Georgia hires a winner in Crean

Georgia hired former Indiana coach Tom Crean as its coach Thursday, capping a fast-paced search only five days after firing Mark Fox.

Crean was hired by athletic director Greg McGarity one day after former Ohio State coach Thad Matta withdrew from consideration. McGarity called Crean “one of the most successful coaches in college basketball over the past two decades.”

Crean was 356-231 in 18 seasons at Marquette and Indiana from 1999-2017. He led teams to nine NCAA appearances, four Sweet 16s and the 2003 Final Four with a Marquette team led by Dwyane Wade.

Crean was 166-135 as Indiana’s coach from 2008-17. He took over a program facing NCAA probation and scholarship restrictions. After a 28-66 record in his first three seasons, Indiana was 138-69 in his final six years, including Big Ten championships in 2013 and 2016.

Other new coaches Mississippi hired Middle Tennessee’s Kermit Davis, 58, who has coached the Blue Raiders since 2002 and led them to the NCAA tournament in 2013, 2016 and 2017. He replaces Andy Kennedy, who resigned in February after nearly 12 years leading the Rebels. Davis will take over an Ole Miss program that finished with a 12-20 record, 5-13 in the Southeastern Conference. He will continue to lead Middle Tennessee this month during the NIT. At Middle Tennessee, Davis scored NCAA upsets over Michigan State in 2016 and Minnesota in 2017.

South Alabama hired Richie Riley, who just led Nicholls State to its first regular-season Southland Conference championship since 1998. The 35-year-old is a former assistant at Clemson and Alabama Birmingham. He went 35-28 in the past two seasons at Nicholls and led the Colonels to a cochampionship with a 15-3 league record, losing to Stephen F. Austin in the conference tournament final. Riley replaces Matthew Graves, whose contract was not renewed after his fifth straight losing season.