Kansas won't have to wait for the first tipoff to know it won't defend its basketball title. The NCAA Tuesday put the Jayhawks on probation for three years and banned them from this season's tournament.

Kansas becomes the first team in NCAA history to be prevented from defending its title, but the penalty was not as harsh as it might have been.

Roy Williams, who replaced [Larry Brown], has two players left from the championship team, Milt Newton and Scooter Barry. Newton said he was prepared for news, but the penalty ``hit me like a ton of bricks.''