March Madness refs screwed over Santa Clara upset bid vs. Kentucky

The No. 10 seed Santa Clara Broncos were on the verge of winning their first NCAA Tournament game in 30 years when the refs helped crush their dreams. No. 7 seed Kentucky forced overtime on Otega Oweh's buzzer-beating three-pointer. There are two good arguments for why that shot never should have happened.

It all started when Allen Graves nailed a triple with 2.4 seconds on the clock. The Wildcats took the inbounds quickly, allowing Oweh to race past half court and bank in his shot from 32 feet out. The problem is, Santa Clara head coach Herb Sendek was trying to get the refs attention to call a timeout almost immediately after the shot went in. The refs had their backs to him, never even giving him a chance.

Refs missed a timeout call that could have saved Santa Clara

Watch the top left of the screen, Herb Sendek is running behind the ref, desperately trying to get his timeout acknowledged.

Neither of the refs trailing the play saw Sendek putting his hands together. Neither of them even glanced his way to check if he wanted the call.

Getting a timeout there doesn't guarantee that Santa Clara wins the game, but it gives Sendek a chance to get his guys together and organize a defense. It doesn't allow Kentucky to get the jump on them by quickly getting the ball in Oweh's hands. That's the last person Sendek would allow his guys to receive the inbounds after a timeout.

Santa Clara-Kentucky clock operator also under scrutiny

Fans also had words for the clock operator, who didn't start the clock until after Oweh had completed a full dribble.

The timing might not seem like much, but we're talking about tenths of seconds that decide games. Oweh got his shot off with something like half a second left. That's about the length of extra time he got because the operator didn't run the clock as soon as the ball touched his hand.

These aren't subjective gripes, the way foul calls often play out. Sendek was undeniably calling for a timeout. Oweh undeniably completed a dribble before the clock started. The refs have to get those right. In an era when betting has become an even bigger part of sports than before, there's actual money on the line, not just sporting glory. And it's not just the individual game outcome. Prediction markets are also looking at the number of upsets and buzzer beaters, both of which were impacted by those calls.

That's not even getting into the bracket impacts of Kentucky winning, or losing.

As much as we all love chaos, fans also want games to be called correctly. That's doubly true in the decisive moments of the game. Santa Clara was making their first tournament appearance since 1995. They've been starving for a March Madness moment. It was in their grasp. Until a couple of factors got flipped against them.

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