Tony Bennett yells at TV commentator for assisting in review of call in Virginia-Florida game
Cory Alexander is 1 of the most beloved players in the history of Virginia basketball. However, the TV commentator’s assistance in helping a call get reversed in opposition of the Cavaliers on Friday night drew the ire of Tony Bennett.
Virginia (2-0) escaped with a 73-70 victory vs. Florida (1-1) in Charlotte.
However, with 59.4 seconds left, and Virginia leading 71-69 , the refs determined that a loose ball that Florida’s Walter Clayton and Virginia’s Blake Buchanan were going went out of bounds off Clayton. The officials checked the replay monitor to verify the call, then signaled it was Virginia’s ball.
Yet before Virginia was handed the ball, the refs were looking at another monitor from the ACC Network broadcast that Alexander showed them. This new angle resulted in the call being overturned in favor of the Gators.
How did a #UVA basketball legend incur the wrath of Tony Bennett? I talked to @CoryAlexanderVA about helping reverse a call in the final minute of the #UVA win over Florida and about the text exchange he had with Bennett after the game, clearing the air.https://t.co/gaInNqATVZ
— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) November 11, 2023
Tony Bennett was furious with ESPN's Cory Alexander for letting the refs check his monitor to overturn a call against Virginia. pic.twitter.com/0ZowSsL8Ir
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 11, 2023
Bennett was incensed in the moment.
“That’s on you,” Bennett yelled across the court to Alexander. “You can’t do that.”
Yet afterwards with the victory secured, Bennett gave credit to his players for keeping him poised despite the perceived slight.
“I probably lost my cool a little bit when that call was reversed and what I thought I saw, but it was interesting,” Bennett said to Richmond.com. “Ryan [Dunn] was like, ‘Next play, next play.’ It’s nice when the players are telling you. Usually, you’re telling them that. I wasn’t ready to move on. I needed a little more time.”
Bennett and Alexander exchanged text messages afterwards to squash any beef and avoid a rift in their relationship.
“We’ll get to the bottom of it and we’ll figure out what happened,” Bennett said. “I thought we had the ball. But it’s all good.”
Next up for Virginia is a home matchup vs. North Carolina A&T on Nov. 14 (7 p.m. EST/ACC Network Extra/ESPN+).