Florida basketball's Rueben Chinyelu was handed a Flagrant 1 foul against Auburn in the Final Four on Saturday after trying to fight through an attempted screen by Denver Jones.
Chinyelu was guarding Auburn forward Johni Broome before Jones came and tried to set a back screen to get Broome open. Chinyelu, sandwiched between the two Auburn players, elbowed Jones in the head, which was ruled a Flagrant 1 foul after review. The foul was Chinyelu's third of the game, and he was sent to the bench midway through the second half with foul trouble.
According to CBS Sports' rules analyst Gene Steratore,Florida might've gotten away with Chinyelu not being ejected for getting a Flagrant 2, which is a more harsh version of the foul that results in ejection.
"That's not incidental to me, that's excessive." - @GeneSteratore
— CBS Sports College Basketball 馃弨 (@CBSSportsCBB) April 5, 2025
After review, Rueben Chinyelu was assessed a flagrant 1 foul. pic.twitter.com/HEzGTXWtNu
"When you see Chinyelu give that elbow up that high on Jones, and then you make that contact like that to the head and neck area and finish through, to me that falls into that elevation where you go from the Flagrant 1 now just because of the contact and the following through. That's not incidental to me, that's excessive," Steratore said on the broadcast.
Florida is having a tough time guarding Broome, one of the top candidates for national player of the year this season before the awards went to Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. Broome, fighting through multiple injuries, has 15 points and two blocks midway through the second half.
Chinyelu has taken the assignment of guarding Broome multiple times on Saturday in San Antonio, especially as Alex Condon battles his own injury.
The 6-foot-10 forward is averaging 6.1 points with 6.5 rebounds per game this season, and was given a crucial foul in a close game against the Tigers.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida's Rueben Chinyelu gets Flagrant 1 foul in Final Four vs. Auburn
