West Virginia has tapped Drake basketball coach Darian DeVries to move the Mountaineers past one of the ugliest years in school history.

UCLA won 86-80. But because of the pandemic, it’s been 710 days since last we saw the NCAA Tournament — who’s counting? The first four games were grafted onto the 64-team main bracket in 2011, naturally, to pad the NCAA coffers. Michigan State’s brief appearance in the tournament was coach Tom Izzo’s 23rd straight, but it was small consolation. They told me that the flight was leaving tomorrow at 9:30 (am),” Norfolk State coach Robert Jones said.

Joseph Yesufu scored 21 points and Drake held on to beat Wichita State 53-52 in a tense First Four matchup between former Missouri Valley Conference rivals. Wichita State left for the American Athletic Conference in 2017. Both mid-major powers were given at-large bids into the NCAA field, and their matchup was dominated by defense — Drake shot 38% while Wichita State shot 34%. We just didn’t get it done tonight.”AdDrake missed 10 straight shots as Wichita State built an early 18-6 lead. Wichita State was scoreless for the last five minutes of the half.

Drake head coach Darian DeVries reacts as his team falls behind in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Valparaiso, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021, in Valparaiso, Ind. Ben Krikke scored 15 points and Valparaiso held onto a second-half lead, pulling away to beat the Bulldogs 74-57 Sunday. The loss by Drake (18-1, 9-1 Missouri Valley) left No. “We’re not going to overreact to a loss,” third-year Drake coach Darian DeVries said. Drake had recently come back double-digit deficits against Missouri State and Valparaiso as well as surviving an overtime thriller against Illinois State.