NEW YORK (AP) — Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl will gladly focus on basketball this week after getting hit with SEC sanctions for violating NCAA rules and misleading investigators.
The No. 24 Volunteers play in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-off against Virginia Commonwealth at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.
The other semifinal features No. 7 Villanova against UCLA.
Pearl said Tuesday that he takes responsibility for the violations, which included excessive phone calls to recruits and inviting recruits and their families to his home for a team cookout that he knew would be against NCAA rules.
The school already had imposed sanctions when SEC commissioner Mike Slive suspended Pearl last Friday for the first eight conference games. The NCAA could still impose additional penalties.
