What Sean Miller Said About Controversial Officiating in Collapse vs. Arizona State

Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller shared some frustration with the foul calls in the loss to Arizona State.

Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller reacts during the second half against the Kansas City Roos at Moody Center. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team found itself on the receiving end of a thrilling comeback on Monday night at the Maui Invitational, as Arizona State rallied for an 87-86 win.

Despite shooting 75 percent in the second half and leading by 10 with a seven minutes left in the game, Texas couldn't handle a magical performance from Arizona State guard Moe Odum, who finished with 36 points and hit the go-ahead triple with 10.6 seconds to play.

While Arizona State certainly deserves credit for battling back to pull off the win, the Longhorns were on the wrong end of multiple quick whistles that resulted in the Sun Devils finishing 28 of 36 from the foul line, with Odum going 16 of 18 from the stripe.

Texas head coach Sean Miller had a few notable comments about the officiating after the game.

Sean Miller on Amount of Fouls: "That's Insane"

Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller reacts during the first half against the Rider Broncs at Moody Center. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Miller didn't exactly say anything that will get him fined, but he was clearly frustrated with the excess amount of calls in the game.

"I'm anxious to watch the game. We had 28 personal fouls. That's insane," Miller said. "28 personal fouls. I think we had two charges. Man, it's just hard."

Miller added that all three refs were quick to call a foul at different points in the game, even if one of the officials was far away from the play.

"They got into the paint, and they were able to draw three fouls," Miller said. "Draw fouls from the three officials. You know, If one guy didn't catch it on the baseline and the other guy maybe didn't catch it on the wing, the guy at half court damn sure caught it. And I thought the 28 fouls was also a huge story."

That said, Miller added that the Longhorns need to do a better job of defending without fouling.

"If I have two numbers that I walk away with, is we have to play better defense without fouling. Really take a look at the three officials on why we fouled the two charges."

The Longhorns are facing some early-season adversity in the first year under Miller, as the team still doesn't have a win over a power conference opponent two weeks into the campaign. Texas will face Division II Chaminade on Tuesday, but risk leaving Maui without a quality win after the collapse against Arizona State.

Texas' two notable non-conference opponents before SEC play begins are Virginia and UConn.