Indiana head basketball coach Mike Woodson does not think that sophomore C.J. Gunn should have been ejected for throwing an elbow on Friday night. In his eyes, Wisconsin started it!
In the heat of the battle, anything is libel to happen. I’m not happy about it […]
After looking at it, the kid put his head on [Gunn’s] chest. He threw a semi-elbow, I don’t think it was something hard that warranted being kicked out of the game.
— Mike Woodson
The incident occurred with 12:50 left in the second half.
Badgers guard Max Klesmit had hit four-straight shots at that point, including a pair of three-pointers, which pushed his team’s lead to 17 points. He and Gunn got tied up near the sideline as Wisconsin brought the ball up on the next possession.
Klesmit leaned into the Hoosiers defender and essentially wiped his forehead on his jersey. Gunn did not appreciate the breach of personal space. His right elbow swiped at the antagonist. It was not subtle.
Not only did Klesmit oversell the contact, the entire thing went down right in front of the Badgers’ bench, in Madison. The entire arena groaned at Gunn’s swipe.
CJ Gunn just got ejected for elbowing Max Klesmit in the jaw. Right in front of the Wisconsin bench too. You gotta be slicker than that 😅 pic.twitter.com/LuCrcTDk3A
— PropSwap (@PropSwap) January 20, 2024
Officials stopped play to review. They called Gunn for a flagrant two.
As a result, Indiana’s 6-foot-6 guard was tossed.
Although the college basketball game was pretty much over at that point, the foul called on the elbow resulted in two shots and the ball. Klesmit hit a pair of free throws and his teammate knocked down a jumper on the possession that pushed their lead over the 20-point margin.
Mike Woodson didn’t think that Gunn’s sweeping blow warranted a flagrant two and might be right! However, that should not even be a conversation that needs to be had in the first place.
Gunn should know where he is — both on the court and in terms of an away gym. The elbow, whether reactionary or not, shouldn’t have made contact with Klesmit. He needs to let that go.
Nobody sees what started the fight. They focus on what finished it.
A foul was called.