Gregg Marshall went bonkers, charged refs during exhibition in Canada

Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall blew his top during an exhibition game in Canada against McGill University on Tuesday, going after two refs while players and coaches tried to hold him back.

A foul call on Zach Brown while he was boxing out triggered the outburst, but the pressure had been building all game long.

The scoreboard operator three times failed to credit the Shockers with a point. Center Rauno Nurger had suffered a concussion and needed stitches in his chin due to the physical play the referees had allowed.

Then McGill scored after the foul call on Brown and that's when Marshall charged the refs.

Afterward, he seemed contrite and reflective. He also might have been in better spirits since his team rallied from down four to a 77-71 win.

“I’m definitely not proud of my reaction to that situation, but at some point your players have to know you’re going to stand up for them and you’ve got some fight in you. Once I reacted, I said ‘I might as well get my money’s worth,’” he said.

He also swore it was all for show.

“I wasn’t going to do anything physical, but I wanted to make sure they understood what I felt was happening was incorrect and wrong."

Suffice to say, his team was inspired -- finishing the game on a 21-11 run after trailing 60-56 at the time of the ejection.

“We saw how much Coach wanted it, we saw his passion. We played with such energy. Maybe that was a tactic for us to come on and see how passionate he is about this game. If it is a tactic, it is a very smart move. It really brought the fire out in me,” said Brown.