Multiple players ejected, fans arrested, suspensions handed down.
Love how the ref got in front of Cardoso after the shove, but then noped right out of there when she found herself in the middle of a swarm. Precisely the protocol.
I don’t get what the fuss was about. #4 (Purple) is playing next to #12 (white) and it seems a perfectly normal bit of play. Happens all the time, neither player seems bothered by it, nothing close to getting mad about (and neither does). Then #10 (white) flies in and pushes #4 (purple) to the floor. Mayhem ensues.
Why did #10 (white) go after #4 (purple)? What did I miss?
(sorry…I don’t know their names so numbers and jersey colors…I wouldn’t know the names of men’s college basketball players either)
LSU is in purple, and South Carolina is in white.
#12 in white steals the ball and appears to have an unencumbered breakaway to the basket at the other end of the floor. #4 in purple grabs #12 from behind to prevent the breakaway. By definition, this act is a flagrant foul (and it was called as such after things calmed down). #10 in white took exception to the action by #4 and shoved her to the ground. You can see other South Carolina players were also a bit incensed by the actions of #4. (And no, the grab from behind by #4 is not a ‘normal’ play and doesn’t happen all the time.)
#10 was ejected from the game and will also miss the first round of the NCAA tournament. Several players from each bench who came onto the floor were also ejected, which is the penalty for leaving the bench area.
I agree. She didn’t want to give up a “freebie”, so she grabbed her opponent to stop play. It could certainly be ruled an intentional foul, but nothing even approaching a flagrant foul/dirty play.
As I just mentioned, by definition and also by rule, this is a flagrant foul.
I think there’s a bit more too it than that.
After the flagrant foul, #12 and #4 are walking away from each other in a display of mutual contempt. #2 in white comes onto the scene and gets in #4’s way. As they’re walking past each other, they bump shoulders. In college sports, failing to get out of someone’s way is the most grievous insult imaginable, and casts doubt on their toughness, parentage, and inate worth as a human being. At this point, #10, white, had no choice than to rush to the defense of her teammate and push #4 to the ground.
It’s easier to see this in the second part of the video, shot from a camera over one of the baskets.
You beat me to it. The push by #10 seems to be a reaction not to the flagrant foul (or not only), but the shove you highlighted.
It appears you are correct:
A flagrant 1 foul (men’s) or unsportsmanlike foul (women’s) involves excessive or severe contact during a live ball, including especially when a player “swings an elbow and makes illegal, non-excessive contact with an opponent above the shoulders”. This offense includes the former “intentional foul” of fouling an opposing player to prevent an easy breakaway score. In women’s basketball only, the unsportsmanlike foul also includes contact dead-ball technical fouls. The penalty for a flagrant 1 or unsportsmanlike foul is two free throws and a throw-in for the opposing team at the out-of-bounds spot nearest the foul.
My point, however, is that it was not even close to a foul that warrants physical intervention and support from one’s teammates. If I stole the ball and was on my way to what amounts to a practice session layup, I would neither be surprised nor offended to be fouled in that way.
The reaction, again, was to a bit more than just that foul. Watch the video, especially the second angle. Does that justify the fighting? Not really, but emotions run high with competitive types, and there was a stacking of the foul and the person who did the fouling shoving away another player.
They didn’t bump shoulders - LSU #4 hit USC #2 in the neck with her forearm. #2 certainly was trying to get hit and egg #4 on, but your description is not accurate.
I saw, I understand, and I agree. If I’m either coach, though, I’m going to be upset because you don’t want to get a suspension from NCAA that will cause you to miss the first game (or even more) of the NCAA Tournament, especially for something like that. You have to keep your eye on the prize and maintain discipline. Dumb decisions and lack of emotional control doesn’t win a championship, but it can certainly lose one.
Is it different in professional basketball? I would swear I see fouls like that all the time in the pros. They do it intentionally to stop a breakaway (sometimes) or to keep the other team from running out the clock.
I don’t know the answer to that, but I would agree with you that the NBA is much more lax (laxer?) when calling a flagrant foul. ISTM that as long as there’s no chance of injury or danger to the player being fouled, it’s a common foul.
But, again, I don’t know the NBA rules, and I’m far too lazy to look it up.
The NBA now has what’s called “take fouls” for these fouls that stop a breakaway (but not in the last few minutes). It’s one shot and possession of the ball, I think.
Actually, the only time a player can be suspended from a future game is for fighting, although the NCAA women’s basketball rulebook has a broad definition of fighting: “a confrontation involving one or more players, coaches or other team personnel wherein (but not limited to) a fist, hand, arm, foot, knee, or leg is used to combatively strike the other individual.” The only time it would be more than a one-game suspension is if the same player had received a fighting suspension earlier in the season, in which case the second suspension would be for the remainder of the season.
On the other hand, remember that South Carolina will almost certainly get a 1 seed, which means its next game will be against a 16 seed that possibly could have played two days earlier in a “first four” game.
Further demonstrating that she’s a narcissistic sociopath following the mould of Bobby Knight, the LSU “coach” only criticized Cardosa for shoving Johnson, rather than someone ‘her own size,’ i.e. Reese.
Meanwhile, Cardoso has demonstrated actual contrition, while Reese showed she’s a willing Mulkey flunky.
So … … we can safely assume that you’re not an LSU fan? 
I think the whole thing was overblown from the very beginning. The defender stole the ball and had a clear path for a layup that even I could make, and the other girl instinctively reached out to stop her from doing just that. That’s all there was to it. Were I the fouled player, I’d get it. No problem. As a coach, I’d want to demonstrate maturity and extend an olive branch with my statement, thus setting an example for my team.
Except, of course, that the incident took place towards the end of a hard-fought championship game between two nationally-ranked teams that play each other at least once each season. I’m guessing that there’s no love lost whenever the teams meet, and emotions always run high during their games.