On Saturday night, Larry Krystkowiak was critical of a controversial, late-game call at Oregon. On Wednesday morning, the Pac-12 responded to what the Utah head coach had to say.
The league office on Wednesday reprimanded Krystkowiak for comments made in the wake of a 67-64 loss at Oregon. There is no fine associated with a reprimand.
“The Pac-12 membership has established rules that prohibit our coaches from publicly commenting about officiating,” Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement. “We have an obligation to our members to enforce approved conference rules. As part of our officiating program, there is a protocol in place for our coaches to provide feedback directly to the coordinator of officials.”
With Utah down one with the ball in the closing seconds at Matthew Knight Arena, Utes junior star Timmy Allen never appeared to possess a loose ball, but when he picked it up to dribble, referee Deldre Carr called Allen for a double-dribble, much to the ire of Krystkowiak. The ball went back to Oregon, senior guard Chris Duarte hit two free throws with three seconds left, and Allen’s desperation 35-foot bomb for the tie never had a chance.
The first postgame question to Krystkowiak minutes later was about the double-dribble.
“Wow, all I can say is wow,” Krystkowiak said after offering a bellowing, sarcastic laugh to the question. “We scrapped, we played our butts off, and it wasn’t error-free by any means. We made plenty of mistakes, Oregon made plenty of mistakes, [Ducks head coach] Dana [Altman] made plenty of mistakes, but I think at the end of the day, we let the players determine a game. To make up a call at the end? That didn’t even happen? That is mind-boggling.”
Wednesday marked the second time in as many seasons Krystkowiak has been reprimanded by the Pac-12 for being critical of the officiating. Last season at Arizona State, 7-foot-4 freshman Matt Van Komen was assessed a technical foul for hanging on the rim when there appeared to be a player underneath him. Krystkowiak argued that call, was ejected with 1:23 to play in an 83-64 loss, then unloaded postgame.
“Well, I saw a 7-foot-4 guy dunk the ball, and somebody is underneath him, and you’re allowed to hang on the rim,” Krystkowiak said then. “That’s all I got, it just wasn’t the proper call to make at that time, and I had no problem with the officiating. I like all those guys, but I think that was BS at the end.”
