It's liable to be a strange college basketball season in Storrs, Connecticut, this winter. The Huskies are ineligible for the postseason due to a poor past academic performance penalty issued by the NCAA; the decison is having a terrible snowball effect, as players leave early for the NBA draft or transfer away. On top of that there's Coach Calhoun's ongoing health situation. So uncertainty surrounds the Huskies at the moment.

Champs just two years ago 

UConn BasketballUConn, if we remember right, won the national championship just two years ago. There are now three players left from that team, although only one is a major contributor. Last year the Huskies struggled to an 8-10 record in the Big East, barely making the NCAA tournament as the defending champs. And their stay was short; they got bounced out in the first round by Iowa State to finish at 20-14 overall. 

Since then, several things have happened. Foremost, the NCAA put UConn on probation for this season. In the wake of that mess, Jeremy Lamb, who led the Huskies in scoring last year as a sophomore at almost 18 points per game, declared for the NBA draft as did redshirt freshman Andre Drummond, who led the team in rebounding and blocked shots. Junior Alex Oriakhi transferred to Missouri; 6-10 freshman Michael Bradly transferred to Western Kentucky; and sophomore Roscoe Smith declared his intention to transfer. 

Add it up and Connecticut has holes to fill up front this season. 

What they do have

The Huskies should be set in the backcourt with the return of guards Ryan Boatwright and Shabazz Napier and the additions of transfer RJ Evans from Holy Cross and freshman Omar Calhoun. Boatwright and Shabazz combined to average 23 points and 10 assists per game last year, and Evans, who's choosing to play his senior season for a team that can't play in the postseason, his home-state Huskies, averaged 11.5 points and five dishes last year playing for the Crusaders of the Patriot League. 

Calhoun is a scorer who may get time just because he can throw it in the hole from almost anywhere. 

But other than that, UConn will be depending on some unknown quantities to play down low. 

Husky recruiting 

The two main additions through the recruiting process for the Huskies are Calhoun and 6-10 F Phil Nolan, both of whom could play right away. But, understandably, UConn has not been able to attract the talent, both in quantity and quality, they have in the past. 

How to bet UConn in 2012-13 

This is a tough one. With all that's going on with this program this season, especially Coach Calhoun's health situation, it's almost impossible to predict what might happen with the Huskies. Coach Calhoun could come back full-speed and coach-up what he's got for a frontcourt and make a dent in the Big East. The probation from the postseason could also create an us-against-the-world atmosphere around this team, and help them make the absolute most out of the regular season. 

Coach Calhoun could also decide to step aside, and who would blame him? He's already won three national titles, and he's had some serious health issues. But it would probably leave the program in a lurch, at least for a while. How a team might respond to something like that is difficult to discern. 

UConn basketball seems like a prime prospect for change. All programs go through it, and this one hasn't had to in a long time.

Then again, there could be opportunity here for college basketball bettors. The Huskies may not be very highly regarded among the college basketball odds makers and the betting public, which can be a good thing, especially if UConn then plays above expectations. The Huskies might not be a bad team to back this season.