RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico — Maryland freshman forward Ivan Bender will miss the next three games due to an “NCAA eligibility issue,” the school announced on Tuesday evening. Bender did not travel with the team to Mexico, where Maryland will meet Illinois State in the Cancun Challenge on Tuesday night.
Bender, a 6-foot-9 freshman from Bosnia and Herzegovina, has not been eligible for Maryland’s first three games of the season. In addition to Tuesday night’s game against Illinois State, he’s set to miss Wednesday’s game against either TCU or Rhode Island in Cancun, followed by Saturday’s game against Cleveland State in College Park.