College Basketball: Smart leaves VCU to be Texas coach

Shaka Smart is leaving Virginia Commonwealth to coach the Texas Longhorns.

VCU sports information director Scott Day confirmed to reporters gathered at the campus Thursday night that Smart was making the move. Smart met with VCU players earlier in the evening.

Texas athletic director Steve Patterson flew to Richmond on Thursday to close the deal.

Smart has been one of the hottest names in college coaching since leading the Rams to the Final Four in 2011. Patterson has zeroed in on bringing Smart to Texas immediately after firing former Longhorns coach Rick Barnes last weekend.

Terms of Smart's contract were not immediately released and VCU said a statement would be released Thursday. Barnes made $2.62 million last season. Smart made $1.8 million with the Rams.

Chasson Randle hit two free throws with 3.4 seconds left in overtime, and Stanford won the second NIT title of his career, edging Miami, 66-64, in New York City.

Sheldon McClellan's double-pumping three-point attempt that would have won it at the buzzer wasn't close to going in.

The shorthanded Hurricanes had rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to force the extra period and led 64-61 with less than a minute left. But Randle twice got to the line, making four straight foul shots for the victory.

The senior, who became the Cardinal's all-time leading scorer in Tuesday's semifinals, finished with 25 points Thursday to end his career with 2,375.

McClellan led Miami with 17 points.

Egidijus Mockevicius scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Evansville past Northern Arizona, 71-65, Thursday night in the College Insider.com tournament in Evansville, Ind.

Florida coach Billy Donovan signed a one-year contract extension that raises his annual salary to about $4 million and keeps him under contract through the 2019-20 season.

Donovan is the fifth-highest-paid coach in college basketball.