The Official 2025 NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Offseason Thread

[Tommy Bedlam]

Go. Gators.

If yall heard indiscernible screaming at the end, that was just me.

 

[Wolverine]

Women's UConn dominates South Carolins 82-59, to win their 12th National Championship in school history~!!!

 

[Wolverine]

@Tommy Bedlam

Gators, Golden agree to 6-year, $40.5M extension

Florida coach Todd Golden, fresh off a national title, has agreed to a six-year, $40.5 million contract extension through the 2030-31 season.

www.espn.com

Florida coach Todd Golden, fresh off leading the Gators to the national championship, has agreed to a six-year, $40.5 million contract extension that keeps him in Gainesville through the 2030-31 season.

Golden becomes one of the five highest-paid coaches in college basketball, at $6.75 million annually.

He guided the Gators to a 36-4 record in his third season at the helm, winning the program's third national championship. The 39-year-old became the youngest coach to lead a team to the title since Jim Valvano in 1983.

"My family and I are grateful to be a part of Gator Nation and for the opportunity to lead this great program three years ago," Golden said. "As we've shown during our time in Gainesville, the University of Florida is an institution that has the resources, support, and people in place to compete and win national championships. I am so appreciative of each and every player and staff member who have been critical to the success we've experienced here. My family and I look forward to our future here at UF and to the continued success of our men's basketball program."

Golden took over for Mike White in 2022 after three seasons at San Francisco. He led Florida to the NCAA tournament in his second season, losing to Colorado in the first round.

This season, the Gators won the SEC tournament and earned a 1-seed in the NCAA tournament before making a run to the national championship game, where they beat Houston, 65-63.

"Todd has done an incredible job getting Florida men's basketball back where it belongs," athletic director Scott Stricklin said. "We believed in his vision, his competitive nature and his modern approach to the game back in 2022, and he has validated that belief in a relatively short time and helped create memories of a lifetime for another generation of Gator fans."

Golden was making $3 million under the terms of his initial deal at Florida, then signed a two-year extension last March that paid him over $4 million per year.

Earlier in the 2024-25 season, Golden was the subject of a four-month University of Florida Title IX investigation, following a complaint filed against Golden in September that included allegations of sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, stalking and cyberstalking from multiple women, including students.

That investigation was closed in late January.

"We take these matters seriously and understand the need for the process to be conducted with strict confidentiality and discretion," the University Athletic Association, which oversees Florida athletics, said in a statement after the school found "no evidence" Golden violated Title IX. "Throughout this process, Coach Golden has demonstrated tremendous focus and professionalism, and we commend him for that. As the Gators move forward, we reaffirm our commitment to promoting a championship experience with integrity."

 

[Tommy Bedlam]

@Tommy Bedlam

Gators, Golden agree to 6-year, $40.5M extension

Florida coach Todd Golden, fresh off a national title, has agreed to a six-year, $40.5 million contract extension through the 2030-31 season.

www.espn.com

Glad to hear it! He's an Arizona native, so there was some fear of him being interested in coaching the Suns. Glad I was dead ass wrong about that hire.

 

[Wolverine]

Kansas' Self out of hospital after stents inserted

Kansas men's basketball coach Bill Self was released from the hospital Saturday, the university announced, two days after having two stents inserted.

www.espn.com

Kansas coach Bill Self was released from the hospital Saturday, the university announced, two days after having two stents inserted.

"I want to thank all the amazing doctors and nurses at LMH Health for the excellent care I received during my stay there," Self said in a statement. "I feel strong and am excited to be home. Our team has had a productive summer and look forward to our batteries being recharged and prepping for this upcoming season."

Self was admitted to LMH Health on Thursday after feeling unwell and experiencing "some concerning symptoms." He underwent a procedure to have two stents inserted and the university said he was expected to make a full recovery.

In 2023, Self missed the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments after being hospitalized because of chest tightness and balance concerns. He underwent a heart catheterization and had two stents placed for the treatment of blocked arteries.

Self, 62, has been the coach at Kansas since 2003, winning two national championships and taking the Jayhawks to four Final Fours. He led Kansas to an NCAA-record 14 consecutive Big 12 regular-season championships from 2004 to 2018 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.

Speculation about Self's potential retirement grew louder toward the end of last season, but he dismissed that talk multiple times. This season, the Jayhawks welcome star freshman Darryn Peterson, the projected No. 1 pick in ESPN's 2026 mock draft.

Longtime assistant coach Norm Roberts, who filled in for Self while he was sidelined in 2023, retired this offseason. Roberts was replaced in May by former Kansas star and two-time NBA head coach Jacque Vaughn.

Self signed an amended five-year contract in 2023 that made him the highest-paid coach in college basketball and was set up to be effectively a lifetime deal.

I wish him a speedy recovery.

 

[Wolverine]

NCAA: 13 players at 6 schools in gambling plots

The NCAA says 13 men's college basketball players from six schools were involved in gambling schemes, including point shaving and game manipulation.

www.espn.com

Thirteen men's college basketball players from six schools were involved in gambling schemes, including betting against their own team, game manipulation and sharing information with third parties for gambling purposes, the NCAA announced Thursday.

Players formerly associated with Eastern Michigan, Temple, Arizona State, New Orleans, North Carolina A&T and Mississippi Valley State are under investigation for gambling violations, according to the NCAA, which declined to name the athletes until the infractions process has concluded. None of the players are currently enrolled at the schools where the infractions occurred, according to the NCAA.

The violations include athletes betting on and against their own teams, sharing information with third parties for purposes of betting, knowingly manipulating scoring or game outcomes and/or refusing to participate in the enforcement staff's investigation. The NCAA said additional sports betting cases are at varying stages.

The NCAA said some third parties are involved in multiple cases and that they were aware of how some players were compromised in the schemes, but declined to give specifics.

"The rise of sports betting is creating more opportunity for athletes across sports to engage in this unacceptable behavior, and while legalized sports betting is here to stay, regulators and gaming companies can do more to reduce these integrity risks by eliminating prop bets and giving sports leagues a seat at the table when setting policies," NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a release.

Schools and respective staffs in the ongoing cases are not alleged to have been involved in the violations, and the enforcement staff is not seeking penalties for the institutions, the NCAA said in its release.

ESPN previously reported that betting accounts associated with a gambling ring under federal investigation placed wagers deemed suspicious by bookmakers against Temple, Eastern Michigan, North Carolina A&T, Mississippi Valley State and New Orleans over the past two seasons.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is investigating a gambling ring with ties to the NBA betting scandal involving former player Jontay Porter, according to multiple sources.

Sportsbooks first began noticing suspicious betting patterns on select college basketball games -- often on the point spreads and over/under totals on first halves -- during the 2023-24 season. A Temple game against UAB on March 7, 2024, attracted scrutiny after the point spread on the full game moved from UAB -2 to as high as -8. Multiple U.S. sportsbooks halted betting on the game, and an integrity monitor sent out alerts to its clients. UAB won 100-72.

The following season, two games involving Eastern Michigan were flagged for unusual betting activity, and four players from the University of New Orleans were suspended from the team last season as part of a gambling investigation, according to multiple sources.