By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Fran McCaffery wasn’t necessarily trying to create a distraction by getting tossed from Sunday’s 91-73 loss at Maryland. But he did, with help, of course, from the officials.

I normally don't get too wrapped up in what the officials call or don’t call during the course of an Iowa game, but it was hard not to on Sunday because the officials missed some obvious calls that hurt Iowa.

From the no-call on the elbow to the back of Cordell Pemsl’s neck late in the first half to the two or three no calls as Jordan Bohannon tried to dribble up court just moments later, McCaffery was justified in being angry. Especially after Bohannon was called for traveling instead of Maryland being called for a foul.

McCaffery’s frustration had been building, and it took some questionable officiating to cause him to erupt late in the first half.

It marked the third time in slightly more than 7 ½ seasons as the Iowa coach that McCaffery has been ejected from a game, and the first time since he was tossed from a game at Wisconsin on Jan. 6, 2014.

McCaffery clearly intended to get the first technical because he was fed up with watching his players get fouled and wanted to send a message to the crew of Bo Boroski, Donnie Eppley and Rob Riley.

“I think what you have to do in situations like this is I think you have to take responsibility,” McCaffery said after Sunday’s game. “I didn’t want to get tossed.”

Why would he?

Why would McCaffery want to make a bad situation even worse by bringing more attention to his much-scrutinized temper?

But it happened, and the moment it did, that became the story.

Never mind that Iowa fell to 0-5 in the Big Ten, lost by 18 points to a Maryland squad that was missing two starters because of injuries and allowed at least 90 points for the second consecutive game.

Never mind that Iowa is a sieve on defense and a turnover machine on offense.

And never mind that a team that was picked by many to be a sleeper in the Big Ten now has to win nine of its final 13 conference games just to finish 9-9 in the Big Ten.

The Big Ten has helped to fuel the officiating controversy by refusing to explain to the Des Moines Register what McCaffery did to deserve the second technical foul, saying pool reporters requests are not granted for judgment calls, including but not limited to technical fouls, and that typically the request is not granted when only one sides’s media is making the request.

In other words, the Big Ten would prefer to shield its officials, and for the Iowa media to move on.

The Big Ten comes off as being dismissive and paranoid and for lacking transparency in this case.

Is it really asking too much to explain to the media, regardless if it’s just one side of the media, why McCaffery was ejected?

And why would Maryland fans want an explanation in this case?

The rule just seems silly and lacks accountability from the officials.

Officials, obviously, have to be accountable to somebody, but apparently not to the fans or the media.

That seems misguided, but on the other hand, a detailed explanation for why McCaffery was ejected wouldn’t change a thing.

McCaffery still would be known for having a quick and volatile temper and Iowa still would be a team in disarray heading into Thursday’s game at Illinois.

The officials would’ve been a bigger story if Sunday's outcome had been closer.

It wasn’t the officials’ fault that Maryland shot 57 percent for the game. And it’s not the officials’ fault that Iowa is one of just two Big Ten teams that still is winless in conference play, with Illinois being the other.

Iowa has serious issues on both offense and defense that lead to sudden shifts in momentum that are caused by long scoring droughts.

Sophomore guard Isaiah Moss provided some hope on Sunday by scoring a career-high 25 points. The Chicago native also made 4-of-6 shots from 3-point range and only committed one of Iowa’s 17 turnovers.

But now you wonder what Moss will do against Illinois on Thursday because he has been wildly inconsistent as a Hawkeye, brilliant for stretches and non-existent for other stretches.

Moss struggles on defense, but who on the team doesn’t struggle to defend? It’s hard to think of one player on the team where you would say his greatest strength is playing defense.

Maybe 6-7 junior forward Nicholas Baer, but that’s about it.

The lack of a true point guard has been a problem throughout the season, and that was the case again on Sunday against Maryland as Bohannon struggled to match the quickness of Maryland point guard Anthony Cowan.

But Bohannon also scored 17 points and is without question the best shooter on the team. You could argue that Bohannon is the second most important player on the team behind sophomore forward Tyler Cook despite being a liability on defense.

Iowa has much bigger concerns than losing a game that was poorly officiated.