In an age of smartphones, social media and instant communication, it has never been easier to connect … or to offend everyone around us. Many of today’s most common etiquette breaches stem not from malice but from convenience: a badly written message, a thoughtless post, a device that demands our attention. Yet good manners still hinge on the same old principle: consideration for others. From eschewing headphones on public transport to ghosting invitations and sharing thoughtlessly online, here are some of the most common modern etiquette mistakes, why they grate, and how they can be avoided.
Making ‘happy birthday’ posts all about you
A classic daily vignette on social media is someone you follow wishing their friend a happy birthday in their story. Without fail, this is usually a photo of the account holder and the friend; the former looking much better than the person whose birthday it is. Stop making other people’s birthdays about yourself. Post a photo of them on their own, if you really must, but also ensure you extend online birthday posts to all friends, rather than just a select few.
Sending a voice note without a subject
A semi-controversial opinion, but I love a voice note. I love it when my friends and colleagues send me them. But I don’t love it when they send me one without a follow-up line of text explaining what it’s about. Probably, as it is a voice note and not a call or text, it’s in no way urgent. But some sort of nod to its content is always polite. Anything like, “regarding dinner next week; not urgent” or “some background on the new client” will do.
(Sidebar: never send a voice note to someone you don’t know well.)
Checking your smartwatch during a face-to-face chat
Users of smartwatches may well feel a ping or a pop on their wrists, informing them they have a text, their online order has been dispatched, or they have just spent £12.25 at Pret. The Pavlovian response is to glance down to see what the notification is. But when in the company of others, be warned that looking at your watch just reads as “they’re bored of me and checking the time” or “their message is more interesting than me”. Even if you explain that you are reviewing a notification, and not the time, it’s still rude. Avoid the temptation, or put your watch, like your phone, into do not disturb mode before the meeting starts.
It’s considered rude to check your smartwatch while talking to someone. Photograph: pocketlight/Getty Images
Sending work emails outside business hours
The etiquette for emails is that the onus is on the sender to respect the recipients’ time. If you are a lover of a 6am raid on your inbox, great: go for it. But consider saving emails as drafts and sending within the recipient’s regular business hours, or using the schedule-send tool, so you don’t pressure your colleagues and clients into thinking they have to reply at the crack of dawn like you. If you are emailing colleagues in vastly different time zones, of course, there is no issue with sending it early for you but a normal time for them.
Not asking before taking photos in friends’ houses
It’s not your house and so your own rules do not apply. Ask your hosts before any photos or video are taken and then ask again if you want to share it on social media. This now also extends to tradespeople, many of whom have social media accounts. While they may want to capture their handiwork and use it to get new business, they should not be posting their clients’ private spaces online without permission.
Ask before you share photos of someone else’s home. Photograph: Valeriy_G/Getty Images
Music and calls without headphones
This heinous act of selfishness is like a new pandemic. You cannot go five minutes in any major city in the UK, or indeed abroad, without seeing someone making a call on speakerphone, watching TikToks, or listening to music without using headphones: a concept that has been dubbed “barebeating”.
Being charitable, is this because mobiles no longer come with headphones? Or perhaps people are worried about these mini supercomputers getting hot against their ears. Whatever the reasoning, it’s wrong to force those around you to endure whatever you are consuming. If we all did it, there would be an unimaginable cacophony.
Couples reposting each other
There should be a special place in hell for couples who tag each other and then reshare each other’s stories online. Your friends and those you care about probably follow you both, so please don’t force us all to sit through the exact same banality twice.
(Another sidebar: public displays of love on Facebook are also nausea-inducing. Tell them directly, not everyone else.)
Filming people in public without consent
While getting others to consent can be hard to achieve, modern manners suggest considering others who may be in your shot when recording videos and snapping photos. It takes an extra few moments, but is a courtesy that we are all capable of extending to our fellow humans.
Dropping the niceties in emails
Many fall into the trap of thinking that as email is quicker, they can shed formalities, mistaking those small courtesies for some sort of restrictive skin. But with much internal messaging now moving to platforms like Slack and Teams Messenger, I hope people go back to including the niceties in their emails. A quick good morning, closing with a “with all good wishes”, rather than just a curt sentence.
Filming concerts rather than watching
Here’s what no one tells you. No one who wasn’t there really wants to watch your tinny clips of the Mayhem Ball or One Night in Manchester. You’ve paid through the roof for your tickets for Lady Gaga or Harry Styles, and then you forget to experience the concert with your own eyes and ears, too focused on capturing it with your phone, all while perhaps blocking the view of those behind you. Enjoy the moment. It’s probably being filmed in 4K by some streamer, anyway, and their stuff will be better than anything you shoot.
Enjoy the moment … Photograph: Henrik Sorensen/Getty Images
Vaping without asking
While vaping arguably may be less toxic for your lungs than smoking, it is still one and the same thing when it comes to etiquette. Please do not vape in people’s houses, or in their general presence, even if outdoors, without asking first.
Ghosting instead of declining
It is far ruder to ignore an invitation than decline it. You can’t go to everything, so no host should be offended by your prompt regrets. (If you repeatedly decline invitations, then it may be different.) It’s more irritating to have to chase your guests or to wonder why they haven’t bothered to respond.
