Floyd Accepts Responsibility for Mayo

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Southern California coach Tim Floyd has taken responsibility for star freshman O.J. Mayo accepting tickets to a Los Angeles Lakers game, according to a published report.

Floyd told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday that if anybody should be punished for any potential NCAA violations, it should be him, not Mayo. "My feeling is that if there's a mistake made, it was made by me," Floyd told the newspaper. "If they want to suspend me for a game, suspend me for a game, but not the kid. He did the right thing." Mayo said that Carmelo Anthony of the NBA's Denver Nuggets gave him a pair of complimentary tickets to Monday's game contest against the Lakers.

According to the Times, Mayo received courtside seats with a face value of $230 each. A spokesman for the NCAA told the Times that the organization does not comment on pending investigations. NCAA by-law 16.11.2.2.3 states that student-athletes may not receive "free or reduced-cost admission to professional athletics competitions from professional sports organizations, unless such services are also available to the student body in general." Mayo is USC's leading scorer, averaging 19.7 points in 17 games.