Lorain, St. Edward, Shaker Heights, Garfield Heights and Medina are still alive.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Here is a scouting report of the Division I Akron and Cleveland regional tournaments in boys basketball. Games begin on Wednesday.

Stay tuned for preview coverage all week long, as we'll be breaking down each region, as well as looking at top games, players and more.

AKRON REGIONAL

Where: Lorain vs. St. Edward regional semifinal at James A. Rhodes Arena, University of Akron, 373 Carroll St., Akron. Lima Senior vs. Toledo St. Johns regional semifinal and regional final at Savage Arena, University of Toledo, 2801 Bancroft St., Toledo.

When: Lorain vs. St. Edward, Wednesday, 7 p.m. Lima Senior vs. Toledo St. John's, Thursday, 7 p.m. Regional final on Saturday, 7 p.m.

Scouting reports

Lima Senior: The Spartans started slow at 0-2 but have been great down the stretch, losing only once after that start. Junior guard Xavier Simpson has championship experience from his time at Lima Central Catholic. Lima Senior loves to push the ball if it can, often scoring in the 70s and 80s.

Lorain: An undefeated season has Lorain two wins away from going to the final four in Columbus. The Titans have a great senior duo in Devon Andrews and Rashod Berry, and they have a solid group of players around them that play well together.

St. Edward: The defending state champions have started to look like that in the late portion of the season, including in district play. The frontcourt of Kipper Nichols, Mike Ryan and Derek Funderburk is as good as it gets because of how effective all three players can be.

Toledo St. John's: The Titans survived a triple-overtime district semifinal against Toledo Central Catholic on their way to the regional round. Led by senior forward Myles Copeland, Toledo St. John's went 14-0 in Three Rivers Athletic Conference play, including going 2-0 against Lima Senior.

Players to watch

Devon Andrews, Lorain: The Titans' offense and full-court pressure defense starts and ends with the Kent State recruit. Andrews is a first team All-Lakes District selection, averaging 21.2 points per game.

Myles Copeland, Toledo St. John's: The senior forward was a first team All-Northwest District selection. He averaged 15.5 points per game and helped the Titans win the TRAC with an undefeated 14-0 record in conference play.

Kipper Nichols, St. Edward: Nichols was the 2014 Division I State Tournament Most Outstanding Player and has had a strong season as a senior. He is averaging 18.9 points per game.

Xavier Simpson, Lima Senior: After helping Lima Central Catholic to a Division III state championship last year, Simpson transferred across town to play for Lima Senior and his dad, coach Quincey Simpson. The junior guard was the Division I Northwest District Player of the Year, averaging 19.8 points per game.

cleveland.com pick

St. Edward beats Toledo St. John's: The Eagles might be the team to end Lorain's undefeated season because of their experience and willingness to play at Lorain's frenetic tempo. St. John's should beat Lima Senior again, setting up a rematch from Jan. 31. Just like that game, the Eagles should be able to win and make a return to Columbus and move closer to defending their title.

CLEVELAND REGIONAL

Where: Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University, 2000 Prospect Ave., Cleveland.

When: Shaker Heights vs. Medina, Wednesday, 6:15 p.m.; Garfield Heights vs. Uniontown Lake, Wednesday, 8 p.m. Regional final on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Scouting reports 

Garfield Heights: The Bulldogs survived the tough Euclid district and enter the regional ready to make noise. The duo of Willie Jackson and Frankie Hughes is the best of the four teams in Cleveland. Garfield Heights also has a deep bench led by sophomores Marreon Jackson and Shawn Christian. If Hughes is hitting his shots and Branden Johnson plays well inside, the Bulldogs are tough to beat.

Medina: Beating Canton Timken and Massillon Jackson is no small accomplishment, and Medina is maybe the hottest team headed to Cleveland. Center Jon Teske makes an impact on offense and defense. Specifically, the attention he gets allows the Bees' shooters to get open. The Bees were 0-4 against Garfield Heights and Shaker Heights but were close in three of the four games.

Shaker Heights: The swan song for Esa Ahmad and Shaker Heights will once again take them to the regional round. The Raiders haven't had much luck at Cleveland State, but they are the highest seed remaining and the favorite. Ahmad will do his part, and it's up to David Wright and Kaleb Roy to give some balance to the offense. The experience will be Shaker Heights' greatest strength.

Uniontown Lake: A season after East Tech's Markell Johnson sank their hopes of Columbus, the Blue Streaks are back at Cleveland State. Uniontown Lake was up and down during the regular season but beat Green and Walsh Jesuit in the district round. Chandler Vaudrin can change a game with his outside shot.

Players to watch

Esa Ahmad, Shaker Heights: Averaging nearly 20 points per game in the postseason, Ahmad seems to be on a mission to Columbus. He will attract constant double-teams this week.

Franke Hughes, Garfield Heights: The junior guard hit seven 3-pointers in a district title win over East Tech. He can get hot in an instant.

Willie Jackson, Garfield Heights: A walking mismatch, Jackson can battle on the low block and hit the outside shot. He's also an elite rebounder and defender.

Jon Teske, Medina: The 7-footer and Michigan commit has grown comfortable as the focal point of the offense. His shot-blocking ability make him a triple-double threat.

Chandler Vaudrin, Uniontown Lake: Another 3-point shooter you can't leave open, Vaudrin had some back-breaking shots against Green in the district final round.

cleveland.com pick

Shaker Heights beats Garfield Heights: This is as tough a matchup to pick as any, but Shaker Heights has already beaten Garfield Heights twice this season, and the Raiders look comfortable against the Bulldogs. That being said, if Jackson can lock down Ahmad and Hughes gets open, the Bulldogs can win. But the experience and recent success of the Raiders is the tie-breaker in this pick.

Terry Pluto talks about the Browns' free agency moves, Kyrie Irving's 57-point game against the Spurs and Indians spring training.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- How will Tramon Williams and Randy Starks help the Browns? Is Kyrie Irving the best teammate LeBron James has played with?

Plain Dealer sports columnist Terry Pluto answered those questions and more in our weekly podcast. Among other topics discussed:

* Will the Indians really keep Francisco Lindor off the opening day roster?

* How will the Browns address their lack of playmakers on offense?

You can download the mp3 or listen with the player to the right.

Be sure to also like Terry Pluto on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

Follow @dan_labbe

The Kentucky Wildcats have been playing with the spotlight on them all season. The NCAA tournament is shared pressure because of its lose-and-go-home format. Kentucky won't lose -- Bud Shaw.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Kentucky will win it all.

A courageous pick, for sure.

(Since I'm writing this before Hampton plays Manhattan for the right to meet the Wildcats as a No. 16 seed, this prediction takes me even farther out on the limb.)

One argument heard for picking against the Wildcats is not a particularly good one: that the pressure of being undefeated and the chance to become the first college basketball team to run the table since Bobby Knight's Hoosiers in 1976 will suddenly become too much for John Calipari's team.

Kentucky came into the season as a 2014 Final Four team, granted one that lost Julius Randle and James Young to the NBA.

But when high school All-Americans are circling a program like planes over Chicago O'Hare, an NBA exodus in Lexington isn't quite the same as replacing upper classmen at Butler.

Kentucky basketball can never begin a year on cat's feet. That's a given. But Kentucky has spent an entire season playing teams that had the date circled even more than usual, especially as its unbeatable status grew.

Kentucky has been playing with a one-and-the-streak-is-done mentality since all those consecutive wins became The Thing about the Wildcats. And playing as unselfishly as Knight's Hoosiers ever did.

Now that the tournament is here, the what's-at-stake equation finally balances out. The teams opposite Kentucky in the bracket not only come up short of talent and depth but will be dealing with elimination pressure themselves.

Maryland could be an interesting matchup in the Midwest Regional but a real threat? No.

The team with the best chance to beat Kentucky is probably Wisconsin. Beyond that, I'd give Virginia and Iowa State a reasonable look at it.

But Kentucky's relentless rotation and defense - coupled with improvement on offense - will prove too much.

(A chalk pick? Yes. But as an aside, I live in a house with an Indiana University grad whose family keeps a shrine to Bobby Knight and who harbors an irrational hatred of all things Kentucky.)

So saying Kentucky will match the Hoosiers of Scott May, Kent Benson and Quinn Buckner is the riskiest thing I can fathom in the category of marital harmony. Let alone say that with 40 wins, Kentucky would clearly surpass the 32-0 Hoosiers.)

The last time all four No. 1 seeds went to the Final Four was 2008. That won't happen this year.

My Final Four: Kentucky, Wisconsin, Iowa State and Virginia.

Four upset specials: (13) Eastern Washington over (4) Georgetown; (13) Valparaiso over (4) Maryland; (12)Buffalo over (5) West Virginia; (9) LSU over (1) Villanova. 

So there you have it, for what it's worth. And that's probably not much.

Beating me in a bracket challenge? Join the crowd.

You can find a bigger, better (and potentially more lucrative) challenge here.

Villa Angela-St. Joseph is the lone Division III team still left in the field.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Here is a scouting report of the Division III Canton regional tournament in boys basketball. Games begin on Wednesday.

Stay tuned for preview coverage all week long, as we'll be breaking down each region, as well as looking at top games, players and more.

Where: Canton Memorial Fieldhouse, 1815 Harrison Ave. NW, Canton.

When: Canton Central Catholic vs. Youngstown Ursuline, Wednesday, 6:15 p.m. Villa Angela-St. Joseph vs. Massillon Tuslaw, Wednesday, 8 p.m. Regional final on Saturday, 7 p.m.

Scouting reports

Canton Central Catholic: The Crusaders are in the regional round for the second year in a row and are a battle-tested team. They spread the scoring around, but Christian Creamer is probably their best scorer.

Massillon Tuslaw: The Mustangs are the surprise team in this regional, making a strong run through the Wooster Regional. Tuslaw's defense has been good in the postseason, holding second-seeded Dalton to just 44 points in the district semifinal and 33 to Navarre Fairless in the district final.

Villa Angela-St. Joseph: After a great run through its district, Villa Angela-St. Joseph is closer to avenging its loss in the Division III state championship game last year. The trio of Carlton Bragg, Dererk Pardon and Brian Parker is extremely difficult to deal with.

Youngstown Ursuline: The Irish were very dominant in the district tournament, scoring 76 points in each of their first three games and not allowing anyone to score 40 points. They also have the Inland District Player of the Year in Mark Hughes, who is an explosive scorer.

Players to watch

Carlton Bragg, Villa Angela-St. Joseph: The Kansas commit is possibly the best player in Division III and is an impact player at both ends of the court. He is averaging 19.1 points and seven rebounds per game.

Christian Creamer, Canton Central Catholic: The senior guard has been the main scorer for the Crusaders. He is a first team All-Inland District player, averaging 13.2 points per game.

Mark Hughes, Youngstown Ursuline: He is the Division III Inland District Player of the Year and has put up tremendous numbers this season, averaging 24.5 points per game.

Brian Parker, Villa Angela-St. Joseph: Last year's Division III Co-Player of the Year, Parker had another strong season for the Vikings. A Marist commit, Parker averages 15.7 points per game.

cleveland.com pick

Villa Angela-St. Joseph beats Youngstown Ursuline: This region should have a rematch of last year's final, which the Vikings won by nine points. The Irish should be a good test for Villa Angela-St. Joseph because of their explosive scoring. But the Vikings should be able to make it back to Columbus.

The 3-pointer and the shot clock have changed college basketball, but the promise of those rules changes has been dashed by the the NBA's "one-and-done" eligibility rule .

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Parity does not mean quality, and, given the Kentucky Dynasty of Transients, college basketball certainly doesn't even have parity this season.

To alumni, any victory, not to mention any championship, is beautiful of course. Still, given the recent skill erosion -- UConn 53, Butler, ahem, 41, in the 2011 championship game and that 7-seed UConn vs. 8-seed Kentucky 60-54 final last year -- it seems clear that the caliber of play is down.

Wasn't the 3-point shot supposed to be the Great Equalizer that let the Butlers of the world do it? Shouldn't the shot clock increase offense and not suppress it?

The "modern" game, which in college basketball began in the 1986-87 season, when the 3-point shot and the 45-second shot clock (now 35 seconds) simultaneously debuted, is on the road, not to Indianapolis, site of this year's the Final Four, but to perdition.

But how did we get from the bright hopes of the new rules to the dysfunction of today? With the NCAA Tournament's Midwest Regional in town this week at The Q, let's examine the process.

1. Ball pressure -- It has gotten progressively harder to run coherent offenses because of the defensive ascendancy.

Some think this began with Bobby Knight and Indiana. I say anyone whose team beat the Runnin' Rebels of Jerry Tarkanian and Nevada-Las Vegas, 97-93, in an NCAA semifinals (1987) was not exactly a proponent of strangling defense.

I say it started in earnest with John Thompson and the Patrick Ewing Georgetown teams of ther early 1980s. "Hoya Paranoia" meant intimidated opponents worried where the next defender or hard foul would come from. Led by the Hoyas, the entire Big East Conference practiced a roughneck, bullying style that became indistinguishable from thuggishness.

The defensive trend increased, albeit with more  finesse, through the platoons of pressing, athletic players Rick Pitino deployed at Kentucky.

It is expressed today even in zone defenses in the proliferation of long, tall stranglers, who are just passing through the halls of Academe, the "one-and-doners," who are able to press and trap or play a stifling zone defense with equal effectiveness.

The easiest way to win with players who consider college nothing but an NBA job application is to turn their athleticism loose. Defense, in the form of turnovers and blocked shots, can create offense in its own right.

In a thoughtful essay in Sports Illustrated, Seth Davis offered several steps to fix the game, but  his main emphasis was for referees to start calling all the contact. It is easier for cynical coaches to teach grab and hold defense than shoot and drive offense. Virginia, a No. 2 seed, is downright unwatchable.

2. The Fab Five -- It wasn't all defense, though. The competitive lifespan of college basketball stars grew shorter and shorter. They say the NFL means Not For Long. So does college basketball, at least for stars.

The Michigan Wolverines of the early 1990s were one of the most influential teams in college basketball history. They were a perfect synthesis of style (baggy pants), attitude (pronounced), impatience (no waiting, instant gratification with five freshmen starters!) and, lest we forget, great ability.

Chris Webber, Jalen Rose and their slightly less talented pals played and lost two straight NCAA championship games, then began defecting to the NBA. They left behind proof that young players could succeed in a hurry. As for attitude, these guys were the the royal family of entitlement.

3. Carmelo Anthony -- Syracuse won it all in 2003, led by freshman Carmelo Anthony, who immediately afterward jumped to the NBA. It became apparent that five Fabbers weren't needed. Won and done worked with one too.

As the talent pool drained away, even such highly rated academic institutions as Duke lost current Cavalier Kyrie Irving and recent Cav Luol Deng after their freshman seasons.

In many cases, such as with Ohio State's 2007 NCAA runners-up, the one-and-doners either weren't ready, at least at first, for the NBA (Daequan Cook, Mike Conley) or the mind may have been willing but the body broke down under the demands of the pro game with its many games (Greg Oden).

