Tennessee guard Lamonte Turner was upset about a controversial foul call at the end of regulation in the Vols’ Sweet 16 loss to Purdue on Thursday night.
Tennessee was up 82-80 with under 10 seconds left and forced Purdue into taking the ball out from under the basket with just under three seconds left. All they had to do was not foul and force the Boilermakers into making a game-tying or game-winning shot. Purdue passed to Carsen Edwards for a three-point attempt from the corner, which he missed, but Turner was called for fouling him.
There was a debate about whether or not the foul should have been called:
While the defender does not contact the shooter’s arms on this play, his hip does make contact with the lower body prior to the shooter landing. Remember, a player remains a shooter until he is no longer airborne. In my opinion, this is the correct call. pic.twitter.com/3g3NSwPt62
— Gene Steratore (@GeneSteratore) March 29, 2019
I see hip-to-hip contact and a clear foul, so I don’t have an issue with the call. That’s Tennessee’s fault.
After the game, Turner expressed his frustration with the call, saying he had complained to the refs all game about Edwards kicking his legs out.
#Vols’ Lamonte Turner on the foul called on him late in regulation: I told the refs all game, ‘He’s kicking his legs out every time he shoots, so I can’t close him out. He can’t do that.' But he kept doing that, and he did it there, and they rewarded him for it. I don’t get it.
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) March 29, 2019
Legs out or not, Turner still bumped Edwards. That’s on Turner for making a bad play, period.
Between that play and their terrible offensive attempt after Edwards tied the game by making two of three free throws, Tennessee gave that game away. They ended up losing 99-94 in overtime.
