Junior point guard Jose Juan Barea won't be on the floor when Northeastern makes its first appearance in the NIT.
The two-time all-America East first-teamer was suspended for tonight's game (8 p.m.) against John Calipari's Memphis Tigers. Northeastern athletic director Dave O'Brien, in conjunction with America East officials, issued the edict yesterday while the team was on its way to Memphis.
Barea was suspended for striking Vermont forward Martin Klimes during a loose ball pileup early in last Saturday's America East championship game at Patrick Gym. NU officials described the incident as ``unnecessary rough play.''
Barea hadn't practiced since rolling his right ankle while going for a defensive rebound with 13:58 to play against Vermont. But NU coach Ron Everhart thought Barea was physically capable of playing before the suspension went into effect.
Barea averaged 22.2 points per game with a league-leading 7.3 assists for the most potent offense in America East. He was not available for comment.
Junior guard Adrian Martinez will start at point guard while senior shooting guard Marcus Barnes (15.8 ppg.) will shoulder a larger scoring load.
Barnes struggled against the Catamounts, shooting 2-of-11 from the floor. Everhart is counting on a better effort.
``Marcus has practiced really well, so it looks like he's back and bouncing around,'' Everhart said. ``I think he was real disappointed in himself the way he played Saturday, but he's practiced and we are going to need his best game.''
Leading the Tigers will be junior forward Rodney Carney (15.6) and point guard Darius Washington Jr. (15.3), who was named Conference USA's Rookie of the Year.
``We know they are really good,'' Everhart said. ``They are a very high-powered team, very athletic, and Washington is a great point guard. I think they can score a lot of different ways.''
In other NIT action, Boston University (20-8) will battle Big East qualifier Georgetown (17-12) tonight (7:30) at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C.
The Terriers are making their fourth straight postseason appearance. BU enters the contest after being bounced from the America East tournament by Maine in a quarterfinal match March 4.
``I think we are always happy to still be playing,'' BU coach Dennis Wolff said. ``For everything that's gone on, we are excited to still be playing and excited about playing a team with Georgetown's tradition. I gave (the players) four days off and then we brought them back and gradually worked our way back into it.''
Georgetown coach John Thompson III has the Hoyas running the patient ball rotation offense he successfully employed at Princeton. BU will counter the Hoyas' attack with the nation's second-ranked field goal defense (36.8 percent) and third-best scoring defense (55.4 points per game). BU is 17-2 when holding opponents under 60 points.
``We only found out we were playing them Sunday night, so we didn't have a lot of time to prepare for them,'' Wolff said. ``We are going to try some different things defensively that will hopefully give us a better chance to play without worrying so much about guarding them.''
The two-time all-America East first-teamer was suspended for tonight's game (8 p.m.) against John Calipari's Memphis Tigers. Northeastern athletic director Dave O'Brien, in conjunction with America East officials, issued the edict yesterday while the team was on its way to Memphis.
Barea was suspended for striking Vermont forward Martin Klimes during a loose ball pileup early in last Saturday's America East championship game at Patrick Gym. NU officials described the incident as ``unnecessary rough play.''
Barea hadn't practiced since rolling his right ankle while going for a defensive rebound with 13:58 to play against Vermont. But NU coach Ron Everhart thought Barea was physically capable of playing before the suspension went into effect.
Barea averaged 22.2 points per game with a league-leading 7.3 assists for the most potent offense in America East. He was not available for comment.
Junior guard Adrian Martinez will start at point guard while senior shooting guard Marcus Barnes (15.8 ppg.) will shoulder a larger scoring load.
Barnes struggled against the Catamounts, shooting 2-of-11 from the floor. Everhart is counting on a better effort.
``Marcus has practiced really well, so it looks like he's back and bouncing around,'' Everhart said. ``I think he was real disappointed in himself the way he played Saturday, but he's practiced and we are going to need his best game.''
Leading the Tigers will be junior forward Rodney Carney (15.6) and point guard Darius Washington Jr. (15.3), who was named Conference USA's Rookie of the Year.
``We know they are really good,'' Everhart said. ``They are a very high-powered team, very athletic, and Washington is a great point guard. I think they can score a lot of different ways.''
In other NIT action, Boston University (20-8) will battle Big East qualifier Georgetown (17-12) tonight (7:30) at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C.
The Terriers are making their fourth straight postseason appearance. BU enters the contest after being bounced from the America East tournament by Maine in a quarterfinal match March 4.
``I think we are always happy to still be playing,'' BU coach Dennis Wolff said. ``For everything that's gone on, we are excited to still be playing and excited about playing a team with Georgetown's tradition. I gave (the players) four days off and then we brought them back and gradually worked our way back into it.''
Georgetown coach John Thompson III has the Hoyas running the patient ball rotation offense he successfully employed at Princeton. BU will counter the Hoyas' attack with the nation's second-ranked field goal defense (36.8 percent) and third-best scoring defense (55.4 points per game). BU is 17-2 when holding opponents under 60 points.
``We only found out we were playing them Sunday night, so we didn't have a lot of time to prepare for them,'' Wolff said. ``We are going to try some different things defensively that will hopefully give us a better chance to play without worrying so much about guarding them.''