Sharing pictures of people’s children online without permission
Worse than sharing the inside of someone’s house online is sharing pictures of their children. Some parents are relaxed about their offspring appearing online; others are more private. There is no right or wrong option, unless you are the one who brazenly shares images of others’ children without the parent or guardian’s consent.
Half-hearted dietary requirements
If you’re a vegan, great. Come for dinner, and I will gladly whip up something that hasn’t gone anywhere near a farmyard. But don’t then announce that my pork looks quite good, so you’ll have a bit. Or announce that when you were on holiday a few weeks ago, you fancied an omelette, so had one at breakfast. You either have a dietary requirement or you don’t. Pick a lane.
Not sending any note of thanks after hospitality
It is easier than ever to communicate with our fellow humans today. While you may not send a handwritten note after receiving hospitality (which is still the preferred and most gracious option), the very least you can do is send a text, DM, or even call your host the next day to say how much you enjoyed it all. Even if you didn’t.
Running late and not communicating
While we touch on the ease and variety of communication methods available to us today, please ensure if you are running late, you let whoever is waiting know. The best and easiest way is to send an apology message and then share your location with them so they can track you in real-time and save the bother of messaging you. And if you don’t feel comfortable with location sharing, give as accurate an indication of your ETA as possible. Don’t say “five minutes” when it’s going to be more like 15.
There’s no excuse to let people know if you’re running late. Photograph: andresr/Getty Images
Thinking you have to have an opinion on everything and sharing it
The world is complicated. There is too much going on to have an opinion on every hot-button issue. You can admit that you don’t have an opinion, or are still formulating one. It takes true confidence to say you aren’t sure about something. It’s better to ask sensible questions rather than opine on things you don’t know about.
Bringing an uninvited plus one
I once hosted a party at home when a guest swanned up to me – around 9pm – and announced that his plus one was outside; would I mind letting him in? I stared at him blankly. The Victor Meldrew in me wanted to tell him he didn’t have a plus one, and why did he think it was OK to bring a stranger to my house? Of course, I said nothing of the sort and admitted the plus one. But I kept an extra eye on them that evening, taking great care to count my knick-knacks before and after they left.
Remember, an invitation is only for those whose names are listed. If it doesn’t say “plus guest” then you do not have a mandate to bring one.
Shortening names
Life is different from how it was in etiquette’s perceived heyday. We are much less formal, not automatically deferential. This is a good thing. But do not fall into the trap of thinking that to forge a quicker connection with a new pal you can abbreviate their name off the bat, unless invited. Familiarity can breed contempt!
The graves, freshly dug, lie in neat rows of 20 across. More than 60 have already been carved out of the earth, with a few clusters of people standing gathered around them. Dozens more are marked out on the ground in front: small chalk rectangles, with diggers poised to complete their task.
The cemetery of Minab, photographed as it prepares to bury more than 100 of the town’s young girls, is one of the defining images of the US-Israeli war on Iran, bluntly capturing the devastating civilian toll.
But is it real?
Ask Gemini, the AI service powered by Google, and the answer you receive is no – in fact, Gemini claims the photograph is from two years earlier and more than 2,000km (1,240 miles) away. Rather than graves for small girls killed by a missile, the image “depicts a mass burial site in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey” after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck in 2023. “This specific aerial perspective became one of the most widely shared images of the disaster,” Gemini says, “illustrating the sheer scale of the loss.”
Seeing the same burial image on social media, others turned to X’s AI assistant Grok to check its veracity. Like Gemini, Grok will breezily assure you the photo is not from Iran at all – although it lands on a different date, disaster and location. The image is “from Rorotan Cemetery in Jakarta, Indonesia – a July 2021 stock photo of Covid mass burials. Not Minab,” it says.
In both cases, the AI answers sound sure: they don’t equivocate, and even provide “sources” for the original image, should you choose to check them. Follow the thread to examine those, however, and you’ll begin to hit dead ends: either the image doesn’t appear at all, or the link provided is to a news report that doesn’t exist. For all their impression of clarity and precision, the AIs are simply wrong.
The cemetery image, it turns out, is authentic. Researchers have cross referenced the photo of the site with satellite images that confirm its location, and it can be cross-referenced again with dozens more images taken of the same site from slightly different angles, and again with video footage – none of which experts say show signs of tampering or digital manipulation. The “factchecks” by Gemini and Grok are just one example of a tidal wave of AI-generated slop – hallucinated facts, nonsense analysis and faked images – that are engulfing coverage of the Iran war. Experts say it is wasting investigative time and risks atrocities being denied – as well as heralding alarming weaknesses as people increasingly rely on AI summaries for news and information.
From the opening days of the war, factcheckers have been kept busy with a constant flow of faked imagery online. A photo of what the Tehran Times claimed was satellite imagery of a US radar destroyed in Qatar was exposed as an AI fake made from old Google Earth pictures – its giveaways included the cars, which were all in identical positions to the image from two years earlier.
