Once again – I will start by saying that I am biased – while I love a good underdog story, I can’t root for the underdog when one of their ex-coaches is possibly going to jail for bribery charges – that include the recruitment of players currently on the roster.

But lets address the calls.

I have heard the foul on Kyle Guy shooting the three-pointer is controversial.  It certainly is not controversial.  The Auburn player clearly jumps towards Guy as he is shooting instead of jumping straight up vertically, and he clearly hits Guy in the leg impacting the shot and impacting Guy’s ability to come straight down after the shot – it was not just a little contact, he clearly jumped into him.  It is a foul.

I have heard the comment that the referees have been letting them play all game – so they can’t call it at that point.  While I can understand that argument, it is wrong.  Lets  take a totally fictional example – say that you walk into a store each day and steal a piece of candy – and a couple times, you notice that the store owner even sees you do it and says nothing – making you feel more comfortable to keep doing it (this would not likely happen – but lets say it did).  Are we really trying to say that it is not OK for the store owner to catch you doing it again and finally one of these days call the police because you are shoplifting.

Sure, the Auburn player didn’t commit a misdemeanor crime.  Samir Doughty made the common mistake of jumping into a shooter.  The shooter did not initiate contact like someone driving to the basket.  The defender might have only barely hit his legs, but the defender initiated contact and impact the shot because of it.  That is a foul.

Could the game have been different if the referees had called the game tighter – absolutely.  There was a point in the game where I watched Virginia drive to the basket and get knocked to the ground – and then watched Auburn come down the court, drive to the basket and get knocked to the ground.  To the point that I said out loud, “I don’t think there is going to be a foul called in this game at this point.”   Who knows who hits the free throws if the game is called tighter.  The ending becomes totally different – the multiple fouls to stop the clock definitely would not have happened.

BUT IT IS STILL A FOUL!!!!!!  Maybe Auburn was unlucky that the referee decided that the foul impacted too much of the shot and had to call it.  But Auburn can not claim the referee stole the game from them because of this – they clearly fouled Guy.

Now – lets get to what I think is a better argument.  I still don’t agree, but it is a better argument.  The infamous double dribble.  I will be honest – I could never be a referee – because in real-time, I didn’t notice it.  I saw Ty Jerome lose the ball, get to it first, and continue to dribble down the court.  As both players went towards the loose ball, I totally missed Jerome putting both hands on the ball.  It is totally clear in the replay video that he put both hands on the ball.  It is a double dribble.  Without a doubt.  The referee totally missed the call.

I am not going to use the excuse that double dribbles are never called – lets face it, players take multiple steps when they drive to the basket and they get away with it.  To the same as above, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a violation and a turnover.  If the referee had the benefit of the game being slowed down and could see multiple angles, the referee clearly would need to call Jerome for a double dribble.

But there is one problem that hurts Auburn fans argument here.  We are going back to the fact that if the referee saw in real-time what we saw in slow-motion, and the referee called it perfectly, Auburn wins the game.  I watched the video multiple times – the video from behind clearly shows that the ball is lost because it goes off the back of Jerome’s leg, not because the Auburn player knocked it away.  it also clearly shows that the Auburn player does not touch the ball before Jerome picks it up.  This means that Jerome can not pick up the ball with two hands and start dribbling again – it is a clear violation.

But if you are going to make an argument on perfect vision, you have to see the replay from the other side.  This shows that as the ball goes off Jerome’s leg and Jerome turns slightly to go after it, the Auburn defender grabs Jerome’s jersey and then reaches for his arm.  All before Jerome picks the ball back up in two hands.  The referee not only missed the double dribble, but they also missed the reaching in foul on Bryce Brown.  Auburn fans might not like this – but under their argument of perfect vision, the ball would have been Virginia’s ball out of bounds due to the foul.  It would be further from the basket, but they also would have had more time.  Who knows what happens – but you can’t say that Auburn would have won.  Virginia very easily could have made the same pass into the corner and Guy still gets fouled shooting a three.

It was a heart-breaking way to lose a game.  I know – I watched my own team have their 6 seconds of infamy at the hands of the Cavaliers.  And Purdue struggled with Virginia’s physical play and it cost them offensive rebound after offensive rebound – including the tip-out off the missed FT.  But the referees did not steal the game from my Boilers for not calling an over-the-back penalty – Virginia came back and won the game.  They earned it.   And while it is painful, the referees did not steal the game from Auburn.  They fouled Kyle Guy at the buzzer – and he hit three free throws to win the game.

The Auburn coach in the after-minutes of the game was upset that the foul called at the end wasn’t called throughout the game.  But after having more time to think about it – he said the truth.  Virginia won the game.  Talking about the missed calls takes away the amazing game that Ty Jerome had to give Virginia the lead.  It takes away the amazing three pointers that Bryce Brown hit to bring Auburn back from double digits and give them the lead.  It was a great game – and Virginia survived and advanced.

It is hard as a fan – trust me, since I can’t believe that I am still stinging a little from Purdue’s loss to Virginia.  But saying this is a controversial ending and Auburn should have won does a true injustice to the amazing plays that both teams made.

OK – I have ranted long enough.  We are about 10-15 minutes from tip-off.  Two deserving teams in  Big 12 champion Texas Tech and ACC champion Virginia are about to play for the 2019 National Championship.  And by the end of the night, there will be another hero in the storied history of March Madness – who will have led his school to their first ever national championship.  It doesn’t get much better than this!!!!!

Enjoy the championship game!!!!!