NASSAU, Bahamas — Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter is a referee, too, officiating his team’s five-on-five action during practice.
He also admits he never moves, and when he makes calls, “I just guess.” That possibly played into the higher road he took when discussing the refs following an 80-71 victory over Memphis in a testy first game of the Baha Mar Championships.
“To the defense of the officials, I think if they would have just called everything and got it cleaned up to start with, it would have helped,” Painter said. “But in hindsight, that might have fouled every person in the game out.
“I think it was a hard game to play, a hard game to coach and a hard game to officiate.”
This was a physical game almost from the jump. Wetness on the playing surface became an issue in the second half, and the frequency with which bodies slammed to the court was a contributing factor.
Officials called 21 fouls against Purdue players, compared to 13 for Memphis. Backup center Daniel Jacobsen committed four in 5:30 of court time.
One Boilermaker — All-Big Ten forward Trey Kaufman-Renn — fouled out with 2:15 to play. Three others — point guard Braden Smith and centers Oscar Cluff and Jacobsen — reached four fouls.
“it’s a physical game, and we want to win,” Kaufman-Renn said. “Part of it is you have to get somewhat emotional to play a team like Memphis — just a really good basketball team. But you have to try to balance that and keep your composure.”
Memphis had its own gripes. Starting point guard Dug McDaniel was assessed a first-half technical after bumping into Fletcher Loyer away from a play. In the second half, big man Aaron Bradshaw was knocked to the ground by Cluff, then got up and yelled while pointing a finger in Cluff’s face.
Painter said officials told him they missed a foul on Cluff, but in their review, they determined Bradshaw was guilty of a technical foul. That was his fifth, also, and sent him out of the game with 7:54 to play.
Loyer likened the tone of the game to “AAU basketball.” That did not absolve Kaufman-Renn of losing control momentarily and costing himself important minutes. Ultimately, though, it went down as a lesson learned without coming as the expense of a victory.
“When games are like that — they’re physical, they’re out of control — that’s what they want, and the refs got into that and let it happen,” Loyer said. “But it’s our job to play our game and stick to that.”
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue win over Memphis was physical, out of control and refs ‘let it happen’
Reporting by Nathan Baird, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
