Will Wade didn't exactly leave much mystery what he thought of the officiating late during LSU's men's basketball's 70-67 loss to Alabama.
The Tigers coach went ballistic and even charged a ref after an Eric Gaines layup attempt appeared to be pinned to the backboard without a goaltending call. Wade was given a technical, which appeared to spur the Tigers to a rally in the second half that fell just short. The sequence led to what was effectively a 4-point swing after Alabama's Jaden Shackleford hit both technical free throws.
Wade didn't mince words about what he thought after the game.
“You think it looked like that, Ron? You think?" Wade shouted back to Ron Higgins of TigerRag, who had asked about the technical. "It was pinned on the backboard. It didn’t look like it. It was.”
The Tigers went into the game undermanned and also lost key forward Darius Days to what appears to be a sprained ankle. Wade described his group as "held together by duct tape."
The result marks LSU's second consecutive loss, and its third in the past six games following a 12-0 start to the season. That as much as anything could've contributed to Wade's fiery on-court persona. Though it often doesn't take much to add drama in an LSU-Alabama matchup. In the end, Wade says it came down to supporting his players.
“Shoot, I told our guys I got the technical because I’ve got to have their back. We can’t keep having this happen," Wade said. "At some point I’ve got to stand up and have their back. So I have their back and those guys have my back, come back fighting like that. That’s what it’s about. … I’m proud as hell of them. I’ve got to stand up for them. We can’t just sit down and keep taking it.”
Things don't get any easier for the suddenly scuffling Tigers, next hitting the road for a matchup with No. 24 Tennessee on Saturday (ESPN).
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