Teams in Montana will be allowed to host NCAA championship games after the NCAA Executive Committee agreed to a gambling policy on Thursday that did not disqualify the state from doing so.

The Old Spice Classic, taking place from Nov. 26-29 and featuring 12 games, has its field of participants: Alabama, Baylor, Marquette, Creighton, Florida State, Iona, Michigan and Xavier.

The eight-team Maui Invitational has its brackets ready, and it will be Arizona vs. Wisconsin and Colorado vs. Gonzaga on one side and Maryland vs. Chaminade and Cincinnati vs. Vanderbilt in the other.

A woman charged with trying to extort money from Louisville coach Rick Pitino was appointed a former federal prosecutor to defend her after her previous attorney quit her case because of “irreconcilable differences” with her.

East Tennessee State coach Murry Bartow has been given a two-year contract extension. Bartow’s deal now runs through the 2013-14 season.

Former U.S. Air Force Academy Prep School assistant coach Capt. Tom Bellairs will join the staff of Air Force head coach Jeff Reynolds as an assistant.

Former Memphis Tigers point guard Antonio Burks was shot in the stomach during a robbery July 20.

According to a St. John’s release, swingman Anthony Mason Jr. has been granted a medical hardship by the Big East Conference and will be part of the team during the 2009-10 season, his fifth and last with the Red Storm.

Memphis recruit Latavious Williams has de-committed from the Tigers to pursue professional opportunities in another country.

The West Coast Conference men’s and women’s basketball championships will keep their location of the Orleans Arena through 2012.