The college
basketball offseason continues to drag on, but it remains important to stay in
touch with the news wire as sometimes even the smallest stories can have a big
impact on a team’s futures odds.
The following is a look at this week’s most
interesting news and notes from the world of college basketball which I hope helps you make your NCAA picks.
Bruins center dismissed from the team
The UCLA
Bruins have not been in the national spotlight in the past few seasons, but the
expectation level for this upcoming season remains high. Bovada has opened them
at 15/1 to win a national title with only four other teams having lower odds.
If the
Bruins are going to climb to such lofty heights this season it will be without
back-up center Anthony Stover. The junior center was dismissed from the team
this past week after failing to meet the NCAA’s academic eligibility
requirements. As a redshirt sophomore last season, Stover appeared in 28 games
and averaged 8.4 minutes of playing time. While his overall scoring and
rebounding numbers were nothing spectacular, he did lead the team in blocks
with an average of 1.4 a game.
Phillip Jurick suspended indefinitely
by Oklahoma State 
Another
center found himself in trouble with his team this past week when Oklahoma
State’s Phillip Jurick was suspended indefinitely by head coach Travis Ford
after he pleaded not guilty to possessing marijuana and other drug
paraphernalia. Ford did not elaborate on how long the suspension would last
other than to say than Jurick would not be accompanying the team on a planned
trip to Spain.
Before
injuries ended his season, the 6-foot-11 center was averaging 1.6 points and
4.9 rebounds a game for the Cowboys. He started 16 of the 27 games he played in
last year.
Marshawn Powell returns to Arkansas’
lineup
The Arkansas
Razorbacks may be a prohibitive 125/1 longshot to win a national championship
this season, but their chances got somewhat better with the return of Marshawn
Powell, who missed just about all of last season with a knee injury. The
6-foot-7 forward came into last season as a second-team All-Southeastern
Conference pick after averaging 14.9 points a game as a freshman. He scored
close to 40 points in his first two games for the Razorbacks while shooting
71.4 percent from the floor before injuring his knee in practice. He is not
completely done rehabbing his knee but does expect to be close to 100 percent
by the time the season gets underway in early November.
Marquette calls itself on a possible
rules violation
Following
proper NCAA protocol, the Marquette Golden Eagles reported a possible rules
violation on their men’s basketball program late last week. While no
information was released as to the nature of the possible infraction, athletic
director Larry Williams stated that his department uncovered this information
during its normal course of business. He also stated that the school is
conducting a joint review with the NCAA and had no further comment at this
time.
The Golden
Eagles are coming off one of their more successful seasons in recent memory
with an overall record of 27-8 and a trip to the regional semifinals of the
NCAA Tournament, where they lost to Florida. They had been opened at 75/1 to
win this year’s national title.