You be the judge: Was this decisive play in KU Jayhawks’ NCAA Tournament win a foul?
When coach Bill Self spoke at his postgame news conference late Thursday evening, he characterized his emotion following the Jayhawks’ scratch-it-out win over Samford as “relieved, excited and proud.”
All things considered, that was probably the right order.
After blowing a 22-point lead in the second half, KU led by just one point with 20 seconds to play. Nick Timberlake got a breakaway in the open court and was set to dunk, until he was fouled from behind by Samford’s A.J Staton-McCray.
Or so it was called.
The replays did not appear to show any body or arm contact. Timberlake made two free throws to put Kansas up 3.
Was it the right call? It was certainly a key moment in the No. 4-seeded Jayhawks’ 93-89 win over No. 13 Samford.
First, from the players involved...
“Uh, yeah,” Timberlake said with a smile. “I was definitely fouled on the breakaway.”
“I’ve seen it, yeah,” Staton-McCray told the Washington Post. “I know. Clean.”
He continued.
“I feel like it’s because (Timberlake) had a nasty fall,” Staton-McCray said. “I guess they just figured that I touched him, but should have reviewed it, possibly, maybe, and a clean block but it’s all good. We came out here and we fought like we said we would, and now the world knows who we are. Now the world knows who we are.”
Others chimed in on the call after the game. The responses varied, though several players and coaches noted the bigger picture of all that happens in a game.
“I mean, I’m not a referee, but I feel like if you really want to nitpick every single play, you can find a lot of missed calls with this game,” Hunter Dickinson said. “Refs are human. They’re not perfect. They are able to miss calls and stuff like that. It is what it is.”
Those last five words — “It is what it is” — were echoed by Samford coach Bucky McMillan in his postgame news conference. He spoke about the meaning of the play, while going out of his way to say he would not blame the officials for the loss.
“I have seen the play,” McMillan said. “I thought A.J. made an incredible play on it. I’m not faulting a call. Some people can see it different ways. But I was really proud of our guys’ ability to make a play.
“At the end of the day, A.J.’s recovery there, if there is no whistle — I’m not blaming the whistle — if there is no whistle, we’re going to have the numbers advantage going the other way to advance to Round 2. That’s how close the game was. That’s how well our guys played.”
It was a close game late — and the foul call marked a pivotal sequence.
Trailing by 3, Samford missed a game-tying shot and the Jayhawks made one free throw to seal the win.
Social media reaction followed, particularly from those convinced the Jayhawks got a break.
Similar to his coaching counterpart, Self did not address the foul — at least directly — in his postgame news conference. Instead, he pointed out Timberlake did what he was supposed to after breaking the press.
“I thought Nick attacked the basket well,” Self said. “He’s a much better athlete than what a lot of people think. He attacked it strong, just like he should.”
This story was originally published March 22, 2024 at 1:17 AM.
