Seton Hall forward Herb Pope has been ejected from the opening round of the Pirates NIT opener against Texas Tech.
With 14:19 remaining in the first half, Pope was battling for position with Red Raider forward Darko Cohadarevic in the Pirates offensive end when the two players seemed to tangle with each other.
On the ensuing possession, Pope and Cohadarevic battled again, this time Cohadarevic ended up on the floor.
The ESPN broadcast stated that Pope threw a punch.
During the next media timeout, the referees determined that the punch was flagrant and ejected him.
Video replays, however, showed that Pope hit Cohadarevic below the waistline.
The NCAA Basketball rules state that" a fight is a confrontation involving one of more players, coaches or other team personnel wherein (but not limited to) a fist, hand, arm, foot, knee or leg is used to combatively strike the other individual."
Under rule 10, article 2 of the rule book," the first time an individual participates in a fight during a season (including exhibition games), the individual shall be suspended from participating in the team's next regular season game (not an exhibition contest), including tournament competition."
Tim LeCras can be reached at timothy.lecras@student.shu.edu.
