Two Big 12 Basketball Players Suspended For Fighting

Monday, March 5th 2007, 12:01 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Colorado coach Ricardo Patton said Xavier Silas, the Buffaloes' second-leading scorer, will be suspended for the opening round of the Big 12 tournament after a fight with Nebraska's Ryan Anderson.

Patton came onto the court to pull Silas off Anderson after the two fell to the floor while wrestling for the ball with 8:22 remaining in the first half of the Buffaloes' 73-69 win on Saturday. Both players were ejected.

Silas averages 13.6 points _ the most for Colorado behind Richard Roby _ and is the team's top 3-point shooter with 33 3-pointers on 42.3 percent shooting. He will be out Thursday when the 12th-seeded Buffaloes (7-19, 3-13) face No. 5 seed Texas Tech (20-11, 9-7) in the first round of the Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City.

``He has been suspended for this next game,'' Patton said on the Big 12 coaches' conference call Monday. ``The incident was ruled a fight, and of course the rules stipulate that the punishment is a one-game suspension.''

Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said Anderson, the team's second leading scorer with a 10.5-point average, also received a one-game suspension and would serve it Monday night when the Huskers were to make up a weather-delayed game against Oklahoma State.

``All I know is Ryan is not playing tonight,'' Sadler said.

Sadler said it was his understanding that Nebraska could not appeal the suspension, which was automatic after the two players were ruled to be fighting.

``In my opinion, he was just reactive to his situation like anyone else would have reacted,'' Sadler said.

Patton said he hadn't spoken with athletic director Mike Bohn about whether the Buffaloes would try to appeal but said: ``At this point, I don't think that there is any grounds for an appeal.''

Silas and Anderson become the third and fourth players suspended for altercations in Big 12 play this season. Oklahoma's Longar Longar was suspended two games for elbowing Texas Tech's Esmir Risvic in January. Oklahoma State suspended Mario Boggan one game after he head-butted Kansas State's Cartier Martin last week.

``The thing that concerns me is there's an awful lot of suspensions going on,'' Sadler said.