The Kansas City Star is reporting that both Bob Huggins and Rick Majerus have been eliminated as candidates to fill the head basketball coaching vacancy at the University of Missouri. The newspaper interviewed former Tiger All-American Jon Sunvold, who is on the search committee for a new coach.

Sunvold told the paper that University of Missouri Chancellor Brady Deaton expressed concern about the backgrounds of the two coaches. Majerus violated some NCAA rules when he was the head coach at Utah. He led the Utes to the NCAA championship game in 1998. Huggins had a number of players who had run-ins with police.

Former Missouri St. head coach Steve Alford is now a candidate, according to ESPN.com. According an article by Andy Katz, Iowa Athletic Director Bowlsby told him that MU Athletic Director Mike Alden contacted him yesterday, asking for permission to talk to Alford. Bowlsby granted Alden permission to do so.

Iowa was knocked out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament by 14th-seeded Northwestern St. At Missouri St., Alford led the Bears to the Sweet 16 in 1999, before taking the job at Iowa.