CBB

Penn State at a GlanceBy The Associated Press=Penn StateLast season: 18-16.Nickname: Nittany Lions.Coach: Patrick Chambers.Conference: Big Ten.Key Returnees: Shep Garner (9.2 points) and Brandon Taylor (9.1) are the top returning scorers and Taylor grabbed 5.3 rebounds per game.Who Left: D.J. Newbill was the star of this program as it...

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) SMU has been picked to win the 2015-16 American Athletic Conference men's basketball title despite a one-year postseason ban.The AAC poll of the league's head coaches was released Tuesday. SMU is the preseason favorite for the first time, receiving eight of 11 first-place votes. Connecticut...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) Louisville is facing challenges on the court, and off of it heading into the season.The Cardinals have such a young roster that coach Rick Pitino signed a couple of graduate transfers to provide leadership.Then came the escort allegations this month.Katina Powell has alleged that former...

MADISON, Wis. (AP) Bronson Koenig believes Wisconsin will be a good shooting team this season, even if that wasn't the case Sunday.Koenig scored 14 points to lead all scorers during the Badgers' scrimmage at the Kohl Center, but the junior point guard was one of several players who...

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) Arizona freshman Ray Smith, a key part of coach Sean Miller's latest recruiting class, will not play this season after tearing his right ACL in practice.A 6-foot-8 small forward from Las Vegas, Smith was expected to play a significant role with the Wildcats, along with...

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) James Blackmon Jr. already looks like a different player.The Indiana guard has added a few pounds, gotten noticeably stronger and been working on his handling.After contemplating leaving early for the NBA last spring, the sophomore is ready to prove that he and the Hoosiers aren't...

Louisville coach Rick Pitino has been adamant in the defense of his basketball program, taking every opportunity to deny allegations by an escort that has led to calls for him to step down.Friday, he decided to take a different tact - passing on the opportunity to address the allegations...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) Louisville coach Rick Pitino vows to Cardinals fans that he ''will not resign and let you down'' as investigations continue into an escort's book allegations that one of his former staffers hired her and other dancers to strip and have sex with recruits and players.In...

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) Joe Mihalich didn't show up on Hofstra's campus three years ago riding a white horse. He did arrive and turn around a basketball program saddled with off-the-court issues that left the roster depleted and the image in tatters.The Pride finished 7-25 in 2012-13 and four...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Minnesota coach Richard Pitino defended his embattled father Wednesday, saying Rick Pitino had no knowledge of a former staffer allegedly paying escorts to have sex with recruits and players in a Louisville dorm.''I know, and I told him this, `Put your head on the pillow at...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Belmont returns four starters from an Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship team, making it easy to pick the Bruins as the preseason favorite to win the OVC.The Bruins received 21 of a possible 24 first-place votes in voting released Tuesday before the OVC's media day....

NEW YORK (AP) Mention VCU the last six years and two words immediately came to mind: Shaka and havoc.Coach Shaka Smart has since left the Rams for Texas. The program was known for its style of play - havoc for 40 minutes, keeping the game at a frenetic...