Center Whaley Leaves Cincinnati

Center Robert Whaley left Cincinnati’s basketball team for personal reasons Monday.

No. 15 Cincinnati was counting on the junior college transfer to give them an inside scoring option, but he never came close to meeting expectations. Coach Bob Huggins had played him sparingly as the season went along.

“I just need a break right now,” Whaley said in a statement. “I need to get my head cleared and think about some things.”

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Purdue center Ivan Kartelo was arrested after punching a bouncer at a West Lafayette, Ind., bar. Kartelo faces preliminary charges of battery and public intoxication, police said. Coach Gene Keady said he was gathering information and had not decided if Kartelo would play in the team’s next game, at No. 12 Wisconsin on Sunday.

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Indiana forward Sean Kline will sit out the remainder of the season after having surgery on his right knee. He is expected to return next season.

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Gonzaga has its highest AP top 25 ranking: No. 4. The Bulldogs, whose only losses this season are to Stanford and Saint Joseph’s, moved up two spots in the Associated Press men’s basketball poll. Stanford and Saint Joseph’s, the nation’s only unbeaten teams, stayed 1-2 in the poll.