Bibby Is in a Foul Mood

Henry Bibby is letting go of the loss to UCLA. But the Trojan coach is not forgetting the hard fouls he saw UCLA deliver.

“They came out and mauled us right away, and the [referees] let them get away with it,” Bibby said Saturday. “I thought a couple of fouls were flagrant. There should have been a couple of people thrown out of the game.

“It was the same thing Arizona State did last year. And I don’t think that’s right. We try to come out and play as clean as we can. And the officials let UCLA get away with mauling us at the beginning of the game. If that’s what we need to do in the Pac-10, then we’ll start coming out and playing the way people are playing us.”

Bibby understands his remarks may again draw the attention of Pacific 10 Conference officials. He has already drawn a “friendly” reprimand from Commissioner Tom Hansen over earlier critical remarks about officiating.

But Bibby keeps hearing how referees were ordered to “clean up” the game this season and call more fouls. His eyes see something different.

“If the officials are going to let teams come out and try to intimidate us, then we’re going to play the same way,” he said. “This is just my opinion. I’m not knocking anybody. I’m trying to live by the rules and regulations.

“If I think there are flagrant fouls on the floor, my guys as well as other team’s guys need to be thrown out of the game. That’s the rule.”