Anderson: SEC needs alternate plan

Arkansas coach Mike Anderson speaks to a game official against Mississippi during the second half of play Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015, in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Arkansas coach Mike Anderson speaks to a game official against Mississippi during the second half of play Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015, in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson was concerned enough over the performance of the two-man officiating crew that worked the Razorbacks' 96-82 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday that he is likely to propose an idea to the conference to have alternate officials in place for league games.

"It's probably something I'm going to present to them because I think it's something they need to look at, especially in conference games," Anderson said Tuesday. "The conference games ... they're very important, so to have less officials, now it puts a lot more judgment on the officials that are calling the game. They've got to cover a lot more."

Head referee Anthony Jordan suffered a hamstring injury during warm-ups Saturday, leaving Glenn Tuitt and Marc Ellard to work the game by themselves.

Conference rules allow for an alternate official to be on hand only in tournament settings.

Anderson said Saturday that he felt a two-man crew "takes something away" from the game.

He pointed out Tuesday a desperation three-point bank shot awarded to Ole Miss' Martavious Newby when replays appeared to show the ball still in his hand as the 35-second shot clock hit zero.

"When the shot clock went off -- and I watched the film -- the guy that's actually supposed to look at the clock," Anderson said. "He's counting ... like a five count. So it's hard for him to call that. The guy who should actually be watching the shot clock, he's counting ... and he's got to be looking at the three-point line to see if it's a three-point shot.

"I ain't the smartest guy in the world, but to me it's hard to do all three of those things."

When a reporter asked about a no-call when Arkansas center Moses Kingsley was pushed from behind while moving in for a short shot, Anderson replied: "He got shoved big-time, so it's something that I'm really contemplating about presenting to our league."

Ole Miss Coach Andy Kennedy pointed out that his team was called for 25 fouls to Arkansas' 22 and said he wasn't sure if the absence of one official had an impact on the game.

Asked if he had already contacted the SEC about his concerns from Saturday, Anderson said: "I'm sure they know about it."

Sports on 01/21/2015

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