Contentious Postgame Handshake Leaves College Basketball Coach in Disbelief

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Andrew McCarty | Last updated Nov 29, 2024 9:26 PM ET

On Friday night the Oklahoma Sooners kept their undefeated season alive with a 69-64 win over Louisville in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis Championship Game.

The Sooners opened a 10-point lead in the first half, but couldn't shake the Cardinals all night long. After falling behind 50-42 with just over 11 minutes left in the game, Louisville went on a 16-8 run to tie the game at 58 with five minutes to play.

Oklahoma closed the game on an 11-6 run to escape with its seventh win of the season. Following the game, Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey and Sooners coach Porter Moser met on the baseline for a postgame handshake.

Kelsey blew by Moser, who looked on in stunned disbelief. The Sooners head coach pauses for a second as if to wonder what just happened before continuing the handshake line.

Pat Kelsey blows right past Porter Moser… pic.twitter.com/0eL7fE7pYw
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) November 30, 2024

As for Kelsey, he was clearly flustered with the loss - and took his frustrations out on the officiating crew.

"That's sports, you know, sometimes the ball bounces your way, sometimes it doesn't," he said after the game before seemingly calling out the officials. "Those guys are human beings. They're not perfect. That's just the way it goes sometimes."

While he wasn't pleased with the officials, Kelsey did appreciate the fight from his team.

"I'm proud of our guys. They showed great fight, tenacity. You look at the statistics, we out-rebounded them by 21, had 14 more field goal attempts. I just like the grit and toughness our guys played with the last three days. They didn't let up for one second," he said before admitting the team's injuries played a role.

"Obviously with Kasean Pryor going down early in the second half we were even more shorthanded, already without Koren Johnson and Aboudacar Traore but again, that's the way life is and that's the way basketball is. Our guys didn't hang their heads, didn't feel sorry for themselves. They just continued to fight and had a chance to tie the game in the last possession. It just didn't go our way."

Next up for the Cardinals is a contest against No. 23 Ole Miss.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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