Lamar Simpson ruined one of the greatest March Madness comebacks of all time. Samford played in March Madness for the first time in 24 years and found itself in the position to do something that had never been done before at Samford: win a March Madness game.
Lamar Simpson did a pretty good job until the last five minutes of the Samford vs. Kansas game. Within those five minutes, Simpson and the other refs, notably Tony Padilla, who has a history of making bad calls, made a series of questionable calls, some of which can be justified and some of which cannot.
Earlier this year, Simpson made a questionable call at the end of a Clemson and Duke game that led to Duke getting free throws with .04 seconds left and winning.
With less than a minute left, Achor Achor went down to the floor and dunked it on what should have been called a foul on Nicolas Timberlake for initiating contact with Achor after he had left the ground.
The current blocking foul rule states that if the defender arrives after the player has planted a foot, officials have been instructed to call a block when there’s contact. This probably could have been called a foul, but the general rule for referees is to keep the whistle in their pocket when questioning a call and let it play out because it’s easier to explain a no-call than a phantom foul.
Another no-call occurred during a full-court press with 32.4 seconds left. Dickinson threw an elbow into Aj Staton-McCray, but this foul was soft. The elbow allowed Dickinson to push the ball down the court for a wide-open Kansas dunk, making the score 86-90.
Again, this foul is more acceptable because the general rule for referees is to allow players to play. The last notable and questionable play that the refs missed a call on was a loose ball play in which Samford had an inbound pass tipped and gone astray. Kansas would jump on the ball, followed quickly by a Samford player jumping on the ball.
Kansas forward Dickinson, who was not involved in the play, turned to the ref to call a timeout, but the referee called the play a jump ball, returning Samford’s possession. This call was too close to grant the Jayhawks a timeout, resulting in the officials not accepting the timeout request.
Kansas coach Bill Self thoroughly complained to the official about the call after the play.
This possession arrow would set up the Jaden Campbell, one of the worst calls in March Madness history. Samford Cheerleader Cooper Johnston, who was courtside at the game, couldn’t believe the refs made this call.
“AJ made one of the most athletic and clean plays I have ever seen, and it was taken away from him and the team,” Johnston said. “Having such a great play taken away from a player is a shame. That call will forever tarnish our memories of the NCAA tournament.”
Not only is this the first time that Samford has been to the March Madness tournament in 24 years, but it could also have been the first time that Samford has ever won a March Madness game.
Almost everyone in the nation has seen the clean block called foul, as it circulated heavily throughout social media, prompting responses from all sorts of celebrities.
“With the game on the line, that is an incredible block that got taken away from Samford,” said analyst Brendan Haywood during the broadcast.
It would have also been one of the most significant comebacks in March Madness history. The largest comeback in March Madness history was 2012 by BYU against Iona, totaling 24 points.
“I do agree with you guys. It’s a great block by Samford right there,” said rules expert Gene Steratore during the broadcast.
Gene would also tweet later about his dissatisfaction with the call.
Regardless of public opinion, Stanton chased down Timberlake during the play and, without initiating contact, knocked the ball out of his hands as he was going for a dunk. As Timberlake grabbed onto the rim, he swung himself forward and off the basket, landing oddly and prompting Simpson to make a foul call.
The other referee on the court who could contest the call was Padilla, another official who is unfortunately historically known for making bad calls in important games.
Instead of subscribing to the rule that they had been following for the past five minutes about questionable calls, Simpson whipped out his whistle far too eagerly and ruined what could have been one of the most iconic moments in Samford sports history.
If the block had not been called a foul, Samford would have numbers in a fast break play going the other way down by one with less than 20 seconds left in the game. Instead, Timberlake shot free throws, and then Jermaine Marshall shot a brutally contested three-pointer, sealing Samford’s fate.
Referees should continue to follow their prescribed rule of being careful with the whistle to avoid national embarrassment.
However, the game is over, and a recent contract extension for head coach Bucky McMillan excites many fans for Samford’s future.
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