Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy joined some elite company when he was ejected in the closing seconds of the Midwest Regional final Saturday night.
Dean Smith, the mild-mannered former North Carolina coach, was tossed out at the end of the Tar Heels’ loss to Kansas in the 1991 Final Four semifinals, and Marquette’s Al McGuire drew two technicals as his Warriors were losing to North Carolina State in the 1974 national title game.
But Eustachy took no solace in the comparisons after he was ejected with nine seconds remaining in second-seeded Iowa State’s 75-64 loss to top-seeded Michigan State at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Eustachy, who had been riding the officials all night, erupted when Iowa State’s Michael Nurse was whistled for flattening MSU’s Andre Hutson in a battle for a rebound. Eustachy went onto the floor and appeared to make contact with at least one of the officials.
After the officials signaled a double technical, Eustachy turned and walked to the Michigan State bench, shaking hands with coach Tom Izzo. Then Eustachy stormed off the floor as the crowd of 21,214 jeered him.
“The first technical was for excessive demonstration and cursing,” referee Curtis Shaw told a pool reporter. “The second technical was for coming out on the floor and being outside the coaching box. By rule the two technical fouls result in an ejection.”
Asked if the officials hesitated to eject a coach at that stage in a tight, emotional game, Shaw said:
“We don’t have any choice. Two technical fouls result in an ejection. It was done strictly by the book.”
The Cyclones trailed 69-64 when Eustachy blew up. By the time State stopped shooting free throws, the score was 75-64.
It had been a rough night for Shaw’s crew. They hit Izzo with a technical foul when he ranted over a call with 5 minutes 49 seconds left. Two minutes later, two officials made contradictory calls on the same collision under the MSU basket. One called a charge on Iowa State’s Paul Shirley, the other a block on Michigan State’s Charlie Bell. After a meeting at center court, the refs decided to call a double foul. It was Shirley’s fifth.
Eustachy would not say whether a specific call had triggered his rage. He had regained his poise by the time he met with reporters.
“I’m not going to apologize for any of my actions,” he said, reversing comments he had made in a CBS postgame interview. “It’s been a long year. I apologized to the players.”
Though he was careful not to criticize the officiating, Eustachy still could face disciplinary action by the NCAA.