Widely circulated images of Khamenei’s body being pulled from rubble had “tells” including duplicate limbs among the rescuers. “One fake that stood out to me claimed to show a senior Iranian commander walking around Tehran disguising himself as a woman to avoid potential assassination,” says Shayan Sardarizadeh, a senior journalist at the BBC Verify team, which uses forensic techniques to confirm information and conduct visual investigations. “The street, the building in the background, and the surroundings all seemed like a realistic scene in Tehran.”
This image purporting to show a US radar destroyed in Qatar was exposed as an AI fake. Illustration: Tehran Times/X
Sardarizadeh says AI now makes up a large portion of all of the misinformation the team debunks – and the volume is increasing. In the first few weeks of the Gaza or Ukraine wars, for example, most fake posts the team saw were old or unrelated videos, or repurposed video game footage. Now, “nearly half, if not more, of all the viral falsehoods that we now track and debunk are generative AI”.
That has partly been driven by the ease with which anyone can now generate a realistic video or photo. But the other enormous shift is in people using AI to summarise the news or answer questions, rather than going directly to the original source. Google AI summaries and Grok were only rolled out to the wider international public in mid 2024, and have rapidly become widespread: 65% of people report regularly seeing AI summaries of news or other information, and the portion of people who say they are using generative AI to get information doubled in the past year. Often, however, AI summaries are simply wrong. An international study in 2025 found about half of all AI-generated summaries had at least one significant sourcing or accuracy issue – with some tools, such as Google’s popular Gemini interface, that rose to 76%.
In the case of the Iran war, factcheckers say they are seeing a deluge of this kind of misleading material. As well as the Minab graveyard images, examples include Grok inaccurately suggesting to X users that video footage of fires in Tehran was actually from LA in 2017, and users citing “AI analysis” to misidentify a missile filmed falling next to the Minab school (numerous munitions experts say it is a US Tomahawk, a finding reinforced by fragments reportedly found at the scene and internal US briefings on the bombing).
“Factcheckers now regularly have to address both a false post and also a misleading claim made by a chatbot in relation to that post,” Sardarizadeh says.
Fire burns along Koohsar Boulevard in Tehran, in a screengrab from video obtained from social media and released on 8 March. Grok suggested to X users that such images were from the LA fires in 2017. Photograph: Social Media/Reuters
Part of the problem is how LLM AI models (such as Grok, ChatGPT and Gemini) work. At a very basic level, they are probabilistic language models, constructing sentences piece by piece based on which next word has the highest likelihood of being appropriate. While that process produces convincing, authoritative-sounding sentences, it doesn’t mean the AI has actually analysed the material in front of it.
“AI is perceived as an omniscient entity with access to everything, but without emotions,” says Tal Hagin, an open-source intelligence analyst and media literacy educator – so people tend to trust it. “What you are using is actually a very advanced probability machine, not a truth box.”
The problem is compounded by the authoritative way AI tends to present its findings. It will generate detailed “reports”, including names and dates, references and sources – the kind of material that suggests deep research and understanding, but may in fact be hallucinated or nonexistent. When the Guardian queried Gemini’s answer on the Minab photograph, saying “I don’t think that’s correct, can you search again?” it revised its finding – but to another incorrect location and year. “I apologise for the oversight. Upon re-examining the image … this image was taken in Gaza in November 2023,” it says. Told that that answer was also incorrect, and the photo was from Iran, the bot revised again – to Tehran, during the Covid pandemic. Told that the photograph was taken in Iran in 2025, it responded that it was from the aftermath of an earthquake in southern Iran.
This screengrab shows a series of false AI responses when asked to identify the photograph of graves for victims of the Minab school strike. Composite: Reuters
X and Google did not respond to a request for comment. Both platforms’ AI services note in their small print that they may produce inaccurate results.
For those investigating human rights abuses, the trend poses new challenges. Chris Osieck, an independent open-source investigator who has conducted investigations into a number of civilian casualty bombings in Iran, said researchers’ time was being wasted debunking AI material. Debunking AI videos, for example, often involves carefully inspecting them frame by frame for visual discrepancies. “That time should be devoted to what matters most: reporting on the impact this brutal war has on the people caught in the crossfire.”
And in cases such as Minab, where the material is demonstrably real? Researchers fear the wash of AI slop is sowing doubt in people’s minds that the atrocity they are seeing evidence of ever happened at all. “As the technology continues to get better, it could muddy the waters so much that videos and images of real atrocities get dismissed as fake or AI,” say Sardarizadeh.
“I’ve already seen examples of this in relation to the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine,” he says.
For those who have lost loved ones, accountability risks being overshadowed by a mass of misinformation, suspicion and doubt.
“At the end of the day, one should also consider what this looks like from the perspective of the families of those who were killed,” Osieck says. “Imagine losing a child and then seeing AI being used online to claim that the event did not happen. That is not just an obstacle for investigators. It is also deeply disrespectful to the loved ones who are grieving.”
Butler‘s Thad Matta is retiring from coaching after more than 20 years of leading Division I programs, he announced Monday.
Matta, who will remain with the school as special assistant to the president and athletic director, just finished the fourth season of his second stint as the Bulldogs’ head coach.
“After taking some time to reflect following the end of the season, I have decided that the time has come for me to step away from the sidelines,” Matta said in a statement. “The love my wife, my daughters and I have for Butler is what brought us back four years ago, and it feels especially meaningful that I conclude my coaching career here.
