We will never know if UNC-Asheville would have become the first 16th seed in NCAA tournament history to beat a #1 seed, thanks to a terrible officiating call that went against them just has they had Syracuse on the ropes with 34.8 seconds left in Thursday's "second round" game.
UNC-Asheville was down by only 3 points, and the Syracuse inbounds pass clearly went off the hands of SU guard Brandon Triche. However, the official nearest to the play, situated on the baseline, ruled that Syracuse would maintain possession of the ball.
Had UNC-Asheville correctly been given possession, they had a chance to tie the game, potentially setting the stage for one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history.
From any angle, how is it possible that not only the closest referee got the call wrong, but none of the other referees overruled him? Hopefully NCAA executives will review this game and not allow this group of officials to be in charge of another game.
NCAA/truTV video via.
UNC-Asheville was down by only 3 points, and the Syracuse inbounds pass clearly went off the hands of SU guard Brandon Triche. However, the official nearest to the play, situated on the baseline, ruled that Syracuse would maintain possession of the ball.
Had UNC-Asheville correctly been given possession, they had a chance to tie the game, potentially setting the stage for one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history.
From any angle, how is it possible that not only the closest referee got the call wrong, but none of the other referees overruled him? Hopefully NCAA executives will review this game and not allow this group of officials to be in charge of another game.
NCAA/truTV video via.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
