Bob Huggins Slams Referees, Calls Them '3 Blind Mice' After WVU's Loss to Kansas

No. 16 West Virginia led late at Allen Fieldhouse as head coach Bob Huggins searched for his first win in the historic building. History just wasn't on his side Saturday as the Mountaineers fell 60-53 to the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks.

Neither were the officials, according to the coach. 

Huggins blasted the referees in his team's Big 12 opener, telling reporters he "can't control what those three blind mice running around out there do."

West Virginia finished with 18 fouls, while Kansas was called for 19. 

Huggins didn't point to specific calls postgame, and he didn't use the officiating to absolve his team from blowing a 10-point first-half lead—rather it was the consistency of the fouls that drew his ire. 

"You got one guy who thinks it's a foul, but another guy that doesn't think it's a foul," Huggins said in his press conference after the loss. "So you say, 'Why are you calling it this way on one end and another way on the other end,' and he says, 'I'm not.' And he's not lying. That's the difficult part, I think."

This isn't the first time Huggins has been critical of the officiating at Allen Fieldhouse. He was publicly reprimanded by the Big 12 for complaining about the referees in 2018 and may get a similar punishment, if not an additional fine, for Saturday's comments.

Making his points more interesting is how much fouling played into WVU's game plan. The Mountaineers were extremely cautious of letting Udoka Azubuike get the ball around the rim and routinely put him on the line, where his free-throw percentage hovers around 30 percent.

It didn't have the desired effect. The senior center went 5-of-10 at the line to go with a perfect 6-of-6 from the field. Azubuike tied for a game-high 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Overall, Kansas shot 30 free throws, while West Virginia attempted 22. 

The Jayhawks will travel to Morgantown for a rematch February 12.