One of the most exciting results of March Madness is now embroiled in controversy after video shows referees missed a crucial decision late in the contest.
The matchup in St. Louis between 7-seed Kentucky and 10-seed Santa Clara was one of the first games of the day and instantly proved to be a classic.
With the game tied at 70-70, the Broncos of Santa Clara raced up the court as they hoped to make a final shot to secure the upset victory.
After Sash Gavalyugov ran into traffic, he bailed out to teammate Allen Graves – who buried a 3-point to take a 73-70 lead.
It was a stunning shot, but Kentucky inbounded the ball to even things up again. Wildcats star Otega Oweh launched a prayer of a shot from near half-court that went in to force overtime.
Amidst the celebration from the stunned crowd, Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek was incensed because officials missed him frantically calling a timeout before Kentucky inbounded the ball.
Fans are convinced a March Madness game was rigged after Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek wasn’t granted a timeout he was frantically trying to call against Kentucky
After Santa Clara took a game-leading shot, Sendek tried calling timeout that refs ignored
The referee’s miss allowed Kentucky’s Otega Oweh to hit a 3-point shot to force overtime
Video of the final moments of regulation showed the coach racing after lead official Tony Padilla and clearly motioning and signaling for a timeout.
But Padilla did not acknowledge the demand and nothing could be done from a rules standpoint to undo Oweh’s shot.
The game then flipped to overtime, where Kentucky’s stars managed to outlast Santa Clara to win 89-84.
After the game, Sendek was insistent that the officials got it wrong: ‘Well, I unequivocally called timeout. But they didn’t grant it,’ the coach said.
‘I think the video evidence is clear, and anybody is able to pull it up. So, you know, [it’s] a likely response after Allen hits the three that the coach would be calling timeout to set the defense, which I tried to do, and I was successful in doing, other than it wasn’t acknowledged or recognized. So that’s what happened.’
In the extra period, the Wildcats knocked off Santa Clara to advance to the Round of 32
Once the footage went viral, fans began wondering why the officials didn’t let the timeout happen.
‘he literally called it… how do the refs miss that?’ someone asked in the comments.
Another said, ‘Clear timeout wave from Sendek and the refs saw NOTHING? Santa Clara straight robbed in regulation. Kentucky lucky to escape.’
‘Most rigged game ive seen in a minute ngl,’ wrote one user.
Another angry fan wrote, ‘This @MarchMadnessMBB is just what the @NCAA crooks and the big conferences hoped it would be: upsets at a minimum (none so far today; 8-9 games don’t count) & when there was a real chance, the refs stepped in and handed the game to Kentucky. Poor Santa Clara got jobbed. #rigged’
