NCAA betting investigation widens before college hoops season - ESPN

As the college basketball season prepares to tip off, an NCAA gambling investigation with links to the NBA betting scandal is impacting the status of multiple players at several schools, according to sources familiar with the probe.

One player has been dismissed from a team, and at least two are being withheld from competition due to eligibility concerns related to the investigation, according to the sources. The NCAA said in a release last week that it had opened investigations into potential betting violations by approximately 30 current or former men's basketball players. Some of the cases have already been adjudicated, including ones involving former players for Eastern Michigan, Fresno State and San Jose State.

Western Michigan told ESPN on Thursday that senior guard Justice Williams would not be participating in competition, «pending the results of a recent NCAA investigation of events that precede his enrollment» at the school. That investigation is the NCAA's gambling probe, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge.

Williams did not play in Western Michigan's exhibition game on Wednesday night. The Philadelphia native started his college career at LSU before transferring to Robert Morris, where he did not play last season because of injury. Attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.

On Friday, Sports Illustrated reported that Eastern Kentucky guard Amarr Knox is also currently ineligible. Knox transferred from Alabama State, which SI reported is a school of interest in the ongoing probe. Eastern Kentucky confirmed to ESPN that Knox is ineligible under NCAA rules but declined further comment.

Earlier this week, two other schools said that players were held out or dismissed. Multiple sources with direct