Gene Steratore on the 2019 Final Four post-game show to dissect a missed double-dribble call. Gene Steratore on the 2019 Final Four post-game show to dissect a missed double-dribble call. (Awful Announcing on Twitter.)
CBSCollege BasketballBy Sam Neumann on

On the first day of the NCAA Tournament, you can always count on two things: a No. 5 seed being upset by a No. 12 seed and Gene Steratore dutifully towing the company line.

It just so happened that both of those inevitabilities collided in the same game.

Clemson fell to McNeese State, 69-67, in the first upset of the weekend. After a dreadful 11-point first half, the Tigers ran out of time, as Brad Brownell’s team trailed by as many as 22 points in Thursday’s loss to Will Wade and the Cowboys.

Their comeback effort took a hit when 7-footer Viktor Lakhan was hit with his fourth and fifth fouls with just over six minutes left. The Cincinnati transfer fouled out after being assessed a technical foul on a botched dunk attempt. Lakhan had some words for Sincere Parker, who tried to throw it down on him, and a quick whistle later; his night was over.

Andrew Catalon and Steve Lappas didn’t agree with the call — at all.

Steratore? He was all for it.

“Look, I know you guys, we get a little frustrated at times because we see these and think, ‘Basketball, basketball,'” CBS’s rules analyst explained. “When you see this play, the foul is there. You see Parker go by; he says absolutely nothing and is just walking away. And now you got someone that’s continuously talking. And Tony Padilla’s been around a long time.

“It’s just not something you want to have now because of frustration and things of that nature. If it goes unaddressed, then you have something two or three minutes down the road. It’s unfortunate that it was his fourth and fifth fouls, but that’s a technical foul, guys. You can’t let that start happening because what transpires afterward is unintended consequences you don’t want to have.”

Maybe Gene Steratore had a case, especially speaking from his personal experience as both an NFL and college basketball official. But his defense of the controversial call wasn’t a surprise to longtime CBS viewers.

Steratore is notorious for sticking up for his fellow referee(s), and it’s not without its fair share of criticism. While his explanations often come across as thorough, many viewers at home feel he’s too quick to justify the referees’ calls, even when it’s a relatively soft call, like Lakhan getting a tech to foul out in an NCAA Tournament game.

Gene Steratore is paid to be a rules analyst; we get that. And he’s genuinely really good at explaining situations and being able to analyze what’s going on. There’s a reason why memes developed with Jim Nantz and Tony Romo seemingly being so dependent on his rules interpretations. But his consistent defense of every call often feels like a refusal to acknowledge that not all decisions are as black-and-white as they appear.

And when viewers at home can spot the inconsistency, that’s a real problem.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann