Players Suspended After Kansas-Kansas State Brawl

“Certainly the way Silvio reacted to him taking his ball, going down and blocking the shot, that’s all fair game,” Self added. “What transpired after that is obviously what set everything off.”

De Sousa was playing in the game only because he won an appeal of a suspension with the N.C.A.A. A consultant for Adidas had testified that he made payments to De Sousa’s guardian to encourage him to play for Kansas. De Sousa sat out last season before winning his appeal, shortening a two-season suspension to one year.

That is just part of the scrutiny that the Kansas program is under in the wake of the sprawling federal investigation into corruption in college basketball. Last year, Kansas received a notice of allegations — N.C.A.A. parlance for an indictment — that accused it of widespread rules violations, and it could face severe penalties.

Kansas, just one of the schools in N.C.A.A. peril, has denied wrongdoing.

In an interview on Friday, Mark Emmert, the president of the N.C.A.A., said there would “doubtlessly be more” notices of allegations issued this academic year, but he suggested that the crucial phase of telling schools of suspected violations was nearing its end.

Oddly enough, Tuesday’s game was not the first time this season that Kansas played a blowout game with a late twist. In November, with Kansas leading Monmouth, 112-57, and dribbling out the game, George Papas of Monmouth went for a steal much as Gordon did, and rushed down court for a dunk. He punctuated the bucket with some words for Kansas and was hit with a technical. No brawl, or stool lifting, ensued that time.

There is even some late-game history specific to the Kansas-Kansas State rivalry. In 2016, Brannen Greene of Kansas threw down an uncontested dunk as players were lining up to shake hands. Three years later, Barry Brown of Kansas State dunked late in the rivalry game and delivered a callback: “Shoutout Brannen Greene,” he said.

Alan Blinder in Anaheim, Calif., contributed reporting.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/sports/kansas-state-brawl.html?emc=rss&partner=rss