SEC Network analyst Joe Kleine blasts late replay reviews during Oklahoma vs. Mississippi State

With 1:29 left in Saturday’s game between Oklahoma and Mississippi State, the referees went to the monitor to review a potential flagrant foul. It was the latest in a series of late reviews in the game, and SEC Network analyst Joe Kleine criticized the amount of time the officials spent at the monitor.

The review was regarding a potential foul by Jeremiah Fears after an OU free throw. The review went on for nearly three minutes before the referees said there was no foul on the play.

As the officials weighed the events of the play, Kleine called out the late delays during college basketball games. He also pointed out what would happen if the potential foul in question was called the whole game.

3:12 review in Mississippi State/Oklahoma. No foul was called in live because there wasn’t a foul. For some reason, they reviewed it and determined there wasn’t a foul.

“That’s three minutes of my life I’ll never get back.” – announcer #MonitorMadness

— Jordan Schwartz (@JordanHarrison) February 22, 2025

“You know what I don’t like is the official didn’t see anything, he didn’t call anything,” Kleine said. “A guy falls to the ground and starts twirling his finger, and so we stop everything to go look at it. I mean, we’ve got to get to the point where just because you want a review, doesn’t mean you get one. … He grabs a little bit of the arm right there, but you and I have been watching this game the whole game. If they’re gonna call that, each team will be at about 50 to 60 free throws right now.”

Late-game delays have long been a complaint for college basketball fans as officials look at close plays or potential flagrant foul calls. But when they become more frequent, the frustration continues to mount, and Kleine pointed out the need to keep the flow of the game moving while also getting the calls right.

“I understand, you want to get it right and you want to protect the players,” Kleine said. “But it seems like, to me, Richard, anytime somebody falls down on the ground or anytime somebody’s head gets flailed back a little bit or arms go in the air, we stop the action. The game’s got a decent flow to it. We stop it, it’s in a critical part of the game and we go look at it.”

Kleine’s play-by-play partner Richard Cross also pointed out the balance needed with replay. If officials relay on it too much, it could become an issue.

“You never want it to turn into a crutch,” Cross said. “You have the opportunity to get it right, you have the opportunity to make sure players are being protected. But you don’t want it to ever become a crutch for officials where you go back and you look at every thing.”

Ultimately, after the nearly three-minute delay, officials did not call a foul on Fears. Kleine then reacted accordingly for the amount of time spent at the monitor.

“That’s three minutes of my life I’ll never get back,” Kleine said with a chuckle. “I love being here with you, Richard.”