After reports surfaced earlier in the week saying sophomore forward Marc Loving would not play for Ohio State in its game Sunday at Rutgers, Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta said Saturday that Loving would in fact not travel with the team.
"He's not traveling," Matta said.
Loving did not play in Ohio State's 60-58 loss to Purdue on Wednesday. The school announced about an hour prior to the game Loving had "temporarily lost his privilege to wear the scarlet and gray."
The length of time the Buckeyes will be without Loving remains unknown, but Matta revealed Saturday that Loving's suspension came at the hands of the athletic department, not him. The suspension was for an "off-the-court" incident.
Loving has still been practicing with the team, Matta said.
The sophomore from Toledo is Ohio State's second-leading scorer, averaging 11.7 points per game. He is also the top 3-point shooter in the Big Ten and ranks second nationally at 53.2 percent.
Loving's absence was noticeable against the Boilermakers as Ohio State shot just 42 percent from the field and made just 4 of its 15 attempts from behind the 3-point line.
"Not having Marc on the court with us we’re a different team, but it shouldn’t have affected the way we played as a team," Ohio State point guard Shannon Scott said Saturday. "We played hard that game, but we didn’t play too smart."
The Buckeyes take on the Scarlet Knights at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
