Basketball fans were so appalled by the referees missing calls against UNC that even Duke fans had sympathy for how UNC was treated.
Baylor almost pulled off a historic comeback against UNC, answering a 25-point deficit in the final 10 minutes of regulation to take an 80-80 game to overtime.
Part of that Baylor comeback was spurred by a powerful full court press defense, but it was also aided by the calls—and lack of calls—that seemed to all go against UNC.
In a comeback that seemed rather unjust to behold, fans were so unnerved by the poor referee calls that even Duke fans had sympathy for the Tar Heels.
I hope UNC pulls this off, honestly.
— Andy Specht (@AndySpecht) March 19, 2022
What’s happening to them is a crime.
They’ve played so well.
UNC-Baylor refs were so bad that UNC drew sympathy from Duke, other fans
UNC led with 67-42 when UNC star Brady Manek unintentionally hit Baylor’s Jeremy Sochan with his elbow. Manek was given a flagrant-2 foul and automatic ejection, which changed the course of the game.
Brady Manek got ejected for this elbow
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) March 19, 2022
Manek had 26 points prior to his ejectionhttps://t.co/ggNHNJ27M5
Then, Baylor trapped UNC and forced many turnovers, using the same kind of aggressiveness that UNC was criticized for with the Manek call.
Had UNC not won in overtime, the Baylor win would have marked both a historic and controversial moment in NCAA Tournament history. Not only would it have tied for the the biggest comeback in March Madness history, but it would have been even more widely criticized as an example of how referees can unfairly change the outcome of the game.
UNC also drew sympathy from college basketball fans from across the country, including Syracuse, Indiana University, and other professional sports journalists and accounts.
UNC playing both Baylor and refs. Not an easy battle!
— Chris Williamson (@CWilliamson44) March 19, 2022
Baylor UNC game refs are a clown show. NCAA has some things to fix for next year #IUB
— Barstool IU (@IUBarstool) March 19, 2022
https://twitter.com/ActionNetworkHQ/status/1505258117411442688
UNC is battling Baylor and the refs lol
— Chris Milholen (@ChrisMilholen) March 19, 2022
UNC fans were also outraged, calling for the refs involved to not be allowed to referee again.
FINAL: UNC 93, Refs and Baylor 86
— UNC Barstool (@UNCBarstool) March 19, 2022
https://twitter.com/jms2442/status/1505265875854708736
What the collective frustration and disbelief demonstrate was that this was objectively skewed in Baylor’s favor. If even Duke fans can call out unfairness against UNC, then the referee calls must have been truly unfair.
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