Mason named USBWA Player of the Year

- KANSAS SPORTS -

Mason named USBWA All-American, finalist for Oscar Robertson Trophy

Kansas senior Frank Mason III has been named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) 2016-17 All-America First Team and a finalist for the prestigious Oscar Robertson Trophy as the USBWA's Men's National Player of the Year, the association announced Monday.

Self backs freshman Josh Jackson with strong words | KUsports.com

Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self was asked on Monday morning’s Big 12 coaches teleconference if he, for any reason, had seen or known of anything at all that might keep Jackson from playing for the Jayhawks moving forward.

Bill Self, KU assistants buried in film study as NCAA Tournament preparation begins

"It’s the same thing we do as if we were playing in Maui (Invitational)," Self said in explaining his routine Monday on the weekly Big 12 coaches teleconference. "I wouldn’t go to Maui looking at the first opponent. I’d spend early in the week looking at the second-round opponent. Then as we get closer to the (first) game, focus on the first-round opponent. The NCAA Tournament allows you to do that because each weekend is a four-team tournament."

KU senior Landen Lucas takes a trip down Memory Lane to prep for 2017 tourney | KUsports.com

"I tried to go back and find as many games from like the '08 team and some of the past teams," Lucas explained of KU’s most recent national championship squad. "Not to compare 100 percent, but just to kind of see how they went about things, you know. Just kind of get a vibe for what made them so good."

At long last: Kansas conducts first spring practice

The Jayhawks welcomed a hoard of newcomers, and seasoned veterans, wearing only helmets for a two-hour practice. Head coach David Beaty and his staff emphasized 'flying around' the turf fields inside Anschutz Pavilion as the team sprinted through a multitude of individual, 7-on-7 and full-team situations.

A peek inside Kansas football's first spring practice of 2017 season | Smithology | KUsports.com

Media don’t get to see much of KU’s football practices, but in the time allotted Monday, I spent all 20 minutes or so watching the offensive players — primarily their interactions with Meacham.

Let the QB competition begin | KUsports.com

Is it possible by the end of KU’s spring schedule in late April Beaty will have a clear No. 1 QB in sophomore Carter Stanley or junior college transfer Peyton Bender? "I’d love to tell you yes," KU’s jovial head coach said. "But I don’t know that for sure, because I think we’ve got a couple of really talented, capable guys."

Fish Smithson leads batch of NFL hopefuls at KU's pro day | KUsports.com

Smithson bench-pressed 225 pounds 17 times, leapt to a vertical of 36.5 inches, made a broad jump of 9 feet, 4 inches and ran his 40-yard dash in 4.51 seconds — tops among 18 participants at KU’s pro day, beating out fellow defensive back Brandon Stewart (4.58) and running back Ke’aun Kinner (4.53).

- COLLEGE SPORTS -

K-State set for first NCAA Tournament tilt in three years - Bring On The Cats

For Iwundu, this is the payoff for sticking with a program that not all of his teammates did. Some graduated, but some were dismissed or transferred to other schools. The only remaining Wildcats from that 2014 NCAA Tournament loss to Kentucky are Iwundu and D.J. Johnson, the latter of whom broke his foot in the 56-49 loss.

Villanova’s possible path to Final Four could be most difficult of all top seeds - CBSSports.com

One or two upsets can change paths and roads drastically. That said, just for fun, I did look at the possible paths for the four No. 1 seeds if the regionals were to unfold with the higher-seed winning each game. If things go down like that, which 1-seed would have the most issues making the Final Four?

2017 NCAA Tournament: 10 tips to help you win your March Madness office pool - CBSSports.com

But just in case you really want to overanalyze and get no work done this week, here are 10 trends to consider.

Eastern Michigan students campaign against using university dollars for $35 million football facility | CollegeFootballTalk

Fresh off the program’s first bowl trip in nearly 30 years, Eastern Michigan has announced plans to build a new facility that would include a new building with practice fields for the football and soccer programs, an indoor track, an improved weight room, up to 10 new football suites and a new football scoreboard, at the cost of $35 million.

Disgraced coach: Murdered Baylor player sold drugs, was ‘the worst’ | New York Post

In Showtime’s "Disgraced," a documentary about the 2003 murder of Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy and the ex-coach’s attempt to cover up that he was paying for the slain player’s scholarship, Bliss stuck to his story, despite there being absolutely zero evidence of this.

Baylor fires staffer for inappropriate text messages to a teenager - SBNation.com

"I had concerns," Rhule said in an interview last month with the Houston Chronicle about accepting the job at Baylor. "You look at it and you have to ask yourself about the problem. Is it still there? Is it systemic? Can I help fix the problem?"

Mr. Ed says: Let me help you, Coach Rhule.  Yes.  Yes.  Doubtful.