Kansas is not expecting Cliff Alexander to be available

Bill Self continues to prepare Kansas for playing without forward Cliff Alexander in the NCAA tournament, but the coach told the Kansas City Star on Monday that the NCAA’s investigation into the 6-foot-8, 240-pound freshman’s eligibility is still “status quo.”

Alexander has not been officially ruled out of the tournament, but the NCAA is investigating potential improper benefits received by Alexander’s family from a third party. The forward, who averages 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds, has not played since Feb. 23 because of the issue.

Self addressed the situation Monday in a TV interview on ESPNU.

“We’re certainly moving on with the likelihood that he will not be available to us,” Self said. “And if he is, of course, that would be a big bonus. But at this time, I don’t think so.”

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Pepperdine will play at Seattle University on Wednesday night at 7 in a first-round game of the 16-team College Basketball Invitational.

The Waves (18-13) have their most wins since 2002 and their first winning season in a decade. Seattle has a record of 16-15. The winner will play either Gardner-Webb or Colorado in a quarterfinal next week.

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Penn hired Steve Donahue as its new coach, the former Quakers assistant returning after head coaching stops at Cornell and Boston College.

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After giving serious consideration to making a change, Georgia Tech announced that it will bring back Coach Brian Gregory for another season. The Yellow Jackets finished 12-19 overall and 3-15 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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San Diego fired Bill Grier, who coached the Toreros to an upset of Connecticut in the 2008 NCAA tournament, his first season with the school. His record was 117-144 over eight seasons.

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Alabama associate head Coach John Brannen will lead the Crimson Tide through the National Invitation Tournament after the firing of Anthony Grant.

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George Mason fired coach Paul Hewitt after his teams were 66-67 over four seasons.

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North Carolina Greensboro gave Coach Wes Miller a two-year contract extension through the 2018-19 season. The Spartans (11-22, 6-12 in the Southern Conference) finished the season with only six scholarship players because of injuries.

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Colorado announced Dustin Thomas, a 6-foot-7 sophomore guard who averaged 4.4 points a game, is leaving the program.

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Andy Landers, 62, announced he is retiring after 36 seasons as the only full-time coach in the history of the Georgia women’s program. Under Landers, Georgia made five Final Four appearances. He never led Georgia to a national championship but was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007. He got his 850th career win this season, but Georgia lost nine of its last 11 games to finish 19-12 after a strong start to the season.