Cincinnati's Mick Cronin: Different coaches are treated differently by referees
Mick Cronin's Bearcats are tied with Louisville for first place in the American Athletic Conference. (Bill Shettle/AP Images)
Referee Teddy Valentine got in Mick Cronin's face on Saturday when the Cincinnati coach argued a call in the second half of the Bearcats' 51-45 loss at UConn.
And Cronin wasn't happy about it. He said there's a double standard between the way he and other lesser-known coaches are treated by officials, and the way more revered coaches are.
"My beef with that is guys like Mick Cronin and Buzz Williams [of Marquette] of the world, we deal with some of it,'' Cronin told ESPN.com's Andy Katz after the game. "When nobody gets in the Jim Boeheim's face or Mike Krzyzewski's face.''
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Boeheim was ejected after his tantrum at Duke last Saturday.
Cronin did not receive a technical foul after arguing an out-of-bounds call, but Valentine stood nearly nose-to-nose with him when he challenged the call. As Valentine walked away, Cronin had to be restrained by one of his players.
"I didn't appreciate it, but I want you to know this, we have a relationship, that's why he felt comfortable doing that,'' Cronin said of Valentine invading his personal space. "That ball was out on them I think. I took it personal. Where I come from you don't get in somebody's face.'
"He got in my face, I didn't get in his face. Am I allowed to T him? That's what I asked him.''
Cronin, 42, is 159-105 in eight seasons at Cincinnati, including three straight NCAA tournament appearances.
