MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Big 12’s suspensions of Kansas and Kansas State players in the aftermath of Tuesday night’s brawl between the two teams will carry over when each team faces the Mountaineers for the second time this season.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby announced an eight-game suspension for Kansas State’s James Love, though it will not begin until the 6-foot-11 forward is medically cleared to return to competition. Love has missed the entire season with an injury.
More pertinent to the Mountaineers is a three-game suspension to Kansas State guard Antonio Gordon. Kansas State’s Feb. 1 matchup at West Virginia is the final game of that suspension. Gordon scored seven points in 13 minutes when the Wildcats beat WVU this past Saturday.
Kansas big man Silvio De Sousa suffered the harshest punishment, earning a 12-game suspension. He’ll still be out when the Jayhawks visit West Virginia on Feb. 12. However, Kansas will have the services of power forward David McCormack, who received a two-game suspension.
The absence of De Sousa might not be noticed, as he was scoreless with two rebounds in seven minutes against the Mountaineers when WVU visited Kansas on Jan. 4.
“This kind of behavior cannot be tolerated and these suspensions reflect the severity of last evening’s events,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in a league release. “I am appreciative of the cooperation of both institutions in resolving this matter.”