Northwestern coach Chris Collins ejected at end of overtime loss after

On Feb 1, 2024

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Published
Feb. 1, 2024, 1:58 a.m. ET

Northwestern Wildcats men’s basketball coach Chris Collins was ejected Wednesday night when he lost his cool and got in the face of a referee while the clock was still running late against Purdue.

The wild sequence of events kicked off just as a visibly irate Collins and the Wildcats (15-6) fell short in a 105-96 overtime loss to the No. 2 Boilermakers (20-2).

With about 3 seconds left on the clock, a fuming Collins storms onto to the court and makes his way over to a referee near the baseline — totally going off on them.

That’s when cameras zoom in on the action and capture the referee giving Collins a technical then ejecting him with 1.7 second left, as the Wildcats coach is held back by several of his players.

“I’m good, I’m good,” Collins appears to scream to one of his players, Brooks Barnhizer, holding him back.

Later, another camera angle shows Collins still jawing at the referee while being pulled away by his assistant coach Talor Battle.

Head coach Chris Collins of the Northwestern Wildcats reacts after receiving a technical foul during the second half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena on Jan. 31, 2024. Getty Images

Despite his rage, the 49-year-old coach still displayed some sportsmanship during the incident.

As Collins makes his way out, he walks over to the opposing team’s sideline to shake hands with Boilermakers’ head coach Matt Painter and star center Zach Edey.

Still fired up, Collins joins a pumped up crowd of Purdue fans cheering on the chaos inside Mackey Complex — gesturing his hands for them to get louder.

Chris Collins waves off the crowd of Purdue fans as they cheer on his exit out of Mackey Complex on Jan. 31, 2024. FS1

What led up to Collins going ballistic on the lone referee is still uncertain, though the coach cited a free throw disparity he was unhappy about after the game.

Purdue took 46 free throws, while Northwestern attempted eight.

“I’m not going to go into the officiating. We have great officiating,” Collins said during his postgame press conference. “I just don’t know if I’ve ever seen a box score like that, honestly. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a disparity like that.”

“But, thats how the game’s called. You got to live with it,” he added.