The baller got away with a dirty play that got Purdue Boilmakers supporters furious
College basketball is a thing of beauty: we get to see young ballers play with pride and passion to defend their colors and try to make a name for themselves, with the hope of getting enough experience to make it in the NBA.
That’s why March Madness – usually mid-March through the beginning of April, when the NCAA men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments are held – captures the excitement that swirls around the sports world as the event approaches.
In the weeks leading up to the “Big Dance,” hundreds of college basketball teams fight to earn a spot in March Madness. The games bring the passion and intensity out of young basketball players, sometimes to a fault.
Things got heated in Sunday afternoon’s rivalry match between Indiana Hoosiers and No. 13 Purdue Boilermakers. Early in the first half, a tangle up between Hoosiers senior guard Anthony Leal and Purdue senior forward Caleb Furst resulted in a potential ejection situation.
During a missed shot attempt by Purdue, Leal and Furst got tangled up while attempting to box each other out on the rebound. Leal pushed Furst out of bounds and the Purdue forward seemed to pull the Indiana guard down while falling to the ground.
As Leal got up, it looked like he kicked Furst in the groin. Initially, a foul was called on Leal and it was reviewed to see if it should be upgraded to flagrant. But the refs determined it was incidental and ruled there was no foul on the play. That didn’t sit well with Purdue fans, who expressed their anger in social media.
“Furst might be the nicest athlete in the sport by the way. Anthony Leal is a cowardly b****.” an X user wrote. “As an Indiana fan, I was shocked there was nothing called there. Thought there should have been a personal on Furst and flagrant on Leal.” added another.
However, some users defended the Hoosiers player.”Show the whole sequence. Furst hooked and pulled Leal down, then tried to trip him as Leal tried to follow the play. It was only then that Leal’s foot planted in Furst’s junk. No-call was probably the best outcome for both of them.
0A second-half start for the ages, full of ruthless Hoosier defense and crisp offense, wiped out a 12-point deficit and delivered a 73-58 Indiana victory over Purdue on Sunday night. “They refused to lose,” coach Mike Woodson said. “They did everything from a defensive standpoint that we worked on.”
IU’s 28-3 run in the opening 10 minutes turned a 12-point deficit to a 13-point lead and delivered control the Hoosiers (16-11 overall, 7-9 in the Big Ten) never lost. “We competed this week (in practice),” said guard Trey Galloway, who just missed a double-double with 15 points and nine assists.
Indiana came in reeling with six losses in its last seven games. An eight-day break since the UCLA defeat provided plenty of time for reflection and preparation. “The message was to win,” forward Malik Reneau said. “We knew this was a must-win game. Everybody had that feeling. When we got down at halftime, it was the same thing. We put it all on the floor and you saw the result.”
Sunday’s game between Purdue and Indiana was the second of two meetings this season. The Boilermakers defeated the Hoosiers 81-76 in January at Mackey Arena.