Indiana State

Ron Greene, with a record of 31-79 in four years at Indiana State, resigned today as the Sycamores' basketball coach, Athletic Director Brian Faison announced. He will remain as coach through the end of the season and will be paid for the remaining two years on his contract. A search for his successor will begin immediately, Faison said. The Sycamores have lost 14 straight games and are 4-21 with two regular-season games and at least one Missouri Valley Conference tournament game remaining.

Just a few hours from christening its renovated arena with the season opener of its ranked men's basketball team Friday, UCLA received a ruling it had long awaited, but one that truly put a damper on the pageantry of the evening. Shabazz Muhammad, the No. 13 Bruins' highly-touted freshman guard from Las Vegas, was declared ineligible by the NCAA because of violations of amateurism rules. UCLA defeated Indiana State, 86-59, in the game, but the Bruins and their fans - several of whom wore "Free Shabazz" shirts - were more concerned with their loss than their win. A sold-out crowd of 13,513 was in attendance as UCLA played its first game in its new home arena, sparkling thanks to a $136-million investment.

Amanda Burrows, a middle blocker from El Toro High, has signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at Indiana State, her mother said Tuesday. Burrows, a member of the Chargers' State championship team last fall, selected Indiana State over Chaminade, New Mexico, San Francisco and South Florida.

UCLA has two options to consider in trying to help freshman basketball star Shabazz Muhammad gain his eligibility. The school and NCAA enforcement agreed on the facts on the case, and therefore it was determined by the NCAA that he couldn't play in UCLA's opener against Indiana State on Saturday night, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke anonymously because the case is ongoing. The options now are these: 1) UCLA, even though it has accepted the facts of the case, could disagree that a violation occurred and appeal.

Tishara Jespersen, El Toro High volleyball player, has signed a letter of intent with Indiana State. Jespersen, a 5-foot-9 outside hitter, chose Indiana State over South Florida, Alabama, Nevada, Iowa State and Rice. She plans to major in nursing or sports medicine. Jespersen was a member of El Toro's State championship team as a junior and was the team's MVP this past season. She was an all-South Coast League selection. She also plays for the Orange County Volleyball club team.

Seventh-seeded Missouri State, which had entered the Missouri Valley Conference tournament with a 13-14 record, secured an NCAA berth by upsetting top-seeded Indiana State, 64-55, Sunday in the league title game at Springfield, Mo. Indiana State (26-5) led, 47-39, with 6:31 left before Missouri State (17-14) went on a 25-8 run to close the game.

The longest NCAA Division I losing streak ended Saturday when Indiana State defeated Missouri State, 28-22, in a homecoming game at Terre Haute, Ind. The Sycamores, a Division I-AA team, had lost 24 consecutive games since a double-overtime victory over Illinois State on Oct. 2, 2004. It was also the first coaching victory for Lou West, who is in his second season. "I am just so happy and proud for our players," West said. "This is the first of many, many victories for our program."

Indiana State found a way to top Larry Bird, the school's most famous player. The Sycamores made it to the NCAA tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history with a 69-63 victory over Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship game Monday night at St. Louis. The title is Indiana State's first since 1979, when Bird was a senior and led the Sycamores to an NCAA runner-up finish. That was Indiana State's only NCAA trip in the Bird era.

Indiana doesn't dominate in college basketball like it did in the late 1970s and 1980s. But one thing the Hoosiers could always count on was winning their annual Indiana Classic--until Saturday. Guards A.J. Guyton and Luke Jiminez missed three-point shots in the final seconds, allowing Indiana State to defeat Indiana, 63-60, the Hoosiers' first loss in 26 years and 52 games of its tournament. Kelyn Block had 17 points, and accounted for Indiana State's final two points with free throws with 17.

A newly erected statue of the late John Wooden stands watch outside the newly renovated Pauley Pavilion, which his two college basketball teams will christen Friday night in a season opener. Wooden coached at Indiana State when it was known as Indiana State Teachers College, from 1946-48, the only college coaching job he had other than at UCLA. Wooden was 35 when he took the job in Terre Haute, but even then his players knew a strict fundamentalist who held a concrete set of philosophies and showed early signs of greatness.

