USC Coach Eric Musselman is Convinced His Team 'Never Gets a Call' vs. Purdue
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It sounds like Eric Musselman might be putting in a call to the Big Ten office after USC's 69-64 loss to No. 5 Purdue on Saturday night at the Galen Center. The Trojans' head coach wasn't too pleased with the officiating throughout the game, saying his team "never gets a call" against the Boilermakers.
Shortly after Saturday's game, Musselman spoke with reporters about the loss. The first question centered around 7-foot-5 center Gabe Dynes picking up his fourth foul midway through the second half.
At first, Musselman talked about USC's foul shooting, which had very little to do with the question. Then, after providing an initial response, he provided his thoughts on the officiating in the game.
"We've got to make foul shots," Musselman began. "We're 5-of-14 from the foul line playing the No. 5 team in the country. We out-rebound them; we couldn't have a better defensive scheme. We held them to 41% from the field. That's one of the efficient offensive teams in the league.
"We're not going to get a call against them, we found that out in the conference tournament [last season], and we found it out again tonight," Musselman said. "I don't know how you inbound the ball, and then they get a timeout."
Musselman is referencing a play late in Saturday's game after Purdue guard Braden Smith stole the ball from Jaden Brownell and raced to the other end for a layup to put his team ahead 65-62 with 23 seconds left.
Coach Matt Painter signaled for a timeout almost immediately, but it wasn't awarded by the officials until after USC inbounded the basketball and tried to race down the floor. Needless to say, Musselman was furious about the late stoppage.
Later in the press conference, Musselman was asked another question regarding officiating, but decided to bite his tongue.
"I don't really want to talk about anything having to do with the referees. I don't want to get fined or anything, so I'm not going to talk about them," Musselman said. "You guys can. Feel free. Be great if you did."
Musselman upset with last year's tournament game
With the win on Saturday night, Purdue improved to 3-0 against USC since it joined the Big Ten last year. The Boilermakers defeated the Trojans 90-72 in West Lafayette, then won a 76-71 contest in the conference tournament in Indianapolis.
Musselman wasn't too pleased with the officiating in that game, either. He was especially frustrated with then-star guard Desmond Claude getting into foul trouble.
"I didn't know Desmond was so physical, but he was tonight, I guess," Musselman said last March. "The game is on tape, so anybody can watch. It doesn't do me any good to sit up here and get fined. The game is reviewable for anybody who wants to."
Saturday night's game between Purdue and USC was the only regular-season meeting between the two teams. Based on his comments, Musselman probably hopes he doesn't have to see the Boilermakers again this year.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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