Perry Jones III Suspended For Wednesday Night’s Baylor-Oklahoma Big 12 Tournament Game

Perry Jones III could face a very long suspension, if not dismissal from school for accepting impermissible benefits, but as of right now, what we do know is that the Baylor Bears big man will miss at least Wednesday night’s Big 12 Tournament clash with the Oklahoma Sooners. The Big 12 Conference reported that Jones had been declared ineligible on their official twitter account.

Later, Baylor confirmed the violation themselves with a release. The University confirmed that Jones will be appealing the decision, and that the violation is not considered an institutional violation of team rules. Baylor Director of Athletics Ian McCaw had an interesting take on the suspension, believing it was unwarranted on multiple levels.

Jones is Baylor’s second-leading scorer and rebounder, so his absence will obviously make it extremely difficult for the Bears to progress deep into the Big 12 tournament, as well as the NCAA tournament. Right now, Baylor are set to miss the tournament, according to both SB Nation’s Chris Dobbertean and SB Nation college basketball blog Blogging The Bracket. Baylor are 19-12 on the year with a 7-9 record in the Big 12 conference, and their RPI currently sits at 84. For the Bears to have any chance at an at-large bid, they would almost certainly have to reach the final of the Big 12 tournament. Without Jones, this seems highly improbable.

The good news for Baylor is that they should still be favored to win this game. Making up for Jones’ presence on the boards may prove tough, but Oklahoma is among the absolute worst rebounding teams in the country. The game tips off at 7 pm ET from Kansas City, MO.