4. The one-and-done rule --The best players were all heading for their college gym's exit door because of a rule instituted in 2005 by veteran NBA players who were scared of losing their jobs. They reached a collective bargaining agreement with NBA owners, who apparently didn't realize the extent to which they would be paying handsomely in the years to come for potential, not production.

Since 2005, a player has to be 19 years old or finished with his freshman year in college to be eligible for the NBA.

The discontinuity in the high majors' programs the one-and-done rule fosters has allowed more experienced, "off-brand" teams to reach the Final Four. These teams once were denigrated as mid-majors, but some of them are the equals of old-line powers now.

Still, old labels persist. The so-called mid-majors who have advanced to the Final Four -- George Mason, Virginia Commonwealth, Wichita State, Butler (twice national runner-up) -- all did so after the passage of the one-and-done rule. This does not include Gonzaga, a perennial power, that has yet to reach the Final Four.

Beyond its awful effect on play on pro and college levels of the game, the one-and-done rule comes close to perpetuating academic fraud. A player only has to attend class for his first semester to be eligible for the NCAA Tournament.

5. Kentucky -- The perfect storm of these disparate elements has come together in the Wildcats' dynasty.

A game-altering defensive force? Check out the 2012 performance of the "Unibrow," freshman Anthony Davis against Kansas in Kentucky's 67-59 championship game win. Soon to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, Davis had a horrible shooting night (1 for 10), but also had 16 rebounds, six blocked shots, five assists, three steals and an incalculable amount of intimidation and shot distortion. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.

The defensive intensity overwhelmed the offense on both sides. Kentucky shot only 41.1 percent, Kansas only 35.5 percent.

Youth was served. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, another one-and-doner, was the second pick of the draft from the 2012 Kentucky team. A third freshman, Marquis Teague, went at the end of the first round after a UK sophomore, Terrence Jones, was selected in its middle.

In the second round went another soph, Doron Lamb, the high scorer of the title game with 22 points, and a senior, Darius Miller. (It is unclear what was wrong with Miller).

It is easy to lambaste John Calipari, the coach of the transients. But all the top teams recruit prodigies, knowing full well that if they deliver they will be gone to the pros.

Calipari's teams show marked improvement over a season. Last year's eighth-seeded team almost won it all.

Remember the 2011 Kentucky Wildcats? They beat nationally top-seeded Ohio State, which featured recent graduates David Lighty from Villa Angela-St. Joseph's, Dallas Lauderdale from Solon, and Jon Diebler, in the final seconds of the Sweet 16 on a basket by another one-and-doner, Brandon Knight.

It is very hard to get players who have no experience or chemistry with each other to play together, much less when they all have their eyes on their statistics and are trying to improve their NBA draft status.

Calipari has had a magic touch, as he did at Memphis with future NBA Most Valuable Player and one-and-doner Derrick Rose.

The greatest coach? The luckiest in a title game? The unluckiest? The best coach never to win the Big Dance? Let the bar debates begin with these choices.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Rating the best, the luckiest, the most visionary and other superlatives among college basketball coaches with the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional taking place at The Q.

Note: All lists must include coaches who were active in the "modern era" of college basketball, dating from the 1986-87 season, when the shot clock and the 3-pointer combined to revolutionize the game.

Greatest coach -- Just because I'm not a fan does not mean I don't appreciate what Duke has done under Mike Krzyzewski, originally nicknamed "Coach K," but now known as "Coach 1K" for his more than 1,000 wins, a record.

"1K" has "only" four national championships, compared to 10 for UCLA's John Wooden of the pre-shot clock and 3-point era, but ...

Krzyzewski won them all in the expanded, geographically-balanced 64- or 68-team formats. No byes. No Adolph Rupp-like basketball school in a football conference. (In fact, Coach K's teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, whose members were the Borgias of basketball when it came to fratricidal slaughter.

In three of the first four seasons Krzyzewski coached Duke, North Carolina and North Carolina State, located a couple of 3-pointers away in the "Research Triangle," won national championships.

Moreover, Krzyzewski lost title games by three points to Louisvillle and UConn, by four to Arkansas, and, after wasting an eight-point lead in the last 3 1/2 minutes, lost by one point in the semifinals to UConn. Coach K could have had another three or four titles, easily.

Biggest visionary - After Rick Pitino's first Providence team barely hung on to win an exhibition game against a touring Russian team that launched 30  3-pointers in the 1986-87 season, the first year of the extra-value shot's legalization, the coach ordered his team to try at least 25 threes per game. He had already grasped the significance of the shot by planning to try 20 per contest.

The magic lay in the math. One-third of makes on 3-pointers (say, 4 of 12) equaled the same number of points (12) as one-half of makes on shorter shots (6 of 12.) This was the start of the Big Bang Theory of 3-point proliferation.

The game was launched (along with the three) on the path that led to "stretch bigs" whose goal was to space the floor and open the lane for driving teammates by luring hulking defenders away from the basket.

The revolution turned traditional low-post centers into dinosaurs and either (a) liberated the game by striking off the shackles of positional oppression for bigs, or (b) turned it into an endless loop of repetitive drive-and-kick plays fixated on obtaining an open-corner three.

Pitino's team torched a thousand office pools by reaching the Final Four on the strength of the three. "Divine Providence," headline writers predictably proclaimed. But it was really the far-sightedness of a bold and innovative coach.

Good guy, bad guy? You make the call -- The late Jim Valvano was a brilliant, devious, generous, twisted guy. He became America's Underdog when he won the whole thing with North Carolina State in 1983.

Death doesn't change the way he used players with apparently no thought about their progress toward a college degree. That might be too much on the negative side for him to overcome, even for such a great popularizer.

His real legacy was that he invented what became known as the Hack-a-Shaq. Now it is treated by NBA commentators as if the league invented the tactic. Teams to this day deliberately foul awful foul shooters, hoping to trade a two or a three for two bricked fouls shots in the NBA.

Nobody in college has the guts to do what Valvano did as long as the eternal one-and-one free throw situation was the rule. He ordered fouls of bad shooters late in tie games. He wanted to determine the outcome when his guys had the ball and not hope for a miss on the last possession of regulation time.

He did this in the pre-shot clock era too, so it wasn't all playing for three (with a shot from behind the arc) after giving up a maximum of two on free throws.

The double bonus on the 10th foul, instituted before the 1990-91 season, stopped the endless one-and-one's and the long games the tactic produced. It put the penalty on the fouling team, rather than putting the pressure on the team shooting the one-and-one. It was a sensible change, and it is the main reason few teams today emulate N.C. State  in the 1980s.

It is too big a risk to take. Or maybe it's simply that there will never be another Jimmy V.

Luckiest/unluckiest coach  in a championship game -- The 1987 NCAA championship game had an ironic ending because control freak coach Bobby Knight of Indiana let his team play out the last possession without calling timeout. Indiana's 74-73 victory was secured in the last five seconds of play at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

The chance was set up when Syracuse's Derrick Coleman, who grabbed 19 rebounds, went to the foul line on a one-and-one free throw situation with 28 seconds to play.

This was an example of the unfairness of the eternal one-and-one. All the pressure was on the team that was fouled, instead of burdening the hacking team not to foul so much and to play actual defense instead.

Coleman missed badly with a weak effort off the front of the rim. Although Indiana made only 7 of 12 free throws itself, the Hoosiers played great free throw defense. (Isn't that what the Knight idolators would have called it? Syracuse made only 11 of 20 foul shots.)

The half-minute after Coleman's miss made Jim Boeheim, the Syracuse coach, the unluckiest coach in the land until 16 years later.

