College basketball notebook: Ohio State’s questionable buzzer-beater win

Nicely, that was a wild week of faculty basketball.

Let’s begin with “The Name” on Thursday night time.

Ohio State beat Rutgers on a 3-pointer by Tanner Holden on the buzzer. The issue although, was that Holden stepped out of bounds, got here again in bounds, caught a cross from Bruce Thornton and hit a 3-pointer on the buzzer for a 67-66 win.

The Huge Ten issued an announcement saying that the decision was incorrect. The basket shouldn’t have counted because of NCAA Rule 9, Part 3, Article 1, which states {that a} participant who goes out of bounds of his personal volition cannot be the primary one to the touch the ball when he re-enters the court docket.

All true.

However the play would not have mattered if Rutgers’ Caleb McConnell had hit the second of his two free throws, or perhaps if Paul Mulcahy had closed out faster on Holden. That is on Rutgers.

The officers might have missed Thornton stepping out of bounds. And so they definitely did not see Holden exit of bounds and are available again into the play in a break up second.

Ought to they’ve caught Holden stepping in? Perhaps. Nevertheless it occurred so rapidly, and the officers aren’t centered on that sideline play. One high-level official instructed me Sunday that the rule was put in place for gamers who could be stepping in from the baseline, not the sideline.

What ought to occur is a evaluation. I’ve talked to quite a few coaches who wish to see each end-of-game basket reviewed. The video games are too vital to not get it proper. Sure, there may be human error, and a few performs are taking place manner too quick for the human eye. I get it. However game-winning buckets needs to be reviewable. This one wasn’t. If the query was whether or not the shot was a 2-pointer or 3-pointer, or whether or not the shot was launched in time, then it’s reviewable. However whether or not a participant got here from out of bounds shouldn’t be. The officers have been appropriate to depart the court docket with out checking the monitor, regardless of Rutgers desirous to see the play once more.

But when there’s a change to come back from this occasion, then it needs to be making certain that game-winning baskets — irrespective of how they arrive about — have to be checked. This needs to be addressed within the offseason.

The week for …

Alabama: The Tide gained at Houston and have now crushed two No. 1 groups this season — Houston and North Carolina. Love the best way Nate Oats will get his staff to play with function and fervour each possession. This was a comeback win at Houston and proved the Tide are within the chase for the SEC title.

Illinois: Wow, what a chaotic week for the Illini. They got here again to beat Texas in OT within the Jimmy V Basic in New York, solely to then utterly fall flat at house towards Penn State. Brad Underwood had an epic rant postgame Saturday — even making a fart noise to explain the management of Terrence Shannon Jr. Sure, I needed to sort that. Look, Underwood is an amazing coach and motivator. My solely concern/touch upon ripping your staff on this new period is that transfers will not have any fairness and loyalty built-in with a college and coach a number of months from now. This form of factor can backfire. Let’s examine how the Illini reply.

Cam Whitmore: The heralded freshman for Villanova was out with a thumb damage. He returned for the previous three video games — all wins over Oklahoma, Penn and Boston Faculty. Whitmore is averaging 15.7 factors prior to now three video games.

Iowa: The Hawkeyes needed to play with out their finest participant Kris Murray towards rival Iowa State and Wisconsin. They almost gained them each. The Hawkeyes beat the Cyclones and misplaced to the Badgers in OT. That is fairly good for an Iowa staff that’s nonetheless discovering its rotation.

Memphis: SMU switch Kendric Davis scored 27 factors in a win over Auburn to ship a robust sign that Memphis is not going wherever within the AAC. Memphis wanted a big-time switch and obtained one in Davis.

UConn: The Huskies are in place to be a No. 1 seed. That is saying one thing below Dan Hurley, who has made it clear that he was going to construct a nationwide contender. Kevin Ollie gained a nationwide title in 2014. However Hurley is the closest coach to Jim Calhoun that UConn has seen. Hurley has the depth that the Huskies devoted has grown accustomed to for many years. He nonetheless hasn’t gained an NCAA Match recreation, however I’d be shocked if they do not go deep this season — particularly as a excessive seed.

Is UConn one of the best staff in school basketball?

Mark Titus and Tate Frazier focus on UConn’s spectacular win over Florida and whether or not the Huskies needs to be ranked No. 1 within the nation.

Creighton: The Bluejays have utterly slid with 4 straight losses, culminating with a neutral-site loss to BYU. Creighton must get wholesome (Ryan Kalkbrenner was absent). The Jays nonetheless have the potential to be a top-three staff within the Huge East, however the preseason convention favorites are most likely behind UConn, Xavier, Marquette, and perhaps even St. John’s proper now within the pecking order.

Arizona: The Wildcats’ loss to Utah clearly was an anomaly. They have been one thing to behold in beating Indiana in Las Vegas behind the spirited Kerr Kriisa, bigs Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo, and massive guards Pelle Larsson and Courtney Ramey. This staff retains coming at you.

The A-10: Fordham (11-1) is one of the best staff within the A-10. And there is no manner the Rams are an at-large staff at this juncture. The A-10 is a one-bid league in mid-December. There’s nonetheless time to alter that narrative, however the alternatives are fading.

Louisville and Cal: The Cardinals are 0-9. The Bears are 0-11. Not a lot might be mentioned right here. This simply should not occur, particularly after they have each had purchase video games on the house slate.

The SWAC: Grambling State beat Vanderbilt. Which means the SWAC has 4 wins towards Energy 5 colleges.

The Mountain West: Three groups on this convention are undefeated, and none of them are named San Diego State. UNLV (10-0), New Mexico (9-0) and Utah State (8-0) are a mixed 27-0, and will all be on tempo to hitch the Aztecs with NCAA bids.

KJ Williams: The Murray State switch has been a serious hit for LSU, together with a 35-point outing in a win over Wake Forest. Preserve tabs on his progress.

Antoine Davis: The Detroit beginning guard handed the three,000-point mark. He did it on his tenth 3-pointer of the sport in an OT loss to Charlotte. Davis is the eleventh participant in NCAA historical past in Division I to attain 3000-plus factors.

Syracuse–Georgetown: The sport was on ABC, however I can not keep in mind a time when this recreation lacked any sort of buzz. Loopy instances.

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Andy Katz is a longtime school basketball author, analyst and host. He might be seen on FOX Sports activities and Huge Ten Community platforms, in addition to March Insanity and NCAA.com, and he hosts the podcast “March Insanity 365.” Katz labored at ESPN for almost 20 years and, previous to that, in newspapers for 9 years.

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