Saturday’s Round of 32 matchup in the NCAA Tournament between the 2-seed St. John’s Red Storm and 10-seed Arkansas Razorbacks was a dream matchup for old-school college basketball fans thanks to the involvement of Rick Pitino and John Calipari.
Unfortunately, in the eyes of the CBS broadcast team, the game was marred by some questionable officiating that significantly affected the outcome.
The officials had a quick whistle throughout much of the game, with 44 combined fouls called. But two calls drew the ire of CBS color analyst Steve Lappas.
With 13:04 remaining in the second half, St. John’s star big man Zuby Ejofor was called for a loose-ball foul on a rebound attempt that was a bit of a ticky-tack call. Upon watching the replay, Lappas shared his frustration with that kind of call in such an important game.
“Wow, in this kind of a game… I’m sorry, that’s not a good call,” said Lappas.
Arkansas would then capitalize on the quick whistle, converting a dunk on the same possession to extend their lead to double digits.
“Wow! In this kinda game, I’m sorry, that’s not a good call.” – Steve Lappas 🏀🦓🎙️ #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/SddS9T55eJ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 22, 2025
Later in the second half, a questionable call would negatively affect St. John’s again. With 6:28 remaining in regulation, The Red Storm’s Kadary Richmond was called for his fifth and final foul, where it appeared he contested an Arkansas shot legally with his arms straight up in the air without leaving his feet.
Lapas again disagreed with the call. But this time, he also had the support of CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore and CBS play-by-play man Andrew Catalon.
“Oh, that’s not a foul! I mean, he is walled up,” said Lappas. “I don’t know about that one. I mean, he got his arms straight up in the air. I’m sorry! That’s a no-call!”
“Oh, that’s not a foul! I’m sorry! That’s a no-call!” – Steve Lappas
CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore agreed with Lappas.
St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino voiced his displeasure over the call. 🏀🦓🎙️#MarchMadness https://t.co/dyCZgLnkdw pic.twitter.com/On47nVBNRF
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 22, 2025
“You saw the reaction from Richmond, who is very mild-mannered, rarely shows emotion. And he went right over to the official in disbelief,” added Catalon.
Some might argue the player’s number of fouls and the time left in the game shouldn’t be factors in a referee’s call. However, considering this iffy call ended the game (and season) for an All-Big East First Team player, it further accentuated its questionable nature.
Without their senior leader, St. John’s would run out of gas down the stretch, falling in a 75-66 upset to Arkansas, ending their terrific season.
“From 0-5 in the SEC to the Sweet Sixteen! Arkansas and John Calipari movin’ on to San Francisco!” – Andrew Catalon on the CBS call as Arkansas takes down Rick Pitino and No. 2-seeded St. John’s. 🏀🎙️ #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/pFTq3kak1T
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 22, 2025
While Pitino and St. John’s didn’t perform at their best, we’ll probably be hearing about the referees’ performance just as much in breakdowns of the game.
