Big 12 punishes officials for mistakes made in Kansas

Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sport

The Big 12 has admitted that officiating mistakes were made during Monday night's game between Kansas and Iowa State, and says that the referees involved will be punished.

The Big 12 issued a formal statement on Tuesday afternoon which acknowledged that officiating mistakes were made during Monday night's game between Kansas and Iowa State:

"The Big 12 Conference acknowledges that officiating errors were made at the end of regulation during last night's Kansas at Iowa State men's basketball game. The plays have been reviewed and appropriate measures will be taken by the Coordinator of Men's Basketball Officials to adjust the number of future assignments for the two officials involved in conjunction with conference policies."

The release, which the Big 12 says will be "the only public statement" on the controversy, fails to name which plays were reviewed and which two officials will be punished. The three referees working Monday night's game were Mark Whitehead, Bert Smith and Tom O'Neill.

Though a number of calls in the game were disputed, two stood out above all others. First, what appeared to be a clear foul on Kansas center Jeff Withey late in the second half was awarded to KU forward Kevin Young instead. The foul would have been Withey's fifth. Later, what appeared to be an obvious charge on Jayhawk point guard Elijah Johnson in the game's final seconds was not met with any whistle. Instead, Iowa State was called for a loose ball foul after Johnson's shot was missed, which allowed KU to make two free-throws and send the game into overtime.

Kansas won the game, 108-96.