NCAA

Can Gonzaga really win the entire NCAA Tournament? YES, THEY CAN!

... at least, that what Barack Obama thinks!

The 44th President of the United States revealed his bracket for 2021 March Madness -- and POTUS likes Gonzaga, the #1 ranked team in the country.

In fact, Obama's Final Four is comprised entirely of #1 seeds -- Baylor, Illinois and Michigan.

The only longshot Obama likes to get to the Elite Eight is USC, a #6 seed.

He's got a couple of upsets in the 1st round -- including UCSB (12 seed) over Creighton (5 seed) and Georgetown (12) over Colorado (5).

On the women's side, Obama likes Baylor to win the whole thing -- they're a #2 seed!

His Final Four is made up of N.C. State, Maryland and Stanford.

Obama even has Baylor knocking out #1 seed UCONN in the Elite Eight!

The NCAA Men's tournament begins 1st round action on Friday. The women don't begin until Sunday.

President Trump never filled out an NCAA bracket during his time in office -- no word if he has plans to start now!

Unclear if Joe Biden will try his luck as well.

But, Obama loves hoop and follows it closely -- he's been all over the brackets for as long as we can remember.

The entire NCAA men's tourney is taking place in a controlled environment in Indianapolis -- but there are serious concerns over COVID, which has already impacted several teams and even referees.

Hopefully, the tourney will go off without a hitch and everyone can stay healthy!

The tournament hasn't even started yet ... and already the NCAA is down 6 referees for March Madness due to COVID.

The NCAA has confirmed 6 referees were sent home from Indianapolis -- where a controlled bubble-style environment has been set up in the hopes of limiting exposure.

The NCAA says 1 of the officials tested positive for COVID-19 on March 15 -- "and 5 other officials the person interacted with the day before were identified as exposure risks due to prolonged close contact."

"Based on tournament protocols and contract tracing with local public health authorities, these officials may not participate in the tournament."

Now, the ref who tested positive "must be placed in isolation, and the other officials must be placed in quarantine."

The tournament -- one of the most exciting events in sports -- is set to kick off on Thursday.

The NCAA had tapped 60 referees in total to work the tourney -- now, they're down to 54 refs to work the 63 total games.

The NCAA tourney has already felt the impact of COVID -- just ask the defending champs from the Univ. of Virginia.

Most of the Cavaliers players are still in quarantine after one member of the program tested positive for COVID. They're not expected to arrive in Indy until Friday, the day before their 1st-round game against Ohio.

The NCAA has a backup plan in case teams need to pull out -- they've booked 4 teams as backup squads  ... Louisville, Colorado State, Saint Louis and Mississippi.

The backup teams will only be on standby until Tuesday -- after that, a team that withdraws due to COVID will not be replaced.

The Univ. of Arizona didn't make the Big Dance, but here's a solid dose of positivity from star center Christian Koloko ... who tells TMZ Sports the Wildcats will be back and better than ever next season!!!

Oh yeah, AND he says fellow Sierra Canyon HS product LeBron James Jr. should come play college ball in Tuscon, too!!

We spoke with the 7'1" sophomore about the 'Cats missing the NCAA tournament in 2021 ... and while it may sting now, Koloko says his guys are gonna work like crazy to get back in March Madness next season.

"We're thinking about the team," Koloko tells us. "We gotta come back next year and be stronger and have a chance to make it in the tournament next year."

FYI -- the Wildcats went 17-9 this season ... missing the cut alongside powerhouse programs like Duke and Kansas.

On top of the disappointing season, head coach Sean Miller is battling the NCAA over alleged recruitment violations ... but Koloko says the team isn't considering it a distraction.

"We just put it behind the back and we just try to play basketball and do what we love."

As for Bronny, Koloko -- who also played high school hoops at Sierra Canyon in CA -- says the kid is for sure an NBA talent and should strongly consider following his path to Arizona when the time comes in 2023.

It's all over for Duke ... the school announced its 2020-21 season is OVER thanks to COVID -- thus ending the school's streak of 24 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

The Blue Devils basketball team was already having one of the worst seasons in recent years with a 13-11 overall record and 9-9 in the ACC.

Duke's chances of making the NCAA tourney were largely dependent on winning the ACC tournament, which would have given the school an automatic bid into the big bracket.

Duke won its first 2 games in the ACC tournament -- but a member of the program tested positive for COVID-19 following Wednesday's game ... which has forced the team to quarantine.

Because of the COVID situation, Duke has officially withdrawn from the ACC tourney ... essentially killing all chances of Duke going to March Madness.

Duke athletic director Kevin White says the situation will effectively "end our 2020-21 season."

