Fran Fraschilla suggests Brock Cunningham received flagrant foul vs. Baylor due to reputation

Texas forward Brock Cunningham fouled out of Monday’s 93-85 loss against Baylor late in the second half after being called for a flagrant foul, although many Longhorns fans are claiming it to not have been so serious.

ESPN commentator Fran Fraschilla threw in his two cents on the matter. His comments have since sparked debate online.

“I would say, if it’s any other player on the court tonight, it would have been a common foul,” Fraschilla said to Jon Sciambi on Monday night’s ESPN broadcast. But because it’s Brock Cunningham, he’s the bad guy in here. I think it’s good officiating.”

Indicating that a player has a negative history in the sport and then turning around to call the officiating “good” isn’t exactly the type of comment that someone’s fan base is going to take lightly, especially at Texas during a game where emotions were running high throughout.

Cunningham ultimately contributed three points and an assist before fouling out of the game.

While Cunningham’s fouls contributed to the Longhorns’ foul totals, it was transfer Max Abmas who rattled off a game-high 33 points an 13-of-21 shooting including four made 3-pointers and five assists. Tyrese Hunter scored 12 during the contest while forward Kadin Shedrick put up 14 points during the contest.

While Texas ended up giving away a 14-point lead to the Bears on the road, a much more brutal and negative takeaway Texas will have from this game came in the form of star big man Dylan Disu‘s leg injury during the second half.

Baylor was attempting to get out in transition off a Texas turnover after Disu tried to get a pass to the free throw line to Chendall Weaver. Disu stuck his hand in before turning around and running back on defense.

He did not make it very far and immediately went down. ESPN showed a reply of the moment, showing a Baylor defender accidentally stepping on Disu’s right ankle. Play resumed for a bit before Texas regained possession of the ball. Disu did not return to action.

The loss pushes Texas’ record down to 19-11 on the season, and are no longer in contention to earn a double-bye into the quarterfinals of next week’s Big 12 Tournament. Before the Longhorns get there, however, they round out their regular season inside the Moody Center for a date against Oklahoma on Saturday. The opening tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN.