Suzuki said. “When you’re with Mike every day, there’s nothing that you believe that he can’t do.”
Trout also became the first visiting player to homer in four consecutive days at the current Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009.
Trout went 6-for-16 with five homers and nine RBIs in the series. He also has homered in his past five games at Yankee Stadium and drew an intentional walk in his next plate appearance before Jo Adell hit a grand slam.
“At this point it’s vintage Mike Trout,” Adell said. “When he’s healthy and feeling good, there’s nothing like it. It’s special. It’s one of a kind. So for all of us to experience it, it’s special.”
“He’s unbelievable,” Suzuki said. “He really is. It’s been an amazing week for him.”
Trout is hitting .246 with seven homers and 16 RBIs. He is 9-for-27 (.333) with five homers and 13 RBIs on the Angels’ road trip, which coincides with him making a mechanical tweak.
Trout’s career-high homer streak is seven games, achieved Sept. 4-12, 2022. He has homered in four straight games for the fourth time in his career.
Trout’s homer was part of a four-game series that featured four homers from Yankees’ slugger Aaron Judge. Judge homered twice Monday, again Wednesday and went deep in the first inning in the series finale.
“He’s unreal,” designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton said after the Yankees lost for the seventh time in nine games. “Cool showing from him and Judgie all series. Obviously, you don’t want that against us, but you got to acknowledge the greatness.”
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time opposing players who owned multiple MVPs hit at least three homers in the same series.
“It was an impressive show by those two,” Suzuki said.
Sports
2026 NCAA gymnastics championships: Live updates from semifinals
FORT WORTH, Texas — The first semifinal session of the NCAA gymnastics championships included LSU, Florida, Georgia and Stanford — with Florida and LSU advancing to Saturday’s final (4 p.m. ET; ABC).
Next up, Oklahoma, UCLA, Arkansas and Minnesota will compete in Semifinal II, beginning at 9 pm ET (ESPN2). Once again, the top two teams will move on.
Individual event titles and an all-around winner will also be awarded today — but not until both semifinal sessions are complete.
Who will make it to the next round? Will an upset surprise us all? We’ll have you covered with all the action here.
-
Entertainment1 week agoQueen Elizabeth II emotional message for Archie, Lilibet sparks speculation
-
Tech1 week agoAzure customers up in arms over ‘full’ UK South region | Computer Weekly
-
Tech1 week agoAs the Strait of Hormuz Reopens, Global Shipping Will Take Months to Recover
-
Fashion1 week agoCII submits 20-pt agenda to Indian govt to back firms hit by Iran war
-
Tech1 week agoThis AI Button Wearable From Ex-Apple Engineers Looks Like an iPod Shuffle
-
Politics7 days agoIndian airlines hit hardest after Dubai limits foreign flights until May 31
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
[CinePlex360] Please moderate: “Trump considers
-
Entertainment4 days agoPalace left in shock as Prince William cancels grand ceremony
