ACC reprimands Duke's Grayson Allen for tripping opposing player

The ACC has determined that Grayson Allen's alarming habit of tripping opposing players isn't yet worthy of suspension.

The league on Friday issued a reprimand condemning the Duke guard for his "involvement" in the tripping of Florida State's Xavier Rathan-Mayes but did not dole out any further punishment.

The play in question happened with 3.4 seconds left in Duke's 80-65 victory on Thursday night. Allen lifted his left leg and tripped Rathan-Mayes as the Seminoles guard began to run up court, sending him sprawling.

Giving Allen the benefit of the doubt that the trip was unintentional would be easy if this was his first incident of the season, but he already had a reputation for chippy plays. In Duke's first meeting with Louisville earlier this month, Allen appeared to stick his legs out and intentionally trip Cardinals forward Ray Spalding as he ran up floor, resulting in a flagrant foul.

Allen also was involved in a mini-skirmish in Duke's second meeting with Louisville last Saturday afternoon. He exchanged blows with Jaylen Johnson in a scrum for a loose ball, caught an elbow in the face and came away with a bloody lip in the process.

There are a few clues to Allen's intent in the sequence leading up to Thursday trip.

In the preceding possession, Allen poked the ball away from Rathan-Mayes, securing possesion for Duke and seemingly putting the Blue Devils into position to run out the clock. Rathan-Mayes then casually bumps Allen before turning to run up floor when a teammate steals the ball and stumbling over the Duke guard's outstretched leg.

That Allen will avoid suspension for both his trips will only add to his newfound status as the latest Duke player opposing fans love to hate. It probably didn't help that Allen also got away with a travel on a runner he sank at the buzzer to beat Virginia earlier this month.

Allen's second tripping incident overshadowed his latest strong performance in a season full of them. The ACC player of the year candidate scored 18 points, dished out five assists and grabbed three steals in helping Duke roll to its sixth victory in seven games.

The Blue Devils (21-7, 10-5) are in position to secure a top-four NCAA tournament seed. The Seminoles (16-12, 6-10) have dropped five straight to fall to the fringes of NCAA tournament contention.