THAT LAST CALL WAS ANYTHING BUT CONTROVERSIAL, UVA WINS EITHER WAY
So college basketball’s March Madness is pretty much over. But as always, there’s always some drama that wasn’t necessary. Yet this time, it’s not about something that’s too hard to figure out. But the media narrative is driving UVA’s Final Four victory over Auburn over a cliff. So why? Because a referee called a foul with virtually no time on the clock as a UVA player launched a 3-point shot from the left corner. Pretty much everyone is saying the basketball game’s end is totally controversial. Maybe even one of the most controversial Final Four finish in history. But I’m here to call bullshit. Why? Well, more than one reason, that’s for sure.
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THE GAME SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THIS CLOSE, NO WAY, NO HOW
So ok, was there a missed double dribble call just a few seconds before? Maybe, yes. But watching it live, I considered it a (very) brief loss of possession. It never entered my mind that it was a double dribble, walk, or discontinuation. But I saw a lot of other things in the game that bugged me. For one, UVA players had three strips of the ball on Auburn players heading to the basket. All of them were clean. But the refs called fouls on all three swipes. And no, there was no obstruction. The officials all had line of sight. But there were also three UVA layups that were made buckets. So what’s my problem? All three were blatant muggins. All three should have been and 1’s. But none of them were. We’re talking 9 possible swing points here.
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THE FOUL ROBBED KYLE GUY OF THE BIGGEST BASKETBALL SHOT OF HIS LIFE
And then there’s the fact that if anyone got robbed here, it’s Kyle Guy. I played ball, a lot, and have the creaky everything to show for it. So when I watched the first replay of Guy stepping into his vertical jump and release, I knew it was a made basket. So why wasn’t it? Because Samir Doughty fouled him. But it was the perfect, coordinated foul. Doughty timed his contact with Guy perfectly with his release of the ball. So Kyle Guy was robbed of what should have been one of the biggest buzzer beaters since Christian Laetner. But instead, we’re hearing a lot of fluff about this being controversial.
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LIKE ALL DRAMA, ALL IS NOT AS IT SEEMS TO BE, BUT I STILL NEED A DRINK
But here’s one last thing. Kyle Guy had to make all 3 free throws to win. Sure, he looked pretty damn chill. But he felt anything but chill. In the postgame interview, he said, “I could lie to you and say I knew I was going to hit them, but I was terrified.” So let’s cut the crap about this game. Sure, no one likes a game “decided” by the referees. But they didn’t decide this game. Kyle Guy did.
