Alperen Sengun added 25 points with 14 rebounds to help the Rockets bounce back after a blowout loss to Oklahoma City Thursday night.

A 6-2 run by the Timberwolves, with four points from Julius Randle, got them within 105-102 with about 90 seconds to go. Sengun fouled out soon after that and Jaden McDaniels made one of two free throws to get Minnesota within two points.

Durant made two free throws with under a minute left before Randle turned the ball over and Durant was fouled again. He made two more free throws with 22.1 seconds left to seal the victory.

Durant’s big shooting night came after he was 0 for 5 on 3-pointers against the Thunder.

Randle had season-high 39 points for the Timberwolves on a night when Anthony Edwards missed a second straight game with a foot issue.

The Timberwolves trailed by six points after a basket by Bones Hyland before Rudy Gobert missed a chance to close the gap by missing three of his next four free throws. Houston remained up by 5 later in the fourth, but a dunk by Sengun extended the lead to 103-96 with 3½ minutes left.

Neither team shot well from the free throw line, with Houston making just 20 of 34 and Minnesota going 20 for 35. Gobert had the worst night, going 2 for 10 on free throws.

Naz Reid added 25 points with 10 rebounds off the bench for the Timberwolves, who scored at least 100 points in their 100th straight game, which is the third-longest such streak in NBA history.

Up next

Timberwolves: Visit San Antonio on Saturday night.

Rockets: Host New Orleans on Sunday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Holding some powerful fiefdoms together is the EuroLeague. It’s not thrilled about the NBA’s plans to create a new competition on the continent.

It’s not concerned, either.

"We've only heard the plan or the fireworks of how amazing it will be, how much potential there is,” EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejunas said of the NBA’s proposed league. “But having a theory is one — and making it work is two.”

“We’ve been here for 26 years. We know how Europe functions."

With clubs like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, the EuroLeague is considered the best men's professional competition outside the NBA. The 20-team league is comprised of 13 “shareholder” clubs immune from relegation. The rest either qualify through their domestic leagues or through invitation.

The NBA, in partnership with FIBA, is eying a 16-team model with 12 permanent members — with a target start of October 2027. It has identified Athens, Istanbul, Paris, Lyon, Munich, Berlin, Rome, Milan, Madrid, Barcelona, London and Manchester as potential host cities.

Attention is currently on three EuroLeague shareholder clubs that haven’t renewed their 10-year licenses — Real Madrid, Fenerbahce in Istanbul and the Tony Parker -owned ASVEL near Lyon. Parker has signaled his support for the NBA.

Recent holdout Barcelona has indicated it will extend for another 10 years beyond this season.

"It’s a big deal, of course. It’s an important brand, and we’re happy that they committed,” Motiejunas said of Barcelona, which hasn’t commented publicly.

Motiejunas, in an interview with The Associated Press, said he’s confident all 13 clubs will stay.

“The NBA has been announcing and announcing things for a year but still it’s nothing that you can grasp on,” Motiejunas said. “As businessmen, these are team owners, they also begin to see it’s a little bit of a broken record of ‘we will announce later,’ ... The ’27 start is already around the corner.”

EuroLeague clubs reportedly have a 10 million euro ($11.6 million) exit clause, but Motiejunas would only say that through “consequences and legal teams” contracts can be broken. There's no NBA opt-out, he added.

NBA vs EuroLeague?

The EuroLeague claims to still be open to some type of relationship with the NBA. But in the meantime, it sent a letter to the NBA warning of legal action should talks with EuroLeague shareholders continue.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver shrugged off the threat Thursday in Berlin ahead of the Orlando Magic's 118-111 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA’s first regular-season game in Germany.

He also shrugged off the EuroLeague more generally.

“If I thought that the ceiling was the existing EuroLeague and their fan interest," Silver said, "we wouldn’t be spending the kind of time and attention we are on this project.”

Media reports indicate the NBA is looking for at least a $500 million franchise fee. Silver noted that any investors will have to be patient because “it will take a while, I think, before it is a viable commercial enterprise.” He added it will be "multi-decades in the making.”

