Did refs miss blatant foul on Iowa's controversial buzzer beater?
After watching a furious Temple comeback that pushed its first-round NCAA tournament game into overtime, the Iowa Hawkeyes found themselves with the ball, tied and with 20 seconds left in OT. It was a chance to right their wrong and survive the Owl onslaught.
Guard Mike Gesell started his move with about four seconds left, drove right from the top of the key and attempted a floater. Gesell missed horribly - maybe it was his adrenaline that pushed the ball 18 inches from its target - but he also missed perfectly, as the ball fell right into the arms of Iowa's seven-footer Adam Woodbury, who calmly caught it and put it back for the up-close buzzer beater.
Replay upon replay was aired on truTV, as happens after a buzzer beater and, quickly, announcers and fans on Twitter latched onto one thing: Woodbury looked like he pushed off before getting the board and the game-winner. See for yourself:
Adam Woodbury with the game-winner at the buzzer! https://t.co/NSux4uwoAH #MarchMadness
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 18, 2016
It's clear as day. He definitely gives a little shove. What's not clear is whether the refs were wrong in not blowing the whistle.
What I see is Temple's Obi Enechionyia in a horrible position to catch the airball - he's directly under the basket - and Woodbury giving him a soft shove. Did it matter? Woodbury has four inches on Obi. Given how Woodbury snatched the rebound (high, Bill Russell style) and Enechionyia's position, it's hard to see how the result would have been different if there wasn't a push-off.
"But that doesn't matter. You have to call it anyway!"
(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Nah. There's pass interference on Hail Marys all the time and it goes uncalled. And you have to think of the logistics here. This wasn't a play that took place right in front of a ref's face or a blatant miss by an official who was in position to make the call. Refs aren't looking at the hands of someone away from the play with two seconds left. They're watching the ball handler, the shot and the clock. It's no surprise there wasn't a whistle and, unless you're from Temple, I can't see a reason to get too upset about it. (If it's because you picked Temple to go far in the tournament, your bracket is probably in shambles anyway.)
Either way, Iowa proved the old N.C. State Dereck Whittenburg rule: If you're going to miss a last-second shot, it's best to miss it horribly so you can give your teammates the best chance to get a tip-in. If that ball hits the rim, it caroms too far from the basket for anyone to likely put it back down. Especially a dude who got shoved.