“Butler has always meant more to us than just basketball — and that connection is why I’m grateful to continue working with the university and offering my help in any way I can. My commitment to Butler and to the future of this program remains as strong as ever. I want this program to compete at the highest levels of the Big East and national landscape, and I am excited to be part of what we continue to build here.”
Matta, 58, finishes his career with a 502-223 record and 13 NCAA tournament appearances.
In between his two stints at Butler, Matta established himself as one of the most consistent head coaches in the country during his time at Xavier and Ohio State. He led the Musketeers to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances — including an Elite Eight run in 2004 — and then guided the Buckeyes to nine NCAA tournaments in 13 seasons.
A three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, Matta won five Big Ten regular-season titles while in charge of the Buckeyes, also winning four Big Ten tournament titles and going to Final Fours in 2007 and 2012.
Matta spent three years of his college playing career at Butler before returning to the Bulldogs as an assistant coach in 1991. After stops on staffs at Miami (Ohio) and Western Carolina, Matta rejoined Butler’s staff as an assistant under Barry Collier in 1997. He then took over as head coach for the 2000-01 season when Collier left, spending one season in charge of the Bulldogs while leading them to a 24-8 record and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Matta would return to Butler as the program’s head coach in 2022, although the Bulldogs failed to get to the NCAA tournament during his last four years.
“I will always be grateful for the experiences, the relationships, and the memories Butler has given me and my family,” Matta said. “I’m proud of what we’ve built together, and I look forward to staying connected and contributing in a new way as the next chapter begins.”
After stepping down as Ohio State’s head coach in 2017, Matta didn’t return to college basketball until 2021-22, when he served as the associate athletic director for basketball administration at Indiana under Mike Woodson.
One season later, Matta returned to Butler in 2022.
“It is hard to fully capture in words what the Matta family has meant to Butler University and to our men’s basketball program,” Butler athletic director Grant Leiendecker said in Monday’s statement. “… Thad has given so much to our university and his impact on our student-athletes has been lifechanging. Today is bittersweet in that Thad will no longer be leading our program on the sidelines but we are grateful that he has accepted president [Jim] Danko and my offer to remain at Butler University to continue to elevate the institution, as his wisdom and experience are invaluable and will help maintain stability in our program.”
College basketball analyst for ESPN and ESPN Insider
Played and coached at Duke
Practicing attorney
Multiple Authors
You already know the drill. After my fellow analysts and I have the privilege of calling the SEC championship game in Nashville, Tennessee, we move swiftly to process the men’s NCAA tournament field as it is revealed. Our bosses at ESPN ask us each to fill out a bracket — while we are on the air — so we can reveal our picks before the end of the show.
They give us less than five minutes. Hardly ideal, but perhaps our first instincts are better than considered thought. I decided that I would give you more than five minutes so you can dazzle your friends and win your office pool — and perhaps our Tournament Challenge.
Last season, my bracket was chalky: I had all four No. 1 seeds reaching the Final Four, Houston and Florida advancing to the championship game, and the Gators cutting down the nets. The backlash was swift and unrelenting. I was criticized for not picking an underdog to reach San Antonio. But when the dust cleared, all four No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four, and the Cougars and Gators battled it out for the title. You’re welcome — and I forgive you. All of you.
This season is different. Cinderella just took a year off. The top teams aren’t so much better than the rest of the field, so there will be more surprises. Though picking a bunch of upsets might make you feel good when filling out the bracket, it is a much better feeling to be strategic and win. Pick only the upsets you feel strongly about, the ones you know the winner will lose in the next game. This strategy allows you the upside of early upsets, while limiting the downside if Cinderella’s slipper doesn’t fit later in the tournament.
Here are my best guesses for the bracket. Use your best judgment. And remember: This is supposed to be fun.
The 1 vs. 16 matchup has featured two amazing upsets, when UMBC beat Virginia in 2018 and FDU beat Purdue in 2023. But two wins since the field expanded in 1985 aren’t great odds for Siena. As a rule, take the No. 1 seed. This game matches two coaches who won national championships as players — Jon Scheyer and Gerry McNamara. The difference? Duke has Cameron Boozer.
The Buckeyes have Bruce Thornton, Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer and a respected player across the country. TCU has David Punch, who scored a season-high 26 points against Oklahoma State in this week’s Big 12 quarterfinals. This is an underrated team, one that beat Florida early in the season. The 8-9 matchup is a coin flip, but I am taking TCU.
There is usually an upset alert in the 5 vs. 12 game, but St. John’s is too strong — and Rick Pitino does not often lose first-round games. The Red Storm are underseeded. Take the Johnnies.
Kansas was awful in its Big 12 tournament loss to Houston — the Jayhawks’ 47 points were by far their fewest of the season. Regardless, they should win this game thanks to Flory Bidunga protecting the rim.
One thing is for sure in this game: There will be a lot of long rebounds because both teams like to shoot 3s. This is a great upset pick: Mikel Brown Jr. has been out because of a sore back, and South Florida is tough. It’s worth rolling the dice on this one because Michigan State will likely beat either team.
