Ian Eagle and Bill Raftery Navigate Chaotic and ‘Unfortunate’ Arizona-ASU Conclusion

Things escalated late in the Arizona-Arizona State basketball game on Saturday, keeping CBS Sports announcers Ian Eagle and Bill Raftery occupied as they addressed what Eagle described as an “unfortunate” situation. With about 30 seconds left, Arizona’s Caleb Love and ASU’s BJ Freeman were ejected. Initially, only Love faced ejection, but a replay revealed that Freeman had headbutted Love, resulting in both players being tossed from the game. The CBS broadcast showcased the replay, highlighting the moment clearly.

“Oh, that’s an ejection, that’s a Flagrant 2 in my mind,” Raftery remarked, to which Eagle agreed, adding, “And that was the point Love was trying to make to the officials that he took a headbutt from BJ Freeman.”

Arizona’s Caleb Love and Arizona State’s BJ Freeman were ejected during the final minute of Saturday’s game.

Love was initially the only one ejected, but after replays showed Freeman headbutted Love, Freeman was ejected as well. pic.twitter.com/x5BuwSrKxI

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 1, 2025

After both teams exchanged technical free throws, Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley began signaling his bench players to head to the locker room. “Bobby’s sending his team to the locker room,” Raftery noted. This opened a chance for the veteran announcer to reiterate a point he often makes: “You’ve heard me, I’ve harped on this, I think both teams, every game, should just go to the locker room. Let the coaches wave or shake hands.”

“You don’t want to exacerbate this,” Eagle added, noting subsequent actions as Hurley told his staff to leave as well. With about six seconds remaining, Hurley began walking to the locker room. “And Bobby’s going to leave as well,” Eagle stated. “And [Arizona coach] Tommy Lloyd just said, ‘OK, we’ll talk another time.’ Hurley told his team, ‘Hey, let’s get off the floor.’”

“This is not pretty,” Raftery commented, but ASU still had to inbound the ball with less than a second left, with Hurley instructing his players to complete the final half-second. “Unfortunate, strange ending,” Eagle concluded.

Post-game, Hurley directed a sharp remark at Love, suggesting he wouldn’t vote for him for all-conference honors and criticizing the “no class” manner in which Arizona secured their 81-72 victory. He justified his decision to send his players to the locker room in the closing seconds by stating, “It was very heated, and I thought there was the possibility of something else happening.”

Bobby Hurley said Arizona’s players were classless in their chatter before Freeman’s head butt of Love, leading to his decision to not shake hands to try to avoid an escalation. pic.twitter.com/63SQwXEXf6

— Chris Karpman (@ChrisKarpman) February 1, 2025