Cincinnati vs Xavier Basketbrawl Gangsters Gang Bang

As seen on TV yesterday

The Cincinnati vs Xavier crosstown shootout got out of control Saturday and ended in a brawl, a few seconds before the end of regulation.

Eighth-ranked Xavier beat crosstown rival Cincinnati 76-53 on Saturday in a game that featured a steady stream of trash talking and was called with 9.4 seconds left when the teams got into a brawl in a corner of the court.

Words escalated into shoves and swings. Both benches cleared. Frease left the court with a stream of blood on his face after getting punched by Cincinnati’s Yancy Gates and then kicked as he lay on the floor.

It left a black-and-blue mark on the annual rivalry. Suspensions are expected after the videotapes are reviewed. The Atlantic 10 and the Big East are examining the brawl.  Numerous suspentions are expected.

Cincinnati Mick Coach Cronin told his players to remove their jerseys after the game because he was so upset at what happened.

“We represent an institution of higher learning,” Cronin said. “It’s way more important than basketball games. I made everybody take their jersey off, and they will not put it on again until they have a full understanding of where they go to school and what the university stands for and how lucky they are to even be there, let alone have a scholarship.

“They’re all sitting in there with no jersey on. Some of them I physically took it off.”

“If my players don’t act the right way, they will never play another game at Cincinnati,” Cronin said. “I’ve never been this embarrassed. I’m hoping President Williams doesn’t ask me to resign after that.

“I go to school at a place where they created the vaccine for polio and created Benadryl. I think that’s more important than a basketball game. And our guys need to have appreciation for the fact they’re there on a full scholarship. And they need to represent the institutions with class and integrity. That’s that.”

Xavier took another approach.  Player Tu Holloways told reporters,  Were grown men over here, Holloway explained. We got a whole bunch of gangsters in the locker room. Not thugs, but tough guys on the court. You know what Im saying?

The officials share blame for the embarassement.  I watched most of the game and there were numerous occasions when the referees should have handed out technical fouls.  The Xavier dunk right before the brawl was followed by taunting, and hanging on the rim. Both violations are technical fouls that were not called by the refs.  Coach Cronin agrees.

Cronin criticized how the officiating crew of Michael Roberts, Jeff Anderson and Tony Crisp handled the extracurricular activities.

“I saw it coming and tried to call a timeout. I saw it coming, and I asked the officials to stop it,” Cronin said. “So if you’re going to ask me where I’m upset, that’s where I’m upset. With all due respect to the three guys, that’s where I’m upset the most.”