The Bruins have Donovan Dent, one of the five best point guards in the nation, but UCF has Themus Fulks, Jordan Burks and the Big 12’s version of Draymond Green in Jamichael Stillwell. With UCLA banged up, the Knights are worth a flier.
Though the Huskies have not been as dominant as many expected this season, this is still a really good team. Furman’s Alex Wilkins has been one of the best freshmen in the country, but UConn’s interior should be the difference.
Even banged up, Duke should win, although TCU should be a really tough out. Could the Blue Devils lose? Yes. Still, take them — a lot of brackets will be busted, so the rest of your choices will carry you.
Winner: Duke
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1:29
Why Duke has a ‘very, very difficult’ draw in the East
Jay Bilas, Jay Williams and Seth Greenberg examine potential roadblocks for Duke in the East Region.
As we established earlier, I trust Michigan State in March. Jeremy Fears Jr. is the difference — and he’s coming into the tournament hot, having scored 20-plus points in each of his past four games.
This one will depend on Duke’s health. If Patrick Ngongba II is healthy, the Blue Devils win. If not, that lowers Duke’s ceiling — and the Johnnies can absolutely prevail. Still, unless you went to St. John’s, take Duke in this one.
Both teams are experienced and worthy of the Elite Eight. But the Huskies are coming into the tournament cold after a loss in their regular-season finale to Marquette and then a rout by St. John’s in the Big East final. I like Michigan State’s draw, and the fight the Spartans show — they’ve beaten No. 5 Illinois and No. 8 Purdue in the past six weeks, and played tough against Michigan twice.
These two played in East Lansing earlier this season, with Duke winning 66-60. Michigan State has a great chance to avenge that loss. The Blue Devils would win a seven-game series, but this is only one. Go with Green.
The Tigers are big and well-coached, but the Hawkeyes have Bennett Stirtz, one of the best shotmakers in college basketball, who is averaging 20.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists. Take Iowa. Neither beats Florida, anyway.
This 5 vs. 12 matchup is always a trendy upset pick — and then-No. 12 McNeese beat Clemson last year. But in this case, Vanderbilt’s guards, Tyler Tanner and Duke Miles, are too good for a Cowboys upset. Take Vandy.
The Trojans won at San Diego State and lost in triple overtime at USC. Troy can play. And though Nebraska has never won an NCAA tournament game, this year ends that drought.
This is a scary game for the Tar Heels. Without Caleb Wilson, they have a lower ceiling. North Carolina is better and should win. But VCU is a fair upset pick here.
The Quakers have TJ Power, who had 44 points against Yale in a magnificent performance. But this Illinois team is very talented, especially on the offensive end — and after all, the Illini’s freshman phenom, Keaton Wagler, topped that mark with 46 points against Purdue in January. Illinois wins.
Talk about a contrast in styles. Texas A&M under Bucky McMillan wants to get up and down the floor; the Aggies want to press, they want to be annoying. But Saint Mary’s is going to be a problem to play against. It seems different to take Saint Mary’s here and call it chalk, but the Gaels will slow the game down.
The Cougars have Kingston Flemings, one of the best freshmen in the country and a certain lottery pick. Houston’s defense is too good for an upset pick here.
Florida has arguably the best frontcourt in the nation, featuring Thomas Haugh (an SEC Player of the Year contender); Rueben Chinyelu, an elite defender; and Alex Condon. Size matters. With a big game from Stirtz, Iowa could certainly win this game, but I favor Florida.
This is a great matchup. Nebraska can beat almost anyone, but Vanderbilt’s guards will be the difference. It’s a close call, but take Duke Miles’ Commodores. He made a steal in the SEC final on Sunday at midcourt against Arkansas with his left hand that I thought was one of the best thefts I’ve seen all season long. He’s legit.
Illinois can make life difficult for North Carolina, which will be relying on Henri Veesaar (16.7 points per game) in Wilson’s absence. With Wagler leading a group of five Illini averaging double digits, Illinois just has too many scorers.
Houston can play against fast or slow teams — and can match Saint Mary’s physical, slower pace. The Gaels can win, especially if the Cougars shoot poorly, but I favor Houston.
In a rematch of the SEC tournament semifinals, this time Florida will have a little extra motivation. The Gators turned it over too much in that game against Vanderbilt’s pressure and steal-happy guards, Tyler Tanner and Duke Miles. Despite the Commodores’ talent there, Florida is bigger and stronger. Vandy will score, but Florida will be out for payback.
Winner: Florida
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1:19
Is the South region set up for a Florida-Vandy Sweet 16 rematch?
Seth Greenberg and Jay Bilas break down top-seed Florida’s path in the South Region, with a potential rematch against Vanderbilt in the Sweet 16.
Illinois has the better offense, and Houston has the better defense. I am taking offense in this one, but it’s an agonizing choice. Take the Illini, but understand the Cougars are fully capable of winning.
If the adage goes that guards win in March, well, Illinois has better guards. Keaton Wagler and Kylan Boswell will be the difference, even as Florida is better inside and on the glass. I am taking the Illini because they can rain down 3s over the Gators’ big men.
The Sharks are coached by Rod Strickland, one of the best point guards in college hoops history, but he cannot play in this one. Arizona is too good, and remember: The 16-seed wins less than 1% of the time.
