The Cincinnati Bearcats suspended four players Sunday for their roles in a  brawl that ended their blowout loss to No. 8 Xavier a day earlier. Read more after the jump.
Yancy Gates, Octavius Ellis and Cheikh Mbodj will be suspended six games each, the school said in a news release. Ge’Lawn Guyn will be banned for one game.
The suspensions will begin with the Bearcats’ next game Wednesday at Wright State. They include the NCAA’s one-game suspensions that automatically result for ejections from fighting.
“After reviewing all available video and giving due deliberation to the seriousness of this behavior, we have decided to take these actions,” Cincinnati athletic director Whit Babcock said in the statement. “We want to deal with this in a prompt and direct manner and send the message that we will not tolerate this from those who have the privilege of representing the University of Cincinnati.”
Gates connected with a punch to Xavier’s Kenny Frease and Mbodj then stepped on Frease, who emerged with a bloodied face and a black eye.
The fight forced game officials to call the 76-53 win for Xavier with 9.4 seconds left on Saturday.
Officials amended the postgame box score and ejected Gates, Mbodj and Xavier’s Dez Wells, who will also be required to miss at least one game based on the NCAA mandate.
Xavier has called a news conference for Sunday afternoon.
Big East associate commissioner Dan Gavitt said the NCAA rule cannot be appealed, and if any player is suspended for a game because of a fight and gets in another altercation, then he would be suspended for the rest of the season.
“The very unfortunate events that occurred in the final seconds of Saturday’s Cincinnati-Xavier basketball game have no place within intercollegiate athletics,” Big East commissioner John Marinatto said Sunday in a statement. “The University of Cincinnati has responded with swift, expeditious and appropriate action, which the Big East Conference fully supports.”
