The University of Arizona has apologized for a derogatory chant aimed at BYU following their 96-95 upset of the No. 19 Wildcats in Tucson on Saturday night.
Per video of the incident, those Wildcats fans chanted an expletive and “Mormons” toward BYU, the flagship school of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as players exited the floor. It capped a chaotic finish to the game that included controversial foul calls and irate coaches and players.
“Following tonight’s men’s basketball game, it was brought to our attention that an unacceptable chant occurred,” Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois said in a statement. “On behalf of the University of Arizona Athletic Department, we apologize to BYU, their student-athletes, coaches and fans. The chant is not reflective of who we are and should not have happened.”
Emotions flared at the McKale Center toward the end of a wild game. Down by a point, Arizona’s Caleb Love appeared to score and draw a foul with 12.5 seconds on the game clock, but officials ruled that he wasn’t in the act of shooting when the foul occurred. Unlike the NBA, college basketball does not have a continuation rule. The NCAA’s official rule book states that “the act of shooting begins simultaneously with the start of the try and ends when the ball is clearly in flight.”
Love sank both free throws to give Arizona a 95-94 edge. On the other end, officials drew boos from the crowd when they called a foul on Arizona’s Trey Townsend that sent BYU’s Richie Saunders to the charity stripe. Saunders made both free throws with 3.2 seconds to play to give his team the 96-95 advantage and seal the win.
Players from both teams had to be separated after the game as they approached the handshake line.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd criticized the foul call that led to BYU’s game-winning free throws but also said the call wasn’t the reason Arizona lost.
“It’s a bad call. I mean like, whatever. What am I going to say?” Lloyd said after the game. “You hate for a game to be decided by that. I mean, [Townsend], I feel horrible for him. Guy didn’t play in the second half. I tightened the rotation. He played good defense. [Saunders] is pivoting, pivoting, pivoting. Throws his shoulder at him. Throws up a shot and falls down. It’s a foul with two seconds to go. Listen, it’s the Big 12. That’s what I’m told. And the guy who called it is one of the best refs. So, we’ve got to live with it. But step back. They scored 93 points up to that point on our home court. That’s the problem.”
