June is often considered a fallow period in men's college basketball, but there are always a few stories that could impact teams' chances to win their conference or even affect their current odds to make a run at a national title.
The
following is a look at this week’s most interesting news and notes from the
world of college basketball.
Tennessee center recovering from
minor knee surgery
Bovada has
the Tennessee Volunteers as 50/1 longshots to win a national title this season
with Missouri, Florida, and Kentucky all having lower odds in terms of teams in
the Southeastern Conference. Those odds could have gone even steeper in light
of center Jerrone Maymon’s recent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, but he
appears to be right on schedule with his recovery.
All
indications are that he will be ready to go on the team’s planned trip to Italy
in August for an exhibition tour. Maymon figures to be a vital part of the
Volunteers’ offensive and defensive scheme after averaging 12.7 points and a
team-high 8.1 rebounds as a junior last season.
SEC welcomes the Missouri Tigers and
the Texas A&M Aggies
The two
newest additions to the Southeastern Conference were officially welcomed to the
fold as the 13th and 14th members this past week and, while all eyes may be on these two schools in terms of this upcoming football
season, the Tigers are already the third-favorite in the conference when it
come to basketball with 35/1 odds to win a national title.
They are
coming off one of their best regular seasons in school history, but still
painfully reminded of a shocking loss to Norfolk State in the second round of
the NCAA Tournament as the No.2 seed in the West Region that all but erased the
euphoria of a 30-4 record.
The
expectation level for the Aggies is not nearly as high after a 14-18 record an
early exit in the Big 12 conference tournament last season. None the less they
have been opened as 50/1 longshots to win it all along with the Volunteers and
the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Jarrod Uthoff staying in the Big Ten
When
6-foot-8 Wisconsin forward Jarrod Uthoff informed the school that he had
decided to transfer, followed by Badger coach Bo Ryan’s decision to try and
severely limit the eligible schools he could choose under the terms on his
scholarship agreement, it set-off a firestorm
of debate over the amount of control a school should have over its players.
Uthoff was restricted from contacting any of the
other schools in the conference but, in light of a new rule put in place by the
Big Ten that started with the 2010/2011 season, he will be able to attend his
school of choice, Iowa, but will have to pay his own way for a year and also
give-up one year of athletic eligibility. He will also have to sit out the
2012/2013 season as part of the NCAA’s transfer rules.