By Kyle Tucker, The Courier-Journal

LEXINGTON, KY. — The crowd at Rupp Arena got two treats during Monday night's exhibition basketball game between the Big Blue All-Stars and The Villains. Christian Laettner was "ejected" and Enes Kanter finally made his Lexington debut.

Both drew huge applause from a half-full crowd of University of Kentucky fans who came to watch the group of Wildcats alumni play a team of anti-heroes from the program's past, coached by Laettner, the 1992 Cat Killer.

Former Kentucky stars Rajon Rondo and Jodie Meeks put on the best show, as Rondo scored 21 points and dished out 14 assists and Meeks scored 42 points. But Meeks' final three-point try at the buzzer missed and The Villains won a wild 152-149 overtime game.

The score didn't matter. Fans got what they came for when Kanter, who was declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA before he ever played for the Wildcats, finally got to play in Rupp — and when Laettner played to the crowd.

After a few early bobbles and one blocked dunk attempt, Kanter settled down and scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. He threw down a handful of two-handed slams that got the fans on their feet.

"This was my wish a year ago," he said. "Right now, it's just happened. I was a little nervous the first couple minutes. When Kentucky's fans cheered for me, it was a great feeling."

Similarly, Laettner said he welcomed the cascade of boos. He even had a couple of pro-wrestling-style skits worked up for the Kentucky faithful who remember the buzzer beater he hit 19 years ago to knock the Wildcats out of the NCAA Tournament.

Late in Monday's game, after a player slipped on a slick spot on the court, Laettner dropped down on his knees with a towel to dry the floor. The crowd howled.

"All the fans started yelling 'Laettner, get on the floor and wipe up their sweat!' " he said. "I thought it was a good idea. That's what we were here for. Just to have fun.

"There's nothing wrong with booing, yelling and cursing someone every now and then."

Later, with about three minutes to go in regulation, Laettner picked a fight with an official and got a technical. He didn't let it go, making a big, dramatic scene, and was quickly tossed from the game — although neither technical resulted in any free throws.

Video of Laettner wiping the sweat:

West Virginia will join the Big 12, according to an official in the Big East who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the move.

The Mountaineers would fill the spot vacated by Missouri when it jumps to the Southeastern Conference. Though Missouri hasn't formally withdrawn from the Big 12, that announcement appears to be a formality.

The move by West Virginia will leave the Big East on life support with just five football-playing members committed to the league. Syracuse and Pittsburgh have been accepted to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

To make matters worse, West Virginia will only be held to a $5 million exit fee. The league recently doubled the conference's football exit fee to $10 million, a move contingent on the execution of the expansion plan.

The increase in exit fee would be triggered as soon as Air Force or Navy agree to join the league, according to an official in the Big East who asked to remain anonymous given the sensitivity of discussions. Since neither Navy nor Air Force has made such a move, the Mountaineers will only have to pay $5 million.

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Another traffic incident has led Oregon defensive back Cliff Harris has been suspended for the second time this year.

Harris was cited for driving on a suspended license and driving without insurance after an officer stopped him for not wearing a seat belt Monday.

A release by the school said Harris will not participate in all football activities until the matter is resolved.

The junior missed the team's opener against LSU after a June traffic incident in which police said he was driving 118 miles per hour.

Harris was considered one of the nation's top cornerbacks and punt returners entering the season. However, he has contributed nine tackles and an interception in six games and nine punt returns for 68 yards.

Xavier senior guard Tu Holloway will sit out the first game of the upcoming basketball season due to a secondary violation of NCAA rules, the school announced Monday.

The incident was self-reported to the NCAA in August. This violation carries a mandatory one-game suspension which will be served on November 11, 2011 vs. Morgan State University.

Holloway was last year's Atlantic-10 Player of the Year, and he was recently named to the Preseason First-Team all-conference team. The Musketeers were picked by coaches and the media to finish first in the preseason A-10 poll.

This shouldn't be a big deal because it's one game. And it's Morgan State.

USC linebacker Chris Galippo has apologized for saying Notre Dame "quit" and the end of their game Saturday.

"If I offended anyone with my postgame comments Saturday, I do apologize," Galippo posted on his Twitter account. "I have great respect for their players and their program.

