You'd have no idea by watching CBS' coverage of the Xavier-Ohio State game, but the ending of it was soaked in controversy. After a wild sequence of two Ohio State missed shots, Xavier pulls down a rebound with ten seconds left and a two point lead. Greg Oden is the nearest Buckeye to the ball and violently shoves the Xavier player out of bounds:
No intentional foul or flagrant foul was called. Xavier would miss one of two at the line, OSU would hit a game-tying three, and the rest is history. If the refs had decided a flying shoulderblock that sent a Xavier player into the photographers was a two-shot-and-the-ball foul we have a 9 over a 1. Instead we just have further evidence that the state of NCAA basketball refereeing leaves something to be desired. Like competence.
UPDATE: CBS just addressed this on their studio show; they did have a better angle that showed Oden could plausibly be construed as going for the ball. So it's a closer decision and the "competence" rip above was unwarranted. For livid OSU fans in the comments: yes, I'm a Michigan fan; no, I'm not rooting against OSU after last year's 3-6, Bill Simmons ripping on the league, the dual Rose/Fiesta fiascoes, and the torrent of negative publicity after the "open letter" Jim Delaney sent out. Win all you want; I just thought that was a really bad call. Still think so.


















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
3-17-2007 @ 4:02PM
The Big Lead said...
Don't know ... looked like Oden was going to foul him and then the Xavier player took a step into Oden (or in his direction) ... and since Oden's like 6 inches taller and probably got 50 pounds on the guy, he flew.
Reply
3-17-2007 @ 4:02PM
Fever Fan said...
The Ohio State University and Greg Oden have been a victim of the poor officiating. All season, including several times today, Oden was just out and out hammered with no call. One key play late, Oden had position for an offensive rebound, the ball came off the rim toward him, and yet, no jump or move to it. He was just grabbed and held. Then, how about the leg whip steal be Xavier in OT, with no call. I have watched VCU and Winthrop use the poor officiating to pull upsets.
Reply
3-17-2007 @ 4:16PM
Brent said...
Looks to me like the officials must have gotten a better buy off from Ohio State. Why is it that during the middle of the game, someone can get mauled like Oden did, and nothing is called, yet in the end of the game when teams are trying to foul to stop the clock, the officials will call a foul if a player is merely looked at wrong??? Looks to me like the officials need to get paid by the league more and less by the big name schools!!!
Reply
3-17-2007 @ 4:17PM
chase said...
the X guy did a decent flop job. oden gets hacked all game long. give the guy a break. Cage hits that foul shot and you guys win. or coach sean miller fouls under 5 seconds osu doesnt get that 3 pointer off.
Reply
3-17-2007 @ 4:19PM
MonkeyJoe said...
His hands are going to the ball and are you seriously advocating that the officials decide the game like that?
Reply
3-17-2007 @ 4:20PM
Meatwad said...
Funny how they (OSU) almost covered the spread (-7.5) in OT. Like the Refs had money on it - If they had $ on OSU though they still lost....
Reply
3-18-2007 @ 2:14AM
Jimmy said...
This is crazy. Did the refs blow a 12-point lead down the stretch? No. Did the refs miss the back end of a one-and-one that would have sealed the game? No. Did the refs leave Ron Lewis with a chance to set his feet and shoot an open 3? No. Did the refs allow OSU to go on a 10-0 run to start OT? No. This can't be blamed on the refs, sorry. XU had a bunch of chances to seal this game, and they blew it. Brian I know you, as a Michigan fan, are not used to playing in the tournament, but come on.
Reply
3-17-2007 @ 4:35PM
FFM said...
I agree with the article: it was, by any definition, a flagrant foul, and yet the refs balked at making the obvious call. Over at the Xavier bench, I believe, a coach was seen asking for the obvious call -giving the crossed arm signal for flagrant foul. I am amused though, by some of the other comments here. Obviously there are more than a few brackets that would have gone up in flames - had Xavier gotten the win. I am so happy that the level of sportsmanship that is exhibited by fans, doesn't translate to the sportsmanship on the court. Otherwise, basketball would require shin guards, helmets, shoulder pads, and cut men.
