Keion Brooks’ good deed, Devin Leary’s good review, Neal Brown’s good deal and more

Random notes:

▪ Former Kentucky basketball forward Keion Brooks did a cool thing before Washington’s Senior Day.

Brooks, who transferred from UK to the Huskies prior to last season, gave Alaska Airlines Arena ushers a $25 gift card and thanked them for their service this season.

Brooks has averaged 21.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this season for the Huskies, who are 16-14 overall and 8-11 in the Pac-12. Washington finishes the regular season Thursday at archrival Washington State.

▪ After Kentucky basketball’s win over Arkansas, bracketologist Jonathon Warriner lists UK at No. 9 among his 12 teams that can win the national championship.

▪ Tough break for Eastern Kentucky as the regular season ASUN champions lost 67-65 to Jacksonville in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament on Tuesday. The perils of being in a one-bid league.

▪ Reports now say that the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament expansion is trending toward 72 or 76 teams from the current 68. There had been fears the tourney would expand to 96 teams.

If the tournament is expanding to include more mid-major teams, I’m all for it. I doubt that’s the purpose, however. So I say leave a good thing alone.

▪ Surely this is it for Kenny Payne at Louisville. The Cards dropped to 8-22 overall and 3-16 in the ACC with Tuesday’s 80-64 home loss to a middling Virginia Tech team. Love Kenny, but it just didn’t work at U of L.

▪ Kansas climbed back on track with a 90-68 thumping of archrival Kansas State on Tuesday night for its 41st consecutive Senior Night victory. That’s the good news. Now for the bad news. Before that, the Jayhawks’ 82-74 loss at Baylor on Saturday dropped Bill Self’s team to 9-7 in the Big 12. That is Kansas’ most regular season conference losses since a 6-8 record in the old Big Eight in 1988-89. That was Roy Williams’ first season as the KU coach.

▪ With its 105-87 loss at Florida on Tuesday, Alabama is 1-9 against teams currently in the NET Top 26. The Tide is 4-9 in Quad 1 games.

▪ Florida will receive plenty of love as a dark horse pick to win the SEC Tournament next week.

▪ Brett Kollman of the “Film Room” and the Bootleg Football Podcast tweeted this about UK’s former quarterback: “Devin Leary really had one hell of a combine. Interviewed extremely well, and I felt he had one of the better throwing sessions as well. Good arm talent, and a smart dude with a lot of experience already in a (Sean) McVay-style system. Seems like a natural fit to me with the Rams.”

▪ Despite the fact Billy Gillispie has not coached since Nov. 14 because of health reasons, Tarleton State is reportedly extending the contract of the former Kentucky basketball coach by two years.

Gillispie was cleared to return Feb. 1 but has allowed interim coach Joseph Jones to continue to lead the team on the sidelines. Tarleton is 22-7 overall and 15-3 in the WAC heading into Thursday night’s game against Utah Valley. Lead by ex-Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon leads the league at 16-3.

▪ Congrats to West Virginia coach Neal Brown on receiving a contract extension through 2027. The former UK wide receiver and offensive coordinator under Mark Stoops was thought to be on the hot seat at WVU before finishing 9-4. The Mountaineers were picked to finish last in the Big 12. They wound up 6-3 in league play instead.

▪ Congrats to ex-UK forward Jacob Toppin, who signed a two-way contract with the New York Knicks.

▪ If you missed it, the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars slapped the franchise tag on former Kentucky defensive star Josh Allen. The team says it is confident it can work out a long-term deal with Allen, who set the Jags’ single-season sacks record with 17.5 last season. Only the Steelers’ T.J. Watt (19.0) recorded more sacks in 2023.

▪ I know Joey Votto hit .205 and .202 the past two seasons, but I am surprised that not a single team has taken a chance on the former Reds first baseman this spring.