Syracuse started its run at the 2022 ACC Tournament with a 96-57 drubbing of Florida State. With the win, the team punched its ticket to the quarterfinals for a showdown with top-seeded Duke, but thanks to an incident that occurred in the first half of their win over the Seminoles, Syracuse will not have the services of their top scorer.
The ACC announced later on Wednesday night that it has decided to suspend Orange guard Buddy Boeheim one game for punching Florida State’s Wyatt Wilkes.
Buddy Boeheim suspended one game. pic.twitter.com/W0LSlPqFNB
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) March 9, 2022
Boeheim and Wilkes bumped into one another underneath the hoop after a made basket by the Orange. Boeheim responded by throwing a punch into Wilkes’ stomach, which led to the Florida State player going down in pain.
Here is Buddy Boeheim pretty obviously punching a dude in the gut. pic.twitter.com/xIbUSdoiRa
— Troy Machir (@TroyMachir) March 9, 2022
The officials did not appear to review the play, and Boeheim did not receive a foul of any sort for the incident. After the game, Jim Boeheim, Syracuse’s head coach and Buddy’s father, was quoted as saying, “The kid pushed him twice and (Buddy) swung around and hit him. I think it was inadvertent, but that’s OK. I just watched the play.” Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton was asked about it after the game, and after praising Boeheim’s character, opted to “move on.”
Leonard Hamilton on the Buddy punch: “I saw the play. There’s not a better kid in the ACC than Buddy Boeheim. I don’t want anything to take away from how well they played and the type of kid he is. … I know his mother, I know Jim, *I know the family. so we’re going to move on”
— former mountain west enjoyer (@AnthonyDabbundo) March 9, 2022
Boeheim led the Orange with 19.3 points in 38.2 minutes per game this season. Syracuse’s game against Duke from Barclays Center will tip off at noon on Thursday afternoon and they’ll have to take on the ACC’s 1-seed without Boeheim. The Blue Devils won both games the two teams played this season.
