“Refs gamble on sports”, “F*****g ref show”: College hoops fans fume over officials as Dan Hurley’s UConn suffer upset vs Memphis
Dan Hurley's UConn Huskies' 97-99 loss against the Memphis Tigers in the opening contest of the Maui Invitational Tournament in Hawaii on Monday had some controversial calls. The biggest ones occurred in the final 40 seconds of overtime, starting with a foul on Liam McNeeley as he leaped over PJ Carter for a rebound.
The call resulted in a furious Dan Hurley, who exchanged a few words with the referee, receiving a technical foul. The chain of events gave Memphis four chances from the charity stripes. As UConn began trapping the Tigers, they found themselves on the losing side of two more whistles.
With that, college basketball fans are criticizing the officiating in the contest, claiming that the referees helped Memphis win the game:
"It was a basketball game? I thought it was an officiating clinic," a fan wrote.
"Caption it with what really happened. Refs gamble on sports and we’ll never have an impartial game again.," another fan commented.
"These refs in the UConn-Memphis game deserve jail time.," another fan wrote.
More fans followed suit, fuming over the game-changing decisions:
"What a game? That was a f*****g ref show," a fan commented.
"Hurley is too passionate but the refs SUCKED. Won’t matter in March anyways," another fan wrote.
"😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 These are the refs you’re defending in my replies. Hilarious. Seek help. Learn ball.," another fan commented.
Dan Hurley comments on the call on Liam McNeeley
In the post-game conference, Dan Hurley expressed his frustration about the controversial call on Liam McNeeley. He challenged the referee's decision by citing the details of McNeeley's rebound.
Hurley also questioned the timing of the call and the referee's experience in college basketball.
"I had a lot of issues with what went on out there in the game," Hurley said. "That over-the-back call at that point in the game. There was no attempt to block out."
"There was a player on Memphis that made a half-ass effort to rebound that basketball and Liam McNeeley high-pointed that rebound and for that call to be made at that point in the game was a complete joke."
Before the controversial calls, UConn had slowly gained back control of the game. Alex Karaban, Liam McNeeley and Solo Ball hit big shots in the final three minutes of the regulation to push the game into overtime.