NEW ORLEANS – Four New Orleans players who've been suspended since late January are under investigation for possible NCAA violations related to sports gambling, a person familiar with the situation said.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Wednesday because the university's only public statement about the matter has described the reasons for the suspensions as an unspecified violation of team rules.
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James White, Jah Short, Dae Dae Hunter and Jamond Vincent have not played since the Privateers' loss to Incarnate Word on Jan. 27.
The reasons for their suspensions were first reported in a social media post by college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman.
New Orleans (4-25, 2-16 Southland), has lost all eight games it has played since the suspensions and is scheduled to play next at UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday.
The revelations at New Orleans come days after Fresno State suspended two of its top men’s basketball scorers on Saturday and removed a third player from the team amid reports that the program is the subject of gambling investigations.
Fresno State said in a statement that Jalen Weaver and Zaon Collins “are being withheld from competition as the university reviews an eligibility matter,” and provided no further comment.
ESPN.com reported that Mykell Robinson, who has not played since Jan. 11, is no longer on the team.
The Fresno Bee initially reported on an internal investigation at Fresno State. School officials then contacted the NCAA, which is also conducting an investigation.
Fresno State (5-23, 1-16 Mountain West) has already broken the school’s single-season record for losses and was trying to snap a nine-game losing streak on Saturday when it faced Air Force. The Bulldogs lost 72-69.
Weaver was averaging 12.5 points per game and led the team with 4.7 assists. Collins averaged 12.0 points. Robinson was scoring 10.3 points and grabbing 6.2 rebounds.
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