Arizona coach Sean Miller was reprimanded by the the Pac-12 on Sunday and fined $25,000 for two postgame incidents after UA's loss to UCLA in Saturday's Pac-12 tournament semifinals.
The incidents were both related to a travel call on Wildcats point guard Mark Lyons late in the second half that Miller contested should not have been whistled because he believed a Bruins player touched the ball, negating the travel. Miller was given a technical that led to two free throws for UCLA, which went on to win 66-64.
Immediately following the game, Miller confronted a game official on the floor, then acted
inappropriately toward a staff member in the hallway of the arena.
"The conference has a formal system of evaluation and feedback in place for coaches to express concern about officiating," said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. "Coaches play a significant role in the overall officiating program and are expected to address concerns
through the structure provided. Threatening, intimidating and unprofessional conduct will not be tolerated."
Miller made it clear that he did not agree with the technical foul, saying in his postgame press conference: "If I cuss and I'm out of control and I've been warned, shame on me. But when I say he touched the ball, he touched the ball ... because quite frankly, I thought two of them could have maybe gotten together and explained that, in fact, he did touch the ball. That's what I was hoping for. That technical right there is hard to swallow.”
He did not address the postgame incidents.
Scott said the Pac-12 had previously warned Miller about inappropriate conduct toward officials.
"Even in tense and trying moments following a game, we expect Pac-12 coaches to conduct themselves in a professional manner," Scott said. "Our coaches represent their teams, their universities and our conference. We expect them to set an example for our student athletes and to meet the highest standard of sportsmanship and behavior on and off the court."
