Mid-Day Rumble: Bo Ryan retires, Naz Long done for the season

Today in the Mid-Day Rumble, Wisconsin will be going through some changes, injuries are taking over college basketball and Denzel Valentine needs some help from his teammates.

Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan announced his retirement following the team's 64-49 win over Texas A&M-CC on Tuesday night. Longtime assistant Greg Gard will take over as the interim coach, according to Athletic Director Barry Alvarez.

Ryan has won the most games as a head coach in program history, leading the Badgers to the NCAA Tournament in all 14 of his seasons at the helm. Under the Hall of Fame head coach, the Badgers never finished lower than fourth in a difficult Big Ten Conference.

Gard will have a significant challenge as he tries to lead a program that lost Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker and multiple other veterans from last year's Final Four squad.

Iowa State received some bad news on Tuesday evening with Naz Long shutting it down for the season due to a hip injury. The shooting guard had surgery this offseason but clearly he was not pleased with the recovery. Long will seek a medical hardship in order to have eligibility to compete next season for Steve Prohm and the Cyclones.

Long, who averaged 12 points per game and 2.9 rebounds, is one of the key emotional leaders on the roster. The Cyclones are already very thin with their rotations so Hallice Cook and Matt Thomas will have step up moving forward.

Duke also has injury issues as Amile Jefferson fractured his foot during practice and is out indefinitely. Coach Mike Krzyzewski did mention that Jefferson will have a cast on until December 26th and will be re-evaluated after that time period.

The senior forward, who averages a double-double, is a huge reason why the Blue Devils have had their early season success. His high IQ, rebounding ability, toughness and experience is a positive alongside Marshall Plumlee and gives Krzyzewski a match-up advantage night-in-and-night-out.

Great piece from Brian Hamilton of SI.com about Denzel Valentine and if he'll be able to handle the heavy workload. Eron Harris, Bryn Forbes and 'Tum Tum' Nairn will have to be consistent and put up big scoring games occasionally for the Spartans to be successful in the long run.

Monmouth has proved to be an excellent basketball team, especially after their win over Georgetown on Tuesday night at the Phone Booth. But their 'Bench Mob' has become a storyline across the nation. USA Today put together a behind the scenes look at the celebrations.

North Carolina Tar Heels big man Kennedy Meeks is out a least two weeks with a bruised knee. Meeks is averaging 12.3 points per game and seven rebounds so far this season but struggled in the team's recent loss to Texas, scoring just four points and grabbing six boards.

Head coach Roy Williams will have to gain contributions and production from Isaiah Hicks and Joel James in the meantime.