"We wish every team still playing college basketball good health and the very best during the next few weeks."

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski -- who's been leading the program since 1980 -- said, "While our season was different than any other that I can remember, I loved the 2020-21 Duke Basketball team and was honored to be their coach."

"We have not asked more of any team in our history, and they deserve enormous credit for handling everything like the outstanding young men they are."

Coach K continued ... "We are disappointed we cannot keep fighting together as a group after two outstanding days in Greensboro. This season was a challenge for every team across the country and as we have seen over and over, this global pandemic is very cruel and is not yet over."

"As many safeguards as we implemented, no one is immune to this terrible virus."

Les Miles is OUT at KU ... the school parted ways with the head coach Monday, just days after a report revealed he had been accused of sexual misconduct during his time at LSU.

The report -- which was released by LSU last week to show its findings of how the school had handled past sexual misconduct allegations -- was alarming.

In the docs, investigators say Miles was accused of inappropriately messaging female students, requiring females in his football program to be attractive, and even driving one of the students to his condo and kissing them.

Miles -- who was head man at LSU from 2005 to 2016 and was later hired by the Jayhawks in 2018 -- had denied the kissing allegations ... but KU placed the coach on administrative leave anyway last Friday following the report's publishing.

And, just 3 days later, the school announced it was officially parting ways with the coach.

"I am extremely disappointed for our university, fans and everyone involved with our football program," the school's athletic director, Jeff Long, said in a statement. "There is a lot of young talent on this football team, and I have no doubt we will identify the right individual to lead this program."

Added Miles, "This is certainly a difficult day for me and for my family. I love this university and the young men in our football program. I have truly enjoyed being the head coach at KU and know that it is in a better place now than when I arrived."

A former Texas Longhorns safety says several rich alums gave players an ultimatum over the school's polarizing alma mater -- support the song, or never find work in the state.

UT's alma mater, "The Eyes Of Texas," has been at the center of controversy for years ... with many calling for the school to distance itself from the song's apparently racist origins.

In fact, almost every player on the Texas football team boycotted the song in 2020 ... by heading to the locker rooms while "The Eyes" played after UT's loss to Oklahoma in October.

Texas defensive back Caden Sterns says the debate got so serious, he and his teammates were told to support the song or risk future employment in the state by rich alums.

"My teammates and I got threatened by some alumni that we would have to find jobs outside of Texas if we didn’t participate," Sterns tweeted Monday.

Sterns' claim comes on the heels of a new report, which stated wealthy boosters were so pissed off by the players' boycott, they threatened to pull their 7-figure donations in scathing emails sent to the school, according to the Texas Tribune.

For example, one donor allegedly wrote the following email back in October ... "My wife and I have given an endowment in excess of $1 million to athletics. This could very easily be rescinded if things don’t drastically change around here."

"Has everyone become oblivious of who supports athletics??"

The Fighting Irish has announced it will NOT be a part of the new EA Sports NCAA college football video game ... saying they won't give the green light until it's clear how players will be compensated.

The new video game, which was announced earlier this month, is the first EA Sports college football game since 2013.

When EA Sports made the announcement, the company said more than 100 teams would be in the game ... however it would NOT include current rosters or images and likenesses of real college players.

At the moment, NCAA rules prohibit players from selling their NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) rights while they're still in school.

But, Notre Dame says they won't cooperate with EA Sports until there's a plan in place for Fighting Irish athletes to be compensated fairly.

"Notre Dame athletics welcome the return of EA Sports college football, the video game series that has historically helped promote interest in college football," AD Jack Swarbrick said.

"Notre Dame will not, however, participate in the game until such time as rules have been finalized covering the participation of our student-athletes."

The statement continued, "As those rules are developed, it is our strong desire that student athletes be allowed to benefit directly from allowing their name, image and performance history to be used in the game."

ND head coach Brian Kelly also weighed in -- saying, "We are here to support our student-athletes."

"Much like we have empowered our players when it comes to providing a platform to speak on racial inequalities & social issues that are important to them, we must support them when it comes to NIL & the work that still needs to be done."

It's obviously a big deal -- Notre Dame is arguably the biggest name in college football and has been for decades. The team finished the 2020 season ranked #4 in the country.

WHAMMY! WHAMMY! WHAMMMMMMMMMMMY!!!!

The Oklahoma Sooners women's softball team kicked off its season with a BANG -- hangin' 29 runs on UTEP in the greatest college power-hitting display of all-time -- blasting 13 HOME RUNS in the process!!

Yeah, that's an NCAA record!

