Andy Katz

College Basketball Analyst & Writer

Well, that was a wild week of school basketball.

Let’s begin with “The Call” on Thursday evening.

Ohio State beat Rutgers on a 3-pointer by Tanner Holden on the buzzer. The downside although, was that Holden stepped out of bounds, got here again in bounds, caught a go from Bruce Thornton and hit a 3-pointer on the buzzer for a 67-66 win.

The Big Ten issued an announcement saying that the decision was mistaken. The basket mustn’t have counted because of NCAA Rule 9, Section 3, Article 1, which states {that a} participant who goes out of bounds of his personal volition cannot be the primary one to the touch the ball when he re-enters the court docket.

All true.

But the play would not have mattered if Rutgers’ Caleb McConnell had hit the second of his two free throws, or perhaps if Paul Mulcahy had closed out faster on Holden. That’s on Rutgers.

The officers could have missed Thornton stepping out of bounds. And they definitely did not see Holden exit of bounds and are available again into the play in a break up second.

Should they’ve caught Holden stepping in? Maybe. But it occurred so rapidly, and the officers aren’t centered on that sideline play. One high-level official instructed me Sunday that the rule was put in place for gamers who could be stepping in from the baseline, not the sideline.

What ought to occur is a assessment. I’ve talked to a variety of coaches who wish to see each end-of-game basket reviewed. The video games are too essential to not get it proper. Yes, there may be human error, and a few performs are taking place method too quick for the human eye. I get it. But game-winning buckets ought to be reviewable. This one wasn’t. If the query was whether or not the shot was a 2-pointer or 3-pointer, or whether or not the shot was launched in time, then it’s reviewable. But whether or not a participant got here from out of bounds is just not. The officers had been appropriate to go away the court docket with out checking the monitor, regardless of Rutgers eager to see the play once more.

But if there’s a change to come back from this occasion, then it ought to be making certain that game-winning baskets — irrespective of how they arrive about — have to be checked. This needs to be addressed within the offseason.

The week for …

Alabama: The Tide gained at Houston and have now overwhelmed two No. 1 groups this season — Houston and North Carolina. Love the way in which Nate Oats will get his group to play with function and fervour each possession. This was a comeback win at Houston and proved the Tide are within the chase for the SEC title.

Illinois: Wow, what a chaotic week for the Illini. They got here again to beat Texas in OT within the Jimmy V Classic in New York, solely to then fully fall flat at residence in opposition to Penn State. Brad Underwood had an epic rant postgame Saturday — even making a fart noise to explain the management of Terrence Shannon Jr. Yes, I needed to sort that. Look, Underwood is an incredible coach and motivator. My solely concern/touch upon ripping your group on this new period is that transfers will not have any fairness and loyalty built-in with a faculty and coach a number of months from now. This form of factor can backfire. Let’s see how the Illini reply.

Cam Whitmore: The heralded freshman for Villanova was out with a thumb harm. He returned for the previous three video games — all wins over Oklahoma, Penn and Boston College. Whitmore is averaging 15.7 factors up to now three video games.

Iowa: The Hawkeyes needed to play with out their greatest participant Kris Murray in opposition to rival Iowa State and Wisconsin. They practically gained them each. The Hawkeyes beat the Cyclones and misplaced to the Badgers in OT. That’s fairly good for an Iowa group that’s nonetheless discovering its rotation.

Memphis: SMU switch Kendric Davis scored 27 factors in a win over Auburn to ship a robust sign that Memphis is not going wherever within the AAC. Memphis wanted a big-time switch and bought one in Davis.

UConn: The Huskies are in place to be a No. 1 seed. That’s saying one thing below Dan Hurley, who has made it clear that he was going to construct a nationwide contender. Kevin Ollie gained a nationwide title in 2014. But Hurley is the closest coach to Jim Calhoun that UConn has seen. Hurley has the depth that the Huskies trustworthy has grown accustomed to for many years. He nonetheless hasn’t gained an NCAA Tournament recreation, however I might be shocked if they do not go deep this season — particularly as a excessive seed.

Is UConn the perfect group in school basketball?

Mark Titus and Tate Frazier focus on UConn’s spectacular win over Florida and whether or not the Huskies ought to be ranked No. 1 within the nation.

Creighton: The Bluejays have fully slid with 4 straight losses, culminating with a neutral-site loss to BYU. Creighton must get wholesome (Ryan Kalkbrenner was absent). The Jays nonetheless have the potential to be a top-three group within the Big East, however the preseason convention favorites are most likely behind UConn, Xavier, Marquette, and perhaps even St. John’s proper now within the pecking order.

Arizona: The Wildcats’ loss to Utah clearly was an anomaly. They had been one thing to behold in beating Indiana in Las Vegas behind the spirited Kerr Kriisa, bigs Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo, and large guards Pelle Larsson and Courtney Ramey. This group retains coming at you.

The A-10: Fordham (11-1) is the perfect group within the A-10. And there is not any method the Rams are an at-large group at this juncture. The A-10 is a one-bid league in mid-December. There remains to be time to alter that narrative, however the alternatives are fading.

Louisville and Cal: The Cardinals are 0-9. The Bears are 0-11. Not a lot will be stated right here. This simply should not occur, particularly once they have each had purchase video games on the house slate.

The SWAC: Grambling State beat Vanderbilt. That means the SWAC has 4 wins in opposition to Power 5 colleges.

The Mountain West: Three groups on this convention are undefeated, and none of them are named San Diego State. UNLV (10-0), New Mexico (9-0) and Utah State (8-0) are a mixed 27-0, and will all be on tempo to hitch the Aztecs with NCAA bids.

KJ Williams: The Murray State switch has been a serious hit for LSU, together with a 35-point outing in a win over Wake Forest. Keep tabs on his progress.

Antoine Davis: The Detroit beginning guard handed the three,000-point mark. He did it on his tenth 3-pointer of the sport in an OT loss to Charlotte. Davis is the eleventh participant in NCAA historical past in Division I to attain 3000-plus factors.

Syracuse–Georgetown: The recreation was on ABC, however I can not keep in mind a time when this recreation lacked any sort of buzz. Crazy occasions.

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Andy Katz is a longtime school basketball author, analyst and host. He will be seen on FOX Sports and Big Ten Network platforms, in addition to March Madness and NCAA.com, and he hosts the podcast “March Madness 365.” Katz labored at ESPN for practically twenty years and, previous to that, in newspapers for 9 years.

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