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The Three Worst Game-Changing Calls From Kentucky’s Nervy Win Over Santa Clara

Kristen Wong|
Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek didn’t get his timeout awarded during a game-changing moment late in Kentucky’s nervy first-round win.
Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek didn’t get his timeout awarded during a game-changing moment late in Kentucky’s nervy first-round win. | Jeff Le-Imagn Images

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Kentucky WildcatsSanta Clara Broncos

Kentucky got their March Madness run off to the most chaotic start imaginable in a nervy overtime win over No. 10 Santa Clara that featured two ridiculous three-pointers to end regulation. The first was from Santa Clara’s Allen Graves, who drained his shot from deep to give the Broncos a 73-70 lead with just 2.4 seconds remaining. Santa Clara’s fleeting feeling of triumph would be cut short by Otega Oweh, who quickly advanced up the court on the Wildcats’ ensuing possession and banked in his desperation three-pointer to tie the game.

Kentucky went on to beat Santa Clara, 89-84, in overtime to advance to the round of 32. The game was the apt epitome of “March Madness,” but it also elicited an unfortunate discussion on some controversial calls late in the contest, several of which benefitted the Wildcats.

Here are three of the worst calls by the refs during Kentucky’s drama-filled victory:

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3. Kentucky gets a questionable timeout late in the second half on a loose ball

Santa Clara was up 70–68 with roughly 30 seconds left in the game when Kentucky got a crucial stop. Kentucky’s Mouhamed Dioubate snagged the defensive rebound but lost control of the ball, which bobbled through a sea of arms before Otega Oweh jumped on it on the floor while tussling with a Broncos player.

The refs determined that Kentucky had called a timeout during their very brief and questionable possession of the ball, which helped the Wildcats regroup in the final pivotal seconds of the game.

2. Kentucky commits a clear travel on a breakaway opportunity in overtime

With less than a minute remaining in OT, Kentucky’s Otega Oweh intercepted a tipped pass from Santa Clara and took, er, several steps while holding the basketball before passing it ahead to his teammate.

This was a pretty obvious traveling violation that the refs missed in the moment. The Wildcats were up 81-79 before Oweh’s missed travel and then were able to extend their lead to four points, giving them some breathing space in a tense and nail-biting finish against the Broncos.

1. Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek tries to call a timeout before Kentucky’s buzzer-beater, but refs don’t see it

This will be the missed call that will haunt Herb Sendek and the Broncos for a long, long time.

After Allen Graves sank his three-pointer with just 2.4 seconds left on the clock, Kentucky immediately drove down the court and nailed the three that would keep them alive in the NCAA tournament.

The only problem was: it shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek was seen frantically trying to get the sideline ref’s attention to call a timeout the second after Graves made his three. The ref had already turned away and was running the opposite direction, so he likely didn’t see Sendek’s emphatic “T” gesture.

Sendek had a very matter-of-fact breakdown of his attempt to call TO in his postgame presser:

“I unequivocally called timeout, but they didn’t grant it,” Sendek said. “I think the video evidence is clear and anybody is able to pull that up. [Calling a timeout] is a likely response after Allen hits the three that the coach would be calling timeout to set the defense, which I tried to do, and I was successful in doing, other than it wasn’t acknowledged or recognized. That’s what happened.”

What a tragic and unfortunate way for the Broncos to go out this March. As for No. 7 Kentucky, they’ll luckily live to play another day, and will face the winner of No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 15 Tennessee State in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday.

More March Madness from Sports Illustrated

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020 and has a bachelor’s in English and linguistics from Columbia University. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. She is a lifelong Liverpool fan who enjoys solving crossword puzzles and hanging out at her neighborhood dive bar in NYC.

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