Silver cautioned that “potentially” starting a new league is an “enormous undertaking” and described talks with Real Madrid and other Spanish clubs as “more in the category of fact finding.”

European market

The European basketball landscape is similar to soccer in that domestic leagues feed the continental competitions. EuroLeague is like UEFA's Champions League. Basketball also has several other international leagues — but they're lesser known than their soccer counterparts, so fans get confused. FIBA, for example, has its own Basketball Champions League, which would be a potential feeder to an NBA league.

Silver sees potential because basketball is the No. 2 sport in Europe after soccer.

“Rather than think of us as taking share from (soccer), I look at the commercial side of basketball as it exists now in Europe, and it probably represents about 1 percent of the commercial sports marketplace,” he said.

Middle East impact

Many European basketball teams, including some in the EuroLeague, have struggled financially. The system has often relied on wealthy owners to cover team debts each year. EuroLeague has implemented spending restrictions to promote financial sustainability.

In a revenue boost, the EuroLeague last season took its “Final Four” championship outside Europe — to Abu Dhabi — for the first time. It brought a flavor of Euro hoops chaos, too, as Panathinaikos majority owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos was handed a 5-game ban for his "threatening actions” against referees.

EuroLeague also granted a multi-year license to a newly created Dubai team and recently extended its partnership with global sports marketing agency IMG.

“We focus on ourselves,” Motiejunas said. “We will be able to adapt, there’s no question about it, and we will continue to fight.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Riley matched defending champion Nick Taylor, Kevin Roy, S.H. Kim and Adrien Dumont de Chassart at 9-under 131 at Waialae Country Club.

"I think these conditions are kind of bringing it out in me a little bit because you have to be creative,” Riley said. “It’s not like you’re trying to make perfect golf swings every time. There is definitely some feel and creativity.”

Taylor faced the stiffest wind of the day in the afternoon a day after shooting a 62 in calmer conditions for a share of the first-round lead with Roy. The Canadian ran in a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15th and a 17-footer on the par-4 16th to take the outright lead, then bogeyed the par-3 17th to slip back.

“The wind was strong and with some gusts,” Taylor said. “A lot of the holes were relatively crosswind, so it was tough to get the yardages correctly. Sometimes it would hurt, sometimes it would help. Almost had to time your shots correctly and get a little bit of luck, too.”

Last year, Taylor chipped in for eagle on 18 to get into a playoff, then beat Nico Echavarria with a birdie.

Roy closed with a birdie on the par-5 ninth late in the afternoon.

“When you get wind like that doesn’t really feel like it’s in the same direction,” Roy said. “It’s just blowing everywhere seems like. I tried to do a really good job at just trying to plot myself around the course.”

Dumont de Chassart shot 67, and Kim had a 68 — both in the morning.

Morning starter Maverick McNealy (66) was a stroke back with afternoon players Takumi Kanaya (66), John Parry (68) and Chris Gotterup (69).

“Obviously, tough day out here with the wind," Gotterup said.

Jordan Spieth was 3 under after a 69. He pointed to a bogey on 15.

"It was so hard this morning,” Spieth said. “I hit a 7-iron into that 15th hole. I had maybe 158 hole and I think it went 120 yards and I played it like 175. So, it was just very challenging at times. And on the greens it just becomes really hard to make putts when it’s that windy.”

Vijay Singh made the cut with rounds of 68 and 70. The 62-year-old Hall of Famer is using a one-time career money exemption to play in full-field events this year. He's making his 25th start in the event he won in 2005.

The season started a week later than usual because The Sentry at Kapalua on Maui was canceled due to water issues.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

The visiting Marksmen had five of the first six shots on net in the game, but Roanoke eventually worked itself back into the opening frame. Fayetteville did have a shot by John Moncovich hit the post, while a pair of chances by the Dawgs between Thompson and Müller came very close to opening the scoring as well. A late Fayetteville penalty for tripping by Cole Crowder led to Crowder and Roanoke’s Fabrice Bourgeois dropping the gloves at 19:33, and the Dawgs would carry 93 seconds of power play time into the second period after a scoreless first 20 minutes.

Roanoke would quickly capitalize on that power play chance, as Thompson’s shot was redirected by Müller, saved, then finished by Müller on the rebound just 52 seconds into the period. The Dawgs had some great looks during 4-on-4 action just past the halfway point in the period after Bourgeois and Fayetteville’s Shane Murphy were both called for roughing, but failed to add on to the lead. Two quick penalties at 13:15 and 14:26 by the Dawgs would give the Marksmen a 5-on-3 advantage, but Roanoke successfully killed off the Fayetteville power play chances. Another power play in favor of the Dawgs in the final two minutes also came up empty, as Roanoke would take the 1-0 lead into the second intermission off the strength of Müller’s go-ahead goal.

An early power play and an exceptional third period by Finstrom allowed Roanoke to chase the game off down the stretch in the third period. A double-minor penalty for high-sticking against the Marksmen put Roanoke on the power play, and Thompson found Finstrom at the left-wing side for a one-time laser at 5:41 that gave the Dawgs a 2-0 advantage. Finstrom would add on another after some outstanding forechecking effort late in the game, roofing his shot from the left wing into the top of the net at 15:30 to give Roanoke a 3-0 advantage. Tidy defensive work and Rosek’s excellent goaltending enabled the Dawgs to pull off yet another win over the Marksmen.

Ryan Kenny stopped 18-of-21 shots faced in net for Fayetteville. The Rail Yard Dawgs went 2-for-4 on the power play, while the Marksmen went 0-for-3 on their chances.

It was a dominant opening quarter that helped set the pace for the one-loss Titans. Wyatt Clark was relentless and it showed in the first half as he scored 13 points.

Cave Spring had as many turnovers as points but eventually settled down in the second quarter. Shawn Turner had a big alley-oop to Hasane Doucoure that jolted the student section. Turner himself scored 19 points in the first half. But Hidden Valley proved to get the home win.

On the girls side of this matchup, Cave Spring prevailed with a 56-34 win over Hidden Valley.

The fact she'll be the oldest player ever to compete in the Australian Open women's singles draw wasn't something she realized until after she'd received a wild-card entry to play at the year's first major for the first time in five years.

“I hadn’t thought about it until it came out in the press,” she said Saturday in closing her pre-tournament news conference. “So yay. Yay for me! Let’s do this.”

She then left the auditorium and walked hand-in-hand with her husband, Andrea Preti, down a corridor back toward the player area — which isn't much like she remembered it from her previous trip in 2021, the 21st time she'd competed at Melbourne Park.

Williams was married in December, a celebration she said was her priority between the first two major tournaments in a comeback to the tour that started last July.

She was 17 when she first played the Australian Open in 1998, reaching the quarterfinals in just her fourth Grand Slam event and coming off the back of a run to the final of the U.S. Open.

“It was a beautiful time, because there’s so much I didn’t know,” she said when asked to reflect on her first trip. "But there’s a great thing of not knowing because it lets you have a clean slate. There was so much I needed to learn, and then I learned it.

“That’s the thing about sport — you keep stepping up to the line, and while there is nothing to prove, it’s all about the attitude and the effort. No one can control that. Controlling that part is really the win.”

Williams lost her Grand Slam comeback match at the U.S. Open last August. Williams will face Olga Danilovic, a 24-year-old left-hander from Serbia, in the last match Sunday on John Cain Arena.

The No. 68-raked Danilovic is playing her 11th Grand Slam tournament and her third in Australia, where her run to the fourth round last year equaled her best at a major.

Williams, a seven-time major winner, is ranked 576 because of her limited time on the tour. She lost in the first round of warmup tournaments in New Zealand and Hobart to start the 2026 year. If she can register her first win of the year on Sunday, she could face third-seeded Coco Gauff in the second round.

“At this point, I need to be kind to myself, because I’m getting so many things right, but, you know, there has been a lack of playing matches,” she said. "So I’m playing well. I’m setting myself up each point to win points and controlling the points.