There is no such thing as an upset in the 8-9 game, but Utah State winning would feel like one. Mason Falslev is the Mountain West Player of the Year and MJ Collins Jr. is a good 3-point shooter. This is a coin flip, but take Utah State. Either team is likely to lose to Arizona in the next round.
High Point can really score and has had a great year, but Wisconsin is the pick here. The Badgers have really good guards in Nick Boyd and John Blackwell — and in fact this team can provide a tough matchup for Arizona down the line.
The Rainbow Warriors can slow the game down against the Razorbacks, but Arkansas freshman Darius Acuff Jr. is the type of player who can carry a team to a Final Four. This is a tempting upset pick, but I am going with Arkansas.
I like Texas to beat NC State because the Longhorns have size and good guards and wings. BYU has the nation’s leading scorer in AJ Dybantsa, but the Cougars can struggle to score beyond him and Robert Wright III. BYU isn’t the same team it was earlier in the year, and I think its seed reflects what it was earlier in the year rather than late. I’m taking a flier on Texas here.
Miami has had a great season — no team improved more year-over-year than the Hurricanes, who picked up 18 more wins — but I like Missouri in this one, led by Mark Mitchell‘s 18.3 points per game. This is a coin flip, so take the upset pick.
Queens, in its first NCAA tournament appearance, brings six players averaging double-figure scoring — but Purdue, coming off a Big Ten title and win in its rematch against Michigan in the final, is finally playing like the team we imagined at the start of the year. Braden Smith is the best point guard in the country. Purdue wins.
Whether it is against Villanova or Utah State, Arizona is too big and talented to lose before the second weekend. The Wildcats have four wins against top-10 opponents in just the past month and seem to be picking up steam — they haven’t lost since Feb. 14. Utah State is a tough out, but Arizona advances.
Wisconsin has good shooting big men who can make things challenging for Arkansas — in fact, I think the Badgers present a tough challenge for Arizona if they get to the second weekend. They can rain down 15 3s in a game — that’s what they did to Michigan. But the Razorbacks have Darius Acuff Jr., and nobody else does.
Winner: Arkansas
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0:41
Can Darius Acuff Jr. carry Arkansas to a national title?
Jay Bilas wonders if freshman Darius Acuff Jr. is talented enough to lead Arkansas out of the West Region and into the Final Four.
The Zags are playing without Braden Huff — and his 17.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game — which limits their offense and defense. Gonzaga is the better team, but consider taking a flier here. Texas is a sneaky 11-seed because of its size, Dailyn Swain‘s ability to score and Sean Miller’s coaching chops.
The Boilermakers can give pause, but they’ve got a decent draw, and Braden Smith is the separator. He’s averaging 9.0 assists per game (second in the country) and is shooting at the best clip of his career.
Darius Acuff Jr, meet Koa Peat. Two of the best freshmen in the country would face off in this matchup, featuring two first-round NBA draft talents. Acuff is the bigger star. He’s gravity: He pulls defenders to him, and then he kicks it out. But Arizona is more talented all-around, and the Wildcats escape from this challenging matchup.
While very young at key spots, Arizona is simply bigger and more talented. Purdue is more experienced and will not be afraid of Arizona. But I love the Wildcats here.
Michigan lost L.J. Cason for the season a few weeks ago, which certainly limits the trajectory of the season for the Wolverines. But not yet. Again: 16-seeds are not good bracket choices. Even if the nearly impossible happens, the 16-seed is very likely to lose the next game.
Saint Louis hunts great shots and runs a beautiful offense. Georgia has better athletes — sophomore Jeremiah Wilkinson averages 17.0 points per game — and can beat Saint Louis in transition.
There’s an argument to be made that Akron had a better résumé than Miami (Ohio) — and maybe was even the better team, even though the RedHawks won the one head-to-head meeting. The Zips are legit, and they’re going to be a tough out. But if Christian Anderson is healthy and can find Donovan Atwell, one of the best shooters in America, for open shots, Texas Tech takes this one.
The Crimson Tide will have the best player on the floor in Labaron Philon Jr. (21.7 PPG), who had 28 points on 56% shooting in the SEC quarterfinal loss to Ole Miss.
Miami (Ohio) is really good. So is SMU — and the Mustangs are finally getting healthy and have better talent. That matters. Take SMU in the First Four, but neither will get past Tennessee in the first round. Ja’Kobi Gillespie has been a great addition to that team, and as long as the Vols play with the kind of defensive intensity that they usually do under coach Rick Barnes, I think they get past either team.
Winner: Tennessee
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Why Jay Bilas believes Miami (OH) should’ve avoided the First Four
Jay Bilas doesn’t agree with Miami (OH) needing to play in the First Four in the Midwest region.
Virginia is underrated and a very good defensive team, allowing just 68.4 points per game (top-50 in the country, fourth in the ACC). The Wahoos send Wright State home early on the back of Thijs De Ridder, the standout freshman forward from Belgium.
Kentucky is banged up and inconsistent, and Santa Clara is big, skilled and has positional size at almost every position. To be clear: Kentucky could very well get upset here. I’m picking the Wildcats, though, assuming Otega Oweh has another big game.
