There were two or three plays late that hurt Carolina, that’s for sure. But a game shouldn’t end on a clock snafu.
The play that started Iowa State’s late run was Marcus Paige’s hurried three-point shot with about four minutes left. Carolina should have taken time off the clock and should have gotten a better look.
Paige took blame for the loss for a turnover he made in the last minute of the game but there is no guarantee Carolina would have scored on that play. But there was a guarantee that Carolina could have taken time off the clock with four minutes left and gotten a better shot. That was a bigger error.
UNC was up by eight and a bucket of any sort, three or not, could have been a big blow to Iowa State. Instead Iowa State quickly got the ball up the court and hit a three. What could have been an 11 or 10 point lead was instead five.
On Carolina’s very next possession the Heels turned it over on a foul. I’m not necessarily saying that McAdoo didn’t foul on the offensive end without the ball, but that’s a strange call for an official to make anyway, much less that late in a game.
The perfect storm continued on the next possession. After a Nate Britt miss, Kennedy Meeks had a chance for a relatively easy rebound stick back and he rushed it without fully controlling the ball and the tip missed.
North Carolina had every chance to win the game – well, make that almost every chance. After the final bucket, UNC players should have called a timeout. Of course the officials should have known Coach Williams was calling a timeout.
Yes, the clock should have started when Carolina inbounded the ball but once that ship has sailed it seems unfair to simply call the game over. If officials can look at the video to check the clock, it seems they could also look at the coach calling timeout.
A game should not end like that. A season should not end like that.
If you have the game on tape, go back to the 15.7 second mark after McAdoo tied the game at 83-all. The clock failed to start for about one or two seconds after an Iowa State player touched the inbounds pass. If you are going to call a game over when there is time left on the clock because there shouldn’t have been time left on the clock, it seems you would be a stickler with 15.7 seconds left also.
In fact, there were times throughout the game where the clock didn’t start accurately yet it’s only a problem at the end.
Could you imagine an NFL playoff game ending because the officials said the clock should have started and didn’t so one team doesn’t get to attempt a field goal even though there is time left?