Musketeers Beat: Sean Miller Goes Nuclear, Challenges Integrity of ‘Tier’ Based Big East Officiating

CINCINNATI — Sean Miller was a volcano waiting to erupt.

And following a 79-75 loss to Providence Wednesday that dropped his team to .500 on the season and below break-even in the Big East, that’s precisely what he did.

The brunt of his anger and frustration were the officials – namely John Gaffney – that rang up a technical foul on him with 5:01 left in the first half after watching the fifth straight foul called on Xavier. as Providence was in the midst of a 12-1 run to recapture the lead.

What magic words precipitated the harsh reaction from Gaffney?

“That’s five fouls in a row,” Miller said of his plead to Gaffney following an offensive foul called on Abou Ousmane. As it turned out, Devin Carter missed one of the two technical free throws and Xavier would answer with the next nine points and take a 38-33 halftime lead.

As usually happens, the eruption was unsolicited and came at the end of Miller’s opening statement on the game.

“I got a technical foul. And you know, one of the things that I’ve learned, and I got this, there’s a tier system in this league. I know what to do, man. No one has to remind me. I haven’t won enough. I haven’t been here long enough. I haven’t been in Final Four. Don’t have enough championships or wins. I get it. But when I get a technical foul, and this is the second time on this, for saying “that’s five fouls in a row now, that’s five fouls in a row,’ that’s a problem. That’s a problem. And I get it. I’ll take my rightful place on one knee. But what I’m not going to do is sit and watch that other coach do anything different than sit on his one knee.

“When you get into these types of games at Creighton (or) against Providence, I don’t want to give Providence one one point or two points and technical foul came in the middle of the first half. And if that’s the bench decorum let’s even out those tiers. Don’t pick on the weak dudes like me. Spread that shit out. Get some more guys.”

But he was far from finished.

“We didn’t lose because of the technical foul. The officiating was fine. I thought even Des Claude’s strong drive at the end, sometimes you get a foul on that call, but (Ticket) Gaines did a great job. That was an awesome block. That was the play of the game. He left the left corner, jumped above the rim and blocked Des’ layup awesome job.”

What really ignited Miller’s rage was feeling that officials have a “tier” system in place that favors distinguished coaches who can get away with working the officials or complaining about calls while someone like Miller – who has coached two decades without reaching the Final Four – cannot.

“But when you get a technical foul for (saying), ‘That’s five fouls in a row.’ … You know, I get it. I know who I am. I get it. But I don’t know just in terms of how that feels for our team. And I just want to make sure that as the tier systems in place, the top tier guy can’t do one thing and there I am, sitting on my little left knee and getting that that technical foul. That shit is sickening. There’s a lot at stake. There’s a lot of players and people that work real, real hard and the game can’t be decided by (saying) that’s five fouls in a row. (I’m) tired of that bullshit.”

While the criticism of the officials for foul disparity is not uncommon, the accusation that officials cognitively treat different coaches on a tier system will be viewed more seriously within the Big East. College basketball officiating has not had a good two months, with coaches wide and far – like Houston’s Kelvin Sampson and Oklahoma State’s athletic director pointing out discrepancies in the officiating.

No doubt, Big East supervisor of officials John Cahill will be in touch with Miller about his comments and a fine and/or suspension could be in the future.

As for the game, star Devin Carter poured in a team-leading 22 points to go with 11 rebounds, seven rebounds and four blocks to rally the visiting Providence College Friars past the Xavier Musketeers, 79-75, Wednesday night in Big East play.

Jayden Pierre added 17 points and five assists for Providence (18-9, 9-7), which earned a critical road conference win.

Xavier (13-13, 7-8) was paced by 22 points from Desmond Claude and 19 from Quincy Olivari. The Musketeers suffered their third straight loss to fall below .500 in conference play.

Xavier led, 61-54, on a Desmond Claude jumper with 11:22 remaining. But Providence scored six straight points to spark a 23-8 spurt that saw the Friars take a 77-69 lead on a Carter layup with three minutes remaining.

While Providence was making its run, Xavier went ice cold, missing 15 of 16 shots from the floor.

Claude’s spinning floater into the lane with 24.4 seconds left cut Providence’s lead to two, 77-75.

Carter was then whistled for an over-and-back violation against heavy Xavier pressure with 16.4 seconds remaining, giving Xavier one final chance. But Claude was blocked by Ticket Gaines on a layup attempt with six second left.

Gaines was subsequently fouled and made two free throws to ice the win for Providence.

Carter, the scoring leader in the Big East at 19.2 points per game, struggled at the start. Carter missed eight of his first nine shots while Josh Oduro also could not find an offensive rhythm in the first half.

Carter and Josh Oduro combined to score 100 of Providence’s 156 points in wins over DePaul and St. John’s.

The two still managed to score 17 of Providence’s 33 first half points Wednesday night.

While Carter couldn’t sink his shots from the floor, he still managed 10 points on two field goals and five free throws. Carter also found other ways to keep Providence close, blocking three shots in the first 20 minutes, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out three assists.

The first half was a roller coaster for both teams, with Xavier racing out to a 28-19 lead. The Friars answered with a 12-1 run before Xavier answered with the next nine points for a 38-31 lead on their way to a 38-33 halftime edge.

The Musketeers knocked down their first five shots of the second half and seven of nine. But Providence, behind Carter and Pierre stayed within range.