Steve Pikiell: ‘[Bleeping] devastated … Big Ten whistle was in full effect’ at Michigan
There was a joke around the Big Ten for years that going to Michigan’s Crisler Arena was about as intimidating as a Tuesday morning mass crowd at St. Francis in Ann Arbor. The “wine and cheese” crowd from football often carried over, and while it got much better during the John Beilein years, it’s often the opponent or the magnitude of the game that made the atmosphere.
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As such, and probably as expected, Michigan also didn’t seem to get the same home court whistle as many of league’s better atmospheres. Michigan State, Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue … you knew going in what you were going to get.
This year, though, with the Wolverines winning (now 14 times in 17 Big Ten games), the shoe has often been on the other foot. Predictably, those who have benefited from their own friendly confines for so many years aren’t appreciative. The Purdue fan base, generally one of the better groups in the conference, took a 75-73 road loss hard in that respect Feb. 11, though Matt Painter (as usual) made no excuses.
Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell, though, didn’t hold back after his team was outshot 32-18 at the free throw line Thursday. He had complaints about a few other calls, too, and probably earned himself a fine with his stunning postgame radio comments.
“Just f—ing devastated for our f—ing guys,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said during his postgame radio interview. “Played so hard f—ing the whole time. Excuse my language.
“A couple of [down the] stretch calls, I thought there were travels [on Michigan]. We couldn’t get a stop, but I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. Coming into this place and playing toe-to-toe with them the whole time, and you lose on that play?”
That play, of course, was a 28-foot triple from wing Nimari Burnett at the buzzer that gave Michigan an 84-82 win. The Wolverines trailed most of the game but chipped away at a 12-point second half deficit to steal a win.
“The Big Ten whistle was in full effect,” Pikiell continued. “But we had chances. We just needed one stop … [and] this league is just a monster. We did everything we could to win the game. We can’t defend the foul line, again.
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“It’s just frustrating when you play that hard and play that well and play that together, you want great things to happen for these guys. And to lose like that is unbelievable.”
It was stunning for Michigan coach Dusty May, too, who made it clear he was pleased with the win, but understood the gut punch it must have been to Rutgers and its fans.
“I told Coach Pikiell his team didn’t deserve to lose that game,” May said. “I thought they played really, really well and thought their game plan was sound.”
He was probably right. At the same time, such is life in the Big Ten, and Michigan owes no apologies. The Wolverines have been on the wrong end of the calls in too many road losses to count, and home teams often get breaks in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights outshot USC 28-14 from the free throw line Sunday, for example, in a 10-point win.
The underlying point here — when teams are complaining about the whistle, it usually means a) you’re winning, and b) you’re probably getting the calls most good teams in the conference get at home. The Wolverines still aren’t up there with some whose opponents have two fouls getting off the bus, but they’re getting closer — and they’ll make no apologies, sitting at 14-3 and first place in the Big Ten.
