Sports

Sean Miller Loses Mind On Texas Assistant For Potentially Costly Premature Celebration

#Texas Longhorns
by Last Updated

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The Texas basketball team is headed to the Round of 64 after taking down NC State in an NCAA Tournament play-in contest. The Longhorns won at the buzzer with a game-winning shot.

A premature celebration became a topic of discussion in the final moments. Sean Miller was livid with an assistant after a potentially costly decision.

The opening night of March Madness provided tons of drama. Following an exciting matchup between UMBC and Howard, Texas and NC State took the court.

The two teams had already met once in the regular season, resulting in a 102-97 win for the Longhorns. The rematch would be much lower scoring.

Texas basketball hit a buzzer beater.

With the score tied at 66-66, guard Tramon Mark hit a jump shot with one second remaining to put the Longhorns ahead for good. That game-winner prevented a major collapse.

Texas held a 62-53 advantage inside the final two minutes of regulation. The Wolfpack then went on a 13-4 run to even the score.

After briefly losing its lead, Texas sank the final shot. It will advance to the next round of play.

There was some controversy surrounding the last bucket. A member of the Texas bench ran off the sidelines and onto the court as the shot went in.

That coach was reportedly Ryan Anderson, an assistant that followed Miller from Xavier.

Many demanded a technical foul be called, which would’ve given NC State an opportunity to tie at the line. Referees kept their whistles in their pockets.

Sean Miller was not happy.

The Texas basketball coach was seen reaming the assistant after dragging him back to the sidelines. He realized how costly the mistake could’ve been.

The Longhorns might’ve been the beneficiary of an immediate clock review after the final play. Referees blew play dead to look at the video and determine how much time was left.

A technical foul shall be assessed to a coach and/or all bench personnel for…

Delaying the game by preventing the ball from being promptly made live or by preventing continuous play, such as bench personnel entering the playing court before player activity has been terminated. In such a case, when the delay does not interfere with play, it shall be ignored.

-NCAA Rule 10 / Section 4 / Art. 2g

The play was not live. The celebration did not delay the game. It was ignored.

That didn’t diminish the severity to Sean Miller. He was furious on the bench. Luckily for him, it did not cost the Longhorns a win.