The weekend’s Round of 32 games saw all 16 favorites winning outright, but it certainly wasn’t an easy task for the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils.
No. 9 seed UCF took Duke to the brink and could have put the upset away had it converted on an alley-oop attempt with just under two minutes to go. That five-point swing aside, UCF still had reason to be angry about how those final plays were officiated.
Notably, the officials completely missed a flagrant foul on the go-ahead rebound and putback following Zion Williamson’s miss at the line. Keep an eye on Duke’s Javin DeLaurier (No. 12). While boxing out UCF’s Collin Smith, DeLaurier got away with a hook-and-hold flagrant. It was obvious, and as controversial as the call would have been in that moment, it should have been called.
There were also arguments to be made that R.J. Barrett pushed the other rebounder in the back, but that non-called hook-and-hold had been enforced all season. The hook-and-hold flagrant was a new rule emphasis for 2018-19 after Purdue’s Isaac Haas suffered a fractured elbow in last season’s tournament.
In order for a hook-and-hold foul to be called, there has to be a clamping of the arm to restrict the other rebounder’s movements. DeLaurier clearly reached that standard, and at the very least, the play should have prompted a replay review.
Had the play been accurately called, Duke’s go-ahead bucket would have been wiped away. UCF would have gotten two shots from the free-throw line and the ball. The upset would have happened, and college basketball fans would have been furious about how it all went down. I’m not denying that.
But it would have been consistent with how officials approached that play all season. They just chose to ignore the foul in that moment, and it benefited Duke.