A newly erected statue of the late John Wooden stands watch outside the newly renovated Pauley Pavilion, which his two college basketball teams will christen Friday night in a season opener. Wooden coached at Indiana State when it was known as Indiana State Teachers College, from 1946-48, the only college coaching job he had other than at UCLA. Wooden was 35 when he took the job in Terre Haute, but even then his players knew a strict fundamentalist who held a concrete set of philosophies and showed early signs of greatness.

UCLA's basketball team, which has one of the nation's top incoming freshman classes as well as a newly renovated home arena, will open its season against Indiana State on Nov. 9 at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins' nonconference schedule includes home games against NCAA tournament participants Long Beach State and Missouri, as well as a matchup against San Diego State in the Wooden Classic at Honda Center. UCLA, Georgetown, Georgia and Indiana, among others, will take part in the Legends Classic that concludes at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., the new home of the NBA's Nets.

The company that built the stage that collapsed at the Indiana State Fair during a powerful storm last summer, killing seven people, has been cited for workplace safety violations along with the State Fair Commission and the union that worked at the site, officials said Wednesday. The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration levied fines against all three entities for their roles in the Aug. 13 collapse, which occurred as the country duo Sugarland was waiting to perform.

The death toll has risen to five in the stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair in which 45 people were also injured. The main stage collapsed on a crowd waiting for a Sugarland performance Saturday night at the Indianapolis fair after being blasted by winds as strong as 60 to 70 mph, according to the National Weather Service. The lead singer of the country band, Jennifer Nettles, expressed her horror in a statement to Associated Press, saying there were "no words to process a moment of this magnitude and gravity.

East Regional (All times PDT) No. 8 George Mason (26-6) vs. No. 9 Villanova (21-11), 11 a.m., Cleveland, TNT: Villanova stumbles into the tournament having lost five in a row and nine of 13. Can the Wildcats regain their footing, or do they just want this season to be over? George Mason has a short bench and Villanova has the ability to wear a team down defensively. If, that is, the Wildcats still care. No. 1 Ohio State (32-2) vs. No. 16 UT San Antonio (20-13)

John Wooden's first All-American at UCLA never played a minute in the NBA. He was neither a prized recruit nor a prolific scorer, and as a shooter, he wasn't much. George Stanich, however, ranked among the most versatile athletes to ever play for Wooden. An Olympic bronze medalist in the high jump before he met Wooden, Stanich later was a minor league pitcher. In between, he was a two-time All-Pacific Coast Conference guard who helped UCLA reach the NCAA tournament for the first time and Wooden to win the first two of his 19 conference championships.

Were Jeff Haas not an optimistic sort, he might have figured he was in for a long night--or a short one, depending on your point of view--after facing six Cal State Northridge batters Thursday night at Fresno State's Beiden Field. The Indiana State sophomore had given up four hits and two runs and another baserunner was in scoring position. Yet, as he stood on the mound, he maintained a positive outlook. "Things weren't going my way," Haas said, "but I figured they would turn around.

Ron Greene resigned as basketball coach at Indiana State.

Around Butler University these days, it's hard to tell fact from fiction, real from what might have been dreamed. After the Bulldogs men's basketball team won the NCAA West Regional on Saturday, university President Bobby Fong was carried around on the shoulders of students and there was a campus rally at 2:30 in the morning when the team arrived home. Matt Howard, the team's center, was surprised to learn that his mustache now has its own Facebook page. This is what happens when an underdog basketball team from Indiana starts knocking off heavy favorites.

Rk. Team Rec. Result Next 1. TEXAS 17-2 Did not play Texas Tech, Wednesday 2. KENTUCKY 19-0 Did not play at South Carolina, Tuesday 3. KANSAS 18-1 Did not play Missouri, today 4. VILLANOVA 18-1 Did not play Notre Dame, Wednesday 5. SYRACUSE 19-1 Did not play No. 12 Georgetown, today ...