He then added: "It was a great game by both sides. Time to focus on Stanford!!!"

Southern Cal got the ball with 6:43 left and 14-point lead and handed the ball to Curtis McNeal on 10 consecutive running play. Notre Dame did not call any of their remaining timeouts and let the clock expire.

In the aftermath of the game Saturday night, Galippo implied that the Irish gave up.

"At the end there, when they didn't call those timeouts, they just quit," Galippo said. "And that's what Notre Dame football's about. They're not anything like USC."

Trojans coach Lane Kiffin also offered an apology in a statement Monday and said personally contacted Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly.

"On behalf of our football program, I apologize for Chris Galippo's statements after the game. I've addressed this with Chris and he is remorseful," Kiffin said. "I also called coach Kelly to personally apologize. As I said to the media immediately after the game, I thought Notre Dame played extremely hard throughout the game. It was another classic rivalry game and we feel fortunate to have won."

The statements came after Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley agreed with Galippo's comments.

"I would agree with that," Barkley said in an interview on 710 ESPN. "I was shocked that they didn't use the timeouts because we got on the field with … about seven minutes left, and I thought they were planning on stopping us and saving their timeouts for the end when they had the ball. …

"It seemed from our sideline and our perspective that they did give up. It seemed uncharacteristic of Notre Dame. I wouldn't have wanted to have been on that sideline."

It was rough night for the Irish, which hosted the Trojans in a night game for the first time in the series. They were also debuting their new gold helmets and hosted several important recruits, including former USC commitment Arik Armstead.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly chose not to get into the debate about the final minutes.

"I don't know if that's the case," Kelly said. "To the victors go the spoils. I think we probably would have said the same thing last year. Again, how we evaluate our players, we didn't play the kind of football we wanted to play."

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WASHINGTON -- The status of three suspended LSU football players for the Tigers' showdown Nov. 5 at Alabama will be determined by athletics director Joe Alleva, in consultation with chancellor Michael Martin, after the players "get their act together," Martin said Monday.

Shortly after testifying about NCAA reforms before the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, Martin addressed the status of the trio -- running back Spencer Ware and defensive backs Tyrann Mathieu and Tharold Simon. They missed Saturday's victory against Auburn.

Martin, however, would not address media reports that the three tested positive for synthetic marijuana.

"The athletic director will ultimately make the decision, (and) he'll consult with me," Martin said when asked about possible reinstatement. "Fortunately for them and the team, they have two weeks to get their act together because we have a bye week. They have been directed to some counseling, and they will now be subject to greater scrutiny for the remainder of their time at LSU."

Last week's suspensions came less than two months since quarterback Jordan Jefferson and linebacker Josh Johns were suspended following their alleged participation in a fight outside a Baton Rouge bar, where several other Tigers players were present. They have since been reinstated.

Martin said the two incidents have concerned him, and he said he reminded some of the players after the bar incident that "nothing good happens at a bar at 2:30 in the morning."

"We're all very concerned," Martin continued. "The coaching staff and the people in the athletic department are also. The greater and greater visibility of a nationally ranked program causes even greater attention on what might have otherwise largely missed the press.

"But also, we expect a lot of these kids, and it does come with a responsibility. If you're going to play at a Division I major, visible program, I don't care who you are or where you come from, you've got to quickly grasp what that means as a responsibility. We work hard with them. We have the (district attorney) come in and lecture all the athletes before the season on what the local rules are and how it will work if you cross the line. We have an enormous amount of resource capability to support them in every possible way, and still 18- to-22-year-olds do what I wish many of them will not. In this case, they happen to be very visible athletes."

WASHINGTON -- Teams could be banned from participating in this year's March Madness if they don't reach a new academic threshold, and that threshold could be determined as soon as Friday.

At a Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics meeting Monday, NCAA President Mark Emmert said that the Division I board of directors will be voting on a variety of proposals Friday, and one involves academic requirements for postseason play.

Emmert said if approved, one proposal would immediately implement a baseline acceptable Academic Progress Rate (APR) requirement for postseason play of 900, which would include the 2012 NCAA men's basketball tournament. Emmert also said the APR requirement would be raised to 930 in 24 months, if the proposal is approved. These APRs were calculated to target a 50% graduation rate.