Indiana ran its motion offense. Syracuse, in the days before Boeheim became a zone guru, played the critical possession in man-to-man defense. Indiana's heralded motion offense couldn't get the ball to Steve Alford who was seven of 10 from the 3-point arc.

With five seconds to play, former Cavaliers' interim coach Keith Smart, a 6-2 right-hander heading left, shot a floating jump shot while 6-5 Howard Triche contested it.

Swish.

If Smart hadn't shot, he would have been trapped on the baseline. If he hadn't made the shot, every Hoosier rebounder was boxed out.

It was, as said in the visionaries section, the first year of the 3-pointer. Knight hated it. The Hoosiers made seven of 11 long balls, all of them, in 10 tries, by Alford, who was multi-alarm en fuego. The Orangemen made four of 10.

The nine-point difference on the arc, 21-12, decided it.

It was not until 2003, after another loss in the championship game, Boeheim, with 966 victories on the court -- although 108 of them were later "vacated" by the NCAA because of rules violations -- finally won his lone national championship behind the greatest pre-Kentucky one-and-done difference-maker in college basketball, Carmelo Anthony.

Best coach not to have won it all - Five Big Ten championships, four Big Ten Tournament championships, two Final Fours, a runner-up finish to Donovan's defending champion Florida Gators -- Ohio State's Thad Matta deserves mention.

But Matta takes a backseat to Gene Keady, a track, baseball and football letter-winner at Kansas State, who was drafted (19^th round) by the Pittsburgh Steelers but never played in the NFL. As a basketball coach, Keady has the second-most wins in Big Ten history, won six Big Ten titles at Purdue and was seven times voted the conference's Coach of the Year. But he never won an NCAA championship or even made a Final Four.

That would be an impressive winning (losing?) resume for the award no one wants, but it overlooks Charles G. "Lefty Driesell.

The Left Hander led four teams (Davidson, Maryland, James Madison and Georgia southern) to the NCAA Tournament; had a 786-394 record; recruited "Miracle of Richfield" hero Dick Snyder at Davidson and former Cavs coach John Lucas at Maryland; but never really made the Terps the "UCLA of the East," as he promised when he was hired. For that matter, like Keady, Lefty never made a Final Four.

Driesell's best team played a huge role in the expansion of the NCAA Tournament from 25 teams in 1974  to its current 68 teams. Only the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament champion got a bid in 1974.

In the conference tournament final, eventual national champion North Carolina State, behind 29 points by Davis Thompson and 38 by 7-2 Tommy Burleson, edged the Terps, 103-100, in overtime. 

Maryland got 22 points from future NBA player, Rhodes Scholar and Democratic Congressman Tom McMillen, 18 from well-known network basketball analyst Len Elmore, and 18 from future Cavaliers coach John Lucas.

The difference was the foul line. N.C. State was 15 of 26 there. Thompson himself was 9 of 11, while the Terps as a team were only 6 of 8 in the game played in (obviously) Wolfpack-friendly Greensboro, N.C.

The complete exclusion of such a great team from the tournament led to an expanded 32-team field the very next year.

In 1978-79, his first season at James Madison, his team lost at Kent State. Before he decried the "hoop-olla and hoop-lala" about his assumption of the coaching reins at the school. He meant hoopla.

He created a lot of it. Just not nearly as much as he vowed.

LeBron James wants to play for his Cavaliers teammates but he also wants to rest for the playoffs. How does this mesh with what coach David Blatt wants?

MIAMI - LeBron James said he was a "game-time" decision to play against his old team Monday night, waiting to make sure he came through all the treatments and warm-ups properly on an injured right knee before taking the floor against the Miami Heat.

And then in the second quarter of Cleveland's 106-92 loss, James jammed his formerly sprained right wrist into Heat center Hassan Whiteside's leg on a drive to the hoop.

James' right knee was a victim of an awkward fall Sunday night against Orlando. A balky back and left knee forced him out of nine games this season. The sprained wrist cost him No. 10, and he's missed another as a precaution. He's also sprained an ankle this season.

"Everything hurts, but I'm alright," James said Monday night, his knees wrapped in ice and his feet soaking in an ice bucket after his 26-point effort.

The Cavs (43-26) finished the most grueling portion of their schedule against the Heat, concluding a stretch of 11 out of 14 games on the road since the All-Star break.

They held up quite well during that stretch - the last four were all on the road, and the Cavs scored 127, 128, and 123 in wins over Dallas, San Antonio, and Orlando in the first three. Cleveland maintains a two-game advantage for second in the East despite the loss to the Heat.

James said he's "never in my 12-year career played for seeding. That's just not how I work." But if he's going to play for coach David Blatt, that's apparently going to change.

"We've got to finish in second place," Blatt declared.

Resting James before the playoffs has been a priority for Cleveland since January when he returned to form after two weeks off. And it's still going to happen sometime in Cleveland's final 13 games.

But Blatt's recent insistence on finishing second in the East - which means homecourt advantage for at least the first two series - and the Cavs' 2-9 record without James do not align with the goal of resting him.

The Cavs are attempting to hold off Toronto and Chicago, and the Raptors picked up a game by beating the Pacers Monday night. Speaking of Indiana, the Cavs and Pacers would play each other in the first round if the playoffs started today, and Cleveland hosts the Pacers Friday night.

The Cavs also play a road game Sunday at Milwaukee, a potential first-round matchup if either Cleveland or the Bucks (but not both) slip a spot between now and mid-April.

When it came to postseason talk, the Cavs had placed a greater emphasis on health over seeding since January. And keeping in line with that thinking, Kevin Love sat the last two games of this road trip to "give him some rest now while we can," in Blatt's words.

But Blatt's also never been this adamant about seeding.

"Now there's not that many games left, it's pretty easy to see what you've got to do to fall where," Blatt said. "And recognizing that, we want to go after that. It will not be at the expense of the health of the players, but we certainly want to do all we can to finish as high as we can."

It was hard to envision James missing this game - his second Miami return following his decision to rejoin the Cavs after four years and two titles with the Heat. It was James who sowed doubt that he would play, when he spoke of the "scary" fall he endured Monday and questioned how the knee would respond.

But between the knee, the collision with Whiteside, and a 20-point deficit entering the fourth quarter, the case was there for James to take the rest of the night off. Instead, he easily logged the most minutes of any starter with 11 in the fourth quarter. He scored 16 points in the final period and grabbed his first rebound of the game with 3:49 left.

James spearheaded a rally that turned a blowout into a more respectable final score. The Heat, who are fighting for the eighth seed, were led by James' good buddy Dwyane Wade's 32 points.

"He played through an injury tonight, got out there and played," Blatt said of James.

James said he played against the Heat because "I need to be out there for my teammates." But he also expressed interest on this road trip in resting at some point before the playoffs.

James played his 900th career regular-season game Monday, and went over 42,000 minutes for his career (counting playoffs) during this trip. He's also now scored at least 10 points in 630 consecutive regular-season games.

James appears ready to balance the priorities of supporting his teammates and resting for the postseason, even if playoff seeding is not a stated goal for him.

"That's for the coaching staff, that's what they want," he said of the No. 2 seed. "For me, I never play for seeding, I just play. Wherever at the end of the season we land, I'm ready.

"I feel like I can win on anybody's floor. I feel like I can win at home. I'm that confident in my ability and in our team's ability."

Former Ohio State center Corey Linsley likes Wisconsin to win it all this year.

Corey Linsley fills out his NCAA Tournament bracket on Tuesday in Columbus.Bill Landis, Northeast Ohio Media Group 

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Former Ohio State center Corey Linsley is keeping it in the conference.

He picked the Big Ten champ Wisconsin Badgers to win the National Championship over Duke in his NCAA Tournament Bracket.