The Cyclones are among the nation’s best defensive teams, scoring almost 20 points per game off turnovers. The only pause you should have here is Iowa State’s inconsistent free throw shooting. Everything else is Final Four quality.
The Bulldogs have played and beaten some great teams — but none as good as Michigan. Yaxel Lendeborg is a legit star. one of the best two-way stars in the country. He and the Wolverines will not lose here.
The Crimson Tide do not defend at the highest level, but they can really shoot it. Philon is a dude, but so are Latrell Wrightsell and Amare Allen. They’ve got a bunch of guys who can score. The shotmaking Alabama team takes it.
Virginia can protect the paint and the 3-point line, but Tennessee is physical and pounds the offensive glass. The Vols are better with Nate Ament in the lineup, and he returned for the SEC tournament. If he can approach his season averages of 17.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, alongside Gillespie’s talent, they should take it.
Kentucky is wounded and a bit worn down. Iowa State has Joshua Jefferson, one of the most versatile and talented point forwards in the game — who happens to be averaging career highs in points (16.9), rebounds (7.6) and assists (4.9) as a sophomore. Advance Iowa State.
I think Michigan is clearly the best team in this region, but if I’m the Wolverines, Alabama is the one team I wouldn’t want to play. If Alabama makes shots, the Crimson Tide can beat Michigan. Hell, if Alabama hits shots, the Crimson Tide can beat anyone. That said, I go with Lendeborg. Advance Michigan in your bracket. I already have.
Coach Rick Barnes’ Volunteers are always standouts on defense, but here, they meet their match. The Cyclones are one of the five best defensive teams in the nation. If they can force Tennessee into turnovers — the Vols have not been great at taking care of the basketball late — they’ll win this game. Iowa State is the real deal.
If L.J. Cason were available, I would take Michigan in this game. But Iowa State is just too good on the defensive end. The Cyclones are the best team in this region, and they’ll get it done here.
Apparently I like surly coaches — maybe that’s why I’m going with Brad Underwood and Tom Izzo. These two are going to prepare their teams well, and it will be a great matchup of the nation’s best offense in Illinois and a top-10 defense in Michigan State. Izzo hasn’t been to the national championship game since his squad won in 2000 — that changes this year.
Arizona hasn’t been to the Final Four since 2001, but coach Tommy Lloyd won’t be satisfied with just that. This Arizona team is good enough to compete for a national title, and it gets it done against Iowa State.
Venezuela ended Italy’s magical WBC run on Monday night, coming from behind to defeat them, 4-2 at loanDepot park, earning a spotin the final against the United States.
Italy was the surprise team of the tournament, taking down the U.S. in pool play before defeating Mexico to finish a perfect 4-0 in Pool B.
Eugenio Suárez of Team Venezuela celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against Team Italy in the fourth inning at loanDepot park on March 16, 2026 in Miami, Florida.(Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
But that win over Mexico also kept Team USA alive in the tournament, allowing them to advance to the quarterfinals, where they defeated Canada before earning a thrilling 2-1 semifinal victory over the Dominican Republic on Sunday night to punch their ticket back to the final.
While it felt only right for the U.S. and Italy to meet once more to determine who would win it all before the start of the 2026 MLB season, Venezuela had other things in mind during the bottom of the seventh inning.
Down 2-1 in the contest, Venezuela found themselves threatening with a potential two-out rally after Jackson Chourio, the Milwaukee Brewers’ rising star, singled to center field, allowing Andres Gimenez to advance to third base.
That’s when Ronald Acuña Jr., the face of Venezuelan baseball, reached first on an infield single that allowed Gimenez to score, tying the game at two apiece. But the rally wasn’t over just yet.
The Venezuelans caught fire after Acuña’s single, as Maikel Garcia singled to left field, scoring Chourio, and Luis Arraez brought home Acuña. With two outs, Venezuela seized all the momentum with a three-run seventh inning that made it 4-2.
Italy had been clinging to the lead since the bottom of the second inning, when they made the most of a bases-loaded situation. J.J. D’Orazio walked home a run, while Dante Nori grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored another to give Italy a 2-0 lead.
Slugger Eugenio Suarez got Venezuela on the board in the top of the fourth inning with a solo home run to left-center field, cutting the deficit to one. But they weren’t able to string together additional offense until that seventh inning.
From there, Italy could never get a rally started, as Daniel Palencia eventually shut the door in the ninth inning, striking out the final two Italian hitters.
As Venezuela celebrated, Italy hung their heads, but their story this month has been nothing short of incredible. Their espresso machine in the dugout — which captain Vinnie Pasquantino of the Kansas City Royals helped turn into a home run celebration — went viral as they continued to have success. The roster featured established MLB stars, top prospects and players with Italian heritage, earning praise from big leaguers throughout the past two weeks.
But it’s Venezuela, ripe with top MLB talent, ready to take on Team USA and starter Nolan McLean, who Italy touched up in their pool play game, on Tuesday night to determine who holds the rights to call themselves the best baseball team in the world for at least the next three years.
Team USA and Venezuela will face each other at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
Max Dowman might have done more than merely score a historic and potentially decisive goal in the Premier League title race to seal Arsenal‘s 2-0 win against Everton at the weekend. The 16-year-old wonderkid might have also achieved the improbable: making Mikel Arteta’s team likeable.
