In Indianapolis, college basketball is celebrating the Final Four -- the handful of teams who've fought their way through four tough rounds of the NCAA tournament to stake their claim as the finest in the land. FindLaw's Tarnished Twenty editors have our own finalists: the Felonious Four. Minnesota, Michigan, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati have worked just as hard as their illustrious counterparts to separate themselves from the field. But their off-court "achievements" are nothing to brag about. Forget rebounds and blocked shots. We're talking suspensions and scandals; arrests and assaults. It doesn't get any uglier than this. Who'll take home the crown as the Tarnished Twenty National Champion? Read on.

#1: Minnesota The games have been played, the mistakes have been made, the ballots have been cast. Envelope, please. And the Tarnished Twenty National Champion is . . . Minnesota. Oh jah, you betcha. #2: Michigan While an army of former players marched before a federal grand jury, and the Ed Martin scandal lingered in the background, the young Wolverine squad won their first six games. Then the honeymoon ended... #3: Pittsburgh Staying clean was just too much of a challenge for nearly half of this year's Pittsburgh Panther squad. With a slew of allegations and dismissals, the Panthers seemed ready to put the trainers in uniform by the time their miserable season ground to a halt. #4: Cincinnati The Cincinnati Bearcats can't stop playing the bridesmaid. Like Indiana, Cincinnati is one of those teams that plays tough all season, then ends up watching the Final Four on the tube... But they charged into the Felonious Four thanks to their off-court indiscretions.

What a long strange trip it's been. From Chapel Hill to Ann Arbor and from New York to L.A., players have been jailed, bailed, benched, suspended, upended, high-fived, and five-to-tenned; they've gone pro, gone fishin' and some have gone just plain nuts. The biggest story on the college hoops scene: eligibility. Or lack thereof. UCLA's JaRon Rush was in no hurry, benched for half the season by the NCAA for goodies he got in high school; ditto Michigan's Jamal Crawford, Missouri's Kareem Rush (JaRon's brother), and a bevy of other high-profile players. By the end of the extra-benefit rampage, the NCAA had suspended eight players and ordered several to "donate" thousands of dollars to charity to pay back the handouts they'd received. The Rush brothers returned to the court in time for the Tourney, but others weren't so lucky. Auburn forward Chris Porter's college career was cut short, and now he faces criminal charges. The ongoing investigation at St. John's prompted sophomore Erick Barkley to jump into the NBA draft, and if the rumors prove true, Crawford -- he of the maize headband -- may be next.

So, What Did You Do to Upset the Coach?

In the last two weeks, no less than six schools have suspended players for "undisclosed" rule violations. Presumably, coaches and administrators are looking for a way to mete out punishment without airing a program's dirty laundry -- and some of that laundry must be pretty soiled indeed, as a few of the schools found it necessary to bench their top scorers on the eve of conference championship showdowns. Here's a quick rundown of the players in the doghouse: Myron Anthony (Texas Christian University) Edmund Saunders (University of Connecticut) Dennis Mims (Virginia Tech) Bevon Robin (Fordham University) Galen Morrison (Kansas State) Tayshaun Prince (University of Kentucky) Desmond Allison (University of Kentucky) Keith Bogans (University of Kentucky)

While dazed athletes rode the pine, coaches ranted, raved, accused, abused, and finally threw up their arms in despair or disgust. Mike Jarvis of St. John's likened the NCAA to the Gestapo, while Temple's John Chaney wondered aloud if the beleaguered institution was planning to investigate the people who changed players' diapers when they were still in the crib. With all the inquiries and suspensions, the NCAA seemed to have a busier season than most of the teams it oversees. And despite the frantic investigative schedule created by current misconduct, the NCAA still found time to slam Purdue with an $80,000 fine for past recruiting violations.

Meanwhile, fans -- sick of NCAA player eligibility bingo -- threw food in some arenas, and fits in others. Hundreds of Michigan students donned sweatbands in solidarity with their fallen hero, Crawford, and St. John's players sported band-aids on their cheeks to support Barkley. The Red Storm star was spared a grilling by Duke undergrads when St. John's visited Durham earlier this year -- thanks to a classy personal request from Coach K to the school's fans -- but the Big East visitors then dealt the Blue Devils a rare out-of-conference home loss. Don't expect Mike Jarvis and company to get the red carpet treatment on a return trip. And in the players-in-the-stands department: San Jose State fans were stunned to see two basketball team members -- the target of harsh criticism after getting arrested with a handgun and ammo on New Year's Eve -- passing out written apologies to everyone in attendance at an early January game.

