Big win doesn't change anything: Sampson's time a-tickin'

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- You ever seen a dead man walking?

I have.

Saw one Saturday night.

The clock is ticking for Kelvin Sampson. (US Presswire)

He wore a blue shirt and a red tie and he coached his you-know-what off. He watched his Indiana Hoosiers fall behind by double digits early before rallying and earning their best victory of the season -- an 80-61 win over Michigan State that kept them in contention for the Big Ten title and really was something to witness. The atmosphere was great, as rowdy as you'll find anytime or anywhere. And it's hard to imagine Kelvin Sampson didn't enjoy every minute except for that it seems like it would be difficult to enjoy anything when you know your time is tick, tick, ticking away fast.

"I don't have any comment on that," Sampson said afterward.

Which made sense, really.

I mean, what can the man say now?

A day earlier he watched his president take the microphone and deliver the news that Indiana was starting a new investigation into allegations that Sampson committed five major NCAA rules violations. Athletic director Rick Greenspan is scheduled to recommend by Friday what step IU should take next, and barring some unforeseen development the recommendation will ultimately lead to the end of Sampson's troubled tenure at the school.

Worst case scenario for Sampson: He's gone this week.

Best case scenario for Sampson: He's gone before the start of next season.

Either way, how this will end is easier to predict than the final scenes of Rocky III (or Rocky IV or Rocky V or Rocky Balboa, for that matter). Sampson will get fired or resign, sooner or later. And so it was with that presumption that a sellout crowd of 17,400 packed Assembly Hall and tried to figure out how to root, root, root for the home team while also tossing in a casual boo for the home team's coach.

The whole thing was strange on many levels.

And it only got stranger when Indiana started winning.