AD blasts Big 12 refs after Drew’s ejection
WACO — When you feel as though you’ve gotten swindled even after a win, it’s definitely a night out of the ordinary.
Yet that’s exactly how Baylor felt after the then-18th-ranked Bears’ 7068 victory over No. 12 Iowa State on Saturday night at Foster Pavilion.
Baylor director of athletics Mack Rhoades was so upset about the officiating in the game that he chose to address it with the media following the usual postgame interviews with the Baylor and Iowa State players and coaches.
“Just a couple comments on the officiating,” Rhoades said. “I don’t normally do this. For those of you that don’t know, I’m not somebody who calls the officials or calls the league after every game. In fact, I never call when it comes to officiating. It’s always about, hey, we need to play better, we need to execute better, we need to play tougher, all those things. But tonight was an embarrassment for this league. Scott (Drew) said it, we have the best basketball league in the country. And the officiating tonight did not match that, period, end of story.”
The Big 12 officiating crew of Jeb Hartness, Chance Moore and Christopher Merlo whistled Baylor for a season-high 26 fouls, while calling Iowa State for 22 fouls. But it was a string of whistles in the second half against Baylor that helped fuel a 20-0 Iowa State run to get the Cyclones back in the game and particularly drew the ire of the Baylor coaches and fans.
Baylor coach Scott Drew also was whistled for two technical fouls, presumably for stepping out of the coaching box, though the officials did not clarify their reasoning with either Drew or the media. The second tech with 11:20 to play in the game led to the first ejection of Drew’s 22-year head coaching career.
“I don’t think I got any explanations all game long,” said Drew, whose Bears climbed to No. 13 in the Associated Press rankings and will host No. 23 Texas Tech at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Big 12 rules prohibit the conference’s coaches and university administrators from criticizing officiating. But that didn’t deter Rhoades, who seemed to be taking one for the team, aware that a fine would likely be issued by the league office.
“This league needs to get better when we think about our officiating,” Rhoades said. “And we have some great, great officials. But this particular crew tonight did not match the level of this game, and that shouldn’t happen in this league. And I’m going to fight for our program, I’m going to fight for our school, I’m going to fight for our coaches, I’m going to fight for our student-athletes.”
Asked what exactly he could do, Rhoades responded, “I don’t know, (but) I’ll be on the phone.”
Coincidentally, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark attended Saturday night’s game, though he reportedly left at halftime, at which point the Bears held a 12-point lead and Drew was still in the game.
Drew noted that the Baylor staff would examine the film and send any specific complaints about the officiating to the Big 12 office, as per league protocol.
When the second tech was whistled, he was clearly surprised.
“Obviously, I’ve never been kicked out. I haven’t tried to get kicked out,” Drew said. “Otherwise, I would have probably been kicked out before.”
Ultimately, Baylor overcame Iowa State’s rally to take the lead, surviving thanks to a late go-ahead basket from Jayden Nunn with two seconds remaining. Drew ended up watching the ESPN broadcast of the game with Rhoades in the bowels of the arena, commenting that he could hear the crowd’s cheers and groans a few seconds before the play unfolded on TV, due to the broadcast delay.
In the end, he was just happy that his team survived the wild night.
“You pour so much into it, and if you’re the reason you lose there’s no worse feeling,” Drew said. “And I thank God he didn’t make me feel that tonight, because I know if we’d have lost and those technicals, those points, they add up. I’ve got to do better. We’ll send in the tape and see if the officials have to do better. And then go from there.”