Butler center Manny Bates and guard Eric Hunter Jr. have been ruled out of Wednesday’s Big East first-round game against St. John’s after failing to meet the “academic expectations of the program,” the team announced.
Bates is averaging 11.6 points and a team-best 5.5 rebounds per game this season for the ninth-seeded Bulldogs (14-17).
Hunter has contributed 8.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and a team-high 1.4 steals per contest.
Butler failed to crack 70 points in its final 12 regular-season games and reached 60 only four times in that span, during which it went 3-9. That included a 68-66 home win over St. John’s on Feb. 7.
Eighth-seeded St. John’s will have a home-court advantage, of sorts, on Wednesday in the tournament game at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm (17-14) played four games at the famed arena this season.
–Field Level Media