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March Madness 2015: Top Plays From Day 1 Of NCAA Tournament

By Gerald Bourguet

Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Georgia State Panthers gather around Panthers guard R.J. Hunter (right) following their victory over the Baylor Bears in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. Georgia State defeated Baylor 57-56 on Hunter
Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Georgia State Panthers gather around Panthers guard R.J. Hunter (right) following their victory over the Baylor Bears in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. Georgia State defeated Baylor 57-56 on Hunter /
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March Madness
Mar 19, 2015; Louisville, KY, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Bryce Alford (20) shoots a three-point shot during the second half to win the game against the Southern Methodist Mustangs in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KFC Yum! Center. UCLA Bruins win 60-59. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 6 SMU vs. No. 11 UCLA:

This game had all the makings of a classic, contrary to what the 60-59 final score would indicate (for all the NBA snobs who tune in to college basketball every March). UCLA built a double-digit advantage only to watch the Mustangs rattle off 19 unanswered points to take back the lead.

A big block for SMU led to a Nick Moore three-pointer, and it felt like the Mustangs were going to win after finally waking up. Keep in mind, this was a Bruins team that no one thought belonged in the tournament.

Thanks to Bryce Alford — another head coach’s son — and a botched goaltending call, UCLA is moving on regardless of what everyone thinks. But yes, what you should think is that the officials botched that goaltending call.

Here are a few angles where it’s pretty hard to tell. From these vantage points, the call seems like it’d be questionable, but ultimately defendable:

But from straight away, it’s pretty clear that goaltending call simply bailed out a horrible game-winning attempt. Alford deserves credit for carrying the Bruins with 27 points on 9-of-11 shooting from three-point range, but it’s pretty obvious one of those threes should have been a miss.

“But that ball might have hit the rim!” is what you’re probably saying. Here’s the thing about goaltending in the NCAA: the possibility of hitting the rim is irrelevant. Seth Davis of CBS Sports explains the rule straight from the rulebook:

If you think that ball had any remote possibility of going through the rim, I’d like to recommend you call 1-800-CONTACTS immediately.

The ball was on the way down and it might have nicked the rim had SMU center Yanick Moreira not touched it. But this was not a matter of “well technically, that’s the rule” or “well if SMU had just played better maybe it wouldn’t have mattered.”

Sometimes officials do decide the outcomes of games, and in this case, Larry Brown and company got screwed. Just listen to Moreira’s post-game interview and tell me you’re still 100 percent certain the right call was made. This poor kid actually thinks it’s his fault!

Heartbreak is a part of March Madness, but do you have no heart?? Especially now that you know the actual goaltending rule? NCAA, it’d be really nice if someone were capable of holding you accountable for your ridiculous interpretation of the rules.

*Drops mic, watches it burn a hole through the floor all the way to the equator, storms off stage.*

Next: Xavier Domination