The former Buckeye and current starting center for the Green Bay Packers sat down with the Northeast Ohio Media Group on Tuesday to fill out his bracket for the ninth annual cleveland.com Celebrity Bracketology Challenge.

He picked the Badgers to beat No. 1 overall seed Kentucky, and Duke to beat No. 4 seed Louisville in the Final Four.

"(Frank) Kaminsky is really good. I think if any team has a chance (to beat Kentucky), it's Wisconsin," Linsely said.

"That depth is gonna be tough to beat, but Wisconsin has a chance."

In Linsley's bracket, the Elite Eight also includes Kansas, Arizona, Virginia and Gonzaga.

He also has No. 11 seeds Dayton and UCLA, and 13th-seeded Harvard making runs to the Sweet 16.

"Harvard has the intelligence factor going for them," Linsely said.

See Linsley's handwritten bracket at the top of this post.

The brackets of the other three celebrities competing in the contest will be linked below once all are published.

Linsley started every game for the Packers last season after being selected by Green Bay in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

He was a two-year starter at center for the Buckeyes after moving over from guard/tackle, earning First-Team All-Big Ten honors as a senior.

Check out cleveland.com/marchmadness later Wednesday to see the bracket of the fourth and final celebrity contestant.

The 2014 Celebrity Bracketology Challenge winner, Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, received an invitation to try to defend his victory. However, Gordon did not respond to an invitation through his agent.

Cleveland sports fans can expect to see a different Browns player fill the final spot in the bracket contest. The Browns have fared the best, winning this challenge in four of the previous eight years.

About the Celebrity Bracketology Challenge: Some of Cleveland's biggest sports stars are competing in cleveland.com's ninth annual Celebrity Bracketology Challenge. See brackets at cleveland.com/marchmadness. Standings will be updated weekly.

2015 Celebrity Bracket Challenge participants

Corey Linsley, Ohio State

Terry Francona, Cleveland Indians

Mike Miller, Cleveland Cavaliers

Final player to come

The Bees will play Shaker Heights on Wednesday in a regional semifinal.

MEDINA, Ohio -- About 11 months ago, Medina boys basketball was not in a good place. 

Its head coach, Anthony Stacey, resigned, its top interior player, Branden Wilkins, graduated, and its top scorer, Craig Randall, was rumored to be on the verge of transferring.

"It was unpredictable," said Medina senior Evan Schreck. "You didn't really know what was going to happen."

The unpredictable became the unfathomable, as Medina, which entered sectionals with an 11-11 record, is still standing. The Bees play Shaker Heights on Wednesday in a Division I regional semifinal at Cleveland State University and are two wins away from Columbus.

So how did it happen?

Flash back 21 years to when Keith Sooy was the team's head coach. He brought aboard a young coach named Chris Hassinger to be a middle school coach. It was his energy that stood out.

"I thought to myself that he couldn't keep it up," Sooy said. "Three or four years, he'll calm down. Now 21 years later, he's the same guy. Maybe even more hyper."

Hassinger became entrenched in Medina basketball. He worked his way up and was the JV boys coach and assistant varsity coach. He would eventually become the head girls coach.

But all along Hassinger wanted to coach the boys team. Before last season, he took some time off to recharge his batteries and volunteer with the Wadsworth boys team. When the Medina job becomes open, he was one of the first in line and was hired from a pool of over 80 applicants.

Hassinger knew this was a team in flux. When he was hired, Randall was still on the roster (he would eventually transfer to Shadow Mountain in Arizona) and the team only had a few players that had substantial roles in Stacey's final season. So rather than get right to making adjustments Hassinger just observed.

"We just started watching kids play, and we didn't say too much," Hassinger said. "We just wanted fresh ideas on the kids and not to pigeon hole anyone."

Then he started going to work. The year before, Randall and Wilkins dominated the offense. Now Hassinger wanted to run the offense through Michigan commit and 7-foot junior Jon Teske and play a defense-first style that controlled tempo.

"It was going to be an entire different process and style of play," Schreck said. "All of us had to change our role."

Things were professing slowly, but Hassinger always had confidence. On June 29, he texted senior Zach Bennett, and told him that if he became a team leader, the Bees would win a district title.

But while Hassinger knew he had a special group, he was also honest with his team. It was going to be a process, the schedule and conference were difficult and there would be losses.

"I told these guys that we're going to be .500 this year," Hassinger said. "I've been through this so many times, and it takes so long to implement your system."

With a complete overhaul of the system that was in place the season before, Hassinger was methodical. He didn't rush anything. It wasn't until midway through the regular season that Medina even started fully working on late-game situations.

The Bees played eight games against Shaker Heights, Garfield Heights, Brunswick and Mentor to go along with out-of-conference games against teams like Lorain and Warren G. Harding. The result was an 11-11 overall record, and once the team was out of the conference race, it started preparing for the postseason.

While Medina believed in itself, others did not. Hassinger says the team was "disrespected" at the district seeding when it was chosen No. 10 -- three spots lower than a Hudson team that Medina had just beaten.

Before every playoff game, Hassinger brought the district voting results into the locker room. His team had a chip on its shoulder and beat North Canton Hoover, Hudson and Canton Timken to make a district final against Massillon Jackson.

In the district title game, everything Hassinger envisioned came to fruition. The Bees dominated defensively in a 45-43 win. The offense ran through Teske (he notched a triple-double and had the game-winning basket), and of course, the prophetic text he sent Bennett became a reality.

"We all have confidence and believe in us," Schreck said. "He told us in the beginning that we could win the district final. He even predicated that we could play Jackson."

But Medina doesn't believe it's done. On Wednesday, it faces Shaker Heights, a team it played two close games with including an overtime loss. The Raiders are the only conference team the Medina senior class has not beaten. But if people are starting to count them out again, they are ready to respond.

"We could shock the whole state of Ohio by winning districts and regionals," Teske said.

Follow our new high school sports Twitter account @NEOvarsity and tag your high school sports Tweets and score updates with the #NEOvarsity hashtag.

Which trends are here to stay and which are merely spring mirages? Talk about that and more with Tribe reporter Zack Meisel at noon on Wednesday.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- One month ago, pitchers and catchers reported to the Arizona desert and the Indians commenced another spring training. So, with less than three weeks remaining until the Tribe takes on the Astros on Opening Day at Minute Maid Park, what have been your impressions of Cleveland's ballclub?

Reigning Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber looked shaky against Cincinnati on Tuesday. Michael Bourn has hit the ball well all spring. Brandon Moss displayed immediate power at the plate after making a swift recovery from hip surgery. Danny Salazar and Bryan Shaw have struggled on the mound. TJ House, Shaun Marcum and Cody Allen have not. 

So which trends are here to stay and which are merely spring mirages? Talk about that and more with Tribe reporter Zack Meisel at noon on Wednesday.

Both teams are two wins away from a state semifinal appearance.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Sweet 16 in each boys basketball division is in progress, and each team that survived the district round is two wins away from a trip to Columbus.

Joining us on the podcast is Lorain coach John Rositano. Last week, the Titans won two thrilling games against Brunswick and St. Ignatius, and on Wednesday, they play St. Edward in a regional semifinal.

Also joining will be Garfield Heights coach Sonny Johnson. The Bulldogs outlasted East Tech on Saturday, and now head to the regional semifinals to play Uniontown Lake on Wednesday.

Also, in today's installment of the podcast, Northeast Ohio Media Group reporters David Cassilo, Mark Kern and Tim Bielik will be guiding you through what has happened so far this week and gets you set for a big week ahead in boys basketball.