Reply
3-17-2007 @ 4:44PM
rancid689 said...
Xavier had an 11 point lead and at least 4 or 5 opportunities to finish off Ohio state by making key shots. They did not. The officiating had nothing to do with that.
Reply
3-17-2007 @ 4:56PM
Meatwad said...
Rancid you are correct. I was just pointing it out from a gambling standpoint- Xavier hits a couple of more free throws and they win in Reg. I wish they would have since I had Tenn. beating OSU anyway. That will be a good game. UT played at OSU early in the season and lost by only 1pt. Of course UT has to defeat UVA before they get a shot at OSU!
Reply
3-18-2007 @ 12:57AM
Grey fan said...
OSU won that game. Xavier lost....seriously stop whining like a BITCH.
Reply
3-17-2007 @ 5:33PM
EastIndyGuy said...
FFM, did you even watch the game? Xavier's coach did the crossed arms thing about 10 times during the game. it is one of Xavier's signals for calling plays.
Oden was going for the ball, and the smaller Xavier player collided with him and went flying. Compare that to the leg-whip take down/steal that the Xavier player got away with and honestly say which one should have been a flagrant foul.
Reply
3-17-2007 @ 5:15PM
dybbs said...
It is easy to rip Ohio State because they ended up winning. How about the absolute mugging of David Lighty on the putback? Refs swallowed their whistles on that one. Watch the entire game, don't edit it to one play that goes in your favor. Maybe Mr. Cook went to Xavier, but the refs favored the Musketeers most of the game.
Reply
3-17-2007 @ 5:51PM
EastIndyGuy said...
In Sean Miller's comments post game he stated that he did not think that the foul was intentional. This is sounding more like sour grapes from a UM fan who's looking for a 'moral victory' over the Buckeyes. Lord knows UM can't beat OSU in football or basketball.
Reply
3-18-2007 @ 12:07AM
Brad said...
CBS's coverage of the NCAA tournament is about as poor as the officiating. They show few replays, especially if they show the poor officiating call. The transmission for audio is terrible. There have been many times when the game is shown and no audio is present, which at times isn't a bad thing since they are all so stoic and so aligned to "abiding by the etiquicy rules of the NCAA" by not speaking badly of the officiating. This is completely rediculous, but what do you expect from a media congloberate operated by a bunch of liberal sheep. And refering to the flagrant foul that wasn't called on Ogden, this is a great example of what I just described. Only one replay was shown and it was from the far straight-away camera. No comments were made by the announcers. Not one!!!!!,,,What BS!!!!
Reply
3-17-2007 @ 5:51PM
Gorgonzola said...
Looked like a flop to me. To change the subject, I love how #34 on Xavier runs at Oden then realizes he's kinda big and stops.
Reply
3-17-2007 @ 5:50PM
Arland Pafford said...
Ridiculous! It was an obvious, flagrant foul, and should have been so called, but many are not. That's basketball. However when the CBS crew, dumb, dumber and dumbest attempted to clean it up, that was ridiculous
Reply
3-17-2007 @ 5:57PM
Arland Pafford said...
It was an obvious, flagrant call and should have been called. But many are not. That's basketball. But when the CBS crew, Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest attempted to clean it up, that was ridiculous.
Reply
3-17-2007 @ 6:30PM
POJO_Risin said...
Look, it was a judgement call. There's no doubt that he was trying to foul him. I've seen hundreds of no-flagrant or no-intention foul calls on similar plays every year. It's all water under the bridge either way...
Ohio State won because they played to win the entire game. Xavier ran out of steam, and STILL could have put it away with a foul shot.
Check out my site, The POJO Dojo, for more on it.
Great game.
Reply
3-17-2007 @ 6:56PM
Swhat110Aaol.com said...
Greg Olden Got a way with a foul. It should have been a intentional foul .
Reply