Emmert says North Carolina investigation 'moving along'

HOUSTON – The NCAA's marketing slogan for the Final Four is the "road ends here." A reporter used the phrase to ask NCAA President Mark Emmert about the long, winding road of the organization's investigation at North Carolina, and when that road might end.

"It's been moving along very well," Emmert said. "The university's been very cooperative, [the NCAA] will be at a place where my staff can issue allegations or notice of allegations in the very near future."

In an interview just after his news conference Thursday, Emmert told ESPN he expected the NCAA would complete a new notice of allegation "in the coming weeks or a month or so."

North Carolina's NCAA case has been at a standstill since August, when the university submitted new information to the NCAA related to the NCAA's investigation into a long-running scheme of suspect African Studies paper classes. Before submitting that information, the university was days away from responding to the original notice of allegations (NOA) it received in May.

Since August, though, North Carolina has been awaiting an amended NOA. The receipt of the NOA, though, will not represent an endpoint as much as it will a new beginning. Once the school receives the amended NOA, it will have 90 days to respond. Then the NCAA will have about a month to issue a response to the response, and to set a date before the NCAA Committee on Infractions, which is the judge and jury in infractions cases.

Once UNC appears before the infractions committee, it could take another 12 weeks or more before the committee issues a final ruling in the case, which means the case could drag on into early 2017.

Emmert described the UNC case as "a very complex circumstance" but added, "They're certainly getting to the end of the road on it."

The turnover came with 77 seconds left and Gonzaga up 60-59. Josh Perkins skipped a pass for Kyle Dranginis into the frontcourt, and Syracuse's Trevor Cooney deflected it back across the line, where Dranginis grabbed it again.

Refs called a 10-second violation, but the 10-second limit in the backcourt should have reset once a player touched the ball in the frontcourt.

Syracuse scored the last four points for a 63-60 victory.

• Steve Henson, a member of Lon Kruger's Oklahoma coaching staff for five years, has been chosen to be the coach at Texas-San Antonio. Henson has helped mentor the Sooners guards, including two-time Big 12 Player of the Year Buddy Hield.