I get that these are young guys. I get that the moment is tense and exciting.
But dude! You have to know the rules!
Kid from UNC-Asheville lines up at the three point line on a free throw late in the game against Syracuse. He runs in and rebounds the missed shot. What's the problem? He ran in before the ball hit the rim. The rule says you have to wait for the ball to hit the rim if you are not lined up in one of the designated spots along the lane. He didn't wait, the Syracuse player gets to retry the missed free throw, makes it, and Syracuse holds on to win the game.
Kid from St Mary's slid to the side on a baseline spot throw in...that's a traveling violation. The rule is that the only time you can run the baseline is after a made shot. It came late in the game with St Mary's ahead by 1 and a chance to get fouled and go to the line for free throws and make it tough for Purdue to win. But the violation was called. Purdue scored and held on to win the game.
Kid from Notre Dame did the same thing the kid from UNC-Asheville did, but with his own guy on the line for a one-and-one to possibly tie the game with just seconds to play. Wipe out the made free throw and give Xavier the ball. Xavier held on to win the game.
I've never seen so many games hinge on late mistakes like this. I've seen turnovers, missed shots, tough fouls, bang-bang calls that could go either way, completely blown calls...or just kids making great plays to steal a game.
But not knowing the rules? That's just a gut-wrenching way to lose.
