Month: April 2026

NBA’s Gap Between Playoff, Lottery Teams Reaches Historic Levels Exposing Two-League Problems

NBA’s Gap Between Playoff, Lottery Teams Reaches Historic Levels Exposing Two-League Problems

The divide between playoff contenders and lottery-bound teams has reached unprecedented levels this season, exposing a structural problem that is fundamentally altering the competitive landscape of the NBA, according to a report by Yahoo’s Tom Haberstroh. The combined gap between the No. 10 and No. 11 seeds in each conference has ballooned to 20.5 games, nearly double the previous record this century.

In the Eastern Conference, the No. 10-seeded Charlotte Hornets hold a 9.5-game cushion over the No. 11 Milwaukee Bucks. Out West, the Golden State Warriors lead the Memphis Grizzlies by 11 games for the final play-in spot.

The numbers are historical as the previous largest combined gap this century stood at 11 games in 2018-19. This season’s 20.5-game chasm represents by far the widest separation since the NBA adopted its 16-team playoff format in 1984.

The play-in tournament, introduced as an anti-tanking measure, appears to have accelerated the problem rather than solved it. In the first full 82-game season following its introduction, the combined gap between No. 10 and No. 11 seeds was seven games. It has climbed steadily since, reaching nine games in 2022-23, nine again in 2023-24 and ten in 2024-25, before this season’s dramatic surge. The average gap in the play-in era is 11 games, compared to just 4.8 games across the previous ten seasons.

Nine teams currently operate as de facto non-competitors, posting a combined 12-167 record against playoff-caliber opponents across recent stretches of play. In March alone, those nine teams have gone 12-98, a .109 winning percentage, against postseason contenders.

The Washington Wizards have lost 20 consecutive games against winning teams. The Brooklyn Nets are 1-29 in its last 30 such contests. Dallas stands at 2-23 in its last 25.

Two factors are widely cited as accelerants. The leaps by the Dallas Mavericks from the No. 11 lottery position to the No. 1 overall pick in 2025 and the Atlanta Hawks from 10th in consecutive recent drafts demonstrated that long-shot lottery odds can pay off spectacularly. Combined with a strong 2026 draft class, the cost-benefit calculation for struggling franchises increasingly favors chasing lottery balls over competing for a play-in berth. Only one of ten No. 10 seeds in the play-in era has successfully advanced to the full playoffs.

The NBA is proposing three potential lottery reforms in an attempt to disincentivize tanking.

by Editor

SEC needs a new motto, because Big Ten rules college sports

SEC needs a new motto, because Big Ten rules college sports

It just means more agony.

The SEC used to be the best conference in college sports, and it lorded its superiority over its peers. It’s not the best anymore. At least, it’s not the best in football or men’s basketball. The Big Ten stole the crown, and the SEC cannot hide from reality.

The Big Ten won the past three college football national championships, but the problem goes deeper than that. The SEC hasn’t even reached the College Football Playoff national championship game since 2023 Georgia won it all.

Now, as insult to injury, the Big Ten sent two teams to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, while the SEC sits at home.

On this edition of “SEC Football Unfiltered,” a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams address the SEC’s reality and how dire the situation is.

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Is the SEC still the best conference? Or, does the Big Ten rule?

Adams: The Big Ten wears the crown in football. That’s a fact. You can’t argue trophies. You can’t argue the scoreboard, either.

Indiana 38, Alabama 3.

The SEC didn’t just lose its leg to stand on. Indiana devoured the leg.

Toppmeyer: Agreed, and the Big Ten’s claim of superiority is helped by the fact three teams produced the past three national championships. Michigan, Ohio State and now Indiana won titles since the last SEC crown. The Big Ten is no one-hit wonder.

What about the SEC’s depth?

Adams: That’s where the SEC’s problem worsens. For a while, even if the Big Ten was better at the top, the SEC was better in the middle. I’m not so sure about that anymore. The SEC looked pretty lousy in postseason games last season, illustrating the depth of the problem.

Toppmeyer: Reseed the Final Four? That idea is as bad as last time I heard it

Adams: If misery loves company, Tennessee and Alabama can be bedfellows

Toppmeyer: The Big Ten’s crème de la crème has been sweeter than the SEC’s for a few years. Now, it’s sweeter down ballot, too.

Iowa 34, Vanderbilt 27.

Illinois 30, Tennessee 28.

Those were postseason scorelines.

Texas saved some face for the SEC by beating Michigan, 41-27, in the Citrus Bowl, but, on the whole, the SEC’s claim of superior depth eroded.

The SEC used to flex unmatched muscle in the boardroom, too, but even that ability is gone. The conference tried to grow the playoff to 16 teams for the 2026 season and beyond, but the Big Ten erected a road block and stopped the SEC’s CFP expansion plans in their tracks.

So, the Big Ten is better at the top, as good in the middle, and it’s a thorn in the side of the SEC’s boardroom operations.

Where does that leave the SEC? Well, maybe it can still say its last-place team is better than the Big Ten’s last-place team.

How’s that for a new conference motto? Our last-place team would beat your last-place team.

On second thought, I’m not sure that’s true. Notre Dame played the worst teams from the SEC and Big Ten in consecutive weeks last fall. The Irish beat Purdue 56-30, then trounced Arkansas 56-13.

Back to the drawing board for the SEC.

OK, but how strong is the Big Ten’s claim of basketball superiority?

Adams: The Big Ten’s basketball claim isn’t as entrenched. In 2025, the SEC delivered one of the best basketball performances by a conference ever, and Florida won the national title.

The Big Ten started to make its claim for the basketball throne around the time Iowa bounced the defending champion and No. 1-seeded Gators in the second round of this tournament. Then, Michigan waylaid the SEC’s last-team-standing, Tennessee.

This year, the SEC qualified 10 teams to the Big Ten’s nine bids, but the Big Ten produced a better tournament record, four Elite Eight teams and now two teams in the Final Four. At least for this season, the Big Ten rules basketball.

Toppmeyer: The Big Ten’s claim of basketball superiority would be strengthened if either Michigan or Illinois wins the national championship. The conference’s tournament performance has been strong, much stronger than the SEC’s this year, but the SEC finished the job in 2025 thanks to Florida. The Big Ten still has not produced a basketball national champion since 2000 Michigan State. For the Big Ten to fully assert in its basketball status, it needs a champ.

Where to listen to SEC Football Unfiltered

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. John Adams is the senior sports columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel. Subscribe to the SEC Football Unfiltered podcast, and check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Big Ten rules college football and basketball, so SEC needs a new motto

by Editor

Fantasy Basketball High Score Perfect Lineup for March: Bam's historic night won't be forgotten

Fantasy Basketball High Score Perfect Lineup for March: Bam's historic night won't be forgotten

We’ve almost put a bow on the inaugural Yahoo High Score fantasy basketball season. The month of March brought us the fantasy playoffs and one of the most memorable performances in basketball (and fantasy) history. This week marks the start of what should be your fantasy basketball league’s championship. Most of the matchups will be decided in April. But let’s take a quick look back to the top scores from March.

March High Score Perfect Lineup.
March High Score Perfect Lineup.
Amy Monks

More on the top performers

Luka Dončić, guard: I’ve written these stories all season long and I don’t think I’ve done one without mentioning the Lakers superstar. It’s a shame he’s unlikely to take home a real-life MVP this season but he’s got a hell of a case for fantasy MVP. Unfortunately, that may not include playoff MVP. Dončić lands himself on the perfect lineup for March thanks to a performance toward the end of the fantasy regular season. Luka managers haven’t been as fruitful in the fantasy postseason, however. Last week in a big spot, the All-Star topped out at 67 fantasy points — one of his lowest high scores all season. Dončić still has plenty of time to rebound in early April with games vs. the Thunder and Mavericks to close the week.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, guard: Believe it or not, SGA doesn’t get to double-digit assists too often. He only has six games with 10+ assists all season long. A season-high 15 dimes helped the reigning MVP get onto the March perfect lineup in a March 9 win over the Nuggets. While Shai is arguably the best scorer in the NBA, he isn’t as valuable in High Score given his lack of consistent category coverage. To wrap March, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 47 points and that only got him to 64 fantasy points thanks to low rebound, assist and steal totals. Keep this in mind when you’re heading into your High Score drafts for 2026-27.

Bam Adebayo, frontcourt: Ahhhh, yes — “The Bam Game.” We’ll be talking about this performance until the end of time. I already talked about it last month … Adebayo’s 83-point game resulted in the highest fantasy output of the season at 110 points. The second-highest score as of this writing belongs to Nikola Jokić at 108 fantasy points. There’s still some time left in the fantasy basketball season for someone to dethrone Bam at the top. Adebayo may not reach that ceiling again ever, but he’s been pretty consistent down the stretch, posting double-doubles in six of his past seven games entering April.

Nikola Jokić, frontcourt: That first sentence I wrote above about Luka I could have repeated here for Joker. Both players have been fantastic all season long and should be selected 1-2 going into 2026-27. You can maybe make a case for another player in this lineup but we’ll save that debate for another time. Prior to the Nuggets’ last game of March, Jokić had a streak of four straight triple-doubles. He’ll only have a two-game week for the fantasy championship, but all it takes is one game in High Score.

Alperen Şengün, frontcourt: We’ve referred to Şengün as a Jokić lite for most of the season. And while he doesn’t quite have the same ceiling/floor combo, the Rockets’ big man looks like a league-winning pick as we approach the end of the season. He had games of 78 and 81 points last week and has four games in Week 23 to try and bring home a ‘ship for his respective managers. Şengün will have trouble going under the radar in drafts next season.

Victor Wembanyama, utility: Wemby is the other player I was referring to above, a player who was selected with a top-2 pick in most fantasy basketball drafts this season. If Wembanyama hadn’t missed time due to injury and had more consistent scoring totals, he would have repaid managers (not that he hasn’t). The Spurs big has been peaking at the right time, averaging close to 70 fantasy points per game over the past week and north of 60 FPPG over the past month.

by Editor

NCAA approves suspensions for coaches and fines for schools that take 'ghost transfers'

NCAA approves suspensions for coaches and fines for schools that take 'ghost transfers'

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA Division I Cabinet on Wednesday approved emergency legislation that will severely penalize coaches and schools that sign, add to the roster or allow athletic participation by an athlete in any sport who hasn’t yet gone through the portal process.

Penalties include a suspension of the head coach for 50% of a season and a fine amounting to 20% of that sport’s budget.

The rule change, which was initially proposed by the Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee and has been adopted for all sports in Division I, is effective immediately and applies to all transfers on or after Feb. 25, 2026.

“I am grateful the DI Cabinet approved the FBS Oversight Committee’s recommendation to impose significant penalties on head coaches and programs who circumvent transfer rules, along with immediate accountability,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. “This is a necessary step to address a critical roster management issue facing our sport and to protect the integrity of football’s transfer window.”

The “ghost transfers” issue has been on the NCAA’s radar since former Wisconsin defensive back Xavier Lucas transferred to Miami without entering the portal in January 2025. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff withdrew from BYU and walked on at Tulane in July.

At the direction of the Division I Board of Directors, an Infractions Process Task Force is reviewing the infractions process and associated penalties for violations of NCAA rules. Among the topics the task force will discuss are enforcement of transfer rules and penalties associated with tampering violations. The task force is expected to provide recommendations for modernizing the infractions process later this year.

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by Editor