Dustin Thomas kicked off Arkansas team days before SEC tournament

Ahead of their first game of the SEC tournament on Thursday, Arkansas has announced it will be without forward Dustin Thomas, who was kicked off the team effective immediately for violating team rules, according to a statement from head coach Mike Anderson.

"It is a privilege to represent the University of Arkansas as a student-athlete," Anderson said in the statement. "We will continue to hold the student-athletes in our program to a high standard on and off the court."

This is not the first time the senior has gotten in trouble this season, as he was suspended for the first three games of the campaign also for a violation of team rules.

Thomas appeared in 26 contests this term, starting in 17 of them. He averaged five points and 4.1 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game.

Arkansas will be kicking off the tournament against the winner of Wednesday's game between Ole Miss and South Carolina. They finished the year with a 21-10 record and the sixth seed in the SEC tournament.