After Sunday night’s second-round thriller between No. 1 Arizona and No. 9 TCU ended in an 85–80 overtime victory for the Wildcats, all eyes were directed at the NCAA’s officiating once again.
It was a rough Sunday for tournament officials as a brutal technical foul call on Illinois guard RJ Melendez for hanging on the rim loomed over the early-afternoon games.
The Melendez technical was perhaps superseded by the noncall at half court at the end of regulation between the Wildcats and Horned Frogs on Sunday night.
After Arizona wing Bennedict Mathurin buried a deep three to tie the game at 75 with less than 15 seconds to play, TCU had one final opportunity to win the game in regulation and pull off an improbable upset over one of the national-title favorites.
TCU guard Mike Miles was being pressured heavily by Arizona guard Dalen Terry near half court as time waned. With three seconds to play, Miles collided with Terry at half court, which caused an untimely turnover on what appeared to be a foul.
However, with the officials out of position, they allowed the play to continue. Terry then drove down the other end with the ball and attempted a dunk, but time expired before the ball left his hand, which forced the contest into overtime.
Social media erupted in reaction to the noncall by the officiating crew.
Ultimately, the noncall left another mark on a tough weekend for the officials at the NCAA tournament.