“That’s exactly how I’d want to play, and I’m playing the tennis I need to play.”

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was subject to a successful physical and had not been announced.

A two-time All-Star shortstop with the Toronto Blue Jays, Bichette will move to third base with the Mets, who have Francisco Lindor at shortstop. Bichette has never played a professional game at the hot corner.

Bichette can opt out of the deal after the first or second season to become a free agent again. He would receive $47 million for one year and $89 million for two years, the person said.

The deal does not contain any deferred money and Bichette gets a full no-trade provision. His $42 million average annual value ties for the sixth-highest in baseball history.

It was the latest big development in an eventful offseason for the Mets, who angered fans by letting popular slugger Pete Alonso and star closer Edwin Díaz leave in free agency. President of baseball operations David Stearns also traded two other stalwarts, outfielder Brandon Nimmo and versatile veteran Jeff McNeil — both homegrown players.

New York signed closer Devin Williams to a $51 million, three-year contract, infielder Jorge Polanco to a $40 million, two-year deal and reliever Luke Weaver to a $22 million, two-year agreement.

Although he lacks Alonso's prodigious power, Bichette is a proven hitter with lightning-fast hands and a penchant for line-drive doubles. He would give the Mets a dangerous right-handed bat to help complement lefty slugger Juan Soto.

Because of his inexperience at third, however, Bichette becomes the latest question mark in the field for New York even though Stearns has insisted the team must improve its defense and is determined to do so.

Polanco has one pitch of major league experience at first base, where he and Mark Vientos, previously a third baseman, are the leading candidates to replace Alonso.

New York had planned to start Brett Baty at third, where he provides a strong glove. Baty, who also has experience at second base, is viewed as a versatile defender who could see time in the outfield and perhaps at first.

Or, the Mets could look to trade Baty for pitching or outfield help. Gold Glove winner Marcus Semien is set to play second after arriving from Texas in a November trade for Nimmo.

Bichette batted .311 with 18 home runs, 94 RBIs and an .840 OPS in 139 games for the Blue Jays last year. He homered off Shohei Ohtani in Game 7 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Late last season, Bichette sprained his left knee in a Sept. 6 collision with New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells, keeping the infielder out of the lineup until the World Series. He returned for Game 1 against the Dodgers and played second base for the first time in six years.

Bichette led the American League in hits in 2021 and 2022. He finished second in the major leagues in batting average last season to Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.

Bichette turned down a $22,025,000 qualifying offer from the Blue Jays in November, so they would receive an extra draft pick in July after the fourth round if he completes his deal with the Mets.

New York would forfeit its second- and fifth-highest draft picks, along with $1 million in 2027 international signing bonus pool allocation.

Bichette was one of the last remaining big-name hitters on the free agent market after outfielder Kyle Tucker spurned the Mets and agreed Thursday to a $240 million, four-year contract with the Dodgers.

Bichette, who turns 28 in March, has spent his entire career with the Blue Jays since they selected him in the second round of the 2016 amateur draft. He is a .294 career hitter with 111 home runs and an .806 OPS in 748 major league games.

He is a son of former big league slugger Dante Bichette, a four-time All-Star outfielder.

Also Friday, the Mets claimed infielder Tsung-Che Cheng off waivers from Tampa Bay.

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AP Baseball Writers Ronald Blum and David Brandt and AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston contributed to this report.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

The suit filed in Lafayette County came a week after the NCAA denied Ole Miss' request for an extra year, saying the university and Chambliss' previous school — Ferris State — failed to provide adequate medical documentation to back up the request.

The lawsuit filed Friday called the NCAA's denial in “bad-faith, unreasonable and arbitrary,” and detailed Chambliss' history of illness and included letters from physicians.

“Despite the duty of good faith and fair dealing it owes to Trinidad, the NCAA insists on considering the evidence in Trinidad's case in an isolated, rather than comprehensive manner; interpreting its rules to impose requirements not contained therein; taking unreasonable if not irrational positions; and acting in an arbitrary and capricious manner in its decision-making and ruling," the suit says.

