Arizona men self-impose one-year postseason ban
TUCSON, ARIZ. » The Arizona men’s basketball program has self-imposed a one-year postseason ban related to its long-running NCAA rules infractions case.
Arizona was accused of nine counts of misconduct, including five Level I violations, in a Notice of Allegations sent by the NCAA in October. The violations include a lack of institutional control and failure to monitor by the university, and lack of head coach control by basketball coach Sean Miller.
The school announced the one-year ban Tuesday.
“The decision is an acknowledgement that the NCAA’s investigation revealed that certain former members of the MBB staff displayed serious lapses in judgment and a departure from the University’s expectation of honest and ethical behavior,” the school said in a statement. “It is also in accord with the penalty guidelines of the NCAA for the type of violations involved.”
Arizona is off to a 7-1 start, including a 1-1 mark in the Pac-12, but won’t have the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats have a revamped roster after freshmen stars Josh Green, Zeke Nnaji and Nico Mannion were all selected in the NBA draft.
The postseason ban includes the Pac-12 tournament, so Arizona’s season will end against rival Arizona State on March 6.
Arizona had been in the NCAA’s crosshairs since 2017, when assistant coach Emanuel Richardson was among 10 people arrested as part of a federal corruption investigation into college basketball.
(2) BAYLOR 93, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 56 » MaCio Teague scored 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting, preseason AP All-America guard Jared Butler had 17 points and Baylor (7-0) remained undefeated with a rout of Central Arkansas (1-7).
(9) WEST VIRGINIA 75, NORTHEASTERN 51 » Derek Culver scored 18 points, Oscar Tshiebwe had 12 points and 15 rebounds and West Virginia (8-2) capitalized on its size advantage to beat Northeastern (1-5).
(13) TEXAS TECH 79, INCARNATE WORD 51 » Kevin McCullar scored 11 points in his season debut coming off an ankle injury and Texas Tech (8-2) cruised in a tune-up before Big 12 play resumes.
(14)RUTGERS81,PURDUE76» Montez Mathis had a career-high 25 points, including 16 in the second half, and Rutgers (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten) beat Purdue (7-4, 2-2) without leading scorer Ron Harper Jr.
Harper tweaked his ankle in practice and
was scratched an hour before tipoff. His injury is the latest for Rutgers .
CLEMSON 77, (18) FLORIDA STATE 67 » Clyde Trapp scored 15 points and Nick Honor had all his 13 points in the second half, including the go-ahead 3-pointer, as Clemson (7-1,
1-1 ACC) rallied past Florida State (5-2, 1-1).
(24) VIRGINIA TECH 80, MIAMI 78 » Keve Aluma scored a career-high 26 points and Virginia Tech (8-1, 2-0 ACC) made crucial free throws in the final minute on the way to a victory over Miami (4-3, 0-2).
Bonner-Prendergast All-Delco Isaiah Wong and Matt Cross paced Miami with 16 points apiece.
Women
(4) CONNECTICUT 75, (18) DEPAUL 52 » Olivia Nelson-Ododa had 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead UConn (6-0, 5-0 Big East) to a over DePaul (5-3, 2-1)
Freshman Paige Bueckers added 18 points for the Huskies, who had five players score in double figures in their first game this season against a ranked opponent.
(19)TEXAS77,LAMAR49» Charli Collier had 28 points and 13 rebounds and freshman DeYona Gaston added season highs of 18 points and
10 rebounds as Texas (7-1) routed Lamar (1-7).