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ACC admits officiating error in Maryland’s loss to Duke

Maryland v Duke

during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 15, 2014 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 69-67.

Grant Halverson

The ACC has acknowledged an officiating error during the second half of No. 8 Duke’s 69-67 win over Maryland on Saturday.

An ACC official provided the Washington Post with a statement saying that Duke was incorrectly given possession after back-to-back held balls. The first came with 16:58 left in the game, which correctly gave the ball to Duke. But the official possession arrow was never changed, and with 6:39 left, the ensuing held ball was also given to the Blue Devils.

Amile Jefferson would score on that possession, which tied the game at 56 at the time.

What’s interesting is that at the time of the jump ball, ESPN’s broadcast actually had the possession arrow correct:

Duke Jump Ball

According to Testudo Times, the broadcast crew actually said “Maryland ball. On the possession arrow the Terps will have it” when the call was made.

Why is this a big deal?

Well, we all remember the end of this game, right? Charles Mitchell’s jump hook in the final seconds hung on the rim before falling off. If Maryland correctly gets the ball on this possession and Jefferson doesn’t score, they’d have won, right?

Frankly, it’s not that simple, and even the craziest crazy Terps fan should be able to acknowledge it.

But it makes the end of the rivalry just that much more fitting, doesn’t it?

Duke beats Maryland on a favorable call from the refs.

Follow @robdauster