College Basketball

Duke indefinitely suspends guard Grayson Allen

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:10 p.m. ET

Sports Illustrated, SI Wire/Sports Illustrated

Duke indefinitely suspended junior guard Grayson Allen "from competition for an indefinite amount of time" after a third tripping incident in the past year.

Allen was guarding Elon's Steven Santa Ana late in the first half of Duke's 72-61 victory on Wednesday. Santa Ana drove past him on the baseline and Allen stuck out his right leg, sending Santa Ana to the floor.

"We have had the opportunity to thoroughly review the incident involving Grayson Allen from last night's game against Elon," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement. "As I stated last night, the incident was unacceptable and inexcusable. He took an important step last night by apologizing in person to Steven Santa Ana and Coach Matt Matheny. As a program, we needed to take further steps regarding his actions that do not meet the standards of Duke Basketball. To that end, we have determined that Grayson will be suspended from competition for an indefinite amount of time."

Allen was assessed a technical foul on the play and was benched for the rest of the first half. He did return in the second half, scoring three points. Allen later apologized for the play.

"I made a really bad play. I'm sorry to him, Santa Ana," Allen told reporters after the game. "I'm sorry to the officials who had to call that. I'm sorry to my team. It was selfish and taking away from them. I'm not proud of that at all."

Allen also tripped Louisville's Ray Spalding on Feb. 8 and Florida State's Xavier Rathan-Mayes on Feb. 25.

Allen, a preseason All-American selection, is averaging 16 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists for the Blue Devils this season.

- Scooby Axson