The story of the day Thursday in college basketball was the NCAA’s announcement that the run to the national championship for the 2007-2008 Memphis Tigers is now wiped from the record books.

That Memphis club, which won 38 games before falling to Kansas 75-68 in the title game, was spearheaded by freshman point guard Derrick Rose. And after a lengthy investigation, the NCAA ruled that something just didn’t smell right when Rose took the SAT on May 5, 2007.

After failing to achieve a qualifying score on the ACT each of the three times he took the test in Chicago, someone, presumably not Rose, achieved the SAT scores needed on that early day in May.

Only this time the test was taken in Detroit, which also happens to be the home of William Wesley. You might know Wesley better as World Wide Wes, a confidant of Calipari. You do the math.

Calipari will do his usual song and dance when pressed to disclose whether or not he knew of possible indiscretions with Rose’s test score: Deny, deny and deny some more. It’s all in the past, right? It’s the same tune currently being belted in Lexington by fans who are desperate for a winner after Billy Gillispie flamed out last spring in the NIT.

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Indiana released it’s 2009-2010 schedule earlier today and here’s a look at five of the toughest opponents on the docket.

5. Maryland (Assembly Hall, December 1, 7:30 PM, ESPN2): Senior guard Greivis Vasquez returns to lead a Terrapin team that went 21-14 a year ago, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and should be among the top 25 teams in the country. The Venezuela native averaged 17.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg and 5.0 apg as a junior and tested the NBA Draft waters before deciding to return. Besides Vasquez, Gary Williams returns three other starters. It will be the first trip for Maryland to Assembly Hall.

4. Michigan (Crisler Arena, January 14, 9:00 PM, ESPN/ESPN2): Year three of the John Beilein era in Ann Arbor could find the Wolverines square in the middle of the Big Ten race with Michigan State and Purdue. After winning one game in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, Beilein has the pieces in place to make a run deeper into March. The one-two punch of guard Manny Harris and forward DeShawn Sims is arguably the best in the conference and the supporting cast is strong with guards Laval Lucas-Perry, Stu Douglass and Zack Novak all returning.

3. Michigan State (Assembly Hall, February 16, 7:00 PM, ESPN): The Spartans knocked off a pair of No. 1 seeds in Connecticut and Louisville a year ago before falling to North Carolina in the national championship. Forward Goran Suton and guard Travis Walton are both gone, but Kalin Lucas returns as the front runner for Big Ten Player of the Year. Sprinkle in a healthy Delvon Roe with wings Durrell Summers and Chris Allen and the Spartans could be looking at Tom Izzo’s sixth Final Four appearance.

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The annual Indiana-Kentucky game may be returning to its rightful location: a neutral site. According to comments made by UK coach John Calipari on Monday’s SEC teleconference, the UK coach and Tom Crean have discussed moving the rivalry game back to Louisville and Indianapolis.

The game was last played at a neutral site in 2005 at the RCA Dome, a game the Hoosiers won 79-53 behind 23 points from Marco Killingsworth.

In 2006, the game was moved to Rupp Arena because Freedom Hall was unavailable on the date agreed upon by IU, UK and CBS. Kentucky won in 2006 and 2008 at Rupp Arena and IU won in 2007 at Assembly Hall. This year’s game will be played in Bloomington.

If the game were moved to Louisville in 2010, both schools would likely want it to be played in the new downtown arena. The arena, which has yet to be named, is scheduled to open in November of 2010. Seating in the arena is expected to exceed 22,000, according to the Louisville Arena Authority.

{HT: Hoosier Scoop}

Greg Doyel is a columnist for CBS Sportsline. He is, putting it bluntly, a sensationalist. He either loves something or he absolutely loathes it. So it was no surprise when someone called the following passage in his latest piece to my attention:

College basketball as you know it? It’s over. That sport doesn’t exist anymore, because that sport had a semblance of parity. One year North Carolina is the dominant program. One year it’s UConn. One year it’s Duke or UCLA or Florida. Maybe those teams don’t win the national title the year they’re dominant, or maybe they do. Either way, every year there is a team that, on paper, is the dominant program in college basketball. And every year it’s a different team.

Until now. Until John Calipari merges with Kentucky.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Calipari will be great at Kentucky. Do I think he’ll win a title? It’s probably a good bet. Multiple titles? Not out of the realm of possibility, either.

What I don’t believe is that college basketball as we currently know it is over because John Calipari is reportedly the new coach at UK. Maybe I missed something, but Roy Williams is still loading up at North Carolina, Rick Pitino is still in charge at Louisville, Tom Izzo is still getting to the Final Four in East Lansing and Tom Crean is just getting started in Bloomington.

Sure, it’s a scary thought when you combine a top-notch recruiter like Calipari with the facilities, fanbase and tradition that exist in Lexington. If Calipari keeps his nose out of the dirt and wins big, it’s a match made in heaven. The hunger to win for a rabid fanbase that hasn’t been to a Final Four since 1998 will be satisfied.

But there’s also the other side of the coin: awful graduation rates, a possible lack of discipline, a vacated Final Four appearance at UMass and of course, William Wesley. So before we go anointing a dynasty in Lexington, let’s let this all play out … shall we, Mr. Doyel?

Unless you’ve been away from a computer, TV, radio and civilization all day, you’ve heard by now that Billy Gillispie has been relieved of his coaching duties at the University of Kentucky.

But what you probably haven’t seen is the gem of video below. It’s worth a view, regardless of your fan affiliation:

What you just witnessed was two reporters, one from Lexington and one from Louisville, literally chase Gillispie through the Joe Craft Center (UK’s practice facility). Nevermind the fact that he was supposedly on the phone and went through a door that required security credentials. Had the secretary not stepped in at the end, Gillispie might have ended up tied down to a chair in his office until he talked.

You can read Eamonn’s take on this ridiculousness here.

As I watched the Hoosiers struggle through a six win season, I took some solace in what I saw take place in Lexington, Kentucky this season. Despite two future NBA players and one of the worst years ever in the SEC, Kentucky managed to lose 14 games and miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 17 years.

Kentucky, which ran a perfectly respectable coach in Tubby Smith out of town a mere two seasons ago, is reportedly on the verge of severing ties with Billy Gillispie. The rallying cry amongst Big Blue Nation has shifted from ‘Blame Tubby’ to ‘Blame Billy.’

The notion of changing coaches after just two seasons is drastic and unheard of in most cases, but Gillispie’s unwillingness to stray from his stubborn ways have probably sealed his fate more than the wins and losses.

(Excessive phone calls do not qualify as most cases.)

But ultimately, like any top five job, the pressure to win big and win immediately might be more apparent at Kentucky than anywhere else.

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Around the Hall is recommended reading from the Inside the Hall crew.

• IU’s abysmal start {Indianapolis Star}
• Jones gets physical in return to action {Indianapolis Star}
• IU never got started {Herald Times}
• Crean or Patton? {Hoosier Scoop}
• Wildcats ripped at Rupp {Hoosier Nation}
• Postgame notes {IUHoosiers.com}
• Postgame quotes {IUHoosiers.com}
• Out of it early {Associated Press}
• Half the battle good enough for Wildcats {Louisville C-J}
• Cats must play more than 12 good minutes {Louisville C-J}
• Not your daddy’s Hoosiers: UK rolls 72-54 {Lexington H-L}
• Strange game saw poor play, happy Gillispie {Lexington H-L}
• Turnovers keeping Cats from reaching potential {Lexington H-L}