Official calls absurd technical foul on Providence coach late in close game

When official Terry Oglesby called a technical foul on Providence coach Ed Cooley, it did not decide the outcome of the Friars' first-round game with Dayton or change momentum.

But it could have.

[DraftKings: Free $25,000 March Madness Fantasy Basketball Contest]

The Flyers went on to beat the Friars easily 66-53, helping Oglesby avoid the nightmare scenario of having a needless technical foul decide an NCAA tournament game.

Dayton was winning 50-42 with 3 minutes, 42 seconds remaining in the game and Cooley was unhappy with his team. During a timeout with his team assembled in a huddle in front of him. Cooley grabbed a folding chair meant for him to sit in and tossed it behind him emphatically in an effort to light a fire under his players.

Oglesby, who probably sees this type of things dozens of times over the course of the season from coaches across the Midwest where he generally officiates, called a technical foul on Cooley, who was stunned at the call and rightfully so.

Sure, if Cooley is throwing chairs because he doesn't like the officiating, that's one thing. But there was no interaction with the officials leading up to the incident and every reason to believe Cooley was simply trying to motivate his players. An official shouldn't be interfering with that unless a coach is out of control, which Cooley clearly wasn't.

Dayton's Jordan Sibert made only one of the two technical free throws, but, again, in an eight-point game with almost four minutes remaining, any point is a big point and a referee shouldn't be giving them to either team without merit.

(Thanks for the video Matt Norlander)

- - - - - - -

[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo