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Even Duke fans felt bad for the calls going against UNC vs. Baylor

By Aryanna Prasad

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 05: Associate head coach Jon Scheyer of the Duke Blue Devils looks on behind head coach Mike Krzyzewski during the second half of the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 05, 2022 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 05: Associate head coach Jon Scheyer of the Duke Blue Devils looks on behind head coach Mike Krzyzewski during the second half of the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 05, 2022 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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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.

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.

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.

https://twitter.com/ActionNetworkHQ/status/1505258117411442688

UNC fans were also outraged, calling for the refs involved to not be allowed to referee again.

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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