Referees, officiating coordinators weigh in on Brady Manek ejection vs. Baylor

On Saturday afternoon, the No. 8 seed North Carolina Tar Heels barely avoided one of the biggest meltdowns in college basketball history. They squeaked by the No. 1 seed Baylor Bears in overtime, 93-86 but the win didn’t come without a frenetic finish. The ‘Heels built a commanding 25-point lead in the second half, but after a historic collapse, Baylor was able to tie the game, 80-80 at the end of regulation. A massive turning point in the game came when North Carolina’s Brady Manek was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul in the second half. He caught Baylor’s Jeremy Sochan with an inadvertent elbow while battling for a rebound. The ejection was very controversial and once he left the game with 10:08 left in the second half, it ignited a historic run by Baylor. If you need to see footage of the foul, you can see that here.

Following the game, CBS college basketball expert Seth Davis said he’d been texting with referees and officiating coordinators. He discovered that there were differing opinions on the ejection.

I've been texting with various referees and officiating coordinators about the Manek ejection. I'd say it's about 50/50. It doesn't matter whether you think he should be objected, but whether the rule as written was properly applied. I'd lean no, but it's far from consensus.

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 19, 2022

While the elbow by Manek looked to warrant a flagrant foul, ejecting him from the game was definitely an excessive punishment. At the time of the ejection, he was North Carolina’s leading scorer with 26 points. Ejecting him from the game completely changed the complexion of the Tar Heels’ offense. He’s been one of their biggest deep threats from three-point range all season long. Following Manek’s ejection, the Bears rattled off a 11-0 run in less than two minutes and the Tar Heels were visibly shaken.

It’s interesting that Davis said people were a 50/50 split on whether or not the rule as written was properly applied. With any judgement call, there’s rarely going to be a consensus and it’s the same with the Manek ejection. North Carolina’s Caleb Love did not help things by picking up a fifth foul with 6:15 remaining in the second half. As a matter of fact, Love fouling out only made things worse for the ‘Heels, but miraculously, they avoided one of the biggest collapses in college basketball history. The biggest comeback in NCAA Tourney history came back in 2012, when BYU overcame a 25-point first half deficit to defeat Iona in a First Four game.

Following Manek’s ejection and Love fouling out, the Tar Heels had 10 turnovers. Baylor outscored North Carolina 38-10 in the final 10 minutes of the game, nearly completing a historic comeback. R.J. Davis of North Carolina carried the ‘Heels in regulation and overtime, pumping in a career-high 30 points.

No. 8 seed North Carolina (26-9 overall) advances to the Sweet 16 and will face the winner of Saturday night’s winner of the St. Mary’s/UCLA matchup.