“Lovable” would probably be pushing it too far, considering the negativity that has built up around a team that is still on course to achieve an unprecedented quadruple this season.
But even Arsenal’s most strident critic would struggle to ignore the feel-good vibes of a teenager who returned to school on Monday morning after scoring the stoppage-time goal — shortly after creating the opener for Viktor Gyökeres — which clinched a crucial victory for the Premier League leaders and made him the competition’s youngest-ever scorer.
Dowman’s late intervention was everything great about football. His goal was about risk, adventure, individuality and the freedom to play off the cuff. Maybe that’s why it created such a stir.
The goal showcased all the attributes that Arteta’s Arsenal have not only lacked this season, but perhaps even deliberately stifled as they have reduced their game to one of percentages — a game where risk and individuality are viewed as dangerous elements rather than must-have factors for a trophy-winning team.
And this is the great contradiction of Arteta’s Arsenal. His team could be less than three months away from becoming the first English side to achieve a clean sweep of trophies by winning the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup in the same season, but nobody outside the Emirates Stadium likes it.
When Arsène Wenger’s 2003-04 side became known as the “Invincibles” by becoming champions without suffering a single league defeat, their breathtaking style earned them global admiration. An Arteta quadruple would eclipse Wenger’s team as the greatest year in the club’s history. They would also the surpass the Manchester United and Manchester City treble-winning sides of 1998-99 and 2022-23, respectively.
But if they win all four trophies this season — even if they win only the Premier League — Arsenal’s success would be regarded as a backward step for football and even a bad thing for the game because of the way Arteta’s team plays. Success leads to imitation. Everybody wants to be a winner and the shortcut to winning can often simply be a case of copying the best.
Just look at how many teams worldwide have adopted a model based on Pep Guardiola’s philosophy of possession and control triggered by a ball-playing goalkeeper. Guardiola has evolved his approach many times over, and his City side now has a keeper in Gianluigi Donnarumma who would not have suited Guardiola’s greatest Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City sides.
But the Guardiola influence has become deep-rooted because his philosophy brought success and, if Arteta’s direct approach delivers silverware at Arsenal, it will have a similar impact. Indeed, we have already seen “Artetaball” take hold in the Premier League with rival coaches putting greater focus on set pieces — particularly corners — because of the success Arteta, aided by set piece coach Nicolas Jover, has enjoyed in making Arsenal one of the most consistent teams in Europe.
Arsenal have scored 21 goals from set pieces in the Premier League this season — more than any other team in Europe’s top five leagues. That total for 34.4% of their league goals. Before this season, Blackburn Rovers (1994-95) and Manchester United (2007-08) recorded the most set piece goals as champions with 35% each.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s United won the Premier League and Champions League that season with a forward line of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, so they were anything but overreliant on goals from set pieces. Arsenal don’t have a Ronaldo, Rooney or Tevez, however, and that might go some way to explaining why Arteta’s team focuses so heavily on set piece goals.
The sensational attacking football played by Luis Enrique’s side last season was evident again last week when PSG blew Chelsea away with three goals in the final 20 minutes of their 5-2 Champions League round-of-16 first-leg win in Paris.
Before Dowman’s late show against Everton, you would be hard pushed to recall any similar Arsenal moment this season because their forwards are less prolific and lack the free-flowing flair and freedom of the PSG stars or the attacking players in those great Real, City and Liverpool teams.
Only Gyökeres (16) and Gabriel Martinelli (11) have hit double figures for Arsenal so far this season, but Arteta’s side are nonetheless still the leading scorers in the Premier League. It is the aesthetic of Arsenal and their goals that makes them difficult to warm to, but Arteta has unquestionably hit upon a winning formula by reducing the game to a battle of marginal gains.
And that’s a problem that football will have to overcome. The Arteta approach has already led to imitation, and it will increase if Arsenal win major silverware. Not even a Max Dowman wonder goal will change that.
Birds are among the most remarkable indicators of the health of our planet’s ecosystems. From tiny songbirds that greet the morning to powerful raptors soaring high above forests and mountains, birds quietly sustain nature’s balance. They are crucial for the preservation of biodiversity because they help with plant pollination, seed distribution, and insect population management. But concerns are gradually growing with regard to the future of several bird species. As per the reports, nearly a quarter of all bird species are at risk of extinction, largely due to various reasons like habitat loss, climate change, pollution and expanding human development. Habitat destruction, residential options and environmental degradation have caused an extreme need for lesser habitats to generate bird losses. In the face of these challenges, clues to where to prioritize species conservation have become a priority for conservationists. It’s interesting to note that most of these nations are tropical as well, mostly in South America and Southeast Asia. These regions contain diverse landscapes such as rainforests, wetlands, mountains, and coastal ecosystems, all of which provide ideal habitats for birds. According to BioDB, the following ten countries host the highest number of bird species in the world. (Data sourced from Birds Per Country).
“I don’t think 2,500 [US] Marines will make any difference whatsoever to opening up the strait.”
Andreas Krieg, Associate Professor at King’s College London, says that US plans to deploy 2,500 marines to the Gulf is unlikely to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
