Lipscomb files a complaint over the ending to the Arizona game

On Monday, Lipscomb played Arizona at Arizona. The game ended up going to overtime, where Adnan Hodzic gave the Bisons a two point lead with a free throw with 4.7 seconds left. But at the other end, Nic Wise hit a three at the buzzer that presumably gave the Wildcats the win.

The refs went to the monitors to review it, and eventually ruled that the shot counted.

But did Wise actually get the shot off in time? If you watch the replay, it looks like the ball is still in his hand when the light goes on.

See for yourself


Lipscomb coach Scott Sanderson didn't argue the call after the game, but has since changed his stance. He told the Tennessean:

I don't want in any way, shape or form to sound like there's sour grapes on our behalf, but the clock showed 0:00 and the ball was still in (Wise's) hands. The red light on top of the backboard was on. We looked at it frame-by-fame.

The issue appears to be the angle that was used. When looking from behind, it seems that the ball is clearly in Wise's hand. But from that angle it is impossible to have any depth perception. From the side, it becomes a much more difficult call, and one that cannot be made using the youtube video above.

As with football, the original ruling stands unless there is sufficient visual evidence on the replay to overturn it. In this case, the original ruling is that Wise got the shot off, and since the angle from the side does not (according to the officials on the court) give indisputable evidence of the ball still being in Wise's hand, the officials did not overturn the call.

There is another issue.

The clock didn't start on time.

If you watch the video, you will see that the clock starts a half second late off the rebound. Taking that into account, Wise's shot probably should not have counted.

The most ironic part of all?

The refs asked for glasses at one point while reviewing the shot.