Iowa’s Alvaro Folgueiras and Florida’s Alex Condon were involved in a rough, loose-ball scramble during the second round game in the NCAA Tournament. The moment happened in the first half with 8:37 remaining.
Condon tipped the ball on offense, but it rimmed out. The ball touched some hands before both Condon and Folgueiras went for the ball. Folgueiras made a closed-fist motion toward the ball, which at first glance looked like a punch. This triggered a brief near-fight, with players and coaches rushing in.
Officials reviewed the play and assessed double-technical fouls (one for each player). However, the decision left Florida head coach Todd Golden furious.
Should Alvaro Folgueiras Have Been Ejected?
Florida men’s basketball head coach Todd Golden demanded an ejection of Alvaro Folgueiras from the referees, believing Alex Condon was punched. He reacted angrily on the sideline and even exchanged words with Iowa’s coach.
As per the referees, because of the whistle, it was a dead-ball situation. Moreover, they assessed that the punch was not directed towards the opponent, but rather it was a motion to free the ball.
After the 73-72 loss, Golden shared what the officials told him regarding Folgueiras not receiving an ejection. The officials claimed that Folgueiras’ punch didn’t connect with Condon despite the attempt and therefore it didn’t warrant an ejection.
CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore agreed with the decision made by the referees.
“You know what, Tom and Danny, the fact that they had the held ball, which creates a dead ball situation, right?” Steratore said. “So now we’re in a dead-ball situation. If we have physical activity between both players, again, without a punch directed at them, I think you are in a good place to say offsetting dead-ball technical fouls.
“We’re in a dead ball scenario there, so I really think at this point as you said, Dan, you don’t think that there’s that punch thrown to the chest, you have something of that nature, this is probably the best result to put this game in somewhat of a calming fashion to get it back down and let’s go play basketball again.”
Upon a close look at the action, it looked like a punch in real time. A swinging fist in a scrum can be considered excessive or fighting, which usually means ejection. However, it is also important to note that the motion doesn’t seem to be intentional, as it was supposedly aimed towards the ball. Also, it happened in a dead-ball tie-up.
