Bryce Brown had a parting shot for the officials following the Auburn Tigers’ Final Four loss to the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday night.
There were at least two moments when the game could have ended, and the Tigers would have been on their way to the national championship game. But a pair of controversial calls went the Cavaliers’ way. And so did the win.
“The NCAA needs some new refs,” Brown said repeatedly while walking off the court to the team’s locker room following the game.
Brown and the Tigers had just watched Kyle Guy score six points in nine seconds to help Virginia advance.
And no one was closer to one of the game’s most crucial moment. Brown was marking Ty Jerome when his double-dribble went uncalled with two seconds left in the game. Brown then fouled Jerome.
Jerome mishandled the ball, which bounced off his leg. The Cavalier then grabbed the ball with two hands and began dribbling again, even though the defender, Brown, had not touched the ball.
Brown didn’t have a role in the following call, but he probably didn’t agree with it. On Virginia’s final possession, Guy took a 3-point shot and missed. During the shot, Guy and Auburn’s Samir Doughty made contact with one another. As a result, Guy went to the free-throw line. He hit all three shots, and clinched a win for Virginia.
Coincidentally, Doughty was the Auburn player who seemed to be hushing Brown ripped the refs on their way off the court.