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

We want you the fans and people connected to the teams to be part of the podcast, too. Each segment features opportunities for listeners to participate in the podcast, either by sharing their take and asking questions they have in the comments section below or on Twitter (be sure to use the #NEOvarsity hashtag). You can ask your questions and share your thoughts on last week's game now or live during the podcast.

Join the crew featuring insight from David Cassilo (@dcassilo), Tim Bielik (@bielik_Tim) and Mark Kern (@Markkern11).

Have any ideas or comments you would like to submit? Please leave them in the comments section below. Click here to sign up for an account if you don’t have one already .

In the Akron Regional semifinal, undefeated Lorain will play the defending state champion St. Edward.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — One local boys basketball team had its season end on Tuesday, but six more will try to advance to the regional finals of the OHSAA State Boys Basketball Tournament.

Among them are undefeated Lorain, defending Division I state champion St. Edward and Division III contender Villa Angela-St. Joseph.

Here is a look back at Tuesday's action and what to watch for on Wednesday.

Don't forget to listen to Wednesday's Full Court Press Podcast at 3 p.m., featuring Lorain coach John Rositano and Garfield Heights coach Sonny Johnson.

A LOOK BACK

Game of the night

Tuscarawas Central Catholic 65, Mogadore 46

Division IV Canton Regional semifinal

Mogadore's defense was not able to slow down a red-hot Tuscarawas Central Catholic offense and the Wildcats fell, 65-46, on Tuesday at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse.

The Saints had 35 points in the first half with six 3-pointers and never trailed following an early 9-1 run.

Tuscarawas Central Catholic's Mitch Herron had a big night with a game-high 22 points.

Mogadore's Dominik Pizzino led his team with 18 points.

The loss ends Mogadore's season after it made its second regional semifinal appearance in four years.

A LOOK AHEAD

Game of the night

Lorain vs. St. Edward

Division I Akron Regional semifinal

Regional semifinal action begins in Division I on Wednesday at the University of Akron as undefeated Lorain battles defending Division I state champion St. Edward.

The Titans have had an incredible season, including a triple-overtime win against Brunswick in the Grafton District semifinal to keep their season alive.

St. Edward lost three starters from last year's championship team, but seems to be playing its best basketball of the season.

The main battle to watch will be at the small forward position where Lorain's Devon Andrews will match up against St. Edward's Kipper Nichols.

Check out what St. Edward coach Eric Flannery had to say about this matchup on Monday's episode of Talking Hoops.

Cleveland.com will have a live broadcast of the game from James A. Rhodes Arena starting at 7 p.m., with Dan Labbe and Mark Kern on the call.

Reporter David Cassilo will be covering the game at Brecksville. You can follow his updates on Twitter at @dcassilo and come back to cleveland.com after the game for a full recap, including video.

Three other things to watch on Wednesday

1. Medina tries to continue surprise postseason run against Shaker Heights

Medina entered the postseason at 11-11, but has made it all the way to the Division I Cleveland Regional semifinal after pulling three straight upsets.

Next up for the Bees is a third matchup against Shaker Heights. The Raiders won the first two meetings this season, but coach Danny Young knows his team will have a tough test in slowing down Medina center Jon Teske.

"I think the key is you've got to go at him," Young said. "Yes he's going to block some shots. But you've got to keep coming, keep coming, keep coming. And hopefully some of those looks will go our way where they're not blocks, they're fouls."

Check out reporter David Cassilo's look at Medina's surprise run to the regional semifinal.

Reporter Robert Rozboril will be covering the game at Cleveland State. You can follow his updates on Twitter @rrozboril and come back to cleveland.com after the game for a full recap, including video.

2. Villa Angela-St. Joseph prepares for upset-minded Massillon Tuslaw

Villa Angela-St. Joseph returns to the Canton Fieldhouse on Wednesday needing two wins for another trip to Columbus.

Standing in its way in the regional semifinals is a Massillon Tuslaw team that is tough on defense.

Chris Easterling of the Massillon Independent profiled the Vikings as they look to avenge last year's Division III state championship game loss to Lima Central Catholic.

3. Garfield Heights battles upset-minded Uniontown Lake

In the other Division I Cleveland Regional semifinal, Garfield Heights will play against Uniontown Lake, which is another team, like Medina, that has had to pull some upsets to win its district.

The Blue Streaks upset Walsh Jesuit in the Canton District semifinal and beat then-undefeated Green in the district final.

Garfield Heights has looked strong in district play, including beating East Tech, 72-60, in the Euclid District final. In that game, juniors Frankie Hughes and Willie Jackson combined for 41 points.

Reporter Tim Bielik will be covering the game at Cleveland State. You can follow his updates on Twitter at @bielik_tim and come back to cleveland.com after the game for a full recap, including pictures and video.

COMPLETE LIST OF WEDNESDAY'S GAMES

Division I

Akron Region

Lorain vs. St. Edward at the University of Akron, 7 p.m.

Cleveland Region

Shaker Heights vs. Medina at Cleveland State University Wolstein Center, 6:15 p.m.

Garfield Heights vs. Uniontown Lake at Cleveland State University Wolstein Center, 8 p.m.

Division III

Canton Region

Villa Angela-St. Joseph vs. Massillon Tuslaw at Canton Memorial Fieldhouse, 6:15 p.m.

Several local athletes garnered All-American status at the New Balance Nationals indoor track and field championships 2015.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio track and field athletes had a strong showing at last week's New Balance Nationals indoor track and field championships at The Armory indoor track facility in New York City.

Find complete meet results here.

Highlighting the meet for Northeast Ohio was North Royalton senior Kristen Denk's first-place finish in the pole vault competition. 

Denk, an Ohio State track and field signee, posted a personal-best vault of 13 feet, eight and one-half inches to win the competition. The height surpasses the current Ohio girls record for competitions both indoor (13-5 held by Denk) and outdoor (13-4¼ set by Allyson Simmons of Fairless last year).

Athletes finishing sixth or better at the meet garnered New Balance Nationals All-American status.

Garrettsville Garfield thrower Edith Svonavec, a University of Miami recruit, finished fifth in the girls shot put competition with a distance of 47-9.

Svonavec, who won the Ohio indoor shot put title March 7 in Akron, is also the defending state outdoor champion in Division II. She was also fifth in the event at last year's New Balance indoor meet.

Medina thrower Jake Wickey was sixth in the weight throw competition with a personal-best distance of 72-2½. Wickey, a sophomore, will focus on discus and shot during the outdoor season. He was sixth last year at regionals in discus.

St. Edward's Jonathan Zedella finished seventh in the shot put with a distance of 60-6¾.

Lake Catholic senior Matt Ludwig finished 15th in the boys pole vault competition with a height of 15-4¼. Ludwig, who placed fourth in the decathlon last summer at the New Balance outdoor national meet, should contend in several events for a trip to Columbus in June.

Meanwhile, the most compelling finish of the meet might have been in the boys 60-meter hurdles where Ohioan Chad Zallow of Warren John F. Kennedy finished second to Grant Holloway of Virginia in a photo finish. Both athletes crossed the tape in 7.59 seconds, with the win going to Holloway.

Follow our high school sports Twitter account @NEOvarsity and tag your related Tweets and score updates with the #NEOvarsity hashtag. 

Follow high school sports reporter Joe Noga on Twitter @JoeNogaCLE or log in and leave a message in the comments section below.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will have forward Kevin Love back in the lineup on Wednesday night as they look for a 14th straight win at Quicken Loans Arena.

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers will have forward Kevin Love back in the lineup on Wednesday night against the Brooklyn Nets. 

Love, who sat out the final two games of a grueling road trip, has dealt with back spasms this season, forcing him to miss earlier games against Milwaukee and the Clippers, but wanted to clear up any misconception about his recent absence.