... and get this, the game was stopped in just 5 innings thanks to the NCAA's mercy rule -- so, who knows how many dingers the Sooners woulda hit!

Here's how it played out ... #4 ranked Oklahoma started things off Thursday with an insane 1st inning -- exploding for 13 runs!! And then hit just keep on coming!

In total, 7 different Sooners players went deep ... including freshman Tiare Jennings and junior Grace Lyons, who each hit 3!!!

FYI, the previous NCAA softball single-game home run record was 10 -- shared by BYU (2008) and UTSA (2004).

The Sooners pitching was strong too, earning a shoutout. Redshirt senior Giselle Juarez set the tone early with 6 strikeouts in 3 innings.

The game was part of the 2021 Miner Invitational -- where the Sooners already have 2 wins, including a 9-0 victory over Abilene Christian.

The North Carolina Tar Heels basketball team is apologizing for forcing the school to postpone a game after players were caught partying without COVID masks.

Here's the deal ... a bunch of UNC players celebrated Saturday night after beating Duke in a 91 to 87 victory -- and video of the after-party was posted on Snapchat, showing at least 2 star players turning up without masks on.

Obviously, we're still in the middle of a pandemic -- and large, maskless gatherings are strictly prohibited by the team.

The UNC vs. Duke rivalry is one of the most celebrated in all of sports -- and after UNC won this year, students flooded the streets of Chapel Hill to turn up.

UNC's next opponent -- the Miami Hurricanes -- saw the video and clearly felt uncomfortable sending the team out against a bunch of possibly exposed Tar Heels players They were supposed to play on Monday.

The ACC claims both teams mutually agreed to postpone the game because of the incident -- and now, the Tar Heels players are falling on the sword.

"Saturday night, a number of players and managers -- not just the ones shown on the video that was seen -- got together to celebrate our win at Duke," the team said in a statement.

"Our intention was to celebrate privately within our group. Unfortunately, we allowed several friends who are not members of the team to join the gathering. We were inside and not wearing masks, which were mistakes."

Among the players spotted in the video ... Armando Bacot and Day’Ron Sharp -- two of the team's best players, who combined for 27 points against Duke.

"We apologize for not adhering to the University's and Athletic Department's guidelines and apologize to Coach Williams and his staff ... We have worked too hard for 8 months doing the right thing to make those kinds of mistakes at this point in the season."

For his part, head coach Roy Williams says he "appreciated" the apology -- adding, "they realize they did make a mistake, for which they are paying a very significant price."

Washington State Cougars star QB Jayden De Laura has been suspended from the football team indefinitely ... this, after the freshman was arrested for DUI over the weekend.

TMZ Sports has confirmed ... JDL was pulled over around 2 AM on February 6 ... after a police officer claims he blew a stop sign before heading the wrong way down a 1-way street.

During the stop, cops claim De Laura reeked of alcohol ... so they conducted a field sobriety test, which didn't go so well for Jayden.

The football player was ultimately arrested and transported to a local station where he was booked for DUI.

Once De Laura arrived to the station, officials say he was given the opportunity to take a breathalyzer test, but declined.

The QB received a criminal citation for driving under the influence and 2 traffic infractions -- wrong way on a 1-way and another for 'no driver's license on person.'

Cops noted De Laura was cooperative throughout the incident.

The University of Houston football team has suspended freshmen defensive end Chidozie Nwankwo -- after the highly touted freshman was charged with domestic violence for allegedly choking his girlfriend.

Officials say the 18-year-old -- listed at 5'11", 293 lbs -- is accused of choking his girlfriend in a January 28 incident at an apartment complex located on the UH campus.

Official documents show Nwankwo was formally charged on Feb. 3 with assault/impeding breathing. He has since been released from custody but the UH football team has suspended him in the wake of the allegations.

"We are aware of the serious allegations regarding Chidozie Nwankwo," the school announced.

"He has been suspended from the Houston football program, pending further information. We will have no further comment regarding this specific case."

Nwankwo was a prized recruit for the Cougars coming out of  Foster High School in Richmond -- reportedly receiving offers from major programs including LSU, Baylor, Texas Tech, Arkansas and Boise State.

COVID was not a factor when Florida Gators basketball star Keyontae Johnson collapsed on the court back in December, according to several prominent doctors.

The 21-year-old collapsed on the court during Florida's game against Florida State on Dec. 12. He was hospitalized in Tallahassee and later transported to the UF hospital in Gainesville. At one point, he was placed in a medically induced coma.

Johnson had tested positive for COVID months before the incident -- and there was rampant speculation the medical emergency was triggered by the virus somehow.

