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World Reacts to Blown Call that Ended Auburn’s Historic Run

By Shea Brennaman

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Ty Jerome #11 of the Virginia Cavaliers loses the ball late in the second half as he is defended by Bryce Brown #2 of the Auburn Tigers during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Ty Jerome #11 of the Virginia Cavaliers loses the ball late in the second half as he is defended by Bryce Brown #2 of the Auburn Tigers during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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“No game should be decided like that. Period.”

To preface this, Auburn basketball had plenty of opportunity to take the game in their own hands and they didn’t. Whenever you leave the fate of the game in the hands of the officials you lose, and that’s exactly what happened to Auburn Saturday night in their controversial Final Four loss to the Virginia Cavaliers.

That doesn’t make the loss sting any less, well, it makes it worse actually.

I stood in the stands of U.S. Bank Stadium with my hands over my head assuming the ‘Surrender Cobra’ position. If you ask anyone in attendance at the stadium what the vibe was like in that second they would tell you the following moments were full of utter chaos and confusion.

While attempting to maintain possession of the ball Virginia’s Ty Jerome double dribbled. Fans and spectators throughout the stadium immediately saw it and erupted. When the turnover was not called and possession remained on Virginia’s side, Auburn’s Samir Doughty fouled Kyle Guy giving Virginia the go-ahead to sink three free throws for the win.

And they did.

See, I like many thought Auburn had won. It was an inexplicable chain of events that displayed what can only be summarized as critical human error in an extremely high stakes moment.

For a team that has fought as hard the last few years as Auburn had, my heart could only sink to my stomach as I watched Virginia celebrate. The stadium remained unjust with echoes of boos from all sides following the officials.

“No game should be decided like that,” was the sentiment I received from Texas Tech, Michigan State, and fellow Auburn fans. Not only was three-fourths of U.S. Bank Stadium up in arms, but the term “double dribble” went viral on Twitter with thousands taking to social media to air their grievances.

Auburn and Virginia both deserved better from this officiating crew. While this loss is going to take a while to process we can take solace in knowing that these Auburn men carried themselves with grace and dignity in both victory and defeat. Congratulations to Virginia on a fantastic season.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2019/04/06/final-four-bruce-pearl-told-auburn-hand-virginia-loss-dignity/3391262002/

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