Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes was as animated as he’s ever been when officials didn’t call a technical foul on Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams in the Vols’ 85-69 loss in College Station on Saturday night.
Following a made Texas A&M three-pointer, Aggies coach Buzz Williams ran all the way to mid court trying to call a timeout. The officials awarded the timeout and assessed a bench warning but no technical foul for one of the most peculiar things that’s happened this college basketball season.
That’s the craziest timeout attempt I’ve ever seen from a head coach.
Texas A&M Buzz Williams ran out to half court to call a timeout.
What in the heck was he thinking? 😂 pic.twitter.com/SZRwqhgBsb
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) February 11, 2024
Even two days after the loss, the ninth-year Tennessee head coach was still upset with the no call. He voiced his frustrations with the Vol Network’s Bob Kesling and Brent Hubbs during Vol Calls on Monday night.
“100%. Absolutely should have been a technical foul,” Barnes said. “I’m going to put a new drill in. Anytime you see a coach on the floor you have to run over him. You have to hit him. Don’t avoid him. That was a ridiculous play for them not to (call a technical). … But again, that’s a blatant technical foul and you’ve got to call it. They just said they’d take care of it but they had already been warned about being out of the (coaches) box and all sorts of things. It’s just a missed call.”
Tennessee big man Tobe Awaka came very close to running over the Texas A&M head coach barely avoiding him while Vol guards Zakai Zeigler and Jordan Gainey pointed at Williams in disbelief.
“He was in the jump circle,” Barnes said. “Tobe almost (ran into him). Tobe avoided him.”
The no technical foul was far from what cost Tennessee the game. Tennessee never cut the deficit to less than 12-points in the second half as the Aggies handed UT its most lopsided loss of the season. Barnes said as much in Monday night criticizing his team’s defense and the way the Vols responded to a quick Texas A&M start.
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But the lack of a technical foul for what was obviously deserving of a technical foul left Barnes apoplectic. With Tennessee trailing by 16 points with 11 seconds left, Barnes took a timeout and spent the whole time arguing with head official Pat Adams.
“That last timeout could have gone a lot of different ways depending on how he responded to it,” Barnes joked on Monday. “We had a gentlemanly talk right there but if it had gone any other way I probably wouldn’t have been there for the last couple seconds.”
Barnes, who was a member of the rules committee in recent years, went on to voice his frustration with officiating inconsistencies, particularly with coaches box violations which he believes coaches will continually abuse if officials don’t address dramatic violations.
“If officials don’t do their job in that situation and they let one coach start doing this or that, it’s going to wake up the other coach and they’re going to have their hands full,” Barnes said. “You can’t be on the court. If you feel like someone is constantly abusing it, because I know this, they won’t let that happen in the NCAA Tournament. Believe me. When the tournament rolls around, the one thing they say, ‘you’ve got to stay in the box. You’ve got to stay in the box.’ They’re adamant about it… and it’s the way it should be anytime.”
The veteran head coach also voiced frustrations with the way traveling violations are enforced and how mid range jump shooters aren’t protected the same way three-point shooters are.
“A team that plays pressure defense and they’re trying to turn you over and if they get you playing faster than you want to play and you slide your foot— it should be a travel because that’s part of the game. But it’s got to be consistent,” Barnes said.
“How you’re supposed to never move under a three-point shooter and let him come down— well in the mid range game there’s all sort of contact,” Barnes said.
Barnes has been complimentary of the officiating improvements in the SEC during his nine-year tenure as Tennessee’s head coach. And despite his frustration on Monday night, he complimented the SEC head of officiating and is confident the situation is being handled correctly in retrospect.
“Mike Eades (SEC Men’s Basketball Officials Coordinator) is the very best in the business,” Barnes said. “He’s our supervisor of officials and believe me, he has handled it. I guarantee it’s been done with his staff. There’s no doubt. He was on it right away.”
One Response
The officials were not calling the game properly. TN had more fouls called on them than Texas A&M. Texas A&M walked so much in that game & got by w/it. I don’t believe the schools should have referees from the area of the school. This game was very one sided. The technical that was not called on the Texas A&M coach was very appalling & the referees just told him not to do that again. These referees need to get some more training on how to call a game, they were pitiful. What if the coach from Texas A&M had gotten run over by one of the opposing teams? Need to address this w/Texas A&M coach or suspend him from a game.