ESPN.com is now reporting that IU officials have told Andy Katz they will pay Kelvin Sampson $750,000 to resign. A key part of the deal is the caveat that Sampson may not sue the school as Jim O’Brien did when fired by Ohio State in a similar situation.

This could make things very interesting for tomorrow night’s game against Northwestern, as the Associated Press reported earlier today that some Hoosiers skipped practice and are threatening to walk out if Sampson is canned, including star D.J. White. The senior didn’t confirm the rumor when asked about it by Indianapolis station WTRH, but admitted “I will not say it’s not true.”

This storyline appears to still have more mileage left on it, even with the departure of Kelvin Sampson and tag-along Kellen. Would the Hoosiers honestly pull a St. Bonaventure’s and scuttle their entire season? IU certainly has more to play for than the Bonnies did, and a move like this could hamper the future prospects of White and others. With only 25 hours until the road game with Northwestern, Sampson’s smelly legacy could soon hit the fan.

The website was inexplicably unavailable for about an hour and a half this afternoon. Apologies for the downtime, as the adventures of Michael Beasley and the recording iPod are certainly life-changing. Now, on to tonight’s TV listings, which could be useful for those folks not watching Clinton and Obama live from the UT Rec Sports Center…

Pittsburgh (19-6 overall, 7-5 Big East) at #21 Notre Dame (19-5, 9-3) – 6 PM CST, ESPN
Levance Fields had a quiet return to the Panther lineup on Friday night, but his presence is huge for a Pitt squad that lost four games in his absence. They are still without Mike Cook, but are hoping that Fields can provide a bigger boost in his second game back — a boost big enough to, say, snap Notre Dame’s 34-game home winning streak?

Massachusetts (16-9 overall, 5-6 A-10) at Rhode Island (20-6, 6-5) – 6 PM CST, ESPN2
It’s a rare chance to see some Atlantic 10+4 basketball for folks who don’t have the CSTV network, so you may want to tune in. The Rams have been fairly average in conference play and missed a chance to land a huge win when they fell short against Xavier on Monday night. This could be their last chance to secure a victory against the RPI Top 50 before the conference tourney, so this bubble-licious team really needs to grab the W tonight.

Michigan (8-17 overall, 4-9 Big 10) at Minnesota (15-9, 5-7) – 8 PM CST, ESPN
Tubby Smith and John Beilein are two high-profile coaches in their first year rebuilding programs in the upper Midwest. And though they say that coaches are the true superstars of college hoops, I don’t think these two have the drawing power to make watching this one worth your time.

Oregon (15-10 overall, 6-7 Pac-10) at USC (15-9, 6-6) – 10 PM CST, FSN
Andy Glockner still has both the Ducks and Trojans in the “Work Left to Do” category of his latest Bubble Watch. Neither can really afford to lose this game and dip below .500 in league play…or further below it in Oregon’s case.

It’s almost Friday, which means it’s one last chance to catch some good hoops before the weekend, and it’s also time to check out the newest power rankings. Luke Winn moves the Horns up 3 spots to 7th, and brings up what Texas fans have been saying for weeks — D.J.’s tired legs are a problem. You could definitely see it in the final minutes of the Baylor game, and it was pretty noticeable as he struggled versus ISU and Kansas, as well. Not that we’re complaining about Augustin here at LRT, but let’s get the kid some rest down the stretch.

ESPN analysts put Texas one slot higher, just ahead of Duke after their loss last night. Andy Katz and Doug Gottlieb were the high-water marks, with the Longhorns 5th in each ballot, while Dick Vitale continues to use illicit substances and vote Texas 12th. This level of stupidity is what makes us love the subdomain name for the folks at Super, Scintillating, and Sarcastic.

Heather Dinich of ESPN.com has a really great article on the Tony Durant, Kevin’s older brother. Dinich provides an interesting look at the winding path the man took to reach D-1 basketball, and I must say it’s refreshing to see a guy continue to work hard when he could just as easily become a leeching member of his brother’s entourage.