The NCAA's Committee on Academic Performance recommended that this be put in place for the 2012-13 season, but NCAA spokesman Bob Williams said the Division I board of directors will have the option of implementing it for this season.

Had the 900 APR requirement existed last season, Connecticut -- which won the tournament -- would not have been eligible to compete. UConn's APR was 893.

Had it been applied to last season's NCAA tournament, the 900 benchmark would have scratched three entrants: UAB (860), Alabama State (883) and UConn. A total of 33 Division I men's basketball programs were beneath 900 last season, also including Arkansas (892), Missouri State (896), Ball State (892), Toledo (858) and St. Bonaventure (894).

Only one D-I women's basketball program was below 900 -- IUPUI (896) -- and it didn't make the tournament.

A look at what happened this weekend in the Pacific 12 Conference:

What we learned: This Lane Kiffin thing at Southern California might just work out. Lacking a signature victory in his season and a half at USC, Kiffin's Trojans went to South Bend Saturday and won 31-17. They won not with 400 yards of passing by quarterback Matt Barkley and five touchdown catches by spectacular sophomore wide receiver Robert Woods, as had seemingly been the formula for USC's offensive success these days. Not that Barkley (224 yards) and Woods (12 catches for 119 yards and two TDs) weren't major factors. But the Trojans felt best about winning it the old-fashioned way - running the ball, stopping the run, winning the battle of the trenches. USC (6-1, 3-1 in the Pac-12 South) piled up 219 yards rushing, 118 of them by irrepressible 5-7 dynamo Curtis McNeal. Marc Tyler, playing with an injured shoulder, added 67 yards. The Trojans were somewhat shocking 9-point underdogs but were the superior team in nearly every phase of the game. They were also lucky, turning a mishandled center snap by backup quarterback Dayne Crist into an 80-yard fumble return for a TD that gave them a 24-10 lead. USC, ineligible for the USA TODAY coaches' poll and postseason play, moved up to No. 20 in the AP poll heading into a game at home this week against unbeaten Stanford (No. 3 in the coaches poll, No. 4 in AP). Kiffin not only is finally displaying a team with an effective running game and punishing line play but also continuing to get raves from knight-in-shining-armor athletics director Pat Haden for his performance both on and off the field - that is, he hasn't broken a bunch of NCAA rules or embarrassed himself with outrageous comments. The recruiting sanctions will hurt USC in the coming years, but this was a victory from which Kiffin can get a lot of mileage.

Best Performance: It's time to give the award to a unit instead of an individual.

Did anyone else notice Stanford's offensive line Saturday? That is, besides the beleaguered Washington defense? It was so easy to run the ball through the huge holes in the Huskies Saturday that Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, only considered the best pro prospect in the last 20 years or so, was turned into an afterthought. Stanford (7-0) rushed for a school-record 446 yards in the humiliating defeat of upstart Washington (5-2, 3-1). Stepfan Taylor ran for 138, Tyler Gaffney for 117 and Anthony Wilkerson 93. Luck basically had the day off -- 16 of 21, 169 yards.

Biggest disappointment: They've won this award already this year, but it's pretty hard to get any lower than the UCLA Bruins got on Thursday. Looking, hoping, struggling for some way to turn the corner in coach Rick Neuheisel's fourth year of a five-year deal, the Neuheisel Era may have reached rock bottom.

Against an Arizona team that came in 1-5, 0-4 in league and had already fired coach Mike Stoops, the Bruins were absolutely hammered offensively and defensively in a 48-12 debacle. The Bruins were typically ineffective throwing or running the ball and incapable of stopping Arizona's offense. Down 42-7 near the end of the half, the teams engaged in a nasty benches-emptying brawl that was an embarrassment to both programs. UCLA got the worst of that, too, incurring six player suspensions (to Arizona's four) from Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott.

Looking ahead: Coaching adversaries Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh have moved on to the NFL, but there is only one game of particular significance in the Pac-12 this week, and it is on the big stage - the L.A. Coliseum, Stanford at USC. Stanford will be favored, and its balanced offense led by Heisman frontrunner Luck has the potential to make Trojans rue the day they ever chose football. But something positive seems to be happening at USC, and with Barkley and Woods connecting with record-setting frequency, this could turn into a shootout. ... Utah hosts 2-5 Oregon State. Is this the week a Pac-12 newcomer finally wins a league game? Utah and Colorado are both 0-4.

