Lack of punishment for Bobby Hurley shows Pac-12 hypocrisy

Following his criticisms of the officiating on Thursday evening, ASU Basketball coach Bobby Hurley was reprimanded, and it shows the hypocrisy of the Pac-12.

“He touched the ball! He touched the ball!” That’s all it took for head coach Sean Miller to get slapped with a $25,000 fine from the Pac-12 Conference after he lambasted the officiating in their Conference Tournament loss to UCLA back in 2013. On Thursday evening, ASU head coach Bobby Hurley had a similar instance.

As we’re all too familiar with by now, it is that Arizona came away with the big-time, buzzer-beater win over rival Arizona State on Thursday evening, but of course, that victory didn’t come without a little bit of drama.

Arizona Wildcats

In the waning moments with the game on the line, Sun Devil guard Remy Martin drove to the bucket and faced a little contact from Azoulas Tubelis. But in a game that saw 39 fouls called, the typically whistle-happy Pac-12 refs let it play out. Arizona went on to win, Hurley was livid.

Following their 84-82 loss, Hurley was very critical of the officiating after the game, especially as that last sequence played out.

"“I thought Remy Martin, after watching it live and then watching it again on film after, clearly was fouled by a player in the restricted area. “That player did not leave his feet. He was contacted. His arms did not go straight up. And the guy should have been whistled for a foul and (Martin) put at the free-throw line. So you’re talking about a guy that is as decorated a player as there is in the conference that goes to the hoop at a critical moment in the game and they swallow their whistles. That kid goes and gets knocked on his ass.”"

In a game where the Sun Devils outshot the Wildcats 29-17 from the free-throw line and had seven fewer fouls called, the comments from Hurley are rich.

The result following the strong comments? *Crickets*. The Pac-12 opted not to fine or punish Hurley but instead reprimand him. As if rewarding the petulant and whiny child is the best course of action here.

With the decision to not punish Hurley, the Pac-12 continues to show their inconsistency and hypocrisy on these matters, and as a reminder, Miller faced a stronger punishment from the Pac-12 for his “he touched the ball”, comments nearly eight years ago.

The decision to not punish Hurley is unfortunate and at Zona Zealots, all we hope for is consistency across the board, which we understand may be tough for the Pac-12. As always, Bear Down, Arizona!