Having reffed both sports at a very high level, I can tell you that the atmosphere in basketball and dealing with coaches is very different. It’s all game long, a constant back and forth, and there is a mutual understanding between basketball refs and coaches. It’s part of what makes reffing it so much fun. I’m happy that Roger Ayers (who always referees games at a Final Four level official) handled the end of the game the way that he did. This was not a confrontational situation. Uconn hit a buzzer beater a few seconds before the viral moment between Ayers and Hurley. Ayers is telling Hurley that the game isn’t over yet (there was a clock adjustment from 0.02 to 0.04 - which is notable for catch and shoot). Hurley isn’t physically contacting him, he’s just between Ayers and the scorer’s table. I’ve been in some wild environments/end of game scenarios both in basketball and football. They feel surreal and you are in a state of shock to an extent. This is how great officials handle these situations, so kudos to Roger Ayers and congrats to UConn.