Well, it’s happened. We all had a sense that it was only a matter of time once September 27 came and went before a lot more happened than just Rick Pitino getting suspended, then fired for cause, with his long-time athletic director following him out the door.
The FBI investigation into corruption is now hitting college basketball harder than a blitzing linebacker. This is going to get ugly.
And yet, we all had a sense it was going to happen. We just didn’t know when, especially as we had reason to believe everything was proceeding at a slow pace and, as such, nothing would happen for still some time.
First, a report from Yahoo! Sports had names, which changes the story entirely. There is no more speculation about who might be involved; while we don’t know everyone, we have player and program names that start to give us an idea of how big this might be.
Duke. Kansas. Kentucky. Michigan State. North Carolina.
College basketball royalty all. All of them with players who received money from ASM Sports, the one-time agency of Andy Miller, the one-time NBA agent who no longer represents players as of December and whose office was raided on the day of the arrests. There were other schools, too, some of them fairly big names as well, like Texas and USC. And at least two dozen players are suspected of improper benefits, including current college stars like Miles Bridges (Michigan State), Wendell Carter Jr. (Duke) and Collin Sexton (Alabama)
And as this happened, schools and coaches raced to distance themselves from this.
Then, late in the day, news broke that FBI wiretaps intercepted phone conversations between Arizona head coach Sean Miller and Christian Dawkins, arguably the central figure (there are several who might qualify as such) in the entire investigation. While Emanuel “Book” Richardson was arrested and charged with six felonies, which could lead to up to 60 years of prison time, Miller seemed somewhat isolated from this save for Richardson being his right-hand man for 10 years at Xavier and now Arizona.
Not anymore.
The FBI intercepted about 3,000 hours of phone conversations from Dawkins’ phone, and this is the most explosive allegation that has come to light as of yet. The key detail is that Miller allegedly told Dawkins to deal directly with him for payment to ensure that De’Andre Ayton, one of the best freshmen in the country, signed with the Wildcats.
At this point, what happens is anyone’s guess. There has been much speculation that this year’s NCAA Tournament is not going to be what anyone expects it to be, but it is just that – speculation. With the spate of news on Friday, however, one starts to wonder – and even ask if it’s a good thing that this is leaking out from an ongoing legal matter. The first move regarding any player eligibility is San Diego State provisionally suspending Malik Pope while they launch their own investigation into whether or not he should be eligible.
We will get some idea, though, at around 10:15 p.m. Eastern on Saturday. Arizona is slated to play at Oregon at that time in a game televised nationally on ESPN. Will Ayton play? Will Miller coach? It won’t tell us the whole story by a long shot, but it will be a key data point.
And yet, this is supposedly just the tip of the iceberg. This is going to get ugly.
Side Dishes
In game action, Ohio State traveled to Indiana, and the two teams gave us a thriller. They were tied at halftime and then at the end of regulation, and one overtime wasn’t enough. The second extra session was close throughout, with the leading changing several times. With the final seconds running down and no timeouts left, C.J. Jackson had the ball for Ohio State but had to make a decision. With no apparent alternative, he launched from well behind the three-point line and watched his shot go through the net to give the Buckeyes an 80-78 win over the Hoosiers.
Rhode Island clinched the Atlantic 10 regular season title with an 81-56 romp over Dayton. It was a close game in the first half, but the Rams blew it open in the second to improve to 15-1 in conference play.
The Ivy League regular season title may come down to a game on Saturday night. Penn blasted Dartmouth 74-46, while Harvard needed overtime to knock off host Princeton 72-66.
There was a tie atop the Horizon League entering the evening, but Wright State lost 66-56 at IUPUI and Northern Kentucky beat UIC 79-72 in Chicago. That puts Northern Kentucky up by a game with one to play.
Miami may not get Bruce Brown back until the postseason, and that is not a given, either. The sophomore guard had surgery on his left foot at the beginning of the month and is slated to be evaluated again on March 12, which is a day after Selection Sunday, and that also means it is now a given that he will miss the ACC Tournament. If the Hurricanes have to play a game the next day – either in the play-in round or another postseason tournament – it is not a given that he would be able to go.
Memphis will be without Jeremiah Martin for the rest of the season, as the sophomore guard broke his left foot in the Tigers’ win over Houston on Thursday. The American Athletic Conference’s leading scorer, Martin will likely have a 6-8 month recovery from the injury.
Tonight’s Menu
This is the last Saturday before conference tournaments get going, so a number of regular seasons will end today.
- ACC play starts with Virginia Tech hosting Louisville (1 p.m.), then Georgia Tech goes to Clemson and Notre Dame visits Wake Forest (3 p.m.) and Virginia tries to clinch at least a share of the regular season title at Pittsburgh (4 p.m.) for afternoon games. Evening play has Syracuse visiting Duke (6 p.m.)
- Big 12 play starts with a key game as TCU hosts Baylor (noon), then Texas hosts Oklahoma State (2 p.m.) before the big one in Lubbock as Kansas visits Texas Tech (4:15 p.m.) In the evening, Iowa State travels to West Virginia and Oklahoma tries to stop the bleeding as Kansas State comes to Norman (6 p.m.)
- Big East play gets going with three games early, as Marquette visits DePaul, Providence visits Georgetown and Seton Hall goes across the Hudson to St. John’s at noon. Later, Creighton hosts Villanova (2:30 p.m.)
- The Big Sky regular season is winding down, and the key matchup of the day is Idaho at Weber State (9 p.m.), with the Vandals trailing the Wildcats by a game as they chase Montana.
- Big Ten play begins with Maryland getting one more quality win opportunity before the Big Ten Tournament as they host Michigan (noon)
- The CAA concludes its regular season, and College of Charleston can clinch an outright title with a win at William & Mary (2 p.m.), with Northeastern chasing them as they visit Elon (7 p.m.)
- The Palestra is home to an Ivy League showdown for first place as Harvard visits Penn (7 p.m.) with both teams 10-1 in league play.
- A big game between two 10-3 teams is on tap in the MEAC with Bethune-Cookman hosting Savannah State (4 p.m.)
- The Ohio Valley regular season title will be decided by the results of two games: Tennessee State at Belmont (6 p.m.) and Murray State at Austin Peay (8 p.m.) Murray State will win the title outright with a win or a Belmont loss, while a tie for the title would give Belmont the top seed in the conference tournament.
- Some important games are on tap in the Pac-12, starting with USC at Utah (2:30 p.m.), then Washington visits Cal in a game they really need to win to bounce back and avoid a bad loss (4:30 p.m.), Arizona State goes to Oregon State (8 p.m.) and Oregon hosts Arizona (10:15 p.m.)
- SEC play is highlighted by Georgia hosting LSU (2 p.m.), Mississippi State hosting South Carolina (3:30 p.m.), Vanderbilt hosting a Texas A&M team trying to bounce back again (4 p.m.), Alabama hosting Arkansas (6 p.m.), Kentucky hosting Missouri (8:15 p.m.) and Florida hosting Auburn (8:30 p.m.)
- The West Coast Conference regular season title will be determined as Saint Mary’s hosts Santa Clara (6 p.m.) and Gonzaga goes to BYU (8 p.m.)
