Players are excited to come play for new Bears head coach Ben Johnson, we learned as we met the five acquisitions at Halas Hall.

With a new interior trio up front and a pair of tackles who are solid or better, plus Johnson calling the plays, there's hope that the Bears can finally get their offense off the ground.

Another Big Ten basketball job is open. Minnesota fired Ben Johnson after four seasons, Director of Athletics Mark Coyle announced Thursday morning. The Gophers (15-17) had their season end on Wednesday when they lost to Northwestern in the opening game of the Big Ten Tournament.

The University of Minnesota Athletic Director Mark Coyle held a news conference on the firing of Gophers men’s basketball head coach Ben Johnson.

Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle didn’t attend the Big Ten tournament’s opening game Wednesday against Northwestern, but he was nearby at NCAA basketball tournament selection committee meetings in Indianapolis.

Texas (19-14) came in as the SEC’s No. 13 seed with the Longhorns needing victories to play their way into the NCAA Tournament. They will face No. 4 seed and eighth-ranked Tennessee on Friday.

The Texas Longhorns will need freshman guard Tre Johnson to step up big once again if they want to secure an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament.