LAWRENCE — For as raucous as the crowd inside Allen Fieldhouse got Saturday when things went right for Kansas basketball, fury followed a controversial call with 20.8 seconds left in the second half that went against the Jayhawks.
Kansas trailed Texas Tech 76-73 and the Red Raiders had possession of the ball, taking it out of bounds right in front of KU’s bench. Darrion Williams inbounded the ball to Elijah Hawkins, who caught the ball as he moved toward the baseline as Kansas’ Rylan Griffen attempted to make a steal. And while Hawkins slid out of bounds as the play transpired, the officials called a foul on Griffen instead of a turnover.
The play incensed Jayhawks coach Bill Self and the team’s bench, to the point it was surprising Self walked away from that call without a technical foul called on him. In the immediate aftermath there was even an announcement made in the building to refrain from throwing objects on the court, and on the ESPN broadcast it was said that a water bottle was thrown. It was one of a number of glaring moments late that led to Kansas suffering a 78-73 loss against No. 10 Texas Tech.
“I don’t have a perspective on throwing anything, because I didn’t see what was done, but I do have a perspective — I didn’t think he was fouled,” Self said. “One official saw it one way and another official saw it the other. I don’t think he was fouled. But, we got the ball back anyway, so — and to be honest, the second time, he may have been fouled. So, it probably balanced out. But he wasn’t fouled. I mean, that was a bad call. But we did get the ball back, so you can’t (expletive) about the call.”
