The Maryland Terrapins will be without freshman center Diamond Stone when they visit Minnesota on Thursday, as head coach Mark Turgeon suspended him for the game.
Stone was seen pushing Wisconsin forward Vitto Brown's head against the ground after the two players fell to the court trying to recover a loose ball during Saturday's game. Turgeon announced Monday evening Stone would be suspended one game, ESPN reported.
The Big Ten confirmed on its website shortly after it supported Turgeon's decision. Stone was issued a "contact dead ball technical foul" at the time, a penalty that did not warrant an ejection. Still, the Big Ten said in its statement that Stone violated one of its bylaws pertaining to sportsmanship.
A school spokesman told ESPN both Stone called Brown to apologize and that Turgeon spoke to Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard and athletic director Barry Alvarez to do the same.
"I want to apologize to Vitto Brown and the Wisconsin basketball team for my unacceptable behavior during Saturday's game," Stone said in a statement. "I regret that I let the emotions of the game get the best of me. I let my team down, and I accept full responsibility for my actions."
Wisconsin snapped Maryland's five-game winning streak Saturday, and their win pulled them to 2.5 games off the Big Ten lead as well.
"Diamond's conduct during Saturday's game was a poor representation of the standards that we have established as a program at the University of Maryland," Turgeon said in a statement. "I have talked with Diamond and he realizes he made a mistake. He felt very badly about what happened and will learn from this experience. I want to sincerely apologize to Vitto Brown and Greg Gard for what transpired Saturday."