MINNEAPOLIS — Junior guard Zach Lofton has been dismissed from the Minnesota basketball program.

Coach Richard Pitino said Wednesday that Lofton was dismissed for “failing to meet the expectations and obligations of the team.” The dismissal is effective immediately.

Pitino calls the decision difficult but says it was in the team’s best interest “to move forward at this time.”

Lofton was a transfer from Illinois State. The 6-foot-4 guard from St. Paul would have been required to sit out the season.

Lofton will be able to remain at Minnesota under scholarship for the rest of the 2014-15 school year.