Men's College Basketball

New Mexico State head basketball coach Greg Heiar feared retaliation in the aftermath of the fatal shooting involving one of his players at the University of New Mexico last month.

In body cam footage from the New Mexico State Police Department obtained by ESPN's Myron Medcalf, Heiar told Officer David Esquibel he was concerned for the "safety" of his family and players.

Heiar spoke with Esquibel hours after New Mexico State's Mike Peake shot and killed University of New Mexico student Brandon Travis on Nov. 19. Police have deemed the shooting to be self-defense.

Heiar said his concern stemmed from his wife and daughter being at the game in the same location where a New Mexico student was shot.

"I'm worried about my wife and daughter just being at the game," he told Esquibel. "A student shot...people say, a New Mexico State basketball player shot a student. That's not going to go over well in front of 15,000 people. This is about the safety of everybody. That's where I'm at."

A game between New Mexico State and New Mexico at The Pit was scheduled to take place Nov. 19, but it was postponed as a result of the shooting, which took place in the early hours of gameday.

According to New Mexico State police (h/t Medcalf), Peake said he was "lured" to the campus by four University of New Mexico students before an altercation led to the shooting.

"Through investigation, agents later learned that Travis had conspired with a 17-year-old female and two of Travis's male friends, all UNM students, to lure the 21-year-old victim to UNM campus and assault him," the police said in a statement.

Peake was also shot in the incident, but he was listed in stable condition. New Mexico State athletic director Mario Moccia announced this week that Peake has been indefinitely suspended from the basketball team and an independent investigator will be hired to review the events surrounding the shooting.

The 17-year-old girl involved has been charged with aggravated battery and conspiracy. Police are offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the apprehension of two other male suspects.

The No. 25 Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the unranked Rutgers Scarlet Knights 67-66 on Thursday night on a three-point buzzer-beater by Tanner Holden.

However, the Big Ten announced Friday that Holden's three-pointer shouldn't have counted, per NCAA.com's Andy Katz.

The Big Ten said in a statement:

"During regulation play, an OSU student-athlete passed the ball to a teammate who had drifted out of bounds and returned to the court to complete the game-winning shot. The action of stepping out of bounds and being the first player to touch the ball after returning inbounds constituted a violation of NCAA Rule 9, Section 3, Article 1. The play should have been stopped, and the ball ruled dead.

"The officiating crew that was on the court is one of the best in the country, but unfortunately missed the call. The Big Ten Conference takes officiating very seriously and has addressed the matter with both member institutions and the officiating crew. Additionally, the conference will be providing added education and rule reinforcement to our basketball officials."

Almost immediately after Holden hit the game-winning shot, Rutgers coaches and players were telling officials that the shot shouldn't count because Holden was out of bounds just before catching the ball.

"I thought it was (out of bounds) because it was right in front of me," Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell said after the game, per NJ.com's Brian Fonseca. "... Again, I'm not sure about the sideline thing. I thought he clearly was, but again, I didn't see anything."

Considering Rutgers was up by two points when Holden caught the ball, a turnover would likely have resulted in a Buckeyes loss at Schottenstein Center.

Instead, Ohio State moved to 7-2 on the season, while Rutgers dropped to 6-3. Though it's early in the season, Rutgers could have used the conference victory.

The Buckeyes have had a solid season thus far, but they have lost each of their two games against ranked opponents, falling to No. 22 San Diego State on Nov. 21 and No. 15 Duke on Nov. 30.

Ohio State is back in action on Saturday against North Carolina, and they have a pretty tough January on tap with matchups against No. 4 Purdue, No. 13 Maryland, No. 17 Illinois and No. 14 Indiana.

The Buckeyes and Scarlet Knights will meet again on Jan. 15, and Rutgers will have revenge on its mind.

Tennessee Volunteers starting center Tamari Key had her senior season cut short after some unfortunate news on Thursday.

According to ESPN's Alexa Philippou, Tennessee announced that Key will miss the remainder of the season after blood clots were discovered in her lungs.

The school announced that Key is expected to make a full recovery. Per Philippou, she "will receive care under the guidance of the University of Tennessee Medical Center and Tennessee athletics team physicians."

A four-year starter for the Lady Vols, Key entered the 2022-23 season as a preseason All-SEC first-team selection and a member of the Naismith Trophy watch list. She averaged 10.5 points and 8.1 rebounds as a junior and was named a semifinalist for defensive player of the year as well as a finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award, which is given to the nation's best center.

Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper expressed her thoughts in a statement:

"My sole concern right now is that Tamari continues to get the medical care and guidance she needs and begins the gradual process of healing and returning to full strength. This is much bigger than basketball. We are so grateful that this medical condition was caught. Our entire program will be right beside Tamari during this process and welcomes prayers and positive thoughts from Lady Vol Nation and beyond."

Key's absence is another blow to a Tennessee team that entered the year with high aspirations. The Lady Vols entered the year ranked in the Top Five but has since fallen out of the poll after starting out with a 5-5 record. Leading scorer Rickea Jackson is also out indefinitely because of what Harper called a "coach's decision."

The Lady Vols have two games at home against unranked teams before a crucial nonconference showdown at No. 2 Stanford on Dec. 18.

New Mexico State University suspended Mike Peake from its basketball team as an investigation into a fatal shooting that took place in the early hours of Nov. 19 continues.

“Mike is suspended from our basketball team until the completion of the university’s investigation and the investigation of the proper authorities,” New Mexico State athletic director Mario Moccia told reporters. “When those investigations will be complete, I can’t say.”

Police say Peake shot and killed 19-year-old Brandon Travis on the University of New Mexico campus after Travis and three others allegedly lured Peake to campus to attack him. Peake suffered a leg injury in the shooting and underwent multiple surgeries.

"Through investigation, agents later learned that Travis had conspired with a 17-year-old female and two of Travis's male friends, all UNM students, to lure the 21-year-old victim to UNM campus and assault him," New Mexico State police said in a statement.

Further investigation showed Peake skipped curfew in Albuquerque ahead of the Aggies' game against the Lobos to meet up with the 17-year-old female on the New Mexico campus, where he was met by the girl, Travis and two other male assailants. According to the police report, one man hit Peake with a baseball bat and another shot at Peake while he was running away at which point Peake shot back, striking Travis four times.

The planned attack was revenge for a fight that began weeks prior at a New Mexico vs. New Mexico State football game. Jonathan Smith and the unnamed girl have been charged with crimes related to the attack.

According to police, Peake was seen on video meeting teammates Issa Muhammad, Marcelus Avery and Anthony Roy following the shooting and putting items into the trunk of a car. Head coach Greg Heiar and assistant coach Dominque Taylor are regularly mentioned in the police report as being uncooperative in the subsequent police investigation.

The report says police received resistance from the players and coaching staff for weeks regarding the investigation as they attempted to recover the weapon used to shoot Travis, along with Peak's tablet and cell phone.

“I emphasized to Coach Taylor how important it was to recover the gun and other items that were placed in the trunk,” state police agent David Esquibel wrote. “I asked him to let me know if he finds out any information about the Camaro, the gun or other items and he said he would.”

Police eventually found Taylor in possession of the weapon wrapped in a towel. They have also recovered Peake's tablet and cell phone as the investigation continues.

There has been no word on what potential criminal charges could be pursued.

The game at New Mexico and the scheduled Dec. 3 rematch between the teams in Las Cruces, New Mexico were both canceled.

Houston remained the No. 1 team in the men's college basketball Associated Press poll after improving to 8-0, although upsets around the country led to more movement in the Top 25.

Arizona, Baylor and Creighton were among the Top 10 teams from last week that suffered losses, with nonconference battles giving other squads a chance to prove themselves.

Here are the latest rankings heading into Week 5 of the 2022-23 season.

AP Poll

1. Houston

2. Texas

3. Virginia

4. Purdue

5. UConn

6. Kansas

7. Tennessee

8. Alabama

9. Arkansas

10. Arizona

11. Auburn

12. Baylor

13. Maryland

14. Indiana

15. Duke

16. Kentucky

17. Illinois

18. Gonzaga

19. UCLA

20. Iowa State

21. Creighton

22. San Diego State

23. Mississippi State

24. TCU

25. Ohio State

Houston moved up to the top spot last week and impressed in its first game, blowing out Norfolk State:

The Cougars had more trouble with Saint Mary's later in the week, but their defense came through during a 53-48 victory.

Texas was even more impressive while earning a 72-67 win over Creighton, holding the Bluejays to 4-of-27 shooting from three-point range.

It was part of a rough week for Creighton, which also suffered a home loss to Nebraska to fall from No. 7 in last week's poll to No. 21 this week.

Arizona also dropped from fourth to 10th after its first loss of the year, an 81-66 road defeat against Utah. Kerr Kriisa went 1-of-9 from the field, missing all five of his three-point attempts, and the other Wildcats couldn't generate enough offense in the loss.

