NEW YORK – Atlantic Coast Conference Suspended Syracuse star Buddy Boeheim for a game after he punched Florida State Wyatt Wilkes in the stomach in the first half of an orange 96-57 won the second round of the ACC tournament on Wednesday.
Boeheim will miss Thursday’s game against Duke.
“In the heat of today’s game, after some shoving in the lane, I swung my arm when I turned around. It was wrong to act out of frustration ”. Boeheim said in a statement posted on the Twitter account of Syracuse Basketball. “I apologized to Wyatt Wilkes many times during the handshake. He said don’t worry about it, but I knew it was wrong.”
Boeheim was not called up for a foul after he swung his right hand into Wilkes’ midfield as he turned to run towards the defensive end, following a basket taken by Syracuse.
“I saw the play, the kid pushed him twice,” said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, Buddy’s father. “I think it was accidental. It wasn’t a punch.”
Jim Boeheim said if officials had noticed the play, a gross foul 1 could have been applied to his son.
Buddy Boeheim leads the ACC in points scored with 19.3 points per game.
State of Florida Coach Leonard Hamilton defused the situation in his post-match press conference, praising Buddy Boeheim’s character.
“I don’t want anything to take away from how well they played and how good a young man he is,” Hamilton said. “Games are physical. We want the boys to go out and get into fights and fights. If something happens by accident, sometimes we want to categorize it one way or another.
“I sometimes lose my temper. I made some mistakes.”
Wilkes doubled the lead and squatted for a while after being hit midway through the first half. He continued to play. The two players talked to each other after the game, Boeheim left smiling.
“I pride myself on respecting the game and our opponents,” said Boeheim, “I won’t react like that again.
Boeheim helped Orange reach the round of 16 NCAA Sweet last year with a shark shot in favor of his “Buddy Buckets” moniker. This year, he was named the All-ACC’s first team.
Syracuse has lost both times against 7 Duke this season, first with 20 points at home and then 25 points on the road.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
