Final regular-season college hoops Power Rankings: What we got right and wrong

The Mean Green — which help kick off college football bowl season on Saturday — appear to be a program on the rise by following a similar model to Central Florida.

Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons carried the load without Jimmy Butler. Embiid had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Simmons added 20 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in Philadelphia’s 106-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night. Embiid hit two key free throws late for Philadelphia, which was without Butler for the second straight game due to an upper respiratory infection.

After Brad Stevens led the Butler Bulldogs to consecutive NCAA Div. 1 Championship games, Danny Ainge knew he was something special. So special, in fact, the Boston Celtics president of basketball operations referred to Stevens as the best coach in college basketball in 2010 to co-owner Steve Pagliuca, per Boston.com’s Nicole Yang. After the head coach spot became vacant after the 2013 season, Ainge, Pagliuca, along with assistant general manager Mike Zarren and team owner Wyc Grousbeck, went to Indiana to visit Stevens at his home. He told the four of them he loved Boston for its “extensive basketball history� and voiced confidence he could be a difference-maker for the team. There was, however,