We now find ourselves at the end of the inaugural season of college basketball's Tarnished Twenty. And while March is traditionally the sport's finest hour, the mayhem of the past few weeks has once again proved that misconduct waits for no man, as players and coaches continue to bring shame to their schools.

Leading the charge is Indiana's bad boy, Coach Bobby Knight. Just days before his Hoosiers' first-round collapse against pesky Pepperdine, the crimson-clad bully was accused of choking former player Neil Reed (apparently, Knight didn't want to be outdone by Delaware State's Tony Sheals, who recently stepped down after allegedly attacking a player). After three years of silence about his transfer to Southern Mississippi, Reed told all to CNN/ Sports Illustrated, claiming that Knight grabbed him by the throat during a practice and held him for several seconds before assistant Dan Dakich could pull them apart. Knight denies that he choked Reed, though he concedes he may have grabbed the player around the neck for "motivational reasons." Uh-huh. Further explaining the incident, Coach Knight reminded the press that he's "not teaching these kids to play canasta." Besides, he added, "who's heard about Neil Reed in the past three years?"

Despite media criticism of Knight, former assistant coach Dakich and a posse of current Hoosiers, including seniors Michael Lewis and A.J. Guyton, stand by their man. Nevertheless, the ugly evidence continues to pile up. Former teammate Richard Mandeville backs up Reed's claims that Knight has booted none other than university president Myles Brand from practice. Mandeville also told CNN that Knight once emerged from a bathroom with his pants around his ankles and thrust a fistful of soiled toilet paper at his team to tell them what he thought of their play. Knight might brag that he's won a great deal, and with an ostensibly clean program, but who can overlook his record of punching a Puerto Rican police officer, kicking and head-butting players, and allegedly assaulting a stranger in a Bloomington restaurant parking lot? And what of talented players like Jason Collier and Luke Recker, who shipped out of Hoosierville and sought asylum with other teams? A university investigation may be underway, but don't be fooled: Knight is king in Bloomington, and he's not about to leave.

Packing Their Bags

Athletic directors have been working overtime. Several coaches got the axe or resigned last week, almost all of them in the wake of a team defeat. It doesn't take a mathetmatician to figure out why these guys are on the way out: hefty losses plus only a few wins equals no job. Say goodbye to the following floor generals: Milton Barnes (Eastern Michigan) Tom Asbury (Kansas State) Bob Donewald (Western Michigan) Danny Nee (Nebraska) Reggie Minton (Air Force) Tom Abatemarco (Sacramento State) Eddie Payne (Oregon State)

Nipping at Indiana's heels in the March Walk of Shame are two southern schools with players facing sexual assault allegations. SMU hoopsters Jeryl Sasser and Renaldo Bratton were suspended indefinitely after the team's last regular season loss, pending a police investigation into a cheerleader's claims that both boys pawed her at a rowdy hotel party. Two members of the Spirit Squad have also been suspended for rules violations, including underage drinking. Arkansas-Little Rock freshman Mark Green seems to be working off the same play book. He marked the end of his first season with an arrest on charges of raping a 16-year-old girl.

Unfortunately, these incidents are just the latest in a string of sexual assault scandals. Iowa State transfer Travis Spivey, accused a while back of raping two teenage runaways and convicted of statutory rape, will be answering to a parole officer next year and paying a hefty fine. And former Weber State starters Damien Baskerville and Noel Jackson await the final word on their tag-team rape charges stemming from an incident last spring. Finally, who could forget the mysterious departure of Memphis coach Tic Price last November, following accusations that he assaulted his alleged 23-year-old student mistress?

