TCU stays above controversy of end-of-regulation no-call vs. Arizona
Mar 21, 2022, 9:52 AM
Mike Miles #1 of the TCU Horned Frogs drives to the basket during the first half against Dalen Terry #4 of the Arizona Wildcats in the second round game of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena at San Diego State University on March 20, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
The TCU Horned Frogs had reason to gripe Sunday after an 85-80 overtime loss to the Arizona Wildcats in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
With the game tied up with the last possession of regulation, Arizona predicted TCU guard Mike Miles would be creating the final shot. They threw a trap at him when a screen came.
A bump from Miles’ defender, Dalen Terry, sent the Horned Frogs’ leading scorer flying across the halfcourt line — whether the contact was embellished or not. Miles lost the ball, Terry picked it up and nearly had a dunk attempt in before time ran out to force overtime.
Arizona fans probably saw an over-and-back missed call. TCU fans likely thought Miles fell because of a foul.
Officials, who had allowed both teams to play physical ball all night, only blew the whistle to wave off Terry’s dunk that was after regulation expired.
WHAT THE WHAT?!?! THIS ENDING IS INSANE pic.twitter.com/eAm0Lc95Xv
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 21, 2022
“I think everyone’s seen it, is talking about it,” Horned Frogs head coach Jamie Dixon told reporters Sunday after the loss. “We’re going to handle it the right way. And that’s what we discussed. And because that’s what these guys have done.
“They’ve been class all year long and we’re going to handle it the right way. So we’ll defer to — we’ve got the best officials in the country working these games. And that’s the situation we were in.”
Arizona center Christian Koloko and head coach Tommy Lloyd said they suspected the Horned Frogs would run Miles off a pick-and-roll before the duo of non-calls.
“I ain’t going to lie. I was scared when Coach asked us … because I knew he was going to try to get at me and try to get a foul,” Koloko said. “But I think I did a pretty good job just protecting my hip, like Coach always says, protecting my hip.
“We knew, like, he was going to try to be a hero. And we wanted to trap him. He turned the ball over. That’s what we wanted to do and it worked.”
Lloyd credited Koloko’s lateral ability to move with a guard and admitted it was a risky play.
Koloko’s man, Eddie Lampkin Jr., was allowed to roll unobstructed to the rim behind the trap.
“He’s going to go left and try to come off a ball screen up top,” Lloyd said. “So we had an agile, mobile group out there. What the heck, 10 seconds to go in the game, let’s throw a trap on him and see what happens. And we’ll live with it.”
Miles, however, had no shot of seeing his big man or getting the pass off.
Koloko did his job cutting off Miles by beating him to the sideline. When the TCU guard cut back, Terry got physical with him at halfcourt.
“I know there’s a lot of speculation, was it a foul, whether he was over and back,” Lloyd said. “I’m not watching the foul, I’m watching him go over and back. I don’t know how much time (was left after the turnover). I saw the ball pop loose. I thought we had it. I thought there was enough time (to get a shot off).
“I looked up. Dalen was at the top of the key with a second to go. I thought maybe. And so that would have been a cool way to end it. But you know what, there was nothing wrong with that going to overtime and having to play another five minutes and find a way.”
