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Technically, Valentine was out of bounds
Rick Morrissey

March 28, 2004

ATLANTA -- What do you look for in an NCAA tournament game? Suspense? Effort? Performances that rise to the occasion?

Or do you look for a referee to assert himself in the final seconds of a close contest?

Most of us turn on the TV in the hopes we'll see something special in the tournament. We don't fill out our brackets for the office pool and say to ourselves, "I hope Ted Valentine hands out a few technicals when it matters most. There's no such thing as 'too much Ted."' We don't pay attention to March Madness with the expectation a referee might put his mark on a game.

But that's exactly what happened in the final seconds of a regional semifinal game between Xavier and Texas on Friday night. And it was outrageous.

With 3.9 seconds left and Xavier leading by three points, Texas' P.J. Tucker was called for a foul. Xavier's Romain Sato had two free throws. Texas coach Rick Barnes exchanged words with Valentine, who quickly served two technicals to Barnes. Six free throws later, it was over, even though those same 3.9 seconds glowed on the clock.

Nothing says "NCAA tournament" like a coach being escorted off the court by security, does it?

What had been unlikely—Sato missing both free throws and Texas hitting a three-pointer to tie the game—became impossible. A referee made sure of that.

Now, I don't know what Barnes said to Valentine. But short of using a racial insult, I can't think of one thing he could have said that would have deserved two T's at such an important juncture in such an important game. Given that Barnes' teams at Texas primarily have been made up of African-American players and that Barnes is considered one of the classier coaches in college basketball, it's hard to believe he would have said something racially insensitive to Valentine, who is black.

What could Barnes have said to Valentine?

That the game was fixed? Not worth a technical with 3.9 seconds left.

That Ted needed to change his name to Tommy ("Deaf, dumb and blind")? Not worth a technical.