John Beilein explains his ejection from Michigan-Penn State game
The Bryce Jordan Center was the site for several rare occurrences on Tuesday night.
Penn State defeated No. 6 Michigan 75-69, upsetting the Wolverines for the first time since 2013. It was just the second time the Nittany Lions have won a conference game this season, and their first home victory in the B1G. Oh, and John Beilein was ejected for the first time in about 40 years.
So yeah, Tuesday night’s game in Happy Valley was pretty eventful.
NOT so Happy Valley 😱
Michigan head coach John Beilein gets ejected with two quick technical fouls. pic.twitter.com/vAm8z9xw3a
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 13, 2019
Beilein was tossed from the game right before halftime, earning two technical fouls. He watched the remainder of the game from the locker room, watching his team suffer its third conference loss of the year.
According to Beilein, it was the first time he’s been ejected since the late 1970s. While he didn’t have much to say about the ejection, Beilein did say he’ll be in contact with the league office:
"I haven't been thrown out of a game since (1978-79). That's about 20 years before most of you were born."
– John Beilein took questions about his ejection following No. 6 Michigan's loss to Penn State: pic.twitter.com/EyPIyTChJ2
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 13, 2019
Beilein is regarded as one of the more mild-mannered coaches in basketball and one of the good guys of the sport. It takes quite a bit to get him riled up, so he must’ve really disagreed with a few calls near the end of the first half.
Michigan dropped to 11-3 in conference play after the loss. It’s now tied with Michigan State atop the B1G standings.