UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley was involved in an intimidating incident with referee Roger Ayers in the 73-72 Elite Eight win against the Duke Blue Devils. With UConn entering the Final Four, there was concern about whether Ayers would get placed in the Final Four crew for the Illinois Fighting Illini matchup.
On Tuesday, the Final Four officials crew was decided, and while complete details are not revealed, it is at least confirmed that Ayers, who has officiated seven Final Fours, will not officiate the game.
The Final Four Championship officials are as follows:
- Jeff Anderson
- James Breeding
- Lee Cassell
- Ron Groover
- Keith Kimble
- Kipp Kissinger
- Greg Nixon
- Marques Pettigrew
- Doug Shows
- Doug Sirmons
- Paul Szelc
What Happened Between Dan Hurley and Roger Ayers In Elite Eight
Huskies guard Braylon Mullins shot a buzzer-beating 3-pointer against Duke to help the Huskies win 73-72. Right after his dramatic shot with 0.4 seconds left, Dan Hurley leaned in and made forehead-to-forehead contact with referee Roger Ayers.
It was a controversial moment, as any disrespectful gesture against the officials in an NCAA game can lead to a technical foul. If one had been called, Duke could’ve gotten free throws and a possession. It might have changed the game outcome.
According to ESPN’s Seth Greenberg on “SportsCenter,” the host said that he talked with Ayers about the incident and the referee said it was “absolutely nothing.” Greenberg even suggested that Ayers was completely controversial incident that is making the rounds on the internet.
“I talked to Roger today. He said, ‘What are you talking about?’ He literally didn’t know what I was talking about,” Greenberg said. “He said, ‘Nothing happened. The ball went in. I was running back. They were celebrating. (Dan Hurley) leaned in, said something to me. I said something to him. It was absolutely nothing.’”
As far as the Huskies’ head coach is concerned, Hurley confirmed there was no hostility
or no intent to intimidate from his side.
“At that point in the game, we had it won. And, he’s such an easy guy to work with during the game that I thought he was coming over to chest bump me to celebrate the shot because it’s not like that for me with him,” Hurley said. “That, in no way, was like me and a ref that I had been at their throat the whole game. Other points of the game, I had my arm around him walking out of the timeout. We were cracking jokes and laughing.
“That was more like the emotion of the shot and this is a cool ass ref. … He was just coming up to tell me there was point 0.3 [seconds remaining]. ‘I think there’s gonna be point 0.3 or 0.4 on the clock,’ is what he was saying to me. And, I was still so hyped from the shot going in.”
Hurley has had his own such version of incidents in the past with the officials. Earlier this season, during a regular-season game against Marquette, he made contact with referee John Gaffney in the closing seconds. As a result, he was ejected.
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