Kentucky Assistant John Robic Apparently Called Official Scorer in Texas Tech Game a Cheater After Close Win
By Jerry Trotta
Kentucky and Texas Tech just delivered college basketball fans with an absolute thriller of an overtime slugfest.
The Wildcats were ultimately able to edge out the Red Raiders in Lubbock by a final score of 76-74, and the immediate interactions between players and coaching staff saw a bit of hostility arise from an unlikely source.
Per Kyle Tucker of The Athletic, Kentucky assistant John Robic approached Tech's scorekeeper and called him a cheater while the two teams shook hands.
Apparently John Robic leaned over to the official scorer and called him a cheater as the teams shook hands. I assume for fouling out Maxey when he wasn't fouled out?
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) January 26, 2020
Tucker notes that Robic's animosity derived from a controversial ruling on Kentucky point guard Tyrese Maxey. A miscalculation on the part of the stat attendant saw the freshman standout foul out having only committed four infringements. After a brief review, however, Maxey was ruled eligible to return to action.
Given the enthralling dogfight that SEC and Big 12 powerhouses just encountered, you would think that tensions would boil over between the players.
Not in this case. In fact, the 56-year-old assistant apparently unleashed some NSFW utterances in the direction of the Red Raiders staffer.
I just saw the stunned scorekeeper screaming back at Robic, but a Texas Tech staffer in between us said it was, "You cheating MFer!" Robes from the top rope. https://t.co/9VXylzATzl
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) January 26, 2020
Robic definitely isn't getting over that gaffe anytime soon. In his eyes, it was an error intended to deprive Kentucky of their most dynamic playmaker down the stretch.