Kingsley Costain, Pepperdine’s top returning scorer, has been dismissed from school for a violation of university policy. “It’s unfortunate to lose a player of Kingsley’s caliber so close to the start of the season,” coach Vance Walberg said in a statement issued Friday. “We are going to miss him and we wish him the best.

It’s not an injured player who is the biggest question mark for the Ohio State basketball team. Everyone’s keeping a wary eye on the ailing coach. Thad Matta, who led the Buckeyes to a 35-4 record and a second-place finish in the NCAA tournament last year, had two major surgeries this past summer for disk problems in his back.

Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett received a two-year contract extension Thursday that could keep him at the school through 2013. Bennett, who received a six-year extension following the 2004-05 season after the team reached its first NCAA tournament since 1997, begins his seventh year leading the Gaels.

Brook Lopez, a 7-foot sophomore who was already academically ineligible for the start of Stanford’s season, has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules. The suspension went into effect Thursday. Lopez will not be able to practice or participate in any team activities while serving the suspension, coach Trent Johnson said.

Sophomore forward Kendric Price is leaving Michigan’s basketball program, but plans to remain enrolled in school on scholarship for 2007-08. “After meeting with Kendric over the past few days, we have mutually decided that he will leave the Michigan basketball program,” first-year coach John Beilein said in a statement Thursday night.

Wisconsin senior guard Michael Flowers is going on a temporary leave of absence for medical reasons, the university announced Thursday. Flowers started all 36 games last season, averaged 7.2 points and led the team in assists (105) and steals (58). He was selected to the Big Ten all-defensive team. A news release from the athletic department said Flowers and his family did not wish to comment.

Missouri senior forward Darryl Butterfield was suspended indefinitely by the team Thursday after being arrested for third-degree domestic assault. In a statement, coach Mike Anderson said he will seek additional information before making a final decision on Butterfield’s punishment. He is being allowed to practice with the team.

Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody, a Big East all-rookie team selection last season, tore a ligament in his right thumb and could miss the first six games of the season. Harangody is expected to miss three to six weeks with the injury, which the school said he hurt during a practice Monday. He will be in a cast for the next several weeks and his status will be evaluated in three weeks.

In 11 highly successful seasons, the Big 12 has generated tens of millions of dollars for member schools and stocked the NBA with high-quality lottery picks. No conference in the past six years has sent more teams to the Final Four. There still is one thing the Big 12 has never done, though. From Texas in the South to Iowa State in the North, from Colorado in the West to Missouri in the East, the…

Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson will live with his penalties. Some Hoosiers fans and alumni may not be so inclined to accept them. Sampson’s second brush with NCAA violations in 17 months has created a stir. There are those who contend his actions have harmed the university’s reputation so badly that taking away his $500,000 raise and a future scholarship do not go far enough.