NCAA

Donald Trump honored the Alabama Crimson Tide's national title at the White House Tuesday afternoon ... all the while praising their state for helping him win the 2016 election.

Nick Saban and the crew hit 1600 Pennsylvania Ave to celebrate their crazy win over Georgia back in January ... in which Tua Tagovailoa came off the bench and torched the Bulldogs in the OT thriller.

While Trump says he was impressed with the Tide's 3-point win, he boasts about his 32-point win in the Heart of Dixie in 2016 ... and says he's proud of how the players represent the "great, great state."

As impressed as Reggie Bush was with Villanova's dominating victory Monday night, he tells TMZ Sports the triumph had NOTHING on the women's NCAA final, which featured an INSANE buzzer beater.

In case you missed it -- and you shouldn't have -- Arike Ogunbowale splashed a three as time expired to put Notre Dame on top of Mississippi State, and the shot was Mamba-Jordan-esque.

We got Reggie Bush out in L.A. Monday night, and Bush says it was THAT shot and ending that was the best in college hoops, and NOT Villanova's easy dominance over Michigan.

BTW -- the big shot by Ogunbowale was her SECOND in two games ... she also hit a long shot in the final seconds to beat undefeated UConn in the Final Four.

Villanova star Donte DiVincenzo had a busy night -- after he led the Wildcats to an NCAA title, he deleted thousands of old tweets ... including one that featured the n-word.

As DiVincenzo heated up during the game, people started combing through the 21-year-old's social media history ... and found a tweet from 2011 that read, "Ballin on these n**gas like I'm derrick rose!"

The line is actually a lyric from a Meek Mill track that came out a week before the tweet -- but the Internet freaked out anyway.

There were more questionable tweets that also surfaced.

After the game, Donte confirmed the Twitter account was his, but said he didn't remember ever posting the n-word tweet.

"It’s my account, yes ... but I never remember doing that.”

Villanova reportedly put out a statement saying Donte's account had been hacked, but later took back the statement.

All of the tweets on the account have since been deleted.

Dennis Rodman is GOING IN on LiAngelo Ball ... telling TMZ Sports the dude sucks at hoops and has a snowball's chance in hell of making the NBA.

"He's not good at all," Rodman says ... "He's awful."

We pointed out LiAngelo dropped 72 points during a game in Lithuania on the day he announced he'd be entering the 2018 NBA Draft ... but that didn't seem to impress Rodman one bit.

"Teams over there [in Lithuania] just pretty much suck."

Still, Rodman says he gives LiAngelo a 10% chance at getting drafted "just because of social media."

On a positive note, Rodman says he's still sober and feeling great.

He's also excited for his son, Dennis Rodman Jr., who's a baller in his own right ... and getting offers from some of the biggest college programs in the country!

Sister Jean needs a break -- which means no raging party for the NCAA title game Monday night ... so says a rep for Loyola-Chicago.

The 98-year-old superstar is apparently exhausted after rolling with the Ramblers during the team's incredible run to the Final Four after traveling with the team for 2 weeks of March Madness.

"Sr. Jean is getting a much needed break after all of our travel and her media commitments these last few weeks," a rep for the school tells TMZ Sports.

"I am not certain if she will be watching the game in the confines of her room, but she will not be watching with the team."

As for her future, the school seems to be easing back on her travel schedule as well -- saying, "[She will not] travel with any our other teams this spring."

Here's former NCAA stud Derrick Williams answering a question that always gets asked -- but to some here at TMZ Sports, it doesn't make any damn sense.

We got Williams at LAX and after talking to him about the turmoil his Arizona Wildcats program is going through -- we wanted to know if he thought Villanova could beat an NBA team.

Before you drag our camera guy, we should say this came after 'Nova obliterating Kansas in their Final Four matchup ... looking every bit like the most dominant team in COLLEGE basketball.

Obviously, Derrick understands that COLLEGE hoops is a different game than the pros, because he says "No way" ... which is obviously the right answer.

BTW ... the worst team in the league right now is the Phoenix Suns, and they're pretty bad so MAYBE if 'Nova got hot from 3 ... they could lose by 30 instead of 40.

Ex-USC quarterback Todd Marinovich is back in jail after getting arrested twice in 4 days in March.

48-year-old Marinovich -- who has a long history of substance abuse -- was arrested on March 19 (he was released the same day) AND March 23. According to jail records, he's still behind bars.

It's unclear why Marinovich was arrested ... however, in March '17, the former star QB was sentenced to a year probation for an August '16 incident where TM was caught wandering naked in a random person's backyard -- with meth and weed in his possession.

As we reported, Marinovich sought help ... and seemed to be sober and doing well.

In fact, when we spoke with Todd back in April 2017, he told us he was fighting like hell to stay clean for the sake of his kids.

"I've been running [from my addiction] for years and it definitely came a time, especially after the arrest, the humiliation that that brought, the self-loathing that I was feeling, where I was finally willing to do the things necessary to get better."

Villanova or Michigan??

Nick Young doesn't give one single "f**k" who wins the game ... telling TMZ Sports he doesn't care for NCAA basketball.

Swaggy P hit Nightingale nightclub in West Hollywood after his Golden State Warriors beat up on the Phoenix Suns earlier in the day ... so, we tried talking to him about March Madness.

But, Young told us straight-up, "You know, I don't give a f**k about the NCAA."

He didn't explain why ... but maybe it's because his USC Trojans didn't get an invite to the tourney this year.