But, Johnson's family has just issued a statement saying the NCAA star's case has been analyzed by multiple doctors from top medical programs across the county ... and they've determined COVID did NOT have a role.

"The unanimous conclusion of all experts is that Keyontae's medical emergency was not related to or a result of a previous or current Covid diagnosis," the family said.

The family notes Keyontae's doctors consulted with physicians from the Cardiac and Vascular Institute of Gainesville, University of Washington Center for Sports Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital at Harvard University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Yale University School of Medicine.

As for what DID cause the incident, the family is not releasing that information at this point.

Meanwhile, Johnson was released from the hospital just before Christmas and has rejoined the Florida Gators basketball program -- though he's not expected to play anymore this season.

"He will spend the rest of the season focused on being the best coach and teammate he can be," the family says.

"What comes next for Keyontae is for him to share on his own timeline."

What do you do when your team isn't crashing the boards like you want 'em to??

Arkansas men's basketball coach Eric Musselman came up with a simple solution this week ... by flooding the team's locker room AND their cars with signs to get his point across.

Musselman wasn’t happy with his team's recent effort when it came to rebounding … so he instructed his staff to put up over 100 signs that said "DEFENSIVE REBOUND" all over the place.

Silly? Maybe. But, ya can't argue with the results ... 'cause the Razorbacks defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 61-45 Tuesday night ... and guess what -- THEY DOMINATED ON THE GLASS!!!

In fact, Arkansas out-rebounded their opponent by 11 (45-34).

Musselman was asked about the rebounding success after the game ... when he revealed his genius strategy to get everyone on board (literally).

"We felt like that was something we had to do to give ourselves a chance to win," Musselman said.

But, it didn't stop there -- Musselman even showed up to the game in a UPS uniform. Why?? He wanted the team to DELIVER.

The Razorbacks are having a strong season under Coach Musselman, they are 14-5 on the season and (6-4) in conference play.

It's official ... Urban Meyer will be back in a headset on a football sideline!!!

The Jacksonville Jaguars just announced the college football coaching legend will be their next head coach -- hiring the 56-year-old on Thursday just two years after he stepped away from his role as Ohio State's head man.

"This is a great day for Jacksonville and Jaguars fans everywhere," team owner Shad Khan said in a statement. "Urban Meyer is who we want and need, a leader, winner and champion who demands excellence and produces results."

"While Urban already enjoys a legacy in the game of football that few will ever match, his passion for the opportunity in front of him here in Jacksonville is powerful and unmistakable."

"I am proud to name Urban Meyer the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars."

Of course, this is unchartered territory for Meyer ... the guy has spent every year of his coaching career in the college ranks -- so it'll be a new world for Meyer in the NFL.

But, there's no doubt he's set up to succeed in Jacksonville ... the team has the #1 overall pick, so Meyer is expected to be able to begin his career with Clemson superstar QB Trevor Lawrence under center.

Add that to cornerstone pieces like RB James Robinson and receivers D.J. Chark and Laviska Shenault -- and, suddenly, the Jags look like they've got a real shot to be a contender under Meyer.

Urban has famously won wherever he's been at ... earning National Championships at both Florida and Ohio State -- while also hoisting other big bowl game trophies at his other stops.

Unclear if Meyer will also have general manager duties to go along with his head coaching role in Jacksonville ... but either way, rejoice Jags fans.

Tanner Kahlau -- a junior forward on the Fredonia State Univ. men's ice hockey team -- tragically died following a ski crash this week ... law enforcement officials have confirmed.

He was just 22 years old.

The hockey player -- real name Bernhard Tanner Kahlau -- was skiing down a trail at Whiteface Mountain Ski Resort in Lake Placid, NY on Jan. 12 when things went horribly wrong.

NY State Police say Kahlau lost control on his run, veered off course, and crashed into a tree.

A short time later, cops say the coroner pronounced Kahlau dead due to injuries he suffered to his head and neck area.

"We are saddened by the loss of our teammate, Tanner," Fredonia State head coach Jeff Meredith said in a statement. "The impact he left on our program, coaches, and teammates will forever be remembered."

"To say Tanner was a great teammate is not doing him justice," Meredith continued. "He was a teammate that everyone loved. His kind demeanor, easy way, and welcoming smile made him a leader, confidant, and friend to all.

"He was a 'team first' guy and would do anything for his boys. Tanner was incredibly humble and I am fortunate to be able to say I worked with him and got to share in his college experience."

Kahlau played in all 25 games for Fredonia State last season, scoring two goals and notching three assists. He had competed in the U.S. Premier Hockey League prior to enrolling at Fredonia State in '18.