CBS broadcast questions refs on flagrant on Tennessee, missed actual flagrant foul
Tennessee‘s Sweet 16 matchup was stopped for a flagrant foul that was called after the fact.
Ursos Plavsic, one of the most physical players in college basketball, looked to throw an intentional elbow in the hopes of blocking out a Florida Atlantic defender.
Gene Steratore and the broadcast crew weren’t sure where the flagrant came from — they originally reviewed the wrong play on the broadcast as well.
“I didn’t see an awful lot on the elbow. To me, it looked like things got tangled up here, now at that point with No. 33 there, you get a common foul … I really didn’t see anything that rose to the level of flagrant to me. That’s just my opinion on the play.”
Play-by-play announcer Jim Jackson aggreed with Steratore, too.
“I’m right with you, Gene,” said Jackson. “I didn’t see an elbow or anything like that. I saw two young men going after the ball, being physical, one more than the other, resulting, to me, a common foul.”
Then they found out which play the foul was called on. You can catch the moment below as FAU took a seven-point lead over Tennessee in transition:
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes will probably chalk that up to in-the-moment basketball, trying to do everything they can take secure a victory inside the Mecca of basketball, Madison Square Garden.
Barnes touched on what it means to him and his players to play in front of a packed house at Madison Square Garden.
“You know, we played here, was it a year ago, I think, Texas Tech,” Barnes said. “I know this: We all enjoy coming here. Certainly the time that I spent up in Providence and growing up in North Carolina, I have great respect for this part of the country because I’ve always said people here understand basketball at the highest level.
“Every year we do talk about how can we get to New York. Obviously we played in Brooklyn earlier this year against Maryland. But coming a year ago, I think they know it’s a special place. They certainly know what playing in the Garden is about. Certainly with Allan Houston being here and being a part of it, I know they’re excited about being here.”
Experience in MSG mattered not, and FAU took down the Vols 62-55 to advance to the Elite Eight to battle Kansas State. One of those teams will make the Final Four, and it all goes down Saturday night at 6:09 p.m. ET live on TBS.