Former Sixer Johnny Dawkins is happy to be back in Philly to coach UCF in the NCAA Tournament

As soon as Central Florida’s name came up on Selection Sunday, Johnny Dawkins knew he was in for a special moment.

The former 76ers guard has been back to Philadelphia plenty of times over the years, especially when the Knights were in the American Conference and played Temple regularly. But this time, he gets to be in town to coach in the NCAA Tournament.

“I’ve loved it here,” he said on the eve of No. 10 seed UCF’s matchup with No. 7 UCLA on Friday (7:25 p.m., TBS). “No better fans in, I think, all of the country. It’s an amazing sports place.”

Dawkins, now 62, played for the Sixers from 1989-94 across the parking lot at the Spectrum. His time included an Atlantic Division title in 1990 and two runs to the Eastern Conference semifinals. As he reflected, he reeled off a litany of former teammates: Charles Barkley, Rick Mahorn, Hersey Hawkins, Scott Brooks, and more.

“All the players that I played with, I have great and fond memories of, and all the good teams that we were a part of,” Dawkins said. “So you think about those things, and then you think about Philly in itself, how unique a sports town it is, and how when you’re driving through the city you just feel it. They care. They care about their sports and they care about their programs, whether it’s collegiate or professional.”

He’d like to show his players some of the city’s sights, and if the Knights win and stay in town maybe he’ll have time. But for now, the focus stays on work.

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“If you have a day in between where you can maybe get your team out of the hotel, I don’t think that’s a bad thing to get them out to show them something, maybe historical,” Dawkins said. “I think that’s always important, because they are student-athletes and you want to continue to educate them. But you have to find that balance with what you want to do with your team, with regards to preparing them for a business trip.”

A year ago, Wright State finished eighth in the Horizon League, 8-12 in the conference and 15-18 overall. It was coach Clint Sargent’s first season in charge after eight years as an assistant, and he admitted “it was brutal.”

This season, the Raiders won the conference’s regular season and tournament, 15-5 and 23-11 overall. Capped off with a comeback win in the tournament final, they earned their first NCAA bid since 2022, and their first No. 14 seed — tied for the best in the school’s Division I era — since 2018.

“It’s all surreal,” senior forward Michael Imariagbe said. “My whole collegiate career, I haven’t been on winning teams. … When I decided to stay, I didn’t know what was going to happen this year, but it’s been a journey. It’s been fun.”

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It’s been particularly rewarding for Sargent, 37, who won the Horizon’s coach of the year award this season. Now his squad gets to take a swing at No. 3 seed Virginia in Friday’s first game (1:50 p.m., TBS).

“A lot of suffering, a lot of — when you’re leading for the first time at this magnitude, a lot of lonely, hard moments,” Sargent said. “I keep reminding [the team]: these guys have made school history with winning an outright regular-season title, winning your conference tournament title. You should step into Friday’s game with complete authority, because you guys have done something [that] most are still looking to accomplish.”

UCLA head coach Mick Cronin is spending the weekend on a cheesesteak tour of Philadelphia, and he’s taking recommendations.

Cronin said Thursday that he started at Dalessandro’s, the Manayunk spot that earned recognition from Michelin earlier this year, after former Daily News sportswriter Dana O’Neil suggested it, and “it was excellent.” Next up is Joe’s Steaks in Fishtown, on recommendation of former Philly Daily News columnist Dick Jerardi.

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“When in Philly, if you don’t eat cheesesteaks, you shouldn’t show up,” Cronin joked. “It’s almost like it would be un-American.”

One reporter suggested John’s Roast Pork, so if UCLA beats UCF (7:25 p.m. ET, TBS), that might be the next stop.

After the tournament, Cronin (and his dog) will worry about getting back in shape, he joked. But he hopes their run continues past just this weekend in Philadelphia. Cronin’s daughter attends American University in Washington, the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight site for the team advancing out of the region.

“I can always get beat and fly down and see her, but I would like to spend a week with her,” Cronin said.

Miami of Ohio is one of the biggest stories of the nascent 2026 NCAA Tournament, a team that nearly missed out on the tournament entirely despite an undefeated regular season, because they lost in the conference tournament, forcing them to play in the First Four.

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The NCAA has discussed expanding the tournament to 76 teams with more play-ins, among other options, a move that would pave the way for more major conference at-large bids. But the coaches don’t necessarily agree with that plan.

“I think expanding would be a mistake,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “At some point here, I think the bubble gets to be a little bit weak. I like it being a hard sporting event to qualify for. I think that makes it more exciting. Miami Ohio, they were one of the last teams in, because of the obviously incredible season. You watched them last night, you say, the tournament’s perfect. Don’t change it.”

Mid-major teams like Miami struggle to schedule competitive high-major teams, who don’t want to risk an out-of-conference, mid-major loss on their resumés. That leads to weaker strength of schedule, which is often used as a justification for taking high-major teams with weaker records.

But expanding the tournament won’t solve the issue of teams feeling like they’ve been snubbed of an opportunity to compete, said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes, who is slated to face Miami of Ohio on Friday.

“There’s always going to be a bubble, I don’t care how much you expand it,” Barnes said. “People are going to say I should have whatever. I just don’t see us taking it more than three weeks.”