Arkansas State will name Alabama assistant Bryan Hodgson as its next head coach, multiple outlets reported Wednesday.

Hodgson has been an assistant coach under Nate Oats since 2015, when Oats hired him at Buffalo. He previously worked at Jamestown Community College in New York and at Midland College in Texas.

He has a reputation as one of the nation’s best recruiters.

At Arkansas State, Hodgson, 35, would replace Mike Balado, who was fired Thursday after six seasons.

The Red Wolves went 13-20 (4-14 Sun Belt) this past season. Balado posted an 82-100 record during his time with Arkansas State.

Alabama, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, will meet San Diego State in Sweet 16 play in the South Region on Friday. After the Crimson Tide’s tournament run, Oats will need to replace two assistants.

Georgia Southern already has announced that Charlie Henry, another Oats assistant, will become its head coach following the end of the tournament.

–Field Level Media

Puff Johnson plans to pass on another season at North Carolina, becoming the fourth member of the 2022-23 team to hit the transfer portal since the season ended without a postseason game.

North Carolina finished 20-13 and passed on an invitation to the NIT after a Final Four trip in 2022.

Johnson, a 6-foot-8 forward, was a consensus top-75 recruit in 2019 and scored 11 points in the 2022 national championship game against Kansas, but his junior season was again derailed by injuries. Johnson battled knee issues last season, averaging 4.1 points per game as one of the team’s top reserves.

In two previous seasons, Johnson had to sit at least 15 games due to toe (freshman) and hip (sophomore) trouble.

“I am grateful to be a Tar Heel,” Johnson said in a statement. “My time in Chapel Hill has taught me lessons that extend far beyond the basketball court. I have given 100 percent to the University on and off the court. A heartfelt thanks to Coach (Roy) Williams for recruiting me and giving me the opportunity to play at Carolina. I also want to thank Coach (Hubert) Davis and the entire UNC staff for giving me the opportunity to play under their leadership for the last two years. To my teammates, thank you always for being by my side and for being my brothers. Most importantly, thank you Carolina Nation for embracing and supporting me throughout my time here. I will always love you, but the time has come for me to enter the transfer portal and take that next step as a basketball player. Thank you all for respecting my decision. I will always be a Tar Heel.”

Johnson was heavily recruited with offers from nearly 20 programs, but turned down the likes of Arizona, Auburn, Miami, Ohio State and Xavier.

North Carolina teammates Justin McKoy, Tyler Nickel and Dontrez Styles have also entered the transfer portal in the past two weeks.

–Field Level Media

Wednesday is Mike Brey’s 64th birthday, and he won’t be spending it being introduced as the new coach at South Florida after all.

Brey told ESPN on Tuesday that he interviewed at USF for their vacancy but was not offered the job. Brey said he’s going to take time off from coaching and pursue TV opportunities.

A report from BullsInsider.com on Monday said that Brey was about to be named the new coach at USF. The Bulls are looking to replace Brian Gregory, fired after six seasons and a 79-105 mark.

Brey and Notre Dame announced Jan. 19 that the 2022-23 season would be his last, with the coach saying the Irish needed a “new voice.”

While many couched his exit as a retirement, Brey told Stadium a month later that he was “definitely not done coaching.”

Brey compiled a 483-280 record at Notre Dame, making him the winningest coach in the program’s 119-year basketball history. He also had a 99-52 record in five seasons at Delaware prior to joining Notre Dame.

Brey guided the Fighting Irish to the NCAA Tournament on 13 occasions, one fewer than Digger Phelps. Brey twice coached Notre Dame to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament (2015, 2016).

–Field Level Media

Arizona State and head coach Bobby Hurley have agreed to a contract extension through the 2025-26 season.

The deal still requires the approval of the Arizona Board of Regents, which is scheduled to meet in executive session on Wednesday morning.

The school did not announce financial terms.

“Coach Hurley has made our program relevant nationally with many significant wins and an exciting style, along with a firm commitment to the academic success of our student-athletes,” athletic director Ray Anderson said in a news release. “He has made it clear to us that he wants to be here and we have done likewise with him. We share a strong confidence in the present and future state of Sun Devil Men’s Basketball.”

Under Hurley, the Sun Devils have won 20-plus games in four of the past six seasons, and they’ve made three NCAA Tournament appearances in Hurley’s eight seasons in Tempe. Hurley, 51, has a 141-113 record with the Sun Devils, including 23-13 (11-9 Pac-12) this season.

The Sun Devils defeated Nevada 98-73 last week in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament, then dropped their first-round game, 72-70, to TCU, the sixth seed in the West Region.

Hurley was 42-20 in two seasons at Buffalo before his appointment at Arizona State.

–Field Level Media

For the third straight year, a No. 15 reached the Sweet 16. For the second straight season, a private school from New Jersey is the noisemaker in the NCAA Tournament.

Princeton coach Mitch Henderson said the Tigers received celebrity treatment since returning home from consecutive bracket-busting upsets of South No. 2 seed Arizona and No. 7 Missouri. Henderson and Princeton wade deeper into uncharted territory in a South Region semifinal game against sixth-seeded Creighton on Friday in Louisville.

“I was on a show today with Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski), and he asked me the same thing,” Henderson said. “I was like, ‘Well, you tell me. What do we do here?'”

It’s not a mystery for the Ivy League champions. Henderson intends for everyone to remember what got them to this point, to stay themselves while enjoying the moment.

The Tigers (23-8) haven’t played like a No. 15 seed in their two tournament wins. They never trailed after the opening minutes against Missouri, made twice as many 3-pointers (12 to six) as their opponent and dominated the boards 44-30, all while handling the Tigers’ pressure defense.

