March Madness 2017: Poor officiating costs Arkansas in loss to North Carolina (Video)

The North Carolina Tar Heels beat the Arkansas Razorbacks to advance to the Sweet 16. But did they benefit from some home cooking? 

March Madness causes the highest of highs and lowest of lows for everyone involved. Teams can lose on the slightest mistake, creating heartbreaking losses for players and fans. Arkansas Razorbacks fans are feeling pretty awful after nearly upsetting the North Carolina Tar Heels in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament. However, they should be pretty darn pissed off about the officiating. Seconds after a debatable air ball, which appeared to be deflected before landing out of bounds, the Tar Heels got away with a blatant charge.

This is an inexcusable no call. The defender clearly has his feet set but Tar Heels forward Isaiah Hicks plowed through him. It appears Arkansas has become a victim of some home cooking in Greenville, which is close to UNC.

It’s usually stupid to blame the refs for costing a team a win. However, in this case, the referees made a difference in the game. That’s something, as a fan, you never want to see. Razorbacks fans and players should be livid about the no call. Of course, North Carolina shut out Arkansas over the final three minutes, which is why they won. But all the momentum shifted to the Tar Heels after Hicks’ controversial basket.

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Arkansas should be proud, though. They played their hearts out and they took the number one seed in their region to the brink. However, in the end, the Razorbacks showed their inexperience on the big stage while the Tar Heels showed their experience. But North Carolina got some help from the refs to do so.