They don't call it "March Routine" or "Basketball Games Played In March". No, it's called "March Madness" for a reason and once again we saw that in the thrilling and controversial ending to the Arizona Wildcats victory over the Texas Longhorns. As has become the norm in college basketball with all the good teams featuring young players on the one- (or two-) and-done plan, the end of game execution on both sides left a lot to be desired.
In this case however, it's the Texas fans who are throwing virtual rotten tomatoes at the officiating crew. And while this is SB Nation ARIZONA, we have to admit they have a point. Here's what Peter Bean, proprietor of SB Nation's Longhorn blog, Burnt Orange Nation, has to say:
Texas vs Arizona: Jim Burr, Officials Hose Longhorns - Burnt Orange Nation
I'm just royally, righteously furious about the screw job that Texas just got at the end of the game, courtesy of -- guess who? -- Jim Burr. The same clown who single-handedly jobbed Texas against UConn and, more famously, blew the Rutgers-St. John's Big East Tournament game three weeks ago.For the record? My game watching crew reviewed the DVR ten times and it wasn't five seconds. It wasn't five arm-ticks. And it wasn't five seconds objectively. We used a stopwatch and if you're generous, it gets up to about 4.6 seconds. He rushed it, and we got hosed. The theme for the tournament. The no-calls at the end with J'Covan and Gary were just icing on the cake.
Ouch. Of course, Arizona fans will be quick to point out -- as Steve Kerr did on the broadcast -- all the questionable calls that went Texas' way in the game. Longhorn guard J'Covan Brown averaged about 2.5 free throw attempts per game this season but took 13 in this contest. Fair? I guess that depends on which school you are rooting for or which team you have advancing in your bracket.
Regardless of your personal bias, no one wants to see a game decided by the officials and to have Jim Burr once again involved in a controversial ending is certainly a troubling turn of events.
Here's video of the final seconds of the game. What do you think?