:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47616671/usa-today-8384584.0.jpg)
Today in the Morning Rumble, Southern Miss won't be playing in March, Maryland loses a critical piece to injury and Alex Murphy is out 4-6 weeks.
Southern Mississippi has self-imposed their second straight postseason ban for seven Level I violations that happened under former head coach Donnie Tyndell. Unfortunately, the "sanctions" are effecting new head coach Doc Sadler and players that had nothing to do with these issues.
The Golden Eagles were 9-20 last season and return just one of their top four scorers, but it's tough to build a program without having the opportunity to strive for basketball in March.
Maryland is projected to be one of the top contenders for the National Title but one of their key role players has suffered an injury. Dion Wiley, who may have started at shooting guard to open the season, has a torn meniscus and will need surgery. The normal rehab time for this type of injury is around six weeks so Jared Nickens and Rasheed Sulaimon (who may come off the bench as he gets back into the grove) will need to step up.
More injury news across the country with Alex Murphy partially tearing the plantar fascia in his right foot. The senior forward will be out 4-6 weeks, limiting the Gators depth to open the new season. Murphy averaged 5.1 points and 2.0 rebounds per game during his junior campaign.
St. John's is not the only team that fell in an exhibition match-up against a Division II team as Iowa lost to Augustana on a buzzer beater. Yes, Augustana is the class of Division II basketball, but it is still not a promising result for a Hawkeyes team that is striving to reach the Big Dance.
Stretch four Darien Williams made Jon Rothstein's list of the top 15 JUCO transfers for the 2015-16 season. Williams, who can shoot the ball from the perimeter and defend a number of different positions, was compared to former Texas star Jonathan Holmes.
The New York Post released their Big East Preview and of course, Providence point guard Kris Dunn is predicted to be the Player of the Year in the Conference and Villanova is predicted to win the regular season title for the third straight year. St. John's slots in at 10th (out of 10) behind Seton Hall ,Marquette, DePaul and Creighton.