Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery refuses handshakes with UND
Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery refused to shake hands with North Dakota's staff and players and instructed his players to follow suit after a 84–73 win on Tuesday night for what he says was inappropriate play late in the game.
In the game's final minute with the outcome in hand, North Dakota guard Quinton Hooker fouled Iowa’s Peter Jok near half court with 12 seconds left.
Seconds later, North Dakota’s Corey Baldwin stripped the ball out of Iowa forward Nicholas Baer's hand as he held the ball trying to run out of the clock. Baldwin passed the ball to forward Drick Bernstine for a layup, but the basket didn't count as time ran out.
At the game's conclusion, McCaffrey and his players then turned and made their way to the locker room.
"I wasn't pleased with how the game ended and the things that happened," McCaffery said after the game. "I'll say this, I have a lot of respect for [North Dakota head coach] Brian [Jones] and [assistant] Jeff Horner. I don't think they teach that stuff. But I was not having it. That's not the way to play."
Jones said that his players are not malicious and they wanted to compete until the final buzzer.
"We want to come here and play well," Jones said of his players. "We want our family and friends to be proud of what we’re doing and be respected. I get the heat of it. It’s just the heat of the moment. Coach (McCaffery) is a high-character guy, I’m not blaming that. There were some things down the stretch that both teams could have cleaned up.”
– Scooby Axson
