FrontRowSportsReport.com: Sports Blog

Everyone knew that something was coming, today it came (or will come). Word all over town is that the Indiana Hoosiers will suspend men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson immediately, then officially fire him once the men’s college basketball season ends. Indiana is expected to make the formal announcement very soon.

Indiana players were briefed yesterday by the Athletic Director about the plans, which resulted in numerous players threatening to walk if they suspended Sampson. However, those players have backed away from that threat and will play the Hoosiers next game this Saturday with or without Sampson.

As we reported back on February 13th, Hoosiers coach Kelvin Sampson was charged with lieing to NCAA investigators and school administrators about illegal recruiting practices - Sampson was charged with committing 5 major NCAA rules violations.

Well, we saw another crazy week in College Basketball where some of the top teams lost creating more shifts in the polls. The Memphis Tigers (25-0) stayed on top of the polls for the fifth straight week, while the Tennessee Volunteers (23-2) moved up to #2 after the Duke Blue Devils lost to Wake Forest last night. Having the Tigers and Volunteers atop the polls couldn’t have come at a better time as the two teams play each other this Saturday in Memphis.

Ironically the North Carolina Tar Heels moved up to the 3rd spot, while the Blue Devils dropped to #4 - didn’t the Blue Devils beat the Tar Heels not so long ago?  The Kansas Jayhawks also dropped a couple of spots, now ranked #5,  after their loss to Texas. The Texas Longhorns made the biggest jump of the week moving up 4 spots to #7 after their big win over Kansas.

Here is the full Top 25  poll for the 15th week of the 2007 - 2008 College Basketball Season.

1. Memphis 25-0
2. Tennessee 23-2
3. North Carolina 24-2
4. Duke 22-2
5. Kansas 24-2
6. UCLA 22-3
7. Texas 21-4
8. Butler 24-2
9. Stanford 21-4
10. Wisconsin 21-4
11. Georgetown 20-4
12. Xavier 21-4
13. Connecticut 20-5
14. Indiana 21-4
15. Purdue 21-5
16. Vanderbilt 22-4
17. Michigan State 20-5
18. Drake 23-2
19. Washington State 20-5
20. Saint Mary’s 22-3
21. Notre Dame 19-5
22. Texas A&M 20-5
23. Louisville 20-6
24. Marquette 18-6
25. Kansas State 18-6

A NCAA report released today accuses Indiana Hoosiers basketball coach Kelvin Sampson and his staff of violating numerous recruiting rules and restrictions. Sampson broke restrictions that were imposed because of his previous recruiting violations at Oklahoma - namely restrictions related to telephone recruiting. The NCAA  also accuses Sampson of lieing about it to the school and to the investigators.

According to the report, Sampson “failed to deport himself … with the generally recognized high standard of honesty” and “failed to promote an atmosphere for compliance within the men’s basketball program.”

Hoosiers Athletic Director Rick Greenspan pledged his full support to the NCAA as they continue investigations into the 5 major violations listed against Sampson. In a statement released by the school, Sampson expressed his disappointment with the allegations and viewed each one seriously.

Violations of NCAA rules can result in a wide range of punishments, including post-season ineligibility. The school has until May 8th to provide a written response with a formal hearing coming sometime over the summer. Indiana is currently 20-3 and ranked #12 in the nation.

Click here for the official NCAA document and full list of allegations against Coach Sampson and Indiana University.

Bob Knight has resigned as coach of the Texas Tech basketball team - his son Pat will take over the program. A spokesman for the Texas Tech athletic director confirmed the news, which a local paper first reported earlier today.

Knight, who has 902 career wins, has been a head coach for 42 years at 3 different Division I schools - Knight started at Army, went to Indiana and finished at Texas Tech. Coaching for the Indiana Hoosiers brought the fiery coach his most success as he won 3 college basketball national championships over 29 years. Knight also coached the 1984 gold medal winning Olympic basketball team. Knight, who is 67, began his coaching career with Army in 1965 when at 24 he was the youngest-ever Division I coach.

I am going to miss the chair-throwing, player-choking, best post-game interviews ever…

The unranked UCONN Huskies (14-5) upset the 8th ranked Indiana Hoosiers (17-2) 68-63, in Indiana, despite having two guards suspended for the game.

UCONN outplayed the Hoosiers for most of the game, especially in the pait - the Huskies out rebounded the Hoosiers 44-28.  UCONN was led by junior guard Craig Austrie, who scored 15 points, and sophomore forward Stanley Robinson who grabbed 11 rebounds. The Hoosiers were led by sophomore guard Armon Bassest who scored a game high 18 points and senior forward D.J. White who grabbed 10 rebounds.

Previous to their loss to UCONN, the Hoosiers won 13 straight overall and 29 straight at home - the Hoosiers also came into the game having the Big Ten’s best offense.  But today nothing seemed to go their way as they shot just 8 for 20 in the first half and 23 for 63 for the game.

Coach Jim Calhoun suspended guards Jerome Dyson and Doug Wiggins for violating team rules less then 24 hours before tip-ff. Calhoun wouldn’t say what the players were suspended for.  “To do what we did is certainly the greatest I’ve had and it’s going to get up there since the national championship team beat Georgia Tech,” Calhoun said after the win. “Quite frankly, they deserve more than a hug from me. They deserve one from the state of Connecticut, from the university, from our fans.”