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Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell critical of flagrant foul called on Chase Hunter vs Louisville
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- Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell critical of flagrant foul called on Chase Hunter vs Louisville
Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell was critical of a flagrant-1 foul called on Chase Hunter in the first half of the Tigers' 74-64 loss to Louisville on Tuesday at KFC Yum! Center.
After Clemson 's Jaeden Zackery turned over the ball, Louisville's Chucky Hepburn received the ball on the fast break and went up for a dunk, but Hunter chased him down and blocked the the shot. However, Hunter made contact with Hepburn's head and neck area on the attempt, causing the Louisville guard to hit the ground.
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Officials ruled it a common foul, but after a review, the referees raised it to a flagrant-1. Brownell said postgame he hasn't seen the play enough to determine whether it should have been a flagrant foul, but he is seeing player safety in basketball turn into football.
"Anytime somebody gets hit in the head or face in any kind of basketball play, it becomes an automatic flagrant," Brownell said. "I guess we're legislating the safety of the game. We're gonna treat everybody like a quarterback."
Flagrant-1 fouls are described as "excessive in nature or unnecessary or avoidable, uncalled for or not required by the circumstances of the play." It does not lead to an ejection like a flagrant-2 foul, but it results in two free throws and possession of the ball to the other team.
The flagrant foul helped Louisville (11-5, 4-1 ACC) end the first half on a 14-1 run. Brownell reiterated the call did not have any bearing on the game's outcome but expressed disappointment in usual basketball plays turning into something bigger.
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Brownell added the Tigers (12-4, 4-1) benefited from a flagrant foul called in their win against Wake Forest on Dec. 21.
"I don't want anybody to get hurt, but I also think there's a lot of basketball plays that are going on in these games now," Brownell said. "... (Hunter) blocked the shot. It wasn't like he was trying to take the kid out."
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson's Brad Brownell questions flagrant foul called vs Louisville
