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Utah Utes coach Larry Krystkowiak reprimanded by Pac-12 for criticizing officials

(Ralph Freso | AP) Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak is restrained by an assistant coach as he argues with an official after receiving two technical fouls being ejected during the second half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Arizona State, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, in Tempe, Ariz.

  | Jan. 21, 2020, 7:57 p.m.

After getting ejected late in Saturday night’s loss at Arizona State, Larry Krystkowiak calmly made some negative comments about the officiating.

On Tuesday, the Pac-12 acted in kind, reprimanding the Utah head coach for what he said about a questionable technical foul on freshman center Matt Van Komen in an 83-64 Sun Devils win.

“The Pac-12 membership has established rules that prohibit our coaches from publicly commenting about officiating,” Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott in a statement. “We have an obligation to our members to enforce approved Conference rules. As a part of our officiating program, there is a protocol in place for our coaches to provide feedback directly to the coordinator of officials.”

With 1:23 to play Saturday night, the 7-foot-4 Van Komen dunked, then briefly hung on the rim in what appeared to be an attempt to allow a defender to clear out from underneath him, before he could land safely.

It had been a spotty second half for the officials and it culminated in the refs giving Van Komen a technical for hanging on the rim. Krystkowiak admittedly did not give the officials time to explain before becoming livid. Krystkowiak quickly picked up two technical fouls of his own before being ejected by Mike Reed.

“Well, I saw a 7-foot-4 guy dunk the ball, and somebody is underneath him, and you’re allowed to hang on the rim,” Krystkowiak said postgame Saturday night. "That’s all I got, it just wasn’t the proper call to make at that time, and I had no problem with the officiating... I like all those guys, but I think that was BS at the end.”

During his standard Tuesday morning news conference, Krystkowiak said he knew the reprimand was coming later in the day, but did not harp on the subject, stating he was ready to move on. A reprimand is a warning and comes with no fine or punishment.

Utah (10-7, 1-4 Pac-12) has lost four straight and five of six with the University of Washington visiting the Huntsman Center on Thursday (6 p.m., Pac-12 Networks). The matchup with the Huskies will mark the Utes’ first home game since Jan. 4, a 69-64 loss to then-No. 4 Oregon.