Originally published at: Five Thoughts on a Terrible Foul Call and Oklahoma State’s NCAA Future Following Loss to Kansas State
It’s rare to find a basketball game that truly captivates for 40 minutes. On Friday we got one as both teams stayed within 10 points the entire contest and each quarter was decided by two points or less. Add in Haleigh Timmer’s game-tying shot with roughly five seconds left and we have the makings of an all-timer. Sadly for basketball fans everywhere, except Manhattan, Kansas, that’s not quite what we got. 1. Crappy way to end a game Kansas State looked a bit disorganized when Timmer tied things up. I’m not sure the Wildcats had time to advance the ball to anyone with a hope of knocking down anything short of what might be the shot of the season. Instead of watching such a shot, or the much more realistic and fun overtime, we all got to watch an 86% free throw shooter end the game at the line. Gross. Okay now let’s talk about the merits of the call itself. While a Purgesque “let them play refs” would be the most fun way for all basketball games to end, it’s not really fair to the team who played well enough to lead. Officials whistle Stailee Heard for the reach-in foul…
I don’t think it was a bad call, but I do think it was a boneheaded play by Heard. She’s an absolute stud, but between that foul and missing two free throws, she’s gonna have a hard time sleeping tonight.
What was the final score? Shouldn’t the score be in the first paragraph of the story?