Mizzou head basketball coach was not talking about the final 17.4 seconds when he described the Tigers 77-57 loss to the Florida Gators as “probably the toughest.” He was speaking of the officiating and doing so as diplomatically as he could without being fined.
Several questionable foul calls on plays that drew minimal or no contact were called against Missouri, ultimately allowing Florida to score the final seven points in the last 1:32 to literally steal a victory from the Tigers.
Counzo’s comment on this being a tough loss to take.
Florida tied the game with 22.2 seconds left when Jalen Hudson made two of three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt by Kassius Robertson on a play Robertson was late getting over to. The whistle also came late. The Tigers called a timeout with 17.4 seconds left. Jordan Geist’s pass to Kassius at the top of the key, but Chris Chiozza stepped in front and and went uncontested the length of the floor for the winning layup.
Watch the final play.
Jordan Barnett led Missouri with 28 points, and Robertson added 12. Florida coach Mike White called Barnett the most improved player from last year.
Jeremiah Tilmon fouled out on two questionable calls in the second half, but he played just four minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls in the first 4:13 of the game and then his third late in the first half. Martin is hoping Tilmon isn’t getting a reputation for foul trouble after the two questionable calls late in the second half.
I echoed those same comments during the game on my Twitter feed @Missourisports
Looks like Tilmon is getting a reputation and won’t get any favorable calls. That was really cheap.
That’s the 2nd time in 10 minutes I’m calling out the refs. You know it’s bad
— Bill Pollock (@missourisports) January 6, 2018