A look back at what happened this weekend in the Big 12 Conference:

What we learned: The league championship still seems likely to come down to Oklahoma's regular season-ending showdown at Oklahoma State, but the national stakes may not be as high – at least for OU. The Sooners need lots of help to climb back into the BCS title-game picture after falling into a stunning, 24-point hole and going on to lose 41-38 to Texas Tech at home. OSU rolled on, winning 45-24 at Missouri, but a Nov. 12 trip to Tech suddenly looms larger. Kansas State? All hail coach Bill Snyder, whose Wildcats are 7-0 for the first time since 1999, but let's see them survive the next four weeks: Oklahoma on Saturday, then OSU on the road, Texas A&M at home and Texas on the road.

Best performances: You won't find K-State quarterback Collin Klein among the Big 12's top half-dozen-rated passers (actually, he ranks eighth). But the fourth-year junior is Snyder's kind of guy, accounting for five touchdowns in Saturday's 59-21 rout of Kansas and going a third consecutive game without throwing an interception. Klein ran for four TDs against the Jayhawks, and his 95.7 rushing yards a game are the second-most for a quarterback behind Denard Robinson's 119.3 at Michigan. ... Texas Tech's Seth Doege took full advantage of an Oklahoma defense missing three starters due to injury, throwing for 441 yard and four TDs and running for another score.

Biggest disappointments: OU trips and falls at home? The Sooners hadn't lost in Memorial Stadium since their 2005 season opener against Texas Christian, and they'd been beaten there just twice before in Bob Stoops' 13 years as coach. ... Remember the early excitement over exquisitely named Iowa State quarterback Steele Jantz and the Cyclones' 3-0 start? They're now 3-4 after a 33-17 loss at home to Texas A&M, and Jantz appears headed for the bench after struggling early against the Aggies and being replaced by freshman Jared Barnett. "I think, right now, Jared Barnett will be our starter for next week," coach Paul Rhoads said.

Looking ahead: Assessing the odds for Kansas State the next two weeks: The Wildcats have won just once in eight games against Stoops and Oklahoma, that back in 2003 (and these Sooners will come in mad Saturday). K-State hasn't won at Oklahoma State since 1999.

A look back at what happened this weekend in the Big Ten Conference:

What we learned: Michigan State dashed Wisconsin's hopes of reaching the BCS title game when Keith Nichol caught a 44-yard Hail Mary pass from Kirk Cousins, after the ball deflected off a teammate, on the final play in a 37-31 MSU upset win. Wisconsin held out hope for overtime when it seemed Nichol was short of the end zone, but the replay showed Nichol had the TD. It marked the second consecutive week MSU handed a team its first defeat; the Spartans defeated Michigan last week. The Spartans handed Wisconsin its lone loss last season. MSU is 6-1, 3-0 atop the Legends Division, and could see Wisconsin again in the inaugural Big Ten championship game in early December. Wisconsin (6-1) is 2-1 in the Leaders Division behind Penn State, 4-0 in league play. … Penn State coach Joe Paterno tied Eddie Robinson's (Grambling) Division I record with win No. 408 Saturday. The Nittany Lions defeated Northwestern 34-24 to improve to 7-1.

Best performance: Michigan State's Cousins threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns and connected with Nichol on the Hail Mary pass that will go down as one of the most memorable in Michigan State history. Cousins had a late fumble (teammate Dan France fell on the ball) but it was largely overshadowed by his body of work for the night.

Biggest disappointment: Illinois started 6-0 but has lost its last two. A week after losing to Ohio State at home, the Illini fell at Purdue 21-14. Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase was sacked four times; Illinois' defense gave up 304 yards. Time for a gut check.

Looking ahead: Wisconsin, which slipped to No. 11 from No. 4 in the USA TODAY Coaches' Poll, needs to regroup at Ohio State. Michigan State, up to No. 10 in the rankings, will hit the road for Nebraska. Penn State's Paterno could break Robinson's record Saturday when the Nittany Lions host slumping Illinois. After beating Illinois, Purdue has some momentum going into its game at Michigan. The Boilermakers (4-3) are tied for second place at 2-1 with Wisconsin in the Leaders Division.