The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats men’s basketball team will be trying to earn their way to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight tonight. The Bearcats (24-2) will square off against the Northern State Wolves (19-1) in the NCAA Central Region Tournament Final at 7:00 p.m. at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, SD.

The Bearcats are coming off an emphatic 85-44 win over Washburn in the second round. Atlantic native Ryan Hawkins dropped in a game high 27 points in that win and hit 7 threes.

Catch the Regional Final tonight HERE.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard announced Monday night that the school and men’s basketball coach Steve Prohm have agreed to part ways. The search for a new coach has begun.

As Pollard conducts that search while fulfilling his duties as a member of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee, he shares his rationale for change and the plans for finding a new basketball coach in this video.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State and men’s basketball coach Steve Prohm have agreed to part ways after one of the worst seasons in program history. Athletic director Jamie Pollard made the announcement after meeting with Prohm. The Cyclones were 2-22 overall, 0-18 in the Big 12. They lost their last 18 games. Prohm was 97-95 in six seasons and led the Cyclones to the NCAA Tournament three times.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa coach Fran McCaffery signed a four-year contract extension through 2027-28 after leading the eighth-ranked Hawkeyes to the Big Ten semifinals and their highest NCAA Tournament seeding since 1987. The team is a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play Grand Canyon on Friday in Indianapolis. McCaffery’s annual base salary of $2.3 million for the next two seasons will remain unchanged. He is on track to receive longevity bonuses at the end of the next two seasons. His annual salary will increase each of the last five years.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Ladell Betts will return to Iowa to coach running backs and George Barnett has been hired as the Hawkeyes’ offensive line coach. Betts starred for the Hawkeyes from 1998 to 2001 and is the only running back in program history to lead the team in rushing four straight years. Betts went on to play nine seasons in the NFL. The 41-year-old was head coach the last two years at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Barnett had been named offensive line coach at Tulane three months ago. He previously was on the staff at Miami (Ohio) for seven seasons.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The cash-strapped Kansas City Chiefs made their first big first move to rebuild their offensive line Monday, agreeing with Joe Thuney on a five-year contract to provide a durable plug-and-play option at one of their interior positions. The agent for the former Patriots standout, Mike McCartney, tweeted the sides had agreed to the deal on the first day they could discuss contracts with free agents. The deal is worth $80 million and includes some incentives, a person familiar with the terms told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the deal has not been signed. The earliest it can become official is Wednesday, when free agency begins.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — It began with the resignation of Kansas football coach Les Miles amid accusations of sexual harassment. It continued with the resignation of athletic director Jeff Long, who was tied to the fiasco. It ended with the men’s basketball team withdrawing from the Big 12 Tournament due to COVID-19. Now, after one of the worst weeks imaginable for the Jayhawks, coach Bill Self’s team has a chance to make it all a bad memory. The Jayhawks earned the No. 3 seed in the West Region and will play No. 14 seed Eastern Washington on Saturday.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State forward Antonio Gordon has been released from his scholarship and will transfer for his junior season. The 6-foot-9 forward from Lawton, Oklahoma, started 21 games and appeared in 27 more during his first two seasons with the Wildcats. The former three-star prospect averaged 4.9 points and 4.6 rebounds in just over 20 minutes per game. He started 12 of 21 games this past season, averaging 5.8 points and 5.8 rebounds, before missing the regular-season finale with unspecified health issues.

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State women’s basketball team has been selected to play in its 19th NCAA Tournament, and 12th appearance in the last 15 years. The seventh-seeded Cyclones will face No. 10 seed Michigan State in the first round, Monday, March 22 in the Mercado Regional.

Tipoff time is set for 5 p.m. CT on ESPN. The winner of the Iowa State/Michigan State game will advance to play the winner of the Texas A&M/Troy contest on Wednesday, March 24.

Iowa State (16-10, 12-6 Big 12) is one of just 15 teams nationally to earn NCAA Tournament berths in 12 of the last 15 years. All 19 of the Cyclones’ NCAA Tournament appearances have come under the direction of head coach Bill Fennelly.

Michigan State is 15-8 overall and finished 8-7 in the Big Ten

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s basketball team received an at-large bid to the 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, its 27th appearance in the tournament, including its 15th under P. Sue Beckwith, MD, Head Coach Lisa Bluder.

Iowa (18-8) received a No. 5 seed in the River Walk Region and will play 12th-seeded Central Michigan (18-8) on Sunday in San Antonio. It will be the second meeting between the two teams. The first meeting was during the 2010-11 season — Iowa won 90-79. The other two teams in Iowa’s first-weekend bracket include No. 4 Kentucky and 13th-seeded Idaho State.