Interesting note ... Swaggy's not the only one who's turning the channel -- ratings are reportedly down 3% from last year.

For those who DO care ... Villanova takes on Michigan in the NCAA Championship Monday night.

LiAngelo Ball will be suiting up for an NBA team next season, and it ain't just 'cause of his talent -- so says Shareef O'Neal.

We spoke to Shareef -- a top NCAA prospect -- after LiAngelo dropped 72 POINTS in an exhibition game out in Lithuania earlier this week ... and asked if he thought the middle Ball bro was NBA-bound.

Reef told us he did, but not because of Gelo's breakout performance.

"I think he's gonna make it on a team just 'cause his brother's already there, and I feel like just the platform that that family has he can make it on a team," O'Neal told TMZ Sports.

Former Final Four most valuable player Ed O'Bannon says LaVar Ball's Junior Basketball Association is the answer for a whole host of high school hoopers, who simply don't give a crap about college.

LaVar announced the league a little while back in December, touting it as an alternative for standout prep players who have graduated from high school, but don't want to go to college.

O'Bannon is a longtime critic of the NCAA, having filed a landmark antitrust lawsuit against them back in 2014, and says he's working with LaVar on the league, because he wants players to have options.

"It's an option. Some athletes want to go to college. Some athletes want their education right away, some athletes like to go to class, but some don't.

O'Bannon actually even calls out the name of a guy who's the poster child for NOT wanting to go to school -- Ben Simmons -- saying he's the perfect example of a dude who just wanted his check.

Look away, Blue Devils fans -- Kenny Smith is basking in the glory of Duke's Elite 8 loss to Kansas ... and he ain't holdin' back!

"When UNC is out of it, my alma mater, it's like, 'Anybody but Duke.' So, I'm good right now," Kenny told TMZ Sports. "Anybody but Duke -- that's my motto."

You'd think Kenny would be more upset that his Tar Heels got bounced in the 2nd round ... but seems like Duke getting squeezed was just as sweet for The Jet.

It's a good thing John Kasich ain't gonna be in the Browns' war room at the draft next month ... 'cause as much as he loves Sam Darnold, the Ohio Gov. says he has no clue if he's the guy for Cleveland.

TMZ Sports spoke with Kasich -- our unofficial Ohio sports analyst -- about who the Browns should take with the No. 1 overall pick ... and he says the experts have him 2nd-guessing his love for the USC star.

BTW -- Darnold CRUSHED his pro day (in the rain!!) on Wednesday ... and now there's buzz he's a lock for the top pick.

Here's high school basketball phenom Shareef O'Neal going deep on one of the hottest topics in basketball -- the NBA age limit (19) ... which screws some players and helps others.

'Reef gets that not everyone grew up with Shaq money and some players need to get those life-changing checks ASAP, instead of spending a year playing for free.

"They might just do that to feed their families," Shareef told TMZ Sports. "I think that's why a lot of kids go 1-and-done."

But he also thinks NCAA basketball is the best way to prepare players for the pros -- and he points to the current NBA rookie class ... guys like Ben Simmons, Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum -- who are holding their own with the best in the world.

Recently, there's been a lot of talk about finding alternatives to the NCAA -- even LaVar Ball's trying to get in on the action -- but 'Reef argues that 1 year of college education is better than none.

"I think they should just leave it how it is ... college gets kids ready for the NBA," O'Neal said.

FYI, Shareef previously told us he would be 1-and-done too despite being comfortable financially ... but now, it seems like he ain't so sure.

Hall of Fame coach Barry Switzer is letting the world know he's been CHEATED by father time, saying the HUGE money that the football coaches are making now should've been his ... and he's got PROOF.

Switzer was on Capitol Hill wheelin' and dealin' with the Washington types (on behalf of search and rescue dogs) when we asked him about the insane salaries some NFL players are making.

That's not what Barry wanted to talk about, though -- 'cause he let loose on what the guys in the headsets are making ... and how he feels like he got the short end of the money stick.

"What about the coaches?! The salaries these damn coaches are getting! I got paid $24k a year, went 32-1-1, won 2 national championships, 2 undefeated seasons back-to-back ... I didn't even get a bonus! We were on probation (at Oklahoma)."

Just for some comparison, Jimbo Fisher, who has 1 national title, just signed a 10-year $75 MILLION contract to bolt Florida State and head to Texas A&M.

Donald Trump (45) won't do one ... but Barack Obama (44) is still filling out his March Madness bracket -- and he's picking Michigan State -- a 3 seed -- to win it all!!!

"Just because I have more time to watch games doesn’t mean my picks will be better," Obama wrote ... "but here are my brackets this year."

So, who's he got? There are some upsets in there including Loyola-Chicago (11) over Miami (6).

He also has Texas (10) over Nevada (7).

Obama also has Syracuse (11) beating Arizona State in the playoff game and then beating TCU (6).

His Final Four -- Virginia (1), North Carolina (2), Villanova (1) and Michigan State (3).

The official tournament starts Thursday.

Of course, President Obama went to Harvard ... but they suck at basketball and didn't make the NCAA tourney.

Trump's White House ain't playin' when it comes to March Madness -- so says Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah, who tells TMZ Sports a "very high stakes" pool is ON for the tourney.

You might remember -- Donald caused quite a stir last year when he broke Obama's tradition and didn't fill out a bracket.

So ... does this Oval Office pool signal a change of heart for POTUS??

Raj wouldn't say ... but he did reveal his pick -- and told us D.C.'s other power players are split on who's going all the way.