Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley is rarely happy with the officiating.
But after Saturday's 76-61 home loss to Iowa State, Hurley was fuming. Playing in front of thousands of Iowa State fans on their home court, the Sun Devils shot just 18 free throws -- compared to 30 for Iowa State.
"Fouls was an issue for sure," Hurley said after the game. "This was our largest free throw differential game of the season. Even at Gonzaga ... they shot 11 more free throws there. On our home court which was more like a court that we practice on -- it was like a home neutral I'll call it -- based on how Iowa State came to the game today. It was disappointing. It was certainly disappointing that we couldn't play better in those last few minutes. But the fouls were an issue, certainly."
Late in the game, Arizona State guard Joson Sanon was whistled for a flagrant foul on Iowa State guard Keshon Gilbert as he drove to the basket and landed awkwardly. The play was initially called a common foul, but upgraded to a flagrant foul after review.
"It was a fiasco at the end again with the intentional foul, flagrant foul. That was a joke. I watched that," Hurley said after the game. "We can't control someone that's just throwing, launching his body laterally, and then he falls bad. Well I'm sorry he fell bad, but you didn't jump straight up. That stuff ... seems to happen to us quite a bit."
Arizona State (11-8, 2-6) led Iowa State (17-2, 7-1) 58-57 with 5:23 left in the game, but the Cyclones closed the game on a 19-3 run to secure the victory.
Hurley acknowledged his team played poorly down the stretch, but did not agree with how the game was officiated.
"I like those guys. I mean, I like all these guys," Hurley said about the officiating crew. "The crew on this game is great. I just don't agree that it was a flagrant one, and I didn't agree with Joson's fifth foul after watching that."
"You're going to have those types of things happening. You're going to wonder why, on your home court, or your home neutral, that you shot that many less free throws than your opponent. Because that hasn't been the tale of the tape all year. We've either shot more [free throws] than our opponent or right there with our opponent. And it was a bigger differential than normal tonight."
Could Iowa State's physical style of play been a primary factor in the way the game was called?
"If you're off the ball and you're being as physical as they are, it's obvious to me that they're not going to call as many fouls as are out there, that's for sure," Hurley said.