Arizona basketball: Xavier Johnson should miss Colorado’s contest vs. Wildcats after getting ejected from ASU game

The outspoken Buff won’t get one last shot at beating the school he hates

When the Arizona Wildcats and Colorado Buffaloes get together, one of the things to always look forward to is what Xavier Johnson will do or say.

Well, it doesn’t look like he’ll get a chance to play against the team he seems to hate the most.

In Thursday’s contest in Tempe, Johnson was ejected for fighting after this altercation with ASU big man Jethro Tshisumpa under the basket.

Jethro gets upset https://t.co/9XNJaPXmcM

— Kevin Zimmerman (@KZimmermanAZ) January 6, 2017

You can’t see it from this angle, but the behind-the-basket angle shows Johnson throwing a punch as the two go to the floor, resulting in the ejection.

Ref fell down after as well. https://t.co/oaSDwLhBGF

— Kevin Zimmerman (@KZimmermanAZ) January 6, 2017

According to the NCAA rule book, Johnson should be suspended for Colorado’s only game of the year against Arizona on Saturday.

The rule states: The first time an individual participates in a fight during the season (including exhibition games), the individual shall be suspended from participating in the team’s next regular-season game (not an exhibition contest), including tournament competition.

So why is Johnson missing the Arizona game kind of disappointing from a backstory point of view?

Back in January 2014, Colorado lost by 12 in Tucson, but Johnson said "We have better players than them, I think.” He also predicted a 20-point blowout in Boulder later that year. Unfortunately for him, that game ended up being a 27-point Arizona victory.

"I don't like Arizona and they don't like me," he also said after that Tucson loss. "I'm aggressive every game but there's something about them that just sparks my engine. Half of them went to my school and half of them went to my rival school so we're all friends. The competitiveness I have brings out the fire in me when we play them."

It appears he got that aggressiveness channeled against the wrong Arizona team this go-around, and he won’t even have the chance to play the Wildcats in his senior season. Arizona does not travel to the mountain schools this year, so the only time he’ll be able to record a win against UA would have to come in the Pac-12 Tournament.

Colorado beat Arizona last year, but Johnson did not play after tearing his Achilles before the season started. He did beat the Wildcats once, scoring 19 points on Valentine’s Day 2013 in Boulder.

Hopefully that one was good enough for him.

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