From sex to drugs. Kentucky's a perennial Tournament fixture, but the Wildcats haven't done much celebrating this March, thanks to their second-round ousting by Syracuse -- and freshman Desmond Allison's arrest for drunk driving and marijuana possession. Under a zero-tolerance policy adopted in the wake of the 1998 car crash that killed UK football player Artie Steinmetz, Allison stands to lose his scholarship if he's convicted. Perhaps he can transfer either to Kansas, where Lester Earl was reinstated after a brief suspension for DUI, or to Pittsburgh, where Isaac Hawkins remains on the team after an arrest for dope possession. At least Northern Iowa showed some grit, booting top scorer Sean Stackhouse. He's looking at time in the slammer after police caught him red-eyed and red-handed with more than a pound of weed. Why so many drug and alcohol violations? Perhaps players are following the example of coaching staff like North Carolina's Phil Ford and Missouri's Tony Harvey, who tarnished their respective programs with DUI citations.

On to some good, old-fashioned theft -- although we're happy to report that the five-finger-discount shenanigans all took place before the Big Dance began. Duquesne Dukes Jamal Hunter and Simon Ogunlesi were indicted over the summer for their alleged attempt to defraud PNC Bank out of $36,000. UC Santa Barbara players Larry Bell and Eric Hare will be doing time this summer and making restitution for the $3,000 in charges they rang up on a pilfered credit card. And UCLA Lady Bruin forward Ayesha Rembert is still facing theft charges related to several thousand dollars worth of missing property. Where'd all these players get the bright idea to take what isn't theirs? Once again, look to the coaching ranks. Former Rhode Island assistant Jim Harrick, Jr. was recently accused of billing the school for $900 worth of personal expenses, and former Texas-Pan American coach Delray Brooks was fired for allegedly stealing a $25,000 university payout.

Rounding out Tournament Terror, crazed students and fans -- exemplars of all that is Mad about March -- have brought angry police in riot gear to campuses across the Midwest. Elite Eight elation led brain-dead Wisconsin fans to hurl bottles at police, while Iowa State students tore down light poles (sounds like an exciting campus). And police in West Lafayette, Indiana tear-gassed students to contain two raging bonfires near Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium.

Of course, March Mayhem wouldn't be complete without (yet another) NCAA investigation. This time it's UNLV, currently under the microscope for a set of suspected violations ranging from coaches dishing out extra benefits to cash payments from boosters. The most serious allegation involves a $5,600 handout to Lamar Odom -- now with the L.A. Clippers -- who never even played with the Rebels (he ended up with the University of Rhode Island, before jumping early to the NBA). Booster Steve Stein, under suspicion for dishing out cash to at least one UNLV player, echoed the sentiments of a college coach or two, calling the NCAA a "bunch of Nazis." Looks like a step back for UNLV, which is still trying to regain respectability in the post-Tarkanian era.

Now all eyes are on Indianapolis, with Michigan State, Florida, North Carolina and Wisconsin staking their claim to the title. Unfortunately, they've brought the stench of misconduct with them. Wisconsin's Roy Boone and North Carolina's Ed Cota and Terrence Newby all face misdemeanor charges, but will play anyway. Boone's accused of theft, while Cota and Newby are in hot water for their part in an alleged scuffle during a Halloween riot in Chapel Hill.

What's next year hold? After making the Final Four with relatively young teams, both the Badgers and the Tar Heels should be formidable next year -- if they can keep their noses clean. Assuming junior Marcus Fizer sticks around, Iowa State will also be back in contention. Duke and Kansas are also pretty good bets, and look for Michigan State to reload despite the loss of several key players. Tougher challenges face Purdue, which loses talented seniors Brian Cardinal and Jaraan Cornell -- and scholarships as well, thanks to NCAA sanctions. Pitt will be starting over in every sense of the phrase, desperately trying to develop a clean, successful program after a lousy year on the court and nonstop player misconduct. Michigan has a stable of young talent, but with the athletic director gone, the bad taste of the Crawford affair, and the dark cloud of wayward booster Ed Martin still hanging over the program, the Wolverines have their work cut out for them. And Minnesota? Well, thanks to the mess left behind by Clem Haskins, Coach Monson faces another long Minneapolis winter of academic fraud fallout. Monson might be moving the program in the right direction, but he better brace himself for the NCAA penalties to come.

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NCAA Recruiting Violation Mania Coaches Abusing Players Sexual Assault, Rape, and Other Felonies "High" Crimes and DUIs Fans Behaving Badly UNLV Investigation Steal the Ball, Steal the Cash