Connecticut under investigation Depth of both conferences get nationwide showcase
The University of Connecticut is the target of an NCAA investigation into its men’s basketball program.
University President Susan Herbst said in a statement Friday that the school will cooperate in a “thorough and transparent manner reflective of the model athletic and academic institution we continually strive to be.” The university didn’t specify the allegations and said it would have no further comment but would “address and respond appropriately as the inquiry moves forward.”
Hearst Connecticut Media, which first reported the investigation, cited unidentified sources saying the inquiry was related to recruiting.
The school said it had begun an NCAA-mandated internal review of the men’s program in the fall amid an FBI investigation into alleged corruption in college basketball. The focus of the federal probe has been on arrangements made between assistant coaches, shoe companies and financial advisers.
This is not the first time UConn has been under NCAA scrutiny.
Then-coach Jim Calhoun was forced to sit out three games during the 2011-12 season and the school was put on three years’ probation after the NCAA found violations dating to 2008. Those included improper phone calls, text messages and inducements provided by an agent who was a former team manager.
Kevin Ollie is now in his sixth season as coach and in the second year of a fiveyear $17.9-million contract that can be voided for “just cause,” including NCAA violations. Neither Ollie nor anyone else in the program mentioned the investigation following UConn’s 63-52 win over SMU on Thursday night.
Five-star Williams LSU.
Williams, a 6-foot-7 forward from Oak Ridge (Fla.) High School, chose the Tigers over Oregon and Florida. He’s ranked No. 21 in the ESPN 100 for 2018.
Playing for E1T1 United on the Nike EYBL circuit last spring and summer, Williams averaged 17.1 points and 11.3 rebounds while shooting 63.1 percent. News services
recruit Emmitt committed to
Parity in the Southeastern Conference and Big 12 races has raised the stakes of Saturday’s Big 12-SEC Challenge as teams in both leagues try to upgrade their NCAA Tournament credentials.
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said this week he’d be disappointed if the SEC doesn’t get eight or nine NCAA Tournament bids this year, which would represent its highest total. Kansas coach Bill Self believes all 10 Big 12 members remain in NCAA contention and says the league realistically could get eight bids.
“There’s not a deeper league in America,” Self said.
But the depth of both leagues could prove costly.
Every team in the Big 12 already has at least two conference losses. No. 19 Auburn and No. 20 Florida are the only SEC teams that haven’t already lost at least three league games. ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla noted the possibility that SEC and Big 12 teams might “cannibalize” one another in league play, knocking potentially worthy teams out of NCAA Tournament consideration.
“I think it’s possible that each of these leagues could put as many as eight teams in the field,” Fraschilla said, “but I also think the danger is that in conference play, they’ll beat each other up, especially in the middle of the pack.”
Now these teams have an opportunity to take a break from league play and earn a quality nonconference win.
Saturday’s Big 12/SEC Challenge matchups include No. 14 Texas Tech at South Carolina, Baylor at Florida, Mississippi at Texas, Georgia at Kansas State, No. 12 Oklahoma at Alabama, No. 22 Tennessee at Iowa State, TCU at Vanderbilt, Texas A&M at No. 5 Kansas, Oklahoma State at Arkansas and Kentucky at No. 7 West Virginia.
Kentucky’s trip to West Virginia gives the Wildcats an opportunity for redemption after falling out of the Top 25 for the first time since March 2014. The SEC team has no teams ranked higher than 19th.
Wildcats coach John Calipari says that reflects outdated opinions about the SEC, which sent three teams to regional finals last year but hasn’t earned more than five NCAA bids in a single season since 2008.
“The only thing that kind of gets me is we have some teams lose a couple of games and all of a sudden, you start dropping like a rock, and not just us,” Calipari said. “In other leagues, you lose two or three in a row or two in a row, and it doesn’t really affect you. That’s the dregs from the old SEC.”
Every team in the Big 12 is at least three games over .500 , which explains why Self believes all 10 members still have legitimate NCAA hopes.
“Let’s say a team that’s maybe struggled with its league record so far could get a Challenge win and then get hot and get to 8-10 or 9-9 in our league,” Self said. “I think it would be very difficult to keep them out of the tournament.”
Here are some things to watch in the Big 12/SEC Challenge:
Because the SEC has 14 members and the Big 12 has only 10 teams, four SEC teams don’t participate in this event each year. This year, one of the missing teams is No. 19 Auburn, which leads the SEC and has the best RPI of any team in the SEC or Big 12. Auburn instead is hosting LSU. The other SEC teams absent from the Challenge are Missouri and Mississippi State.
The Oklahoma-Alabama game features two of the nation’s top freshmen in Oklahoma’s Trae Young and Alabama’s Collin Sexton. Young, a front-runner for national player of the year honors, leads all Division I players in scoring (30.3) and assists (9.6). Sexton is averaging 18.5 points to rank third in the SEC .
The Big 12 owns a 25-15 edge in the four-year history of this event. The Big 12 won this event 7-3 in 2013-14, 6-4 in 2014-15 and 7-3 in 2016-17. The SEC and Big 12 split their 10 matchups last season.
Texas A&M was ranked as high as fifth in the country before conference play but has gone just 2-6 in SEC competition. The Aggies’ trip to Kansas gives them a chance to rejuvenate their NCAA Tournament hopes.
The Big 12 enters the weekend with five of the top 22 teams in the RPI : Oklahoma (8th), Kansas (9th), TCU (16th), Texas Tech (19th) and West Virginia (22nd). All 10 Big 12 teams are in the top 100. The SEC has six teams in the top 35: Auburn (7th), Tennessee (12th), Kentucky (17th), Arkansas (24th), Texas A&M (34th) and Alabama (35th). The only SEC team outside the top 100 is Vanderbilt.