Iowa coach Fran McCaffery has been suspended two games after making "unacceptable" comments directed at an official on Tuesday night following his team's 90-70 loss to Ohio State. After the game, one which saw both he and his son receive technical fouls within a minute of each other, the coach -- known for running hot from time to time -- was reportedly spotted in the hallway spewing expletives at an official. According to Kyle Rowland of the Toledo Blade, those expletives were a pair of F-words accusing the official of cheating and being a disgrace.
it appears the incident did indeed take place, and McCaffery has been punished accordingly.
"Following the basketball game at Ohio State, Coach McCaffery made unacceptable comments to a game official in the hallway headed to the locker room," Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta said in a statement announcing the suspension. "Fran's comments do not represent the values of the University of Iowa, Hawkeye Athletics, and our men's basketball program."
The Big Ten supported Iowa's two-game suspension and announced that it has also issued the institution a $10,000 fine as a result of the incident, which violated the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy.
McCaffery was asked about the incident after the game in his postgame press conference, but declined comment. "Can't talk about that," he said. "I would love to, but I can't."
Despite the lopsided final score, Iowa was still fighting until the end. The Hawkeyes trailed by nine with 4:08 left, but Connor McCaffery was assessed a technical after arguing a call, and the elder McCaffery followed suit 58 seconds of game time later. By then, it was 82-69.
Despite the loss, Iowa's second in three games, the Hawkeyes are still in prime position to land among the field of 68 teams come Selection Sunday. As of Tuesday night, CBS Sports Bracketologist Jerry Palm had Iowa as a No. 5 seed.