Ole Miss' arguments revolve around the fact that the 23-year-old Chambliss, although he has been in college for five years, has only played three years of college football because of that medical history.

“Trinidad first enrolled in Ferris State in the fall of 2021, but medical and physical incapacity prevented his ability to adequately train and condition and develop athletically,” the suit says.

After taking a redshirt his first season at Ferris State in 2021-22, Chambliss was held out in his second season for medical reasons.

“Obviously, Trinidad's medical conditions, which rendered him incapable of competing in any game during these years, were beyond his or Ferris State's control,” the suit says.

He played two more seasons at the Division II school in Michigan, leading the Bulldogs to a national championship before transferring to Ole Miss before the start of this season.

Chambliss completed 294 of 445 passes (66.1%) for 3,937 yards with 22 touchdowns and three interceptions for Ole Miss (13-2), which set a school record for wins, including two after making the College Football Playoff for the first time. He ran for 527 yards and eight more TDs.

The Rebels lost 31-27 to Miami in the College Football Playoff semifinals on Jan. 8.

The NCAA, when contacted Friday, did not have a new statement, but referred to its statement from a week ago saying “This decision aligns with consistent application of NCAA rules.”

The NCAA said in that week-old statement that approval of such waivers requires schools to submit medical documentation from a treating physician at the time of a student’s incapacitating injury or illness.

“The documents provided by Ole Miss and the student’s prior school include a physician’s note from a December 2022 visit, which stated the student-athlete was ‘doing very well’ since he was seen in August 2022," the NCAA said. "Additionally, the student-athlete’s prior school indicated it had no documentation on medical treatment, injury reports or medical conditions involving the student-athlete during that time frame and cited ‘developmental needs and our team’s competitive circumstances’ as its reason the student-athlete did not play in the 2022-23 season.”

Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter previously said the school will appeal the NCAA’s ruling.

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“We’ve got to build a team and a culture and a program where our guys stay here and they’re committed to the name on the front of the jersey more than the name on the back of the jersey,” Ingram said.

VMI Lieutenant General David Furness said the Institute’s national search resulted in 50 applicants for the head coaching position. Director of Athletics Jamal Walton added it was clear why Ingram stood out.

“We wanted the best coach out there, you know, and he was the best coach out there,” Walton said. “I think he fulfilled everything that we were looking for. When he talked about the toughest team and the closest team, that’s what makes this place great, the shared experiences you have as a VMI cadet. We needed somebody that could embody that.”

Ingram was most recently at Carson-Newman, where he had the Eagles program soaring in just two seasons. That experience gives him confidence he can do the same at Lexington, where the cadets have had back-to-back one-win campaigns.

“We’ve got some work to do,” said Ingram. “I just met with every single player. They’re excited. I think they’re determined to turn this thing around. I know I am. I didn’t take this job to check a box along a career path. I took this job to come here and win football games, and that’s going to be our intent.”

Another pivotal part to this hire is Ingram’s experience with academy schools. He spent 16 years at Navy, serving in multiple roles under the leadership of Ken Niumatulolo.

“The military experience definitely helps just because of the continuity that you have with this place,” Walton added. “With him having Naval Academy experience, it was great. But he also has been at Bucknell. He also was at Carson-Newman. So he’s also seen some things at a different level, too.”

Schematically, we can expect to see an option-style offense with the goal of bringing some excitement back into Foster Stadium. With that said, one of Ingram’s biggest jobs is also the toughest, recruiting young men to come to VMI. But he describes it as a privilege rather than pressure.

“I looked at it like this place has a lot to sell. Now, is it for everyone? Maybe not. But there are a lot of great students out there,” Ingram said. “There are a lot of great young men out there that can play football but are looking for something different.”

“He sees what this place can be. And some people may say, well, ‘Why?’ He says, ‘Why not?’”

The strolls home usually seemed to take a bit longer because even then, in 1955, losses were the norm. Eventually, the man who introduced the world to such motivational flicks as “Hoosiers” and “Rudy” accepted the reality Indiana's program may be permanently stuck in mediocrity — or worse.