I know that TB and the folks over at Bring on the Cats are still steaming over the loss to Nebraska last night, but the hilarious videos they found of Michael Beasley could make any Cat fan laugh through the pain. Check out these three short clips of Beasley’s confusion, infatuation, and obsession with a reporter’s iPod.

It’s going to be a slow morning here at LRT, but we’ll be back this afternoon with new power rankings, fun videos from K-State, and a look at tonight’s Pac-10 action.

A night packed full of hoops from conferences big and small, so you won’t have to be stuck with quality programming like Wife Swap and Supernanny.

#3 North Carolina (24-2 overall, 9-2 ACC) at NC State (15-10, 4-7) – 6 PM CST, ESPN
Roy Williams and Coach K are acting like characters in Mean Girls, which must mean the Tar Heels aren’t playing anyone important tonight. I dig J.J. Hickson and Gavin Grant inside, but they shouldn’t be too much of a hassle for Psycho T and his gang of defense-free friends.

#24 Marquette (18-6 overall, 8-5 Big East) at St. John’s (10-14, 4-9) – 6 PM CST, ESPN2
The Golden Eagles are beating the teams they are supposed to in conference play and only losing to the solid ballclubs, which is a bad omen for the Johnnies tonight. Usually I’d mention that home court could make something of a difference for the underdog in a major conference, but the fan support at St. John’s games reminds me of Canasta night in Boca Raton. Point, Marquette.

South Florida (11-15 overall, 2-11 Big East) at Cincinnati (12-12, 7-5) – 6 PM CST, ESPNU
It’s got to be depressing for Bulls fans to realize that their only real rebounder won’t be on campus next year, and that even with Kentrell Gransberry and freshman stud Dominique Jones, they still likely won’t make the Big East tournament. Perhaps Stan Heath can get things turned around in a few years, but for now the prognosis is grim.

#1 Memphis (25-0 overall, 11-0 C-USA) at Tulane (15-9, 5-5) – 7 PM CST, CSTV
Nothing can possibly top the unbridled awesomeness of the “Mempis” riot in UAB last weekend, so I’d rather not even tune in to this one and be disappointed. If Joey Dorsey happens to punch somebody, give me a call so I can flip channels.

#25 Kansas State (18-6 overall, 8-2 Big 12) at Nebraska (14-9, 3-7) – 8 PM CST, ESPN2
K-State controls its own destiny in the conference race, but that means they have to clean up on these chip shots before tackling UT, Kansas, and Baylor. Aleks Maric is a presence inside, but the Cornhuskers will have their hands full with the Beast-ley/Walker combo in this one.

Eastern Michigan (10-14 overall, 6-6 MAC) at Western Michigan (14-10, 8-3)
There is no possible way that Michigan is wide enough to justify not only Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan, but Central Michigan as well. That’s one directional school for every 73 miles. Overkill.

Fans of the BCS conferences can get their fill on ESPN Full Court tonight, with the ACC, SEC, and Big East providing a wide range of choices…

Wisconsin-Milwaukee (13-11 overall, 8-6 Horizon) at Cleveland State (17-11, 10-6) – 6 PM CST

Georgia State (7-18 overall, 4-11 CAA) at UNC-Wilmington (17-10, 10-5) – 6 PM CST

South Carolina (12-12 overall, 4-6 SEC) at Florida (19-7, 6-5) – 7 PM CST

West Virginia (18-7 overall, 7-5 Big East) at Villanova (15-9, 5-7) – 7 PM CST

LSU (9-15 overall, 2-8 SEC) at Arkansas (17-7, 6-4) – 7:05 PM CST

#4 Duke (22-2 overall, 10-1 ACC) at Miami (17-7, 4-6) – 8 PM CST

Virginia Tech (14-11 overall, 5-6 ACC) at Maryland (17-9, 7-4) – 8 PM CST