A few weeks ago I wrote about how the NCAA has an officiating problem and last night wasn’t short of controversial calls. Officiating, good or bad, is a part of the game. There are always several calls that can be questioned by fans. Honestly, supporters from both teams should have some gripes with the officiating from last night’s Final Four matchup between Duke and UNC.
Duke fans will look at the foul call on Jeremy Roach and understandably have a few things to say. Roach played good defense on RJ Davis, but was called for the foul with the Blue Devils up one point and less than a minute remaining. That call changed the whole complexity of the final seconds of the game.
Another call that had Twitter buzzing was Trevor Keels’ And-1, that wasn’t. Keels drove to the basket with 15 seconds remaining with the Blue Devils down three points and was fouled by Puff Johnson just as he was beginning his shooting motion. Trevor went on to make the layup. In the NBA that is probably considered continuation, with the basket counting and Keels heading to the line for the and-one free throw. However, in college basketball that it’s considered a foul and two shots at the free throw line.
Armando Bacot fouled out of the game, but one call against him stood out. When backing down Mark Williams in the closing minutes of the game, Bacot was called for a foul in what looked like a flop, but the officials fell for the bait.
A game of this magnitude wasn’t going to be without some controversy, but the officiating during this entire tournament has been called into question. The referees didn’t decide this contest, ultimately UNC made more plays than Duke down the stretch, but questionable calls may have influenced it.