Tar Heel Assistant Confronts Official After Game
North Carolina assistant Bill Guthridge, upset with the ejection of Coach Dean Smith in Saturday’s NCAA championship semifinals, had a postgame confrontation with the official who ejected Smith.
Guthridge had to be restrained from going after Pete Pavia.
“That’s bush, that’s bush,” Guthridge shouted at Pavia. “Where did you learn how to officiate?”
Pavia, a Big East official, ejected Smith near the end of North Carolina’s 79-73 loss to Kansas.
The incident happened after North Carolina’s Rick Fox fouled out with 35 seconds left and the Tar Heels trailing, 76-71. Smith walked toward center court and asked Pavia, “How much time do I have” to substitute for Fox?
Pavia, who had called Smith’s first technical in the first half, hit him with another for an ejection.
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