Pizzo found himself in good company in these parts.

Seventy-one years later, he — like so many other long-suffering Indiana fans — has a new perspective. Suddenly, the Bloomington native is bursting with excitement, enthusiasm, even a sense of disbelief as the Hoosiers have gone 26-2 over the past two seasons and he's now heading to Miami to watch his beloved alma mater try to pull off a “Hoosiers”-like ending by beating the 10th-ranked Hurricanes on their home field for the program's first national championship.

“One of my first memories, talk about being in my DNA, was we always lost,” Pizzo told The Associated Press this week. “That's kind of like, except for a couple blips along the way — certainly the (1968) Rose Bowl team, I was in school there and the boys Jade Butcher, John Isenbarger, Harry Gonso were all good friends of mine — so that was a great adventure. I thought we'd turned the corner and then it went back down. It returned to what was normal and we went back to losing.”

Storybook turnaround

Curt Cignetti promised to change Indiana's image from the moment he took the job five days after the end of the 2023 season. The no-nonsense 62-year-old coach neither minced words nor wasted them when asked at his first news conference why people should believe he'd end all this losing.

“I win. Google me,” he famously boasted that day.

It was a brash, bold statement from someone tasked with fixing a program that hadn't won a bowl game since 1991, an outright conference title since 1945 and carried the banner of losingest major college team in the country.

Rather than tamp down the expectations, though, Cignetti doubled down at a basketball game.

“Purdue sucks, but so does Ohio State and Michigan,” Cignetti said to roaring cheers.

Pizzo and other fans were understandably skeptical.

For decades, they'd seen hopeful coaches come promising big turnarounds only to depart when they failed to achieve such lofty goals in front of half-filled stadiums.

How bad was it?

When coach John Pont had the Hoosiers fighting for Big Ten crowns in the 1960s, fans enjoyed chanting “Punt, John, Punt.” In 1976, then-coach Lee Corso called timeout in the second quarter to snap a photo of the scoreboard with Indiana leading Ohio State 7-6. They lost 47-7.

In the 1990s and 2000s, some tailgaters never made it inside the stadium, which prompted coaches to rally students to show up. And twice, Indiana took aerial photographs of sellout crowds clad in red — when the Buckeyes came to town.

On the field, it was equally abysmal.

In addition to the 713 all-time losses Cignetti inherited, the Hoosiers also had lost five of its previous six against dreaded rival Purdue and was 9-18 since 1997 against the Boilermakers. Plus, they had only one win over the Wolverines since 1988 and none over the Buckeyes since 1989 — the longest active skid against one team in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Athletic director Scott Dolson had a different vision for the program, one Cignetti shared.

“I remember even during our first conversation, I said to him, ‘Curt, do you really believe you can win here?’" Dolson told the AP. “He just said, ‘Scott, if I have average resources, I’m 100% sure I will win here. There's no question about it.'”

Investing in success

Perhaps the greatest impediment to success was the perception Indiana wasn't fully invested in football. Salaries for head coaches consistently lagged near the bottom of the Big Ten and each new coach seemed to be fighting to get their assistants paid, too.

The change began when former athletic director Fred Glass started upgrading facilities. But when NIL money and the transfer portal changed the college football world, Indiana didn't adapt quickly and the delay led, in part, to the firing of coach Tom Allen in 2023.

According to the Knight-Newhouse database, Indiana's football budget has increased from $24 million in 2021 to more than $61 million last year.

Allen, who grew up in Indiana and whose father was a longtime high school coach in the state, landed at Penn State as defensive coordinator in 2024 and then took the same job at Clemson last season. Today, he's impressed with the results — and the commitments.

“Just really, really happy for those guys and just really, really happy they've chosen to invest in football,” Allen said in December. "That's something they know they needed to do. They had not done that in the past to the level necessary, and it's been awesome to see them recognize that and invest and be able to be rewarded for that.”

Honestly, though, Indiana didn't have a choice.

Schools need football revenue to make athletic departments function. So empty seats, even at a basketball, can be costly.

But winning has helped Indiana strike gold.

School attendance and admission applications are both up. So are donations, which includes a significant contribution from billionaire Mark Cuban, an alum. In addition to shedding the label of America's losingest team in November, it also surpassed Penn State in October for the nation's largest living alumni base. And over the past two seasons, Memorial Stadium has drawn eight of the largest 10 crowds in school history.

So Dolson isn't about to let Cignetti — or his key staff members — get away if he can help it.

Cignetti has earned contract extensions each of the past two seasons, pushing his average annual salary to $11.6 million, No. 3 in the nation. Bryant Haines and Mike Shanahan also have received contract extensions pushing their salaries to upwards of $3 million per year.

Indiana fans will tell you they're worth every penny. Yet Dolson believes it's not just about cash.

“He didn't come in with demands, like saying ‘Hey, I’d only come here if I get this, that and the other.' We laid out, 'This is what our commitments are, this is what our plan is,'" Dolson said of Cignetti. “One of the misnomers out there is that it's not just a spending contest. It's more of having a comprehensive strategic plan for football and that's what we really put together.”

Cignature style

Sure, Cignetti came to Indiana with a resume and a track record. He also brought most of his previous coaches and about two dozen James Madison players, too.

Why? They believed in the man and his principles.

“Coach Cig just does such a great job of bringing out the best in his players, and obviously his coaches as well,” said All-American linebacker Aiden Fisher, one of the followers from JMU. “But there’s something about coach Cig that just makes you want to play your heart out for him and he does a great job getting the best out of everybody.”

It explains how he's taken self-proclaimed “misfit” recruits on the wildest journey of their lives.

Cignetti seemed to be built for this job.

He grew up learning the craft from his father, Frank Sr., a Hall of Fame coach at the Division II level. He spent more than two decades evaluating and developing players before he joined Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama in 2007, where he served as the recruiting coordinator for Saban's first title team.

Somewhere along the way, though, Cignetti developed his own style — the short, punchy phrases, the quick quips and the unchanging facial expression that have created their own internet memes.

But Dolson was interested in Cignetti for other reasons.

He liked the notion of who Cignetti could bring with him and Dolson detected some similarities between Cignetti and another title-winning coach at Indiana, the late Bob Knight.

“Certainly, different personalities, but similarities in terms of their commitment to their blueprint, their plan, the focus on details and just the mental approach to competitive success,” Dolson said. “I feel like there's an elite approach to that. I definitely see the way coach Cig runs things, the way he coaches, there are a lot of similarities.”

Movie time

Pizzo's phone started ringing repeatedly almost from the moment Cignetti responded to a post-Rose Bowl game question about Indiana's remarkable ascension.

"It would make a hell of a movie,” he cracked.

Perhaps no filmmaker understands the Cinderella story better than Pizzo, who introduced the world to his home state's 1954 Milan Miracle team and captivated the nation by turning a previously little-known walk-on at Notre Dame into a recognizable star.

But Pizzo has no plans to make “Hoosiers 2.” He thinks the story of Indiana's two-year football run needs to marinate for a decade or two, like his other two box office hits.

Besides, Pizzo has turned into a full-throttle believer, even suggesting the final chapter of this incredible run may not come Monday night.

"Last season was the season of a lifetime, to get into the College Football Playoff. But I thought we had hit our ceiling because we were going up against teams like Ohio State and Notre Dame that had more four- and five-star talent and NFL players than we did,” he said. “I'm not going to even think about Miami. I think we should win, but again, you know, it's just too good to be true.”

Yes, the Hoosiers have exorcised their demons.

They've won two straight against the Boilermakers. They've beaten Michigan and Ohio State. They've won the Big Ten title and the Rose Bowl. They have a Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

Now they're one win away from a title nobody saw coming, except perhaps Dolson and Cignetti.

“Everything he said in his interview, everything he articulated in his blueprint is the same as you see today,” Dolson said. “In fact, everything he said during the interview has come true.”

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