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NCAA VP: Officials saw all replays of controversial out-of-bounds call

By Josh Criswell

Apr 6, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Duke Blue Devils players and head coach Mike Krzyzewski hoist the championship trophy after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers in the 2015 NCAA Men
Apr 6, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Duke Blue Devils players and head coach Mike Krzyzewski hoist the championship trophy after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers in the 2015 NCAA Men /
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A very questionable call in the final moments of Monday’s men’s basketball national championship has been the subject of constant criticism, with more sure to come in the near future.

The final minutes of the 2015 Men’s Basketball Championship featured several controversial calls that went in the favor of the Duke Blue Devils. The end result was another national championship for Duke, and constant criticism of the officials.

That criticism will not be going away anytime soon and rightfully so, after two high-ranking NCAA officials gave conflicting statements regarding the most maligned officiating call of the night; the decision to award Duke the basketball despite video evidence clearly showing Blue Devils forward Justise Winslow touching the ball last.

The play was controversial enough on its own, giving Duke the basketball up by five with just under 1:51 left on the game clock. Wisconsin was unable to recover from the call, losing 68-63.

What will bring the NCAA an abundance of headaches in the coming days, however, will be their poor handling of the situation. Yesterday, NCAA head of officiating John Adams said that the officials never saw the replay that everyone in America was watching. That narrative took a turn for the worst today for the NCAA, when NCAA vice president Dan Gavitt told ESPN that the officials did in fact see the replay that everyone else saw, and they simply did not spend enough time getting the call right. Here is his statement to ESPN:

"“Unfortunately, John misspoke yesterday. The officials did indeed have the camera angle that was shown on the CBS broadcast. It was the last angle they did see. They likely did not stay long enough with a review to see that angle magnified. But they made their determination based on the two-minute review and the camera angle that was shown on CBS and with that determined that there wasn’t indisputable evidence to overturn the call. You need to have indisputable evidence by rule to change the call. The facts are they did have the angle the viewers had.”"

The NCAA has been the subject of major scrutiny for some time now, whether the topic is paying student-athletes or its unreasonably harsh and insensible punishments. This latest controversy may take the cake, however.

I do not know what is more embarrassing; the officials inability to get the most important call of the season correct, or the fact that NCAA officials gave conflicting accounts of the disaster. Regardless, last night will go down as yet another chapter in the endless book of the NCAA’s missteps.

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