Princeton’s Ryan Langborg scored a game-high 22 points, adding six rebounds and four assists. Freshman Caden Pierce grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds — seven on the offensive glass — to go with nine points, and Tosan Evbuomwan finished with nine points, nine rebounds and five assists.

“We’re playing a brand of basketball that’s conducive to winning at the highest levels, and that’s rebounding,” Henderson said. “You’ve gotta be physical and you’ve got to go up there and get it, and you’ve got to play tough-nosed defense.”

But the rebound margin might not be so lopsided against Creighton (23-12), and Henderson knows it. Creighton hits the boards hard, with guard Baylor Scheierman an answer for Pierce with his team-leading 8.2 rebounds per game. Ryan Kalkbrenner, the Bluejays’ 7-foot-1 leading scorer (15.7 points per game), adds 6.2 rebounds per contest.

Creighton coach Greg McDermott praised Princeton for having a “very efficient” offense.

“This isn’t a true Princeton offense, but a lot of their characteristics are the same,” McDermott said Tuesday, referencing the traditional backdoor cut sets of a bygone era. “Their spacing’s great, their cutting’s elite, their ball security’s really good and they spread you out, space you out with their ability to shoot the basketball.”

While Princeton made its first Sweet 16 in program history, the Bluejays secured their second Sweet 16 appearance in three years by shooting down third-seeded Baylor in the second round, 85-76.

Ryan Nembhard scored a career-high 30 points for Creighton, which shot 45.8 percent from 3-point range (11 of 24) and 100 percent at the foul line (22 of 22).

Not unlike Princeton, Creighton has been on a mission to show it belongs with the best. The Bluejays were ranked as high as No. 7 in the country this season and may have been underseeded on the six line.

“We definitely don’t care who we’re going against,” Nembhard said after the win over Baylor. “We respect everybody. We give everybody the respect they’re due, but at the end of the day, we think we’re just as good as anybody in the country. We come into every game thinking that mentality.”

Princeton is 11th in the country in rebound margin at plus-6.6. Creighton ranks a respectable 62nd with a plus-3.7 margin.

Creighton and Princeton have met just once before, and the Bluejays won in Omaha, Neb., on Dec. 29, 1961.

The Tigers hope to emulate the success of last year’s No. 15 seed from New Jersey. St. Peter’s made it to the Elite Eight, beating Kentucky and Purdue in the process, before bowing out in the regional final to North Carolina.

–Field Level Media

Two wins shy of the Final Four, redemption stories intersect in Kansas City when the Texas Longhorns and Xavier Musketeers collide in the Sweet 16 on Friday.

The second-seeded Longhorns (28-8) are making their return to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2008, a long and winding pilgrimage that included firing head coach Chris Beard following his arrest on suspicion of domestic violence in December.

Xavier (27-9), the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region, is returning to prominence under the direction of coach Sean Miller. Fired by Arizona in 2021, Miller returned to the Musketeers, the school he coached from 2004-09, one year and a few days ago.

Almost instantly, Miller restored the program’s contender status with a balanced attack that puts up 81.2 points per game and features five players averaging at least 10 points per game.

“We’re thrilled to be in the Sweet 16,” Miller said. “It’s a hard journey to get here, and I’m really thrilled for these guys, each of them, because it’s their first opportunity, and they’ll remember it forever.”

Texas interim coach Rodney Terry continues a fight that could help propel him into the permanent post, from Beard’s top assistant to successor. He led the Longhorns to the Big 12 conference tournament — in Kansas City — and now looks to continue the squad’s NCAA Tournament run. While he claims he is not thinking about titles or salaries in the moment, it’s clear his players are flexing on his behalf.

“I think he embodies what we are and what we try to be every day — tough,” Texas forward Timmy Allen said. “Someone who has been there before, never shakes at adversity, somebody who wakes up and tries to attack the day to be great. When I’ve got somebody like that in my corner, I’ll do anything for them.”

Miller bolted for Arizona in 2009 and went to the Elite Eight three times. However, he came under fire during an FBI investigation into a pay-for-play scheme that caused the program to self-impose a one year postseason ban. He has Xavier back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017.

“I didn’t need a reminder,” Miller said of his ability to coach. “You know, I never lost belief. I really didn’t. I’m grateful for the opportunity, though.

“I have an amazing group to work with. There’s a lot of coaches that could win with this team, and I recognize that, but my hope is that we have more in us, that we’re able to have a great week and make what we already feel good about even better.”

Souley Boum said Xavier didn’t need a reminder Miller could coach, either.

“We’ve been talking about this all summer, all fall,” Boum said.

Boum had 14 points, all in the second half, for the Musketeers in their 84-73 win over Pitt in the second round. Xavier made eight 3-pointers, five by Adam Kunkel.

Texas has been getting the job done on defense in the tournament, sticking shooters around the 3-point arc and challenging with scorers inside and out on the offensive end.

New Mexico State transfer Sir’Jabari Rice had seven 3-pointers in the first-round win against Colgate. Forward Dylan Disu, the most outstanding player in the Big 12 conference tournament, continued his exceptional play with 28 points and 10 boards to lead Texas past Penn State, 71-66, in the second round.

Rice said the Final Four looms as a greater goal, but the Longhorns are taking the business of winning to a new level.

“It sounds representative, but it’s just preparation,” Rice said. “Every single time we are in practice, we’re locked in. Walkthroughs, we’re locked in. We know a time and place when to play and when not to. Obviously every team has a sense of urgency and seriousness because it’s do or die. With us, since the beginning of the season, we had a goal and we set out to complete that goal.

“When we get down and play teams like that that go on runs, I think it’s just a testament to who we are as, like, a culture and how together we are. Us sticking together is just, like I said, is a testimony to who we are and just preparation every day.”

–Field Level Media