Bizarre Challenge Call Leaves Viewers and Announcers Baffled in Texas vs N.C. State

On Tuesday night, the Texas Longhorns found themselves in the middle of an instant classic against the N.C. State Wolfpack. Despite the game taking place in the First Four portion of March Madness, the rematch between both programs turned into an absolute thriller.

The Longhorns would end up taking the First Four contest by a score of 68-66. A last-second shot from Texas' guard Tramon Mark would end up tilting the contest in the Longhorns' favor, capping off a wild finish.

Before Mark's heroics, the game delivered one of the stranger moments in March Madness history. A confusing officiating sequence at the beginning of the second half left Longhorn Nation, as well as the broadcast booth, scrambling for answers.

An Odd Challenge Call Leaves Commentators Confused

Dec 13, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Charles Barkley interviews Kentucky Wildcats forward Mouhamed Dioubate after the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

With just under 19 minutes to play in the game, Dailyn Swain missed a three-point jump shot to retake the lead. Texas' Camden Heide and N.C. State's Darrion Williams looked to rebound the ball, bouncing off of Heide and then off of Williams' fingertips.

The call itself warranted a challenge from Longhorns' head coach Sean Miller. After returning from commercial break, commentator Dick Vitale warned against using the challenge call in this specific circumstance.

“I think the ball goes to Texas, but I want to tell you this,” Vitale said. “Be a little bit scared making that because you lose a timeout.”

It was then that viewers were left with more questions than answers. While Texas won the challenge, N.C. State retained possession of the ball. Williams touched it last before it went out of bounds, the Wolfpack lost the challenge, yet they still were given the ball. It was truly just a strange sequence of events.

“After review the call has been overturned,” the official said. “The ball went out on orange’s finger, so they’ll win the challenge and they have the ability to challenge one more time for the remainder of the game. However, it will be white’s ball on the baseline.”

Play-by-play announced Brian Anderson then stepped in to explain the controversial call.

“We’ve got to clean this up a little bit, Gene,”Brian Anderson said. “Because they said Texas confirmed that they touched it last, but because it was called a held ball or a jump ball NC State had the possession arrow, which is why they have the ball here.”

Since Texas challenged the call on the court, the officiating crew was able to come to the conclusion that it was briefly a held ball. Since N.C. State had possession of the ball at the time, they were awarded the ball after the Longhorns won the challenge.

While it didn't affect the outcome of the game, the sequence became a talking point in an already chaotic game. The odd call also served as a reminder that there's no sporting event quite like March Madness.