A new NCAA rule cost Kentucky two points in OT loss to Texas A&M. Was it the correct call?
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Game day: Texas A&M 97, No. 6 Kentucky 92 (OT)
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Texas A&M in College Station, Texas.
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Kentucky and Texas A&M went to overtime with 89 points apiece Saturday afternoon.
But it wasn’t quite that simple.
With 5:55 left in the first half of UK’s eventual 97-92 loss to the Aggies in Reed Arena, freshman guard D.J. Wagner put up a shot that was blocked at the rim by Wildens Leveque. The ball deflected off the backboard and fell right into the hands of Kentucky’s Ugonna Onyenso, who started to go back up at the rim when a whistle blew the play dead.
The officials called goaltending on Leveque and awarded the Wildcats two points, giving possession to the Aggies while saying that the call would be reviewed during the next timeout. Texas A&M immediately scored on the ensuing possession.
During the next timeout, the goaltending call was reversed. Kentucky lost two points.
Obviously, those two points might have come in handy in a game that eventually went to overtime. Following a request from the Herald-Leader, an SEC spokesperson issued a statement on the call before the game was finished. “The goaltend in question was administered correctly with this year’s new instant replay rule.”
Rule 11.2.1.b.6 covers what happened in this instance.
According to the rule, referees can use instant replay to determine if a goaltending call is correct only when a call has been made on the floor. And the call can only be reviewed immediately in the following situations:
▪ A TV timeout occurs as a result of the goaltending call.
▪ Officials are already using instant replay for a separate call before the next live ball occurs.
▪ If a foul has been called on the shooter and there is a basket interference or goaltending call on that attempt, officials can review the violation to determine how many free throws to award the shooter.
▪ The violation occurs during the last four minutes of the second half or during an overtime period.
The call in the first half checked none of these boxes, so the review didn’t happen until the next TV timeout, in accordance with the rule.
Compounding the Cats’ frustration with the sequence was the fact that the offensive rebound clearly went to Onyenso, who was in the process of a putback attempt when the whistle blew. Kentucky also had the possession arrow at the time of the call, yet Texas A&M — correctly, according to the rule — was given possession after the goaltend was called.
If the play had happened in the final four minutes of the second half, during overtime, or at a point where a TV timeout would have naturally occurred as a result of the whistle, the following protocol would have been followed:
“When the call on the floor is reversed because of the review, the official must determine if there was team possession when the call was made and award the ball to the team in possession,” the rule states. “Otherwise, team possession will be determined by the alternating possession arrow.”
In any of those scenarios, Kentucky would have retained possession.
UK coach John Calipari was asked after the game if he’d like to see the new rule revisited.
“If it hurt us, they won’t change it,” he said, before taking a more serious tone. “But anytime there’s a play where they know.” Calipari paused there. “You know,” he finished.
The UK coach said there was another possible goaltend that he questioned during the game and was told that the officials couldn’t review that one because it hadn’t been called on the floor.
“If you’re gonna do that call, then do the other one,” he said. “It’s the difference in a game.”
The referees also made the correct decision, according to the rule, in that instance.
“Well then I would say, ‘Yeah, I’m not for it,’” Calipari said. “… But, that wasn’t why we lost the game.”
This story was originally published January 13, 2024 at 6:00 PM.