"Me resting had nothing to do with my back," Love said following Wednesday's shootaround. "Just rest. Coach approached me, knew I was playing heavy minutes and just came to me and asked if I would sit a game or two and that's all it was."    

With 13 regular season games remaining, the three-time All-Star is averaging 34.4 minutes. If Cavaliers coach David Blatt keeps Love's minutes at that number the rest of the way, it would be Love's second fewest in the last five years. 

"I think everyone is focused on their health," Love said. "Always want to have a full roster come playoff time and this is my first experience going through it so I think everybody wants to be healthy and rested."

The Cavs boast an NBA-best 24-6 record since Jan. 15 and are second in the Eastern Conference. But even with the playoffs on the horizon, the team feels there's still plenty to accomplish during the final month. 

"I think you have to obviously respect the process and respect the regular season," Love said. "We know that we have some work to do as far as finishing up where we feel is best. From there, we will kind of see how things shake out. Feel like we're ready for the playoffs, but things we can get better at. We're going to keep fighting. 

Love is averaging 16.8 points and 10.1 rebounds in 64 games this season. His 33 double-doubles rank 10th in the NBA. 

Buffalo coach Bobby Hurley is a hot commodity as the NCAA Tournament opens.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Buffalo Bulls coach Bobby Hurley has his lottery ticket in hand, thanks to winning the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Time will tell if he cashes in after the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

The No. 12 Bulls play No. 5 West Virginia on Friday at 2 p.m. and many see Hurley's crew pulling the upset. The second game then, would be against the No. 4 Maryland-No. 13 Valparaiso winner.

Get past that and the week-long Sweet Sixteen media crush could be huge, particularly since UB would be playing in the same Midwest Regional in Cleveland  as No. 1 Kentucky. A true David vs. Goliath matchup.

Even without that, Hurley's Duke pedigree and NBA credentials, combined with his two-year success at UB, already has Hurley's name attached by rumor and speculation to just about every open job of note from Fordham to DePaul.

On the East Coast, within 200 miles of Hurley's native New Jersey home, where his father (Bob Hurley Sr.) is a prominent prep coach and his brother (Dan) is head coach at Rhode Island, Bobby Hurley's name is even attached to jobs such as Seton Hall ... for the end of next season.

Hurley's name and sideline theatrics can bring quick visibility to a struggling program, which can be second only to winning. Real or imagined, there is an air of entitlement about Hurley, 43, as he is developing a sideline reputation for his constant courtside rants.

He regularly lights into officials within seconds of the jump ball.

When asked, after a 2014 loss at Akron, if his sideline actions were a detriment to his team, Hurley seethed. One year later, Hurley asked that the reporter not be allowed in his post-game press conference, or Hurley would not do it.

Hurley believes his actions are no different from his peers. But earlier this season he was hit with a technical 55 seconds into a home game after blistering an official. Hurley also picked up a technical three minutes into the first half of his first game in the MAC Tournament last week.

Of course, for a struggling team and a struggling program, his actions would be viewed by those who embrace him as passion, not petulance.

This is what happens when a coach brings a hot team into the NCAA Tournament. The lottery pool of open jobs spins and coaches from smaller schools, often making less than $250,000 a year, can land jobs making up to a million or more.

Just ask Andy Einfeld. Two years ago Einfeld, then 43, was at Florida Gulf Coast where his second-year team made it to the NCAA Tournament. FGCU won two games in impressive fashion over No. 2 Georgetown and No. 7 San Diego State with a fast-paced, high-flying offense and Einfeld was offered the job at struggling USC in the PAC 12 Conference.

Gone.

Einfeld's pay grade jumped from $157,000 a year plus incentives to well over a million, according to published reports. Hurley's situation has contrasts and similarities to Einfeld's.

Both hit the NCAA bright lights at 43, in the second year of their tenures. Einfeld's record before leaving for USC was 41-28. Hurley currently stands at 42-19. Hurley's Buffalo contract is for $250,000 a year plus incentives through 2019. There is no question that if Hurley does opt to leave Buffalo, the program that hires him, as they say in the business, "wins the press conference."

But what will the school get once the bright lights are gone? Right now, after two seasons, Einfeld is 23-41 at USC, and the Spartans haven't come close to being back in the postseason.

At Buffalo, where word is the Bulls and Hurley are already reworking his contract, the hope is the former Duke point guard leans toward being more like Shaka Smart. The former Akron Zips assistant, now the head coach at VCU, held his lottery ticket in 2011 when he took the Rams to the Final Four.

But VCU then signed Smart to a $1 million annual deal -- since improved to $1.5 million through 2023 -- to keep him. And the Rams have been a NCAA Tournament fixture ever since.

President Barack Obama's Wednesday afternoon visit to Cleveland plus a Cleveland Cavaliers game could cause significant traffic delays during rush hour, police said.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A visit from the President of The United States and a Cleveland Cavaliers home game could lead to traffic delays into and out of downtown Wednesday.

Cleveland police warned drivers to plan on a longer rush-hour commute Wednesday, as President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak at the Cleveland Convention Center at 3 p.m. and the Cavs play at home at 7 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena.

Obama is expected to announce new investments in manufacturing, and the Cavs look to bounce back from a 106-92 loss to the Heat Tuesday when they take on the Brooklyn Nets.

Assuming the President is on time, officers will escort Obama's motorcade from downtown Cleveland to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport between 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m., according to his schedule. just as Cavs fans begin pouring into town.

Cleveland police want drivers to know they will do their best.

"We appreciate your cooperation and patience as we work to make today's commute as efficient as possible," department spokeswoman detective Jennifer Ciaccia said in a press release.

Ultra-loyal followers of college sports teams, even those who are not alumni, provide significant and often unheralded financial and political support for the schools, a new report concludes.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A third of die-hard fans cheering for Ohio State University or other colleges competing in this month's NCAA basketball tournament likely never attended the schools, a new study reports.

But ultra-loyal followers of college sports teams, even those who are not alumni, provide significant and often unheralded financial and political support for the schools, the report concludes.

The report's author, Duke University researcher Charles Clotfelter, identified and profiled rabid fans at 26 popular colleges in top athletic conferences by studying team references in 1,300 online obituaries.

in "Die-Hard Fans and the Ivory Tower's Ties that Bind," the professor of public policy, economics and law cites excerpts from testimonies found in the obituaries.

• "Throughout his adult life, [he] was a dedicated Ohio State football fan. He owned a scarlet and grey 'Buckeye Van' which he drove to the home games. The license plate on [his] van read 'SACK MI'."
•  "She will be watching March Madness from the heavens, where she will be cheering on the Blue Devils of Duke and her beloved Coach K."
• [He] was an independent thinker in all aspects of his life. This was no more evident than in his remaining the only Wolverine fan in a large family of Buckeyes."

Clotfelter contends  "accounts such as these, written to celebrate the life of a loved one, suggest that the decedent's interest in this college team was no casual thing, but rather a noteworthy source of identity." 

Few higher education scholars study big-time sports as a legitimate component of universities but ultra-loyal fans, an unappreciated group, are important because of the role sports play at prominent universities, the study says.

The fans' obituaries were compared to a random sample of obituaries from the same states. Clotfelter determined die-hard fans were rare, representing only about two percent of published obituaries. They included three times as many men as women. Most fans lived in the same state as the college they supported.

Of Ohio State's fans, 76 percent were male, 36 percent attended college and 74 percent lived in Ohio.

Clotfelter's article was published online by The Social Science Quarterly.

"It's my belief that commercial sports are a core function of universities such as these, even if it is not in their mission statements," Clotfelter said. "Being a fan represents an authentic cultural tie. To call big-time college sports commercial is accurate but incomplete. It's the truth, but not the whole truth."

