Chimezie Metu has been suspended for a half-game by USC and Coach Andy Enfield after he was ejected for striking Washington State’s Carter Skaggs in the groin in an 89-71 victory over the Cougars on Sunday.
Metu, the Trojans’ leading scorer, will miss the first half of their Pac-12 Conference road opener at Cal on Thursday.
Enfield also stripped Metu of his captaincy as part of the team-issued discipline announced Monday evening. Bennie Boatwright and Jordan McLaughlin remain the other two captains.
With 5:43 left in the first half against Washington State, Metu ran toward Carter Skaggs as he launched a 3-point attempt from the corner of the Galen Center floor and then appeared to hit the guard in the groin, dropping his left arm below Skaggs’ waist rather than contesting the shot. After a review of the play, officials called a flagrant 2 foul on Metu, and he was ejected.
Metu, a 6-foot-11 junior forward and NBA prospect, has averaged 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds this season, both team highs.
The Pac-12 said it had reviewed the sequence and would not impose additional discipline.
“We commend USC and its leadership for taking swift action in response to this incident,” Commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement.
USC said Metu also wrote an apology letter to Skaggs and the rest of the Washington State team.
“I understand there is no place in the game of basketball for such an unsportsmanlike action,” Metu said, according to the school.
Metu wrote, “a lack of judgment for a split second led to an action that I immediately regretted and had no business committing in the first place.”
Metu avoided a suspension last season when he attempted to trip Oregon forward Chris Boucher while sitting on the bench during the second half of an 81-70 loss.
The Trojans, who are 10-5 overall and 1-1 in conference after beginning the season ranked in the top 10, have already been without sophomore guard De’Anthony Melton for 15 games, as the university investigates his eligibility, connected to an FBI probe into bribery and corruption in college basketball.