No one can claim that Villanova deserved to win this game. But then, no one could really claim that Georgetown deserved to win either. This was a stinker of a game. Tough to watch. Lots of poor shooting. Plenty of fouls to slow the game to a crawl, and lots of poor play in general. Georgetown got the win 55-53.
The final call, is the stuff that breeds conspiracy theories. Put this with the block not goaltending call at West Virginia, and it will only convince more people that the Big East refs are trying to help/protect Georgetown for NCAA seeding.
Forget the extreme poor shooting by Villanova. Only 4-31 in the second half, a ridiculous stretch where the Wildcats missed 19 straight shots, and after starting 3-8 on 3s didn't make another 3 in the game (0-15). Villanova was able to stay close because they picked up fouls and Georgetown's poor shooting and turnovers. Villanova actually tied the game at 53 with just over a minute left.
Georgetown came up empty on their possession and the Wildcats had the ball with 30 seconds left. They brought it up court, and called timeout to draw up the play. There was no question that Scottie Reynolds would get the ball. He was the only offense for Villanova with 24 points.
Reynolds took the ball on the inbounds and tried to go to the basket. Jerimiah Rivers stayed right with him. Playing great defense, and Rivers blocked the attempt as Reynolds tried to launch a shot and draw a foul. The refs ignored any contact and properly let the play go. There was no clear advantage and this is the Big East where physical play is expected.
The ball hit the floor and bodies were all over the place and each other going for the ball. No calls. It finally went to Georgetown's Jonathan Wallace near the baseline with just over 3 seconds left.
Wallace started down one of the line, and Villanova guard Corey Stokes moved with him to prevent him to launch a heave before time expired. Wallace got past him, with the barest contact and the refs whistled a foul with 0.1 seconds on the clock.
To say the ESPN play calling crew of Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas and Bill Raftery were flabbergasted, would be an understatement. All 3 didn't just question the call, they said that it simply should not have been called and based on what hadn't been called for most of the game was hardly a foul.
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Wallace, the Hoyas best free throw shooter, nailed both free throws and that was the ball game. No one is saying that Villanova would have won the game in overtime, but they deserved a chance to try.
UPDATE: Here's the sequence. It's a little choppy.