Baylor suffered a disappointing blowout loss to Marquette, falling 96-70, although the Bears redeemed themselves with a 64-63 win over Gonzaga later in the week.

No team has fallen more than North Carolina, which spent the first few weeks at No. 1 in the AP poll. The Tar Heels extended their losing streak to four games with road losses against Indiana and Virginia Tech. Armando Bacot wasn't available in the latest defeat, but the performances have still been disappointing for a team with high expectations.

UNC is now unranked just two weeks after topping the poll.

Indiana, meanwhile, suffered a 63-48 loss to Rutgers in its next game after beating North Carolina.

It leaves a lot of uncertainty as conference play gets started, although Virginia and Purdue are among those that added to their resumes with strong wins to remain undefeated.

Connecticut is up to No. 5 after improving to 9-0 on the season, while 8-0 Maryland is now 13th in the country.

The upcoming week features several more quality matchups, including Houston's toughest test of the season so far against Alabama. Texas will take on Illinois in New York, while Arizona and Indiana will battle in Las Vegas.

Marcus Bagley has appeared in just two of Arizona State's seven games this season, and the forward apparently cost himself some more playing time by explaining the situation on social media.

On Sunday, Bagley tweeted that he wasn't playing because he "made a mistake and said some things to Coach [Bobby] Hurley that I shouldn't have said. Me not playing is 100% punishment for what I said that day."

He then provided an update Tuesday and said he was suspended for that tweet:

Hurley addressed the situation prior to Bagley's latest update during an appearance on Arizona Sports' Bickley & Marotta.

"I think it's a byproduct of other guys playing well and just not having the opportunity to get him out on the floor," Hurley said while revealing he planned to discuss the situation with the player. "That's all it comes down to. ... We have a stacked perimeter and right now there's just no minutes for him."

The junior played against Tarleton State on Nov. 7 and Northern Arizona on Nov. 10, averaging 12.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 28.5 minutes per game. He also connected on 33.3 percent of his three-point attempts.

Bagley, who is the younger brother of Detroit Pistons forward Marvin Bagley III, appeared to be well on his way to playing major minutes this season considering those were the first two games but then didn't step on the floor at all in any of the next five.

It is notable that he explained he is healthy because injury concerns limited him to just 15 games during his first two seasons. He arrived at Arizona State as a highly regarded 4-star prospect in the class of 2020, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

There may be some regrets regarding his decision as a recruit at this point considering he also tweeted: "ATHLETES please please please make a well thought through decision where you go to school. These people will tell you anything to build you up just to tear you down."

While Bagley has not been a major contributor, Arizona State is off to a 6-1 start and counts a win over Michigan on its early resume.

Next up for the Sun Devils is their Pac-12 opener against Colorado on Thursday. They are attempting to make the NCAA men's tournament for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign, which was Hurley's fourth season as the head coach.

As the Texas Longhorns men's basketball team hosts the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Wednesday night, it could be looking at its replacement in the Big 12 ahead of its impending departure to the SEC.

According to Action Network's Brett McMurphy, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and Gonzaga athletic director Chris Standiford met earlier Wednesday in Austin and there is "growing mutual interest" for the Bulldogs to join the Big 12.

Texas is set to leave the Big 12 along with Oklahoma and they will become official members of the SEC on July 1, 2025. The Big 12 has already announced that BYU, Houston, Cincinnati and UCF will join the conference beginning in July 2023.

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported earlier this month that Gonzaga and the Big 12 were engaged in talks about joining the conference. The Bulldogs are a basketball powerhouse that plays in the West Coast Conference, which is a mid-major. Thamel noted that the school is fielding multiple discussions to move to a Power Five league.

"Sources indicate that Gonzaga has been exploring its conference options, as it has emerged as one of the premier basketball programs in the country," Thamel wrote. "Both the Pac-12 and the Big East have been engaged with Gonzaga, according to sources, but the extent of those conversations is uncertain."

The last two NCAA men's basketball champions are Big 12 schools in Baylor and Kansas, respectively, so adding Gonzaga to that mix would be a major boost to what is already a strength of the conference. The Bulldogs have been the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament in four of the past five years.

However, there's a chance Gonzaga would not be welcomed with open arms to the Big 12. West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins told reporters he "would think it would be a tremendous awakening for Gonzaga" to join the conference because "you don't get to make your own schedule in the Big 12."