Case of the Mondays: Cloud Cast Over College Basketball as March Madness Looms

by Ricky Dimon - 2/26/2018

March Madness is still a couple of weeks away, but college basketball chaos is already here. Unfortunately for Arizona and some other schools, it has come in the form of off-the-court controversy. Next month will also welcome the beginning of baseball season and the continuation of an intriguing stretch in golf, as Tiger Woods and the rest of the gang prepares for the Masters.

Odds provided by BetOnline Sportsbook unless otherwise indicated.

Sean Miller . The FBI's investigation into college basketball involves multiple big-name programs, but attention quickly centered on Arizona shortly after the original story broke. FBI wiretaps reportedly intercepted phone conversations between Miller and agent Christian Dawkins in which they discussed paying current star freshman Deandre Ayton $100,000 to ensure that he signed with the Wildcats. Miller did not coach in last Saturday's overtime loss to Oregon, and he will likely be gone for much longer than that-as in permanently. Arizona is a +275 favorite to win the Pac-12 Tournament.

Jimmy Butler . The news isn't great for Butler…but it could have been much, much worse. Minnesota's star guard avoided a dreaded torn ACL, instead being diagnosed with a meniscus injury sustained in last Friday's loss at Houston. Before undergoing surgery on Sunday, Butler (22.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 5.0 apg) expressed optimism that he would be back prior to the start of the playoffs. "I've been around this a long time," teammate Taj Gibson said. "The bright side is it isn't his ACL, so that's a good thing. It still sucks he has a tough injury; all injuries are tough. But the doctors are saying some good things, so we'll see in a few weeks maybe." The Timberwolves are -5.5 favorites at Sacramento on Monday.

New York Rangers . The Rangers were at 27-24-5 on Feb. 13. It's safe to say the last two weeks have changed all of that in a hurry. Seven losses-the longest current losing streak in the NHL-have New York in last place in the Metropolitan Division and seven points behind the eighth and final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers have taken only one point during their skid, dropping six straight in regulation before falling to Detroit 3-2 in overtime this past Sunday. All but waving the white flag on their season prior to the latest setback and prior to Monday's trade deadline, the Rangers shipped Rick Nash to Boston for a prospect, a couple of draft picks (including a 2108 first-rounder), and two other players. Nash, 33, had 18 goals and 10 assists in 60 games with New York during the 2017-18 campaign. The Bruins are +380 to win the Eastern Conference ( MyBookie.ag).

Brent Honeywell . Honeywell, the Rays' top pitching prospect, will miss all of 2018 because he is set for Tommy John surgery after being diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament. The 22-year-old right-hander was not expected to begin the season in the major leagues, but Tampa Bay expected him to be called up this summer and make an instant impact. Honeywell went 12-8 with a 3.64 ERA in 24 starts with Triple-A Durham last year. He will seek a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews, but we all know what second opinions from Dr. James Andrews mean…. The Rays are +1400 to win the American League East.

Luke List . When Tiger makes cuts these days, the weekend is all about him. That was the case at this past week's Honda Classic, where the 14-time major champion opened with rounds of 70 and 71 to survive the cut with ease before shooting a 69 on Saturday and briefly contending on Sunday at 3-under through eight holes. He faded thereafter, giving the stage to List and Justin Thomas. List-tied atop the leaderboard-seemed to be in control on the 72^nd hole, where he was on the green of a par 5 in two, while Thomas had to lay up. In typical world No. 4 fashion, though, Thomas stuck his wedge to two feet and they both birdied easily en route to a playoff. Playing the 18^th again, List lost it birdie to par. That means the 33-year-old did not qualify for this week's World Golf Championship in Mexico and still has lots of work to do for a spot in the Masters. Thomas is a +700 second choice behind Dustin Johnson to win in Mexico.

Seattle Sounders . The 2018 Major League Soccer season begins this week, and it will begin for Seattle without Jordan Morris. He suffered a torn ACL during Seattle's first game of 2018 last Thursday, when the club lost 2-1 to Santa Tecla during CONCACAF Champions League action. The 23-year-old striker scored only three goals in 2017 and missed the end of the regular season with a hamstring injury, but he was the 2016 MLS Rookie of the Year. Morris returned for the playoffs last fall and led the Sounders to the Western Conference title before they fell to Toronto in the MLS Cup. Seattle is -215 to win its opener against Los Angeles this weekend ( Bovada Sportsbook ).

Canada . Well, Canada's Olympic campaign surely played out better in its mind that it did on the actual ice. Although the Canadians were not the pre-tournament favorites on either the men's or women's side, they are always in the business of gold-or-nothing when it comes to the Olympics. Just ask Jocelyne Larocque, who immediately took off her silver medal when it was draped around her neck following a 3-2 shootout loss to the United States in the gold-medal game. One day later, the Canadian men's team suffered a stunning 4-3 loss to Germany in the semifinals. Canada ended up settling for bronze following a 6-4 victory over the Czech Republic on Saturday. We'll do the Canadians a favor and not even mention what happened in curling….

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Case of the Mondays: Cloud Cast Over College Basketball as March Madness Looms

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