Information on pre-tournament news conferences and open practice times will be released in the coming days.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State and men’s basketball coach Steve Prohm have agreed to part ways. Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard met Prohm in person Monday night. Pollard will have additional comment Tuesday.

Prohm, compiled a 97-95 record in six seasons with the Cyclones, but his 2020-21 club was 2-22 overall. Prohm led Iowa State to three NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament berths and two Big 12 Tournament Championships in his tenure.

Pollard, who is serving on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee, will begin the search for a replacement immediately.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The cash-strapped Kansas City Chiefs made their first big first move to rebuild their offensive line Monday, agreeing with Joe Thuney on a five-year contract to provide a durable plug-and-play option at one of their interior positions. The agent for the former Patriots standout, Mike McCartney, tweeted the sides had agreed to the deal on the first day they could discuss contracts with free agents.

Kansas City Chiefs Defensive Tackle Chris Jones (95) stretching during NFL football practice Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, in Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55. (Steve Sanders/Kansas City Chiefs via AP)

The deal is worth $80 million and includes some incentives, a person familiar with the terms told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the deal has not been signed. The earliest it can become official is Wednesday, when free agency begins.

Atlantic senior Haley Rasmussen announced early last month that she will be headed to Simpson College in Indianola to continue her basketball career and education. Since then Rasmussen has wrapped up her high school career as Atlantic’s All-Time 5v5 leading scorer with 1,259 points and also broke the single-season scoring mark with 482 points. KJAN Sports had a chance to catch up with Rasmussen prior to Atlantic’s tournament run and she said it was last spring that she really settled in on playing basketball at the next level. She said missing out on the track season when the pandemic set in really made her think about the time she has put in playing hoops over the years.

Rasmussen looked at a number of small schools in the area but ultimately felt Simpson was the best fit.

Rasmussen talked about the style the Storm play with and why she thinks that matches with her game.

Simpson recently earned their 13th American Rivers Conference title with an 89-84 overtime win over Coe College. They completed a shortened season at 12-0. Listen to the full interview with Rasmussen below.

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Iowa forward Jack Nunge (2) is checked by head coach Fran McCaffery during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Michigan , Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery has signed a four-year extension to his current contract. The agreement was announced today by Henry B. and Patricia B. Tippie Director of Athletics Chair Gary Barta.

McCaffery is now signed through the 2027-28 competitive season. His base salary remains unchanged for the next two seasons, however there is a longevity bonus at the end of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. His annual salary will increase each of the last five years. If 25 percent or more of a season is not able to be played (pandemic), the base salary will be reduced by 10 percent.

“I am excited to announce the extension of Fran’s contract,” said Barta. “He’s earned it. He’s built a strong foundation upon which we can continue to build for years to come. We originally planned to provide the extension at the end of last season, but paused due to the pandemic. I’ve appreciated Fran’s patience through it all.

“To say Fran, Margaret, and the McCaffery Family have embraced Iowa and Hawkeye Athletics is certainly an understatement. They have been actively involved across the state and within the local community in so many ways over the past decade. It is truly a family affair.”

McCaffery has guided the nationally-ranked Hawkeyes to a 21-8 regular season record and a third-place finish in the Big Ten with a 14-6 league mark in 2020-21. Iowa has been ranked inside the Top 15 of the Associated Press Poll every week this season, including No. 5 on March 9. He has guided Iowa to first-division finishes in eight of the last nine seasons and 20 wins or more in seven of the last nine seasons. McCaffery will coach the Hawkeyes in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in the last seven completed seasons. He is Iowa’s second all-time winningest coach with 215 overall wins and 103 Big Ten victories.

McCaffery continues to create interest with recruits on a national level due to his tireless work ethic. He recruited and coached two-time Sporting News National Player of the Year and Big Ten Player of the Year, Luka Garza. He has coached a first-team All-Big Ten honoree in five of the last seven seasons (Devyn Marble, 2014; Aaron White, 2015; Jarrod Uthoff, 2016; Peter Jok, 2017; and Luka Garza, 2020-21), the most over a seven-year span since 1956-62.

“I am grateful to Gary Barta and President Bruce Harreld for their continued support,” said McCaffery. “It truly is an honor to represent the University of Iowa and coach the tremendous young men in our program. I am proud of what our team accomplished during the regular season, and we are eager to compete for a national championship this month.”

Second-seeded Iowa (21-8) will begin NCAA Tournament play on Saturday against No. 15 seed Grand Canyon (17-6). Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 5:25 p.m. (CT) at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The game will be televised nationally on TBS