One last shot for UNC, Ohio State, Arkansas and Xavier

Back in 2000, I was a young-ish reporter on the Sports Illustrated college basketball beat. My editor and I were brainstorming ideas for our NCAA Tournament preview issue. I talked about two unheralded role players who had helped UConn win the title the year before, guard Ricky Moore and forward Kevin Freeman. Why not produce a story highlighting such players who might do the same for their teams during the upcoming tournament? “You can’t win without these guys,” I said. “They’re the glue that holds everything together.”

Hence, the term “Glue Guy” was born. I worked with Senior Writer Alex Wolff to produce the story for the magazine naming the official SI All-Glue team. St. John’s forward Lavor Postell was our captain. We had a few other players on the list, plus Alex came up with the idea of calling Stanford a “glue team.” It was supposed to be a one-year thing, but the next year, I decided I would compose a similar piece for SI.com.

Once I have a winning streak, I like to keep it going. So here we are, 25 years and three platforms later, and the All-Glue team is the Joe DiMaggio of ideas. The term Glue Guy is so ingrained in the sport’s vernacular that nobody remembers who came up with it. (Narrator: Seth came up with it.) I’d like to think that the revelation of this year’s squad, which is captained by Houston sophomore forward JoJo Tugler, will start another lengthy streak of having the All-Glue team revealed here at Hoops HQ.

I hope you’ll agree that this is one more really good reason to become a subscriber. We’ve got a 68 percent off sale going at the moment (one percent for each team in the NCAA Touranment), and I promise you that you will get your money’s worth — not only during March Madness, but during the free agency/transfer portal period, right through the NBA Draft, summer recruiting and everything happening in this sport year-round. We love college basketball (men’s and women’s) just as much as you do. We want you on our team.

So I hope you’ll read all about my 26th annual All-Glue team as well as all the other great content we have for you today. The Madness is coming, and there’s no better time to be part of a winning team.

Have a great day, everyone, and thanks as always for your support of Hoops HQ.

— Seth

They Call Him JoJo: Houston’s Tugler Leads the 2025 All-Glue Team

By Seth Davis

TCU coach Jamie Dixon had a lot to fret about after his Horned Frogs lost 65-46 at home to Houston on Jan. 6. But instead of fixating on the three Houston players who scored in double digits, or the Cougars’ 8-for-19 performance from three-point range, Dixon found himself muttering aloud about Joseph (JoJo) Tugler, a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward who made one shot and scored three points. He did, however, have three blocks, two of which came rapid-fire on back-to-back possessions early in the second half, sparking a Cougars run and sending them to the easy win.

“We talked about not shooting on [Tugler],” Dixon said. “I wrote it all over the board [Sunday] night, [Monday] morning, this afternoon, at halftime and before the game and still the message didn’t get through. So, give them credit for forcing us to do what we didn’t want to do.”

Tugler does a lot of things for Houston, but taking credit is usually not one of them. He is the seventh-leading scorer (5.8 points per game) for a team that has won its second straight Big 12 title and all but wrapped up a No. 1 seed to the NCAA Tournament. The program is loaded with stars, not only versatile scoring threats like L.J. Cryer and J’Wan Roberts, but also a Hall of Fame-caliber coach in Kelvin Sampson.

Yet, there is one place where Tugler not only gets his fair share of credit, but is celebrated as a featured performer: Tugler is the captain of my 2025 All-Glue Team.

Bubble Watch: Baylor, Ohio State and Xavier Better Not Leave It to Chance

By Brad Wachtel

Well, this is it. It’s the final dress rehearsal for teams hoping to receive a bid for the NCAA Tournament. Today, Baylor, Ohio State and Xavier are all in action, and they all really need a win in order to put themselves in a better position to receive an at-large bid. I think Baylor and Xavier could still get a bid with a loss, but each would be sweating it out until Selection Sunday. I don’t think that’s the case with Ohio State. Should the Buckeyes lose to Iowa, their record would fall to 17-15, and in the past the Selection Committee has not looked too kindly for teams with a record of that nature.

A huge factor that became the biggest storyline leading up to Selection Sunday last year was the fact that we had five bid-stealers. Could it happen again? Absolutely. Is it likely? No. My guess is we will end up seeing one, maybe two bid-stealers, which is why it’s so important for bubble teams to keep winning!

Without further ado, here are the most important bubble games on Wednesday.

Texas @ Vanderbilt: The SEC Tournament kicks off in Nashville with a massive bubble game. As Hoops HQ bracketologist Brad Wachtel writes here, this is a must-win for the Longhorns, who are coming off a brutal 76-72 loss to Oklahoma over the weekend. Star freshman Tre Johnson, who leads the conference in scoring at 20.2 points per game, has the ability to lift Texas to victory, but it won't be easy against a Vanderbilt team currently projected to be a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Plus, the Commodores should have a home court advantage at Bridgestone Arena. 3:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.