Long Beach State Reaches March Madness Despite Firing Coach

Long Beach State are heading to March Madness despite firing their coach a week ago. The men's team won the Big West conference tournament, and thus the conference's automatic bid, despite veteran coach Dan Monson "mutually terminating" his coach effective at the end of the season. "God has blessed me with a great career, and these kids have been awesome to coach," Monson said after the game. "When Coach Harbaugh says, 'Who has it better than us?' someone needs to tell him, 'Coach Monson'," Monson said.

The team is headed to March Madness for the first time since 2012 and for just the third time in the 21st century. Monson was dismissed despite going 21-14 and 10-10 in the Big West. The season included a marquee win over Bronny James and USC in December. Monson also indicated that he doesn't intend to hang up his clipboard just yet. "I don't think this is my last year, I love coaching. I need a new challenge. That's life. It's on to the next chapter," Monson told ESPN. Long Beach State will learn its March Madness route later today.

South Carolina Star Becomes Steph Curry's First NIL Signing

Elsewhere, South Carolina freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley has become the first collegiate athlete to sign with Steph Curry's NIL brand. Per the brand, Fulwiley will be an "ambassador" at the NCAA tournament later this month and will sport Curry-branded shoes for the rest of her collegiate career. Fulwiley was recently crowned MVP of the SEC tournament, the first freshman to capture the award.

Fulwiley is averaging 11.8/2.9/2.3 this season amid the Gamecocks' second consecutive undefeated regular season. However, here solid contributions have been overshadowed by the outstanding seasons of USC's Juju Watkins and Notre Dame's Hannah Hildago. South Carolina will enter March Madness as the number one overall seed. However, in a rare move, they will be without star senior Kamilla Cardoso for their opening game. Cardoso is serving a one-game suspension for fighting in South Carolina's title game against LSU.

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