Jackson Free Press

Here's some bad news if you're a Mississippi State basketball fan. As of Tuesday night, State still didn't know if All-Everything center Mario Austin will be eligible to play in Saturday's season opener with Louisiana-Lafayette.

MSU officials were hoping for a decision on Tuesday night, according to broadcast reports, but a conference call with the NCAA didn't result in a ruling. MSU officials said there won't be any announcement before Wednesday.

Austin has been benched during No. 12 State's two exhibition games while the NCAA looks into his high school transcript. Alabama, understandably pissed at losing a superstar Alabama kid to MSU, has spent the last two years turning the Dogs into the NCAA for recruiting violations. If there's any college that should know what's against NCAA rules, it's Bama, as they have broken so many of them.

Allow Dr. S to cut to the chase: Look for State to announce sometime this week that Super Mario has been ruled ineligible by the NCAA. Look for State's hopes of competing for another SEC title and going back to the NCAA Tournament to immediately go down the toilet.