Let’s check in on what became of all those teams that were mentioned in the FBI’s big investigation into how college basketball works. Allegations here are via the original FBI news and Yahoo!’s report on the masterminds who ignored Stringer Bell’s advice and took notes on a criminal f***in’ conspiracy, and also included is a note on how that team’s postseason has gone so far (we’ll update that part as the postseason progresses).
All the main FBI teams are now out of the NCAA tournament
The postseason hasn’t been all bad for implicated teams, though.
Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
The four teams that had now-former assistant coaches charged by the Justice Department back in the fall (Auburn, USC, Oklahoma State, Arizona) are all out of the Big Dance:
- Alabama: Player agent stuff. Blown out by Villanova in second round.
- Arizona: Assistant coach arrested and six-figure payment alleged. Upset in first round.
- Auburn: Assistant coach arrested, plus some other stuff. Blown out in second round.
- Clemson: Former player got paid. Alive in tournament.
- Creighton: Player agent stuff. Lost in first round.
- Duke: Player agent stuff. Alive in tournament.
- Iowa State: Player agent stuff. Missed postseason.
- Kansas: Former player got paid. Alive in tournament.
- Kentucky: Player agent stuff. Alive in tournament.
- Louisville: SUPER FIRED. Alive in NIT.
- LSU: Former player got paid. Alive in NIT.
- Maryland: Former player got paid. Missed postseason.
- Miami: Investigated by FBI. Upset in first round.
- Michigan State: Agent stuff with a player’s family. Upset in second round.
- NC State: Former player got paid. Lost in first round.
- North Carolina: Player agent stuff. Destroyed in second round.
- Notre Dame: Player agent stuff. Eliminated in NIT.
- Oklahoma State: Assistant coach arrested. Alive in NIT.
- Seton Hall: Former player got paid. Lost in second round.
- South Carolina: Players got paid. Missed postseason.
- Texas: Player got paid. Lost in first round.
- USC: Players got paid, and assistant coach arrested. Alive in NIT.
- Utah: Former player got paid. Alive in NIT.
- Vanderbilt: Player agent stuff. Not good at sports.
- Virginia: Player agent stuff. Lost to a 16th seed.
- Washington: Former player got paid. Alive in NIT.
- Xavier: Former player got paid. Alive in tournament.
(Apologies if I missed the reporting elsewhere on your very crooked rival’s involvement. Let me know, and I’ll add them.)
Any time one of these teams loses in the tournament, some media members rush to proclaim KARMA, even though as a whole, these teams’ postseasons seem to have gone pretty normally. Some still have a chance to win the national title. Others did fine.
There is an argument the teams that produced the loudest FBI news might’ve been screwed over by the NCAA — Arizona was under-seeded (but then justified the NCAA by getting blown out), USC was left out, Oklahoma State had a tourney case, and Louisville was left out after having its 2013 title stripped — but disappointment awaits anyone who was hoping competition would sweep the whole story away so that March Madness’ champ could be a pristine team without any allegations.
Buddy, this is still college basketball.
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