BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Norwich was relegated from the English Premier League after Dean Smith’s return to Aston Villa ended in a 2-0 defeat on Saturday.
A 10th loss in 12 left Norwich 13 points from safety with four matches remaining, and was a painful way for Smith to mark his return to the ground where he began the season in charge.
LEICESTER, England (AP) — Aston Villa snapped a four-game losing streak with a 0-0 draw at Leicester in the English Premier League on Saturday.
Steven Gerrard will take it — the last time Villa lost five straight it cost Dean Smith his job as manager.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — In a national championship game nobody at Kansas will soon forget, Bill Self went from the Hall of Fame coach who far too often failed on the big stage to the brilliant mastermind of the biggest comeback in NCAA title-game history.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The story of college basketball can be traced largely from the base of Mount Oread on the campus of Kansas, where the inventor of the game was also the school’s first coach, and across the heartland and down Tobacco Road to North Carolina, where so much of its history has been made.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Kansas coach Bill Self finds himself in the same situation that longtime North Carolina coach Dean Smith once did.
Both had won national championships at their respective schools, two of the proudest in the history of basketball, and both had piled more Final Four appearances on top of them.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — North Carolina's Hubert Davis doesn't have the long history of sideline success as the rest of the coaches at this week's Final Four.
He's not worried about being the new coach on the block, either.
The Duke-North Carolina rivalry has been filled with future NBA stars and intense finishes through nearly 100 meetings in Mike Krzyzewski’s Hall of Fame tenure with the Blue Devils.
Now, with the teams preparing for Saturday’s Final Four meeting that marks the neighboring programs' first in the NCAA Tournament, here's a look at seven of the memorable matchups during Krzyzewski's tenure:
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — These teams need no introduction. Built by coaching icons John Wooden and Dean Smith, UCLA and North Carolina are as much a part of college basketball as the hardwood itself. Combined, the programs have been to 39 Final Fours and won 17 national titles.
SOUTHAMPTON, England (AP) — Southampton cruised past rock-bottom Norwich 2-0 in the English Premier League on Friday.
Norwich failed to register a single shot on target, while Southampton had numerous chances to add to strikes by Che Adams and Oriol Romeu as they extended their unbeaten league run to five games.
The famed rivalry between No. 9 Duke and North Carolina is changing.
One Hall of Fame coach is gone, with the Tar Heels' Roy Williams retiring last spring and former UNC player and assistant Hubert Davis replacing him.
LONDON (AP) — Norwich will head into 2022 in last place in the Premier League after losing 3-0 at Crystal Palace on Tuesday for its fifth straight defeat.
First-half goals from Odsonne Edouard, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jeffrey Schlupp gave Palace the win in the continued absence of its manager, Patrick Vieira, who tested positive for the coronavirus last week.
NORWICH, England (AP) — With four wins now in six games as manager, Steven Gerrard is transforming Aston Villa’s fortunes.
The former Liverpool captain’s latest success was getting the better of the manager he replaced at Villa last month as Dean Smith’s new team, Norwich, was beaten 2-0 on Tuesday.
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Tuesday:
ENGLAND
Pep Guardiola is expecting another difficult game against a Leeds side that took four points off Manchester City last season.
LONDON (AP) — Norwich was facing “a couple of COVID-related issues” ahead of its Premier League game against Manchester United, manager Dean Smith said Friday.
The relegation-threatened team played Tottenham on Sunday before the north London club announced a coronavirus outbreak among players and staff that has forced the postponement of two games.
NORWICH, England (AP) — Norwich squandered good scoring chances in a 0-0 draw with Wolverhampton in the English Premier League on Saturday.
Saves by goalkeeper José Sá from Teemu Pukki in the 71st minute and Lukas Rupp 10 minutes later salvaged a point for Wolves at Carrow Road.
NORWICH, England (AP) — Dean Smith made a winning start as Norwich manager after Grant Hanley’s 79th-minute header earned the Canaries a 2-1 victory at home to Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday.
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Steven Gerrard made a winning start as Aston Villa manager with a 2-0 victory over Brighton on Saturday in the Premier League.
Gerrard left Rangers during the international break to replace Dean Smith, who was fired following five successive Premier League defeats.
NORWICH, England (AP) — Norwich appointed Dean Smith as manager of the Premier League’s last-placed team on Monday, a week after he was fired by Aston Villa.
The 50-year-old Smith replaces Daniel Farke, who was dismissed last weekend despite overseeing Norwich’s first win of the league season.
Hubert Davis sounds at ease.
He’ll coach his first regular-season game Tuesday at 19th-ranked North Carolina. It's the place where he played under Dean Smith before enjoying a long NBA career and later returned to join the staff of another Hall of Fame Tar Heels coach in Roy Williams.
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Aston Villa fired manager Dean Smith with the team mired in a five-match losing run.
The Premier League club made the announcement on Sunday. Smith, who guided the club back to the top flight, has paid the price for the team’s disappointing form this season.
SOUTHAMPTON, England (AP) — Adam Armstrong’s early goal was enough for Southampton to beat Aston Villa 1-0 in the Premier League on Friday and increase pressure on visiting manager Dean Smith after a fifth consecutive loss.
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — West Ham consolidated fourth place in the Premier League with a 4-1 win over 10-man Aston Villa on Sunday.
The visitors were aided by Ezri Konsa’s sending off in the 50th minute with the score at 2-1.
Hubert Davis' connections to North Carolina have touched just about everything in his life.
He played under late Hall of Famer Dean Smith before a 12-year NBA career. He coached under another Hall of Famer in Roy Williams.
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Aston Villa signed striker Danny Ings from Southampton to a three-year contract on Wednesday.
The Birmingham club paid an undisclosed transfer fee for Ings amid widespread reports that it was also negotiating a deal to sell midfielder Jack Grealish to Manchester City for a record fee.
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Aston Villa signed forward Leon Bailey from Bayer Leverkusen to a four-year contract on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old Jamaica international scored 15 goals and had 11 assists across all competitions last season for the German club.
SAITAMA, Japan (AP) — Henrik Rodl was unsure about what he’d do after finishing high school in Germany. He had done an exchange year of study in the U.S., then returned home to complete his required education there and figure out what to do next.
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Former Chelsea and England captain John Terry has left his role as assistant coach of Premier League team Aston Villa in order to “develop my aim and objective of becoming a manager.”
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — New North Carolina basketball coach Hubert Davis has completed his staff filled with former Tar Heels players...
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s five-year deal with new men’s basketball coach Hubert Davis will pay an average of $2 million annually in salary, compensation from apparel and multimedia deals, and an expense allowance...
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Hubert Davis understands the challenge ahead of him in taking over at North Carolina...
North Carolina didn't have to look far to find the successor to Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams or someone with a strong connection to the storied men's basketball program...
The Atlantic Coast Conference is the king of The Associated Press all-time Top 100.
Led by blue bloods at the top and backed by years of dominance in college basketball, the ACC had more teams ranked and more No...