I wasn’t watching super close, but it seems this whole mess was caused by Mason acting like a punk.
I've read a lot of dumb stuff on GH, but this might take the cake. Sexton was jawing at him the whole game, after almost every bucket. The arena looked more like Rucker Park at times than college basketball game. Mason completely undressed him on the 3-pointer, and he's a projected top-10 pick next year. Of course he's going to give him a little stare and let him know about it. That's what competitors do.
It got a little carried away and I'm not sure what Mason said after they bumped, but an ejection seemed a bit much. Separate the two, talk to them and move on. Credit Pitino for standing up for his senior PG and his team. Alabama was cocky and chippy the whole game. Thought I saw Pitino saying something like "Let me talk to my guys" to the ref, but not totally sure.
What I haven't seen on here much is the complete lack of discipline of Alabama's bench when McBrayer got tangled up. Would've been interesting to see what might have transpired if it was in front of the Gophers' bench.
Nothing good could've come from the 5-on-3. If you press them, turn the ball over and get lay-ups and 3s, you look bad. If you let them stay in the game, you look bad. They did the best they could in a terrible spot, not embarrassing Alabama and draining the shot clock every possession. Make a few more shots and if Alabama doesn't hit their ridiculous ones, it's a non-story.
Have a talk with Mason this week, though he already knows how much he means to this team. Can't wait for Wednesday night, The Barn will be rocking!