Ongoing NCAA Corruption Case Won’t Impact Teams on Selection Sunday

Schools linked to the FBI probe will still make the March Madness field of 68.

Head coach Sean Miller of the Arizona Wildcats reacts during the second half of a college basketball game against the California Golden Bears (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Head coach Sean Miller of the Arizona Wildcats reacts during the second half of a college basketball game against the California Golden Bears (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

When federal prosecutors announced in September they were filing criminal charges following an FBI corruption investigation into NCAA basketball, assistant coaches at Arizona, Auburn, USC and Oklahoma State were among the 10 men who were charged.

However, it doesn’t appear that what happened in September, or even more recently with regard to Arizona and head coach Sean Miller, will have any impact on those four schools on Selection Sunday.

Currently ranked at No. 15 and No. 16 respectively, Arizona and Auburn are fully expected to make the Big Dance as high seeds, while USC and Oklahoma State are perched on the bubble.

“Our committee is intensely focused on selecting and seeding and bracketing the right 68 teams,” selection committee chairman Bruce Rasmussen told The Associated Press. “We’re not going to pay any attention to that because it’s not in the purview of our committee.”

That means anyone hoping their school would squeak into the field of 68 because the selection committee voted against admitting a better team based on moral grounds shouldn’t hold their breath.

It is still possible the FBI probe will affect March Madness, but it won’t be this March.

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