We knew playing in Fayetteville was going to be 5-on-8. We knew the "White Out" would influence the calls. But what we just watched wasn't home-court advantage. It was a hijack.
For 25 minutes, Kentucky was the better basketball team. They were tougher, they were smarter, and they were in control. And then, in a span of 39 seconds, the officiating crew decided they had seen enough of Kentucky winning.
The sequence that ruined the game
With Kentucky clinging to a lead and silencing the Bud Walton Arena crowd, the whistle suddenly became the most important player on the floor. The referees assessed three technical fouls in less than a minute, handing Arkansas free points and, more importantly, the lead (52-51).
Let’s break down the 38 seconds of incompetence:
The "dumb" one (Brandon Garrison)
Okay, we can own this one. Brandon Garrison stood over Darius Acuff and barked after a play. In this environment, you can’t do that. It was a lack of discipline, it was dumb, and it was a technical. Fine. We take that one on the chin.
The "Phantom" One (Mo Dioubate)
This is where the game was stolen. Mo Dioubate made a massive play, swatting the ball out of bounds. There wasn't an Arkansas player within 10 feet of him. He didn't taunt an opponent. He didn't get in anyone's face.
He flexed and yelled at a television camera.
Since when is showing emotion to a camera a technical foul in the SEC? It was an atrocious, soft call designed to penalize a kid for having energy. It wasn't officiating; it was policing emotion. Don't take just my word for it:
That technical foul on Mo Dioubate is the worst technical foul that I've EVER seen.
— Rob Dauster (@RobDauster) February 1, 2026
EVER.
Doug Shows should never be allowed to officiate another game after that. Horrendous.
The "Doug Shows" Sspecial (Mark Pope)
And then, the cherry on top. After watching his team get railroaded, Mark Pope said "a little something" to veteran official Doug Shows.
Did he throw a chair? No. He rightly asked Shows to call it down the middle, something that hasn't happened since the Oweh/Richmond dust-up in the first half.
But Shows, deciding the spotlight wasn't bright enough on him yet, immediately T'd up Kentucky's head coach.
The moment the game was decided. Not a player, not a play. But that piece of shit Doug Shows. Don’t worry he’ll still get to call a big game this week because it doesn’t matter. Pathetic. pic.twitter.com/4eqFA6tlsC
— Bobby Reagan (@BarstoolReags) February 1, 2026
The result: Momentum shift
In the blink of an eye, a Kentucky lead vanished. Arkansas didn't earn that 52-51 lead; it was handed to them at the free-throw line. Suddenly, Darius Acuff (13 points in the second half) is heating up, the crowd is back in it, and the Razorbacks are up 4 with 12 minutes to go.
Kentucky was playing well enough to beat Arkansas. Apparently, they weren't playing well enough to beat the stripes.