Wisconsin was wading water on a sinking ship, then was bailed out by the most controversial call in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
The Badgers trailed by two points with 2:38 left in Saturday night’s Final Four matchup against Kentucky after finally breaking a seven-minute-plus scoring drought. Then sophomore Nigel Hayes received an inbounds pass along the baseline with three seconds remaining on the shot clock. The 6-foot-8 forward managed to heave a shot that hit nothing but air. The shot clock expired, but in that same instant, Hayes grabbed his own rebound and flipped it into the basket to tie the score.
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No whistles were blown. Replays clearly showed the shot clock had expired, and Kentucky coach John Calipari vigorously fought the non-call to no avail. But because of an NCAA rule, officials were not allowed to review a potential shot-clock violation call outside of the final two minutes of the game.
Wisconsin never trailed again, defeating Kentucky 71-64 and ending the Wildcats’ perfect season to advance to Monday night’s national title game against Duke.
Being a referee can be the hardest job in sports. That was painfully clear here, as Kentucky — college basketball’s blueblood — was on the wrong side of a big call for once.
Thumbnail photo via Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports Images
