Washington is protesting the shot that Oregon State guard Stevie Thompson hit last night to beat the Huskies.
With 3.3 seconds left and the Beavers down by two points, Thompson took an inbounds pass, went the length of the court and hit an off-balance three for an 82-81 win. But there were two problems with that sequence: The clock operator did not start the clock in time, meaning Thompson had more than 3.3 seconds to actually get the shot off, and the freshman also traveled before he got the shot off.
Two words: BEAVS WIN!!!!#Pac12AfterDark #Pac12Hoopshttps://t.co/p6ba59zTqz
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) February 25, 2016
“We’re waiting to hear back,” Romar told ESPN.com of their protest.
After the shot, the referees went to the monitor to review whether Thompson got the shot off in time -- he did -- but they did not look at whether or not the clock started on time. It’s the third time this month that a buzzer-beating shot was counted when there was clear visual evidence that the shot should not have counted. The obvious case was Boise State, where the shot that James Webb III hit was initially counted and then incorrectly waived off by referees. That came just days after referees got a rule wrong in San Diego State’s win over New Mexico. And, of course, there was Grayson Allen’s game-winner against Virginia when his foot came down before he got the shot off.
The kicker for the Huskies is that they are fighting for their bubble lives. Oregon State has an RPI in the 30s, and a road win over a team with an RPI is enough to be the difference between being one of the last four in and first four out.
The ineptitude of these referees could, quite literally, cost Washington a trip to the NCAA tournament.