The UConn Huskies struggled in significant stretches of Monday’s loss to the Memphis Tigers, but questionable officiating added another layer of frustration to their performance.
Throughout the first ten minutes, UConn found itself plagued by numerous touch-foul calls, putting key players like Samson Johnson and Liam McNeeley in early foul trouble.
The mounting whistles set the tone for a night of officiating that left Huskies head coach Dan Hurley visibly furious from the opening tip.
Hurley’s frustration only grew as the game progressed, eventually culminating in an intense overtime period.
In the final minute of regulation, with the game tied, McNeeley was whistled for an over-the-back foul while attempting to secure an offensive rebound.
The call left Hurley incredulous, and he dramatically fell to the floor in disbelief, resulting in a technical foul being assessed against him.
After the game, Hurley did not hold back his thoughts on the controversial foul call or the officiating.
“That (call) was a joke,” Hurley said. “I just watched it … that over-the-back call at the end of the game … there was no attempt to block out.
There was a player on Memphis who made a (poor) effort to rebound that basketball, and Liam McNeeley high-pointed that rebound.”
“That call being made at that point in the game was a complete joke. As for me, I don’t know what happened—I might’ve lost my balance from the absurdity of the call, or maybe I tripped.”
Hurley continued, addressing his reaction to the call: “But if I made that call at that point, I would’ve ignored the fact that I was on my back … I’ve never seen the one ref before. I didn’t even know he was a college ref … so I’m not surprised.”
The controversial officiating added another dimension to an already challenging game for the Huskies, leaving fans and players alike to question the consistency of the calls throughout the night.
