Roger Ayers wont ref Final Four after Dan Hurley exchange

Roger Ayers, the official involved in a bizarre interaction with UConn coach Dan Hurley near the end of the Huskies‘ historic NCAA tournament victory over the Duke Blue Devils, is not among the referees assigned to officiate the men’s Final Four.

The NCAA announced its 11 officials for the Final Four on Monday, one day after UConn rallied from a 19-point deficit to beat Duke in the tournament’s East Regional final.

Specific game assignments were not included in the NCAA’s announcement, but the list of officials did not include Ayers, a veteran referee who has officiated seven Final Fours, including last year’s.

UConn completed one of the biggest comebacks in NCAA tournament history when freshman Braylon Mullins drained a 35-foot 3-point attempt to give the Huskies a 73-72 lead with 0.4 seconds remaining.

In the immediate aftermath of Mullins’ shot, cameras showed an elated Hurley walking away from the UConn bench area and appearing to bump heads for a few seconds with Ayers, before both men continued to walk in opposite directions. It was not clear whether Hurley and Ayers exchanged any words during the incident, which has since gone viral.

Hurley was not called for a technical foul, and UConn ultimately won the game after Duke’s desperation inbounds attempt was denied, securing the Huskies’ eighth Final Four trip and their third in four years under Hurley.

ESPN’s Seth Greenberg said on “SportsCenter” that he spoke Monday with Ayers, who told Greenberg that “nothing happened” with Hurley. Greenberg, a former longtime college basketball coach, added that Ayers “literally didn’t know what I was talking about” and said that the interaction with Hurley was “absolutely nothing.”

Hurley, who has a combative history with officials, was ejected from a regular-season game earlier this month against Marquette after making contact with referee John Gaffney in the closing seconds.

UConn will play Illinois in the first Final Four game Saturday in Indianapolis, followed by the other national semifinal between Michigan and Arizona.