NCAA Basketball Betting: News & Notes For September 20th

As we move closer to the start of a new college basketball season, you should always keep an ear to the wall for some insider information. The following is a look at the latest college hoops news and notes for anyone who enjoys wagering on the games

NCAA Basketball News & Notes- Sept.20

More changes for the Big East

Just as the story of Notre Dame’s decision to leave the Big East for basketball to join the ACC was breaking last week, long-time Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun announced his decision to retire after 26 years at the helm. During his tenure, the Huskies garnered three national titles including one as recent as the 2010/2011 season. He will be replaced by former assistant coach Kevin Ollie, who played his college basketball at the school and returned to the program as a coach in 2010.

Connecticut was not expected to be a major factor in the conference this season and Bovada did not even have the Huskies listed in its futures odds to win a national title. However, the loss of Calhoun from the Big East’s coaching ranks is just another example of the further deterioration of one of the top conferences in the nation for college basketball as it loses yet another iconic figure that helped raise it to that stature.

Louisville lands another top recruit

Perhaps one of the saving graces for the Big East is that Louisville has not only established itself as one of the favorites to win a national title this season as Bovada’s 17/2 third-favorite team behind Indiana (8/1)
 and Kentucky (13/2), it is taking steps to ensure that it remains at or near the top of the class through the recruiting efforts of head coach Rick Pitino and his staff.

This past Monday, the school announced that point guard Chris Jones from Northwest Florida Junior College has committed to play his college basketball at Louisville. Jones was ranked No.67 in the nation as a high school senior and earned All-American honors in his freshman year at Northwest Florida after averaging 18 points a game for the runner-ups to junior college national championship. He was widely regarded as the top junior college player in the country. The addition of Jones could be enough raise Louisville’s current recruiting class into the top five in the nation.

The Spartans lose Kaminski for six months

Michigan State freshman Kenny Kaminski will be out for upwards of six months after having surgery to repair his injured right shoulder and will most likely redshirt to preserve a year of eligibility. The 6-foot-8, 245 pound forward sustained the injury while playing basketball against some of his teammates during the summer. This will be the second time he has this shoulder operated on after injuring it as a senior at Medina High School in Ohio.

In his last full year of action as a junior, Kaminski averaged close to 20 points and just over 10 rebounds a game. He was not projected to be a starter at Michigan State right off the bat, but certainly had potential to work his way into that role in the near future if he continued to develop his overall skills. The Spartans are considered to be the fourth-best team in the Big Ten this season and have been opened at 25/1 to win a national title.