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Jay Bilas rips SEC tournament referees after controversial foul on Felix Okpara

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•about 9 hours•

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Jay Bilas
© Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

With 29 seconds left in Saturday’s game against Auburn, Tennessee’s Felix Okpara was called for a controversial foul. It sent Johni Broome to the line – and ESPN’s Jay Bilas ripped the referees for the call.

Okpara was going for a rebound and appeared to be knocking the ball back away from the basket. The official blew the whistle, indicating contact, although the replay appeared to show otherwise.

Broome missed the ensuing free throws. But while breaking the play down, Bilas didn’t hold back about the referees’ decision.

“I don’t get that one,” Bilas said. “He was just knocking the ball back out. I do not get that one, unless it was something I couldn’t see. All he was doing was knocking the ball back out.”

After seeing the replays, Bilas reiterated his displeasure with the foul call. It sent Broome to the free throw line and meant Okpara fouled out of the game.

“That’s a terrible call,” Bilas said. “Terrible. … Unless they were calling the initial contact on the shot a foul, that, maybe, I can understand. Maybe it was just a late call. … But if it was that, no way. That’s just rebounding. Period. That’s not a foul. That’s where the call was, that’s a terrible call.”

The officiating at the SEC tournament has become a topic of conversation as Selection Sunday draws closer. The SEC cemented itself as the top conference in the country this year and could be looking at upward of 14 bids to the big dance come Sunday.

However, ESPN’s Jay Williams wondered if the physicality could impact SEC teams’ performance in the NCAA tournament. He wondered if games would be officiated differently in March Madness and, therefore, impact how far teams can advance.

“I’m really starting to get worried guys about the physicality of this league,” Williams said Friday. “I love physical basketball, but the amount of grabbing, there’s no freedom of movement. I’m really worried about this hurting the conference in NCAA play that first weekend. Because they’re gonna call those fouls, Seth.”

SEC associate commissioner of basketball Garth Glissman responded to Williams with data. He pointed out the amount of fouls called in conference games this year compared to other power conferences to show things won’t necessarily be different in the NCAA tournament.

“More fouls were called in SEC Conference games (36.9 per game) and FTs attempted (43.7) than any other power conference this season,” Glissman wrote on X. “In first 10 games at the SEC Tourney, the numbers increased to 39.4 fouls and 48.1 FTs per game.”