Guard David Walker leads Northeastern in 3-point shooting. Watch video

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania -- David Walker knows the odds are stacked high against No. 14 seed Northeastern in its 2015 NCAA Tournament opener Thursday against No. 3 seed Notre Dame, but history is on his side when it comes to his school's latest challenge.

Not only has a No. 14 seed produced upsets over the past two seasons (Mercer over Duke last year and Harvard over New Mexico in 2013) but Northeastern has produced before against the traditional powers.

It was Walker who led his school to a three-point victory over Florida State earlier this season. Walker scored 22 points in that game.

So Thursday's match against Notre Dame, set to tip off at 12:15, is not an overwhelming task for the mid-major school.

"Notre Dame puts its clothes on the same way we do," said Walker, selected the Northeast Inland District Division I player of the year while at Stow. "They're a great team that won the ACC and you have to give them a lot of credit for that. We're just going to come out and play loose and have some fun. We'll try to execute the game plan and play with confidence."

Northeastern has played with confidence for much of this season. This is the school's first tournament appearance since 1991.

The Huskies (23-11) won five of their last six games. They knocked off the top two seeds to win the Colonial Athletic Association tournament. Walker averaged 14.3 points, five rebounds and four assists during the conference tournament.

Now he hopes to continue this pace on Thursday, especially with a chance to perform well near his home in Stow.

"This is the closest I've played to home," Walker said. "I've been getting telephone calls from folks back home congratulating us. It's also great to have my family close by. Friends have also texted me about tickets."

Check out a photo feature on North Olmsted forward Andy Lucien with 17 pictures of the 6-foot-6 junior boys basketball standout.

NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio -- North Olmsted junior Andy Lucien is a prominent inside presence for the Eagles who made the No. 1 spot on "SportsCenter's" Top Plays with a high-flying dunk against Westlake in January. 

Scroll through the gallery above to see 17 pictures of Lucien during a 41-40 win against Brecksville on Feb. 3. 

The 6-foot-6 forward averaged 18.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game this season while racking up 44 blocks and shooting 49 percent from the floor.  

He is not committed to a college yet.

Keep an eye out for more special cleveland.com player photo galleries featuring some of Northeast Ohio's top high school basketball stars. Visit this page for links to every player photo gallery. 

Follow our new high school sports Twitter account @NEOvarsity and tag your high school sports Tweets and score updates with the #NEOVarsity hashtag.

Central Catholic, Chagrin Falls, Holy Name and St. Vincent-St. Mary are still alive.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Here is a scouting report of the Division II Bowling Green and Canton regional tournaments in boys basketball. Games begin on Thursday.

Stay tuned for preview coverage all week long, as we'll be breaking down each district, as well as looking at top games, players and more.

BOWLING GREEN REGIONAL

Where: Stroh Center at Bowling Green State University, 1535 E Wooster Street, Bowling Green.

When: Holy Name vs. Sandusky, Thursday, 6:15 p.m.; Celina vs. Defiance, Thursday, 8 p.m. Regional final on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Scouting reports 

Celina: Ranked No. 9 in the state AP poll, Celina held its three district opponents to 45 points or less. The Bulldogs have a balanced attack, but keep an eye on Grant Laffin, who played well in the district round. Celina is two wins aways from its first state semifinal appearance since 1972.

Defiance: Despite being the top seed in the Toledo district, Defiance played some tough games, as it beat Wauseon by three points and Toledo Scott by seven points. Like Celina, this is a team rooted in its defense, as it did not allow more than 48 points in the district round. The Bulldogs are ranked fifth in the state AP poll.

Holy Name: For the first time since 1954, Holy Name is a boys basketball district champion. Freshman Dwayne Cohill has led the way, while senior Lawrynce Johnson has been the steady guard presence the team has needed. The Green Wave can shoot the ball and were well-prepared by the North Coast League White Division.

Sandusky: It's been an exciting journey for the Blue Streaks, as the team needed a 3-point win over Lexington and two-point win over Ontario  in the districts to make it this far. Jayrese Williams is a hot player, as he had 26 points in the team's district final win.

Players to watch

Dwayne Cohill, Holy Name: The freshman guard pushed towards the 20 ppg game-mark this season. He's a terrific shooter that can also attack the basket and defend.

Lawrynce Johnson, Holy Name: The senior guard went over the 1,500-point mark for his career during the district tournament.

Grant Laffin, Celina: At 6-foot-3, Laffin can score inside and out. His defensive presence also fits in well with a tough-minded Celina team.

Katwan Singleton, Defiance: Singleton can push towards 30 points with regularity and had 29 points in a sectional final. He's a 6-foot-5 senior guard.

Jayrese Williams, Sandusky: The sophomore guard is a rising star and is really shooting well from the outside. He's one of the biggest reasons for Sandusky's turnaround.

cleveland.com pick

Holy Name defeats Celina: While Holy Name might not be ranked as highly as the other teams, don't be fooled. The Green Wave have a terrific backcourt and are playing at a high level right now. Cohill won't be swallowed up by the big moment, and Holy Name will get past a few strong defenses and into the state tournament.

CANTON REGIONAL

Where: Canton Memorial Civic Center, 1101 Market Avenue, Canton.

When: St. Vincent-St. Mary vs. Poland Seminary, Thursday, 6:15 p.m.; Central Catholic vs. Chagrin Falls, Thursday, 8 p.m. Regional final on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Scouting reports 

Central Catholic: Under first-year head coach Jeremy Holmes, the Ironmen are back in the regional round. Senior Antwon Lillard and junior Tervell Beck are as good a duo as you'll find as together they will score, rebound and find the open man. Central Catholic plays an attacking style and likes to run the floor.

Chagrin Falls: This senior-laden group earned a regional appearance with an upset win over Lake Catholic. The Tigers thrive in the halfcourt and run their offense like clockwork. If the team needs a big shot, expect Sawyer McGuire to take it. 

Poland Seminary: A year removed a regional title appearance, Poland Seminary will get another shot at St. Vincent-St. Mary. The Bulldogs have a balanced off with seven players averaging at least 7.5 points per game. The biggest task will be adjusting to the Irish's tempo.

St. Vincent-St. Mary: Undefeated and ranked No. 3 in the country by USA Today, the Irish are one of the best Ohio teams in recent memory. They run the floor well, shoot a high percentage from beyond the arc and rarely turn the ball over. Those are traits that every coach dreams for.

Players to watch

Henry Baddley, St. Vincent-St. Mary: The junior wing has gotten better every game and enters the regional as the team's leading scorer this season.

Tervell Beck, Central Catholic: The junior forward has always been strong around the basket but brought an improved jumper to his arsenal this season for the Ironmen.

Jared Burkert, Poland Seminary: The Bulldogs' top scorer shoots over 40 percent from deep. If a team leaves him open, they are likely to pay.

Antwon Lillard, Central Catholic: The Division II Lakes District Player of the Year is having his best season as a senior. He's averaging nearly 18 points per game.

Sawyer McGuire, Chagrin Falls: Although the Tigers have a balanced offense, it's McGuire who is most capable of pushing towards the 30-point mark. He's an excellent shooter.

Josh Williams, St. Vincent-St. Mary: The Division II Inland District Player of the Year leads the Irish in assists and is just a shade behind Baddley for top scorer.

cleveland.com pick

St. Vincent-St. Mary beats Central Catholic: These two teams met back on Jan. 6 in a game the Irish won 78-69. In that one, St. Vincent-St. Mary showed it had too many scoring options for Central Catholic to handle. Expect a close game but one that the Irish should win by wearing down the Ironmen late in the game.