Three-seeded Xavier survived an onslaught from upset-minded 14th-seed Kennesaw State. The Musketeers, who played a similar game against DePaul in last week’s Big East Tournament, overtook Kennesaw State eventually and pulled off the win. The victory, however, did not come without controversy. Nor did it come without a target as Gene Steratore emerged as a punching bag for fans.
It most certainly appeared that, late in the game, Kennesaw State drew enough contact to warrant a foul call. Officials didn’t call anything on the play though. Steratore, the CBS Sports rules analyst, stepped in and said that he didn’t have much of an issue at all with the no-call.
Ian Eagle asked Steratore if anything stood out, to which Steratore said no.
“I think it’s a really good no-call. Two guys trying to secure possession, as we watch here,” Steratore said.
Suffice it to say, fans and others in the CBB world weren’t thrilled with Gene Steratore and his explanation.
ForTheWin’s Caroline Darney tweeted, “Have a backbone, Gene Steratore. They show an obvious slap to the arm and then arm pulling. The ball was loose because he was fouled.”
One fan called Steratore useless “as he is with NFL games.”
“Let’s bring in Gene Steratore to explain why the officials are always right,” joked one fan.
Reporter Dan Molloy responded to Steratore’s claim that it was a good no-call by saying, “It’s really not.”
What say you? Fair or foul?
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022