Penn State hosted Northwestern on Thursday night in a BIG10 basketball showdown. From the tip off to the final blunder with 6 seconds left, this game was the absolute worst officiated college basketball game of all time.
Before I get into the details of the goaltending/not goaltending/basket to tie it called off, let’s dive into the first 39 minutes and 55 seconds.
Funny part is, I got banned from the X platform complaining about how horrible this game was. *Shrugs Shoulders*. Maybe in 12 hours big, bad, X will allow me to use my freedom of speech once more.
Penn State Northwestern Free Throw Discrepancy
Penn State made 15 more free throws than Northwestern even attempted, shooting 24 more shots from the charity line. This was fishy enough, as all game long touch fouls were called on Northwestern.
I know something was up when still over 14 minutes left in the second half Penn State was in the double bonus while only have 3 fouls called against them.
That means to start the second half of a tight game, the referees called 10+ fouls on Northwestern while only calling 3 on Penn State.
Last Second Blunder
Even with all of the above BS, Northwestern had a chance late to tie it as the game was 82-80 in Penn State’s favor.
A missed three from Northwestern resulted in an offensive rebound, which was put back up yet missed. However, a second offensive rebound which was a tip in tied the game with 5.7 seconds left.
Or so we thought.
Out of nowhere, a whistle, then a review, and then the worst call in college basketball history. CBS Reporter Jon Rothstein called it an abomination to the sport. (I would add the tweet here, yet I got banned from X after I agreed with the statement above.)
The referees, after a lengthy 7-10 minute delay declared that not only was there no goal tending on the play, the made basket would not count.
SHOCKED! Fans across the nation watched as the integrity of college basketball fell to shambles right before our very eyes. A game we all saw become tied at 82 would now return to 82-80.
Northwestern would have the ball on the baseline, and ultimately lose 84-80. Even after fighting through most of the team in foul trouble, and Penn State shooting 24 more free throws, Northwestern was right there. And got robbed!
Head coach for Northwestern was seen talking to the refs, and it seemed from lip reading he stated, “You cost me the game!”
That is also my belief. From a lifelong fan of college basketball, this just STINKS. Like a raccoon in heap locked up in a shed, it reeks.
Rowan Donaghey, Sports Reporter and Betting Analyst for Stare Down Sports. You can follow him on the X via @RowanDonaghey
Follow Stare Down Sports on the X for all of the latest news and updates @StareDownSports
UNC Basketball off to Horrible Start
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